by R A Oakes
“This is perfect, now we’ll wait. Remember, patience is an important part of any strategy,” Zorya emphasized.
Noticing that Aerylln was daydreaming, Baelfire asked, “Did you hear what Zorya said?”
“Sure, sure,” Aerylln said. But to herself she thought, What am I going to do with myself for several days until the others catch up?
Two long days later, General Zarkahn had still not shown up, and Aerylln began to fret. “What if they did go by another route?”
“It takes four days of hard riding to get from Skybrook Castle to Firecrest Castle. Even if they went without sleep, which I assume is the case, they couldn’t get here for at least another 12 hours,” Baelfire said.
“I’m bored stiff. There’s nothing to do,” Aerylln said in frustration.
“There are worse problems than that,” Zorya said.
Not for a teenager.
Putting her arms straight out from her sides, Aerylln started spinning around in circles. Next, she hopped around on one foot. After that, she began throwing rocks at a small boulder.
“Don’t make noise, Aerylln. The sound’s echoing along the canyon, and we don’t want anyone to know we’re here,” Baelfire said. “Run around a little if you’re restless. But in a few hours, you’re going to have to pick a spot and stay put.”
“I thought you said no one could get here for at least another12 hours?”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Try to take a nap, Aerylln,” Zorya suggested. “That would help pass the time.”
“I just took a nap.”
Zorya thought, How can I keep my patience with this child?
Finally, Aerylln wandered over near Zorya and stood behind some large boulders where she couldn’t be seen from the trail. The teenage girl stood still and seemed lost in thought.
Good, she’s daydreaming again. That should help occupy her time, Zorya said to herself.
However, after about an hour, Zorya realized that Aerylln hadn’t so much as moved an inch. The magic horse went over to investigate and nuzzled Aerylln’s cheek. Nothing happened. The young woman didn’t even blink her eyes.
Zorya stood back a little and looked carefully at the teenager’s face. “Baelfire, I think Aerylln’s gone into some sort of trance.”
Baelfire, who was still hanging from Aerylln’s hip, looked up at her master’s face. “Oh, Zorya, I think she’s subtrranean traveling again.”
“Oh, no!” Zorya said in alarm. “We can’t move her body while she’s doing that. She has to remain exactly where she is, or her spirit may not be able to find its way back.”
“At least she’s out of sight,” Baelfire said.
“Yes, but if she doesn’t pull out of it before General Zarkahn rides by, we can’t cause a rockslide. I was planning on having us go back along the trail about 100 yards to that large crevasse. It would have been tight, but we could have hidden safely inside of it. However, if we start a rockslide while we’re still here, the walls of this passageway are going to fall right on us,” Zorya said.
“Well, General Zarkahn will be looking to get fresh horses from farms along the way, and he’ll run those horses into the ground. So, it’s possible he’ll be here before dark,” Baelfire said.
“Chen will run her horse until it’s dead, if she can’t get a fresh one. All she cares about is getting Dylancia back. So you’re right, they could be here by sundown,” Zorya agreed.
“Where could Aerylln’s spirit have gone?” Baelfire asked. “Where would a bored, young woman go if she wanted excitement?”
“Firecrest Castle!” Zorya said with fear and apprehension in her voice. “And Aerylln doesn’t know about the stone statue of Balzekior that’s there.”
“If Aerylln stumbles upon it while her spirit is detached from her body, things could get ugly, really ugly!” Baelfire said in alarm.
“Plus, what’s Lord Pensgraft going to say when he learns Aerylln’s in danger as well as Dylancia?” Zorya worried.
“You mean other than swearing to kill every warrior at Firecrest Castle and burn it to the ground?”
“Oh, Aerylln, be careful. You’re wading into dark waters. Very dark.”
Chapter 24
Firecrest Castle. General Zarkahn and his men, along with Genevieve and Dylancia, made it to the castle without encountering any resistance from either Zorya or Baelfire, just as the magic horse had feared. Chief Ambassador Valkira, Lord Ridgewood and the general were now in the great hall congratulating themselves on how well things had worked out.
“Swarenth is going to be amazed when we take Genevieve to Dominion Castle and he finds himself in possession of not just one, but both, of Lord Stallington’s progeny. That means his children,” the old pirate said gleefully.
“I know what it means,” General Zarkahn said laughing. After the success of his mission, even this bumbling dolt couldn’t dampen his spirits.
The general’s men, a dozen in all, were guarding the stairs and hallway outside of the upper-story room where Genevieve was now imprisoned. The warriors were there not only to keep Genevieve from escaping, but also to keep Lord Ridgewood from spiriting her away. General Zarkahn knew that the old pirate would love to present Lord Stallington’s daughter to Swarenth personally, as well as take credit for capturing her.
However, Valkira was focusing on a more immediate problem. “What do you plan on doing with Dylancia? There’s no way a baby could manage the arduous two-week journey to Dominion Castle.”
“Kidnapping Dylancia was a mistake,” General Zarkahn admitted, “and I have no intention of keeping her.”
“How do you expect to get her back to her mother? You can’t just walk up to Chen and say, ‘Here’s Dylancia. Sorry about taking her.’ No matter what you do, Chen’s going to want your head on a platter,” Valkira said.
“You’re a diplomat. Take care of it.”
“No thanks. There’s a limit to diplomacy. Returning a stolen baby to a mother who’s an unforgiving, vengeful warrior is more dangerous than returning a cub to a grizzly bear,” Valkira said.
“You’re a coward,” the general said, only half in jest.
“Guilty as charged. From what you’ve told me about, what do they call her, Black Scarlet?”
“Yes.”
“Well, from what you’ve told me about her, I’ll bet she’s on her way here right now. I’m surprised she’s not pounding on the front gate demanding Dylancia back as we speak.”
“If we can’t just return the baby, what do we do with her?”
“Use her as a hostage. Negotiate with the mother for something and give Dylancia back that way,” Valkira suggested.
“What could Chen have that we might possibly need? Providing the raid on Tarlen’s ranch went well, the king should be dead. And we’ve already got Genevieve.”
“It doesn’t matter what you ask for. Ask for anything. Negotiating gives you some control over the situation.”
“If we don’t want Chen hounding us forever, we have to get Dylancia back to her, but this isn’t going to be easy,” General Zarkahn said.
“Just keep it simple and don’t try to change horses in midstream. Remember, you’re the one who stole Chen’s baby. You’re the villain. Don’t try to play the role of the good guy. Let someone else do that.”
“Who?”
“Why, I’ve always thought of myself as a humanitarian,” Lord Ridgewood said smiling.
Now General Zarkahn laughed. “You a humanitarian? I’m surprised you even know the word.”
“Oh, even pirates wouldn’t market in children.”
“Yes, you would.”
“True. But I’m not the one who stole Chen’s baby.
Anyone’s going to look good compared to you.”
“Well, Chen hasn’t shown up yet,” General Zarkahn
said.
“She will. When she does, you’re right, let us handle it and stay out of the way. I don’t want her to even see you,”
Valkira said.
Shifting topic, Lord Ridgewood said, “I’m eager for some good news about the attack on Tarlen’s ranch. When we take Genevieve to Dominion Castle, I’d really like to take Tarlen’s body along with us. That would impress Swarenth for sure.”
“Well, we should be hearing from Zenaruka soon. He’ll send riders back to report on how things went,” Valkira said.
“What if Tarlen got burned alive, and they can’t identify his body?” Lord Ridgewood asked.
“Let’s just hope that didn’t happen.”
At that moment, 20 gargoyles and five of Lord Ridgewood’s men came into the castle’s great hall.
“Here are Zenaruka’s messengers now,” Valkira smiled. However, his good humor evaporated as the warriors got closer, and he got a better look at their faces. They were one grim bunch.
“How did the battle go?” Valkira asked cautiously. He assumed victory but was concerned that the casualties might have been higher than expected.
“It was a trap. Tarlen and his men were waiting for us,” one of the gargoyles said.
“Were there heavy casualties?” Valkira asked.
“You could say that. We’re all that’s left of the attack force.”
“You mean you’re all that’s reporting back to us now. When will the other warriors be returning? Where’s Tarlen?”
“Sir, you don’t understand. We’re all that’s left. Everyone else is dead.”
“Everyone’s dead?” Valkira asked feeling both shocked and bewildered.
“Some were taken prisoner, but I don’t know how
many.”
“What kind of mindless babble is this? You had 400 gargoyle and human warriors,” Lord Ridgewood said in disbelief. “Where’s Tarlen? It’s important that we have his body to send back to Swarenth.”
“We haven’t got Tarlen.”
“Where’s Zenaruka?” Valkira asked.
“Well, that young pup was in the thick of things, I’ll have to give him that, but I don’t know what happened to him.”
General Zarkahn had been listening quietly but now asked, “How long do you think it will be until they counterattack?”
“Counterattack?” Valkira asked in surprise.
“Tarlen’s going to be coming for Genevieve, and Chen’s going to be coming for her baby. You can count on getting some visitors, and I mean soon.”
Valkira and Lord Ridgewood looked at each other stunned.
“Moments ago, I had visions of returning to Dominion Castle in glory. Now, I’ll be afraid to go back at all,” Valkira said.
“Wait a minute,” one of the winged apes said. “Are you saying that you have Tarlen’s woman and Chen’s daughter?”
“Yes, tonight’s attack was in two parts. While you were attacking Tarlen’s ranch, General Zarkahn was kidnapping Genevieve. We didn’t want Dylancia, but we ended up with her almost accidentally,” Valkira said.
“I’d like to get my hands on Genevieve,” the gargoyle said angrily. “We could tie her mutilated body to a horse and send her back to her precious king. But first, I’d crush the baby’s skull. Then, I’d put a rope around its neck and hang it from the pommel of the saddle.” The other gargoyles and men nodded in agreement.
“Let Tarlen see what we do to those who defy us!” a large winged ape shouted. He’d suffered a serious wound to his shoulder and was eager for vengeance. They all were.
“Where are they?” one of Lord Ridgewood’s men asked.
“Maybe you should calm down a bit first,” Valkira
suggested.
All of the surviving gargoyles and men turned and looked at him hard, real hard.
“Are you protecting the enemy?” another one of Lord Ridgewood’s men asked in a menacing tone of voice.
At first, Valkira didn’t know what to say. If he did get up enough courage to face Swarenth after this military disaster, he didn’t want to go back empty-handed.
“It would be good for us to have prisoners to take back to Swarenth,” he reasoned.
“We can do both. You can take Genevieve’s head to Swarenth. But we’ll tie her body onto a saddle in a sitting position and let her ride back to Tarlen headless,” the man said as he laughed. “You can take the baby’s head to Swarenth also. I’d love to see the expression on Chen’s face when she sees her headless baby hanging upside down from the pommel of Genevieve’s saddle with a rope tied to its ankles.”
The other surviving warriors smiled along with him. The thought of decapitating a couple of bodies put them in a better humor.
“So where are they?” Lord Ridgewood’s man asked
again.
Valkira looked at General Zarkahn who said, “Yes, I
agree. It would be hilarious to see the looks on Tarlen’s and Chen’s faces.”
The warriors relaxed and smiled. Obviously, here was a man who understood their need for violent retribution.
Wearing a big grin, General Zarkahn walked over and patted a few on their backs. He exuded an air of joyous devilment and seemed every inch a coconspirator. The infectious nature of malicious violence now filled the air and joined them all together as brothers. General Zarkahn knew how to bind men to him, and gargoyles for that matter. A good raucous murder was good for the soul.
“Tarlen’s whore and Black Scarlet’s baby are two flights up and to the right. You’ll find my men guarding the stairs and hallway, but they’ll be glad to join in on the fun, especially if you decide to let Genevieve live for a bit longer. If you know what I mean.”
All the warriors were smiling and poking each other in the ribs. “We’ll cast lots to see who goes first,” one man said.
“Sounds fair,” a winged ape replied.
“Be sure to give the password when you go upstairs. We don’t want any misunderstandings. My men have been ordered to protect Genevieve and the baby. But tell them, ‘General Zarkahn says to go to plan B,’ that way they’ll give you their full cooperation.”
“What’s plan B?” one man asked.
“Nothing really, it just cancels their current orders. When you’re done having a good time with Genevieve, bring her head down to us along with Dylancia’s. You can do what you want with their bodies.”
“We appreciate this, general,” one of the winged apes said.
“Think nothing of it. You’ve earned your fun.”
With that, the remnants of the attack force left the room and headed for the stairs.
“You can be pretty cold-blooded at times,” Valkira said to General Zarkahn with an air of disapproval. “One minute, you want to give Dylancia back and the next you’re accommodating the wishes of some battle-weary madmen.”
“Just adapting to changing circumstances,” the general said innocently.
As the gargoyles in front neared the top of the stairs, they encountered five of the general’s warriors. The winged apes were a little taken aback at the sight of them. These men were huge, battle-hardened veterans and had all served as captains under General Zarkahn’s command prior to Chen’s taking control of Skybrook Castle. Grim faced, they barred the way, hands on the hilts of their swords.
A gargoyle on the top step recovered quickly and said, “General Zarkahn says to go to plan B.”
At that, the general’s men relaxed, and one asked, “So what do you have in mind?”
“Oh, we thought we’d show Genevieve some appreciation,” one winged ape said as he smiled.
“We’ll teach her a few tricks, like how to handle three of us at a time,” one of Lord Ridgewood’s men added. “I’ll bet Genevieve’s never been treated like a barmaid before. She’s going to have such a shocked expression on her face, at least until we knock out all of her teeth.”
“Sounds like fun,” one of the captains said. Then he turned and shouted down the hall to the seven warriors guarding the door to Genevieve’s room. “Hey guys, we’re going to plan B.”
Upon hearing that, these warriors also relaxed and stood at ease. The gargoyles and
Lord Ridgewood’s men were all smiles as they headed down the hallway, at least the ones in front were feeling festive. Those in back had little to smile about. With swords in one hand and daggers in the other, General Zarkahn’s captains began chopping them to bits.
When the winged apes in front turned to see what the commotion was all about, the captains guarding the door leapt at them. A short, but ferocious, battle ensued leaving the gargoyles and Lord Ridgewood’s men lying dead on the stone floor.
After receiving a report on what had transpired upstairs, General Zarkahn turned to Valkira and said, “Well, I’m all for giving Dylancia back to Chen and for taking Genevieve back to Dominion Castle. What about you?”
“Okay,” Valkira said slowly and apprehensively. “Why are you reverting to our original ideas?”
“It seems the warriors who went upstairs will no longer be objecting to our plans.”
“They won’t?”
“No.”
“Five of my men went upstairs with those gargoyles,” Lord Ridgewood said. “Are they also no longer objecting?”
“Those men were against your plan to play the role of a humanitarian. They deserved to die,” General Zarkahn said.
“That’s true.”
“But we still have a major problem,” Valkira said, fear evident in his voice. “What’s Swarenth going to do when he finds out about Tarlen slipping through our fingers and 300 gargoyle warriors being captured or dead?”
“Who’s going to tell him?” General Zarkahn asked.
“What?”
“Who’s going to tell him? You?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. But how can you possibly hide what happened?” Valkira asked.
“Swarenth ordered Zenaruka to stay away from Dominion Castle permanently, or at least until he finds Tarlen. So, why say anything about what happened at the ranch? For all Swarenth knows, his nephew is still out on a wild-goose chase. How would we know where Zenaruka and his men are?”
“General, your gift for lying, subterfuge and deceit borders on genius,” Valkira said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Just think how excited Swarenth’s going to be when he sees Genevieve. He’ll give us a hero’s welcome. Why mar it with the truth?”