Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) Jonathan Michael (red novels .txt) 📖

foul aroma. His pupils are dilated, nostrils flared, and his fur as black as the grim. He blames me for the death of Zoie and his kin. It’s more than a wisp of emotion lost between beast and man’s ability to communicate. I can now translate what he throws at me.

I snap out of my delusional rage that I could ever overcome an ape twice my size and growing. I need to end this now. I unsheathe my kukri and hold it high, my bicep twitching with indecisiveness. I want to pierce his heart with my blade, but what about Zoie? I think back to her last words? Don’t do it. We need him, she said. She was referring to me. Then my mind flies to Graytu and all his lectures of patience and instincts. For months he has endured my ignorance. But he never let up. He believed in me. But this isn’t about me. This is about those I care for. This is about Zoie and Graytu. Stone and Jaymes. All the Redcliffe Warriors that forgave my threatening ignorance. For Coloss’ kin who rely on him. For all the generosities this forest has bestowed upon me. This has nothing to do with me. I’m not worthy. And I never will be. For what man is? Coloss doesn’t guard his kin, or the villagers of this wood. He guards life itself. He protects the forest, the creatures within, and all of Azure. I see it now. Anyone who gains control of their Instincts gains control of far more than their own self-worth. If they are manipulative, greedy, and selfish and they are competent enough to master their Instincts, they will gain control of all of Azure. And what man would be worthy of that? Only Susy himself. No. I am not worthy. And I never will be. If I am to gain anything, I must not improvise and act at will. I must learn from my failures. I must not lose my nut, as Graytu would proclaim. But it is difficult to resist this moment of opportunity after what he’s done to Zoie. I drop my blade.

He bellows a piss-worthy roar right in my face, and I let go of his neck, shrinking back toward the trunk of the tree.

Suddenly, a fig pelts me in the head and splatters. Its innards run down my face. Then a few more pummel the two of us. Any remaining fury subdues, and I almost burst out laughing. I’m attacked by fruit-tossing apes. This is ridiculous. Not knowing what my intentions are, I drop to a branch below.

Coloss rips his arms free of his bonds, snapping the thick branches like twigs, and drops to the ground, shattering several limbs on the way down, including the one I’m standing on. I land on two feet. “Goose the Great,” I mumble aloud as I stick the landing. The two of us are back on the forest floor. Without delay, Coloss explodes toward me on all fours. I stand my ground and close my eyes. Patience. Instincts. Listen. My talents are limitless. Today is the day. I open them when I feel his hot breath billowing down on me. He’s within an arm’s reach, towering over me. But his gaze is fixed behind me. His rage dissolves.

“I’m sorry,” I communicate. But I know not if he listens. “I’m a child in this world, merely trying to be great and failing miserably. Today is the day I am ready to listen.” I stare at him, awaiting acknowledgement. “If you will to speak to me,” I add.

A moment passes, and the youthful ape which Coloss presumed dead comes staggering over to the base of the tree with the hind quarter in its grip. I realize now it’s what his gaze was fixed upon. Any fury consuming Coloss is now gone and replaced with something quite the opposite. He wants to go to his child, but he’s hesitant. He remains unsure of my intentions.

“Go to him.” I put it simply. Although I can sense what I intend to say, I don’t truly know how it’s perceived on the other end. I step from his shadow and stagger to Zoie. The emotional duress has left me fatigued. I cradle her in my arms and hold her for a long while.

Coloss embraces his child. In hindsight, I see he is much more than a raging, barbaric beast. He is Coloss the Great. He is the guardian of his family. He is the guardian of this village. He is the guardian of life. He is the Guardian of Azure. And I tried to kill him. More than once. It is decided. I’m not worthy.

All of Azure is in upheaval. The People’s War, once culminating, now everlasting. The Taoiseach has no control over his power and hungers for destruction. The amount of loss is devastating. Trade has halted. Slavery has plagued us. Agriculture has been abandoned, and villages have decayed. The summer has fled us too soon, and the blame goes, not to the one causing the destruction, but to the Hybreed and his failing religion. I won’t falter. I will dine with fear himself if I must.

39 Jaymes

“S

he has expanded her skills, instincts, and talent immensely, sir.” Ellia briefs the Taoiseach. “It’s unusual how quick she takes what I have to offer her. The once insolent brat has morphed into a worthy protégé. All it took was to bloody her hands.”

Crouched below the window, I listen in on their conversation from outside the Taoiseach’s private chambers. I risk my life being up here. Though, what is life without risk? More than a month ago during the massacre at The Jack Rose, I knew nothing about being an assassin. I knew nothing about the shadows, my skillset, or death. Ellia has given me so much since then, the risk is hardly there. I now understand how