Free Deadly Intentions (Blood Feud - Volume 2) by David Temrick Page B

from further ballistae to the chest. The
helms served to protect them from those damned Vallius lancers and
their accursed spears.
    The orcs had returned north with their troll
servants to wherever it was they came from. It was still rather
unclear to Boris where they lived and why they were so eager to
help him. He tried to dismiss it as trivial, but there was still a
nagging doubt in the back of his mind. The mercenaries from the
north were easier to understand, they fought out of bloodlust and
for coin, which was in ample supply in Terum.
    Boris walked into the main dining hall to
find the sorceress Cyrisa kneeling in front of the fireplace. The
flames died down as she looked over her shoulder at him. Her
annoyance was a fleeting mask, replaced by a fawning smile as she
wished him a pleasant morning. Again he found his mind clouding
over as she offered him the seat at the head of the table.
    He sat down to her left as servants came in
baring a tray of jerked beef, rye bread and mead. Still he ate
soldier’s rations, the King of a country and yet he ate simple
fare. He sighed theatrically as he bit into the beef and tore the
bread in twain. Taking a long draught of the mead he wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand.
    “How fare you this morning my King?” She
asked smoothly.
    He harrumphed, her King he
brooded. I’m sure that’s what she thinks I am, he thought
darkly to himself. The truth was that months ago he had begun to
block her subtle magic from his mind, though for the most part
acted as though she still held him in her sway. It irritated him
that he needed her magic to fight Prince Tristan.
    “I didn’t sleep well,” was all he said in
reply.
    “I could make you a tonic, to help you sleep
soundly.” She offered a little too eagerly.
    Oh I’m sure you could. He shot in his
mind at her. He mastered control of his eyes, keeping himself from
narrowing his gaze accusingly at her. He focused his mind and
forced himself to calm down.
    “No need.” He said simply. “I’ll sleep better
tonight.”
    “Oh?” She asked.
    Now I know she’s been spying on me. He
thought with irritation. “I’m riding east to check on the forward
positions today.” Boris replied. He chaffed under her scrutiny.
Shortly after their defeat in Sutten, Boris and his legions
returned to Terum to find the country in turmoil. He began
restoring order, naming himself Royal Regent and taking over
administration of Terum.
    The sorceress arrived a few months later and
offered to help him weed out his opposition. It was through her
help that he rounded up all the terrorists and troublemakers, had
them executed and mounted for show. His rule was absolute and the
people feared and respected him. Boris made deals with Oceana to
his south and the tribes of the Expanse to the north for food and
weapons. He bargained with Vallius land that he had yet to claim,
and yet the tribes embraced the chance to bloody King Dion and his
sons.
    He had suffered losses, the most recent of
which had been his army turned to rout by three dragons who’d slain
five giants slain. Already the giant’s emissaries arrived wanting
revenge on Prince Tristan and he welcomed a dozen more behemoths
into his ranks. They looked strangely human, with the exception of
their low foreheads and thick frames. Their powerful arms could
throw boulders that only his trebuchets could match for distance,
and their strength was unmatched.
    Boris knew now that the pavilion had been a
vain construction, which had been heavily influenced by Cyrisa. He
made a mental note not to allow her to interfere with his battle
plans any further. Falling the ten feet from the pavilion hadn’t
injured him too grievously, but the cost to him in morale and power
over his troops had been disastrous. As it was he was going to have
to execute one for every thousand to instill fear into the fracas
groups that even now threatened to leave his army by stealth.
    Spring was only weeks away and he planned