Total pages in book: 208
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 209645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1048(@200wpm)___ 839(@250wpm)___ 699(@300wpm)
“Bullshite,” his least favorite bit. “What are you playing at?” he demanded. “That mess and now we cannot perform rituals, we don’t have the men, and furthermore, we have to lie low in case anyone adds Rupert to that Firenz woman to the Beast and gets us. But before that, you demanded we reduce our rituals, when we should have bloody doubled them, and then you rode to Firenze to quell some magical prophecy we’ve never bloody heard of so we couldn’t even perform them at all.”
“It wasn’t only that. I’m part of a diplomatic envoy,” the priest spat. “I couldn’t demur. History is being made. It would be suspect if I declined. Especially as the Go’Doan know why history is being made with these marital alliances. We will resume our rituals, on schedule, once we recruit a new brother.”
“Why is Rupert dead?” the third man asked.
“We will recruit another brother,” the priest repeated.
“You didn’t answer my question,” the man returned. “Why is Rupert gone?”
Before the priest could answer, his nemesis did it for him. “Because he was fucking some wench and not fisting his own cock with thoughts of that one’s,” he jerked his head toward the priest, “arse.” The man looked to him. “They were found together, naked, after intercourse. You caught him with a woman. And in a fit of jealousy, you killed them both.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the priest muttered.
“You killed one of us,” the man retorted. “It does matter.”
“I don’t answer to you,” the priest clipped.
“We don’t answer to you either,” the man fired back.
The second man joined in, stating, “You realize, Rupert was loyal to you.”
The priest had no response for he had seen with his own eyes he was not.
“We do not like you,” the first said. “We don’t trust you. The only reason we put up with you was because Rupert had great things to say about your magic. Because he told us, without you, it would not be in our generation that the Beast was roused. If it were not for Rupert, it would be you who would no longer have the ability to perform the rituals.”
“You threaten me?” the priest whispered.
The man shook his head. “You find a man. You train a man. Not one you want to fuck. One who will get the job done. And we all renew our vows and the rituals begin again, no. If you do none of these things…”
He didn’t finish.
And yes.
It was a threat.
The priest did not like to be threatened.
“I am currently on my way to Notting Thicket for Prince True’s wedding,” the priest sniffed.
“You better find your way to get your arse here,” the second man demanded. “If you don’t, we’ll carry on without you.”
“The Beast does not rouse for you,” the priest snapped. “As you know, the rituals must go on as prescribed or they’re meaningless.”
“Would you like to test that?” the third man queried.
The priest looked amongst them.
He needed them.
He needed all of them.
He could not recruit four men. Not do that and retain his guise as a Go’Doan emissary.
And if they all fell prey to some “accident,” how would he explain that to the Society?
He needed them until he was free to replace them.
All of them.
“I’ve received a missive from the Society,” he said. “They know of Rupert’s demise and they’ve informed me they’ve planned for such an occurrence. There is one always ready to join our ranks. I will dispatch a message to them and have him brought to me. I will interview him. If he’s suitable, I will train him, I will bring him to you and I will come with him.”
“And what if we don’t find him suitable?” the second man asked.
“You will,” the priest gritted.
“And how long will this take?” the first man inquired.
“The ride from Notting Thicket to the Ritual Ground is but a week. We’ve been delayed in leaving Firenze due to the death of that woman and the ostentatious ceremony King Mars bestowed on her. And the King of Mar-el demanded a further delay as he, for some reason, must take his wife and men to the sea. In other words, there is an interruption in the prophecy fulfilling itself. With our setback, we’ve been granted a boon.”
“Without our setback, and this delay, the Beast might be here already, and Triton would be ours,” his antagonist noted.
The priest said nothing.
“Fix it,” the man hissed.
“It will be done,” the priest returned haughtily, and before they could annoy him more, he returned across the astral plane to his physical form in the forest of southern Wodell, sitting atop his pentagram drawn in the dirt, the candles about him in a circle lit.
He extinguished them immediately. He was not near to the camp. He was also not far enough for his liking. He’d taken a chance lighting them. Now that he was safely back, he could risk it no longer.