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

and start becoming your own man. You have yet to see the worst of your demons. You must always grow stronger. This was only the first step. There will be a day you must leap from a cliff not much different than this. It won’t be so easy.”

“Understood. I think. And you might not know it all, but you sure know quite a bit more than myself. What else can you teach me? What other secrets do you have?”

“Scope and sequence, lad. You’re only an infant amongst the blood of Azure.”

We sit in silence for a moment. This was the first time I’ve heard words of prose come from him, so I contemplate them for some time as opposed to deciphering them. As I ponder, a peregrine falcon—I presume a father—teaches his young how to hunt. The larger of the two hovers over the other, helping guide it through the air. The youth goes into a stoop at an incredible speed. It readies its talons and collides with another bird twice its size. Successful in all ways.

Graytu leans back onto his arms and enjoys the scenery. He breaks the silence by answering an unspoken question. “You’ve already met her. I’ll reintroduce you this evening.”

I look at him, puzzled, wondering who he’s referring to. Then I just smile, knowing all well his intention is to preserve my confusion at all times, but in the end, an answer always reveals itself.

Sport. Are we ready for that? A lad and his sis were head-to-head in a field, with the lad gripping a wooden sphere. Trying to get around her, his feet shuffled. She wouldn’t have it. She knocked him to the ground, grabbed the sphere, and stepped on him. A brutal sport that will feed their ugly lusts.

43 Stone

“I

haven’t seen an Ironball match in ages. I was with my parents…” I trail off in thought, but I notice Astor’s smile fading, so I quickly continue rambling to prevent the mood from going sour. “Jay was there too. And my childhood friend, Elder. He was a quirky one, but most people are, in their own way.”

“Elder?” Her brow raises. “Is that where you came up with your alias?”

“Yeah. It was the first name that popped into my head. We spent most of our childhood together. His family lived in the neighboring village of Farrow, but my parents would send a carriage for him regularly to come visit.”

“Farrow?”

“Yeah. Small farming village. Up north. Nearest town east of Redoak, just on the rim of the forest. They have a few too many hogs roaming their paths if you ask me. Come to think of it, I never made it his way much. His parents were eager to get him away. I think they wanted him to become more cultured and see the world outside of Farrow. We were always traveling to the capital and other villages for various reasons. My father was involved with Parliament, as you know, so he had business all over Vedora. Elder tagged along quite often.”

“So, where is Elder now? Being he is such a close friend, I’d think you would have confided in him with your current situation.”

“Dead,” I say dryly.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

So much for avoiding the mood killer. I don’t have too many stories with happy endings, so I ought to just stop talking. And it all leads back to Harris Martelli.

“Don’t be. I was with him when it happened. He was always curious. Courageous too. Though, his curiosity led him into many sticky situations, which I might be confusing with courage. It may have just been stupidity. We were all there—me, Jay and Goose. I regret not being able to say goodbye. Even a burial or something. Something to show my respect. But we had to flee. We had to.”

Astor moves in closer as we meander through the crowds parading about the arena. She wraps her arm around me and I lean in. “Chaos and loss. That’s all you know, isn’t it?” She speaks loudly for me to hear over the buzz of the crowd. “Shall we pass on the Ironball? I hear it’s brutal, and that’s not what you need more of.”

“No way. I would never pass up an opportunity like this. It’s the Iron Eagles. The chance to witness them smash the skulls of the sneaks and cheats that are the Crimson Carnivores. We’re going.” I smile at her. “You’ve already committed. There’s no weaseling out of it now.”

The gates of the arena are swarming with fans trying to get in and peddlers trying to sell them goods, but what stands out more than the others, the Crimson Guard. I haven’t experienced a thick crowd like this since the day Harris incarcerated us—the day Elder died. I tense up and come to a halt.

“Is everything okay, Sto…I mean…Elder?” Astor stumbles on her words.

Guards are posted at every entrance and patrolling the crowds. It doesn’t appear they’re looking for anything or anybody in particular, but I can’t help it. Their presence makes me wary. Some are cloaked in forest green, some donning faded black, and a pair headed straight toward us wears bright white cloaks. The scene resembles that day too much. I tense up even more. But would the Taoiseach utilize his guards to capture me after opening up the way he did? Maybe he wants a public capture. It will be easier for him to carry out my execution. Can I trust an evil tyrant?

“What is it, Elder? What’s going on?”

The two cloaked men have their hoods up, concealing most of their faces. All I can see are the solemn grins they wear. They’re not here on regular duty. They’re too tense themselves. They’re on a mission. Too close now to run away, I throw my own hood up and drop my