Brothers of Blood (Fall of a King Book 2)

by James Fuller

  The commotion within the camp had slowly died down as wagers were replaced and acrimonious fights were broken up and settled. The atmosphere that hung within the air was still one of treacherous intent. Men from each slaving group mingled little now - each group seemed to find it necessary to stay within their own designated area of the Lance’s camp.

  Zehava and Dahak were chained upright, their arms stretched painfully; they tried to take as much weight off with their toes but it was a futile effort.

  “You should not have done that,” Dahak said, his voice no more than a whisper.

  “What was I to do? Just let you be killed?”

  Dahak’s head lowered. “Maybe it would have been best.”

  “How can you even say that?” Zehava scoffed, turning as best he could to look at his dearest friend.

  “What did you really save me from?” Dahak lifted his eyes to meet Zehava’s. “If they do not kill us today because of what you have done, I will be killed in the pit, the next time they throw me in. Even if I do win - once, twice, thrice even - the end result will be the same. I will be killed before long.” He turned his eyes away. “I am not like you, Zehava - I am not a fighter. I cannot do this.”

  “Look at me!” Zehava ordered, and when Dahak finally complied, he continued. “I know you better than anyone else and I know this in an impossible position for you to be in. But you need to pull yourself together in any way you can. There is more to this than just our lives,” he paused and looked around, ensuring no one was within hearing distance, “we have to think of our Queen and how to stay alive, until we can find a way out of this!”

  Dahak chuckled weakly. “Let us cut the show - you know as well as I that I will not make it out of this alive. I have made my peace with it, Zehava - you should do the same.”

  Zehava was about to protest when Lance and Mitch stalked across the camp and stopped in front of the cell. Both were dour and cold.

  “I have thought long and hard about how I should I appropriately punish you for your ‘offence’,” Lance began. “See first, I thought I would just have you beaten within an inch of your life a few times and have Elsrath repair any severe damage. But that would be lost profit to me, since it would likely incapacitate you for at least a week and you have already cost me enough coin this day. Then, I thought to myself, I will make you watch as I have the skin peeled from your friend’s body. But, once more, I was conflicted by loss of profit. Not that he is worth much to me, seeing as he has shown he is worthless in the pit, but I can hold on to some hope that he will win at least once to help repay what you have cost me today.” Lance licked his lips as his face glowed with malicious intent. “I have come up with the perfect balance of punishment and justice for this outrage, one that has even smoothed things over with Jeriki.” Lance turned his attention to the female slave house. The door opened and Jeriki stepped out, Shania in tow. Her eyes lifted to look across at Dahak but quickly dropped back to the ground as she was led to Jeriki’s side of the camp.

  “I would have picked the other myself,” Mitch said with a grin.

  “NO!” Dahak tried to throw himself forward, but it did little more than make him swing back and forth as his toes scrapped across the stone beneath him.

  “Now see what you have done?” Lance mocked, relishing in Dahak’s violent outburst. “Not only is that poor girl about to be punished for your actions, your friend here is also going to be punished, as he knows the fate you brought upon his woman.” Lance locked eyes with Zehava’s murderous stare. “Consider this your only warning - if you defy me again, I will allow every man in this camp between the legs of those two whores and you will watch every moment of it!” Lance turned and walked away as Dahak continued his uncontrollable rage.

  Chapter 9

  Jewel looked up from the desk of paperwork to the exhausted messenger who stood in the doorway. She rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, searching for an acceptable reason to send the man away. She could think of none, so she pushed the pile of paperwork to the side. Paperwork almost seemed a mundane chore now. None of it would matter when they lost the castle, yet she did it and had to wonder if it was to keep her mind off everything else. “What news do you have for me, Jonah?”

  The young man stepped forward nervously. “We have pushed them back once more, my Lady,” Jonah replied, yet his tone did not hold pleasure or enthusiasm.

  “That is most welcome news.” Jewel rose from her seat and moved closer. “What else do you need to tell me?”

  The young, blond-haired man licked his lips uneasily. “Well, my Lady, the General said…well he said we would not have enough arrows to stave off another attack and he believes the enemy may know this too.”

  Jewel nodded. “I was afraid of that, Jonah, though it does not come as a surprise.” She retrieved her crystal wine goblet from the desk and finished its amber contents in a single swallow. “Would you like some?” She asked the messenger as she seized the half-full bottle and refilled her glass.

  Jonah fretfully took a step forward and then quickly thought better of it and retreated back, near the door. “No, my Lady, I… I am all right.”

  Jewel snorted in amusement. “Come now, Jonah,” she held the wine bottle towards him. “Have a drink with me. I could use the company.”

  “Do you have another glass?” He asked as he took the bottle.

  “Jonah…you are a soldier, are you not?”

  “Well, yes, but I do not see how that matters, my Lady.”

  Jewel stepped forward and clicked her glass against the bottle. “We need no formalities tonight.”

  “Yes, my Lady.” He smiled clumsily taking a long swig of wine. “Lady, there is something I wish to know?”

  “What is it, Jonah?”

  “If we lose the castle and use the underground cavern to escape, then what?” He fidgeted with the expensive bottle.

  Jewel took in a deep breath - she had been thinking of this very thing just before he had arrived. The fire and smoke that had engulfed Dragon’s Cove for nearly a fortnight was gone; it was now a matter of holding the walls until the walkway in the underground cavern could be finished. Until then, they had to hold the enemy back - they had to survive, but all the odds were against them. Why the enemy’s Gifted had not joined in the attacks lately was of little comfort, but she knew they would not stand idle for long.

  The prolonged heat and smoke had taken their toll on everyone and the soldiers were feeling the effects of dehydration. Their lungs and throats burned and many often broke out into uncontrolled coughing fits, making it nearly impossible to fight. The fires that had trapped them within the castle had burned through all three of the large wooden gates. They had done their very best to barricade the entrances but it was a futile - it would buy them very little time when the fighting began.

  Dragon Cove’s food supply was nearly gone. The rations that were given to everyone were barely enough to take the hunger pains from their bellies. Even though they had done their best to bring the livestock to the coolest parts of the castle, the heat and smoke had gotten to the animals and nearly half had fallen ill and succumbed to death. They had tried their best to use what meat they could, but the intense heat accelerated the rotting process. They were in the most dire of conditions and could not last much longer.

  The walkway was going smoothly but they were still days from being at the exit Ursa had found, which meant they would need Lepha and Antiel’s Gift. They would have to freeze the water the rest of the way, as Ursa had done, and that left Jewel with a painful decision to make.

  “We will have to abandon Dragon’s Cove and everyone knows it. We will use the escape route as intended and from there, our only option is to travel to Draco Castle as quickly as we can.”

  Jonah took another long swallow of the high quality wine - he had never had the privilege of having anything like it before. “I realize that, my Lady, but…” he paused gathering his words, “but will we not be at just as big a risk of
being killed out there? I mean, we will be escorting a large group of defenseless refugees halfway across the kingdom. It is not like we will be able to hide that large of a group from the enemy. If they spot us - and likely they will - what is to stop them from pursuing and overwhelming us?”

  Jewel mulled over the young man’s words - it had been something that had come up, days before, but not something anyone had spent too much time considering, as other matters were of higher importance. “I understand what you are saying, Jonah, and I wish I had an answer for you, but I do not. We will just have to pray for the best and hope we can slip far enough from their sights.”

  “I… I do have an idea, my Lady,” Jonah stuttered out. “It is not a very good idea, and it… it holds much risk.”

  “Anything we do holds much risk at this point,” Jewel said. “Please, give voice to your idea.”

  “If we form a small force of seasoned fighters, who know the land well enough to leave well in advance of us, they can mount distracting attacks, in the hopes of leading the enemy away from where our people will be. After several days, they can rejoin us on the road to Draco,” Jonah explained to her. “It should buy us enough time to get everyone far enough away.”

  Jewel raised a brow at the young man. “Jonah, may I ask how old you are?”

  His eyes drifted to the floor in shame. “Just entered my twentieth year, my Lady - I am sorry it was a foolish idea.” He tried to hand her back the nearly empty bottle of wine, but she refused to take it.

  “At just twenty, and you have come up with a well-versed plan, that may very well save thousands of innocent people. No, Jonah, that was not a foolish plan…that is a wise plan and one that just might work.”

  “Thank you, my Lady,” Jonah stammered out, his cheeks flushed.

  “Quickly, Jonah, finish your wine and then set out to find me the General. I will need to speak to him about this.”

  Jonah finished the wine and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “Yes, my Lady, right away.”

  “Jonah,” Lady Jewel called to the young man before he had managed more than a few eager steps. “I want you to return with the General; this is your idea and I want you there when we discuss it.”

  The young man beamed with pride. “Yes, of course, my Lady.”

  Jewel turned back to the desk, her heavy soul feeling slightly lifted now, yet the thought of losing everything still weighed heavily upon her.

  “My Lady, my Lady!” The familiar voice of Maria - one of Jewel’s maidservants - cried out as she ran into the office a moment after Jonah had left.

  “What is it, Maria?” Jewel asked, seeing the mounting excitement in the girl’s eyes.

  “It is Lord Marcus, my Lady!” Maria blurted out. “He has awakened!”

  Jewel burst through the chamber door, her eyes instantly locking with her husband’s dark, sunken eyes. “My love! Oh my love, you are awake!” She ran to his bedside, grabbed his hand and held it to her face, desperate to feel his touch once more.

  Marcus smiled weakly at his wife. Even within the dimness of the room, he could see her distress and knew something was not right. “What has happened, my love?” He asked, his voice barely audible. “I do not remember much. I remember not feeling well at Avril’s name day and having to be excused and then…nothing.”

  Jewel could contain her tears no more. “Oh my love, so much has happened…so very much.” All the strength that she had managed to muster over the months of his illness finally broke. She swooned and she collapsed to the floor.

  Jewel woke and found herself within her bed. She wondered if it had all been a dream and if Marcus was still on the verge of death. She pulled herself to her feet, even though her body and mind screamed at her to roll back over and close her eyes. She almost gave in but the loud noises from the hallway roused her from her room.

  She opened her chamber doors and was greeted by swarms of her country folk, moving through the hallways, down toward the water supply and escape tunnel. It had started already and she had missed it. She cursed herself for her apparent weakness and was about to step out into the crowd to find out how long they had before their walls were breached when a familiar voice halted her.

  “My Lady, you have awakened!” Jonah beamed as he pulled her back into her chambers, away from the swarming crowd.

  Jewel grabbed the young man by the shoulders. “Jonah, what is happening, who is directing everyone? Has the enemy already cleared the walls?”

  “Everyone had begun to move to the lower levels of the castle and many are already on their way through the underground river, my Lady. The enemy has not yet attacked, though they have begun amassing together for the final assault.”

  The words cut her like a knife, this was it then - they had lost, all hope was gone. “Who is directing everyone?” Jewel asked.

  Jonah smiled. “Lord Marcus leads us once more, my Lady.”

  The words struck her heart and her eyes glistened with fresh tears. “Jonah, do not toy with my heart.” She swallowed.

  “I would never do such a thing, my Lady. He has awakened…come, I will take you to him.”

  Jonah led Jewel through the crowded castle and out onto the eastern wall’s battlements where the best view of the enemy was to be had. Along the edge of the wall were Master Antiel, Captain Larik and several soldiers; in the middle was Lord Marcus, his boney hands firmly gripping the edge of the battlements for support.

  “It was not a dream,” Jewel whispered in wonderment.

  “No, my Lady, it was not, our Lord is with us once more.” Johan replied as they went to where the group watched the enemy assemble.

  “By the Creator’s will, you have awakened!” Jewel cried as she reached her husband.

  Marcus turned himself around slowly, taking the offered arm of Captain Larik for support. “Not even the clutches of death could keep me from you, my love.” Before another word could be uttered, a loud horn sounded from somewhere to the east - the enemy was on the march.

  “By the gods, can there be no moment of peace?” Jewel bellowed out, anguish at the sudden interruption plain in her voice.

  Marcus gripped his wife’s hand in his own. “It is all right, my love.” He pulled her close and kissed her palm tenderly, as he had done a thousand times before. “There will be time for us again.” He coughed weakly.

  “We must assemble the soldiers to the walls or we will be overrun,” Jewel said, her eyes drifting to the east where she knew the enemy would be arriving from.

  “No, my love, not this time. It is too late for Dragon’s Cove, I would risk no more lives defending it.” His eyes glistened with pain – the words cut deep. “We must escape and save as many as we can.”

  “Then let us hurry away from here,” Jewel urged.

  “Jewel, my sweet, I am going to ask of you something you will not like but I need you to listen to me and obey.” His eyes were serious as they bore into hers. It was a look she had only seen a handful of times. “I need you to go with Jonah, to the underground cavern…and go on without me.”

  “No! I will not leave you here!” Jewel protested in utter shock. “I just got you back! You cannot ask me to do such a thing!”

  Marcus smiled at her. “You will not be leaving me here, my love, for I have no intentions of staying here long. I will be behind you shortly, but I need to see to things before I can follow.”

  “I will stay with you and help you with the final preparations,” Jewel begged, but Marcus was already shaking his head.

  “I need you to go, my love; we do not have time to dance back and forth like this,” Marcus said, his voice firming.

  Jewel opened her mouth to object further, but stopped herself. Marcus was a military man, a wise leader, and knew his people and lands better than anyone alive. His mind was fully capable of seeing to everything that needed doing, even if his body was not. She had spent countless hours every day praying for him to wake so he could take the reins. She leaned in and kissed his lips lovi
ngly. He was doing just that. “I have been waiting for you to return to me - do not keep me waiting for much longer.”

  “I will be with you as soon as possible,” Marcus told her. “Jonah, I am leaving with you the responsibility of guarding my wife.” Jonah stood up straight. “Keep her safe until I return to her.”

  “I will guard her with my life, my Lord,” Jonah replied nervously, shoulders squaring with pride.

  “I pray it will not come to that. With the soldiers who should already be outside distracting the enemy, you should have a clear run to Draco,” Marcus said with an understanding nod to the young man. “Now go swiftly.”

  Marcus caught Jewel’s last glance at him before she disappeared down the stairs; he sighed and prayed that it would not be the last time he saw her in the flesh.

  “She will never forgive you, my Lord,” Captain Larik said, reading his thoughts.

  “I know, Larik, but it had to be done.” Marcus replied slowly, turning back to the marching enemy. “Have you picked a hundred to accompany us to meet up with General Kenden?”

  “The finest and most eager men I could find,” Larik reported.

  “Good - and the score of archers?”

  “The best we have, with all the remaining arrows within the castle.”

  Marcus looked out at the enemy camps and wondered when General Kenden and his hundred would begin their attacks. He turned to Master Antiel, the wizard he had known for nearly a decade. “Are you sure you are up for this, my friend?”

  Antiel nodded as he fingered the two vials within his blue robes the ones Ursa had left for him and Lepha. She had given him hers, knowing what had been planned when he had offered to stay with Lord Marcus. He would need them both if he was to do what was required of him.

  “Do not be a hero my friend - stay only as long as you can and do not risk your life,” Marcus said. “That is an order.”

  *****

  Astaroth stood watching Keithen finish as the skies poured down on him, soaking his hair, clothes and his boots miserably. This time of year, the rains could come without warning, drenching miles of jungle within brief moments and then ceasing, as if they had never occurred. Other times, the rains could last for days, soaking nearly every square inch of the jungle, making travel fraught with peril and often deadly.