The City of Donn: After Life, Age of the Gods: Donn's Chosen, #2

By Samantha Stillman

Please help, people are disappearing and we need the people to trust us…

 

After many months, Abertha has returned to her home, New Seattle, to rest. Yet, despite wanting to rest, her and Fer-Doirich don't appear as if they will get that. No soon than them setting foot in the city, they are given a new job. They are to go to The City of Donn and help Donn's temple find its missing people. They take the job and soon meet a new person that throws Abertha's world into a spin. Now it's time, once again, for Abertha and Fer-Doirich to step up and set things right. Just where are the missing people and can they trust this new people to help them?

 

Book 2 in the After Life, Age of the Gods: Donn's Chosen series. Approximately 68,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samantha Stillman
• Release date: Dec 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393719205

Samantha Stillman

Samantha Stillman has spent her entire life writing stories. She enjoys the worlds of fantasy, especially Urban Fantasy, and science-fiction. She attended the Western Washington University where she received a Bachelors of Arts in English Creative Writing. She especially enjoys writing things that are a little different from some of the others, such as the world of After Life. She just wants to share her world with others and hopes that they enjoy them as much as she does. She currently lives in Washington state with her two pet cats.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The station smelled like all of the others that we had been in. The scent was that of the wood and whatever else the trains burned as fuel. It made me wrinkle my nose, despite the fact that I had grown used to it over the years. Fer-Doirich, on the other hand, still hadn’t gotten used to the odor. He gagged as we exited the train and stepped onto the platform. Ugh, he said, his one word matching the utter distaste that his face had contorted into. I know things could smell in my time, but this is ridiculous.

First you spent time complaining that the seats were uncomfortable and then you complained about how long the journey was. Now you complain about the smell, I muttered. I glanced in his direction to see him glaring at me. Luckily, his glare didn’t last long, as his eyes quickly drifted towards something that was behind us. I turned to see what he was staring at.

Leaning against one of the support pillars was a woman. The woman was eyeing every man that walked past her. I could only describe the look on her face as one that was analyzing the men as if they were hunks of meat from a butcher. Of course, I couldn’t really tell if that was what she was actually doing. This had to do with the fact that she had so much make up on that I would have confused her for a circus performer. It also didn’t help that she had chosen colors that didn’t work on her skin. Her skin was so pale that the rouge she had chosen made her look feverish, especially with the amount she had used. Her lips were caked in red paint to the point that she only needed fangs to be confused for a vampire. Not that there were many of those beings around, which led most people to believing they were a myth.

Her dress was also completely off-putting. She wore a sort of dated dress. The bodice she had on looked more like it belonged on an evening gown with its sleeveless and low-cut state. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing with the weather getting colder. She had a narrow skirt that was bustled in the back, though the sides were pulled up in such a way that she was showing quite a bit of bare leg. The dress was also as red as her lips. Really, the outfit she wore had gone out of style around 1025 AL. The only people that wore those particular outfits were brothel workers and prostitutes. That was a real law in Pacific Reach as of 1030 AL.

I grabbed Fer-Doirich and proceeded to drag him through the terminal building. I did not need him leering at her. I watched him do that enough to the point that I was way past being annoyed at having to remind him not to. Okay, I’m confused, why was she dressed like that? I haven’t seen that before, Fer-Doirich said. I could hear the evident confusion in his voice, though I was more focused on getting us out of the place.

She’s a prostitute, I said as we neared the doors.

A what? he asked. The confusion was still present in his tone, though I briefly ignored it in favor of pushing our way out of the metal and glass doors at the front of the building.

A whore, I said. Fer-Doirich made an ‘ah’ sound right as we stepped into the rare sunny day of Seaport Hub One, otherwise known as New Seattle.

☆

The area known as Seaport was a conglomeration of cities and towns that stretched from the Sound of Llyr, which I knew was what people had renamed it, to Port Town. The government area, and main hub for the Guild, were located in New Seattle, while the commerce and economic portion were in Port City.

Hub one was built in memory of its former city, Old Seattle. Old Seattle had been destroyed at the end of Past Life by volcanoes, tidal waves, and earth shakes the likes of which had never been seen before. The natural disasters the gods brought with them had caused so much devastation to the area that it was amazing that people even had survived. In fact, the area where Old Seattle had been had become a region of forests and wreckage over the centuries. In modern times, the area had turned into both a ferry stop and a partial camp ground. The campground let people be in nature without leaving civilization behind completely. Those people often came from the small towns that surrounded New Seattle. The towns were one of the few remaining notions from Past Life, which was the idea of living in the suburbs.

One of those suburbs was a little town built around a temple. It was one of the first outlying towns to grow out of New Seattle, but it was the temple that made it unique. The temple was to Donn and many outside of the area thought that was a strange temple to build a city around. Generally speaking, the people of New Seattle didn’t care what others thought. The temple city, which I was very familiar with, was called the City of Donn and it was my hometown.

☆

I shoved Fer-Doirich along the aisle as we got onto the horse-drawn Tram. The tram wasn’t as full as I had expected. I knew it wasn’t early in the day, but there still seemed to be less people crowding the rail vehicle than normal. Where are we going? Fer-Doirich asked.

I need to check with the Main Guild, I replied, glaring at him. I had already told him this before, but he had a tendency to only listen when it suited him. He scowled at me. We had only been together in New Seattle once before. It had been when we had first met, though that had been after getting back from Hub Five’s area.

I’m sick of Guilds. You promised me a vacation, he whined. He was sort of right about that. I didn’t reply and instead focused on the open arches of the tram. The streets of New Seattle went by as I ignored Fer-Doirich. My eyes drifted around until they landed on the large clock tower. The tower was old by my standards, though it had only existed for 300 years. The hands of the Elliot Clock were pointed at 9:45 in the morning. That made me frown. I really had expected more people to be on the streets by that time. I looked around and saw women carrying their shopping. There were children, who were too young to be in school or didn’t have magic, running around. Some of them even held onto the women that were lugging their shopping.

I frowned again. It’s awfully quiet today.

An old woman, who looked to be in her 60’s, sat on one of the benches along the side wall of the tram and chuckled. I looked at her more closely. She had a hand on a dark wood cane with her other clutching a lovely blue shawl around her shoulders. You two must have been away for a while, sweetie. Her voice was smooth and strong for a woman that looked so frail. She was quite thin and those fingers of hers looked a bit on the bony side.

Uh... Yes, we’ve been travelling a lot, I replied in an even tone. I wasn’t sure what the woman was talking about. I was still dressed in my Guild issued coat, not that I could really count on that being enough to give others a clue. Some witches went their whole career never leaving their area.

Many people have been in Port Town, the woman said. Her words quickly knocked loose something I hadn’t remembered. We were nearing the last harvest and a lot of people liked to travel to Port Town to begin preparing for winter. It was the commercial and commerce center.

Oh yeah, I replied. With so much having happened over the months, I hadn’t thought about the coming harvest. I’ll need to do some stocking up myself, I muttered. Fer-Doirich gave me a look. I scowled at him as he looked at me like I was crazy.

The old woman smiled like what many people termed a meddling grandmother would. You two should do that. It wouldn’t be good for a couple as young as you two are to forget the necessities before winter comes. I blinked at her while Fer-Doirich’s face started to turn a shade of red that I knew was anger.

I cleared my throat to stop what he was about to say. Thank you for the tip, ma’am. I then noticed where the tram was and quickly grabbed the overhead cable. A bell jingled at the front of the tram. The driver leaned back and the vehicle jerked to a stop. This is our stop, I hope you have a good day, I added. I then grabbed Fer-Doirich and proceeded to drag his fuming self off of the vehicle.

Have fun, dearies, the old woman called. I ignored her and kept dragging my companion towards a large building. The building was Seaport Hub One, the New Seattle Guild. I had to check in and hopefully calm Fer-Doirich down.

Chapter 2

H ow dare that woman , Fer-Doirich ranted while we waited inside the reception hall of the New Seattle Guild. I sat, watching him pace, on one of the lounges that decorated the reception area. His rants had been going on and on the whole time we were there. Not that they were all about the old woman. He jumped around to us waiting and then back. I mostly tuned him out, focused on the fact that I had to check in with one of my superiors.

Calm down, I ordered. He stared at me from where he was. His pacing had been annoying, but I probably would have smacked him quite hard if he had been sitting next to me during his rant.

He scowled at me. How can you not be upset by it?

I rolled my eyes. Because, to the vast majority of the population, a man and a woman spending time together is viewed as being a couple. Well, as long as the two don’t look related. If he had said something about that being annoying, I would have agreed. The main difference was that I knew where was no avoiding people’s preconceptions. Besides, it had happened to us before.

Fer-Doirich went to say something, but was interrupted by the arrival of a Guild employee. Ms. Keir, and companion, one of the Archivers is ready to see you. The woman was someone that I had never met before. She appeared to be young, maybe sixteen. Her hair was pulled into a bun and quite blonde. She also had bright blue eyes. She could have easily been one of the crowd a little further south of Seaport. I stood and gestured for Fer-Doirich to come with me. The young woman kept smiling at me. Her smile was a bit intense, but I had a feeling that was her way of coping with her job. It was all in the crinkles at the corners of her eyes that gave me that impression. I could easily guess that she was likely overworked. Many Guild employees were.

Lead the way, I said. We walked quietly through the Guild’s hallways. The place was as I remembered it. It was a large single-story structure made of stone and wood. The high ceilings stretched overhead, arching to form one of the many arched roofs that peppered the building. The paintings on the wall depicted epic battles of famous Seaport witches. My gaze briefly fell onto the one painting that always held my attention whenever I passed it. The painting was of a woman. The woman in the painting looked like she might have only been a little older than the woman in front of us. She stood on the edge of a cliff, two swords, which were eerily similar to the ones I could summon from Donn, were in her hands. One arm was above her head like she was about to strike out at the looming shadow in front of her. My breath caught in my throat as it always did. The painting was of Diana the Blessed, also known as Diana the Reaper. She as the last known Chosen of Donn. Her magic and reputation were the reason I kept my own hidden from the Guild. People held her in both honor and terror due to those things.

I shook my head and continued past the painting. The young woman seemed to have noticed where my eyes had been, though I hadn’t known that she was looking at me. That painting has always given me the creeps, she said. Diana the Reaper is one of the scariest witches in our history.

How’s that? Fer-Doirich asked. His head titled to the side like he could not contemplate anyone being scary. Seeing as he was from Ancient Times, and was a little too self-aggrandizing, I could understand at least a part of why he wouldn’t be able to.

She was a dark witch. She channeled the powers of the dead, the woman said. I elbowed Fer-Doirich to stop him from saying anything that could be compromising for me. Fer-Doirich grunted in response to my elbowing. Luckily, the woman either didn’t notice or took it as an agreement. She then stopped all of a sudden outside of a door. We’re here. Archiver McVale is waiting for you to check in. She then turned and walked away.

I looked at Fer-Doirich. Now remember, keep quiet and let me do the talking. He scowled at me, but nodded in response. I turned and knocked on the door, hearing an ‘enter’ almost immediately. Opening the door, I found that the room behind it was light and airy. It reminded me slightly of Councilman Thompson’s office, what with it having the same kind of dark wood furniture and a few plants. Yet, there were less bookshelves and the walls were painted a pale blue instead of white. My eyes then drifted to the person behind the desk. The person was a man and had to be Archiver McVale.

An Archiver was usually the one that took down a witch’s report. The Oakland situation was kind of unique in regards to that. The Archivers were also the log keepers for the Guild. They were generally witches with less practical skills and usually worked with magic that related to Nechtan, a being associated with the Well of Wisdom. It did take all kinds of people to run the Guild.

The Archiver we were led to, McVale, was a man with sandy colored hair, mud brown eyes, and his skin was a bit on the tan side. He had a pen in his hands while staring at the two of us. I smiled at him and walked over to the red cushioned chairs. I didn’t sit, instead waiting for an invitation to do so. He gestured to the chairs and I sat, Fer-Doirich sitting down next to me. McVale grabbed some paper and looked right at us. I’m Dustin McVale. We’ve never met before, as I’m new to Seaport Hub 1. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Omega Keir. His speech was a bit stiff as he spoke. That sometimes happened with Archivers. I had heard some field witches say it was because the Archivers were jealous. Others said it was how they were taught. I wasn’t sure and tried to stay out of the debate.

It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Archiver McVale, I greeted, my voice remaining calm and friendly. This is my companion, Dior. He works for a temple. Dustin McVale’s eyes seemed to narrow as he looked at Fer-Doirich. He then looked back at me.

I have a copy of the report that Councilman Thompson submitted, but I need you to sign it before we can officially close this assignment. He stopped speaking. The way he had said Councilman Thompson’s name was in a tone that said he respected whatever she said. We can then look at another assignment in the future, McVale added, his posture having stiffened. I leaned closer as he turned a piece of paper towards me with a pen held in his other hand. I looked over the document. It was a standard form. It said I agreed with the report, that I had accurately, to the best of my knowledge, shared the necessary information, and that I would not be held accountable for any missing data unless it was found to be pertinent. While I knew I had held a few things back, it wasn’t really pertinent information. It wasn’t unusual for witches to keep skills under wraps. That’s basically what it was anyway. Plus, Fer-Doirich finally had paperwork, thanks to the Dadga’s intervention, to back up my claims of him working for a temple. I took the pen and signed the paperwork.

Here you are, I said, handing his pen back.

He took it and the paper. Thank you, now if you’ll please... He didn’t get a chance to get any further, as a knock on the door interrupted him. He scowled. Enter.

The door opened and the same woman as before came into the room. She had a letter in her hand and appeared to be slightly out of breath. I apologize for the interruption, but we just received a request from the Temple of Donn for Omega Keir. Her eyes appeared to widen as she said that.

I looked at Archiver McVale. His teeth were clenched. Of course, he replied, I had been about to suggest that she go and see if there were any other jobs awaiting her. I held back a scowl, as I knew that I had put in a vacation request before leaving Oakland. It was apparent that the Guild was going to ignore it. The Archivers would have been told about it along with the report. The young woman just handed me the request. I read it:

Dear Abertha,

It has been a while. You haven’t visited the Temple in so long. There is a problem that we need your help with. Please come to the temple as soon as you are rested. I mean that. I don’t want to hear that you rushed over because you’re worried. I would never be able to forgive myself, or ask for such, if you over extended yourself for us. I sent an official request to the Guild for you as well. That way they’ll assign you, but this letter is just yours.

Relia

I looked at everyone in the room. Of course I’ll take it, I replied. Archiver McVale mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and dug out a new piece of paper. He held the pen out again. I signed the standard acceptance of a job form. It would be filed with the request notice. It wasn’t necessarily the most common procedure, but it would happen periodically. Since most jobs were assigned by the Guild, or the Councilmen specifically, the paperwork was unneeded. It was only when an external job request came in for a specific witch that the documents were necessary. I stood. Thank you for your time, Archiver McVale. May the gods continue to shine upon you. I added the last part as he gave off a vibe of requiring such formality.

And may the gods protect you, Omega Keir and Priest, he said before looking away from us. I quickly glanced at Fer-Doirich. He was scowling so hard that his eyes nearly disappeared. I grabbed his arm and gestured to the young woman to lead the way.

Chapter 3

Ijumped off of the tram close to my destination. Fer-Doirich was still grumbling behind me. The only difference was that he had changed to ranting about Archiver McVale. I didn’t catch all of his words, but I caught enough to know that he thought the man was a complete jerk. I thought that was sort of funny, since the man had mainly ignored Fer-Doirich. I grabbed Fer-Doirich’s hand as we got off at 45 th Ave in New Seattle.

Would you quit complaining? I asked. The man was polite and he didn’t question you. I glanced at Fer-Doirich. He was glaring at me, though that was definitely nothing new. However, it did get him to stop grumbling for at least a