The king whirled back around and placed the tip of his blade against the confused warlock’s chest. “What do you have to say to that?”
George’s mind was racing. He was completely unsure how to respond. With the nasha not working, he was now questioning everything Lasidious had told him. “I don’t know what to say, Sam.”
“Just like I figured,” Sam retorted. “The moment has come for you to be ended.”
The king pressed the tip of his sword a little harder against the warlock’s chest, but when George did not make an attempt to fight back, Sam pulled it back and shouted, “Aren’t you going to use your magic to stop me?”
George shook his head. “No, Sam. You’re right. If the fruit doesn’t work, then who knows what other lies Lasidious has told me? Without my Abbie, what am I fighting for? I’ve got nothing. Just go ahead. Do me, and get it over with.”
Shalee groaned. “Are you insane? What do you mean you’ve got nothing? What about your wife? What about your baby that’s right outside the castle? Don’t they mean anything to you, for heaven’s sake?”
Sam dropped his sword and turned around. “Whose side are you on, Shalee?” the king demanded. “Why do you care if he loses heart? We don’t need him.”
Before the queen could explain, the walls of the crypt started to shake. The coffin began to vibrate and shift toward the edge of the dais it was sitting on.
Sam reacted to steady the container. Several moments passed before the quaking stopped. When it did, a small sphere of light emerged from the ceiling and dropped into a position just above the baby’s body.
As the king watched the sphere hover above his son’s corpse, Shalee gasped. The containers surrounding the child’s body broke open. The organs filling them lifted into the air and floated toward the light. The closer they got to the sphere, the more the flesh they were made of began to change. Their color turned from a lifeless grey to a soft pink, and then finally, they each assumed the color of a newborn’s healthy organ. As soon as the final organ touched the sphere, an even brighter burst of light filled the room while the infant’s organs were sucked into his corpse.
Everyone in the room was forced to shield their eyes. A long series of moments passed as streams of energy emerged from the sphere and penetrated the infant’s being to make the child whole. When the last cell of the baby’s body had been regenerated, the sphere released Sam Jr.’s soul and allowed it to enter his corpse. A charge of energy arced through one of the streams and shocked Sam Jr.’s heart into rhythm, and then the sphere breathed the infant’s first breath into him.
When the brilliance of the light finally faded, the moment had come for the sphere to depart and return to the Book of Immortality. It ascended toward the ceiling and disappeared through it. All that it left behind was a healthy newborn. Sam Jr. was flailing his arms and legs about while he was lying inside his casket and crying for his parents.
Michael stood in silence as he watched his king remove the baby from the coffin to cradle him in his massive arms.
Shalee summoned a blanket with a wave of her hand and handed it to Sam to wrap Sam Jr. in it.
George was cautious when he spoke. “I should leave you guys alone so that you can get to know each other.”
When neither the king nor the queen responded, George placed a hand on Michael’s arm to get his attention. “Tell them not to worry about the threat to Brandor that we spoke about the other Peak. Lasidious has asked me to keep the city safe.”
The general nodded. “I’ll do that, Prophet. Thank you.”
George was about to teleport when Shalee stopped him from leaving. She had taken the baby away from Sam and had the child in her arms. “Please come back for dinner tonight.” The queen smiled. “And bring your family with you. You were right, George. This kingdom will celebrate tonight. I think the moment has finally come for some hoopin’ and hollerin’. We’re gonna party Texas style. Every hand in the streets of Brandor will be filled with mugs of ale.”
The World of Dragonia
The Home of the Demon Queen, Sharvesa
Now, fellow soul ... allow me to share something with you. When the nasha fruit was used, the Book of Immortality was completely caught off-guard. Gabriel’s binding was pried apart against his will, and despite the Book’s best effort to keep his cover closed, he failed. His pages quickly fanned open and stopped on the section that held Sam Junior’s full name.
Without the Book’s consent, the infant’s spirit emerged from the script in which it had been stored. A moment later, the name on the page, Samuel Howard Goodrich Junior, dissolved and vanished. The names that followed on the rest of the page shifted and justified to compensate for the vacancy that had been left behind.
The baby’s soul patiently floated above the Book and waited for its transport to Grayham. A moment later, a sphere of light also emerged from the top of the same page and absorbed the infant’s spirit.
I know this may seem confusing, but this orb was one of the countless beings the Book of Immortality had created to deliver the souls of those who were waiting to live their first life on the new worlds to their fetuses. The orbs could be called miniature angels of life, if you will, and their abilities were many.
In some cases, these bright, spirited spheres were required to perform resurrections. On rare occasions, they were used to reunite the souls of those who were to be rejoined with their expired hosts—as was the case with Sam Junior and how his spirit was reunited with his body after the nasha fruit was used. These spheres of life were the beings who were also responsible for reanimating Kepler after Marcus Id slew the jaguar. But since undead demon-jaguar did not have a soul at the moment of his resurrection, the sphere of life simply repaired the damage inside Kepler’s body and then breathed breath back into the cat.
Fellow soul ... before I continue with the story, let me tell you about the demon queen of Dragonia. Sharvesa was a tall, slender and a remarkably beautiful being. At just over three and one half paces tall, the queen was average height for a female of her kind. Her skin was a red with an orange tint, and her wings that protruded from her back spanned a width that equaled five and one half paces. Her ridged horns protruded from the front of her forehead and then rolled up and over the top of her head. Sharvesa was an extremely powerful demon, despite her average build. She was well-respected amongst all races of demon, red, green, white and any being on any world who possessed the title, demon. Over Sharvesa’s seasons, she had become the undisputed sovereign of all demonkind, but there was contention.
The queen had a daughter. Charansay sat on a smaller throne to the right of her mother. She was also a beautiful demon whose father, Shadrowayne, was a powerful white demon who sat on the council. Because Charansay’s parents’ skin contrasted in color, the queen’s daughter possessed a unique appearance. Charansay’s skin was a glorious pink that all demonkind on Dragonia revered, and soon after her birth, the queen created a law with the council’s assistance that forbade demons of opposing pigments to breed outside their race from that Peak forward.
A union between races had never happened before, and to ensure that Sharvesa’s daughter would remain unique, the queen gave every member who sat on the council additional lands and titles to compensate them for their vote. Because of Shadrowayne’s influence, his vote swayed the other white demons on the council, and they followed his lead.
The new law commanded that any mixed-blood, newborn demon would be sacrificed—however, since Payne’s father was not of demon blood, the council had not addressed that specific condition, and therefore, they were unable to force the queen to sacrifice the fairy-demon after he was born. But the threat of an uprising over Sharvesa’s refusal to end Payne was the final straw that forced the queen to banish her bastard son to Luvelles to live out his Peaks with the Fairy King.
Because the demon queen’s relationship with Shadrowayne was considered illegal due to the new law, the queen was unable to wed her lover and make the white demon her k
ing. To keep the peace on Dragonia, and to avoid a revolt by the green demons whose ranks were substantially greater than the red and white demons’ forces combined, Sharvesa’s favor for Shadrowayne ended after she promoted her heart’s desire to the position of Head Councilman.
Fellow soul ... I believe that’s enough explaining for now. Allow me to get back to the story.
As the orb of life emerged from the Book’s pages, the sphere was invisible to Sharvesa and all her subjects who were present in the throne room. Seeing that the Book of Immortality was distracted, Sharvesa leaned forward on her throne that was made from tusks of beragamore beasts. “Lord Gabriel, why do you fan your pages? Is my palace uncomfortable for you?”
The Book did not respond. Instead, his heavy brows lifted as he watched Sam Junior’s soul unite with the orb of life, and then the sphere disappeared through the roof of the palace as it began its journey to Brandor.
As soon as Gabriel could close his binding, he slapped it shut and then responded, “Your Highness, please excuse me.” The Book’s gaze shifted to the queen’s daughter. “There are matters that I must attend to, and I shall return in a short series of moments.”
Before either the queen or the princess could object, the Book turned to look at the demon council who had gathered for the occasion. They were seated on rows of benches that lined the length of the walls to the left and the right of the queen’s throne. “I ask that you be patient, gentlemen.” Gabriel vanished.
The Book followed Sam Junior’s spirit to the crypt inside the King of Brandor’s castle on Southern Grayham. When Gabriel arrived, he remained invisible to the mortals while he watched the orb of life deliver the infant’s spirit to his body.
Upon hearing Shalee say, “...This kingdom will celebrate tonight,” the Book mumbled to himself in the language of his former being—the native tongue he used before he assumed the role of Protector of the Gods’ Laws. “Pey diaoness afor ey gads modain u creton,” which meant, “Yet another law the gods have failed to create.”
After exhaling his disgust, Gabriel teleported back to the demon queen’s palace. The Book did not waste any of his moments and addressed Sharvesa. “As I was saying, Your Highness ... upon your ascension, it would be my desire for your kind to worship you and not Lasidious.”
Sharvesa stood from her throne and walked down the steps. She scanned the faces of the council who remained on one knee. “Does this gathering believe that all demons, red, white, green and those of other forms, would worship me if I was to accept Gabriel’s proposal?”
Shadrowayne stood from his seat that had been provided for the demon council members. The horns that protruded from his forehead were long, indicative of his many seasons, and the muscles throughout his torso were lean and well-defined. The white demon took a step forward, placed his claws together and then bowed to his old flame. “My Queen ... all demons respect your position. I believe that all demons would worship you. As the leader of this council, I would recommend that we all abandon our service to Lasidious and begin speaking your name in our prayers. I can think of no other god that I would rather worship ... though I shall continue to revere Lord Lasidious since he has been a generous god to our kind.”
Upon hearing Shadrowayne’s pledge, and seeing that the other members on the demon council were nodding in agreement, Sharvesa turned to Gabriel. “Then it is settled. I accept your proposal, and I’ll allow the demons of the worlds to worship me.”
Gabriel floated to a position in front of Sharvesa. “Kneel, and accept your gift of enlightenment. You are now the Collective’s new God of War.”
Southern Grayham
The City of West Utopia
The Peak of Bailem
George returned to Luvelles just long enough to leave Joshua with Mary. Kepler retired to his lair, Brayson left to retrieve Maldwin from the Merchant Island, and then George teleported back to Southern Grayham. He was standing in front of an inn that was located above the cliffs, just east of the city gates of West Utopia when he appeared.
What a dive, George thought as he looked up at the sign that hung crooked on a set of chains. Who would be desperate enough to sleep here?
The inn was called The Utopian Queen, but nothing about its appearance resembled any sort of utopia. Even the wood the porch was made of looked distressed and abused. Some of the nails securing the planks were sticking out, and as he walked across the porch, the wood rocked beneath his feet.
Once inside, George scanned the room full of rickety, defaced, wooden tables that were surrounded by mismatched chairs. Throughout the seasons, patrons had carved everything from slanderous comments to pictures of animals into the tabletops and the back of the chairs. He looked beyond the hodgepodge that was filled with undesirables for Marcus, but the Dark Chancellor was nowhere to be found.
George took a seat and waited for the bartender to approach. “Excuse me, have you seen a man—”
“A man like me?” a voice responded from behind.
George turned to look. Sure enough, Marcus had made it this far.
The warlock took hold of Marcus’ forearm. “The rat told me you decided to stay on Grayham when I spoke with him this morning. Do you realize how hard it is to find someone who doesn’t want to be found?”
Marcus took a seat beside George. “Two ales,” he commanded, raising his hand to summon the barkeep. “See to it that they’re cold.”
The bartender scoffed, then pulled his rag off his shoulder. The hair beneath his shirt stuck out from under the edge of his collar as he tossed the rag onto a hook that was beside the tap before he responded. “You’ll get the ale as it’s always served. Hmpf! Cold ale. Whoever heard of cold ale?”
George reached out and grabbed Marcus’ arms to keep the Dark Chancellor from using his magic. “Hey, hey, hey! You can’t go around ending people for not having cold ale. This isn’t Luvelles. It’s a more primitive world. Just chill the drink yourself.”
Marcus sneered, “What a waste of a race.”
George tapped the edge of the bar with his knuckles. “What made you decide to stay on Grayham anyway? Don’t you want to be the Head Master anymore?”
The Dark Chancellor stood from his stool and pushed his long, black hair clear of his face. “I don’t know why I decided to stay. For some reason, I feel the need to go to Brandor.”
“That’s odd,” George replied as if he had no clue why the chancellor felt the way he did. The warlock stood from his stool, chugged his ale and then patted Marcus on the back. “Let’s get out of here. We need to shoot the garesh for a bit.” George tossed a Yaloom on the counter and headed for the door with Marcus in tow.
As the bartender swiped the coin off the counter, his eyes widened. He bit the coin to be sure it was real. As the doors swung shut, he called after them, “Come back as often as you’d like!”
George led Marcus north along a dirt road that followed the cliffs above the coastline. Once the warlock was sure they were by themselves, George continued the conversation. “Perhaps you decided to stay on Grayham because your subconscious is guiding you.”
“My sub-what?” the Dark Chancellor responded.
George put his right arm around Marcus’ shoulders. “The back of your mind is what I’m talking about. You know, the voice inside your head that talks garesh to you. You already know what you want to do. I think it’s brilliant.”
Marcus’ brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, man. You know. If you go to Brandor to end their king, you’d be both the ruler of Southern Grayham and the Head Master on Luvelles by the moment you’re done. You could rule two worlds and teleport between them ... once you’ve looked into the Eye, of course. But I bet you knew that. Hell, all you’d have to do is put someone in a key advisory position in Brandor who answers directly to you. I bet you already know who that person will be.”
Marcus shook his head. “I never even considered such a course. My mind ... or this subconscious you speak of
, has not led me in that direction.”
George removed his arm. “Hmmm. Perhaps I’ve given you too much credit. It sounds like you’re not as cunning as I’d hoped. Too bad. You could’ve accomplished so much more than just being the ruler of one world. You could’ve controlled the lower three. Perhaps I need to find someone with loftier goals.”
Marcus stopped walking and turned to find George’s eyes. “I didn’t say my goals couldn’t be adjusted, but wouldn’t this be a conflict of paths? Why would you hand this much power to me when you could have it all for yourself?”
Without responding, George changed direction. He descended a long staircase that had been attached to the side of the cliff to get to the shoreline. The warlock removed his boots, rolled up his pant legs and then waded into the water. He watched as the waves crashed against the beach, and for that moment, everything felt peaceful.
George closed his eyes to smell the ocean breeze. A long series of moments passed before he turned to face Marcus. “What are you waiting for? Come into the water!”
Marcus grunted and then took off his boots. Once he was standing next to George, the warlock answered his previous question. “I have bigger plans than ruling the lower three worlds. I intend to become a god. When that Peak comes, I’ll expect your loyalty.”
Marcus laughed. “You’re mad! I would not worship you. Not even for a single Peak.”
Without hesitating, George used the back of his hand to slap Marcus across the face. “You’ll do as I tell you!”
The Dark Chancellor reacted with lightning reflexes. He reached into his cloak, drew his blessed blade, and with a fluid motion, he stabbed George in the stomach.
George smiled as the tip of the blade failed to penetrate his skin. Even his tunic remained unscathed. The warlock grabbed the weapon, pulled it out of Marcus’ hand and then tossed it onto the beach.
Marcus tried to react. He extended his arm to command the weapon to return to him, but quickly realized he was unable to finish the command or move further.
The Eye of Luvelles Page 65
