Phoenix Rising: The Covenant (Phoenix Rising Infinitology Book 1)

by Angela Timms

  Rennon smiled, looked at the others who nodded agreement. “We thank you for your generosity and we would be delighted to join you for your joust and banquet.”

  The Magus smiled. “I am delighted and we will look forward to seeing you there. Please enjoy our hospitality. Rooms will be prepared for you and you are welcome to take a look around our town.” He indicated the windows. “Eloitos, come in here please.” His voice was raised and commanding.

  Eloitos rushed in through the door bowing as he entered. “My Lord Magus.”

  The Magus sat down regally. “Eloitos, you will show our guests around the town and arrange for the best rooms to be prepared for them. They will be attending the joust this afternoon and the banquet afterwards. Please arrange for their every need.”

  Eloitos bowed deeply and waited for the three to join him. Rennon took the lead, stood up and the other two followed him after turning and bowing to the High Magus.

  Eloitos headed off down the corridor and onto the lift platform at the end of the corridor. They followed him and down they went. Once at the bottom they stepped out into the courtyard. “So, where would you like me to take you?”

  Kel took a look around. “What do you think we should see?”

  Eloitos smiled. “Well isn’t that the question, what you should see or what it is right for you to see?”

  Kyla stepped up beside him and spoke quietly. “What we should see?” Eloitos looked very serious. “Well, if you are sure. There is plenty you should see.”

  Kyla smiled. “Are you man enough to show us?”

  Eloitos smiled. “I am but you must walk with me and do not comment or act on anything that you see. Do you agree?”

  All three nodded.

  Eloitos walked ahead of them. “Then follow me. I will take you through the market.”

  They walked down the market street but half way down the street they took a detour down a side street. Away from the pristine market street the stonework didn’t look any different. They turned a corner and another and it all looked very similar. Then they came to a doorway. Eloitos opened the door and behind it there was a wide open space. Lines of crops grew in neat rows and farmers tended them. They moved on and travelled past fields full of animals. It was spring and there were lambs and kid goats springing about with their mothers. Further on there were lines upon lines of polytunnels all growing food using a mixture of soil and hydroponics. The plants seemed to be thriving and they all looked well cared for.

  Eloitos turned and smiled at them. “This is what the Magus would not have had me show you. We are a hardworking people and everything you see here has been earned by the toil of our backs. The Magus would have it that their technology does everything. That is not true. The King and Queen are very interested in all that we do and they are always very supportive. They do not always get the support or loyalty that they deserve from the High Magus as he believes that he rules this land. He most definitely does not but he would like to especially now that they have brokered a deal whereby the princess is going to marry the True Prince. That will seal their position in the politics of the Universe for years to come.

  I showed an unknown guest to see the Magus only yesterday. He came here very quietly and the Magus commanded me not to tell the King and Queen. I didn’t get a look at the man’s face but there was something very shifty about him.

  Kel spoke quietly. “So do you think that the Magus is doing a deal with the Followers?”

  Eloitos was staring at the floor. “I don’t know but it was a bit strange. I’ll give you the official guided tour now if you would like. Follow me.”

  They said very little for the rest of the tour and it ended in the castle where they were shown around the battlements and the fantastic view and the state rooms and then it finished at their rooms.

  Eloitos bowed. “Well, I will leave you here. Make yourself comfortable and I will look forward to seeing you at the joust.”

  Once they were in their rooms they shut the doors and as soon as Eloitos had gone Kel and Rennon went to Kyla’s room.

  Kel was the last one in, he shut the door and locked it and leant against it. “When will we go somewhere and it isn’t complicated. What should we do about what we know?”

  Kyla smiled at him. “For vigilant at the joust and see diplomatically we can do truth the stranger could convince everyone that the planet is totally technological doesn’t make him a bad man. There could be many reasons why he doesn’t want outsiders to know that they have vast agricultural developments. The main one that springs to mind is that it is an advantage if the planet is cut off as by the looks of things even without their technology they could be selfsufficient. Anyway the Magus had a guest who was a bit shifty, so what? It could have been anyone. Come on, let’s be careful but there’s no point in acting before we know the truth of the situation.”

  Rennon nodded. “I agree. If we charge in with accusations with no proof we’ll destroy all that we’ve set up so far. We’ll wait.”

  Kel smiled. “I agree.”

  now I’d say nothing. Let’s keep what happens. There’s nothing without making things very difficult and in be anyone. Just because the Magus wants to

  16

  The banners fluttered in the wind around the arena. Everyone was seated. The knights were parading in the arena on their horses and the crowd was roaring. One by one the knights rode up before the King and Queen and tipped their lances. Then they rode in a big circle around the arena so that everyone could see them.

  Each wore their own colours, a tabard and ribbons on their helmet. Each had their shield emblazoned with their family crest, all but one. His shield was black. One by one they stopped in front of a lady in the crowd and took a favour. The ladies had ribbons tied to their arm just for this purpose and they all looked hopeful as their favourite rode past. Their knight took the ribbon on the lance and rode off and back into the circle. The black knight had done two revolutions and he still had no favour. He rode to join the others and they all lined up. Half went one way, half the other and they lined up facing each other.

  A squire rode along with a box and the knights put a disc with their colours into the box. He then rode along the other line and pulled out a disc at a time, giving it to the next knight along so they knew who they were going to joust against. This done they rode out of the ring leaving two behind, the first two to ride against each other in the joust.

  A blue knight and a yellow knight squared up and the king stood up and lowered a small flag. The two knights charged at each other and the blue knight unseated the yellow and rode victorious back to his end of the field. Squires rushed to help the fallen knight back onto his horse and he rode back to his end of the field. The king dropped the flag again and they charged and again the yellow knight unseated the blue knight.

  The squires rushed to help the blue knight and once seated on his horse he left the field to tumultuous applause. The yellow knight rode out of another exit as the red and green knights rode in. They repeated the process again and again until only two knights were left, the black knight and the red knight.

  They faced each other and they charged. They collided and neither was unseated though both of them took a glancing blow on the chest. They galloped around the arena and returned to their end of the field and lined up again. They charged and the red knight unseated the black. Again they lined up and this time the black knight unseated the red. It was all down to the last charge. They lined up and everyone was out of their seats. They charged and the black knight unseated the red knight. He hit the ground and rolled. The squires rushed out and helped him back onto his horse and he rode up to the King and Queen who congratulated him and gave him a blue ribbon.

  The black knight rode up to the King and Queen and stopped his horse in front of them. He bowed his head and as he looked up the Queen spoke.

  “Sir, I would ask you to remove your helmet and to reveal your identity to us.” Her voice was commanding and enhanced electronically so
that everyone could hear it.

  The black knight bowed his head and stabbed his lance into the ground so that he had both hands free. He grasped the helmet and pulled it off. The Queen and King smiled. “My Prince, we are honoured to welcome you to our Planet.”

  The Prince smiled and bowed his head. He grasped his lance and tipped the end of it to their daughter, a delicate blonde haired waif of a girl who sat by the queen’s side. She was smiling broadly as he spoke, slowly and with meaning. “My Lady, you would never have accepted a stranger’s lance and given him your favour, would you honour me by giving me your favour now so that I may be your champion?”

  The woman beside Kyla was watching, mouth open. She turned to her friend. “Now that is how a man should act.”

  Kyla smiled.

  The princess took off her veil and tied it to the end of his lance. “Of course, it is a great honour to meet you at last.”

  The Prince bowed his head. “My Lady, I would not attend our wedding without having met you first. I hope that it is not presuming too much that I will be invited to the banquet tonight and that I will have the chance to speak with you.”

  The King stood up. “My Lord, we would be greatly honoured if you would be our guest of honour tonight.”

  The crowd was standing and applauding as the Black Knight galloped around the arena. He saw Kel, Rennon and Kyla and stopped his horse causing a dust cloud. “My friends, I did not realize you were here also. I trust we will have an opportunity to speak later?”

  Kel shouted over the noise of the crowd. “I hope so.”

  The Prince finished his circuit and galloped out of the arena. The crowd fell silent and the King, Queen and Princess stood up and left. Once they had gone everyone else started leaving the arena as well.

  As they left the arena Kel whispered to Rennon. “Good job we didn’t say anything about the unknown visitor if it was the Prince. Accusing the Magus could have got us thrown out.”

  Later they were in Kyla’s room and sitting chatting when there was a knock on the door. Kel opened the door and the Prince stepped inside.

  He smiled and shut the door behind him. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Kyla smiled. “Not at all, you are very welcome. It is good to see you again.” The Prince smiled back. “It is good to see all of you, particularly today. I came here to take a look at my bride to be and I’ve just spent half an hour in her company. She is a very pleasant young lady. I am sure she will make a wonderful wife.”

  Kyla frowned. “Well you helped us out of a difficult situation once, would you like us to get you out now?”

  The Prince looked worried. “No, don’t get me wrong, she’s a lovely girl. I came to speak with you on another matter. About a month ago Shantara went missing. After she flew off in your ship I monitored her for a while and after a considerable amount of convincing she came to work on a research moon of ours. Then one day she disappeared. We didn’t think anything of it at the time. She had had a row with the man she was with and then went missing. I wasn’t told straight away and I only found out just before I left to come here. I’ve got my people onto it now but I thought I’d find out if you knew anything. I’m also here because you are all going to need an alibi so I made sure that I was seen visiting you.”

  Kel looked concerned and frowned. “Why are we going to need an alibi? I’m just glad that Rennon has already scanned the room and shielded us.” The Prince smiled coyly. “You don’t think I haven’t already thought of that? We are safe to talk or I wouldn’t have said that. I made sure that I was plainly seen by various of the staff as well as the King himself coming this way. I told him I was coming here as you were old friends and I wanted some time alone with you before the banquet as we hadn’t had much chance with the war effort. You are going to need an alibi, much as it is equally convenient that I have one too.”

  Kel growled. “What is going to happen?”

  The Prince smiled. “I think dinner may be cancelled and Joniel is here. Does that say enough?”

  Kyla stepped closer to the Prince. “Why?”

  The Prince took out a scroll of paper. “The High Magus had a meeting with a high ranking Follower member yesterday and the Follower took this away with him. Baron Joniel and I have been in town about three weeks now and we have had a good scout around and found out plenty.

  It seems that the High Magus has been locked in a power struggle with the King. The Queen had to intercede in an argument which almost cost the King his life. It was smoothed over as the political consequences of the High Magus being declared disloyal would have been catastrophic. To appoint a High Magus is no easy feat. It takes months of deliberation between all the Magi as they have to come to an unanimous decision. As they all probably want the position the planet would be thrown into turmoil which is exactly what we all wanted to avoid. This has now been circumvented as the Tower of the Magi has been warned about the High Magus’ deception and was watching when he had his little visit. He had got too confident and believed he was above the Law of the Magi which states that no mage is beyond the law or above the King. As the King had declared the Followers outlaws and traitors to the galaxy he was making a deliberate attempt to undermine the King’s power. That automatically gets him thrown off the high tower.

  The Magi have secretly already held their vote and they have their unanimous replacement. Someone I wholeheartedly support and who will be a real asset to the Kingdom.

  But, to avoid unpleasantness and to make sure that the King has a free hand to hunt for any Followers who are hiding in the town they need a reason. Our dear Joniel is going to give them that reason tonight when he removes the High Magus and plants enough evidence to implicate all the people they want to remove. We already have quite a list and we think it is pretty exhaustive. Once they are removed it will be a lot safer in this Kingdom. So, as you can see, it is going to be a busy night. So I would suggest that we sit a while and chat. I took the liberty of bringing this. It is a rather fine bottle of Mendurian Brandy and I had these glasses hand cut from the finest crystal.

  So, my friends shall we catch up on some old times?” He put five glasses on the table and poured out four of them.

  Kyla took the proffered glass. “I thank you and I wish you well in your endeavors. But, why five glasses, are we toasting absent friends?”

  The Prince smiled. “No my dear, I have every confidence that Joniel will be joining us very shortly if not right away.” He was about to put the cork back in the brandy when he hesitated. “Alright Joniel, you can transport now, the room is clear.”

  There was a slight crackling noise and Joniel appeared, hand on wrist and dressed in a long black robe with a deep hood. “Evening, I’m glad you put me out a glass, I haven’t missed anything have I?”

  The Prince raised an eyebrow. “I certainly hope not.” They both laughed at this.

  Joniel took his glass. “No, I had plenty of time to do the job calmly. So now you owe me my Prince.”

  The Prince smiled. “I’ll pay up, I always do.”

  Joniel took a sip of the brandy. “Hmm, nice, you always get the best. Excuse my manners to the lady present. Kyla, it is a delight as always to be in your presence.” He took a step towards her and took her hand. Instantly he shuddered and looked confused. His ever unreadable features melted to something like a smile. His eyes were bright and glistening. “Something is different about you?”

  Kyla looked confused. “I don’t think so.”

  Joniel lifted her hand and kissed it. “We will possibly speak later on this matter.” His eyes flashed a vibrant blue. He turned to Anathorn. “So, what is she like, your wife to be?”

  The Prince took a sip of brandy. “She is a charming and educated young lady.”

  Joniel raised an eyebrow. “Well that should make for an interesting marriage. It’s a good job I dealt with the High Mage when I did. In his shoes I would probably have been looking to have either you or the princess removed. Your alliance would have been extremely i
nconvenient to him.”

  The Prince looked to the others. “Well, all irrelevant now. My new father in law to be should be safely on his throne and his major threat has been eliminated. Our chance to get our hands on their technology is now assured.”

  As he finished speaking there was a loud explosion from outside the window. The hologram force field window vibrated, its stained glass effect distorted momentarily. Ordinary glass would have shattered with the force of the blast. They were all on their feet in moments and leapt to the window to look out.

  The Prince was first there. “By heaven, that is a Kerillian Cruiser. How the hell did that get through the planet’s defenses?” As he spoke a second bolt of energy hit the city, obliterating one of the towers. “Joniel, can you get them to safety?”

  Joniel thought for a split second. “Of course but first I’m getting you out.” The Prince didn’t get a chance to argue. Joniel calibrated his wrist band and grabbed him and they were gone.

  The tower that had been hit was burning and masonry fell on the buildings below, crashing through roofs and falling into the street, blocking it and hindering those who were rushing around carrying buckets and helping the injured. A jet of water streamed down over the tower extinguishing the flames as a third bolt hit from the cruiser. Then there was a bright light in the sky and the cruiser exploded. Tiny white hot fragments of it rained down on the town below as people screamed and ran for cover.

  Anything that could ignite did ignite and all around the town jets of water were activated to put out the flames.

  Kyla was half way out of the door, Kel caught her but he saw the determined look on her face and followed her out. Rennon was just following them when Joniel turned up again. He followed them out of the door, securing the stopper and pocketing the brandy as he went.

  The corridor was in chaos, people ran about and women were screaming. As they ran down into the main hall they could see why, there were bodies everywhere. It was where they had brought all those who had been caught in the explosion. They were lined up, covered in sheets and it looked like the casualties had run into the hundreds. War had come to the planet.