Gods Of Blood And Fire (Book 1)

by A. J. STRICKLER

  “Yes, I know Rhys very well, and I have already met Rufio and Vandarus. I’m so glad that all of you are going to help me.”

  K’xarr’s frowned. “I never said I was going to help you, Highness, but we can talk about that and come to some kind of arrangement. I’m sure we could see you out of town safely, if that’s what you wish, of course?”

  Raygan’s smile fled her face. “Ansellus pledged to help me and you being his men are required to assist me and I have no plans to leave Turill. Ansellus wants to put me on the throne like my father intended.”

  “Ansel or Ansellus is my man, unless he forgot he joined my mercenary band. It is I who command him, so if you want any kind of help from him you can ask me. You may be his Princess, but you’re not mine and aside from Vandarus none of the rest of us are Bandaran subjects … Highness.”

  Raygan was aghast; this man had no right to talk to her that way. “Ansellus is a Bandaran noble and I relieve him of any obligation to you.”

  K’xarr just laughed at the diminutive woman’s haughtiness.

  Raygan stomped her foot. Did this K’xarr think he was going to command her? He was just a mere savage as were his men and they travelled with a Half Elf. She had tried to overlook that fact for Rhys’s sake. Just harboring one of those abominations was unthinkable to her. Bishop Lyfair would be terribly upset if he knew she was even in the same building as one of those creatures.

  “Highness, I don’t think you have the power to relieve any one of anything, else you wouldn’t be in this stable smelling of hay and horse shit.” K’xarr said smugly.

  “How dare you use that kind of language in front of a Princess?”

  “At least I do not cavort with inhuman monstrosities,” the Princess fired back.

  “What the hell did she say?” Endra questioned from across the stable. K’xarr held his hand out to the female fighter commanding her to stay where she was.

  Ansellus stepped forward. “K’xarr, it was I who lied to you, don’t take it out on her. This is just a minor misunderstanding.”

  “Easy there, Ansel,” Cromwell said. “I would take care on what you are about to say.”

  Ansellus nodded. “I’m just saying let’s talk, I will explain things to the Princess and we can work all this out without any hard feelings.

  “Don’t talk like I am not standing right here, Ansellus, and I don’t think I need anything explained to me. Maybe your friend K’xarr needs some things explained to him. I am a Princess of Bandara and…” K’xarr and Cromwell turned and walked back to the doorway of the stable before she could finish.

  “How dare they turn their backs to me. Ansellus, do something. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”

  The old general sighed. “Highness, you will need them. I might remind you from what you told me you have no power and are in fear of your own life. Don’t you think you should excuse their lack of civility, at least for now? We need all the friends we can get, especially ones that know how to handle a sword.”

  “I think they are rude and uncultured savages, but you may be right, if you say we need them then so be it, but some decorum and protocol must be maintained. They need to be reminded I’m a Princess.”

  “Of course, Your Highness, I had forgotten how important proper etiquette is to you. Let me think on things a while and see what I can come up with. K’xarr and his men can be a help to us. We have very few choices, Highness, you said so yourself.”

  Raygan smiled at Ansellus. “I know you will find a way to fix things and I will try to stay out of the way. You will just have to pardon me, Ansellus. I have been told I can be a little hard to deal with sometimes.”

  “You? Never, Highness, never,” Ansellus said with a straight face.

  Endra was trying to dry the children’s clothing as best she could while they sat wrapped up in horse blankets. She was afraid they would get a chill from the cool rain. They all saw Rhys come down from the loft; the healer was pale and was shaking his head. Endra went straight to him. K’xarr and Cromwell drifted over to join the healer as well.

  “You know what happened to him then?” K’xarr asked.

  “I know what I saw in his mind. Siro and that wizard, the Dark One, somehow managed to splice Kian and a great black panther together. Well that’s not right either, I guess they merged the panther’s sprit or essence with him. Oh hell, I’m not sure, whatever the case I think they intended on controlling him. Apparently that failed to work the way they intended.

  Endra wrapped her arms around herself not wanting to hear anymore, but she had to know.

  Rhys continued, “There’s more, Siro is a very skilled vivisectionist, they opened him up and cut out his heart. They replaced it with another. I believe it was some kind of animal, but I can’t be sure. I am truly surprised he even survived the process. I have never witnessed anything so abominable.”

  Cromwell frowned. “How could he live through having his heart cut out?”

  Rhys raised his eye brows and shrugged. “That I don’t know, magic I guess. They used it to keep him awake through the entire process. It was quite horrible to witness.”

  Endra could see Cromwell and K’xarr’s anger growing with every detail Rhys revealed to them. If they ever came across the wizard and Siro, the two warriors would kill them, as would she.

  Rhys went on. “The worst of it is they also broke his mind. What terrors they put in his head I could not find out. He buried them too deep for me to see and frankly I don’t want to know. I was afraid to delve too far into the nightmares they used to rip apart his mind.

  “I tried to repair what I could. Like I said I have never done this before. I have no idea if I helped or not. I just did the best I could. He was sleeping when I came down we will just have to wait to see how he is when he wakes.”

  “Thank you, Rhys, I know you did all you could.” K’xarr patted the healer on the back. He and Cromwell walked away talking quietly to themselves.

  Rhys turned to Endra. “It was the thought of you that protected what little sanity he managed to save. He loves you a great deal, even now through all the murk and muck in his head it’s there.”

  Endra hugged the healer. “Thank you for all you have done, if you ever have any need of me all you have to do is ask. May I go see him?”

  “Yes, I just don’t know how he will respond after I tampered with his mind. Like I told K’xarr, I have never attempted to heal a mind or even enter one for that matter. I was like a carpenter trying to build a house blindfolded. This is not my field of expertise, Endra. I don’t feel comfortable in another person’s head. I also know nothing about how magic works or its properties. All we can do is see what comes of my guesswork.”

  Endra gave him a weak smile. “If he could I’m sure he would thank you just for trying to help him.” Rhys nodded to her and he walk back to rejoin the Princess. Endra headed for the loft.

  When her head poked up through the floor of the loft she could see Kian was awake and standing at the small door of the barn’s second floor where hay is pulled up into the loft. He was quietly watching the rain fall.

  “Kian, can I come up?” The only light in the loft was from a small lantern. Endra paused as Kian turned toward her. She could see the light reflecting off his eyes like an animal making them shine in the gloom. As he walked across the loft, Endra saw every muscle move beneath his skin with a preternatural strength and grace. Endra could only stare in astonishment.

  “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

  He was talking again, thank all the Gods, she thought. “Don’t be foolish. Do you remember anything?” She asked climbing on into the loft.

  The anguish on his face answered her question even before he spoke. “I remember it all. Whatever Rhys has done cleared my mind.”

  She went to him, threw her arms around him, and held him as tight as she could. She felt him twist his fingers into her hair with one hand, the other pressed against the small of her back pulling her closer to him. His body was
hard as iron.

  “I’m so happy you came back to me, Kian. I thought I had lost you forever.” She started to kiss him, but he pushed her back and turned away from her.

  “Kian, didn’t come back, only this thing has returned. Can you truly love a monster, Endra? Before at least I knew what I was, now there is not even a name, for what am I? I hold you to nothing that we spoke about before.”

  Endra walked up behind Kian and put her arms around him. She gently laid her chin on his shoulder. “You are Kian Cardan, the man I love and nothing less. Has what’s happened to you changed your feelings for me?”

  He reached down and pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You are a wonderful woman and I love you, but think what it will be like to stay with me. My mind is not … as it should be. I think if Rhys is not around to tend it, I might go mad again.”

  Endra turned him around so he was facing her. “Then I will reach in to your madness and bring you back to me. I promise I will never leave you, Kian, no matter what happens.”

  He kissed her and gave her a feeble smile causing his small fangs to show.

  Kian’s eyes moved left and right quickly then he looked into Endra’s eyes. “We should go down; K’xarr is telling Cromwell he is getting worried and that it’s too quiet up here.”

  Endra gave him a disbelieving look. “How do you know what K’xarr is talking about down there?”

  “I can hear him.”

  Kian stood apart from the others while they talked, he could see he made them uncomfortable, especially the Princess. She acted as if he was going to pounce on her at any moment. So he stayed quiet and away from their discussion.

  Endra kept motioning for him to join the conversation but he knew it would go better if he stayed out of it. Besides he needed to focus on fighting the instincts that were inside him now. Rhys had caged them but the monster inside him strained at the bars of that cage.

  He could tell how happy they all were to see he had regained his faculties, but they didn’t know the madness lay just below the surface ready to overwhelm him like an ocean wave and to cast him once again on the shores of insanity.

  He silently slid out the door of the stable. Endra was the only one who even noticed he was leaving; he motioned to her that everything was okay and he walked out into the night. It was a couple of hours before dawn and darkness still held on to the city. The night no longer hid anything from him. He could see things as clearly as if he stood in the light of day.

  He could hear the last of the rain water dripping from the roofs of all the buildings around him. He would have to come to terms with his heightened senses, they were troubling but he could see they could also be very useful.

  The last of the storm was heading to the south. He watched the distant lightning crack across the sky, the cool wet air felt good, it had been humid in the stable. He felt much better outside.

  The footfalls were muted by the wet ground, but he heard them before the woman came around the corner of the stable. She was dressed in a black robe. Her hair was a deep red, it fell unbound down past her shoulders and she left enough of the robe open to show her ample cleavage. She was an exquisite beauty, even with the look of surprise on her face when she nearly walked into the point of his sword.

  Kian saw the fear in her eyes and something inside him liked it. “There is no reason to harm me, swordsman, I’m not your enemy. I have come to try and help you.”

  Kian could smell her. Besides a hint of cinnamon, he could smell an unnatural sent. He had smelled it before in the Dark One’s tower … magic.

  “I need no help from a sorceress,” he growled.

  “Very well then, will you accept help from a friend?”

  Kian looked at the beautiful red head she seemed believable but he couldn’t take the chance. “I will heed my own council, woman. Perhaps you are a friend, but I don’t know you and for now I think I will keep it that way.”

  “At least let me tell you about the sword you took from the tower. It’s a very dangerous weapon.”

  He had almost forgotten the strange sword he had found in the tower. He was curious about it. What could it hurt to find out about the unusual blade?

  “First your name, so if you lie to me I know who it is I will hunt down.”

  “I’m called Scarlett and you are right, I am a spell caster.”

  “I already know that, witch, say what you came to say. I have no time for magic or those who wield it.”

  An ironic smile came to her beautiful face. Kian found it hard to stay on guard, he lowered his sword. Her smile became one of genuine happiness, making her truly radiant. He knew he couldn’t harm her now and he could see she knew it too.

  “You have a right to hate magic I know what happened to you but Kian you should make peace with magic, now it is part of who you are. You are an enchanted creature, swordsman. ” Kian lowered his head with a look of misery.

  “I didn’t mean that in an unkind way. You are unique; one of a kind, Kian, in the entire world there is no one like you. You must understand that.”

  He shook his head. “You think that makes me happy? I’m little more than a monster now, a freak. I cannot even pretend to be human anymore.”

  The witch put her hands on her hips. “You are what you make yourself. So you can be just a monster or you could be much, much more. Your actions will make you what you are, not a madman’s sorcery. You could be a warrior without equal, Kian. Think about what you could do with a sword now. There is a world of people you could help.”

  Kian couldn’t help but feel better when she talked. The red-haired witch sounded like his mother. He could almost believe what she was saying.

  “I must hurry before any of my sisters find out I talked to you, they would not like it. They already think I’m too much of a busybody.

  “First, I should warn you the weapon you now carry was never meant to be in the hands of a mortal. The sword’s name is Malice. You must take great care with it. It may look like a sword but it is much more.”

  Kian looked at the blade. “It is magical then?”

  Scarlett rolled her eyes. “It was forged for a God, so yes it is magical.” She looked over her shoulder as if expecting to see someone. “I must hurry. I will find you again when I can. Just know that some of the events that are happening now are being manipulated. Your friends with the blood didn’t meet by chance, but you, Kian, weren’t part of the plan. Take care of them, you may be the only one who can.”

  “What plan? What are you talking about?”

  “There is no time. I will find you again.” She took a step back and vanished. He could still smell the cinnamon.

  Kian eased himself back through the door. “Were you outside?” K’xarr asked. Kian nodded but said nothing.

  “You should let us know when you go out. I don’t want anything happening to you, now that you have your senses back.”

  “As you wish, K’xarr, I just need some air,” Kian said.

  “Let’s go over this one more time,” K’xarr said.

  The man he now knew as Ansellus started again. “It’s going to take me sometime but I can rally the rest of the nobles in Bandara to the Princess’s cause. It won’t be many men, but it’s more than we have now. There are others who owe me favors. I will see if I can collect on those debts, but it’s going to take time, and I don’t know if we have enough of that.”

  “How long are we talking about?” K’xarr asked.

  “It depends on how long Cain can hold on in the north,” Ansellus said scratching his head. “Months, maybe a year. I really don’t know, she needs an army and there isn’t one. If Havalon defeats Cain and takes Turill we will be hard pressed to get him out, as much as I hate to admit it he’s a fine commander. If Cain loses and the Abberdonians attack Turill someone will have to hold on here while I gather the Princess her army.”

  “I guess that someone would be us?” K’xarr said. “Listen, general, you said there is an army of ten thousand camped ju
st a few miles from the city and I have the people you see inside this barn. How can I hold on with that? As of right now we don’t even have anything to hold.”

  “You right, the palace must be first. The men that Blackthorn has are still Bandarans, if we are rid of the duke then I feel I could sway the men of Braxton Bluff to our cause. I know many of them from the past. If they know the Queen is the true heir, I feel sure they will join us,” Ansellus said.”

  K’xarr shook his head. “It seems like a remote possibility that we can even secure the palace, there is the city watch and the Princess said there were several of the Royal Guard still inside the palace. That’s just the start of things what about her brother’s army and let’s not forget the Abberdonians?”

  Ansellus folded his arms. “One thing at a time. First we take the palace.” K’xarr took a deep breath. “Look, general, I’m not a patient man and I understand this will take time, but we have nothing to start with but an old general and a young girl and a handful of mercenaries, how can we snatch a Kingdom with that?”

  Raygan put her hand on Ansellus’s arm and stepped forward. “I know we didn’t get off to a very good start, K’xarr, but I hope you will help us and if God sees fit to let me ever come to power in Bandara, I will reward everyone who helped me very handsomely.”

  K’xarr looked at Cromwell, the big man just shrugged. “Okay, I will try to help come up with a plan, but know this: I’m not going to sacrifice my men for nothing and I don’t fight for lost causes.”

  The Princess covered her mouth and seemed to shake off a chill. “I agreed to your terms, K’xarr.” Then she threw up all over the stable floor. “Oh, I am so sorry. I don’t…” Ansellus grabbed her as she fainted.

  She came to just as the sun was rising over the city. She lay in a pile of hay in a horse stall, Rhys sitting beside her. “What happened?”

  The healer wiped the sweat from her brow with a wet cloth. “You just fainted, Highness, you are going to be fine.”

  “I’m not sick, am I?” Rhys slowly shook his head. “No, Highness, you’re with child.”