Angels Blood (58 page)

“
Well fess up, we both wanna know.”  The girls giggled.

“
He may not be a dwarf but he has something bigger than a dwarf in his pants!”

Now Solynne and Dark both laughed together with Night looking on and smiling.  She just couldn't understand the fascination with those dangly objects in men's pants.

After awhile, Dark started asking questions about how Solynne got there and all.  She explained the ambush early on in the piece and how Kane had raced her into the east here to save her life. From then on Kane had acted very quickly organizing a local militia and within weeks he had a sizable force to use.  From what Solynne was saying it wasn't long after that, that an Isogorrean army had moved in and started attacking the local villages.

Over the next couple of weeks Kane had resisted the temptation to attack early and had spent his time building his numbers and drawing the enemy forces into a field of battle where he could dictate the terms.  That battle had lasted two days but at the end of it, the Kingdom forces had been totally victorious. Dark now understood what had happened to the Isogorrean army that had disappeared.  It hadn't been orcs as everyone suspected, that was a big positive. Wollfen would be very pleased with what Kane had achieved here. 

“
We haven't seen any orcs.  The only race out of place here is a single elf to tell you the truth.”

Dark picked up at the mention of that. 

“
An elf you say? What is his name?”

“
He calls himself Eldoron,” Solynne replied. 

“
Eldoron is here?”

“
You know him? Yes he has been here quite a few months.  A bit of a lost soul if you ask me, like a spare wheel.”

Well, well, wasn't it a small world? Dark wondered.  She had a few things to tell Wollfen.  Dark decided to go talk to Sergeant Burkhard.  Since they had solved the riddle of the loss of the Isogorrean army and they knew the Kingdom had a strong military presence in the east, word of that needed to get back. It didn't take long to find Burkhard and she informed him of what she knew. Having that information he could organize a trip back to Port Volarus. She also told him to talk to Kane regarding some extra men for him as well.  They had lost three coming here.

Dark decided it was time to get things organized for their trip to Kassandrea.  She knew that Wollfen would want to take off for there as soon as he was well enough and by the rate of his recovery she couldn't see them being there even a week.

Suddenly she realized what she was doing.  She had taken over and organized all things in Wollfen's absence and not batted an eyelid.  Before she always asked for permission, regardless of whether it was necessary to do so or not.  She was being more independent, the six months away from his influence had a bigger impact than she had known. The more Dark thought about it the more she understood. Before she was feeding Wollfen with a neediness that wasn't really her and she also knew that Wollfen didn't have to have people do that with him.  Kane was a prime example. All of a sudden she felt quite liberated as well as more important. Yes things were changing for her and it was good.

Back in the cabin room Dark looked down at the still sleeping Wollfen.   He was looking very good, she pulled back the blanket and looked at the wound.  It still looked bad, she had half expected it to be healed. Wollfen awoke with a start. 

“
Darling?”

Wollfen looked about, then he coughed a little stale blood up. He felt his chest a bit then looked at Dark. 

“
It's not going well I'm afraid, I just don't have the energy levels to self heal.”

Dark waited patiently.  Patience was a new trait of hers too.  Everything would come in good time.  Before she had died her impatience had gotten her into trouble a lot. She didn't understand what Wollfen was saying or what he needed but she knew he would eventually say. 

“
Dark?” She looked at him, “There are in my clothes a couple of crystals, one is goldish in color could you bring it to me?”

She nodded and went to the other part of the room and rummaged a bit.  She found what he wanted and returned with it, placing it in his hand.

Wollfen turned it over in his hand feeling it.  Yes it still had some charge, that was good.  He had used most of its energy originally to heal Dark's dead body.  This time he would not need anywhere near as much.  He was alive and the repair process was already happening naturally.  He would simply be giving it a boost.

He smiled at Dark as he placed it over his wound and held it there. Closing his eyes and feeling his own injuries he went to work. Dark  lay down beside him and watched his face as he became lost in concentration.  They lay there for an hour before his eyes fluttered open. 

“
It is done.”

He took away the crystal and where a blackened wound was before only a dark red mark existed.  It wasn't fully healed but he had managed to accelerate the process greatly. Dark smiled at him and caressed his cheek. 

“
I was going to have a talk with you about some matters, but I can see you are exhausted again.  Sleep my love.  I will take care of everything.”

Wollfen kissed her on the cheek. 

“
Thank you, you are better to me than I deserve.”

Dark wouldn't have any of it.

“
Oh don't think I'm not going to give you a hard time when we do speak.  You have a lot of explaining to do and I want the truth. You understand this don't you?”

Wollfen nodded.  It was a talk he always knew one day he would have to give, to explain to her just who he really was and why he had certain abilities others didn't.

Dark took off again for the rest of the day spending her time catching up with Kane and talking to Eldoron.  The elf was quite surprised to hear of Wollfen's exploits.  He couldn't remember of any such things being talked of in the elven lands where Wollfen had spent many years. Dark arranged that as soon as Wollfen was awake and able to take visitors Eldoron would be one of the first to see him. She felt that the elf had an important part to play as yet. 

The evening came quickly and as Dark was sitting with the others having supper, Night came out from where she had been watching over Wollfen. 

“
He is awake now.  He wants a side of beef he reckons so I figure he must be a little hungry. Do you want to take a plate of food in to him Dark?”

Dark nodded with a mouthful of food and made a sound, nothing intelligible but Night understood. She grabbed a big bowl and started to load it up with slices of meat. She knew he would appreciate it, Dark also laid in some roast potatoes and onions as well as carrots too.  It was about three times the amount she could manage but when Wollfen had a big appetite he could do some real damage.

As soon as Dark walked into the room she started giving him commands. 

“
Come on get your ass up, you can't lie down and eat.”

He lifted himself up into a sitting position as Dark sat a pillow in his lap and plopped the large bowl on top,

“
Thank you Dark, I'm famished.”

He tucked in without hesitation using his fingers to pull chunks of meat out and chewed happily.  Dark sat on the bed cross-legged watching on and smiling.  She had brought more food than Wollfen could possibly eat but as time wore on he managed to almost do it to her surprise.  The few scraps left wouldn't feed a cat.  He lay back with a contented smile on his face.  

“
That was the best hearty meal I have had in a long time.”

She leaned forward and kissed his moist lips and licked them a little too.  It aroused them both but she did not continue, this was the time to talk. Dark sat back and watched him.  

“
I think it's time you told me who you are and where I fit in.”

Wollfen sat up and looked at her. 

“
Yes, I want you to know that I was always going to hold this talk with you eventually.  Circumstances over the last year though have kept pushing it back.”

He sighed before going on, collecting his thoughts.  Once he started he had a lot to say.

“
I love you Dark, I love you more than I have ever loved another for over a hundred and thirty years.”

Dark's eyes widened at the statement, she was expecting big revelations, but this? Wollfen knew how to start off with a bang. 

“
A hundred and thirty years? So how old are you?”

“
I have been walking this world for almost four hundred years.”

Wollfen stopped and let this sink in, he could see her thoughts playing out on her face, the confusion and shock were telling. She spoke again. 

“
Go on.” 

“
In the early days I was a normal person just like you, though not quite as nice.  Well to put it in a nutshell, I was bad, a killer and I had no good in my heart.” Again the shock on Dark's face, this time he kept going, “I spent most of my young adult life as an assassin and I was very good at what I did.  I killed anyone I was hired or ordered to do without emotion, without any mercy. I had killed more people in those twenty years of ‘working' for want of a better name than I can remember.” Again he paused, what he was telling her would be taken badly, “I have killed men, women, children.  And sometimes when Kings or princes or barons, whatever they may have been threatened by the birth of some illegitimate child, I would be called on to take the baby and well, dispose of them.”

Now Dark's eyes were filled with tears, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

“
How could you do those things? Did you not have any decency at all?”

He shook his head. 

“
No. I had no redeeming qualities I can think of.  I had no compassion for any human whatsoever.”

“
But you are nothing like that, you show more compassion for people than what they deserve.  I don't understand, what happened?”

Wollfen again shook his head.

“
I don't know why but in my late thirties or so, I'm not even sure when anymore it has been so long, Lord Vincent touched my heart and he brought out the humanity in me. I do remember I was a good child I think, but I had a bad father and worse upbringing.  Maybe I was a product of that or something, who knows? Anyway obviously Lord Vincent found something in me worth his time and he managed to bring it out.  I felt my heart filled with a love I had never felt before and from that day I was a changed man.”

Wollfen looked on at Dark and could see she was having a tough time grasping a lot of it. 

“
Are you okay my love?” Dark shook her head. 

“
I am so confused by all of this, I don't know what to ask, who is Lord Vincent?”

“
He is what you would call one of the gods, though I wouldn't call him that.  You have been to the afterlife Dark.  So you know there are beings there watching over us.  Vincent really is just one of them.”

Dark now had something to grasp onto, a foundation to work from.  She did have experience of the afterlife even if it was only the tiniest bit during her time dead. 

“
Now I am beginning to understand.  So this Vincent set you free in a sense?” He nodded. 

“
Yes in a sense, that is true, but I wasn't simply left with that freedom.  I also believe I am charged with the mission of setting the path for all. Well I thought it was, I haven't really done a great job up to now.  Each time I make firm plans they always seem to go awry. Something else always seems to come up. Nevertheless I am a servant to bring good into the world.  It's hard to explain, but I am trying to influence the course of world events for the betterment of all races.”  Dark was starting to get excited. 

“
You are a soldier for good in a sense? Serving something much higher and more important than just King and country?”

Wollfen was taken aback.  She was learning fast and taking leaps of understanding far beyond his expectations. 

“
Yes, you have it, I am surprised you can understand so easily.  Mind you, I haven't really been given a textbook on what is right and wrong either. I have been learning too as I go, it has been a long process. I have made mistakes too.”

“
Mistakes?” 

“
Yes, I can give a very good example.   About three hundred years ago I brought about the demise of organized religion.  I thought it necessary at the time as it had become decadent, corrupt and insular.  Religions of those days exerted a power over people that ended up pandering to their own self-serving interests rather than the good of the people. I thought I was doing good at the time in setting people free from that, but ultimately it has failed.  You see I have come to realize that religion, just like people, has to go through its own process of enlightenment. I know you probably can't see it because you have known nothing else.  One day I'll explain more of what I mean.  I can tell you, what we were going to start  six months ago was partly to address that problem.”