Chapter 650: Morrigans & Katags
The Katag infirmary was significantly larger than the one back at the Veres manor. Stryg supposed it was because the Katag’s were a martial House. Though he didn’t bother asking for confirmation. His focus lay elsewhere. Tauri lay on a bed, resting in a private room.
Evelyn and Stryg sat in the room next to her, one on each side of the bed. The healers had already come and gone. Tauri had been left covered in bandages from her neck all the way down to her feet. The thorns hadn’t cut too deep, but they had sliced her scarlet skin all over. The white mages swore there would be no permanent scarring, but it would take time for the body to recover, even with the aid of magic.
The room was filled with a tense silence that permeated the air. Stryg held Tauri’s hand as she breathed in quietly. Evelyn stared at Stryg, her expression grim; finally, she broke the silence. “Who was that goblin?”
“Arden, chief of the Frost Whisper tribe,” Stryg replied without taking his eyes off Tauri’s sleeping face.
“Yes, so Tauri told me. What I want to know is why a Sylvan goblin, a chief no less, tried to kill my family and me. Do the Sylvan Tribes not serve you? Are you not their War Master?” Evelyn asked.
“The Sylvan only have one master and it is not me.”
“Then whom?”
“The Mother Moon.”
“Lunae? Are you saying a goddess sent that assassin to kill my family?”
“No. Lunae ordered Arden to kill the Morrigan emissary. You were just— collateral…”
“Collateral?” Evelyn clenched her jaw. “I have tried to be understanding of your ways, Stryg. Our Houses will soon be joined forever. But this… This isn’t some game where my family’s lives can simply be collateral!”
“...I am well aware, Lady Evelyn.”
“Are you? You seemed to be aware of the assassination. Why else would you have shown up when you did? Were you in on it? Did you help this ‘Arden’?”
Stryg tried to control his breathing and his quickening heart beat. All he wanted to do was fight something and throw all his anger at it. But no, there would be time enough for that later. “The moment I found out about the danger, I rushed to stop it. Clearly, I was somewhat too late.”
“Somewhat?”
“Beatrix lives.”
“And what of my daughter? Tauri lies here because of your people!”
Stryg finally looked up and met her gaze. She paused, startled; his eyes were alight with power. “I understand your anger, believe me, I do. But Tauri is here because of your people, not mine.”
“Explain.” Evelyn narrowed her eyes.
“The Morrigans and the rest of the Murktons have been plotting to wage war against the Sylvan Tribes.”
“What?”
“They’ve heard of our armies and fear retaliation from the Sylvan for what happened at Lunis three centuries ago. And so, Lord Morrigan has devised a war strategy to strike first, unprovoked.”
“This is… This is a lot to consider. How can you be so certain of this ‘war’?”
“Lunae has powers beyond any of us. One such power allows her to see things far in the distance, even as far as Murkton. She’s been watching them closely and has decided that she will be the one to strike first instead.”
“So today? Arden…?”
Stryg nodded. “The Murkton emissary was the target. You happened to be the ones hosting him. Your family is safe now. No one else will come and attack you.”
“Safe? My family was just attacked in our home. We will not be safe until this assassin lies dead. We will not sit by and let this attack go unpunished. We are House Katag, there will be consequences.”
“You can’t.” Stryg shook his head.
“You have no idea what I can and cannot do.”
“Maybe not, but Lunae certainly does. What makes you think she isn’t watching us right now?”
His words gave her pause and Evelyn looked around warily as if she somehow might spot Lunae.
“I don’t think you understand,” Stryg said carefully. “Lunae plans to destroy everyone related to House Morrigan. The only reason she didn’t personally eradicate your entire family already was because of Tauri's relationship with me. Like I said, what happened to your family today was collateral, nothing more. There was no ill intention behind it. But if you go and antagonize the Sylvan Tribes, I will not be able to protect your House. Tauri will be spared for my sake, but you? Your husband and children? You have no idea what an angry god can do. They are ruthless.”
Evelyn sat back in her chair and said nothing for some time, quietly considering his words. “If what you’ve said is all true. Then Lord Morrigan has made a terrible mistake. My husband can speak to him; try to convince him to change his war plans.”
“It won’t matter. There is no changing Lunae’s plans. She has made her choice,” Stryg sighed.
“What does your goddess have planned?”
“The emissary was just the beginning. Soon, all the Sylvan armies will march onto Murkton.”
“Murkton has the greatest armies among all the Ebon Realm. It will not be so easily defeated. The Sylvan had the element of surprise in the last battle. They won’t have it this time.”
“You’re wrong. The Sylvan have the greatest army in the Realm. How long were Murkton’s orcs trained for? Since they could walk? How often have they had to fight for their lives? How many monsters have they slain? My people are descended from the soldiers of Lunis; they do not know the comforts of cities. We are born warriors, you either learn to fight or you die.”
“Even still, orcs are almost twice the size of goblins. Sheer strength and stamina will win out in a long-drawn-out battle. Not every one of your warriors is an archmage assassin.”
“You’ve never seen my people fight, have you?”
“...Excluding the assassin? I cannot say I have,” Evelyn admitted, somewhat annoyed.
“If you had, you would know that everything in Vulture Woods is bigger than us and yet still we remain.”
“Let’s say Murkton’s armies are defeated. Then what? Will you capture Lord Morrigan and put his head on a spike?”
“Lunae intends to burn Murkton to the ground as it was done to Lunis.”
“What?” Evelyn stood up. “The entire city? Thousands will die!”
“Just like Lunis,” Stryg said grimly.
“But that was 300 years ago.”
“Not to her. Lunae lived it. This is personal.”
“My son is in Murtkon… We sent Lucas as an emissary to Murkton.” She held her hand over her mouth.
“I’ll send someone to get him out of there as soon as possible. A small ship on the Dire River will be the fastest.”
“What if I speak to Lunae? Petition to her personally? Surely some sort of peace treaty can be met? Amends be made.”
“I really don’t think that would be a good idea,” Stryg said wryly.
“...Does she truly hate my kind and me so much?” Evelyn whispered.
Stryg didn’t know how to answer that. Fortunately, the door opened before he had to. Niko and Elena rushed in and ran to Tauri’s bedside.
“We came as soon as we heard,” Niko said.
“I’m so sorry,” Elena cried at the sight of Tauri lying in bed, covered in bandages. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled over and over.
“How is she?” Niko asked.
“Your sister is safe,” Evelyn assured them.
“Oh, thank Bellum,” Niko sighed in relief. He looked up and finally noticed Stryg, sitting there not three paces away. “Lord Veres! I didn’t see you there.”
Elena stiffened and slowly turned to Stryg. He stared at her and gave a stiff, polite smile. Elena quickly looked away.
“Stryg…?” Tauri mumbled blearily.
“I’m here,” Stryg grabbed her once more.
“What happened?” Tauri asked.
“You lost a lot of blood and passed out. Rest. Everything is fine now,” Stryg said.
Tauri glanced around and saw her siblings, tears in both their eyes. “Guys…?”
“Hey, sis,” Niko smiled.
Stryg let Tauri go and quietly stepped out of the room. They needed time alone and he was more than happy to give it. He was pleasantly surprised to see Gale waiting at the end of the hall, arms crossed behind her back. She inclined her head as he drew close and fell into step beside him.
“We found Lord Katag. He landed in one of the manors of a minor lord. He killed some of the guards and servants, but we managed to contain him before things got worse. He’s recovered from his berserker state and is resting in the Veres manor as we speak,” Gale reported.
“Why not bring him here?”
“He wasn’t easy to bring down without killing him. It required various cuts all over his limbs until he finally went down. A lot of blood loss. The Veres manor was closer. We had our healers treat him there.”
“Good. When he’s healthy enough to travel, bring him here.”
“As you wish, my lord.” Gale nodded. “If I may ask, what is our next plan of action?”
“I need to speak to Beatrix, see what she knows. Her father is about to wage a war he cannot win.”
~~~
It was strange how Callum had dreamed of being back in the taverns of Hollow Shade every night he slept on Captain Greyson’s ship. The voyage across Hoarfrost Bay had seemed endless. Every night and day had been cold and dark. Now, he sat at the bar in one of his favorite taverns, with all the comforts that a rich noble scion could afford, and yet, it all seemed so unfamiliar to him.
He should have been happy to be back here. Or at the very least, it should have brought some level of comfort after everything he had gone through in that chamber deep under the Veres manor. Regina was dead, scorched alive by his own hands. He had avenged his mother. Things were supposed to finally be right. So why did everything feel so wrong?
“Hey, handsome. Haven’t seen you in a while.” The bartender walked over to him, her red lips curled in a sultry smile. There was a time Callum would have flirted with the dark-haired beauty. Now he felt nothing, just an emptiness in the pit of his stomach.
“What can I get the young lord of House Veres? The usual?” She pulled out a cold bottle of blood wine. Callum could see the condensation droplets on the glass. Only here, in such a high-end tavern, could they afford the enchantments necessary to keep their spirits cold. This was the life he had lived, full of all the Realm’s comforts.
“Mm.” Callum gave a slight nod.
She poured him a glass. “For a moment there, I thought you had forgotten about us.”
“I’ve been away,” he muttered.
“Then you missed the siege?”
“So I’ve been told.” He sipped his glass. At least the bloodwine was as good as he remembered.
“Have you seen him?” She asked casually, though the glint in her eye betrayed her eagerness.
“Who?” He asked as he swished his glass.
“The Ebon Lord, Stryg Veres. He’s your family, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, I guess he is.” He wasn’t an Ebon Lord yet. Not that he expected commoners to even know the difference between an Ebon Aspirant and an Ebon Lord. Gods, there was so much people didn’t know.
“So?” she pressed on.
“Hm?”
“Have you seen Lord Stryg Veres?”
“Oh, yeah. I saw him today,” he shrugged and took another drink.
She leaned forward, elbows on the bar. “What’s he like?”
Callum blinked, her excitement drawing him away from his grim thoughts. “...What is Stryg like?”
“Yes, what is the most famous man in all of Hollow Shade like?” she said as if it was obvious. “Does he really drink the blood of other vampires? But only the beautiful ones?” She asked, batting her scarlet eyes.
“What is Stryg like…” He thought aloud. “In a few words? Intimidating. Kind in the ways that matter most. Ruthless when you least expect it. …And a better friend than me.” Callum downed the rest of his drink and slammed the glass down.
“He sounds interesting. What about his penchant for drinking the blood of vampires? Is it true?”
“He’s more likely to kill you than fuck you, if that’s what you’re asking,” Callum said flatly.
“Is that a challenge?” She smirked.
“Do not, under any circumstances, challenge him to anything. If you want to live, that is.”
“He sounds like fun. Maybe bring him around sometime?”
“Maybe.”
“Another?” She went to pour him a glass of bloodwine.
“No. Leave the bottle.”
“As you wish.”
The tavern doors opened. Callum glanced at the noise. He did a double-take and spotted a scarlet-haired, giantess of a vampire walk in. “Sylvie?”