Gods Of Blood And Fire (Book 1)

by A. J. STRICKLER

  Bishop Lyfair had stayed on the council due to the fact William Blackthorn had told Cain no one knew more about the domestic workings of the Kingdom than Lyfair, and the Church could also be very helpful quelling the commoners if they became unruly.

  All other nobles had been told to return to their individual land holdings and the new King would deal with them individually in time. Cain was pleased with the choices he made. The new high council was men who supported the new King and his vision for Bandara’s future. The council was not as large but Duke Blackthorn said a smaller council meant fewer arguments.

  The duke’s experience had been invaluable in the last few days. Cain was just glad the meetings were over for now. He needed some sleep desperately. Duke Blackthorn stopped him as the meeting adjourned. “You’re doing a fine job, Majesty. I think the Kingdom is finally in good hands.”

  Cain’s face reddened a tad with pride. “Thank you, Lord Blackthorn, that pleases me greatly coming from a man like you.”

  The older man put his hand on the new King’s shoulder, “If I can be of any help, Majesty just ask. I believe my son would like to speak with you now.”

  William lowered his voice and winked. “I think it has to do with your sister.”

  Cain nodded, the last thing he wanted to think about was Raygan. He hadn’t had the courage to go and see his sister yet and he really didn’t want to discuss her with Talorn, but he had little choice. He had promised her to the knight and he would fulfill his end of the bargain. He shook Duke Blackthorn’s hand and excused himself. Cain caught the eye of his new general across the room and motioned for Talorn to meet him in the King’s private office across from the council chambers.

  “Majesty, may I have a word?” Bishop Lyfair called out as he was heading through the door.

  “I have a meeting with Talorn Bishop. What is it?”

  “I wanted to know when you would like to have the coronation ceremony Highness. You must be ordained by the Church before you are truly King of Bandara.”

  “It will just have to wait, I’m far too busy to bother with it now.”

  The Bishop frowned. “But Majesty the Church can’t recognize you until you are properly crowned. Until then, you’re not the true ruler of Bandara in the Eyes of God.”

  Cain smiled. “I assure you eminence, only I rule in Bandara.” Cain gave the Bishop a condescending pat on the shoulder and walked away.

  “As you wish, Prince Cain,” Lyfair said under his breath.

  The council hall had emptied except for William Blackthorn and Bishop Lyfair. The Bishop walked over to his co-conspirator after his unsatisfying discussion with the young Prince. “What is it now, Father? I have a great deal to do today.”

  Lyfair looked around then moved closer to Duke Blackthorn and lowered his voice. “You seem very sure that the … incident with the King will go unchallenged.”

  “Who’s going to challenge it, Father?”

  Lyfair lowered his voice to a whisper now. “I have been thinking the healer Averton perhaps, and there were two of the King’s guard there also. They didn’t see, but they may have heard or suspect what happened.”

  “Didn’t you hear, Father? Averton fell from a window in the palace library two days ago. Tragic, I told the staff not to bother anyone with the details since the palace has had enough turmoil and bad news this week.” Blackthorn pushed his chair into the huge table and picked up his cloak. “As for the two guards, they are now on their way to the Bluff. I asked the King if they could take a message there for me as well as the King’s decrees on my new titles and the deeds to the lands Talorn and I have recently acquired.” He leaned close to the Bishop’s ear. “I don’t think those two will be leaving the Bluff, not alive anyway.” Lyfair could only step back and look at the new duke.

  The Bishop was shocked by how glib the man was about murder. “God help you, William.”

  “He already has, Father, he already has.

  Cain sat down at the desk in the King’s office. He would have to change the décor in here, there were too many reminders of his father. He didn’t want anything around that made people remember the weak old man. It was just an irritation he would have to put up with for now. Talorn had followed him in and closed the door.

  His general sat down in a chair opposite him. Cain looked at him, “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “Do you remember Morgan Galnic?”

  “I do,” the King said. “He was one of the boys that attended riding class with us all those years ago. We spent the summer pretending we were knights. I remember it well. Why?”

  “I thought he would be a good choice as a junior officer. I helped him train for the last tournament. He is from a noble family and he’s a good man. I thought of giving him a commission.”

  Cain put his feet on his father’s old desk and looked at the ceiling. “Well, Morgan won’t be available to aid you, Talorn. He and his family were among some of the nobles that questioned my right to rule right after father died. They came to the palace and complained that Raygan had been named successor and they supported Father’s insane decree. So I had the whole lot imprisoned. Morgan was among the dissidents. You’ll just have to find someone else.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know,” Talorn said hanging his head.

  Cain put his feet back on the floor and looked at his friend knowingly. “Was there something else?”

  “Have you talked to her yet?”

  “No, I haven’t and I don’t intend to anytime soon. If you want to tell her about your impending nuptials, you tell her. If you hadn’t noticed, I have been a little busy.”

  Talorn shook his head. “I know you have been occupied with state business, Majesty, and I would talk to her. I just think it should come from her brother the King, besides she ordered me not to come back to see her.”

  Cain stood. “Why do you listen to her? I think you are afraid of a tiny fifteen-year-old girl.”

  “I am not afraid of anything, Majesty, I just think you should be the one to break the news.”

  Cain folded his arms and smiled. “It’s not like she can say no. She will marry who I choose, it’s her duty.”

  “I don’t think she will take it well coming from me,” Talorn said.

  Cain laughed. “And you think she will be more accepting if I tell her? I nearly killed her a few days ago.” The two men looked at each other and smiled. Both realized neither wanted to talk to the Princess.

  “My pardon, Majesty, I must admit I’m a bit nervous, you know my history with women.”

  Cain smirked. “You have no history with women. Look Talorn, I know Raygan, whoever tells her she won’t take it well. We need a neutral party to break the news and absorb her initial fury, make no mistake there will be a tantrum. Then after she calms down, you can speak with her about it. Why you want to marry her in the first place is what I would like to know, the girl is a selfish tart.”

  “Majesty, please stop insulting her. At least in front of me, I beg you. I have loved Raygan for a long time I just … well you know I have a hard time talking to women. Once we’re together though I think she will come around she’s still young and…” Talorn saw Cain grinning at him. The knight stopped talking, realizing he had been speaking his thoughts.

  The new King shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “I know you must love the little beast, just remember I warned you. Now try to think of someone we can get to telling her.”

  Both men sat in silence for a moment. A big smile spread across Cain’s face. “I know just the man for the job.” Cain walked over and jerked open the door. The servants had begun cleaning up the council room across the hall. Cain pointed at one of the men as he walked into the hallway. “You come here.” The young man hurried over to his King.

  “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  Cain looked at Talorn with a grin on his face “Go find Bishop Lyfair and tell him I want to see him.”

  Bishop Lyfair’s eyes darted back and forth as he passed down
the empty hallway toward the Princess’s quarters. Cain had taken all her servants and guards away. He said it was because Raygan might conspire with them. The real reason was he did not want anyone to see what he had done to her.

  The empty hallway was ominous and made the Bishop uneasy. The eerie corridor made him think of the deranged duke and consider the deplorable pact he had made with him. William Blackthorn was a madman that he could do nothing about. He had heartlessly beaten and smothered King Aaron. Now he had all but said he killed everyone else that was in the vicinity of the murder that night.

  He wasn’t worried that Blackthorn may try to kill him, there was no need. He was just as guilty as if he had killed the King himself. He had stood by and watched. If they were found out, he would hang right alongside Blackthorn. He had begun to have nightmares about it, dreadful nightmares, he had gotten very little sleep the last few days. Lyfair was an intelligent man, he knew it was his guilt that was causing them. Being sent to talk with the Princess and his nightmares were his penance. God had a way of making people suffer for their sins.

  The Bishop lightly knocked on the door to the Princess’s room, hoping no one would answer. “Come in,” he heard someone say, the voice sounded strange. The Bishop slowly opened the door and walked in. He saw the Princess propped up in her bed. He tried to keep the look of revulsion off his face, the girl’s looks were ruined. He had never really liked the young girl, she only had one redeeming attribute and that was her beauty. Now that it was gone, there wasn’t much to like. She had not deserved the beating she had gotten from the new King. He had nearly killed her that night. The way she looked now, the Bishop felt like it might have been a blessing if Talorn had let Cain had finish the job.

  “Princess, may I speak with you?”

  “No, you may not.”

  Raygan turned her face away, refusing to look at the holy man. It was hard for the Bishop to understand what the Princess was saying. She had to speak with her teeth clenched and the swelling in her jaw didn’t help the situation.

  The Bishop walked closer to the bed, this was going to be like dealing with a child, Lyfair thought. “I must speak with you, Highness, it’s the King’s own order.

  She turned to face him. Now that he was closer Lyfair could see her poor face more clearly, it was truly a mess, if Blackthorn hadn’t killed King Aaron one look at his precious daughter’s face would have. “I care very little about what my brother has to say, Bishop Lyfair.”

  Her jaw moved like a wagon with a broken wheel when she tried to speak and she winced in pain with every word. “Highness, please let me speak the King’s word and I will leave you in peace.”

  Raygan glared at him with fury in her eyes.

  “Very well, speak quickly and be gone.” The Bishop cleared his throat. “Princess Raygan Albana you are to be wed to General Talorn Blackthorn Lord of Southern Bandara heir to the Duchy of Braxton Bluff in the fall. The King expects you to do your duty and accept the Lord General as your husband.”

  Her lip had begun to quiver and tears ran down her face dripping on the satin pillow she clutched to her breast. “I’m truly sorry, Highness, I…”

  “Get out now!” Raygan grasped her face in pain the shout had cost her.

  “As you wish, good day, Highness.”

  She didn’t have to say it twice. He did not want to be there in the first place. Lyfair turned and quickly left the room. He could hear the Princess weeping as he walked back down the shadowy hall, it sounded more like a wounded cat than a young girl. He was too old for this. Cain should have attended to this task himself. Maybe the new King didn’t have as much backbone as William thought. The King and his general were both too craven to talk with the Princess themselves. And why did Talorn want to marry the Princess now anyway? He could not understand, the girl was disfigured and she was not known for her sweet disposition. It didn’t matter, he would tell the King the Princess had been informed of her impending nuptials and the subject would be closed. He needed to return to the church, he needed a nap and maybe Selmac could give him something for his aching head.

  She would never marry Talon Blackthorn. Not in the fall or any other season. So that is what Cain had in store for her. Marry her off to one of his cronies. If she were a man she would challenge him for the throne, her claim was just as strong as his now. All the nobles of Bandara had heard what her father said. She had no chance though, Cain would simply imprison her or have her killed. She had no army and few of the powerful nobles would support her. Fulfilling the promise she made her father was hopeless.

  She might not be able to fight Cain for the throne, but she would not cooperate with this marriage. Raygan decided right then she would run and leave Bandara behind before she married Talorn. The very thought terrified her, but she would not allow herself to become the wife of Cain’s arrogant friend. First she needed to get better, then she would bury her father. Raygan hoped Isabella was having some luck finding someone to help her.

  Isabella had asked everyone in the Great Market of Turill who the best healer in the city was. Everyone had a different answer. The healers she had checked on seemed little better than Selmac. She knew Raygan would not stand for any of them to treat her injuries.

  She had left the market district; there was one more name she had acquired from an old man with no legs. Rhys Morgan. The old man said he didn’t have a place in the market. The healer worked out of a small two-story house by the northern gate. That area was the poorest district in the city. Why he had his practice there and not in the market district was a mystery to Isabella.

  By the time Isabella approached the street where she had been told the healer lived, her feet were aching and she was tired of walking. It was late in the afternoon and well past lunchtime. She thought about turning back. She would just tell the Princess that she couldn’t find a healer better than Selmac. Isabella thought about how disappointed the Princess would be, and she wasn’t a very good liar anyway. So she decided to push on, feet throbbing and belly growling.

  The house was not hard to find, there was a line of perhaps twenty people coming out of a two-story shack on the corner.

  She asked a young boy with a bandaged hand at the back of the line, “Is this where the healer Rhys Morgan lives?”

  “Oh yes, Mother said he could fix my hand.”

  “What happened to it?”

  The boy frowned. “A dog bit one of my fingers off.” The handmaiden shook her head and looked at the length of the line. It was going to take a while if she stood in line. So Isabella tried to make her way up onto the porch where the line started. She thought if she told this healer Morgan that the Princess was inquiring about him she could skip the wait.

  As the girl made her way up, several men in the line stopped her. The handmaiden tried telling them she was there on the Princess’s order. They didn’t believe her. They laughed and told her to get to the back of the line. There was little choice but to wait.

  She caught a glimpse of the healer as he came out to greet his next patient. He was much younger than she thought, around Cain’s age she guessed. He was handsome. Isabella liked the way he wore his brown hair pulled back to show his kind face. The healer had a lean build, but what stood out the most were his pale blue eyes. The Princess would like him. Even if his skills were not the best her lady would like his looks. She decided this was the one.

  Isabella noticed while she waited that this surgeon seemed to take anything as payment chickens, cheese, a goat. One man even brought him a stack of firewood. He would walk them out onto his porch take whatever they gave pat them on their back and wished them well. Isabella wondered if it was some kind of trick, no one was that kind at least no one she had ever met.

  It was well after dark when she got her turn. The young healer came out on to the porch drying his hands with a rag. “What do you need, young lady?” Isabella nervously pulled her blonde hair behind her ears. “I need you to come with me to the palace, please.”

  The
physician looked amused. “Why is there someone sick?”

  Isabella could tell he didn’t believe her and was just going along. “My lady bid me to find her a healer and bring them to her.”

  “Really well, who is your lady ah...?”

  “My name is Isabella and I serve Princess Raygan Albana.”

  The young man tried not to smile. “I’m quite sure the Princess has a royal healer to tend to her needs.”

  “She doesn’t like him,” the handmaiden said, yawning.

  “That’s quite the story, Isabella, but all you had to do was say you need my help, and I would have come there’s no need for the big story.”

  Isabella was too tired and hungry to argue with him. “Will you come with me then?”

  “Yes, let me get my things.” Rhys put on a clean shirt and his short jacket and grabbed his bag of instruments and the small leather case that contained the herbs and ingredients he used in his medications. Isabella was waiting on the porch when he came out. With all the bags he looked like he was going on a trip.

  “I am ready, lead on, Isabella. Is it your house we are going to then? Is one of your family members sick?”

  Isabella sighed. “I told you where we were going.”

  “Oh right, the palace.” Rhys chuckled.

  A while later as they walked through the gates of the palace the guards nodded to Isabella and let her and the healer pass without question. Isabella looked out of the corner of her eye at her companion. “This is the palace healer.”

  Rhys looked down at the girl astonished. “Oh bloody hell.”

  Isabella watched the healer examine the Princess. He was gentle and seemed to know what he was about. He had introduced himself to the Princess, told her to lie still, and went right to work.

  When he finished Rhys had pulled the chair from Raygan’s dressing table over near her bed and sat down. “Your injuries are severe, Highness, how did you get them if I may ask?”

  “It was a riding accident a few days ago.”

  “Begging your pardon, Highness, but those injuries aren’t from any riding accident.”