Well folks the second book of "The Guild" is now done and ready for posting. The first eight chps are meant to be a prelude for the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did the first one. Be sure to drop me a line and tell me what you think. Thanks.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
The Guild
Book II: The Son
Two years since the events described in Book One of 'The Guild':
"Happy birthday, Joshua."
"Happy birthday, Vard."
The two men looked lovingly at each other, wide grins on their faces. It had been was two years since Joshua had fled Earth. The two years since Gerick's death had been the beginning of Falcon's prelacy... an era of true terror for the people living in the Assembly of Worlds. Vard and Joshua did not care however... they had each other and their friends, living happily on the dark world of Wor, believing they were safe from the grasp of the Guild.
Vard, on top of Joshua, pressed his lips to his lover's mouth, kissing him deeply. They were now 24, and even though they had only lived two years in each other's arms... those two years had been the happiest in both men's lives.
"Good morning, my lords," Clive interrupted the two lovers, holding their clothes in his arms.
"Clive... , how many times do I have to tell you I am not a lord," Joshua laughed.
Clive arched an eyebrow. "You are married to Vard are you not... and is he not King of Wor?"
Wor... after over two decades divided in a war of succession, had reunited under Vard's leadership as old King Leopold's one and true son. Even though the nobles saw the clan's man clansman as rough around the edges... the people were glad to see the end of the senseless bloodshed.
"I am... and happily so," Joshua said as he stared into Vard's black eyes.
"Then I think you can handle the burden of your nobility." Clive chuckled.
Vard returned Joshua's stare... looking into the white eyes of his counterpart. Nothing would make him happier then to make love to his husband then and there, but they had a schedule to keep. "The sooner this day is done, the sooner we may return to bed," he said with a wolfish grin.
Nodding, Joshua slipped out from under his lover and climbed off the large feather bed, taking his clothes from Clive. "Where's my baseball cap?" Joshua asked when he saw it was missing.
"Today is your birthday, my lord Duke... so you will be wearing the crown today," Clive said sternly.
"If you call me `my lord' one more time..." Joshua warned.
"Fine... Joshua..." Clive corrected himself. "That does not change the fact that you can't go before the people -- especially the nobles -- wearing a baseball cap."
"But!" Joshua protested.
"Joshua... you don't see Vard wearing animal furs and taking people's scalps, do you?"
"Not that I wouldn't mind taking a few," Vard grumbled, as he too left the bed.
"Be as that may... you are no longer a youth with the freedom of a child. Certain things are now expected of you as the king's husband," Clive chided.
"Fine," Joshua sighed as he took the mother of pearl encrusted crown from the top of the pile. At least it is not a mask. Joshua hated masks... hated them with a passion, just as he hated the Guild, the organization that had taken away so many of his friends.
As soon as both Vard and Joshua were dressed, Clive gave them a final inspection before opening the doors that led out of the royal chambers to the halls leading to the throne room. The blare of a dozen trumpets sounded while Joshua and Vard walked down the long hall toward the white and black chairs at the head of the room. As they passed the lines of nobles and well wishers, they bowed their heads.
Not all on Wor were celebrating... especially one man in particular. Lord Labatt, Baron of the coal mines of Dralor... father of Thomas, his gentle son. It was Thomas who had rescued the king's consort from the darkness of Labatt's mine a little over three years ago.
"Joshua..." Labatt said, the name a curse. "You took my son from me... the heir to my name, my lands, my legacy."
On his return to Wor, Joshua had come to him... telling Labatt of Thomas' death at the hands of Prelate Gerick... a man two years dead. Without another person to blame for his loss, the Baron had turned his hatred to Joshua..., blaming him for stealing his son's love and life. It was this hatred that had consumed Labatt's life as he sought revenge on a man he still saw only as a lowly slave. Until today, however, he had no way of pursuing it.
The Baron looked at his steel steel-masked guest with suspicion. He never had loved the Guild, but even on a dark world such as Wor, the Guild's power was to be respected if not feared. "I want Joshua to suffer."
"And he will suffer." The steel steel-masked man nodded. "He just may not be `physically' harmed."
Labatt pounded his fist on his heavy oak chair. "Not good enough!"
"It will be..." Tthe Guild's man promised. "We will make him watch as all those he cares about die, one by one, until we take the life of the man he loves most."
"The King?" Labatt asked, doubting. He had heard rumors that King Vard was immortal, having survived several assassination attempts during the turbulent early months of his reign. "How will you kill him?"
"With this," The the mysterious man replied as he placed a gold dagger on the table.
"What is this?" Labatt asked curious.
"It is the Dagger of Change, the only weapon that can kill a man such as Vard."
"Excellent craftsmanship," Labatt said, as he reached to pick up the dagger -- only for the masked man to hide it back under his robe.
"So... are we agreed? You will give us your assistance in making Joshua suffer?"
"I do not know how much I can help, but so long as Joshua suffers, your cause is mine. What little aid I can give you is yours," Labatt nodded.
"Good... and don't show such modesty; it does not fit your noble stature."
"I was only stating the truth. I am only a Baron, with few men at arms, let alone Manta warships."
"But you do have something... something that no other lord on Wor has... you have access to Joshua. Is that not true, Baron?"
"Yes... it is true," Labatt nodded. A month did not go by without Joshua sending him an invitation to the newly restored floating palace. The Baron had refused each and every one. He did not want the young Duke's pity or to lessen the obvious guilt Joshua felt over Thomas' death.
"Good..." The man chuckled. Taking out a small vial, he placed it on the table.
"What is that?"
"Poison," Was was the man's one word reply.
"What kind of poison?"
"A slow, painful, and fatal one. You are to take this with you when you visit the floating palace and pour it into the cisterns."
"The cisterns contain millions of gallons of water... will such a small amount of poison still be potent enough after being diluted so?"
"Yes it will,." Tthe man replied.
"But won't this kill Joshua as well?"
"No... it will only effect affect groundlings. None of Guild blood will be affected."
"Then none of those close to Joshua will be harmed," Labatt said not seeing the point.
"True... it will not kill Joshua's birth kin but that is not the point. We want Joshua to suffer... no?"
"Of course!"
"Then think of how much Joshua will suffer as he watches his servants, guards, and nobles die all around him."
"He would suffer greatly!" Labatt laughed, imagining the look of terror on his former slave's face.
"Then you will do it?"
"Yes," Labatt said eagerly.
Not all was pomp and celebration on the king's birthday... there were also serious matters to discuss. After receiving the warm congratulations of the gathered nobles, Vard and Joshua left their thrones for the conference room to await more important guests.
"The Assemblyman and Guild Mistress Van'sol," Clive announced as John and Clare entered the room.
"Clive..." Vard growled. He saw the need for formality among the nobles, but even he had his limits.
"Sorry, Vard," Clive blushed.
On seeing two of his birth kin, Joshua jumped from his seat and ran toward them. "John! Clare!"
"Joshua,." John said warmly as he hugged Joshua tight to him.
"Hello Joshua," Clare said with a soft smile.
"How is the baby?" Joshua asked eagerly.
"You will be able to see for yourself. We bought him with us this time," Clare replied.
"Really?" Joshua said, as he made to leave the room and go looking for the one year one-year-old boy.
"Joshua... after the meeting," Vard stopped him.
"Very well," Joshua sighed as he slumped back to his seat.
Once everyone was seated, Vard began the meeting. "How are things in the Assembly of Worlds?" Hhe asked John.
"Every day Falcon squeezes the iron fist of his rule that much tighter." John sighed. "Guild taxes on trade across the Void are so high that soon many merchant families will go bankrupt. Everywhere you look, there are the white masks of the Inquisitors... even in my very own home. A third of the worlds are in revolt, and a dozen have gone dark."
"But Falcon has not moved against you yet?" Joshua asked concerned.
"No... he hasn't," John said feeling mystified.
"Falcon knows you are my friend... maybe he will keep leaving you alone," Joshua said with an optimism he did not feel.
"Joshua..." Vard sighed. No matter what proof Vard had given to his lover, Joshua still had hope that his father could be saved from the madness that had taken him. "Whatever reprieve John has been given will not last forever."
"What he says is true," Clare agreed. "We should begin the exodus as soon as possible."
"Exodus,." Joshua whispered. It had been in the planning for months now... the evacuation from Wor, Aquarius, and a half dozen other Assembly Worlds to a world so far from the reach of the Guild as to be free from Falcon's grasp. There was only one problem... in a time where traveling the Void made any distance almost irrelevant, they had yet to find a world where the Prelate could not reach them.
"Has Austin had any luck in finding a suitable world?" John asked Vard.
"He has not reported in over a week," Vard said, worried. Austin was his oath brother and, after Joshua, the man most dear to him.
"Well, I am sure he will show up eventually," Clare said reassuringly.
"What about the Brotherhood?" Joshua changed the subject.
"As you know... they killed half of their own numbers after Gerick died and Falcon assumed the Guild Throne. Since then they have been slowly rebuilding their numbers... mostly through kidnappings," John answered.
"And you allow that?" Vard said critically.
"I don't have much choice... Falcon's iron iron-masked goons and Inquisitors give them protection," John sighed.
"Have you thought about infiltrating their organization?" Vard asked.
"Who among your birth kin are you willing to sacrifice?" Clare said, coolly.
"None," Joshua said before Vard could respond.
Vard gave Joshua a quick glare... it annoyed him that Joshua saw him as being more willing to risk the lives of their friends, even though there was some truth to that belief. In this case, however, he had to agree with Joshua. The risk was too high while the benefits were unknown. "None," Vard nodded after a moment of silence.
The meeting went on like that... lots of plans and ideas discussed with little hope of implementing them. The problem soon became clear to Vard and Joshua: John and Clare were just too scared of Falcon's wrath to dare making a move against him.
The second chp is already posted on the yahoo group. Enjoy.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/