by Chuck Black
“It is good to see you, Lady Talea and Sir Cedric. We look forward to your visit each year. Will you be at the feast coming shortly?” he asked.
“Certainly, Sir Gunther—and you?” I asked.
“We would not think to miss it,” he said with a large grin.
Talea sat beside me. I glanced her way and noticed that she was looking at Sir Gunther’s adolescent son, whose head was lowered, a smirk on his face.
Sir Gunther was a jolly fellow with a barrel chest to match. His wife was plain but full of life. Their daughter, Ava, was ten and quite shy. Delton was seventeen. Each year he seemed to grow colder toward me, but I attributed it to the struggle of adolescence.
“Your children have grown so much this last year, Sir Gunther.” I turned my head. “How have you been, Delton?”
He tried to mask his disdain. “All right … I guess,” he replied and then occupied himself with the food on his plate.
“And how are you, Ava?” I asked the young lass.
She smiled and blushed. “I am fine, sir. Thank you.”
“The meal was delicious, Lady Raleb,” Talea said to Gunther’s wife.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Thank you very much.”
The meal was indeed excellent, and I ate until I was uncomfortable. Afterward, Delton quickly disappeared with one of his friends, and Ava found a doll to play with. Soon only Gunther, Talea, and I were at the table.
“Gunther”—I paused—“have you noticed anything unusual in your city or in the region lately?”
“Why do you ask? Should I have?”
“Sir Bennington of Denshire conveyed some concern about his people, and I was wondering if you’d noticed it as well?”
“Ah … Ben is paranoid, Cedric,” he said with a laugh. “All is well in the north. There is an occasional ruckus with the youngsters now and then, but nothing to be alarmed about.”
“How about the other city leaders—any problems there?” Talea asked.
“Jaret and Treven have always been a problem, but it is nothing out of the ordinary,” he said a little more seriously. “Listen, if anything strange is going on, I will certainly let you know. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough,” I responded.
That night my sleep was fitful. I was awakened in my bedchamber by Talea.
“Wake up, Cedric!”
“What is it?” It did not take me long to become alert, for my sleep had not been deep. She lit a candle as I sat up in bed. I noticed that she was fully dressed and ready for the day … including her sword.
She sat on the bed next to me. “Did you notice Delton at supper tonight?”
“Yes, but he …”
“I watched, and he left the manor just a short time ago,” she said, looking concerned.
“In the middle of the night?” I asked.
“Yes, in the middle of the night. I think something serious is stirring within him,” she said, visibly alarmed.
“Listen, Talea, you missed normal adolescence. I knew of many boys who did the same thing. It was never for any good, you can be assured, but I can only remember one time when they tried to overthrow the kingdom.” I said, teasing her.
She looked at me again.
“You never know when I’m teasing you, do you?” I asked, amazed. “You are so discerning … How is it that you cannot read me?”
Her shoulders drooped slightly, and she looked away.
“Are there others you cannot read?” I asked.
“You are the only one.” Then she returned to the subject. “Gunther suspects something, but he doesn’t know how to describe it, so he denies it. Lady Raleb adores Gunther, dotes on Ava, and wants to redecorate their manor. She has given up on Delton. Ava blushes when you talk to her because she thinks you’re handsome. Delton is rebelling against his parents and …”
“And what?” I pressed.
“… and he is involved in something very dark—adolescence or no adolescence.” She stood and walked to the open window of my chamber. Then she turned and faced me.
“And I can’t read you because—”
Talea’s words were cut short by a brief whoosh of air. Her eyes opened wide with a look of horror, and then she fell to her knees. I burst out of bed and grabbed her. Only then did I feel the deadly arrow protruding from her back.
A REBELLION BORN
“Talea!” I screamed as she collapsed in my arms. I yelled for Gunther. My hand quickly turned red from the blood spilling down her back.
“Cedric!” she whispered and grabbed my arm.
“Gunther!” I screamed again as I gently lay Talea on her side.
“Talea … be strong. I will take care of you … be strong!” I pleaded as all of my long-held feelings for her surfaced.
Gunther burst into the room with a lamp and stood shocked for a moment as his mind adjusted to the truth of this disaster. Lady Raleb entered and screamed.
“Help me!” I exclaimed, which broke them from their paralysis.
Within minutes the manor was full of frenzied activity as we tried to tend to Talea and discover what had happened. Gunther ordered his knights to search the surrounding area. Talea was tough, but the pain must have been excruciating. I removed the arrow, and she fell into unconsciousness. The wound was deep, and I was worried. I applied a generous amount of the Life Spice salve to her injury before bandaging it. The blood quickly soaked through.
Please don’t die, Talea … please!
I was torn between staying with Talea and searching for the wretch that had done this. Suddenly it dawned on me that the arrow had been meant for me, not Talea.
Lady Raleb left the room and returned with a sickened look on her face, leading Sir Dalphry. “Gunther—Delton is gone!”
Gunther’s face turned red with rage.
“Where would he go?” I asked sternly.
“I don’t know, Cedric, but I can’t believe he would have anything to do with this!”
“What about his friends. Would they know?” I asked.
“Possibly. Sir Dalphry, bring the boy Carlyle here immediately,” Gunther ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
I continued to apply bandages to Talea’s wound until the blood quit soaking through. She moaned and looked pale.
There was more activity in the foyer of the manor. Gunther went to see to it. I briefly left Talea under the care of Lady Raleb so I could hear the end of Gunther’s conversation with one of the knights.
“… I don’t know how he escaped, but two of the guards are dead!” the knight exclaimed.
I joined them, and Gunther looked angry and embarrassed. “What has happened?” I asked.
“Our prisoner has escaped,” reported the knight.
“Prisoner?” I was becoming even more agitated.
Gunther tried to explain. “We arrested a large fellow a few days ago when he was caught stealing from a shop in the city.” Gunther’s tone was laced with excuse.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Sir Gunther?” I asked.
“This fellow has frequented our city many times and never gave us any trouble until now,” he explained. “We were going to transport him to Chessington during the next trip, but …”
“What did he look like?” I asked
“Big fellow—he seemed harmless enough, although he had a nasty scar across his left cheek. He was a vagrant. He begged for food usually.” Gunther stopped. “This is the first day in nine years that we’ve had any trouble like this, Cedric. Who would have known?”
I contemplated what I’d heard and was interrupted by the entrance of a young lad and his father. The boy was visibly shaken, almost petrified with fear. Gunther appeared to be feeling the crush of circumstance gone awry.
“Where is Delton, Carlyle?” Gunther asked.
“He … he … is dead.” The boy broke down. His words were almost inaudible, but there was no mistake about it.
“What?” Gunther asked, obviously not wanting to believe what he’d just heard. “How
?”
The lad was too disturbed to respond quickly enough for Gunther, so he grabbed the boy and shook him. “What happened?”
I pulled Gunther away and sat the boy down on a bench.
“What happened, Carlyle?” I asked as calmly as possible. The boy took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Delton wanted to meet me tonight. He told me he had something important to show me. He said something about Sutak being the ‘Keeper of the Map’ and that he had to set him free.” The boy paused for another breath.
I looked at Gunther. “Sutak?” I asked. Gunther bit his lip and turned away.
“Sutak was the name of the prisoner,” replied the knight who had earlier reported him missing.
The boy continued. “Delton stole your key to the prison, Sir Gunther. I was supposed to meet him in an alley by the stables, but when I got there …”
“What? What did you find?” I asked.
“There were six … maybe seven huge men, and Delton was with them. I hid between two buildings because I was scared. They would have killed me too!” he blurted, and tears streamed down his face.
“Delton said that Mr. Jaret would help him.” The boy’s story was disjointed, but every passing moment painted a picture that reeked of evil.
“Take us there, Carlyle,” I said. “There is much at stake.”
I ran back to my bedchamber to check on Talea and did not dare tell Lady Raleb the news of her son. I quickly donned my breastplate, sword, and boots. I leaned close to Talea and felt her shallow breath on my cheek. I brushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead.
“Please take care of her for me, Lady Raleb,” I said.
“I will, Cedric.”
We followed Carlyle to the alley and found Delton on the ground beside the wall of a brick building. Gunther knelt down and cradled his son in his arms, and tears welled up in his eyes. I held the lamp close to see Delton’s wound and saw not only the wound but also the weapon that had made it. Delton’s hands were wrapped around the hilt of a long and wicked knife. I opened his fingers and saw what I did not want to see—the mark of the Dark Knight. This was the dagger of a Shadow Warrior. Delton took a shallow breath and coughed—he was still alive!
“Delton!” Gunther exclaimed.
“Father …” Delton’s faint speech was barely perceptible.
“Who did this to you?” Gunther asked.
“He said he would make me a great leader …” The boy coughed, and blood trickled down his chin. “I freed Sutak and they … lied …”
“Why did they want Sutak?” I asked.
Delton was fading quickly. “He was … the Keeper of the Map …” His entire body spasmed in pain.
“The map to what, Delton? To what?” I asked.
He gasped for one last breath. “The … Wasteland …” His eyes rolled back in his head, and his body went limp. Gunther held Delton tightly. His large shoulders shook as he was overcome with grief.
All of us froze. We dared not believe what we’d just heard. If these men were indeed Shadow Warriors and they knew the location of the Wasteland, all of Arrethtrae was in jeopardy.
How many Shadow Warriors are loose? I wondered. How can this be?
Everyone was too stunned to move, and yet I knew that I must get to Chessington as fast as possible. Do I dare leave Talea? What if she dies? I felt plagued by more questions than answers.
I pulled the Shadow Warrior’s blade from Delton for proof of this evil plot and stood up.
“I must leave, Gunther. The Prince must know as soon as possible,” I said. The urgency of the situation began to build within me, but the sound of many approaching men thwarted my intentions. I drew my sword, as did my fellow knights. Within moments we were surrounded by hundreds of ill-intentioned men.
“Jaret!” exclaimed Gunther. “It had to be you.”
The man named Jaret smiled a vengeful smile.
“Why, Jaret? Why are you doing this?” Gunther asked.
“For the same reason men all over the kingdom are doing it, Gunther.” He sneered. “Power! We are tired of following the Prince and His ridiculous Code. Histen has promised us power … something we will never have under the Prince.”
“And you really believe Histen will honor his promise?” I asked incredulously. “Look what his men have already done to Delton. You will be next!”
Jaret glanced down at Delton. “They killed him because he was the son of Gunther … We have not sworn our allegiance to the King, and we never will.”
He pointed at us. “Take them to the prison cells!” Jaret ordered.
VENGEANCE OF A DRAGON
The rebellion began in Norwex, but we had no way of knowing how many other cities had joined or if they even knew of the rebellion. The tenth feast of celebration was just five weeks away. It was to be the greatest of them all, for everyone sealed to the King was to attend.
I felt helpless as I sat on the cold stone floor of the cell. The hours passed. More and more cells were being filled with Knights of the Prince and anyone bold enough to stand against the rebellion. We asked the newest prisoners for news of the city, and it sounded like the rebels were in complete control. I inquired of Talea, but there was no word from anyone. I was nearly out of my mind wondering what had happened to her. I did not know if she was dead or alive.
If the Shadow Warriors were successful in finding the Wasteland and releasing Lucius, I did not dare to think how far the rebellion would run. There was still a chance that the Silent Warriors would thwart their plan. It was all I could hope for.
Two days passed with no food or water. We were becoming faint and petitioned the rebel guards, but they were completely apathetic toward us. Finally, on the morning of the third day, water and a bit of food was given to us. But the waiting was more agonizing than the painful hunger in my stomach. Our cells were full, and we heard that the rebels had killed many. They had made a temporary prison camp, where many others were evidently taken. Gunther tried to find out about his wife and daughter but was unsuccessful.
The hours passed slowly, and the days even more slowly. Three weeks passed, and I began to wonder if there was any hope of being discovered by our fellow knights this far north in the kingdom. On the morning of the twenty-second day, our food and water came as usual. Three guards delivered our food. Two entered the prison hallway, but the third was delayed. When he came in, he wore a hood that covered most of his face. He did not stop at the nearest cell, as was usual, and the prisoners there made a ruckus. The other two guards turned around to see what was the matter.
The hooded guard drew a sword that I recognized in an instant. The other guards dropped their trays of bread and began to draw their swords, but Talea was too quick for them. Within a moment, both guards lay dead on the stone floor. We were all stunned to silence, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Talea threw back the hood and searched the cells. All of the knights were to their feet and quietly cheered. I was ecstatic to see that pretty face of hers and called to her quietly. Talea found me, opened my cell, and gave the keys to the other knights within, who in turn quickly opened all the other cells. I grabbed Talea and smiled with a joy that I had thought was lost forever. I hugged her tightly.
“Ah … careful,” she said and winced.
“I’m sorry …” I felt foolish for momentarily forgetting her wound. “Thank the King you’re alive!” I stepped back and looked at her. “How?”
“I’ll explain later,” she said and smiled at me as she never had before. She briefly put her hand on my cheek. For almost ten years I had looked for the smallest hint of affirmation from Talea, and I found it in that single small act.
“I brought you a present,” she said and opened her cloak to reveal my sword. She handed it to me, and I numbly took it as I tried to shake myself back to the reality of our situation. She turned to exit the cell, but I grabbed her arm. She looked back at me over her shoulder.
“Thank you!” I was grateful for more than my sword.
We quickly and quietly marshaled ourselves in the prison hall. Gunther, Talea, and I moved closest to the door that exited the hall.
“There are five guards in the main guardroom … Two are still asleep,” Talea whispered to the men. Approximately forty Knights of the Prince stood behind us, waiting to fight for the King—bare-handed if need be.
Gunther spoke softly. “There are three other prison halls like this one … all probably full of fellow knights. It’s a good bet they are being given their rations now too. We must move quickly to catch them off guard.”
“Split into three teams—one for each hall,” I ordered. “Secure the doors until we can recover the main guardroom and get swords to you.”
We readied ourselves and opened the door slowly until the room was visible. The first guard spotted us, and we burst into the room—all forty of us. Talea and I made quick work of the nearest two guards. Gunther and a fellow knight recovered their swords and joined us as we engaged the remaining guards. Within moments, we controlled the main guardroom. Shortly after that we controlled the entire prison. We locked the rebel guards in the cells and formulated a plan to recover the city.
We exited the prison and discovered no resistance in the city of Norwex. It was baffling—there appeared to be no rebels anywhere other than the prison. We encountered women, children, and an occasional older man, but no rebels. At the location of the temporary prison, we found only a handful of guards, and they relinquished without a fight. We released all of the prisoners. Two Knights of the Prince were among them, as well as Gunther’s entire household.
“Gunther!” Raleb shouted and ran to him with little Ava following close behind.
“Raleb! You are all right!”
Gunther knelt down and hugged Ava tightly.
Talea walked to Raleb and embraced her. “Thank you.”
“I am so thankful you survived, Lady Talea,” Raleb said.
Talea turned to me. “When the rebels came to the manor, Lady Raleb hid me in a secret chamber with food and water. The Life Spice healed me, but I did not dare leave until I felt I could use my sword effectively. It was difficult to be patient.”