by R A Oakes
Chen felt the deathblow coming towards her. The warrior woman didn’t see it for she was watching her uncle, but she sensed it. What she did notice was how Lord Daegal’s face remained a mask giving her no warning of the assault being made upon her. It was a stupid move on her uncle’s part because it forced Chen to finally accept how little her life meant to him. And with that realization, the warrior woman turned rogue. Lord Daegal lost what little control he had over her.
As if reading her mind, Lord Daegal wore a smile of satisfaction being totally unconcerned that the last threads of his relationship with his niece were coming undone. In fact, unbeknownst to Chen, the warlord had taken her to the brink of death to insure her feelings of uncontrollable rage were permanently etched into her.
All of the intuitive awareness and emotional upheaval both niece and uncle were experiencing took place simultaneously and instantly. Still one other idea flashed though Chen’s mind. There had been a glimmer of joy in Lord Daegal’s eyes as the young lion’s sword hurtled through the air towards her. But why? Chen asked herself. Then with a shock, the warrior woman realized that her uncle was jealous.
However, forcing herself to focus on the present danger, Chen felt the steel of the young lion’s blade arcing towards her unprotected back. Quickly twisting her shoulders sideways, and in doing so throwing herself completely off balance, the sword passed by harmlessly, yet was so close she felt its “breath” upon her neck.
Stumbling and unable to regain her footing, Chen fell to the floor as the sword struck the stones next to her causing a flood of sparks. Instantly, the young lion slashed at her once more, and then again and again, as Chen rolled back and forth desperately trying to avoid death.
Suddenly, the warrior woman saw her opportunity. The young lion’s good leg was within reach, and her knife came out of its sheath cutting the tendons in the back of his knee. Down the young lion went with a howl of rage, but he wasn’t finished.
Putting one of his wrecked knees over her stomach pinning her onto her back, the young lion lifted his sword to deliver the deathblow. However, a knife maneuvers quicker than a sword and Chen’s found its mark in the older brother’s throat. Yet Lion Robe’s son was so full of adrenaline, nothing short of killing him would stop his momentum. So, obliging him, she twisted the knife and ground it in deeper.
Shoving his leg off of her, Chen leapt to her feet shouting, “Okay, who’s next?”
As women from all walks of life and from countless generations will tell you, men often have no common sense, for one nobleman actually raised his hand in a defiant tribute to the fallen lions. Motioning him to come forward, Chen slew him with one blow when he got within range. The noble hadn’t even attempted to defend himself knowing his life was forfeit as soon as he challenged this leather-bound, predatory beast. But he’d returned the insult she’d given the two brothers. The nobleman was indifferent to what she did to him. He was uncaring and unafraid.
His action made her look less powerful. It made her appear less dangerous. It made her mad.
Swinging her sword through the air as a further challenge, she glared at the other nobles and screamed, “Anyone else?”
No one moved.
“Good, it’s nice to have reached a consensus,” Lord Daegal said. “Now, we’re all in agreement that my interests are paramount. So, let’s move on to the more festive part of the meeting.”
The warlord smiled expansively, clapped his hands and servants brought out tray after over-filled tray of mutton, beef, fruits and vegetables and dozens of bottles of wine. A real feast!
Grabbing a leg of mutton, he took a huge bite out of it, red juices from the rare meat running down his chin and he shouted, “Who will join me?”
When no one sat down, Lord Daegal scooped up Lion Robe’s body with his massive arms and carefully placed the dead man on a chair. “There, now we can all be friends again,” he said ignoring the blood on the table that was enough to take away anyone’s appetite.
“Who will join me in the celebration of our united goals?” he shouted once more. When there were still no takers, he sighed and went over to the dead brothers picking them up one at a time and propping them in chairs next to the dead lion. “Okay, all is forgiven, and their spirits can join in the festivities. Come, let’s all feast together.”
Lord Daegal watched as the nobles approached the table out of respect for the dead lions, but none sat down to join in the feast.
“Let’s have a more festive mood,” the master of the castle said pouring a jug of wine over several trays of meat and setting them on fire. “Who will join me now?”
Still, there were no takers.
“Maybe I’ll give the food to my horses, it seems they’re more deserving,” Lord Daegal said in disgust turning away from the nobles who began drifting from the great room. Looking at Chen, he gave her a rueful smile and said, “I do believe you’ve ruined my dinner party.”
Moving closer, he patted her hip and said, “It’s been so long.”
Brushing off his hand and stepping away, Chen said, “Well, it’s going to be a while longer. I do want something from you, but that’s not it.”
“What?” Lord Daegal asked eyeing her appreciatively.
“I want the giant that you have caged in your dungeon.”
“I don’t know about that. He’s sort of a political
prisoner. A person of some merit.”
“That’s nice. I want him sent to the tower in my section of the castle. You can post guards at the bottom of the stairs if you want to, just as long as they don’t interfere with the coming and going of my own staff.”
“I suppose that can be arranged, but you really don’t seem to have any idea of his importance.”
“Oh, I know he has a daughter named Aerylln, and he gave her his sword.”
Lord Daegal looked at her carefully and said, “If that girl learns about her sword’s full power, your own future will be affected. She won’t be as easy to get rid of as the men you just killed.”
“Maybe I get tired of everything being easy.”
“If Aerylln learns about her sword’s powers, you’ll wish you had more than a conventional steel sword on your hip.”
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“You might want to deal with it now, while you still can,” Lord Daegal advised her.
“What can I do?”
“Your aunt is growing old, and some say she’s near death."
“Aunt Glenitant?”
“Yes.”
“It’s been years since I last saw her.”
“Why don’t you take a few days and ride over to her castle? You may be interested in knowing that your aunt has a rather unique sword of her own.”
“Unique in what way?”
“If Glenitant feels you’re worthy, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.”
“Why would she give this sword to me?” Chen asked.
“You have the anger to wield it properly. I’ve seen to that.”
“What does anger have to do with it?”
“Only everything.”
Chen pondered the situation. A few minutes ago, her uncle had almost allowed her to be killed. The warrior woman also realized whatever power she currently held rested heavily on the continued patronage of this man who’d almost encouraged her death. At the very least, Lord Daegal had been negligent.
“My own sword,” she mused. “A sword with some special power?”
Looking at her uncle again, Chen saw the jealousy on his face. It dawned on her that Lord Daegal wanted the sword for himself, but Aunt Glenitant wouldn’t give it to him. And most shocking of all was the realization that Lord Daegal wasn’t powerful enough to take it from her.
For the first time, Chen caught a glimpse of her own freedom.
“But Aunt Glenitant’s a vicious old crone. She’s seething with hatred, and I’ve never really enjoyed seeing her.”
“Glenitant thinks highly of you.”
“All she thinks about is hurting people.”
“Precisely, and does she remind you of anyone you know?” Lord Daegal asked wearing a mischievous smile.
“She’s far worse than me,” Chen said glaring at her
uncle. Still, the realization that the warlord feared her aunt filled her with excitement. Then, not realizing how appropriate her choice of words was, she asked, “What’s that wicked, old witch up to?”
“An old witch?” Lord Daegal asked nervously. “Why, your aunt used to be quite a beauty in her youth.”
“My old, hunchbacked aunt, beautiful? What a fall from grace,” Chen said smiling and shaking her head.
“She sort of aged before her time,” Lord Daegal explained, but what he didn’t mention was that Glenitant had begun relinquishing her beauty the day her own mother passed the dark sword on to her.
“I think I’ll leave in the morning,” Chen decided. “And I’ll be taking the giant with me.”
“I don’t think so. Not outside the castle walls.”
“Send along all the men you want to guard him, but he’s coming with me!”
“I don’t think so,” Lord Daegal repeated.
Chen took a step towards her uncle.
Something in her eyes told him that it was time to end this discussion.
“We’ll talk about it more tomorrow,” he said.
“Have him at the front gate before sunrise,” she
demanded spinning on her heel and striding from the great room.
Lord Daegal tried hard to keep from laughing.
Manipulating Chen was so easy.
Chapter 12
Chen’s wolfhounds poured out of the castle gate bounding down the steep terrain of The Rock. Dozens of horses followed with Chen’s dark-cloaked figure leading the massive display of raw power as it flowed down the mountainside in an unstoppable torrent.
The mountain was almost totally shrouded in darkness except for the faintest rays of early morning light. On a dare, Chen had once done this blindfolded, so nothing was going to deter the warrior woman’s headlong charge that echoed throughout the valley as hoofs pounded against rock shattering the stillness of the night.
No one left Lord Daegal’s castle with as much flair as this leather-clad warrior. With a total disregard for her own personal safety, Chen urged her horse down the bleak, imposing cliffs. Following suit, neither her 25 personal guards nor the massive black stallions they rode gave a single thought to the recklessness of their actions. The warrior women made an impressive, if foolhardy, blind assault upon the darkness. It was more like they fell off the mountainside than rode down it, so quickly did the land drop away in front of them.
As Chen neared the bottom, she glanced over her shoulder ready to lash out at any warrior women who’d dared to fall behind, but they’d all kept up. Chen’s temper cooled, however, when she realized Lord Daegal’s 25 warriors had lost their nerve and were picking their way slowly and carefully down the mountainside.
“Cowards!” the warrior woman shouted further unnerving Lord Daegal’s men by appearing to become unhinged and going into a fit of wild laughter.
Embarrassed at having been bested by a group of women, the men wondered why Chen hadn’t waited until the sun crested the surrounding mountains and lit their pathway. But it was danger Chen was after, not sunlight. Her warrior women knew this, and so they’d shot down the steep incline with total abandon.
After Chen reined in her horse, the female guards instinctively surrounded their leader as the wolfhounds howled and leapt up to their master eager to feel her reassuring touch. Chen’s wolfhounds were powerful, shaggy, black-haired animals possessing the one vital characteristic Chen demanded, a vibrant intensity and an almost uncontrollable restless energy. Unlike her guards, the wolfhounds were male. They were angry, savage beasts whose ferocious nature, however, was forever bonded to their master. And they’d all tasted blood, some having even feasted on the flesh of men.
Chen and her warrior women brazenly mocked Lord Daegal’s warriors laughing and shouting insults until they’d finally caught up.
“If archers had been shooting at us, you’d all be dead,” Chen said glaring at them.
“But this wasn’t a battle or even a training exercise,” one man protested.
“Next time, maybe it will be,” Chen sneered. “You always need to be prepared for the unexpected.”
“What’s unexpected is having the misfortune of riding with you,” a man said still shaken from the experience.
“Are we feeling a bit cross this morning?” Chen asked placing her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“No, I’m sorry,” he said surprised that he’d spoken his thoughts out loud.
“You’re one sorry coward, that’s what you are.”
“Yes, I’m really sorry,” he said looking at the ground avoiding her steely gaze that was more penetrating than the sun now peeking over the eastern mountain.
Chen sighed and shook her head. Looking around, the only man who appeared unshaken by the experience was the giant, Pensgraft.
He smiled at Chen, which surprised and pleased her. Chen usually drove people away, except for her warrior women, and it was a long time since she’d had a true male friend.
Lord Daegal’s 25 warriors surrounded Pensgraft, but even among the men, horses and banners, the giant was clearly visible being head and shoulders above the rest.
After Chen had Pensgraft brought up to her, they rode along together, and the giant asked, “So where are we going?”
“On a family visit.”
“I wasn’t aware that you were so domestic,” he smirked.
“Watch your mouth, we aren’t that far away from the dungeon and can always go back,” Chen said laughing.
“So who’s the lucky relative?” Pensgraft asked happy to see Chen smile.
“My aunt.”
“Does she have your cheerful personality?”
“Pretty much, she’s an evil old crone.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” he laughed. “It must be a fun household.”
“You are so bad! She’s very ill and near death. I’m paying my last respects.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What’s in it for you?”
“Love of family,” she joked, and Pensgraft laughed so hard he almost fell off his horse. The warrior woman laughed as well, and said, “So, you can ride down a mountain in almost total darkness, but you can’t handle the thought of my enjoying some domestic harmony.”
“No, not really. What are you actually after?”
“Anything I can get.”
“Well, that sounds more like you,” he said smiling, but when he saw the grim look in Chen’s eyes, he realized that this woman with a dark heart was up to no good. Again.
◆◆◆
At that moment, in another mountain fortress ruled by Lord Daegal, the only person who’d ever given Chen a sense of love and belonging was in chains, alone and without hope. After nearly ten years of captivity, Chen’s father was huddled in the corner of a damp jail cell dressed in rags.
As wood scraped against wood, a small window slid open at the base of his cell door. Chen’s father, Ritalso, perked up and became as animated as a half-dead man could in the morning. In what for him was an enormous display of enthusiasm, he remained motionless but did mange to open one eye. This was the equivalent of Ritalso getting his daily exercise. He didn’t move around much.
Some anonymous figure shoved a wooden bowl of gruel inside the cell and slammed the window shut. Ritalso eyed the bowl hungrily but didn’t budge. He did, however, mumble something that sounded like, “I wish the servants would hurry and bring my breakfast over to me.”
Two rats scurried into the cell, one being heavyset and the other quite thin, and they proceeded to eat from the bowl.
“You two take more than your share every day, and it’s been like that for years. I just can’t get reliable household he
lp in here,” Ritalso said.
“Well, this is one of the few luxuries we still have,” the plump rat said. “That is, if you want to call this slop a luxury, but I guess it beats having nothing.”
“It’s my food,” Ritalso protested. “I don’t have to share it with anyone.”
“Okay, come over and get it.”
The old man was too weak to move. He’d been feeling miserable lately and wasn’t in the mood for the rat’s sarcasm but trying a nicer tone of voice, he asked, “Would you please bring me my breakfast?”
“Of course, your lordship,” the thin rat snickered, and both rats put their snouts against the bowl and shoved it over to their master.
“How’s that for hospitality?” the thin rat asked smiling.
There’s nothing worse than rats with attitudes, Ritalso thought. However, the rats had a right to complain. Prior to Glenitant's casting a spell on them, they’d been Ritalso’s personal servants living at The Rock in their master’s spacious quarters.
During those years, Ritalso frequently had heated arguments with his brother, Lord Daegal, regarding Chen’s upbringing. The warlord wanted Chen’s hot temper to be encouraged, but Ritalso resisted the idea and was deeply suspicious of his brother’s motives. However, it wasn’t until their sister got involved that real problems arose.
Not realizing the extent of Glenitant’s corruption by the forces of darkness, Ritalso had ridden over to his sister’s castle seeking her counsel and had taken his daughter along with him. While there, Chen had been slighted by one of his sister’s groundskeepers. The disrespect had been unintentional, but Glenitant watched in utter amazement as the young woman unleashed a rage upon the groundskeeper that was nothing short of spectacular.
Overjoyed, Glenitant had thought, Chen’s the most inconsiderate young woman I’ve ever known. She’s spiteful, hostile, violent, and loses her temper over the least provocation whether it’s real or imagined. In short, she’s absolutely magnificent!