Later that day everyone was sitting together in the main room on the ground
floor, around the fireplace. After the whole story was told, the mood was pretty low
and no one was really in the mood for anything but watching the fire burn.
‘’Anya, could you please bring some of the stronger stuff your father was
keeping in the cellar?’’ Kane asked politely. She nodded, stood up and left, Thanis
went after her. The two must have been getting closer the last few days.
‘’Is anyone of you bunch related?’’ Rasiela asked suddenly.
‘’Janine and Thanis are siblings, Anya is the previous owners daughter, also
part of us now and well, you and me are also siblings, Gabe is an apprentice of me
and Alpha is my other half. Arlana is a childhood friend of Janine and she shares our
bed. I count us as a family though, all together. We promised each other to look after
one another, so that is what we will do’’
‘’And cheat on another’’ Janine murmured.
‘’Oh come on already, i said i was sorry and that it won’t happen again. It was
all just means to a purpose. I need her in that place to take care of things for me, and
for her to truly trust me and be loyal, i had to do something drastic. Just plain fear
isn’t enough’’ Kane said, almost pleadingly.
‘’I want to see her. I want to see who you did it with’’
‘’You will, in ten days. We are invited to the kings banquet’’
‘’We are?’’ she asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
‘’Yes love, we are. We will dine with the king, who is supposedly my
grandfather or something. I have no real idea nor do i care much A lot of things
happened that day that i couldn’t think of anything else but go back home, to you’’
Kane said, pausing for effect. ‘’We will see what he has to say then. I didn’t have
much time to waste as i needed to arrange things in the alley’’
As soon as he said it, he regretted it as Janine’s eyes narrowed on him and
almost stared him to death. Women, will he ever understand them. ‘’How about you
forget about what happened for a bit and we have some fun tonight’’ Kane said
mischievously.
‘’Right. Forget about it. Nothing for you here for a while, if ever. She better be
prettier than me, if not, i will crush her. Actually, either way my golem will eat her.
Your own fault. Arlana will sleep on my side of the bed, just so you know’’
‘’Janine, please. She has to take care of the alley for us. It was my fault
anyway, i made her’’ and again, he regretted it as he said it. His mouth was faster
than his brain sometimes. Especially when talking to Janine. He couldn’t help it. She
just narrowed her eyes again and murmured something and a little flame sprang to
life on her palm. She set her palm to facing him and the flame flew his way. Luckily
for him, his reflexes were good and he managed to summon his blade within a mere
second to deflect it.
‘’Janine!’’ he yelled. ‘’Stop acting like a goddamn kid!’’
‘’Sorry for being one! I am only twenty two!’’ she replied angrily. Kane couldn’t
help it but sit down again and calm himself.
‘’I am sorry, please forgive me. It meant nothing to me and it wont happen,
ever again’’
‘’Only because i feel that you are honest about it. I will for this time, but do not
expect it again’’ Kane smiled at her warmly, honestly happy about it. He didn’t even
know what he had was so real and fragile. All he thought about was how strong and
powerful he was, that he could make anyone do anything. He could, but he couldn’t
make someone love him as he was.
‘’Say, tell me about your progress. I see you managed quite the feat with the
black giant and the fireball. How did u learn it so fast? We were only gone for a day’’
She seemed to be thinking for a long moment.
‘’Well, the fireball i practiced all day and burned most of the trees out back’’
she said pointing towards the back side of the inn with her hand ‘’and the golem was
more a mistake than not. I accidentally summoned him, but was i glad i did. The
damn regnolak appeared out of nowhere in front of me and i misspelled a spell. I was
meant to summon a stone giant, not an abyss golem. That thing drains to much of
my power’’ she said.
‘’That is a stone giant.’’ Rasiela added. ‘’It’s just a much more complex version
of it. Normal stone giants are weak against magic, but the abyss golem, as it is
called, is strong against anything. It can basically withstand any type of punishment
as long as the caster has stamina and magic power left. It isn’t so strong in offensive
capabilities, but then again, it is mostly used as a decoy, as a shield.’’
‘’Mostly?’’ Janine and Kane said at the same time, then looked at each other
and smiled. She stood up and walked over, sat on his lap and hugged him.
‘’I missed you so much. Never ever go off without me, not even for a single
day’’ she whispered. Kane smiled warmly, happy about what she told him. Damn it,
he almost messed up, big time.
‘’Ahem’’ Rasiela coughed to get their attention. ‘’As i was saying, mostly as in,
most of the time. The abyss golem can be used as a battering ram when sieging
castles, as a shield, as well, anything basically. Then again, in the books i read, there
was only one person capable of summoning one, and he got devoured by it. He kept
a journal and therein he wrote that each passing day was worse. The golem didn’t
want to dispel and kept draining the summoner’s life force. After a few weeks the
summoner died. That summoner was Melrot. The greatest of all times. He managed
to summon anything from a small animal to the abyss golem. What went wrong? I
have no idea. Luckily for you he dispelled. Do not summon him unless you really
need it’’ she finished and went back to staring at the fire.
‘’Thanks, sister. Your knowledge will be of great use to us i reckon. Speaking
of which, how do you know all this?’’ Kane asked.
‘’Father and mother have quite the extensive library on all things monster,
occult, summon and so on. I have read everything that was useful at all. I will help
you as much as i can’’
There was obvious pain in her eyes, as if recollecting old memories about her
parents and the tortures she must have gone through.
‘’They made you?’’ Kane asked.
‘’Huh? What do you mean?’’ she replied, trying to act as if not knowing what
he meant.
‘’Never mind the facade, sister. You are here amongst friends. I will do
everything i can to protect you, even if it costs me my life. I already told you once,
please do not make me say it a third time. She just nodded and smiled gently, then
her gaze went to the fireplace again.
‘’Anyway, Gabe, tomorrow morning come dawn, we start your training. After
we are done in ten days, you will be thanking me. Until then, try not to die. I would
really hate to see you fail’’
‘’Yes, Kane. I will do my best. If someone would show me to my room, i would
be happy to go and rest for tomorrow, if that is alright with you’’
‘’Sure thing Gabe. Thanis, please prepare the bed in your room for Gabriel,
and Anya, please prepare another in your room for Rasiela. I think we all should have
a good nights rest. We have a hard week in front of us. All of us’’ Kane said as he
stood up, holding Janine in his hands. ‘’As for me and my love here, well, the night
can’t be long enough’’ Kane said with a smirk and went up to their room.
The dawn came earlier than he would like to, but he was more than happy it
did. As Kane walked outside of the inn to enjoy the cool dawn, Anya was setting the
table. Rasiela was helping her, carrying plates and food. Gabriel was already
dressed as well and was chatting politely with the two girls. Thanis almost bumped
into Kane, carrying jugs of water and what seemed orange juice.
‘’How healthy’’ Kane murmured, hoping for something stronger than juice. He
just looked at Kane, sternly, as a stern parent would with their child.
‘’From now on, only healthy food, Kane’’ he said and smiled an innocent smile.
Kane couldn’t help but tap him on his head and smile..
‘’Where is Janine? She was already up by the time i awoke’’
‘’She is at the river, practicing some spells’’ Anya said. ‘’She said you should
get her when you woke up’’
‘’Ugh. And here i was hoping for an easy morning’’ Kane mumbled and walked
off. A few minutes later he was surprised to see Alpha sitting next to Janine and
Arlana, laughing.
‘’What’s so funny?’’ Kane asked annoyed. He surprised himself, feeling
jealousy over Janine.
‘’Good morning love. We were just talking about the snake thing. How you
turned his men on him and then Alpha ate him.’’ she said.
‘’O yea, the round guy, what was his name again? Round or something like
that. Not that it matters’’ he laughed with them, still feeling the pang of jealousy. Why
would he be jealous of his wolf counterpart?
‘’Because he is you’’ Egeryon whispered in his ear. ‘’He will be your downfall.
It is he who will take you with him, who will cost you your life. I have seen this in a
vision’’
‘’Like hell he will. You have no idea what you are talking about, demon. Leave
me be until it is your time’’ Kane snapped back mentally.
‘’Remember my words, human. You will ask me to save you, i will, but for a
price. A loved one. Until we chat again’’ he whispered again and disappeared.
‘’Damn him. Did he have to say things like that? Trying to feed Kane doubt He would
never turn on himself, but, would Alpha?’’ he thought to himself.
‘’What is wrong?’’Alpha asked.
‘’Nothing, just a run in with Egeryon, as usual. Feeding me lies and
misinformation’’ All went quiet and the mood dropped instantly. They knew how much
he was battling to keep hold over himself and they respected it, if nothing else.
Sleepless nights, pain, mood swings, they were all a part of his struggle.
‘’Let’s go back. Breakfast is ready and we shouldn’t make the cooks wait’’
Kane said cheerfully, standing up and dragging Janine up by her hand.
The week passed without anything special happening. Gabe wasn’t the same
man he used to be anymore. He learned soulforge within the first two days and blood
the next. He was a natural talent and had reached soul level two by day four and by
day seven, they were almost sparring like equals. His hearing, sight, agility, stamina,
strength, instinct. Everything was magnified at least tenfold. To his surprise, he even
learned something from him. Soul burn. They stumbled upon it by pure accident
during day six. Soul burn was a technique they created to amplify their power in
magnitudes, but at the cost of lifepower. They dared use only at a small level, fearing
of damage to their soul and body. The technique was basically one for last use, in a
win or die battle.
‘’Keep it up Janine!’’ Kane yelled, as he rushed Gabriel. She kept launching
small fireballs his way and he dodged or deflected every single one with ease. During
the last two, he launched a sneak attack with two swords which he deflected, but
instead of being hit by the two last flames, he started burning himself. A beautiful
colour purple, like an aura. It absorbed the two flames and got thicker. Speechless,
they stopped. A few moments later he crashed to the ground, breathing heavily, all
energy spent up.
‘’What… was that?’’ Gabriel asked bewildered. ‘’What did i do?’’
‘’I have no idea my friend, but i like it, whatever it was. If it can absorb magic
as it did, you need to teach me’’ Kane chuckled as he tapped the man on the
shoulder and pulled him up.
‘’Carry me to the inn?’’ he smiled sheepishly.
‘’No way, do it yourself, weakling’’ Kane laughed waving him off. But then
again, he took pity on the man and helped him to the inn. They all sat outside,
enjoying the cool evening breeze. Anya and Thanis had prepared dinner and cooled
drinks for them. As they sat down, Rasiela, Arlana and Janine walked towards them,
the familiar trio behind them.
‘’You done for the day?’’ Kane asked, standing up and walking towards
Janine, taking her in his arms, kissing her.
‘’Yes we are done for the day. Rasiela is a natural. She learned to summon a
stone golem within a few days and now we are practicing battle between hers and
mine, whilst casting spells and other things. It’s basically multi tasking. We love it’’
she said and smiled. Rasiela walked by, smiling with genuine affection. Kane was the
happiest man alive at that moment. He finally had a family, one who loved him and
wasn’t afraid of him, or what he was capable of.
They ate during light chatter, discussing the next day. Anya and Thanis left
early, to prepare things for tomorrow, the day of the kings banquet. After thy were
done, everyone went to the bathing house that was constructed outside and they got
in one by one. Janine, Arlana and Kane went in first, as everyone knew by then they
had no shame nor did they care if anyone saw them doing things, walk around naked
and so on. Gabriel and Rasiela joined a few minutes later, towels draped around
them.
‘’Oh come on already, you two are so annoying. Take those towels off
already!’’ They both went beet red immediately, .
‘’See’’ Janine whispered in his ear. ‘’I told you that they noticed each other.
There must be some feelings involved by now’’
They looked at each other and nodded, understandingly. The two dropped
when Arlana tugged at them and were standing stark naked in front of them. Rasiela
screamed in embarrassment, but Gabriel just dipped into the water with great haste.
If it was anyone else than his sister, he might have thrown a compliment or two, but
he wasn’t into incest. Even though she looked mighty fine, almost identical to Janine.
Gabriel was also a sight to behold, muscular and endowed, a perfect body in every
way. Physically they made a great match, mentally, more or less. They were like ice
and fire..
‘’Please, now that the uncomfortables are out of the way, join us. We would
like to have a word with you two’’
They got into the water and joined us, Gabe sitting to Kane’s right and Rasiela
sitting to Janine’s left. Suddenly, Kane had to give Janine a questioning look. She
was playing with him under the water. Luckily it was pretty dark so they didn’t seem
to notice. ‘’My girl, was she a bad one. But i loved it, every single moment, every
single thing about her’’ he thought to himself.
‘’Gabe, my friend, i have come to see you as my brother. You proved to me
within the last ten days that my instinct wasn’t wrong. You have made such progress,
which is unheard of. Of course, you had the best teacher’’ Kane said with a smirk,
gaining him few boo’s from the crowd of four.
‘’Anyway, what i am trying to say is, i love you man. I am happy to have you,
along with Alpha here’’ pointing at a little puppy laying behind him, ‘’and i am sure i
can rely on you when i need something to be done, and, to keep my back’’ Everyone
jumped in surprise, not having noticed Alpha, being there inside with them.
‘’How… do you fit in here?’’ Gabe asked.
‘’One of the things i taught myself was morphing’’ he replied with a strong
voice, sounding comical, coming from such a small creature.
‘’Ohh... ‘’ Gabe replied. Kane burst out in laughter, finding it amusing, but there
he was alone. They stared at him like he was some kind of lunatic, and in some way
he was. He was glad to have Alpha there though, as he was neglecting him again.
He hated it, but, he was an animal in shape.
‘’Now, to finish it off. Rasiela, my dearest sister. You have no idea how happy i
am today to have you here with us. I am so happy that you chose to love me in
return. At least some part of my life had restored itself after twenty long years, living
alone thinking that my family was dead’’ he said, smiling at her. She just looked at
Kane, with narrowed eyes.
‘’What are you getting at, brother?’’ she asked suspiciously.
‘’Oh me? Nothing really. Just a small thing to be honest. I couldn’t help but
notice how you and my man here look at each other during meals and rest time’’
They both went red again and looked away from each other, having stared at
the other for a long while.
‘’Now now, no need to be ashamed. We got through the naked part, now just
admit it and we’re set.’’ He said and laughed again. At least he found it funny, if no
one else laughed with him.
‘’I… have been watching you’’ Gabe admitted, not looking her in the eyes. Her
smile widened and she looked up at him.
‘’So have i’’ she said happily.
‘’That settles it’’ Kane said, standing up. ‘’Al, please hand me the items’’ Alpha
stood up, revealing two little boxes, decorated with gold lacing. Kane took both and
handed the smaller one to Gabe.
‘’There you go Gabe, open it and see what i got you two’’ Kane said, smirking.
He did and his eyes and mouth went wide open when he took the two rings out of the
little box, one with a big gem on top and one a bit more massive than the other,
carved. Not understanding, they both looked back at Kane.
Kane did the same, but in his box the two rings were even larger. One was a
whole finger ring, with a large gem on top and the other was a whole finger ring
without a gem, but also carved along its length. The rings were made out of some
type of black gleaming metal, cold to the touch. After taking the one out with the gem,
Kane kneeled partially into the water and looked at Janine. Her eyes were wide and
shimmering.
‘’Janine, my love. I have loved you since the moment i laid eyes on you,
somehow. Every passing day, i love you more and more, treasure you more and
more. Nothing would make me Happier than to have children one day with you and
get old together. Would you do me the honour and make me your husband?’’ He
asked in one fluent motion. Her eyes started tearing and she stood up and jumped on
top of him, repeatedly saying ‘‘yes, yes, yes’’.
‘’You damn idiot, i thought you would never ask me’’ she said and took the ring
out of his hand, putting it on her finger.
‘’It has just been some month since we met. That is not never ‘’ he said, one
eyebrow raised.
‘’Whatever!’’ she yelled back. She took out the second ring and put it on his
ring finger. Suddenly, a sensation went through them and they started shaking. A
faint black glow appeared around them, like a black fog, but not as thick. They could
feel each others feelings, thoughts, pain and pleasure. It was as if they mentally
linked with each other. ‘’What the hell did he get me into now’’ Kane thought as
Egeryon laughed inside of his head.
‘’Permanently linked. If the one dies, the other dies. If one gets hurt, the other
gets hurt. But, there is also one benefit. Your souls are combined now, and your
power is magnified by a number i can not comprehend yet. I think she is able to
summon a dozen of those abyss golems now and still able to control them, or you
summoning half a million of your assassin blades, or her throwing multiple fireballs at
the same time. Now do tell me how much you love me. O and i expect a hefty tribute
for this. Also from the other loving couple. Uheryon helped me do this, so half of the
compliments go to her. The other couple will also get a lot stronger, ofcourse, not as
strong as you two. Me myself, well, i play an important role here so, well, you get the
point i guess.’’ he said and popped off again.
‘’Did you know about this?’’ Janine said and startled me.
‘’Huh? Did i know what?’’ Kane replied.
‘’About the linking!’’ she yelled.
‘’How the hell do you know about it, i just learned about it myself’’
‘’I could hear you two talk with each other. How else?’’
‘’Oh, damn. Didn’t see that one coming. And no, i didn’t. I thought it was just a
gift from the demon, but, i didn’t expect it to be as big as a gift as it is. Anyway, now
you two. Go ahead, nothing bad will happen. At least nothing worse than happened
to us here’’ Kane said and smiled.
‘’Go ahead with what?’’ Rasiela and Gabe said in unison.
‘’The proposal, you idiots. What else?’’ he said annoyed. ‘’I want a double
wedding tomorrow at the banquet. You better come to terms you love each other
deeply within the next few moments, or i will beat you both’’he said raising his hand
into the air like a mad man. All he got in return were four sets of eyes looking at him,
pityingly.
‘’Oh come on you people, can you just imagine how popular you will become!
You will have a double wedding with the saviour of the kingdom, the next king in line,
the one and only Kane!’’ he said, imagining greatness.
‘’Right. Anyway, you shouldn’t force them love’’ Janine said. ‘’If they are not
ready or if they do not feel towards each other like we do, why make them?’’
‘’It’s not just feel. The rings will make them many times stronger, they will
share each other on a whole different plane. You know what we felt just now? Don’t
you love the feeling? You sense where i am, my feelings towards you, if i am all right.
Would you change that for anything in the world after feeling the way you do now?’’
he replied. She lowered her gaze, looking at the water, thoughtful.
‘’No i wouldn’t. It’s like i have been reborn. It’s unlike anything i have felt