"That dot is me. If you see any other dots, it means that the Knights of the Star…"
***
Gonzales woke to the shouts. He rolled out of the bed and slipped into his suit in time to hear part of a conversation. He recognized one voice immediately. He also spotted the lighted Van Dyke name. As he listened, more lights flipped on within his helmet.
"There are other lights in my helmet," the Van Dyke sound-alike voice said.
"We have to hurry. The Knights of the Star are putting on their suits. Have you a sword?" Basoc replied.
Gonzales ran for the ledge of the tower. "Five up. Five up. Five up."
"Gonzales is awake. That's him giving spell words. Follow me," Basoc said.
"Up!"
"That was Deliah," Basoc said.
Gonzales scanned the dots to see that only friends were moving about on his directioner. Basoc and his companion were farther away. The question remained as to what direction. There was only one way to find out.
"Spread out," Gonzales ordered.
***
Hours later, Eusis hovered while the other knights caught up. "I lost them. I just couldn't keep them both in sight at the same time when they split up."
"I heard them. It was a clever tactic. It would have lost me, too," Gonzales said.
Chapter 41
The applicants filed past Sir Lieutenant Gonzales who stood on guard before the Sacred Hall. Inside, a row of suits waited applicants. Thus far, not one had succeeded in passing the flying test. Though Gonzales smiled at the applicants, his attention was mostly upon the god lights inside his helmet. He watched often for the approach of anyone in flying armor.
Private discussions with the other knights and numerous proctors had concluded that Basoc and his men would try again to steal more suits. Some of the Krons killed while recovering the suits had sounded much like the former knights whose suits they carried. It stood to reason that Basoc had men and women hidden about who might sound like some of the other knights. One might even sound like Gonzales. That possibility had concerned everyone the most.
"Sabbo and Royal approaching."
"I see you," Gonzales replied. He observed the two dots appearing on his directioner just as Sabbo announced themselves. It was the only way they knew to avoid false alarms. "Did you learn anything?"
"We didn't hear anyone trying to activate the Corporal Coffin suit. They're still trying to find someone who can activate the Wong suit. We heard some of his men in the background over the god voice. It's not an easy accent for the Krons to imitate," Royal said.
"They do all their practicing low so their archers can cover them. Basoc spotted us flying over and dared us to come down. We did, but so fast that he didn't have time to order his archers to release their arrows at us. That was the only time we did that," Sabbo said.
"It was worth it watching his men cower. They haven't our flying skills yet. However, we'll have to wait for them to attack before we try to fight them," Royal said.
"He's teaching them swordplay specifically with us in mind. Our dear friend Royal was absolutely right in recommending that we relearn how to fight with the sword. It won't be the same now that some of the enemy can fly," Sabbo said.
"I see the coast now. Time for us to adjust our course," Royal said. "Is Moto still at Castle Klato with Wong?"
"I don't know. He said he might after visiting Castle Nictou and Castle Verata," Gonzales replied.
Despite the offer, Wong had refused to travel to Castle Staten Island to see if god would replace his hand. He felt he'd disgraced himself and his comrades by failing to stop Basoc. Moments later the two knights veered their courses away from Castle High Crag. Gonzales watched the directioner as before after they disappeared from sight.
Hours later, Gonzales returned to take over the watch on the Sacred Hall. As he expected, there was no one waiting inside. It was part of the plan that no one be sent who satisfied the flying lessons. Instead, those men and women were taken aside to wait elsewhere. That way, none of them could see any empty suits up close enough to notice that the suits in the Sacred Hall were fakes. As had occurred on the days before nothing happened.
When darkness arrived Gonzales lifted up into the air with the fakes to store those in a tower where he and another Knight of the Star would sleep, while several Imperial Guardsmen stood guard over them. If anyone entered their quarters at night, they'd have to fight their way through those guards and several ingenious traps. Likewise, if any of the successful applicants attempted to leave their waiting area, they'd be imprisoned as possible spies. Those who displayed patience would have that much more in their favor.
Deliah looked upon Gonzales with a warmth that was unmistakable to some of the guards. Because of their presence she made no other move toward Gonzales. Instead, she sat quietly in her black robe with her armor on one side, and her sword free of its sheath on her other.
"Do you think they'll attack tonight?" she asked, when she knew it was safe to talk.
Gonzales set down his suit and unsheathed his sword. "Not according to what Royal and Sabbo observed. Maybe in a week."
Chapter 42
"Not yet. Wait for our spies to report that Saigor has been spotted," Basoc cautioned.
Beside him, Hagat held onto his suit with one hand. He held his bared sword in the other at the ready. If anyone spotted them, he'd have just enough time to put his suit on. Then he'd decide whether to fight or escape. A voice startled him.
"Only two in High Crag. The others fly their patrols."
Several Kron warriors spread out to secure the landing. As Basoc had planned, no one expected him and Hagat to arrive by boat instead of flying in just hours to reach the Allied Kingdoms.
"Which two?" Basoc asked.
"Gonzales and Deliah."
"Perfect. I can defeat both with the sword," Basoc exclaimed.
***
"Krons attacking Minius!" Gonzales shouted, upon hearing a relayed god voice that a force headed by at least one flying knight had appeared off its shores.
"They could attack here," Deliah shouted, as she flew down from a tower.
Below her, additional guards ran to their posts. If anyone attempted to breech Castle High Crag, it wouldn't be through the hidden tunnels. Those were now sealed from the inside. Only the gates provided access to ordinary invaders. Around Gonzales, guards escorted the last of the applicants out of the castle so the gates could be closed.
"They could be close enough to each other that they appear to be but one," Gonzales reminded. "It wouldn't make sense for them to attack with only one knight."
"Then we won't have to fight?" Deliah asked.
"We'll just continue with our routine. We'll drive them away from Minius, and they'll try elsewhere."
***
"Give the men more time to reach the castle. This is rugged ground to cover," Basoc said.
"I'm tired of waiting," Hagat said.
A voice called out of the darkness, "They're halfway there."
"Now we can leave," Basoc said. "Activate Corporal Smith suit."
***
"Do you see the lights?" Gonzales asked.
"Yes. Basoc and Hagat are somewhere in range. Do you think maybe they're also attacking Castle Bright Sand?" Deliah asked. She walked to the edge of the tower's parapet to stare out into the night.
"No, one of them's coming here. That's not one of our knights on the directioner, I'll bet," Gonzales said. He turned toward the direction his directioner indicated.
"Congratulations, Copran peasant. You've actually managed to learn something since you became a knight."
"So it's you come to fight us, huh, Basoc?" Deliah asked.
"I can handle the two of you. Come up and fight," Basoc replied.
"Movement outside the walls!" a voice shouted.
Sounds of fighting followed as the twangs of bows sent arrows over the parapets. Misses could be heard clacking against the rocks. A few incoming arrows sounded louder when those missed soldie
rs manning the walls and struck the stone courtyard. Most, however, hit against the outer stonewalls where some guards released their arrows through narrow openings.
"Come down and fight, Kron coward," Gonzales dared. He put one hand out to Deliah to prevent her from giving a spell word to lift off into the air.
"I surely will. When you're dead, I'll reclaim the suits you took from my men," Basoc said.
Gonzales motioned Deliah back into the quarters. He backed up, as well, while watching both the approaching dot and the night sky. Upon entering, he and Deliah eased through the traps and the guards meant to protect them while they slept.
"Now," Basoc ordered.
Hagat released his hold on Basoc. Both men maneuvered to land in the tower where a torch outlined two knights standing with their swords at the ready. They landed together and approached cautiously.
"I know you're no coward, so this has to be a trap," Basoc said.
"Come in and find out," Gonzales replied.
Basoc deflected the first sword to swing out from the darkness. Even as he did so, his eyes caught sight of the empty suits. One single characteristic caught his attention as he fought instinctively: a lack of god lights.
"Those aren't the real suits! Back out, Hagat!"
Hagat backed off, even as another guard sprang forth to engage him. Basoc managed to block that guard, as well, as he moved to the parapet. He glanced up a moment after Hagat lifted off to see that he wasn't blocked, either.
"Up!" Basoc said.
"They're getting away! We have to chase them," Deliah said, as she ran past the traps and guards.
"No, Deliah! That's what they want!"
Gonzales followed to restrain her only to see her lift off just two steps ahead of him.
"Up! Forward!"
Basoc swooped back at Deliah. His sword caught her on her shield arm. Had she been on the ground, a shield such as the Royal Knights used, would have protected her. In the air, a shield of that kind could catch the wind and rip her arm off. Ordinary metal armor sleeves had been tried without success, as well. Those failed because they often shattered while cold. Their swords didn't fail as often only because those were sheathed most of the time. Only the thick robe she wore beneath her armor gave her any protection. It wasn't enough as she dropped her weapon to seize her wound and stem the bleeding.
Gonzales swooped upward on hearing Deliah cry out in pain. He managed to drive off Basoc, because he possessed the better position for aerial fighting. It was difficult to attack someone coming from below because the suits didn't permit the wearer to bend over while in flight. It was a stand or sit upright position that couldn't be compromised only because none of the knights knew how to fly in any other position.
"How bad is your wound?"
"My arm is almost cut through," she cried.
"Head for Castle Staten Island. I'll follow," Gonzales said. "Can any other knights hear us?"
"Calling for help? Bring them on. We can fight here or at Castle Staten Island," Basoc said.
Gonzales maneuvered down in time to avoid a collision with Hagat.
"Why didn't he send her to one of the other castles?" Hagat asked.
"Good question," Basoc said. "Of course! The suits are at Castle Staten Island with another knight. I should have thought of that and checked there first. Forget him. Chase after her. She'll lead you to Castle Staten Island."
Gonzales wasted no time in orienting himself and flying after Deliah before Basoc and Hagat could change directions. With them behind him, he flew off in the direction of the rising sun while hoping that someone had overheard and would fly out to even up the odds.
The glaring rays of the morning sun didn't prevent Gonzales from observing the pursuit far behind him as Basoc and Hagat trailed him. It did prevent him from easily seeing Deliah whose strength was fading. Her voice grew weak on the god voice. Gonzales could only hope that she'd reach the castle conscious so she could land.
"Wounded approaching. Readying defensive shield deactivation."
"Who is that?" Hagat exclaimed nervously.
"No one. It's a voice that lives in the castle. It's never hurt anyone. No need to worry about it now," Basoc said. "It certainly won't help them now."
"Soldier unresponsive. Taking control of combat suit."
Gonzales marveled at the fact that Deliah's suit turned automatically toward the castle when she would have missed the island by several arrow ranges. He gave instructions to his own suit to follow her as closely as possible.
"Deactivating defensive shield. Activating defensive shield."
An idea suddenly occurred to Gonzales. As he reached the island, he landed. He bent down and scooped up a handful of sand before running toward the castle entrance. Upon almost reaching it, he stopped and tossed some sand at it.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, when the sand halted in midair to slide back down. "Five up. Five up. Five up. Forward. Hover."
"You think you can defend by yourself? Where are your comrades?" Basoc said.
"Aren't there more knights?" Hagat asked.
"Do you see any other lights on besides ours? He's alone now. We've got him," Basoc answered.
"Two of us against just him?" Hagat exclaimed.
"Soon to be two of us against a wounded knight hiding inside the castle. He's a dead peasant as I see it. He was poor in swordsmanship," Basoc replied.
"Let me take him," Hagat said excitedly.
Basoc didn't answer immediately. "Very well, I'll let you fight him. It will be a more fair fight that way, though not by much. I trained all my warriors to fight well."
Gonzales listened as Hagat gave spell commands to descend and skim the waves. He knew that the man was planning on rushing in to strike at his legs from below in order to cripple him. The blood loss would make it easy for Hagat to strike higher and disarm him. Then it would end quickly with but one foreseeable result.
"You're braver than I thought, standing there in the air daring us to attack," Basoc said.
"Up!" Gonzales ordered, at the last possible moment.
Hagat plowed into the shield at high speed. There wasn't enough time for him to react to the god voice even had he understood what was said.
"Consult Lieutenant Gonzales for permission to pass."
Hagat's body left a bloody spot in midair that seeped back toward the sand. Through sheer momentum, Hagat and the suit he wore bounced up and over to splash into the water beyond.
"What magic is this?" Basoc swore.
"God wills that we not lose," Gonzales replied. "Had you truly been one of us, you would have learned the newest secrets god revealed to us. Deliah will soon be whole again, just as Coffin is now."
"You're lying…No, you don't lie, do you?"
"You ought to know by now. Only I can go past that shield. Kill me and you'll never get any of the empty suits or harm Deliah. When she comes out, she'll have other knights waiting for her and none of them will be you. You won't stand a chance."
"So, you can open the shield?"
"Did I say that?"
"You said as much. It appears, then, that I can't kill you. I will have to capture you. Let's find out if you're man enough to face me sword in hand on the sand. No flying for either of us. You'll have the chance to kill me while I can only capture you. That should make it just about even for you."
Gonzales pondered Basoc's words. Without waiting for a reply, Basoc landed on the sand a few paces away from where Hagat's blood seeped down the curvature of the shield into the sand. He stepped forward, and picked up Hagat's sword to poke at the shield.
"Interesting. I should have guessed that our face shields weren't the only thing that could be protected in this manner," Basoc said.
"I don't have to fight you. In fact, all I have to do is wait for others to arrive. Then we can take you for certain."
"Yes, you could do that. However, if anyone else shows on my directioner, I'll know then to escape and try some other time and place. If you want to stop me
now, then you'll have to do it alone. However, you're more of a coward than I first suspected. You're not only afraid of flying. Nor will you ever be a leader like your suit demands."
Gonzales landed on the sand some distance away from the ship. He watched as Basoc advanced toward him with a sword in both hands. Basoc raised one hand as if to charge. Too late, he saw Basoc's intention wasn't to charge, but to throw.
"Forward! Hover!" Gonzales ordered, as he sped past Basoc while blood spewed from one leg. The hover command halted him just as he reached the defensive shield. Even so, his momentum slammed his limbs against it causing him to drop his sword. "Land. Deactivate defensive shield."
Gonzales fell to the ground, unaware at first that the shield wall had been supporting him momentarily. He glanced back to see that Basoc running toward him with his remaining sword raised to deal another blow. There'd be no need to throw that sword, Gonzales knew, because he was unarmed. His only option was to escape. For a moment, he considered launching into the air. A quick look at his wound convinced him otherwise. He wouldn't last long enough to reach the mainland. Furthermore, he was Deliah's only way out. With no other choice, Gonzales tried to crawl on his back toward the doorway.
Basoc laughed. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I shall enjoy hacking off your limbs, unless you confess the secrets you know. That will be the only way for you to obtain a swift, almost painless, death."
Gonzales struggled to move in before Basoc reached him. Too late, he felt the tip of Basoc's blade against his arm. The blade pointed down such that any command given by Gonzales would only serve to skewer him.
"What shall it be? Fast or painful?"
Gonzales glared at Basoc. There seemed to be nothing he could do until he spotted something that gave him some hope with a very high risk. "Fast."
"Very good thinking, Gonzales. Start talking."
"For you, that is. Activate defensive shield."
Basoc didn't have the opportunity to scream out as the shield sliced him in two. Gonzales screamed as both his feet were severed in the same instant despite his effort to pull them out of the way. He could barely crawl when his suit suddenly levitated.
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