Victim of Fate

by Jason Halstead

  "I thought you would be riding with Patrina?" Lady Kenna asked as she walked up to him.

  "Um, yes, Your Highness," Alto stammered. "I mean, no, I'm not. I went with her but she preferred to ride by herself."

  She offered a half smile and turned. "Come, Alto, walk with me." Alto fell in beside her, and she began to walk down the hall. "Do you mind me asking how old you are?"

  "I'm seventeen, my lady," he answered.

  She nodded. "The same as my daughter. Her birthday was only a month ago, did you know? No? Well, that's no surprise since you've not seen her in many months. No fault of your own, I'm certain."

  Alto opened his mouth but the jarl's wife continued without giving him a chance to speak.

  "She speaks highly of you, you know. Even when she's fuming and red in the face going on about you, she's saying that she thinks even more than she says." She turned to study Alto's face for a moment as they walked. "You've impressed my husband, and that's no simple task for a Kingdom man. Now you've tamed a unicorn and brought it as a gift; it seems there's no limit to your abilities."

  "My lady, I didn't—" Alto fumbled when she turned away from him and headed for a door. He rushed around her and opened it so that she could step through and into the cool night air. He followed and looked around at the small garden filled with flowers that had already been trimmed back for the winter.

  "I think I like you, too," she continued. "But I hold Patrina's heart sacred. It is more valuable than any sword, horse, or ship in my husband's realm. I will protect it with my last breath if I must."

  She stared at a basin of water with crystals of ice forming on the surface of the water. She turned to Alto and stared deeply into his eyes. Alto found himself entranced and unable to look away. "Tell me what your desires are."

  "I want to be worthy," Alto said without thinking. He grimaced and tried to turn away but found he couldn't.

  "Worthy of my daughter's heart?"

  "Worthy of anything," he said. "My father's a farmer with seven children. I can farm and they looked up to me for it, but I want more from my life than that. Everywhere else I go, I find I don't know enough to do much of anything. I'm learning to fight but there must be more to life than that of a warrior."

  "A warrior spirit is the key to success at anything, young man," Lady Kenna said. "To find happiness in life, we must all be willing to fight at times, whether it's with a sword, our wits, our words, or our hearts."

  Alto found he had the presence of mind to bow his head respectfully to her wise words.

  "Tell me about the girl."

  Alto jerked his head up. Lady Kenna nodded down towards his wrist. Alto's cheeks flushed with heat without him needing to look. The damned scarf Aleena gave him. Why did he keep forgetting to take it off?

  "Her name is Aleena," Alto found himself admitting. "She's nobody, though."

  "If she's nobody then why do you wear her favor?"

  Alto did glance at the ribbon this time. "She's just a serving maid at her father's inn. It's near our headquarters, in Portland."

  "There is no dishonor in being a serving maid," the lady reproached him.

  Alto nodded. "I guess. I mean, if you say it's so, then I believe you. It's just..."

  "You can't compare her to Trina," Lady Kenna advised. "Do you love her?"

  Alto gaped at the jarl's wife. "Love her? I, uh, um, I don't think so. She's nice and she seems to want to take care of me."

  "Is that what you need? To be taken care of?"

  Alto stiffened. "No, my lady. I can take care of myself."

  She smiled at him. "I believe you. You've rescued my daughter, befriended a unicorn, and ended a siege while not yet seeing twenty winters. I think you can take care of a great many things. But be careful, young warrior, there are times when even the strongest among us needs the help of another."

  Alto nodded at her wisdom. He could never have killed Barador if the other Blades of Leander hadn't helped him get inside Highpeak. He'd never have met Winter if his friends hadn't helped him reach the forest. Even his confusion and foul mood would have consumed him if it weren't for his run-in with Lady Kenna. Alto grinned and said, "Sort of like you talking to me now, my lady?"

  The lady smiled and clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, you are a smart one. Yes, I think I see a glimpse of what Patrina sees in you. But remember my warning: Patrina is more precious than any jewel in the world. If you don’t love the barmaid, does that mean you love Patrina instead?"

  Alto closed his mouth after a moment of shock at her blunt question. "I have nothing but honorable intentions for your daughter."

  "I respect your avoidance, but tell me, just what honorable intentions do you have?"

  Alto opened his mouth and then frowned as he closed it. The conversation was more than awkward; it had turned downright uncomfortable. He’d rather be trapped in the forest than forced to answer Lady Kenna’s questions. The way she looked at him reminded him of Trina; she had a keen stare that cut straight through him. "I don't know. I'm not a noble," he answered, hoping to escape on a technicality.

  "There is no law that says you must be," she said, dashing his impetuous hopes. "But if you seek my daughter's hand and are not of noble birth, you must secure her permission and that of her parents. Whether the jarl favors you or not will not matter if I remain unconvinced. He may rule this land, but I rule his heart. You will learn soon enough that there is no steel or magic in this world stronger in this world than that."

  Alto bowed his head. "I believe you. I will make you proud of me, my lady."

  She shook her head and lifted his head with her hand on his chin. "Make yourself proud first, my young friend. Then find a way to win both Patrina's heart and her mind. It's no simple task; the two often are at odds with each other."

  Alto's grin matched the lady's. He knew Trina well enough to know that already. "Thank you, Lady Kenna."

  She smiled and gestured at the door behind him, dismissing him. Alto turned and retreated into the hall, and then hurried through the building and into the connecting hallways in search of the jarl. He was on his own, it seemed, and that meant he was free to pick his own path. The surety of a proper future seemed obvious enough to him now; he needed only the jarl's approval.

  A few servants and one guard later, Alto found himself waiting a brief audience with the jarl in his private study. An aide opened the door and gestured for him to enter. The jarl rose, surprised to see him, and bade him rise from where Alto had knelt on one knee.

  Alto rose up but only enough to draw his magical blade and sink back to his knees. He planted the point in the floor and bowed his head against the hilt. "Jarl Teorfyr, this sword was made to serve the Kelgryn. If you'll have me, I would offer my own service as well."

  Alto heard the man chuckle and he waited for Teorfyr's decree when the sound of running footsteps distracted them both. Alto turned and saw a guard stumble to a panting halt. "Jarl," he gasped, "it's Lady Patrina—she's been taken!"

  Alto jerked to his feet and noticed only a moment later that he held his sword ready to strike. "Taken? How? By who?" Teorfyr snapped.

  "Men wearing cloaks grabbed her in the darkness. Her steed came back without her and has been going crazy in front of the palace. Tried kicking the door in, he did!"

  "Winter's looking for me," Alto said. "He thinks I can help."

  Teorfyr looked at him and nodded. "Then as your first task for me, I bid you lead the charge to get my daughter back!"

  Chapter 12

  "None of it makes any sense!" Kar protested.

  "Are you as thick-witted as the boy was?" Tristam spat at him. "They had no gold left that they didn't need to rebuild their village with!"

  "I know that. You hope to spread more word about what a wonderful person you are to get more work in the future. More likely you'll get more beggars wanting you to buy them wine and give them a place to sleep," the wizard muttered.

  "There's a difference between charitable and foolish,"
the leader of the Blades growled. "I know the difference and you'd do well to remember it."

  "You lost a man and a horse," Kar reminded him. "Ironic that the two weren't related, but the point remains that Alto is gone and not a one of us thought to go back for him. Then to not accept even a meager compensation? That's not the Tristam I know."

  "Alto was a bad influence," Tristam said. "The boy had such ideals; he made me feel bad at times for knowing how the world works."

  "For accepting how it works and not trying to change it, that is."

  Tristam nodded agreement to the wizard's reasoning from the saddle of his horse.

  "Is that why you wouldn't take their money? Guilt for leaving Alto behind?"

  "I didn't hear anyone else offering to rush back for him!"

  Kar held up his hands and spoke calmly, "No, you didn't. Why is that, do you think?"

  "We protect our own as best we can," Tristam reasoned. "When they fall, there's no more to be done for them. They're off to meet their ancestors then; what happens to their body is of little concern."

  "Funerals are for the living," Kar conceded. "But when we last saw the boy, he was alive and swinging. Even called out that he'd meet us at the horses."

  "He didn't, proof that them demonic animals was too many for him to escape."

  "They were hardly demons," Kar reproached. "Aberrations of nature, certainly, but that's achievable with mortal magic. Powerful magic, in some cases, but they were of this world."

  "Is there a point to this, wizard?"

  Kar nodded. "There is. I—"

  "Then spit it out! I'm no student to be lectured."

  Kar frowned, and then let his irritation slip away. They'd all cared for Alto in their own way. He was young but an amazing man that had done earned a spot in all of their hearts. To lose him so suddenly and strangely was a blow to them all. A blow that Kar had begun to question. "Why don't we go back for him?"

  "Go back?" Tristam's brows scrunched and his cheeks paled. "He's gone; there's no sense of it."

  "Is he dead, or just wandering lost in the forest? I tell you, there was magic about that place. Magic that confused and confounded us all. There's no reasoning for the way we tucked tail and ran like whipped dogs other than that."

  "We was whipped dogs," Tristam reminded him. "Namitus's horse was cut out from under him by one of them creatures! Karthor was there to grab him up or we'd be mourning the loss of two and not one."

  Kar shook his head. "There was more to it, I'm sure of it. We were routed, but it wasn't just an army of toothsome animals that rid the forest of us, I'm sure of it."

  "Even taking that you might have the right of it, how do we stop that from happening again?"

  Kar smiled. "I'll be ready for it this time. I can sniff out the magic and protect us from it."

  "Can you now?"

  Kar's smile faltered for a moment. "I think I can. I've enough spells aimed at warding and disrupting hostile wizardry; I don't see why one of them won't work."

  "That's not very comforting."

  They fell silent for a moment, each lost in their thoughts. The silence dragged on long enough for Namitus to speak out loudly, "I'll go back for him."

  Both men turned to look at the rogue. Kar chuckled. "You see, even Namitus will risk life and limb."

  The rogue scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Come now, you spent years living amongst the Kelgryn pretending to be someone you weren't, simply for the sake of survival. Going back into that forest looking for Alto will risk that very same life and limb."

  "I'll go, too," Karthor offered.

  "Of course you will," Kar said. "I'm curious, though, is it your faith that drives you or is it something else?"

  Karthor tilted his head at the question. "Something else? Alto's my friend."

  "Just making sure your scions within the church haven't twisted you around to feeling an reasonable amount of devotion to your fellow man," the wizard said.

  "You're a disturbed man, Father," the young priest said to him.

  "Disturbing, at the least," Tristam echoed. "You've turned my troop against me, wizard, but I won't deny that it has some merit to it. If it turns out my soul is saved but my body goes up in flames for it, I'll be sure to haunt you to eternity."

  "Excellent," Kar said. They'd brought their horses to a halt on the road as they discussed the idea, making it easier for Kar to guide his around. "We've only let a few hours of the day escape us; we might even make it back to Fairhaven before the sun sets if we put our minds to it."

  Sebas whinnied as Namitus tried to turn the horse around. "Hush now, we're off to find your master," Namitus scolded the horse. Whether the animal understood or not, he settled down and let the rogue guide him.

  They'd ridden east from Fairhaven to a small town that had sprung up around a junction of roads. Merrim's Junction had earned the name because of the first man that had organized the collection of shops and peasants into a proper village. Since that single point in history almost a hundred years past, not a single event of interest had occurred there. The companions rode back through Merrim's Junction nearly an hour later without pausing to consider the small town or the inn they'd stayed at the night before.

  They returned to Fairhaven not long after the sun set. The horses and riders both were sore and tired. In the darkness, the hamlet was already beginning to look normal again. Two days of hard work by the survivors since the Blades had last been there had done wonders for the buildings.

  "The inn," Tristam pointed. "I'll not head back into that forest at night again."

  "Every minute we tarry could be a minute Alto's in peril," Kar said.

  "I've appeased your damn curiosity! Enough, Kar, it won't do him or us any good if we all end up in the belly of those things in the woods."

  Kar nodded. "That's true enough, I suppose. We should be able to convince the fine people of Fairhaven to give us free room and board."

  "They'd damn well better," Tristam muttered as he dismounted in front of the inn. "Namitus, see to our horses."

  The rogue frowned as he looked at the four remaining horses. Kar gave him a friendly smile and a wink before he headed inside. Without realizing, they'd taken Alto for granted. His worth in a fight or the strength of his arm notwithstanding, he'd also tended their mounts without complaint. Kar hoped the boy was lost but okay. Even captured by whatever malevolent being darkened the forest would be better than dead, provided they could get to him in time.

  * * * *

  Therion flung a handful of crystals into the fetid waters of the small pond. They hissed when they struck the cool surface and spat a fog into the air. The fog rose up and drifted into shapes until it resembled a colorless moving image.

  The warrior had escaped him, riding far to the north on the back of one the thrice-cursed unicorns that lived in the southern parts of the forest. There were only a handful of the beasts but they found ways to interfere with his plans every chance they had. They'd never ventured so far into his realm before they'd helped the boy escape, a move he planned to punish severely. The warrior and the unicorn he rode had slipped through his grasp, riding beyond his range to scry to the north. The remaining unicorns, however, were still close by.

  Unicorns and animals weren't on Therion's mind at the moment, though. A nagging thought in the back of his head had made him leave his new apprentice to her work dissecting salamanders and frogs to collect various parts of their anatomy for his magic. The wizard had realized that he'd been so focused on the warrior that Rosalyn had pinned her hopes on that he'd overlooked the rest of the warrior’s band.

  Now he saw them riding back into Fairhaven from the east. He watched as they dismounted and entered the inn of the village, and then he dispelled the image.

  "So you've come back," he muttered in the darkness. "Not so weak minded as I'd thought, no doubt thanks to your wizard."

  Therion stared into the murky waters a moment longer and then spun away from them
. "Are you foolish enough to brave the forest again?" he mused as he turned away from his home. "I'll have to make sure you don't get a second chance."

  Therion began to chant another spell. He took a silver whistle from a pocket and blew on it to mark the end of his spell. No noise issued forth from it. "Go east and destroy the farmer's house; follow her scent." The wizard retrieved a wadded-up piece of cloth from another pouch. He unfolded it and tossed it on a stick that rose out of the marsh to reveal it as a woman's smallclothes. He turned away as six-legged shapes emerged from the darkness. The hybrid creatures, part wolf and part jaguar, circled the clothing and sniffed them with feral feline faces, and then turned and bounded off into the darkness, heading to the east.

  Therion put the thought of the creatures and their task behind him as he pushed the door open and stomped in, pausing only to check on the gory progress that Rosalyn made. She set her knife down and leaned back, allowing him to study her work. As always, she kept her eyes averted from him.

  He turned his gaze upon her and nodded. As much as he enjoyed seeing her nude body, it had been a distraction. Without realizing it, she had made him yearn to touch her and use her. As soon as she'd given herself to him, he'd demanded she wear a robe. As a maiden, she was of great use to him. Her tears and her blood, in particular, could bring potent power to some of his spells. And then there were other magical rituals that offered great power when the purity of a maiden was sacrificed. He could only use her for that once; it was not a gift he planned to squander because of his own foolish needs.

  "You've done well," he admitted gruffly. "Clean yourself and join me in my study. I will test your knowledge."

  "Yes, Master," Rosalyn said. She went to a bowl of water and cleaned her hands and her knife, and then scrubbed the table free of the gore remaining on it. When she again cleaned herself, she dumped the water out and stepped through the open doorway into his study. "I'm ready for you, Master."