The Calling (Book 7 of The Blood & Brotherhood Saga) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (20 page)

“I love you too, but now you’ve got me a bit freaked out.”

“No need for concern. Just I’d rather tell the story just one time if possible.”

Squeezing her tightly in his arms once more, Seth released her before leaping from the roof to glide down to the lower reaches of the keep. Watching him slowly descend, Sara leapt from the roof as well, plummeting down towards the courtyard below like a wayward rock. Bending her knees slightly, she leaned forward before impact, absorbing her momentum with her legs and catching herself with her fingertips upon the ground.

* * * * *

Ishanya scowled down upon Thurr from the realm of the gods. Her plan was unrevealing from the epic ending that she had prepared. Too much was in motion to cast her aside. No. She would still have her victory, but it simply would not be as glorious as she had intended. Everything was still in place to bring the little whelp begging to her on his knees. Her other champions followed the paths set before them like acorns in a river, unable to escape. Gorandor and those he aligned himself with as allies were too weak now to stop her. Only the puny death mage had grown beyond what she had intended. Even now, he sat perched in a towering castle surrounded by thousands that thought him a god. It was sickening to see and she felt the urge now more than ever to bring his short reign to an end.

Studying the tapestry that was all three, fate, destiny, and time, Ishanya sought the perfect moment to bring the would-be king to his knees. Grinning, if it were possible, she located such a moment and reached out across ethereal space to set her other pawns into motion. Not only would the heavens and Thurr belong to her, but she would get to watch the sorry excuse for a mage wither and die with all those he loved. It seemed like she would get a perfect ending after all.

Chapter Fifteen

For months he had kept her all to himself, hidden more or less in their shared room high in the palace, but at last, Anna was joining him to venture out for the evening. She had dressed for the occasion too, wearing her crimson curls piled atop her head and a ruby-colored dress trimmed in black leather that matched her boots and bodice. Taking her hand as they strolled out from the tiered courtyards of the palace into the open expanses of the castle complex, Garret watched as the last of the sun’s rays were lost above the castle walls. It had taken a vast amount of effort for his plans to be carried out, but where once was the training grounds for the legendary knights of Valdadore, now stood a solid rock wall with only one gate to permit entry.

For more than two months Garret had visited the compound every morning, adding it to his daily list of duties. On some occasions Zorbin would join him, but generally he arrived alone. Inside, Ashton usually awaited him with a team of handlers, trainers, and healers. He had become an integral part to this process, and without him, Garret knew they would not have made it this far.

Striding across the cobblestones with Anna at his side, Garret held his head high, greeting and waving at all who stopped to watch them pass. Smiles were given and several women stopped to openly admire Anna’s gown, complimenting her beauty and that of the dress. It couldn’t have been more perfect an evening for such an occasion.

Nearing the newly constructed stone wall, Garret nodded to the guard manning the gate, watching as the man responded by quickly pulling the large timber free from its bindings to swing the steel portal inwards. Allowing them to pass with a salute, the soldier then barred them in as quickly as he was able.

Stepping through the gate was like entering another world. Here, within the confines of the tall stone walls, the air was filled with growls and snarls of rage and exertion. Here blood stained the ground and tufts of fur floated lazily on the wind, refusing to settle to the earth. Lining the walls were hundreds of metal-barred cages, though most were empty at present, and the rest of the expanse was filled with wooden training dummies, weapons racks, soldiers, and more importantly, a hundred and forty-one of his very own monstrosities.

Raised to adolescences by magical means, the creatures were strapped into the strengthening machines of Ashton’s design until they had enough coordination to walk. Once reaching that milestone they were given a cage and Garret himself hand fed them daily. They matured quickly after that. Their muscles developed, and daily they trained hour after hour in basic combat with sword and shield. Not only were they vicious though, soon enough it was realized that they were also intelligent. They began learning words and creating their own battle plans to defeat their trainers. They worked in groups, seemingly coordinating their attacks without so much as a single word. Ashton had been right to spare the children. They would become a devastating fighting force when Garret was done with them.

Standing back to let Anna admire the view, he was surprised when she smiled instead of covered her face with her hands. She watched intently as the creatures took up their weapons in a mock battle timed for her arrival. Here was a peculiar prison designed to keep them confined and train them to kill, the creatures fought their armored foes with tooth and claw, shield and sword. They were relentless in their attacks, growling and snarling as they snapped at the better trained soldiers. Within moments, the beasts pressed their trainers back before pandemonium overtook the field, the beasts surging up and over the armored guards, driving them down to the ground in a writhing mass of fur and teeth. Garret watched as Anna raised her hands, fearing she would cover her eyes, offended by the sight, Instead, she began clapping loudly, smiling as the battle came to a brutal end.

“Enough!” Garret boomed over the sounds of violence and rage.

Watching as his monstrosities slunk back towards the wall of cages, he grinned at them, noting as every head swiveled to match his movements.

“King come. We fight. King happy,” one of the beasts said, stepping forward from the masses.

“Yes, Kanth,” Garret reassured the creature. “You have done well.”

“You’ve named them?” Anna asked, obviously surprised.

“No. Just him, my love. He seems more intelligent than the rest,” Garret answered.

“Now back to your cages, all of you. Anna here would like to have a closer look at you.”’

All the beasts obeyed his command, familiar enough with the word ‘cage. Waiting until they were all properly secured by their trainers, Garret led Anna to peer into the cages one by one.

“They’re all so different,” she exclaimed.

“And yet very much the same.”

“And you truly plan to breed them?”

“We’ve begun already, actually. Fortunately, the majority of these are actually female. If you look closely you can see their tits within the fur on their chests and abdomen.”

“Yes, I see them. They have small breasts like a human too.”

“And like humans, some are better endowed than others.” Garret joked.

“So if you have a hundred and forty and expect a litter size of perhaps five…” Sara began, allowing Garret to take it from there.

“Then with it taking four months to mature, in a year we can produce three more litters, and we will have near twenty two thousand new soldiers.”

“And in two years?” Anna asked.

“In two years it is somewhere around three point four million.”

“In two years?” she asked again.

“Yes.”

“Then what is to stop you from taking over the entire world?”

“Absolutely nothing, my love. Nothing at all.”

Garret could not help but smile at his soon-to be-bride. Her interest in his military plans was more than fascinating. It was sexy. She understood the need to make them. She understood his desire to destroy Seth. She accepted that he would go to any length to undo what his brother had done. She had even asked if she could kill Seth’s demon bride herself. No one understood him better.

Placing his arm about her shoulders, Garret turned Anna away from the cages to greet the man who had overseen the entire process and arranged the battle for them to witness this very evening. Watching Ashton approach, Garret nodded in greeting before introducing the pair.

“Ashton, I should like for you to meet Anna. I think the two of you will get along nicely.”

“It is truly my pleasure, Lady Anna. I do hope you enjoyed our presentation.”

“It was invigorating. Tell me, Ashton. How is it that you make them breed? Is it the talent of a healer on your staff, or are there other means of retrieving the seed of the males and impregnating the females with it?”

“Quite honestly, it is rather simple. You see, while their bodies are very much mature and producing the hormones that lead to mating, their minds are yet trailing behind due to the growth process. Without really knowing what they are doing or why, they tend to simply do what their urges tell them. We can put a single male in a cage with two or even three females and within hours he has at least attempted to lay his seed in all of them.”

“Gross, but interesting,” Anna admitted.

“My apologies if I’ve offended your sensibilities, Lady Anna.”

“No, not at all. There is no offence if I cannot handle the answer to a question I have asked.”

Garret could see already that Ashton and Anna would get along. Now he only had to wonder about Zorbin. His dwarven friend had been acting peculiar as of late. He questioned everything Ashton did and every project involved in training and housing the new troops. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was jealousy that drove the dwarf to hate Ashton so much. He hoped it wouldn’t be an issue with Anna as well. They would certainly know soon enough.

* * * * *

Zorbin paced impatiently outside the newly erected wall that had ruined what was once the training ground of knights like himself and Garret. Though the king made it a point to say the two of them really didn’t need it any longer, Zorbin knew that more knights would come, and eventually they would once again need a place to spar and hone their skills. As it was, Garret had basically gifted it to the crazed healer, making a kennel for the beasts they tortured and abused in the hopes of creating an army. Though the king seemed to be out of his funk, it appeared to Zorbin that it was now his turn to mope about. He didn’t like the turn of events that had led to this and feared that his friend, the king, was leading the kingdom down a perilous path.

Looking to the darkening sky yet again and then to the gate revealed no sign that the king was coming to meet him as promised. Garret knew that Zorbin despised the so-called training facility created for his new pets, but even so, forced him to meet there at least twice a week to show off their progress. Yes there was a possibility that the things could be trained to fight. Yes, it appeared they were growing stronger and more agile. Yes, they were ferocious and fearless. So was a kitten.

Huffing and puffing against the king’s mistreatment of him as a friend, Zorbin stormed up to the gate, growling something to the guard who quickly allowed him admittance before sealing him in. Glancing around quickly, he noted that the things were all in their cages and in the center of what once was their sparing field stood Garret, a young woman, and his nemesis, Ashton.

Stomping across the grass, Zorbin worked to calm himself by breathing deeply in through his mouth and out through his nose. He didn’t want to appear a tantrum-throwing child, but he wasn’t allowed to make Ashton swallow teeth anymore either. Watching as the woman wrapped her arm around the king’s before laying her head against his shoulder, he realized he was already at a disadvantage. Everything between the healer and himself had become a competition, especially anything regarding the king. It was now apparent that this woman held special interest from the king, and Ashton had already begun to woo her with his boyish smiles and extravagant words. Zorbin wasn’t having it.

Walking up to the trio, Zorbin placed his body between Ashton and the obvious couple, and bowed so low his beard actually scraped the ground.

“Good evening, my king,” he greeted. “And to you, my lady, though I do not believe we have met.”

“Good evening, sir dwarf. You must be Zorbin,” the woman replied.

He couldn’t believe he had forgotten to give his name. Trying not to show his embarrassment upon his face, Zorbin smiled as best he was able through his beard and nodded happily.

“Yes, m’lady. Zorbin Ironfist at yer service.”

“It is very nice to meet you, stout lord. I have heard a great deal about you.”

“Zorbin, I would like to introduce to you, Lady Anna,” Garret said with a proud smile.

“It is very much me pleasure, m’lady,” Zorbin stumbled.

Had he known he was meeting the love interest of the king, he would have brought Xanth. Girls loved the huge wolf for some reason. As it was, he was on his own. He couldn’t afford to not have this girl like him.

“So what are your thoughts on Garret’s new soldiers?” Anna asked him.

It felt like a trap, as if the walls suddenly grew spikes and began to close in. When he had approached they were all smiles, and as such he had to presume that Anna did not dislike being here, or if she did, then she put on a show for the king. Either way, he could not afford to lose favor with the king, and if there was anything he knew about women, it was that they disliked the men their husbands spent time with.

“As a knight, I reserve making judgment until they have seen a real field of battle.”

“The words of a knight indeed,” Anna smiled, turning her gaze more intently upon him. “Do you believe, then, that they are in need of better training?”

“To be honest, m’lady, I have not witnessed recently their training regimen. Last I saw them, they were chained into mechanical devices that forced them to thrash about in order to be fed. If starving a dog is training him to fight, then yes, I say they have been sufficiently trained. If you would like me to compare them to knights such as Garret and me, then I suppose they can hold a blade in their belly just as well as any man.”

“Well put, Lord Zorbin. Then they are but fodder to wade through like any common soldier? Is that what you think?”