Take My Heart...: Dark Ages - Fantasy (Dark Gods & Tainted Souls Book 3)

by Schenk, Julius

  “We thought you were someone else, the church of the divine child, the king’s mercenaries are coming and we sought to warn them,” she said quietly.

  “Oh,” was all she said back. “But why would you care to help them, it’s not like you to care about anyone else?”

  Josette had had enough of this grudge match between the two women. “Look we were just helping a friend. Seth, the Druheim? Maybe you know what that is? Anyway, you don’t need protection or help from us, so we’ll just leave, ok”

  “Of course girl, are you tied up? No you can leave whenever you want, but she’s staying, as for your friend Seth, the Druheim, he’d better be careful wherever he is because some people don’t like it when you try to hurt their family.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with your sisters of fury at all?” she said back.

  “Hasn’t it? Fury is the sister of fear. Now fuck off before I change my mind.”

  ****

  Goldie woke to the cold wet shock of a bucket of dirty water being thrown over his face, he lunged forward with a dagger but the boy jumped aside with a laugh, wooden bucket in hand.

  “Is that any way to treat your friend!” the boy cried. “You’re late for the first match, did you get drunk? that was stupid.”

  Indeed, Goldie had gotten drunk. It had been a terrible night. He hadn’t quite made it to the Lady’s temple but just the wine stands and dice games that were being played outside. He had lost in a truly epic fashion. He’d laid down a big handful of gold on the first roll of the dice to cheers of the assembled drunks, confident in his Lady. He’d spent the next few hours chasing that gold down the hole with more and more. Every roll was bad, everyone hated him, even the wine tasted bad. He’d never felt anything like it, it was awful.

  Goldie staggered to his feet. “Right, what’s first,” he said to the boy, now he was standing his head has really starting to pound, he had no faith in himself at all now.

  “First is archery, lucky for you every person has to use the same bow, cause I think you lost yours,” the boy said.

  He had, it was gone in a bet, along with his sword, but luckily not his horse which had wandered off on its own to the fish stall.

  “I’m not sure about this kid, last night I had the worst luck I’ve ever had, the worst in my life, maybe the Lady isn’t with me.” he said.

  “You’d better be joking. I made my dad advance me the next two years of my wages to bet on you winning,” he said.

  “What? Really” Goldie said.

  “Of course, you’re my chance, if you win every challenge I’ll make more gold than you, now follow me and try to look a little more wretched, it’ll increase my odds.”

  Goldie didn’t have to play it up, he felt sick in his stomach from the cheap wine and staggered after the boy through the thick crowd of people. Most now knew that he’d entered all of the competitions, they’d seen him bet heavily on himself and saw him lose in such a bad fashion. The laughter of the crowd nipped at his already shattered confidence. At least, it was archery, he might be hung over but thanks to Seth he was much better than most people at this.

  The boy lead him through the crowd yelling as he went. “Clear the way for the ladies champion. Get out your gold and bet heavily on this man to win, win, win,” it just brought more laughter.

  Soon they had reached the archery field. It was in the center of the town. They had cleared the road and people stood along the sidelines. It was very dangerous, still what did he expect. He looked at his completion as he stood on the mark, there were only four other than him and they all looked good, well rested and serious. One was a Pellosi girl, who looked every bit an archer, tight leather clothes and ponytail pulled back. One old mercenary and two Pellosi men, with their tanned skin and smug faces. There was only one bow for them to use in turn which was good, a better weapon would deliver a clear advantage.

  A priest of the lady stood at the side and glared at him. He was dressed in long black robes in the hot sun sweat was dripping down his bald head into the fold of his black robe. Goldie felt the stink of booze coming off himself and thought he must look a sight.

  “Well people here we are again, ladies day, who will be her champion, normally we have a champion of archery, a champion of sword and dice, and all the other skills she can help with but this day we have a man who would do them all,” he scowled. “You’ll need her most of all,” he said and the crowd laughed.

  Goldie looked at the targets far down the road and it was a tough distance for anyone, he squinted to see them through bleary eyes.

  “Three arrows each, closest to center wins, it’s simple, now bets all round and someone place a bet for me that our friend, the champion, misses all three,” he said. Goldie glared at the man with malice, he’d clearly made an enemy in him saying he spoke for the Lady.

  He was last to arrive and would shoot last, which was good, he’d get a chance to see the competition. The other four all took their time. It was such a distance that not all shots made it. The Pellosi girl fell short on the first shot and the second two we're good, the Pellosi men were excellent, all three hitting near the center and the old mercenary, just threw up his hands, muttering, “Fucking Pellosi” and walked off after seeing the others shoot. So he had to beat three right near the center, would have been easy on another day, why did he have to get so drunk? He remembered just being passed free drinks again and again by the server and never asked to pay, that was the only good part of the night.

  He felt the bow handed to him and he calmed his mind, looking at the target, it seemed so far away. He held the unfamiliar bow and aimed his arrow. His hands shook slightly as his muscles cried, they were tired and sore already, he felt a hundred eyes on him. The boy was next too and spoke to him.

  “Don’t you get it yet? You need her, she helps those when they need her, you came in here all cocky in your own ability, now that’s pissed against the wall, call to her and she’ll help, you’re at her mercy now, so fucking pray,” he whispered.

  Goldie knew it was right, this wasn’t something he’d do alone, it was something they’d do together. He lowered his bow and looking at the crowd sniggering at him, that wouldn’t do, he wasn’t a joke, he was Goldie.

  He raised his hand high. “I’m hung over. I’m tired and yet I’ll win. I’ll fire these three arrows and they will all hit center, why? Because I’m the best? No because of her, the Lucky Lady will guide me.”

  He aimed the bow quickly and fired. The arrow flew through the air fast and deadly, it went straight to the dead center of the target, followed by a second dead center, the third hit the first that was deep in the target and flew off into the crowd with screams of terror and pain. Goldie saw the crowd lunge back and a single voice yell over the many screams, "he’s dead.”

  Goldie hung his head down and almost cried, fucking all the shit luck. He felt a sword in is back and knew it was the local guard. “Move idiot,” they shoved his at sword point to the center of the road. The priest had calmed the crowd.

  “Let’s see who he’d killed and which family will be seeking justice, not what’s meant to happen on Ladies day but still let get it done and move on with the day.”

  Clearly a death here wasn’t anything to spoil the fun.

  Goldie watched as they dragged a man into the center of the street. The arrow was deeply in his eye socket and they dragged him with no ceremony and left him laying staring from the road with his mouth open in shock. Goldie saw the muttered whispers that the shot was incredible.

  “Anyone know this man?” yelled the priest but no one did.

  The boy yelled out from behind him. “See who the lady wants dead!”

  “Shut up boy, you don’t speak for her.”

  “Search him,” shouted another voice from the crowd.

  The priest reached into the man’s pockets and started pulling out golden trinkets and coins, necklaces and jewels.

  A woman pushed forward and ran to them. “That’s mine!” She reac
hed into her pocket and felt for something clearly not there anymore. “He must have just taken it!”

  Another man yelled. “I saw that man too, he’s a thief.”

  The woman ran forward and hugged Goldie. “Oh that has been in family years, thank you so much.”

  The priest looked at Goldie’s other shots and a golden pair of dice he’d pulled from his pocket, clearly stolen from the Ladies temple, the crowd saw it too and let out a shocked murmur, and reluctantly took his hand and raised it. “Cleary the best shot of the morning. I give you your champion of archery.”

  Goldie felt the confidence fill him again and smiled, she was with him and she had a deadly sense of humor.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine.

  The moon had risen high in the sky and Grimm rode slowly with White Eyes looking around behind him. She motioned for him to stop. They stopped and she stepped down. He saw an arrow was deep in her leg and she hobbled away from the horse and collapsed into the sand. Grimm jumped from the horse and went to her. The arrow was deep in the back of her leg. He would have to pull it out but it would bleed.

  “How bad?” he asked her, in her own tongue.

  “It’ll be fine. I can tell it’s not in a bleeding place,” she said.

  Grimm knelt next to her “Want me to take it out?” he asked. She laughed. “Not with those big clumsy hands, we’ll wait until one of my sisters arrives. If one does. But first we need guidance. I’m lost and need direction.”

  White eyes crossed her legs and closing her eyes began to sing. She sang a beautiful song in the haunting desert language, so light and sweet, yet filled with sadness. As Grimm watched a dark cloud began to build before them and an elderly desert man just walked from it. He wasn’t a monster just a man. He went to his daughter and looked at her leg.

  “Oh, daughter I see it’s been a bad night. I can’t stay long. I am in the furthest place and should not have come at all.”

  “I know father but I need guidance, this man here has come to us. I need to know what to do,” she gestured to Grimm. He did his best to ignore the fact this man had just appeared from a place beyond death and talked to him, like a man in a tavern.

  “My name is Grimm. I’m a Northman. I just came to warn her of the red shirts coming, but I couldn’t help,” he said and did feel genuine guilt he couldn’t help or had brought it down with him. She was injured and half her people likely lost.

  “They have always been coming, if not them someone else, we are nomads not only because of the harsh land but to protect our ways from those who would take it or simple crush it,” he said. “My own people no longer worship the gods they did, not on the whole, the red shirts tried killing us but in the end, they just converted us.” If you traveled to the desert lands you would see them all giving praise to those hollow Pellosi gods. We here in the desert of Pellosi itself are the only ones who stay true to the teachings of old.”

  “Why? Why would they do that?” Grimm asked.

  “You know well my friend, they seek to weaken the strong and give their master a chance, but they are not the only ones who can play at that game. I think it’s time for us to step from the shadows and show the world the other way, are you ready?

  “For what?” Grimm said.

  “To show the world what White Eyes can do? To show them all that the spirit of the sand and the wind still blows strong in their land.”

  “How does it involve me?” Grimm said.

  “I wish I could ask more of you but I can’t. This is one battle, and you are needed in other places more than here. We will ask a favor of you before you’re finished if that’s ok”

  The man stood and walked back slowly into the rift of shadow.

  Grimm turned to White Eyes," you know what favor he means?” She just nodded and passed out from the blood loss.

  Chapter Thirty.

  She felt bad leaving Minsetta, but what choice did she have? If she was being given a free pass by these women, she would leave on her own terms. She’d been walked out once again at sword point but let her eyes cast around every direction. She’d counted fighters, weapons, looked at the doors, windows, and battlements.

  “Stop looking around, you planning on coming back?” The guard asked behind her.

  She looked like a younger version of the other women. Tight leather armor, scared yet still pretty face and hair that was shaved on the sides to the skin, just leaving a soft crest in the middle, they looked tough and that normally meant people were.

  “Of course, I’m coming back,” she said as she was shoved along. “We thought to warn you of the danger but now I can see you’re the danger”

  The woman laughed. “We are? You a stranger to killing men are you? Don’t bullshit me. I can see the way you carry yourself, you’ve got the quiet confidence of a killer, you’re on the wrong side sister.”

  Josette was torn, in one way she did feel like she was on the wrong side. Every one of these women had been beaten, raped and generally treated like shit by men, she knew the story well and didn’t blame them for raising their hands to hit back. Still their creepy religion filled her with dread, she’d kill her enemies like the Northmen but she wasn’t the hand of fury and justice, she was just pissed off.

  “You’re right. I’ve changed my mind, let me stay.” Josette said back.

  The woman laughed. “Sure, leave you alone in our temple so you can kill Angelina in her sleep and free your friend, do yourself a favor and forget about her, soon she’ll see what happens when you betray us.”

  “What happened to just killing men, the rapists, and wife beaters?”

  “Betrayal is just as bad,” she said.

  They had reached the main gate which she’d only seen from a distance and crept around. The walls were solid as was the doubled wooden gate which stood open. On top of the short wall was a battlement and a good number of archers on top.

  “Well, sister this is you, if we see you again, we will kill you,” the woman guard said and gave her shove through the gates. Josette kept her footing as she stumbled out. She turned and looked back at the main gate. At least twenty well-armed guards and solid, it would cost a lot of lives to take it in a front assault but it was the only way to get a few hundred people inside. She counted doors and people as she’d be marched out and there were, at least, a few hundred.

  “Can I have my bow back,” Josette said facing the woman and stretching her hands out, she hadn’t been tied.

  “What so you can try to kill me and then run off? Doubt it.” the woman laughed.

  “It’s expensive, give it to me with no arrows,” she yelled back. The woman guard just shouted, behind her another woman reluctantly took Josette’s bow off her own back and gave it to her, fucking thieves she thought.

  “And my dagger,” she said back. “Or you afraid I’ll throw it at you?”

  The woman threw the weapons at her feet and as Josette picked them up she felt the drawn bows of ten pissed off women all pointing at her. She turned her back to them and slowly picked her bow and dagger facing the road, she began to walk.

  “Stay safe on that road, it always got a few men creeping around looking for their runaway wives,” the guard shouted as she walked away into the dark.

  That was the very reason she wanted her weapons.

  She trudged up the dirt roadway in the moonlight. She didn’t know if the Bastards had made their camp yet but she walked in the direction she assumed it would be, or the place she’d camp if she was attacking this place. Was she really going to do this? She was going to fight on the side of the Red Bastards, the worst type of men there was against a group of women who were just like her. If she’d found them a few weeks ago she would have been asking how she could join up. The main group of the women seemed ok, they just had a shit leader, maybe she could just take her out.

  “Hello little girl” She heard a voice whisper from the darkness.

  Josette swung around with her dagger drawn crouching down and then laughed.

&nbs
p; Skinner’s familiar rat face loomed out of the darkness towards her.

  She hugged him. “Hello ugly, am I going the right way?” she asked.

  “You are and I’m hoping with good news, those women didn’t look very peaceful or friendly,” he said.

  They began to walk again with Skinner leading the way, whistling loudly as he went, clearly he wasn’t the only scout in the darkness.

  “Well if you mean good news like. These women are actually warriors who we’ll have to actually fight, if for no other reason than they have Minsetta and are going to torture her then yes, good news,” she said.

  “Oh that is good news then, well not for her, but for us, these men are at wits end, it’s all Farirkar can do to keep a lid on them, mercenaries are no good just marching around, they want some blood and loot,” he said.

  “Well, they’ll get plenty of the former.”

  She could see scattered campfires through the darkness and felt the eyes of other scouts wanting them through the trees as she walked behind Skinner. The whistling was a good idea, to announce them coming.

  As they entered the camp, she could see what Skinner meant. The men sat around camp fires looking bored and restless, she could see more than a few drinking heavily, not really in a fighting mood.

  “We’ll go to Farirkar’s tent? Anyone you want to talk to first?” he said.

  “Like who? Goldie? Won’t he be with Farirkar?” she asked, not understanding what he was saying or why.

  “Goldie has already left, he’s gone to save the third spot himself, but he left you a present.”

  “What present?” she asked.

  “Two big Northmen who like following orders”

  “Why? She asked puzzled.

  I don’t know, maybe Farirkar won’t want to fight for real, maybe he won’t take orders from a girl, maybe you’re the only woman in a camp of crazed men and having more than me at your side will save me from having to become every unpopular in a hurry.”