God Mage Read Online Free Page B

decision,” master Yamato said, his eyes moving
to the door.
    Bren took the hint and left the room. His
mind was racing as he left the building. He hadn’t intended to ask
the masters for anything when he went in, but with the realization
that they could help him, he couldn’t help himself.
    Outside, Bren found the others waiting on
him, and oddly enough, Hayao looked the most relieved when he came
out. Bren hadn’t thought about the pressure that the man had been
under. Looking around, Bren noticed that everyone looked relieved.
He hadn’t thought about the fact that they were all living under
the threat of death for the past few days. Not for the first time,
Bren hated the new way he viewed life. It was almost as if he was
nothing but a spectator anymore.
    “Master Torin,” Hayao said, bowing to
Bren.
    “When did I become master…I thought it was
just Lord Torin?” Bren asked.
    “I no longer have a house to call my own,”
Hayao said, his face showing his emotions for the first time since
Bren had met him. “There is no greater shame for one of my lineage.
Yet you have still offered to take me in, and for that, I am very
grateful. I swear that for as long as my line exists, we shall
guard you and yours.”
    “That is very…generous,” Bren said
hesitantly. “But I do not think my offer garners such a
commitment.”
    Hayao didn’t respond but simply bowed again.
Out of everyone that Bren had met, Hayao was the hardest to figure
out. Bren believed it had to deal with the training that he had
endured since he was young. Arashi had said the man had no honor,
but Bren didn’t believe that was true. He was just a man who had to
do things that others might find hard to swallow in order to hold
to his own meaning of honor.
    Once they arrived back at Hayao’s family
home, they were greeted much more warmly than they had been on the
previous day. Not only were the welcomed with a large feast, their
rooms were changed to a newer section of the house that was much
more comfortable. It was not as if they were treated badly, but the
atmosphere had been cold and distant, now it felt as if they had
actually been welcomed.
    That night, Bren and the others were asked to
dine with the rest of the family. The setting for dinner was a bit
different than Bren was used to. There were no chairs, just thick
cushions for the guests to sit on, nor was there a table. Each
person got their own mini table that was brought by a young woman.
Another thing Bren noticed was that none of the women in the family
ate with them. In fact, the way the other men looked at the women
with him, made it easy to tell that they didn’t think much of them,
especially Brenda, who among all of them was the most
outspoken.
    “More,” Brenda yelled holding up the small
glass that was used for the rice wine, which they often drank with
meals. “Don’t you have a bigger glass,” she said, picking up a
small glass decanter that held the wine and took a large drink.
Bren had thought her actions would make things harder, but oddly,
the elder man who sat at the head of the group laughed.
    “Bring the lady as much as she wishes to
drink,” the man said still laughing. “It is not often that I see a
woman who can drink so much.”
    As the night progressed, Brenda drank more
and more, and many of the others began to join in the merriment. In
the end, Bren and the other guards were forced to carry many of
their friends back to their room. Bren, who seemed to draw the
unlucky lot, was forced to take care of Brenda, who was not only
drunk but had wandering hands.
    “You were such a cute baby,” Brenda said as
she leaned heavily against Bren’s shoulder. “Mother always talked
about you when she came back from a visit. She used to tell me that
she was going to arrange a marriage between me and you.”
    “That’s cheating,” Faye said, grabbing
Brenda’s other arm and helping Bren carry her weight, though he
wasn’t having trouble with her. “I have