by James Wisher
* * *
Col found a chair and sat. Michael and the exhausted lightcasters had left a few minutes ago and took the remains of the cage with them. Rain and the royal couple still had their heads together and they were close enough that Col listened in.
“What do I do now?” Rain held her sword point down a little ways away from her body like she was afraid it might bite her. “Can I use it for anything else?”
Tahlia and the king shared a look then turned back to Rain. “Its main purpose is to serve as an anchor for the Darkness’s prison,” Tahlia said. “It can be used as a focus for rituals like the one we just finished, but other than that it’s simply a potent weapon. Perhaps we can arrange some weapons training for you.” Col allowed himself a small smile at the idea of Rain dressed in leathers sweating in a practice ring.
Rain shook her head. “In ten years maybe I’d be competent, but I’m too small to use a weapon like this well. There must be something else. I can’t be the first woman to inherit one of these swords.”
The king nodded. “Some women who’ve inherited a sword become great warriors, but most simply keep it safe until their children come of age.”
“You have one other option,” Tahlia said. “You can designate a champion to wield the blade in your place. Some queens have offered that gift to their husbands. It’s a simple ritual, but once done you can’t undo it, so you need to be certain.”
“What do you mean it can’t be undone?”
“I mean you can name only one champion in your lifetime and it lasts until your chosen dies.”
“I understand.” Rain looked his way and Col knew what she intended. “Squire Col, come here, please.”
Col got out of his chair and walked toward her. His mind raced. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be tied to Rain for the rest of his life. Another part of him said if he wanted to kill the black knight he needed the sword’s power. He stopped a few feet away. “Princess?”
“You’ve saved my life more times than I can count, you’ve encouraged me, made me laugh, and been my friend though I hardly deserved it. You’ve been my champion in deed if not in name since we fled the castle together many weeks ago. Will you accept my family’s sword and help me reclaim our homeland?”
“Princess, I will.”
Rain turned to Tahlia. “What do I do?”
Tahlia removed a small curved knife from the folds of her gown and handed it to Rain. “Cut your thumb.”
Rain hesitated an instant before running the blade down her thumb. A thin trickle of blood leaked out. “Now what?”
“Give the knife to Col.” When he accepted the knife Tahlia continued. “Cut your thumb and press it against Rain’s.”
Col did as she said; the knife was sharp as a razor and he hardly noticed the pain. Rain held her thumb up and he pressed his against it. The blood mingled and dripped on his hand.
“That’s good,” Tahlia said. “Now while Rain holds the hilt, Col, you put your hand on the pommel. You now have a tiny spark of celestial blood so the sword should recognize you as a legitimate bearer.”
Col glanced at her. “Should? What happens if it doesn’t?”
“You die.”
“You didn’t think to mention that first?”
“Would it have mattered?”
“No.” Col grabbed the pommel before he could think too much. His head snapped back as the power running through it entered him. He saw it connected to Rain by a heavy cord of power. Another cord ran from the sword to the lake. He suspected if he could see outside, the beam of power would run all the way to the island in the center of the lake. He blinked. “Damn me. Do you see all those beams?”
“Beams?” Rain shook her head. “I don’t see anything.”
“Another gift of your ring,” Tahlia said. “You can see all the invisible connections.”
Col held out his hand. “May I?”
“Not yet.” Rain pulled the sword back. “Take a knee; we need to do this properly.”
Col grinned and did as she said. It wasn’t midwinter night, but he figured it was close enough. He bowed his head. Rain touched both his shoulders with the sword. “Rise, a true Knight of Corinthia.”
Col stood and they shared a smile. She offered him the sword hilt first. He took it gently from her, amazed at how light it felt. He’d never held a finer weapon and suspected he never would if he lived a thousand years. “I will bear it with honor, Princess.”
A messenger chose that moment to burst into the throne room. “Majesties, an army of beastmen is massing along our border, thousands of them, perhaps tens of thousands.”
Chapter Thirty-One
It took Zarrin a few seconds to collect himself after his soul box’s destruction, but when he had, his anger burned hotter than ever. He summoned his power and sent a call to every adult male beastman in the mountains. He couldn’t send a complex message to so many so he kept it simple. “Gather!”
Wherever they were, whatever they were doing, beastmen rushed to follow his orders. Every village had a mustering point he had marked when he first arrived to gather his forces centuries ago. He sent his power out to those places and opened portals, dozens of them, each exiting a short ways from the border of Celestia. For three days he did nothing but open portals and direct his beastmen through them. He’d surround Celestia with an army unlike anything the Lake Kingdoms had seen in millennia. Let the weaklings see his power and tremble. And while they trembled Zarrin would attend to his real mission.
When Zarrin at last finished transporting his army he sent mental commands to the saberfangs to surround the border and kill anything that tried to cross it. That done he focused his will on the Black Prince and opened a portal. Zarrin emerged in the still-smoking ruins of Rel. A few feet away his servant was overseeing a line of ragged humans tied together and being led away by a handful of wolfmen.
“I felt your summons, master. Do we finally move against Celestia?”
“The army will, in a manner of speaking. We have a more pressing task. While all eyes are on the beastmen we’ll do a bit of quiet killing.”
Zarrin felt the Black Prince’s excitement and he shared it. The final moves were underway. Succeed or fail, his long quest ended soon. “Where?”
“The palace of Catalandan to start. I trust you remember your courtly manners.”
The Black Prince drew his sword. “I’ve learned some new manners since my last visit to court.”
Zarrin waved his hand and a portal opened. His eager comrade stepped through and Zarrin followed a several steps behind. He emerged in time to see his servant slice a guard in plate armor clean in half. The gate had opened exactly where he wanted it: the throne room of the Catalandan palace. Given the time of day the court would be in full swing. Courtiers ran screaming in every direction. The king reached for his sword, but Zarrin blasted him to a smoking pile of ash before he drew it. He couldn’t possess a human with celestial blood, but they burned just the same as a normal human.
The Black Prince hacked down a pair of guards and advanced toward the queen. Zarrin could’ve killed her faster, but he found it helped keep the peace between them if he let his servant enjoy his share of killing. He left the prince to his work and stretched out his senses, searching for the royal brats. They had two under ten years old if Zarrin remembered correctly.
A guard shouted and swung his halberd at him. Zarrin disintegrated the weapon and the man wielding it with a contemptuous wave of his hand. He found the children above them and to the right, moving toward the wall of the palace. Someone, probably their personal guards, must have heard the screams and acted. He had no intention of letting anyone escape him this time.
Zarrin blew a hole in the ceiling and flew up through it. He found himself in a bedchamber, decorated with carved wooden furniture, all of it delicate works of art. It had to be the parents’ room. The children drew further away every moment. Zarrin turned right and blew a hole through the wall. Something clanked behind him and w
hen he turned he found the Black Prince had leapt up through the hole. Zarrin left through the hole and entered a hall. Two paces away another wall blocked his way. He blew that one away and continued on. Four holes later he reached a staircase leading down.
He descended; the children were close, not more than a few yards away. At the bottom he found a wooden door. The door delayed him no more than the walls above. He stepped over the splintered remains and entered a simple stone room without windows and only the single exit. One more door blocked him. All his arcane senses screamed that his prey waited beyond it. He took another step and something stabbed him in the back. He’d focused on the children to such an extent he didn’t notice the man hiding in the shadows above him. Not that it mattered; no mere weapon of steel could hurt his already dead flesh. He sent a burst of Dark power back along the dagger blade and blasted his would-be assassin to bloody gobbets.
The Black Prince stepped in beside him. “May I, master?”
He asked so politely Zarrin didn’t have the heart to say no, though when his servant had finished the children might have wished he had.
* * *
Generals, lightcasters and royals filled the war room. Col, as a newly minted knight, felt out of place, though he probably had more actual combat experience against beastmen than anyone else in the room. Dozens of little figures on the central map represented the positions of beastmen units surrounding Celestia. He had no idea that many beastmen existed in the whole world.
“They’ve got us surrounded on three sides.” Some general Col hadn’t met before today, a fat man in his sixties with a droopy white mustache, adjusted a pewter saberfang. “Our scouts estimate their numbers at over fifty thousand.”
A murmur ran through the assembled group. Rain gripped his arm and Col forced himself not to sigh. Since she knighted him a few days ago she’d gotten awful clingy.
“They’ve made no move to cross the border?” King Jarod asked.
“None, Majesty. They’re setting up camps, digging in for a siege and hunting down everything in the area, animal or human.”
“Where are Zarrin and the Black Knight?” Col muttered. None of the rangers had reported seeing any sign of the monsters’ leaders.
“Excellent question.” Tahlia must have overheard him. When she spoke Rain’s grip tightened on his arm. Col frowned, but didn’t comment. “They’ve got to be there somewhere. I’ve sensed so many dark portals opening in the past few days they couldn’t have gone anywhere.”
Col flinched when his new sword vibrated. At the same moment the king looked down at his sword.
“What is it?” Tahlia asked.
Col shook his head. He had no idea. The sword had done nothing like that before.
“They broke another sword,” King Jarod answered for him.
“Which one?” Col asked.
“There’s no way to know,” the king said. “I guess that answers the question of where Zarrin and the Black Prince went.”
Col’s eyes widened as he understood. “The beastmen are a distraction. While we’re focused on his army Zarrin thinks he can sneak around and take out the other royal families.”
“Then he can attack Celestia without any of the other kingdoms being in a position to help.” Tahlia crossed her arms. “With the other royals dead the kingdoms will be leaderless and scrambling over succession. It’s clever, less destructive than obliterating the country, but clever.”
“Do you have embassies in the other countries?” Rain asked. “We need to find out who got attacked.”
Tahlia smiled. “Clever girl, we have embassies in all but the fallen kingdoms.” Tahlia turned her attention to a young woman in lightcaster robes. “Send messages to all the ambassadors and find out where he struck.”
The lightcaster bowed and hurried out of the room.
“That’ll take awhile,” Col said. “What do we do in the meantime?”
The general that had been leading the meeting cleared his throat. “Even if they are a distraction we still need to deal with the beastmen on our doorstep. Our soldiers are skilled, but the monsters outnumber us more than two to one.”
“As long as they’re content to sit and do nothing they’re not our priority. We need to warn the surviving royals about Zarrin.” Tahlia turned to Col. “Are you ready to go out again?”
If it meant another shot at the black knight Col was ready and willing. “What did you want me to do?”
“I want you to take a small team, warn the survivors, and, if they’re willing, bring back as many of them as will come.”
Col nodded. Sounded simple enough. “I’ll take Alana, Manes and his rangers. We’ve worked together once so that’ll make it easier.”
“Fine, they’re still in the western hills. I’ll send Alana a message. By the time they get here we should’ve gotten a response from our ambassadors.”
* * *
Col watched as Alana opened a golden portal then followed Manes through. They’d heard from the ambassadors a few minutes earlier: Zarrin attacked Catalandan. In retrospect it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Catalandan bordered Celestia to the north so it made sense to throw them into chaos so they’d be less able to send assistance.
Col exited the portal and found the gray stone walls of Bain Castle looming a few yards away. The castle, much like Castle Finegold, sat on a hill overlooking the city of Bainlin. The main gate waited a short distance away and when Alana emerged and closed the portal, the little group headed toward it. Two guards in mail and carrying halberds stood outside the closed gates. They wore the black and crimson tabards of the royal guard of Bainlin.
“Excuse me,” Col said as he approached the guards. “I have an urgent message for the king and queen.”
“Who the bloody hell are you?” the nearest guard asked.
“My name is Col and I’m a Knight of Corinthia. I bear the royal sword of Corinthia as proof of my good intentions and the importance of my message. If you have a lightcaster on duty they can verify its authenticity.”
The guard looked at his sword and his eyes widened. “Looks just like His Majesty’s.” He turned to the second guard. “Go fetch Master Jonas. He’ll know what to do.”
The second guard rapped twice then once on the bars of the portcullis and a moment later it clanked up enough for him to duck underneath. “He’ll be a minute,” the guard said. “How about you tell me what the hell’s going on?”
Col finished telling the guard about the beastman siege when a gray-bearded man in a lightcaster robe arrived at the gate. Before the portcullis rose his gaze locked on Col’s sword. He and the second guard ducked under the portcullis and approached them.
Alana stepped forward and raised her right hand palm out. “Light shine on you, Brother.”
Jonas mirrored the gesture. “Light shine on you, Sister.”
He looked away from Alana and turned his attention to Col. “So it’s true, you bear one of the royal swords. How did you come to carry it?”
“The princess of Corinthia chose me as her champion. If you can arrange it we really need to speak with the royal family.”
“Of course.” Jonas gestured to the guard and the portcullis clanked up again. Whoever had to work the windlass would be sore at this rate. “You can tell me what’s happening as we walk.”
“You know about Zarrin?” Col asked.
“The darkcaster? Yes, all lightcasters know of him. He’s a plague on the world.”
“Yeah, that’s him. Well, a little while ago he and his knight attacked and killed the royal family of Catalandan. His beastman army has Celestia surrounded and we fear he’ll soon move against the other royals.”
Jonas looked at him with wide eyes. “When you said you had an important message you aren’t exaggerating. I’ll make certain the king and queen agree to see you.”
An hour later found them in the Bain Castle throne room. The lingering scent of perfume indicated they’d cleared the hall recently. The only people remaining wer
e the king and queen seated on their thrones, ten guards in tabards and mail identical to the gate guards, and Jonas and a second female lightcaster, a middle-aged brunette with a motherly look about her.
Col’s team stopped a few feet from the dais where the thrones sat. The king, a rugged older man of perhaps sixty, leaned forward. “Well, Master Jonas thinks your message important enough to let strangers into my castle and clear the midday court to limit the number of ears that hear so let’s have it.”
Col told him everything that had happened up to their arrival. The queen gasped when he got to the part about Catalandan’s royal family getting wiped out. When he finished catching them up Col said, “King Jarod and Queen Tahlia have extended an offer of sanctuary to any or all members of your family that wish to accept it.”
“It appears Master Jonas has once more proven a shrewd judge of importance.” The king scratched at on old scar on his cheek. “And Jarod thinks I need protecting. We may not have the protective wards of Celestia, but Bainlin is strong enough to protect itself without outside help.”
Col smiled before he could catch himself.
“Something amusing, boy?”
Col noted the edge in the king’s voice, but ignored it. “What you said reminds me of something Princess Rain said when we were fleeing the beastmen sent to kill us. She told me her father always claimed Corinthia was the strongest of the Lake Kingdoms. We were strong, Majesty, but it made no difference. The darkcaster blasted down our walls and his monsters overwhelmed our soldiers. I see the look in your eyes; you think Bainlin is different, stronger. You might be right, I certainly don’t know enough about your kingdom to judge. I only ask that you consider what would happen if you’re wrong. I know how important these swords are, more important than my life, or yours, or any individual’s.”