Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) (35 page)

Rolling out of bed with very little motivation, she dressed. Then, taking a deep breath, she picked up the vest, swearing it wasn’t that heavy the day before. She picked up the four new things and walked over to Ahnon. When Minos saw her, he ran over to her. “I can win,” he said, and took off to Ahnon.

“I hate you, Minos,” she grumbled.

“I told you the dog was stupid,” she heard over her head. She turned around and looked up in the loft to see Talon perched on the new guardrail Ahnon had built. The old one would’ve never held Talon’s weight.

She smiled at Talon. “I never said he wasn’t, but he is loveable sometimes,” she pointed out.

“Few and far between,” Talon said, and she giggled as she walked over to Ahnon.

She watched him until Ahnon noticed her. “Morning, Kenna,” he said, smiling.

“What are these for?” she asked, straining to lift the four bands up. Ahnon walked over and wrapped one around each wrist then one around each ankle. They were wide enough to reach to her knees and elbows. Kenna had to struggle to lift up her arm to scratch her nose. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked.

“No, the body will respond,” he said, going back to work. Kenna looked outside and noticed it was daylight.

“You didn’t get us up before dawn.”

“I know; you two needed some extra rest,” he said, and then she noticed a counter by the stove, and she shuffled over and saw it had a basin in it with a hole in the bottom.

“It can’t hold water with a hole in it,” she said.

Ahnon looked away from what he was doing. “Kenna, since you have the energy to be a critic, start breakfast,” he told her.

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. “I’m not getting up early ever again,” she mumbled, moving over to the stove. She broke four eggs before getting the right amount of force from her arm with the extra weight on it. Seeing her struggle, Ahnon came over and helped. Jedek smelled meat cooking and rolled over out of bed, hitting the floor hard.

Ahnon turned to look and saw Jedek getting dressed while lying on the floor. “Jedek, you have to stand, so do it when you wake up,” Ahnon told him, wanting to laugh.

“Ahnon, my hair hurts to move,” Jedek said.

“Wait till you see the new toys,” Kenna called out as Minos went to help Jedek up. Minos was almost five feet tall at the shoulder, and he licked Jedek’s face.

Jedek let out a squeal, and Ahnon turned to see his face soaking wet and half the hair on his head sticking up. “Thank you, Minos,” Ahnon called out, and Minos looked around to see what he did to deserve praise. Ahnon went over and put the weighted straps on Jedek’s wrists and ankles. When Jedek headed to the table, he tripped, and since his hands were now weighted, he couldn’t move his arms fast enough to break his fall before hitting his face.

Knowing this was going to hurt, Jedek closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. He waited for what seemed like a long time but was only a second. Not feeling the pain, Jedek opened his eyes to see the floor a few inches away from his face, slowly getting closer. “I expected to fall faster,” Jedek said as his face gently touched the floor. Getting up, he saw Ahnon grinning at him. “Thank you, Ahnon,” he said then forcefully picked his feet up.

“Welcome,” Ahnon said as they sat down and ate.

With breakfast over, Ahnon led them outside to the pile of small rocks. When they got there, Jedek and Kenna noticed two smaller piles side by side. Twenty paces away in each direction were two wooden shields with buckets on them. The buckets’ openings were pointed at them. Ahnon reached down and threw a rock, hitting one of the buckets. The rock slowly slid out, falling to the ground, and the kids were getting a sick feeling in their stomachs.

“There are three hundred rocks in each pile. You will throw and hit the bucket. As you can see, if you hit it, the rocks will fall into a pile. Hit the shield, and they bounce toward you. Miss the shield, and you will spend a lot of time looking. You must both throw your pile before lunch. Each lost rock is a trip to the next tree on the mountain. We shall call it second tree,” Ahnon said, pointing at a lone tree above the one they had run to, a full mile up the steep hill. “For each ten misses, it’s a trip to first tree. The buckets can count, so the more you get, the fewer times you will run to the first tree. If you finish your throws, you may sit and rest till lunch,” he said then walked away.

Jedek looked at Kenna. “He’ll know, so don’t do it,” he warned, reaching down to pick up a rock.

“I know, but I can still think about it,” she said, picking up a rock and throwing it, but it didn’t make it halfway to the bucket.

Jedek threw one, and it sailed right past the shield, “Remember, if we cheat, it could kill us later,” he said, picking up another rock.

Kenna sighed, “Jedek, I know. But sometimes, I wish we did have a whipping post so the thought of cheating wouldn’t be so tempting,” she said, missing the shield.

It was still early morning when Ahnon came back, seeing both drenched in sweat and leaning over, rubbing their right arms. “Buckets moving?” he asked.

“Ahnon, I can’t move my arm,” Jedek moaned.

“Use your other arm,” Ahnon said.

“I can’t throw with that one,” Jedek said. Ahnon walked over and picked up two rocks. Standing between the targets he threw both rocks at the same time, hitting the buckets. Jedek gasped because Ahnon never took his eyes off of him. “So when your right arm becomes injured, you are going to call a break in a fight till it gets better?” Ahnon asked.

Kenna straightened. “Can I use a bucket to collect all the rocks that are fixing to miss my target?” she asked.

“That’s reasonable,” Ahnon said, walking away. The two started throwing again with the first hundred coming nowhere close. Then they started hitting the shields and even a few buckets. When their left arms got tired, they threw with their right.

At noon, they saw Ahnon coming out with food and set the plates down on the grass. The two dropped down as Ahnon walked over, looking at the pile of stones and waved his hand over them. “Neither of you stopped after you threw your pile once,” he informed them.

“Well, we were starting to hit the stupid bucket,” Kenna said with a full mouth.

“Are all of your rocks here?” Ahnon asked.

“No,” they both said, dropping their heads.

“How many?” Ahnon asked.

“Four that I know of,” Kenna said.

“Seven that I know of,” Jedek replied.

Ahnon held out his hands. Nine rocks flew to him from Kenna’s target and twelve from Jedek’s. “You both were off by five,” Ahnon said, walking first to one bucket then the other. “Over a hundred hits apiece. I’m impressed. Since you trained hard and continued, only two trips to the second tree.”

They finished eating and started to jog because running was not an option with the weighted outfit. When they passed the first tree, the rest of the way was on toes and hands because the hill was so steep. The hard part was not rolling down the hill on the way back. When they ran over to the well, they found Ahnon building something else in the yard as they turned back around.

Coming back, they found Ahnon sitting at a large table outside with two benches on each side. They slapped the well and moved over to the new table. “Ahnon, you build faster than anyone I have even heard about,” Jedek panted.

“I cheated on this,” he said, holding out two small cups. “Drink this,” he said. They both grabbed the cups and slammed them. Both set the cups down, making a multitude of faces.

“Oh my,” Kenna said, holding a hand over her mouth. “That tasted like what the gargoyles smelled like,” she gagged.

Jedek tried wiping his tongue off with his fingers. “What was that?” he asked.

“Tell me?” Ahnon said, grinning.

Jedek threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know,” he said, getting up, and stopped. “Wait,” he said, moving his arms. “I’m not tired.”

“Hey, me either,” Kenna said, jumping up.

Jedek looked at him. “Why did you give us, a healing potion?” he asked.

“Elixir actually,” Ahnon corrected. “How else are you to know what to expect, Jedek? In a battle is not the best time to find out how something works.”

Kenna jerked her head back. “Now that’s smart,” she said, impressed. “I’m going to throw some more,” she said.

“No, hold on. I want to show you something,” Ahnon said, getting up as Minos came over to them. The smell that came off of him could have killed a rock ape.

“Oh, come on,” Jedek said, covering his face with his hands.

“Mean cat spray me,” Minos moaned.

“Stink cat, Minos,” Ahnon said. “Go lay in the stream.”

“It’s okay,” he said, panting.

“Minos, you go lay in the stream, or I will shave your fur off,” Ahnon threatened. Minos lowered his head and moped over to the stream as Talon landed, throwing up a cloud of dust.

“I told the stupid dog any animal that’s bright orange with glowing purple stripes needs to be left alone, but did he listen?” Talon said.

“We will take care of it after his fur has soaked in the water for an hour,” Ahnon said, shaking his head, wanting the smell to go away. He led them inside with Talon jumping up to the loft, perching on the rail. Ahnon stopped at the counter he built and turned a valve, and water came out. The kids ran over, putting their hands under it, feeling it was just short of hot.

“Ahnon, we can’t drink hot water,” Jedek said.

“It’s not for drinking, Jedek. It’s for washing dishes,” Ahnon explained. Then he turned on another valve. “This one is cold for drinking.” Kenna looked in the tub, seeing the water go into the hole. She looked under the sink and saw a hollow tree at the hole then running out the wall.

“Where does it go?” she asked.

“Outside, down the hill,” Ahnon said.

“No more going to the stream or well for water. I like it,” Jedek said, grinning.

Kenna looked at the two valves and followed the round tube out the wall. “Ahnon, I know you just run the hot water from the stream, but where did you get the cold?” she asked. She and Jedek had traced the stream down to find it came from a hot spring.

“A barrel outside. The water is hot when it goes in, but it cools off,” Ahnon said, and she nodded.

He led them over to his next surprise. “Jedek, you should remember this from Nazar,” he said, opening a door to a little stall, and Jedek grinned, looking at a round, flat can with a bunch of holes in the bottom.

Kenna gasped. “A shower,” she said. Ahnon just looked at her. Plumbing was pretty prevalent in Nazar, but showers were almost nonexistent outside of it. “The ambassador of Nazar had one at his palace in Honch,” she said, looking at the shower.

Ahnon smiled then let the kids shower as he grabbed his mask and a few components and went to scrub Minos. Talon jumped down and followed, laughing the entire way. That night, Ahnon read to them as the kids fell asleep in the chairs. He carried them to bed, covering them up, then added some weight to the vest and straps. Then he went to work on another project to make their home more livable for the training ahead.

Chapter 28

A week later, Ahnon woke the kids up and after exercises told them to take off their vests and straps. It was a major adjustment to say the least, but the kids loved seeing how fast they could move as they ate breakfast. “What are we doing today?” Jedek asked, grinning.

“Gathering spell components, and Talon found the last metal I was looking for and hoping to find: adamant, known as the metal of the Gods,” Ahnon said.

“Adamant?” Jedek asked.

“Yes, the rarest and strongest of the metals. It’s more valuable than gold and in my opinion stronger than diamonds. That’s where the word comes from: meaning unyielding,” Ahnon explained.

“Diamonds are glass. How can they be strong?” Kenna asked.

“Diamonds aren’t really glass, Kenna, and they are strong but also brittle,” he said then explained how they were extremely hard and could cut most materials but very few things could cut them. When he finished, he looked at her. “Understand?” he asked.

Kenna just looked at him. “Ahnon, strangely, I think I do,” she said.

“Good. Get your stuff, and grab your coats. It’s cold outside,” he said, slinging his bow. He smiled, watching them run around without the weights on. When they walked over to him, he handed each a pack, burlap bags, a few jars, and a handful of leather bags.

Outside, they found Minos and Talon waiting on them with steam pouring out as they breathed. “Whoa,” Kenna said, stepping outside, “this is cold.”

“We should have snow in a few days,” Ahnon said.

“Really?” they asked together.

Ahnon smiled. “Yes.” He started walking to the stream and then up the hill. The kids followed, feeling they could run up the hill without the stupid vests on. They followed Ahnon, who asked questions about plants he had already shown them and was very happy they both answered all correctly. After an hour, they stopped by a small spring and collected a bunch of pink berries.

“Are we going to eat them?” Jedek asked.

“No, I really don’t feel like dying today. This is kesptal,” Ahnon said.

“Hey, this is used in a lot of spells,” Jedek said, speeding his collecting.

“Yes, it is,” Ahnon said. When they had several bags full, they left with Jedek moaning about wanting more as they washed their gloves off in the spring. They collected bags of several types of flowers and bags of leaves from several plants. Ahnon stopped them and by himself collected two jars full of moss. They noticed he had his mask on and washed his gloves off afterwards.

“It’s that poisonous?” Kenna asked.

“Yes, it is.”

“Is it a component or poison?” she asked.

“Both. That’s nander, or death moss. I’ll show you how to handle it in spells, but that’s another reason for gloves.”

Kenna almost died when they went in a cave and filled burlap bags of bat dung. The thousands of beady eyes above her made her have a shield spell on her mind. She wouldn’t admit it, but Kenna was very happy to leave the cave.

It was just after high noon when Ahnon stopped them, took off his pack, and pulled off the pick and hammer. Kenna and Jedek took off their packs. They had filled every bag and jar on the trip and put them down. They were taking turns carrying the bat droppings. Walking over, they found Ahnon standing in front of an outcrop of an ugly, grayish-white rock. Jedek reached down, feeling how rough it was and was shocked to see it crumble in his hand.

“It’s kind of brittle,” he said, standing up.

“Wait till we forge it,” Ahnon said. “I’ve had to mix it with steel, and the result is great. I’ve never had enough to make a whole sword,” Ahnon said, grinning.

“Is this a lot?” Kenna asked, not impressed.

“This is more than I’ve ever seen. I’ve found three small rocks of it about the size of my fist. That’s what’s in my swords,” Ahnon said. He raised the pick and started breaking chunks of rock. The kids would pick them up, putting them in the packs. In less than an hour, all three packs were full, and it looked like they hadn’t even touched the outcropping.

“Guess we will be coming back?” Kenna said.

“Oh, you can bet on that,” he said, still smiling. “Let’s eat then head home.”

“There’s a stream over there. The water skin is empty,” Kenna said, grabbing the skin and heading to the stream. Ahnon picked up his satchel and took out the food, then he heard Kenna gasp. He looked up and saw her looking down at her feet.

“Ahnon, come here quick!” she called out. Ahnon and Jedek jogged over to her and looked down. In the tall grass at her feet was a large pile of gold nuggets.

“Damn,” Ahnon said, looking at the pile, and pulled both of the kids close, scanning the area. “Kenna, call Talon, and Jedek, call Minos.” He looked hard at the bushes around them as the kids did what they were told. Kenna grabbed her amulet, and Jedek let out several soft whistles.

“Talon is coming. He killed a deer and was sharing it with Minos,” Kenna said, looking at Ahnon. His face was hard as he looked all around them. “What is it?” she asked, getting nervous.

“Leprechaun,” Ahnon whispered, staring hard at a bush twenty paces away.

Jedek blew out through his lips, sounding like a horse. “Ahnon, leprechauns aren’t real,” he said, relieved.

“I’m glad to know that,” Ahnon mumbled. “I’ll tell the one in the bush over there that,” he added, moving the kids behind him. “I see you over there. You can come out!” he called, and nothing moved. “We don’t want your gold. We just want to leave unmolested,” Ahnon called out again. Like before, nothing happened as they all stared at the bush.

“You can see us looking at you, so come out,” Ahnon requested. “If you don’t, I’ll start throwing your nuggets with magic,” he added. The bush moved, and the kids jumped, seeing a very short, stocky man with red hair and beard come out. He was no taller than a young child, maybe reaching Ahnon’s waist. As he moved closer, they noticed he was wearing a burlap sack with a rope tied as a belt and a dagger on his waist.

“Knew you be after me gold,” he barked at them beside the bush. Then he was suddenly standing in front of them. Kenna looked at him then the spot he had been by the bush, expecting there to be two of them. “Don’t be takin’ what’s not yourn to be had, human,” he snapped.

“Just wanted to talk,” Ahnon said calmly.

“Well, I be here, so talk,” he said. Jedek looked at the face as he spoke and didn’t like the grin the leprechaun had with his giant nose.

“It’s your gold, and we are leaving it, but we don’t want you taking what is ours,” Ahnon said.

The leprechaun laughed. “You think I take your stuff,” he said.

“Oh, I know the laws of leprechauns. Someone saw your gold, so you can see what they may have,” Ahnon said, and the laugh stopped.

“How you be knowin’ the laws?” he asked as his face became angry.

“Met a few and had to kill one when he tried to take what was mine.”

“No human can kill a leprechaun,” he said, but uncertainty was on his face.

Ahnon chuckled. “There you’re wrong. I did bury him with his gold but kept what was mine.”

The leprechaun dropped his hand to his dagger. “I’m thinkin’ it be luck,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“Your choice, but I’ll keep your gold if this comes to a fight,” Ahnon said, relaxing his stance.

“I’m thinking not, human,” he said with a grin.

Ahnon smiled. “Why? You think your wife can stop me?” Ahnon asked, and the grin fell off, replaced by shock. The leprechaun stepped back. “She’s to my left behind the lone tree twenty paces away.”

“Who you be?” the leprechaun asked, gripping his dagger.

Ahnon’s hands flashed. “Sag su du ina ur,” he shouted as a white glob hit the leprechaun in the chest. Spinning around, he flipped his left wrist as his arm swung over his head, pointing at the tree. The pyramid shot out from his hand, and another small figure stepped out from the tree to be hit in the chest. Flexing his wrist, Ahnon made the small figure fly through the air, catching it in his left hand.

Jedek saw Ahnon holding a female leprechaun just like the male that Ahnon put a bind on by the front of her burlap bag. Ahnon knocked the dagger from her hand and set her down. “My lady, I’m sorry to have to do that to you, but your husband was getting unruly, and it would come to bloodshed. I could never forgive myself for killing one as beautiful as you.”

The female leprechaun stumbled back at his words. She looked much like her husband, minus the beard, but she was more slender and had girl curves. But on the end of her nose was a huge wart. She reached a hand up, smoothing her red hair, which was going everywhere. “You really think so?” she asked, smiling.

Ahnon bowed. “Yes, my lady. I can understand why your husband doesn’t want others to see your beauty but not why he would risk your life,” Ahnon said, holding his bow. The kids looked at Ahnon then bowed at the female leprechaun.

“You may rise,” she said, giggling, twirling a finger in her hair. She looked at her husband and tapped him, releasing him from the bind. “You don’t risk me like that anymore,” she snapped then turned to Ahnon. “You take the gold and remember this day,” she said, giggling.

Ahnon knelt on one knee. “No, my lady, I can’t take this from you. It pales in your beauty, but it will make you happy. I know that is what your husband is trying to do.”

The husband stepped forward, growling, “You used magic on me!”

His wife pointed a finger at him and zapped him with purple light, freezing him in place, “Shamus, you hurt them, and I’ll repay you a thousand fold,” she warned with hard eyes. She dropped her hand, and Shamus hit the ground.

Ahnon reached in a pouch and pulled out four gold crowns. “This is all the gold I have on me, my lady. Take it for allowing us to look upon you. I hope it brings you a little happiness,” Ahnon said, putting the coins in her hand.

Her hands dropped to her side. “You be so kind to me,” she muttered.

“You deserve nothing but happiness, my lady, to allow the world to see your beauty,” Ahnon said as Shamus got off the ground with a look of shock on his face as he stared at Ahnon.

“You hit your head, boy?” Shamus asked Ahnon. His wife narrowed her eyes and punched him in the mouth, knocking him down.

“Gwen, what you do that for?” Shamus asked, rubbing his bleeding mouth.

“Quit being a pain, and take notes on how to talk to me,” she said, holding out the four coins. “Take these back, and I’m sorry my husband caused you displeasure,” she said.

“No, my lady, they are a gift from us to bring you some happiness, and if it wasn’t for your husband, we never would have seen your beauty,” he said, pushing her hand back.

“You are unlike any human we have ever seen or heard of,” she said, reaching out and rubbing his face. “I accept your gift, and know none of the exiled will bother you at your cottage or anywhere on Thanos. You have the word of Gwen. You may rise, human called Ahnon,” she said, seeing he wasn’t going to stand up.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said, getting up. Ahnon looked at Shamus. “You are lucky, my friend, to have such a lovely, caring wife.”

Shamus smiled, looking at Ahnon then at Gwen. “You be right there, Ahnon,” he said. “I be sorry for doubting you, and that outcropping you chopping on goes down deep,” Shamus said, grinning as he pointed at the gold, making it shimmer and disappear. “You be a friend,” he said, and they vanished.

Ahnon let out a breath and fell back into the grass with a crash. “Where did they go?” Jedek asked.

“I think they ran off?” Kenna said, seeing trees swaying in a line. Then they both ran to Ahnon, who was covered in sweat as Talon landed beside them, and Minos trotted up. “Ahnon, are you okay?” Kenna asked.

Panting heavily, “I feel like I gave birth to a mastodon, tusk and all,” he said, wiping his face.

“They are that dangerous?” Jedek asked.

“Hey, they don’t exist, remember?” Ahnon said.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong,” Jedek said, pulling Ahnon up.

When he was standing, Ahnon wobbled over to the stream and knelt, splashing water on his face. “Yes, Jedek, they are very dangerous. Leprechauns at one time were fairies but started to lust for gold and digging it out of the ground and collecting it from nature. They were exiled as fairies and are no longer fae but still have the magic, and they are good with it.”

“And you killed one?” Kenna asked, shocked.

“Yes, the little turd stole my sword because he thought I found his gold. I never saw his gold, but if they think you are a threat, they are relentless in the torment they give you,” Ahnon said, getting up.

“Why did you give her gold then?” Kenna asked.

“If a leprechaun accepts a gift, they can never steal from the giver,” Ahnon said then looked down. “If they call you by name, no other leprechaun can cross you.”

“How did she know your name?” Kenna asked.

Shrugging, he said, “Have no idea, but I’m sure they’ve been around the cottage,” Ahnon said.

“That’s why you tried to charm her?” Jedek asked.

Ahnon laughed. “It was worth a try. Like fairies, the females are twice as powerful as the males in magic. Until today, I’ve never seen a female leprechaun, but I talked to a leprechaun in Brant once that told me if you charm them, your life becomes much easier,” Ahnon said, reaching down then pulling on his pack.