The Wrath of a Shipless Pirate (The Godlanders War) (30 page)

She clenched her jaw. “This is no joke. It’s not some grand adventure. You murdered a Vestossi in his house!”

“I call it a good start.”

“You’ll have the gods set against you, Corin. Not just the Vestossis. Not just Ephitel. All the gods and all their armies. What will you do? What will
we
do?”

He held her gaze a moment, then quirked one eyebrow. “You made me a promise once before. You said you’d go wherever I had to go. Whatever I endured, you’d be there with me.”

“I remember.”

He licked his lips. “I’ll release you from that promise if you ask it of me.”

“I wouldn’t let you.”

He found his courage, then. It was hiding somewhere deep in her dark eyes, but as he stared into them, he knew what must be done. He showed her a grin. “Then we’ll do what the princess and the farmboy wanted to. We’ll run away. We’ll find someplace our own, where the Vestossis cannot reach us. And then we’ll do what they never could have done.”

“We will?”

“Aye. We’ll change the world.”

“But how?”

“We know the villains’ deepest secrets. We wield the power of King Oberon. We have connections to the Council of Druids, to the Nimble Fingers, to a crew or two of pirates I would trust.”

“A lot of scofflaws and skulkers.”

“A lot of men well trained in defying the Godlanders’ power structures. Do you think we can find some elves?”

She gasped. “You mean it?”

“Aye. If there are any left who’d fight for the memory of Oberon
…
”

“There must be at least a few.”

He waved a hand. “You see? We have an army in the making.”

“That’s it? We go to war? An open war against the gods?”

Corin turned to stare out the window, toward the manor where he’d left Blake’s corpse on the lawn. “We’ll call this our declaration. Or is it too subtle?”

A little laugh escaped her. “No. No, I think it’s good enough.”

“Then let them come. We’ll slay the tyrant gods and save the world.” He licked his lips, and despite himself, he grinned. “It is begun.”

About the Author

Aaron Pogue is a husband and a father of two who lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He started writing at the age of ten, and has written novels, short stories, scripts, and videogame storylines. His first novels were high fantasy set in the rich world of the FirstKing, including the bestselling
fantasy
novel
Taming Fire
, but he has explored mainstream thrillers, urban fantasy, and several kinds of science fiction, including a long-running sci-fi cop drama series focused on the Ghost Targets task force.

Aaron has been a Technical Writer with the Federal Aviation Administration and a writing professor at the university level. He holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Oklahoma. He also serves as the user experience consultant for
Draft2Digital.com
, a digital publishing service.

Aaron maintains a personal website for his friends and fans at
AaronPogue.com
, and he runs a writing advice blog at
UnstressedSyllables.com
.