Quickly Gnak sifted through the memories of the wolf man, that he now knew was called a Lycan. They were a breed of soldiers spawned by this human king and bred through magical means to create a massive army. The creature was only a few months old, but had been aged through magic. He didn’t know much, had not even seen much of the world, but through his mental link to the other Lycans, Gnak had seen enough. Shifting back to his orc body upon the throne he watched the terrified look on the human’s face fade into the firm resolve that had been there before. Then he gave the Lycan back his will and watched as the beast looked around, confused. After a moment the Lycan returned to the ranks behind the human. All of the Lycans watched him warily now. Good, they should fear him.
“And what else would your Majesty wish?” Captain Heiss asked, his thick black eyebrows furrowed.
“Half a million Lycan at the conclusion of the battle,” Gnak stated simply. “I’ll take these fifty as a sign of good will from your king,” Gnak added. He watched the man squirm in his armor. He hadn’t been prepared for such a demand, and had no way of refusing. Even the good human captain realized all too quickly that if he even ordered the Lycans to attack, Gnak could simply possess his body and order them to submit to his will. There would be no bargaining, no threats, no further deal.
“And should I be beset upon on my return journey?” Heiss asked.
“No fear, puny human. I do not wish you any harm. I rather like your race, it has taught me much. I will send you back to Valdadore with a contingent of my own troops. They will defend you as they would me.”
“Will that be all then, your Majesty?” Heiss asked. “I’d like to return home with all haste.”
“When your king meets me upon the field of battle, I want him to give to me a young human girl. Old enough to care for herself, but not so old as to have begun bleeding.” The knight’s discomfort was painted clearly upon his face, but Gnak did not care. He had made a promise to Jen that one day he’d restore her, and here was his chance. He’d find a way. “Your Lycans will remain with me in the keep as my personal guards. Give them this order.”
“Lycans, you are to defend the orc king with your lives, and allow no harm to come to him,” Captain Heiss ordered.
Without delay, the Lycans split into two columns and parted around Captain Heiss, creating a ring around the room. Having taken their positions, each Lycan rested the butt of his spear upon the floor and stood silently.
“Good,” Gnak said with a grin. He was really beginning to like this day. With a shout he summoned a messenger from down the stairs, waiting patiently as the goblin appeared over the stone steps.
“Bring Captain Heiss to Bomdor, send him off with one hundred riders and his own mount. They will protect the human and accompany him back to Valdadore. When they are in sight of the castle, ten will return with word to me that they have arrived. When this king of Valdadore agrees to my demands, then the rest may return as well.”
“Yes, good king,” the messenger nodded before turning to the human man. “You come.”
After the human had left, Gnak decided to do some exploring. Taking turns, he pulled the will from Lycan after Lycan, shifting into their minds to see what other secrets they held. He was rather intrigued with this Lady Anna, and even more curious having seen an old acquaintance as the man behind the breeding of the Lycans. One they called Ashton.
* * * * *
Reaching the training grounds with his wraiths in tow, Garret paused and turned to face them. “You go ahead to the barracks over there,” he pointed. “Choose a room for yourself, and if you see any of the servants, inform them that from here forward there will be near thirty of you residing in the halls.”
With a garble of spoken replies from his young troops, he simply nodded and watched as they headed off on their own. They were young, but their blessings still put them above the average man. Give them a few weeks’ training and he’d pit them against Lycans without hesitation.
Saluting the guard at the gate, Garret gained entry to the training grounds which he immediately noticed had changed significantly. Gone were the racks of weapons and armor for sparring. Gone were the sparring Lycans. In their place, more birthing chambers, cages, and coordination machines stood. Hundreds of children wearing messy aprons rushed this way and that, hardly paying him any mind. Looking about, Garret noted the blond bowl cut that was unmistakable, even if it was messy and caked to Ashton’s scalp.
“Ashton!” Garret boomed. Immediately Ashton turned from what he was doing and quickly instructed a child with a few words before jogging across the expanse between Garret and the healer.
“By the gods, your Majesty, it’s been weeks!”
“Indeed it has, Ashton. So where are we?”
“We’re making great progress with the addition of your two healers,” Ashton nodded with a smile.
“Numbers, Ashton. I want numbers.”
“This is already litter five. Originally we estimated around a quarter of a million Lycans once this litter is whelped, but we’ve exceeded those figures through selective breeding.”
“Numbers, Ashton.”
“Right now I can only estimate, as we’ve only began delivering the pups, but at this rate, I’d say you’ll have six hundred thousand troops ready for battle in nine months if we let them age naturally and continue our concentrated efforts on breeding and birthing.”
“And if we concentrate on aging this litter to maturity instead?” Garret questioned.
“Two months, my king. We’d be ready to march in two months.”
“Just two?” Garret’s eyebrows knotted.
“If we focus solely on delivering for the next week straight, we should be able to deliver all of litter five. That would give us a little over seven weeks to speed the growth of this half-million pup litter. With the addition of your two new healers, and the clerics working full time to keep them healthy, we can now mature a single pup in under a minute. Nearly four hundred per hour if we do not hit any setbacks.”
“And that has us marching with every Lycan at our disposal?”
“Yes.”
“And what if we do a repeat breeding of this same litter, and leave the pregnant bitches behind?”
“Only about forty-two thousand less. That’s how many bitches we bred to produce this litter.”
“So in two months you can deliver more than half a million Lycan soldiers, or in four months a million?”
“Yes and no, my king. If we march away with most of the Lycans and only breed those who have been previously bred, it would produce another half a million Lycans. But, if we delay and breed every possible bitch out of this litter once mature in two months, then two months after that, or in four months’ time, you’d have over five million Lycans.”
“So my options are to march in two months with six hundred thousand, or march with fifty thousand less, but have a backup army of another six hundred thousand in two additional months, or wait four months for five million troops.”
“Nearly, Garret. There is no way we could mature five million Lycans. At our current rate, it would take us nearly five years to mature them all. They would mature faster on their own. We could only, likely, speed the process by a fraction. Instead of waiting nine months until they are mature, we could probably accomplish it in six or seven.”
“So a year’s wait to have five million mature, fighting Lycans…”
“Yes, my king.”
“Too long, Ashton. The demon is garnering allies.”
“As I have heard,” Ashton admitted.
“We’ll march when litter five is ready.”
“As you wish, my king.”
“Where is Kanth?” Garret asked.
“He should be returning any… Oh, there he is near the gate,” Ashton pointed.
“Very well, Ashton. You’ve done amazing work here, and shall be rewarded accordingly just as soon as we have destroyed the demon king.”
“I appreciate your praise, your Majes
ty.”
“You deserve it, just see to it that as soon as this snow is melted, my army is ready to march.”
“Rest assured, my king.”
Garret strode across the training grounds seeking out his favorite Lycan. Kanth was something special. He was intelligent and sought to learn at all costs. Not only was he the leader of the Lycan horde, but Garret trusted him, so much so, that Garret had an idea.
“Kanth, how goes the protection of the city?” Garret asked.
“Good, King. Humans learning to live with Lycan. Lycan work many jobs. Building. Make armor. Make weapon.”
“Do you think you could handle another duty, now that your troops are accustomed to theirs?”
“Yes, King. Kanth can.”
“Good. With war on the horizon, there is a chance that the demon king may strike at those I love. I would like for you to guard Lady Anna. She is to be your queen in the next few days. Will you keep her safe for me when I am not able?”
“Yes, King. For you, anything.”
“Good, Kanth. She should be at the keep now. Go to her and inform her of your new duties. Also, let her know that I’ll be at the barracks for a time, and would like if she’d visit.”
“Yes, King. I go.”
Garret watched Kanth salute before turning and striding away. He was impressed with the creature. He was impressed with all of them. They were working with the builders and smiths now. It was amazing. Garret had to remind himself that they were half human. Their abilities might be even greater than he could fathom, should he give them time to learn.
After a moment, Garret exited the same gate Kanth had vanished through moments before. The sky was growing dark, the mage’s tower casting a dark shadow across the courtyards. Tonight he would eat with his new knights.
* * * * *
Kanth entered the castle with less opposition than he imagined. He’d expected a guard at one of the gates to stop him, but none did. Gate after gate they simply saluted him and allowed him to pass. It seemed the king had already made known his new position to others. That, or they were not too concerned with the security of the castle.
Passing beneath the final gate, Kanth pulled open the large wooden door to enter the keep. He’d never been here before and had no idea what to expect. He imagined that inside would be much like the buildings his men had torn down in the city. He expected it to be filled with intricate filigree, linen drapes, tapestries, and other things regarded with high value by humans. Once the door was open, however, he was surprised to find the entryway was rather plain.
Stepping through the door, he allowed it to swing closed behind him and tested the air for Lady Anna’s scent. It was not a difficult task, as she did not smell like the rest of the humans. He didn’t even think she was human, only pretending. But he was new to this world and knew he had much to learn. He was only beginning to learn his place within it and did not want to overstep his bounds. He’d seen what happened to the dwarf. Nothing good would come of upsetting the king. If he was to protect Lady Anna, which he doubted she needed, he would follow the orders he was given.
Turning down the wide hall, he followed her sweet scent through the castle. Sweet and metallic. That is what set her apart from the other humans, especially the women. She smelled like a sword, a dagger, a weapon used to kill. Her scent was that of blood, of death. It made Kanth curious.
Sniffing as he came to the intersection of another hallway, he passed it by as reports came in from his men all around the city. All was quiet. All was as it should be. Anna’s scent caught in his nostrils again and this time it was stronger.
Picking up his pace he continued down the main hallway, trying his best to walk as a human did without bobbing up and down. It did him little good. Walking with a smooth gait felt unnatural and made his joints sore. He was who he was, no matter how much he wanted to be a human. He’d heard the word slave used enough that he’d gathered the gist of its meaning. He and his kind were slaves, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. They were being fed, housed, and trained. They were learning what it was to have a civilization, and as the first of their kind, such lessons were important, Kanth thought. First they must learn to live under the humans before learning to live beside them.
He'd been told there were other races on Thurr as well, like the dwarf and other types of men. Soon, when they marched to war he’d see them for himself. He hoped to learn much from the journey and battle.
Anna’s scent caught his attention again, but it was different. There was something in it that didn’t belong. Was it fear?
Kanth turned towards the wide staircase and began to climb four steps at a stride. Higher and higher he raced, Anna’s scent growing stronger and then tinged with blood. The king had been right, something was amiss. Growling a battle cry. Kanth smashed through the door as splinters exploded across the room and eyes turned to fall upon him.
* * * * *
Anna had not expected the intrusion, though certainly should have heard it coming, so loud was the damned Lycan. Pulling a sheet about her nude body, lest the beast see her totally exposed, she climbed off of the now panting form of Digo, tied securely to the bed. Wrapping the sheet about herself she climbed off the bed and wiped her mouth with her wrist.
“What purpose do you have here, Kanth?” she demanded.
“The king order me come. Protect Lady Anna.”
“And does it look like I need protection?”
“No. Kanth wait outside. Lady Anna finish meal.”
Anna smirked at the beast, turning to watch as Digo’s eyes fluttered closed, the beat of his heart becoming lost to her ears. At least she had reached climax before the damned beast broke in.
“Stay,” Anna ordered. She found herself in a conundrum. She knew the Lycans shared information telepathically, but could they control it? Had every Lycan in the city just seen what was transpiring? Was her secret exposed? “You saw what I was doing?”
“Yes, Lady Anna.”
“And what was it that I was doing?”
“Mating the male and drink blood.”
Fuck. He knew exactly what he had seen. “And the other Lycans, did they see too?”
“No yet, Lady Anna.”
“Good, you must not show them.”
“King supposed be Lady Anna mate,” Kanth said, trying to understand her infidelity.
“Yes, but not my food.”
“Kanth supposed to report to king all he see.”
Anna’s jig was up. She could either kill the Lycan before he spread what he saw, or try and make him understand. She couldn’t kill him, not without the fear that doing so would cause him to show the other Lycans and then show her murdering their leader. Not to mention what would she tell Garret after she killed the head of his beast army? She was trapped. Unless… he wanted something… She had influence, right? She was to be the queen in just days! She could give him nearly anything he could want. A room at the castle… A lover. Hell, even a human lover if he so desired. She fought not to grin.
“Kanth. You must not share what you saw here, ever. Understand? What can I give you in exchange for your keeping my secret?”
* * * * *
Kanth thought about the question. Lady Anna had much. Riches, power, the king’s ear, a lifetime of experience, anything he could think of, she had. But she also had more. Testing the air, he could smell it on the male. Not the mix of fluids from their mating. No. It was something deeper, darker, and more sinister. It smelled of death and power, and it was mingled within the male. It was a part of Anna, and she had somehow put it in the male.
“Put you in me.” Kanth said.
Anna looked at him curiously, obviously not understanding his request.
“Make Kanth like Lady Anna.” Kanth tried again, not sure how to phrase his request with his limited words.
“You want to be like me?” Anna asked.
“Lady Anna fast. Strong. Lady Anna hide it. Kanth know.”
Kanth watched the human fema
le think about his words. She licked her lips and then parted them as if to speak, but then closed them again, shaking her head.
“I don’t know what it would do to you, Kanth. I have made others of my kind before, but they were all human. It might even kill you.”
“Kanth no afraid. Kanth half human. Kanth stronger than human.”
“You swear to me to keep my secret… Our secret for so long as you live?”
“Kanth give swear.”
“There are things you should know first,” Anna told him. Kanth nodded his understanding. “For me, at first, I could not go out in the sun. I had to feed on many people to grow strong before I could go outside. I do not know if the same will happen to you. Another thing, in the beginning, I was hungry all the time. I had to drink blood, and it has to be from the living. Many times a day at first, now I don’t really need it, but I enjoy it. Understand?”
“Kanth understands.”
“This may kill you, Kanth. It may cripple you. It may change you in ways neither of us will understand.”
“Kanth understands. Make Kanth like Lady Anna.”
Anna stepped towards him. She was shorter than he by a foot or more. He looked at the male on the bed, bitten on the neck, and lowered himself so she could reach easily. Then she attacked.
It was savage and abrupt. Anna drove him back against the wall hard, his head slamming into the stone. She pinned him there, unable to move, as effortlessly as a cat pinning a mouse. He was at her mercy. Kanth focused on keeping his thoughts to himself as he felt her fangs penetrate his flesh and his own hot blood spilling down his neck. Then it came.
Like white hot fire he felt the burning entering his blood. For a moment it felt as if he were boiling, as if the life she gave him was burning away something inside him, but then the euphoria took over. The pain turned to pleasure and he found himself becoming aroused. He didn’t want to. Certainly it would offend Lady Anna. He had no intentions of breeding her. He fought the urges growing within him. Then, just as fast as she began, Lady Anna pulled back, half way across the room. Her sheet had fallen to the floor exposing her nudity in all its glory. He’d lost his battle with his own body as well, his manhood standing well erect, but she paid it no mind. Perhaps she expected this side effect.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 203
