The Paladin Archives Book Two The Withering Falseblade

by Jason Psilopoulos

  “So, he’s here so I can kill him?” Ian asked, a croak in his voice. Tetsuo smiled a little at Ian’s reaction.

  “Not exactly.” Ian cleared his throat.

  “He’s not going to kill himself, is he?” Tetsuo shook his head. Ian felt the tension lifting off him suddenly. Neither of those options were how he wanted to start his marriage.

  “Those ways were done away a long time ago. Hikaru Shinjuka is here to be your guardian until you leave for your honeymoon. He will be guarding you until then. In that, he will give his life. Should an attempt be made on your life, he will give his to save you.” Ian wasn’t sure what to think about this.

  “Couldn’t we get Momoe to do this?” Tetsuo shook his head.

  “Momoe has another assignment. He stands as guard over the women’s encampment today, escorting Aiko to the ceremony. He will be unavailable.” Tetsuo didn’t say another word, walking out. Ian watched the door close, wondering what to do next.

  “So. You and me huh?” Hikaru folded his arms, his face getting harder as he did so. Ian felt the temperature drop in the room. Hikaru wasn’t happy about this, and Ian was starting to understand why.

  “I don’t exactly understand this. I want you to know that. I half expected a duel to the death or something.” Hikaru grunted a little. Ian could see the arrogance behind his eyes. Hikaru clearly felt that Ian would not have been a problem in ritual combat. Luckily, that was not the case. “You don’t like me. I get that. Aiko mentioned turning down a proposal. Never would've guessed it was you.” Again, Hikaru said nothing. Ian turned back to the mirror, checking his hair.

  “I guess you’re not supposed to speak to me or something,” Ian said, straightening a loose lock of blonde hair.

  “I can speak,” Hikaru growled, his voice gruff and hard. “I have nothing good to say to you.” Ian smirked at that.

  “Well, I don’t want you thinking you’re guarding a jerk. If you’re not comfortable, you can leave. I don’t mind.” Hikaru rolled his eyes. “And you’re not allowed to do that.” A long moment went by without anyone saying anything. Ian gave his dress finery another inspection, trying to fill time.

  “So, you just follow me around until this is all finished?” Hikaru nodded slowly. Ian grimaced. “I take it you don’t like this tradition.” He didn’t react, but Ian could tell that the answer was yes. “Can’t say I understand why they make you do this.” Hikaru remained still. Ian turned and gave him as tough a glare as he could muster.

  “Do me a favor. Relax. Have a seat or lean against the wall. Crack a smile. I don’t care. Just ease up.” Hikaru didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. After a second, Ian grabbed his cloak and began fastening it in place.

  “Of all the bodyguards I could get, I get the angriest guy in the world.”

  Marcus stepped into the Holodrome and immediately saw what he didn’t expect. The entire of the floor was set up like a huge coliseum. It was different than it had been when the Tumbler was held. Marcus recognized the seating arrangement. It had been that way when he had competed in the Swordsmanship Competition years before.

  But in the circle was a great stage where the competition tower was supposed to be. The entire area was covered in lights and flowers. Jennifer had gone out of her way to make sure that things would be just so. She wasn’t about to waste an opportunity to make this something special. But Marcus suspected that it wasn’t for Ian and Aiko.

  “And I want that cable securely fastened. Nothing must be left to chance,” Sir Lefein barked as he walked along the upper catwalk. Marcus had seen more of him in the last three days than he had the entire rest of his stay in Littlefield. He seemed to be taking the entire Jennifer Burton production very seriously.

  The room was beginning to fill with people. Most were either Paladins or Samurai, come to attend the Sword trial. Marcus could see Cecil in the crowd, some ten rows back from the stage. Ellis was supposed to be with him, but he didn't see him. Cecil looked quite pleased with the proceedings.

  As Marcus understood it, before Aiko and Ian arrived in the Holodrome, they would be wed officially elsewhere. Only family was invited to the ceremony. The vows they exchanged here were for the benefit of the public. This was more like an overblown wedding reception than a wedding. By the time Ian and Aiko arrived, they'd have been married for at least twenty minutes.

  "Kasidyne," Cole Remec thundered as Marcus approached the stage. Marcus looked over at the man, standing in his armor as he always did. Cole was brushing away a fairly pesky reporter, who was there with her camera crew, trying to get a statement about the upcoming competition. One flick of Cole’s wrist was enough to send her stumbling into a chair.

  "Hello Remec." That was all Marcus was really willing to say to the man. Cole strode toward him, again attempting to assert his physical prowess by forcing Marcus to look up at him.

  "Have you prepared to lose tonight?" Marcus smirked, shaking his head.

  "You never quit, do you?’ Cole didn’t respond. “I didn't come here to lose Cole. I came to attend a wedding." That cause Cole to snort. “Something funny?”

  "Your pupil is headstrong and foolish. These Erikans are neither fit for war nor for breeding. He chose his mate poorly." Marcus felt the urge to strike the man. A part of him wanted Rebekah there to give Remec a hard time.

  "He chose in wisdom and faith. I've seen the women you Krossmen date Cole." Cole darkened at the statement. "You don't have to like Ian's fiancé. Fine. You only have to accept her for what she is."

  "And what is she? Other than a weakling woman from a spineless race? We would conquer the lot of them if our leaders were not equally spineless. And if the paladins did not mediate our affairs." Marcus leaned in a little closer, keeping his voice low.

  "She's a person Cole. And she's not weak. You’d know that if you could see past your own pig-headedness." Cole grunted at that. Marcus began away toward the stage again. "The reason your leaders don’t attack is because they see people. Not spineless nobodies to be conquered. And the paladins only keep the peace. You and your attitude are the product of a flawed and obsolete system.”

  “We are the strong. We are the warriors. It is our right to conquer and lead. If you paladins knew anything of that, you would join us in conquering this world and forcing order upon it,” Cole said in return. Marcus came up short, breathing slowly before he spoke.

  “Maybe we should lead Cole. Maybe we are the strong. But the responsibility of the strong is to protect those whose strength has failed them. Not to rule them in arrogance and pomposity.” Cole was about to retort when Marcus stepped into his face. “Your breed of leadership creates conflict. You hold others under your thumb so that you may rule. But those people rise up and throw you down eventually, because your use of strength demeans them. No one wants to be weak. No one wants to be called weak. And the weak have strength that you cannot quantify.” Marcus let the moment set as Cole processed what he heard. “What you propose leads people to rebellion, because in your vision the weak are not bolstered by the strong. Do you want a world where your wife takes up arms against you because you treated her like property? Do you want your son to come into a world that you set up for a fall?” Cole didn’t say anything, his hard face unmoving. Marcus could see the thoughts in his eyes. He was struggling with it.

  “It is what I am,” he said finally. “I was born into this world with strength. I don’t know how else to use it.” Marcus nodded.

  “I know. That is what holds you back.” Marcus watched Cole’s eyes for a moment more, then turned around. “The world only changes if you’re willing to change yourself. Protect the weak. Make them strong.” Cole stood in place, confused but unmoving. “By the way, don't let Ian hear you say any of this. He already doesn't like you very much. Insulting his wife is a great way to get hurt. Wouldn’t want you to have to forfeit the competition."

  Drew Anger and Gerard Burton both did their best to stay out of Jennifer's way as she emceed every last detail of what was h
appening on the stage. She had been in on every decision over the last three days, and had given it her level best to make this the most spectacular wedding/concert anyone would ever attend.

  She's overcompensating, Drew thought. Things weren't or hadn't worked out with Marcus, so Jennifer was doing her best to supplant this wedding for the one she expected to be having with Marcus by now. Drew only needed to see what decisions she had made to know she was becoming borderline obsessive about all this. She'd insisted on the shape of the stage and the configuration of the lighting. It wasn't unheard of, but for Jen to be making those decisions was a little odd.

  The appearance of the media at this was a little more than Drew had initially expected. There were a dozen cameras and operators stationed around the Holodrome, intent on capturing the wedding vows, the first dance and the Sword Trial. And the entire thing was going to be broadcast to monitors around the city. Anyone who couldn't attend could still watch at home.

  In the end, Drew went along with it. Jennifer wasn't concentrating on her ex anymore, and that made him happy. He could almost keep her attention without doing or saying something stupid in the process.

  "She give you anything to do?" Gerard asked, watching his only daughter marshaling troops and bossing people around. Drew shook his head.

  "I think her exact words were, 'Stay out of the way or I'm gonna put my foot on your throat.'" Gerard flinched.

  "My Jenny said that?" Drew nodded.

  "Right to my face in front of a dozen people." His posture was less than pleased. "I think she's still torqued about Marcus." Gerard knitted his brow together.

  "Maybe it's that book she wrote," he offered. "I mean, I'm no fan of the paladin life, but some of the things she described in that were a little too off the wall for me." Drew shrugged a little.

  "I haven't read it. All I know is that she's got a very long tour ahead. And she's making a bundle of cash." Gerard smirked at that.

  "Can't argue with that at all." Jennifer came rushing past, a blue harness in hand. Drew hadn't seen that before in the rehearsals. Before he could say anything, Jennifer was closing the door to her dressing room.

  "Do you know what she's doing?" Drew asked, not looking at Gerard. Jenny's father simply shook his head.

  The festivities began, and all of it opened with an explosive flash of light and music. Jennifer rose out of the floor and was singing at the top of her range. Explosions of blinding light and beautifully percussive sound rang out through the Holodrome. The crowd went crazy as Jennifer turned a simple wedding and sword trial into the concert event of the decade.

  Jack, Uther and Marcus were all standing to the side of the stage, trying their best not to block any of the cameras. Marcus wasn't comfortable with any of this. There were too many people and too much press for his tastes. But then, it could be a good thing as well. With that much media coverage, it was unlikely that anyone would try something.

  "A little much, eh?" Uther said quietly. Jack nodded. He'd come for Ian and Aiko's wedding, and to serve with Uther as Marcus's support staff. Not as glorified extras in some overblown stage performance.

  At the other side of the stage, Cole Remec was waiting, his hands placed nervously on his sword belt. His corner men kept busy with their prep work on his sword, polishing it to a mirrored sheen. But Cole didn’t look intimidating at all at the moment. Marcus took that moment to smile to himself. He could see the behemoth of a man was going to be a little easier to beat today.

  The song came to an abrupt end, and the lights all went dark, except for one, shining over Jennifer like a single ray of illumination in a storm. Marcus looked at her for a long moment, and then cursed himself for doing so. He didn't understand at all why he was so stuck on the Jennifer he used to know. The nostalgia of a woman who couldn't live with what he was. And yet, that old feeling was there again, trying to operate in full force. Marcus did his best to suppress it.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," Jennifer began. "Today we celebrate not only the final event of the paladin peace games. We also celebrate the beginning of a new life for two people who found each other in this event of brotherhood. They met only a few scant weeks ago, but they personify what the peace games were meant to suggest. That all people, no matter their background, belief, faith or fellowship can put aside old prejudices and old dogmas and live together in harmony and love." Marcus was listening, hearing every word and catching every meaning. Harmony and love was admirable and attainable. But something was buzzing in his ear. Something about what she was saying didn't strike him right. He glanced at Jack and Uther, both of whom looked a little confused as well.

  "So, without further preaching from me, I'd like to introduce to you, Mister and Missus Ian Sodaro." The crowd roared out its approval as Ian and Aiko both strode in, arm in arm. Ian shook a lot of hands on the way up to the stage. Aiko, who was beautiful in her purest white Erikan wedding gown, was mostly big smiles and small tears.

  "That's our cue," Jack said as they began for the center of the stage. Marcus walked with a very slow gait, making sure that they all arrived there at the same time. He wasn't used to choreographed movement. Across from them, completing the row were Tetsuo, Hikaru and Aiko’s eldest brother, Ichiro. Both Hikaru and Tetsuo were in full samurai regalia, complete with weapons both practical and ornamental. Ichiro, a successful businessman back in Eriko, was in a sharp three-piece suit.

  Ian and Aiko both stopped in front of Jennifer, big beaming smiles on their faces. If they had any problems with Jennifer stealing the spotlight, they didn't show it. Behind them, standing as stalwart as ever, were Tetsuo and Hikaru. Both were decked out in their finest, shiniest samurai armor, looking both formal and intimidating. Ian glanced at Marcus, a wondering look on his face. The missing persons of Ellis and Mary were on his mind. Marcus waved him off about it.

  "Ian and Aiko have agreed to allow me to sing them a special song for their first dance." Jennifer stepped back, resuming a more familiar place on the stage. The band began to play, softly at first, but climbing in volume as they went. Marcus watched as the wolf-like Bill began in on a specialized violin, hitting sweet and powerful notes in the melody of the song. Jennifer looked down at the microphone, and began to sing.

  'It wasn't very long ago

  I didn't have you.

  I wasn't very long ago,

  I was helpless too.

  But that doesn't really come to my memory anymore.

  Because all I think about is you ever more.

  Marcus knew this song was meant more for him than for Ian. Something about it spoke right to him. He felt the meanings and he listened to the words. But again, something didn’t feel right. He knew something about this was wrong.

  ‘It wasn't very long ago

  That I was all alone.

  I wasn't very long ago

  I was the only one home.

  And then you came to my door.

  And I'm not alone anymore.

  And now there's one thing that I know for sure.'

  Jennifer began to rise from the stage, her body suspended by a wire coming out of the back of her dress. Marcus watched in amazement as she climbed nearly fifteen feet into the air. It all seemed so unreal. Jennifer was going out of her way to overshadow the entire proceeding. It was so overblown. Marcus wasn’t really sure what to make of it.

  Ian and Aiko danced their first dance, oblivious to the entire world around them. The song, the crowd, the lights. None of it could possibly exist. All they could see was right in front of them. There was no other reality. Even the song was just a bit of business in the background. There truly was only the two of them in the entire world. Marcus frowned. He didn’t want to, but Marcus felt a twinge of envy. He so wished the Rebekah was here.

  'There's no place I won't go,

  Without your heart.

  This is the life I need,

  No matter how long or short.'

  Marcus felt it before he heard it. Something compelled him to look up beyond Jenni
fer to the air above her. He almost couldn’t see it. A light glinted across the nearly invisible cable that held her aloft. Marcus watched as the great wire shuddered for just a second. The snap-twang rang out far over Jennifer's band and their dulcet music. Jennifer hung in the air for a terrible second, before plummeting to the stage.

  She landed with a sickening smack, bouncing once and then laying very still. The entire room gasped all at once. She wasn't moving. Marcus could see that she was breathing, but she was not conscious. The moment was long and almost unbearable. Marcus tried to make his feet move, but they wouldn’t budge. He was mesmerized like everyone else.

  "OHHH!" She moaned, trying to push herself up. A sigh passed through the room. Jennifer started to rise.

  "LOOK OUT!" Drew cried from just off stage. Before Jennifer could respond, a hand closed on her hair, lifting her to her feet with a yelp. Marcus felt his feet again, ready to act in that instant. He stopped short, seeing a long, silver blade rise up and rest on Jennifer's now exposed neck.

  "Hello Good Paladin." Mordred said as he pressed the blade closer to Jennifer's throat. "It's been a while."

  Chapter 29

  Move and Counter-move

  The Holodrome was almost dead silent. The entire of the crowd was standing, watching with rapt attention as Mordred gave Jennifer’s hair a silent yank. Jennifer cried out, tears coming down her cheeks. Marcus went to make a move, but Mordred pulled again.

  “This is not the time for heroics Kasidyne,” Mordred rasped. “I have tried to be patient. I have tried to be subtle.”

  “Yeah. Blowing out the Engine room of the Triumphant is real subtle,” Ian spat. Mordred glared in his direction, and Ian felt the image in his mind flare suddenly. His knees started to buckle as the image took over his sight.