Silver Tongue: Portals of power, #2

By Eric Lensher

To save his friends Seth launched him through the Portal to the land of the dead. There he mets a silver tongued goddess who uses him in her civl war. How will he survive and break her spell? will she become an ally in his fight?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Lensher
• Release date: Feb 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201042479

Book preview

The howls carried across the snowy tundra for miles. Seth had no way of knowing if the creatures producing them were on his heels or safely off in the distance. Still, he felt a thrill of fear run through his mount and spurred it harder into a run. He’d trust a horse’s sense of fear and smell over his own any day, especially this horse. Together they were one, rushing through the white snow as it gave way beneath his horse’s heavy hooves, rising to the crest of each hoof but letting the animal find its own pace. Below was hard dirt or long dead grass of some kind. Shapes began to appear behind them as Seth cast his eyes back and dread filled him. Not wolves, or even Wolvern he could bargain with, but the black animal dogs he’d killed in the room, and summoned by the Guild. These ones looked much fiercer with black eyes and maul low to the ground as they ran with his scent in their nostrils. They looked much bigger and more feral than the ones he’d faced before, there was a pack of them, and they were gaining fast.

Long black legs carried them fast across the snowy tundra towards Seth and his white charger as it raced ahead with fear in its heart. He gave it full rein and let it run. The horse’s strong body pushing hard, he knew it would soon fail, and thinking of the black beasts, he knew he would rather face them than not. What had he done in his life so far but run? His life since meeting the Wolvern had been running. He’d gained so much power, but running from Seraphina and the Dark Guild had caused so much trouble, Minsetta had been caught up in his flight, and even the whole of Black Rock was because he didn’t have the stones to stand and fight. A Northman didn’t run from a fight just because he’d lose: that was the coward’s path. Saying a blessing to his white horse that had won him the battle against his foe, he tucked to the side, and drawing his sword, he rolled off to the side and landed in the snow. He rolled backward, sword not in him thankfully, and faced the black dogs as they ran on towards him.

His white horse ran on into the snow and was soon safe and gone as the beasts descended on him. Five of the big black bastards. The first was stupid and ran fast onto his drawn blade. Seth dived into the snow head first and, thrusting up, brought his blade fast into the underside of its jaw. The creature made a muffled whimper as the sharp blade passed up through its lower jaw, through its mouth, and into its skull. He turned his body and struck out at the closest black form, and then he managed to stand for a moment before it shoved him back, snapping hard at his face with feral teeth. Double rows of sharp white canines, this time snapping at his neck. He fell back hard but managed to roll and face his foes once again. This time they were smarter. The beasts circled him and picked up the killing song. It was that of a dog, not a wolf, and they barked at him as they circled. A rhythmic bark of the hunt.

Come on you bastards!’ Seth shouted. He’d die here in the snow, but proudly. He’d spared the world the Duke, himself, and the coin. So some of these black dog things would take him down, but at least he would die knowing he’d stood and fought, not run and run and run.

The beast facing him lunged, he snapped his blade down hard, scoring a long cut against its cheek. They were wary now and circled slower. He turned back and forth quickly to protect his back but knew he’d soon fall if one was smart enough to try to take his legs.

Suddenly, he saw what looked like a white blur, and a long black sword with a wicked curve appeared in one of the creature’s sides. They were big, but this sword which was at least five feet long punched right through its body, and the tip came through the other side. Seth looked at the creature wielding it and could not believe his eyes. He dropped to his knees, averted his eyes, and bowed. She was a woman like he’d never seen. As tall as him with long flowing silver hair, like a river of metal strands. Her perfect body was like that of a marble sculpture come to life, completely naked, with only a black scabbard across her pale hips.

Her bright blues eyes looked only at Seth as she quickly destroyed the beasts attacking him. They made the mistake of trying to rush her, but her speed was incredible. She moved in a blur he could barely see, except for her white body and spurts of black blood from the beasts, each accompanied by loud cries of animal pain. Soon he was surrounded by five black bodies, dripping fetid blood into the snow, and this incredible woman towering over him, looking at him with bright blue eyes. He did his best not to look at her body, which was perfect. She was lean and strong, with full breasts and even a small tuft of silver hair between her legs. He almost blushed. She looked at him with a slight smile.

‘You can call me Silver,’ she said, and she let the flat of her sword blade tap the back of his head, just hard enough to send him to a black sleep in the falling snow.

Chapter 2

Dierdra had loved him since she was 16 years old. Even then he’d been proud, strong, and had walked through a room with a sense of command and control. At the time, he wasn’t yet named the Duke of Twin Plains, but his second son and she was the daughter of a high ranking Dark Guild member. Her own father was more revered for his knowledge of the lore of the group than his own position in the world.

Now he’d been taken away from her. She’d argued with him that she should come down onto the field with him to meet the Northern boy, but Luthor had just laughed at her fears.

‘He’s a scared fool, I’ll be fine,’ he’d said as he’d walked out of their lush command tent and mounted his black horse to meet the man Seth. The Northerner had proved a thorn in their side once again and proved smarter than either of them had given him credit for being. They should have realized that he wasn’t just as he appeared, but also the General, the Pellosina and everyone else he’d taken along his bloody path to the Black Rock Keep.

Now she stood on the battlement among the shocked army of Twin Plains and cried. Tears ran streaking down her beautiful face as she failed at trying to be strong. She’d watched her husband in his fine clothes, riding towards the boy on his horse, and with a sense of triumph which had quickly disappeared along with love through the invisible rift. He was now in the land of the dead and surely soon to be killed. She’d been there herself, and while her memories were scattered and hard to focus on, she felt an overwhelming sense of terror and dread at those years wandering the plains as a howler. It was a dangerous cold place, and a creature of flesh and blood like him would stand out for miles. They were like torches lit in a world of darkness.

Ignoring the cries and confusion of her men, and the standing force of hundreds around her, she ran up the grassy field towards the command tent and, pushing the curtains aside, went in. When she was alone, she collapsed to her knees and bawled. She thought of all they had done together. The sacrifices he’d made to bring her back. She didn’t know if she could do the same for him, but first, she had to find out if he was dead already. She knew time passed much more quickly there and an hour would have passed, at least, while she had stood around being upset and shocked.

Going to the dark wooden desk that stood in the corner of the plush tent, she opened the top drawer and drew out a small red pouch that contained her own protective stones. Pouring them out into her small white hand, she thought of how long it had been since she’d used them. Since she’d come back from that dark, cold place, she hadn’t needed them. Just fresh blood to keep her living. She’d not taken someone in many years. Still, the words were etched into her mind, and the anger and grief she felt were like a raging fire inside; she knew her connection with the man she loved, Luthor, would create a connection in moments.

Placing the little metal cubes with carved symbols in a circle, she began the chant. Her husband had been strong and able just to think them in his mind, but she still needed to say them out loud. Her voice lifted to a dark shout that seemed at odds with her beautiful face and fine clothing as she stalked around the circle and chanted. Soon the air in the circle was that of a deep dark storm cloud. It began to thin and rip as she thought of her husband’s face, the way he walked, the way he called her his ‘little princess’, and then he was there with her.

Tears started to flow from her eyes again at the sight of him, and she stepped back as he lunged towards her, pushing against the barrier. His eyes were black as pitch, teeth pushing from his mouth, sharp, jagged and long. The front of his fine white shirt was soaked with his lifeblood, and she knew that in those short minutes alone he’d been killed. This didn’t look like the man she loved at all. This clawing creature that only wanted to rip her apart... but she knew it was, and that he’d seen her like this as well, and found in his heart the strength to bring her back to the world of the living.

‘Guards!’ She shouted, and her two armed guards who’d stood by the entrance of her tent walked in. They were members of the Guild, as signified by the black sashes across their uniforms, but even they were shocked at the sight of their Duke standing before them as one of the dead. Still, they bowed to him and simply walked to her side.

‘Duchess?’ One asked

She tried to compose herself. ‘You can see what has happened. Our poor Luthor has been killed by this Northern bastard, and now we have to bring him back.’

‘Is that wise, Duchess? It’s a full-time job keeping you in blood without the men noticing; if we start having to kill four people a day, they will notice.’

‘Just hold him and shut up.’

Without another word, the two strong guards stepped into the circle with their master. He turned to attack them, but they had done this many times with her when she hadn’t fed in time. One ducked under his arm and locked it hard behind his back, and the other did the same, also putting a hand hard under his chin and pushing his head up. Dierdra stepped into the circle and, drawing out her metal flask, poured her fresh blood for the day past his snapping teeth and into his mouth. As soon as she began to pour, he stopped fighting them and swallowed hungrily. After just a few seconds of the precious red liquid pouring onto his tongue and down his dead throat, she saw the change begin to happen. The black eyes began to clear until they were their past piercing grey; his teeth became the normal flat teeth of a man and not the sharp, deadly ones of an animal. She looked into his eyes and felt a connection of recognition there.

‘Husband,’ she spoke to him softly. She nodded to the guards, who released him and stepped out of the circle. With a shaking hand, the Duke wiped the blood from his face and slowly licked it from his fingers. He looked at her and recalled all of the events that had just happened in a flash.

‘Am I dead?’ he asked.

‘You were dead, husband, but I’ve called you back, just like you did for me,’ she said with passion.

‘But you haven’t: this small vial of blood will only keep me sated for minutes, and you can only survive because we took so much when I brought you back the first time,’ he replied.

She was strong, but she didn’t know if she could do what he’d done for her - killing hundreds and hundreds for her. After a moment, she nodded in acknowledgment. ‘Where can I find the sacrifices required to do that? It’s hundreds of lives.’

She could see he was starting to turn back already, and with the sharp teeth of the dead, he spat the words out: ‘Inside that Keep.’

Chapter 3

Elizebetha woke with a start. Her head throbbed and swam as if she’d been drinking cheap wine like a sailor and she staggered up from her small plush couch, steadying herself with a hand on the arm. She knew Seth had drugged her, that he was gone and that he’d taken the coin with him. She couldn’t believe that Seth had finally done it - crossed over and given in to the dark voices in his head. She’d been so worried for him for so very long. When she’d first met him on that ship, he was so young, and with that look of fear in his eyes, she’d known what it was like to be hunted, and she’d felt pity for him. Then she’d watched him slowly changing from that hunted and haunted boy to someone she didn’t recognize. Every day, she watched him becoming more like the creature he called, and more like what she knew of Stephan, the General. She was no stranger to the powerful pull of the hunger, and she’d watched with a mixture of fear and jealousy as he took one person after another. She knew that people from the North had a very different view on the right of killing your enemies than the Pellosi did, but still he had begun to scare her.

Yet, deep inside she knew he was still good. He terrified her with the amount of power that he held and the reckless way he used it. Calling creatures no one had ever seen before, never using the circle of protection and communing with that horrible creature of his as an equal, or worse, a thing to be revered. Even his story of how he had bowed to it on their first meeting was sickening. To the Gatherers, these were creatures to be feared as a corrupting force, not as gods to be worshipped.

Standing fully and trying to ignore the growing pain throbbing in her head, she walked quickly from the room, not knowing how long she’d been asleep and fearing the worst. How far had he gone in his deal with the Duke? Maybe the doors were open, and the Duke would be at her opened gate, the people of her Keep in chains or worse? Walking into the black stone hallway, she stopped dead. Goldie, Flint, Stone, and Grimm were all running towards her, bristling with weapons and deep frowns of concern and anger on their faces. They were scary men as well, though she knew Seth could control them, but what should she expect from them now? She cowered back in fear against the wall. Were they in on it too? Had they come to carry her off to the waiting Duke? Were they here to deliver the death blows that Seth couldn’t bring himself too?

They stopped short, and Goldie spoke. ‘Elizebetha, Seth’s gone! We saw him just vanish into the air!’

She stood up fully; they were standing well back from her and reading her fear. ‘What? What are you saying?’

Flint spoke in a rushed jumbled of words ‘He was riding out to meet the Duke, then he made a big war cry, and him and the Duke too both just disappeared – first there and then just gone, his horse too.’

She laughed and then tears of relief came to her eyes. Oh, what a brave, stupid boy. She felt so bad for doubting him. He’d done it: he’d taken himself, the coins, and the Duke out of the world. He’d saved them all by sacrificing himself. The Duke’s forces had no reason to take the Keep if the coin was not within, and with their leader gone the forces would surely scatter back to their homes and farms. They were just Ducal levies after all.

‘Where is he? Did the Duke trick him?’ Grimm asked, anger thick in his voice.

‘No, not at all. Seth has tricked the Duke. He’s taken himself and the Duke to the land of the dead... he’s saved us all.’

They looked stunned. They had seen the creature and knew of its pact with their Captain, but to visit the land of the dead as a mortal was a grave sin. A deep shudder of fear rocked through the large bodies of Flint and Stone as one. Grimm didn’t care about that, of course. ‘Can we get him back?’ He asked simply.

She thought for a moment, and turning her body she ran back towards her room, ushering them with her hands to come along. ‘We can try,’ she said.

From what she knew of the land of the dead, Seth’s chances of survival were very slim. Hours had already passed there, and the Duke had surely traveled through with him. Even if Seth had survived that battle, she knew he would stay. While the re-joined coin could bring him back, it would be pointless to return with it. Another would just rise from the Guild ranks to try and claim it.

Reaching around her neck with her delicate hands, she drew off a leather necklace with a small pouch. None of the others had seen it before. She was unsure if she should let them see the full extent of the ritual now, but didn’t have much of a choice: they wouldn’t leave the room without knowing Seth’s fate.

She drew the items of the pouch out one by one, and they were very different from the Dark Guild’s circles. They were mostly small bones and skulls of tiny animals, as well as some feathers. As she placed them down before her, she said words in Pellosi which they could all understand now, thanks to Seth.

‘Creatures of the land, sea, earth, and sky, ward me from those passed on,’ she repeated it again and again as she placed down a small animal skull, a part of a human bone, a few feathers, and a small fish skeleton. They formed a rough circle of eight pieces.

‘First, I’ll try to call him, and if he’s already dead, he’ll come over. If that happens, the sight will not be a good one, but hopefully, that is not the case,’ she said quietly.

‘Did the Duke cross with him?’ Goldie asked.

‘I think so, but I can’t be sure,’ She answered.

‘If they both crossed, one of them is dead, and I’m willing to bet on Seth surviving that fight any day or night,’ said Grimm in a dark mutter. She’d never seen so much rage coming off him.

‘Why are you so angry, Grimm?’ She asked.

‘Why? Why, because he had to do this because we were too weak to protect ourselves. It’s a shame, to a Northman, for another to have to sacrifice for your weakness. If we were stronger, we could have faced it together. Now, my Lord and friend is likely dead because of my failure.’

‘You’re just one man. Seth did it for all of us.’

‘Then we should all be ashamed,’ he spat.

She just shook her head; she’d never understood the Northern view of the world. She just felt pride for Seth, not shame for her weakness in needing protection. Walking around the circle, she sang words in Pellosi. They again were different from the dark words of the Guild. It was a song of longing and regret for not being able to say goodbye but wishing to. After a few very long minutes, the air in the circle began to thicken and darken. She thought of Seth, the way he looked, walked, his smile filled with recklessness and charm. She couldn’t feel anything from him.

‘He’s not dead... I can’t contact him,’ she reached out and could feel the body of the Duke, where he had fallen. ‘But the Duke is dead. Seth must have killed him.’

They all sighed in collective relief. ‘Well, that’s one good thing – at least he had the chance to finish his foe properly,’ said Grimm.

She had begun to close the rift when a huge white form leaped through the gap. The Wolvern stood snarling and snapping in the circle, taking up almost all of the room and unable to turn in the tight circle. At its sudden appearance, Elizebetha jumped back in fear. It was a fearsome sight, all pale white, with mottled skin, its elongated jaw with razor teeth. Its yellow eyes pierced them all, none of them had truly seen it before. At its entrance, the Northman folded to their knees while Elizebetha just shied away. It radiated anger.

‘Why do you try to reach my boy and why in my land?’ It looked around the circle, and she felt its power reaching deep into them. It recognized the Northmen and read all of their intentions. Grimm felt it ripping through his memories of the past events and let it search, offering up the images of Seth’s sacrifice.

‘Fool boy, he’s on the wrong side and will not be able to feed me now.’ Its dark words banged in their heads, making Elizebetha's headache much worse.

‘We need your help. He’s there alone, and will need your protection,’ she said, standing fully.

It just snapped back at her with those sharp teeth. ‘Don’t dare address me, weakling. I feel your disdain and have felt you corrupting my boy, again and again, leading him to the path of the coward. No, I’ll talk to the angry one.’ It said.

Turning, it addressed Grimm directly. Grimm was a typical Northern sailor. He was fifty name days but looked younger, still with a full black beard and dark eyes. He wasn’t handsome but looked like his name.

‘Yes Master,’ he spoke, knowing creatures like this respected reverence and bravery. ‘Our Captain Seth has crossed through, to save us from our weakness, but he will need your help.’

The creature spoke back, but only in Grimm’s mind. ‘He serves me and not the other way around. I’ll help him because I do like him, but I still need someone here to feed me.’

Grimm just nodded, and shutting his dark eyes, he stood and stepped into the circle with the creature. He heard the gasps from his fellows and Elizebetha as a wave of power rippled over him. The other Northmen looked to each other, and then one by one they also stepped into the circle and knelt before the creature. They were resigned but strong, and they would face their deaths with pride in their hearts and no shame of weakness in them.

The creature laughed a dark laugh that they all heard. It pushed its sharp jaws towards them, but they didn’t flinch. ‘You do yourselves proud, little men, and you remind me why I’ve always liked your kind more than these cowardly Pellosi. I’ll find our boy.’

Without another word, the creature crept back into the rift and was soon gone, leaving them kneeling in the circle. Elizebetha was shocked beyond belief. She knew that they had different beliefs from hers, but never that they were so very different. Grimm, Goldie, Flint and Stone stood with huge smiles on their faces. They gripped wrists in the style of warriors and started laughing like school children.

Grimm soon had tears of mirth and relief running down his face. ‘We’ve done it, boys: we’ll walk in our fathers’ halls after all.’

‘Thank the lady for that, I thought we’d be dog meat for sure,’ Goldie said.

Elizebetha was laughing with