TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga) (8 page)

Chop his little head off so I can collect my gold fox
.

The referee screamed, “Battle” as the behemoth rushed his opponent and took a heaving swing with the war axe. The smaller, quicker dueler easily avoided the pain. The immense man rushed four or five more times, swinging mightily without success.

Come on you big oaf, finish this little creep off
.

The giant tired quickly but continued to chase the half man around the Dueling Yard. The tiny dancer silenced the crowd of more than five hundred people who had howled like uncontrollable animals at the start of the match.

The gigantic criminal finally discarded the useless shield that only weighed him down.

Let’s go, you stupid criminal, you better beat a man half your size
.

With two hands firmly on his axe, he swung mightily hoping to split the already small man into two pieces. He missed again, only succeeding in deeply jamming his axe into mother earth’s body. The huge man struggled to extract the weapon from the ground. The slight man pounced at the opportunity with a mighty upswing through the giant’s manhood and into his stomach. The tiny man removed the sword and slipped behind the giant. The colossal man was crouched on his knees, moaning in pain. After he felled the hefty man, bringing him down to his own size, he seized the moment. The pint sized man drove his sword through the back of the giant’s neck, down into his heart, sending him straight to a bloody, painful death.

How in the hells did that just happen
?

The stadium fell into shocked silence. The only sounds heard were from the few in attendance that stood to make huge amounts of coin courtesy of the victorious little man. It took three full-sized men to drag the behemoth from the grounds in preparation for the next duel.

Maybe I shall take the smaller man next time.
That amethyst feeling is wearing off. I will need something else soon.
What else can we do after this to stay away from the smelly city and my self- righteous husband
?

Please forgive me Gods, for I have done it again. The craving for blood runs stronger every day. I try and try to fight it, sometimes I can for a week or so, but then the voices take over. I am up to more than four a month now and the demands are getting louder. I almost killed the King today to quiet the chanting. If his son wasn’t with him, I may have done it. They should keep me from King Ali-Stanley. Gods help me as I have little control over my lust for blood anymore. These thoughts dominate my life and I need them to stop. Killing for duty is commanded but this is for amusement now. I just like to see the looks in their eyes as they struggle to hold on to life. Please Gods save me, for I fear my soul is lost.

Thunder boomed through the chapel, but he didn’t remember seeing a cloud in the Falconhurst sky when he had entered the temple.

He knelt, hands folded over his heart, praying. When done, Sir Penrose Ellsworth now sat up in the chapel of The Faith of Eternal Light. The Father and Brothers of the church served the elite of Falconhurst by washing away sins in exchange for a hefty financial contribution. Members of the church signed multiyear contracts that bound them to donate a certain monthly allowance. The Faith was extremely shrewd and they knew that promises of salvation after death sold at a prime premium in Donegal. The church also housed some of the high ranking Brothers and the High Holy Leader. Sir Penrose Ellsworth’s main duties were to protect King Ali-Stanley, basically serving as his personal body guard. This meant Penrose had access to any place he wanted to go, no one refused him. He rose, bowed to the totem of the Gods, and walked through a door on the side of the beautifully decorated chapel.

“Hello, Sir Penrose,” a short guard greeted him.

“Oh, hello Randall, are the children alright?” asked Penrose.

“Yes, they uh, recovered like magic, thanks for askin’,” declared a smiling Randall.

“That’s great news. Is his Holiness in right now?” wondered a curious Penrose.

“Uh, yes he’s down in the bathe right now,” answered Randall.

“Thank you, my good man,” added Penrose with a fake smile. Behind the grin, a world of pain circulated inside Penrose.

He went down a stone spiral staircase to get to the High Holy Leader’s private bathe. Penrose and Father Enroy were good friends and the Father had told him to stop by whenever he wanted. Penrose didn’t agree with the lavish lifestyle most of the high ranking officials led. However, he hoped befriending the High Holy Leader might bolster his chance of salvation. He needed his current sins washed away first. The heat attacked him as Penrose opened the door to the bathe. The gleaming torches on all sides of the water made it easy to spot the smallish Father Enroy squirming pleasurably in the heated water. He looked very surprised and a little disconcerted to see Penrose.

“Penrose, hello,” said the Father with wide eyes and a lump in his throat.

Suddenly, two small boys popped up out of the water right in front of the Father. Several seconds later, three more toddlers emerged around Father Enroy. The oldest boy couldn’t have been more than eight or nine.

The Father’s face turned bright red as he asked, “Care for a swim?”

“No thank you. I believe I shall wait outside your office for you, Father,” said Penrose as he scurried out.

“I shall be right there,” shouted the naked Father as Penrose left the room.

What in the hells? Two men together is one thing, but taking advantage of little boys is reprehensible. I should clean him up for the Gods. I can taste his divine blood already. Maybe that will cleanse my soul? Stop screaming at me.

The voices berated him as he headed away from the bathe, demanding the Father’s blood. He made his way upstairs, through the chapel and toward the back, to the High Holy Leader’s office. The church made a fine spectacle. Stained glass windows with scenes from the holy writs surrounded the chapel. Diamonds and gemstones gaudily accentuated the windows. Masterfully constructed marble pews filled the room that could accommodate about two hundred and fifty wealthy worshipers. Opulent silk pillows more than ten feet long were secured to the ground for comfort when kneeling during prayer. They had the pattern of the black raven of the Faith on purple silk. The raven represented the brothers of the Faith delivering the messages of the Gods. Jade, ebony and ivory sculptures of the Gods were twice as large as mortal men and stationed up front on either side of the altar. Four stood on one side and three on the other. Penrose sat on the expensive bench and wrestled with his thoughts. The thunder resounded through his head again.

I can kill him; I can kill him right now and it will be easy. Wait, no, I can’t kill him. He is the only one who can possibly save my soul. If I kill him nobody will absolve my sins. I can’t kill him
.

Sir Penrose Ellsworth looked like a guileless twenty year old. With long, curly blond hair past his shoulders and bright blue eyes, the ladies were very fond of him. But it didn’t matter because he was sworn to the King’s Guard and couldn’t marry. He spoke softly and eloquently, hardly ever raising his tone. Penrose’s daily activities kept him healthy and strong, but internal demons tore him apart. The knight battled constant stomach pains. Only a year ago, everything had seemed fine, but then he started hearing the voices. Penrose’s obedience seemed to feed the voices and silence them, but they always came back for more lifeblood.

Penrose came from one of the most prominent houses in Fox Chapel. His father, Ichibod Ellsworth, was the High Lord of Lightview. Lightview was the most profitable district in Fox Chapel. They even traded with Mattingly behind the King’s back. Penrose had shunned land and money as heir of Lightview to live a life of honor. Anderley was the original heir and it fell to Penrose after his older brother left for the King’s Guard. It had crushed Ichibod Ellsworth to see Penrose follow Anderley to the Capitol.

He stood up abruptly when Father Enroy arrived, garbed in a scarlet robe. He wore two gold belts to secure the hanging silk.

He spoke first, “Penrose, I do apologize for that. Please do not think it was what it seemed.”

“Can we forget about that, I would like to talk with you for a few minutes Father,” Penrose quietly proposed.

The Father opened his office door and said, “Come in, my son.”

Father Enroy offered a chair to Penrose and then sat down himself. The Father looked as though he was well into his sixties, but no one precisely knew his exact age. He lived life as a robust, compact man. Gluttony had fattened the Father and imbued him with a false sense of self-worth. The High Holy Leader, a bald man on top with gray hair hanging down the sides of his head, played with his robe. He had a ridiculous patchy beard that should have been shaved off altogether.

The office gleamed with gold and jewels, like a room fit for a king. The couches and desk were finely constructed and expensive silks covered the windows. The Father had a chair that would rival a throne in some realms. Constructed of jade, its armrests also showcased every imaginable precious stone. There were a lot of gems Penrose had never seen and couldn’t identify; he only knew that they all sparkled beautifully. The back support extended up to about seven feet and was fitted with two giant pearls on either side at the top. Two ebony carved ravens held the pearls in their claws as they hovered above the chair with outstretched wings. Father Enroy tried to get the water from his ear as he listened to Penrose.

“Well Father, I wondered, what do you do when you have the urge to sin?”

“I like to think of the day when I am being judged by the seven Gods. What would they say? You must try to fight the urges, my son. However, there are times when primal needs must be met. And the Gods might understand that perhaps.”

Penrose heard the answer he wanted but the Father’s message was vague.

Maybe this is just a primal need I have to fulfill sometimes. But not right now. I can’t kill him
.

A sudden hard knock at the door caught both men unawares. Penrose placed his hand on his sword and slowly cracked the door. There stood King Ali-Stanley Wamhoff with three massive guards.

“Penrose, is the Father in?” asked the King.

“Yes, your highness,” said Penrose as he stepped aside to reveal Father Enroy.

“Father, I need absolution,” the King uttered.

“Come in my King, it will be my pleasure to absolve you and Penrose both,” returned the holy man.

The King turned to his guards, “You are dismissed. Penrose can escort me back to the castle.”

Penrose said, “Of course, your highness, I shall be certain no harm befalls you.”

“Yes, I feel perfectly safe with you. You are the only protector I shall require this evening,” the King of Donegal confidently stated.

Jon Colbert gathered his sons into a huddle so he could talk to them over the commotion and the locusts buzzing.

“You know why we have to do this, don’t you boys?” he asked as he looked them all in the eye.

Ruxin, Ryno and Krys all nodded their heads in agreement as their father clarified further.

“The Fritz family is harboring other families and garnering support for a rebellion. I have received three different confirmations about a planned attack on Riverfront. You boys ought to know that if an egg is falling, you better catch it before it makes a mess. All the families of Mattingly are like a bunch of eggs thrown in the air. This rebellion is like an egg dropping, so we have to grab it now before it builds up momentum and we have a big mess on our hands. A little problem can quickly become a disaster if we ignore it. We must make quick decisions based on the evidence presented and act with haste. But we also must make sure we are thinking clearly and not out for revenge.”

As he talked to his sons, the long-distance siege weapons continued to roll by. Each one proudly flew the Colbert banner, a black flag with a golden bull, ready to attack. The Fritz castle rested atop Locust Hill in central Mattingly. It was an older castle for Mattingly, built two hundred and sixty years ago. The castle had no protective siege wall around it and the Fritz’ depended on the steep hill and the protection of the Gods for insulation.

“Duke Colbert, if we set up our weapons right along the tree line, straight down there, the castle will be in firing range and we can move to part two of the plan with ease,” said Sir Ryan Caughleigh as he pointed along the edge of the woods.

“Alright, remember that we want the weapons mixed as we go, I don’t want to see a line of mangonels followed by all the onagers. We need to evenly attack this castle with as much force as necessary if Lord Fritz doesn’t come to his senses. Make sure that the arrow shields are secured and positioned in between the weapons. Fire, cover and wait for my command to reload. Where is Sir Richard with the response?”

Duke Colbert had sent a message to Lord Fritz telling him he knew of the plans for revolt and that he needed to pledge fealty to the Duke in person. He wasn’t going to embarrass him and make Lord Fritz bend the knee, just a simple promise was all he wanted. He hoped the Fritz’ would come to their senses, realizing that they were grossly outnumbered, totally surrounded, and ill equipped to withstand a heavy onslaught. Jon Colbert was positive they would refuse the offer and he would have to attack. He had conceived a quick plan after making sure that advanced efforts for revolt were definitely underway. Then he went on the offensive mere days later to end the aggression before it started.

Sir Rick Rosebud came galloping down on a white stallion with a black saddle, the sign of peace for negotiation in Donegal.

He jumped off and approached the Duke and his sons. “The news is not good, my Duke.”

“I didn’t think that it would,” replied Jon.

“He would like me to inform you that the Gods shall cast you down like thunder. Lord Fritz said that you are letting too many foreigners into Mattingly and you have become drunk with money and power.”