Scion’s Sacrifice (The Guardians of Light Book 3)

by R. Michael Card

  But never fully disappeared.

  One night as they lay together, with Starsong hovering in a corner of the room shedding a dim white light, Davar knew he needed to address the concerns which still plagued him.

  They had just finished making love. All of their emotions tumbled out into a hectic desperation of desire leaving them both spent after the first round of passion. They lay holding each other, breathing hard. Their bodies were still covered in a sheen of sweat despite the chill of the room, which held out the late spring heat well enough, leaving it cool in the night.

  Davar knew if he didn’t say anything now he never would. He moved from where he lay, half on her, and she squirmed making soft noises of complaint as he propped himself on his side next to her.

  “Cass,” he whispered. “There’s something you should know.”

  She stopped her playful movements at the tone in his voice and looked at him, curious.

  “I’ve told you all about the strength of the Blacklord, but… I just wanted to emphasize, he’s an incredible mind talent. Even if my mind is blocked to him, he’ll have filtered through everything in the rest of your minds within moments of knowing we’re there. He’ll know everything you know, everything about us.”

  Her brows furrowed in concern. “You’ve said all this before.”

  His deepest fear bubbled to the surface and he shivered, the room far to chill now. He swallowed hard, hoping to get across to her the severity of his words. “He’ll know about our child.” He let that sit in the silence of their room as she looked away, considering this. After a moment he went on, “He’ll use that knowledge to hurt us if he can.”

  “How can he hurt us? We know each other too well. There’s nothing he can say or do to break us apart. We have no secrets.”

  Davar knew she spoke the truth. He had no secrets from her. Moreover, he was more than willing to die for her and their child. He knew it would make things difficult for her and the baby, having no father, but if it meant winning this war for them, he’d give everything he had. “Still, the child is a weakness, a soft spot in our defenses. Given what happened to my mother I—” He couldn’t go on.

  “I know. If the Blacklord gets a hold of me, I’ll probably suffer the same fate. But you can’t think that way. We have two scions with us. That’s a lot more than your mother had. If the Blacklord does take me, that probably means we’ve lost anyway. I would prefer to think that we have a much greater chance of success and hence that outcome isn’t possible. And frankly, if we’re defeated I’d rather die, taking our child with me than have myself or our daughter succumb to such a fate.”

  He sighed. She was right of course, but that didn’t stop him from being concerned. “Just, be careful. I’d rather you didn’t die. I’d rather none of us died, but… none of that is certain.”

  “Trust me, I’ll be careful,” she said bringing a hand to the side of his face then kissing him in a long soft embrace of their lips. “But for now, let’s forget such thoughts. We’re safe and together and there are far more pleasurable things to think on.”

  That was true enough. Looking at her in the dim light of Starsong’s glow, as well as Cass’ own lingering radiance, he couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than the woman with him. She was perfect. He reached up and brushed a hand over the sensitive skin of her belly. She gasped, smiling. He’d learned that, while pregnant she was quite tender and sensitive over her belly and bosom and used that to full effect in their love-making.

  After another round of passion, Cass lay on him, drowsing and running playful fingers over his skin.

  “Whatever else may happen,” she said dreamily. “The Blacklord can’t take this from us.”

  Davar smiled, hugged her close and kissed her forehead. She was right and his soul finally relented and relaxed.

  Davar stabbed a finger onto the map. “Here.”

  A large group crowded around the large table in the High Abbot’s chambers. There were the six who were going against the Blacklord on the summer solstice as well as the High Abbot, High Sister Olinda, and Master Elia. This was their final meeting. All the details were set and this was to confirm they all knew the plan. No fire lit the great hearth today, it was quite warm, but the two small windows in the room had the shutters open to let in a spring breeze and oil lamps hung around the room giving light.

  Davar ran the meeting as he was the only one with intimate knowledge of the Blacklord’s Castle and surrounding areas. “There was a woodsman’s village here long ago. It’s within a day’s walk of the castle and puts us near the Blackheart Forest, but not within it. We’ll need to skirt the forest to reach the castle. Trust me, you don’t want to be in the forest… though being out in the open isn’t much better.”

  “I don’t know,” Cass said with a concerned sigh. “Always before, when teleporting, I’ve had a strong spirit to point me in the right direction, I’m guessing there won’t be much if any significant spirit in that village.”

  “No,” Davar said, “but you can link into my mind and memories. Use that to teleport. I know the place well, and I’m assuming teleporting to a place you know well, is easier.”

  “I would assume so too, but I’ve never tried it.” Cassine frowned. “That’s not entirely true. When I teleported accidentally as a child I went to my loft in our house, a place I knew so well it was just instinctual to go there. So perhaps that would work.”

  Davar nodded. In their previous meetings, he’d outlined some of the specific creatures they might face, so he glossed over that a little now. “There are supernatural predators all around the castle, as I’ve discussed previously. We’ll have to avoid or deal with each in turn. But given our combined prowess, I’m thinking none should pose that much of a threat.” Davar shrugged that off and was about to go on when he heard.

  “Not to you, perhaps,” Tirol muttered.

  He’s not very positive, is he? Starsong said into Davar’s mind.

  Not really, no. Not everyone can be as cheery as you all the time.

  Why not?

  He didn’t answer.

  “You’ll be fine, lover.” Wyllea grinned. “You’re quite the warrior now and if there’s anything you can’t handle the rest of us will be there to help. You’re fairly adept at avoiding trouble as well, if I recall.”

  Davar had to admit the man certainly looked far more ready for combat than he had over a year ago when Wyllea had brought him to the abbey. He was now broad of shoulder, having filled out through his chest and arms. Apparently, he’d spent nearly every waking moment training with the monks and anyone else who’d teach him combat. He’d even fought in the last battle. Davar didn’t miss the way Wyllea looked at him and could tell she was quite happy with how Tirol had turned out.

  Davar tapped the map again, bringing them back to their plans. “The castle itself, like most, was created to keep people out. The wall is oddly shaped, the inner side of the wall is vertical, but from the outside, it leans inward just a touch, such that it angles to a sharp point at the top. Anyone trying to scale the wall from the outside would find it an easier climb than most walls but then would have to face a sheer drop on the other side. It actually makes it harder to climb over because you can’t rest at the top, nor can you pull up any ropes or ladders to use on the inside because you need to stay on them, there’s no place to stand. For us it shouldn’t be an issue, we can all jump it well enough.” He grimaced, reconsidering that statement. “Or we have someone who can carry us over. From there we have to find the correct way in then navigate the inside without dying.”

  “Sounds fun.” This from Tirol again.

  “Can you elaborate at all on ‘the correct way in’? Do you know exactly where to go?” Master Elia asked.

  Davar nodded. “The palace is a great maze of halls, some of which lead nowhere, most of which lead to traps and dangers you don’t want to think of. The correct path through isn’t easy to follow, but I know the way. Similarly, there are many false entran
ces with halls that go deep inside, always ending in traps or dead-ends. There is only one right way in and only one path that will get you to the throne room.”

  “Can you show us at all? Draw it out, so we know what to expect?” Ahrn asked.

  This wasn’t the first time someone had asked. Davar sighed. “I could, but I fear that would confuse you more than help. The keep is massive and there are myriad twists and turns and not just on a level plane. There are shafts straight up or down. It would be hard to truly comprehend on paper. I’ve already told you about some of the specific chambers and traps we’ll come across. As long as we stay together and you follow me carefully through we’ll be fine.”

  Ahrn grimaced and said nothing further.

  Davar continued. “In some of those chambers are the magical guards. Each is a formidable foe and the best way by them is to not spend too much time or energy fighting them.” Again, he’d gone over the details of each of the beasts they might face in previous meetings.

  It was Wyllea who questioned this. “So we don’t fight them?”

  “Not if we don’t have to, no. Chances are we’ll have to face a few, but the fewer the better. The last thing we want is to be drained by the time we reach the Blacklord.”

  They all agreed to that.

  “Even once we reach the Blacklord himself, he has two abominations of magic he keeps in his throne room that we’ll have to deal with while we’re fighting him. Trust me when I say they are powerful. I used to spar against them and at my best I was equal to one of them, but I could never take both at the same time.”

  Through his connection with Starsong, he felt a mind-shudder. The sword remembered those ‘old days’ even though she’d been Shadowfang at the time. They were not pleasant memories.

  “That’s what we’re for,” Senia said with a grin that wasn’t entirely genuine. He could tell there was some fear behind the jovial facade. But that was good. Fear would help them where they were going, keep them alive, this wasn’t any place to be over-confident.

  “And this is all assuming the Blacklord hasn’t created any new nasty things since I’ve lost contact with him. That’s a definite possibility.”

  The faces around the table were grim.

  “One last thing,” he said.

  “Of course there is because the rest of this isn’t bad enough,” Tirol said.

  Would it kill him to look on the bright side? Starsong asked.

  Probably.

  “The Blacklord knows everything that goes on within those walls. Once we’re in, we have to assume he’ll know we’re there. There will be no element of surprise. We have to hope we have everything we need to beat him within us.”

  There was silence around the table as that sank in.

  It was the High Abbot who finally spoke into the quiet. “I have faith that the six of you, together, can defeat the Blacklord. He may be a powerful wizard, but the Guardians of Aehryn were created specifically to defeat men like him. We have three guardians and two powerful wizards in their own right, and two great warriors. That should be more than enough to eliminate this curse on our lands once and for all.”

  It was a strong point. Davar could see others around the table come to the same conclusion.

  They could win this. Something in his heart, which had been clenching and contracting as he’d gone more and more into detail about their plans released and he sighed it out quietly.

  It was some time later when the meeting was done and they were all breaking up to go their separate ways that the High Sister pulled Davar and Cass aside. The older woman’s face slid through a myriad of emotions before she spoke, from fear and concern to doubt and uncertainty. Her voice was low, a whisper. She spoke to Cass. “I know that Ragnalla’s vision says you must go, but I’m concerned… for the baby.”

  Davar glanced at Cass. It had become second nature for her to have a hand on her abdomen, rubbing slowly over the area. She wasn’t showing, but it was obvious enough to anyone who watched her long enough that she was either really hungry or pregnant, most likely both.

  Cass answered, her voice also low. “I appreciate your concern, Olinda. I wouldn’t have chosen this timing for a pregnancy, but we can do little about it now. I must go and so this child must go with me. To stay would be to break the foretelling and risk the lives of everyone else who went.”

  The High sister nodded, but still seemed unconvinced. “And you feel strong enough to carry this through?”

  “I do.”

  If Davar knew but one thing about Cass it was that she was a trooper, she’d do what she must. Their child was also something special as well. Every time Davar opened his spirit talent to the still-as-yet-unborn being, he had to be careful. He could only create the smallest of connections for the spirit that blazed out from the womb was an incredible force, stronger than any spirit he’d ever known with the possible exception of Senia. Over the weeks as the child had developed, the spirit had grown stronger and stronger. It certainly matched Senia’s now, if not exceeded the scion. Even Senia thought this odd. Usually, magic was passed from parents to children and certainly Cass and he were powerful multi-talents, but oddly spirit wasn’t a strong ability for either of them.

  Yet even now, as he connected with the child, that intense spirit seemed to ease his thoughts and feelings.

  He wrapped an arm around Cass. “I get the feeling we’ll be fine, even with this child tagging along.” He wasn’t sure where the words had come from nor this peace in his soul which seemed to sooth all doubt and fear, but for the moment, that’s how he felt. “Cass is strong and together, as the High Abbot says, we’re the most powerful team in a thousand years.”

  The High Sister finally relented and wished them luck.

  As they walked the halls of the abbey back to their room, Cass said, “You seem calmer than usual.”

  Yeah, you’re feeling sort of strange at the moment. This from Starsong.

  Davar shrugged off the sword’s comment and laughed, not even knowing where the levity for a laugh had come from, which made him laugh a little more. His heart was light and free at the moment and he didn’t mind at all. He nodded as he replied. “Yes, I am.”

  They departed two days later.

  But he wasn’t feeling so confident then.

  Chapter 22

  “Well that’s not intimidating at all,” Wyllea said, sarcasm dripping from her voice as they stared at the Blacklord’s palace.

  It was the morning of the summer solstice, not that Cassine could tell. Dark roiling clouds blocked out the sun for hundreds of miles around. The land was dead from lack of light, the earth brown and desolate. They hid in a small copse of what had once been trees, branches overhead bare and rotting, with massive obsidian walls looming before them.

  Cassine had to agree with Wyllea’s assessment. The walls were as high as St. Antin, but the area the palace occupied dwarfed the abbey in scale. These outer walls stretched more than a mile in either direction. Apparently, the square compound was roughly three miles per side according to Davar. This had once been the summer palace of the King of Nustaria, a grand place with great gardens. The Blacklord had claimed it as his home, erecting massive walls and the even more massive structure within by the use of magic and a great many slaves. Now it was a place of looming evil.

  They had teleported to the abandoned town several miles away two days ago, then had rested for a day and slowly made their way to the castle, mostly avoiding the many mystical creatures prowling these lands to keep unexpected visitors out.

  Davar had led the way, everyone else following his explicit instructions. Only he knew how to make it through these lands alive. They had faced one… thing… which looked like some twisted amalgamation of a bear and a wolf and an eagle, with great wings, two heads and claws as long as daggers. Luckily, as tough as its hide was, it still couldn’t take the flurry of arrows from Eaglewing that Wyllea sent at it.

  It helped that they had been preparing for this for some time,
training together back at the abbey. They were well equipped and as ready as they could be. Cassine was a little uncomfortable in her new acquired leather leggings and soft leather overcoat, which served as light armor. She would have preferred a dress, but the others had all opted for similar outfits and she’d taken the hint that such accouterments would be well advised.

  Wyllea, a veteran soldier, was in full studded leather armor with a steel breastplate. Senia, no stranger to battle, was similarly attired, but without the heavy metal front piece. Tirol and Ahrn were in light armor, preferring to retain mobility while still garnering some protection. Only Davar wore no armor at all. It wasn’t a show of bravado, but simply that he’d never worn any in the past and felt too restricted in anything but his shirt and breeches. They all wore darker colors to blend in with their surrounding as much as possible.

  They were well provision and prepared. Cassine hoped it would be enough.

  Everything about this place spoke of death and decay. Evil was in the air and tainted the water. It seeped into the soul and fouled one’s mood. As sensitive as she was with the element of soul, Cassine could sense the effect on her feelings and she’d been using a small bit of her magic to help the others resist the effect to keep their moods as positive as possible.

  “This is it. From here, we’ll want to keep moving as much as we can. Follow me. Do as I do and we’ll all hopefully get to the Blacklord alive. Every other time I’ve been here the Blacklord has protected me, kept the guards from attacking me, but I get the feeling I won’t be so lucky this time,” Davar whispered just loud enough for all to hear.

  “Great pep-talk,” Tirol muttered.

  “Let’s go,” Davar said and began his sprint to the wall. They had nearly a mile of open ground to cover, but they were all fit enough to make the run quickly. At the base of the wall Senia grabbed Ahrn, Wyllea took Tirol, and they leapt up and over.