The queen smiled. “You have been of great help to the people of Bandara, they and I thank you, and I will never forget the kindness you have shown me.”
The Grand Master of Ascona inclined his head toward the queen. “I’m sure K’xarr and Ansellus will see you on your throne. I wish you luck, Majesty. I hope the small guard of honor I leave with you is of use.”
“I’m sure it will be, Grand Master.”
“I don’t believe you will ever call me Eldon.” The grand master chuckled. “Till next we meet, Highness.” The knight raised his gauntleted hand in farewell.
K’xarr came up as the grand master rode away to lead his knights back home to Ascona. “It’s time, Majesty.”
The queen trotted her horse to the front of her company of soldiers. She sat with K’xarr and Rufio, watching the men ride past. “Only six hundred left. I will have to rebuild the army as first order of business, if I regain my throne,” the queen said.
“When you regain it, Majesty,” K’xarr corrected. “I have not come this far to fail now.”
“Of course. I have faith in you and the men. It just seems like there is always one more battle to fight. Cain and my husband are very determined men. It will not be easy to win back Turill from them.”
“Just stay close to Kian and leave the rest to me. You’ll be fine, Highness. Besides, Cross left you that Asconan honor guard and Sir Ivan.”
"Yes, here they come now.” K’xarr and the queen sat leisurely on their horses and watched as five thousand Asconan knights rode past.
“All of you better listen to Nick while Kian and I are gone, or it won’t go well for you when I return.” The older children all nodded solemnly. Tressa gave her mother a hug and had to be pulled away by her brothers. Sabra and Brigitte only understood that Endra was leaving. Both looked downcast and unhappy. Endra bent down and picked both the girls up and gave each a kiss. “I will be back soon before you know it.”
Payton shook his head. “Mother, you’re going into battle. You might not come back.”
“Payton, please don’t start this now. Think of your sisters,” Endra scolded. The boy gave his mother one of his looks. Endra hated when he looked at her like that. His eyes seemed so cold and empty.
“Nick, good luck, my friend. Your task may be more difficult than ours,” Kian called from his horse.
“It will take more than luck. Please try to hurry back.” The cook did not look happy about watching over the children again, but Endra would have no one else. He had managed the children better than anyone besides Kian and their mother.
“I love you all, be good.” Kian held the reins of her horse as she pulled herself into the saddle. Endra gave one last look back at the little army of children standing in the road before riding forward to join the queen.
The veiled woman stood in the doorway of an abandoned garment shop. There would be no business in the market today. The Mistress could smell the rancid stench of rotting corpses. It bothered her little, she had grown accustomed to the scent.
King Cain had hung a thousand Bandaran citizens throughout the Grand Market. Eyes bulging, tongues hanging out of their mouths, and the buzz of flies everywhere, it warmed her black heart. The smell reminded her of the happier days with her husband. “Death always makes me feel nostalgic. How about you, dear?” She had sensed her daughter’s approach.
Syann looked around in disgust. “Did you have a hand in this, Mother?”
The Mistress turned to face her incensed child. “I didn’t have to do much, a poke here, a gentle push there. Prince Cain and his duke are power-hungry men, not much need to take a direct hand.”
“First Fane, now you, what is it you really want with these people?”
“You have seen Fane?”
Syann pulled her blonde hair from the tight pony tail she had it in and shook it free. “Yes, he used his power at the battle at Braxton Bluff, as if anyone cared about Vinteytium anymore.”
“Your hair is truly divine, Daughter.” The dark goddess walked over and touched Syann’s hair. It felt like silk and gleamed in the sun light. It reminded her of the day the girl was born. She had been happy then.
“Mother, what is going on?”
The Mistress released her daughter’s hair. “Don’t you wish to be worshipped again? You were once the beloved Goddess of Justice. Syann the Beautiful, remember? Don’t you long for that kind of power again?”
“No, Mother, those days are over. The people of this world worship another god, they have moved on. We are but memories to them now. Our powers have weakened, the days of blood and fire are over. I think even Father knew that.”
The Mistress chuckled. “The days of blood will never be over for your father. If we had not imprisoned him, what do you think he would be doing now, living among the mortals as one of them? Hiding in the shadows of this world, watching as the humans bowed before their invisible God? Don’t be foolish. If he had not went mad, he would be slaughtering them by the thousands. He would bleed this world until the humans fell to their knees and shouted our names to the stars.” The veiled woman paused reverently. “I want things to return to how they once were; I cannot live any other way.”
Syann tenderly took her mother by the shoulders. “Things will never be as they once were, Mother, you must accept that.”
The Mistress pushed her daughter’s hands away. “I am the Queen of Hell, and there is nothing I must do.”
Talorn found his father in the council chamber of the palace. “Cain will not see me, he has locked himself up in the throne room with Fox and Bradford. He must stop this now, Father. Executing our own people? What are we becoming? Has everyone gone mad? I will not stand by and watch innocent people be put to death.”
The duke looked at his son, having known this would happen. Talorn was the finest warrior in all Bandara, but he had the soul of a priest. “The king found it necessary to show the people that he ruled Bandara. If you want to blame someone, blame your shrew of a wife. It’s her fault Cain had to assert his authority.”
“How can she be at fault? Raygan is not even in the city, and I know she would never stand for this barbarity.”
William put his hands behind his back and turned his back to Talorn. He gazed up at the tapestry depicting the Phoenix Queen that hung on the wall of the council chamber. “The men that support her call her the Phoenix of Bandara now. Perhaps they mean it as a joke.”
Talorn ignored the comment. “What are we going to do about the executions, Father?”
“Did you know your wife is on the way here as we speak?” the duke said, ignoring his son’s question.
Talorn was truly surprised. “No, I didn’t. Why is she coming? Cain will never submit to her rule. Has she decided to give up the throne?”
William laughed. “That woman will never give it up. She has a taste for it now. Son, you must get this through your head. There will be no peace between those two. You will have to choose between them.”
Talorn ran his hand through his thick hair. He never wanted this. “If she does not intend to relinquish the throne, then why is she coming?”
The duke turned and faced his son. “The king invited her.”
Talorn looked pleadingly at his father. “Why would he do that?”
William smirked. “I think you know the answer to that, Son.”
Talorn waited for Lord Justice Milara. He paced the floor of the side chapel of the cathedral. The lord justice would surely help him. When Raygan came there would be blood in the city streets if someone didn’t stop it. Lord Justice Milara had the power to do just that. Even Cain could not defy the Church.
The door opened and the lord justice came in. “Hello, General Blackthorn. I was told you wished to see me. What can I do for you?”
Talorn told him of his concerns. With his fingers forming a steeple, the Eye of God listened intently until Talorn had finished. “While it was a terrible thing that the king had to hang so many traitors, the Church doesn’t often inter
fere with a king dispensing justice. If Cain found these people to be guilty of sedition, then he may punish them as he sees fit. As for your wife, I was asked to investigate her and what I found greatly disturbed me. She has aligned herself with enemies of the Church, and one is the renegade half-breed I seek. She also ordered dark sorcery used in the defense of Turill. I’m afraid she will never be able to remain queen in the Church’s eyes. If she gives the throne to Prince Cain willingly, she will stand trial and peace will return to Bandara. If not… Cain will do what he must. I have judged him to be the rightful ruler of Bandara and the Holy Father in Tyro will agree with me, I assure you.”
Talorn looked pained. “Bishop Lyfair crowned her and blessed her reign. By rights, she is already the true ruler of Bandara.”
“I will see that blessing revoked when I return to Tyro. For your own good, Talorn, I advise you to distance yourself as best you can from your wife. She has destroyed herself, don’t let her evil corrupt you as well.” The lord justice opened the chapel door for the Bandaran general. “One of the priests will see you out, my son.”
Talorn walked out of the cathedral with his head down. What could he do now? There was little time before Raygan reached the city. If he helped her, he would be defying the Church and God. If he didn’t, he would betray his heart. There was no way to win. He had loved God first and swore to serve him. He had no choice, he would have to stand against the woman he loved. Once he got her away from the evil men that were influencing her, perhaps he could talk Cain and the lord justice into being lenient with her. He would pray on the matter and ask God what he should do.
“I don’t know why we just don’t arrest the lot of them when they get here.”
Cain could see Lord Bradford was losing patience. The prince leaned back in the throne. He was surrounded by fools, but what could he do? These were the only men he had with any command experience. When things were settled with his sister, he might have to make some change to the Bandaran command structure. “Lord Fox, would you be so kind as to share with Lord Bradford the message we just received?”
Tobias looked at the message he held and began to read. “The queen has returned with several hundred Bandaran soldiers, as well as five thousand Ascona knights. They will arrive later today.” Lord Fox lowered the message.
“Are you going to arrest them all, Galen? Do you think the Asconans will lay down their arms and surrender to you?”
“Of course not, Majesty, I didn’t know…”
Cain jumped up from of the throne. “I could fill this room with what you don’t know, Lord Bradford. Now, I will tell you what you’re going to do. You and Tobias split the army, leave enough inside the city so my sister’s officers don’t get suspicious. I also want a company of men left in the palace. Keep the rest hidden just outside the city. If I signal, bring them in and kill everyone she brought with her. We still outnumber the Asconans more than two to one.” Cain could see the concern on Lord Fox’s face. “What is it, Tobias, you don’t like my strategy?
“What of this half-elven warrior that has taken up her cause? Some of the Knights of Deliverance say he alone killed thirty of the Hand. They say no one can match his skill.”
“Lord Justice Milara and the Church want him dead. General Blackthorn and I have promised to accommodate Milara and God. We will see the thing killed and my sister deposed. You two worry too much. I have everything under control.”
Bishop Lyfair rode up alongside the queen. They would be in Turill soon. He felt he had to make her aware of what she was riding into. After all, the Holy Tome said a man must try and do the right thing, and he was a priest. “Majesty, I must warn you, I have received word that Lord Justice Milara is in Turill. He is searching for the half-elf. If you are seen with him, it will go bad for you. Kian may be arrested or killed on sight, and who knows what lies your brother has told the lord justice about you, Highness.
“I will explain to the lord justice what happened. I’m sure he will understand the circumstances I was in and show mercy, he is a man of God, after all. Don’t worry, Your Eminence, the lord justice will know who speaks the truth. Isn’t that why the Holy Father appointed him to his position? ”
Lyfair only knew Milara by reputation, but if what he had been told about the lord justice was true, the Eye of God would listen to nothing the queen had to say. “I’m sure you're right, Majesty. I merely wanted you to know the Church had sent the lord justice to Turill.”
“Thank you, Bishop, perhaps he can settle our dispute without any bloodshed.”
The queen obviously didn’t understand the situation she was in. He had his explanation for the lord justice well rehearsed. He hoped the queen did too.
Zachariah watched from the wall as the queen rode into Turill, he liked to see his prey and study them before the kill. He liked to be as close to his target as he could before he struck. It made the victim’s death so much more pleasurable. The assassin just wouldn’t have that luxury this time.
The queen was a fine-looking woman. She was very short with beautiful dark hair. The young woman was thin in the waist and had a heavy chest. Zachariah liked heavy chests.
As lovely as the queen’s breasts were, his attention was jerked away from her by the man who rode at the woman’s side. Zachariah’s heart jumped into his throat. He had to be mistaken. Could it be one of the Kabash Sar traveled with the queen? Of all of the heartless ones, why did it have to be him? Tavantis.
Zachariah had met him a few times when he lived in the city beyond the Black Gate. The half-elf assassin was smart and cunning, and he had no mercy in his heart. Zachariah feared few men, but Tavantis was one of them.
It seemed the half-breed was dressing like a warrior these days, but Zachariah knew what the bastard really was: a merciless killer. A chill went up his spine. The assassin thought about abandoning the mission, but he was in too deep with the Church. He would have to try and kill Tavantis when he assassinated the queen. Because if he failed, he wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
Raygan could smell the bodies as she rode through the southern gate. The foul smell hung over the city like a rancid blanket. The grieving city came alive as the people of Turill heard of queen’s return. They came out of their homes and businesses to welcome their young queen home. It didn’t take long for Raygan to sort out their shouts and understand what Cain had done.
Her brother must have gone insane, just like the night he almost killed her. “General K’xarr, let us ride to the palace. I want a word with my brother, and please have someone take those people down.”
The Asconans were told to wait at the southern gate to make sure it stayed open in case they had to flee the city. She would have them make camp later outside the city. An army of foreign knights inside the city would only escalate the situation.
The queen and her six hundred Bandarans rode on to the palace. Raygan intended to make Cain answer for what he had done to her people and her city. If she couldn’t get satisfaction from her crazed sibling, she was sure K’xarr could.
“Rufio, stay at the palace gates with the men. If there is trouble, come on the run.”
“Watch your back, General,” the Dragitan said, drawing his shortsword.
The queen and K’xarr dismounted and headed straight for the palace. Endra and Kian walked on either side of the queen and her general. Rhys, Ansellus, Bishop Lyfair, Cromwell, and thirty Bandaran soldiers followed close behind.
“Majesty, we should have brought more men,” K’xarr said, trying to keep up with the little queen’s quick pace.
“Nonsense, Rufio and the men are within shouting distance and I have you and the others to protect me.”
K’xarr could tell the queen was furious, he knew the look all too well. She had visited that expression on him on more than one occasion.
Just as they started up the steps of the palace, Cain appeared at the top of the huge marble stairs. He was flanked by a big man dressed in red robes. They were styled in the fashion of a
priest. Talorn and William Blackthorn stood alongside Cain too, with at least fifty Church knights behind them, swords drawn and at the ready. K’xarr didn’t know what knight order it was, and it mattered little to him, but their symbol was a pair of open hands with a sunburst inside them. He would remember it.
“Welcome home, Sister.” K’xarr could tell the smile on Cain’s face and his greeting were sinister. The queen didn’t return his greeting. She threw back her cloak and put her hands on her hips. Raygan’s defiant stance would have been almost comical, if not for the look of iron on her face. Only the narrowing of her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
“This is Lord Justice Dracen Milara, Sister, and he would like a word with you,” Cain said, gesturing to the man in the red robes.
“I want to know why you hung those people, Cain, there was no reason for it.”
Cain pointed his finger at Raygan. “It is your fault, Sister. The people of this city need to be reminded who their ruler truly is. Their deaths are on your head, not mine.”
Tears began to well up in the little queen’s eyes. She struggled to keep her emotions in check, but it was just too hard. “You killed them because they were loyal to me? You monster,” she shouted.
“No, Sister, the only monster is the one that stands there with you.” Cain’s pointed finger slowly moved to Kian. “In the name of God and Holy Mother Church and the throne of Bandara, I hereby arrest that creature for its crimes against the people of this kingdom.”
“Swords,” K’xarr yelled. As the two factions prepared to charge each other, two women appeared beside the K’xarr and the queen. They were dressed in black gowns and one of them was redheaded. K’xarr recognized Scarlett instantly, but the other was a dark-haired woman he didn’t know.
“If you try to take him, you will have to come through us…Prince Cain,” Scarlett said with contempt.
DAWN OF THE PHOENIX (Gods Of The Forever Sea Book 1) Page 58