Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (76 page)

Gathering his thoughts as best as he was able, Garret found that words had completely escaped him, at least momentarily. Trying to not look a fool, he took a few steps to close the distance between himself and the woman whom he was supposed to look out for. Upon closer inspection, Garret could now distinguish rings around the young woman's eyes, proof that she too had been grieving the loss of Sirus, though Garret was perplexed at the fact that even the puffiness around the woman's eyes and the redness of her nose seemed somehow to be beautiful, as if her beauty was so pure as to make even her flaws attractive. Knowing so long as he held her beauty within his view he would remain unable to concentrate, Garret turned his gaze to the floor before starting to speak.

"M'lady Linaya, forgive me this intrusion," Garret began, and continued without awaiting a response, not wanting to break his resolve. "My name is Garret, I served among the knights with your father, and considered your mother a friend. Though I mourn with you, I must admit that I cannot find the proper words with which to tell you that I must bring you more bad news. Your mother, Lady Sasha, was so overcome with grief that she took her own life. She passed away in my own arms to be once again with your father as I was rushing her to the mage’s tower seeking a healer to treat her wounds."

Garret stood a moment longer, his gaze locked upon the floor at the woman's feet. Moments passed in silence as Garret stood transfixed in place like a newly erected stature in the corridor, but not wanting to seem uncaring he finally raised his head to meet the gaze of the beauty before him.

Linaya stood with her fist clenched to her face obscuring most of her nose and open mouth. Though beautiful as she was, the horror and pain that had overcome her features was nearly too much for Garret to bear. Tears streamed down Linaya’s small face. So in shock was the young woman that she could not relax her muscles enough even to sob, and with her world falling apart around her and the inability to take a breath, Linaya’s legs gave out beneath her and she crumpled to the floor in a heap. Garret reacted instantly, falling to his knees. Gathering up the small woman in his good arm, he pulled her into his chest and simply held her hoping to take some of her pain into himself. Linaya still remained unmoving, having become rigid again once upon the floor. For many moments Garret feared the woman had endured more than her heart could handle, and he feared for a second time this day a woman would die in his arms. But this fear was proved groundless as Linaya’s body shook with grief and her pain was released in a torrent of sobs and tears unlike anything Garret had ever imagined possible from a woman so small. So pure was Linaya’s pain that Garret too began to cry, her pain opening wounds in his own soul he had been ignoring for days. After near an hour Linaya adjusted herself to relieve some physical strain, and without so much as an attempt to rise, wrapped her arms around Garret’s neck, hugging him like a child might her father. She cried into his neck quietly as his own tears fell unchecked upon her hair.

Garret too had lost much in the last week. His brother was dead or missing along with Sara, his twin’s lover. The king whom Garret served was gone, and though Garret had not known the man properly, he did know of the man's deeds and love for his kingdom. Also Garret had lost his mentor and leader, Linaya’s own father, Sirus the head of the order of blessed Knights of Valdadore. To top it off Garret had carried just an hour before the limp body of Sasha, Linaya’s mother and Sirus' wife, as she bled to death in his arms. So many emotions tore at Garret’s soul, he had no choice but release them here in a seldom traveled corridor in the castle of Valdadore with a young woman in his arms, who herself had lost more in a span of days than any person should have to endure. Taking comfort in one another's arms the two young adults let their grieving take hold of them, and together they shed tears for those they lost until at last, calming themselves, both had cried every tear their bodies could manage.

Garret, coming once again to his senses, realized he was overdue at the council meeting going on just two floors below in the war room, yet for the life of him he did not want to leave this beautiful woman alone in such a fragile state. Although he had agreed to look out for her, it was also his responsibility to be at the meeting. Not knowing what other options he had, Garret disentangled himself from the small woman's body and rose to his feet, his damaged arm hanging limply at his side. Watching her face lift to meet his eyes, Garret was momentarily lost in her emerald gaze, but recovering his wits quickly he offered her his uninjured hand and helped the small woman to her feet.

"I am terribly afraid that I have to be going to attend to other duties," Garret stated reluctantly.

"I understand, Lord Garret," Linaya replied softly.

"Would it be all right if I were to return later to check upon you?" Garret asked.

"It would please me to see you again Lord Garret, if you should wish to visit. However, please see that your arm is tended to," Linaya responded a hint of worry in her voice.

"I will, m'lady. I will return just as soon as I am able," Garret promised. "Will you be OK?"

"Please call me Linaya. I will be fine. It is just a lot to handle right now," Linaya answered.

"I will call you Linaya so long as you call me Garret," Garret replied, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"I will, I promise," Linaya said.

Garret watched as Linaya shared with him a smile, if only half-heartedly, before he turned and without so much as a pause strode down the corridor, retracing his steps back to the first floor and to the war room. Approaching the large chamber he could hear a heated debate raging from within, one in which he would certainly be called upon to lend his voice to one side or another, and again pausing to take a deep breath Garret forced the doors open and strode into the room with his still injured arm hanging at his side.

* * * * *

Ishanya stood upon the plane of the immortal gods, not watching but instead feeling the events that played out upon the world she had once helped to create. Though she no longer cowered or hid from her peers, nor did she mingle with them, choosing instead to remain solitary as her power grew. Ishanya was impressed at this point on how well her little coup was playing out. Even though it had not all gone exactly as she had originally planned, things were still ultimately in her control. The mortal Seth was playing his role nicely, following to near perfection every single path Ishanya set before him. Ishanya believed that even with the unforeseen consequences of Seth creating new races of man upon Thurr she could and would handle that particular setback in due time. Though Seth had indeed garnered many a new follower to her cause, and more came every day with word spreading of his deeds, he had inadvertently gathered worshippers of his own, though Ishanya had since devised a simple plan to ratify that particular situation. She would not go back on her word of course, at least not for now. The human had, in his understanding of time, many long years to live having gathered the life forces of so many of his followers. But when the time came that he was too powerful, his loyal subjects feeding him power with their own deaths, Seth would be dealt with. Once his pathetic existence was ended, all the power he had gathered would then return where it was destined to, and Ishanya would have enough power to envelope the world in war and with it the heavens. When the dust settled from Ishanya’s scheme, she knew she would not only be victorious, but also rule the heavens alone with Thurr as her creation to do with as she wished.

For now, however, she remained patient. Seth was doing her bidding in one form or another, and as of yet none of the other gods had taken notice of Ishanya’s growing power and following among men. None of them had noticed the slight shift in power within the inhabitants of Thurr. None had yet noticed that their end was racing towards them, its gaping maw open wide to swallow them into nothingness. On the plane of immortal gods, Ishanya thrust back her ethereal shoulders and held her head high once more as she had done ages ago, no longer afraid of what her peers might do to her.

* * * * *

Seth, clad in his armor, began to scale the makeshift rungs in the stone wall of the room that had been akin to a prison cell since his mysterious arrival. Having waited several hours for the stone to cool, he was surprised to find that even now it was quite hot to the touch. Not so hot as to scald his flesh, but still hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold too tightly. Using his fingertips and toes Seth carefully scaled the wall one rung at a time until at last he was able to pull himself up through the portal in the ceiling and into the room above. Within seconds of reaching the higher chamber, Sara scurried up after him, her toes and fingers barely finding purchase among the stone rungs before she moved on to the next. It was both unnerving and impressive to see the changes wrought upon her body in action. With the combination of being lighter and having increased strength and agility, Sara made easy work of a task that had left Seth panting. So disproportionate was her weight and strength to her size, Seth wondered if Sara would have been able to simply jump the distance from the floor below to the one above, though he did not voice it.

Scanning the room around them Seth was not able to distinguish much in the darkness other than the fact that this floor looked much like the one below. The chamber here was round too and the ceiling was high. But some differences were immediately discernible. In the center of this room stood a podium of some sort and there were two openings in the wall. Behind the podium a large window was set into the stone, and though no trace of glass remained within the frame, it was still a memorable sight as Seth had never before seen a window in the shape of a teardrop. Opposite the window, on the other side of the room, was a massive arched doorway framed in large stone blocks that even in the dark of night were clearly different from the other stone of the chamber. Seth was relieved to have found a door. Now he knew they were one step closer to getting back home. All he and Sara needed to do at this point was determine their location and from there they could choose a route back to Valdadore and learn the outcome of the battle with the black horde.

Raising one of his palms Seth summoned a small ball of fire to illuminate the room, and turning slowly he took stock of his surroundings. Seth watched as Sara walked around the room pointing out details. The building was obviously ancient as it showed signs of disuse everywhere. Sprouts of grass and weeds grew from between the stone slabs of the floor and dust and dirt clung to everything. Upon the walls of the chamber were etched symbols of the like Seth had never seen before, written in a language foreign to him. Also around the teardrop window as well as the door symbols had been engraved into the stone in repeating patterns that made no sense to either of the young lovers. Although neither Seth nor Sara could read the language, they both agreed that it was a sure sign that they had not remained in Valdadore. Seth was not surprised by the fact that they had traveled so far by means of his magic. In fact he had a deep seated feeling that his power alone was not all that had guided him to this particular place, and here in the room with them Seth believed he found validation for that belief.

The dais at the center of the room, or more appropriately the altar, appeared of very simple design in the dark. Though scoured by age and the elements, Seth believed he could make out features upon the singular stone column that supported a small slab of stone that made the top of the altar. Though upon first glance appearing a simple stone column about three feet high, upon closer inspection the form of a woman’s body graced the surface on what would be the front of the column. Though the ages had scoured away all of the details of the carving, Seth knew in his heart who it was the stone depicted. His fears realized, without even mentioning the discovery to Sara who still busied herself studying the symbols upon the walls, Seth turned away from the stone depiction of Ishanya. Collecting Sara as he went, Seth strode to the doorway, ready more than ever to be free of this place.

As he stepped into the doorway, Seth increased the intensity of the fireball within his palm to illuminate further that which surrounded the building. Though still dark outside, Seth noted several things of import using only the light of his magical fire. The chamber they had exited was but a small part of a much larger structure. Stepping out of the doorway onto a large stone platform, Seth at first imagined that they stood atop a great hill in the surrounding wilderness. But as he and Sara traversed what would have been the hilltop, they discovered that the entire structure was in fact manmade. Though covered in unusual brush and vines that Seth had never seen before, as he and Sara explored the top of the structure, they found it to be perfectly square and unnaturally level. Coming to the edge of the great stone platform they were surprised to find that the hill was not what they had previously thought it to be either. Where they imagined great sloping hillsides to be, covered by foreign flora to disguise its true nature they found instead at each side of the great stone platform a sprawling, descending stone staircase that made up an immense building beneath them. All four sides were identical in what appeared to be a great stone building erected in ever narrowing layers, one atop another, creating in essence a giant stone pyramid with the peak carved off to create the platform they now stood upon. In the center of that platform, at the pinnacle of the flat-topped pyramid, was the round chamber that Seth knew now to be an altar to Ishanya built ages ago. Seth could feel the goddess's eyes upon him, could sense her mocking him silently upon the night air. With the hair rising on his neck and arms, Seth led Sara down one of the four faces of the building. They carefully picked their way among the brush and vines as they climbed down to the wilderness surrounding them. Though neither of them had thought to count the many great steps they descended to reach the soil below, the process took over an hour to complete and Seth imagined that there were more than a couple hundred layers to the great building. In a hurry as he was to escape the building, each new step seemed to mock him by providing yet another step ahead and then another.