The Four Miraculous Deeds of Isabella Brock (Tales of Iron and Smoke, #2) / Tales of Iron and Smoke (ePub)

It was said of Angus Grand that, on the night Eddie was born, his father took him into his arms and stared at him for hours while Eddie's mother lay dying on the table. Angus' personal physician tried to explain to him, the boy's mother was passing, but now she meant nothing to him. Angus had what he'd always wanted, an heir. One of the ugliest, most ruthless creatures to have ever walked the tunnels of Karl's Labyrinth had produced the most beautiful child in all the land, and the people marveled at Eddie.

Eddie was the sweetest little boy anyone in the labyrinth had ever seen. His thick black hair and captivating innocence imprisoned even the hardest of hearts, including his father's. Angus loved to bounce the wee lad gently on his giant knee, if only to hear the sound of Eddie giggling with joy. Eddie never needed to fear for his safety, because Angus Grand was a monster of a man; the half breed child of a tunnel troll. Standing a solid nine feet tall, Angus once killed four men with one punch. His renown was solidified in the labyrinth's Arena of Heroes long before Eddie was born. He held the title of "Standing Hero" longer than any other, until he was finally dethroned by Mogdal the Magnificent, a full breed tunnel troll. After his retirement from the Arena of Heroes, Angus increased his great wealth through theft, gambling, thuggery and murder. Once Angus had amassed a "grand fortune," as he oft called it, he used his great wealth to build a city for himself and his beloved son.

Angus was so entranced by his own pride for Eddie that he gave Eddie everything his heart desired, and Eddie's heart desired the brutal games in the Arena of Heroes. Angus loved to take little Eddie to the games, if only to watch him laugh when blood splattered on his face. During one of their trips to the arena, a giant bull was brought out to be killed for sport. But Eddie admired the bull so much he begged his father to have it spared so he could raise it for a pet. What Eddie wanted, Eddie got. So Angus built a large corral for Eddie's pet bull, Brom, who was twenty-two feet, snout to rump, and the arch of his back reached its peak at twelve and a half feet high.

Angus dressed Eddie in the finest of custom suits from the age of five to twenty five, and he hired servants to wipe Eddie's patent leather shoes if even the smallest bit of dirt dulled their shine. Angus beamed with pride as they walked Brom through the streets of Karl's Labyrinth, and he soaked himself in the adulation of anyone who gawked at them. In his father's eyes, Eddie could do no wrong. Eddie wasn't merely loved by his father, Eddie was worshiped.