The Sword of Vengeance (The Chronicles of Bruk the Barbarian Book 4)

by Philip John Bruch

  The man in all black was pleading with her to do something or to say something but she couldn’t hear a word that he was saying.

  She looked at him and her hatred grew and she had no idea why she hated him so much. She didn’t want him to keep bothering her anymore, she couldn’t take it.

  Her eyes started glowing and her body got warmer and warmer. She looked at him and yelled, “Leave me alone!”

  The man in black instantly disappeared with a loud crack but he had a smile on his face when he looked at her.

  Selene sat down and tried to calm down. Her heart was racing and she was tense and couldn’t hardly even breathe. Then she remembered her hand and how she had cut it. She looked at it. It was all covered with blood but it didn’t hurt anymore.

  She reached for a rag and carefully wiped the dark red blood off trying not to touch the wound. She wiped and she wiped and soon her whole hand was clean of blood.

  She looked at her right hand and turned it all around and upside down and back again. She just stared and stared. She looked at the bloody rag and at the spots of blood on the table top. Then she looked at her hand again.

  Her hand wasn’t cut or injured in any way at all. Her skin was smooth and unblemished. There wasn’t a mark on her hand that she could see. She knew that she had cut her hand very badly with the sharp edge of the blade and that it had hurt like hell and it had dripped blood all over the table top. Somehow it had miraculously healed and the wound had closed up, how was that even possible?

  She picked up the dagger and there was blood on the blade. She wiped it off and set the dagger down. She looked at her hand again. Her hand was fine. What was going on? She knew full well that she had cut her hand very badly with the razor sharp magical blade of the dagger. She couldn’t figure out what had happened. Somehow she had healed herself but that was impossible.

  She cleaned up the blood on the table and then she leaned back and looked at the dagger in wonder. She thought that maybe the dagger had healed her. Maybe that is why it was glowing.

  Then she shook her head and remembered what Bruk had told her when he gave her the dagger. He had told her that the dagger would protect her from magic and that the runes on the blade would glow if magic or evil was near. She thought that the man in black was using magic to contact her and she did think that he was an evil man. That must have been why the blade was glowing.

  She looked at her hand again and then she picked up the dagger. She placed the edge of the blade next to her left palm. She just had to know so she pushed the blade downwards and cut her palm. She didn’t scream, well maybe just a little.

  She didn’t cut herself very deeply but it still hurt like hell. She looked at her hand and cried out in surprise. The small slash that she had made in her palm slowly closed and stopped bleeding. Within seconds the cut had vanished and not even a little mark remained to show her that she had been cut.

  She put the dagger down on the table and looked at it. It wasn’t glowing and it didn’t glow while the wound was healing. That meant that before it was glowing in response to that evil man dressed in all black.

  She wondered if the dagger didn’t heal her then how had the deep cut been healed. She looked at her hand again and she knew full well that if she cut her hand again with the dagger that it would close up and heal once more. Maybe the dagger somehow cut her and then healed her at the same time.

  She just had to know what was going on, she just had to know. She picked up the dagger and walked over to the bed which was on the other side of the room. She laid it down and put a blanket over it. Then she walked back towards the table but she stopped by the small sink and the little counter. She picked up a knife and walked back to the table and sat down again.

  She sighed and held the knife next to her left palm again. She pushed the tip of the blade into her skin and pulled it towards her and then she quickly lifted it away and set the knife down on the table. Needless to say she had screamed again when she cut herself, but not too loudly.

  She looked in awe at the blood and at the small cut that she had made. The blood stopped flowing almost immediately and the skin closed up and within a few seconds the small cut had healed up completely and then it totally vanished.

  Selene leaned back into the chair and wondered how she could heal so fast. Then she had a scary thought that maybe the man dressed in all black had something to do with it. She looked at her hand again and just shook her head. She would keep it a secret. She didn’t want to tell anyone because then they might become afraid of her or think that something was wrong with her. She didn’t want to lose her friends or her two jobs so she would just keep everything to herself.

  Selene didn’t like keeping secrets and she really wasn’t sure if she should. Perhaps if Sardgesha or Zardgesha were here she would tell them everything and then hopefully they could tell her how she could do it, maybe.

  Taran was her best friend. Maybe she should tell her. Taran would always be her friend no matter what.

  Selene wasn’t sure what she should do but she was sure of one thing, she had to get some sleep. She was very tired so she quickly cleaned everything up and put everything away.

  She drank a full glass of water and then she washed her hands and face. She quickly undressed and then got into bed. It didn’t take very long and soon she was sleeping soundly. She didn’t dream that night.

  Early the next morning Selene was at the Wet Cup. She had already cleaned up the whole back room and all of the tables and chairs. It really doesn’t take very long to clean the back room because it never gets very messy anyways. She was almost finished cleaning the front room and bar area too.

  She finally finished just as Jaken and some of the waitresses arrived.

  Jaken looked at her and said, “Good morning Selene. It looks like you have almost finished out here already. Why don’t you take a break and I will fix you a nice morning meal. I know that you haven’t eaten anything yet. Just sit down at one of the tables and it won’t take long at all.

  Selene knew that he wasn’t asking her, he was pretty much telling her so she happily complied.

  After she ate she worked hard the rest of the morning at all of her duties. The hours flew by because the place was busy as it usually was. She knew that Taran would be coming in very soon for her mid day meal like she always did. She planned on taking her lunch break whenever Taran showed up, hopefully she would be alone.

  About an hour later Taran walked in and went straight to the back room where she and Bruk and the rest of his band of warriors always sat.

  Selene finished up cleaning the rest of the dishes and then she told Jaken that Taran had arrived and she was going to take her lunch break with her.

  Jaken told her to take as much time as she wanted to and enjoy Taran’s company. He knew that Selene and Taran were very good friends.

  Selene went into the back room and walked straight to the table where Taran was sitting at. She sat down and said, “I am on break now.”

  Taran smiled and said, “How are you doing today?”

  Selene fidgeted a little bit and she was about to tell Taran everything when Jaken showed up with her meal.

  Jaken put the plates and jug down and looked at Taran and said, “Make sure that Selene stays here for a while and rests.”

  Taran smiled and said, “I will try but you know how she is.”

  Jaken laughed and went to prepare Taran’s meal that she had already ordered.

  Taran looked at Selene who was acting just a little strange. She said, “Are you all right? Did you have one of them dreams again last night?”

  Selene sighed and looked at her friend. She quietly said, “We are good friends, aren’t we? You will always be my friend, won’t you?”

  Taran said, “You know I will always be your friend no matter what!”

  Selene breathed a sigh of relief and then she said, “I have something to tell you.”

  Chapter 4

  Nightfall gasped and lay down on
the cool dark red sand. Nothing but endless dark red sand stretched away on all sides to be lost into the horizon.

  He looked up at the sky. The heavens were a light green in color. The few clouds that floated above following the wind currents were a light grey in appearance. The sun at least looked the same.

  He couldn’t believe how powerful his sister was even without her memories. She had literally blasted his projection which was very strong magic into oblivion and it had taken a toll on him even though he was safe in the No Land.

  Nightfall was a very large and muscular man. He had long jet black hair hanging loose and reaching a little past his wide shoulders and he had a thin neatly trimmed mustache above his upper lip. Normally he dressed in all black but now all he wore was a black loin cloth.

  He still remembered full well how Zaranna had sent him to the No Land when she had pierced his chest drawing blood and saying those magic words.

  He remembered everything about his fight with his only love. He tricked her and had her at his mercy. Then at the last second he pulled back and dropped his sword to the floor with a clang and stood there staring at her with a smile on his sweaty tan face. He had won but he had chosen to spare her life.

  She quickly closed the distance between them and then she pushed the deadly sharp point of the Sword of Light into his chest and leaned forward. His skin smoked and blood flowed from the contact with the magical blade. The blade sank deeply into his chest and then came out of his back in a shower of dark red blood. She quickly said the four words that someone had taught her and then he disappeared with a blinding flash of red light.

  She had won because he had spared her life even knowing what would be his fate. When he had opened his eyes he saw a light green sky and light grey clouds that slowly moved across the heavens following the wind currents. He had found himself in the No Land!

  He didn’t know how long he had been in the No Land because time and other things didn’t operate the same way where he was. He never got thirsty or hungry. He never got warm, cold, or tired. He just seemed to exist like a shade of his former self.

  He didn’t know how long that he had been in the No Land but he knew that it had to have been at least a few years but he wasn’t really sure, it might have been only hours or centuries.

  He never had any kind of contact with the real world before until just recently no matter how much he had tried and he had always tried. Just within the past few months he was able to sense his sister’s great power. She is so powerful that he was able to use some of that power in a limited way and slip into her dreams. He scanned her memories and found that she couldn’t remember anything at all of her past. She was like a child now. He knew that with her great power that she would easily be able to bring him out of the No Land.

  Looking through her memories he saw the faces of all of her new friends. Her two best friends appeared to be a very beautiful young blonde that looked a lot like Zaranna did. The other one was a very large muscular barbarian that looked a lot like he did except for the mustache. The barbarian was bigger than he was though and he was still only a youth in years.

  Nightfall could remember everyone that was with Zaranna that day. She was with two frail but powerful sorcerers that had used their combined limited power to temporarily keep him from using any magic. He could also remember the large muscular dog-man, a large muscular tree-man, a large bulky man with long dark hair and a shaggy beard, and a dangerous saber-cat with blood red fur. He remembered all of them as if it was just yesterday. He would find them all no matter how long that it took. They would all pay with their lives once he was set free from the No Land.

  Nightfall also knew that someone had betrayed him and he had a pretty good idea who it was. Forerger had to be the one and he would pay dearly for taking his golden quints and then betraying him. That is the only way that the two feeble sorcerers and all of the warriors could have been ready for him. They had planned well; he had to give them that but now all of them would pay with their lives. Nightfall had no doubts that he could find them and find them he would. He didn’t care how long that it took but he would prevail and get his vengeance no matter what.

  He couldn’t kill his sister though because she was an immortal like he was. Cobran the High Lord of Darkness had given them both a small amount of his life essence so that they could never die.

  Selene became way too powerful and even Cobran became afraid of her and what she might do. He helped Nightfall turn her into a hideous mutated monster when she was sleeping and they had caught her unprepared and off guard.

  She couldn’t talk and her mind became warped and she slowly lost all of her memories and her humanity. She was still immortal though so Cobran took her somewhere and he never told Nightfall where she was.

  Nightfall couldn’t believe that someone had transformed her back into human form again. According to her memories it was the barbarian that had done it. There must be more than meets the eye about the strange and powerful barbarian that is readily apparent. The barbarian and his blonde mate would be taken care of whenever he was free again. They would be the first ones to feel his wrath. They all would pay!

  Nightfall had tried through her dreams and even using a projection to tell her to say the four words that would free him but for some unknown reason his voice could never get heard.

  He had thought of a way to trick her and he wouldn’t even have to talk. He would place an image in one of her dreams so when she saw it she surely would remember it. If she tried to tell anyone about her dream then she might unknowingly say the four words and then he would be free!

  He couldn’t do anything for a while though because that last encounter almost finished him. It was unbelievable how truly powerful and dangerous she was even now. It was amazing!

  Whenever he was free he would have to take care of her fast before she got all of her memories back. He could always turn her back into a mindless hideous unspeaking monster again. She would still be powerful and dangerous but then she wouldn’t be a threat to him anymore. He would also kill all of her friends once he found out where they all were. He had a lot of killing and mayhem to take care of when he was free; he was looking forward to it!

  He also planned on going back to Tharn and killing that fat and perverse king Toraxis and taking his place upon the throne. He always wanted to be king and that was what he was working on before, now he would do it and not waste any time.

  He also wanted to see Leena again. If she was with anyone he would quickly kill him and take her back as his own. Leena was an incredibly sexy hot blonde with a tight tanned killer body.

  Nightfall thought for hours and hours of how he would kill all of Selene’s friends and turn her back into a monster. He couldn’t wait to get free again. He hated the No Land!

  Salvor was sitting in his favorite chair in the small den in his small but relatively comfortable house. The house was just a one story building with no basement or lower level. It was his and his alone. He was living in a very secluded and small village of only about forty some houses. They all were roughly the same size as his house was. He had been living in Carmel for almost three years now.

  Salvor had been hiding out and keeping a low profile. The people in his village had all accepted him into their lives with no reservations. They didn’t ask him a lot of questions about who he was and where he had come from. They were just too busy trying to stay alive to worry about being nosy.

  Everyone in the village worked out in the fields tending to their crops. A lot of them also went out hunting every day bringing home fresh meat.

  Salvor didn’t have to help in any way because he had told them that he had a bad back and arthritis in his hands and he would never be able to hold a shovel or rake.

  They believed him and told him not to worry about it and that he could still have a share. When one of them mysteriously died from a heart attack they even gave him the poor man’s house.

  Salvor smiled at how stupid and gullible these peop
le were. He always hated stupid people but in their case he over looked it. They fed him well and always made sure that his house was clean and that his small yard was taken care of.

  Salvor spent all of his time studying magic and reading all of the ancient scrolls and tomes that he had liberated from Manum’s lair.

  He was getting more and more powerful every day. All he wanted was to get powerful enough so that he could kill Nightfall and then Leena would be his. He loved that hot young blonde like no other and he vowed that one day she would be his no matter what it took.

  Then he thought of that saucy waitress named Leah that worked at The Barter Room back in Ultim. She was a hot young brunette with long jet black hair. She had a great body and always wore short skirts showing off her shapely tanned legs. Perhaps he would take her to his home too. It would be nice to have two women to take care of him.

  Salvor always dreamt about those two women and especially Leena. She was the woman of his dreams and all he had to do was kill Nightfall and then she would be his. He remembered full well how powerful Nightfall was though and he hated him with a passion.

  Salvor didn’t mind living in Carmel but it was boring as hell. Everyone worked all day except for him and during the day they were all out either in the fields or out hunting.

  Salvor longed for the city life and all of the pleasures that could be found there. He knew that he could never go back to Zoria and to his house inside of Haven. That was a real nice house and he missed all of the luxury that it provided.

  Thinking of his mansion in Zoria made him think of that large muscular barbarian that had knocked him out the second that he had passed through the gate. He could still remember those piercing blue eyes.

  Either after or before he killed Nightfall, that barbarian would also die in a most painful and prolonged way. That stinking lowlife barbarian must have been the one that had stolen the ancient book that he always kept in the silver box. He vowed that he would find the barbarian and any other fool that had helped him and they would all pay with their miserable lives. Salvor felt better just thinking about how he would exact his revenge. He knew plenty of ways to torture a person and keep him alive for years. That filthy barbarian deserved such a fate for stealing his magical book and it would be a pleasure to give it to him.