31
THE COST OF FREEDOM
I n all my long years, I have never had such a splendid feast,” said Falon, curling back part of her serpentine body so she could scratch her back on a row of stalagmites. “And now, young Aidan, I will take you and your friends back to my stair. I can carry many on my lengthy frame, and it is the least I can do since you have fed me for the next ten years!”
It was hours after sunup, and the once-menacing army of Paragory was no longer a threat to anyone-except, perhaps, to Falon, who, after such a large meal, might expect a hefty case of indigestion!
Falon laughed a deep, throaty laugh as Aidan, Gwenne, and the other Glimpses scrambled up her legs to find a spot for the ride. Aidan looked back at the survivors, and was content to be alive and reunited with Gwenne.
Falon again traveled through the tunnels and caverns beneath the Black Crescent, slower than before, because this time she had a very full stomach and more than seventy passengers holding on for dear life. The trip allowed Aidan time to let his mind wander over all he had learned. Gwenne explained how she had been captured when a squad of Paragor Knights found the trapdoor leading to the cellar in which she had been hiding. Fighting fiercely, she had wounded several enemies, but in the end, Gwenne had been taken captive. Lord Rucifel had planned to use her as a hostage to bargain with the King of Alleble.
The other Mithegard Knights had been captured during the huge battle at Mithegard or caught trying to flee the city. Had Aidan not rescued them, they were destined to become slaves beyond the Gates of Despair.
Everyone stared in amazement as Aidan recounted his ordeal and how he had tricked the enemy army.
“That was a brilliant idea, Sir Aidan,” said Gwenne. “They thought Alleble had emptied, that the bulk of our army was attacking. Lantern spiders, indeed! Absolutely brilliant.”
“It was so brilliant that it nearly got us all killed,” Aidan replied. “Those blackhorne could have trampled us just as easily as the enemy. I don’t know what influence King Eliam has on beasts in the wild, but I bet he had something to do with our not getting run over.”
“That may well be, Sir Aidan,” she said, her eyes glassy. “But still it was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”
It had been an incredible victory, but for Aidan it was still a hollow victory, for no one had seen or heard from King Ravelle of Mithegard, the Glimpse of Aidan’s father. And of the twelve who originally set out from Alleble, Aidan only knew for sure that he, Gwenne, and Kaliam still lived. Aidan did not yet have the heart to tell Gwenne this or of what befell Captain Valithor as the castle of Mithegard was burning.
Falon finally dropped the knights off at the bottom of the long stairway back to the surface just a few miles outside of Mithegard. Not a single ray from the sun reached all the way down the stairs, so Falon gave Aidan and his friends a few torches to light their way. Aidan turned and looked at the gigantic mortiwraith. When roused, her appearance was terrifying, but at peace she was a beautiful, radiant creature.
“Falon, thank you for everything,” Aidan said. “If it wasn’t for you…”
“’Twas a benefit to us all, young Aidan,” she replied, shaking her head. “Finally, I have repaid good Sir Valithor for the kindness he showed me long ago. And in the repaying, I have gained a friend, I think.”
“Several friends!” Gwenne replied, correcting Falon. “We all are grateful for what you have done. We will make sure that everyone in Alleble knows that you are a hero-not the evil creature written about in the legends.”
“Now, let’s not be too hasty, hmmm?” Falon laughed sinisterly. “I have grown fond of that reputation-it keeps away unwanted visitors, you see.”
“I’d like to come back and visit you some time,” Aidan blurted out.
“Is that allowed, Sir Aidan?” Falon asked. “Well, no matter. You, Sir Aidan, are forever welcome here.” Falon turned to leave, but quickly looked back at the young knight. “Now, on your way. Farewell, young Aidan. Farewell all!!”
And with that Falon was gone-back to the dark caverns and tunnels beneath the mountains. Aidan turned and led the way up the steep, winding stairway.
Somehow, the climb was so much easier than the descent, for Aidan had nothing left to fear. In a flash they reached the top, where the late-afternoon sun all but blinded them.
“It is glorious to be out in the sun again,” one of the Mithegard Knights declared.
“It is glorious to be free!” another agreed.
Aidan turned, looked at the Mithegard Knights, and couldn’t help but smile. They were filled with tremendous joy-the joy of freedom that can only be felt by those who realize what it’s like to have that freedom taken from them. It was at that moment, staring into their eyes, that Aidan realized something amazing.
“Your eyes glint blue!” he yelled at the Mithegard Knights.
“These knights,” Gwenne announced, gesturing, “have decided to follow the King of Alleble.”
“We should have made this decision long ago,” said one of the knights, his long blond hair dancing in the light breeze. “We were entranced by the shiny gold trinkets from Paragory’s poison vaults.. .. Our greed has cost us much.”
Aidan recalled the slaughter at Mithegard. It just didn’t make sense how so many could be so blinded by their desires for riches and power. But then Aidan remembered how, deep in Falon’s maze, he himself had foolishly gone after the golden treasures, ignoring the right path.
“Yes,” Aidan nodded gravely. “We are all very fortunate to have survived our poor decisions.”
“Well said,” agreed one of the Mithegard Knights. Aidan fought the urge to laugh. It had been well said, but where in the world had this surprising wisdom come from?
Before this adventure, Aidan had struggled just to get a C on a math test, but now… now things were different. Aidan could know more, see more, and do more than he ever could have alone. And I will never be alone again, Aidan thought.
They walked for another hour, their pace quickening as they drew nearer to the burned-out walls of Mithegard. When they approached the smashed gates, Glimpses in bright silver armor poured out to greet them, but they were not from the ruined city. They were Knights of Alleble, and leading the way were four familiar faces.
Kaliam, Farix, Nock, and Mallik charged into Gwenne and Aidan. They held one another for long, silent moments as only soldiers who have battled side by side can embrace. In the looks that were exchanged there was grief, exhaustion, understanding, and relief. Great joy there was also, but tragedy tempered every smile.
“Sir Aidan, I feared you would perish in that dreadful creature’s lair!” Kaliam declared, grasping Aidan by the shoulders. “And, Gwenne, it was almost beyond hope to have you both back safe!”
“Almost,” Gwenne agreed, hugging Kaliam in turn. “But, with the mighty King of Alleble behind us, nothing is beyond hope! It was an extraordinary adventure!”
“I knew you’d make a first-rate knight the moment I saw you!” declared Mallik with a gleam in his eyes. Nock cast a disparaging look at his hammer-wielding friend.
“Your arm, Aidan!” exclaimed Kaliam. “That nasty wound needs attention.”
“I’ll be all right.” In a weird kind of way, he was hoping it would leave a scar.
“How did you do it?” asked Farix. “How did you pass Falon’s Stair? And how did you liberate Gwenne and the Mithegardians?”
“I’ll be glad to tell you,” Aidan said, looking among the other knights who had come out to greet them. “But where… where are the others?”
Mallik’s jaw trembled, but he mastered it and threw his shoulders back. Tears burst forth from Nock’s eyes. Kaliam seemed the only one who could speak. “Tal is in the city, for he could not bear to leave the wounded. But… the rest of our company, the rest fell in the battle.”
“No,” Aidan said, choking. He looked questioningly into Nock’s eyes. “Bolt?”
“My brother was slain,” Nock said slowly
. “We emptied our quivers on the dark knights, but still they came. We fought with sword and dagger, but they rushed us with spearmen. Bolt was slain from behind, and I would have died with him if it weren’t for the valiant onslaught of Sir Mallik. He brought his hammer on those villains and drove their bones into the earth! Never again will I argue my bow against his hammer.”
“I only wish-” said Mallik. “I only wish I could have gotten to you sooner. But my hammer cannot reach like your bows.”
Kaliam said, “Matthias and Eleazar were defending the castle gates when… when an explosion took them.”
Gwenne stared wide-eyed like a lost child. Her question was barely audible. “You did not speak of Captain Valithor?”
Aidan, half-choked with tears, told Gwenne of the Captain’s brave sacrifice. She fell into Aidan’s arms, and they wept.
Finally, Kaliam said, “There will be time for mourning, but there is much left to be done-not the least of which is to get you a warm bath, a warm plate, and a warm bed lest your spirit fail utterly. Come, the city is not wholly destroyed, and with the supply sent from Alleble, the board is not as bare as you may suspect.”
As Kaliam and the other Alleb Knights ushered them inside, Aidan began to realize just how dirty, hungry, and weary he had become. His armor, still the black-and-crimson Paragor armor he had borrowed from Falon, was caked with dirt and dried blood. The fabric of his breeches and other garments was filthy with sweat and grime from the horrific battles and difficult travels. He longed for a warm bath and a fresh set of clothes. Never before had he so much wanted to be clean.
For days, Aidan had been forced to survive on very little food. So when Kaliam mentioned being fed, Aidan’s stomach churned with hunger.
But perhaps even overpowering his other felt needs was the desire to rest. He wanted sleep in the worst way. But a young attendant from King Ravelle’s court insisted on tending Aidan’s arm.
“This dressing will need to be changed twice a day,” the attendant said. “Or else the wound could turn green and you could lose that arm. Do you understand?”
Aidan nodded yes.
“There, that should do it,” said the attendant. “Now, I think your friends will lead you to your quarters and a soft bed.”
A bed sounded like paradise.
Kaliam led Aidan and Gwenne inside a cottage near the kingdom’s outer walls and showed each of them to a room. Aidan fell into his room’s small bed.
As he lay there, tears flooded his tired eyes. In such a short time, he had witnessed unspeakable horrors. So many innocent souls slain and cast aside. He thought of Eleazar, Matthias, Bolt, and Captain Valithor-friends for far too short a time.
Aidan awoke to the sound of Kaliam banging on his door. “Arise, Sir Sluggabed, arise!” Kaliam bellowed. “Or do you plan to sleep another day away?”
Another day? Aidan thought with a start. He ran to the door and let Kaliam in.
“How long have I been in here?” Aidan asked.
“Almost a day and a half,” Kaliam replied with a smile. “Now, up with you. I’ve drawn you a warm bath and filled a table with food. Make haste, for we must leave for Alleble in time for the great ceremony.”
“What ceremony?” Aidan asked, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“What ceremony?” Kaliam echoed. “Why, tomorrow is the last day of Minuet, what you call July. Ere dawn, we will go to the fountains to celebrate many things and to remember.”
With that, Kaliam was gone. A bath had been drawn for him, so Aidan bathed. And in the washing away of those stains, it seemed a great burden was lifted from Aidan’s heart. He was rid of the filth, rid of the evidence of the evils he had lived. But not all reminders had been washed away. Wounds, there were still. Some would be treated and vanish. Others could not be healed by salve or bandage, and scars would remain.
Aidan’s spirits lifted more as he dressed in the silver of Alleble. And he was amazed at the armor that was left out for him to wear. For upon his new breastplate, engraved with careful artistry, was the symbol of the sun rising between the two mountains. He was equipped also with a new belt for his sword. And as he slid Fury into its sheath, he discovered that it did not feel as heavy as it had. In fact, the blade did not drag the ground any longer. It was as if the armor was custom-made just for him.
Moments later a small feast was delivered, and Aidan ate. He ate a lot.
With a contented, overstuffed grin on his face, Aidan sat at a table in the cottage until Gwenne came in.
“Good evening, Sir Aidan,” she said. “I’m glad you’ve eaten, for it is time to go. Kaliam has saddled several dragons for our return trip to Alleble.”
Aidan nodded and stood. And it seemed that Gwenne was awestruck. She stared at Aidan and went pink in the face.
“What’s the matter?” Aidan asked, feeling like he’d put his armor on wrong again. He checked his couters, just to be sure.
“Nothing, Sir Aidan,” she replied. “It is just that you look different in your new armor.” And she would say no more.
They left the cottage, and as they walked through the courtyard, Aidan looked around with amazement. The last time he had seen Mithegard’s courtyard, it was soaked with blood and littered with the bodies of knights from three armies. But now, it was totally cleared. The Knights of Alleble, led by Tal, had been busy reforming it from a place of horrors to a place that could be rebuilt.
There was much evidence still of the tremendous battle: stone was cracked and shattered, buildings were reduced to rubble, and anything wooden was charred or rent. And worst of all, the once-proud Castle of Mithegard lay in ruins, its seven towers laid low.
Kaliam, Nock, Farix, and Mallik greeted Aidan and Gwenne when they entered the stables and pens behind the remains of the castle.
“Ah, Sir Aidan and Lady Gwenne, good evening to you both,” said Kaliam, bowing low. Mallik, Nock, and Farix simply stared at Aidan.
Mallik seemed especially affected, and he turned and whispered something in Nock’s ear.
Kaliam spoke again. “We have a long journey ahead of us this evening. Let’s mount up, shall we? Gwenne, your own dragon, Gabby, is here for you to ride. And Sir Aidan, if you will, join me on Blazewing. I would like to hear of your adventures since we parted the day of the battle.”
“No fair!” said Mallik, his coppery brows in a knot. “Sir Aidan was to ride with me! Indeed, I am in need of something to distract me from the smell of the beast I must ride!”
The dark green dragon near Mallik flexed its wings and growled.
“You see?” exclaimed Mallik.
“I will ride with you,” said Nock with a wry grin. “I have tales to tell you of my brother Bolt that may distract you from your fear of flying.”
“What! Fear of flying?” Mallik objected. And he mumbled something inaudible.
“What say you, Sir Aidan?” asked Kaliam.
“Gladly, Kaliam,” Aidan replied. “But first, have you heard any news of the King of Mithegard? Did he make it to Alleble? Or was he. .. was he killed in the battle?”
Gwenne and Kaliam exchanged odd glances before Kaliam answered hesitantly. “The King of Mithegard was not found among the dead, Sir Aidan. But many have passed between here and Alleble since the siege.”
It wasn’t totally disheartening news, but it didn’t guarantee anything about Aidan’s father.
So Aidan tried to put his anxiety aside for the trip. After all, he had never ridden awake on a dragon before! He had been unconscious when Gabby had brought him to Alleble, so this time he planned on enjoying the ride.
32
THE KNIGHT OF THE DAWN
T he creatures began to extend and flap their awesome batlike wings. Dirt and dry grass swirled beneath them, and one by one the dragons went airborne. Watching the ground fall away so quickly stole Aidan’s breath, but he kept his eyes open as the recognizable trees, hills, and mountains shrank into a patchwork quilt-colored crimson by the setting sun. And as the light faded,
stars began to blink to life in the vast night sky. Aidan stared at the stars and wondered how anything could be so beautiful.
Kaliam interrupted Aidan’s thoughts to ask him how he had rescued Gwenne, so Aidan told him the entire tale, beginning with the terrifying walk down Falon’s Stair and the secret of the labyrinth.
“You mean there is no maze?” Kaliam had asked. “It was the creature itself?!”
“An amazing creature,” Aidan had replied.
Kaliam listened in awe to Aidan’s adventures. His tale lasted for several hours, and when it was over, Kaliam had simply replied, “Well done, servant of the King… well done.”
Kaliam began to tell of his own adventures, but the rhythmic beat of the dragon’s wings pulled Aidan into a deep, peaceful sleep. And Aidan slept through the rest of the trip.
After the landing, the knights dismounted. Kaliam carried Aidan to his chamber and laid him, armor and all, on his bed.
There came a soft knock at Aidan’s door. It was Gwenne. Her armor was gone and she again wore the beautiful jewel-studded lavender dress she had worn the first time Aidan had seen her.
“I let you sleep as much as I could,” she said. “But come now, for we do not want the sun to rise without us.”
It was all rather mysterious, and as he trotted down the stairs, Aidan wondered what to expect from the celebration. Gwenne would not tell him anything. She simply smiled and said, “Come and see.”
Finally, they left the stairs, turned the corner, and walked out of the gatehouse into the blue-gray before dawn. And Aidan stood as one turned to stone. He gazed out into the main thoroughfare of Alleble, but it was not the Seven Fountains that made him still. For such a crowd was gathered there as Aidan had never seen. It seemed that every Glimpse in Alleble must be there, shoulder to shoulder, side by side, all around the fountains and upon every foot of available space along the entire expanse of the road. And all were absolutely silent-even the tiniest of children seemed to know the reverence of the moment and made no sound.
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