Greetings all. For a change I get to update on Thursday! I hope you enjoy this short update from Part 22.
Hope the week is looking up for all of you! I got great news from one of my clients who put our first book on Amazon. Usually ghostwriters don't get credit, but he referred to it as our book so I am very happy!
Magna muttered something under her breath that neither the knight nor her uncle caught. They started to converse with each other as she slowed her horse. She wanted to think about the dream she had had. That sword was beautiful, and it called to her. She had desperately wanted to talk to her uncle about it, but he had shown no interest in speaking to her about it. She felt tears prickling her eyes, and soon the tears silently streamed down her face.
She missed her father and brother; one she knew she would never get to see again. All she ever wanted from her father was some sort of praise, to marvel at her skills as her mother had. Yet, all her efforts were for nothing as the man only wanted to see his son become a warrior, and now her uncle was doing the same thing. He was far more concerned over Adrian instead of what she was going through. She didn’t want to be strong anymore, she wanted to crawl into her mother’s arms and feel loved again.
“Magna, are you okay?” Came the soft voice of Derric behind her.
“It’s nothing.” She said as she shook her head.
The ride was silent, and soon their way was lit by one of the silvery moons. Magna could hear the rustling of the ghouls and their king through the trees around them. She had learned a lot here; she would have to write it all down so she could tell Adrian when he woke. He needed to know the secrets of the forest if he was going to be king.
“Magna.” Moaned Derric from behind her.
“What Derric? We have barely left the forest…”
“Can we stop so I can say goodbye to Daisy?” He whispered.
She was ready to rebuke him but then realised that she would only be spreading her pain of loneliness to him. She reined her horse and said, “Quickly, before the adults catch us.”
As soon as the horse stopped, the nervous ghoul ran up to the horse and skidded to a halt as the animal neighed at her. She slowly took a few steps on all fours before she stood up to her full height and hugged the boy behind her. Derric took the hug and whispered. “I’ll free you, Daisy. You don’t need to carry this curse along. I will save you and our family.”
The creature answered with a series of hisses and clicks before she dropped back to all fours and ran from sight. Derric then once more wrapped his arms around Magna, signalling that they could leave once more.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
“Let’s catch up to the others.”
Magna forced her horse into a trot until she could just barely make out the backs of the knight and mage. Mortis seemed to turn in his seat, noticed the young ones were behind him, and then turned back to converse with the mage.
“So, how did you learn the magic that you did?”
“Oh, not you to now!” snapped Adiran.
“We both know what called me here, and it wasn’t just the blood of the king.”
The mage took a deep breath and quickly stole a look behind him. Magna looked downcast but was conversing with the child holding her around the middle. He knew snapping at her was the worst thing he could have done, but he had never wanted her pulled into this. He promised himself to hear her out about her dream when next they took a break.
“The sigils and wards were handed down to me by another in the same position we are in. Don’t ask more than that of me. To reveal it may sap me of what power I have and call attention to us.”
The knight accepted this and stole another glance back to Magna. “The girl dreamt of the Guardian’s Sword. You know what that means.”
“Our family lets the eldest son inherit the throne.”
“Your time is far more backward than what I remember. If that is truly what you believe, no one should have allowed her to touch a weapon after she was born.”
“That wasn’t up to me. Nothing about her upbringing was ever up to me.”
“But the boy was supposed to be your ward. What happened?”
“He was born with magic, and his father wanted to break him of it.”
“You can’t destroy magic when it is rooted in one’s soul.”
“Didn’t stop him from trying.” He sighed deeply. “He wasn’t a bad man. He was just deeply flawed by his upbringing.”
Mortis looked at the moon through the thinning trees. “We are on the edge of the forest now, Adiran. Where do we go from here?”
“The swamps are the only way I know how to get to where we are going.”
“The swamps? There is nothing there. The ground is so moist it swallows buildings within a year. What is there that we need to investigate?”
“A gate to where we may find information about the boy’s soul.”
“Are you taking us to…” the surprise on Mortis’ voice before the knight reined his horse hard. “Are you insane! We have children with us.”
“I have a rough idea where the boy’s soul is, but to find the exact location I will need to barter.”
Mortis sat looking at the retreating mage’s back before he asked. “Just how much of your soul have you bartered away?”
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos Parts
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