In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, the immortal king has completed a ritual for strength and prowess. He had told Six, who is human, not to watch and to keep his distance. But when Pietas’s injuries make it impossible to complete the ritual on his own, Six helps by cutting off the king’s long blond hair. The part below takes place immediately after the ritual ends. (A ghost is a special ops soldier who has died and been reanimated to fight immortal Ultras.)
—
“Six, I want to see how you sharpen knives.”
Though it was full daylight, they were in shade, and the firelight cast flickering shadows on Six’s face. “Oh?”
“That blade is impressive.”
“Thanks.” Six folded the knife and holstered it. “It does the job.”
“However, you disobeyed a direct order.”
Six fastened the safety on the holster, securing the knife. “See, I’m not one of your soldiers.” Using a thumb, he wiped away a smear of blood from Pietas’s cheek. “Which means you can’t give me an order. Therefore, I did no such thing.”
He met the man’s unwavering gaze. “How you frustrate me, ghost.”
“To quote you, ‘Good.’ Now, what’s next?”
“The ritual is complete.”
Six gestured to his own eyes. “So that mask is part of your ritual.”
“I never wear the mask until I’ve made myself worthy. And I’m ready for war.”
“That means the day we met, you’d done the ritual.”
“Yes.”
Six cursed under his breath. “So, uh, what else do you need?”
“I’ll settle for you helping me up.”
“The great Pietas, War Leader of the Ultras, wants help from a mortal? How the mighty have fallen.”
Pietas narrowed his eyes. “Ghost, don’t make me eat you.”
“Yeah? I got two words for you, Ultra. Bring. Salt.” He stood and offered his hand. “Come on, amigo. I’ll douse the fire while you get dressed.”
Pietas gripped it and forced himself to stand. His legs hurt, and it took a full minute for him to catch his breath. Did mortals put up with this kind of pain on a daily basis? They must be stronger than he ever imagined.
Six had the courtesy to remain silent about how badly Pietas limped, and instead, worked on putting out the campfire.
Once he’d brushed off the dirt on his legs, Pietas dressed, and then helped Six clean up. Though it was still morning, the day darkened while they were finishing. By the time they reached camp, the sun was gone.
At first, Pietas thought it might be another massive flock of birds, but then he spied what had sent the birds fleeing.
Black clouds roiled. Thunder boomed. The sky went white with lightning.
In the north, the mother of all thunderstorms rolled over the horizon.
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Great excerpt. I’ve read and revewed.
Thank you so much, Janet. I appreciate that!
“Bring. Salt.” Ha!
I love that line, Kris. LOL
Ghost, don’t make me eat you – now there;s a line you don’t hear everyday – thank heavens. Tweeted.
LOL Nice one, Daryl. So true. Thank you!
With the arthritis in my left knee acting up — the track coach never warns you about that when he assigns you to run hurdles — I liked the line about the pain that mortals endure.
Thank you. Bringing the immortal king down a peg or two in this story. 😉
Something about this snippet reminded me of a “buddy movie”.
Oh good! That’s what I was going for with these two. They begin as mortal enemies. Their friendship never loses its sense of awe. “I can’t believe I’m friends with HIM.” lol