Chapter 28: Moves (Patreon)

The best way, at least that I’ve found, to get someone to do what you want is to simply force them to do so. It’s like playing a game of chess where people must move in a predictable way or die. It gives you time to plan. It’s like that in real life, too, but instead of egos online, it’s real lives, and instead of moves, you’re using the threat of violence. Nice. Simple. Easy. The only downside is when people are too stupid to move, and you’re forced to turn your threat of violence into action. It’s detestable, but you can’t avoid it. Otherwise, no one will concede without fighting; no one will take you seriously. Sometimes, violence is what it is in the deep slums of the LA city streets: a reputation and a promise. That’s what I found myself in as Zenith, Thea, and I started unshackling the chains of the luges, preparing to release the swarm. 

It was fluid for us, as banal as attending a banquet to some overweight noble. The same wasn’t true of Rema, who thought three centuries in the future. That even applied when considering spot-washing minor dress spills versus hand-washing them. Assuming, of course, that anything got onto her dress between the three tablecloths she placed in her lap while eating, and the chemise, corset, and bodice that separated her torso from the mortal affliction known as sweat. So, naturally, when we started unlocking supersonic reptiles en masse to address Himmelskune’s denial of my legitimacy, she chased after us.

“If there was conflict every time a leader refused legitimacy, we’d be extinct!” Rema circled around me, blocking me from unlocking a luge’s chains. “There’s time. Write a warning, for fuck’s sake!”

Thea glided silently behind her and unlocked it for me. I shrugged in amusement and moved on. Rema turned bright red and started rushing to the next, feeling a luge’s hot, reptilian breath as she got dangerously close in a manner that made Thea get between her legs to unlock one. That made Thea snarl and move to the next one in disgust.

“Ryker,” Rema said.

“King.” Thea corrected.

“King Everwood. Think about your reputation here. We’re in a new continent. If you just walk around reacting to everyone and everything with violence, every king, queen, and noble will see you as a threat.”

My face relaxed, mouth twisting into a mocking smile. “I happen to think that’s a good thing.”

Rema laughed, something between an epiphany and a chuckle but coming out a shade of disbelief. “Do you think that you can take on the whole world?”

“No, that’s what allies are for, and our temperamental ‘ally’ is owed Himmelskune.”

“No. He’s owed the right to conquer it.”

“And if he does, we’ll plant seeds of animosity everywhere we go. Besides, we’re not conquering Himmelskune. We’re just introducing ourselves. Do you want to come?”

Rema’s lips curved into a damning smile.

“Is there a reason you’re not talking to me about this?” Zenith walked up with a smile that made Rema’s wicked snarl seem acceptable for a business meeting. “This is my territory, is it not?”

Rema turned to her and took two steps forward. “So long as King Everwood is here, it’s his territory both in actuality and rule.”

“Oh, so he’s ‘King’ now?” Thea chimed, unlocking the chains Rema was blocking only a moment before. The luge grunted in relief when the chain came free.

Rema turned to address Thea, but Zenith stopped her. “Yes. He is king. That’s why you shouldn’t be questioning his orders, let alone both of ours.”

A luge huffed, making Rema’s red hair flutter, obviously a command from Thea. The luges cackled at the pettiness.

Rema stomped over to another luge’s lock in protest, trying to force us into conversation, but I picked her up and moved her to Zenith. The look on her face expressed sheer mortification with a dash of pleasant embarrassment. 

“You’re coming with us,” I said. “Otherwise, we’ll fuck it all up, and Antigua will settle their millennia-long grievances to attack the man with cheap grain.”

Thea giggled, Rema pouted, Zenith smirked, the luges cackled. And that’s how the trip to Himmelskune began.

The territory was just north of Servene, so it only took a three-hour flight over wheat and barley fields to make it into the territory. It was a scenic flight, but it was clouded in shadows as an azure wyvern flew over the land, followed by a swarm of pterodactyls that were as thick as locusts. As we traversed the skies, the serfs screamed and ran, making me feel like a monster behind a Browning M2, flying above the jungles of Vietnam in a helicopter. That kinda bothered me because that’s what I wanted to avoid—even if I had soldiers packing those same machine guns in toe, riding thunderstags and griffins.

It was only an hour into Himmelskune when we reached Hiedel, the capital city, with its fortress-like buildings and Solaran temples made of Gothic architecture and stone.

As we drew near, I gave the signal, and we stopped. I created a massive amplification array in the air.

“You have thirty minutes to flee!” I yelled to the serfs. “If you’re foolish enough to stay, go into shelters or cellars and close your ears!”

It was a simple statement, but it had the effect that pouring water into an ant hill does: the water goes in, and the ants flood out, dispersing down the hills. Only instead of ants, they were people, and instead of a hill, it was cash crop fields. Rema watched in horror as everyone fled, knowing what would happen in thirty minutes’ time. She didn’t try to stop me. It was far too late for that.

A large cloud blocked out the sun, making the swarm’s shadow turn black and ominous as the time approached its limit. And when the air had gone still, the world waiting for our response, Zenith took a deep breath and let out an earth-shattering roar. It was terrifying—powerful, deep, and baritone. But it paled in comparison to the swarm, releasing a single screech that caused the wheat and barley fields to explode like landmines on the way to Hiedel.

When it ended, something that felt like an eternity, even under the sound-dampening magic wrapping us, the world felt empty. Not silent, empty, as if the noise had permanently killed everything in a quarter-mile radius.

 We sat there for a few minutes before I chuckled and turned to Rema. “How’s that for an introduction?” 

Rema gripped the scales on Zenith’s back with a brooding expression.

“I loved it,” Thea said, nuzzling her head back into my shoulders as I wrapped my arms around her.

Rema looked away. While she hid her expression, it was already known.

“Shall we?” I asked, patting Zenith.

Zenith responded with another roar, this one an order to the luges. They responded by rushing forward on their way to Hiedel. 

2

Himmelskune was a tribune state. That meant that they paid taxes—or tribunes—to an empire in exchange for protection and social and limited political freedom. It’s a practical system that prevents antagonism or revolts in the empire while also increasing taxation and territorial control. Things had been stable for the last century under King Bouchard’s leadership. They paid taxes in grain and exports; he gave them protection. If Marvis attacked King Himmel, it’d mean war with Servene and its Swarm. Now, we had The Swarm and Servene, and Marvis was knocking on their door. That’s why they didn’t need a powerful army and weren’t prepared to meet us.

King Himmel was a fool, but an intentional one where he saw necessary and practical where he didn’t. When we arrived, he walked right out the gates with terrified soldiers surrounding him. It was pointless to hide in his castle when the castle would crumble.

“King Everwood. Please, allow me to treat you to a banquet,” King Himmel said.

I smiled and jumped off Zenith’s back with a large slab of wood. It was a fold-out table, 200 pounds in total, and I casually kicked out the legs in front of him. “I think it’d be better to discuss out here, where the stakes are clear,” I said.

King Himmel looked up at Zenith and the luges, then swallowed, looking back to Thea, who was merrily adding a parasol into the center of the tail. 

“Zenith, go change,” I whispered.

The blue wyvern flapped her wings with a gust that ruffled the king’s robes as she flew to the back.

“Shall we?” I asked, sitting down. 

King Himmel winced. There was no “negotiation” on the line, no talk between kings. His face reflected his understanding of that as he sat down at the table, his guards looking like toys standing before my army. The world turned eerily silent as he sat there, taking deep breaths, fidgeting as he found words for the statements he would make. He didn’t even notice when the sound of breathing from the luges disappeared. “I won’t concede Himmelskune to Nebelheim.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Even if King Reckog slaughtered everyone?”

His eyes shone with determination. “Even if he plundered it, raped the women and kept the rest for slaves.”

“Your dedication to stupidity is almost commendable,” I said. “At the very least, it’s captivating. Do go on. Tell me about your religious beliefs. I’m sure that the women and children will agree when Marvis comes around.”

King Himmel’s face flushed red, and his nose crinkled in. “Do not mock our faith, King Everwood. We have suffered centuries of persecution for our beliefs, and we’ll endure countless more. Do not insult our perseverance.”

“Perseverance suggests ‘living,’” Zenith said, emerging from the swarm, wrapped in a beautiful silver and blue dress. “There’s no such value in suicide.”

He looked up. “And you are?”

“The woman in charge of Servene. Unlike King Everwood, who is here to protect you from this folly, I’ll be here to destroy you if you decline. I abide by his will, but I do not share his sentimentalities. If I were his proxy, I wouldn’t even read the report of your downfall myself. I’d have an aid summarize it and then move on to matters involving reasonable people.”

Rema’s eyes deadened. 

“This is Margrave Zenith Veil, daughter of wyverns and leader of The Swarm,” I explained. “As she’s alluded, if she were in charge, we wouldn’t be here. King Recog would show up and slaughter you into submission. Such is the horrifyingly uncivilized nature of humans. But she’s not in charge. I am. And I’m here to tell you that I’m willing to negotiate on your behalf if you accept me as King of Servene and that I won’t if you do not.”

King Himmel looked up into the cloudy sky. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?” I asked monotonously.

“Our people rebelled against King Reckog to believe as we wish to believe. Act in the way we wish to act. Nebelhiem did not allow that then, and they will not do so now. Did you think that we’d join hands with our oppressor to fight our patron?”

“I did not. I imagined that we’d be having this discussion, just as we are right now. But that doesn’t change the reality of the situation. The truth is, if you had negotiated with us, you wouldn’t fear oppression right now. Nebelheim would’ve still claimed your territory, but as the king who presides over the two holy grounds of the Solaran religion, I would’ve demanded that Marvis Reckog did not oppress my brethren. But you didn’t. Now, I’m trying to jump through hoops to help your people, and you’re hanging your women and children like religious martyrs and pissing off the only person who can help you.”

King Himmel sat stunned, rubbing his bony thumb subconsciously against the side of his knuckle to remain in motion. Perhaps he could see the errors of his ways; perhaps he realized that he made a needless enemy of the wrong person. But if life was a poker game, I’d go all in that he had consigned his people to a glorious martyrdom in his mind, and he was now dumbstruck, facing someone who was inconveniently giving him a reasonable plan for hope. So I spoke first.

“King Himmel. If I may be so candid, I don’t give a fuck about which gods my people pray to; I don’t even care who they marry. I treat women the same as men and don’t get involved in cultural matters so long as they’re not violent or abusive in nature. If you had created some petty excuse to Bouchard about why you’d remain neutral, your territory wouldn’t have been up for carving. But you didn’t. Now, I’m here to fight for my reputation as a civil figure, trying to fight for your religious beliefs and peaceful takeover, and you’re disrespecting me.”

King Himmel laughed with a resentful grin. If there was one thing that all people hate, it’s being patronized, especially by people younger than them. It makes their blood run hot and their throat go dry. It takes reason and throws it out the window. I know. I can’t stand it. No one would talk to me the way I was talking to him. I’d make sure they’d regret that. So I could empathize when he said, “Leave.” But there was a difference between us—I was being reasonable. So I replied, “I will. But first, you should know something important, King Himmel. My informants have connected amplification circles to this array….” I flipped over the table and showed him a faintly glowing array. “So they heard this entire conversation. The part where you said that you’d sacrifice the women and children for religion…. That was a nice touch.”

Thea released a sound-deprivation array on her chair, and the eerie silence around us broke, flooding in the sounds of luges snorting, distant thunder, and the sky-shattering outrage inside the walls. King Himmel turned and saw it all—his soldiers screaming for him to stop, the ones on the ground shaking as luges promised them death, and the sight of mounted merchants flying west to avoid conflict. He turned back to me. “You’ve tricked me! This isn’t how leaders discuss!”

“You’re not a leader, and I will not address you as one.” I dropped the table. “You were a puppet of Bouchard and now a butcher of your people. Himmelskune: send word from someone reasonable when you want to discuss a non-violent takeover. I’ll help you how I can.”

With those words, I walked through the sea of luges, each snarling and snapping at King Himmel as he screamed at us. Then he watched in despair as he flew away.

As we left, I reflected on what I did. It was harsh. Cruel, even. There were people on Earth who had been oppressed. As a kid, I heard kids tell jokes about Jews, and as I grew up, I saw hate veered against Muslims. I had read about the Uighurs, locked up in “re-education” camps for their Muslim beliefs in China, and the country harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners, a non-violent spiritual belief that was banned in China in the nineties. I had read books about America’s roots and how Protestants fled Britain to practice their beliefs. I was sure that there was a lot of pain, torment, and bottled-up trauma that Himmelskune and their people had faced that forced them to be obstinate and move on.

But at the end of the day, I didn’t give a fuck about people’s religion, their problems, or their history. I was here to save lives, and King Himmel was preventing that. For the sake of his people, I hoped he’d die.

With those thoughts, I gave Zenith privacy to transform, and we flew back to Servene, where hellish news soon awaited.

3

“I won’t join you.” The Archwizards stood stunned when Edikus announced that he wouldn’t abide by the council’s decision. The air was cold and icy on Razor’s Pass, the mountains leading to Frostfall, but his words marbled everyone’s skin with goosebumps far worse than the air could. 

“Does that mean you’ve forsaken the Wreaths?” Archwizard Emery asked.

“If that’s what it takes,” Edikus replied.

“Please reconsider, Edikus!” Archwizard Surey pleaded. He was a level-headed man, young for a Wreath, relative to the age of the others. He was only a lieutenant in King Elio’s army when they left for Novena and had only become an archwizard over centuries of practice. He loved his leader; that’s why it was hard for him to abide by the decision. “The only way to leave the Wreaths—“

“—Is by death. Though that’s up to the council to execute. Whether you wish to fight is up to you.” Edikus looked at Emery. The Wreaths largely abided by Edikus’s wishes unless there was a council vote. Whoever called the vote was deemed the leader of the operation under discussion. So, since Emery had called the meeting and they decided to attack Sundell while Ryker was away, he was in charge. The decision was in his court. 

If Emery chose to fight there, the snow-covered pine trees surrounding them would be shredded and torn to sawdust; the boulders at their feet turned to sand. The cold, unforgiving thicket that barred the entrance of merchants would give way to new trails cut deep into the earth. 

Archwizards control the weather and shape landscapes. With sixteen grouped together, Razor Pass would change forever.

“Don’t play on the sentimentalities of your admirers, Edikus,” Emery said, looking at the others who also loved their leader. “We Wreaths have rules, and we’ve abided by them through centuries. Like it or not, we have an obligation to carry them out, regardless of our beliefs and desires. Just because you’ve forgotten that doesn’t mean we will.”

The archwizards shifted nervously, backing up to give the two men a wide berth. 

“Then you are free to carry out your duty,” Edikus replied. “You don’t need my permission. But I will not back down. I’ve reflected on this situation and agree with King Elio. It’s foolish and self-centered to attack the Everwood Empire.”

“Don’t mutter that hedonist’s name to us,” Emery sneered. “It’s disgraceful. He abandoned our mission to fuck women and wallow in his self-misery.”

“No, he hasn’t lost his mission. But we have. If we succeed, King Everwood’s weapons will continue to proliferate. There’s nothing to be done about it. But Novena’s peace will be gone. Then, Everwood will attack Novena with greater weapons when he returns to reclaim his throne. For what? Nothing.”

“This is your fault, Edikus. If you had killed that fiend sooner, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Yes. That’s true. But I felt oddly confident in Ryker then, and, against my better judgment, I still feel that way. That’s why I’ve decided to abstain.”

Emery shook when he saw the archwizards shuffling, their determination to see the decision through wavering. “The council’s decision is final. Our rules are immutable. If you wish to forsake the Wreaths and die with Edikus, speak now. Otherwise, I expect all of you to carry out your sworn duty.”

Edikus turned to them. “If you do not wish to fight me, I suggest you leave. This is my battle. Not yours. I do not wish to kill my people needlessly.”

Emery’s face heated up, and he swung his hand. A violent gust of wind cut through the frozen air, picking up snow in a blizzard. Edikus blocked the wind blades with a barrier, but they continued moving at his flanks, sawing through a dozen trees. Sickening snaps and booms followed as the trunks crashed into the forest below.

Edikus looked at the other archwizards. “Leave.”

The archwizards dispersed into the forest, their intentions unknown. Some would fight; others wouldn’t. Those who decided to attack moved first. 

Storm clouds formed, and lightning cracked in the distance. The lightning got closer with every strike. 

Edikus watched with an ambivalent expression, and when it came overhead, he lifted his hands up toward the sky. A blinding streak of lightning met his grasp, wrapping electricity around his arms like serpents. 

He harnessed the energy into an attack, shooting it at Emery. The archwizard rolled out of the way, but lightning hit the wet snow at his feet, causing his leg to stiffen. It was for a second, but that’s all Edikus needed to close the distance. He shot forward, fist cranked back to deliver a punch of raw mana. If it hit, the archwizard’s mana conduits would go haywire, rendering him unable to use magic, and the punch was nearing its mark.

Suddenly, a massive wall of rock shot across the forest, spreading one hundred meters. Edikus’s fist smashed into it, breaking a hole through it in a rain of rocks that shot like cannonballs through the forest, snapping through trees in waves.

Emery’s hand shot through the hole, grabbing Edikus’s arm and throwing him through the gap. As Edikus flew forward, archwizards on either side released wind blades at his flying body, looking to cut it in half. They were fast—but Edikus was faster. Mid-air, he whipped around his hands, and the wind on both sides bent, veering off course and slicing through trees in waves, sending them crashing through the forest.

Edikus hit the ground and rolled. Once he got his footing, he put his hands on the ground. “Grema rora!” 

The ground exploded in a chain reaction, sending jagged rocks flying everywhere like shrapnel. The rocks pierced one of the archwizards, and the broken ground toppled over two. Emery jumped backward to avoid the waves, buying Edikus time. That was important because he could feel waves of mana all around him.

Suddenly, thousands of ice spears shot at Edikus from above. He raised his hands with ghostly speed. “Lexta towa!”

A violent wave of heat melted them instantly. Edikus waved his hand, sending the mist hurtling through the forest with a gust of wind. “Tranka toma!” Lighting from the primed sky shot down, electrifying the water vapor and shocking the archwizard that attacked him. Then Edikus turned back to Emery. “Kala—“

Suddenly, an inferno engulfed the area he was standing in. He stopped his chant and put up a barrier, but Emery increased the pressure. “Cana mora!” 

Oxygen flooded the area, turning the blaze into a tower of fire two hundred feet high. Edikus clicked his tongue when the fire started eating through his barrier, the heat licking his skin. He abruptly put his hands on the ground. “Tright shama!” The ground in a 200-meter radius froze instantly, creating an explosion of searing steam that made the archwizards scream in the forest. No one was saved. Then he turned back to Emery. “Stram c—“

Rock spears suddenly pierced through his barrier, sending hot steam into it. Edikus grimaced in pain, and before he could close the hole, more spears snuck in, slamming into his chest and torso, making him cry out in pain.

More lightning strikes touched down, this time connecting with the wet mud. If one hit near Edikus, it could stun him for a split second. And that single moment could be all it took for a dozen archwizards to level the ground.

You first! Edikus created wings from telekinetic mana and shot into the air. As he flew above the shattered landscape, surveying the 200 square meters of fallen trees, charred forest, and swampy mud, he searched for the archwizard summoning the lightning. When he found her, Edikus flew through the air, weaving through lightning strikes as he called another spell. “Tralla torma!” 

All the water vapor in the air warped, clinging together like snapping magnets. Then, tens of thousands of ice balls formed. 

Desperate to flee, the archwizard sent multiple lightning strikes, snapping at Edikus while others shot wind blades and rock spears at him. However, it was to no avail. Edikus crushed a rock spear with his fist, weaved between airstrikes, and dodged lightning when he locked onto the lightning wizard. “Tram!” The ice balls crashed into the woman in a malevolent hailstorm, shredding hundreds of trees and killing her on contact.

A sudden torrent of wind prevented Edikus from reveling in his victory. It was vicious and extensive, shaking all the trees in a few hundred meters. I can’t believe he’s using a calamity spell…. Edikus internally scoffed. He sought out the chanting wizard, flying through the air, dodging, smashing, and melting through a hail of ice and lightning and stone. The wind was picking up, making his motions sluggish, but he fought through. “Trina lore!”

Edikus slashed his hand down in a vertical arc, and a brutal sickle of wind cut through the developing cyclone, carving through the ground for half a mile. The wind abruptly stopped when he broke the archwizard’s concentration.

“These fools….” He felt slightly bitter that his Wreaths were so amateurish after so many centuries. They were rusty from lack of serious combat. They had no chance of attacking. Edikus had to show them that. If he did enough damage, they’d be forced to succeed. That was his new goal.

Diving toward the ground, Edikus thrust out his hands and thousands of rocks shot into the sky around him like his body was a magnet. The rocks swirled around him as a natural barrier, smashing into attacks from the other archwizards. When he reached the archwizard, he released a portion of rocks into the forest and shattered the man’s body.

Then Edikus circled around and found Emery. He waved his hand and shot hundreds of large rocks at the man. They hit true—

—but they passed through his body. It was an illusion.

Suddenly, an invisible spear pierced through Edikus’s back, sending him spiraling downward. “Damn it” he yelled, hitting the ground and smashing into broken trees. He quickly popped up, but he was surrounded, getting attacked from all sides by fire, ice, and rock blasts in a flurry. 

Edikus shot out attacks of his own, killing another two archwizards as they attacked. But it was lost. For five minutes, rocks pelted his skin, wind cut through his thigh, fire licked his body, and a thunderbolt crashed down upon him. There was just no way he could survive attacks from so many archwizards. It was a relentless struggle. After injuring another two, he succumbed to his wounds and fell to the ground.

When the smoke settled, Emery walked through the charred forest, leisurely weaving through cracked and broken terrain and jumping over fallen trees. When he got to Edikus, he dropped to his haunches. “It seems you’ve lost,” he smiled. “But don’t worry, I’ve decided not to kill you. Not now.”

Edikus looked at the man. He hadn’t survived unscathed; his body, too, was riddled with minor cuts and bruises. But he stood and had more than enough power to get his way. “Why?”

“Because I have a feeling that King Everwood would save his friend,” Emery replied with a mocking grin.

“Good luck with that. Maybe when he wipes you out, he’ll come to kill me himself,” Edikus said.

“When he wipes us out? Facing archwizards wielding his army and weapons?”

“You don’t get it.” Edikus laughed, letting himself fall to the ground. “Those weapons come from his world. He knows how to fight with them; we don’t. Even if you control his people for a decade, he’ll come from Antigua and wipe you all out. You won’t win.”

Emery frowned. “Now I get it. You’re just a coward who thinks we can’t win. Surey! Take him to a deprivation chamber!” 

Surey, Edikus’s friend, approached through the few remaining trees in the area and looked at his leader with a rueful smile. “Let’s go.” With those words, he picked Edikus up and hauled him away, Emery and the other archwizards following close behind him.

4

Merchants moving down trade routes toward Frosthold watched the pillars of fire, lightning, and stone in shock.

“What the hell was that?” one said, shaking as he looked out his hide-covered wagon. 

“Money. That’s what. Everwood’s gonna pay a fortune for this,” a fellow merchant grinned. “Assumin’ we get their first.”

“Assuming we live,” the first retorted, turning his stags around and then slapping the reigns, sending them barreling back toward Sundell, where they came from.

5

Garfield washed his body meticulously, using a metal tool in the bath to clean dirt from under his fingernails as female servants scrubbed the calluses off the balls of his feet under water. Despite the sensual environment, he wasn’t turned on. Instead, he lightly kicked one of the servants to stop as he got up and left the bath. More servants clothed him with a robe and took him to his room, where they helped him dress. Throughout it all, he didn’t pay a single one mind. Every servant he had was a female virgin, and even he didn’t desecrate them. He just wanted to own them in their purest forms. They were in strict contrast to the Tran’tha, each soldier representing the most corrupted human beings, driven to power in exchange for their minds and freedom. Both were two sides of the same coin and fulfilled his desires.

Once robed, he walked through the Kin’ak, weaving through the temple and walking up five flights of steps on the way to the Drak’s chamber. When he got to the door, the guards trembled and moved out of the way, not bothering to interrogate him as he casually walked into the room.

Drak’Kalma was a strong man, thick and strong as a beast. He was sitting on a chair with his shirt off, getting a shoulder massage from servants when Garfield walked in. On his chest was an array that matched the one on Garfield’s chest.

“What do you want, Garfield?” Krak’Kalma sneered.

“I’m here to inform you that Desiderata is going to war,” Garfield replied.

“With who?”

“King Everwood.”

“No. Absolutely not! I will not let my people—“ The array on Drak’Kalma’s chest lit up with crimson light, shooting out webs of varicose veins that spread from his chest to his neck. His servants screamed and jumped backward. Noticing the witnesses, Garfield flicked his hands, and wind blades shot from his hands, cutting them in half. Then he stepped forward, looking down at the beastly Drak, wheezing. “Resent me if you wish. Resent me until you die. Resent me, scorn me, curse me with your thoughts. But never forget, Drak’Kalma. I own you. No matter how you feel about how I did it. No matter how unforgivable I keep to you. No matter how despicable I truly am….” He leaned forward into the Drak’s ear. “I own you.”

Garfield walked out the door of the chamber, killing the four guards in two strokes. Blood leaked into the room in a pool. When he finished, he spoke: “Now prepare for war. We’re leaving immediately.”

—

[A/N: Hello! Book 2’s drawing to a satisfying close. Hope you’re enjoying it. I’m letting you know that I’m taking next week off. There’s a lot going on with work, Christmas, and writing stuff. There are only two more chapters until the end of book 2. I hope you’ll keep with it despite the delay.

I have some announcements when I return the week after next and some perks that many of you will greatly enjoy. I look forward to talking to you all then.

Trax]