“There are so many of them,” she replied calmly. He cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly.
“I ask you what you think, and all you can do is comment on their numbers?”
She shrugged, keeping her eyes away from his. Every time she looked him in the eyes, she would find herself caught by their brilliant golden colour. His physical change was still having an effect on her, and would take a while to get used to. He was beautiful, in an exotic way, but it wasn’t real. She felt like he was just wearing a pretty mask; something that could easily slip away. A couple of times she had noticed his hands shaking during their meal, and his voice would sometimes get the husky sound back to it. Whatever magic he had done to accomplish the change was clearly not permanent. Aiden, she thought wisely. It was no wonder he wanted him so bad. The memories of the human screams she had heard before were suddenly loud in her head. Slowly, she glanced over at him again, meeting him as he looked intently at her. She knew how he had done it, and suddenly the food she had devoured before wasn’t sitting right in her stomach.
Turning away again, she answered his question. “I only say that because I assumed you were still working on rebuilding your army. You did not send any with Brutus,” she answered in more detail, looking at him again. “I wonder, did you send any with Callum?”
Aziz watched her carefully. She was afraid she had angered him, but then he smiled slowly and appreciatively. “You are quick, Rain,” he said, and then laughed huskily. “I wonder if the men of your people would be so quick to pick that up?” Rain stood a little taller under his praise. He took a long look at the creatures he’d created. “Brutus and Callum had their chance,” he said coldly. “I lost so many of my creatures before. Each one of them is a part of me. I cannot trust Callum to succeed until I have the boy. Right now, that is my only concern.”
She understood exactly what he was saying. He wouldn’t provide the northern army with the backup he had available until Aiden was captured. This was his army. His allies would suffer now that they had failed at the first battle, and the battle in the west. He wouldn’t trust Callum to succeed. “They are magnificent,” she said quietly. It was true. Despite how horrible they looked. The fact that one man could create such beings was beyond her understanding. He was powerful, and he knew it. Rain doubted anyone would have the strength needed to rival this man, and now she was allied with him. A surge of hope ran through her. They would see the end of all this, and hopefully come out the victors.
“Come,” he said, holding out a hand to her. “You must feed them.” Rain hesitated as she reached for him.
“Feed them?”
He turned to smile at her. “They must learn your scent, Rain. Otherwise they will not know to not harm you. You must show them that you are also in control. It will give you power over anyone who wishes you harm. Just call upon them to come to you aid, and they will listen, so long as they know your smell.” She nodded in understanding, joining hands with him as he led them towards the centre of the room. The path wound around the room, a gentle decline until they finally reached the floor. The beasts became restless again when their master neared. Aziz showed her to a large barrel. Inside were chunks of meat. Rain held her breath as she looked inside. More than half of it was rotten, the stench unbearable. She carefully breathed through her mouth, praying she wouldn’t vomit in front of him.
“Take the meat in your bare hands, and feed them,” he instructed. She did as she was told, while he watched her. It took forever, since she could only feed them one at a time. Some were so ravenous they almost bit her hand off. When one got closer than the others did to removing her appendage, a jolt of electricity hit it in the side. Smoke wafted up from the creature’s body, as it screamed and cowered back towards the wall, leaving the hunk of meat sitting untouched on the floor before it. Rain looked up in surprise to see Aziz standing with his hand extended.
“Next time,” he said, his words directed towards the beast. “I will kill you. None of you are to touch her.” She looked back to see understanding filter over the creature’s face. How interesting, she thought. They could comprehend what he said just like a human. These creatures were intelligent, she realized. Bending down, she picked up the piece of meat again, and held it out to the creature. It took a moment before it finally inched its way towards her, taking the food from her hand gently. As it did, Rain found herself reaching for it with the other hand, giving it a quick pat on the head. It looked up, and she almost lost her breath. It recognized her kindness, and looked at her with that same enthralled look they had previously given Aziz before. She offered it a tentative smile, before turning to continue with her task.
“They like you,” Aziz said from where he stood. Rain walked slowly back the barrel, giving him a quick smile as she did. He was looking at her with such intensity that it made her hands shake. “You are turning out to be even more than I had expected.”
She picked up another piece, pausing to reply to him. “Most people underestimate me,” she said.
“I will make sure not to make that same mistake.”
After she was finally finished, he came towards her, gently placing her hand on his arm again. As they walked back up to the entrance, a bellow filtered up to them, reverberating off the high stone walls, amplifying it tremendously. Rain had to stop and cover her ears with her hands. It was that same scream that haunted her more than any of the others. It was filled with so much pain and frustration. It hurt her just to hear it. She could feel her eyes begin to water, and quickly blinked it away. When she looked up at Aziz, he seemed unaffected by it. It seemed to go on for forever, until finally, it stopped.
“What is that?” Rain asked. The beasts below began to pace back and forth, as far as their chains would allow. They seemed just as deeply disturbed as she was by the sound.
“That, my dear, is my most prized possession,” he said, looking over at her. “Or at least it was, until you arrived.” He didn’t wait for her to return his smile before continuing up to the exit. She quickened her steps to keep up with him. “Perhaps one day I will show you.”
“Is it another of your creations?” she asked, pushing her luck by prying.
“My greatest,” he answered. “Well, at least one of them. It will outshine the rest, and be my deadliest weapon yet.”
Despite all the progress she had made that day – pleasing Aziz, getting out of her room, connecting with the creatures – something just didn’t sit right with her. She was slowly making a place for herself in this new world, and she knew Aziz would keep her by his side. As he had walked her back to her rooms, he cast her furtive glances out of the corner of his eye. She kept hers forward, but she knew when he was looking at her. Electricity emanated off of him when he was pleased, and she felt it every time he glanced at her. When they reached her door, he simply leaned in and brushed his lips across her cheek.
“Until tomorrow,” he whispered against her ear, and then turned and walked back the way they came. His attention made her nervous, but it was nothing compared to how she felt the first time she realized he was attracted to her. He was certainly handsome, and his knowledge and power intrigued her. It didn’t even bother her that he was much older than her. She didn’t really know what the problem was. Throughout her entire life she had never suffered any grand illusions of love, like some of the other girls in Avalon. Goddess, but they were always going on about finding ‘the one,’ she remembered. Rain had never understood it. Sure some of the boys had been attractive, but Rain always felt like she needed more than just simple physical attraction. She needed someone with power, intelligence, the ability to provide and protect her, but also a level of mutual respect. Someone who wouldn’t belittle her, or expect her to just bear their children. Didn’t Aziz fit all those qualities? Rain asked herself. And yet – there was something missing, and she refused to believe it was something as stupid as love, or whatever other people thought. She didn’t believe in some intangible thing between two people that would br
ing them together in an eternal bond.
Praying that sleep would eventually find her with all these thoughts running wild in her mind, Rain quickly got changed and climbed under the heavy bedding. She needed her rest so that she would be at her best mentally tomorrow. Aziz was too smart for her to ever trip up and do something foolish. She had to prove to him how valuable she really was, and how eager she was to learn everything he had to teach. She let the heat from the large fire warm her bones, and slowly drifted off into a fitful slumber.
* * *
Aziz sat on the opposite end of the large table again as they ate breakfast in companionable silence. He was going to project to Callum after they ate, he told her when she first sat down. Rain was excited to watch him. She noticed that his hair had slightly more grey at the temples today, and fine lines creased at the side of his eyes. There had been no screaming last night. Aside from those minor changes though, he still looked young. Whatever magic he had done to help recover himself, it clearly didn’t fade as quickly as she thought it would. After they were done, he led her out of the dining hall, the same way they had gone the night before, but stopped shortly in front of a closed door.
“This is my office,” he said as they stood out in the hall. “Do not enter it ever, unless you are with me.” He opened the door, not waiting for a reply. Rain doubted anyone would argue with him when he made a command like that. They’d either be stupid, or have a death wish, and neither applied to her. The office was something she would have expected in a typical castle. Stone walls covered with dark wooden bookcases, a large desk in the middle of the room atop a deep burgundy rug. Gold sconces lined the walls in between each case, casting a warm glow throughout the room. There were thousands of books. Most filled the shelves around the room, but there were so many that he had simply piled the ones that couldn’t fit on the floor. Books towered everywhere she looked. Globes and other objects she couldn’t identify were randomly placed on the top of the piles. There was an oddly comforting feeling to the room. To the left of the desk was a massive fireplace. It was the only area absent of books. The stone was the same colour as the natural walls and was carved with intricate pictures of frightening gargoyles. Fangs that looked sharp enough to cut skin protruded out of each mouth. It was the fireplace that Aziz walked to.
“Stay to the side,” he said as he held his hands out towards the fire. Suddenly the flames turned a bright blue. Aziz’s face was lit from below, shadowing most of his features. Rain could see his face harden in concentration, as he began to chant words she could not understand. Time seemed to stop. Goosebumps rose on her arms and chest. Suddenly Aziz’s face morphed into the sickened, old looking one Rain was used to, right as another face appeared in the blue flames. This face was even more handsome than Aziz had been. Long dark hair was tied back in a thong. Dark eyes looked at Aziz.
“Aziz,” the man greeted in a deep voice.
“Callum,” Aziz replied, his voice weak again. “Your status?”
“We are still banked just down the shore from the city. Our sources tell us that Markus is not there. Apparently he left for the Capital only a few days ago. Their soldiers are securing the shoreline, but they don’t have very many men.”
“Interesting,” Aziz said softly. “If their leader is with the High King, then I would suspect he will enlist your brother’s help in their defence.”
“I assumed that as well,” Callum answered in a flat tone.
“I suggest you wait then,” Aziz said. “Let us wait for the King’s army to arrive, and you can take them out altogether. I will send down who remains of Brutus’ men to aid you.”
“Why wait?” Callum asked. Rain could see him shift uneasily. “Why not just take the south while it is weak?”
“I need the boy and he will be with the others,” Aziz replied instantly. “If you can capture him, there will be no question of our success.”
Callum paused for a moment before replying. “We will wait,” he said. Rain could hear the reluctance in his voice.
“Bring me the boy Callum, and you will have your crown.”
When the prince’s face disappeared, Rain gave Aziz a questioning look. “What do you have planned?” she asked. There was something she wasn’t understanding about his alliance with the exiled prince. She could feel it. Aziz looked at her with a wide smile on his face. It had returned to normal, but he looked more tired.
“Why what do you mean?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement. Rain folded her arms over her chest, and tilted her head in waiting. She raised both eyebrows expectantly. He laughed, really laughed. Even though his face had returned to the younger looking Aziz again, Rain could see more grey in his hair. Apparently the more power he used, the quicker he would age again. He splayed his arms before him in surrender. “Fine, you got me. I wonder though, what gave you the impression I wasn’t anything but honest with Callum?”
She shrugged casually, making sure not to show the pleasure she took in his appreciation of her. “I’ve studied people all my life. I know how to read them. Plus, I saw your army, and you didn’t even bother telling him you had created them again. You’re hiding what you’re doing here, while making him fight bigger battles. Why?”
Aziz laughed again. “My dear, you are a endless source of surprises for me. My plan is simple, I will sit back while those fools kill each other. It doesn’t matter to me who wins, I only care that they will be thinning out their men one by one, leaving less people for me to kill when the time comes. Callum only sees me as an ally, the one who has sat quietly in the background. What he and Brutus never understood was that I had no interest in their petty games. I want Eden, and the easiest way for me to get that is to let them ruin themselves before I take over.” He walked slowly towards her, stopping mere inches away. “When this battle is over, we will be able to move our army in place, and take over whatever is left. Soon my children will run freely in Eden, and I will be the one and only King.” He reached out a hand, catching a piece of her hair in it. Slowly, he let the stands slip through his fingers. “You will be my queen, Rain, and together we will rule Eden. No one will be able to stop us.”
CHAPTER FIVE
They had been waiting on the boat for days, and now they’d be waiting even longer. Callum looked out at the city that lay just a breath away. He could take it easily, and yet Aziz had told them to wait. Wait – for his brother. He couldn’t decide how he felt about it. The first time in ten years that they had seen each other had been on a battlefield, and now they would have to go up against each other again. This was what he wanted, he reminded himself. Yet, something nagged at him. He felt like there were other things happening around him that he couldn’t quite grasp. Callum didn’t like being anyone’s fool. He wished, for the hundredth time since it happened, that Brutus was still alive to council him. Surely Brutus would have been able to make sense of this feeling Callum was having.
He took a slow survey of the restless men that waited on his ship. They wanted action, they wanted vengeance for their fallen leader, and now he had to tell them they would need to continue to wait. The only person that would be pleased with the new turn of events would be Rose. It pained him to see her so miserable. She hated the thought of him going to war, he knew. She never voiced things out loud, but he could see the toll it was taking on her. His beautiful wife, who only grew lovelier as she blossomed under the gift of pregnancy. She had been so ill during the trip, but now that they had stayed anchored for a couple of days, she was regaining her strength and health tremendously.
As if he had silently summoned her, he watched as she came up from the cabin below. Her flowing mane of red hair blazed in the sun, her cheeks rosy and vivid green eyes sparkling as they found him. She smiled as she walked to where he stood.
“You spoke to Aziz?” she asked as she neared. Callum nodded in reply. “I can tell,” she smiled. “You always have the same look on your face after you’ve spoken with him. Tell me, what did he say?”
Cal
lum reached out to circle his arms around her growing waist, and leaned down to place a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. He breathed in the scent of her, continuing to kiss her along her cheekbones, then her closed eyelids, finally stopping to press his lips firmly against hers. It didn’t bother him to show such affection for her in front of the other men, because truth be told, they all loved her. He could tell by the way they smiled when she roamed the deck, or the way someone was always standing close by to protect her. They laughed at her jokes, and fell silent when she sang her lullabies in the light of the moons, affectionately rubbing her swollen belly. Even Callum found himself watching her during those times, as riveted as the rest of them by her pure beauty.
Now she looked up at him, waiting patiently for his reply. “He wants us to wait,” he told her, confiding in the only person he had left that he trusted with his life. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Wait for what?”
“Markus is in the Capital, and Aziz believes he will return with my brother and his army. He suggests we wait until their arrival before attacking.” Because he wants the boy, he added in his head. He wouldn’t remind her of that fact. The boy from the other world was even younger than she, and he knew it would deeply disturb her to know the plans the sorcerer had for the young man. She looked out at the city that lay waiting for their destruction.
“Felix will be coming then,” she said softly, referring to her brother who was a member of the High King’s army. An ache grew in Callum’s chest. He hated seeing her distressed in any way. He gently pulled her closer, running his knuckles affectionately down her cheek. What could he say to her? He hated what he had brought into her life, and knew it was only the beginning. At night, as they lay in each other’s arms, he wondered what it would be like to just leave. To forget his need for revenge. To just be content with his wife and their future child. To live a normal life, have a small house and maybe a farm to tend to, and not worry about the political games of Eden. It sounded, if he was honest with himself, like heaven, and yet he couldn’t make himself do it. He didn’t have the strength to walk away from what he started. Did he even want the crown anymore? This he often wondered.
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