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

He is relentless. With my talents, the injuries are nothing and the pain is only temporary, but it is exhausting, nonetheless. And the pain is real. I climb to my feet and get into a ready stance, digging my feet deep into the sand.

The Master charges. I preemptively attack, and he slows. But my fist is already extended to strike him. I’m going to pay for this. He grabs my arm, twists it. My body follows. He pins my arms behind my back with one hand, and his other arm wraps around my neck. I struggle and struggle, but his grip only gets tighter. I manage to break my arms free, but it doesn’t help me. His other arm reinforces his choke hold around my neck. The class watches intently as I look out to them for help. They start to get blurry. I can’t tell where the thornwood barrier stops and my classmates begin.

“Argh!” the Master screams out in pain. He pulls a blackened arm from my neck and conceals it in his tunic.

“So…it’s true. You’re a Graft,” he whispers to me. But he doesn’t expect a response. “No biting!” he yells for the class to hear.

“But I didn’t—”

“We’re done here. Although anything will stand in a real battle, that is not what I teach here. We fight honorable battles. Get out of the ring. Next up!”

With my lectures exhausted for the day, I make way to Astor’s miniature palace. We rarely spend a moment apart when I’m not in class. After my impotent attempt to take our relationship further ending in blatant rejection, there have been many more awkward moments to follow. It hasn’t deterred us from spending time together, but I am unsure how I am to behave in certain situations. Why hasn’t the Taoiseach given a lesson on proper etiquette for courting a woman? Probably because his personality has never given him the opportunity to get that far in a relationship. I’m sure any woman who has come remotely close has been consumed by the darkness of his shadow.

As I approach the cottage, I stop and gaze upon the mansion belonging to Master Sephyre. It didn’t occur to me what the effect of skipping his course today might have. His generosity is considerable, and I fail to be decent enough to bless him with my presence in his lesson chamber. But he put a knife to my throat. The man is vile in the core and could use a little disrespect to tame that arrogance, but it doesn’t stop the guilt. I can’t tell Astor. She’ll give me her own lecture on what I already know. I’ll make attendance tomorrow despite my suspicions.

“Stone!” Astor exclaims as I step through the door. “Let’s take a break,” she blurts erratically and pushes whatever literature she’s reading to the edge of the table. In a nice neat pile, of course.

“What? A break?” I respond soberly, caught off guard by her enthusiasm.

“Yeah, a break. Let’s take a break from our studies. You’ve accelerated rather quickly in all your subjects except aeronautics, of course, but your injury is an excusable justification, so I think it’s time for something a little more entertaining. What do you think?”

I perk up at the thought of something more entertaining. My intentions must be obvious because her eyes shift down to the table, avoiding eye contact before continuing.

“There’s an Ironball match going on tomorrow night at the arena. I don’t know much of the game, but I’ve heard the local Iron Eagles are going to dominate the Crimson Carnivores. It ought to be fun to get out, don’t you think? Enjoy something for a change. What do you say? Let’s go.”

“Tomorrow?” I grimace. “I thought maybe…you meant tonight. Take a break tonight.”

“Don’t be so erratic. We will plan for tomorrow. Tonight, we study.”

“Okay.” I force a smile. “Let’s go.”

Astor’s face lights up.

Humanity delivers yet another wonderful surprise to keep the faith alive, and the balance. They have begun to resist the Taoiseach and his destructive force. If I am to be the deity they all expect, I have to take a page from the falling Taoiseach. I must treat them as something lesser than myself. I cannot be a man. I must treat them as pawns for me to control and sacrifice as needed. I am capable.

41 Harris

“J

aymes, do you know I witnessed something new today? When you’re as old as I am, the happenstance to come across a new experience is a treasure beyond any other. Listen and open your eyes to the world around you, and I promise you won’t regret it.” I pull the decanter closer and fill my tumbler half full. I drop in four cubes with the pincers. I swirl it around a bit to help the ice dilute the savory burn just enough, then I take a generous sip.

“What did you witness, sir?”

Her chatter is insufferable. Not the simple question, but the enunciation that was taken from her. I would correct it for her, but she has taken a liking to it.

I shift in my high wood-back chair to look out the window beyond my deck. The same deck Jaymes has been utilizing to spy. Though, there’s not too much to spy within these walls. Only the petty maneuvers of man trying to fool himself into believing the existence of everything is all for our benefit. Designed for us to control and manipulate at our own will. She will spy only arrogance within these walls. Nothing of importance we don’t all already know. And deny.

“Have you ever heard a hummingbird’s song? They are the hastiest of our brilliant feathered friends, and it’s not something everyone has a chance to experience even in the longest of lives, but today that is what