Leviathan's King (The Search for the Brights Book 3)

by Aaron Thomas

“No, now they just want to buy transport to the Wind Realm. Twilix-” Bowie said as he was cut off by Brent only a horse’s length behind them.

  “Who?” Brent asked with a hit of sarcasm.

  Bowie looked at Kilen, rolling his eyes, “Her Majesty, the Queen, denied them access to the boats and bridges crossing the river. The Elder Wizards failed to kill the soul wizard, and she doesn’t want anyone crossing into the Wind Realm until we have found a way to defeat this new Dark Army.”

  “I think that’s wise,” Brent added from behind as if Kilen were requesting his advice.

  Kilen simply nodded and pointed at the second camp, “And this camp?”

  “Those are all wizards or wielders,” Bowie said matter-of-factly.

  Turning in his horse, Kilen met Brent eye to eye with astonishment and then turned back to Bowie, “All of them?”

  “I went into the southern swamps hoping to find some rogue wizards and found them. Actually, I found a whole society of them,” Bowie said as if it surprised even him.

  “Why were they in the swamp?” Kilen asked.

  Bowie cleared his throat as if preparing for a long explanation, “Yeah, apparently every time they tried to leave the Elder Wizards, kings, and even the Dark Army attacked them. Instead of fighting they would just stay inside the swamp where no one would bother them. I told them about you and said that you wouldn’t do that.”

  Brent cleared his throat in protest. Kilen held out his hand to silence the water wizard before he could say anything.

  “I appreciate you bringing them to Leviathan, but there may be nothing I can do if the Elder Wizards want to banish them. However, I will hear arguments from both sides before determining if they should return to the swamp for their own safety,” Kilen said, trying to give a diplomatic answer for Brent’s sake.

  The skinny wizard seemed to approve because he didn’t argue or offer any alternatives. Kilen gave him a moment to ask questions, but none came.

  “Is that a new wall?” Kilen said, pointing.

  “Yeah, your meeting in Basham just before we left struck a cord of some sort. The whole city has pitched in to rebuild everything. Then, recruits and other travelers came into Basham looking for access to Leviathan. Mayor Reanne has put them all to work. They have three new ships, a new wall, docks, farms, and windmills. Basham has never been so prosperous,” Bowie said.

  Brent asked when he finished, “Why are you here and not in Leviathan?”

  Bowie turned and then pointed at the rogue wizard’s camp, “I’m a kind of ambassador to them. I’m supposed to stay with them until they get their assurances from the king.”

  “Very well, it seems that we need to get back and get down to business. Many affairs will need tending as soon as you get sat down on your throne,” Brent said. “Bowie, which would be faster, a ship or by a horse?”

  “Ships come and go every few hours from the docks in Basham. I would suggest going by horse, but that may just be because I want to take Charger with me,” Bowie said, patting his horse.

  Kilen nodded, “I have spent quite a while on horseback, but a few more hours won't hurt. Besides, I’d like to talk to you a bit more before sitting on the throne from now until I die of old age.”

  “We could only hope that you would be that lucky, Majesty. Living in the world during the current state of things, the Water Realm may be the only substantial force left to fight the Dark Army,” Brent said.

  Bowie turned around shaking his head, “We just won a battle, do you think you could be a bit happier.”

  Brent sat up straighter in the saddle, “Do you think that the Earth Realm will just give up completely after losing their king. I am sure there will be a fight for the throne now and don’t forget all those loyal to him, like Mica.”

  “Seriously, I just need a moment where I’m not trying to kill a bunch of people that are just doing the bidding of someone else,” Bowie said as he took a bottle of wine from his saddle bag and took a long swig.

  Kilen watched his friend and thought it nice that he at least had a choice whether or not he wanted to fight anymore.

  “How long do you think we have before we start seeing more conflicts?” Kilen asked.

  Brent replied fast as he turned to look over his shoulder at the camps, “With those two groups camped so closely to one another it could be any moment. We will need to worry about those first. Of course, we will need to consult with the queen before making any moves.”

  “How long before you think we will have the Earth Realm contesting for the throne?” Kilen asked.

  “It will depend on how long it takes you to throw your opinion in on who should take the throne. The sooner, the better, just as quickly as we find out who is putting their name for contestation,” Brent said. “The moment you name your backing of someone we will have to put some forces behind them to take the throne.”

  “Should I worry about Mica?” Kilen asked.

  “Only if you plan on leaving Leviathan,” Bowie said. “The way I heard it was that Commander Ray had so many trained wind wielders the man couldn’t get near the city during the fight. It was as if Ray knew Wizard Alexander wouldn’t be back in time to fight.”

  “I don’t believe Mica will prove any more of a problem. He needed to have someone justify his cause for him to act. He doesn’t have that problem without Atmos,” Brent said in a confident tone.

  Kilen nodded his head and looked at his friend drinking in the saddle next to him, “Yes. Well perhaps we will be able to get more information when we get back to Leviathan. Until then I would like to catch up with my friend.”

  **********

  The sun beat down in the streets as Mary walked in the market searching for supplies. She knew exactly where to find them, but took her time to avoid anyone taking a particular notice of her. Wherever shade could not be found, the air seemed to waver and distort her vision. She had experienced this on the way to meet the queen. She took comfort in it now, trying to remember the time she spent with the Crimson.

  They seemed to shun her now, and Pada, who laid in bed halfway across the city. If it weren't for her, he would have died days ago. The moment Elric Rekkan entered the arena Pada had lost his status and his chance at being king. Mary hadn’t thought it all bad, but for Pada, it was as if someone took his reason for living.

  Mary purchased a few more pieces of fruit. Pada seemed to like them so she bought extra. Taking a winding way through the city, she stuck to the less populated areas to avoid being followed. She was unsure how well the queen would like knowing that Mary was aiding the man that was so close to being king. One hour, or one challenger less and Pada would have been king.

  The small home with cracked walls and a door broken on one side sat alone across the last street. It usually sat with the curtains blowing out the windows and in shambles with no one around as if it were abandoned. Today was different. Today there were four of the Crimson standing outside.

  Mary watched from in the shadows far into the alleyway where the Crimson would not look. She gently raised the temperature in the streets to cause the air to waver even in the shade. The Crimson wouldn’t notice her even if she stood in the open, but she wanted to be as safe as she could. Lurking where she was, she waited until three more exited the home. The first to exit was the returned king Elric Rekkan.

  Her stomach leaped up into her chest, fearing that Elric had come to finish the job he started in the arena. Mary could barely maintain her position in the alley. She wanted to run to him and help him in whatever way she could. She knew that even if she did it would have been too late anyway.

  Trying to calm her breathing she squatted down low just as Pada had taught her. She would not be able to think rationally until she could control her breathing, and then her emotions. Taking deep breaths, she willed herself to calm down. Concentrating on nothing but the length and depth of her breath, she watched Elric and the others speak for a moment and disappear from view.

  She wanted to run a
nd be by Pada’s side in his last moments. Instead, she closed her eyes and gave them time to move away from the small building. Counting to thirty, she tried to think only of the numbers that she uttered under her breath. As she counted, it became harder and harder not to rush the descent.

  Before the word, “Zero,” could depart her lips her body was in motion. She ran as fast as she could leaving her basket of food and bandages behind. Mary did not hesitate at the edge of the street, she cleared the street’s width in a couple bounds as she burst into the small hovel.

  Knocking the door from it’s one good hinge she rushed to Pada’s side. Surprisingly, Pada was sitting up in bed and was eating a large hunk of bread. Mary kneeled down beside him trying to push him back onto his back but found resistance.

  “Mary!” Pada said with surprise in a voice that held some strength.

  Mary ignored his words and began searching his chest and back for wounds. As the dust cleared, she found her hands captured in his. They were rough and calloused, but strong and nimble. She tried to pull her’s away but found she could not budge them against his power.

  Pada pulled her hands up to find his face and whispered as he looked into her eyes, “I’m okay.”

  Mary’s mind was still racing, her eyes still searching for what she knew would be a bleeding wound, she could not stop. Eventually, the strong gaze he gave her halted her search and entranced her. Pada smiled and put a hand alongside her face, wiping away tears she didn’t know she had shed.

  “I’m okay, Mary,” He said.

  She slowly let her body start to relax and as she did his grip on her hands did the same. Mary slowly melted into a hug around his muscular body. In an awkward reciprocation, his arms enveloped her. For a long time, they sat and simply held each other as the dust settled in the room.

  Finally, Pada released his hold on her and gave a simple command as he began eating again, “Put the door back up.”

  As she immediately went back to work, she realized that it was a command and not a request. Since meeting Pada, the man had always requested things of her. He said it was the way of the Fire Realm that men followed women. The command began the questions turning in her mind. She stopped while holding the door in place.

  “You said that if he came for you, you would not be left alive,” She said with her back to him.

  “Yes, I did. Things have changed,” He said with a mouth full of food.

  She sat beside him and poured him a cup of water, “Tell me everything.”

  Pada took a long drink as the water spilled down the sides of his face, “The Crimson healed me. It has taken its toll on my body. I will make a full recovery in the next couple days. The reason why they healed me is a bit complicated.”

  “I have all the time you need,” Mary said in a patient voice.

  Pada took a few more bites and a couple more cups of water before laying back down on the cot.

  “We were ordered by Elric to accompany him to the Earth Realm to negotiate the building of a canal or die if we couldn’t. In private meeting, Elric divulged to me that he thought that wasting our lives in a battle he knew we would lose was pointless. Elric harbored great feelings of anger and hatred for his wife, the queen, to issue such an order. Today, when he came to me, he told me he had a plan to change the Fire Realm,” Pada said with eyes closed.

  “He spoke to you of treason?” Mary asked.

  Pada gave a chuckle, “No, not treason. The natural accession of a new royal court.”

  “How does he plan on doing that?” She asked.

  “Just like the men fight to be the king, a woman can challenge the queen to a duel. The winner assumes the throne with her husband at her side. The Crimson told him that we were training you to fight,” Pada said.

  Mary looked at Pada who now had his eyes open and was staring at her intently.

  “He wants you to challenge the queen, kill her, and assume the throne,” He said with a serious glare.

  Mary stood and backed to the opposite side of the small building. She bumped into what furniture they had until she found herself sitting on a stool against clay wall.

  “Me? I can’t, I am a wizard,” She said as her mind raced.

  She thought of all the reasons why she couldn’t be named queen. She was a wizard, she had no husband, and she did not know their customs.

  “Elric explained to me that only the king must not be a wizard. The Elder’s law says nothing about the queen. If you worry about winning the fight, you don’t. Our queen was chosen by the woman she replaced. This is the way it has been done for the last few generations of women on the throne. Each one choosing their predecessor,” Pada explained.

  “The fight!” Mary screamed as she stood up. “I know next to nothing about this realm. I mean, I have long wanted to live here and train here, but I don’t know your customs.”

  Pada laughed, “That is why you will make such a great queen. You’ll be able to bring us a fresh perspective.”

  Just as Pada started to open his mouth again, Mary cut him off, “Did you say, husband? I don’t have a husband.”

  Pada took a deep breath and pulled himself to a sitting position, “I had hoped by now you would come and propose that we are wed. I see that I must break tradition and ask you to marry me.”

  “Why is that breaking tradition?” Mary asked in a louder voice than she had intended. Her heart was racing, one moment he was asking her to kill a queen. The next he was proposing.

  “I forget that you don’t understand our ways. Perhaps in the next few weeks of your training, I will concentrate as much on our traditions as your fighting skills. Your first lesson is that in this realm a woman asks a man to wed,” Pada said while struggling to keep himself upright.

  “You want to marry me?” Mary asked.

  Pada gave a small nod, “Before I could explain how it was done here I had already fallen for you. Many times since I have choked on the words to explain it with the thought you would see me as being desperate and forward. I hope you do not see it that way now.”

  Mary went to the door of the hovel and started to pull open the door.

  “Where are you going?” Pada said, slipping to his knees on the sand floor.

  She left the door and kneeled to catch him as he fell forward, “I was going to buy some rings, as that is the tradition where I come from.”

  Weakly, Pada lifted his head. With eyes closed their lips met for the first time, and Mary’s heart beat as if it would jump out of her chest for the second time that day.

  Chapter 30 - Thrones

  The servants were the only thing in the room making noise as Brandon poured over reports of from kingdom. Claims of purchases from the king poured in from the path Atmos had taken to battle. The hard part was there was no way to be sure they weren’t fake. Brandon did his best to put down proper coin from the treasury to cover the expenses. Shopkeepers embellished their prices when it was done so far away. He gave a small chuckle, he would have too if he was a shopkeeper.

  Signing another paper at half the price requested he sat it aside and took a bite of the imitation Kapal recipe Master Harvel had brought him. The man’s interpretation of Master Bradley’s dish was horrid. It tasted as if he had thought of the hottest spices he could find and mixed them together without regard to flavor. Brandon had to cut off the top layer of his meat just so he could consume it.

  The other servants did their best to hold back their laughter as he told them to remove it from the room. They giggled about Master Harvel’s bragging of the dish. At least the servants knew to bring extra bits of food for him to eat instead of the ruined meat.

  After the plates were cleared away the throne room fell silent again. He has spent a many days in the last month in silence. Brandon welcomed the occasional servant that came to fill his cup. He found himself requesting extra cleaning be done or having the candles renewed just to keep them around.

  He resisted the urge to leave the city and head towards the battle. He was
sure his brother Brent was there doing what he wished he could. The Brights only knew where his father was by now. Brandon was sure the Elders would probably have put him in charge shortly after he arrived. After all, Calvin Parker was a living legend in politics and games of the throne.

  A loud bang at the other end of the throne room drew his attention. Mica walked in clutching his side with one arm and his other arm bandaged and in a splint. The wind wizard walked at a brisk pace to where Brandon now stood behind the desk.

  “I need a water wielder at once!” Mica commanded.

  Brandon gave a brief half smile, “You mean to ask if you can have the aid of a wielder? It would please me if you could receive such a service, but his Majesty, King Atmos, has requested that all wielders go to the battle. Did you forget this?”

  Mica took a deep breath and found the closest seat, falling into it in a slump. The man seemed to be lost in deep thought so Brandon resumed his paperwork. After finishing two more requisitions, he looked up to find Mica staring at him.

  “I’m sure you can find some healers in the city. There are some that still practice medicine despite our king’s efforts to have his water wielders put them out of business,” Brandon said as he picked up another piece of paper.

  Mica cleared his throat, “Our king is dead, and you sit there and mock his rule?”

  Brandon met Mica eye to eye as if he could not believe the statement he just heard.

  “King Atmos died?” Brandon asked in a stunned, quiet voice.

  Mica gave a slow nod of his head.

  “I thought you were supposed to protect him. Where was the army in all of this?” Brandon said, standing to walk around the desk.

  “I was there, but I was following his orders. Captain Lorusk was supposed to be protecting him. It was Gortus, the traitorous Kapal that killed him,” Mica growled.

  “A Kapal? Traitorous?” Brandon asked while laughing. “A Kapal is loyal to the highest bidder. They are nothing more than sell swords, kingslayers, or wizard assassins. The last I heard Atmos refused to pay him for more than one job. It’s long overdue that Gortus came for his bounty.”