Sea of Glass ✔️

Chapter 44 - Side Effects

Herds of sheep dotted the hills, grazing idly on the grass. He had been on this part of the island before with Evelyn to watch the animals after a day's work. They pointed out their favorite sheep in that lazy hour. His had been a ram with large curling horns and hers had been a timid lamb with an awkward walk.

That surprised him. He assumed that she would pick the ram as well for its strength. He knew the way her family valued power and how for most of her life, she was groomed to be heir. A ram seemed sensible for the life she led.

"The lamb has potential. Give it time and one day it will grow into something bigger than that ram."

He watched the animal stumble after the herd, struggling to keep up. He wanted to voice his disagreement, but for once, Evelyn was distracted. She looked as though she might chase the sheep through the hills with the shepherd hounds.

"Do you want to pet it? The farmer will let us. He knows the butcher that I work for."

She didn't need to be told twice. They bounded across the grassy field, nearly scaring the sheep away. She bent down to the lamb, gently running her hands through the fleece.

"It's so soft," she whispered in delight. She continued to pet the lamb, looking more relaxed than she had in days.

The bounty the King put out scared her. He saw it in the way she would stay up late at night, standing by the windows and waiting for disaster to happen. He'd get her back into bed, reminding her of the vow he took to protect her only for her to linger by the door when she thought he fell back asleep. The gesture wounded him, but he couldn't blame her. If she saw his real face, then maybe she'd trust him more.

But, try as he might, his glamour wouldn't budge. For all his natural talent with illusions, he was still forced to stare at Damon's face every time he looked into a mirror. Evelyn advised him to pray to Odi, but a fat lot of good it did him. His God remained maddeningly quiet.

It worried him to see Odi so silent. He was normally a chatty deity, gleefully talking his ear off and forcing him to do his bidding.

But he didn't have to fret for long. One day, when he returned to the sheep on the hills, his God came to him again. He was sent there by the butcher to do a favor for the farmer. The aging countryman sprained his shoulder plowing his fields and he needed someone who was an expert at slaughter to cull his herd. The butcher would get the best cuts of meat from the sheep Haydn killed and the farmer would have the best stock for breeding the next season's lambs.

The farmer provided him with a variety of blades to do his job, ranging from small knives for skinning the hide to large saws for separating the meat. He carefully unwrapped the leather protecting the tools and rolled up his sleeves. He hadn't killed barn animals since he was a boy, but he hadn't forgotten the long hours he spent sawing at the meat up to his elbows in blood.

He tied the smock around his waist and slipped on a pair of long rubber gloves. He wasn't looking forward to how messy the work was going to be. But first, he had to give the sheep a merciful end. There were five that the farmer wanted to cull from the herd, a mix of deformed lambs and sheep aged beyond their prime. A quick and hard blow to their heads was the fastest way to send them to their eternal sleep. It was easy enough to do for the first four, but the last, a shy lamb, gave him pause.

It was Evelyn's favorite sheep. He could tell by its slow awkward walk and the way it almost tripped over itself trying to escape him. He lowered his arms, backing away from the little thing.

Maybe he didn't have to kill this one. He could take it home with him, and have Evelyn raise it to become the ram she thought it would be. It would be a good distraction for her.