Blood of the Red

Chapter 21 - Dain

"Not giving up . . ."

A deafening explosion shook Dain from his exhausted reverie. The lightning struck so close it nearly threw him from his feet. The flash illuminated the scree slope, bringing with it the dreadful realisation he was alone. A desperate wail tore from the deep pit in Dain's chest. He ran, heedless of any peril save that of abandonment. For twenty yards his progress would have left any mountain goat green with envy. Then the loose scree gave way beneath him. The frost-shattered stones slid beneath his feet and carried him away, atop an avalanche of small rocks.

------------------------------------

"You've more to worry about than opening the door." The voice was gravelly, the words blurred with sibilants as though forced through a mouth unsuited to such work. It continued, "The Red Priests guard the Source. They will have defences."

Dain tensed. Enfolding furs blinded him, he could see light filtering in but had no view of the speaker. His head ached abominably, his left arm felt wrenched.

"I've learned a thing or two about the Priests, Gartus. It's amazing what a careful study of the oldest lays will yield." It was Ingold's voice. Dain relaxed into the furs.

"And what about this stray you've picked up? You can't very well march into the Chamber of the Source with a street urchin in tow. If you care enough about the child to spend half the night searching in a storm then you'll put him somewhere safe." The inhuman voice grew fainter, the speaker moving away.

Dain eased himself around, slowly, not wishing to betray his eavesdropping. He lifted the furs a fraction to afford a narrow view of the world beyond. The chamber was a natural cave, the rock dark and smooth. At the far end, some thirty yards off, a huge fire burned, its fierce flames funneled away up a stone throat. The rock walls caught the gleam of the blaze, their twists and turns sent shadows back and forth, lapping around Ingold's feet.

The bard sat at a great oak table, a heavy goblet in his hand. Opposite him an ogre of a man reclined in a high-backed chair. The man Ingold had called Gartus, was simply the biggest man Dain had ever seen. Built on a different scale to normal folk. It wasn't only his size that marked him though. His had been built at odds with the design on which men are constructed. Although he couldn't fail to top seven feet in height, his back hunched in a great hump, or ridge of muscle riding up behind his blunt head.

"I know." Ingold put his goblet down with a sigh and wiped his mouth. "I tried to leave him safe in Glorsa, but Marluk's men came a-raiding within the week. Not just his troops either, he sent Blood Guard, one of them was a Second."

Gartus reached for the wine jug and filled Ingold's goblet.

"A Second eh?" he smiled and Dain glimpsed teeth. Teeth like wedges, like the teeth in the sharks' jaws hung at Glorsa docks.

With a start Dain realised it was not just the glow of the fire that painted Gartus red. The man's skin was the colour of blood. It looked thick and textured, patterned like snakeskin.

"I forget how many times Attlus bade me drink." Gartus raised the jug to his lips.

"Five time, Gartus. Not so large a number – until it is used to count such an ordeal. To taste the Blood of the Red five times..."

The big man waved Ingold's accounting away, returning to his theme. "Strange chance that Marluk should send his prized lieutenant to Glorsa so soon after you left the boy..."

"Not so strange Gartus, the world and his wife are on my trail. I've something the Blood Lords want." He patted his jerkin over an inner pocket. "It worries me though. Dain said the Arkasian marked him. There's something about this boy, something I can see, even though I have drunk the Blood but once. I thought you should see him. Maybe you can solve this riddle for me."

"No time like the present," Gartus rumbled. "I'll have a look while he's sleeping. If there really is a boy in all those furs you brought in so carefully!"

Dain buried himself deep. He heard the scraping of chairs and the heavy fall of the giant's feet. His covering lifted away and he found himself staring into Gartus' strange face. Eyes of the deepest blue met curiously cat-like eyes, scarlet and fierce.

Gartus staggered back a pace. He reached for support then fell to one knee.

"Gartus! What is it man?" Ingold was at his side.

The big man's voice was barely a whisper, the distant grinding of stone on stone, steaming tears boiled down his cheeks.

"Everything will change."

Join my newsletter, 3 emails a year + prizes and extra content!  http://eepurl.com/cimnK1