“No!” Abrecan shouted. “I ruled this kingdom. You would have all been lost without me! Do you think my idiot of a son could have ruled Bariwon? You cannot do this to me!”
Rayne nodded to one of the guardians, who put a gag over Abrecan’s mouth and held him down in his chair.
“Your Majesty,” Bertram said, “it is up to you to decide their fate.”
Rayne sat back in his chair. Sunshine reached over and took his hand in hers.
“Killing them will do nothing to bring back the dead,” Rayne said finally. “Instead, I sentence Abrecan, Caldre, and Sullivan to spend the rest of their lives in the dungeon.”
Abrecan struggled even harder, while Caldre and Sullivan slumped in their seats.
“As for you, Councilor Daimh,” Rayne said, “I honestly believe it when I hear from others that you didn’t know what was going on.”
Daimh shook his head. “I didn’t.”
“To that end, I give you the chance to retire to your home district with your wife, never to return to the castle. Do you accept?”
Cocking his head slightly to one side, Daimh paused a moment., then asked, “Where would I live?”
“From what I understand, your mother is still alive and well, and is living in a nice house by a lake in Erd,” Rayne said.
“But I was told she was sick and I couldn’t see her,” Daimh said.
Looking at Abrecan, Rayne said, “You were misinformed.”
***
Nursemaid Ophelia’s heart leaped when she heard Oakleaf say, “I’m thirsty.”
Smiling, she rushed to the bed where the young guardian lay. “Of that I’m sure. You’ve been asleep a long time.”
Oakleaf had lost a great deal of weight and looked gaunt. This was the first time he had spoken since he had been injured. “How long? Did Barclay and Arlie—”
“Shhh. There is much to tell. Be assured that everything is fine, though. Everyone is safe and well.”
Oakleaf let out a contented sigh. “That’s good,” he said, his voice cracking.
“You’ve had a lot of people checking on you,” Ophelia said. “One particular young lady has been here every day for hours on end reading to you and talking to you.”
His eyes lit up. “Arlie?”
The nursemaid nodded. “She should be here soon, if she follows her pattern. I’ll let her fill you in on what you’ve missed.”
***
Sherwyn closed the door to his room in the castle for the last time. He was carrying a small satchel filled with the last of his meager possessions.
“You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you, old friend?” asked a familiar voice from down the hallway.
The priest looked up and smiled as Anemone approached. “Of course not. I was actually on my way to see you.”
“So, what did the church decide?” she asked.
He shrugged. “They were too merciful, in my eyes. They asked me to step down as the castle priest, but have offered me a chance to live out my days at the head monastery. It could have been much worse.”
“Yes, it could have,” Anemone said.
“And what of you?” Sherwyn asked.
The nursemaid smiled. “I, too, have been treated mercifully. They asked me to step down, and Ophelia has been promoted to head nursemaid. I’m allowed to stay in the castle as a nursemaid.”
“I’m going to miss our talks,” Sherwyn said. “You’ve been a good friend.”
Anemone reached down and squeezed his hand. “And I always will be.”
***
Dougal looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t help but smile. King Rayne had asked him to be captain of the guardians not long after Captain Sullivan had been put into the dungeon. As the king had explained, Bariwon needed someone who remembered what it truly meant to be a guardian. Dougal had initially declined, concerned that all those years in the dungeon had made him physically weak, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to fulfill the duties of a captain. But King Rayne had insisted, and Dougal had finally agreed.
He had just put on his captain’s uniform. Although the man in the mirror looked old and weak, he smiled. The irony of the moment wasn’t lost on Dougal. He had been thrown in the dungeon for wearing the captain’s uniform, and here he was many years later wearing one again. Except this time, he was the one putting people in the dungeon.
***
“Wut’s wrong wit yous?” the crooked-nosed man asked Kelvin. “Can’tcha sees I’m still thinkin’ here?”
Rayne’s grandfather nodded. “By all means, I’m not trying to rush you. I was just reminding you it was your turn.”
His opponent peered down at his cards, then reached down to grab one of the tarts from the table. Kelvin responded by pulling the tray out of reach. The man looked up, made an ugly face at Kelvin, and then looked down at his cards.
“I tell yous wut,” he said. “If I wins this hand, I not only gets the coins on the table, but also the rest o’ them tarts.”
Kelvin folded his arms and looked skeptical. “Oh? And what do I get if I win?”
“I let yous walk out o’ here unbroken,” the man said threateningly.
Not intimidated, Kelvin unfolded his arms. “It’s still your turn.”
The man seemed to think for a moment. “Fine. I’m sure I got yous beat.” He laid his cards down on the table.
Kelvin revealed his cards.
“Hah!” the man said, reaching out to gather up the coins, but paused when Kelvin pulled the tarts even further out of reach.
“That was a nice hand, Cameron,” he said.
Cameron’s eyes widened. He jumped to his feet, causing his chair to fly out from behind him and crash to the floor. “How do yous know my name?” he demanded, pulling out a knife he had hidden under his tunic.
Still seated, Kelvin said, “I’ve known for the last few days. I recognized you from when I was at the castle.”
Pointing the knife at the older man, Cameron said, “Eh? If yous known who I wuz, why waits until now to say so?”
“I was waiting for them to arrive,” Kelvin said, motioning toward the door of the tavern, where four royal guardians dressed in gold and blue walked in with their swords drawn.
EPILOGUE
“The sun is playing hide-and-seek,” Rayne mused.
Sunshine arched an eyebrow at her husband. “What’s that?”
He pointed to the castle. From their viewpoint on the hill, the overcast sky had parted slightly, and clear light shone down on the blue-tiled, conical roofs of the towers.
“The sun is out, even though it’s still raining,” he said. “I’m told my mother made up that saying when she was younger.”
Sunshine sighed a little and leaned back against the tree where they sat. “I would have liked to have met your mother. And I’m sure that our child would have liked to have met her as well.” Sunshine patted the large curve of her stomach.
“You know—” Rayne placed a hand on his wife’s belly “—we still haven’t decided on a name.”
“A name. Yes, I’m sure our child would like one of those.”
Rayne kissed Sunshine on the cheek. “Every time I bring up the subject, you avoid it.”
“Well …” she said, “with me and my siblings, my father waited until after we were born to name us. He said he couldn’t possibly know our name until he met us.”
“Um,” Rayne said carefully, “you realize that doesn’t make a lot of sense, right?”
“Why not?” Sunshine asked. “After all—”
She stopped and scrunched her face.
“What is it, my dear?”
“I think it’s best if we get back to the castle.” She tried to stand up. “It appears we won’t have to wait much longer to find out our child’s name.”
***
Rayne waited outside the door, pacing. Garth and Iolanthe sat holding hands on a bench and watched him walk back and forth.
“How long did you say this t
akes?” Rayne asked his parents-in-law.
“It will be over when the baby comes out,” Garth said.
Iolanthe rolled her eyes. “You’re not helping.”
“But neither am I wrong,” Garth pointed out.
“Perhaps you should go back and tend to the gardens, husband. After you turned down becoming a councilor, it was very nice of Rayne and Sunshine to ask you to become the castle gardener.”
Garth nodded and went to stand up, but Iolanthe sighed and pulled him back down. “I was kidding, you wooden head. You wouldn’t want to miss the birth of your first grandchild, would you?”
The door opened and Nursemaid Ophelia announced, “You may come in.”
After taking a deep breath, Rayne walked in, followed closely by Garth and Iolanthe.
Sunshine lay propped up on a bed, looking worn out, with her dark hair sticking to her head. She was holding a child completely void of hair, but with dark eyes peering up at them.
“Well, hello, little one.” Rayne approached carefully. When he reached the bed, he kissed Sunshine on her forehead and said, “She’s beautiful. Or do I mean, he’s handsome?”
“She’s a she.”
“Wonderful.” Rayne gently took hold of one of the baby’s tiny hands. “So, now that we’ve met, what’s her name?”
Sunshine looked down at her baby and tilted her head to one side. “I… I’m not sure.” She turned to her parents. “What should we name her, Dad?”
“It’s obvious.” Garth looked stunned that they even had to ask.
“Oh?” Rayne said. “Then would you be inclined as to tell us?”
Iolanthe quickly clasped her hand over her husband’s mouth. He didn’t push it away—he just moved his eyes to stare at his wife.
“Are you sure you want him to tell you?” Iolanthe asked.
Sunshine nodded. “I’m sure, Mom. So, Dad, what’s your granddaughter’s name?”
Iolanthe removed her hand, and Garth nodded out the window before answering.
“Rainbow,” he said. “Her name is Rainbow.”
Other books by J. Lloyd Morgan
Bring Down the Rain
The Mirror of the Soul
(Written in conjunction with Chris de Burgh)
The Night the Port-A-Potty Burned Down and Other Stories
Wall of Faith
The Bariwon Chronicles
The Hidden Sun
The Waxing Moon
The Zealous Star
Secrets
For secrets behind The Hidden Sun, make sure to visit J. Lloyd Morgan’s website: www.jlloydmorgan.com
Sneak preview of The Waxing Moon
(The second book in The Bariwon Chronicles)
“The moon’s going to be full soon,” Creighton said, his voice echoing off the tunnel’s walls. “Time’s running out.”
Kerr eyed his big brother. “Don’t you worry. I’ll get around to asking her.”
“You better hurry,” Creighton said. “She told me she was thinking about going to the Mortentaun with Keefe.”
“That’s not what I heard.” Kerr laughed and then swung his pick into the rock wall in front of him.
Creighton leaned on his shovel. “Maybe she just didn’t want to hurt your feelings, little brother.”
“Now I know you aren’t telling the truth.” Kerr lifted his pick for another swing. “Since when hasn’t she spoken her mind?”
Creighton smiled sheepishly. “Ah, you got me there. All right, so she said you’re a looker. Aside from Keefe, you don’t have much competition in this town.”
“And I’ll have even less if we can find a vein of silver.” Kerr swung his pick again, driving it into the reddish rocks and bringing another shower of fragments.
The older of the two men wiped his brow. “Good thing King Rayne will let us keep what we find, at least a good portion. I still get burned up about what happened when father found that vein years ago. Abrecan took every last bit of it.”
“Yeah, I’m not sad to see Abrecan gone. It’s been what, four years now? I just wish we’d find something, anything, we can sell soon.”
Creighton moved closer. He shoveled up loose rocks and dumped them into the wheelbarrow several paces behind them. “I know we’ve been at this for months, but we’ll find something. I’m also thinking we’ll have to put up another buttress soon.”
Kerr nodded. “Aye, though this tunnel has held up well thus far. You know, I had a feeling when I woke up, like something was going to happen today.”
“Was it a good feeling at least?” Creighton asked, putting another shovel full of rocks into the wheelbarrow.
“Yeah, it was a good feeling.”
Kerr hefted the pick again. This time when the pick hit, it pierced the rock in front of him and stuck. He tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge.
“What’s this then?” Creighton asked as he walked to stand next to his brother.
Kerr put a foot against the rock, spit into both palms, and grabbed hold of the pick again. “It’s stuck, but not like I’ve seen before.”
Creighton took hold of the pick as well, and they both pulled. At first nothing happened. Then suddenly the pick came free, but not until a section of rock came with it. The action caused several of the weaker stones above it to collapse, sending up a wash of dust that momentarily blinded the brothers.
“Are you hurt?” Creighton asked, coughing through the dust.
Kerr waved a hand in front of him. “Nah, just landed on my backside. You think we ought to clear out?”
“Not yet,” Creighton said, moving forward. “It was just a small collapse.”
Kerr came up next to him. The dust had cleared enough that the brothers could see. “Look there, that rock I pulled out—it’s almost perfectly square.”
Creighton wasn’t looking at the rock, but at the area the collapse had cleared.
“That’s because it’s a brick, not a rock.”
Kerr made a grunting sound. “A brick? What makes you think…” He looked up. Before them was a section of wall made up of similarly sized bricks, each one roughly the size of a large dog.
“What’s a wall doing this far into the mountain?” Kerr asked.
Creighton took several steps back, grabbed a torch, and lit it from one of the lamps they used to illuminate the tunnel. “Let’s take a look.” He moved back to the wall and put the torch through the hole created by the brick they had removed.
“You think it’s safe? What if it collapses on you?” Kerr asked as he grabbed his big brother’s arm.
Creighton shook his arm free. “I have to see what’s beyond this.”
The hole was just large enough that Creighton could poke his head and shoulders through. Kerr waited anxiously, examining the rocks above to see if he could spot any cracks forming. The moments stretched on, and finally he tugged on his brother’s shirt. Creighton pulled back from the hole and whistled as if in awe.
“What?”
“Beyond this wall is a large tunnel, four or five spans across,” Creighton explained. “It goes on as far as I could see.”
Kerr’s eyes flicked back and forth between his brother and the hole. “Did you see any silver?”
“Nah, but that isn’t what has me wondering.”
“Wondering what?”
Creighton didn’t respond at first. He focused on the opening, holding the torch between himself and their discovery, almost as if he was using the torch to defend himself.
“The cave in there is manmade. The floor, walls, and roof are all flat. They used thick stone columns as buttresses. Someone spent a lot of time and effort building it to last.”
Kerr took a step back. “Where could it go? Nothing is beyond the northern mountains. They’re impassable.”
“Maybe that’s why they built the tunnel—to find a way to get through the mountains, to find new lands.”
Kerr rubbed his chin in thought before he spoke again. “If that’s the case, then why brick it up? And
how did it get this far into the mountain?”
“Well,” Creighton said, looking up, “I’m betting we’ve been digging through a part of the mountain that was created by a landslide years ago. That’s why we’ve made such quick progress. As for why they bricked it up…”
“Yes?” Kerr prompted.
“One would only brick up something like this for two reasons.” Creighton grimaced. “To keep people from going in…or to keep something from coming out.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Lloyd Morgan is a bestselling author and an award-winning television director. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications and a minor in English. In 2014, Morgan earned his Master’s degree in Creative Writing. Morgan has lived all over the United States, but now resides in North Carolina with his wife and four daughters. Aside from writing, Morgan is an avid reader. He’s also a huge fan of baseball and enjoys listening to progressive rock.
He is the author of the novels The Hidden Sun, The Waxing Moon, The Zealous Star, The Mirror of the Soul, Wall of Faith and Bring Down the Rain. His published short stories include Howler King, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, The Reluctant Wanderer, and award-winning The Doughnut.
An anthology of short stories, observations and insights called The Night the Port-A-Potty Burned Down and Other Stories was released at the end of 2012.
The Hidden Sun (Bariwon Chronicles Book 1) Page 31