The Last Vanguard (The Sevordine Chronicles Book 1)

The Castle

Pain explodes in my face, and my head jerks off to the side. Flashes of light and strange colors fill my vision. I feel like the world has begun to spin, and I don't even realize that I'm heading toward the ground until my cheek slams against the hard dirt.

I take a moment and try to regain my senses. I shake my head, but it only hurts, and I quickly stop. Behind me, Rulf is screaming something unintelligible. I don't know if it doesn't make sense because it's Rulf or because I just took a fist to the head.

I push myself up slowly, hoping Rulf will get bored and move on. He sounds angry, though. When he gets mad, there's only one person who can stop him.

Once on my feet, I turn around and face the boy... or man. I'm not sure what he is. He's tall enough that he towers over me, and I'm taller than most. I think he's younger than me, too, but while I'm barely shaving, he has a dark shadow that suggests a decent beard is only about two days away.

"I'm sorry, Rulf. I just made a mistake," I say loudly. I once tried speaking quietly to him, and he punched me to teach me a lesson. "I'm just out to buy some salt."

"Do you have money?" Rulf growls.

I let out a sigh, but I'm careful not to let Rulf see. I reach into my pocket and grab the money I was given. I don't have to worry about Rulf robbing me. Rulf is not a thief. Well, he's a bit of a thief. He steals food from people for him and Mic, but I could drop a hundred golds at his feet, and he would never touch it. Even if he wanted to, Mic wouldn't let him.

I hold out my hand, and Rulf checks the four silvers. He takes his time counting them, but I know it's a show. He pretends to be dumb, but he's anything but that. He's only checking to make sure I'm telling him the truth. He hates it when people lie to him—especially us "castle brats".

He nods, and I take that as permission to put the coins back in my pocket. Taking a small step back, he brings himself to his full height. It's hard to believe how tall he is. He's not built as large as some of the men who work in the mines and certainly nothing like a blacksmith, but he is quite solid. They say he has giant blood in him. If that's the case, he probably still has a lot of growing to do. When he does get bigger, I don't ever want to run into him.

I turn to leave, but Rulf grabs me with one hand, lifts me off my feet, and shouts, "Did I tell you that you could walk away?"

He raises his fist to hit me again. There's nothing I can do. I saw a man try to hold him down once. Rulf picked him up and nearly threw him onto a second-floor balcony. With that kind of inhuman strength, even the soldiers give Rulf his space.

I'd rather not lose any teeth, so I close my eyes, turn my head, and prepare for what's coming. I'm kind of hoping that I'll black out, and Rulf will get bored.

Quick footsteps approach. "Don't hurt much! Don't hurt much!"

I relax. Mic has arrived. I might get out of here without any more bruises. Mic is the only one who can stop Rulf.

Rulf lets go, and I drop down to the ground. When I open my eyes, I see Rulf has turned and is grunting at Mic. Mic is a little shorter than I am, has terribly messy hair all the time and usually has a large bruise on his face. They say that Rulf beats Mic when he can't find anyone else, but I don't believe it. Rulf cares for Mic like he's a younger brother.

Mic steps up next to me and clumsily pulls me to my feet as he mumbles, "Sorry, you. Sorry, you."

His eyes dart all over the place, and his shoulders jerk back and forth in Mic's typical style. A bit of drool hangs from the side of his mouth, and it appears as though part of his lunch is still on his chin.