Gods Of Blood And Fire (Book 1)

by A. J. STRICKLER

  “Bastard.” Rufio drove his short sword into the man’s groin, slicing through the big tendon there. As he pulled his sword back, a crossbow bolt streaked through the doorway and stuck him high in the chest, spinning him to the floor. Vandarus limped back and helped his friend to his feet. It only took that long for the enemy to get through the doorway.

  Together they stood facing the watchmen. Both were wounded and ready to die with their bloody swords in hand. There was no way out now. Three of them were in the room now and they could see more of the watchmen out on the porch.

  The rain grew heavy and lighting flashed when they heard the first scream. The head of a guardsman standing in the doorway exploded in a shower of gore. Rufio and Vandarus hobbled back as two heads rolled into the room from the front porch. The three already inside the house turned in time to see death come into the room.

  Rufio’s mouth dropped open unprepared for what he saw. The man who came into the room was shirtless and wet from the rain; long black hair clung to his face. That was all the Dragitan could tell before the man moved.

  Rufio could not help but doubt what he witnessed. He looked on as the watchmen died before his eyes. Two went down without their heads and the other with only one leg and one hand. Rhys’s front room, as well as the man that stood before them, was splattered with blood. The newcomer raised his head. “Kian?” Rufio started towards him, but abruptly stopped. A low growl came from deep in the Half Elf’s chest, and his eyes were dilated so big they looked like black marbles.

  Vandarus pull his friend back and they both raised their swords. Kian took a battle stance, both his bloody hands gripping the hilt of the most menacing sword the two men had ever seen.

  Its gray and black blade seemed to swirl like angry storm clouds when flashes from the storm’s lighting reflected off its strange metal. The sword filled the two men with dread, both would rather be facing an army of the city’s watchmen than the thing that stood before them now.

  A female voice cut through the rain and thunder. “Kian. No, stop, it’s Rufio and Vandarus, they are your friends, ease yourself, my love.” He lowered his blade as Endra walked into the room.

  “I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life,” Vandarus said. “What in the hell happened to him?” Rufio asked as he put his sword away.

  Endra looked around the small house “It’s a long story. K’xarr can tell you when he gets in here, first we need to get Rhys to look at your wounds. Where is he and where are my children?” Rufio eased himself into a chair. “He went out the back when the watch came. He took the Princess, our cook, and the children with him. I don’t know if the watch had men out back or not.”

  “Kian, see if you can find the children and Rhys, I will be right behind you. “ The two wounded men watched as Kian went out the back window with inhuman speed. “By all the Gods above and below, Endra, what was that?”

  She looked at Rufio and he could see in her eyes he had angered her. “It’s Kian,” she said hotter than she intended. “I told you something happened to him, now rest and bind your wounds as best as you can. We will be back for you after we find the children and Rhys.” She started to leave then turned back. “Did you say he had a Princess and a cook with him?”

  ***

  The rain was pouring down when she walked out. K’xarr and Cromwell stood waiting. “Where is Ansel?”

  “Around back. Where’s Kian?”

  “I sent him after Rhys and the children. Rufio said he has the Princess of Bandara with him and some cook as well.” Thunder crashed as the storm grew worse.

  K’xarr rubbed the back of his neck. “You think that was a good idea? He’s crazy, Endra, you should keep him close, we are in a city now.”

  “He’s not crazy, damn it, he is just confused and scared.”

  K’xarr started walking to the rear of the house. Cromwell and Endra fell in step behind him. “I’m not going to argue with you right now, Endra. You think he’s scared? He looked at me the other night with those damn cat eyes and I almost shat myself. His mind is gone and after what that wizard did to him, he is the most dangerous man I have ever seen.”

  Endra put her head down and said no more. K’xarr was right in a way. Kian had been very menacing on the trip back from the Adorn Forest, but he had not hurt any of them. Rhys was her only hope, the healer might be the only one who could help him now. “K’xarr, you’re right. I shouldn’t have let Kian go alone, we should find him quickly.”

  They found Kian standing in the doorway of an old stable, nine of the city watch lay in a circle at his feet killed by his deadly blade. K’xarr motioned to Endra, she walked towards him slowly. “Did you find them?” Kian looked up to the ceiling of the stable, there was a hay loft.

  “Children, it’s me, Rhys, it’s Endra.”

  The healer’s head poked out of the hole where a wooden ladder disappeared into the loft. “Is it safe to come down now? The watchmen had us trapped in here. Then some kind of devil came in and killed them all.”

  Endra put her arm around Kian and laid her head on his shoulder. “Yes, come down everything’s fine.” Kian turn his head slightly and looked at her then tilted his head so it touched hers ever so slightly. Endra was glad for the rain. No one could see the tears that ran down her face.

  Chapter 16

  They had went back and retrieved Rufio and Vandarus from Rhys’s house. The rain had washed most of the blood off the two wounded men as they made their way to the abandoned stable.

  K’xarr and Cromwell stacked the bodies of the watchmen Kian had killed in one of the empty horse stalls. Rhys assured them the stable was safe. He had used it before when he had hidden from the Royal Guard.

  K’xarr decided everyone should wait out the storm in the stable, the rain was coming down so hard no one had argued with his decision. The thunder and lightning was so fierce it sounded as if the Gods of War were doing battle right above the city.

  Rhys had tended to both of the wounded men. Their wounds were bad but not life-threatening. Now they were resting comfortably in a stall filled with fresh hay. The stable had been built well, there were very few leaks in its roof so the dusty floor stayed generally dry. It was a good place to hold up for now.

  K’xarr had told Kian to stand guard at the door. He was still mindful of the Half Elf. Kian’s intentions were still unknown to them, and K’xarr was not sure if he even wanted to know what was in the half-breed’s mind.

  The rest of the group besides the wounded men stood in a circle talking and trying to dry off as best they could, everyone that was but Ansel. He stood apart from the others in the back of the building, lurking like a red-headed assassin.

  “Is there anything you can do for him, Rhys?” K’xarr asked. “He hasn’t even spoken since we found him. A kind of madness has taken hold of him. Sometimes it’s as if he doesn’t even know us. I hate to think what might be going through his head.”

  Rhys scratched his head. “From what you told me this Dark One used some kind of magic on him. I would have to know what was done before I could even start to treat him. I have never even heard of anything like this before. I don’t know anything about magic, so whatever I try I would just be guessing. I might do more harm than good. I’m not a wizard, K’xarr, just a simple healer.”

  As he spoke he saw Raygan wonder away from the group towards the back of the stable. She seemed to have no interest in what the others were discussing.

  “There is one thing I can try but it’s dangerous.”

  “He has been through a lot, Rhys. I don’t know how much more he could handle,” Endra said.

  “It’s not a danger to him it’s dangerous for me. I will have to reach into his mind and see what happened to him, his memories will tell me what I need to know.”

  “Can you do that?” Endra asked, skeptical.

  “I have no Idea. I have never actually tried it before, but I was instructed in the process by the old woman who trained me. I warn you, Kian, must cooper
ate with me or it won’t work at all. I can’t invade a mind, only join with a willing one. You may be the only one able to get him to consent to the procedure, Endra. If he does, I will take him into the loft and see what I can find out. ”

  “Of course, I will help anyway I can,” Endra said.

  “Good. I have only one question. Do you think it’s safe for me to be alone with him?”

  “Rhys.”

  “I don’t want to be eaten during the process.”

  Endra scowled at the healer. “I don’t think he would try to eat you, Rhys.”

  The physician raised his eyebrows. “That’s my problem, Endra; you don’t “think” he would do it.”

  Endra just shook her head. “He might try and eat you, Rhys.” Cromwell blurted out. “I saw him run a deer down and kill it on the way back from the forest, and I know you’re not that fast.”

  Endra slapped the Toran’s chest with the back of her hand. “I told you not to say anything about that.”

  K’xarr nodded, ignoring his two companions. “It’s up to you Rhys. Do you feel up to it?”

  “I promised to help anyone I could when I became a healer and I like Kian. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least make an attempt. So, yes, let’s do it.”

  Endra went and got Kian from the front of the stable. She led him by the hand over to Rhys. “You need to go with him, Kian. Rhys is going to try and help you, he is a very good healer, remember? Don’t harm him, nothing he’s going to do will hurt you.”

  Kian looked at the healer as if he was straining to remember. Rhys started up the ladder into the loft. Kian followed, looking back over his shoulder at Endra. The two disappear into the top of the stable.

  “I hope he can do something,” Endra whispered as she stepped onto the ladder.

  K’xarr stepped over close to the woman. “If he can’t, I don’t know what we are going to do with him.”

  It was obvious the man was trying to avoid her. Raygan knew who he was when he walked in with the others. Did he really think she wouldn’t recognize him, even with those silly clothes and that awful beard?

  He stood stock still as she approached. She tried to remember how long it had been since she had seen him. “Are you trying to hide from me, Ansellus?”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t recognize me, Highness. I wanted to clean up a little before I revealed my presence to you, and frankly I didn’t know if you would even remember me.”

  “How could I not remember the man who helped me pick out my first pony and taught me to ride?” She hugged the big man around his waist and he stroked her hair. A tear ran down into his thick red beard.

  “I thought you left Bandara forever after you and father had that fight?”

  “I did for a while, but I could not stay away for too long. I came back a few years ago and have been staying up near the Adorn Forest. Living like a commoner and pouting like a fool. My pride wouldn’t let me come back. Now it’s too late to make amends with your father.”

  “He always loved you, Ansellus, he would have forgiven you in an instant. He was troubled for a long time after you left. My father was just not a warrior and he didn’t understand your ways or how you military men think. He never understood the violence in men’s hearts.”

  Ansellus nodded his agreement. “Your father was a kind and gentle man. I wish I didn’t have my family’s hot temper. Things might have been different if I would have listened to your father. I just had to have my way.” Ansellus stepped back holding the Princess by her shoulders. “Let’s not talk about past regrets. Tell me what has happened since your father’s death, is Cain doing well as King?”

  “Oh, Ansellus, you have no idea what has happened. It has been a nightmare for me.”

  “Tell me and start from the beginning.”

  “Father got sick and I had been taking care of him.” She stopped and looked around. “Let’s find a place to sit, this might take a while.”

  K’xarr was staring out the stable door into the pouring rain when Cromwell walked up. “Seems we are sharing the stable with royalty, how do you like that? Did you ever think we would get within spitting distance of a Princess?”

  K’xarr looked back over his shoulder where Ansel and Raygan sat talking. “She and Ansel seem awfully friendly. She acts like she knows him, don’t you think?”

  Cromwell studied the two for a moment. “I would say yes. Princesses like her don’t usually sit down and start talking to strangers, especially ones that are wearing kilts.”

  K’xarr looked at his friend, “When did you become versed in what Princesses do and do not do?”

  Cromwell shrugged.

  K’xarr glanced at the stall that held the two wounded men. “Do you know who that is with the skillet?”

  Cromwell looked over where Rufio and Vandarus rested. A young man had brought the two some water and was talking quietly with them. “You mean the beefy one?”

  K’xarr sighed. “Yes, the beefy one, do you see anyone else in here with a skillet?”

  Cromwell looked around. “No, I don’t.”

  K’xarr hit his head with the palm of his hand. “Do you know who he is?”

  “Rhys said that Vandarus recruited him to be our cook. His name is Nock or something,” Cromwell said rubbing his head.

  K’xarr looked at the young man sitting quietly in the stall. “So we have a cook. I will take that up with Vandarus later.”

  The Toran leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “What are we going to do now K’xarr? Our plans have seemed to have gone straight into the black pit of hell.”

  K’xarr continued to watch the rain. “I know Kian is crazy and I’m sure Endra will not agree to leave him. Rufio and Vandarus are wounded and Rhys is tied up with this damn Princess somehow. Things were much simpler when it was just you and me, my friend.”

  “They were simpler, but not as exciting,” Cromwell said with a half grin.

  K’xarr pulled his sword out and began to look it over. The rain had washed it clean but he would have to oil it before the rust set in. “That is true enough, I don’t know if exciting is the word I would use though. I thought that maybe we should just ride out on our own and leave the others. At least get out of Turill. If we stay here I think things are going to get bloody and I hate to spill blood for free. We seem to just keep getting in deeper and deeper Cromwell. We’ve angered a wizard, the city watch wants our heads, and we’re trapped in a barn with a runaway Princess.”

  Cromwell chuckled. “Maybe we should see if the Princess needs some help? I wouldn’t mind helping her at all. She must be rich and did you see the way her hips move when she walks?”

  “Leave her alone. I doubt she likes Torans and besides if you bedded her, you would most likely kill that young girl, but you might be right about her needing a couple of extra swords though. It seems like there has been a little trouble in the palace, and like you said she has to have some coin.”

  K’xarr stopped and thought a moment. “Cromwell, you’re a genius. I bet she just might need an escort out of town or a few bodyguards. That might make us a little coin. Then we can ride up and see if this King Cain needs a couple of good men. The others can stay here if they want or go with us, it doesn’t matter, by the Gods, we might make a little gold yet.”

  Cromwell puffed out his huge chest. “See Torans are not just mighty warriors, we are thinking men as well.” K’xarr laughed harder than he had in a long time.

  Ansellus looked at the little Princess. “If your father said you were to rule then it matters not what anyone else says and that includes William Blackthorn and your brother. Aaron was King, sick or not, his word was law. By right you are the Queen of Bandara.”

  He knelt down before her. “If you would have a self-exiled old man, I will swear my allegiance to you and see that you get your birthright if it’s with in my power. It’s the least I could do after leaving your father’s service and allowing Bandara to come to this sorry state.” />
  Raygan was very moved by the old general’s gallant gesture. It had been a long time since anyone had treated her like royalty. “Of course. I am honored. I would consider myself lucky to have a man like you serving me, Ansellus. I don’t know about reclaiming throne though. I just don’t see any way it can be accomplished.”

  The old general looked up at the Princess. “Let me worry about that, Highness.”

  Raygan felt much better now. She didn’t think she would ever be Queen, but it was nice to imagine. If Ansellus wanted to play at restoring her to her rightful station then she would go along.

  The old general stood back up, he hoped the Princess didn’t hear his knees pop. “I did warn your father about Havalon, that old villain has always wanted Bandara. The Abberdonians can wait though. First, we have to put you in power.”

  K’xarr and Cromwell walked over to where the older man was talking to the Princess. “Is he giving you a hard time Princess?” K’xarr asked.

  “No, no, we are old friends.” Ansel cleared his throat “They don’t know about my old life, Highness.”

  He faced K’xarr and Cromwell. “I used to serve Princess Raygan’s father.”

  Raygan giggled. “He was once the general of the Bandaran army. Ansellus you make it sound like you were a washer woman.”

  Ansel looked sheepishly at K’xarr. “I guess I forgot to mention that.”

  Raygan stepped up beside the former general. “He didn’t tell you who he was?”

  “No, Your Highness, he said his name was Ansel and he was a woodsman. He took us into the Adorn to find our friend,” K’xarr said with a look of irritation.

  The Princess smiled. “Let me introduce you then, this is Ansellus Fox, former Lord of northern Bandara. I don’t believe we have been formally introduced either. I am Princess Raygan Albana Blackthorn, and you sir?”

  “I’m K’xarr Strom and this big fellow is Cromwell Blood, the woman over there with the children is Endra Korlest. I think you know Rhys and the man up in the loft with him is Kian.”