Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (53 page)

Shaking off the thought of his daughter’s disapproval, a new thought entered his mind.
I wonder what Athena’s up to. I should buy her a gift.

After a bit of searching, he found some flowers and headed for the inn where Athena worked. His moment of arrival was terrible. She was not there, but the lady behind the counter recognized him. “Hello, George. If you’re looking for Athena, she won’t be back until tomorrow evening.”

Susanne’s brown eyes fell onto the flowers. “Those are beautiful. Are they for my sister?”

George smiled as he thought,
Finally … something around here that’s the same as home. Flowers mean something here.
“Yes, they’re for your sister. I’ll attach a note since she’s not here.”

George reached over the counter and grabbed the quill that was next to Susanne’s hand. As he did, he made sure the outside of his glove brushed against her skin. He thought,
Right on, she didn’t change.
He began to write.

Dear Athena,

I wanted to give you a gift to let you know that you’re on my mind. I’m sorry I missed you, but I’ll be back tomorrow night. I hope you’ve longed for me as much as I’ve longed for you.

With fondness,

George

Feeling a bit bummed, George said goodbye to Athena’s sister and left for the arena. Tomorrow night was a long wait. He wanted to see Athena now. But after thinking it through, he remembered he could not control his ability. Athena’s absence was for the best, because he could not kiss her anyway.

After making his way back to the arena, George was about to buy his way inside when a familiar voice shouted. “Oh, my Lord in Heaven! George Nailer, is that you? I thought you were a goner!”

George rolled his eyes and then turned around. As he watched Shalee approach, he thought.
Great! Here comes the blonde ditz. Why would Texas even claim a ho like her? I hate annoying women.

Shalee continued. “Goodness-gracious ... the way your skinny butt fell through that hole in the temple scared me half-to-death. I would’ve sworn that I’d never see you again. Are you okay? Did you bonk anything?”

Though Shalee’s voice annoyed George half to death, he did like what she was wearing. She had on a pretty white dress and a black sweater that looked like it was made of lace. The outfit was nowhere close to what the other women in town were wearing. Shalee’s fashion was definitely a step above the rest. The dress clung to her bosom and hugged her waist. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and exposed her neck.

George put on a pleasant smile as Shalee stopped in front of him. “I was wondering what happened to you. Looks like you figured out how to add a little kick to the clothes everybody wears around here.”

Shalee looked down. “Oh, this old thing,” she said while she pulled at the fabric. “It was a gift. Sam gave it to me after he won his first fight. It tickles me pink how he spoils me. I had to adjust the waist and bodice, plus I took the sleeves off the dress. I even made this sweater from an interesting material that I found at an adorable, little shop called The Old Mercantile. The place looked so rugged, but there was a sweet lady there that had some material locked away inside a trunk. Poor thing. After I left, I heard that someone robbed her and her husband and took all their money.”

George shook his head and frowned. “That’s terrible. How could someone do something like that? Can you believe that?”

“I know. Right?” Shalee changed the subject. “Anyhoo ... I think the women around here like my fashion. You wouldn’t believe how many of them have come up to me to ask me about it. Maybe I can start a trend. How does this sound to you? Just imagine a sign above the door of my own shop: Shalee’s Purdy Prada? Can’t you feel the ring to it?”

George had ignored most of what Shalee had said. He was thinking about Sam winning his first fight. “So ... Sam is fighting now? Is he fighting here, too?”

Shalee frowned. “You need to learn how to entertain a lady’s ambitions.”

George shrugged. “I don’t care about you opening a shop. That’s girl crap. Tell me about Sam.”

“Fine,” Shalee huffed. “I’ll tell you about him, but first, you’ve got to tell me what happened to you after you fell through the floor. You had to have bonked something.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah,
George thought, and then he made up a lie. “I fell into a room and was knocked out. The next thing I knew, I was in this town. Nothing too exciting has happened since. It’s actually been kind of boring. So what about Sam?”

Shalee rolled her eyes. “You just don’t get it, do you? At least you could’ve said something nice about my outfit. Anyway, I’m not here to educate the hopeless.”

Shalee crossed her arms. “Sam and I have been working to gain the fame he needs to win an audience with the King of Brandor. I’ve been working on controlling my new power with my new friend here.” She held up her staff. “Precious, I’d like you to meet, George. Just ignore his rudeness.”

The jerk was intrigued. “Shalee, what do you mean by your ‘power,’ and when did you start talking to sticks?”

Shalee grinned. “I’ve become a sorceress-in-training. I’m excited about it, too. And I’m good at it. I’ll show you what I can do sometime. I bet you’ll be impressed.”

“That sounds crazy,” George responded. “So are you going to tell me about Sam, or what?”

Shalee started to tap her foot on the ground. “Sam’s fine! He’s been fighting in the kingdom’s arenas. He fought yesterday and won his second fight. He has another one tomorrow. He loses his mind when he gets in there, but fighting is necessary to gain an audience with the King of Brandor. I swear it takes me forever to calm him down afterward. He gets so enraged. It’s scary to watch, and he’s killed two men.”

George smirked. “Sounds like he needs an anger management course.”

“I agree. Well, I kind of agree. He has killed his last two opponents, and he’s becoming well-known. Last night, everywhere we went, people treated him like a celebrity. The people of this world love barbarism. I don’t understand it. It makes me sick.”

George’s brow furrowed. “Are we talking about the same guy? I know Sam is a tough guy and all, but I didn’t think he was that much of a stud.”

Shalee nodded. “Oh, he’s a stud alright. But there’s one big difference. The God of War, Mosley, gave Sam some gifts. One of them increased the size of his body. He is much bigger than when you last saw him.”

“I thought the God of War was Bassorine,” George replied.

Shalee nodded. “He was, or at least he used to be. Bassorine was destroyed, and the wolf took his place.”

“Wolf? What wolf?”

“Oh, sorry ... Mosley is the wolf that was part of the statue in the temple,” Shalee informed. “You’d like Mosley, George. Sam and I traveled with him before he ascended.”

“What the hell are you talking about? You’ve traveled with a god?”

“That’s what I said,” Shalee gloated. “But I know what you mean, though. Sometimes I sit in my room and think that this all has to be some sort of dream or crazy fantasy. It’s hard to believe anything around here is real. It’s even harder to believe that we’ve been on Grayham for only 14 Peaks, and so much has happened.”

George chuckled. “You sound like a native ... spouting off about Peaks and everything.”

Shalee grinned. “Well, hanging out with Sam rubs off on you. He insists we speak like everybody else so we don’t insult anyone.” A moment later, the expression on Shalee’s face changed. “Sometimes, I can’t stop myself from crying. I miss home.”

“I’ll second that emotion,” George reinforced. “I miss home, too.”

Shalee looked down at George’s hands. “Why are you wearing gloves? It’s kind of warm for that, don’t you think? It’s not very fashionable.”

“You and your stupid fashion,” George growled. “It’s a long story, so don’t ask.”

“Fine!”

George crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground to mirror Shalee’s attitude. “Are you going to finish telling me about Sam, or not?”

Shalee dropped her hands to her side and stopped fidgeting. “I would take you to see him, but he’s training right now, and I’m waiting for Helga so we can watch the fights.”

“And who’s Helga again?”

“Helga’s my instructor. I’ve been training so much lately that I need a break. That’s why we’re here. Apparently, Helga likes to watch the fights.”

“Doesn’t sound like you have anything in common,” George replied.

“Sure we do,” Shalee rebutted. “Helga likes my fashion, so that makes her okay with me in my book. I’ve even got her wearing it now.” She tapped the butt end of Precious on the ground. “All kidding aside, George, you’re welcome to meet Helga and sit with us. I’ll buy you an ale, if you’d like, and I’ll finish telling you about Sam.”

“I’d like that,” George replied
.
“Maybe we could all have dinner and catch up.”

Shalee smiled. “Sam would’ve stopped you right then. The natives around here don’t use the word maybe. They all say perhaps.”

George just rolled his eyes. “Whatever!”

Later that Evening

South of Lethwitch

Sam was with BJ in a farmer’s field just south of town when Shalee showed up and told Sam about George. The fighter was intrigued to know that George was alive, and he was interested in meeting for dinner.

Tossing his wooden stave to the ground, Sam proceeded to get dressed and then tended to BJ’s wounds. “It looks like the old man has gone soft on me,” Sam joked as he applied the healing mud to the trainer’s leg.

BJ grumbled, “Give me a couple gifts from the gods, and watch what I do to you. If you weren’t blessed, I’d beat you senseless.”

Sam and Shalee laughed. After a few moments passed, BJ lightened up. They headed out to meet George for dinner.

SAM
and
SHALEE
are making their way to a tavern across town to have dinner with George who is waiting for them to arrive.

Amar is sitting at the bar. The mage is working up the courage to introduce himself to George. Lasidious is also present. The god is sitting inside an invisible veil. He is curious as to how George will react to Amar.

CELESTRIA
has retired to her room that was provided by the witch family. She is having a pleasant conversation with two squirrels as they eat nuts she has set out for them. Her conversation with the squirrels is a wonderful stress reliever. Her interactions with the witches are driving her mad. She is counting the Peaks until her son is born.

MOSLEY
left his team after they had yet another meeting. The gods were all in agreement. Mosley will visit Keldwin, the King of Brandor.