A Kiss of Darkness (Gothos Series) (2 page)

Amerus snapped his fingers and a wordless servant brought him the large rolled scrolled
then blended back into the scenery. With great care he unrolled it upon the round table, the scent of age wafted in the air. "This is a map of the world we live in that separates the civilized from the barbaric." he said in a quiet voice. He didn't need to raise his voice as the six children looked down at the old map. "The four provinces of the land, broken up by war and natural erosion" he told them, flattening the old scroll with his wrinkled fingertips. "We live in the Northern Territory that is protected by the Gogathon Knights. They have kept the peace and protected you children until you are ready to harness the power of the stones" he said stretching his hand out, pointing to the place on the map where they are. "The Eastern Territory is filled with simple people and fields that give us the goods we use every day. We must pay respect to the farmers and gardeners that provide the things we need" he said calmly eyes sweeping over the young ones listening intently. He took a moment to make sure there weren't any questions posed before continuing. "The Southern Territory is a land of uncultured nomads and outlaws." he said. Calus leaned his elbows on the table, resting the side of his face against his cheek. "I have heard rumors from the servants that they are criminals and thieves" he chimed in his voice filled with curiosity. The elderly instructor peered over at the boy at the other end of the table with his pale colored eyes. "Yes, that is true. They are people who have been driven to the point of desperation after the great battle that claimed the king's brother Prince Robert the Kind" he said calmly. "I have heard that creatures live in the Western Territory that snatch people in the night “Emrick asked leaning forward a bit on his cushion, quirking a curious brow causing all the students to rise to attention, all eyes on the scholar. For a few minutes the room was silent as Amerus removed his glasses, polishing them with the front of his robe before replacing them on the bridge of his nose.

"So you have heard the stories about the darker race. It is best that I tell you the true story to dispel any rumors you might of heard." the scholar turned his back to the group and stared silently at the mural of an old palace spiraling to the sky. "Centuries ago in this very city the old civilization lived. Sythians and humans lived together in harmony and understanding “he said which caused many whispers behind his back. “The story that has been passed on from our ancestors was that the Sythians started the battle which caused great bloodshed and fed their unnatural hunger for blood. Before that moment the Sythians fed off of animals and did not indulge in the arcane feeding on the blood of humans. This great change was a great and terrible event. The Sythians almost destroyed the human race until the great King Ursa called upon a sorcerer, a mage named Bulrius who told him to seek a great stone in the palace of the Sythians. That stone would have the power to weaken the Sythians. Ursa was given the map and created a small force of men. They stormed the castle and found the stone on the table under the great hall in a secret chamber. Using the spell that was given to him the king charged the stone and fought the Lord of the Sythians and killed him. The story goes that the Sythian priest, Darius took up the Lord's sword and with all his magic and skill shattered the stone into six pieces so it could never be used again by us humans. They were wrong of course because the six stones from that great stone became those that you protect and serve" he told them finally. All six children looked at Amerus with a look of absolute awe. "What happened to the Sythian Lord's sword?" Calus asked cocking his head to the side. "No one knows and those who have sought it have never found It." the teacher replied fixing them with a weary glance. "The sad part of this story is that the Sythian Lord and King Ursa were friends once. This great battle turned friends into mortal enemies."

When class ended Asura looked at her sister and walked out of the room with the others to the garden to play and relax. Sera stayed behind to talk to Amerus and approached him from the other side of the table, her fingers sweeping along the smooth surface. "Amerus, did the Sythian's really start the war? “She asked her blue eyes taking him in. Such a question from someone so young surprised the old man causing him to grimace lightly. "History is written by the victor, young one. We will never know who started the conflict but we know that it still wages on in our time". Amerus placed his hand on her shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving her pondering the carefully put words.

The sun was shining outside when Sera stepped out causing her eyes to ache from its brightness.  Before her was the large marble courtyard filled with rushing fountains and colorful flowers. Stepping down the steps Sera saw her sister sitting with Talos, whispering secretly. It puzzled her at that age why the two of them spent so much time together. Jumping down the steps she walked up to the nearby fountain that was a woman holding a pitcher, pouring into the lower fountain. Sitting on the side of the stone she gazed down at the water at her reflection. Feeling a slight jolt of a hand pushing her forward she swallowed in a breath as she fell into the water. The young girl didn't realize that she was being held down until she couldn't rise. She heard running feet and with her arms waving she finally caught her breath. Emrick was standing over her, his eyes narrowed.

"You know I should report you to the knights. They say that if you do not drown you are a witch. “He said in a low voice and turned and ran off into the garden hedge maze, leaving the others baffled. There
were no adults around to tell of Emrick's behavior. Calus, his golden ponytail moving against his shoulder placed a hand on her arm lightly. "Are you alright?"He asked frowning a bit. Seras nodded her head, but knew that Emrick hated her but she did not know why. If she knew then the lengths that Emrick would go to destroy her she would have been wearier of his machinations.

The next few days lessons continued and the afternoons were unusually warm. The trying lessons and training were to be rewarded when the Festes Festival was underway
later that day. Since the day at the fountain Sera has avoided Emrick the best she could. She couldn’t all together hide from him as they rode down to the village to take in the festivities as was tradition of the Northern Territory. The festival of Festes was to celebrate the creation of the Gorgothian Knights that protected the land. The village people had prepared things for the large celebration. The men had swept out the streets and the women had set about washing the windows till they shined with the morning sun. Men with carts and wire brushes were sweeping and scrubbing down the cobblestone for the large parade that would commence. Sera, her sister, and the other protectors were placed on horses to be part of the procession. She felt a fearful twinge in her stomach. This would be the first time she would be in the parade since the festival was only every ten years for reasons she did not know. When the time came she sat upon a white mare nervously tugging at the front of her dress as she sat side saddle. The dress she was wearing was unusually colorful due to the festivities. She was garbed in a forest green gown that tied in the back with a cream under dress. Her long golden hair was braided in its usual fashion, but woven with ribbons. Sera wiggled in her saddle having to ride it side saddle that was uncomfortable and made her bottom itch. Looking over at her twin she marveled at how she could sit still with pose even at their young age. To Sera’s bemusement her sister, Asura looked quite natural upon her honey colored mare, her eyes forward and calmed. This was always the difference between the two sister were their temperaments. Shifting slightly in her seat she looked out at the crowd on either side of the cobblestone street who were cheering and waving the flags of the four territories. Confetti fell from the upper windows of homes and shops and music could be heard from miles from the band. The senior officers of the Gorgothian Knights had the honor of being part of the procession. The others stood on each side of the street in strict formation, but had the luxury of watching the others go by.

The knights were garbed in their shining silver armor with a red embroidered shirt and woven black pants under it. The sword issued to them hung at their sides glinting in the sunlight. Captain Lucrus was standing among the new recruits, branding a nasty scar along his jaw from the war. Being hailed as a war hero he was rewarded with training the next generation of warriors. Standing at his side was his most promising soldiers. At the age of thirteen in the youth recruit program, Dominic Cain was at the top of his class and most obedient member of their close knit warrior community. Even King Damon had made the young boy part of his court, impressed by his maturity and won over by his flattery. The dark haired looking young man was watching the parade as his superiors passed with an unreadable expression on his face. The older man watched the boy always uncertain what was going through his mind. His eyes flitted to those passing and a smile split over his lips. “Look boy, it’s the Stone Protectors come all the way from the great Hall of Clothos” he said and raised his gloved hand and pointed to the children on the horses. Dominic turned his head and looked at the group with mild, polite interest. This expression was unchanged until he saw the dark blue eyed girl on the white mount. Though the girl next to her on
the horse was identical it was the dark eyes that interest him. The thirteen years old boy was quiet as they passed then spoken in a serious, calm tone of voice? “Captain, who is that girl, the one with the dark blue eyes? “He asked, the sound of awe creeping into his voice. The captain couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy’s reaction his shoulders shook a bit under the metal armor. “That girl you so admire is Lady Sera. She is the Protector of the special stone of Healing. When she is older she will draw the power from it and help us” he replied wistfully. The young man seemed to be pondering this, rolling this information over in his mind as he stood there. “Someday when I become a man of honor I will make that girl my wife” he said with firm sureness. Such words would be usually treated as fancies of a young boy, but the look on Dominic’s face was that of a determined adult. “You have many years to make that so” The captain said calmly, patting the boy’s shoulder.

2. Spark

Sera hopped around the room she shared with her sister, her body hunched over and her head tilted to the side. Huffing loudly she rolled her neck to try to get her long braid from her face as she searched for her shoe. It was permissible when she was a child to be late for class, but ten years and one day has passed since the celebration had come. Now at the age of nineteen not much has changed in her personality. Asura stood in the doorway and rolled her eyes behind her sister’s back. “You can borrow a pair of mine. You are going to be late with your one on one time with Amerus and even in his advanced age he only has so much patience” she stated. A smile spread across Sera’s face as she turned on one foot and looked at her sister, almost losing her balance. “Do I look alright?” she asked and lowered her raised foot. She was dressed in a rose pink tunic and long skirt. Now that she is studying in her own right she had more open options for dressing. “You look fine! Honestly if I didn’t know you were dressing for a certain someone I would think you were crazy” she said with a note of teasing in her voice. It was common knowledge that Calus was courting her to be his future mate; they had grown very close for a few years now. Asura sighed and turned on her heels, her purple gown swishing around her as she led her sister down the stairs to the main atrium. Amerus was sitting waiting for her, over the years he hadn’t changed much, but his eyes were filled with weariness and tiredness. Waving his hand for her to sit down across from him. “Today you will be turning your lessons into actions. Instead you will be going village to use your art of healing to care for the sick” he said knowing that this was a good opportunity for the young woman to be able to not only practice her skills, but to also get to know the people she is protecting. This sent a strange tingle of excitement through her at the thought of going out by herself and proving herself. Up to now it was still all lot of studying and learning, but now she would be doing things by her own merit. When dismissed she left the atrium to see Calus standing on the other side, the sunlight is glistening on his golden hair. He was dressed in the military issue uniform of those of a knight, but his cloak was black instead of the usual red. He was staring up at the painted vaulted ceiling, the shadows playing against the battled hardened face. It made her chest flutter as she stood taking him in silently. For a moment she forgot herself imagining herself in his strong arms. Clearing her throat she drew his attention to her presence. He blinked as if waking from a dream, his eyes glazed and unfocused for a moment. She wondered with amusement how he survived on the battlefield. Of course she never saw him on the battlefield and hoped to never see him shed blood in war, still seeing that shy and awkward boy he used to be. Even now she could see the playfulness in his eyes at catching her seeing him absolutely caught off guard. Letting out a slight cough a sheepish smile his friendly brown eyes looked at her with great affection. “Sera, Where are you off to today? Don’t you usually have a class with Amerus?” he asked as she crossed the marble floor to meet him. “I did, but he is instead sending me into the village to use my healing skills on those in needs” she said unashamed of the pride that seeped into her words. Calus raised a hand and rubbed the side of his hair and nodded his head “Well enjoy your trip” he said looking like he was suppressing a yawn like a little boy. It took all the power of her being to not giggle. He seemed to notice the curve of her lips and shook his head a little and before she knew it he swept a strong arm around her waist with great gentleness. Sera could feel his muscular arms, bare of adornments at the moment made her quiver a little in excitement. Her gaze met his with warmth as he leaned in to kiss her. She could feel his warmth breath against her cheek. “Come back soon my little Sparrow” he whispered and pulled back instead of completing what he meant to do. As he walked away she felt disappointed rising in her and a deep frown changing her mood. For a moment she just stood there watching his retreating form wanting to call him back to her, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. Biting at the corner of her lower lip she turned on her heels scuffing the marble and left heading for village.