The crowd and guards drew back in fear. Marfoul, seemingly coming unhinged by the fast approaching storm, screamed at the guards, “Kill them now, you carrion swine!”The guards, coming out of their daze, moved back towards the Kurt family, who hadn’t moved the whole time nor ceased from praying. The guards, now more afraid of Marfoul than the approaching storm, rushed to do their assigned task with swords lifted high. The storm hit the cliff top and out of it materialized beings clothed in flame. They strode purposefully from the storm towards the cliff top. Each fiery being intercepted one of the guards headed for the Kurt family.Their appearance was fierce and terrible, and as they approached they lifted one hand and withdrew swords that seemed to be made of light itself from behind their backs. In one fluid overhand, downward motion, they ended the lives of the stunned guards. As the guards hit the ground, the warriors of the storm turned towards the crowd and advanced purposefully
Feeling released by the Holy Spirit I stood, but it would have been nice to stay in that place of oneness with my Creator forever. I walked over to the cliff’s edge and peered into the valley below. Smoke still rose from the ashes of what had once been the Kurt family’s homestead. Anger at the senseless destruction of a place that had been like a home to me these past few weeks caused my fists to clench tight. People like Marfoul, that could commit such atrocities, had to be confronted and now I had the heavenly authority to do it. Turning from the cliff’s edge, I looked through what had been left on the cliff top.I personally didn’t care for any of the poorly made weapons the guards had on them and I had all but given up hope, when I came across a set of three Nizak fighting knives on the last guard. Forged by the hill tribesman of the Khartian Mountains, they were excellently made. They measured a little over a foot from hilt to point and were slightly curved up towards the point, b
His big hand resting on my shoulder had squeezed hesitantly and then, after a long moment, he had said, “We’ll start in the morning.”I never again looked at my father in the same way after that experience. He was more than just a father that cared for my needs, now he was also a force to be reckoned with. He was dangerous. I had wanted to be dangerous like him.Coming out of my reflections of the past, I eased Flin towards a small brook up ahead of us that ran along the base of an upthrust of rock. It was dark in the shadow of the cliff that I had chosen to make my camp under, which was good because it would obscure my plans from any prying eyes.Normally, I would never make a camp in a spot like this and I was hoping that whoever was stalking me did not know me well. My reasons for not liking the camping spot would have been quite obvious to an experienced traveler. I had been on the run from the authorities for years and I’d picked up some tips on what not to do during that time.Bu
Grimly, I watched the fallen rider struggle to rise only to fall back to the ground. It gave me no pleasure to kill, but these men had asked for it by tracking me down. I collected my knives, not wanting to see such fine weapons rot in the undergrowth of this dark forest. Reaching down to retrieve a knife, I winced as the arrow wound reminded me of its presence. My fingers found the wound on my side. The arrow had hit nothing vital, but it had left a nasty gash where it had skidded off my ribs, and the wound was bleeding profusely.Flin perked up an ear at my reappearance and even looked halfway interested that I had returned. Gathering the reins I led him through the forest and out to where the last soldier lay. The warmth of the afternoon sun felt good after the cool, moist darkness of the forest. Blood dripped off my fingers, which held a wadded up piece of rag to the wound in my side, as I approached the last soldier in the meadow.The man was still conscious, but he didn’t have lo
There must be tunnels behind the gates that led through the mountains on either side of the wall in order to access the city beyond. It was a smart way of resolving the inherent tactical weakness of a gateway. Gates are typically the weakest points in a fortification; get enough ramming, bombardment, and a heavy enough massing of troops and any gate can fall; except maybe these gates. The angle they were at put them out of range of being directly fired upon by projectiles. The massing of troops in the narrow tunnels would create a bottleneck that could prove catastrophic, if they had death holes through which boiling oil could be poured down onto the attacking troops and the tunnels themselves could likely be caved in, if need be, to stop an invasion. If there was any weakness to be found in the defenses before me, it was probably the overconfidence of the soldiers defending it, thinking that the wall could never fail, which is a very dangerous weakness to have as overconfidence breeds
The words emanated from a darkened corner of the room. Peering into the corner, I heard a chair scrape against the stone floor and I saw a figure rise up and come towards me. The shadowy figure used a cane to walk. He came into the light and I was shocked to see a resemblance to myself in his face, although more timeworn and wrinkled.It didn’t surprise me when he said, “As you might have guessed we’re related, you and I. Your father was my son, which makes you my grandson. Long have I wanted to see you, but I feared to never see the day come.”He leaned heavily on his cane for a moment as his eyes rested on me. “Oh to God that your father, mother and brother could be here too! But at least I am not without comfort in that I, at least, have you! Come, my boy! It’s time that you saw your new home, that is if you choose to make it so.”I got to my feet stiffly and before I could resist, aged but still strong arms enveloped me in a bear hug that caused the pain in my side to intensify sli
“Oh, no!” exclaimed Krista.She had seen that look of pale stillness before. Frantically, she put her hand on the baby’s chest, but she could feel no movement there and the skin was cold. Big tears welled up in her eyes and then spilled down her cheeks as she gently rocked the still baby in her arms.Later, she got up as dawn’s first rays started to brighten up the gloomy morning and made her way towards the wharf which was nearby. Making her way down to the shore of the river, she lowered the baby into the murky waters. For a moment the baby’s face was visible and then it was gone.She had been making her way past the guards last night, intent on escaping the holding pens and the short, hard life of being a slave, when out of the dark a hand had feebly grabbed her. Gasping in surprise, she had spun towards the unseen hand to see a thin woman with dark shadows under her eyes standing there in the gloom.“Please! Please take my baby with you!”“ I…. I…. I can’t! I wouldn’t know how to c
Krista watched as the kind old lady got painfully back up to her feet and moved away towards her rocking chair. Her eyelids got harder and harder to keep open as she watched the old woman rock by the fire. Never before had she had such good food to eat. The warmth and comfort of the cottage and pallet she lay on did the rest and she was soon asleep.The old woman studied Krista as she slept deeply on the pallet by the fire and wondered again if she had made a mistake in buying the girl. She couldn’t afford to make more enemies than she already had.Buying escaped slaves had a way of being looked down upon by the local townspeople and she depended on those same people for her business. Looking again at the girl she shook her head, but of course she had made the right choice in saving the girl’s life. She would just have to face the trouble when it came and come it would.Krista opened her eyes slowly. That was an improvement from the day before, as both eyes opened easily. The cottage w
Those nights were not about love. It was about possession and reclaiming his authority over her body. He would force her to know him to be master, not the bastard traitor.If he had his way, Kebachet would remain gone. Unfortunately, her brother was her link to life. He must fulfill his duty to her to calm the storm and keep the demon within dormant. Without him, earth would be lost.Sha’ní would not simply die of a broken heart as Charles would do. Her grief matched that of Lilene’s personality, and she possessed the blood of Set. One could imagine the kind of evil she could become. She would never betray those she loved; however, if she felt betrayed, the consequences were grim.KebachetKebachet roamed the outer realms and forged relationships with allied gods. He never bothered with the mortals. They were simply pawns in a bigger game. The gods were the true power of their world. They would reach out to him and whisper floating rumors on occasion. In return, Kebachet agreed to aid
and pulled her to him.Her body collided into a wall of hard muscles and then conformed to it as he dove for her lips with a searing kiss. She held on to him and soaked in his desire for her. She wanted him to take her to the magical place he showed her on the first night.Horace slammed the door behind her, making the decorative weapons on the wall rattle. He shredded her clothing into tatter scraps while he pushed her further into his chambers.His scent is disgusting. You belong to me, Beautiful. It seems you need reminding of that, his deep voice growled in her mind.Sha’ní could not respond to his displeasure. His hands worked in a frenzy on her body as his mouth nipped and sucked in places that made her weak.She landed on her back on the bed with a bounce, and Horace’s vampire form pounced. His passion sheathed inside with a punishing strike fueled with his hot jealousy. She was dizzy from his onslaught and could hardly comprehend what was happening.“Give me your love, Sha’ní,
Sha’ní cupped his jaw and gently turned him to face her. Her crystal eyes begged him to fall in their depth and share her love for eternity.His sins still clung to him even though he was pardoned. He was still capable of horrors that would give anyone nightmares. Her soul was too pure to be tainted by him.“You are your father’s son. You have Charles ’s heart. You are cold and stubborn, yet compassionate and empathetic."You say the males of the gods are the alphas. They are the masters of the home. I see this quality in you.“You want to shut everyone out and become stronger than before. You are afraid you will become what you once were.“I have a feeling Ra gave you a new body with a new mind strong enough to resist any temptation to become what you once were in the underworld or the demon realm.”Her words and acceptance sliced him open and burned away the delicate wall he started building. How could a goddess love a demon?“You are not a demon. You never were. Your soul was only
Horace blocked most of her attacks while she cursed him and her life. She used every foul word she thought of to hit him where she hurt the most.Horace grabbed both her wrists and pinned them to her back. The front of her body slammed into his chest as she fought to free herself.She spit on his face. The thick saliva rolled down his cheek in thin strings, but he didn’t release her.“I hate you! You should have stayed in the shadows playing with humans. How could you do this to me!”His exposed chest was pressed against her. She only had to call his soul for help, and it would have no choice but to destroy its vessel.HoraceSha’ní’s red eyes suddenly returned to their natural color and went blank as she sagged in Horace’s grip.Jasper ’s black form appeared out of the darkness of the underworld and gazed at the precious jackal in his arms. He used his ability to paralyze Sha’ní. It would not last long.Horace carefully lowered Sha’ní to the ground, “You must fix this, brother. Her m
Kebachet’s screams quieted, and his sweaty body relaxed, forcing her to hold his weight. She panted from the strain as the last of her power trickled away.Just before she dropped Kebachet and went unconscious, the ribbon of power that connected them snapped and back lashed. A thunderous concussion smacked her mind, and a flood of emotions and images pulled her under the wave. They came so quickly that she could not filter them or make sense of what she saw. There was no up or down. The invading thoughts erased everything she experienced and latched onto her without mercy.Everything was tinted in red. The sky, the stone ground, and the monstrous creatures were all red. Her body hurt from freezing temperatures, and her chest felt like she was having a heart attack as her fist plunged on its own accord into a body and ripped its beating heart out.The red world returned with the sounds of creatures being tormented. It happened repeatedly, and each time a different innocent soul or a m
“No. They will not,” his baritone voice rumbled with an icy edge while his pale eyes continued to devour her.Sha’ní was confused and mortified and utterly attracted to him. She wanted nothing more than to please him, and she didn’t understand why he was so angry with her. But the display of his aggression was making her body warm inside, and the knots in her tummy leaked in hot drips between her thighs.Sha’ní lowered her gaze and picked at her nails, “You wish to do this in private?”“It is not my wish to be bonded to anyone. My thoughts are my own. My actions are not to be questioned. I will live as I see fit within the laws of the gods.”His words stung and tears started to blur her vision as she continued to pick at her nails. She understood he was a private person. That had already been established. It was why Jasper had been working with him.A hooked finger lifted her chin so her eyes would meet Kebachet’s gaze, “I am thankful for your gift and willingness to help me. You will
Kebachet’s entire body tensed as he pulled Sha’ní closer to him. He buried his nose into her neck and inhaled her scent. It was then she knew this soul had been lost. It broke her heart.She realized Kebachet was sharing his heart with her and willing to be venerable. It was a great honor to be let into the heart of a prideful soul who would not tolerate weakness. It meant he trusted her enough to be natural with her.Sha’ní could not imagine a world without Kebachet. She was not sure how she survived without him all of this time.A tear fell down her cheek at the thought of losing him. This soul was a warm, passionate soul. His heart was capable of love so strong it could kill an entire realm of demons.She did not understand how it could be dying when Ra made a perfect body and Jasper had control over its fate.“Brother?”Kebachet inhaled deeply, then moaned a sleepy response.“While your body was still new, your soul cried out to me and said it felt death.”“I suggest reading about
“Please,” she whispered as anxious tears stung her eyes.“Your fear is disgusting, sister. Do not disappoint me,” He warned.“But your soul...”"Is not your concern,” he interrupted, “Trust the god of the dead.”It was a silent reminder that Jasper was in control, and if he wanted his soul, he would have taken it long ago. Trust was hard to give when it had been broken by lies and secrets.She swallowed hard, then forced her back to the two males in her life who she loved deeply and teleported to Horace’s chambers. Horace always had the answers. Maybe he would be willing to share his knowledge or perhaps wipe away her anxiety with his magnificent body.Her core coiled, and warmth seeped through her as she remembered the night he took her to a magical place.Sha’ní let herself in without knocking. It felt a bit strange inviting herself into someone else’s home, but he said she had access to his chambers at any time during their relationship.The god of war sat in a simple wooden chair
“What’s so funny?”“You, sister. You are lonely, yet a powerful god desires you, and you resist him.“You are not daddy’s little girl. Respect him in his presence. Beyond that, he does not need to know of your private life. It does not matter if he approves or not.“I assure you, Jasper understands this.”“Do you feel the same as Jasper ? Do you feel I should change my words and become a daughter worthy of the god of the dead?”“You are unique, Sha’ní,” Kebachet said before his mind slipped back into unconsciousness.Moments later, Kebachet’s soul burst with light within his chest. I see you, It whispered.Sha’ní touched the blue glow, and it pulsed in response.“Do you know who you are?”I am Kebachet, son of Jasper and Charles .“Do you know who I am?”Daughter of Jasper and Charles .“What is your desire?”To find forgiveness from the god of the dead and the goddess of balance.“Do you wish to live?”The soul pulsed within Kebachet’s chest as it thought a moment. Yes, It wailedSha