“Why should we trust you?” Katie asked as she looked at the golem warily.
“You shouldn’t,” Sir Edmond said as he began to walk towards the keep. “If you trusted me already, I’d call you a fool. But what matters is that we get out of here as quickly as possible. If you wish to die here, then you may stay.”
“He has a point,” Nicolas said.
“I know,” Katie grumbled.
They all began to run towards the keep at that point, though only Sir Edmond was able to actually move fast. The others were still quite sore.
As they reached the doors, Katie said, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but there are at least fifty guards entering the courtyard.”
A cursory glance confirmed her words.
“In that case, I’ll bar the door until you finish your business,” Sir Edmond said as he opened the doors to the keep. As soon as they were all in, he pushed the doors shut and held them there. “If you’re looking for the count, he is alone in the audience chamber.”
“Thanks,” Caleb said as he rushed forward to the large doors that stood before them.
“We’ll stay here in case he needs help,” Katie said as she gestured to Sir Edmond, but Caleb understood that she was actually worried about him letting the guards into the keep voluntarily.
“Right,” Caleb said as he continued to the doors.
Upon opening the large doors of the audience chamber, Caleb saw that Count Clovis was sitting in his chair with a sword laid across the arms of it.
“Nice place,” Caleb said as he looked around the extremely plain room. It had absolutely no decorations in it, and the only piece of furniture in it was the chair that his foe was sitting in.
“I never liked it,” Count Clovis said as he rose to his feet and gripped the pommel of his sword. “This is only the tenth or eleventh time I’ve ever been in here. I prefer other places, but this is a wide open room with nothing to get in the way. If I’m to kill you, I might as well go all out.”
“Before we get to business, I have some questions for you,” Caleb said as he gripped his sword in both hands. “We won’t have time for questions after the fight is over, after all.”
Count Clovis chuckled at the suggestion. “If you can defeat me without killing me at the same time, I will answer all of your questions.”
“Fair enough,” Caleb said as he dashed forward. A few yards before he reached the count, he jumped and swung his sword in a vicious downward arc, forcing the older man to block it.
It was clear from the look on his face that Clovis had difficulty blocking Caleb’s attack.
“It’s easy to see why you hired someone else to kill me,” Caleb said as he jumped back. “You’re not good enough to do it yourself.”
“For all the good your youth does you, you still lack wisdom and good judgment,” Clovis said as he looked at Caleb analytically. “Why else would you come here to kill me? It would have been much safer for you to just find a place to hide.”
“I’m young,” Caleb said with a dark smile. “The young have to leave being cowards to older folks like you.”
“If you were half as clever as you are, you would be twice as clever as you actually are,” Clovis said as he moved forward and thrust his sword at Caleb’s chest.
Caleb spun around and parried the attack with his sword, disarming the count. He then proceeded to deliver a powerful kick to the older man’s midsection, knocking him to the ground.
“It looks like you defeated me,” Clovis said without any sign of worry. “I guess you really are a Son of Kirakath. This makes my defeat even worse though.”
“Stop your crazed blabbering and tell me what I want to know,” Caleb said as he took a step towards his enemy. “You promised me an answer if I could defeat you.”
“I did… didn’t I?” Clovis asked as he pressed his hand over his injury. “It’s only right that I spend my last moments being a man of my word.”
“Why did you order the Massacre of Kirakath?” Caleb asked with anger brimming under the surface. Controlling his anger at that moment was harder than he had ever expected.
“I didn’t,” Clovis said with a smile.
“But you ordered our assassinations,” Caleb said, completely caught off guard. “I assumed….”
“You assumed wrong,” Clovis said with a bitter laugh. “I tried to have you two assassinated because the Massacre of Kirakath was a failure, and I agreed with my master’s belief.”
Caleb had to fight off the desire to kill the man right there.
“What belief?” he asked cautiously.
“My master learned that the Blood of Kirakath flowed through two individuals: you and your father,” Clovis answered as he closed his eyes. “For the end of his bloodline, sacrificing a small village was worth it.”
“You’re talking about the last wielder of the Sword of Kirakath,” Caleb said with a frown.
“Sir Kirakath,” Clovis said with a nod. “He changed the world in ways that you could not even begin to imagine. His greatest sin outweighs all the good he did though. So long as his blood flows through the veins of a single person, the wrong that he committed cannot be fixed.”
“You’re despicable,” Caleb said as he lifted his sword. “You would sacrifice so many just to fix something that happened over four centuries ago?”
“Yes,” Clovis said. “Unless that wrong is made right, the world will be plunged into darkness.”
“The future is not set in stone,” Caleb said as he shook his head. “Now answer two final questions. One, why did you try to have Katie killed if you wanted me dead too. Two, who is your master?”
“If she learned that I had you killed, she would have tried to kill me herself,” Clovis said with a snort, no doubt taking the current situation into consideration. “As for the second… you will not learn that of me. I am no traitor. Everything I have done has been for Arcadia.”
“I hope that thought comforts you in the abyss,” Caleb said as he swung the Sword of Kirakath and decapitated him in a single swing. “Because if my father finds you on the other side, he’s going to show you just how merciful I am.
He sheathed his blade once he was done speaking and began to think about what the noble’s words truly meant.
Chapter 19
Caleb looked down at the corpse of Count Clovis for what felt like an eternity. The implications of what the man had said were not something he could just brush off. He finally had the first part of the answer as to why Kirakath was massacred. The only problem was that it was not an answer he had wanted.
He highly doubted that Clovis considered someone inferior in station to himself to be his master. The man spoke of loyalty to his country in his last words, not loyalty to his master. That seemed to imply that his master was someone superior to him in the hierarchy of Arcadia.
Could it be a Duke or something?
That thought did not sit well with him, but he preferred it to the possibility of someone even higher than a duke in terms of authority. After all, there were not that many people higher in terms of authority than a duke, and one of those was the king.
“Caleb, we need to get out of here.”
Caleb looked up at Katie as she stood in the doorway.
“Our new friend won’t be able to hold the doors shut for much longer,” Katie said.
“Right,” Caleb said as he walked over to the count’s chair and kicked it over. He then opened the hatch that had been beneath it.
“Nicolas, Edmond, we’re getting out of here!” Caleb said as he jumped through the hatch and landed on the ground of the escape tunnel in a crouch.
Barely taking in the surroundings of the straight, plain tunnel, he took off running.
Katie dropped down after him.
A few moments later, Nicolas and Sir Edmond did as well. Within seconds, the door to the keep appeared to be busted down.
That would have motivated Caleb to run even faster, but Sir Edmond’s words stopped him.
&n
bsp; “I have an idea.”
Caleb looked back and saw Sir Edmond suddenly smash his fists into the walls of the tunnel. Within a matter of moments, he caused a cave in between them and the hatch that they had went through to get there.
“I guess being a golem isn’t all that bad, eh?” Nicolas asked with a chuckle.
“Anything’s better than being a spirit,” Sir Edmond agreed.
“The whole being able to talk without opening a mouth is still creeping me out,” Nicolas muttered as he took a step away.
“Enough talking,” Caleb said as he turned away from them. “We need to get out of here and do it in a hurry.”
“You have a plan?” Katie asked. “We’ll be hunted by a lot of people for killing a count.”
“And you still have to fulfill your end of our bargain,” Sir Edmond said with a nod.
“You shouldn’t have to ask where we’re going,” Caleb said as he began walking to the exit. Guards attempting to get through the cave in could be heard, though it appeared to be a futile attempt. “There’s only one place in Arcadia that’s safe for wanted criminals like us.”
“It looks like it was set in stone,” Katie said, earning a shocked look from Caleb. “We must have been destined to go there from the very start.”
“Yeah,” Caleb said as he picked up the pace.
“What are you guys talking about?” Nicolas asked with a frown.
“The Isle of Akabar,” Katie answered. “I told you how we met, so you should be able to understand what we’re talking about.”
It was easily understood by Nicolas at that point. There was an irony to it. Caleb and Katie were supposed to be sold as slaves there at one time, and now they were going there for safety.
Silence ensued as the two former thieves and the possessed golem followed after Caleb.
* * * * *
“There it is,” Caleb said a while later as they reached the end of the tunnel. It looked to be a large iron door with a wheel on it that worked a locking mechanism.
Before Caleb could touch it, Sir Edmond stepped past him and grabbed the wheel. Using his incredible strength, he spun it, letting out a loud screeching sound. Once it spun for a few revolutions, he pushed the door open.
As expected, Eric and Lance were on the other side of it.
“It’s good to see that you are all doing well,” Eric said seriously. “I was beginning to wonder if you would all be here when this door opened.”
“We aren’t all here,” Caleb said as he looked at Sir Edmond.
“Statue was always intended to serve the purpose of containing our friend’s spirit for this part of your journey,” Eric said with a shake of his head. “I’m sure you knew that I sent him with you for a very specific purpose, after all.”
“Yeah, but I was hoping I was wrong,” Caleb said with a frown.
“Fair enough,” Eric said with a nod. A frown soon came to his face. “Something happened?”
“Read my mind and find out,” Caleb said in a joking tone, though his eyes revealed that it was not a joke.
“I’d never do that,” Eric said with a chuckle, though his eyes revealed that he had understood Caleb’s message and had just read his mind. “I could never read the mind of a strong willed person unless they let me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for the future,” Caleb said with a nod.
“Guards will make their way here soon enough,” Lance suddenly said. “We have three horses for you. Take them away from there as fast as you can go.”
“We need a way to get to the Isle of Akabar as quickly as possible,” Caleb said as he looked at the three black horses that were tied up a dozen yards away.
“Go to Umbridge and ask around for a sailor called Wild Eye Joe,” Eric said after a moment of thought. “Tell him that I sent you and you need to go to the Isle of Akabar. He’ll make sure you get there safely and without attracting attention.”
“It’s almost like you know exactly what we’re going to do,” Caleb said with a hint of a smile. “Either that, or you always have supplies and information on hand for nearly any situation.”
“A little of both,” Eric said with a small laugh. “Now get out of here before the guards get here. And be careful. This is where your story gets tricky.”
“My story?” Caleb asked with a frown.
“Of course,” Eric said with a grin. “I may not be as young as I used to be, but my wits are fully intact. I’m capable of seeing you for what you are to become.”
“And what’s that?” Caleb asked.
“A paragon, of course,” Eric said before he turned and walked away. Lance looked at Caleb for a moment longer before he did the same.
“What is a paragon?” Caleb asked aloud.
“I’ll tell you later,” Sir Edmond said as he shut the escape tunnel’s door. “For now, we need to get away. You three can get on your horses. I’m too heavy to sit atop a horse, but I can run nearly as fast as one and cannot grow fatigued thanks to this faux body.”
“Lucky bastard,” Nicolas said as he moved to one of the horses. “I’m all for getting out of here as fast as possible though.
“Aye,” Katie agreed.
“Then let’s get out of here,” Caleb said as he made his way to one of the horses. “I’m not too eager to see how long we can hold off an army.”
And with that, the four companions made their way out of the area as fast as they possibly could.
Epilogue
“We are few,” Azrael said as he stood before the few remaining members of the Night Blades in their underground base. “We have sustained a great defeat at the hands of our enemies. But we are the Night Blades. We cannot die. With the death of the majority of our members, we will be forced to rebuild, but we will come out stronger in the end.”
He could tell that his brothers in arms were pleased to hear his reassuring words. He was one of the most skilled members that the Night Blades had ever seen, after all.
“I ask you all to stand behind me. Under my leadership, the Night Blades will grow. We will not become the equal of our former self. No! We will become greater than any previous generation that the Night Blades has bore witness too! Who stands with me?”
Unanimous cheers came from his comrades, and a smile found its way to his face.
“Then my first command, as your leader, is to ask that none of you attempt to have Caleb of Kirakath or his companion killed. This includes getting someone else to try to do it,” Azrael said. Naturally, he was met with disgruntled looks due to his words.
“Hear me out,” he said calmly. “They will pay for what they have done. But we must wait until we are strong enough to do it ourselves. The continued existence of the Night Blades is far more important than revenge. Rest assured, they will die by our blades, even if it takes a couple years.”
Though they still appeared displeased by the notion, they all seemed to accept it as well.
“Long live the Night Blades!” Azrael said as he thrust a dagger into the air. Once again, unanimous cheers followed.
How ironic. They want Caleb of Kirakath and his female companion to pay, while I want to pay them for helping me gain control of the Night Blades. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to placate them in a couple years.
He had no idea how drastically Arcadia would change by that time.
Chapter 1
Caleb wiped the sweat from his brow as he dropped to a knee, breathing heavily.
He was not sure how many days and nights it had been since he and his friends left the docks of Umbridge, but he hoped that it would not be much longer. The way the boat moved as the waves crashed into it left him feeling uneasy.
“At this rate, you may be able to stand a fair chance in a fight before long without the Blood of Kirakath,” Sir Edmond said with his head facing Caleb.
He was not sure if Sir Edmond was looking at him as he spoke, but that was something he was getting used to. It was never easy to tell what his mentor was looking at or how he was
feeling. Given that he was a spirit that essentially inhabited a magically enhanced statue, he was difficult to read.
It was getting more and more difficult to tell that Sir Edmond had the body of a marble statue, however. He had taken to wearing boots, pants, a tunic, and a hooded cloak so as to not attract attention.
“How do you expect me to last longer than a few minutes against you?” Caleb asked dryly. “You’re stronger and faster than I am, and you never get tired. It would be one thing if I could use the Blood of Kirakath.”
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