Chapter 31

“All this time,” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “All these years and it had been you all along. Janet considered you a friend! Her worst enemy and her ultimate target was hiding in plain sight the whole time.”

He laughed, “Hiding in plain sight is the best way to do it, boy. I made sure after I killed my cousin to ensure I was in the shadows. Then I appointed that fool to act in my stead, using a link to send messages through. I would be able to relay information and orders for Feror to follow and we would see how things would turn out.”

“How the hell could you remain hidden for so long? Surely someone would have had to recognize you?”

He shook his head, “I would always make sure that anyone who knew me was killed, then I would disappear for a decade or two and come back as someone new. I have been a noble, a peasant, a fisherman, a carpenter and now, a soldier. Each time I died, I made sure that I could buy the land back under a new identity. Finally, I was able to get into a position that will ensure I gain control of the province at last.”

“How the hell do you expect that to happen?” I asked heatedly. “All I need to do is pass on the information to Janet and the others, then once the Dran finds out, you are dead.”

Again he laughed, which really irritated me. “One of two things will happen tonight, Davik. You will either join me and save yourself, your friends, and your loved ones from suffering under my wrath. Or, you can fight me and see me torture and kill all eight of them. Force you to watch as I cut the unborn children out of them.”

I wished my abilities were not hampered as they were, but I noticed that the effects of the drug were not getting any worse; in fact, they seemed to be waning. If I could keep him talking, maybe it would give me the chance I needed.

“What the fuck would make you think I would help you?” I asked. “Besides, the nine of us are immune to your curse.”

“Yes, indeed, you are,” Voguel replied, a mild irritation evident in his voice. “That said, you provide something I have sorely lacked for centuries: a proper army. I have always been limited to the blood moons to make my attacks. You provide a source of strength that is not limited to the cycles of the blood moon. Hell, nine of you wiped out nearly two hundred of my children. It was a small price to pay to find out the capabilities of your group against a large number of my Voguel.”

My eyes widened in shock, “You willingly sacrificed your entire forces of Voguel to test my capabilities? You care nothing for your so-called children, do you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “They were a means to an end, nothing more. I have sacrificed thousands over the centuries to allow me to slip away when my plans failed. What is another hundred more? They exist to further my goals and enhance my power. You and your women have cut that source of power off from me, but I highly doubt that the cure will last as long as you believe. It was a smart move to think of dosing every drink being served tonight, but I did not drink anything.”

“You are quite right,” I replied. “I did not see you drink anything, but you did eat the stew that had been made for tonight. We put some of the cure in that as well.”

He turned to me quickly, his eyes wide with shock and rage.

“I am sure that soon you will start to feel the effects. It will not cure you, of course; the curse is embedded in your very bones. We do suspect that it will dull your abilities, somewhat. Since digestion takes a while, I am sure you have felt fine, but that will soon change.”

“You clever bastard,” he replied, his tone serious. “How did you manage to pull that one over even my eyes?”

I smiled, “Vestra made the stew and, since she was our friend, she made sure to put in a dose as well. We told her of our plan, and she had enough of the necessary ingredients to make enough cure to add to the stew, so that everyone there would get a portion and a dose. Eliana was her friend, so she was more than happy to help take you down. We did not tell anyone just in case you caught wind.”

I could feel my mind sharpening and the slippery nature of the drug disappearing. I reached out and tried to tap into my well, hoping it would speed up my recovery. All the while my eyes never left his as I tried to gauge the speed with which his own strength was waning.

“You should join me, boy,” Voguel said in an even tone. “Together we could do wonders and rule. Not just this province, but this whole continent. No one would be able to stand in our way. We could have anything or anyone we wanted.”

I cocked my head, “Really? So you could give me back my father? My mother, who looks so much like your former pet, Aphronia? My childhood friend, Violet? My friend, Trent? Celka? Can you give them all back to me?”

“No, I cannot, nor would I attempt to,” he growled in irritation. “What do you mean that Aphronia looked like your mother?”

“Your former loyal follower looked exactly like my mother, in nearly every detail,” I replied. “What is the big deal about that?”

“That is a genetic resemblance,” he replied in a hushed tone. “It means your mother was a distant relative of Aphronia. It could not be possible ... could it?”

I took a step towards him. “What are you talking about? What could not be possible? You are not making any sense.”

He looked over at me, “Aphronia and I were once lovers an exceptionally long time ago. Then I disappeared and never expected to see her again. When I did, nearly a decade later, she was alone and struggling to make a life for herself. She was alone and I decided to take her for myself on the next moon. I turned her, but realized any romantic thoughts were pointless. I made sure Feror was there when she woke up and I have only seen her once or twice since. In all that time, she never mentioned a child.”

“You are saying that I am a descendant of you and her?” I asked, shocked by the revelation. “You must be joking to make me think we have anything in common.”

“Oh we are nothing alike, I assure you, boy, “ he replied with equal disgust at the idea. “I aspire to rule, to take what I want, when I want. You aspire to a quiet life, just like my weak, pathetic cousin.”

I could feel my strength returning and hoped that it would be enough for what I was about to do.

“He was neither weak, nor was he pathetic,” I spat back. “You were merely jealous that he was smarter and aspired to the better life. You were probably the weak minded and pathetic fool who decided to kill Davikant in the first place. Tell me, have you always been this short sighted and deluded, or has that come with age?”

Voguel roared in anger and charged at me. His speed was nearly comparable to mine at full speed. I was able to tap into my battle awareness in the last few moments before he reached me. I had only a second to move out of his way and barely made it in time. I tucked into a roll and twisted so I was facing where we almost collided.

He had nearly collided with the wall, as he had lunged unrestrained. I drew my sword and readied for his next attack. I was not disappointed as he turned and drew his sword before lunging toward me. I brought my sword up just in time to block and countered with a slash of my own. We began trading blows, missing one another by bare millimeters. I could feel the strength of our blows and could see the swords taking the force of each impact. It would not be long before they would shatter from the sheer power we were using.

Again and again our swords danced against one another, groaning and straining from the force of our combat. Neither of us was gaining ground on the other. Another clash of blows and both our blades broke from the force of impact, the broken shards flying away as we recoiled from the blow. He threw his ruined blade at me, but I was able to dodge it and throw my own. It struck the side of his leg before embedding in the wall behind him. His sword was equally embedded in the wall behind me.

Both of us were breathing heavily from the exertion of our fight, though I was noticing that he was not as fast, as well as not as strong. It was taking some time, but the cure was slowly draining his strength. I could not wait for it to take further hold, instead pressing my very slim advantage. I lunged at him and began calling on all the training I had learned over the months of traveling with Janet and the others.

I was not surprised as he matched me move for move. He had mentored and trained Janet, who in turn, trained the others. It was ironic that he was teaching them the skills to kill his own

Voguel soldiers. Despite the effect the cure was having on him, I was not gaining any ground. He was successful in tripping me and used the slight advantage to get his hands on a piece of our swords and threw it at me, slicing my arm.

I shrugged off the momentary pain and dipped into my well to help heal it. I was having less and less trouble, but the strain of the fight as well as fighting the effects of the drug was depleting it quickly. Once again, we came together in a flurry of kicks, punches, and blocks. For every three I would block, one would get by my defenses and soon more and more kicks and punches were getting by me and I came to the realization that I was soon going to lose this fight.

I had been arrogant to think that he would not have a well of his own to draw from. So, while the effects of the cure were no doubt becoming more and more substantial, he was able to circumvent it using his well of energy and thus keep up with me until my well began to run dry. Worry began to creep in, and I had to push the thoughts away, lest they cause me to doubt. Doubt would only serve to cause me to make a mistake that could cost me and my loved ones their lives.

“I must say, you are quite skilled, boy,” Voguel said though deep breaths. “It has been an exceedingly long time since anyone has made me fight like this, and I must admit I have missed it. You remind me a lot of my cousin, but alas, this fight has drawn to its inevitable conclusion. I am sure you felt that if you could keep me at bay, the cure you slipped me would weaken me enough to help you win. I am sure by now you realize that I have a wellspring of energy to draw from that is deep and vast enough to ensure I never grow too weak.