Birth of a Mortal God by Armand Viljoen Read Free Book Online Page B

knew of him, but no one knew him. If not for a dutiful city watchman trying to drive off what seemed to him to be a loitering beggar, they would still be looking for him.
    They entered the audience hall, and the guards halted the man a safe distance from where the royal family sat.
    “You are the one? The one who’s been spreading a wet-nurse tale as fact?” asked the King dubiously as he examined the filthy man before him.
    “He is not something a wet-nurse dreamt up. Asteroth is real,” responded the bearded man indignantly.
    “You insolent swine!” said one of the King’s guards before striking the man. “You are speaking to the King! You will address him as Your Grace.”
    The King smiled with satisfaction. “Asteroth is a myth, a fable. Will you also claim you rode into battle on the back of a unicorn?”
    “My comrades, my closest friends, they were all butchered by that fable, Your Grace ,” answered the man coldly.
    “I knew many of the Black Griffins. They were hard men, and Ravid Reave had a shrewd military mind. That you alone survived, James, seems . . . improbable,” said the man to the King’s right.
    Although he had never met the man, James knew who he was: the King’s younger brother. Sebastian ri Nok was everything his brother wasn’t: a man of sturdy build, a gifted swordsman, and a brilliant strategist. If not for him, the King would have lost his kingdom thrice over.
    “I did not survive, My Prince. I died with my comrades, what you see before you is a shade of omen.”
    The Prince nodded sympathetically, but the King bellowed, “Are you bereft of your senses? You are obviously a man of flesh and bone!”
    “He means he was let go. Probably to serve as a warning,” Sebastian whispered to his brother.
    The King blushed slightly. “Well . . . um . . .”
    “James, tell us what happened; spare no detail and embellish nothing.”
    “Yes, My Prince,” said James with a quick bow before recounting the event that haunted his dreams.

Chapter Four
    Unlikely Pair
    J essica pulled her cloak closer as an icy wind bit at exposed flesh. Despite having travelled with him for several weeks across wild terrain, she still knew very little about Killmar. What she did learn was that he detested being asked about his past, almost as much as he hated being disobeyed. As if it was utter arrogance on her part to presume to question him.
    However, she persisted, always attempting to find the most opportune moment to pose a question. Sometimes, her efforts yielded results; more than often not, she was ignored. As a result, she had developed a keen sense of knowing what would agitate him and what wouldn’t.
    She was beginning to suspect he was a wanted man, given his fondness for secrecy and habit of avoiding commonly travelled roads. But even if he was, she didn’t care. He was the one who freed her, an unlawful act in its own.
    He saw her reaction to the wind and removed his robe, exposing a fine, tailored black tunic tucked into tight-fitting black trousers. “It seems the cloak isn’t sufficient protection against the cold.”
    She took the offered garment. She had learned that he would never do something that would inconvenience him; thus, trying to be modest when offered something served no purpose and usually only ended up annoying him.
    He stopped and watched as she slipped on his black robe. “Are you tired?”
    She smiled as she recalled their first day travelling together. He had set an impossible pace and never took any breaks. At the time, she was still terrified he would leave her behind, so she had kept quiet. When she finally awoke after having collapsed from exhaustion, he explained that she should tell him when she needed rest, since he was in no hurry to reach his destination. “I can still go on for an hour or two.”
    He glanced at the sun’s position. “It is getting dark. Wait here, I’ll find a location suitable to make camp.”
    She watched as he disappeared into