by Dave Hazel
The two soldiers looked very confused. Mykal seemed to know so much yet he looked so strange and all the soldiers went past them. “We were told by Commander Fronpar to guard this person with our very lives,” the second soldier announced. “He told us where to take them,” he added.
“I understand that,” Mykal replied and nodded his approval. “He told you to go to the Tavern on the Mound,” Mykal added and hoped that he remembered it correctly. By their responses he was sure he did. “What are your names?”
“I am Pawnaps,” the first answered and eyed Mykal suspiciously. “We are to maintain control of the girl until Commander Fronpar takes her from us himself.”
“And I am Blinoud,” the second one replied. He looked like he wanted to ask about Mykal’s appearance.
“Listen to me Pawnaps and Blinoud,” Mykal said and tried to think of what to say. “Commander Fronpar sent me here to take her, the prisoner, from your hands so that you may join them and help them battle the fires that are raging out of control. My men should have taken her, so we could continue our journey to the Supreme Ruler. Yet they did not even ask about her,” Mykal said and was ready to shoot both of them in the head. “My group had been at the home of Commander Fronpar,” Mykal lied and pointed toward the building they came from. “Commander Fronpar instructed us to ride like the wind and circle around this way so we could meet up with you before you turned in to an unknown location. My first group rode swiftly, yet they did not stop to inquire if you had the prisoner or should they look somewhere else,” he added with a mock chuckle and gave a quick look to Doninka.
“I watched the second group,” Mykal continued, “obviously riding slower due to the fact they already hold one important prisoner. I saw them stop and I was confident they would have picked up the prisoner. I do recognize Commander Fronpar’s lovely wife and lovely daughter,” he added and held his hand out to the two women, “so they should have recognized them as well. It is clear they did not,” Mykal said with a disappointed shake of his head. “However, I was stunned when they rode off without taking possession of the prisoner,” he added as if stunned by their negligence. “When they stopped, did they even inquire about this prisoner under your control?”
The two soldiers looked at each other and were slow to answer as if they didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. “No Sir,” the first replied. “We did not bring up the subject.”
“They were supposed to bring up the subject of the prisoner,” Mykal barked and caused them to jerk with surprise. “We must take both prisoners to the Supreme Ruler on a timely basis. I will take possession of her at this point.”
“I am sorry Sir, we have been given orders to guard her with our very lives,” Pawnaps, the first soldier said.
“Where are you taking her to?” Mykal asked. He knew he put himself in a tough spot. He could quickly kill the two soldiers and would have to kill the two women to keep them from screaming which he didn’t want to do. He wondered if he should have remained invisible and feared he may have jumped the gun by revealing himself the way he did.
“We were still going to stop for the evening at the Tavern on the Mound,” Blinoud, the second soldier said and pointed behind Mykal. “It is just three doors away from where you stand. That is where Commander Fronpar said he would join us.”
“Okay, let us go there,” Mykal agreed and looked back behind him. There was a business that he couldn’t read the sign, he couldn’t understand the language. But the sign had a picture of a dragon flying and a large mug of ale or beer so he assumed that was the tavern since the buildings near it looked like homes. “We must hurry and I will join you.”
“Why must we hurry?” Pawnaps asked.
“There was an attack earlier which was an attempt to take her from our possession. That is why there are fires to be fought. We must get out of sight and Commander Fronpar will make it clear that you are to release the prisoner to my care. My men shall return shortly,” he lied and wanted to get out of the street as soon as possible.
The two soldiers spoke quietly amongst themselves and quickly turned to Mykal. “Though you have a strange appearance,” Blinoud said. “We will join you. Or rather have you join us in the Tavern on the Mound. We know Commander Fronpar will join us when the fire battle is over.”
“Good, let us hurry,” Mykal said and walked with them. He was plotting how he was going to rectify this situation. If it came down to it, he would kill all of them so he and Doninka could escape.
When they came upon the door to the Tavern it appeared to be closed for the night though there was a faint flickering of candle light coming from the window. “It is shut down for the night,” Blinoud said to confirm what Mykal thought.
“Do you think you will be able to get them to open up for you?” Mykal asked.
“I believe so,” Blinoud said and stared into the window and looked for any signs of activity. “I know the family that runs this establishment and I will explain our situation.”
“Alright. You do that and I will depart to gather my men and come back here,” Mykal said. “Do not allow anyone to take possession of the prisoner unless I am with them. Do you understand me?”
“Yes Sir,” Pawnaps replied sharply while Blinoud knocked on the big heavy wooden door. “However, Commander Fronpar said not to release the girl to anyone save he.”
“Correct. I will be with Commander Fronpar. I will return shortly,” Mykal said and walked away. He quickly ducked behind a building and turned invisible and rushed back to join them without their knowing it. Mykal listened to Blinoud make his case to the tavern owner why they needed to be allowed in for a short time. Mykal realized he played a risky game that netted no positive results. His emotions may have gotten the better of him once again. He looked down at the gold band around his middle finger.
When they all entered the business they all explained what had happened thus far during the night. Mykal stood there and wondered if he made the situation worse by appearing to the people. His fear grew and his anger grew while he stood there listening to the people chatter on about all that happened so far. The inn keeper seemed to be friendly and sympathetic to their plight though he seemed like he wanted to end the night. He was a heavyset older man who looked like he put in a very long day. He agreed to allow them to stay there as long as they didn’t allow others into his establishment and if they left they would have to make sure the tavern was locked up. He was going to end the night.
5.
Mykal waited and thought of different plans. Doninka didn’t know if he was there and he wanted to let her know he was present. He grew agitated and he knew it was because of the ring or rather the magic of the ring that ‘messed with’ his emotions. He felt sorry for Larna because of Baby, but he also grew tired of listening to her cry about the dog. Mykal believed he was running out of time. If the soldiers didn’t return quickly he knew it was going to be getting light out soon and he had to make a decision of what he was going to do.
One plan was to shoot them all in the head and take Doninka outside to create the green fog and go, but he knew William was out there nearby and he wanted to, no he needed to, kill him. He watched Doninka comfort Larna concerning her lost dog Baby and he felt terrible because he knew the ugly truth.
Mykal tried to make sense of William being in the area. He remembered the dreams that he and Towbar both had of William forcing himself into their minds and making threats. But William seemed like a beat down prisoner. Why would they bring him here? Was he here to identify the Princess Doninka? Was he really being used by Zizmon-Tarl or his surrogates? Was he brought here so Mykal would have to have a one on one confrontation with Zizmon-Tarl himself? ‘How would Ziggy know that I’m here anyway?’ He wondered.
If William was being used by the bad guys he could lead them to the Pass or the rear of the Pass and then the possibility existed that the Pass could fall because of William’s help. What if William agreed to take Zizmon-Tarl back to the real world to make an allia
nce with Percy and the President? Then there would be no need for Mykal and Towbar. They could conquer Towbar’s world by siding with the bad guys. ‘But the people of my world wouldn’t go for that,’ Mykal thought angrily. ‘But Percy, the President and the government could keep the truth from the people and the people of our world would never know. Damn, this shit is getting crazy,’ he thought and had to stop letting his mind go down rabbit trails. ‘But Damn it, they could do that,’ he argued with the non-conspiratorial side of his brain.
Suddenly Larna broke the silence by breaking out in quiet wails and sobs. “I am so fearful they may have hurt Baby. Or worse,” she sobbed to her daughter Mullday and Doninka, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter the words of what ‘worse’ could be. “It is not right. It is not fair. Baby never harmed them. Baby loved them even when they mistreated Baby.”
“Shhh,” Mullday whispered when one of the soldiers, Blinoud, stirred from his position of nodding off at a separate table. “We must remain quiet mother,” she whispered. “The owner of the establishment said we could enter the premises so long as we did not take anything without paying for it and so long as we remained quiet. The man said he needed to get his sleep after his long day.”
“I understand,” Larna sobbed quietly. “I am sorry. I just can not bear the thought of Baby being gone. Angolow and Dabinau can be mean and cruel at times.”
“They may not have done anything to Baby,” Doninka said to encourage Larna and to help give the older woman hope.
Mykal felt terrible. He knew the truth and he felt bad. In a small way Larna reminded Mykal of his grandmother and that made him feel worse. But the woman’s crying and sobbing was grating on his nerves, but at the same time a sudden sadness washed over him that nearly brought him to tears. ‘I saw what those friggin bastards did to that poor dog. What the hell is wrong with me,’ he scolded himself in thought. ‘It’s only a damn dog,’ he tried to argue so he could release the sadness that was choking him. He looked at the magic ring and knew his brain was totally being played and manipulated by anything emotional. He wanted to tell the woman the truth ‘to give her closure’ and wanted to tell her the truth ‘just to get her to shut the hell up’. He huffed angrily at his selfish thinking. ‘I gotta stop thinking about that dog. Cuz I do feel bad about it.’ Mykal’s thoughts suddenly turned back to William. ‘Damn it. I really gotta kill him,’ he declared in thought. ‘Am I goin’ nuts over all this stuff?’ He wondered and looked down at the gold band around his middle finger that was ‘messing’ with his mind.
Mykal decided he was going to kill William, but wondered how he was going to do it with a group of mounted soldiers surrounding him. Mykal walked up to Doninka as it quieted down. He placed his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there with them. She jerked with start but remained calm. His hatred at the quiet silence was driving him crazy. Fear was pulling on him from several directions. He knew he had to do something because he felt he was running out of time. ‘I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs and the enemy is getting’ closer and closer,’ he thought angrily and almost felt a physical pressure squeezing him. ‘I oughta just create the green fog in here and take all these people with me,’ he thought and laughed at how confused and scared they would become.
‘No, I gotta kill William. Damn It,’ he huffed in thought. ‘I can’t let him be taken to Zizmon-Tarl.’
One of the soldiers, Pawnaps got up to walk around while the other, Blinoud, looked to be nodding off at the table where he sat. “It appears the mounted soldiers are returning this way,” Pawnaps said while he looked out the window.
The three women sat at a separate table farther in the rear of the establishment and continued to talk quietly among themselves. They either didn’t care what the soldier said or they didn’t hear him. Mykal walked up to the soldier while he looked out of the window. Mykal felt he had to make his move now. He wasn’t sure if he was thinking rationally or not but he was putting his sudden plan into action.
He turned back to see if the women were looking in his direction and without a second thought he shot the young soldier in the back of the head with his Glock 17. Mykal grabbed the lifeless soldier before he fell heavy to the floor. The only sound audible was the sound of the empty brass casing hitting the floor and the slight noise of the casing rolling on the hard wood floor but the women didn’t notice it.
Mykal carried and dragged the dead weight around the side of the bar the women couldn’t see and set him down gently. He placed the dead Pawnaps on a chair at a table that was against a wall, and Mykal kept looking to make sure the women wouldn’t be able to see him from where they sat. Mykal was thankful the soldier kept his sword sheathed because he wouldn’t have been able to cover up the noise should it have fallen to the floor.
Once Mykal was sure the dead soldier wouldn’t fall off his chair he rushed back to the second soldier, Blinoud, who was nodding off at his table. Blinoud was much closer to the women, but he shot him in the back of the head. Blinoud never woke from his sleep and never knew what hit him. Mykal grabbed the back of his shirt just as he squeezed the trigger so the man’s head wouldn’t slam down on the table top and get the attention of the three women. The empty casing flew out of the pistol made more noise when it hit the floor than the man dying in his sleepy state in the chair. Mykal eased the dead man forward as he slumped over onto the table top. His blood covered the table but the women didn’t notice because they were still embroiled in their conversation about Baby and Larna’s two sons and the arm of the dead soldier blocked their view.
Mykal didn’t want to kill Larna and Mullday but he watched them to see if they noticed anything strange with Blinoud. He would stop them before they could sound an alarm. When he was sure they remained deep in the crying session he moved to the front of the tavern.
He watched from the window as the mounted soldiers slowly rode by. Mykal didn’t know if they knew what they were looking for, but he wanted to see the carriage again because he was going to kill William if he got a second chance. There were a number of ‘legitimate’ reasons why William needed to die, but the biggest and most important reason to Mykal, besides the fact that William was a major threat to the Pass, was that William killed his close friend Boris and was going to kill Mykal when they were trapped under the mountain surrounded by Goblins. It felt like that happened ages ago though it was only weeks ago. Mykal was motivated primarily by revenge and he couldn’t allow William to get away with his ‘crime’.
Mykal saw that the horses were traveling a slow walk. ‘Were they looking for the right people? Did Fronpar maybe misdirect them to spare Doninka? Or maybe they were waiting for Fronpar to point out Doninka himself since his wife and daughter were with the ‘criminal’ Doninka. Maybe Fronpar was worried something might happen to his wife and daughter because there were so many soldiers involved,’ Mykal thought and many wild ideas entered his mind. ‘Am I really going crazy? Am I really losing it cuz of this damn ring?’ He wondered and felt as if a panic attack was starting. ‘Wait a minute. Calm down,’ he ordered himself and took a couple of deep breaths. ‘They can’t see me. If I have to, I’ll kill every single one of them. Stop with the crazy ass thoughts,’ he ordered himself and grabbed his forehead. He hated the fact that the magic caused his emotions to flip flop so much and to such extremes.
‘But it doesn’t make sense,’ Mykal thought while watching the cavalry slowly make their way past his position. ‘They were hauling ass earlier like they were on a ‘do or die’ mission and now they’re just nonchalantly moving along. Did I friggin miss something?’ He barked angrily in his head. ‘Are they trying to pull a fast one on me and catch me off guard?’
Suddenly Mykal looked around the tavern to make sure his thoughts couldn’t be heard. Thankfully the inn keeper went to bed. The two soldiers were dead and no one knew it. The three women sat at a table farther back in the establishment. Two listened while one continued to cry. He realized most of the chaos that seemed to be taking
place was only taking place inside his own skull. ‘Damn it, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have shot these two soldiers.’
He looked at the soldier closest to him, Pawnaps, and suddenly regretted killing the two of them because they could have come in handy, or their dead bodies might create more problems he wasn’t counting on. The soldier he placed into the chair sat back in a chair with his chin to his chest. A small growing puddle formed under his wooden chair where the blood dripped off the edge of the seat. Mykal saw where the 40 caliber round exited the front of the dead man’s upper left part of his forehead. He thought it odd that he didn’t hear the round strike something inside the building, but there was clearly an exit wound.
Mykal rushed over to the second dead soldier. Blinoud’s face was laid on the table top as if he was trying to get his sleep for the night. The table top had a pool forming around his head and down his arm to his hand. Mykal was distracted by the large lump under the young man’s left eye. There appeared to be swelling in his face but the round didn’t exit. It looked like the lead round rested right below the skin under the eye. Mykal made sure each round went into their brain from the back of their heads.
He wondered if he would have been able to use the two soldiers, but now, it was too late. He thought he may have jumped the gun and acted too quickly. Looking back and forth to the two men he suddenly felt bad. They were two young soldiers who were only doing their jobs. He didn’t know if they had families or maybe they were young enough that they still relied on their parents. He put his hand to his mouth and felt an overwhelming anxiousness trying to crush him while the three women continued to talk like nothing was going on.