Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) by Laura R Cole Page B

his nose in distaste. But if that is the case, Devon is seriously unfortunate. Jezebel
is simply incapable of love, she probably doesn't even know the
meaning of the word. He thought back on his observation of the
two . Not that working for her doesn't have other added benefits
for the man. He is growing quite wealthy off Jezebel's unwavering
trust in him .
    “Come,” Master's voice interrupted his
thoughts.
    Jonathan moved forward towards the altar. He
bent down in reverence and whispered the blessings, waiting on
bended knee for his Master to address him.
    “Jonathan,” the man finally acknowledged,
“how was your evening?”
    Jonathan was careful not to look directly at
Master, whose face was always covered by a black mask underneath
his cloak, and answered as cryptically as he had been asked. “She
took her wine as usual and should be quite ready for her interview
with you.”
    The masked figure stood. “Good. You've done
well, Jonathan. Depending on what she tells me I may have another
assignment for you shortly. Please be in touch.”
    Jonathan bowed, and then backed away from the
altar. He was always in touch, as Master well knew. His current
task finished, he made his way back out of the building with as
much stealth as he had entered with and then quickly made his way
back to his own humble abode, where the fruit of his labor was
waiting to be reaped.

CHAPTER 5
     
    Layna collapsed onto her bed well past
midnight, having finally completed all of her chores. She ached in
places she hadn't even known she had muscles. Sleepily she debated
whether or not she had the strength to give her sore body a good
soak in a bath or if she'd just fall asleep and drown. Her muscles
screamed in agony, and she knew she would be denied sleep anyway,
so she resigned herself to an even later night. So she pulled a
towel out, and made her way slowly to the baths.
    Once there, she almost fell asleep standing
up while listening to the water pour into the tub and watching the
heat of the steam rising out of it. When it was full, she slipped
out of her tunic and dropped it on the floor. It made a metallic
thunk, and she reached down to pick up the necklace that had fallen
out of the pocket. She rolled the charm around in her fingers and
stepped into the bath, delighting in the warm water soothing her
skin. It was a half sphere of amber surrounded by rays of metal
making it look like a sun. It was quite pretty really.
    As she twirled it around, she wondered about
the circumstances surrounding Gryffon's presence. The common belief
was that he was here as Jezebel's consort, but neither of them
seemed to act in a way that would lead anyone to believe that they
actually liked one another, and Gryffon had denied it, though he
gave no alternative explanation for his presence. Very odd, very
odd indeed . It will probably just be one of those mysteries
that I'll never be privy to knowing . She heard and saw quite a
bit as a maid, but very rarely were the interesting snippets of
information ever fully explained to her. More often it was just
tantalizing tidbits that drove her crazy. It was a game among the
servants to try and guess the real happenings in the household, but
it was a frustrating game to play without ever knowing if you were
right. Often their fun took on a sinister edge when some of the
older servants got going about the ‘evil lady’ who, they were
convinced, was a demon spawn. There were definitely some pretty
disturbing stories that circulated the manor.
    Layna put the chain she had been playing with
over her head. Maybe I'll just try it on. It's not like anyone
knows who it's from... She noticed it was warm against her chest
as it settled around her neck and she soon forgot it was even there
in the comfort of the bath. As she soaked, her muscles slowly
relaxed, and soon she had to drag herself out before she really did
fall asleep.
    She barely made it back to her room before
exhaustion overtook her.
    The next morning she woke