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

more horsetail, cattail, and sawgrass poking through—all vegetation known to grow in the marsh. And the bogwart. I can smell the rancid smell of the bogwart with the westwardly wind. I’m closer to the marsh, which means…we head west! Almost there.

I rise to the occasion and throw Jay’s tow vine over my shoulder.

“There you are!” a gruff voice calls. A stranger stands in the shade of the forest’s edge.

I place an unnerved hand on my kukri and eye him suspiciously.

“I’m here for her.” He raises a hand with a few missing digits and points to Jaymes. “I’m a friend.”

Power is irrelevant. So why does man put on a pedestal irrelevance? Curiosity, continuous improvement, passion, perseverance—these are the drivers, but we let the powerful climb atop the pedestal, and we bend.

11 Harris

T he Redwood Chamber. Since the days of the Old Races, it has been a place of power. Unwavering and rooted deep, no different than the evergreen it’s named after. It houses Parliament, the elected caretakers of our realm, which I abhor to admit, I am responsible for. It has become a place of mocking scrutiny. A council I’m expected to be a part of at each turn of Cerise’s cycle. I dread when our mother terra grows full for it brings these four into proximity.

I listen and I scrutinize.

“What in Susy’s name are you insinuating, Shambrock?” Kell shouts in defense of his honor.

Kell Cromarte is a prideful man. Quick to anger if his integrity is being questioned. The origin of his pride lies with the falsehood he is a man of Parliament, the Chancellor to be accurate, who interprets himself as handsome, clever, and honest. Incognizant of himself, he is a balding, sinister gnome who would slay an orphan if it stabilized the pedestal he and his kin reside on. Summer’s end will be a revelation for him should my Shadow be successful.

“What I’m insinuating is you are the culprit for the sudden explosion of missing Dihkai. All the pieces are there. You are a man of power with connections; you are a man with dubious intentions, and I do not enjoy your company,” Shambrock answers.

Shambrock often makes the mistake of being impertinent and flagrantly reveals his hand. He’s not the sharpest man of Parliament. Ultimately, I am the one responsible for appointing him with the title of Shogun, commander of the Crimson Guard. Though, I am more comfortable with having appointed a brute than a brilliant and willful candidate. Shambrock is intelligent on a battlefield, not in a chamber.

“You are a courageous man, Shambrock,” Kell states.

“How so?” Shambrock bites, taking the bait.

“Implying such accusations against a man of my authority is considered unwise by most, but you do so heedlessly. You are fearless, but be careful—”

“A halfwit, conniving weasel, you are,” Shambrock interjects. “Courage and fear remain part of the same reckoning. I cannot be fearless and courageous in the same thought. If you’ve ever stepped foot on the frontline, you’d know that.”

“It’s a moot point.” Nigel calmly says, adding no value to the conversation.

Nigel Whitewater has mastered the art of deceit. The other men of Parliament, Shambrock, Leonard, and Kell himself, all consider Kell to be the master of manipulation in this chamber. Kell is capable, indeed. Except one important detail—we all know his true colors. Nigel, on the other hand, has a delicate shroud over everyone. Everyone except the man which he reports too.

Kell ignores Nigel’s comment and continues to stab at Shambrock.

“Brute force is not always the answer, Shambrock. All your aspirations are inevitably achieved with guile and cunning maneuvers. We are all weasels at one moment or another.”

“So you admit you’re a weasel, then,” Shambrock rebuttals.

“You’re not helping your cause, Kell,” Nigel says, unsolicited yet again.

“Nigel, would you shut your mouth.” Leonard forms a flat frown. “Taking sides is sure to benefit an argument. Let these two talk through their differences without your ridiculous comments.”

Leonard, like Nigel, is one of the bigger threats in the room. This mild outburst is uncommon for the man. Often his poise and intellect portray him to be more of a docile individual. And behind the scenes is where his peril strikes.

“I’m simply stating that Kell is proving Shambrock’s point. That his actions of manipulation and guile are often perceived as weasel-like.”

“Shut up, Nigel!” The other three all demand at once.

“Enough.” I interject with an even tone. The four of them close their mouths and look to me attentively. I find myself constantly disobeying my own personal rules of etiquette whenever around this distasteful group. This conversation is going nowhere, however. And these morons throw blame at each other like it is a hot pile of tiger shit they shed from their estate. Willing to bury their neighbors in it, and accepting none in return. More so, they lack all the facts. And they always will. They believe they hold counsel in this chamber, but it is a ruse. I keep my own counsel. The Parliament of Azure. It is all a ruse.

“You all are juvenile, preferring to throw feces at one another rather than accomplishing anything of worth. Do you know what else is commonly known for throwing feces at one another?” I pause, waiting to see if one of them will fail by answering the question. None of them do, so I continue. “The many different personalities of your company drive me beyond my own manners.” I take a long, hard look out the high windows of the chamber. Not much is to be seen except the blue sky. But it offers peace.

“Before we continue, I must say, I witnessed something new today. There was a lad, a curious one, in the market. I say lad, but he was a young man. He hovered over an anthill and engaged in an age-old yet twisted experiment,