He picked up the box. It was a cubit and half long, one cubit wide, and one cubit deep. On the lid, in gold script, were the stylized initials,D.L.,Della Lain, no doubt about it. The latch was simple, a gold-hinged device with a walnut-sized ruby, clearly an amulet, embedded in it. Daniel placed his hand over the amulet and cast, “What Is This?” while keeping the potential focused beneath his palm. He sensed down to the little worlds with moons circling them, but more importantly, he sensed the life force energy of the shield spell protecting the box and its contents. He ceased using, What Is This? and cast a new spell, disintegrating the amulet, destroying the shield spell, and then recreated the amulet and shield using his Symphonics.
He dared not open the box. By order of the Queen, no one not in the emergency meeting was to know about the trumpet. He cast, What Is This? and sensed into the contents of the casket. Inside was a golden trumpet with silver styling and within the instrument was the residual potential characteristic of a crescendo. Having touched the baton of Tarin Conn, Daniel had no trouble identifying whose life force energy was built up in the trumpet. The verification was important. Otherwise people would have died for trinkets. He placed a shield on the instrument and added a Da Capo tied to his life force. Both shields; the one in the amulet protecting the cedar box, and the one on the trumpet, could absorb whatever potential was directed at them and would be strengthened. He was the only person who could open the box.
“If you can’t open it, maybe I can,” David offered, perhaps not realizing he was feeding the stereo type about Teki being masters of opening other people’s locks.
Daniel stood up while tucking the cedar box under his arm. Everyone was staring at him, but none mentioned seeing anything out of the ordinary. That along with David’s question led him to conclude they had no idea what he just did. They would not have seen a glow, none of them being Aakacarns, it was the destruction and reconstruction he wanted hidden. “No, I think we should turn the box, the coins, and the gems over to Lord Jonah.”
The amulets he would keep, they might just come in handy. “Sergeant, round up the men at the clearing we passed during our chase. We will camp there and start out early in the morning.”
“It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” Keenan replied, and then motioned for Hawk to go with him. “Guardsman, it is not our place to question the value of a mission given us. Ours is to follow orders,” he was telling Duncan.
“What about those blue shields that suddenly appeared when that Taltin fellow cast a spell at us?” replied Hawk with a question rather than agreeing with the Sergeant.
“Remember the meeting in the tent last night?” Keenan’s voice carried in the distance.
“Yes,” Duncan finally replied with an answer that was not a question.
“Then consider the shields an extension of that, don’t talk about anything Aakacarn-like happening around Sir Daniel.”
The two men vanished among the trees and Daniel waved up at Yonder circling in the sky above. The swirl of animals was beginning to drift apart. After all, he did suggest they were free to do as they will. Half of the sasquatches, including Gurrumble, were heading toward the river, the gators, frogs, turtles, and pythons began acting normal, they seemed to sense that Daniel was intending to leave the area and so were getting on with their lives. The owls and ospreys were content to follow him, as were the wolves, cougars, and bears. The queen bee decided this was a good place to make a hive; at least that was the impression Daniel had from her. Goldie and her fellow racers were approaching from the south, along with the copperheads, being unable to keep up with the horses, but would likely arrive in the vicinity of the camp within a mark or two.
Silvia arched an eyebrow at him. “Why the extra shield?”
David was staring at the body. “Whatever he cast at us, your shield seemed to drink it up.”
“I just wanted to be sure you were all fully protected,” Daniel admitted. “That spell was cast with a beam broad enough to engulf both of you from head to toe. I think you may not have survived without the forward shields.”
“He hit you too,” David pointed out. “You would not have survived without the extra shield either.”
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “By then, seeing you dead, I would have altered my shield.”
David cracked a smile. “Thanks, thanks a lot. Do I get to become your food taster as well?”
Daniel looked the Teki up and down, viewing the gaudy colors he was wearing. “I’m not sure your taste is a match for mine.”
“Alright you two, stop joking and tell me what we are going to do with him,” Silvia interrupted the banter while pointing to Jak.
Daniel summoned potential, five beams of light lanced from his four fingers and thumb, intersecting a hand-length away, igniting fire, and sending a jet of flame at the Jak’s body, cremating it. “I couldn’t just leave him to be torn apart by the animals.”
“Yes, I believe you could,” David replied, and received an elbow in the side for his comment.
Silvia brought her arm back down. “Even a condemned man gets buried or cremated, this was no different.”
David eyed his wife and then focused on Daniel. “As I was saying, there’s no way you could have done otherwise,” he stated, earning a satisfied nod of the head from her.
Daniel resisted the urge to smile, not difficult, seeing as he had an equally grim task ahead of him. “Let’s get to the camp.”
Jonah was the first to greet him when Daniel stepped into the perimeter just as the sun finally sank below the horizon. “I see Sergeant Keenan reported accurately, as usual. You have the stolen items,” the son of the Duke said while eyeing the cedar box and smiling from ear to ear. “But where are the other Aakacarns? I’ve been told you executed the one in possession of the stolen property.”
Fires were being lit by those designated to do so. Everyone who was not actively contributing to the ordering of the camp was gathered close enough to hear all that was being said, Daniel wondered who among them was a spy, yet took the time to answer the Ducalin. “I imagine the remaining thieves are looking for the one who betrayed them. I presented Jak Taltin with the formal list of charges, he confessed, and I did my duty, under the law, as a Royal Knight of the Realm.”
“And you did it well,” Jonah quickly replied. “The question is, do we return to my father’s estate, or do we pursue the remaining Aakacarns?”
Neither option was what Daniel had in mind, yet he understood the other man’s thinking. The trumpet was back in the hands of a Ducalin, which certainly was Jonah’s biggest concern, and the young lord likely wanted to see those responsible for the assault on his home and the death of his brother executed. The man knew nothing about the appointment in Tomrus. “We continue north. According to the message on the mud hut, the remaining Aakacarns are attempting to flee to Pentrosa, and so we are heading that way as well.” The answer seemed good enough to satisfy the Queen’s nephew.
Sergeant Zaccum’s left eyebrow arched up. “I didn’t know that message had been verified?”
Once again David stepped in to answer a question not put to him. “No doubt the verification came along with the confession Daniel elicited from the thief.” It was a reasonable explanation for all that it was untrue.
Daniel did not feel the need to set the matter straight. In fact, he did not feel the need to explain his decision about continuing north. Zaccum eyed him as if seeking confirmation of the statement made by the Teki, and if so he was going to be disappointed. “Sergeant Keenan, assemble the men, I want everyone here, even the guards,” Daniel ordered.
Keenan snapped a salute. “It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” he said, and then turned, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Assembly!” using the one-word command that caused each man to drop whatever he was doing and come running.
Corporal Carlin took up the call as well and before Daniel could count to thirty, all of his human company encircled him. The remaining animals in his swirl
were close by and out of sight, which is the way he wanted it. He removed the amulets from his pocket and opened his hand so all could see. “Jonah, do any of these look familiar to you?”
The Duke’s son fixed his gaze upon the contents of Daniel’s hand. “The third one to the left, the diamond set within the blue sapphire, it looks like the center piece in my sister’s necklace.”
Daniel nodded his head in agreement, having only asked for verification. He no longer had total recall and so wanted to confirm the fact before saying anything that sounded accusatory. “This is a communication amulet, a device that links the mind of the possessor to that of its maker.”
Jonah immediately stiffened. “Are you insinuating my sister is involved with the Aakacarns who assaulted my family home and murdered my brother?”
Daniel raised his hands, gesturing for calm. “I insinuate nothing. Her jewelry is likely just ornamental and coincidently resembles an amulet made by an Aakacarn, but it must be verified.”
Jonah’s face was red while he nodded acknowledgment of the fact. The Queen’s nephew would know the law and that a Knight of the Realm had no choice but to pursue the matter to its proper conclusion. This was a case no Knight of the Ream wanted to deal with, not when it concerned the heir to the throne.
Daniel put the amulets back in his pocket, but kept a grip on them, cast, Find: amulet, and closed his eyes. If anyone else in the camp possessed an Aakacarn communication device created by the same maker as these, the spy will be made known. One pace behind and six to the left, he sensed an amulet just like the one with the diamond set in a blue sapphire. He had been hoping it was one of the other objects, the fact would not have cleared Angelina Ducalin, but it would have made her complicity in the affair less likely.
He turned to face whoever possessed the other diamond set in a blue sapphire, opened his eyes, and could not keep the sigh from escaping. Not him, it just could not be. Ruth’s advice, “if anyone insisted upon accompanying him, let them,” never steered him wrong before.
“What’s the matter, you look like death warmed over, are you having a relapse?” Lieutenant Tomei asked, as if he was deeply concerned.
“Why Cale, what did they offer you?” Daniel said with a catch in his throat. This man had been his instructor in the art of the blade; someone who could be depended upon, who he thought had his back.
Cale’s eyes widened as if he was totally confused by the questioning, yet his hand drifted towards the hilt of the deadly weapon on his hip. “Who offered me what? I know nothing of what you speak.”
Daniel steeled himself for what was to come. “By my authority as a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm, I am ordering you to empty the contents of your pants pockets.”
People began to move away from the blade master. Sergeant Keenan and Corporal Carlin gripped their swords, ready on the instant to draw them at one word from their commander. David had a knife in his hand on the instant and Silvia caressed her crossbow but had not yet removed it from the clip on her belt.
Cale’s eyes narrowed. “Just what are you accusing me of?”
The man had nerve, Daniel had to give him that, but it changed nothing. “Depending on what is in your pockets, you will be charge with treason, among other things.”
The Lieutenant eyed the men surrounding him, perhaps estimating his chances of getting out of the camp alive, perspiration glistened on his brow. He swallowed hard and a strained smile appeared on his face. “How did you know it was me?”
A collective gasp sounded from the assembly, each person had heard the charge, and the response that amounted to a confession. Daniel did not feel the man deserving of any answers. “Lieutenant Cale Tomei, you are charged with treason against the crown of Ducaun, betrayal of your standing as an officer and cavalryman of Ducaun, and spying on an active mission of which you are a part, resulting in the deaths of Corporal Josh Duwin, Guardsman Ross Monner, and Guardsman Raymond Carpenter. Do you deny these charges?”
If Cale denied the charges a formal trial would ensue with Daniel as the judge. The Master-of-the-blade drew his sword. “My family has served in the Royal Cavalry for centuries, defending the borders of Ducaun, and I have continued this proud tradition. You see what I have done as a betrayal, but I believe my actions justified. Our kingdom allows its citizens to worship as they please, everything I have done has been in accord with the free exercise of my beliefs, and I am not ashamed.”
“What does that have to do with what he’s being charged with?” David asked in a voice that probably did not carry beyond a few paces, but was clearly heard by the accused.
“I believe in Tarin Conn,” Cale boldly declared.
Daniel took a deep breath, his emotions mixed, furious at the betrayal, and saddened that it had come to this. “Lieutenant Cale Tomei, I find you guilty of the charges stated before this assembly. The sentence, by law, is death. We are in the field so the sentence is to be carried out immediately. The only choice I am giving you is the method.”
Cale smiled menacingly. “I choose a duel to the death by sword.”
Sergeant Keenan stepped forward and volunteered, “I will carry out the sentence.”
He was a brave man and would most likely die, along with any other similarly like-minded men, but Daniel could not allow it.
Cale sneered. “Bring your executioners on, one at a time. Let’s see who is alive at the end.”
Daniel drew his blade, accepting the challenge, “Very well, a duel to the death by sword.”
Cale laughed. “So I’ll start with you. No problem. There’s no way you can beat me. I let you win that one time in the swamp.”
The truth or falsehood of the statement made no difference now, whichever, Daniel felt the need to give fair warning. “Cale, this will not be a fair fight, it is not within your power to kill me. I was born with extra energy in my life force. Even without summoning potential against you, my stamina is greater, and I will carryout the type of death you requested. We don’t have to do this. I can make your end painless.”
Cale laughed all the more while the circle of watchers widened enough to give the duelists room for their bout. “I am the greatest swordsman in the kingdom, one of the greatest in the world, and it is I who is going to kill you,” he announced and launched into Parting Kiss. The spring forward and double thrust was easily met with Crack of the Whip.
The dance of death had begun and Daniel met every offensive form used against him. Cale moved with the speed of a striking viper, springing into the air. His, Sting of the Wasp was negated by Daniel’s Springing Tiger, and the duel continued. Thorn in the Bushes met Nip in the Bud. Serpent Uncoiling met Ferret Coming In. On and on they fought, both blades a blur, metal clashing against metal, sparks flying. Tomei began Pruning the Hedges, but changed to Fanning the Flames at the last instant. Daniel quickly switched from Raking Leaves to Falling Rain. Cale’s eyes widened at the swift response to his changed attack. The contest continued with the Lieutenant starting one form and ending with another over and over again.
Three quarters of a mark went by with both men moving at top speed in the dance of swords. The people watching no longer existed. Daniel’s entire world was inhabited by him and the traitor, who was beginning to breathe hard, yet did not slow. A mark and a half in, Cale was slowing and Daniel took the offensive. He leapt into the air. His Triplets in the Carriage was countered by Cale’s Spider in the Web, but it backed the traitor up ten paces, nearly tripping him. Tomei regained his balance and began Eagle in the Heights, which Daniel simply parried to the right and launched into a reverse Dry Leaves Stirring. He knew by the slight resistance to his blade, even before he came out of the spin, that the duel was over. On the ground in front of him was the body of his instructor, whose head was several paces away. Daniel wiped the blood from his blade and sheathed it reflexively. Cale certainly had been an excellent instructor.
Complete silence fell over the camp as the entire company looked on in shock at the dead blade master. Jon
ah was the first to break from the circle and approach. “You defeated a Master-of-the-blade in a fair fight,” he proclaimed with awe in his voice. “And you aren’t even breathing hard.”
Daniel did not feel victorious. This was an execution. Cale never stood a chance of winning. Not only did his opponent have extra energy in his life force, he had an invisible shield beneath his clothes. Even if Tomei actually managed to get through his defenses, Daniel would have been unharmed. “No, I carried out the sentence in the way he requested.” It was as simple as that.
The Royal Guardsmen cheered as one, the noise waking flocks of birds in the trees and causing them to take flight and scatter, a risky thing for them to do in the dark. Sergeant Zaccum came forward, eyes wide, and nearly a smile on his face. He was making an effort to appear solemn. “His sword and scabbard are yours. You are a Master-of-the-blade now, we are all witnesses, and you ought to have lightning bolts etched into your own hilt and scabbard.”
David was shouting congratulations along with the rest, but Silvia was watching the Chosen Vessel. She seemed to sense how he felt and instead came over and whispered to him. “I’m sorry.” It was enough.
Daniel nodded to her, which Zaccum took for acceptance of his remark. “Good, you can have it done at your earliest convenience,” the old Sergeant shouted over the cheers.
Corporal Carlin was the next to approach. Anyone who thought this man stupid because of the slope of his forehead was in for a surprise. This man was alert even while clearly being as excited over his commander’s display of swordsmanship as the rest of the men. “What are your orders?”
To Be Chosen Page 40