by B. T. Narro
Eden asked, “Are many troops still loyal to your family?”
“Some are, to my brother now. The rest are loyal to the Chespars.”
“Are there many other noble families with soldiers?” Eden asked.
“They’ve probably been bought,” Hadley said, and Kataleya nodded.
“Bought? What does that mean exactly?” Eden asked.
Kataleya answered, “Other noble families are most likely assisting the larger army with resources and troops. Their loyalty has been purchased by the Chespars and my brother with my family’s coin, or perhaps with a betrothal in the future.”
“Why didn’t the king purchase them?” Charlie asked.
“He can’t afford anyone else,” Michael explained. “So he went with ranged combat, mostly archers from families he trusts. Like Reuben’s family, and maybe Ali’s?” he asked.
“Yes,” Aliana said. “My father has contributed.”
“Yet he’s still in prison?” I asked her.
“For now. He still has a lot to prove, to undo his treason charge.”
My head was swimming. It reminded me of all the drama surrounding the demigods. I wanted all of this to be simpler, but wishing it so was not an effective approach. I could only take care of the things I could possibly change.
“Why the hell are all of you standing around?” Leon yelled, quickly stirring everyone into action as we fetched our bags. “You’re gossiping like old ladies when we have to get going!”
“We’re trying to figure out if there’s going to be treason!” Charlie was the only one to stand in the hall and speak back.
“Leave that to me and the other officers while you focus on the tasks you’re given.”
“You and Jennava are officially officers now?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, now get your things together.”
I hated to agree with Leon, but he was right. As much as I trusted my friends, I better trusted the king and the people he’d reached out to for help to handle this matter. He would lean on us when it was time, as he had before.
*****
The harness was less than comfortable for both me and Charlie. It held him to me with loops of leather around my hips and shoulders. I still had to hold Charlie’s legs as if he had jumped onto my back without a harness, but with the help of the straps, there wasn’t much weight on my arms.
The king had people watching our test flight with spyglasses as I took Charlie up over the castle walls and high into the sky. Charlie gripped my chest so tightly that it was difficult for me to maintain focus. I told him to loosen his hold several times during the flight, but he never did. I wasn’t sure he even heard me while he was whimpering with his head down on my shoulder, clearly unable to see.
“Charlie, relax,” I told him while we were soaring. “I have us. Enjoy it.”
“How much longer?” he asked without taking his forehand off my shoulder.
“I’m not bringing us back until you relax.”
“Jon!”
“I can’t have you squeezing the air out of my chest the whole way to Rohaer. Pick your head up and take a few breaths. Here, I’ll slow down.” At first.
Rather than holding myself suspended, which still drained my stamina quickly, I continued to fly by tossing the dvinia gripping my body, only now I didn’t throw the energy with my mind quite as hard.
Charlie looked down over the trees of Curdith Forest. He dug his nails into me as he gasped in fear. “We are too high!”
“It’s safe. You have to start telling yourself that. Don’t you trust me?”
“I do.”
“You’re not going to fall. Believe me.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“All right. I believe you.”
I picked up speed with the next push of dvinia, the wind screaming past our ears. Charlie screamed with it and squeezed his arm tighter, threatening to choke the base of my neck.
“Charlie,” I wheezed out.
“Sorry!”
It went on like that for some time as I circled around the forest near the capital. I didn’t know if it was one of the many things I said in hopes of calming him down, or if it was because enough time had passed without incident, but eventually Charlie came to realize that he wasn’t going to fall. He relaxed his grip and started hooting with joy when I picked up speed.
I needed a long break by the time I took us back and landed in the courtyard.
“When will we go again?” Charlie was asking excitedly as he took off the cloth wrapped around his ears and over his eyelids.
Meanwhile, I was peeling the sweaty bandanna off my face as I huffed for breath. “Not for a little while.”
We looked around for our peers. I caught sight of them on horses ready to go near the open drawbridge beyond the portcullis. Leon had dismounted and was walking toward us. He had on a breastplate of Valaer steel, like the one protecting my heart. In fact, all of my peers behind him had one as well. Most of them carried Induct stones with them now—not Eden for obvious reasons—but I hadn’t seen them in armor before now. It filled me with pride.
“Is Charlie coming with us or not?” Leon yelled across the courtyard.
“Not,” he replied. “I’m going with Jon.”
“We’ll see you in a couple of days, then,” Leon said, turning to join the others.
They waved as they left the castle through the open drawbridge. We returned the gesture. Hadley blew me a kiss.
“I was hoping we would get to say goodbye,” Charlie told me.
I was, too, especially to Hadley. “Like Leon said, we’ll see them soon. Hey Charlie, do you know anything about how Eden is doing now?”
“Remi says she’s doing much better.”
“I was hoping that was the case.”
“Jon, Charlie,” the king said from the great hall, gesturing for us to come to him.
I was still dabbing my sweat with the dry parts of my bandanna as we headed over.
The king was tall, leaning a bit to meet our eyes. “Here’s a callring, Jon. Leon has the other. You might be too far away to feel a distress shake through the ring depending on when Leon might signal for you, but if you do, look for them north along the road. That’s where they will be traveling.”
“I understand.” I slid the ring onto my middle finger.
“I’m proud of you two,” the king told us to my surprise. “You’ve both improved in ways none of us expected. There are troubling times ahead of us, but I have my best people looking out for you and the other young sorcerers. I told you a long time ago that I would not have all of you trained just to send you into battle like a common soldier, and I’m keeping my promise, Charlie.”
“Thank you, sire.”
“Jon, I know you are different. You want to fight, and you have certainly proven that you can. But anything can happen in war, especially where sorcery is involved. I know I touched on this earlier, but now I need a promise. With your new ability to travel quickly, you might be tempted to take certain matters into your own hands.”
“I won’t, sire, not without consent from my immediate officer.”
“I’m asking for a promise.”
“I promise.”
“Good, then say goodbye to Callie and you can be on your way. She’s in her quarters in the keep and could use some cheering up.”
“Oh,” I said. “Yes, sire.”
“Hurry, Jon, I want to fly again,” Charlie said as I picked myself up with dvinia and soared toward one of the high windows of the keep.
I knocked on it. Rick, standing guard inside, opened it for me.
“Are you headed off soon?” he asked.
“Yes, after I say goodbye to the princess.”
“I’ll take you there.”
We walked through the keep. Rick looked as if he disapproved of something.
“You know, Jon, the king asked us if we’ve seen any cohorting around between the boys and girls in the apartments.”
“It means what you think it does. Probably what happened when you went to visit Hadley last night.”
I felt my cheeks turn red. I knew I should be more discreet, but visiting her room with the guards standing there was the only way I could see her. “What did you tell the king?”
“The truth. Randy and I are not being paid to withhold things. I think it’s fair to let you know.”
Then I wondered why the king was still pushing me toward Callie. Perhaps he didn’t know how strong my feelings were for Hadley.
The king was right that I should say goodbye to Callie because she was my friend, but it still felt uncomfortable the way he’d turned it into a duty. With her betrothal to the Chespars just about nonexistent, it seemed obvious that the king now had me in mind. My world was getting messier as this went on. I almost missed the days I first came to the castle, when all I had to do was learn dvinia.
I knocked on the door to the princess’s chambers and announced myself. Callie’s mother, the queen, answered the door. I hadn’t spoken one word to her and figured I should change that. I bowed.
“I apologize that we haven’t met formally before,” I said. “I’m Jon Oklar.”
“I’m Esma Lennox, Jon. It’s my pleasure. I already feel like I know you well. Have you come to tell the princess goodbye before you leave?”
“I have, um.” I didn’t know how to address the queen, but I noticed Callie smiling behind her as she cupped her hands around her mouth and silently told me the answer. “My queen,” I continued.
“I will leave you two alone,” Esma said as she walked out.
Now there was no doubt in my mind that the whole Lennox family looked at me like a suitor for Callie.
I made my way over to Callie and bowed, but I noticed her eyes were red and puffy. She did smile at me, but her lips looked as if weights were attached to the corners.
I made a guess as to the cause. “I heard the Chespars would not meet with you yet.”
She nodded solemnly. “I very much wanted to meet Trevor.” I was a little surprised but glad to hear that. “Mother says it’s better that they have delayed. It gives us time to test their loyalty, but father is unhappy. I think he’s worried about a rebellion.”
“I think so, too.”
She seemed nervous as she looked at me. “You know?”
“I’ve heard things.”
“Like what?”
I felt like I was overstepping. It was one thing to speak about dangerous nobles among my friends, but to possibly poison the mind of the princess who looked forward to meeting the son of one of these nobles…that was too much.
“It’s not my place to speak about things I have no way of knowing, and I don’t have the luxury of time, either. I must be going very soon. I just wanted to wish you goodbye.”
“How long will you be gone?”
I have absolutely no idea. “Not long,” I lied. “With my new ability to fly, it’s likely I will bring news back to the castle when necessary. I could see you then.” That part was true.
“I want to fly with you at least one time. Can you promise me that we will?”
“You’ll have to speak your father about that.” I was pretty sure he wouldn’t allow it.
“Please, Jon. I can tell him that I demanded you do it.”
I was hesitant, but it was the least I could do after everything she had done for me.
“All right, I promise I will at some point in the near future.”
“Wonderful!”
“Have you learned any spells yet?” I asked, remembering how she had been training with sorcery. It would be good to know if the princess could protect herself while we were gone.
“I have actually.” She stepped back and made a ball of light.
“Holy hell,” I muttered in shock.
She snickered. “Jon, you just swore in front of a princess.”
“What, ‘hell’?”
“Yes!” she said in mock annoyance with a laugh.
“I’m sorry. I was surprised. With how fast you’re learning, your father soon isn’t going to need the help of another fire mage to keep him safe.”
“Thank you, Jon. That means a lot coming from you.”
I bowed. “I have to go.”
She squeezed me and held on tightly. “Be careful,” she whispered. “You are everyone’s hope. You must not let anything happen to you.”
“I won’t.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Although I was given a map with the location of the wooden fortress, it still took most of the day for us to find it. Charlie went from whooping in excitement to complaining about how long this was taking and how abrasive the wind was to his eyes. It was a relief to both of us when we finally found the fortress, until we realized that the word “fortress” was a stretch.
“This is it?” Charlie asked dubiously.
“It must be,” I said.
The walls of the fort were not very tall, maybe ten feet from where the logs were embedded in the dirt to their spiked tops. At least there were a few large turrets built into the walls. Covered with wooden roofs, they stood twice as tall as the walls and provided a good place for lookouts, sorcerers, or even officers to better survey the fort during the battle. There were ramparts as well, I saw as I walked closer with Charlie, and a tower standing at the center of the fort.
In its entirety, the fort was quite large, but it seemed very susceptible to fire. I supposed this was the best our king could put together in the short time he was given.
Not wanting to alarm the archers observing us silently from the ramparts, we walked toward the gate where we were stopped only for a moment before I recognized Byron’s voice. He showed himself in one of the turrets nearby.
“That’s our bladedancer and metal mage. Open the gate.”
Byron came down to meet us within the fort. He looked to be similar to the age my father would be if he were still alive. Although unlike my father—who’d had a beard and a general rugged look about him—Byron didn’t seem like he belonged out in the forest. It might’ve had to do with his neatly trimmed speckled beard, or perhaps it was the kind, soft look in his eyes. I just couldn’t imagine him giving orders during a battle if the fort was to come under attack. It seemed more like he belonged beside the king, safe from harm.
It was good to see him, nonetheless. We hadn’t spoken more than a few times, but it felt like I’d known him for years as he shook my hand and greeted me with a warm smile.
“I’ve heard wondrous things about your recent developments with sorcery, Jon. And you as well, Charlie. We are happy to have you here.”
“We’re happy to be here,” I said.
“Do I have to work all day?” was the first thing Charlie said to the nice man.
“I’m sure you’ll have some leisure time eventually, but we need you for as long as you can manage. We have plenty of iron that needs shaping. Did the king tell you we’re building a ballista?”
“I’ve never built anything like that before.”
“You’ll have direction.” Byron gestured for someone.
An older man with a long beard introduced himself as the designer. With no grace period after introductions were done, the designer led Charlie toward the eastern wall where heaps of iron sat in piles.
“What will I be doing?” I asked Byron.
“A number of men need healing.”
It didn’t take long before I was standing before a line of men, none with grievous injuries. Most had simple aches and pains that would’ve gone away with a day of rest, but I had a feeling that there wasn’t much time for that. Much of the trees had been cleared around the fort, and from the bits of conversation I heard between healings, there seemed to be a plan in place to chop down all the rest that blocked our view of the road a mile east. There didn’t seem to be anywhere to sleep, though I did see a number of tents that had been folded and collapsed, sitting in one corner of the f
ort. It might be difficult to get used to these conditions considering I was used to a pampered life at the castle.
Soon after I finished healing, I heard a lookout near the gate asking someone approaching to identify himself. I was close enough to hear the man’s reply.
“My name is Ray Burner. I’m coming to you because we need your help,” said the voice. I couldn’t see who was speaking.
“Who is we?” asked the lookout.
“The good people of Drayer. Please, may I come in and speak to whoever’s in charge?”
“Drayer—your town is in Rohaer.” It sounded like he was about to turn Ray away.
“Let him in,” Byron told the inquisitor. “Open the gate.”
The gate began to open, but the inquisitor voiced his complaints to Byron, nonetheless. “Sir, his town is under the jurisdiction of King Frederick. Why would he come to us for help unless he plans to deceive us?”
“I can think of a number of reasons,” Byron said. “Let’s hear him out.”
I had my first view of the man as he walked through the open gate, and he wasn’t a man at all. He was younger than I’d thought, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. He had the voice of someone much older. His clothes were dirty, and he wore an expression of anguish as if uncomfortable from a difficult journey. He was checked for weapons, a dagger taken out of the holster on his belt. Nothing else was found.
“I’m Byron Lawson.”
“Ray Burner,” said the teen.
“How far is Drayer from here?”
“About five miles. I made the trek through the forest to get to you as quickly as I could. I came be…because,” he stammered a bit, “a man showed up this morning. He…” The young man’s face took on a dark look. He shook his head and continued. “He seems to be an officer of Rohaer’s army, his name’s Davon Rimner. He brought a bunch of his men, and they…they raped some of the girls in our town and killed the men who tried to stop them.” Tears fell as he spoke, the teen unable to look up from the ground. “One of them was my father.” He broke down for the briefest of moments, crying openly before he sucked up his breath and composed himself. “They said they’re going to come back tomorrow morning. They expect us to supply them with grains every week from now on, or they’ll continue to…”