Victory and Defeat: Book Five of the Restoration Series

by Williams, Christopher

  Within moments they passed through the open door and into the pale light of his study. He glanced around in anger and fear at the corpses of his two guards; they had been so young.

  The door behind him closed, and then the bookshelf clicked shut as it was swung back against the wall. Immediately the hand covering his mouth disappeared, and he spun to face his attackers. Three men faced him. Two of them he knew, but the third he had never seen before. He wasn’t sure which was worse; the angry face of Del-Atock, or the smiling face of Lord Maltin Dela Narra.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Dalin demanded.

  Jared smiled at the old high priest. “Dalin Olliston, by the order of King Darion, you are hereby under arrest.”

  Dalin just stared at them for several heartbeats and then he laughed. “And what crime am I charged with?”

  “Treason,” Jared answered.

  “Fool! You will never get me out of this temple, and tomorrow the people of Telur will rebel.”

  Jared nodded. “They might indeed, but the people will be told that you asked for the king’s protection and are a guest in the castle.”

  Dalin laughed again. “No one will believe that.”

  “Perhaps not, but it will be enough to keep the citizenry content.”

  “And what is your great plan for spiriting me out of this fortress?”

  Jared waved his hand at Atock. “He intends to carry you out the secret entrance.”

  Dalin blinked and his mouth fell open. “How do you know about that?” he asked.

  Jared pointed at something behind Dalin and the old man turned. Countess Hannah Lells stood in the shadows, looking scared.

  “What have you done?” he demanded.

  “I have obeyed my king,” she said quietly.

  Dalin glared at the woman for several more heartbeats and then he turned back around. “It does not matter if you carry me away. The archbishops will just appoint a new high priest.”

  Jared’s smile grew. “Do you not think we would have planned for that? By all estimations, there are seventy-five to eighty of the archbishops in the temple. By sunrise, their attendants will all be dead, and the bishops will have a new steward. You see, I am bringing my own men into the temple and they will remain with your precious bishops.”

  Dalin was beginning to feel a bit faint. “They will give their lives up rather than be a hostage.”

  “It is possible that some of them will, but not all of them,” Jared agreed. He began to fumble with a small pouch on his belt.

  “I will never cooperate with the king,” Dalin insisted. “He will be forced to kill me. Do you think you can keep that a secret?”

  Removing his hand from his pouch Jared shrugged. “If you will not cooperate then you will die, and the remaining archbishops will name a new high priest, but this one will be completely picked out by the king.”

  Dalin’s nausea was getting worse and he was afraid he might faint. He was trying to decide if he was going to faint or be sick when Jared threw a handful of powder into his face.

  For a moment, Dalin coughed and hacked, but then the powder took affect; the high priest’s eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed to the floor.

  Chapter 30

  It was late in the morning, and King Darion stood on the balcony that was connected to his chambers. The sky was a brilliant blue, and his heart swelled as he looked out over the city of Telur. Once again he felt like he was in control of his own kingdom, and he had begun to think that he would never feel this way again.

  “Father?”

  Darion did not turn at the sound of his son’s voice but continued looking out over the enormity of his city. It was beautiful beyond imagination.

  “Father?” Prince Aldon called again. “I was told you wanted to see me.”

  Darion still did not turn, but he waved his son closer without looking. He waited until he heard his son’s footsteps and motioned out over the city. “It’s beautiful.” He leaned over, resting his elbows on the ledge.

  Aldon moved to the left of the king. He placed his hands on the ledge and stared out as well.

  “I’m sorry, Father. There is nothing I can do to make this right.”

  Darion sighed and looked at his son. Aldon had always been the strong one. His first son had also been named Darion, and he had been coddled a bit too much and, as a result, had been used to getting his own way. Barrett was even worse. Danal had been left alone too much and had become shy and quiet. But Aldon had always excelled at everything, and he did not know how to handle failure.

  “We all fail,” Darion said. “It is more important that you learn from this mistake and hopefully grow wiser.”

  Aldon nodded. “Nothing like this will ever happen again.”

  “When you are king, everyone will try to get close to you. You have to be able to sense which ones are trying to deceive you.”

  Aldon’s brow knitted in confusion. “Unless something happens to Barrett, I will never be king.”

  Darion sighed again, feeling that freedom roll through him again. “I issued a proclamation this morning. Barrett is not to be the crown prince. You are now the crown prince.”

  To put it simply, Aldon looked dumbfounded. “Me? But I made a terrible mistake. I allowed a woman to get close to me and drug me for information. How can I be king?”

  “Because there is no one else,” Darion said softly. “Barrett is a fool and would be a disaster. Danal is a good man, but he is not strong. The houses would run roughshod over him.” Darion paused and shook his head. “No, it has to be you.”

  Aldon looked disappointed, and Darion thought he knew why. It was not everyday that your father made you the heir to the crown and then told you it was only because there was absolutely no one else.

  “I understand,” Aldon said after a moment. “I will do the best that I can.”

  Darion nodded. “I know you will, and I think you will do better now because of your failure with the countess.”

  Aldon was thoughtful for a while, and then said, “I hope to be as good a king as you have been.”

  “I just hope you get the opportunity,” Darion said quietly. “Storm clouds are gathering, and I think the world may be about to change. Who knows? There may not even be a Telur once this is all done.”

  Aldon remained silent. He apparently had no reply to such a grave announcement.

  “I also made some horrendous mistakes as a youth,” Darion said into the silence. “Your grandfather nearly named one of my younger brothers as crown prince instead of me.”

  “What could you possibly have done that would have cost you the crown?” Aldon asked.

  “I fell in love with an elven princess and together we conceived a child.”

  The words were spoken so quietly that, for a moment, Aldon was not sure he had heard them correctly. Then the full import of the words occurred to him. “Flare?” he gasped in sudden understanding. “You mean, he is actually your son?”

  Darion nodded. “Yes, he is my first born.”

  Aldon whole body felt numb as he considered the implications. “But Kelcer said . . . ”

  “Do not trouble yourself with Kelcer. We have spent far too long listening to the church tell us what it means, and I think they have been wrong the entire time.”

  “But if he is the Destroyer . . . ” Aldon said.

  “He is not!” Darion snapped, and the harshness of his words put an end to the question. “Trust me on this, son,” Darion said, turning to look at Aldon. “Your half-brother might be the only hope we have of saving Telur.”

  Aldon did not reply. Instead, he looked out over the expanse of Telur. He still felt numb, and his mind struggled to understand exactly what it all meant. After a moment, his eyes drifted to the horizon. Even though the sky was a beautiful brilliant blue, he thought he could see the storm clouds his father had mentioned.

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