Free Take My Heart...: Dark Ages - Fantasy (Dark Gods & Tainted Souls Book 3) by julius schenk

no more than an arm’s length and even making out her small face right next to him was difficult.
    She was asleep with her head slumped down and long blonde hair covering her face. The truth was he felt slightly wrong attempting to travel with her. He felt a duty to keep her safe but he had an overwhelming feeling this was a personal journey for them both, in which neither would be welcome to follow along. He just hoped there would be a way for them to make it through on the other side together. Living people weren’t meant to make this journey and so he’d break more rules as well while he was at it.
    Slowly the fog started to clear and Seth saw he was floating in a sea of boats. He looked to his left and saw something that shocked him. It was an unknown man, but he was wearing the uniform of Blackrock. Seth thought he had saved these from their deaths now as he looked he saw more and more. All the people he was meant to have stopped from killing each other were here. It was a sea of blood covered and tattered uniforms and outfits he knew well. Blackrock, Twin Plains. Cold Death mercenaries and some people with red painted faces. He didn’t know who they were but they had clearly got caught up in the slaughter. As he looked he saw their eyes were set straight ahead like his had been, as if willing themselves onwards.
    He called out to the man. “Hey, Blackrock! Are you from Blackrock?”
    The man seemed to snap out of a daze, turning his head slowly he looked over at Seth. Seth saw the man had a huge bloody gash down his face that had removed part of his eye, he shuddered. The man stared for a moment at him and then back ahead.
    “Blackrock!” Seth yelled again. By this time, Seraphina had woken and was frightened. The flotilla of tiny boats pushed hard against theirs. All around were faces and people from the battle he’d failed to prevent.
    The man looked back at Seth, dead eyes but he spoke. “Blackrock, why do I know that name”
    “That’s where you’re from. Duchess Elizebetha’s Keep?” he said.
    The man seemed to take in his words and then spoke slowly. “Yes, the Duchess Elizebetha, have you seen her? I need to protect her. My father guarded her father I think, it’s an honor for my family,” he rambled.
    “Why would I have seen her?” Seth asked a pit of fear growing in her stomach.
    The man looked at him blankly. “She’s dead, the king killed her and then he killed us. He killed us all.”
    The boats were moving again and the man was thrust away from Seth. His boat was hit hard from the side smashing his hand in between the rails of his and Seraphina boat. Seth drew back his hand with a shout, Blood dripping from his fingers. Seraphina looked in horror as his hand came away from her boat. He reached out again but it was too late. Within seconds, the current had pulled her away. Seth rushed to the front of his boat, frantically trying to grab hers again. His last sight of her through the fog, her scared face was swept away into the growing white wall. As he saw her go he heard her cry, “Seth.” Then she was lost to the fog.
     

Chapter Fourteen.
    Minsetta sat on a stolen horse, next to Grimm and Josette, under the cover of some sparse trees and watched the show that was unfolding before her eyes. She moved in her saddle restlessly and tried to quell her impatience. She’d seen the Red Bastards, all six or so hundred of them, slowly moving around and breaking up their camp. They scurried like little busy ants packing down their tents and loading huge packs on their backs. They were all neatly dressed in Twin Plains uniforms but still held the weapons of mercenaries and acted like them. The Twin Plains army had never taken so long to get ready to march or had so much fun doing it. She could hear their rough voices and laughter floating across the vacant plain to where they waited under cover from the bright sun.
    Slowly the ragtag army gathered up into rough lines of three, got ready to