The Book of Knowledge I

Those souls without a name given by the Goddess, shall find themselves unable to reach her in death.

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  Life at Inish Kaen’s Palace wasn’t all Christopher Barell had been promised as a youth.

  There were no servants waiting on his every hand and foot, happy to fulfill his very whim. Yes, there were servants aplenty, but he trusted none of them.

  There were no tropical fruits filling his plate year round. Something he had quite looked forward to as a youth growing up in the Heather Highlands Estate his father owned. And worse, what tropical fruits there were, he found distinctly lacking in refinement. Far too messy.

  There were no women of an acceptable pedigree bounding around, eager for his hand in marriage. A slight problem insofar as producing an heir, but one that did not bother him too much in his day to day goings on.

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  No, the thing he found most disagreeably lacking in his palace life was quiet. It was. Always. Loud. Whether it be one of the three princes or one of the two princesses, someone was always entertaining far too many guests. And when you added in the revelry of the other lords and ladies, it made far too little space for his own ponderings.

  It was one of the reasons he’d been so drawn to Kal after the boy’s previous master’s gruesome demise. The man knew when to be quiet. In fact, he hardly spoke in Barell’s presence unless strictly necessary. It was a blessing from one of the goddesses, no doubt. Perhaps the Goddess of Battle and Blade, given the poor boy’s occupation.

  Which was why it gave Christopher Barell very little pleasure in sending Kal on this particular escapade, which was, in all likelihood, going to get the boy killed. A doubly terrible event for the man, considering he would likely be damned as well. It really was a pity the boy didn’t have a goddess-given name. Eternally paying for one’s sins was bound to be uncomfortable. A shiver ran down Barell’s spine, thankful the Goddess would call his name, despite his numerous sins.

  Barell opened the door to his chambers to find Kal exactly where he’d expected to see the boy, leaning against the hearth cleaning his nails with one of his gruesome blades. An unfortunate habit Barell could not train him out of, despite several attempts. It likely wouldn’t matter after tonight anyway.

  But when Barell sat down in his ornate armchair without so much as a sigh, or a click of the tongue at the nail cleaning, Kal narrowed his eyes and squared his shoulders. Ever observant, that one.

  “You called for me, lord?”

  Yes, the time for reminiscing and lamenting a good servant was over, now it was time for business.

  “I did."