But Falcon was not sure how magic could solve his current problem. He was hiding inside the liquor cabinet of Eikard’s council chamber waiting for his advisors to leave. He had been there for almost twenty minutes and the cabinet was not getting any larger. The thought of turning his tiny prison into kindling brought such joy that he longed to make it a reality.
Falcon was reasonably certain he could take Eikard in a fight, but if his advisors were attuned with a fraction of Rocious’s skill he would surely lose. There were only two advisors who had yet to leave and from how slow they talked they could be here for hours.
Heck, Eikard would probably thank him for ending the conversation sooner. He was tired of this timid bullshit; he did not get this far by being coy. Why was he hiding in the first place? He knew what he had to do. Then it hit him. He was scared. Not of Eikard or his advisors, not even for his people. He was scared that Eikard might have been full of shit. For ten years he had dreamt of Reed, of confronting his father. Now that day was here and he feared that it may have all been a lie.
Falcon kicked open the cabinet and rolled to his feet, “Nobody fucking CARES!!”
The three men were startled into action. The two advisors cowered farther into the room. Eikard threw up his guard and jumped between Falcon and his advisors. Instead of focusing on Eikard, Falcon sent a surge of energy at the liquor cabinet smashing it into a pile of alcohol-soaked kindling.
Eikard realized his attacker was Falcon and took an athletic stance then cracked his neck.
“Is there a reason you destroyed my furniture?” asked Eikard.
“It’s too small,” said Falcon.
“So is my dungeon, but I’ll make room for you,” said Eikard.
“Like you did for Lord Werval?” asked Falcon.
Eikard tilted his head slightly, “Ah, is that why you’re here?”
“Not entirely, but Werval’s coming with me,” said Falcon.
“You’ll have to kill me first,” said Eikard as he moved toward Falcon at a steady pace keeping his head tucked behind his guard.
Falcon did not want to fight. He was only there to get information from Eikard and that meant he needed him alive and conscious. Falcon swung his hand from right to left trying to hit Eikard in the side with a small wave of force, but it missed and he rushed forward. Falcon barely reacted in time to swat down Eikard’s series of jabs. Falcon shifted to the side and tried to put a little space between them. But Eikard stayed close trying to box Falcon against the wall.
Falcon’s instincts kicked in and barely saved him. Eikard was fast, faster than most attuned. Falcon avoided or blocked everything he threw at him by a fraction of an inch each time. Falcon could end this fight in a heartbeat with magic but he still needed time to use it. Eikard must have known, because he pressed his attack ceaselessly. He never let up, and if anything he was getting faster.
Suddenly Falcon’s instincts screamed at him, he blocked Eikard’s jab and followed it up with a low kick to Eikard’s thigh. Eikard toppled to the ground. Falcon jumped back and slammed the ground with a wave of force sending a spider web of cracks around the entire room.
Falcon glanced at the floor; his wave of force had created a perfect circle around Eikard without a single crack. “How? Your family was not one of the Defiant.”
“Who?” asked Eikard as he stood up and shook the dust out of his hair.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Falcon.
Falcon heard the door slam open but kept his eyes focused completely on Eikard.
“Wait!” shouted Werval as he ran into the room, “Wait Cato, please.”
Eikard used the distraction to attack Falcon, this time moving even faster, “Get out of here Quintus.”
But this time Falcon knew what he was up against. In the same way Rocious used his explosions, Falcon used little bursts of magic to speed up his movements.
Eikard may have been faster than before, but he was limited. Falcon had him beat, not only was he a better technical fighter, but with magic he could redirect any movement at any time. The magic allowed him to practically levitate. Eikard did not stand a chance. Falcon kicked him into one of the walls and caught him around the neck as he rebounded.
Right into Eikard’s trap. Eikard shoved himself backward crunching Falcon against the wall. Even worse, every time his armor touched Falcon it burned off some of his magic. Falcon lost his grip on Eikard and fell to the ground. Eikard grabbed him by the neck and held him down.
“STOOPP!” shouted Werval.
“He snuck in here to kill me Quintus,” said Eikard as he tightened his grip, choking Falcon.
“He’s not a killer. Please Cato. Let me talk to him,” said Werval.
Eikard picked Falcon up and held him against the wall by his neck, “It’s too late, Dominick’s dug his claws too deep.”
“Let Katrin see him. Please,” pleaded Werval.
Eikard let him go and Falcon crashed to the floor coughing, “Get Katrin, you have ten minutes before I kill him.”
Werval ran over to Falcon, “She’s your sister Cato, you get her.”
Eikard grunted his displeasure, but left to get Katrin. Werval helped Falcon take a seat at the council chamber’s table and sat next to him. As if noticing them for the first time, Werval turned to Eikard’s advisors still cowering in the corner, “I’ve called for a war council in the Tower of Wind.”
The advisors gave a quick nod and left the room in a hurry. Werval grabbed Falcon’s shirt, “Why are you here?”
Falcon gripped Werval’s wrist and rubbed his neck with the other, “Why are you?”
“There isn’t time to explain, answer me or he is going to kill you when he gets back,” said Werval.
Falcon took a painful breath, his neck still hurt, “I thought he knew how I could get into Fort Reed.”
Werval let go of Falcon, “You should have asked for his help instead of attacking.”
“Why would he help me? He killed seventeen people back in Dominion, kidnapped you, and almost killed me,” said Falcon.
“You’ve got it wrong. Tell him you need his help,” said Werval.
“Why are you here and not locked up?” asked Falcon.
Werval stood up, “There’s no time to explain.”
When the door opened Werval moved in front of Falcon. Eikard entered the room and stood by the door keeping his eyes on Falcon, “If you lay a hand on my sister, I’ll send you back to Dominion in a box. You understand me?”
Falcon rubbed his throat again, “I understand, I’m not looking to get my ass kicked again.”
Eikard stepped inside and closed the door, “No, next time I will kill you. Say it. You will not harm my sister.”
Falcon felt his hands get cold, “I will not harm your sister Katrin.”
Eikard held the door open, “Katrin.”
The moment Katrin entered the room Falcon was captivated. She was stunning like a tree nymph, the embodiment of nature and beauty. Petite with long brown hair and a heart shaped face she wore a simple, forest green dress and had wild flowers woven into her hair. As she got closer he even caught a whiff of moss and flowers.
Katrin took Falcon’s hand, “Hello Falcon, do you remember me?”
Her smile bloomed across her face until it reached her brown eyes.
“No, I’m sorry…”
As she sat next to him a faded memory formed in his mind.
“I suppose you were quite young,” Katrin rested her hands on top of Falcon’s.
“So were you,” said Werval.
She had youthful hands, but she seemed more mature, and if she was close to her brother’s age, she could be old enough to be his mother. Falcon slid his hand back from Katrin’s and sat up straight. Katrin took her hands back and rested them in her lap.
Eikard moved behind Katrin, “What do you think Katrin?”
Katrin smiled at Falcon, “He’s here to take a life, but not yours.”
Katrin’s words affected Eikard like the fir
st ray of sunshine after a weeklong blizzard. Eikard squeezed Katrin’s shoulder as he asked Falcon, “Who are you trying to kill and why did you come here?”
“I don’t want to kill anyone. I came because you said you could help me get my home back,” said Falcon.
“You’ve got a funny way of asking for help,” said Eikard before he looked down at Katrin, “Who did he come to kill?”
Katrin slid her shoulder away from Eikard and stood next to Falcon, “It does not matter, Cato. He is an ally and he needs your help.”
Werval cleared his throat, “I’ve called for a war council in the Tower of Wind.”
Eikard did not hesitate; he was out the door before Falcon registered what happened. Falcon stayed seated and Katrin touched his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll go with you,” she said.
Falcon let her lead him.
“What happened? Just like that, it’s over?” asked Falcon.
Werval walked with Katrin and Falcon, “It’s far from over but yes, Cato is a decisive man. You’d do well to follow his example if you’re to lead your people.”
“I can be decisive,” said Falcon defensively.
Katrin squeezed his hand reassuring.
“No, you are impulsive, don’t mistake the two,” said Werval.
They had only walked for about a minute, mostly climbing a winding staircase down the hall from the council chamber. Falcon noticed a gentle whistling sound that grew stronger the higher they climbed.
“What’s that sound?” asked Falcon.
“The Tower of Wind. It is my observatory and allows me to keep an eye on things,” said Eikard.
“It’s how I saw the army moving toward Fort Reed and called the war council,” said Werval.
“You can see all the way to Reed?” asked Falcon.
“Not anymore,” said Eikard.
“Anymore? What changed?” asked Falcon.
“The Severan Storm,” said Eikard.
“I don’t understand,” said Falcon.
“You want your home back?” asked Eikard.
“Yes. Of course,” said Falcon.
“Then stop worrying about the storm, focus on this moment. My sister says I can trust you so I will help. But I am one man, you’ll need more than my help,” said Eikard.
“Will you convince your council to help?” asked Falcon.
“No, you will,” said Eikard.
Falcon started to reply, but the whistling intensified and he stopped. Falcon could not hear anything over the high-pitched whistling. When they reached the top of the stairs entering the Tower of Wind, it became completely silent. Katrin snapped her fingers, and smiled as the sound fell flat.
Falcon did not know what to expect, but the Tower of Wind certainly lived up to its name. It was a circular room with eight pillars holding up a stone ceiling carved like a compass. There was a long table in the center and the walls looked like glass allowing you to see impossibly far in every direction. Falcon tried to touch the glass, but what looked like glass was merely a slight shift in air pressure.
Falcon moved away from the edge when the floor caught his attention. It was littered with thousands of runes that appeared to be some sort of compass. When he got closer to the center he noticed his own name, Reed, and spun around to check for more names. He found two more, Maximus at the edge of the tower and Kard near the center.
“What’s Kard?” asked Falcon.
Eikard slowly worked his way around the perimeter of the tower, “Me.”
“Then I’m Reed,” said Falcon.
“No,” said Eikard.
Before he could ask any more, the rest of the council arrived so he took a seat at the table in the center of the room. Katrin took the seat next to him. Eikard continued working his way around the perimeter. Once everyone was seated Eikard sat.
“Quintus,” said Eikard.
Lord Werval cleared his throat, “Less than an hour ago I noticed maybe two full legions moving along the border, likely more. They must have left Dominion some time in the night and are heading west. If they continue their current pace and direction, Keld will be under siege in roughly three days.”
Two men got up and went to the edge of the tower to check Werval’s claim.
Falcon waited until they came back before addressing the group, “Most of you do not know me. I am Falcon Reed and I may be able to shed some light on the situation. The legion marching west is being lead by General Greko. But he is not marching on Keld, he’s marching on Fort Reed.”
A woman across the table turned to Eikard, “He shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“This is my council, I brought him,” said Eikard simply.
The woman leaned back and crossed her arms, “I will not support any decision that is made while he is here.”
“Then leave,” said Eikard.
“Ha, you’ll lose every pathos in Caledonia.”
Eikard folded his hands in his lap.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said the woman but she stayed in her seat.
Falcon looked at the woman, she was plain looking with a touch of grey in her hair and a stern face.
Falcon met her eye and gave a slight smile, “I hope to surprise you then.”
She did not look at Falcon or answer him.
“I believe you have done enough surprising for today. Simply tell us what you know. Alright?” asked Eikard.
Falcon sat back in his seat, “Fair enough, but for the record I was not trying to kill you.”
“When intent and action are not aligned, terrible consequences may arise,” said Eikard.
“Ironic to quote a man’s ancestor when you are at the brink of war with him,” said Falcon.
Eikard waved his hand in a circle for Falcon to hurry up, “I think its safe to assume the two legions you saw are my people.”
“Did you say two legions? It would take all of Reed’s people to field those numbers,” said a heavyset man with a thick beard sitting next to Werval. Eikard looked at him. “Beg your pardon, name’s Scipio, Anton Scipio,” he said turning to Falcon.
“Nice to meet you,” said Falcon. “You are quite correct Scipio. It is nearly all of my people. Only about twelve hundred are soldiers, the rest civilian.”
“Why are we still listening to this? He’s already tripping over his own lies,” said the stern faced woman still speaking directly to Eikard. “First he said Greko had only one legion, now he’s claiming it’s two legions of civilians.”
Falcon addressed ‘stern face’ directly, “Allow me to clarify, General Greko is chasing roughly ten thousand of my people with a single legion of his own.”
“That would explain the reason for risking traveling at night,” said the man next to Werval. “Do you have any idea what Greko did with his cavalry unit? I did not notice any in either group. Only a handful of carts.”
‘Stern face’ stood up knocking over her chair and looked at Eikard, “Are you seriously believing this? We’d be better off hanging him off the tower for the truth.”
Falcon felt her casual disregard trigger anger in him but he stifled the emotion before it started calling magic.
“Sit down or leave. Are we understood Master McDowell?” asked Eikard.
Denise McDowell huffed out a breath, “If you can’t see through his bullshit story, I’m leaving. Who do you expect your pathos to follow without me?”
“When was the last time you lead them Denise?” asked Eikard, “Now sit down. We will listen to what Falcon has to say then I will make up my mind about the validity.”
The moment Falcon figured out why she was so brazen with him his anger turned to amusement and he almost burst out laughing. Colville once said pathos were a jealous breed; he was right of course and Master McDowell was a prime example. Falcon searched the faces of the council to confirm what he suspected. Nobody wanted Denise here, which meant only one thing. She was either a famous empath or a very skilled one.
Denise flicked her hand and the chair flipp
ed up for her to sit. Eikard turned to Falcon, “The cavalry unit?”
“Quintus can probably explain better than me, but most of the realm has had a massive shortage of horses since spring. The entire military has barely had enough for scouts and messengers. As for Greko’s horses, let’s just say I stole them,” said Falcon.
Eikard turned to a younger man at the far end of the table, “Commander Ducane, what is it?”
“Nothing sir, just a couple holes in the story. I’ve heard nothing of this horse shortage and if he stole them from Greko, where are they now?” said Ducane.
“Actually the shortage is my doing,” said Werval, “I have controlled the horse trade for over thirty years. It’s my family’s main source of wealth.”
“And the horses I stole are now pulling the carts you noticed with my people,” said Falcon.
Denise leaned back in her chair, “How was it that you stole these horses? Perhaps ten thousand soldiers smiled at you as you walked off with them?” she asked sardonically.
Falcon smiled at Denise, “You’re right, I walked them right out of camp, and some of Greko’s five thousand soldiers helped me do it. I understand the mistake. Sums… Can. Be. Confusing.”
Denise shook her head, “It’s ridiculous. Why would they recognize him? And even if they did, there’s no way they’d let him go.”
“They’d recognize him as Lockland’s student. And if you’d met the man, you would understand why they would have jumped to help his student,” said Werval.
Denise’s eyes locked onto Falcon, “You’re Praetorian Lockland’s student?”
Falcon tilted his head and showed his teeth, “Yup.”
“Think you’re pretty tough,” said Denise.
Falcon sat up a little straighter. “No,” Falcon cracked his neck, “I know I am.”
“Can we get back to the topic here?” said Werval.
Denise raised her voice, “Praetorian Connelly trained me and I know all about Praetorian Lockland.”
Werval turned to Eikard, but he put his hand up. The council became silent and turned their attention to Falcon and Denise.
“Then did you know Master Lockland only attempted the trials to save Connelly?” Falcon gave Denise a moment to reply, “Guess not.”
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