Interlude 1
Amaranth set her pen down. “Now that I am done writing whatever that was. There is no way in all the nine hells that you actually had that conversation.” She accused the man with pitch black hair and silver eyes smirking at her from a sofa chair a few feet away.
“On my name, that happened.” He assured her but his smirk never left.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Father, I still do not believe you.”
Isaac chuckled and leaned back with a smile on his face. “Believe it or not, as long as it is written, I am happy.”
Amaranth shook her head. “Fine.” She sighed. “Now, father, I need sleep. You have kept me awake for…” Her voice trailed off in thought as she tried to count the number of breakfasts that had been brought in for them. “Almost two weeks straight, without sleep, I believe the chair officially merged with me a few days ago.” Isaac went to reply but she raised her hand to stop him. “Bathroom brakes, showers, and eating aside. I have not had a break and my brain is mush.”
“Sorry daughter, sometimes I forget mortals need proper rest.” He stood and walked over to her. He bent down and kissed her on the top of the head while resting a hand on her shoulder. “My magic is more than enough for your mother and I but yes, you do need to rest.”
Amaranth looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and her face fell. With a long sigh she continued. “I have also neglected my official duties for far too long. Can I call for you when I am ready to continue?”
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Isaac smiled and nodded. “Of course Ama. Now, what to do?” He asked himself while stepping through his shadow.
Amaranth sighed and stretched. “Love you old man.” She whispered knowing that he could still hear her, they were in his divine domain and he had a direct connection to her shadow after all.
—
Amaranth had no way of knowing at the time but Isaac had stopped three kidnapings, an attempt at sexual assault, attempted murder of a child below the age of thirteen, and aided in the murder of two adults for one reason or another. The murders that Isaac helped with all always had a bit in common. Someone would pray to the Lord of Darkness and ask for him to kill someone who had wronged them in some way to a degree that they would ask a demigod for help personally.
Isaac, of course, got the prayer and then decided, basically on a whim, if the targets were worth keeping alive. If they weren’t, he would have his shadows track down the person in question. Bind and gag them, pull them through shadows into the person who prayed to him’s bedroom and wait. When the faithful, vengeful, one would return, what they would see were two silhouettes standing on either side of a person bound and gagged, on their knees, with a cheap sword or dagger stabbed into the ground in front of them.
Isaac then left the final decision up to the one who had been wronged. If they couldn’t take the life themselves then Isaac’s shadows would return the person back to where they had found them, taking a few gold on their way out. If the wrongdoer was killed then one of the shadows would flip a coin made of shadows a few times, making it known that the work of a god never came for free. Tithe was a thing after all.
—
“Finally decide to let sis sleep?” A young man with skin even paler than Amaranth’s, pitch black eyes, and black hair asked.
Isaac smiled at his eldest son. “Yes. Wanna spar?” He asked and then added cheekily: “Captain.”
The younger man rolled his eyes. “Alright you lot!” He yelled to all the guardsmen who had been training in their training yard. “Hopefully some of you dimwits can learn something from this. The rest of you had better learn something. There will be questions.” With a step he appeared twenty feet away into the dirt yard.
Isaac appeared twenty feet further in, already facing his son. “Rules?”
The guard captain chuckled. “Since when do you care about rules dad?”
Isaac smiled. “I don’t usually like bullying my kids but if you insist.”