Rune of the Apprentice (The Rune Chronicles)

by Jamison Stone

  “And you should have followed through with that order!” Beck said furiously. “Why would you ever bring these men to an abandoned square while foreign forces burn our city?”

  “For we followed a higher order,” Trailen said firmly, walking up behind Adler and Brin. The High Priest still held the glorious banner of Mindra. In addition, the Rune on Trailen’s forehead burned a molten white and complemented the banner’s magnificent glow.

  “Finding you was a direct commandment from the High Arkai,” Trailen continued, as his eyes filled with his Rune’s searing light. “Lord Mindra’s will is mysterious and occult. And while not even I can fathom why he would allow such an atrocity to befall his magnificent city, his grace and power are eternal. I follow his orders as a dutiful child—an order to find and protect you at all costs.”

  “Blessed are we, his children,” Beck said formally, placing both hands across his heart in ceremonial salute to the High Priest. “May we serve faithfully to earn his love and grace.” Beck then bowed low with both arms extended, palms up.

  “Faithfully serve, you have,” Trailen said, as his voice boomed louder so even the legion behind him could hear. “And because of it, Lord Mindra has decreed that you, Beck Al’Beth, will act as an agent of his divine will! For he commands that you shall be his holy High Protectorate over all of Devdan!”

  “High Priest,” Beck said, shock clearly showing on his face. “May the Arkai’s divine wisdom guide my heart and hands . . .”

  “Guide you, he shall,” Trailen said, eyes still blazing in the growing darkness. “For with Mehail Bander’s tragic death and the city in chaos, the council has declared martial law. Lord Al’Beth, not only does that make you High Protectorate over Adhira, but High Arkai Mindra tasks you to once again reunite the East under his holy rule! Devdan will be a unified realm once again.”

  “Yes, High Priest,” Beck answered, bowing low. “May I earn in the days to come the great honor that High Arkai Mindra has bestowed upon me.”

  “High Lord Al’Beth,” Trailen said solemnly, “I trust you shall. Now please prepare yourself, for we must march immediately to save our people.”

  For an instant, Trailen’s luminous stare locked on Aleksi and he looked as though he were about to speak again. Aleksi felt his Rune pulse and clenched his bandaged fist, but the High Priest did not hold the gaze. As he turned, the light of Trailen’s eyes then slowly faded as he walked back to the legion behind him, leaving Adler and Brin looking at Beck in awe. Likewise, Domadred and the rest of the group also gazed at the new High Lord, similarly amazed.

  “High Protectorate over all of Devdan . . . ,” Adler said in a voice that was hardly more than a whisper.

  “Father, I . . .” Excitement clearly showed on Brin’s face despite the darkness.

  “Status report!” Beck said firmly, ignoring their words. “Where do we stand, General Adler Karll?”

  Adler’s eyes lit up at the words, and when he spoke, his voice was once again clear and strong. “We have a full legion of one hundred and twenty-five soldiers here, High Lord. We must hold out until the other ten legions arrive from the far side of the great river at Zenith dawn. Also, I am not sure how, but the enemy has many more soldiers than we first saw during the commendation ceremony.” Adler paused and his tone grew grim. “We are greatly outnumbered, and members of the enemy are masquerading as civilians and rallying the general population to riot and plunder. Even worse, some are dressed as the High Council Honor Guard. I am not sure how, but they must have infiltrated our city some time ago—”

  “The . . . High Council Honor Guard?” Beck scowled. “Do we have any within our own ranks?”

  “None that we have found, Lord. The legions of Adhira are loyal to her people.”

  Beck nodded. “Then this city has a chance, for no one else knows the streets of Mindra’s Haven like her legions! Get me a suit of mail, for we now march to battle!”

  “Yes, sir!” Adler and Brin said in unison, saluting. They then turned and jogged back to the legion with the heavy clang of armor following each step.

  Beck turned back to Domadred. The captain wore an impressed look on his face. Seeing it, Beck smiled.

  “Congratulations,” Domadred said, as he crossed his left hand over his heart and extended his right arm, fingers wide. Beck placed his fist across his own heart and firmly grasped Domadred’s forearm in salutation. As Domadred clutched Beck’s arm, he could feel that Beck’s hand was shaking.

  “Sadly,” Beck said, “you must now go.” Domadred opened his mouth to object, but Beck didn’t give him a chance to speak. “We have no way to know when Lenhal’s Western fleet will arrive, and with things as they are, we are not even able to protect ourselves, let alone you and your crew.”

  “The Diamond can protect herself,” Domadred protested. “And we can help shuttle soldiers from the mainland.”

  “You cannot risk your cargo. Too much hangs in the balance. Especially now.”

  “But it is a balance which you will turn in our favor,” Domadred answered. “For after I rally the Resistance, I’m sure that the East will now finally recognize our cause. I hear it’s convenient when one’s friends are High Lords.”

  “We will soon fight together once again, my friend.” A faint smile spread across Beck’s lips. The High Protectorate then looked around at the disarray and destruction of the square. “That I promise.”

  “Watch your back,” Domadred continued. “I feel the waters which swirl about us are dark and treacherous, possessing currents within currents.”

  “I have been to Mindra’s Haven,” Beck said, reciting the old saying. The captain was about to open his mouth, but Beck stopped him. “Domadred, the Guardians saved me once, and I will trust in them to do so again.”

  Domadred nodded solemnly and Beck turned to Aleksi and Nara. “I cannot thank either of you enough. You both now share my heart and hearth, for I forever will be in your debt.”

  Nara bowed his head, wincing as the movement pulled on the crusted wounds on his back. The large man’s green eyes were still dilated and somewhat wild but his smile was genuine. Beside him, Aleksi placed his palms together. The youth touched his thumbs first against his forehead and then against his heart.

  “Yes, I thought so,” Beck said, looking at Aleksi. “Keep Domadred safe. His cargo is more important than you could possibly know.” Beck then leaned closer and whispered in Aleksi’s ear. “He also can tell you much of that pendant of yours. Just tread on those grounds lightly, son, lest you wake the restless dead.”

  With that, Beck nodded to Brayden, Fa’ell, and Kefta, and then abruptly turned to rejoin his men as they prepared to retake their besieged homeland.

  Under the shimmering light of the great statue of Mindra, High Protectorate Beck Al’Beth, his noble legion of men, and their High Priest Trailen Kaftal marched back through the square toward the temple. As Domadred’s group watched them depart, a slight breeze picked up and the last of the Zenith’s light disappeared into darkness. Once the torch-lit glow of the legion’s armor disappeared into the night, Domadred and his group turned and looked out the great double doors to the harbor beyond.

  “An escort to the ship would have been nice,” Kefta said disdainfully. Fa’ell shot the young man a deadly look.

  “Kefta, not another word until we board the Diamond.” Domadred did not break his gaze at the harbor. “Those soldiers will be forced to fight over the corpses of their countrymen to retake their fallen city. Their numbers will dwindle building by building, until there is only a handful left. The hope of reinforcements at dawn will be the only thing which keeps them from succumbing to the darkness of the night.” The captain then turned his head, eyeing Kefta. “The last thing on their mind is a mouthy sailor like you. Now let’s move.”

  As the group walked through the great double doors of the city’s outer walls, it soon became clear that the harbor was in worse shape than the square behind them. While Mindra’s Square had been mostly e
mpty of living people, Aleksi could now clearly see the chaos of both locals and foreigners fighting and rampaging across the docks. The riotous people moved in droves, raiding warehouses and burning ships unlucky enough to still be moored.

  Looking out into the harbor, Domadred saw hundreds of flaming boats floating aimlessly into the night. It brought back a memory of the historic Red Riots of Mindra’s Haven and their destructive wake of blood and flame. “We will have to move quickly,” Domadred said, turning his eyes back to the long thoroughfare that only hours before had been revered as the great center spoke of the wheel of Eastern trade and commerce. “I tell you, the Diamond is holding strong, but I can’t say for how long. We must make all haste before these fires spread. Although her hull won’t burn, the Diamond’s sails and rigging will catch easily if any one of these flaming ships gets too close.”

  “Where is your ship, Captain?” Nara asked, scanning the crowds as the group moved forward.

  “The Diamond is moored at the foreign trading docks,” Domadred answered, looking down the long stretch of disarrayed harbor before them as he walked. “She’s a three-masted barquentine schooner, and last I left her, she was riding on spring lines. While I am not sure what she is flying now, at full sail she is gaff rigged, fore and aft, with one large set of squares on her foremast and an assortment of staysails at her bow.”

  “She doesn’t look like anything else in the harbor,” Brayden added. “You won’t be able to miss her.”

  “The Diamond,” Fa’ell said slowly. “You keep saying that name. You can’t possibly mean the . . . Illusive Diamond?”

  “One and the same, my darling,” Domadred replied with a theatrical flourish of his captain’s hat.

  Fa’ell’s eyes grew wide and she stopped abruptly on the dock. “Then you’re Domadred Steele, the Domadred Steele!”

  “At your service, m’lady.”

  Fa’ell turned an accusing look on Nara. “Did you know this, Nara?”

  “Yes.” Nara continued walking and scanned the various groups raiding the remaining ships. “Now, Captain, how far—”

  “You knew this man was a pirate, and yet you still agreed to board his ship?”

  Nara paused and looked back at her. His eyes were still dilated, and although his wounds were now crusted shut with medicinal brown paint, it was obvious they pained him greatly. “Although I have never personally made the good captain’s acquaintance, I am aware of his exploits and reputation. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to—”

  “He is a hunted man!” Fa’ell blurted out. “You have us bedding down with a bloody pirate?”

  “Well, this is the first I have heard about bedding anyone,” Domadred said with a smile. “However, I assure you that whatever reputation you know me by has been exaggerated. Unless it’s favorable, of course; then it’s a gross understatement.”

  “I will not consort with pirates!” Fa’ell protested, ignoring Domadred’s words.

  “Look around you, Fa’ell. What choice do you have?”

  Fa’ell looked at Aleksi. “What about you, boy? You’re comfortable with these men’s reputation?”

  “I am not familiar with the reputation of the Diamond or her crew,” Aleksi answered, looking at the multitude of burning ships in the harbor. “But not only do we have little choice, I do in fact trust that Captain Do—”

  “You’ve actually never heard of the Illusive Diamond?” Domadred asked incredulously. “Where have you been hiding yourself, son?”

  “I have not traveled much,” Aleksi answered. “But—”

  “Well, when you step aboard the Diamond, all that will change! But let’s take that step in haste, shall we?”

  An explosion rocked one of the ships burning nearby. It sounded like an ammunition barrel bursting, and Kefta and Brayden both gave their captain a pleading look.

  “Domadred has done nothing to betray my trust,” Nara continued, eyeing Fa’ell derisively. “And if High Lord Al’Beth trusts him, it speaks only greater of Domadred’s character. I, for one, will sail on the Diamond. You may stay here on the docks if you wish.” Nara once again began walking down the wharf. Fa’ell shook her head but her protests ceased.

  As they continued on, the group passed several gangs of marauders. However, when the clusters saw the bare-chested and bloodied Lionman leading as vanguard, they thought better of starting any trouble.

  As the group approached a long stretch of empty dockage, the Illusive Diamond finally came into view. Brayden was right; the Diamond looked like no other ship in the harbor. Her pristine sails were pure white and her elegant hull was built for speed. She had a complement of twenty cannons—nine on either side, and a chaser at the bow and stern. With a square-rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main and mizzen, the majestic ship stuck out amid the smoke and turmoil of the pier.

  Containers were strewn about the dock along with a mob of citizens and soldiers. It appeared they were petitioning the Diamond’s crew to allow them to board. The ship’s men, however, held drawn swords and were keeping the rabble at bay. As Domadred and his small group came closer, they could see that a wharf building farther up the dock was burning brightly and cast long shadows across the crowd trying to get passage aboard the Diamond. In addition, the crackling blaze highlighted several squads of armed soldiers in glinting plate mail.

  Something from deep inside the building behind the mob exploded. Even from afar, Aleksi could feel the blast reverberate in his chest. The detonation jettisoned bursts of flame and wood onto the docks. Although the Diamond was outside the eruption’s radius and unharmed, the majority of the crowd on the pier fled from the explosion. Billowing smoke rose up from the building’s wreckage, its thick black column illuminated by the fires below. The flames cast looming shadows about the remaining soldiers who continued to demand passage on the Illusive Diamond.

  As Domadred came closer, he could see the soldiers were dressed as the retinue of the High Council Honor Guard. They were also holding torches, threatening to burn the ship if they were not let aboard. Several of the soldiers then extended a long plank to the Diamond and tried to clamber over. Members of the Diamond’s crew, however, grabbed long pole arms to knock the soldiers into the water.

  Coming within earshot, Domadred gave out a piercing whistle and yelled, “Rihat, cut the spring lines and come about to me!”

  Rihat, the ship’s quartermaster, looked over to Domadred and smiled wide. He then ordered the ship’s crew to cut the docking lines and upturn the plank, with several High Council Honor Guard already halfway across to the ship.

  The armored soldiers fell into the water with a heavy splash as several of the Diamond’s sails unfurled. Instantly, the sails caught the night’s breeze and urged the great ship into motion.

  As their comrades sank into the dark waters below, the soldiers on the dock shouted and about half tried to jump across the growing gap between pier and ship. The other half split rank and ran down the dock toward Domadred and his group. Of those who jumped for the ship, about three-quarters made it and clambered up the gunwale, drawing swords. The others, however, hit the water with muffled splashes.

  As the Diamond coasted toward Domadred and his companions, the ship’s crew engaged their bulky attackers with the harsh clash of steel on steel. Domadred could see his men fighting fearlessly; however, the High Council Honor Guard clearly had the advantage in combat, for they wore heavy armor which far outstripped the sailors’ cloth clothes.

  “Push them over the side!” said a Northern-accented voice aboard the ship. Domadred had never heard this man before, and he strained his ears to listen. “You there, grab ahold of this other end.”

  A man dressed as Northern nobility came into view and passed a thick weave of teraf rope to several of the deckhands. Together, they drew it tight. The sailors charged the majority of the High Council Honor Guard, clotheslining them off the side of the ship. There came a loud splash and the attacking soldiers’ numbers were greatly diminished.
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  Domadred watched on as the man dressed in formal Northern attire fought alongside the ship’s men, personally slaying a great many of the High Council Honor Guard.

  As the Illusive Diamond coasted adjacent to the dock, Domadred once again cupped his hands and called out to his quartermaster. “Have six men tie in with catch lines, and on my mark, have them swing out!”

  Just then, there came another furious explosion from the wharf behind them. This one was much larger than the first. The blast hurled a great deal of debris into the air, including numerous barrels that landed on the dock and in the water with a fiery combustion of pancera oil. Wherever the oil touched, flames instantly ignited. The fire stretched across wood and water alike, and its oddly multicolored flare cast eerie shadows about the harbor.

  Domadred watched as several of the barrels landed in the Diamond’s path. They exploded into rippling flames on the waves in front of the ship’s bow as she came to rescue her displaced captain and crew.

  Seeing the firelight across the water, the helmsman called down to Domadred. “Sir! Orders?”

  “Cut her in close, then push out hard and hold true!”

  The helmsman followed his captain’s instructions and spun the wheel hard to avoid the worst of the flames. But as she was rounding the pier, the Diamond nearly struck a large mooring post protruding from the dark water. The helmsman then spun the wheel the opposite direction and evaded the bollard by just a millimeter as the ship slid up and approached Domadred and his small group.

  The ship came in with such force and speed, however, that the Diamond’s starboard bow struck the dock with a great crash. The ship scraped the mooring with a screech of grinding wood and twisted metal. A shower of sparks and splinters was cast into the burning waters as the Diamond finally came aside.

  With armor and swords glinting in the flames, the remainder of the High Council Honor Guard engaged Domadred and his party. They came in at full charge but were met by the Lionman’s mighty fists, Fa’ell’s cracking whip, and both Kefta’s and Brayden’s swords. Aleksi, too, met them in battle, but instead of drawing blade, he fought with open hands, using joint locks to throw his attackers over his hip and into the water. Despite the group’s skill, however, the High Council Honor Guard were too many. The party was pushed back, unable to board the Diamond as it skidded its way along the pier with a mournful groan.