Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) by Thomas A. Watson Read Free Book Online

normal two guards were down the hall. At first, they didn’t want to leave, but Ahnon convinced them he could handle the task. After he made one the guards’ chainmail shirt start to constrict on him, they both saw his point of view.
    The door opened behind him, but Ahnon didn’t turn around knowing who it was. “Yes, your majesty?” he asked.
    “You can come inside,” Vilarius said.
    “I’m fine, my lord,” Ahnon replied.
    Letting out a sigh, Vilarius said, “I’m afraid I insist.”
    “As you wish,” Ahnon said, spinning around and walking into the room. He saw the two midwives packing up supplies. He had inspected them earlier, but they looked like they were leaving. “Where are they going?” Ahnon asked the king.
    “They’re leaving,” Vilarius told him.
    “Want to wager on that?” Ahnon asked. Not waiting for a response, he walked over to the two women. “Ladies, may I ask where you think you’re going?” he inquired. One of the ladies was gray-headed with a weathered face. The other was young with blond hair in thick braids. She was apprenticed to the elder lady.
    “I came because the king commanded it, but the queen will not be ready for at least five days, maybe up to a week,” the older lady told him.
    “I’m sorry, midwife, but you’re wrong,” Ahnon told her.
    The lady jumped back like he hit her. “I suppose you know?” she snapped. “You’re a warrior, so stay with what you know,” she said, pointing at him.
    “Oh, I do know. I’ve studied with a midwife for five years,” Ahnon informed her with a ton of attitude.
    Taken off guard, the old woman just glared at Ahnon. Then she finally retorted, “Then they weren’t any good.”
    “Woman, you walk out that door, and the hair on your head will fall off as a boil the size of a watermelon grows on your nose,” Ahnon warned her.
    She covered her hair with one hand and her nose with the other as she gasped, “You wouldn’t dare.”
    “Oh, yes I would. Then, I would tie you to the bed so your ugly self couldn’t leave again. You’d probably scare my sire so much he wouldn’t come out,” Ahnon predicted.
    Lowering her hands, she glared hard at Ahnon. “If you’re so good, then you can do it,” she challenged.
    “I will not deliver my sire. That’s not what I studied midwifery for, woman,” Ahnon snapped.
    Vilarius leaned over to Theobald. “I want to see the boil,” he whispered.
    Looking at the king, the old woman narrowed her eyes as she spoke to Ahnon. “I have other women I have to see today,” she told him.
    “I’ve warned you what will happen if you walk out of this room,” Ahnon reminded her.
    Letting out a cackle, she said, “You can’t do that, and even if you could, you wouldn’t,” she challenged. Ahnon reached behind him then raised his hand, pointing at her face with a silver drop of liquid on one of his fingertips. He took in a breath to start speaking, and the old woman wailed, “Stop! Okay, you made your point!” Grabbing her bags, she ran back to the bedchamber with the young apprentice following.
    Smiling, Ahnon walked around the room, stopping at the fireplace. Logs were piled in, ready for the fire to be lit. Pointing at the stack, Ahnon cast a spell. Fire leaped from his hand, hitting the logs and setting them ablaze, filling the room with warmth. There were others in the room—generals, dukes, courtiers—and they all suddenly became very afraid of Ahnon.
    The king’s eyes were wide and looking at the fireplace as Theobald leaned over. “I don’t think he would’ve burned her hair off,” he told Vilarius.
    Ahnon turned around. “No, but the same components can be used for fire,” he said, walking over to look out a window. Those in his path almost ran from him. They had all seen magic but never in such a casual manner and never with a threat on a midwife.
    Shortly before the noon bell, they heard the crying of a baby from the bedchambers. The young apprentice came out,