“Did the ships seem damaged by the storm?” she asked.
“No, they were sailing south as fast as they could,” the soldier said. “They had their sails all out, and the ships were dashing across the waves.”
“You could see the white from the ship prows all the way out here,” said another.
“They’re fools for sailing south,” said the first. “There’s nothing but death that way.”
Brianna thanked the soldiers and sprang up onto Selix’s back. The golden dragon took to the air, and they raced back toward the rendezvous with the others. Brianna knew that King Felix had double crossed them, and she guessed that the greedy king was planning to take over Falxis. She didn’t know why he disregarded her warning about the witch’s army, but what truly troubled her was why the King had forced her hand into marriage with Willam. He had wanted the dragons of her pride; that was his reason for forcing her hand at least that was what he said. So why did he leave the dragons behind now? It didn’t make sense.
She felt ill. She was tired, hungry, and scared, but she knew she couldn’t hide the truth any longer. She would have to tell Zollin what had happened in Orrock. She laid her head on Selix’s long neck and wept.
* * *
Zollin had spent the entire afternoon and part of the evening healing the sick in Nycoll’s makeshift hospital. It was rewarding work, but after hours of healing, he was tired and hungry. The next morning, even the sickest of the patients was so improved they wanted to return to their families. Zollin had sensed the magic in the supply of herbs that Nycoll was using. He showed her and several of the refugee families how to mix the herbs together to fight the sickness which arose from the contaminated water supply in the valley.
Then Zollin went out with a group of soldiers and found places for wells. Zollin even used his magic to dig the first pit down to the water. When the fresh, clean water bubbled up, the soldiers were convinced and after marking places for several more wells to be dug, Zollin rejoined Nycoll for breakfast.
“I have everything packed,” she said. “I’m only taking a small supply of the herbs and leaving the rest here.”
“That’s a good idea; we may need them, but not all of them. So you’re ready to go?”
“Yes,” Nycoll said.
They set out, walking from the village. After weeks of flying with Ferno the pace seemed terribly slow to Zollin, but he enjoyed spending time with Nycoll. She was shy, but with no one else around she opened up to the young wizard. He let her take her time, thinking before she spoke, and he found that trait admirable.
They talked about Mansel, about Zollin’s memories of apprenticing with the big warrior. He confided how he had been jealous of Mansel, but how their struggles since leaving Tranaugh Shire had forged a strong bond of friendship. Nycoll shared selective pieces of her own past. How her husband had died at sea and how the village they had lived in treated her differently after that. Everyone had expected that she would remarry, but until she met Mansel, she simply hadn’t thought it was possible to love anyone other than her late husband.
“Most people don’t think love plays an important part of marriage,” Zollin said, “At least not in my experience.”
“No,” Nycoll had said. “My neighbors didn’t understand why I choose to live alone. They thought there must be something wrong with me, or some secret I was hiding. Rumors sprang up which only made my pain worse.”
“I’m sorry,” Zollin said. “I know what that is like. Most people are afraid of wizards. Even my best friend back in Tranaugh Shire didn’t want to have anything to do with me once he learned that I was a wizard. He thought I was controlled by the devil.”
Nycoll smiled, the look was empathetic. She had a tenderness in her eyes that was in stark contrast to the no nonsense practicality of her physical appearance.
“Do you really think that you can defeat this witch and her army?” she asked, after they had walked along in silence for a while.
“I know I have to try,” Zollin said. “I don’t know why I was given this magical power, but I would never turn my back on a chance to help people when I can.”
“But can you defeat her? Wouldn’t we be better off to go north and let her have the southern kingdoms?”
“If only she would be content with those kingdoms,” Zollin said.
“But how do you know she won’t?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “but common sense tells me that if we allow her to settle into the southern kingdoms and grow strong, we will never be able to defeat her.”
“But do we have to defeat her? Do we have to fight at all?”
“I know two things for certain,” Zollin said. “First, she is evil. I saw her slay her sister to solidify her new dark powers. Secondly, she hates men. Mansel and Quinn can attest to that. Prince Willam confirmed it. She cares nothing for the life of her fellow man; they are resources to be used and discarded. That’s not the kind of neighbor I want to live next to. I believe with all my heart that even if she didn’t invade Yelsia now, she would soon. If we can make her think twice about attacking Yelsia, we can save thousands of lives.”
“Aren’t you terrified?” she asked.
“Yes,” Zollin said. “But I’m more afraid of what will happen if I don’t act, than what may happen if I do. My dad always told me when you’re afraid to focus on what’s right in front of you, on what you know to be true. Fear comes from what we think might happen, but courage comes from what we know. I know that I can fight Gwendolyn.”
“But you don’t know that you can defeat her.”
“No, I don’t know that. But I do know that I have the best chance of anyone. I also know that all my friends and the people I care about are with me. They will be here for me no matter what happens. That gives me courage.”
“I don’t have many friends,” Nycoll said.
“That’s not true.”
“It is true,” she argued. “Everyone I’ve ever known was lost to the monsters. I don’t know anyone but Mansel now, and I know he’ll fight. If he dies, I’ll be alone again.”
“You won’t be alone,” Zollin said. “Quinn, Brianna, and I all care about you. And you’ve made friends in the valley. All the parents of the children you saved would give anything to help you.”
“You saved their children,” she said. “Not me.”
“That’s not true,” Zollin said. “I swept in at the last moment and did the finishing work. You were the one who spent night after night with the sick, taking care of them and making them as comfortable as possible. You made a place for them when there was no place for them to go. You gave them hope when all seemed lost. You are a very special person, Nycoll.”
“I’m not a healer,” she said, looking down at the ground. “I like helping, but I don’t have the gift that you have.”
“No, but you have other gifts that are just as important. Very few people have the capacity to care for the sick and helpless the way you do.”
“It’s nothing,” she said.
“No it isn’t, and I think you know that. We have a hard fight ahead of us, but we must face it together. None of us can afford to be on our own right now. We need each other. I need you. Mansel needs you. We all need you.”
He glanced over and saw tears in Nycoll’s eyes. She was ten years his senior, with twice as much pain and heartache as he had endured. Still, he caught a glimpse of what Mansel saw in her. A tender heart and a vulnerability that made him want to protect her.
They walked in silence for a long while; each content with their own thoughts. Finally, Nycoll spoke.
“Thank you for what you said.”
“I meant every word,” Zollin said. “I’m happy that Mansel has you. He deserves good things in life, and I can’t imagine someone more suited to make him happy than you.”
They were almost to the village. A roughhewn sign said Walheta’s Gate, one mile. With their destination so close, they increased their pace. When they came over the last hill and
saw the village below them, they were both excited and depressed at the same time. The big central building of the village, part inn, part feasting hall, was intact and they could see Quinn and Mansel still working on the building. The homes and shops around the big building were nearly all destroyed. A bonfire was burning outside the feasting hall; Quinn and Mansel had been throwing useless scraps of wood and trash on it all night. Zollin and Nycoll hurried down to join them.
“Hello!” Zollin shouted as they came near.
Quinn and Mansel looked up and lowered their tools.
“It’s about time you got here,” growled Quinn good-naturedly. “I thought you were leaving at sunup.”
“I had to help dig a few wells this morning,” Zollin explained. “I thought you would be finished by now.”
“We’re just making improvements,” Mansel said.
“Show us what you’ve got.”
They went inside. The room was large and open; the tables which Zollin guessed had once been in the room were now gone, but thick wooden shutters hung beside each of the high windows and small platforms stood under each so that archers could stand on the platforms and fire arrows. There was a large fireplace at the far end of the room and work spaces behind it.
“That’s the kitchen and storeroom,” Quinn said. “Empty of course, but it’s all intact. We had to rehang the doors and touch up a few things, but the place was pretty much untouched.”
“It’s better than I hoped for,” Zollin said.
“There are rooms upstairs, nothing fancy, but they have beds and blankets.”
Two stair cases ran up to a second floor that lined both sides of the long hall. The central part of the room was open to the rafters, high above and the rooms were simple squares that looked out over the feasting space.
“It’s perfect,” Zollin said.
“The rest of the town is in ruins,” Quinn explained. “There are maybe one or two structures that can still be used. The rest is scrap.”
“All we need is a place to strategize and meet with the other leaders,” Zollin said.
“It’s as neutral as we could make it,” Mansel said.
“You’ve both done well. Where is Ferno?” Zollin asked.
“I think he went hunting this morning,” Mansel said. “It’s kind of hard to understand a dragon.”
“Alright, so we wait for Brianna and then we make a plan.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Ferno returned first with a small portion of a freshly slaughtered sheep. Mansel cut what little meat the dragon hadn’t consumed into long strips. Zollin cooked it with his magic in only a few seconds. They didn’t have anything to go with the meat, but Nycoll had some spices which they sprinkled on the hot mutton strips. They drank water and ate while Quinn talked about building some tables from the scrap wood in the village.
Then there was the unmistakable whosh, whoosh, whoosh, of dragon wings. Ferno growled and sent Zollin a mental image of Selix flying toward them. They all went outside to meet Brianna. The golden dragon landed and skidded to halt. Brianna summersaulted off the high back of Selix, landing gracefully just a few feet away from where Mansel and Zollin stood.
“I’ll never get used to that,” Mansel said.
“It’s impressive,” Zollin agreed.
“We have a problem,” Brianna said. “A very big problem.”
Chapter 30
Brianna drank almost a whole canteen of water and then scarfed down what remained of the mutton before telling her story. The others had questions, but she made them wait. She knew if she didn’t tell about her engagement to Prince Willam that she wouldn’t be able to go through with it.
“So, the King is sailing south,” Zollin said. “I should have expected it.”
“There’s more,” Brianna said, holding her hand up. “I should have told you sooner, Zollin. I’m so sorry. I never meant for anything like this to happen.”
“What?” he said, looking scared.
“When I was in Orrock...” she had trouble forming the words. Tears sprang up in her eyes. “The King sent for my father.”
“Estry?” Quinn asked. “Is everything okay in Tranaugh Shire?”
Brianna nodded, but tears rolled down her cheeks as she finished her story. “He wanted to make a match with me and Prince Willam.”
Zollin’s chest tightened, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe. He knew instantly what Brianna was about to say, and he didn’t know if he could face it. He started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm.
“I never meant for this to happen,” she said.
“You’re marrying Prince Willam?” he asked, his throat suddenly so dry all he could do was whisper.
She nodded and he felt his world crumble around him. Pain as he had never felt erupted like a poorly stitched wound inside him. Outside the feasting hall Ferno roared and Selix roared back. Zollin started to back away from the group but then his legs gave out from beneath him, and he fell hard on his back side.
“Son!” Quinn said.
“Zollin!” Mansel echoed.
They both rushed to his side and Zollin struggled just to breathe. When he had given Brianna the White Alzerstone ring in their village, he had felt the bond between them, but she had been promised to his best friend Todrek and Zollin would never have done anything to stand between them. When Todrek had been slain, Zollin mourned his friend and pushed Brianna away, feeling as if he were betraying Todrek by having feelings for Brianna. When he had finally gotten over his grief and accepted that he loved Brianna and she loved him, he longed to spend every moment of his life with her. He had followed her to Orrock when Brannock the evil wizard of the Torr had kidnapped her. He had held onto hope even when Brianna had been afraid of her feelings for him. He had felt that they were meant to be together when Brianna had come into magical powers of her own in the caverns of the dwarves under the Northern Highlands. And he had grieved for her when Bartoom, the giant black dragon, had taken her away. He had thought that Brianna was dead and the pain of that loss was the greatest of his life, until now.
His grief at the thought of Brianna’s death paled in comparison to the crushing anguish of her rejection of him. Had it been anyone else he would have doubted her, but Prince Willam could not be denied. He was the Crown Prince of Yelsia, wealthy, handsome; he was everything that Zollin was not.
“Just breathe, Zollin,” Quinn said. “It’s going to be okay.”
Brianna stood with tears streaking down her face.
“Why tell him this?” Mansel said. “Why now?”
“Because the King doesn’t care about me or his son,” she said through her sobs.
Nycoll held Brianna’s shoulders, her eyes mirroring the heartbreak on Brianna’s face.
“He only wanted control of the dragons,” Brianna said.
“So?” Mansel said.
“So, why did he go south without them?” Quinn said. “If you agreed to marry Prince Willam, why did he let you leave with the dragons?”
“I don’t know,” she sobbed.
Zollin wanted to curl up into a ball on the smooth stone floor of the feasting hall and die. But even in the darkness of his greatest fear, he realized he knew the answer.
“He knows how to control them without you,” he whispered.
“What?” Mansel asked.
“The dragons,” Zollin said, as tears ran down his face. “The King has found a way to control them.”
“How?” Quinn asked.
“I don’t know,” Zollin said. “But Offendorl did it and it wasn’t magic.”
“No,” Brianna said. “He can’t.”
“We know where he’s going,” Quinn said. “He’ll be marching for Luxing City.”
“So, what do we do?” Mansel said.
“We have to warn him,” Quinn said. “The witch’s army will destroy him on open ground and then there won’t be anything to stop her from taking Yelsia.”
“Help me up,” Zollin said.
His legs were s
haky and he was still having trouble breathing, but he wanted to get outside. He needed to talk to the dragons.
“Zollin, I’m sorry,” Brianna cried. “I love you. I’m sorry.”
He ignored her, but her words seared his heart like acid. Quinn felt so helpless. He loved Brianna like a daughter, but he couldn’t believe she would hurt Zollin like this. He followed his son outside.
“There has to be a reason, Zollin,” he whispered in his son’s ear. “She wouldn’t betray you without a very good purpose.”
“How could she say no?” Zollin asked. “He’s the Crown Prince.”
“The Prince you saved, if I remember correctly.”
“Do you think that really matters to him? He sees what he wants and takes it. That’s the way all rulers are,” Zollin said bitterly.
“Don’t let this ruin you, son. Talk to her, and find out what happened.”
“I can’t even look at her,” Zollin said.
“Wait, Zollin!”
But he was already levitating up onto Ferno’s back.
“Fly,” he whispered to the green dragon. “Take me away from here.”
Ferno jumped into the air, roared, and flew away.
“Damn!” Quinn said.
“What now?” Mansel asked.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Quinn said. “That boy is our only hope. But heartbreak like this can ruin a man. I’ve seen it.”
“She had to have a reason, Quinn.”
“I know,” he said. “Let’s go find out what it was.”
They went back inside the hall. Brianna was slumped on the floor. Nycoll knelt beside her, holding Brianna as she cried. Quinn’s anger softened. He knew that Brianna didn’t want to hurt Zollin, and he had to be careful how he asked the next few questions.
“Brianna,” he said softly. “Tell us what happened.”
“I’ve told you,” she said. “King Felix brought my family to Orrock. They made an arrangement for me to marry Prince Willam.”
Five Kingdoms: Book 06 - Evil Tide Page 28