Fledgling Demigod Ch. 05

Baron Baron had attended, Galen thought as smug retribution for them not attending his daughter's marriage announcement, and even commented on the civility of the commoners in their exchanges with the nobles.

Galen had drank way too much and was absolutely smashed by the time the party wound down. The commoners slowly dispersed and accommodations were made ahead of time for the nobles that stayed. There were far more than Galen was comfortable with but Miranda assured him all would be well. Galen was so drunk by the time he and his wives made it to bed he was only able to pleasure each of them once before passing out.

The next morning Galen awoke to a massive hangover. Someone was shaking him and when he didn't respond, whoever it was slapped him hard across the face. He bolted awake to rebuke the offending party, only to find his room empty. Someone was pounding on the door though. Who the hell had slapped him if no one was here? "Alright! I'm up!" he called to the door. "Come in already!"

A portly middle-aged woman rushed into the room. "My lord!" she cried. "You must hurry!"

"Whoa, slow down," he said, wincing, as his head pounded. It felt like little elephants were trampling around in his skull. "What's the matter? Where are my wives?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, my lord," the woman said. "They're gone!"

Galen looked up at the older woman. "What do you mean, they're gone?" he asked. "Where did they go?"

"They were taken, my lord!" she answered. "Please, you must hurry if you are to catch them before they get to the king!"

"THE KING!?" Galen yelled. Suddenly his hangover was gone. "What are you talking about? Tell me everything!" he said as he quickly jumped out of bed and, ignoring his obvious nudity, proceeded to get dressed.

The older woman blushed slightly but his seeming disregard for his decency in her presence didn't deter her from her duty. "Early this morning, my lord," she said and proceeded to explain that the women were woken early this morning and ushered to a waiting carriage.

"How the hell..." he started to say. "Why would they willingly allow this to happen?"

"I'm not sure, my lord," she said helplessly. "Maybe they were taken at knifepoint? I happened to be on my way to the kitchen to start the morning's breakfast when I saw them walking with the king's guard surrounding them. Lady Matilda caught my eye and inclined her head in your direction. There was no mistaking the fear in her eyes, my lord."

Galen was fully dressed by now. "Why didn't you come in and wake me?" he asked.

"You door is spelled, my lord!" she said. "None may enter unless bidden by the occupants. Lady Miranda spelled it herself to give you privacy."

"Right," Galen said. "I forgot. Take me to them, then."

"My lord were you not listening?" she asked. "They're already gone! I've been trying to wake you for the last two hours!"

["I've been trying for the last three!"] someone whispered in his head.

Galen looked around but no one was there. He pushed the thought aside. Whether or not he was going crazy was not important, only getting to his women and rescuing them. "How long have they been gone?" he asked.

"Just over three hours, my lord," she answered. "If you hurry you can catch them before they reach the castle gates. I've already called down to have your horse readied."

"Thank you, good lady," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Pausing long enough to plant a kiss on her cheek, he tore off for the stables. When he arrived, a dozen of his men were already mounted and ready to ride, Lucinda at their head.

"My lord," she said, nodding as he came into view. They all straightened in their saddles.

"Where are your Spellthorn insignias?" he asked, noting the crests had been removed from their armor.

"Removed, my lord," Lucinda said. "Guard Captain Anders forbade us from accompanying you. We have been branded as traitors to the crown and if seen following you are to be arrested for treason."

Galen paused as he got into his saddle. Looking around at the dozen men surrounding him, he said, "Go home. I'll not be responsible for your deaths."

"Begging your pardon, my lord," Lucinda argued. "But we're coming with you whether you like it or not. We're loyal to you and the ladies Miranda and Matilda, not the crown. If it's treason we're to be charged with for following you, then we'll gladly walk to the gallows."

"Honor has killed many a fool, Captain," Galen said as he started to ride out of the stables. The men followed him without hesitation.

"But it has redeemed so many more, my lord!" she called to him from just behind.

Galen smiled as he remembered saying the exact same thing to Miranda the first night they met. Approaching the castle walls, Galen saw the gates were closed. He pulled up short and Anders approached with his hand on his sword. "Open the gates," Galen ordered. "Now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, my lord," Anders said as two dozen men came out and circled Galen's party. "King's orders. We're to take you into custody if you try to leave and execute the men behind you for treason."

Galen smiled wickedly down at the man. He slowly dismounted as Lucinda approached. She offered him her sword and his hand was halfway to grasping the hilt when he heard the voice again. ["You don't need it, my Champion."] His hand paused for a moment, then dropped.

"My lord?" Lucinda asked.

Galen smiled up at her. "I don't think I'll be needing that, Lucifer," he said and saw her visibly stiffen. "No matter what happens, do not engage."

"M-my lord??" she said, visibly shocked.

"Your word, Lucifer," Galen said. "Do not engage," he ordered slowly, emphasizing each word.

She nodded. "As you will, my lord," she said and saluted with a fist to her heart. The men behind her mimicked her salute and Galen returned it.

Turning to Anders he said, "How much did he pay you?"

"What?" Anders spat. "Who? I obey the king. He doesn't have to pay me for my fealty."

"No," Galen said with a chuckle as he slowly advanced. "Apparently I do."

Anders drew his sword and pointed it at Galen's chest. "Stand down, my lord," Anders said. "You're under arrest."

Galen was suddenly filled with power and strength. He smiled as it surged through him. Quick as a snake strike, Galen batted the sword aside with his left hand and stepping in, punched the bastard right in the chest. Anders' chest plate caved in and the man went flying thirty feet to slam into the gates behind him, crumpling bonelessly to the ground. Galen turned to the other men surrounding him. Every one of them were gaping with their jaws almost to their chests.

"Anyone else think I need to be arrested?" he asked as he walked to the next nearest soldier. The man visibly balked, turned on his heel, and ran for the nearest building and disappeared.

Galen got back up into his saddle and looked around. "IF THOSE GATES AREN'T OPEN IN THE NEXT THIRTY SECONDS," Lucinda roared. "ALL OF YOU WILL HANG FROM THE CASTLE PARAPET BY MORNING!"

There was a rushing of feet and before she even finished speaking the gates started to open. "Thank you, Lucinda," Galen softly said to her.

"As you will, my lord," she said.

As soon as the crack in the gates was wide enough, Galen was tearing through it, his men close on his heels, trampling Anders' body to mush in the process. They tore across the countryside at a dead run, not even slowing down as they approached the forest.

Halfway through the forest was a large clearing and a single man stood in the road on the far side, his sword lazily in his hand. The man smiled when Galen came into view then frowned and stiffened when the others rounded the bend behind him. When they were full in the clearing, arrows rained down from both sides of the woods. Lucinda and her men immediately split up to engage the ambush, but Galen didn't slow down.

When he was halfway across the clearing Galen hopped up on the horse's rear flank and smacked it hard. At the same time the horse bucked, Galen launched himself in the air. As he soared he saw the look of awe on the man's face turn into fear as he approached.

"SHOOT HIM!" the man roared and two arrows shot out toward Galen. He batted them aside midair and the man's fear turned to horror as Galen landed perfectly, slamming into the man sending him sprawling. He didn't get up.

Two more men approached from either side and Galen sprinted toward the one of the right. He ducked the sword swipe to his head and darted his right arm up to grasp around the man's throat. Using the man's momentum against him, Galen pushed backward, effectively clotheslining the man. As the man's body continued forward and his feet left the ground Galen squeezed and reeled around behind him, pulling and popping the man's head from his shoulders. In the same motion he reared back like a quarterback and launched the severed head at the other approaching man, who ducked it at the last second.

Fear gripped the man as Galen approached slowly. Covered in blood, Galen looked like a madman as the man darted out with his sword. Galen didn't even try to dodge this time, he just kept coming. The sword was ineffective against Galen's skin, glancing off where it landed as if striking stone. Galen ducked and punched the man lightly in the gut. Apparently, a light punch from Galen was still like getting hit with a boulder and the man doubled over, vomiting on the ground. Galen dug the fingers of his left hand in the man's lower back and gripped his spine. The man screamed as Galen's other hand gripped his spine just below his ribcage. Galen flexed slightly outward and the man's screams ended abruptly as his body ripped apart. Blood and gore sprayed everywhere as he tossed the carcass away.

Galen looked around. The clearing was still. No movement, no sounds, not even a breeze. It seemed as if the world itself stood in motionless awe at what he had just done. He looked to his horse and saw the shaft of and arrow sticking out of its rear flank. Looking around for another one, the voice returned to him. ["Run."]

Galen didn't hesitate this time. He didn't take the time to wonder where the voice was coming from or who it belonged to. He just trusted and sprang forth like a shot from a cannon. He never realized how fast he was running; didn't pause to consider what he had done was impossible. His only thought was getting to his wives, the women he loved, and his unborn children.

Approaching the gate to the city he found them barred and men lining the walls. ["Don't stop,"] the voice ordered and Galen obeyed. Arrows flew at him but none punched through his flesh as he approached the gates and slammed into them with the force of ten battering rams. The gates splintered and fell in upon themselves and Galen was through before they ever crashed to the ground.

Men barred his way and died. Those who didn't move quick enough died. The gates to the castle were thicker and stronger but still no match for him. His shoulder slammed into them and while they held, they still splintered as he bounced off. He punched them once, twice, three times, and stone and dust and debris joined the arrows that rained down on top of him. On the fourth strike, the gates buckled inward and Galen was through. One man after another attempted to bar his way and died in the effort.

Galen rounded a corner into the castle courtyard and skidded to a stop in the center. The king was standing on a balcony thirty feet up. Miranda stood next to him. Her hands were bound and she was openly crying. When she saw him she took a step forward. The king's dagger immediately pierced her skin just below her jaw.

"Galen!" Miranda called. Galen looked up at her and his heart broke at the misery he saw in her eyes. He knew what had happened before she was able to tell him.

"Shut up, girl," the king said, pushing the dagger a bit further into her skin. His voice was unusually high-pitched, like it had never developed during puberty. He was handsome, as men go, although thinner than Galen expected. He had a narrow face with blonde hair and perfectly sculpted eyebrows. He had a sloping nose and a pointed chin and Galen couldn't help but think the man looked like a smaller version of Bruce Campbell.

"They killed her!" Miranda said and dissolved into sobs.

Galen's heart fell into his stomach. His shoulders slumped. ["Don't. Fucking. Hesitate,"] the voice whispered into his mind and the vehemence with which it spoke bolstered Galen. He couldn't save Matilda, but he could save Miranda.

"She's mine!" the king screamed down at him. "She was-" he cut off quickly as Galen kicked up a discarded nearby spear. He caught it and with one fluid motion hurled it at the king. His aim was true. However, for all his strength and speed, it was not enough. As soon as Galen had twitched in movement the king thrust his dagger up Miranda's jaw and into her brain. Galen watched in slow motion as her eyes opened wide in shock. He watched helplessly as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He watched as her head tilted back slightly. He began to scream as her body went limp. Her loose hair cascaded against her face as she began to fall. When her body fell out of sight Galen jumped.

Thirty feet up, Galen gripped the side of the balcony and hoisted himself up. Ignoring the king pinned against the wall with the spear in his gut, Galen scooped up his beautiful Miranda from the floor. "NO!" Galen cried as he held her limp body to him. "NOOO!" he cried again as he held her head to his shoulder. "NOOOOOOOOO!!" he screamed into the sky as he sat rocking back and forth with her in his arms.

Hearing soft whimpers from nearby Galen looked up at the king. Blood was dribbling down the man's chin and Galen's eyes flashed with anger. He lay Miranda gently on the floor and stood. A guard foolishly tried to attack him with an overhead sword strike. Galen grabbed the man's sword arm as it was up in the air and delivered an open-palm strike to the man's chest. He took the man's sword as his chest caved in on itself. Holding the sword he turned back toward the king. He slapped his face.

"Wake up," Galen said, coldly.

The king was delirious. He seemed to be looking at nothing. Galen put the tip of the sword against the king's chest just below his right collarbone. The sword blade was horizontal and Galen pushed. The king's eyes went wide and he looked at Galen with recognition as the sword pierced his flesh and slid to the hilt, pinning his chest against the wall.

"What?" the king said, absently.

"I said," Galen said and grabbed the king's own sword and repeated the gesture on the other side of the king's chest. "Wake up!"

The king's eyes slowly came into focus and he looked up at Galen. "She... was... mine," he stammered again. "Her... babe..." he trailed off as his head went slack.

Galen looked away from the king to a small contingent of people still on the balcony. He had gone emotionally numb. His mind threatened to shatter as he just lost everything he cared about in this world. "You," he said, pointing to an older man in brown robes. "You the king's wizard?"

The man instinctively threw up a magical shield and Galen chuckled darkly as he saw the green shimmer settle into place around him. "Yes," the older wizard nodded in fear.

"Did you seriously just conjure a shield?" Galen asked and flicked the man in the forehead. The shield collapsed and the wizard's eyes went wide in shock. "My other wife," Galen said, snapping his fingers in the man's face. "How did she die?"

"W-What?" the wizard stammered.

"How. Did. Lady. Matilda. Die!" Galen asked again, this time rapidly snapping his fingers in the man's face. "Quickly or you're going to join your king in the afterlife!"

"E-e-e-e-viscerated, my lord," the man stammered quickly and pissed himself.

"What?" Galen seethed and the wizard flinched back. "Why the hell would anyone DO that!?"

"A-as a lesson for Lady Miranda," he stammered again. "H-he split open her belly and made h-her watch her own insides spill out."

"SHE WAS STILL ALIVE!?" Galen roared.

The wizard cowered in fear. "Y-yes, my lord," the man answered. "Wh-when she didn't die quick enough, h-he covered her in oil and..." he trailed off, needing to say no more.

Galen pointed back to the unconscious king. "Can you heal him?"

"What?" the old man said.

"The king," Galen said. "Can you heal him? Can you wake him up and numb his pain?"

"Y-yes, my lord," the man answered. "But, why?"

"You," Galen said, pointing to another man that appeared to be a servant. "Go get his wives and concubines. All of them." The servant took off without hesitation. "You," Galen pointed back to the wizard. "Heal him. Wake him up."

"My lord," the man protested. "I fail to see-"

Galen grabbed the man by the back of his neck and pushed him forward. "Just do it," Galen seethed.

The wizard began and immediately, the king's skin regained some of it's color. The king opened his eyes and wearily focused on the wizard. "Rodrick," the king murmured. "Thank..." he trailed off as he noticed Galen. "You," he seethed weakly.

"Yes, me," Galen seethed right back.

"She... was mine," the king said.

"Why?" Galen asked coldly.

When the king didn't speak, Galen heard the voice whisper coldly into his mind again. ["Cut off his clothes."]

Galen scooped up a dagger from the floor and started cutting the king's clothes from his body. When it was done, Galen saw why the king had gone to all this trouble.

"You're a fucking eunuch," Galen said, hotly. "That's why you waited so long to kidnap her!? You needed a fucking heir!?" He looked at the wizard who didn't seem surprised. "You knew?"

The old man nodded. "His plan was to steal your wife, kill you, and claim the babe as his own," the wizard said in fear.

"Rodrick!" the king said, finding the strength to lash out at the man. "Don't you dare utter another word!"

"Ah," Galen said putting the pieces together. "You needed daddy's approval. Let me guess, cut your own balls off as a kid to spite the emperor? Your father?"

"And when his father gave him control of castle Redd, he tasked him with delivering an heir within five years," the old man said, some measure of confidence returning.

There was a commotion at the door to the balcony and some two dozen women entered. One woman saw the king pinned to the wall and shrieked, running toward him. "What have you done to him!?" the woman cried and Galen backhanded her over the edge of the balcony to fall to the courtyard below. The other women had been talking in hushed tones but stopped in their tracks, staring at the balcony railing where their companion had disappeared.

Galen looked at all of them coldly. "Anyone who sympathizes with this thief and murderer will get the same treatment. Do I make myself clear?"

They all nodded and one woman took a tentative step forward. She was a regal-looking redhead. Her hair was done up in a tight bun on the top of her head. She had porcelain skin with a round, freckled face and green eyes. Her lips were full and painted red below a petite sloping nose. She had a long neck that was covered in fabric to the bottom of her chin. She reached up and pulled the fabric off of her neck showing bruises around her throat. Instead of looking at Galen, she looked at the king.

"Well, Jasper," she said, coldy. "It appears your evil has finally caught up with you." Then, looking at Galen. "May I watch him die, my lord Galen, Duke of Spellthorn?"

Galen looked perplexed for a moment, all his loss momentarily forgotten. "Duke?" he asked, then shrugged absently. "It's not going to be pretty," he finally said. "He killed my wives." He looked back at the king. "And my unborn children."

Gasps came from behind Galen and as he turned, he saw cold anger in all of their eyes but one. "I am Queen Lillian," the redhead said and her eyes held a righteous fury. "Second wife, now first," she said glancing toward the balcony. "I will watch."