“Yes,” Amsaovor said. “But it was something I’d never tried previously. He kissed the top of Kyung-Su’s head. “My lady’s words gave me the idea. I wasn’t sure if it was possible, or if I could do it…but there were no other choices.”
“Shilat’s tits,” Belash grunted, easing himself to the ground next to Amsaovor. “It’s been some night. I must admit I didn’t like you much, black man and wasn’t best pleased when Kyung-Su started making eyes at you.” He looked across and grinned at Kung-Su. “But you are a good man, and I thank you for saving my life twice tonight.”
Belash pushed himself to his feet and muttered an obscenity. “Looks like I’ve lost my pigging axe again. It must have been swept away.” He scratched at his beard and made a sound in his throat. “But, somehow, I always find it again…or perhaps truth is, it somehow finds me.” He called across to Elander Zucross who was standing at the edge of the terrace, gazing out across the sea.
“Ho, king’s chronicler, ’tis time we leave this blighted place.” He pointed at the crevasse. “That’s our way down… unless the stone elementals decide to slam it shut,” he added with a grin.
Prologue
Elander Zucross was in a sour mood as he walked along the beach, picking his way around the debris left in the wake of the tidal waves that had swept through Petralis ten days earlier.
The preceding earthquake had wrought havoc, ripping jagged crevasses in the ground, knocking buildings off their foundations, collapsing them into rubble and smashed wood.
Many hundreds had died in their beds, crushed by falling masonry and timber. Those who survived, reeling into the streets in shock at the sudden cataclysm and fearing the world was about to end, were swept to their deaths by surging waves higher than the tallest building in the city.
Zucross’s small house at the edge of the city was gone, as were all his painstakingly maintained chronicles and writings.
Zucross kicked at a piece of driftwood and cursed the fates and fickle, cruel gods. It was a glorious day, the sun shining from a cloudless sky and a cool breeze blowing from the sea, waves gently lapping against the beach. It was hard to imagine this same sea had in its rage, soared high into the night sky and swept through the city bringing so much death and destruction. But somehow, King Lorranis-Halbro had been spared. He had been found, a broken man, eyes wide and staring and drool running down his chin, huddled in a corner of the shattered great hall gibbering about being cursed by the fates.
After climbing down from the terrace of the shattered Crag Halbrosin, Elander Zucross’s companions had headed west, Belash declaring a desire to get as far away from the sea as possible. Zucross chuckled as he recollected the Axeman’s parting words: “I’ll die a happy man if I never see the goat humping sea again.”
Zucross’s brow lifted in surprise as he spied an upright table, with a chair set improbably before it. Walking up to them, he found they were sound. He shrugged off his shoulder-slung canvass hold-all, brushed sand from the chair and table, and sat down. He sat there lost in thought as he gazed across the sea into the far horizon.
His mind made up, he reached into his hold-all and removed a roll of parchment and his writing implements. He unrolled the parchment, placed it on the table, and weighed down the ends with small stones. The waters had taken all he had chronicled about the soul eaters and their defeat and banishment by Belash, Kyung-Su, Castillan and the High Priestess of Mithros. But he remembered most of what he had written, and the memories were still fresh in his mind. And what he couldn’t remember, he would make up, for after all, he had been told he had a feverish imagination.
Elander Zucross wetted the tip of his pen with his tongue and started writing:
Behold the dark times of the Gualich shape shifters, who held Petralis and the surrounding lands in awful thrall from their night-blighted towers in Tor-Arnath. These abominable beings, none knew from whence they originated – though rumour told they came through a gateway between worlds – fed on the life essence of living creatures. Their awful servants, the Suanggi soul drinkers or harvesters, and their demon hounds – the Bahktak, ranged across the land, leaving it devoid of all life. Their perverted taste was for human souls, but their depraved appetites also included every living creature that walked, crawled, or flew across the face of the earth. In time, even the trees to the tiniest blade of grass shrivelled and died.
These monstrosities defiled the very earth, were the antithesis of life itself, and inimical to every living being. Humanity had to stand against them, or the world was doomed. In time, an alliance of mages and warriors gathered from far-flung corners of the world. Assisted by the Elementals of air, sea and land, they raised their hands and stepped forth to face the depraved abominations. The very heavens trembled and the ground sundered, as the earth spewed fire and ash. Great winds blew, and the waters rose to meet the skies…
Acknowledgements & A Final Word from the Author
For Alison
Belash, Kyung-Su and Amsaovor disappeared into the mists of time, the eons sped by and the soul stealers passed into myth and legend. Drunken tales told in taverns to draw a shudder.
The barrier Castillan placed across the gateway held for a thousand years. It eventually failed, leaving Castillan’s descendant, Casca, a simple tavern owner, the unwelcome responsibility of finding a way to save the land from the returning soul eaters.
The tale of how Casca emulated his forebear and brought together an alliance of warriors to stand against the soul eaters is recounted in Verge of Darkness.
Verge of Darkness and its sequel Siege, are available at Amazon.
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A big thank you to my test readers Sam Hough and Julie Fox whose enthusiasm for my work kept me going when my mind went blank and the muse deserted me.
My gratitude to Fiona Jayde of www.fionajaydemedia.com for her stupendous cover design.
And of course, a big nod to my main influences: David Gemmell and Karl Edward Wagner, two wonderful epic fantasy authors who sadly are no longer with us.
I hope you enjoyed reading the King’s Banquet and would consider leaving an honest review on Amazon. Reviews are the lifeblood of new authors, and I would be eternally grateful for your contribution!
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The King's Banquet Page 5
