“You did the right thing, Mark. As awful as this is, you had little choice. You protected the king, just as I charged you to do.” She turned to the wolf, who was sitting erect beside Mark, panting from the exertions of their difficult journey. “Baldezir, is it?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Mark composed himself again and interrupted, “He carried me all the way here at a breakneck pace in order to find you…”
Rel nodded, “Sir, our entire kingdom is grateful for your extraordinary service at this critical hour. No matter what happens, I will see you knighted for your courage when this is over.”
Baldezir made a small bow and fixed his great yellow eyes on her, “Lady, my people are more than happy to do our part in thwarting men like Drogue. But I thank you for your kind acknowledgement.”
The Lady Regent waved her arm. “Someone bring water and meat here!” she called. A few unoccupied legionnaires claimed the assignment, and scurried away toward the camp. Tvrdik stepped in and pulled Mark into his long arms, enfolding him with all the compassion and comfort of a brother, while grasping for some inspiration that might help Delphine. Delphine…sweet Delphine – his first real friend in this place. They couldn’t just leave her to the tyrant.
Mark was grateful for the support, still trembling with emotion. But he straightened and spoke again, determined to set some action in motion, “Baldezir thinks he will not harm her until he can find some way to use her as a bargaining chip, since things have not gone well for him here on the field. We may yet have a chance to rescue her, but every moment is precious.”
Jorelial Rey was pacing. Hobbling, but pacing nevertheless.
“That man is capable of anything – we mustn’t underestimate him. But, I agree that she is probably still alive. I will go to him and see what he wants in exchange for her safe return.”
Tvrdik’s eyes widened, “My lady, you cannot hand over to the foe a victory that was so hard won by our friends this day. You cannot let him terrorize you like that.”
“I can offer him myself in exchange…”
“You cannot ! You are needed here. We will find another way to get her back without that…” This was Lord Maygrew, vehement in siding with Tvrdik, but Rel was becoming more agitated by the moment.
“Then, what can we do? How will we find her? We don’t even know where she is…”
They did not have to wait to find out. Almost as Lady Rey spoke the words, a sound caught all of their attention. It came from overhead – a strident shriek something like a horse’s neigh, only tinged with a whiff of madness. Lord Drogue was back, circling over them on a dark winged horse – Valour. Muscular black wings beat the air in rhythm, while the horse’s powerful frame reared up from an invisible floor and struck at the clouds with his forelegs. Drogue moved with confidence in his seat on the beast. He was an experienced horseman who read his mount’s every movement with ease. Seated sideways on the saddle in front of him, bound at wrist and ankle and gagged as well, secured on the steed only by Drogue’s left arm around her narrow waist, was Delphine. Even from that distance, they could see the expression in her eyes, which flashed both defiance and terror.
Mark stepped out, gripping Tvrdik’s arm like a vise. “Delphine!” he called upward. In response, they heard laughter, hard and mirthless, and the voice of Lord Drogue, amplified by a trick of simple sorcery, so that each of them heard every blood-curdling word as if he stood beside them.
“Yes, my young harper, Delphine. Sweet, lovely Delphine. We are having a little tete-a-tete, your bride and I. Oh, yes, word has reached me of your recent nuptials. I must congratulate you, you lucky cur. She is most charming company, I must say.”
Only Corbin Maygrew’s strong arm kept Mark from lunging after his tormentor, a futile gesture in any case.
Every eye on the field was turned upward to a sky now vacant, save for the lone dark rider on his flying steed. All remaining conflicts ceased. The shield bearers lowered their weapons, as did any of Drogue’s warriors who were still in play. The sun had begun sinking toward the western horizon and shadows of twilight were slowly creeping over the landscape. Still, the figures of the dark flying horse with its sharp-featured rider and helpless captive stood out in clear relief. Everything had come down to this: all their preparation and efforts, the future of an entire kingdom, against the life of one girl.
“Let her go, Drogue.” It was Jorelial Rey’s most commanding tone. “She is only a girl. She is no threat to you.”
“Ah, my Lady Rey. So nice to see you once again. And to hear you plead so affectingly for your sister – how sweet. But, why would I let her go when she is so very useful to me right now?”
“What do you want for her?” the Lady Regent responded, making a monumental effort to contain her fury. “I will offer myself in exchange for her safety…” The others glared at her, but Drogue just laughed.
“Now that is a very generous gesture, my dear, very generous indeed, but I am afraid I have no use for you. You are far too shrewish for my tastes, my lady. I suspect we would never get along.”
“How dare he talk to you like that?” Lord Maygrew rumbled on the ground, and seemed about to shout something threatening. But the Lady Rey touched his hand, and threw him a look that silenced him. She addressed the dark rider again.
“Alright, then. But everyone has his price. You know I want my sister back, unharmed. I know there is something you want. What is it, Drogue? Surely, we can come to an agreement.”
Mark was staring upward in horrified silence, unable to move or speak, or even breathe, for fear the slightest error would send his beloved to her doom. Tvrdik kept a firm hand on the young bard’s shoulder, while scouring his memory for some magic he could wield that would snatch Delphine from the clutches of her captor. Nothing he could come up with seemed foolproof, and they could afford no fumbled attempts.
Drogue adopted a tone of mock ennui. “Oh, I don’t know,” he sighed, “I weary of this game. There isn’t much you could offer me that I care about…” They all gasped as he spurred Valour higher in the air and leaned Delphine over his arm, as if to drop her. “Unless, of course, you could tell me where to find little King Darian? Now, that might be a fair trade – one golden-haired little boy for one red-headed sweet maid? I hardly think I’d even be getting the best of that bargain, but I’d be willing to overlook that.”
They circled overhead one more time. Jorelial Rey shouted up, “Now, you know I cannot do that, Drogue. We are all sworn to protect our king with our lives. That is not negotiable.”
“But it is what I want,” he whined.
“What else can I tempt you with?” She was desperate, but kept her voice conversational, with a monumental effort, “Riches? Land? Amnesty, a commission, titles? Name it. If it is in my power, I can make it happen instantly. Surely there is something that will satisfy you?”
He was laughing again, that irritating, skin-crawling laugh. “You just don’t get it, my lady, do you. I told you once before that I have everything I need already – save one thing only. I am not interested in your puny favors. I will be king here. That is my price.”
Tvrdik could hold his tongue no longer, “Give it up, Drogue. Look around you. Despite your wealth, and power, and skill at intimidation, you have lost the day. You underestimated the power of good folk defending their homeland, and a principle. You are defeated. Your army is broken. You cannot win. You may dispatch Delphine, and me, and all of us here, but you will never be king in Eneri Clare. Let the girl go, and surrender, and it will go far easier for you.”
“Ah, it’s the famous mage, now, is it? Brave words from someone so young and inexperienced. I have a bone to pick with you, mage. Did you not appreciate the lovely gift I sent to you, my personal selection for you? Did you have to go and destroy her? Was that done like a gentleman? I went to such pains to surprise you – where is the gratitude, I ask you? You, s
ir, have cut me to the quick.”
“What is he talking about?” the Lady Regent snapped.
“Never mind. I’ll tell you later.” Tvrdik whispered, turning an odd shade of purple.
Drogue went on, “She was a lovely thing. I rather liked her myself. Hmmm, since you were so thoughtless, and broke the plaything I sent to you, perhaps I should show you how it feels, and break yours…” and Drogue seized Delphine by her slender waist, and held her out over the rocky valley floor. She closed her eyes without a sound, but those on the ground watching cried out in terror for her.
Jorelial Rey forced herself to appear unrattled, and tried once more to appeal to Drogue’s better nature. There had to be some small remnant of a human being still flickering in the ugly caricature he had become. “Please, please,” she cried, “my Lord Drogue, do not harm my sister. She has never done you, or anyone else any harm. She is a poet, a singer – not a politician or a warrior. Even you could not be so heartless as to slaughter an innocent for no reason. You have family yourself – friends, perhaps? You can imagine…do not do this just for spite.”
At this the dark rider’s cackling laughter crescendoed to its highest peak. Something in her earnest plea had quite amused him, as he drew Delphine’s slim form back onto the seat in front of him. He seemed to be wiping his eyes with the other hand, as Valour, neighing, hovered in the air.
“Oh, you lot are so entertaining. I confess I have not had this much fun in an age. Poor, deluded children that you are. You deserve a child king, yes, you do. You still have no idea at all with whom you are dealing.” More laughter and eye-wiping. “Such a heartfelt plea! I don’t know whether to laugh or weep. My dear girl, I never do things just for spite; I do them to suit my purposes. Master mage, you point out that I underestimated the performance of your raggle-taggle mob on the battlefield. That much, perhaps is true. You were creative, I’ll give you that. Clever, too – even downright amusing. I am a bit peeved that it has not been as simple a task as I had imagined, to achieve my goal. But, achieve it I will, make no mistake. And, speaking of underestimating things, you all don’t seem to understand that all of the chaos you see on this field, all that has happened today – it makes no difference. I care not for any of this; it is but a chessboard where the game is yours today. But I will take the tournament. I will be king, whatever it may cost. I have come too far, done too much, crossed too many lines to be denied my prize now.”
Rel was confused, “What do you mean by that? Only months ago, you were a respected member of the court.”
This sent him into a whole new fit of merriment. The man was insane. He shifted Delphine to his other arm with a carelessness that elicited gasps from everyone on the ground. “Oh, yes, I played my part well: the disaffected mountain lord so concerned by the idea of a child king, then alienated by being snubbed in the election… Tsk, tsk, tsk, you fools! Do you not know a fine performance when you see it? It was always my intention to have the throne. I have been working at it systematically for years. Now, I am at last so close I can taste it, and nothing will stop me.”
“Working at it systematically…?” Jorelial Rey still could not wrap her brain around that statement.
“My goodness, do you think it is an easy thing to arrange for both halves of a royal couple to take to the sea together, and then to create a large enough storm to insure that they would never see their home again? It was genius, I tell you. No one suspected a thing. Mother Nature’s most brutal trick. A shame that stupid little imp wasn’t on board with them.”
The group watching from below had swelled in size as many of the Legion’s fighters hastened to the scene, wanting to help in some way, and drawn to hear the interchange between Lord Drogue and their own leaders. This last announcement produced a wave of shock and horror that nearly felled some of the company.
“Ye gods…” Corbin Maygrew mumbled, “it’s murder – no, regicide ! How could we have missed it?”
“You see,” Drogue went on, quite proud of his achievements, and elated to finally have the opportunity to brag about them to an audience, “I play to people’s weaknesses. Yours, my dear, is a ridiculous sentimental attachment to this useless creature here. Darian’s was his longing for adventure and fresh experience, while the queen just couldn’t bear to be parted from him, even when wisdom dictated it was prudent. Now, in your father’s case…”
“My…father…?”
“Why, yes! How could I have gotten anywhere with that old geezer in the way? He was far too powerful, and popular. He had to be eliminated. But a little bird told me he had a penchant for a certain vintage of imported port wine. A little gift I sent him to celebrate his birthday. He was delighted. Soothed himself with it nearly every night for months, especially when he began to feel ill. Never suspected the poison for a moment. And his healers just watching him waste away, helpless and without a clue…so tragic. I suspect Gareth was in a lot of pain toward the end.”
Andrus had joined the crowd earlier, but now put his hands over his face in shame, remembering how he himself had sanctioned the glasses of port to soothe and relax his patient, when he could find no other relief, nor effective treatment. How could he not have suspected?
Jorelial Rey, however, had turned white, and was shaking with rage. No more sound could pierce the loud buzzing that was swelling in her ears, and almost all thought was obliterated by a wave of blood-red behind her eyes. Before anyone else realized what was happening, she had dashed forward and taken up from the field one of the latest discarded weapons of Drogue’s hapless force – a long spear, with a sharp, jagged head. With near superhuman strength, and without any conscious consideration of consequences, she gripped its shaft, drew it back, and hurled it at the monster on horseback. Straight up and well-aimed, it hurtled toward its intended target.
“Nooooooo!” wailed Mark and Tvrdik in chorus, Mark shouting that Delphine would be endangered, and Tvrdik gesturing with his hand in the air. The spear became a long-necked goose, flying right past Drogue, on the way to some distant lake.
The Lady Regent turned to face Tvrdik, and in her eyes was a look he did not recognize, one that frightened him. “Why did you do that, mage?” she demanded. “It would have hit him.”
“Jorelial Rey, you cannot do this. Everything we fought for, believed in, struggled to convince the others of…the whole point of it all hangs in the balance. You are the leader, the model for us all. You must not throw it all away like this.”
“Stay out of my way, mage. That demon killed my father – killed him with forethought, cruelty, and glee at his suffering. He took away the light of my life, and the hope of the kingdom, and left me with all of this to cope with on my own. And now, he would take my only sister from me as well? I tell you, he is mine. I will face him here and now, and I will see him die in agony or I will perish in the attempt. Now, get out of my way.”
Tvrdik grabbed her by the shoulders, “You don’t know what you are saying. You’ve just had an awful shock, and you are not yourself. Please, please, Jorelial Rey, think. Stop and think of all you have spent and sacrificed to get this far, all the effort and faith. Trust now, we are so close…let it go.”
She struggled out of his grip, and dashed past him to the field again, where she was able to pick up another lethal-looking spear, and was preparing to launch it. Tvrdik dropped his hands in despair. Mark moaned. Drogue taunted.
“Oho! I see the little lady has more spunk than I gave her credit for. So, you are a warrior after all, my lady. You feel rage, and bloodlust, and the desire for revenge, and you are capable of acting on them. I applaud you. If I decide to let you live long enough, you might yet mature into a real leader. You have a delicious temper, and a ruthless streak I admire. A little time, and I could teach you how to conduct yourself just like me.”
She pulled back the spear, aiming, hesitating, hating his words, hating him, hating herself.
“An
d that is what you wish, then, dearest? To be like him?” This time it was Tashroth’s deep rumble in her ear, his great head beside her, eyes regarding her evenly, warm breath on her shoulder.
“Go away, Tash. I have to kill him.”
“And if you can, what would be gained? You have already won the day here. You cannot bring your father back, nor the king, nor the days of your carefree youth. And what will become of your sister if you should strike him down now? Do you even care anymore?”
She hesitated, hot tears of frustration welling in her eyes. She dashed them away and looked up to see that Delphine was now dangling over Valour’s flank, high above the ground, Drogue holding only her wrists. “Oh, ye gods! Delphine.” she muttered.
“Go on and throw it, missy.” Drogue shouted down at her, still relishing his position of power, “Show us what you are made of.”
Tashroth whispered low again in her ear, “Do you hear how he goads you? He wants you to strike out in rage, to prove that the vision of the Legion is but a wisp of smoke in this world. He wants to hold you up as an example that we are all no better in the end than he is. Dearest, will you give up your soul to him so easily?”
For one single, suspended, eternal moment in time, Jorelial Rey paused long enough to allow the dragon’s words into her mind, her heart, her true best self. Then, every muscle taut, the trembling Lady Regent drew back the awful spear…and threw it to the ground. In that moment of decision and surprise, a host of things happened: as Jorelial collapsed against Tashroth’s forearm, and the great, green muzzle reached down to comfort her, Tvrdik made a sudden grab for the blue shield mirror of the Legionnaire nearest him, and with lightning-quick dexterity, he spun it around and flashed it up toward Drogue as the great winged steed came around for one more pass. Drogue dropped his head and looked away, but the blue mirror caught Valour full in the face. The powerful beast stared hard at the uplifted surface, his eyes wide with horror at what he saw, and then he reared, curved his great muscular neck, shrieked and writhed in torment. Lord Drogue’s balance was upset, and he lost his tenuous hold on the helpless girl, who plummeted toward earth, hands and feet still bound. With one well-timed leap into the air, Candelinda launched herself at the falling bundle and snatched it out of the sky with her talons. Still well above the ground, she twisted around to soar upwards with her precious cargo, carrying Delphine to a safe space several hundred paces away. There they set down with the grace of a drop of rain on a summer blossom.
The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare Page 71