Chapter Three: Page Four and Four Years Later..

Liana’s life had changed much in for years. She had been taken from her home, been put through hell at the hands of her captors and the ones she would be purchased by again and again on the Underground Markets, but somehow yet she managed to survive. As she got older and got taller and stronger, she learned various trades. Fence building, ditch digging, carpentry, and most of all, defense skills were just a few of the things that she was thankful to have learned in these long four years. It would be the last set that saved her life and gave her a chance to escape. And sitting underneath a dark and decrepit bridge, she recalled it with ease.

     One night not so long ago – approximately a week ago – one of her captors came into her cell drunker than they get and looking for some physical solace. He had been denied his share of loot from a recent raid and decided he would take his share by taking the ‘job’ of one of the slaves for free. Oh and he was an ugly sort – broken teeth, scars everywhere and fatter than an old sow in heat. Liana realized that night that if she was to ever escape and escape alive that she would have to use this situation to her advantage. The only question was how.

     “’Allo be-bea-hic- beautiful. Hows abo-abou-hic-abouts you and me have a little fun and get b-ba-hic-back at the boss, eh?” Liana wrinkled her nose at the combined odor of rum and days without bathing that was coming off the man in waves.

     “I don’t enjoy this job any but at least follow protocol. Where’s the fee?” She held out her hand eagerly with her other hand curled up in a fist at her waist. The man got angry at her demand and slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

     “Who do you think you are, wench?! Your life is dependent upon this job and our kindness to you. This will be for free. The boss owes me!” It was then he towered over her.

     Liana spat at the man. “I have heard no such thing from the superiors as per who gets a free ride.” The last words made her stomach roll in queasy agony. With those words said, the man leapt upon her, grabbing her throat and squeezing tightly.

     “Little ones should watch their mouth. I can end you with one real good squeeze. The boss owes me. He denied me my share of the loot. I’m just taking my severance pay,” He spoke menacingly through his teeth and as he did so, his free hand was roaming down her body. Unfortunately for her, she had long passed through the throws of puberty and adolescences so she had a body of a full grown woman. Tears were forming in her eyes from the pain and lack of air. If she were to escape, now would be the time. With one good jab of her knee into his groin, the man fell to the side of Liana gasping in pain. She took the opportunity to use the vial she had been hiding in her hand the entire time. On a recent trip to the sales, she had come into possession of a small vial of sleeping potion. And for her sake as well as the seller’s, she prayed that it would work. So as the man was on the ground in pain and shock, she leapt on top of him and tried to force the vial down his throat. He managed enough strength to fight her with one hand but with a good stomp of her foot into his groin it disappeared, clutching his manly area in pain. This gave her an opening in which to dispense the vial into the man’s system and wait. It was within a matter of minutes in which the man was asleep soundly on the floor of her cell. She stuck her head out of the door, not seeing anyone around and chose that moment to flee.

     It has been seven days since that night. She was exhausted, her clothing was tattered and she was nearly starved to death. For some odd reason, she had found her way back towards her old house. Even now after four years she could still recall with almost certain clarity the location of the house and every path that could lead there. So it was there she chose to go: back to her home and the village in which this all began. Liana, who was constantly watching over her shoulder, still had the odd feeling that her escape was too simple – too easy. Almost like she had been let get away purposefully. What she didn’t know was that she was indeed right. A black hooded shadow trailed her silently in the night, just far enough away that she couldn’t see him but close enough he could still follow her. This figure was in search of a book which was black, dusty, leather-bound, falling apart, obviously far older than anything anyone in this lifetime had ever seen before and marked with one simple gold symbol on its spine. And he knew she had once had it in her possession. And he knew that she was going to lead him to it. So in the night he trailed her to just outside Brightvale to a small farmhouse long ago abandoned, its owners murdered and their daughter taken away. As fate would have it, their daughter would be coming home and she was bringing a guest with her.

Chapter Two: Page 4

The girl named Liana took the book straight home and after chores she bathed and took the book into her bedroom for the evening. She brushed out of her shoulder length brown hair and braided it. Wiping the water remaining on her face from around her grey eyes, she sat the book on her desk and shortly after sundown sat down in her chair to begin reading on this interesting looking book.

Liana opened the book and noticed it had places and dates on every page until about the middle of the book. Then the pages just randomly go blank. This enthralled the girl beyond belief, especially after realizing that this book was some kind of diary from someone long ago. She wondered if there was some kind of task left uncompleted or perhaps this person knew her ancestors. Liana was more than eager to finish reading on this diary. But as fate would have it, the book would be torn from her hands by the time she had gotten to page four that night.

Upon starting on that fateful page, Liana heard a crash outside her room. Being late at night and locked up in her room, she was startled no doubt but growing up people could she was a curious sort. Even if it was dangerous, the girl would poke her nose into any situation if it meant she could solve some kind of riddle or puzzle or problem. However, that night, the problem would be a group of would-be bandits breaking into her house. The kind of would-be bandits that would stop even a curious and inquisitive child in their tracks. She lightly dropped the old book to the floor and tip-toed to her bedroom door. Ever quietly and easily, she nudged the oak door open a crack and peered around.

     “Find whatever you can! Even poor people have something we can sell!” commanded a smooth voice. Liana peered out the crack in her door to see if she could identify the source. It came from a man, approximately five foot eight in height with black hair and dressed like a wealthy man in a blue coat, black shirt and blue pants. He was surrounded by men much more gruesome looking – wearing animal skins and furs, masks, tattered pants and most were shoeless. However, this man – Liana could this man was something she had never encountered before. For his eyes glowed a green the likes she had never seen in another human’s eyes before. Liana backed up slowly away from the door but wound up tripping over the very book she had received earlier in the day.

     The man’s head snapped around, hearing the girl stumble. “Investigate! There are others besides the adults here!” Liana heard screams at that moment and clasped a small hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. She knew something was happening to her parents for sure but she couldn’t move from her spot as she listened to footsteps get louder as they approached her small room. The door to her nearly secluded little room creaked open and above her stood a tall burly man. He grinned a wicked toothy grin – a grin so wicked that only angels would dare speak of what this man was thinking.

     “Ahh hey boss man! Lookie at what I founds!” At this Liana jumped as the glowing green-eyed man stepped through the door.

     “Hm. Not much older than twelve. She could sell at the camp for a fair price. Take her.” After uttering that command he exited the room swiftly, leaving the burly man to gather Liana up into his arms despite her kicking and screaming. She put up such a fuss that he had no choice but to knock her out by hitting her on the back of the head. After ransacking the small house that night, they left before people would notice something was wrong and come to look. The book that was bequeathed to Liana was left on the wooden to collect dust and age and would go unread for another unknown space of time.

Chapter One: And The First Page Turns..

There were footsteps echoing all over the library today. The crotchety grey-haired librarian continued to glare at all of the kids that happened to stop by on this dreary and rainy day. For her the library was a place of quiet and usually was, that was until the ever constant curtain of rain set in come the autumn months causing all of the local village and city children to seek haven in the building while their parents were out in the fields. Today was worse than normal. The kids were running, pushing the step ladders all around, racing chairs, throwing things around and causing something of a fuss. One particular time on this day the kids actually knocked down a full bookcase, scattering its contents all around. Naturally, as the only authority figure around, she called the kids to help clean up the mess and per the norm no one came to help. Except for one little girl. She couldn’t have been much older than eleven or twelve years old and one could tell by her attire of a simple green shirt, torn brown pants and sandals that she was one of the poorer children of her class. However, she had a light of helpfulness and hopefulness about her.

     The librarian debated for a moment before she spoke. “Come child – help me clean this up if you don’t mind.” The little girl merely nodded her head and proceeded to clean up the catastrophe that the other children had caused. It took some time, but between the two of them they got the mess contained to just about five books still lying around. One of which was black, dusty, leather-bound and falling apart and obviously far older than anything the library had to offer to its patrons. The little girl noticed this book and picked it up looking at it. She walked over to the librarian who had returned to her post after they cleaned up the mess.

     “Ma’m?” The librarian looked at her curiously wondering what the meek child had in her hands.

     “Yes child? I see you have a book in your hands. May I see it?” inquired the librarian as she extended a hand out for the book.

     “Certainly, ma’m,” answered the girl as she handed the book to the librarian. The old woman looked at the book for a moment with a look of confusion. She had been the librarian at this library for the last forty-some-odd years and had never once seen this book.

     “This book isn’t one of ours. I’ve been working here for the better part of my life and have never seen it once in that time. What is your name, girl?”

     The girl gulped, “Liana, ma’m.” The librarian pursed her lips for a brief moment before she spoke back to the girl.

     “Well, Liana. For your invaluable help today, you may take this book as a token of my gratitude. Take it home and treat it well. It may well prove to be useful in your life yet.” The librarian smiled as the girl named Liana lit up like a torch.

     “Really ma’m?!” Liana exclaimed. The librarian merely nodded and watched in utter fascination as the girl jumped up and down. The girl gathered her things and raced home to start tearing into this unique book. As the girl bounded away, the librarian had felt that the poor girl must not get a lot in her life so she gave her the book in hopes that it starts a fantastic story for the girl to pass down to her children and their children and their children’s children for generations to come. After all, every story has to have a beginning scene. And it would take many years for the story that would unfold before Liana’s feet to even come to its true beginning scene..

Preface

 There sits a book – black, dusty, leather-bound and falling apart – on a wooden shelf and it tells of a fate far worse than mere death. It speaks of a poor soul recruited by the Gods for ages– not allowed to truly die, nor allowed to truly live. The knowledge of the being who is part hero and part villain had been lost and the whereabouts of the resting place of this soul long forgotten. No one in the last 100 years has this read book.. that is.. until that gloomy, rainy day..

Welcome one and all!

         Hi all! My name is Jeri Battenfield and let me tell you what this blog is all about. It is about posting my second ever original story (I may add a blog for the first one as well, we shall see!) and asking for comments and questions and suggestions for editing. I hoppee you will you help me in my eventual venture of possible publication. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the writing. 

        With that said.. let’s get this show on the road… Starting at the bottom and going up: The Black Blood Legacies: A Black Stone Revival – Preface….