Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) by Jonathan Michael (best ebook for manga txt) 📕

part of my manhood. A man tends to get lonely. Hence, every scenario involves a naked woman.” Goose stares at me as if I’m a simpleton.

“Should we wake them? What do you think?”

“Yes, we should wake them!” he comments and struts into the room without hesitation. “The sun is up and so should they be.”

He has a good point. We can’t linger too long. We need to be on our way if Astor’s suspension is complete. To avoid any ear-popping screeches or backhands—because I know that would be Jay’s initial reaction—I walk with a heavy step to stir them.

I tap on the shoulder of whoever is nearest me. I can’t see any faces because they’re under the covers. No movement. I tap harder and still no movement. I shake her more aggressively and notice a limpness to her body.

My heart skips another beat and for good reason this time. I pull back the linens to see a woman who I’ve never seen before. She is a woman with short, black hair and dark skin, or at least it used to be. Her flesh is pale. I tear the covers from her body and reveal the person next to her. Jay isn’t here, nor is Astor. It’s the young disciple, Astor’s apprentice, lying motionless and pale. And the girl, now I recognize her, she was Astor’s other friend. I feel ashamed for having already forgotten their names.

Both have a small amount of dried blood on their necks. And it’s dribbled to the linens as well. The puncture wound is no bigger than a needle point. Whoever killed them gave them a clean death, but was it a painless one?

I look to Goose for an explanation. He remains silent and wide-eyed, not the same wide-eyed as when he thought Jay and Astor were sharing a bed, but absent. I’ve never witnessed this look on him before. He silently stares at the lifeless bodies where Jaymes and Astor should be.

“This is the Taoiseach’s doing, right? It can’t just be a coincidence.” I think out loud. “The Woman-in-Red who visited us, she was only interested in Jay. I tried prodding during our travels, but she wouldn’t divulge any information about herself, not even her name. She did this. She must’ve followed me here last night. Dammit! So naïve! By the end of our travels I thought maybe…” I run my hands through my hair and grab hold of it with vigor. “…I thought maybe she was a good-hearted person who was merely fulfilling her duties. But I knew the truth of it. I just didn’t want to believe it. I fucked up, Goose. I fucked up, and now Jay’s in further danger. Or…” I can’t finish the sentence. I don’t want to think what else could have happened to her.

“Calm down, Stone. It’s not Jay lying here. We’ll find her.

He quickly rebounds from his shock and now appears to be cold to the lifeless bodies in front of us. “You were bamboozled by your cock. It happens, Stone. I bet she told you her intentions up front and you still led her straight to Jay.”

“You’re a rather large asshole at times.” I glare at him. “Let’s get out of here.”

“And go where?”

“I don’t know. We can’t linger here. Two drifters in a small town hovering over two dead bodies. It’ll only lead us to the noose.” I’m lost. I don’t know what to do. An assailant causing us to flee our home, trusting strangers with our lives when we’ve been in hiding for four seasons, and now, unknown dead bodies in the place of my sister and her caretaker. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go. What happens next? Is Jaymes lost to us? No. I can’t accept that. I won’t accept that. I will find her. But where? And why would the Taoiseach collect Jay and not Goose and I? What’s so important about Jay? And why would he commit murder to collect an accused murderer, which he knows the truth of? There’s only one thing I’m sure of.

“The Crimson Capital,” I say to Goose, unbelieving of the decision I’ve just made.

“Yeah, right,” he mocks.

I stare at him intently.

“You’re serious? The capital? First, we don’t have any way of getting there. We can’t walk. Helios would fall dead, and autumn would be upon us before we arrived. Second, and more importantly, we’d lose our heads the moment we crossed the gates. We can’t go to the Crimson Capital.”

“You might lose your head, but I was only a boy the last time I set foot there. Nobody would recognize me. The Woman-in-Red didn’t. I could go. Jaymes is alive. Otherwise, she’d be lying in this bed. Right? There’s no other choice.”

Goose grabs me by the shoulders. “That woman did recognize you! Why else do you think she followed you here? Because she wanted your little nut sack?”

I shuffle out of his grasp, and he sits down on the bed next to the deceased girl. I cringe inside.

“Regardless, I do believe that’s your next stop. We can’t write Jaymes off so easily.”

“Nobody’s writing her off!” I snap back.

He rises and firmly places a hand on my shoulder again, but in a comforting way. “Of course not. So, where do we find you a ride? Nobody would think it a fair barter to trade for Helios. He’s aged and unworthy of riding.”

It infuriates me that thought even crosses his mind. He never has grasped the concept that a beastly companion can be as close to the heart as a human companion. I don’t know if it’s his upbringing or pure arrogance. Maybe both.

“Helios is out of the question!”

“Exactly what I just said,” he attests.

“Helios is loyal. He stays with us. What about that Advocate you spoke with? I’ve never heard of an Advocate being