Seeker of the Four Winds: A Galatia Novel (6 page)

Prince Loyl said that over
the last ten years the Regalans had spent more time getting to know
the Galatians than anyone. He had a personal affinity toward human
pop culture. It was weird hearing the prince discuss his favorite
movies like
Star Wars, Star Trek, The
Hunger Games,
and
Glory Alley and the Star Riders
. He
really enjoyed the Thundercats cartoon because the characters
looked somewhat Regalan.

The prince’s personal
favorite, however, was
The
Terminator
. “Hasta la vista, baby,” he
said with a playful show of claws and fangs. Lars, Josie, Lindsey
and Dante laughed so hard they were crying.

“Quit it,” Josie said. “You’re making my face
hurt!”

When she laughed like that the wonderful
dimples in her cheeks appeared. Angel kisses—Grandma Blanche had
called the ones on Gracie. He missed his brothers and sisters in a
way that made him ache with loneliness, but seeing the whole squad
laughing it up, even ole Hogard, made up for it in some ways.
Whenever he felt discouraged, Lars reminded himself of the
importance of the mission, how finding the Blood Map would secure
his family’s future. In the light, his present suffering meant very
little.

(Note: A
glossary
is included at the back of this book)

(Magus Mull)

Magus Mull pitched a tent on the side of the
trail. He didn’t intend to confront the Red Squad directly, but he
needed to know what it was that they were seeking. Furthermore, the
magic behind the talisman on the pretty little girl’s arm was
unlike anything he had ever encountered. Even the demi-god Glonare
was baffled as to its origins. But one thing was certain—the Red
Squad’s mission threatened the demi-god’s carefully laid out
plans.

If only the Galatians understood the wonders
Glonare could provide them. They would carry his servant Mull back
to the Northlands on their shoulders and beg him to be their
teacher. These humans’ love of learning and their self-imposed
moral codes, combined with their charismatic powers, set them above
all of the other races. Mull knew they would one day dominate the
world again. And after all he had done for them when they had first
arrived, all he had taught the Fade Brothers Group, he deserved to
be part of it.

Even though Mull was part Volaxan, he had
human blood coursing through his veins. Not having known his real
parents, growing up as a hungry and abused child of the streets,
the Galatians were the closest thing to a real family that he had
ever known. By the stars, how he missed Barrett—even Barrett’s
useless brother Bryce would be preferable to this exile. Mull was
still miffed that the two brothers had not fought harder to keep
him at their side. He couldn’t stay mad at Barrett for long though.
The world was an empty place without him. Mull found himself
missing the Galatian children as well. Their squeals of delight
when he turned their rabbit stew into bowls of sweet vanilla
pudding, or their astonished wonder when he formed their torch
fires into fiery dragons or dancing ladies, had always lifted his
sagging spirits. In fact, he missed all of the Galatians—well, most
of them—certainly not Elizabeth Fade nor that arrogant doctor,
Simon Steelsun. For a while, Mull had hoped Elizabeth would come
around, but that hope had faded away in a moment of carelessness.
Barrett had warned him that his mother’s mind-reading skills were
honed far beyond that of the other Galatians, that he would need to
guard his thoughts. Mull still hadn’t figured out how when she had
read them, nor what she had seen, but it was clear that she now
hated him. Despite the influence Elizabeth held over her
sons—Michael, Red, Barrett and Bryce—Mull knew his banishment was
only a temporary setback.

The mere thought of returning to Galatia sent
a warm wistful feeling through his body. But a piece of his heart
would always remain planted in Windmere, the hidden city where an
old witch had once recognized his greatness, plucked him off the
street and taught him the dark arts until she grew jealous of his
strength. When his powers began to outstrip her own, she banished
him. Even though it had taken him seventy years, at last he had
taken revenge on the old witch; she had died a deliciously horrible
death—baked in a pie and served steaming hot to her enemies.
Will I have ever find my true home?
Mull sighed.
Why
doesn’t anyone understand me?

His hope now rested in a young witch with
great potential who stood at the head of the new coven—the Coven of
Eden. She and her devoted followers were on the road now, coming to
meet him, and with them would come the pleasure and power he
craved. More pressingly, their arrival would cure him of his grief
for Feenie Fade. His body pined in her absence. For the last four
years, watching Barrett’s wounded and gaping heart bleed for her
was almost too much to bear. In a moment of weakness, Mull had
almost told him the truth about his wife’s death, but she wouldn’t
have wanted that. And as much as he loved Barrett, he loved Feenie
even more. A curse upon that old biddy Elizabeth for forcing their
separation!

To chase away the dark voices in his head,
Mull settled into his tent at the side of the trail, with one hand
down his pants. Mull’s mind returned to a memory he entertained
whenever he needed release—that night when he had first used the
Fertility Ritual of Glonare with Barrett and Feenie Fade.

..............................

Five Years Earlier, Back in the Fade
Brothers Settlement

(Magus Mull)

A summer storm had rolled in late last
evening. The only sign of its passing was the sound of thunder
fading in the distance. Outside of the window of the cottage, a
sliver of morning sunlight flickered beyond the fields. Steam rose
from muddy puddles.

The night had been hot enough, but the
Fertility Ritual of Glonare was boiling to its climax inside of the
cottage. Barrett, drugged out of his mind on Mull’s elixir, had
sexed up his wife into a maddened frenzy. After his own release, he
fell into a deep slumber. Mull had intended to perform the
Fertility Ritual of Glonare and leave. But Feenie was so young and
so lovely. As she basked in the afterglow, her blonde hair fanned
across the pillows. After months of modesty, Feenie had gotten to
the point where she displayed her perky breasts in front of him
without inhibition. Now, she looked up at Mull with those
cornflower blue eyes eager to please him. Even though the ritual
had been completed, he wasn’t ready to go.

“Is the ritual over?” Feenie asked, while her
inebriated husband snored a few inches away from her among the furs
and blankets.

“Do you want it to be over?” he asked, trying
to hide the desire in his voice.

“I do,” she said quietly.

That reply disappointed him, but no
matter.

“Quit being so self-centered,” he scolded.
“Think about how much Barrett wants to have a baby. Would you deny
him that?”

She shook her head.

“Then let me complete the ritual.”

“But he’s asleep...”

“As he’s supposed to be for this part of the
ritual. Shall I proceed?”

“I guess so.”

That was a good enough answer for Mull.
Pushing her knees apart for maximum penetration, he inserted the
walnut-sized fertility pack with his fingers. Unable to control
hiimself a moment longer, he dropped his drawers and plunged his
shaft into her quivering flesh. Closing his eyes, tilting his head
back with great pleasure, he savored the explosive entry. After
years of denying himself, he had finally taken what he wanted. And
it was even better than he had expected. Gently, he rocked until
her internal muscles began to tremor.

She struggled a little beneath him and he
heard her shocked gasp.

“What are you doing!”

“Shhh,” he groaned. His conscience nagged at
him how it was wrong to take advantage of Barrett and Feenie’s
trust this way, but her warm body felt so wonderful beneath his,
how could he stop? “Remember, Feenie, this is all part of the
ritual to help you conceive.”

“Don’t…” she pleaded.

“Remember, you and Barrett both agreed to
totally give yourselves over to me. What did you think that
meant?”

As his pelvis worked back and forth, building
into a crescendo, her pathetic attempts to push him away ended.
Good. If only she would release her last inhibitions, Feenie would
realize that a Volaxan’s male anatomy came with many surprises.
Mull could ripple his penis, make it vibrate, twist like a snake,
and expand it beyond ordinary dimensions.

“Relax, my dear,” he said. “Your husband’s
seeds are already there. I’m just opening the fertility pack. I’m
sure you’ll be a mother by the end of the year.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked
hopefully.

“If you completely surrender to me—to the
pleasure—without a doubt.” She nodded as a tear trickled from the
corner of her eye. “Think about that baby in your arms and open
yourself wider.” The moment he felt her melt back into the bed, he
gripped her buttocks, and with a grunting heave, nailed her with
all of his might. She cried out in surprise.

He pleasured Feenie with his entire arsenal
of tricks. She was watching him now, eyes filled with admiration.
Their eyes were locked. She had surrendered herself to the pain and
pleasure, and was grinding her hips in rhythm with his own. Just
when he thought he had her in his complete control, he felt her
charisma latch onto something deep inside of him, something he
hadn’t known existed, and lift him up.

Until that moment, he’d thought the
descriptions of the Galatians’ love-making techniques exaggerated.
Only now did he realize those whispered descriptions hadn’t done
the experience justice. Feenie and Mull were climbing the sky on
her charisma. It was a mystical thing—he had no other way to
explain it.

“Oh, Feenie,” he cried out, shocked that her
name had come out of his lips so needfully. “Oh, Feenie!”

His ejaculation was a shower of pure nirvana.
His body convulsed beyond ecstasy. A state of utter tranquility
followed. He collapsed on top of her, nuzzling his face in her
hair.

“Is the ritual complete?” she asked
innocently. “Am I going to have a baby?”

“Yes,” He laughed and inhaling the jasmine
scent lingering on her skin. “And yes.”

She wrapped his arms around his neck and
gently kissed his cheek. “I love you so much—” Mull’s heart soared
for a second, only to be dashed on the rock of reality by her last
word, “Barrett.”

Mull froze, while Feenie slipped into
drug-induced oblivion.

After pouring everything he had into this
woman, hearing another man’s name cross her lips filled him with
jealousy. Despite knowing the elixir had muddled her mind, his
intention all along, he became irrationally angry. The credit for
such an amazing performance belonged to Magus Mull. He raised a
hand to slap her in the mouth.

It was me, you stupid whore,
he
thought, but he couldn’t use those words to refer to the woman who
had just given him so much joy. Lowering his hand, and gently
brushing her hair out her mouth, he murmured, “Balaroth, exirtallh.
Magus Mull gives me endless pleasure.” He kissed her flushed cheek.
“Balorath monomtel, Magus Mull is my lover. I want him every moment
of the day. Nibintek Everlock”

Afterward, he couldn’t believe he had uttered
an entrapment spell. Master warlocks knew better than to look for
love through magic. Unless there was more than the magic between
them, the spell would dissolve in a few months’ time, leaving the
spell caster more miserable than before, and the victim spiraling
toward insanity. Glonare, his demi-god master, had ordered him to
take her only this one time. But no worries. An entrapment spell
had to be repeated dozens of times to remain effective. He vowed to
never utter those words again.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about how she
had carried him to the stars. How badly he wanted to go there
again.
No, I can’t do that
... Mull sat on the edge of the
bed, wrestling with his conscience.
Who is going to know if I
take just one more liberty? After all the work I put into this, I
deserve a little something. Don’t I?

Before he knew it, he was entering her
forbidden cavern again. Now totally spent, his voracious appetite
appeased, he returned Feenie to the arms of her husband, who would
be none the wiser. Pulling his pants back up with a grunt, he left
by the front door, feeling simultaneously guilty and
exhilarated.

Conception did not come that night.
Fortunately, nobody complained about having to repeat the ritual.
Mull gave Feenie a little less potion in her drink each time, and
she became increasingly aware of what was happening after Barrett
passed out. It got to the point that she didn’t need the potion at
all. She only tolerated Barrett’s lovemaking, and couldn’t wait for
him to fall asleep, so Mull could leave his perch on the ceiling to
scurry down the bedpost into her waiting arms.

..............................

The warlock laid on his cot fondling himself
as he remembered their first time. Feenie couldn’t walk the next
day; he chuckled just thinking about it. The couple had assumed it
was Barrett’s doing. Watching his Galatian friend strut around like
a proud rooster had been amusing, yet frustrating. Strange how life
worked sometimes. He had grown up thinking the master human race
was a myth—now he was in love with two of them—and tracking a group
of their kind through the grasslands and forests.