Seeds of Blood: A Drag Shergi Mystery

By Kimberly Vogel

First Age, Year 982: Drag Shergi has decided to go on vacation. He thought it would be a nice trip to a cheaper tourist spot in another country. Little did he know that it would turn out to be his most dangerous case yet. One would think a child would have no enemies. Sadly, age is no shelter against hatred. Drag has to keep the babe safe despite his failing body. The old man still has some tricks in him though. A stranger joins in and they flee the country in search of safety for the newborn.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781105362927

Book preview

Seeds of Blood: A Drag Shergi Mystery

Seeds of Blood: A Drag Shergi Mystery

Kimberly Vogel

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 by Kimberly Vogel.

ISBN eBook 978-1-105-36292-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For additional copies refer to:

http://www.lulu.com/shakkathi

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my family and friends for supporting me.

Without you, I don’t know where I would be.

Seeds of Blood

I had thought my vacation would be relaxing. From the town I lived in, I left then traveled from my country to the one in the north central part of the continent. I should have known there would be trouble, because the officials there couldn’t decide whether their name after it was changed from Tsubasa should be Somnus or Givon. Religious groups made up the government. Still, it was a closer and cheaper place to go for vacation than any of the other bordering countries. There were few large cities due to the geography. Sure there were large cities set into the mountains which went in a horseshoe shape around the mouth of the central river of the continent, but the land itself was mostly barren. Only at the southern part of the country along either side of the river were there forests.

Where I traveled to wasn’t that far from where my country was. The landscape opened up in barren spaces to the west. The edge of the mountain range traveled southwards. Once passed, there was a short strip of barren land between the mountains and a forest. One would go directly east after passing the edge of the mountains. Then set in the space just beside the closest mountain by the river was the town of Inachus. As with other towns, the houses were built in the rock and from the rock. The richer inhabitants lived in the mountains and along the riverbank. The further from those places one was the worse off one was. Since I wasn’t exactly rolling in dough I found an inn at the southern edge of the town.

The building was one where the owners were fortunately to have two floors. On the upper level were the living quarters, even for the owners. On the lower level were the kitchen, gathering room, library, and everything else. The family took care of everything for the business.

Of the four, I saw Vencel the most. He was the eldest of the children. Though he was past the teenage group, he had not gone to college so he could continue to assist his family. His height was not far under mine, at six feet exactly. Like many of the former Tsubasan’s, he had whitish-blonde hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. As he acted as a sort of handyman, he wore a white shirt with a pair of overalls. He also wore heavy brown leather work boots.

It was the third day of my week long vacation. So far I’d made it to the town and checked in. Since I didn’t have a car I had to transport on one of the busses. It wasn’t as long of a travel as I had thought, but it still took a full day to get there. From the bus schedule, I left late on my first day, so the ride spanned over two. Now after the night of rest I was ready to officially start my vacation.

What I’d planned was to wander around the city on the first day. As I sat in the kitchen at the breakfast table I looked over a group of pamphlets that the younger sister had given me the previous day. I munched on a few pieces of sliced fruit for my meal. As it was late summer, the tourist season had nearly ended. There were still several things which could be done however.

The younger sister was named Varda. The parents had a thing for that first letter. With the youngest, she had a color palette similar to that of her sibling. Instead of having short spiky hair, she had long wavy tresses. She liked to wear skirts and dresses. Today she wore a white dress shirt and a blue denim skirt. She didn’t wear heels; her height was five foot eight inches in black leather flats. Her age was just over the legal age at sixteen years.

I looked up as Varda passed by. With a smile I waved to her. Are you going to school soon?

She nodded with a slight grin. I’ve got a few days left, but I should leave soon if I’m going to the school in your country.

Ah, that’s wonderful, I replied. What will you be studying?

I’ll be studying business, to help my family.

Ah, I see. I said with a nod. I hope you learn a lot and have good fortune.

She nodded and smiled as she replied, Thank you. Then her eyes widened and she bounced on her feet. Oh, have you decided where you’d like to go?

Yes, I think I’ll go to this place. I said as I straightened in my seat. I pushed the mostly empty bowl away from me. The pamphlet I picked first I smoothed over the tabletop.

Oh the hot springs are fun, she replied cheerily. There are theaters there too, so you can take one or two in depending when you get there.

I’m going to walk there, so I should probably leave now.

There’s a bus, you don’t have to walk.

I’ll take it on the way back.

Okay, she replied. With a smile she picked up my dish. She carried it to the