by Chuck Black
Carliss opened her eyes to see the old country where she once had played. The delightful sprinkle of white flakes drifted slowly about her, landing softly on her cheek. Just to her left was the cozy farmhouse, nestled in the valley with a swirl of smoke rising from the chimney.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” she heard a familiar voice say.
“Koen!” she exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Carliss’s brother smiled broadly. “Dalton will be out later. Shall we all take a ride together?”
Carliss smiled, but something tugged at the corner of her mind.
“Dalton?” she asked.
Koen continued to smile, but Carliss looked away to the horizon. Something wasn’t right. She put her hands to her head.
“No!” she screamed in her mind. She turned back to face Koen, and he just continued to smile. “I will not stay here!” she said.
She closed her eyes, and her mind became a battlefield of reason and temptation, logic and delight, reality and fantasy. Carliss forced herself to deny the tremendous pull on her mind and emotions. She fell to the ground, still clutching her head, and cried out to the Prince. She opened her eyes, willing it all to vanish, but it would not. Instead, the fields began to warp, and her farmhouse melted into the sky.
She tried to stand, but the grass wrapped itself around her legs and waist, pulling her downward, refusing to let her go. She screamed out her defiance to the dream world, and it dissolved away, finally releasing its grip on her mind. The black canvas that remained slowly began to reveal obscure shapes that were unpleasant and yet familiar.
“Impossible!” a dark voice resonated in her mind.
The light of Malco’s dining room broke away the remaining shadows of her mind, and Carliss saw Malco standing just a few feet before her, a look of shock on his face.
“By the power of the Prince,” Carliss said defiantly, “I will not succumb to your evil, Malco!”
Malco screamed, lifted her from the chair, and threw her against the door. She slammed into the carved wood with a thud and collapsed to the floor. Two warriors immediately entered the hall with drawn swords.
“I’m too weary to bother myself further with her tonight. Take her to a cell. Tomorrow we will feed her and Ganoaf to the esca lizards.”
WOUNDED WARRIOR
Carliss was taken to a section of the castle she had not toured and was cast into a dimly lit cell. Before long the doors opened, and two warriors cast in another prisoner who was so badly beaten that Carliss hardly recognized him.
“Ganoaf!” Carliss exclaimed. He groaned as she rolled him onto his back and began to dab his bleeding wounds with portions of her tunic. Without bandages or water, there was little else she could do for him.
Ganoaf coughed and winced in pain.
“How can I help you?” Carliss wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. For many days she had felt responsible for the childlike man she had known as Ganoaf. And even now, though it was clear he was so much more than he appeared, she could not help feeling responsible for the torture he had just endured.
Ganoaf closed his eyes and tried to take a slow, deep breath.
“There is nothing you can do,” he said with difficulty. “Time… time will help me.”
Carliss didn’t understand. In her experience, someone this badly beaten could easily die without proper care.
“I am one of the…King’s Silent Warriors,” he gasped. “The Life Spice within me will heal me… in time.”
He winced again and tried to relax. Carliss stayed silent and let this mysterious warrior concentrate on mastering his pain. She stayed close to him for a long while until his breathing became shallow and steady. As he slept, Carliss reconsidered the past few days. She stood and went to look out the bars of the cell, trying to transform her perspective on the large, simple man to that of the mighty Silent Warrior of the King.
What was his purpose in the ploy he played? she wondered. Was it solely to get close to Malco to assassinate him?
Carliss’s mind filled with questions, but she had no choice but to wait for the answers. While she waited, her mind turned to Dalton. Today was the sixth day since his tremors had ended, and reaching him would involve, at the very least, a hard three days’ ride. If he was to live, she had but one more day to escape Malco’s prison, find the swamp lily, and leave Moorue. It simply seemed impossible.
My Prince, one of your mighty servants will die if I fail, she pleaded. Please help me. The plea came from the heart of one who had sworn never to abandon a fellow knight in battle or in peril. But though she refused her mind the indulgence it craved, her plea also came from the heart of one who had been beset by the power of love.
Finally, her thoughts turned to Si Kon, his family, and the other Followers who had been taken captive. She wondered where they were being held and if they were all right. She sat motionless in silent contemplation for a long while, unable this time to find the respite of sleep.
“Carliss,” Ganoaf whispered. The flame of a lamp just outside their cell flickered, and Carliss could just see Ganoaf open his eyes. “Did they hurt you?”
Carliss came to Ganoaf and knelt beside him. She marveled that he could be so close to death and yet be concerned for her.
“No, my friend,” she answered. “I am unharmed.”
Ganoaf took a deep breath and seemed more at peace.
“I’m afraid we have failed in our missions,” Carliss said, “I in mine and you in yours.”
Ganoaf turned his head to look at her. He held up his hand, and she took hold of it.
“Neither of us has failed… not yet.”
He pulled on her hand, and she helped him rise to a sitting position. It took great effort on both of their parts, for he was twice her weight and very weak. Still, she was amazed to see how much better he was doing already. He pointed to the wall, and she helped him lean against it.
Ganoaf closed his eyes and once again seemed to focus on subduing the pain in his body.
“But how can you possibly succeed in killing Malco now?” Carliss asked.
Ganoaf sat in silence, and Carliss wondered if he had fallen unconscious.
“It was never my mission to kill Malco,” he finally said, then opened his eyes and looked at her. “My mission was and is solely to protect you. I have never lost a charge, and I will not lose you.”
Carliss stared at Ganoaf in stunned disbelief. All the while she had thought she was protecting him, and only now did she realize the foolishness of the notion. He must have known that Salina was a Vincero Knight and had protected Carliss from her throughout the journey. She thought back and realized that Ganoaf had probably saved her life countless times without her even realizing it.
“But why?” she asked.
“Because you are special in the eyes of the Prince, Carliss. He has watched you from your youth, and your pure heart has won His favor… and the favor of others.”
Carliss lowered her head, humbled by words she could hardly believe were spoken for her.
“You played the fool these past days,” she said quietly. “And now it is I who play the fool, realizing who you really are. Please forgive me.”
With great effort, Ganoaf lifted a burly arm and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“You… are no fool, Lady Carliss. You are a courageous and merciful Knight of the Prince… the key to winning a great battle that has yet to unfold fully. I have seen our great Lord in the power of your sword and in the kindness of your heart. Lift your head and be strong.”
Carliss looked at the mighty warrior and received strength from his words.
Ganoaf winced as he tried to prop himself straighter. Carliss tried to support him as best she could.
“They will come for us,” he said, “and we must be ready.”
“But Ganoaf, we are prisoners in Malco’s castle in the middle of the swamp. How and for what can we possibly be ready?”
“No matter how dark the darkness, the Princ
e never abandons his faithful servants,” Ganoaf said without opening his eyes.
Carliss smiled in the shadows and was grateful for the words he spoke—words that reminded her of the One she served and of His great power. She was also grateful for the companionship of her friend and protector in this dark place.
“What do you suggest?” Carliss asked.
“I believe there is a way of escape, but it will be treacherous… and…” Ganoaf hesitated. He opened his eyes and looked at Carliss.
“What is it, Ganoaf?”
“You should know that Malco does not keep prisoners long. Just as we are to be executed, so are the rest of the Followers who were captured today—and soon, I fear.”
Carliss became sick in her heart as she thought of Si Kon, his family, and the other members of the newly minted haven in Moorue.
She looked at the empty cells about them. “But where are they kept?” she asked. “Where is this pit Karoshi talked of?”
“Malco’s protection of the esca lizards has caused them to flourish to the point that there is not enough prey for them all. The only way to keep them alive now is to feed them.” Ganoaf stopped to let Carliss come to her own conclusion.
The image that filled Carliss’s mind horrified her.
“The inhabitants of Moorue believe that people overcome by the esca powder eventually walk the bridge into the swamp on their own. Although that occasionally happens, the truth is that they are taken by Malco’s warriors and imprisoned somewhere within the swamp. I must assume that place is what Karoshi called the pit. We have yet to discover its location, but we know that many have been taken there and lost to the lizards. As the demand for the Waters of Moorue increases in the kingdom, Malco will need more lizards… and they will need to be fed. One vice feeds another.”
Carliss considered Ganoaf’s words carefully. If by some miracle they were able to escape Malco’s castle, she would then be facing a heart-ripping dilemma, for time was running short for both Dalton at Petolemew’s home and the Followers here.
“Ganoaf, is there a swamp lily or am I chasing a myth?” Carliss wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
Ganoaf looked at her with sympathy in his eyes.
“I don’t know, Carliss. If there is, it must be a variant of the Life Spice flower that grows only in the Kingdom Across the Sea. I have never seen the lily of the swamp or the Life Spice flower in Arrethtrae, but that doesn’t mean they do not exist. There are some mysteries the King won’t reveal even to his Silent Warriors until it is time.”
Carliss lowered her head in discouragement. She knew the odds of the swamp lily’s existence were slim—especially if Ganoaf didn’t know about it.
“Remember, Petolemew’s book was right about the esca lizard,” Ganoaf offered. “Don’t give up on Dalton yet, my lady.”
Carliss looked at her large friend and nodded, choosing to focus not upon the narrow odds of the flower’s existence but rather upon the problem of finding a way to escape. She and Ganoaf talked long and considered many options before retiring for a few hours of rest.
A SACRIFICE
Malco’s Shadow Warriors didn’t come for Carliss and Ganoaf until early evening the next day, just as Ganoaf had expected. He had told Carliss they would wait until evening, when the esca lizards began their feeding time and were the most aggressive. So Carliss and Ganoaf waited in their cell as the hours crept by once more, and the possibility of saving Dalton’s life seemed to shrink from Carliss’s grasp.
Finally the warriors arrived—four of them. They bound Ganoaf’s hands behind him with rope and walked him and Carliss toward the milking chamber. Carliss gauged by the cautious way they handled Ganoaf that her friend was someone they feared. Although Ganoaf was larger than even the Shadow Warriors, he still seemed severely encumbered by the pain of his torture wounds, and she wondered why their escorts were so wary when she had to help him stand and walk. The guards continually pushed him from behind, cursing with every prod, but his gait was slow because of a severely injured right leg.
Malco was waiting inside the chamber with arms crossed and a superior smirk on his lips. Carliss and Ganoaf were brought before him.
“What a shame to cast such a skilled young knight to the lizards.” Malco mockingly shook his head. “I could have made a great Vincero of you, Lady Carliss.”
Carliss stared into his dark eyes and did not flinch. He turned to Ganoaf, who stood next to Carliss with his head lowered.
“Oh, Ganoaf …what a fool you’ve been. After all these years, one would think you’d have learned something by now. How appropriate for you to play a simpleton!” Malco laughed, and the other warriors joined him.
Ganoaf lifted his head and glared into Malco’s eyes, then quickly tensed his muscles as if he were going to tear Malco to pieces. Malco jumped backward, and the other warriors all thrust their swords to his neck, causing him to hold his place.
Malco’s embarrassment at his own cowardly reaction quickly turned to fury. He leaned forward toward Ganoaf’s face.
“Now I will be rid of you forever, you overgrown lout. Put them both in the cage!”
“My lord,” one of the warriors said. “The Silent Warrior is immune to the affects of the esca lizards’ poison, just as we are. Why don’t we just kill him?”
Malco looked perturbed at being questioned by one of his own men. “That is all the more reason to do it. He will be conscious as they eat him alive.” He looked at Ganoaf. “You will feel every bite and every tiny piece of flesh that is ripped from your body. How dare you enter my castle and try to kill me!”
At Malco’s signal, the Shadow Warriors crammed Carliss and Ganoaf into the cage and locked the door. Carliss could not deny the fear that was rising up within her. The image of the lizards swarming the hog the previous day filled her mind. She looked down from the side of the cage to see a small clearing on the ground of the swamp thirty feet below. Thus far the dusky light still hid the hideous lizards that waited for them somewhere below.
Ganoaf turned to stare at Malco as the winch began to clank its melodic rhythm—a dinner bell for the wretched esca lizards.
“What do we do, Ganoaf?” Carliss asked, as she set to the task of untying the ropes that held his massive arms.
“Stand back,” he said without taking his eyes off Malco. The top of the cage was now even with the floor of the chamber above, but they could still see Malco.
Ganoaf filled his lungs with air, tensed all his mighty muscles, and grimaced. Carliss watched as the ropes about his wrists strained; then individual strands began to snap. Ganoaf yelled, and all at once the rope gave way. Carliss saw Malco’s eyes grow wide in apprehension.
“Faster!” the Shadow Warrior ordered.
The sound of the clanking winch doubled as Malco and his minions disappeared from view. Ganoaf turned to face Carliss. She had never seen such a fierce look on her friend before.
“This cage was built for Arrethtraens, not for me. Are you ready, Lady Carliss? We won’t have much time.”
The sound of hissing lizards began to reach Carliss’s ears, and she shuddered. She steeled herself. “I am ready.”
They were now fifteen feet off the ground. Ganoaf grabbed two of the bars of the cage and pulled them apart until one ripped loose from its socket in the floor. He quickly yanked the upper portion of the bar until it too came loose.
Carliss could hear shouts of exclamation from above.
“Reverse the winch!” Malco ordered.
Before the winch could change direction, Ganoaf had opened the bars far enough for both of them to escape. Still nearly ten feet off the ground, they were now close enough to make a jump for it.
Ganoaf jumped with the bar of iron in his hand and tumbled to the ground. Carliss saw him wince from the pain of landing on his injured leg. The sound of the lizards grew louder, and Carliss felt the first clank of the winch lift the cage upward. She saw Ganoaf below using the ground to straighten the bar he had pulled from t
he cage.
Carliss jumped and rolled as her feet hit the ground. Her tumbling took her close to the edge of the clearing, and she froze in terror as she found herself face to face with a three-foot-long esca lizard. Its yellow eyes bulged, and its mouth opened wide as it hissed viciously. The forked tongue licked the air just inches from Carliss’s face, while the poisonous barbs lay back on its neck, ready to strike.
Thunk! The powerful blow of Ganoaf’s iron weapon instantly crushed the skull of the six-legged fiend. Ganoaf lifted Carliss to her feet.
“After them!” Carliss heard Malco scream to his Shadow Warriors.
She looked up and saw the trapdoor to the circular staircase open. Two warriors hesitantly began their descent. Carliss looked about for some sort of weapon but saw only splintered bones from the poor creatures that had been fed to the lizards—nothing hefty enough to be effective as a weapon.
The sound of the lizards seemed to come predominantly from one direction, the same direction from which she could now see a dozen yellow eyes peering.
“This way!” Ganoaf shouted.
They broke from the clearing on the opposite side and ran beneath the massive structure of Malco’s castle until they entered the thicker vegetation of the surrounding swamp. Carliss could hear the shouts of the warriors behind them, and the hissing of the lizards seemed to come from all around. She focused intently on navigating the ground before her and covering as much distance as quickly as possible. The vines, trees, and marshy ground were challenging, but she quickly fell into a rhythm that worked.
She looked behind her and saw Ganoaf struggling to keep up, his injured leg holding him back. He paused, looked back toward the castle, then up to the canopy above. He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled an ear-piercing screech that startled Carliss. Then he turned to join her, but an esca lizard leapt from a nearby tree and attacked him from behind. Carliss immediately spun about to help him.