Black Scarlet

by R A Oakes

  “For a diplomat, you’re pretty violent,” General Zarkahn laughed.

  “How can you laugh at a time like this?”

  “To keep from taking all of this too seriously. Tarlen’s men are a threat, but a manageable one at this point. I just haven’t had an adversary of this caliber in a long time. It’s kind of nostalgic. Sort of brings a tear to my eyes,” the general laughed again as he gently dabbed his eyes.

  I’ll never understand military men, Valkira thought.

  But then, the chief ambassador took General Zarkahn aside and let him in on a secret. “When Swarenth conquered Dominion Castle, he captured some of King Ulray Kardimont’s most talented blacksmiths and metal crafters. He’s had them locked in seclusion for years working on some type of new armor and a new bow. Nothing’s ever come of it, but recently rumors have begun circulating around the castle regarding some sort of breakthrough. I’ve heard that a suit of new armor covering one’s entire body weighs less than 50 pounds. As you know, that much conventional armor would weigh a couple hundred pounds at least.”

  General Zarkahn nodded and said, “Which is why many warriors wear no more than a helmet, a chest protector and arm guards.”

  “Imagine our whole army protected head to toe with lightweight armor that is as strong as conventional armor,” Valkira said. “Now imagine those same warriors armed with new bows that can shoot almost twice as far as conventional bows.”

  “Twice as far?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “That’s the rumor.”

  “If an army of gargoyles was equipped with such bows, they could cut down their opponents while staying safely out of range of enemy arrows,” General Zarkahn said. “The opposition would suffer enormous losses. When the decimated ranks of the enemy finally did engage us in battle, they’d find our army wearing more protective gear but carrying no more weight. Both sides would be equally mobile, but our side would be far less vulnerable.”

  “They’d be invincible,” the chief ambassador said proudly.

  “And you believe all this?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “The important thing is that General Takanar does, and he commands Swarenth’s army. You were Lord Stallington’s top general. If the Fighting Eagle had such a bow and a lightweight suit of armor, wouldn’t you have known about it?”

  “Of course, but what makes you think King Ulray Kardimont’s best craftsmen would help Swarenth?” the general asked. “His subjects were very loyal.”

  “A few hours in one of Swarenth’s torture chambers could convince anyone to do almost anything. I’m told he had some of them skinned alive. Then afterwards, while they were still breathing, he had them dissected right in front of the other prisoners.

  “One prisoner cracked right before the ‘surgeons’ started cutting him. But Swarenth told him it was too late. Between screams of agony, the prisoner begged Swarenth to allow him to cooperate. But it did no good.

  “After a while, all of the uncooperative prisoners were dead. Only those who had agreed to work on Swarenth’s weapons-development program were left alive. The remaining metal crafters and blacksmiths now felt safe, but they weren’t, at least not yet,” Chief Ambassador Valkira said.

  “What else did Swarenth do?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “Swarenth told the prisoners that he didn’t need them all. Next, he herded them together as a group and made them beg for their lives. If Swarenth felt a man wasn’t putting his whole heart and soul into it, he’d have him hauled onto the operating table and have his ‘surgeons’ cut him to pieces.

  “After that, he gave each prisoner a chance kneel in front of him and plead for his life. Swarenth paced back and forth in front of the prisoner as if trying to decide whether the man was sincere about wanting to work for him. At times, Swarenth would stop, scratch his chin and ponder. The prisoner would be screaming and pleading at the top of his lungs the whole time.”

  “How many did he keep alive?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “Around 30.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “You’re going to help my son become king, right?”

  “Of course,” General Zarkahn said.

  “Well then, it’s important for you to know as much about Swarenth as possible. I intend to help keep you alive.”

  “Kind of you.”

  “Think nothing of it,” Valkira smiled. It was the first time he had shown any good humor since beginning to talk about this grim topic.

  The chief ambassador continued and said, “Well, believe me, when Swarenth was done, he had one motivated group of metal craftsmen. But for all their desperate desire to serve their new master, nothing seemed to get accomplished. Who knows, maybe Swarenth had murdered all the best craftsmen. Anyway, for whatever reason, there were no great advances in armor or weaponry until now.”

  “How many people know about this breakthrough?” General Zarkahn asked.

  “I don’t know. I just heard about it for the first time, myself, right before we left to come up here."

  “With enough new bows and new suits of armor, we could rule the world,” General Zarkahn said.

  “My son would enjoy that,” Valkira smiled.

  “I’m sure he would, but first we have to stop Tarlen.”

  “And we have to keep him from escaping,” Valkira said.

  “Escape isn’t his goal. He wants Dominion Castle.”

  “Well, regardless of what his plans are, we can’t wait for more troops to arrive. Even if we send riders back to Swarenth immediately, it’d still be a month before he could get more warriors up here. We have to act now.”

  “Then let’s do it.”

  Chapter 20

  King Tarlen’s ranch. The next day, late at night.

  Hand in hand, Tarlen and Genevieve stood outside the compound looking at the vast expanse of nighttime stars overhead. “When you look up at the stars, what do you see?” Genevieve asked smiling up at the one person she loved with all her heart.

  “Anywhere I look in the sky, I see you.”

  “No, seriously, what do you see?”

  “What makes you think I’m not being serious?” Tarlen laughed.

  “Well, if you were being totally honest and serious, you’d say that you see star-crossed lovers holding hands, and that they look just like us,” she answered giving his hand a squeeze.

  “Yes, now that you mention it, that is what I see.”

  “Well, on other nights when you’ve been alone, what did

  you see?”

  “Alone? Alone, you say?” Tarlen smiled inclining his head in the direction of the guards stationed on the rooftops of the ranch buildings, and at the side entrance nearest to them, then at the sentries posted out in the fields, and at the two powerful warriors following them while keeping a discreet but careful eye on their king and future queen. A half-moon was overhead providing a bit of illumination.

  “You’re alone sometimes, aren’t you?”

  “Sure, all the time, if you don’t count my guards.”

  “I’m surprised Captain Polaris isn’t out here with us.”

  “Look at the guard on sentry duty over there, the one farthest away from the buildings, the one on point, the one who’s most at risk in the event of an attack.”

  “Yes, the light’s very dim, but I can see his outline.”

  “Captain Polaris.”

  “How do you know it’s Polaris?”

  “He’d never ask his men to be at a post that’s more dangerous than his own. He leads by example and never asks one of his men to do something he himself isn’t willing to do.”

  “But what makes you think he’s out here at all. It could be someone else.”

  “Am I out here in the field with you, outside the protective walls of the compound?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then Captain Polaris is out here, too. And that’s where he’d be.”

  “Doesn’t that get on your nerves?”

&nbs
p; “What?”

  “Always having someone watching you?”

  “If I wasn’t here with you tonight, I wouldn’t even notice them. So, for all intents and purposes, I would be alone.”

  “Why are you so conscious of them now? How does my being here with you make so much difference?”

  “I’ve never been alone with a woman before.”

  “What?” Genevieve said in surprise.

  “I’ve never been alone with a woman before.”

  “Yes, I heard you say that. What exactly does that mean?”

  “I’ve never taken a walk after dark with a woman before.”

  Tarlen and Genevieve had been slowly strolling through the grass, but she stopped abruptly, stared at him and said, “You’ve never been out late with a woman before?”

  “No.”

  “Any woman?”

  “No.”

  “If you don’t mind my saying so, I doubt that any woman I’ve ever known would allow herself to be physically intimate with a man if he had guards posted all around him.”

  “I’ve never met such a woman either.”

  “But surely in broad daylight, you’ve gone alone to think, maybe, and have walked alone in the woods.”

  “Never.”

  “What are these men of yours, bloodhounds?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Tarlen, allow me to be blunt. I don’t know of any woman who would doff her clothes and make love to a man with his guards only 50 feet away, no matter how much she loved him.”

  “True.”

  “Tarlen, stop teasing. I’m trying to have a serious conversation.”

  “We are. Do you think I would admit any of this to a woman who wasn’t going to be my wife?”

  “Tarlen, what are you trying to tell me.”

  “What would happen if I got a local woman pregnant?”

  “I don’t know? I’m sure the mother and the child would be provided for.”

  “Geneveive, who am I?”

  “The king.”

  “And what else?”

  “The sole surviving heir to the Kardimont throne.”

  “Do you really think Carplorthian would send any child of mine away or deprive the mother access to her own child, the mother of a Kardimont?”

  Genevieve tried to rally her courage to ask a very personal question, and then blurted out, “Tarlen, are you a virgin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Never?”

  “Not even close.”

  “Have you ever touched a woman?”

  Tarlen was silent, and Genevieve sensed his embarrassment. “Oh, Tarlen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “You’re my future queen. You have a right to know me to the depth of my soul. Whatever I am is yours. But I’m woefully inexperienced in one particular aspect, and you would have found that out sooner or later.”

  Genevieve didn’t actually see the guards leave, but she suddenly felt as though she and Tarlen were alone, truly alone. Glancing around, she didn’t see anyone on the rooftops or sentries in the fields. “Tarlen, where did everyone go?”

  “I don’t know,” Tarlen said, a bit surprised and mystified himself.

  “I don’t even see Captain Polaris.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know. It’s never happened before.”

  “Is there some sort of mistake?”

  “Mistakes don’t generally happen around here, certainly not one like this.”

  “Are we alone, actually alone?”

  “Yes, I believe so.”

  “Who would have the authority to call off the dogs, so to speak?”

  “Carplorthian.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s our strategist.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I could be going into battle soon.”

  “And?”

  “I could be killed.”

  “He wants an heir?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was going to do this to us. I didn’t, I’m sorry.”

  Genevieve put her fingers to Tarlen’s lips. “If he wants an heir, let’s give him one.” And with that she pulled her man to the ground.

  Chapter 21

  Skybrook Castle. A week later.

  After arriving back at the castle, General Zarkahn told a dozen of his warriors about his meeting with Lord Ridgewood and Valkira. The general explained how they’d decided to handle King Tarlen, and the first part of the plan involved taking Genevieve out of the picture, literally.

  That night, after dark, they made their move.

  Chen, Aerylln and a few others were in the great hall when Gwendylln ran in shouting, “General Zarkahn and some of his men have kidnapped Genevieve and are taking her to Firecrest Castle!”

  Chen looked up with a cold, level gaze. Bad news was a way of life for her, but even she wasn’t prepared for what she heard next.

  “Genevieve was in the nursery when they captured her, and General Zarkahn took Dylancia, too!”

  Chen stood up and looked in disbelief at her second-in- command. “They would dare to touch my child?” she asked quietly.

  “General Zarkahn didn’t want Dylancia, he wanted Genevieve. But Genevieve put up such a struggle that he threatened to hurt Dylancia if Genevieve didn’t come quietly. The bottom line is that the general and his men took them both.”

  “How much of a head start do they have?”

  “It happened an hour ago. Five warrior women were guarding the nursery at the time of the attack. Three were dead when we found them, and another died shortly after we arrived.”

  “One’s alive?”

  “She’s not going to make it either. But she told us who the kidnappers are and where they’re headed.”

  “Assemble all my warrior women,” Chen said quietly, still in a state of shock.

  Gwendylln thought, When the shock wears off, General Zarkahn and Lord Ridgewood are going to feel the full weight of a mother’s wrath.

  “It’s my fault,” Aerylln said in a dazed tone of voice. The young woman was stunned by the news of Dylancia being in danger. Helping to care for Chen’s baby had made Aerylln feel motherly and protective. Now she felt sick.

  “We’ve been together for the past couple of hours, so it can’t be your fault. And don’t start trying to make this about you,” Chen admonished her. “I love you, but now’s not the time for a teenage girl’s self-indulgence.”

  Aerylln thought, I can’t believe I’m being lectured about self-indulgence by the queen of narcissists herself. But she held her tongue and asked, “What about General Zarkahn?”

  “He’s a dead man.”

  “I want to help.”

  “Fine,” Chen said hardly hearing her.

  Andrina strode into the room wearing a grim look of determination. The desire for vengeance and retribution poured out of the older warrior woman in waves. After all, Chen’s baby was her “granddaughter.”

  As soon as the black leather panther saw what Andrina was carrying, her eyes were glued to the wooden case, and she said, “Open it.”

  Andrina obeyed revealing a polished, black-crystal medallion encircled by a thin strip of white gold. This was the Crystal Medallion, an integral part of the Trinity of Darkness. Taking it out of the case, Andrina held the chain just above her “daughter’s” head.

  “There’s no going back once this touches you.”

  “They took Dylancia, and I’m going after her with

  everything I’ve got.”

  Andrina lowered the chain. The Crystal Medallion now hung around the black leather panther’s neck.

  Holding her breath in anticipation, Andrina waited for the transformation. She waited for the Trinity of Darkness to materialize, but nothing happened.

  The older warrior woman looked at Chen’s waist and realized she didn’t have Crystal’s scabbard bel
ted on and hanging from her left hip.

  “The sword’s on the table over there,” Chen said, pointing to where she’d been sitting.

  After Andrina walked over to the dark sword, Crystal asked, “It’s my time again, isn’t it? I was hoping you’d need me, sooner or later. I’ll help you get Dylancia back. After all, she’s next in line to inherit me should anything happen to Chen.”

  Not wanting to engage in conversation with this warped and twisted creature, the warrior woman silently picked up the sword and carried it to the black leather panther.

  “Let’s go after Dylancia as soon as possible,” Crystal whispered to Chen in a conspiratorial tone. “I like her. Someday she’ll be my master. In the future, she and I will rule the dark side together.”

  Reaching out for the evil sword, Chen felt the intense cold pouring from Crystal, and the warrior woman realized the weapon was energized by this crisis.

  Though Crystal had once considered kidnapping Dylancia as a way of controlling Chen, the dark sword wasn’t involved in this abduction. But Crystal was thinking, The result will be the same. Chen will have to rely on me again, and I’ll have greater freedom.

  As the angry mother came closer to touching the dark sword, Chen noticed the light in the room beginning to dim. Next, she lost all feeling in her right arm. Numbed by the cold, it felt lifeless.

  A sense of overwhelming darkness and bleakness began creeping into Chen’s heart. She imagined seeing the destruction of Firecrest Castle. She pictured Lord Ridgewood and General Zarkahn nailed to the front gates and covered in flammable liquid. She saw herself holding a torch, ready to set them both on fire. But as she looked closer at herself, she realized the woman wasn’t her. The woman looked like her, but it was someone else.

  Even more disturbing, the woman’s eyes were filled with malignant hate. There was a macabre expression on her face and a twisted, little smile. All of this was only a confusing, nightmarish daydream, but it also seemed like a portent of things to come.

  Suddenly, Chen realized who the evil woman was. In shock and horror, she cried out, “It’s Dylancia!”

  The black leather panther snatched her hand back from the dark sword and rubbed her arm until the circulation returned.