Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (76 page)

Before Sam’s mind could stray further, the general clapped his hands and captured everyone’s attention. A moment later, three slaves ran into the room. “Find my officers,” the general ordered as he stared at the tallest of the three women. She was also the largest and her belly rolled over the belt she had about her waist. “Make sure they don’t leave the city without attending breakfast at Early Bailem tomorrow.”

The slaves darted out of the room to fulfill Justin’s command.

The general looked at the group. “Since we’re all on a first name basis, we should toast these new events. It appears our king will be enjoying his afterlife, and it’s a fine evening for drinking.” His smile widened as he lifted his glass. “Here’s to my new friends and our new four-legged wolf-god.”

Everyone lifted their glass in a mutual cheer.

The City of Champions

Later that Night

George, Maldwin and Amar stopped for the night. The flight on the hippogriff from Angels Village had been uneventful, but George had enjoyed the ride. He hoped to arrive in Lethwitch the following evening before Late Bailem, and he was anxious to see Athena. He was also anxious about the plan he had devised with Maldwin. He hoped it would work and wanted to put it in motion as soon as possible. He intended to introduce the rat to Athena’s relatives and let the rodent’s visions do the rest.

But since they would not arrive in Lethwitch until the next evening, the group had a night to kill. They checked into an inn that was close to Champions’ landing platform. The inn was located just inside the city gates, and it was owned by one of Amar’s relatives. Matilda’s Brassiere was a dive, and it had about as much class as Amar’s brother.

Matilda was a large woman, and she had a nasty mole between her cheek and the corner of her nose on the left side of her face. The mole even had a hair that grew out of it and curled like a swine’s tail. It was all George could do to keep a straight face when she handed them the keys to their rooms.

As George walked up the steps with Amar, he chided, “Are you the only one in your family that’s not repulsive? No offense, but your cousin and your brother both look like garesh.”

Amar scoffed, “What would you have me do? I didn’t choose my relatives.”

“I feel you, man,” George replied, “but is your whole family like that?”

Amar shook his head. “My father’s side of the family is, but my mother’s side is filled with grace.”

A look of bewilderment appeared on George’s face. “Why would your mom marry such nastiness?”

Amar took a deep breath. “The marriage was arranged. My mother says love is blind.”

George grabbed the doorknob leading into his room. “Apparently, love comes without a sense of smell, too. I’ll see you in the morning, Amar.” He walked inside his room and shut the door.

George pulled his pack off of his back, set it down next to the end of the bed and smiled as Maldwin popped out. He had been carrying the rat in his pack since the rodent was too small to keep up, and this had given George the chance to teach Maldwin a new phrase, “Everything is A-okay, man!”

George realized he was becoming fond of the rodent. He grabbed some wood that was stacked next to the wall and started a fire. After a quick bath, he ate a couple of biscuits, fed Maldwin one as well and then lay down to get some rest.

It was not long before he was dreaming of Abbie and his beautiful Athena. The dream was pleasant, but Lasidious interrupted. The God of Mischief was requesting a conversation, and he wanted to enter his dream. As agreed that night in the Enchanted Forest, George allowed him in.

“George, my friend, how are your travels?”

“I’m sure you already know, Lasidious. Get to the point. What do you want?”

The Mischievous One snickered. “I’ve come to discuss important matters. I fear there’s an obstacle that could stop us from achieving our goal to get your daughter’s soul out of the Book.”

“Then let’s figure it out. What do I need to do?”

“As always, George, you don’t disappoint. The woman you arrived with on Grayham has discovered she has power. This will present a problem for us, and I need to know how you feel about Amar.”

“Why? What does Amar have to do with Shalee?”

“Nothing yet, but once he understands the power she possesses, he’ll seek her out to take it for himself.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” George replied. “Are you talking about the same Amar I know? He isn’t even worth having around. He’s a spineless chump. You should’ve seen the look on his face when I said I wanted to fight for the Crown of Bloodvain.”

“I agree, Amar doesn’t have the backbone to fight for greatness, but he’s the most powerful mage in Southern Grayham. I told him to keep the extent of his power hidden from you until the moment was right. If he goes after Shalee, he’ll become impossible for you to control. This will destroy your chances to get your daughter back. I don’t want this, George. Do you?”

“Hell no! So what can I do about it ... other than turn his ass to stone, or is that what you want me to do? Is that even possible?”

Lasidious gave a sly grin. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. The choices you make must be your own.”

George rolled his eyes. “Really? Stop being condescending, and get to the point already!”

“I apologize. How would you like to become as powerful as Amar?”

From within his home on Ancients Sovereign, Lasidious stood next to the green flames that burned inside his cube-shaped fireplace. The god stared at the vision of George that was presented by the blaze and listened as the human responded. “Well, duh, of course, I do.”

Satisfied with George’s reply, the Mischievous One responded by speaking into the flames. “A person’s soul doesn’t immediately leave their body when they pass. This presents you with an opportunity. Under the right circumstances, the power a soul possesses can be acquired before it leaves to find its home inside the Book of Immortality, and only the most ancient of elves on the world of Luvelles know this.”

“Alright ... so you’re saying I can hijack Amar’s soul. That’s kind of cool, but what do you mean by ‘under the right circumstances?’”

Lasidious chuckled. “You would need to kill Amar in order to take his power.”

“Sweet. I’m down with that.” A smile appeared on George’s sleeping face. “I have to admit ... I’m glad Amar’s ass is expendable. I didn’t want him in my circle anyway.”

“Your response pleases me,” Lasidious replied, “but there’s a process you must follow, and you cannot divert from it, or Amar’s soul will depart for the Book before you can harvest his ability.”

“So what do I got to do?”

“You must be an artist.” Lasidious waited for a response.

George rolled his sleeping eyes. “Drop the drama, man. I’ve asked you to get to the point twice already. Tell me what I need do, and I’ll go drop his ass.”

Lasidious was surprised at how cold George had become since his arrival. Now that the human had taken life, he seemed to love the rush. The god knew George was only loyal to those he truly cared for, and this made the human the perfect machine to do his dirty work. Without these loyalties, George would not have the support he needed to complete the tasks that Lasidious intended to assign. He was happy about his choice to bring the Earthling forward.

“I’ll tell you everything you need to know, George, but it might be more than you can handle.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. If this is what it takes to get my Abbie back, then I’m game.”

Lasidious smirked. “This is the only way to ensure you won’t be stopped by Amar’s magic. The addition of Shalee’s power would make him the ultimate force on all of Grayham.”

“How in the hell did Shalee get her power in the first place?”

“I don’t know, George, but does it matter?”

“I suppose it doesn’t.”

“Your love for your daughter is strong...”

As George listened to what Lasidious proposed, it did not take long before his facial expressions showed his disgust. “Are you kidding me? My hell, man!”

The conversation fell silent as George continued to digest everything Lasidious had said, and the Mischievous One allowed the Earthling the moments to think.

Eventually, George broke his silence. “You have one sick-ass mind, Lasidious. What you want me to do is repulsive. You can’t really expect me to do that. I mean ... so what if Amar’s power goes with him? He won’t be a threat any longer, and that solves the problem.”

Lasidious sighed. “George, you’re smarter than that. I told you Shalee is a dominant force. If you’re not able to command significant magic of your own, you’ll lose the battle with the Kingdom of Brandor. She’s one of many people who could destroy you without Amar’s magic. His power can make you nearly unstoppable on Southern Grayham. Once Amar understands he can dominate without you, you’ll be a waste of his moments. He won’t just go away ... he’ll get rid of you.”

“I see your point, but what you’re asking me to do is not my idea of a delicacy. Hell, I don’t even have a bottle of wine to chase it down. This is some kind of
Silence of the Lambs
garesh, Lasidious.”

“George, as always, your references to your movies of Earth are intriguing, but you need to be serious. You’ll need to keep Amar from speaking his words of power, and perform the task while he’s still alive.”

“What do I look like, Lasidious, some kind of Dr. Frankenstein? Even if I could do it, how will I keep him from dying from shock? I don’t have anesthesia.”

The god nodded. “At least you’re thinking in the right direction, but you won’t need medication.”

“I would love to know how that’s possible.”

Lasidious took the moments necessary to explain a process that George could use to accomplish the task. A wry smile appeared on George’s face. “Damn, Lasidious, you’re one morbid S.O.B. I love the way you think. So how do I…?”

It took a while for Lasidious to answer all of George’s questions and explain the rest of the details necessary to accomplish the task. “… as I have said, you cannot stop his soul from finding its place inside the Book of Immortality, but you can strip the power from it before it leaves his body. You only have one shot at this. You’d best do it right.”

“Damn! The thought of it makes me want to barf, but I can do anything for my Abbie.” George hesitated. “I swear, if it tastes like garesh, I’m going to haunt you forever, Lasidious.”

The god laughed. “I’m sure it won’t taste pleasant, but it’ll be worth it, I assure you.”

With that, the dream and the connection between the two faded. George was left dreaming of his Abbie. Slowly, his little girl turned, found her father’s eyes, and yelled, “Daddy, get up! Save me!”

George woke with a start. He pulled on his boots, buttoned up his shirt, and left Maldwin behind as he shut the door. He went to Amar’s room and knocked. The mage answered.

“I can’t sleep. Take a walk with me. I’ve got a plan, and I need to tell you about it.”

Amar rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Okay, let me get dressed. I hope this is important.”

George nodded. “Oh, it is. Don’t worry about that. It’s to die for.”

“Give me a moment.” Amar shut the door.

George made small talk as they walked through the gates and out of the city. He spoke of how he missed his Abbie and the desperation he felt to get her back. He further explained the pact he made with Lasidious and that the god had promised he would return Abbie if he took control of the Kingdom of Bloodvain. Every response Amar gave about how he would do the same for a daughter of his own, if he had one, only served to strengthen George’s resolve.

Not far outside the city was a barn that was used for smithing. The lock on the door was secure.

George gave it a tug. “I want to go inside. Amar, use some of your hocus pocus on this lock.”

“Why, George?”

“Because it’s chilly out here, and there’s a forge inside.”

Amar shook his head. “I can summon a fire out here. We don’t need to break in.”

George rolled his eyes. “Dude, just open the lock, and let’s go inside so we can have some privacy. When we leave, we can lock it, and no one will know we were here.”

Amar shook his head. “The forge would still be warm in the morning. The smith would know.”

George frowned. “Are you trying to kill me with all your objections? Would you just shut up, and unlock the damn door?”

Seemingly pacified, the mage held up his staff. He spoke the simple command, and the lock released. The men entered, pulled the door shut and then George lit the forge.

George took a seat on a wooden bench and tossed his torch inside the fire. He studied his surroundings as the ominous glow of the forge filled the room. “Amar, there are moments when I feel like I’m going crazy. I miss my daughter something fierce.”

Amar crossed his arms. “George, are we really out here to talk about your kin? We could have done that in the morning. What could be so important that you had to wake me up?”

George nodded. He was now in full manipulation mode. “I want to tell you something. When I first met you, I thought you were a chump, but I’ve grown fond of you over the last few Peaks. You remind me of my father back home.”