Brotherhood Saga 03: Death (111 page)

Standing on the opposite shoreline that was far too brief for him to have spent several hours crossing was a man holding the very bow that had shot him.

“Odin Karussa,” the king
’s man said, lowering his bow as he strung yet another arrow. “You have just been shot with a neutralizing agent that will stun you for the next several hours. You are under arrest for conspiracy against the kingdom and for use of illegal magicks.”

How,
he thought.
It… can’t… be.

It just couldn
’t.

His world began to fade.

Stars danced before his vision.

This was it. He was being arrested.

In the brief moments before he lost consciousness, Odin could only think of one thing.

What would happen to his father?

No,
he wanted to say.

Odin closed his eyes.

After all this time—after so many journeys, so many mistakes his first lost love, his last great adventure and his final declaration of service—he had failed.

What world would there exist after this?

As the last bit of light faded from his vision—as, slowly, his world began to darken—he saw within his mind’s eye the creature he had summoned and began to cry.

How could he have done such a horrible thing?

Father,
he thought.

In but one moment, everything went dark.

He thought he heard upon the water the sad bird’s cry.

April 25
th
– July 9
th
, 2011

About the Author

Kody Boye was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho. Since his initial publication in the Yellow Mama Webzine in 2007, he has gone on to sell nearly three-dozen stories to various markets. He is the author of the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and The Brotherhood Saga. His fiction has been described as ‘Surreal, beautiful and harrowing’ (Fantastic Horror,) while he himself has been heralded as a writer beyond his years(Bitten by Books.) He currently lives and writes in the Austin, Texas area.
You can visit him online at kodyboye.com.