Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,248

platter of meat she set before them.

SAM is elated to hear the news—Shalee is going to make him a father. They have just returned from dinner with the members of the Senate where they announced her pregnancy.

At dinner, the senators expressed concern. They have no idea when the war will take place and wonder if the full mobilization of the military is necessary. To answer, Sam spoke of the gods’ warning to be prepared. He reminded the senators that the kingdom had three bountiful harvests because of the blessing from Alistar.

This seemed to satisfy the members of his government. It was now just a matter of Peaks before Merchant Island would assign a value to the first shipment of the kingdom’s harvests. Soon, they would be dispersed throughout the worlds, and the kingdom’s vaults would be full of coin. The funds to support the war would no longer be an issue.

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CHAPTER 32

A Babysitting Jaguar

“THIS IS RIDICULOUS!” Yaloom snapped as he walked around the fire in Mieonus’ lifted heels. The dark-blue shoes clashed with the hair on his legs. “I don’t like wagering. I never dreamt I’d be doing something this asinine. Your mind is dreadful, Lasidious.”

“Quit moving your sniveling snout!” Mieonus barked with her arms crossed and eyes gleaming. “I can’t bear the thought of wearing those shoes again after you’ve touched them. You’re disgusting. I have to sit here in your body-odor filled robe, and I’m not whining.”

Yaloom stumbled as one of his heels doubled over, sending the god face first into the flames of George’s campfire.

“It appears we have our own personal jester,” Lasidious beamed, slapping his knee. “Yaloom ... you’re finally useful after all. You would make a great God of Fools.”

“Ha, ha, ha! Very funny! Enjoy your moment at my expense. You’ll lose a wager soon enough, then it’ll be my turn. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”

The wood shifted as the God of Greed pushed himself clear of the fire. The deities watched as George looked in their direction.

“That’s odd,” George said as he waved his hand in the direction of the fire. He was sure something was there, but his attempt to reveal the unseen did not work. “Why would the fire do that? The logs shouldn’t scatter like that,” he muttered. He waved his hand again for good measure and still nothing appeared.

It was just before dawn when the jaguars returned with Senchae’s son. As soon as the Barbarian King saw his boy suspended with his cloth diaper caught on the tip of Kepler’s tooth, he cried out, “I’ll do anything you want! Please, don’t! He isn’t old enough to understand why you’re doing this to him. If you want my crown, you can have it.”

George ignored the plea and plucked the child off of Kepler’s tooth. The morning filled with the terrified boy’s cries. This amplified Senchae’s desire to plead for his son’s life. George grabbed the baby by his right leg. The child’s face showed his horror as the mage dangled the boy upside-down in front of his father.

“Please! Do what you want with me. Just let him live. Please! Please! He hasn’t seen enough seasons. I’ll do as you command.”

Finally, the king had said the words George wanted to hear. His manipulation had come full circle. He now had a marionette whose strings he intended to pull. He lowered the baby back onto Kepler’s tooth to shut it up.

“The moment has come to wager!” Lasidious announced. “I think George will leave the child behind with Keller and take the king into the city.”

Mosley placed his wager next. “I say he does the same, except he’ll leave Kepler behind, since the jaguar has the cloth around his neck to keep the child quiet.”

As soon as Lasidious heard the wolf’s logic, he said, “Damn! I forgot about that.”

Yaloom and Mieonus saw an opportunity to get back into their clothes and jumped at the chance to agree with Mosley. Lasidious rolled his eyes. “You two are sheep.”

George turned his head in the gods’ direction and waved his hand again to reveal the presence he felt, but nothing happened.

“He knows we’re here,” Yaloom whispered. “Do you think he’s powerful enough to reveal our location?”

Lasidious gently swatted the back of Yaloom’s head with the palm of his hand. “Come now, Yaloom. He may feel a presence, but he isn’t powerful enough to reveal us. You use your moments to say the damndest things.”

George turned back to the