Jak’s entire life had been turned upside down that fateful night in the cave in the mountains of Hlifglynn. His entire family, except for Gin had been ripped from him and been slaughtered by the Blood Witch. But now even Gin was gone. Jak’s home and everything he had was gone. All he had ever wanted to do was find Brigette whom he loved, just to be with her again. Why was this happening to him? It wasn’t fair. He wasn’t a monster.
Was he now in-fact chained together with the Blood Witch, the woman who had butchered his family and turned him into this monster that everyone thought he was. It couldn’t be. Jak would not believe it. Benjim had said that the witch was clever. She had somehow fooled all of the people into thinking Brigette was the witch. Now he and Brigette were suffering because of the Blood Witch’s evil.
Jak wondered if he had gone mad. If he were mad, would he actually know it? Would he care if he were mad? The problem was he did care. He cared what happened to Gin his baby sister. He cared that these men were hurting Brigette. He had cared about Benjim and Nicoldani since they had been his closest friends, almost family to him. But they had turned their backs on him, and allowed this to happen without even trying to stop it. Why?
Bitterness and anger welled up inside Jak and began to fester and grow. He would make them all pay for what they had done to Brigette and him. Everyone would pay!
The armed men pried the pair loose from the deck where the spike had pinned them. Rolling them partially over they started to lift them when the man who had taken Jak’s dagger spoke again, “On second thought, I want nothing that belongs to this witch’s spawn. It is probably tainted with their evil.”
With those words, the man returned the dagger to Jak. But instead of placing behind it his belt where it had been, the man thrust it into Jak’s chest next to the protruding wooden spike. Oddly, the steel blade felt cool and almost soothing in contrast to the agony of the wooden spike.
Finally, the armed men hoisted the pair, which were bound together with chains and linked together with the wooden spike, and dropped them roughly into a large iron box that was in the center of the ship. The pair landed with Jak facing up, on top of Brigette.
What strength he had left was fading and his vision was becoming dim. The last thing Jak saw was the large iron lid being placed over the box sealing them inside. The only comfort Jak had before darkness overcame him was that at least he was going to die with Brigette.
Epilogue
Rumors flew far and wide as if on wings, north to Kragston and south to Varna, many eventually even making their way far to the west, where they would be dismissed as just rumors carried by travelers. Some said that the Blood Witch was free and wreaking havoc somewhere in the east, possibly in Varna, or Yilavo City. They said that she had killed all the leaders and taken control of the city and the people of the city were being sacrificed in offering to the witch to satiate her evil desires.
Some rumors said the witch had never been freed and probably never even existed in the first place. People that told stories of her, or believed in her were all fools. The witch was nothing more than a legend or myth used to frighten children into obeying their parents. There were no such things as witches and monsters.
Others said that the devil had freed the Blood Witch and taken her as his lover. Together they had killed everyone in their path that opposed them. Thousands were flocking to support them to keep from being exterminated. The witch had gathered a great army in the east and was preparing to conquer the whole world. But even the people that spread this rumor didn’t really believe it.
Still others mourned the loss of their Great Mistress. They had dedicated their whole lives to her in hope of her inevitable return someday. Once she was finally freed and did return she was taken from them again. But those that did mourn the witch, mourned in secret. They would watch and wait for her eventual return, as they had for so long before.
Many agreed that a great and powerful Arch-Mordji from ancient days returned to save them and bind the Blood Witch, once more saving the world from her terrible reign. The Arch-Mordji had laid waste to Yilavo City in the great struggle. He had called lighting and fire from the sky destroying everything. Now there was nothing left of the city. Or perhaps it was Varna or Hellstone that had been destroyed.
Some in Yilavo City thought they knew the truth. The witch had been freed and managed to almost take control over their city by murdering the magistrate. She had spread discord and chaos turning people against one another. In the end, an old man and a great warrior had overcome and captured her. They had captured her, along with her lover, a young man who had posed as their friend, but in the end had betrayed them in favor of the witch. Now he would share her fate for his betrayal.
But a small girl knew the truth. Gin sat atop Hofsi looking back over Yilavo City from the edge of the Lihali Plateau. Her heart was heavy and tears rimmed her eyes. She knew that her big brother had sacrificed himself for the world. The reason didn’t matter. She knew Jak loved Brigette and thought it had been her instead of the witch. Maybe there was a part of Brigette that was in the witch. But no matter what the reason, her big brother, the only family she had left, had sacrificed himself to save everyone.
The small odd party, an old man, a huge warrior, and a tiny girl, turned and set off towards the north. With tears streaming down her face, Gin vowed she would never forget her brother Jak.
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Coming Soon, Book 2 of The Blood Reign Chronicles
D. S Nielsen, The Blood Reign Chronicles
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
The Blood Witch (The Blood Reign Chronicles Book 1) Page 38
