The next morning at breakfast, Joshua found me and brought news. He strolled into my camp, smiling as usual. “Seth, it seems that this group travels more slowly than a man on foot alone. We won’t make it to Ashqia until tomorrow morning.”
“All right, so we’ll camp close to town, and then go locate the men who had me abducted first thing in the morning.”
He gave a smiling nod. “The Captain was afraid that the guilty men would catch wind of what was coming their way. He dispatched a score of riders to stay out of sight and circle the town. That way, no one who might try to run would escape.”
I grinned. “I’ve thought about what I’m going to do when the people are caught. My first instinct was to turn them into human torches, but I’ve decided to be more compassionate. When we locate the guilty men and woman, I want them supplied with survival gear and, with Celina’s help, I’ll banish them to a place where they’ll never be able to bother Gormesol again.”
“I agree that it would be harder to convince people that we were a loving, compassionate group if you turned people to ash in front of them. Now, I have to get people moving because we’re going to head out again shortly. Have a good morning, Seth.”
“You too, Joshua.” I watched him walk away with a feeling of foreboding. It was almost like he was too happy about the possibility of conflict in the coming search.
We packed up and hit the road once again. I worked my way over to Celina. “Sis, can we talk for a bit?”
“Of course we can, big brother. What’s wrong? I can tell you’re worried about something.”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but there’s something about this that doesn’t feel right. When I thought of going after my abductors, I thought that a couple dozen men would do the job. Now I look around and I see a couple hundred going after three. I talked to Joshua and he seemed to look forward to the number of converts that will come from this.”
“I’m glad you mentioned that, because I was saying the same thing to Warin last night. I don’t know how we can control so many, and I fear people might get overly aggressive when they try to ‘convert’.”
I nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too, but Joshua assured me that they only talk to people. He suggested that by convincing the ladies in the town that they should join, the ladies would be able to convince the men.”
Celina giggled. “You should know how convincing women can be. We’ll have to keep an eye out for things that shouldn’t happen. I was told that our position during the search would be with the ladies, healing and helping anyone who might be sick or injured. That will make it quite a bit harder to keep an eye on things, but I’m hoping Joshua and Rufin will be able to keep the men under control.”
I shrugged. “I hope you’re right, Sis. We’ll talk about it again if I hear anything that seems strange.”
I drifted back to my group and we plodded on toward Ashqia. I still had a funny feeling, but it was manageable now that I knew Celina would be helping me keep an eye on what could only be called soldiers.
Hour after hour we trudged along until it was finally time to make camp again. We ate and retired to our tents, happy to rest our weary feet. My magic had recovered most of the way since the healing of the people before we’d left Krose. By morning it should be topped off, in case I needed it for combat or healing. I knew that I’d need it for the banishment if we located the people we were looking for. I’d ask Celina for help on that, too, since I was thinking Sabia would be the best place for them.
As I slipped into my tent, I saw that Tina and Raven had left a gap between them for me to lie. I stripped out of my clothes and put them under the bedroll that made up my pillow. I slid under the covers and let my puny, magical body unwind. It amazed me how wizards in general became so physically weak. Every one of us, with the exception of my brother Alec, relied on magic and became soft.
I rolled to my side and relaxed with a sigh. I put an arm around Raven and closed my eyes, inviting sleep to take me. Raven slid back against me to spoon with me, and I quickly noticed she’d worn the same uniform to bed that I had. She wiggled her not puny backside against me and clamped down on my member. My heart rate, breathing, and erection all reacted simultaneously. She spread her legs slightly and reached between them to move me to her waiting self. It was obvious that she’d been waiting for me, because her body had certainly prepared the way. As she slipped me inside her, I felt magic. Not the type that a tavern ballad singer might reference, but real magic. On a whim, I scanned her and saw that her psionic magic center was shining brightly. I knew that she couldn’t have been born to magic like my sibs and I were, because I knew both her parents. I checked myself to see what effect the magic she was transmitting was having. I saw my own magic, which had been less than one hundred percent, completely fill in a matter of moments. Somehow this lovely young lady had recharged my spirit!
She pushed against me and took me into her, slowly and quietly working her hips until her body shivered. I let myself build to climax, pulled her hard against me and let myself go. I twitched and shuddered as pleasure nerves sparked in my brain.
She rolled to her back and kissed me gently. “I ‘ope you know now that I really do love you, Seth. Thank you for taking me into your family.”
“Thank you for loving me, Raven. When we get back home, I’m going to contact my brother Davie. I think he’d be interested in meeting you.”
“Seth! I just made love to you! I don’ wanna be traded off to your brother! Please don’ send me away!”
I hugged her and comforted her. “No one is going to take you away from me, ever. He’s just the one in the family who knows everything about magic. I’ve seen something about you that he might be able to help me explain. I believe that it’s a good thing. You never have to worry about me giving you up. Now that you’ve made love to me, you’ll be in my family for the rest of our lives. I’ll take care of you always.”
Tina laughed. “Now that you have all that settled, can we get some sleep?”
We all laughed and curled up to wait for the dawn.
The following morning we marched on the town. We were within a half mile before the alarm bells began to ring. The gates and walls of the little town were made to deter wolves and bears, not armed men. The gates were wide open by the time my family and I reached them. We walked unimpeded to the center of town and set up our healing station, then waited for casualties.
As people started trickling in, Celina and I noticed that most of the injuries were very similar. We saw bruising on women’s faces and bruised or broken ribs on the men. Two or three injured in that fashion could be written off as bad luck in a search and question operation such as we were running here. After two dozen people refused to divulge the origin of their injuries, we were quite suspicious.
I flew into the air and located Joshua and Rufin. I told them that we’d seen too much violence from a group that was supposed to be sharing a message of love. I suggested that they get control of the black robes or I’d be forced to do it myself. I left them chasing down groups of our black robed soldiers and returned to Celina and the rest of the family.
Celina had picked up on rumors that being beaten wasn’t the only way that families were being convinced to follow ‘Seth, the savior of Gormesol’. She couldn’t get details, but the beaten men and women seemed to feel they’d gotten off easy. There were grumbles that a group that claimed to be all about love could be so violent, heartless and manipulative. Once we returned to Krose, I knew that I’d have to look into the black robes’ actions here, but we were gaining a huge number of followers. At least some good was coming out of this fiasco.
Finally, the reason I’d come in the first place was brought before me. Dylon, Ralph, Willow and three sleazy looking, elderly men were herded to the center of town to meet me. I scanned them all for magic killing ammo as they were brought down the street.
I offered them a friendly smile. “Hello, Willow, you’re still as pretty as I remember.”
She spat at me. “Shut up, you hateful little man, and get it over with. I’d rather die than join your group or be subjected to what your men are doing.”
I shook my head. “I’ve heard what some of the men have been doing and steps have been taken to stop it. I’m not like some who would have someone tortured and killed because of a mistake. I have decided that the people of Gormesol would be better without the six of you in the country. Behind you, there are packs with gear and money to help you get started in a new place. I’d be careful and stick together while you’re there, because it isn’t as safe as this country. Please pick up your packs and we’ll be done with this business.”
Celina stepped up beside me and I offered my other hand to a confused Raven. We joined and found Sabia, thousands of miles away. I found a place close to a large, well developed city and ported the group together. Both my and Celina’s magic dropped drastically from porting so many, so far. I winked at Celina and kept a grip on Raven. We both grinned at the pretty young lady who recharged our magic reserves faster than we could have dreamed possible. We scanned her while she stared at us, still looking confused. She completely filled both of our magic reserves and her own psi center never even flickered.
Celina released me and hugged the still-confused Raven. “We have to talk when we get home. I don’t think that anyone in the world has met anyone like you.” Raven just smiled and nodded, then we went back to work healing, relieved that the reason I’d come was complete.
Finally the wounded quit coming and word was sent that everyone was to meet on the south side of town. We had picked up scores of new members who weren’t yet in robes and stood out from the rest of us. They were instructed to follow along behind my family and me. Handsome young men and all of the girls in light blue and white mingled with the new followers, making them feel very welcome. I watched as they moved through the crowd and picked up on where their hands brushed and the quiet, seductive whispers. I knew that our group was supposed to be based on love, and realized that what they were offering wasn’t really love at all.
The wagons that carried our supplies were even more loaded than before. Under the tarps I could sense gold, silver and other valuables. I was feeling more and more concerned about the cult-like raid that I’d just been a part of. All the newcomers seemed healthy and happy to be with us. They all played with their children, and kissed their significant others happily. Maybe I was wrong and there was nothing really out of place here. The valuables should come with us instead of being left for vandals or thieves. Our group, with the farm and well, was pretty self-sufficient, but we would need money from time to time and that had to come from somewhere. The new converts didn’t need anything because everything, including their clothes, would be provided for them.
We began our march and very soon left the road behind us. Instead of taking the road east and then north as I’d expected, we were taking a southeast tack. I told Celina and the others that I’d be back, then flew over the crowd to land between Joshua and Rufin.
“Joshua, I’m not much of a mapmaker, but I can’t help but notice we’re not heading straight home. Do we have another stop to make along the way?”
Joshua chuckled. “Rufin and I discussed it, and after we saw how well things went in Ashqia, we hoped for a repeat. Susal attacked one of our own early on and you and your sister had to save him. Later, they sent armed men that attacked and wounded a few. If you hadn’t been there for that, it could have been much worse. We’ll just make a quick run through the town, top off our coffers and hopefully pick up more people. The mines are always shorthanded.”
I shook my head. “Joshua, this is getting out of hand. I’ve seen more violence today from my loving group than I have in my entire life. How can I try to spread a message of love when I treated women who had been slapped around by our men? If I see that happening in this town, I’m going to have to take the side of the unarmed citizens. I would hate to have the loyalties of our people torn by their violence.”
Joshua nodded. “I understand completely, Seth. I’ll spread the word that no violence is to be used except in self-defense. I saw some of the things that were done, and it bothered me, too. When you get a bunch of soldier types hyped up and their blood heated, they can get heavy handed. You’ve made our group what we are and I wouldn’t want that damaged by some men’s foolishness.”
“Good, I’m really relieved that we understand each other. I’ve come to love my home in Krose. I’m going to go back to my place in line and do my part, but I will be on the lookout for troublemakers on the morning after next.”
I flew back to my spot and chuckled at the ohh’s and ahh’s from the new members traveling behind us. We marched on until dinner time and separated our camp from everyone else. The ladies fixed dinner for Warin and me while we chatted and shared our concerns. He seemed to have some of the same problems with the events that had transpired. He told me that he’d even heard some of the other soldiers bragging that they’d raped a man’s wife and teenaged daughter to get him to join. As a husband and a father, even the thought of that made my blood run cold. In Eredwynn, rape was a capital crime. The convicted offender would never offend again. When we returned to Krose, I planned to look into that and see if that kind of thing had happened. If so, it would become a capital crime here, too.
As we crawled into our tents that night, I wondered if I’d be able to relax and find sleep. All the stories that I’d heard reminded me of cult stories that my father had told us. He knew that we’d be powerful and the temptation would be there. I kept asking myself if it were possible for someone to accidently start a cult.
I tossed and turned, but since I was laying between Raven and Tina, my two most insatiable girls, they figured out a way to get me to relax and sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
We woke early and hit the trail once again. The plan was similar to the one from the town before. We were to camp five miles outside the town limits and keep people from escaping or reporting that we were there. We were making good time and were expected to arrive at our next camp shortly after noon. Joshua and Rufin wanted a full day with daylight to look for the perpetrators of violence on our community, and to recruit.
We skipped stopping for lunch so the girls, Warin and I unloaded food and distributed it among the children that we’d picked up. Adults can understand having to wait for a few hours, but when the kids are hungry, they’re hungry. The parents were grateful, but many of the women would flinch away whenever Warin and his black robes would get close. When we finished feeding the young ones, Warin pulled me aside.
“Seth, I fear more was done to these folks than we know. I ain’t got magic but I could feel their fear and anger towards me. I hope it was my robe and not me personally.”
“Sadly, I agree. When we get home, I’m going to look into what has been done and by whom. I hope you can locate the men you heard bragging, because they’ll be the first ones to learn that I can do the opposite of heal. This little adventure is nothing like what I’d hoped. All I wanted to do was find the people who had abducted me and exile them.”
Warin sighed. “I wish that’s all that had happened. Celina and I both had trouble sleeping after what occurred, or what we suspect occurred.”
We walked along and drifted back to our normal places. I knew my sis was shielded, but seeing the very protective, very large man with her made me feel better.
Roughly ten miles from Susal, the soldiers began spreading out into a skirmish line. I thought it was odd until I could see over them and make out a line of people standing between us and the town. The recruits saw what was happening and stopped advancing, gathering their children to them.
We all started walking faster so we could see what was going on and be at the front when we were needed for healing and care. Suddenly the sky was filled with dozens of signaling sparks spells. The sparks were red; Celina and I stopped so quickly that the girls behind us almost ran over us. From the time we’d le
arned our colors, we’d been taught that red meant stop, danger or stay away. Seeing that also told us that the soldiers, who had so enthusiastically engaged unarmed men and women, were about to walk into a line of trained wizards. For there to be so many wizards, so far from home, I was sure that my father was there, too. That would also include my siblings, including the scary, powerful mage, Davie. If those men attacked my family with Davie there, the fight would be over.
I looked at Cel and she nodded. We took to the air, rose thirty feet so they could see us coming, and flew out to meet the wizards. Several of them flew up and came to meet us. Our father, mother and siblings James, Davie, Lia and Alec joined us in the sky.
Father amplified his voice as he approached. “You two don’t have any intention of attacking, do you?”
I amplified and responded, “Of course not, Father! Nothing in this world could make me hurt my family!”
We closed the gap and father shook his head. “Do you even know what’s been happening here? I was alerted, by a couple level fours that have blended in with the townsfolk of Krose, when you marched. We arrived at the town of Ashqia after you'd departed. Your Aunt Chloe and Aunt Isabel are still there and have been going door to door, doing what they can. The last report I had stated that they’d found fifty dead and at least twenty cases of sexual assault. Please tell me this atrocity hasn’t been done on your orders.”
“Father, I can assure you that I knew nothing about that. During our time in that town, Cel and I stayed in the middle of the town and healed anyone that came to us. We saw that some of the men and women had been mistreated and I talked to the Elder and Captain in charge. They assured me that the violence would stop. Celina’s fiancé told me that he’d overheard some disturbing things, and I planned to look in to it. Sadly, this whole thing is my fault.”
Seth, A Naiad's Son (Generations of Eredwynn Book 3) Page 18
