By Blood Betrayed (The Kingsblood Chronicles) by Houpt David

Author:Houpt, David [Houpt, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: David J. Houpt
Published: 2013-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“The God of Death has many faces, for death comes to mortals in many forms. Some cults of the Deathlord are an integral part of society, such as the Southron Empire’s Sword Cult. Others are vile and evil, bringing destruction to all those near them. The Fangs of the Serpent, known throughout the western kingdoms and, recently, in the Empire of the East, are an example of the latter.”

-- “Life and Death” a secular text on the gods, author unknown

but believed to be the same sage who wrote “Day and Night”

“I can see that this is at odds with the history you have been taught, no?” the ranger asked.

Lian could only nod in amazement.

“Saul” nodded his head before continuing, “I first met your father at Mola. He came ashore with a small party, and we met in secret. His spies had informed him, accurately, that I was dissatisfied with the treatment of my lands and my people by the Theocracy, and he hoped that Greythorn would throw its lot in with the rebellion.

“Indeed, I had chafed for decades at the Theocracy’s yoke. Their taxation increased annually, and they had begun to demand even more than coin and goods. Long tradition here in my kingdom condemned criminals to a particular fate. Condemned criminals become a meal for the vampires of Greythorn. It was an effective deterrent, I always felt,” the vampire said.

“The Theocracy demanded that half of the condemned criminals be transferred to them, as part of the kingdom’s tithe to the government. I held that off for many years by increasing the tribute we paid, but their ambassador was becoming more and more insistent. I didn’t wish to turn even a condemned man over to the summoners and necromancers of the Theocracy.

“I always considered the fate of the condemned here to be relatively merciful, and without any taint upon the spirit of the victim,” he said by way of explanation, “though it was quite terrifying to most of them.”

He clenched his jaw muscles slightly. “It was obvious, based on what my spies reported from the lands closer to Dunshor, that this ‘tax’ of men was going to be broadened gradually. Dunshor’s interior was by that time nearly drained of human resources, according to my spies, and I didn’t wish that fate to befall my kingdom.”

He looked up at Lian’s face. “When Evan Kolvanson arrived with his plans to overthrow the mages, I welcomed his intentions with open arms. It was risky, yes, to ally with the rebellion, but I preferred a desperate war over the slow draining of my people.”

The vampire settled back, leaning on Teg’s knee. “I agreed to allow the rebellion to use Greythorn as a staging area for the war. Evan would land his troops at Mola and make his way through the pass, supported by my own troops. The mages of Dunshor assumed that Evan’s fleet would be forced to make an opposed landing, either at Fendar Port where the Theocracy’s troops would have ample

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