doesn’t it.”
Carmine shook his head.
“It is more of a ruby color,” He said.
“I don’t understand” the man replied.
“Know your opponent’s assumptions.” Carmine said. “And then do the opposite.”
The man laughed lightly at that. It was an ugly sound as it rattled out of his broken rib cage.
“You got that name in the Guard. It was given you as a joke, wasn’t it?” The corners of his upturned mouth trickled blood.
Carmine nodded.
“I wasn’t popular in the Guard. They thought ruby was a weak, feminine color.”
The man’s breath seized then, and his body curved upward painfully. He dropped back down and began gasping for air.
Carmine put his hand on the dying man’s chest and traced a symbol there in the frost and blood. It looked like two intersecting bells.
He asked for the dying man’s name.
“Gad” The man whispered, in between his choking.
Carmine nodded and then said something softly in a tongue even Tal didn’t recognize.
The man’s eyes were wide with fear now.
“What does that mean?” He asked, choking.
“It means that in the next life you will give your sword to something besides money. And we will fight together. As brothers.” Carmine said. His voice got quieter with each sentence so that by the end he was whispering.
With what energy he had left, the man grinned.
“I look forward to it” He said. Then his eyes focused on something that no living man could ever see. His body shuddered, and he died.
Blood lapped from his back onto the glaze of ice on the floor. It had collected there for a little while now, forming a small, cold pool. Some of the ice around the area had melted a little, since it was summer outside the cottage. Due to this, a small portion of melting ice and frost mixed in with the blood. It made it look like the man had bled frost as well as blood.
Something seemed to spring into Tal’s mind from the image, and for once without thinking he just let it come out. He spoke softly, saying the words like a prayer.
“When all the blood to ice has turned-
And passion’s tinder has flared and burned,
You’ll see life’s fire frost with snow,
As each tie and bond you lose-
Only then may you ever know;
A brother’s a man you chose.”
They were both silent for a minute or two. Their way of respecting the dead. And then it was over, and both relaxed a little.
Without saying anything, they both just seemed to know when they had done enough.
But now Tal and Carmine were looking at each other in confusion.
“What did that mean?” Carmine asked.
Tal shook his head. “The poem? I don’t know. It’s just, well- I saw the rune you drew on that man’s chest. It means ‘brotherhood’. And when I thought about it, somehow that poem just popped into my head.”
He paused.
Carmine stared at him, waiting. That hadn’t really answered his question. Tal thought a moment more about it. Then he spoke.
“I guess it means that family is something that you begin with, but in the end it’s something you chose too.”
Carmine nodded, and then frowned.
“I feel like I’ve heard it before.” He said.
“No you haven’t,” Tal said, firmly. “I just made it up.”
Carmine scratched his chin.
“Even so-”
There was a bit of an awkward silence.
“So what about you?” Tal asked, breaking the spell. “Where did that whole speech come from? About brothers and the next life, and that rune you drew on that guy’s chest?”
“It’s a sword thing,” Carmine said.
“Oh,” Tal said, clearly lost. He did, however, pick up on the fact that his blood-brother looked really bothered by what had just happened.
They were both just barely in their twenties. They hated when they had to do something like this, every time. Last time mercenaries had come they had tried reasoning with them, and both Tal and Carmine had nearly died.
Apparently Tal’s brother the king didn’t just want the Shaping Glass. He wanted Tal dead too. So the mercenaries were acting accordingly.
He was a real winner, that guy.
Tal shook his head, trying to remember what he had been talking about.
Oh right. Creepy languages. Ones he didn’t know. And Tal knew them all.
“Well, what language were you speaking, man? I’ve never heard it before,” Tal said.
“Me neither” Carmine replied.
Tal looked at him in surprise.
Clearly the world wasn’t done messing with them.
Thanks for reading! This book is part of the Reality Zero Universe. There’s much more from both Shaping Glass and Reality Zero to come.
Discover Other Titles by Michael White
Adam the Office Ninja (free)
Inhuman Freedom (free)
‘Newcomer’ Series
The Blood Calls You Back (free)
Connect with Me:
Follow Me on Twitter: @Neverapps
Visit my Website: https://reality-zero.com
Email Me Directly:
[email protected] Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends