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

by Schenk, Julius

  “Women? Women? Why would women be helping these evil men to destroy us?” she cried and actually spat at Josette “And you,” she said turning to Minsetta. “I know you. You killed Angelina.”

  Minsetta looked at her and without a word lashed out with her dagger, it cut the woman neatly across the throat, she fell clutching it as her life blood ran free the other woman whispering, they all stayed down.

  Josette looked at the statue and almost shuddered. It looked filled with life. She’d not thought much on her vows to the Northern gods but simply liked the way the men she knew lived their lives. There was something truly evil about this thing. She looked again at the robes the woman wore, the red was so dark, indeed, the feet of the statue were stained the same and around her feet were a few bones and even a human skull. She turned to Minsetta and pointed at the statues feet.

  “Blood?” she asked quietly.

  “Male blood and lots of it. Their robes too,” Minsetta said back.

  At that moment, the door burst open and Farirkar was standing there with a group of Reds at his back. He was panting and covered in small cuts, Massive axe in hand. He looked at them and grinned, then yelled for his men to finish up.

  He walked into the room and looked at the women and then the statue.

  “Need any help?” he asked, looking again at the statue.

  Minsetta went up and whispered in his ear, he turned to her, “You sure?”

  She just nodded, Minsetta pulled Josette out of the way as he stood forward to the statue, he was almost as tall as it and looked at its features. He grinned again.

  “Famir, curse you bitch!” he spat and then swung his huge axe at the marble statue.

  The stroke was perfect. With all of his massive strength, the blade flew through the air with a whistle and hit the statue at the nape of her neck. The room rang with a huge sound as a crack ran through the stone and her head came from her body. He cried again and swung it overhead and down hard almost leaving the ground as he did and brought it down on the severed neck. A crack ran through the entire statue, Farirkar hit again and it was done. The statue crumbled before them.

  He turned to them and grinned like a child who liked breaking things. “Now let’s hope that actually did something. I’m sure that was worth a lot.”

  Chapter Forty Three.

  “See he doesn’t look so tough,” the Lady said to him. Seth laughed for the first time in what seemed days. It was a laugh to let out the tension. In truth, the man did not look so tough. He looked just like a long brown hair fop, like a cousin of Dirst or other Guild noble minus the mustache. He stood however next to three women who looked like they had feathers and claws growing from their hands and a legion of those black dog things lined the walkway to him.

  Clearly his arrival was hardly a secret. The man stood at the end of a large field made of stone and waited. The dog creatures filled the ground in front of him and had actually made a path straight through to him.

  “So the plan is I go down there alone and kill a god, is it?” he said back with no hope at all.

  She took him face and made him look in her eyes, he saw such a fire and strength there it gave him a little.

  “You won’t be alone and if it makes you feel better he’s not really a god,” she said.

  “Really seems like one,” Seth said, standing and stretching, swinging his sword a few times, trying to get himself ready.

  “We came later, along with you people, he and his kind were here first,” she said.

  “I don’t understand,” he said.

  “We are your creations, Seth. We need your regard and worship to live, we love you and need you, that’s why I’m here, without you I’m nothing. You created us to explain what can’t be explained, to give order, to give reason and to give hope, to battle against things like him, but we failed.”

  “What does he need then?” Seth said looking hard at the man across the dark distance.

  “Fear, suffering, death, control. He is fear in one source,” she said with a shudder.

  “So if I kill him, all fear will be gone for the world? Seems unlikely,” he said.

  “Not all, but a lot. The fear that has no reason. We all fear death, misfortune, and suffering but he is the nameless fear that is for its own sake. We tried to put him down and put him in chains when we couldn’t kill him but now he’s back. Oh well, you’ll kill him now.” She said with a smile.

  “You sure?” he said. “You don’t sound very sure.”

  “You’re a Northman. What do you care? You’ll fight well and I’ll be there by your side. Our kinds will live or die at each other’s side, just as it should be. But first, we need to make a fight possible.” she said

  Taking his hand, Seth felt her pulling the power of the other gods, he saw again many images of them and their people. she cast her hand into the air, nothing happened.

  Seth looked at her, then the man in the plain. He saw him yell in rage and then calm himself.

  'What was that' he asked

  'That was our friends binding him to his body, now lets go'

  She took his hand in his and he felt the power in her and some of it run into him. The goddess of luck going to battle, at least, she looked good with a sword. Saying a prayer to his own Northern gods and feeling some of their strength within him, they walked from the darkness to the end of the field.

  Seth walked hand in hand with the Lady as if in a dream. His eyes locked on the man at the end of the field. He walked step by step across the dirt until they reached the stone platform and began to walk between the dog creatures. He’d killed more than a few in his time and he hated them. It made sense they were his creatures. Smart, cunning and without remorse. He could smell the stench of their breath and tried not to show his fear as they barked and growled as they passed, bearing their feral teeth.

  He gripped her hand hard. “Don’t worry. He’ll be too curious and proud not to meet you face to face first,” she said.

  “Oh good,” Seth replied.

  Seth kept his eyes locked on the man as he walked closer and closer. Soon he could regard him properly. He looked very much like a man and not much of one, far too attractive for Seth to take him seriously. He looked almost like a woman with fine high cheekbones and long brown hair. His eyes were awful and caught hold of Seth and wouldn’t let go. He sunk deep into those deep brown pools and saw his own death. He saw him fighting this man sword to sword. The Lady against her sisters. He couldn’t even raise his blade crippled with a nameless fear as the man struck him down. Seth saw a slight smile appear on his lips as he walked closer, great another one who could read his thoughts.

  The man walked out to greet him along with his sisters and the black dogs made room so he and the Lady stood in a huge circle of them. The man drawing a long thin sword as he approached, a huge grin on his face. Seth looked to the woman beside him. The main one looked weak, she was clutching her stomach and then stood upright but seemed to be in pain. The other, fine and angry, but the youngest sought his eyes, she winked at him, which was strange.

  “Hello there, young man. Seth isn’t it?” the man said shaking his hand with vigor, not the welcome he’d expected but this cocky fuck was clearly taking his time.

  “Seth is my name, and yours? Fear, prisoner, killer of innocent?” Seth spat back, trying to find his rage.

  The man laughed. “I have many names in many tongues, few of which even you would know and none of which you’re fit speak. You can just think of me as the one that’s going to kill you,” he said with a smile.

  The man turned to the Lady who stood next to him, defiant and proud. “And you, the lucky lady, really you’re who they send? The champion of the gods is you? The only reason I never destroyed your temples until now was because you just seemed so useless,” he said.

  “You’re mistake,” she said back.

  “Maybe, maybe not,” he said and turned back to Seth.

  “Before we fight and you die, I have a propositi
on for you. I know you’ve been led here, they gave you nice things and toys to play with, they made you strong but they never told you the price, now you’re here and you’re thinking how the hell am I going to do this, right? So here’s the deal, you just walk away. I could offer you your land or the North, let you be king but I don’t think you care about that kind of thing, so I’ll offer you a life. I’ll call a ship and you go home, make children and just forget all this.”

  Seth looked into his eyes and saw the darkness there, saw what he would do to his land and all other saw what would happen when all the gods and good people were gone and the cult of fear was all that stood. Seth stepped backwards slowly and drew his sword and crouched ready to fight.

  “Do you know the difference between a brave act and a stupid one?” Seth asked him.

  “What’s that?” the man said reading himself.

  “The reason you do it,” he yelled as lashed forward with his sword.

  Chapter Forty Four.

  Grimm felt different. A strong pale hand pulled him up off the stone floor and to his feet. He looked and saw it was Silver shaking her head at him.

  “That was very close,” she said.

  He looked at the wound on her wrist and saw that the wound was quickly closing. Next to her was the Wolvern covered in black blood that was not its own.

  “We don’t have long. At least, twenty are on our tail and will be here soon.”

  His body felt strong and ready, Grimm pulled up his shirt at the sword wound and saw it had closed. His skin though seemed paler than before. His skin was giving off a white hue.

  “What’s happening to me?” he whispered.

  “You took a lot of my blood. Seems to have improved you, indeed, you look a lot less ugly to my eye than before, your skin is less pink and raw and you seem a bit taller,” she said.

  “Oh.”

  We must move now, the Wolvern yelled in their minds.

  Grimm pushed any other thoughts aside. While he was drifting towards death he’d had one of the strongest visions he’d ever had. He saw Seth fighting a faceless man. All around him were the black dogs and as Seth went to finish him, they attacked. He would have to stop that.

  Grimm walked up to the stone circle and put his hand out. There was a deep power running through it and it wanted to bring them through. It would be as easy as tapping into it. He took a deep breath and put his foot forward into the circle. He felt a slight tingling across his skin and when he opened his eyes he was outside in a vast forest. Behind him, the black storm cloud of the rift shrieked as it bleed the power out. Silver and the Wolvern came through after him.

  “Guess I should close this,” he said.

  Grimm lay down on the ground, reached into the cloud and pulled his hand back with a stone. The rift closed seconds later almost taking his hand.

  Silver laughed. “That was it? I could have done that,” she said.

  “Well, you’ll need me to get back, so try not to let me die.”

  In the distance, he could hear the sounds of swords on swords and the animal growls of the feral onlookers.

  “That’s Seth and he needs our help,” Grimm yelled and started running towards the sounds.

  “When does he not?” Silver yelled as she and the Wolvern ran after him.

  Chapter Forty Five.

  Goldie was marched once again at sword point out of the king’s tent. This time by the king himself, a rare privilege, and into the open field in which sat the statue of the Lady. It was surrounded by candles and laid with flowers, Lead Belly had been busy. The soldier sat around it and drank the wine he’d supplied and laughed. Many of them had given her offerings and such and had no idea of the king’s plans.

  Their general flew into a rage on seeing them. Looking with fear at Thellas as he urged them up off the ground and shooed them away like children. Goldie smiled to himself. He loved an audience and the entire camp of men was here watching. They had been expecting a battle not their old friend Goldie with barrels of wine. After the battle of Blackrock before the Reds had marched he’d made a point of visiting these men and chatting with them, never hurt to gain the friendship of soldiers.

  Goldie pushed forward from the king and spun around yelling loudly. “No, my King, I beg you. Do not destroy this statue. What purpose would it serve as she only brings good fortune and would surely curse you for such an action?”

  Thellas kicked him hard in the back so he fell hard into the dirt. Goldie scrambled around on his knees.

  “Oh, please king, to even touch her with ill will, will bring such misfortune, you must not even lay a hand to her feet.” He cried.

  The men in the army were shocked, as the king’s guard ran to Goldie and held a sword to his throat. The king was enraged but Goldie saw he was still aware enough to see the mood of his men, not that they would defy him anyway, he was still the king.

  “Men, this statue is a fake and filled with gold. That is why I wanted it from the town,” he yelled back. Damn, that was a good one.

  “Oh, please king, it is not. I say again don’t even touch her with ill will or she will know and cast you down,” he yelled.

  The king laughed aloud as if acting, now taking the role. “I mean her no harm and you will see it’s just a fake. The king went to the statue and reaching out to her hand pulled it down hard. The statue’s hand snapped off in his own. He turned with a smile. Holding the plaster hand in his own bare hand.

  “See it’s a fake and full of gold at the base. Now kill this turncoat who would have kept it for himself.” He said.

  Goldie shoved the man touching him and heard it, a long low whistle from the darkness, he smiled.

  “Cursed! You are cursed now king, you bear ill will towards her and she will strike you down,” he said pointing at the king.

  As if on cue, the king collapsed. His face was turning red and he grabbed his throat struggling for breath. His guards ran to his aid and some of the smarter soldiers drew their blades on Goldie who just held his hands up high.

  “It was the Lady, not me,” he cried as the king slowly choked to death, his face turning a vivid red. He captain of the guard swung his sword at him but an arrow flew from the darkness deep into his neck. Goldie dived under the wagon that held the statue as a rain of arrows fell down on the camp. He heard the soldiers fleeing in fear, many cries of the wrath of the gods. Within moments the camp was clear.

  He stood to see his rag-tag army of gamblers and thieves running from places in the dark. Goldie walked over to Thellas, he was still alive, eyes barely opened, Goldie knelt next to him and spoke into his ear.

  “Touched poison on the statue, that’s for Dagosh and Elizebetha, you piece of shit.”

  He stood up and walked away, leaving Thellas to die slowly and alone.

  Chapter Forty Six

  Seth felt and saw his blade being neatly parried and felt the ring of shock run down the blade. He almost smiled. The tension he’d felt just left his body. He slashed forward with his dagger, which missed the man who stepped aside and then lunged himself. It was a fight plain and simple. He saw the man’s steps and saw his breath coming from his lips. Whatever he was he seemed like a man well enough.

  Seth parried the thrust from the man and then punched forward with the hilt trying to smash him in the face. He jumped back with a laugh.

  “Dirty move, my boy. Where did you learn that?” he spat.

  “I’m going to need it all to beat you,” Seth said back as they fought.

  “It won’t help,” he said as his blade slide past Seth’s and into his arm. He was well armored and the thin blade went through a link in his chain mailed arm and into the skin. Seth almost dropped his blade and yelled in pain.

  “All your weaknesses call out to me boy. I feel the fears in your mind, you tell me where you’re weak and what you’re afraid of. Oh, I hope he doesn’t do this. I hope this works.”

  Seth lunged again three times and the man just knocked his blade aside each time with
a flick of the wrist. He knew Seth’s moves before he did. Seth tried to push the fear of failure from his mind and fought on instinct, slash, block, dagger strike. They traded blows back and forth in faster and faster rounds. He could see sweat forming on the man’s brow and when blocking again Seth lunged out with his fist and caught the man full in the face with his mailed fist. He saw the look of shock on his face as he flew back. Seth dropped his sword and dived on him. Starling him Seth punched him again and again. He let all his fury and rage pour out of his body and smashed the man in the face again and again.

  He heard the sounds of women screaming and he was pulled off the man by two of the sisters ,the other stood looking shocked. The animals howled and snapped at him. Within moments, he was surrounded by five of the snapping mouths as one of the sisters, ran to her brothers damaged form. He sputtered bloody but managed to get to his feet with her help. Seth looked at his face. Cracked teeth and lips, blood dripping from his broken nose. As Seth watched the wounds began to heal until he was fully formed again. Seth felt such a terror then. The man smiled at Seth as he stood before him. Laughing in Seth’s face he put his own finger in front of his face and slowly sliced it from his hand with his own blade. Seth watched as the bloody stump regrew into a full finger before him. The man just laughed again.

  “I told you it wouldn’t help. You can’t kill this body. I will just heal it again until I finally strike you.” Sisters, please kill him. I need to wash up,” as he said the words he walked off calmly to a nearby table and washed his bloody face in a basin of water.

  The Lady was next to him now and she drew her own short dagger. Before them stood the two sisters and they drew their own weapons. The black dogs formed a living circle around them snapping and growling but waiting for his further commands.

  The main sisters looked terrible. She seemed weak and sick. The Lucky Lady lunged at her with a grin.

  “You seem ill, lady. I wonder what’s happened?”

  “You know what’s happened. Your people have ruined it all, but that was just one of my temples. I’m not done yet,” she slashed at the Lucky Lady and they began trading blows. Seth heard a low whistle from the man and five of the dogs were at him. He plunged his blade into the first one as it leapt, another grabbed his mailed leg and he plunge his dagger into its eye. The sister came to him through the sea of fur clawing at his face with those sharp claws. He sighed and just smashed her in the face hard with his forehead sending her back to a bloody sleep. The Lucky Lady next to him lunged past the claws at her throat and plunged her blade deep into the sister’s stomach. She coughed hard and cried ‘Brother’ as she fell.