“That’s fine, but don’t kill yourself to prove it to anyone because we already know,” Ahnon told him. Michi looked at him, confused. “Michi, you are in charge of this castle. I’m just over one person. You must keep the castle safe for the family. What is the sho-ka’s prime order?” he asked.
“To keep your sire alive at all cost,” he answered immediately.
“Right. I can leave if we are attacked. You can’t. You will have to hold the castle till we return.”
“Ahnon, there hasn’t been an assassin siege in a thousand years,” Michi reminded him.
“You’re missing the point. If a large group comes, I’m getting Jedek, and we’re gone. You know how close I came to leaving at the garden?” he asked, and Michi shook his head. “Kenna would’ve died, and don’t ask me how I know, but she can’t yet. Karme is now comfortable with magic, so we are gone, and Karme better do the same. It’s your job to make sure we have a home to come back to. If you die, they might not appoint a replacement, and I’m not bringing Jedek home. The kingdom can kiss my backside.”
The shock set in on Michi.
“You see what I’m talking about now. Don’t try to prove yourself. You’ve done it. Now, set about guarding this castle. I mean have back-up plans to back-up plans, and above all else, continue to learn. There are many areas you can study right here.”
“I see, and I’m grateful that you tell me this,” Michi said solemnly.
“Michi, I need you. So does the sovereign family and the five kingdoms, so please don’t keep trying to prove anything,” Ahnon begged.
“I wish we would’ve had this talk before I went—” He stopped as a shiver racked his body.
“It’s my fault. I really thought you knew.” Looking out on the dance floor, Ahnon saw Jedek dancing with Kenna’s mother and Kenna dancing with Admiral Gither. “Michi, they’re the closet things I have to kids. I can’t let anything happen to them,” Ahnon admitted.
“As the Gods are my witnesses, you will not ever have to leave, and if you do, it won’t be for long,” Michi vowed.
Kenna spun away from the admiral and ran to Ahnon. She stopped in front of him and curtsied. “Sho-ka Ahnon, may I have this dance?” she asked, breathing hard with a smile ear to ear.
Ahnon gave her a deep bow. “Princess Kenna, I would be most honored to accept this dance.” He stood, and she grabbed his arm, pulling him out on the dance area. The celebration lasted almost till dawn with everyone tired but full of joy.
Ahnon carried Jedek to their apartment over his shoulder. Jedek had fallen asleep on the throne in the great hall with Kenna beside him. Walking into Jedek’s room, he saw Minos on his bed. “Minos, get off the bed,” Ahnon whispered harshly.
“Oh, can he play?” Minos asked, looking at Jedek.
“You wake him up, and I throw you out the window,” Ahnon said, pointing at it.
Minos looked at him with what could only be called shock. “It’s far down and would hurt.”
“That’s the idea. Wake him up, and you find out,” Ahnon said. “He played hard and is very tired. If he doesn’t sleep, he can’t play tomorrow.”
“Ah, he played without me?” Minos whimpered.
Ahnon pulled Jedek’s boots off and was about to drop them on the floor then looked at Minos and tossed them in the closet and closed the door. Going back to the bed, he pushed Minos off and grabbed the covers to pull over Jedek. Closing his eyes, Ahnon reached down and pulled another of his boots from the blanket. The entire toe was chewed off.
“Minos, this was in my closet,” Ahnon growled.
“No, it was in the little cave of the big cave you sleep in,” Minos corrected him.
“How did you get into the little cave? I closed the door,” Ahnon asked as he started counting.
“If you bite and pull the shiny thing on the little cave, it lets you in.”
The counting wasn’t working. Ahnon locked Minos in a hard stare. “I wonder what bocha hound stew taste like?” Ahnon grumbled, moving around the bed to Minos.
Seeing Ahnon coming at him, Minos became happy. “Oh, good. Play,” he said and took off running. It turned out Minos was very good at playing keep away from Ahnon.
Chapter 14
It was several months after the wedding, and Ahnon was in the state hall with Jedek. They were sitting in with the king as he finished the business of running the kingdom for the day. On the table was a map of Thanos, and Jedek never admitted it, but he didn’t like looking at it. The isle of Gratu was in the upper left and looked really tiny compared to the rest of the word. The fact was he knew the isle was huge from his and Ahnon’s trips around it.
Two years before, Ahnon had taken him to northern edge of the isle, and it took them forty days to get there by horse. It didn’t help that Ahnon was teaching him distance then and made Jedek keep up with how far they traveled every day, and they averaged just over a hundred miles a day. But to Jedek, it was on the opposite side of the world. After that trip, he really didn’t want to see another horse. It was fun and an adventure, but then Ahnon had shown him a map of Thanos when they got home. Holding a piece of string, he showed the young boy the size of his world, and Jedek really didn’t care for that.
His country sailed, and Jedek had to admit that was the way to travel. Horses had to be rested, but a ship could sail all day and night. They next trip Ahnon took him on proved it. They reached the northern-most city of Levta in four days—the same city it had taken them forty to reach by horse. They visited the city of Jaclom on the southeast coast, where the ships of the world were built.
The sheltered coves of Jaclom made the ones in Velham seem tiny. They were hundreds of miles across. Massive shipyards lined the banks with ships bringing in lumber from around the world. On that trip, they had circled the isle, stopping several times, and were back inside a month. Even then, Jedek knew how he wanted to travel.
Now, he just stared at the massive chunks of land with little bitty Gratu tucked in the corner. He really didn’t like that his country seemed so little compared to the rest of the kingdoms. He curled his lip. “We’re really little compared to the rest of the kingdoms, Dad.”
“You’re not even king yet, and you think your kingdom is too small,” Vilarius chuckled.
“Well look,” he said, pointing out the other shaded kingdoms. “Look at Nazar; I mean it’s huge.” The whole bottom of a chunk of land was the kingdom. He could put dozens of Isle of Gratu inside it.
“Yes, it is huge, sire. From the east coast at the Strait of Retix to the west coast is over twelve thousand miles,” Ahnon said.
“Now, that’s just too big,” Jedek said in disgust.
“Sire, your kingdom dwarfs all of them,” Ahnon informed him.
“Ahnon, you took me to Levta and sailed me around the isle. I know we have territory on the big chunk of land by us—”
“The continent of Aslan,” Ahnon interrupted.
“I don’t see an Aslan,” Jedek said, looking at the map. Then Ahnon ran his finger around the first big chunk of land.
“This is the continent of Aslan,” he said then did the same on the other chunk. “This is the continent of Hylar.”
“You’re making my head hurt,” Jedek said, looking up at him.
“Well, sire, if I’d known your global ambitions, I would’ve started on geography first,” Ahnon said. “Your kingdom is still bigger.”
“Have you started drinking?” Jedek asked, causing Vilarius to drop down in a chair laughing. “I mean, at the wedding, I saw several people acting weird, and Kenna told me they were drinking.” Jedek narrowed his eyes. Ahnon should’ve told him if he was drinking.
“Look at the map,” Ahnon said, and he did. “See the blue?” Jedek nodded. “That is your kingdom, sire,” Ahnon pointed out.
“Ahnon, it’s everywhere!” Jedek shouted.
“Ah, the lord conqueror is starting to understand,” Ahnon said, grinning.
“Ahnon, we can’t control all of tha
t. Look at the blue; it’s everywhere you look,” Jedek said, waving his hand over the map.
“You’re not even king yet, and you doubt your navy. That’s not very becoming, sire,” Ahnon said as he shook his head.
Shock hit Jedek. “You would need thousands of ships to do that. I’ve seen what’s in Velham and Jaclom. There isn’t enough.”
“At last count, your northern fleet alone was over a thousand ships of war. Your northern fleet is what protects the west and north coast of Gratu. Your southern fleet is over two thousand, and they protect the south and east coasts,” Ahnon said and let it sink in. Then he pointed at the bottom of the map and started again. “You have another fleet spread across the South Sea from Racor to Nazar. Next, you have another fleet here in the Sea of Spree.” Ahnon pointed at the blue between the continents. “Those two combined fleets are over four thousand, sire. Then, in a time of war, you can call on Gratu’s merchant fleet, which is double the size or your military fleet.”
Jedek looked up at him, totally astounded. “We don’t have that many people?” he blankly replied.
“Sire, we will continue your lesson another day since I’ve put a damper on your global ambitions. But I can assure you that you have enough to man your fleet. Those boats don’t sail by themselves.”
Feeling lightheaded, Jedek just blinked at him. “And I have to run all that?” he asked.
Shaking his head, Ahnon said, “Hey, just a few minutes ago, you wanted a bigger kingdom—now a sudden change of heart?” Vilarius started roaring with laughter, and the grumpy look on Jedek’s face told everybody how irritating he found that.
Theobald came over and patted his back. “He’s not laughing at you, Jedek. He was a little older than you sitting in this room many years ago saying almost the exact thing. I was standing almost where Ahnon was, telling him almost word for word what Ahnon told you,” Theobald explained, which made Jedek feel better. Theobald looked at Ahnon. “If I had known it would have played out like this, I would’ve taken notes.”
“What’s this kingdom without a name?” Jedek asked, pointing at an isle in the Sea of Spree.
“It’s not a kingdom,” Theobald said. “It’s Hanos, but it’s referred to as Leviathan Isle. There are only two inhabited cities—if you can call them cites. More like villages with really tall walls,” Theobald explained.
“It’s just sitting there, and nobody has taken it?” Jedek asked. Ahnon threw his hands in the air and walked away from the table, mumbling.
Theobald started to chuckle as Vilarius came over. “Son, that isle is full of monsters. By monsters, I mean goblins, orcs, trolls, dragons, and all the other creatures of Thanos. It is the last truly uninhabited place of man left on the globe.”
“Monsters,” Jedek said, mystified. “Have you been?” Jedek asked his dad.
“Once many years ago, and I never left sight of the beach, and we still lost ten men.”
“I want to go,” Jedek declared.
“Oh no! Your global ambitions are coming to a stop now, sire,” Ahnon said, charging back to the table.
“I don’t want to take it over. I just want to go there,” Jedek said stubbornly.
“I won’t let you,” Ahnon replied, matching Jedek’s tone.
“You have to go where I go,” Jedek said, smiling.
“I’ll tie you up and erase that thought from your mind so you won’t remember wanting to go to Leviathan Isle.”
Jedek looked at Vilarius. “He’s cheating, Father.” he said. Vilarius walked back to his chair and collapsed laughing. Jedek looked at Theobald. “He said that too?” he asked, and Theobald nodded, smiling. “Have you been to Leviathan Isle, Ahnon?” Jedek asked.
“Yes, several times, and I don’t want to go back.”
“This stinks,” Jedek said though he didn’t think anyone cared.
“Come, sire. It’s almost midnight, and Michi wanted to show me something on the west wall. It will be at least two hours till we get to bed as it is now,” Ahnon said, stretching his back. “I promise to start your geography lessons tomorrow so you know what countries you want to take over instead of referring to them as ‘chunks of land,’ which is rude.”
Jedek sighed. “Okay,” he replied, not too happy. The west wall was a long way even by horse.
“Ahnon, he can stay here with us till you get back. We’re going over the construction of the base off the coast of Honch and will be here the rest of the night,” Vilarius said as he got up to unroll a paper on the table.
“Very well, your majesty, but please control his global ambitions,” Ahnon said, ruffling Jedek’s hair.
Jedek grinned, grabbing Ahnon’s hand. “Remember, we have to get Minos from Kenna’s apartment.”
“Great, I just bought another pair of boots he can break in,” Ahnon said, walking out the door.
Jedek looked at his dad. “He really loves Minos but tries to hide it.”
“He does a good job of it, son,” Vilarius said, smiling, then pulled him closer. “Now, come closer so you can learn how to design a base before you conquer Thanos.”
Vilarius and Theobald pulled out rulers, pencils, and flowing ink wells then went to work. To a twelve-year-old boy, drawing lines was very boring no matter what they represented. It was only fifteen minutes later that Vilarius picked up his son and laid him on a couch in the corner, sound asleep.
Jedek didn’t know when he fell asleep but felt someone grab him and sat up. “Be still, Jedek,” his dad said, picking him up and carrying him to the back of the state room.
“What are you doing, Dad? My room is the other way,” Jedek said, trying to wake up.
“Be quiet!” his father snapped, and that woke him up. The only time his dad had snapped at him was when he started a fire in the middle of the great hall. To this day, Jedek didn’t see a problem with it; the floor was stone just like everything else.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as his dad sat him down by the desk at the back of the room.
“There’s fighting in the hall outside. You will stay right here; do you understand?”
“Yes, Father, I understand,” he replied, seeing something he didn’t like in his father’s eyes. Fear like he never felt before crept over Jedek. With his heart pounding, he sat and trembled, wishing Ahnon was there.
“Sire, you stay there as well,” Theobald said from the other end of the room.
Vilarius pulled a broadsword off the wall behind the desk. “I don’t think so, Theobald,” he said, walking back and pulling spell pouches out. Outside the door, they could hear the ringing of steel then the roaring of flame. As suddenly as it started, the roaring stopped.
“They are using an incredible amount of magic,” Vilarius said. “How long do you think we have to hold till the garrison gets here?”
“About thirty minutes, sire,” Theobald replied, drawing his sword.
“Theobald, protect Jedek. Forget about me,” Vilarius said.
“Sire, you know that can’t be. The bond is unbreakable even if you command it and I tried. All I can say is stay alive, and we can protect him together,” Theobald said as a fire ball exploded outside the window, lighting up the night. “That confirms it, sire. They have us surrounded.”
“Glad you didn’t let me fly out then,” Vilarius replied, getting his breathing under control. “Here they come,” Vilarius said, and Theobald nodded, pointing his hand at the door.
Suddenly, the door blew apart, showering the room with wood dust. Theobald saw figures and yelled, sending a wall of flame at the door and was rewarded with a lot of screams. As the screams died down, Vilarius held his hand up at his side, and a blue ball of fire formed in his hand. Hearing men charge down the hall, he threw the ball out the door, and it exploded, filling the hall with more screams of pain.
“They will be coming with a force shield now, sire,” Theobald said, holding out his hand. In the door, three figures appeared in gray-striped clothes with only their eyes visible. Jedek was still staring
at them when a flash filled the room; a bolt of lightning shot from Theobald’s hand, killing all three. Then the room shook as it filled with a tremendous thunderclap, blowing out the windows and knocking Jedek to the floor.
Slowly, the blackness pulled out of Jedek’s vision, and he noticed he was lying on the floor in front of the desk. Jedek picked himself up off the floor, shaking his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. Forcing his body up, he rested his back on the front of the desk. Looking back at his dad and Theobald fighting a group of men, fear gripped his heart. Blinking to clear his vision, Jedek noticed a lot of attackers dead or wounded on the floor surrounding the two. In most places, the bodies were stacked two or three high. Jedek saw his father raise his hand at the door, and white darts shot from his hand, hitting five attackers and sending them screaming to the floor. Another man jumped over the bodies and pointed at his dad, sending a shower of green sparks racing at Vilarius.
Jedek was about to scream, but Theobald unleashed a stream of fire, engulfing the man. Looking back at his dad and Theobald, Jedek noticed they were covered in cuts, and Theobald was holding a blood-covered hand to his right side.
Hearing shouts, Jedek glanced at the door and saw another wall of attackers flood in. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Jedek turned and watched attackers pour in the busted windows. Then an attacker came in the same window he and Ahnon flew out of what seemed a lifetime ago. Stepping into the room, the attacker from the window saw the two battling the wall of men, and he turned, locking eyes with Jedek.
Instinctively, Jedek reached for his spell bag as the man pointed at him. Jedek gritted his teeth as a small, white blob of light shot from the man’s fingers, hitting him in the chest. He waited for the pain but didn’t feel any. Trying to feel the wound, he realized he couldn’t move his arm. Panic flooded his body as another explosion roared from outside and shook the room. He ignored the sounds of battle, fighting to calm down.
The only things Jedek found he could control were his eyes and breathing, but he couldn’t even take a deep breath. Cutting his eyes, he saw his attacker join the battle against his dad and Theobald, which was only a few feet away now. A large group rushed them as a wave of light erupted from Theobald, blowing all the attackers back, and Jedek was terrified at the numbers. Vilarius lifted his hand, and a rope of blue light shot out, wrapping around a group of attackers. The men screamed as the rope continued to curl, and smoke poured off their bodies.
Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) Page 19