Of Princes and Dragons: Book 2 (Lords and Commoners)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  “Yes, he obviously feels prepared to fight us. Something has changed for him to come forward now. He would not challenge us to war unless he was certain he could defeat us,” Chastellain said. His anger had subsided and there was work to be done. This was what he did best — think.

  “We must respect the fact that he is prepared to fight us. He must have something we do not know about — a new weapon perhaps, more warriors than us, any number of possibilities,” Samuel said.

  “With Teller’s army, surely he could not outnumber us,” Elijah said.

  “It looks as if we are about to find out,” Val said. She moved to the window wondering how it was going for Riddick. Perhaps she had hoped to see him return. I should have gone with him, she thought. Most likely the emissaries had fled straight into the Oresund so that it would be difficult to track them in the water.

  “Where is Riddick?” The lord paced in front of his throne.

  “Let’s go after him,” Val took Elijah’s hand and headed for the door.

  But there was no need to leave as Riddick appeared in the doorway. In either hand Riddick held two unfamiliar men. Behind him one of the guards held a third prisoner — a woman. Others in the castle, mostly guards, had gathered around Riddick. This was out of curiosity rather than to help him. Riddick did not need their help.

  “Riddick, my dear boy, what on earth would we do without you?” The lord beamed.

  Thank God the messengers were not smart enough to head straight for water. Did they not know that vampires could track anything on land as well as in the sky? Riddick was better than most in this area. He could track a spider, let alone three reeking vampires.

  The lord was in his element and ready to play with his prey. He smiled with malice, as he studied the three vampires kneeling before him. One man rubbed his arm where Riddick’s grip had been. The lord wandered away, peering out the window. He was a cat looking uninterested as the wounded mouse tried to scurry away. When the mouse was almost out of reach, the lord would pounce, sinking his teeth and claws into the poor helpless creature. The mouse never truly stood a chance.

  “Well, well. What have we here? It appears Ramdasha has decided to act like a real man. Perhaps he does have a cock after all.”

  One of the prisoners glanced at Vallachia with wide eyes. It appeared that he thought such vulgarity should not be spoken in front of a lady. Val thought his concern for the innocence of her ears was endearing. Of course, she had lived long enough to hear much worse.

  Val gave Elijah a questioning looked. He shrugged in response. Apparently he did not know what had gotten into his usually pedantic father either.

  “Does Ramdasha actually believe that he stands a chance against me? He is finally ready to answer my calls to war?” the lord said.

  The prisoners remained silent. It was the woman who found her courage. “Yes, I believe that is his intention, my... ”

  “My what?” Chastellain demanded.

  “My Lord.” It clearly pained her to call him by this respectful title.

  “That’s better. What traps has he set for us on the fifteenth of this month?”

  “No traps, My Lord. He wants an evenhanded battle. No skullduggery, I promise,” the woman answered and the men were happy to let her do so.

  “Please, My Lord, are you going to kill us?” one of the men blurted. The suspense was torture, he simply must know his fate.

  “Of course not. If you think that I would kill you, then you have been misled. You see, contrary to what you may have heard about me, I am a benevolent and fair ruler.”

  Vallachia refrained from rolling her eyes, as this statement was debatable. The lord is in rare form.

  “To demonstrate how benevolent I truly am, I will ease your mind by telling you what will happen. I will send one of you with a message for the cowardly Ramdasha. The other two will remain here and I will not harm a hair on your mangy heads. You have my word.”

  “What message?” the woman asked.

  Val had to admire her — she was brave.

  “Do not worry about that, my dear. You will not be the one sending it,” the lord said.

  Val knew he would not send her — she was entirely too brazen. Chastellain eyed both the men for a long moment but Val already knew which one the lord would pick to send the message. He would send the weakest one — the man who had not said a word — the one with the slumped shoulders and who stared only at the floor.

  Val was right.

  “Send these two to the dungeon and, as I promised, do not harm them,” Chastellain ordered.

  In no time only the weak one remained. “Please, My Lord, I don’t know where Ramdasha is. He is already on the move.”

  “Liar! You were running right back to him when we caught you. For the first time in centuries I don’t give a shit where that bastard is.” The lord softened his tone and smiled. “To further demonstrate how gracious a leader I am, I will not have you followed. As long as you deliver my message to your spineless master, your companions will go unharmed. I will even set them free to fight against us in battle. You see not only am I merciful, I am also brave. All I want is an honest fight. My armies, against Ramdasha’s in a battle to decide who should rule. If I can be defeated in a fair fight then I will gladly hand over my throne. Tell Ramdasha that the battle must occur in two weeks’ time and on neutral grounds. We will send a parchment with you. It will contain our terms for war.”

  The man’s head had remained lowered throughout the lord’s speech.

  “Do you understand?” Elijah demanded.

  Vallachia recoiled at the darkness in Elijah’s voice.

  “Yes ... I ... I think so, Your Majesty.” The prisoner was shackled and surrounded by guards as the parchment with the new terms of war was prepared and sealed with gold wax and the Chastellain coat of arms.

  Chapter 77 Copenhagen 1551 A.D

  Samuel was the Court’s weapons expert. Ever since they were trapped in Ramdasha’s old cavern he had studied from humans or anyone he could find who knew about explosives and guns. He experimented on his own as well. He trained the Court to fire guns. Val was not fond of the awkward contraptions. They were unbearably loud and had to be reloaded after each shot.

  Nevertheless, the Court’s soldiers learned to reload quickly and to shoot accurately. Yet in battle, guns would only be useful in the beginning, as their enemy would not be stopped by the bullets — only slowed temporarily, if one was lucky. When they went to reload, their opponent would be on top of them.

  Thus, the focus was on sword fighting and archery. The Court’s soldiers were trained in all areas of combat but they had an entire battalion dedicated to archery. They consisted of the Court’s most accurate shooters. Vampire combat was much more difficult than human combat because, like bullets, arrows would not kill vampires either; only slow them down. Yet, they had to utilize all possible weaponry.

  Many of Val’s friends developed a propensity for their favorite weapons. Elijah was an expert with the whip or rather whips. Not just any whips — Samuel lined them with the sharpest of razors. Elijah kept two such whips fastened to his belt whenever he left the castle. With these he could easily sever the head of a vampire from a distance. This was one sure way to kill his opponent.

  As it would turn out, Mari had an aptitude for archery. She was the head of the Court’s archers. Samuel, of course, was the best with guns — he kept two in holsters on his belt at most times. He also invented explosives that were small enough to hold in the hand. They ignited on impact. He called them grenades. It would blow one’s opponent back and possibly take them out of the fight; yet again this would not kill a vampire. They would heal from the blast, as Val and her companions had after the explosion in Ramdasha’s old cavern.

  Riddick was the best with his double axes. He used one in each hand — they had one incredibly sharp edge and metal spikes on the back. Teller preferred the crossbow. He kept this with his arrows strapped to his back. For hand-to-hand combat,
Teller fought with a scimitar in one hand and a wicked spiked club in the other.

  Val was most lethal with two double-edged long swords and numerous knives, which lined her belt. Learning to use a weapon in either hand allowed them to defend themselves better and increased the chances of being able to issue a lethal blow.

  Most of them would be carrying bow and arrows on their backs as well as their preferred weapons. Men and women alike would wear metal breast and back plates with the Chastellain Coat of Arms on the chest. Their tunics and breeches were made of a flexible black material, which allowed them to move as quickly and freely as possible. The finishing touch to their battle garb was thick black leather boots.

  Two days before the battle it was no surprise to find Elijah in the horse stables. He was feeding Hollis apples — well Hollis’s great, great, great, great ... grandson. Elijah had bred Hollis’s line well and his offspring were the largest and strongest breed — the mighty Clydesdale. The Scottish claimed to have been the first to breed the Clydesdales but they bought their original stud from Elijah. Elijah’s horses had a reputation for being the best and were often sought after by humans far and wide. Little did they know that the line for these magnificent horses came from an orphaned foal who was almost a warm winter meal for wolves.

  Val joined Elijah and Hollis, Jr. She ran her hand down Hollis’s neck. This fine specimen was over nineteen hands high. He was at least twice as muscular as the average horse and his hooves were three times the size. People paid a high price for Hollis to breed their mares.

  “Will you ride him into battle?” Val asked.

  “No. I will not risk him.”

  “Yet, you will risk me?”

  “No. If I had it my way you would not be fighting. But I know you — all too well. You will fight no matter what I want.”

  “Well, all that time spent training would have been for nothing if I did not fight. We cannot let all my hard work go to waste.” Val gave Elijah a warm smile. Of course, she would not let their people fight for her. She had to be in the front line by Elijah’s side — leading their people. This was what just rulers did. And this fight was worth dying for.

  She ran her hand playfully down his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Let’s spend the day in our cave — the two of us. Then tomorrow, the eve of battle, we will spend with our family.”

  Elijah’s arms held her close. “That sounds perfect. Tonight we will have to feed.”

  The eve of battle seemed as if it would never end. Like the stories of hell, it was prolonged torment. They had been busy preparing for battle since the date had been set. They'd had little time to think about much else. Up until that point they had spent much time perfecting their strategy. Then came the day before the battle; at this point everything was planned and ready and reviewed a million times over. There was nothing to do but wait. They were supposed to rest because at dusk they would take flight for the battlefield. But how could anyone possibly sleep at a time like this?

  All the people Val cared about would head into battle the next day. They would be in mortal danger and she knew that the chances of everyone surviving were slim. She prayed that most would and that they would finally end this war over vampire domination. The entire human race was at stake. The Court must fight to the end. No matter what that end might be. If Ramdasha won, the world would change forever. They simply could not allow that to happen.

  They started out in the Great Hall. Elijah, Samuel and the lord reviewed parts of the plan one last time but it had all been finalized so eventually everyone fell silent. Val laid her head on Elijah’s shoulder and Mari’s arms were around Samuel’s waist. They had nothing left to say but it was as if they did not want to leave one another’s company. It was not likely that they would ever be together again — not all of them.

  “Everyone should try to get some rest,” Lord Chastellain said.

  Val’s closest friends found themselves in Elijah’s chambers. Val curled up at the head of their large bed and rested against the massive pillows. Mari joined her. Samuel and Elijah followed. Val laid her head on Elijah’s chest for some much-needed comfort. Sonia sat in a tiny ball on Aaron’s lap. Elizabeth’s head was on Mary’s shoulder. Teller and Abdullah gazed out the window but did not take in the view. Riddick stayed on the other side of the room from Teller. The twins sat on the floor each using the other as a backrest with their elbows resting on their knees. They looked as if they were perfectly paired bookends. Wine was opened and passed around but no one felt like playing games.

  They sat in silence, no longer taking one another for granted. The only thing that mattered was that they were together. There was no predicting what tomorrow had in store for them. As immortals in a time of relative peace, they'd had little apprehension about the future. The future was a given, they always had tomorrow. That was no longer the case on the eve of battle; it would be a battle with others who were just as fast and strong.

  Now that their seemingly everlasting life was in jeopardy, Val imagined that it felt worse than it did for humans. Humans could die at virtually any moment from any number of causes. They were less likely to place confidence in their future. That was not the case for them. It was painfully clear how much they had complete faith in their futures, which could end tomorrow.

  “It will be an immense relief to get this over with. Imminent war has been our life for far too long. Soon we will no longer have to worry about a pending battle.” Elijah broke what had been hours of silence.

  “Let us hope we are able to end this once and for all,” Samuel said.

  “I want everyone here to know how much I love you,” Val said.

  Mari’s eyes filled with moisture.

  This made their companions uncomfortable or too emotional so they slowly retired to their own quarters.

  Val gave everyone a hug before they left. The shocking sensation that Teller gave her when they hugged was unbearable. His touch made it even more difficult to hold back the tears. Val did not want to let him go. For a brief moment she wished they had run away, leaving this war far behind. She felt terrible for having this thought.

  “We will all be fine,” Teller whispered.

  Only Mari and Samuel remained. Mari and Val curled up together at the head of the bed. Samuel lay beside Mari, putting his arm around the two women. Elijah did the same. Yet no one slept. They remained silent statues for another hour until the sun was low in the west.

  To make sure they had plenty of strength for the fight, Elijah and Val had fed the night before. The rest of their time was spent in their cave, lost in each other. She was grateful for that time alone and this time with her dearest companions. If this was the end, then there was so much she still needed to do, things she wanted to say. On the other hand, this was the perfect way to spend these last few days.

  Chapter 78 Copenhagen 1551 A.D

  The four closest of friends headed to the courtyard at dusk. Lord Chastellain was already there, organizing the armies for departure. Lord Alexandru, with Hector on his right and Mary on his left, would lead a separate army numbering about sixty. They were to break off from the main army. Teller’s men — who numbered about seventy — were to do the same. They would wait until the main army had fully engaged with Ramdasha’s forces. Then they would attack from either side, Alexandru from the west and Teller from the east. They hoped to surprise and overwhelm Ramdasha’s forces with this tactic.

  Mari was to lead the battalion of twenty archers to the nearby hill. This would give them the best vantage point to attack and help the soldiers on the ground. Lord Chastellain was to remain in the rear of the main army, which was comprised of one hundred and fifty soldiers. Elijah, Riddick, Samuel and Vallachia would lead the primary army.

  Lord Chastellain wanted to be by Elijah’s side but they convinced him that the Court needed to separate their first in command — himself — from the second in command — Elijah. They could not risk losing both King and Prince early on in the battle. Sin
ce Elijah was the better fighter it made sense for him to lead the army.

  Riddick and John tried to convince Elijah and Val — the second and third in command — that they too needed to split up. But neither would budge on this. Riddick would not leave Val’s side and Lord Chastellain would not have put his son in the front line without Riddick anyway. In the end, it all worked out. This strategy was the most logical, as it put their best fighters first.

  It worried Val that she would not be able to watch after her other friends. Being separated from them would be hard. However, Elijah, Riddick and Val would be Ramdasha’s primary targets, as he had a very old vendetta against them. Perhaps being away from the front would help to keep Val’s friends safer — she hoped.

  The most worrisome thing was that they had no idea what tricks Ramdasha had in store for them. No doubt he had surprises of his own. He now felt ready to take on the High Court of Elders, who had reigned supreme for over a millennia, so they needed to respect this fact. He must have some secret weapon or scheme. He would not have agreed to meet the Court in combat unless he was certain he stood a good chance of winning. Hopefully the Court’s strategy would be enough to defeat him.

  Before they took flight, Val found Teller and threw her arms around him one last time. She had to feel his special touch, in case there would never be another chance. “Take care of yourself,” she whispered as she enjoyed the shocking sensation that ran through her. He kissed her forehead, which made her knees give.

  “I will find you as soon as I can,” he whispered.

  Val found her other friends and gave each an embrace.

  “I will see you for the victory celebration.” Mary tried to smile.

  Val wished that she shared Mary’s confidence. Returning to Elijah’s side Val took his hand, as Lord Chastellain gave the command for them to take flight. Over three hundred vampires rising into the air was quite a thing to witness. They blackened the sky and the noise was deafening. The wind created by their wings swirled dirt in all directions.