Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (212 page)

“And if we concentrate on aging this litter to maturity instead?” Garret questioned.

“Two months, my king. We’d be ready to march in two months.”

“Just two?” Garret’s eyebrows knotted.

“If we focus solely on delivering for the next week straight, we should be able to deliver all of litter five. That would give us a little over seven weeks to speed the growth of this half-million pup litter. With the addition of your two new healers, and the clerics working full time to keep them healthy, we can now mature a single pup in under a minute. Nearly four hundred per hour if we do not hit any setbacks.”

“And that has us marching with every Lycan at our disposal?”

“Yes.”

“And what if we do a repeat breeding of this same litter, and leave the pregnant bitches behind?”

“Only about forty-two thousand less. That’s how many bitches we bred to produce this litter.”

“So in two months you can deliver more than half a million Lycan soldiers, or in four months a million?”

“Yes and no, my king. If we march away with most of the Lycans and only breed those who have been previously bred, it would produce another half a million Lycans. But, if we delay and breed every possible bitch out of this litter once mature in two months, then two months after that, or in four months’ time, you’d have over five million Lycans.”

“So my options are to march in two months with six hundred thousand, or march with fifty thousand less, but have a backup army of another six hundred thousand in two additional months, or wait four months for five million troops.”

“Nearly, Garret. There is no way we could mature five million Lycans. At our current rate, it would take us nearly five years to mature them all. They would mature faster on their own. We could only, likely, speed the process by a fraction. Instead of waiting nine months until they are mature, we could probably accomplish it in six or seven.”

“So a year’s wait to have five million mature, fighting Lycans…”

“Yes, my king.”

“Too long, Ashton. The demon is garnering allies.”

“As I have heard,” Ashton admitted.

“We’ll march when litter five is ready.”

“As you wish, my king.”

“Where is Kanth?” Garret asked.

“He should be returning any… Oh, there he is near the gate,” Ashton pointed.

“Very well, Ashton. You’ve done amazing work here, and shall be rewarded accordingly just as soon as we have destroyed the demon king.”

“I appreciate your praise, your Majesty.”

“You deserve it, just see to it that as soon as this snow is melted, my army is ready to march.”

“Rest assured, my king.”

Garret strode across the training grounds seeking out his favorite Lycan. Kanth was something special. He was intelligent and sought to learn at all costs. Not only was he the leader of the Lycan horde, but Garret trusted him, so much so, that Garret had an idea.

“Kanth, how goes the protection of the city?” Garret asked.

“Good, King. Humans learning to live with Lycan. Lycan work many jobs. Building. Make armor. Make weapon.”

“Do you think you could handle another duty, now that your troops are accustomed to theirs?”

“Yes, King. Kanth can.”

“Good. With war on the horizon, there is a chance that the demon king may strike at those I love. I would like for you to guard Lady Anna. She is to be your queen in the next few days. Will you keep her safe for me when I am not able?”

“Yes, King. For you, anything.”

“Good, Kanth. She should be at the keep now. Go to her and inform her of your new duties. Also, let her know that I’ll be at the barracks for a time, and would like if she’d visit.”

“Yes, King. I go.”

Garret watched Kanth salute before turning and striding away. He was impressed with the creature. He was impressed with all of them. They were working with the builders and smiths now. It was amazing. Garret had to remind himself that they were half human. Their abilities might be even greater than he could fathom, should he give them time to learn.

After a moment, Garret exited the same gate Kanth had vanished through moments before. The sky was growing dark, the mage’s tower casting a dark shadow across the courtyards. Tonight he would eat with his new knights.

* * * * *

Kanth entered the castle with less opposition than he imagined. He’d expected a guard at one of the gates to stop him, but none did. Gate after gate they simply saluted him and allowed him to pass. It seemed the king had already made known his new position to others. That, or they were not too concerned with the security of the castle.

Passing beneath the final gate, Kanth pulled open the large wooden door to enter the keep. He’d never been here before and had no idea what to expect. He imagined that inside would be much like the buildings his men had torn down in the city. He expected it to be filled with intricate filigree, linen drapes, tapestries, and other things regarded with high value by humans. Once the door was open, however, he was surprised to find the entryway was rather plain.

Stepping through the door, he allowed it to swing closed behind him and tested the air for Lady Anna’s scent. It was not a difficult task, as she did not smell like the rest of the humans. He didn’t even think she was human, only pretending. But he was new to this world and knew he had much to learn. He was only beginning to learn his place within it and did not want to overstep his bounds. He’d seen what happened to the dwarf. Nothing good would come of upsetting the king. If he was to protect Lady Anna, which he doubted she needed, he would follow the orders he was given.

Turning down the wide hall, he followed her sweet scent through the castle. Sweet and metallic. That is what set her apart from the other humans, especially the women. She smelled like a sword, a dagger, a weapon used to kill. Her scent was that of blood, of death. It made Kanth curious.

Sniffing as he came to the intersection of another hallway, he passed it by as reports came in from his men all around the city. All was quiet. All was as it should be. Anna’s scent caught in his nostrils again and this time it was stronger.

Picking up his pace he continued down the main hallway, trying his best to walk as a human did without bobbing up and down. It did him little good. Walking with a smooth gait felt unnatural and made his joints sore. He was who he was, no matter how much he wanted to be a human. He’d heard the word slave used enough that he’d gathered the gist of its meaning. He and his kind were slaves, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. They were being fed, housed, and trained. They were learning what it was to have a civilization, and as the first of their kind, such lessons were important, Kanth thought. First they must learn to live under the humans before learning to live beside them.

He'd been told there were other races on Thurr as well, like the dwarf and other types of men. Soon, when they marched to war he’d see them for himself. He hoped to learn much from the journey and battle.

Anna’s scent caught his attention again, but it was different. There was something in it that didn’t belong. Was it fear?

Kanth turned towards the wide staircase and began to climb four steps at a stride. Higher and higher he raced, Anna’s scent growing stronger and then tinged with blood. The king had been right, something was amiss. Growling a battle cry. Kanth smashed through the door as splinters exploded across the room and eyes turned to fall upon him.

* * * * *

Anna had not expected the intrusion, though certainly should have heard it coming, so loud was the damned Lycan. Pulling a sheet about her nude body, lest the beast see her totally exposed, she climbed off of the now panting form of Digo, tied securely to the bed. Wrapping the sheet about herself she climbed off the bed and wiped her mouth with her wrist.

“What purpose do you have here, Kanth?” she demanded.

“The king order me come. Protect Lady Anna.”

“And does it look like I need protection?”

“No. Kanth wait outside. Lady Anna finish meal.”

Anna smirked at the beast, turning to watch as Digo’s eyes fluttered closed, the beat of his heart becoming lost to her ears. At least she had reached climax before the damned beast broke in.

“Stay,” Anna ordered. She found herself in a conundrum. She knew the Lycans shared information telepathically, but could they control it? Had every Lycan in the city just seen what was transpiring? Was her secret exposed? “You saw what I was doing?”

“Yes, Lady Anna.”

“And what was it that I was doing?”

“Mating the male and drink blood.”

Fuck. He knew exactly what he had seen. “And the other Lycans, did they see too?”

“No yet, Lady Anna.”

“Good, you must not show them.”

“King supposed be Lady Anna mate,” Kanth said, trying to understand her infidelity.

“Yes, but not my food.”

“Kanth supposed to report to king all he see.”

Anna’s jig was up. She could either kill the Lycan before he spread what he saw, or try and make him understand. She couldn’t kill him, not without the fear that doing so would cause him to show the other Lycans and then show her murdering their leader. Not to mention what would she tell Garret after she killed the head of his beast army? She was trapped. Unless… he wanted something… She had influence, right? She was to be the queen in just days! She could give him nearly anything he could want. A room at the castle… A lover. Hell, even a human lover if he so desired. She fought not to grin.

“Kanth. You must not share what you saw here, ever. Understand? What can I give you in exchange for your keeping my secret?”

* * * * *

Kanth thought about the question. Lady Anna had much. Riches, power, the king’s ear, a lifetime of experience, anything he could think of, she had. But she also had more. Testing the air, he could smell it on the male. Not the mix of fluids from their mating. No. It was something deeper, darker, and more sinister. It smelled of death and power, and it was mingled within the male. It was a part of Anna, and she had somehow put it in the male.

“Put you in me.” Kanth said.

Anna looked at him curiously, obviously not understanding his request.

“Make Kanth like Lady Anna.” Kanth tried again, not sure how to phrase his request with his limited words.

“You want to be like me?” Anna asked.

“Lady Anna fast. Strong. Lady Anna hide it. Kanth know.”

Kanth watched the human female think about his words. She licked her lips and then parted them as if to speak, but then closed them again, shaking her head.

“I don’t know what it would do to you, Kanth. I have made others of my kind before, but they were all human. It might even kill you.”

“Kanth no afraid. Kanth half human. Kanth stronger than human.”

“You swear to me to keep my secret…
Our
secret for so long as you live?”

“Kanth give swear.”

“There are things you should know first,” Anna told him. Kanth nodded his understanding. “For me, at first, I could not go out in the sun. I had to feed on many people to grow strong before I could go outside. I do not know if the same will happen to you. Another thing, in the beginning, I was hungry all the time. I had to drink blood, and it has to be from the living. Many times a day at first, now I don’t really need it, but I enjoy it. Understand?”

“Kanth understands.”

“This may kill you, Kanth. It may cripple you. It may change you in ways neither of us will understand.”

“Kanth understands. Make Kanth like Lady Anna.”

Anna stepped towards him. She was shorter than he by a foot or more. He looked at the male on the bed, bitten on the neck, and lowered himself so she could reach easily. Then she attacked.

It was savage and abrupt. Anna drove him back against the wall hard, his head slamming into the stone. She pinned him there, unable to move, as effortlessly as a cat pinning a mouse. He was at her mercy. Kanth focused on keeping his thoughts to himself as he felt her fangs penetrate his flesh and his own hot blood spilling down his neck. Then it came.

Like white hot fire he felt the burning entering his blood. For a moment it felt as if he were boiling, as if the life she gave him was burning away something inside him, but then the euphoria took over. The pain turned to pleasure and he found himself becoming aroused. He didn’t want to. Certainly it would offend Lady Anna. He had no intentions of breeding her. He fought the urges growing within him. Then, just as fast as she began, Lady Anna pulled back, half way across the room. Her sheet had fallen to the floor exposing her nudity in all its glory. He’d lost his battle with his own body as well, his manhood standing well erect, but she paid it no mind. Perhaps she expected this side effect.

Still within him he could feel the fire and the euphoria. It both burned and soothed him. He felt heady as the room began to spin. His arm twitched and then his knee. His legs buckled as he collapsed to the floor hard. Something had gone wrong. His heart began to hammer in his chest. Lights flashed before his eyes. His insides felt as if they were coming out.