1
The boy showed no signs of puberty. His thrashing body was hairless in the water flow.
He hit the stone floor hard.
"If my lord doesn't like him, I have other sons. Both older and younger." offered the farmer. Garth waved the man off.
"Too many scars. If you wish me to buy one of your sons, I suggest you treat them better."
The farmer bowed his head, before leaving the hall, dragging his son after him.
Garth sat back on his throne, played a bit with the water before he grew bored, and let it fall still.
"Bring me, Jakob and Beau," he ordered. "as well as dinner. I am ravenous."
"Yes my lord," said the old butler, leaving the hall with two chambermaids in tow.
Ever since Morgana told him of the emperors of the far east, and their many wives and concubines, he had instituted his own harem. Twelve boys total, one for each of Christ's disciples. That is what he told the church. He was giving them a ´religious education`.
Soon the boys were brought to him. Washed and oiled, dressed in the thinnest of silk dresses. Behind them came the chambermaids. One carrying a tray with roast chicken, loaf, and a lemon cake. The other held a flagon of wine, and a cup.
The two boys stood in front of him. Trembling slightly. Garth gave a hand signal, and the two began their act.
Beside him, the handmaid with the wine shook, and Garth noticed that she bit her upper lip.
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
"Yes my lord."
The boys had by then removed their clothing from their chests and were embracing each other in passionate kisses.
"Wine" ordered Garth, as he took a big bite out of the chicken. The maid poured him a cup, placing it in his outstretched hand. Garth drank deep.
"You are new?"
"Yes my lord, I arrived yesterday. My family is from Taunton."
"Do you have any brothers?"
"I had six, but three died."
"Any of them pretty?"
"No, my lord."
"Shame."
Garth grabbed some more chicken and stuffed it between two pieces of loaf. He washed it down with another mouthful of wine.
"Lick him," ordered Garth, as one of the boys was kneeling in front of the other.
Then he coughed and cleared his throat. Another minute later he began coughing again. This time it would not stop, and his face began turning red. Panicking, he tried to draw breath, but to no avail. Garth began hitting his chest, and one of the chambermaids ran off looking for a healer. Garth turned to the remaining maid, the one with the wine.
"Help me" he begged.
"Shame."
His eyes widened, as he recognized the smirk on the maid's face.
"Jinx." he croaked out, as he began manipulating the water from the ground, but Jinx was faster, and forced his hands down.
"My brothers were not pretty. They were beautiful and you killed them. Now I kill you, lord traitor."
She shot off a hex. It hit Garth square in the chest.
Jinx knew from experimentation, that a lot of things could happen. Most often, it stopped the hearth. But, sometimes the victim's chest imploded, or in rare cases exploded. In Garth's case, his chest caught fire.
Turning to the two boys, she told them to run off.
Then she turned back to Garth. Who was desperately trying to put out the fire, breathing, and catching her with the water at the same time. Failing miserably at all three, and as more and more of Garth caught fire, and his skin began to melt, he threw himself on the stone floor, trying to soak up the water.
The doors to the hall flew open. The other maid had returned. With her were both the healer and six guards.
Jinx met them head-on. The two first guards thrust their spears at her, but Jinx dropped to the floor, slid past them, and shot them in the back with two hexes, before jumping back to her feet. Then she spun around, elbowing the next soldier in the head before hitting him with a hex too. Pain flared up her leg. A soldier had cut her, but that did not stop her. With her other leg, she jumped and kicked him in the face. Then, an arrow pierced her stomach. More soldiers had begun streaming into the hall. Desperate, Jinx looked around. She saw Garth's skeleton on the ground. Rows of archers about to fire, and a window overlooking the moat.
In an explosion of glass, arrows and blood Jinx broke the window. One arrow had pierced her lower back, and another her foot. But these concerns were secondary, as the water beneath her came closer and closer.
´was it worth it?` Jinx asked herself. She had avenged Más, Menos, Karen, and Roy. Removed a brick from the board, and won a battle singlehandedly. Word would spread, it would put fire in people`s hearts, and bring her comrades new recruits. ´Yes`
Impact.