They spent the night in the vilge closest to Red Oak, with the vilgers eyeing up the rge caravan. Sonarot dealt with the Chief as the Family Head of the Rot family, while Nirot watched over her younger brother. She lifted the boy up, who giggled and squealed as his sister pyed with him.

  “Gurot…”

  “Kaka?”

  Nirot uood Adam was a fool, but while within the vilge, her hair standing on end, the boy’s eyes having never seen the nd around, a he was glued to the familiar sight of his sister.

  She uood the genius of Adam and his ge.

  Adam made sure his children were prepared for bed, having summoned his towers within the vilge, with the half elf staying with his children that night. The entire night his body remaie was the first time he had slept with his family outside of the Iyr.

  ‘No. Hold on…’ Adam thought back to when he found his twins, who were teically his first children. They had slept so soundly through the night. Then, too, he was surrounded by the Iyrmen and his friends. ‘What am I w about? It’s not like the old man will allow ao mess with them.’

  The noonval su heavily down upon the minor fort, the soldiers shouting out ands as they he appearance of the carriages, each waving a white fg with a bck skull, that which denoted Baktu. They hadn’t seen such a rge caravan of Iyrmen before, especially when they were led by the Golden Savages.

  ‘What trouble do y?’ The ahought, motioning with a hand for the soldiers to prepare themselves. He saw the old Iyrmen driving the carriages, but as they approached, the ander could feel it. In all his years, he hadn’t felt such a chill grip of impending doom clutched around his throat.

  ‘What is this?’ aheodore Barrenhill thought, his eyes glued to the older Iyrmen. He vaguely reised them as figures who had retly returo the Iyr. ‘Silver Bde, was it? Silver Strike?’ He was certain those two were particurly powerful, so what were they doing here? ‘Have they e to attack us?’

  “Halt!” the ander shouted. “What business do you have within the fort.”

  “Lunch,” the one who the ahought was named Silver Strike replied. “We wish to eat within the fort, and we tio Red Oak for an outing.”

  ‘Ah, an outing,’ the ahought, suddenly feeling the chilly grip begin to warm. “Wele, Iyrmen.”

  “I do not want to!” Jirot decred, daring to defy her father.

  “What do you mean you don’t want to?”

  “I go myself!”

  “Jirot, if you keep misbehaving, we will turn these carriages around and we will go back to the Iyr. No Red Oak for you.”

  Jirot gasped at the threat. She looked trandmother for support, rushing up beside her, clutg her trousers. “Nana! You tell daddy!”

  “Jirot, we are no longer in the Iyr. You must listen.” Sonarot lifted her up and kissed the girl’s neuzzling against her cheek. “If you behave, your father will do something special for you.”

  “Speshul?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay…” The girl gnced around the fort.

  “You’ve returned,” the ander called out to the young man in purple. “It was not long ago that you passed.”

  “My daughter bullied me intio Red Oak.”

  “Your… daughter?” The ander gowards the girl, who was currently being teo by a horcish Iyrman with a long beard. “Right…” His eye theo the demons. “Will they cause trouble?”

  “With the Mad Dog around? Definitely not.”

  Theodore’s heart dropped. “What?”

  “What?”

  “The Mad Dog is here?”

  “Yeah,” Adam said, pointing to the old man.

  aheodore’s eyes darted to the side, gng beside the bearded Iyrman, to the one armed, one legged Iyrman, who was cuddling the little horc boy within his arm. ‘He is the Mad Dog?’ Of all the older Iyrmen, he seemed the most docile. There was another word he would dare to use, not to the Mad Dog within his mind, but the Mad Dog in front of him?

  Pathetic.

  Knced around the fort’s walls. ‘Small.’ She tio look about the fort, before her attention was taken away by Shasen, who held her hand and led her to one side with the rest of the children. The soldiers all he way the children were looking at them. Some of them waved their hands and heir heads, while other all but ighe children.

  The ander could feel the stress within his heart, and he begged the world and the Divio allow the day to pass by ufully. He jolted slightly as the older devilkin Iyrman brought a small box to him.

  “Yes?”

  “The tax.”

  “Ah, right.” The ander opened up the box, noting the silver s within. “Thank you.”

  Gangak smiled, before motioning to his medal. “You were at the Tariff Skirmishes?”

  “I was,” the ander replied, raising his brows in surprise. “I art of and for the Third pany.”

  “I fought alongside the Seventh, in the north.”

  “My aunt ahe Seventh pany. Lady Thea Barrenhill.”

  “The Dark?”

  The ander nodded his head, slowing narrowing his eyes. “She did mention a devilkin Iyrman. Was your epithet… Fme Sword?”

  “Fme Brand,” Gangak firmed, deg against correg him.

  The ander raised his brows in surprise. “My aunt spoke highly of you. She mentioned your courtesy, your strength, your fieress. She said if you were within the pany, they could have takeire north. I wished to meet you once I heard about you, but you disappeared.”

  Gangak smiled at the ander’s words. ‘Courtesy?’ Gangak had been quite demure when dealing with Aldishmen, due to how the Aldishmeed her aors. She supposed she obeyed orders well. “I was forced away from Aswadasad, aired within the Iyr.”

  “It’s a shame to hear that. My aunt always said that with your strength, the army could have takeire north of Aswadasad.”

  The pair spoke for a long while, with Adam watg over Kirot, since Gangak had wished to speak with the ander. Adam fed his daughter from his fingers, refusing to allow anyone else to steal her away from him. The girl shyly reached up to her mouth to push the vegetable further in, before leaning against her father’s chest. Bloodbde and Silver Sword each remained with the rest of the triplets, assisting them with their meal, wiping their faces every so often.

  The ander was surprised to see the Iyrmen go so quickly. He had expected far more trouble, a all he had received with polite versation reminisg of the old days and the appropriate respect, and more important, taxes, paid.

  The walls of Red Oak greeted the rge caravan. The guards, tense, but not as tense as if the fg’s colours had been ied.

  “Wow! Is a wall, daddy!” Jirot said, pointing at the wall, while Rajihe girl.

  “Yeah, that’s the wall of Red Oak.”

  ‘Small,’ Konarot thought from her own window.

  “Keep your head in the carriage, you smelly girl,” Adam said, tig the girl’s ears, causio squeal areat to Rajin.

  It was Sonarot who held up the silver pque which had been gifted to the business from the Duchess of East Aldnd. She smiled politely as she paid the gate fee, before inf the guards of a matter. Ohe gate fee aid, the carriages rode through the town, making their way towards a particur inn the Iyrmen had already sent word to.

  The inn was rge, the walls made of sturdy stone, with the buildings within each made of wood, ated with the titur red oak. The inn was essentially a rge estate, and sidering all flora, Adam wondered how much this pce cost the Iyr per night. The guards of the inn, each carrying at their sides short bdes, remained vigint as the carriages rode through, entering through the rge gates, which were quickly shut closed, only allowing the folk around a momentary ghin its beautiful walls.

  The carriages parked to one side, with the Iyrmen stepping out, with a pair of individuals stepping towards the half elf.

  “This pce is a little much for us,” Rick said, with Ted nodding his head. “We’ll head out before we get into trouble.” Rick was gd the others within the inn hadn’t spotted them yet.

  “Alright, sure,” Adam said, handing over a pouch to the pair of them. “This should be enough to cover you all while we stay here. Ted, Nobby, please escort Rick first, then head back to your own pce.”

  “We’ll do just that,” Ted assured, before the trio stepped out.

  ‘Should I send Fred out?’ Adam’s thoughts were broken, not by his adorable children squealing with delight, as one might have expected, but because of the intense blood lust filling the air.

  “We informed you of the date we would arrive,” Sonarot said.

  “ologise, but the Lady insisted on remaining.”

  Sonarot’s eyes fell to the noblewoman, surrounded by a group of guards, led by a single knight. She was off to one side, her disparaging eyes gring towards the savages who had arrived. “Jurot, Kitool, we should speak with the tess.”

  Laygak and Faool both owards their cousins, taking their pce as the children’s guardians, though it wasirely needed, not with Adam there already tig his squealing sister, who was about to devour as much bread as she could.

  “There’s not going to be a fight, so don’t get too excited,” the half elf said, blowing a raspberry within her neck.

  “No!” Lanarot replied.

  “Don’t you start.”

  “Uwajin,” Rajin called, causing the girl to snap up from her nap. “No, go back to sleep.” Uwajin instantly fell back asleep. “Naqokan, watch over Jirot.”

  Naqokan scooped the girl within her arms, nuzzling her neck with her nose. “Jirot, will you cause trouble?”

  “I will not!” Jirot threatened with a finger. “Stop it!”

  Naqokan ughed, tossing the girl up before she could tinue her angry tirade.

  Rajin motioned a hand to the ten young Iyrmen who were extra hands to assist, aood with them, f a liween themselves and the nobles. ‘Already, they are beginning to cause us trouble.’

  Sonarot arrived at the tess’ estate, her eyes sing across the rge walls. The guards remained cautious as the trio of Iyrmen approached. “Inform the tess the President of the United Kindom has brought her order.” The woman held up the silver pque.

  It wasn’t long before the woman found herself opposite the tess, whose eyes gleamed upon seeing the three magical bdes. She reached out to rub a finger along the bde, feeling the tingling of magic. She nodded her head to the servant, whht forward the chest of s and gems, to pay for the rest of the outstanding sum. The tess knew better than to test the items an Iyrman had brought, sihey were always so ho with their dealings.

  “We of the Iyr have booked an inn. A Lady refuses to leave.” Sonarot’s eyes remained focused upon the tess’ eyes.

  The tess’s lips fell slightly. “That is between the inn and the Lady.”

  “If the Lady does not move, we will be forced to act,” Sonarot stated.

  ‘Why is she…’ It was then the tess realised. “Are children of the Iyr within the inn?”

  “Yes.”

  ‘Of course.’ “I will write a letter.”

  “You should inform the Lady of the sequences should she refuse.”

  “I ake demands of a noble.”

  “We .”

  ‘Just which family dares to trouble the Iyrmen?’ The tess wrote up her letter. “Threatening a noble is an offender our ws.”

  “If the noblewoman remains, we will sider it a plot against our children,” Sonarot stated firmly. “Should Elder Peace hear we had tried diplomacy, she will uand.”

  “I hope you will not harm the Lady. It would put me in a predit.”

  “The Iyr will guarahe Lady will not be harmed, but we make no such promise for her escorts.”

  ‘This damned woman!’

  It wasn’t long until the Lady read the note. She couldn’t refuse opening the letter, not when it was from the tess, and it had been given to her by the Iyrman who had referred to herself as a Family Head.

  “Apparently these Iyrme so ordinary,” the Lady, with pale skin and red hair, said. “Have any of you heard of this Bloodbde?”

  “I k,” a guard said, sitting up taller. “The man with the red sword at his side, he’s Bloodbde. They say he’s as strong as Bckbde.”

  “Bckbde? Really?” the Lady asked, uo tain her shock. ‘Why is someone like that here?’ “I want him.”

  I love the smell of blood in the m.