Forever Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 3)

by Brad Clark

  With the silence clearly lasting too long, Arpwin said, “Queen Elissa will be pleased that you made the journey despite the circumstances.”

  “I would not have missed the ball for the world. I made her a promise that I would attend, and here I am.”

  “Are you sure that you do not want to have an audience with her before the festivities tomorrow? I know the queen will have some spare time this evening.”

  “No, I came here quietly on purpose. I do not want to take away from her moment, as this masquerade ball is a celebration all about her. Plus, I am sure that she has many duties to attend to. There will be plenty of time for us to visit tomorrow.”

  “Very well,” Arpwin replied. “And your men, they are okay sleeping in the next room? You do not want them here?”

  Toknon let a sly smile cross his face. “Is there reason to be concerned for my safety?”

  Arpwin laughed. “Of course not! I just want to make your stay is as pleasant as possible.”

  “You have done more than enough. Thank you, Arpwin.” Toknon was standing by the window, looking down upon the courtyard while Arpwin continued their conversation. His attention was only partially upon the activity below him, but two men who came through the gate caught his eye. He turned away from Arpwin to get a closer look.

  “There are plenty of young maidens and pages that are ready to serve your needs, so all you need to do is ask. Anything that is ours, of course, is yours.” As he noticed a change in Toknon’s demeanor, he stepped forward and asked, “What is it?”

  Toknon did not respond immediately. Something about the two men that walked into the inner courtyard intrigued him. Both were obviously soldiers, based on their long strides, wide shoulders, and thick bodies. But they weren’t dressed like soldiers. The larger of the two walked stiffly with a purpose, while the other looked around, as if this were the first time in a castle. Or he was studying its layout.

  The smaller man, who wasn’t much smaller, glanced in his direction, exposing his face. Toknon took a step back and let out a gasp. The last time he had seen Commander Roland was in his own castle, when the Taran had come for secret permission to pass through his kingdom. He could not image why a Taran centurion commander was casually walking into this castle. He began to wonder if he was truly going to be safe.

  Arpwin had walked up to the window and looked out. “What is it?” he asked again.

  Toknon caught himself and hoped Arpwin had not noticed his surprised reaction. “Oh, it is nothing.”

  “Someone you recognize?” Arpwin asked.

  Toknon shook his head and smiled. “No, of course not.”

  Arpwin glanced over at King Toknon and knew he was lying.

  ***

  The page led Peter and Roland down the wide hallway towards their chambers. The activity in the castle had picked up as everyone was in full party preparation mode. What were once empty halls were now filled with servants, maids, and pages running about helping to get the castle ready for the ball. Long tables had already been set up in the hallway where late-comers without a costume would be able to choose from a variety of outfits to use. Although most ladies and their lords would come fully prepared in a grand costume, some would come without anything to wear. It would have been an insult to let them into the ball without a proper costume and mask, so there would be costumes available for them.

  Once they reached their chamber door, the page gave a quick bow and ran off to his next errand. Peter opened the door.

  Berrien was sitting in a chair, but stood as soon as Peter walked in.

  “Peter, good. We have much…” His words trailed off as he noticed the newcomer walk through the doorway.

  Peter closed the door, first checking to make sure there was no one nearby that would attempt to snoop on their conversation. Roland stood near the doorway, looking around the room.

  “Who is this?” Berrien asked.

  “I am Commander Roland. I serve as commander of a division of northern army centurions.”

  Berrien looked him over closely. “What are you doing here? We have no need for soldiers here. We are diplomats.”

  “I came bearing news. From Emperor Tarcious.”

  Berrien raised an eyebrow. “Emperor Tarcious? When did this happen? Did the younger brother tire of his older sibling?”

  “Those are questions I will not ask, as I do not care to know the answer. I serve whomever it is that rules from the palace in Tara City. How he got there, that is not my business.”

  “Typical soldier,” Berrien said with a smile. “Loyal to a fault.”

  Roland stiffened. “My duty is to serve the empire. My loyalty is my honor.”

  Berrien let out a laugh. “I meant no insult! I was merely stating the obvious. To be a good centurion, you must be loyal to the empire. I commend you for that. You said you had news from our new emperor?”

  Roland glanced around, as if he were looking for something.

  “Do not worry, there are no secret hallways where Karmon spies are listening. Trust me, I already checked. This chamber is safe and secure. You may speak freely.”

  “The army marches from the north,” Roland said.

  “What?” Peter exclaimed.

  Berrien remained silent, processing what he was just told. “This does not make sense,” he said after a moment. “Emperor Tarcious, when he was still Prince Tarcious, sent me here to reestablish a treaty with the Karmons. This treaty would be very favorable to us and put a garrison of centurions on Karmon soil. Why in the world would the emperor attack Karmon, now?”

  “As you said, I am but a soldier. I do not ask why when my commanders send me into battle.”

  “Well, I am not a soldier, so I can ask the question,” Berrien retorted. “The army comes marching in while I’m stuck inside the walls? Peter, we need to leave immediately. I am not going to be left inside to fend for myself while centurions march upon the city.”

  “Staying here is exactly what you are to do,” Roland said in his commander’s voice. “The order comes directly from the emperor. You wish to defy him?”

  “If it means saving my hide, then yes.”

  “What kind of Taran are you!” Roland snapped.

  “One who wants to live until tomorrow,” Berrien shot back.

  “What exactly are our orders?” Peter asked, interrupting the argument.

  Roland let a harsh glare stay on Berrien for a moment before turning to Peter. “You have already established yourselves as legitimate diplomats?”

  “Of course!” Berrien growled. “Because we are.”

  “And you have the trust of the lords and the queen?” Roland ignored the reply from Berrien and asked Peter.

  “Where are you going with this?” Berrien demanded.

  Roland turned back to Berrien and said with irritation in his voice, “Peter asked the question, and I am answering him. Now that you are secure inside the castle, you have access to the queen and the lords. In order to instill chaos within the city, you are to kill the queen.”

  Berrien was stunned to silence while he pondered what he had been ordered to do.

  “We have not had an audience with the queen,” Peter said casually, as if being ordered to assassinate a nation’s ruler was an everyday occurrence. “We have only had meetings with their Lord Martin. I do not know if we can get close enough to her to carry out these orders.”

  “I am not an assassin,” Berrien said, interrupting Peter.

  “You are an agent of the empire,” Roland said. “You will carry out your orders.”

  “I am a diplomat, not a soldier or an assassin. If you want to kill her, you go ahead. But with the army coming to the city, I think it is time for me to leave.”

  “And then you’ll be a traitor to the empire.”

  “So be it,” Berrien replied. “But I’ll be alive.”

  Peter stepped forward, moving in between the two arguing men. “Berrien is not a solder, but I am. I will do it. When will the army be here?”<
br />
  “Two days.”

  “That leaves us very little time.”

  “Can you get an audience with the queen, or get her alone somehow?” Roland asked.

  Berrien wandered to a corner of the room and poured himself a goblet of wine from a tall pitcher. He guzzled down one goblet and poured himself another. Then he replied, “The queen is tied up with preparations for her ball. We have tried to get an audience with her the past few days, but she is too busy. And she constantly has a team of maids and servants hovering over her. Unless you want this to be a suicide mission, you will have no chance to get her alone.”

  “What about the masquerade ball?” Peter asked. “It will be busy and chaotic. If we plan this carefully, we might be able to not only assassinate her, but do it in a way that will strike fear into the rest of the lords of the realm.”

  Roland smiled. “You were always the consummate soldier, Peter.”

  Peter walked over to Berrien, who had already drained a second goblet and was working on the third. “We will need your help, Berrien.”

  Berrien laughed. “You will die before you get close enough to kill the queen.”

  “Maybe,” Peter said. “But with your help, we just might be able to do this.”

  “I will be leaving first thing in the morning. I will not be caught behind these walls when the centurions come marching upon it. Nor do I want to be around when the queen is assassinated. The first people they will look for will be foreigners. Innocence or guilt will not matter. They will execute you and me if we are still here after this happens.”

  “Then we will just have to have a plan to get away. We can still kill the queen and get out of the city before the Taran army arrives. I know you, you can figure this out. Me, I’m just a grunt soldier. What do you say? Will you help us plan this?”

  Berrien drained his goblet before he answered. “Let me make this clear. Do not ask me to assassinate the queen. I will not do that.”

  “You have some sort of moral code?” Roland said with a harsh laugh.

  Before Berrien could retort, Peter lifted a finger at Roland and said, “Enough. We need his help and if you keep badgering him, he may just up and leave. Now shut up and let Berrien finish.”

  Roland’s face turned red, but he kept his mouth shut.

  To Berrien, Peter asked, “Will you help?”

  Berrien let out a long sigh. He hated the idea of assassination because it always provided motivation and stimulation for revolutions. “I will help, but understand that I will be out of the city the moment it happens. I will not wait for you or help you to get out. “

  “We are soldiers,” Peter said. “We can handle ourselves.”

  “Very well. Listen carefully.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Captain Janari had the sails pulled down to keep the stiff winter wind from pushing the boat into the rocks at the base of the cliff. Ten of his crew manned the oars below the main deck to help keep it on course. Typically, they called out their cadence in tune with one of their old folk songs, but they were too close to the castle and their voices would easily be heard from someone standing atop the cliffs. Instead, they simply hummed the beat, pushing the oars into and out of the water in synchronous rhythm.

  Conner stood at the bow, his eyes searching the shadows at the base of the cliff where the water crashed into it. The castle was directly above them, lit up with more torches than he had ever seen before. Somewhere in that shadow was the cave entrance that he had been forced to use on one occasion. But that had been in the middle of summer when the water was not icy cold.

  “The castle,” Hargon said from behind him. “It is a pretty sight.”

  The sun was on the verge of falling below the horizon, allowing just enough light to see, but nighttime was clearly right around the corner. There were candles in each of the windows as well as torches mounted across the top of the castle walls. Conner had never seen the castle lit up in such a way and wondered what the special occasion was.

  His heart was aflutter with excitement at being back in his home kingdom. Although it had only been a few months that he was gone, it seemed like it was so much longer. So many things had happened to him, and to others. Goshin’s death hurt a lot. He had been such a good friend along with being a father-like figure who knew how to push him to his limits. He missed Marik as well. The knight ranger had been one of the few people that had befriended him and always had treated him as an equal.

  But of course, he missed Elissa the most. Although he was no longer that innocent, smitten boy, he still thought of her often and would like to see her once again. Maybe once the Ark was safe and hidden, he would return to Karmon and see her. He would like that, to see her again. But until then, he would have to keep his thoughts focused on his mission and not on her.

  “This is where we part ways,” Glaerion said, breaking the silence that had hung over them for some time.

  “You’re not coming with?” Conner asked.

  “We are. You and me. Hargon will stay with Captain Janari. He will take the boat up river and wait for us there. The crew will do their best to hide their appearance, but we are not familiar with the culture and customs of these people. Someone will need to stay back and interact with your people.”

  “Me?” Hargon asked. “If you recall, I was the emperor of the greatest nation on earth until just recently. I would not call myself an expert on Karmon customs.”

  “Elves and men haven’t interacted in five thousand years,” Glaerion countered sharply. “You think one of them could do it? Conner needs to be with me as he knows that castle. That makes you the odd man out.”

  Captain Janari joined the group. “My men are holding position, but they are wearing out. Whatever you are going to do, it must be done now.”

  Conner glanced over the deck railing and into the deep blue water. “The water is very cold, and we are still far away from land.”

  “You thought we were going to swim?” Glaerion said with a shake of his head. “We will have to use the small rowboat.”

  “What about that trick you did back at Iseron?” Conner asked.

  “First, it was not a trick,” Glaerion said. “It is magic. Secondly, magic is a tool of last resort, not of convenience. That is the one difference between men and elves. Men are always looking for the easy way out. Casually casting magic about might also let anyone else nearby know that there is a spellcaster around. If this man-wizard is around, and he senses the casting of a spell, he will be on alert. I want to catch him completely by surprise.”

  Captain Janari watched as waves crashed against the rocks. They were not the big crushing waves that would be seen after a storm, but there was still great force to the waves as they hit upon the rocks. “There are many rocks and not much of a place to land.”

  “I don’t really anticipate landing the boat,” Glaerion said. “We’ll row it as far as we can and then we’ll have to swim the rest of the way in.”

  “Are you serious?” Hargon asked. “One strong wave will crack your head open on one of those rocks, and then this whole thing is for naught!”

  “Is there any other choice?” Glaerion asked. “We’ve spent the last day debating it to no end. We can’t risk Conner being recognized coming in through the main gate. Even if we docked, we can’t risk him being seen. This whole plan relies on us getting into and out of the castle in secret.”

  “This is the one place where there are no guards,” Conner said. “Even those that walk the wall never look down here. No one remembers that there is a cave here. Plus, who would be crazy enough to try and do what we are doing?”

  “Exactly,” Hargon said. “Crazy. I’m just glad it’s not me.”

  “If we fail, it will be up to you,” Glaerion said.

  “Not me!” Hargon exclaimed. “If something happens to you, I’m heading out of here. I’ll take my chances with the northern barbarians.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” the elf said. “Captain Janari, if anyt
hing does happen, you must sail immediately for the homeland. We must be prepared if the Ark falls into the hands of Tarcious or the Deceiver.”

  Janari nodded his head. “Yes, of course. We will do whatever is necessary.”

  Using ropes tied to the front of the rowboat, two sailors on the top deck pulled it through the water from the rear of the boat to the bow. They held firmly onto the ropes while Conner and Glaerion said their farewells. Then, without another word, Glaerion jumped gracefully over the deck railing and landed directly in the center of the boat. It rocked a little bit, but he held his balance. A rope ladder was tied to the railing and dropped into the boat for Conner to use to climb down.

  Conner held out his hand to Hargon. “Thank you,” he said.

  The former emperor took it and shook firmly. “Okay, for what?”

  “You did save my life.”

  “Oh, yeah. Now go save the world.”

  Conner gave Hargon a quick smile before he descended the rope ladder. Glaerion handed him an oar as soon as he dropped into the boat. He used his own to push their small rowboat away from the larger vessel. As soon as they did, Captain Janari had his sailors quickly raise the sails. Within moment, they bloomed out full from the wind, taking the ship away quickly.

  Their small rowboat rocked in the waves, sending Conner falling onto his knees.

  “Take the bow, I’ll stay aft,” Glaerion said.

  “What?”

  “You go to the front. I’ll stay back here. We won’t be able to do much rowing as the waves will take us right to the cliff. We just need to steer away from the large rocks and get as close as we can.”

  Conner glanced quickly up, remembering the last time that he was in the water going into the cave. Royal Guards were shooting arrows at him. Not only was he lucky to not have been shot, he had been lucky to not hit his head on a rock when he jumped in from the top of the cliff. Today, there were no guards in view. However, that didn’t mean they weren’t there. It just meant that he couldn’t see them. But then again, if they were there, and they had been seen, arrows would already have been raining down upon them.