Traven looked up to find the Princess completely composed. The only evidence of her earlier breakdown was the slight redness around her eyes. Other than that, she was the perfect image of a princess of Kalia. Traven nodded his agreement to her suggestion. He realized how tired he actually was. It seemed strange that he could be so tired after being unconscious all afternoon. He stretched out in the center of the room on the hard stone floor and wished he was back in his bunk in the barracks. Almost the second that he shut his eyes, he was asleep.
He was awakened shortly thereafter by the freezing wind rushing through the high tower room. The torch was now out. It had either run down or the rushing wind had put it out. Traven’s skin was covered in goose bumps, and he rubbed his hands quickly over his arms. He tried to fall back asleep but could not. It was absolutely freezing! The stone floor only radiated coldness and the strong wind, rushing from one gaping window to another, swept away all of his body heat. He did not think he would be getting much sleep. Through the window he could see the bright stars in the now clear moonless sky. He couldn’t believe how much the temperature had dropped.
Traven glanced to where the Princess lay against the wall and saw that she was shivering uncontrollably as well. He was surprised that she could sleep through the frigid night. Almost instantly, however, he saw her eyes flit open. He found himself staring directly into bright eyes that were sparkling like the stars outside. He turned away and was glad for the darkness that hid his once again flushed face. When he looked back, the Princess had pulled her knees up tight against her body in an effort to ward off the cold night. She was still shivering uncontrollably.
Traven was about to offer her his cloak but realized that it was gone. Thinking about it, he realized that the Princess’ cloak had also been absent when he had awakened after being captured. No wonder they were so cold. Their captor must have done it on purpose. Traven’s anger was kindled once again against the evil man. The only warmth he had to offer the Princess was that of his own body. He dismissed the thought almost the instant it came. He crawled over to the wall near the Princess in an attempt to escape the wind. It was better than in the center of the room but still was very cold. Traven pulled his arms in close to his body and closed his eyes. He needed to get more sleep. He needed his strength for the next day if there was any hope of escaping. He cleared his mind and tried to focus on warmth. He was pleasantly surprised when the familiar warmth of the stone against his chest increased slightly, lending just a little more warmth to his shivering body.
* * * * *
Kalista watched behind slit eyes as the young man crawled over to the wall several feet from her and once again closed his eyes. When she was sure that he was not going to open them again, she opened hers all the way and watched him. She once again noticed how handsome he was. It was not like Gavin’s mature beauty but more boyish. She was surprised to see a small smile creep onto his face. She had no idea what he could be happy about. Maybe he had drifted back off to sleep and was dreaming one last time of something pleasant. She was afraid that she would never be able to fall back asleep in the freezing darkness.
Watching the young man, Kalista felt sorry for the things she had said to him earlier in the night. She had lost control of her emotions and lashed out at the only person she could. She felt bad about the whole situation. The only reason he was here was because he had tried, and nearly succeeded, in rescuing her. She decided she would apologize to him in the morning. He did seem like a nice person.
The young man stopped shivering while she watched him. Kalista stared at him in amazement. She had no idea how he could not be as cold as she was. He looked so warm, though. She debated whether or not she should move closer to him for warmth. It was not proper, but in the end she decided that if she did not move next to him she would freeze to death. Still shivering uncontrollably, the Princess edged along the wall until she was next to the young man. She slowly leaned against his body being careful not to awaken him. The warmth of his body flowed into her own, warming her enough that she was finally able to stop shivering. Kalista shut her eyes and made herself comfortable. The soldier was definitely softer than the stones of the ancient tower. She soon forgot about the cold and drifted off to sleep against the warm body of the young man.
* * * * *
The small smile on Traven’s face grew larger as the Princess cuddled up against him. He was thankful for the added warmth. He heard the breathing of the Princess slow and even out as she drifted off to sleep. Traven soon fell asleep also, thinking of how soft the Princess felt against his side.
33
Blaize slipped into some old clothes and quietly left his room. He walked down the long, silent hall that led to the training fields. When he reached the end of the hall, he braced himself as he opened the door and stepped outside into the fresh, early morning air. Not a soul was in sight except for the sleepy-eyed sentries who straightened when they saw him. Of course, he hadn’t expected anyone else to be up at this hour. Normally Traven and he were among the first to wake up. After the announcement at dinner the night before that they would have a few free days, almost all of the troops had headed out into the city to celebrate. Blaize imagined that most had celebrated a bit too much. He didn’t expect to see any of the troops up and about for several more hours.
Blaize reached his normal practice field and began to run through his forms. He was surprised that Traven wasn’t up yet but assumed he must have taken his advice and slept in a little. When Traven didn’t appear by the time he was half way through his forms, he began to wonder if he was all right. Traven had not missed doing his forms in the morning since he had first arrived to the barracks. Blaize hadn’t seen him at dinner the night before. In fact, he hadn’t seen the boy since the incident yesterday on the archery range. He decided that he would have to look in on him when he was done. He needed to talk with him about the stone.
Blaize finished his forms and headed back towards the barracks with a healthy sweat. The chilling wind cooled his body down as he walked back into the barracks. The halls were still empty, and he moved through them in silence. When he had washed up and changed into his military garb, he decided to check in on Traven before starting a new round of paper work. The soldiers had several free days, but unfortunately Blaize did not. He had to make sure everything was ready for the impending march.
Blaize found the door that led into the bunks where Traven slept and silently peeked inside. He waited a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they had adjusted, he was surprised to find Traven’s cot empty. In fact, it appeared as though it hadn’t even been slept in. He shook his head and shut the door to the room. He then went to a pair of sentries nearby and asked if any of the soldiers had gotten up early and left. They confidently replied that they had not seen anyone except himself, General Blaize. He thanked them and headed to his office to get a start on the day’s business.
As he sat down at his desk and began to ruffle through papers, he found that he couldn’t concentrate. His mind kept returning to Traven. It wasn’t like him to be so irresponsible. If he hadn’t returned the night before, where had he stayed? Blaize knew that he didn’t have any friends or family to stay with. Maybe he had stayed at an inn. That was probably it. He had wanted to escape the barracks for a night and had stayed at an inn. Blaize tried to convince himself that everything was fine but for some reason the nagging feeling that something was wrong would not go away.
Blaize tried to shake off the feeling and dipped his quill into the pot of ink. He didn’t know why he was always worrying about the boy. He could take care of himself. Traven was one of the best swordsmen in the whole army. He could easily take on three swordsmen at a time if he needed too. Blaize set his quill against the sheet of paper and froze. The bloody scene of yesterday’s abduction rushed back to the front of his mind. In his mind he saw the three cutthroats lying together on the quiet side street. Someone had taken on all three before being captured. Traven! Blaize let th
e quill drop as he rose from his desk. He had to know for sure.
He pulled on his cloak and left the barracks. He was soon mounted and riding swiftly into the city. The sun was almost up, and the streets were slowly beginning to come to life. Blaize hurried through the still uncrowded streets. He pulled up in front of the City Watch and swung down off his horse. He burst through the front doors and demanded of the front clerk to be led to the Captain of the Watch. He had never been in the building before and had no idea where the Captain’s office was. The clerk upon recognizing Blaize’s double eagles, the insignia of a general, quickly obliged and led him around several turns to the Captain’s office. Blaize burst into the room before the clerk had a chance to announce him. The Captain of the Watch looked up from his desk with a frown at the unannounced intrusion. His eyes were bloodshot, and Blaize realized that he had probably been up most of the night.
“General Blaize,” the Captain began as he slowly rose from his desk with a scowl. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I need some information about the abduction of the Princess,” Blaize replied flatly.
“General, I am sure that you are interested in it, but this is an investigation of the City Watch not the Royal Army. This is a very difficult situation, and the information is classified until the Princess is found. You may be a general in the army but-”
“Captain,” Blaize cut in angrily. “I am not here to play. I believe one of my soldiers was captured along with the Princess. That makes this my concern also.”
“How can you be so sure?” the Captain inquired.
“I am not certain, but if you can answer my question I will know.” The Captain motioned for Blaize to go on. “I need to know if there was blood smeared on any of the three dead attackers’ clothes.”
“No, there were no smears on any of their bodies. It appeared that the man who killed the three used a piece of one of the attackers’ clothes that had been cut off in the struggle to clean off his sword before continuing on.” The Captain shook his head before continuing on. “I do not see the relevance of your question. Most swordsmen will clean their blade after a fight.”
“Was the piece of cloth from the sleeve of the attacker’s sword arm?”
The Captain of the Watch thought for a few seconds and then called for one of his messengers. Blaize waited impatiently for the messenger to verify if the cloth was indeed sliced from the sword arm of one of the attackers. The messenger returned shortly with a smile on his face. The cloth was indeed sliced from the sleeve of the sword arm of one of the attackers.
“How did you know that . . .” the Captain began before Blaize cut him off.
“It does not matter,” Blaize stated firmly. “Now I am sure. I need to know what your trackers have discovered since yesterday.” A look of frustration came over the Captain’s face but he answered.
“We have traced the bandits to the marsh. I have had my best trackers out all night around the perimeter looking for the place of entry and any other signs. They will be here soon to make a report of their findings.”
“Thank you for your help,” Blaize said as he turned to leave.
“If you will wait until they get here . . .”
The rest of the Captain’s words were cut off as the door shut behind Blaize. He hurried out of the small building and swung up on his horse. He now knew where to begin his search. He would find Traven and the Princess quickly. Blaize didn’t have time to wait for the City Watch to discuss and make plans. He would act immediately. He had a strange impression that if he waited, he would never see Traven again. Blaize dug his heels into his mount’s sides and galloped away though the city northward towards the marsh. As he flew through the streets, the first rays of dawn struck the tops of the city towers.
* * * * *
Wraith waited patiently for Filner to unlock the tower door. He fingered the hilt of his new sword. He really had outdone himself this time. He had captured the Princess of the grand country of Kalia and found the boy who was the reason that Kadrak had sent him here in the first place. It was interesting how he had run into the boy by chance. He could now return to Balthus having completed his task. The capture of the Princess had just been a personal indulgence.
Filner finished the last lock and swung the door open for his master. Wraith strode into the room, his eyes darting. He did not expect the kid to try anything, but Wraith was still alive because he always expected the unexpected. Sunlight streaming through the large window illuminated the room brightly. The boy and the Princess were already awake and sitting next to each other against the wall. They hadn’t been up for long, however, for the Princess was still wiping the sleep from her eyes.
Wraith was delighted to see the fear in both of their eyes, but was also pleasantly surprised to see the determination mirrored in the boy’s eyes. Wraith noticed immediately that the boy’s muscles were tense, that his hand was resting on his calf just above his boot, and that he was ready to spring at any moment despite being seated. It would be fun killing this one. He knew that the boy had a dagger in his boot. Wraith had left it there to make things more interesting. He had been surprised that the boy had not tried to use it the night before but figured that in all of the excitement the boy had forgotten about it. Wraith could see that he had remembered the dagger now.
“I expect that you slept well,” Wraith said, flashing his prisoners a smile. They didn’t answer, not that he had really expected them to. He had only stopped by to leave them with one last thought before he headed into the city. “I just wanted to let you know that the night’s sleep has not changed my mind. I will be killing you both personally today. You have several hours of life left. Enjoy one last meal!”
Wraith tossed two stale biscuits at the two of them and watched with pleasure when they made no move to catch them. He waited while Filner stepped away from the door and set a bowl of water on the ground near them. Still neither made a move. Wraith grinned at the two one last time and moved to the door. He turned his back to his prisoners daring the boy to try something stupid and said loudly to Filner, “Well, you can’t say that I didn’t offer my guests a meal.”
When the boy didn’t try anything, Wraith continued through the door and waited for Filner to close it and relock all of the locks. The boy was not as stupid as he had thought. He would kill the boy first for the Princess to see, and then he would finish her off. He could barely contain his excitement at the thought as they descended the stairs. When he reached the front room of the tower, he unbuckled the fancy sword and slid it into a bag of odds and ends. He then pulled on his older one. He didn’t need to attract any unnecessary attention.
He was sure the High King’s trackers would be out and about. Eventually they would trace the kidnapping to the marsh and find the tower. They would be surprised when they finally found the Princess’ dead body. He would leave her in such a way that there would be no mistaking her identity. Rumors would spread and fears would rise. Calyn would be ripe with fear when Kadrak moved against Kalia. Wraith chuckled to himself as he strutted out into the courtyard. His horse was ready and waiting along with two off his small band. He gracefully swung into the saddle.
“You are in charge, Filner,” he said to his loyal second. “I trust that you will have everything ready by the time I return and that the prisoners will be ready. Remember that the rewards for success will be sweet, but the reward for failure is death.”
With that, Wraith swung his horse around and headed off the small dry island and into the swampy marsh. By midday he would be back with the materials, and Filner would have everything else ready. He would dispatch of his prisoners quickly but thoroughly. By the early afternoon, he and his band would be on their way to Balthus. A grin once again crept onto Wraith’s face. Sometimes things were just too easy.
* * * * *
Traven relaxed his tense muscles as the footsteps of the two men faded away. He pushed himself to his feet and taking a deep breath, walked over to one of the windows
and looked down. In the morning light, Traven saw that the tower was on a small island of dry land. All around the tower lay the ruins of an ancient city. Most of the buildings had long ago sunk into the murky depths but several were on patches of dry ground and still stood. He could see clearly the guards that were in the courtyard far below, but farther out into the marsh it was impossible to see much. A shroud of rolling fog covered the majority of the swampy land. The tower rose above the fog, and in the far distance he could make out the sprawling city of Calyn.
Traven watched as the two men who had just left the room walked out from the base of the tower. The leader mounted his horse and after saying a few words to the other turned and headed off into the marsh with two others. Traven watched until the men were lost from sight in the fog. He turned from the window and looked at the Princess. They only had a few hours before the leader would return. They needed to be gone before he got back.
Traven had remembered the jeweled dagger hidden in his boot when he had awakened earlier. He had stayed still so as not to awaken the Princess who was still asleep against his side, but his mind had been racing. He had formed several plans for escape by the time the two men had approached the door. Traven had gently shaken the Princess awake with the memory of the previous night still fresh in his mind. He had thought about attacking the evil man, but had decided against it since the man had a sword and he only had a dagger. He was sure the man would have easily disarmed him and ended his life. He had decided that it would be best to wait to try to escape until after the dangerous man was gone.
“Traven.”
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the warm caress of his name from the lips of the Princess. He stared at her in shock. How had she known his name?
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