Greetings Fellow Readers
I hope the start of the week has been awesome. I've had a slow start, as a client forgot to settle the bill before asking me to start their project. This means I physically am unable to start the work as my contract is unsignable until the bill is paid. Oh well, at least that gives me time to do my updates here and do some of my own writing!
In other news, my PC is getting new guts! Because of this, I am going to start streaming soon. I've had a few friends pushing for it the last few years. In fact, I have a friend which keeps gifting me scary games, knowing full well I'm not a fan. But more on that at a later stage!
That's enough from me. Back to Saita's current life situation. From here on out we'll be getting to know more of the Saith characters from the Seeking series. There will likely be a few Introduction Chapters coming out soon, so keep an eye out for them! Enjoy today's chapter!
Saita snorted and sipped at her soup. She was forcing herself to eat before taking the medication to prevent the aching belly that would follow if she didn’t.
“Soup’s good today. Try some.” she set her cup aside as she dry-swallowed the pills. “Right, your twenty minutes start now. Who are you and why are you here?”
“I never lied about who I was. I am Bolx, son of Baks and Silens. I did have a wife called Millie and a daughter called Mya. The Bolx of this time was the same except his wife and daughter were killed when the colonies were attacked. I lost most of my family to the wasting disease caused by the taint. As to why I am here. I was sent to this time by you and now Edzeeker has asked me to find you.”
He watched Saita’s eyes narrow, and he added. “Edzeeker, who my Saita had learned her abilities, had some ability to control time but it is starting to wane toward the end. He left a few years ago to come here, though I am not sure how far in your timeline he first appeared. You sent me here with twenty others to warn the closest timeline to ours as to what was coming this way.”
“Are you with Edzeeker?”
Here he had to choose his words carefully. “He stood with us when it was needed, and we stood with him when he needed it.”
“Are you with Edzeeker now?”
“Not after I heard what he did to you.” Bolx tapped a finger on the table. “My Saita chose for this to be done to her; you stood no chance.”
“He told you then? Everything?”
“No. I know about the machine, I know about the marks, hell I even have a favourite. I knew what Saita went through to be able to have the machine in her body, what it did to her, and how it was killing her. But it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t what he needed. He had viewed my Saita as a failure and thought that if he had started younger it would have been successful. In the end, he used us to get knowledge about her past to find you.” Bolx turned the cup on the table between his two hands not looking at Saita.
The woman sat in silence as she picked food randomly from her plate. She was willing to listen for twenty minutes without saying anything. She had promised him that much. However, the anger in her belly was growing.
“He wants me to get you to go talk to him.” Bolx shook his head. “I can’t trust him after learning what he did. Your son was no choice of yours either. A mere backup, as if you were nothing but an experiment to be toyed with. That is how he saw you. An experiment. One that still needed testing, but time is running out. The taint is here. The Fell Dragon will awaken soon.”
“Hmm.”
The meds seemed particularly strong today as she already felt her mind wander from the conversation.
“We maybe have two or three years before it is here.”
“What is the Fell Dragon?”
“I only heard rumours; I never saw it myself. Only its influence on people. Madness, anger, and the wasting disease are all the forerunners of its presence. It consumes time, energy, planets, everything. It took everything from me, and I want to get back at it.” he ended in fury.
He paused to sip at the soup, Saita had been right, it was good.
“Why come to me? Surely there are others that have far more power than me. I mean the Saith are extraordinary fighters and the Kai are excellent tacticians.”
“I would have loved to have reached out to them, but they are licking their wounds after what your fa...Karesh did to them. They are wary of strangers and with Bolx’s corpse being retrieved, seeing me alive has caused problems I still need to deal with.”
“Why come to me? You didn’t answer that.”
“I came to you because you are what I know. You are smart, strong, and,” he paused as if looking for a word but he sighed and said. “I was looking for something I knew but the timelines are so distorted I met you at the wrong time. You don’t know me.”
She yawned and continued to pick at her food.
“I’m not looking for anything from you other than for you to listen to me. The Fell Dragon is coming, and the universe is crumbling around us. Madness is sweeping through; wars are being fought for no reason and I have no one to turn to. No one will listen and I don’t know what else to do.”
“Sounds like you need a major event to happen to get everyone’s attention. Is that why you want me to go to these Saith Games? Cause Edzeeker to come after me?”
“No! God no!” he frowned. “I don’t want you two to meet again. I want you to…”
He stopped and gritted his teeth. Saita noticed it but said nothing. She had a few more minutes to hear him out.
“I went to Pura,” he whispered. “He regrets what he did. He wants you to come home.”
She laughed sarcastically and swung her good arm out to the filling cafeteria. “Why would I want to leave this place? Good pay, a roof over my head, and enough challenges to fuel my undying anger. Anyway, how would he save face if he were to retract what he did?”
“He said the same thing.” Bolx sighed.
“What of Myla?”
Bolx heard the pain in her voice now. Her mother was someone she had been very close with, and their last interaction had left her heartbroken. He had nothing to give her.
“She gave me the medicines.”
“And how is Karesh? It’s been a while and,” she paused before whispering. “Is he still alive?”
“Better than alive. He healed but he doesn’t talk, no one knows why.”
“Aleux? The twins?”
“I didn’t see them, sorry.”
She sat silently for a while before she asked. “And Doran.”
“He hunted hard for you. He was able to give me enough information to find you. He would have been here if he could.” Bolx then added. “He has retired. Whatever the two of you went through, he couldn’t stomach what had happened and left to be with his family.”
“Did you see him? Is he well?”
“He is angry, but he is well. Misses you.”
“And I can never see him again.” Saita squeezed her eyes closed.
Bolx knew her well enough to know that she was trying to hide her tears. More than anything he wanted to reach over and grip her hand, but he kept his hands to himself. He allowed her time to deal with what he had told her then he got to his feet. “I should help you to your room. It is close to twenty minutes, and you look exhausted.”
Saita got to her feet, somewhat wobbly and swore under her breath. “Yeah, I think I am going to need some help.”
Half chuckling to himself he went to her side of her table and placed her uninjured arm around his shoulders, “Point me in the direction of your room.”
She mumbled a few directions, and he helped her to where she was directed. He did not miss the stares they were getting but Saita seemed oblivious to them. Eventually, they got to her room and Saita unlocked it before stepping in. She stopped Bolx from entering with her.
“I think the rumour mill has had enough for one day,” she whispered. “I’ll go in alone.”
He chuckled but stopped when she put a finger to his chest. “Bolx, son of Baks and Silens, you and I are not done yet, but I am tired. Get me into the Games and we can talk more.”
She then shut the door in his face, and he felt the heat in his cheeks which accompanied the same butterflies he had had when he had first met her.
Bruno had informed Chaka of Saita’s victory and he was thrilled. The money generated from the fight had been staggering and better yet. No one died! Now he had another S-class, and his position as a Dreg King was secured for another few years.
“I believe I want to offer the girl another contract. Something a little more permanent.” he mused to Bruno.
“I forgot one thing.” Bruno set another paper on the table.
“A sponsor?” Chaka read the document and his eyes bulged from his head. “Who the hell is willing to pay this amount of money and why?”
“The sponsor clearly wants to remain anonymous, but the money cleared this morning. As for why this is why.”
Bruno put another document down. “The Saith Games.”
Chaka fell backwards onto his desk for a few minutes laughing. Bruno allowed him the time to do so before he added. “And she has a reference to go with it.”
“Are you telling me that this human girl is able to enter the Saith Games? Are you aware of the amount of money to be made!”
“I took it a step further.” Bruno pulled another piece of paper out of the file he was carrying. “I entered her the moment the sponsor paid the money. Here is her acceptance letter.”
Chaka looked at the various documents spread across his desk and paled. “Contact Saseric immediately!”
“You believe this to be some kind of trap?”
“I believe someone wants the girl to be at a certain place at a certain time.” he frowned. “The sponsor I could believe, the reference I could believe but the fact that she was accepted within a day. No, this stinks of someone playing a hand early.”
“You wish for her to pull out?”
“Are you insane? No! The girl’s contract runs out in three months. I can’t keep her here against her will. Eventually, she will make her own move.”
“I am surprised you haven’t tried something underhanded, yet.”
“You do not know Saseric as I do. If he caught wind that I dared to do something like that a new King would be sitting in my seat before it even got cold. No. A deal is a deal, but I will make use of it until it comes to an end.” Chaka looked over the documents. “The Games are in four months, right?”
“You want me to ask Saita to extend her contract just long enough so that you have sole rights to place bets on her behalf?”
“That. Get it on paper and send a copy to Saseric.” Chaka lifted the sponsor agreement contract. “This worries me a little too. Send all the documents to Saseric and have him deal with them with his network. His talons have ensnared more than what I have.”
“I will do so.”
“And Bruno?”
“Hmm?”
“Offer only a one-month extension with the promise of a longer time when she comes back from the Games. Don’t make her feel like we are trapping her.” Chaka hopped to his chair to pull a drawer open.
He dug around in the drawer for a few minutes before producing some paper and a pen. “I need to draw a budget up for the time that she will be staying in the Saith home world. Good thing she thrashed the dog brothers. I won a pretty mint from that. I may just be able to afford that.”
Seems there may be some background interference happening. Who is pulling the strings? Is Saita safe with the Saith? And will she be healed in time to compete? I guess you'll only find out if you continue reading. See you all on Friday!
For those of you just joining us, please note that this the third book in the Fell Dragon series. Follow this link to read the two earlier books:
Fell Dragon Book 1
Fell Dragon Book 2
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
If you want to join the Reader's list, just ask or follow me for updates on this and my other stories.
Reader's List
@weone, @merenludick, @clairemobey, @therneau, @blitzzzz, @pravesho, @joetunex, @captainquack22, @irisworld, @braaiboy, @sketchygamerguy, @fuego-oscuro, @felt.buzz, @dibblers.dabs, @beeber, @brittandjosie, @tamacvet, @alonicus, @joetunex, @zakludick , @thinkrdotexe , @pixelhuntersam, @alonicus
Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 10>>You are Here>>Part 12