“They won’t find her.”
“We have to try,” he said, and then hauled her to Trox’s room and knocked.
Trox looked up from a stack of books when they walked in. Kyrin looked around curiously at the columns of books and bubbling potions along the walls. The small bed was pushed up against the far wall beneath the window. An eagle stood in his windowsill and screeched at the intrusion.
“Is there a problem?” Trox asked, looking over his glasses at them.
“I was just visited by an evil,” Alric said, pushing Kyrin down onto a chair. “She came as a representative of Daemionis.”
“Interesting, an evil you say?”
“Yes, and I lost the will of Sithias in her presence.”
Trox nodded, “Sithias’ will cannot be around something so dark. Was she a rogue? Thief maybe?”
They both looked at Kyrin, but she didn’t reply.
“What is her profession?” Alric asked her.
“Answer the King!” Trox yelled.
She looked Alric in the eye, “I’m more afraid of her than I am of you.”
His face softened, “We can protect you from her.”
“I don’t need to be on Creteloc’s bad side if you won’t force me to talk about her.”
“What did she say to you?” Trox asked him.
Alric glanced at her, “I’ll tell you about that later. She came because of concerns for Kyrin’s welfare though.”
Alric sat up suddenly and looked out the window, as if listening to something. Kyrin watched him carefully, and Trox fell silent and lowered his eyes.
“Sithias wants to talk to you, Kyrin,” Alric said after a few minutes.
She frowned, “No.”
“He won’t hurt you.”
“I’m not afraid of him! I’m not going to face your god.”
Alric stood, “We’re going to the temple now.”
“No!”
“You brought evil back into Valhara, and you have to face him over it.”
“Over my dead body,” she said, standing suddenly.
“I’m not fighting you over this, Kyrin. We’re going to talk to Sithias.”
“I said no.”
“Trox”
She turned to Trox, just as he put a rag over her face. Before she even got a hold of him, she began to descend into darkness.
Alric watched her sink to the floor and then picked her up, “How long do we have?”
“Half an hour is all,” Trox said as they both walked out of the castle. They hurried on horseback to the temple. The Priests were waiting for them and helped Alric off of his horse, still carrying Kyrin.
When Alric was in the back room of the temple, he laid Kyrin down in the center of the large cross that was painted on the floor. He then knelt down and lowered his eyes before starting a prayer to Sithias.
Sithias appeared suddenly and looked down at Kyrin, “This is the girl?”
“Yes, my Lord,” Alric said, looking over at her. “She should be awake soon.”
“She’s the one that brought an evil into my lands?”
“I don’t think she summoned the demon’s Priestess, but I do know the Priestess came here over concerns for Kyrin’s well-being.”
“The evil has gone.”
“For certain, my Lord?”
“Yes. Her presence was too strong and the disturbance too great for her to be here, and me not know it,” Sithias said, still watching the girl sleep. “Tell me what was said when you spoke to the evil one.”
Alric went over the conversation, and just when he finished, Kyrin began to stir.
Sithias moved to stand above her and when she opened her eyes, she was looking into the kind face of the deity of Holy Knights.
“Please do not be afraid,” Sithias said when Kyrin sprung to her feet. He stepped away from her slightly, and she looked around for a weapon. Sithias seemed intrigued by her behavior and watched her for a moment before speaking, “I just wanted to meet you.”
Kyrin saw the outline of a door and lunged for it, but Alric stepped in front of it, “You can’t leave yet.”
She turned to face the deity, and her hands twitched at her side as he studied her.
Finally, he smiled, “You are of concern to me.”
She watched him silently.
“I don’t believe Daemionis will punish you just for speaking to me,” he told her, as he glided along air and circled her.
Alric thought for a moment and then turned to his god, “Maybe start with a question.”
“Why is the Shadowmere Consortium looking for you?” The words were unfamiliar to Alric, but he kept quiet and watched the shock on Kyrin’s face.
Kyrin swallowed hard and looked for another door.
“They are quite intent on following you, and I’m surprised that you do not choose to stay here, so as to keep away from them,” Sithias said.
When she didn’t say anything, he smiled softly, “The Clemency Consortium is also looking for you if I am not mistaken.”
Alric watched her closely, and she was starting to panic.
“I am not going to turn you over to them. Their practices are barbaric and I wouldn’t inflict those on you,” Sithias told her. She fought against his kind words and thought of the punishment Daemionis would dole out if he found out that she was in the presence of another’s deity.
“With the plentiful resources here, such as water and food, I would also expect that you would want to stay. If it’s Daemionis that keeps you shifting, then I can protect you from him.”
Kyrin made another break for the door, but Alric stepped in front of it and shook his head, and then pointed at Sithias.
“You are on the run, dear Kyrin, from some of the most dangerous men I’ve ever seen. You worship a dangerous god, and you live where women are treated like property and humiliated for the amusement of the men. What draws you back to such a place?” he asked her, still floating through the air.
“You are more than welcome to stay in Valhara,” Alric told her. She jumped for his sword, but he stepped on the sheath to stop her, “You won’t have to fight for your life here. When you came to this land, you were full of wounds and almost dead. You can’t keep living like that. Eventually, someone will kill you.”
“I wish for you to marry Alric,” Sithias said suddenly.
Alric looked up with wide eyes, “My Lord?”
Sithias smiled, “I have a feeling about this one. She is hiding something from us, and I believe it’s something we can use to protect ourselves. The Consortiums haven’t made it here yet, but some day they will, and she is our best bet at fighting them.”
Kyrin was breathing hard and staring at Sithias, seething. She wanted to yell, to tell the god he was wrong, but knew any interaction on her part would earn her a punishment from Daemionis.
“That’s going to be more complicated than you’d think,” Alric told him.
“I understand she is innocent in such things as marriage and relations, but who better to teach her, my Holy Knight?”
“It’s deeper than knowledge.”
“That is my wish.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Alric said, lowering his eyes.
“From her actions, I suspect our visitor to be an Assassin, one that’s a high-ranking member of Daemionis’ fold.”
Alric nodded.
“You find strange company, dear child. If I were you, I would be careful who I associate with.”
When Sithias disappeared, Kyrin rounded on Alric, “That’s it! The servitude is over. I’ll now go back to where I belong.”
“Please, listen to me…”
She stormed out and ran for the castle to get her things. When she ran through the doors, she immediately headed for her room and began throwing her things into the small pack they came from. She tore off her clothes and put on the dirty and worn clothing she had in her pack. She wanted nothing that Paragoy had given her and hoped to be long gone by the time the Consortium figured out she was b
ack in the dimensions.
“I’m not going to honor your servitude as over,” Alric said from the door.
“It’s over!”
“No, you are soul-bound to me for another five months, and I demand that time.”
“You just want me to stay here and be your wife.”
“I’ll talk to Sithias about that. What I want right now is for you to stay here in Valhara where it’s safe. I didn’t know you were on the run.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter! Sithias said you are safe here for now, and I’m invoking the debt to keep you here another five months.”
“Daemionis will hear about this.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“He won’t allow you to keep me.”
“You’re indebted to me. He’ll see that.”
She turned to him and realized he was right. Daemionis would hold her to her servitude, “Fine… but I stay as an indentured servant…”
“Ok”
“I work, I live with the servants, and I stay away from you.”
“I can use you in any capacity I see fit.”
“As long as it’s a job you have servants do. I’m not afraid of hard work, and I will expect no more of this comfort and luxury.”
“If that’s what you wish.”
“It is,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Start in the morning by cleaning out the Knight’s quarters. I want it scrubbed, and the beds made.”
She nodded and watched him leave, and then fell to her knees to talk to Daemionis.
Alric decided to work her, to try to calm her and let her know that he wasn’t going to force her into marriage. He wasn’t going to talk to Sithias about the request. He knew his god was right, and it was his job to figure out how to do it. Instead of having her leave, Alric figured keeping her around for five months as a working servant was better than nothing.
Early the next morning, Kyrin woke with the dawn and headed out immediately to begin cleaning the Knight’s quarters. Normally, the Knights would still be eating just outside of their sleeping quarters, but she found the building empty, so she started to make the beds.
Hard work kept her mind busy. She tried not to think of what Sithias had requested of Alric. Daemionis hadn’t come to her when she asked for him last night, so she wasn’t sure if he was too busy, or if he was forsaking her for being in the presence of another deity.
“You’re up early,” Finn said from behind her. The sudden voice made her jerk, and she stood and turned toward him, ready to attack, “Calm down, Kid. I just wondered who was in here.”
“The Knights left early so I started to clean,” she explained as she turned to start on another bed.
“Yes, they’ll be busy for a while.”
“Why’s that?”
“Qualsax has angered the mountain Minotaurs, and they have been attacking outposts.”
She raised her eyebrows, “You have Minotaurs? Nice.”
“Not nice. They attack at night when no one’s expecting it and even though Qualsax started this, they are heading for Valhara’s land.”
This made her heart pound, “How many of them?”
Finn moved forward, “Have you encountered them before?”
She nodded and finished the bed she was working on.
“Don’t leave here! I’ll be right back.”
“What’s…” she started to ask, but he was already gone. She shrugged and started on the next bed. It was less than twenty minutes later when Finn returned with Lord Alric and the four top ranking Knights.
“Stop making the beds,” Finn said, walking up to her.
She turned around and saw them, “What now?”
“You said you’ve encountered Minotaurs before?”
“Yes”
“A lot of them?”
“Why do you want to know?”
Finn looked at Alric, who walked up to her, “We are inexperienced with them. Rumors are that there are hundreds that came out of the mountains to retaliate against Qualsax, but they don’t honor boundaries and are headed this way. Do you know how to kill one?”
“Hundreds?”
“Yes”
“You can’t kill that many with your forces.”
“We have to try,” Finn said. “Tell us what you know.”
She thought for a moment, looking over them as they watched her, “If they are a menace, how do you not know how to kill them?”
“To be honest, we’ve not even seen them before. They keep to their mountain caves and normally leave us alone. I don’t think there’s been an encounter with one in almost 600 years,” Alric explained.
She sighed, “Fine, I’ll tell you what I know. Take it from me though, there are too many for you to handle.”
“Just talk…”
“Minotaurs are half man, half bull. They stand about 7-feet tall and are extremely powerful. They have thought and reason. They may not be intelligent, but they can work around adversaries, and they will know how to fight.”
“Do they have a weakness?” one of the Knights asked her.
“Every creature has a weakness. The mistake with the Minotaur is to go for the head or heart. The top half is a bull, and much harder to get by. Their skin is tough and protected by thick, black fur.”
“So we go for the bottom half, the human half,” Alric said.
“Yes, they will only send males, and they have the same weaknesses that you do.” She couldn’t help but grin.
“Wait… you’re telling us…”
“I’m telling you to use their weaknesses, from their breastbone to their knees. You get off gut shots, groin shots, and take out hips and knees.”
“But we have to take out hundreds,” Finn said. “How can we mass exterminate them?”
“You can’t. Minotaurs are too strong for that. I’ve seen one Minotaur take down four experienced warriors.”
“There has to be a way.”
“There isn’t one. Your best bet is to run.”
“We can’t run,” Alric explained. “We have a fortress in the mountains, but not all of the kingdom can go there. We have villages on the border of Qualsax that could be attacked as soon as next week.”
“Run”
“We can’t run,” Finn said angrily.
Kyrin started on another bed, “Then prepare to be wiped out. You can’t fight that many Minotaurs.”
“Will they have weapons?” Alric asked.
“Yes, hammers, axes. Their weapons are crude but efficient, and they wield them with a lot of strength.”
“So they are stronger than a man?” Finn was getting irritated that she was still making beds while they fought to save the lives of the people in their Kingdom.
“Yes”
“Maybe we need to call Auldian and enlist the help of the elves,” Finn suggested.
Alric shook his head, “They won’t tangle with the Minotaurs. That would only bring the Minotaurs into Minathim.”
“Kyrin!” Finn yelled.
She jumped and turned around with wide eyes, “What?”
“Our people are about to be attacked.”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Help us.”
“I am! I’m telling you to run.”
Angry, they left her to clean and went to the war room in the castle to decide on a plan. Once seated, Alric leaned forward, “If she’s right, we may have to evacuate to Fortress Ophang.”
“We can’t get everyone there. Who do we decide gets to live?” Finn asked.
“Obviously the King will go,” one of the Knights said.
“No,” Alric told him sternly. “I will not hide while my people face the Minotaurs.”
“We need our king safe.”
“It’s out of the question.”
“Sir,” Finn said, turning to him. “If this turns out disastrous, you are the only one that can help the people recover.”
“Enough! I am not abandoning my people while they ge
t attacked. Start moving the women and children into Ophang. Keep anyone old enough to wield a weapon.”
Kyrin moved away from the door when they all stood up. She ran down the stairs to the Knight’s quarters, so they wouldn’t realize she’d been listening in on their meeting. She knew that they had no chance at all to defeat the Minotaurs.
Once safely in the Knight’s quarters again, she sat down to think. She was shocked that Alric wouldn’t go to safety, but put his life with the life of those in his Kingdom. Kings were above reproach. They were selfish, greedy, and better than their people. Why was Alric acting like his life was no more valuable than the rest?
Hoping to avoid getting yelled at again for her lack of help, Kyrin left the castle grounds quickly and ran to a lake up above where the orchard ended. She thought she’d get in a good swim while the Valharans fought in vain to save their people.
When she made sure no one was around, Kyrin stripped and then ran into the warm water. She dove down and looked around at the sandy bottom of the lake with its ugly gray fish and slimy green plants.
Alric watched her from behind a grove of trees. He saw her run off and thought she may be making a break for it before the Minotaurs arrived. She was their only hope to defeat them, and he wasn’t satisfied with the option she gave them to run. She’d fought them before, there had to be a way.
What he hadn’t expected to find was her swimming naked in the lake that fed into the irrigation ditches around the town. He couldn’t help but watch her as she relaxed back in the water and floated with her hair swimming around her.
He wished she was more comfortable around him. The few times she was in a proper dress he marveled at her beauty and her flawless form, but the next time he saw her, she was dressed like the Knight’s Pages around the castle. She hid herself beneath men’s clothing, all out of fear from something not even in this world.
It was wrong to watch her, hiding behind a tree like a thief about to steal, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from her. Here he stood, the King, watching the naked girl swimming while his town prepared to be systematically wiped out.
Alric had to remind himself that she was an evil. He kept thinking she was going to come to their rescue and offer to help, but her current swim proved him wrong. Evils were out for themselves, period. They did what would benefit them, and no one else. He’d heard of evils that had a single loyalty, and would do whatever was in their power to defend and protect themselves and the one they were loyal to, but that was rare.
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