Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) by Jonathan Michael (ereader that reads to you txt) 📗

are…they are not my own. Rage has been mine to control in the past, but I let it overcome me. I don’t know what happened. I’m not saying you’re right, but I’d prefer a second opinion. If you could, please summon Elder for me.”

Nayettѐ leaves the room to retrieve Elder. Presuming he is available at this hour, they will not be long. I rise and stand at the vanity, leaning against it so it holds a good portion of my weight. I look into the mirror and see a coarse woman. I’m not one to worry about appearances, but there is a difference between being presentable and being disheveled and sickly. I am not so crude as to oversee this, so I spend my wait freshening up. Nayettѐ returns with Elder in due time.

He enters my private quarters and seats himself on the davenport. With his disheveled sandy-blond hair and his sleeping attire draped over his thin frame, I appear ready to attend a prestigious evening function in comparison. He yawns and rubs the sleep from his chocolate-brown eyes with his knuckles before acknowledging me.

“What is it?” he asks.

From the time I first met him eight seasons prior, he has always been the most dependable and caring person in my life. I trust him.

“I’m bearing,” I confess bluntly and pause for a response. He stares back, silent. Although caring, he’s still a man, and his emotions can be rather lacking when needed most. “I’m pregnant, you imbecile!”

“Congratulations!” He gets the hint and perks up a little more. “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know what his name is.” My tongue is sharp. “Why would you ask that? I don’t even know if it’s a boy. I am confiding in you because I don’t think it’s right. I am not capable of nurturing life.”

“Oh,” he replies with a sense of humiliation. “Why not?”

“Are you teasing? The reasons are uncountable. I live a life in the shadows and am surrounded by death.”

“You have a point.” Elder rubs his head while letting the complexity of the situation swathe over him. “Moon tea will do the trick. All handmaids are trained in this. They’re accustomed to dealing with the scamming that comes along with the wealthier houses. I’m sure Nayettѐ can get a pot brewing for you.”

“But I’m not sure…” I trail off.

“You want to keep it?”

“No! I didn’t say that.”

“Come here, Ellia.” He stands and walks to the window. “Come,” he repeats himself. I make my way to the window ledge where he’s staring out over the capital skyline. “Do you see that down there? The birds scavenging in the slums.” Elder points to the slop pond lying in the center of the slums. The grey flamingos are wading in the filth, eating anything edible, of which the majority of it is covered in feces since the inhabitants of the slums tend to use the slop pond not only as their waste disposal, but as a lavatory as well. “They were pink once. Those birds. They were once majestic. From a distance anyways. Most birds are filthy once you get close and personal, but now they aren’t even beautiful to look at from afar. Do you know why that is?”

“Because they’re scavengers. Like you said, they’re filthy creatures.”

“We are the reason they are filthy creatures. Look at them. Of course they’re going to take the easiest meal. It’s a cutthroat world. We simply have the minds to better our situation, unlike any of the other creatures we share this world with. We’ve done this to them. We are parasites, sucking the life out of everything else we encounter.” Elder holds quiet for a moment. Pondering. “I think you should keep it.”

“What are you saying? You want me to birth another parasite? What kind of life will I have to face for nine months?”

“Maybe you don’t need nine months.” Elder shares a curious grin. “You’re an Imp, are you not? You have the ability to manipulate its growth.”

“That’s taboo. I can’t do that.”

“It’s taboo, but why? There is no malintent here. And since when do you limit yourself to what’s taboo and what’s not? Killing is taboo.”

“But it’s never been done before. We don’t know what will happen.”

“Precisely. Aren’t you curious? Let’s do it. You’re not sure whether you want to keep it or not, right? So, look at it this way, you’ll either accelerate the birth process or you’ll simply be using a different form of abortion practices than your evening mistress.”

I look down and caress my abdomen. “You’re right. I’m being weak. This damned thing already has a grasp on my emotions. Let’s get it out of me before it does any more damage to my head.”

55 Goose

“W

hat lies ahead?” I inquire.

“I wait,” the ape communicates.

“For what? You have nothing left to guard.”

The beast bounces and slams his knuckles into the thick branch we’re perched on. I’ve become too familiar with the simian’s outbursts and grip the branch to avoid falling. “For kin,” he replies simply.

“But…they’re all…dead.” I communicate it plainly.

“Return,” he replies and places a palm on my shoulder, nearly knocking me off the branch again. “You see.”

I ponder his words, but don’t understand. Maybe Coloss is the reason Graytu was so confounding because he was accustomed to communicating with this beast.

“Well, I have no patience to wait. I must avenge the death of my comrades. My…kin.”

“Mistake. Wait.”

“I mustn’t. Do you know where the assassin resides? Where I can find him?”

The beast shakes his head.

We gaze upon the battlefield. I tried to bury what was remaining of the dead, but Coloss wouldn’t allow it. Most of the bodies disappeared, along with the assassins. And Coloss insisted on resting the remainder of the bodies in the hollows they resided in. He placed each