Concordia, Seven Hundred Years Before“This was your doing,” Thaelen said under his breath to Sigrid as they waited for the horses to be brought by the squires. Quite a crowd had gathered, and what Thaelen had originally intended to be a private horse-ride had become a spectacle, with many nobles and guards preparing to ride with the royals of both Concordia and Greibron.“Of course,” Sigrid replied complacently without looking at him, smiling politely and inclining her head to those who entered her field of vision. “Nothing happens in your life, Thaelen, without my hand in it somewhere, surely you know this.”“Believe me, I do,” he replied resentfully. “I will remind you, however, that I am a man grown, and capable of making my own decisions on occasion.”“And what decisions would you have made today, precisely, Thaelen?” She arched a brow at him. “You made a decision many weeks ago and charged me to ensure the success of your endeavour. Everything you see before you, every event tha

Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThere was a shocked silence in the tent as both royals and their priest stared at him gape mouthed.“Thaelen,” Sigrid said darkly, her tone promising a thorough tongue-lashing when they were alone. “You have had too much to drink and are in shock. Excuse him, please,” she said taking the glass from Thaelen’s hand as she stepped passed him, and set it down crisply on the tray. “He thinks that he is being clever, thinking outside of the problem before us, but does not realize that what he has suggested is in bad-taste and…”“Flattering,” Harithen’s smile was stiff but warm, his pleasure tinged by his grief for his sister. “It is flattering, my king, your offer, but…” He shook his head. “Not a solution for any of us, and considerable trouble for you. I thank you,” he inclined his head as he lifted Freanya to her feet, and began to guide her towards the tent entrance. “But this is Greibron problem, and not a Concordian one. We will call upon loyal Gre

Concordia, Seven Hundred Years Before“We are trying to save Harithen,” Thaelen knew that it would look bad despite his words, for he had Harithen’s blood on his face and in his beard and he had just been licking his wounds. He and Meguitte were in a tent of Greibron bodies, without witnesses other than Harithen, and with Harithen slipping into and out of consciousness, the human could hardly speak in their defense.Behind the priest were a half dozen noble men and soldiers, and already they had drawn their weapons. Very clearly, Thaelen realized the danger that they were in, and that those people responsible for the slaughter of everyone in the tent probably stood before him. They had every reason to want to blame him and Meguitte, and to silence them and Harithen.Meguitte realised it as well and he saw her reach into a pouch at her waist as she rose to her feet. “Pick Harithen up Thaelen,” she said darkly, the red glowing in her eyes and he felt the change in the air raising the ha

Havermouth, Present TimeThe high bank on the Havermouth township side of the river had held back much of the flooding, however on the other side it swelled out into the fields and over the roads. The bottom of the boat scraped over submerged branches, and the current made it almost impossible to steer, until the water settled over what had once been farmland.At one home, an island within a flow of water, a woman watched Leighton’s boat pass from an upstairs window. The first story of her house was entirely submerged. She pressed her palm to the glass in a silent plea for help, but there was none that he could offer her. She would be alright, Leighton told himself, the water would begin to recede now that the peak of the storm and the flood from the dam bursting was over. And she was safer where she was than in Havermouth.His ride was far from peaceful even where the water had stilled, as the debris hidden beneath the surface caught and tore at his boat frequently requiring him to m

Havermouth, Present TimeSigrid pushed Dan behind her and kicked the changeroom door open, the wood shattering off the hinges and sending the woman on the other side flying out of the change rooms and into the shop in a crash of racks. Sigrid followed, stepping through the spill of clothing to pick the woman up by the throat whilst she hissed and spat and clawed at her arm.“A zombie,” Sigrid observed with surprise. The woman was barefoot, in a bedraggled pant suit, filthy, missing teeth and covered in blood. And she stank – of rancid meat, urine, and old, old sweat. “Disgusting,” Sigrid turned her face away so as not to have to breathe in the woman’s foul breath.“You’d be disgusting too if you’d been tortured and kept in a cage,” the woman ceased fighting hanging from Sigrid’s grip in exhaustion. “I was just looking for something to wear and trying to avoid the Van Helsings outside when I heard someone in the change room, I’d rather hoped…”“F-k,” Dan said and hurried across to the