by Brad Clark
“I will kill him,” Conner said, anger starting to boil inside of him.
“No!” she replied sharply. “You cannot! We must play this out. We must keep peace with Taran. Whatever arrangement he has, it will be bad for us if he is killed. They will attack us. Not just attack us, invade us. We will no longer be Karmon. We will just be a part of Taran.”
She moved closer until they were inches apart. She rested a hand on his chest and looked directly into his eyes. She took his right hand and set it right over her heart. Her skin was incredibly soft and warm. Tingling rocketed through his entire body. “I want you to understand very clearly what I have to say.” She took a deep breath. “I love you. I love you with everything that I have. You and you alone have my heart. I will never, ever give it to anyone else. No matter what happens. No matter what you see, what you hear.”
Conner dropped his chin and closed his eyes, pressing the tears away.
She grabbed his chin and pushed it up and looked into his eyes. “Hear me. No matter what I say. No matter the words that come out of my mouth, you and you alone have my heart. I need you to understand that. Forever and always, my heart is yours. No one else’s.” And then the tears flowed and the sobs started.
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry and sob as long as she wanted.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Goshin rubbed his eyes. It took all his concentration and a tremendous amount of effort to read the language of his ancestors. Not only were the words different, but the letters were different as well. He had to translate each word individually, and then reread each phrase and sentence to understand its meaning. Many times he was only guessing at the translation, so the meaning that he derived did not make sense. That would then force him to spend as much as another whole day to retranslate the text. It was a frustratingly slow process, but one that held so much importance, he did not care how long it took.
There was a knock on the door just before it swung open. He had expected the scholar Rardus, but instead, it was a younger man.
“Are you Goshin?” the man asked softly, but with a shaky voice.
“Yes,” Goshin replied. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The sense of danger that had always kept him alive was screaming at him. He looked around at the scrolls and ancient papers scattered about on the table in front of him. He wished he could cover it all up, to hide what he was researching, but there would be no time.
The man pulled his head back from the doorway and a moment later, someone else stood there. He was a tall man in a black cloak pulled tightly around his body.
“Yes?” Goshin asked after waiting for the man to say something.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Is that how you address one such as me?”
“I do not know who you are,” Goshin said. His eyes now glanced around the room for something to use as a weapon.
“Of course,” the man said with a chuckle. “You are a foreigner. How would you know that I am the second most powerful man in the world?”
“You are the son of God?” Goshin asked. Prince Tarcious’ lips turned into a sneer. “You mock me when you should be bowing to your knees?”
“I am Hurai. I do not mock. I speak only truth.”
“The truth may get you killed.”
“Then it shall. I am not afraid of death.”
“You may not be afraid of death, but you should be afraid of how you die.”
“I fear only my God,” Goshin said. “Not you, Prince Tarcious.”
“Then you know who I am.”
“Yes, I do now.”
“And yet, you do not bow. I could have you flogged. Or even executed.”
“Like I said, I am unafraid of death.”
“Of course not,” Prince Tarcious said. “Why would anyone such as you fear death? For what comes after death is so much better than what you have here on earth. I just wonder why you don’t take your own life to experience the afterlife.”
Goshin raised an eyebrow. “My God has provided a plan for me. When the plan has reached its course, then I shall see him in heaven. Until then, it is for me to live my life in a way that serves him.”
Prince Tarcious stepped into the room and closed the door. “Of course. I would not expect any different answer.”
“Why are you here?” Goshin asked sharply.
Prince Tarcious replied, “You are direct. No fear. Direct. I like that in a man.”
“I am old,” Goshin said. “I do not have time to wait for chit-chat.”
“You are busy here. Researching, I presume. Manuscripts and documents from the past, I see. They are old and frail. From a time long since passed.” Prince Tarcious walked forward to look more closely at the documents scattered about the table. “I had no idea our library contained such blasphemous works.”
“They are historical,” Goshin retorted. “You cannot hide from history.”
“Yes I can,” Prince Tarcious said. “The documents that you are researching are from an age that no longer exists. The documents should no longer exist. If I had known, they would have been destroyed a long time ago.”
“They hold something that you are afraid of?” Goshin asked.
Prince Tarcious slammed his fists on the table and leaned towards Goshin. His eyes grew wide and the pupils appeared to flash a bright orange. “It is you who will be afraid before this conversation is done.”
“As I said, I am not afraid of you,” Goshin said. “You are here to find out what I am doing and to stop me. You can stop me. That is fine. But what you cannot stop is what God has planned. And that is why you are here, because you do not know what God has planned. And you expect me to tell you.”
“Of course,” Prince Tarcious said.
“And I will,” Goshin said. “My research is not fully complete, but I have a pretty good understanding of what the plans of God are. He had placed clues throughout the ages. Prophets who carried his message kept those clues alive. Just the fact that you did not know about this room, about these documents, proves that God is certainly more powerful than your little empire. He hid all this from you. He left it for me to find.”
“It will do you no good, however,” Prince Tarcious said. “What you learned, what you have read. These documents will not last the day. They will be burned out of existence. And so will you. You will not survive the day. How does that sound?”
“I have served my God faithfully,” Goshin said. “I will happily return to his kingdom and serve him in the afterlife.”
Prince Tarcious looked over the old man carefully. After a few silent moments, he said, “So you come here, learn what you learn, and you do not care that it was all in vain? That no one will ever hear of what you have learned.”
“If it is God’s will,” Goshin. “Or do you not believe in God?”
The smile crept back onto Prince Tarcious face. “Of course I believe in God. How could I not. Oh, does that surprise you? That I believe in God? In your God and not the gods of my people? The gods of my people are stories to tell little boys and girls to frighten them into behaving. It keeps them believing in something, gives them a false hope that I can easily pull away from them when it no longer suits me. Even my brother, great Emperor Hargon believes in all those gods. But like you, I know the truth.”
“Your truth and my truth do not seem to be the same.”
Prince Tarcious pointed a finger at Goshin. “They are. Well, they are almost the same.”
“You believe in God, but you do not serve Him. You serve the Deceiver.”
Laughter burst from the prince. “Deceiver! That is what I could call your God, for he deceives you into thinking that he is the ultimate being, the creator of all the universe, the savior of humanity. I serve the Adversary. The one who opposes your God. Your God, who treats his people as slaves and commands that you do his bidding. The Adversary demands fealty, as a king or emperor demands it of his people, but the Adversary does not command his people to be slaves.”<
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“I willingly serve my God,” Goshin said. “He does not ask me to be his slave. The Deceiver has tricked you into following him. The only truth is from God. And only he can save your soul.”
“And that is where you are so wrong, and that is why I am here. For the Adversary has put it upon me to bring his message to the people of earth. He will come here to serve as lord and master to the people of earth, and I will be there to administer his justice.”
“He will only bring death and destruction,” Goshin said. He looked at the documents on the table and on the dusty shelves. With a wave of his hand, he continued, “As it is written throughout history and in the documents here, the Deceiver has only one desire, and that is the death of anything good and just. He wishes to conquer and destroy. Despite what you say, it is the Deceiver who desires slaves. He will not have any followers, for no one would ever follow him. Humanity will reject him and defeat him. It would only be through the destruction of earth and the enslavement of humanity that he will reign. But that will not happen. As the prophecies clearly state, he will oppose two forces that will join to defeat him. The sign has already been given and it is only time before the prophesy is carried out.”
“The star in the sky is the sign.”
“Of course it is,” Goshin said. “You did not know?”
“Just confirming.”
“Your Deceiver did not reveal this to you?” Goshin asked dryly.
“The Adversary,” Prince Tarcious said sharply. “Only reveals that which he wishes for me to know. Just like your God. He does not tell you everything, does he? Or why would you be spending day upon day here in the library reading texts that are thousands of years old? And like your God, who uses different people for different things, has used you to reveal to me their plans.”
“I have told you nothing, other than to confirm that the star in the sky, the one that never moves, and burns brightly through the night, is a sign from God.”
“You have told me about the two forces that will attempt to oppose the Adversary,” Prince Tarcious said. “Now you will tell me details about them.”
“I know no details,” Goshin replied. “Only that there will be two forces.”
“Then you will die a horrible death,” Prince Tarcious said.
“Like I said before, I am prepared for death.”
“You are not prepared for the death that I will give you. It will not be quick or painless. It will last for days. Maybe weeks. You will be begging me to end it quickly. And I will only do so when you have provided me the information I desire.”
Prince Tarcious backed away from the table and opened the door to the small chamber. “Centurions. Come. Escort this old man to the dungeons.”
Goshin stood, allowing himself to be shackled with heavy irons. He closed his eyes and reminded himself that God indeed had a plan for him and that he would have to trust Him. With a slight tug, the centurions escorted him from the room. As he passed by Prince Tarcious, Goshin picked up the slight scent of burnt skin. The prince flashed Goshin a quick smile before his hands lit up in a ball of fire. With a thrust of his hands, the prince cast the fireballs into the small room where all the paper lit up instantly. The fireball exploded out of the room, sucking air from the corridor. Prince Tarcious was in the center of the ball of fire, but he was not singed or felt any heat.
Prince Tarcious locked eyes with Goshin and said, “The Adversary protects me. Will your God protect you?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Conner looked down at the waves that crashed upon the rocks far below. Over and over, the water broke upon the large boulders in a rhythmic dance of sheer force. Eventually, in thousands of years, those large boulders would be worn down to nothing. But he would not be witness to it. He would be long gone. The world would be changed, too. He wondered if the castle walls would still be standing. Would the empire finally notice the little kingdom to the east and bring its full might and power upon them? Would there just be a pile of rubble leftover where the walls were. Would the houses last? Would the people?
He looked out into the gulf to see the sailing ships of the empire still moored out in full sight of the castle. It was an impractical place for them to anchor as there was no place nearby to land even their small tenders. The Tyre River dumped into the Gulf of Taran more than a mile to the south. That was the closest place to land. Keeping the naval vessels in full sight of the castle was all for show. It might have been for Lord Martin and the other lords who held some sway over Elissa, or for Lord Neffenmark to remind him how he attained his throne. Maybe it was for the people of Karmon to see that the empire still existed and could be a threat.
Conner wondered how long it would take to swim to one of them. He knew he could jump from the cliff and survive, but would he still have the energy to swim that far? And would they even take him aboard? He glanced to the north at the distant peaks of the White Mountains. He would likely have to take the long way if he ever wanted to see Taran.
The sound of trumpets startled him. There were five long blasts from twenty trumpeters that lined the topmost battlements. He turned back towards the castle and noticed Marik walking towards him. The knight was walking slowly, his shoulders hunched.
Conner turned back to the crashing waves of the gulf.
A moment later, Marik slid in next to him and said with a heavy sigh, “The trumpeting declared the sharing of vows. It is done.”
“I still do not believe it,” Conner said. “I don’t know how this could have happened, and so quickly.”
“It is not over, either,” Marik said. “Neffenmark…” He shook his head and smiled at Conner. “I don’t think I can stomach calling him King. Neffenmark is just getting started. He has always been power hungry and I fear for this kingdom. He will tear it apart. The lords from Tyre are already talking amongst themselves. If it were not for the fear of the Tarans, I do not think Tyre would stand for Neffenmark being king. But they fear the empire more. So they will talk among themselves and gripe and grumble, but they will not do anything.”
“What about the knights?” Conner asked.
“Those of us that are left will have to swear our fealty to him. We have no choice.”
“Do you really not have a choice?”
Marik opened his mouth to reply, but new thoughts were in his head. After a moment of reflection, he said, “What you ask is treason. Punishable by death. We are Knights of Karmon and we took an oath to protect the kingdom. The moment we stood up to the king, he would send every soldier at us. We would be arrested, tried, and executed before the sun rose. The kingdom is bigger than any one king. Our honor needs to outlast any man. We have to stay firm to those beliefs, even if we don’t believe in the man who wears the crown. So tomorrow, in a ceremony of honor and respect, the Knights of Karmon will dress up in our polished armor and kneel before the king and swear our loyalty to him.”
“I will do no such thing,” Conner said.
“And I do not blame you,” Marik said. “You have been relieved of your duty.”
Conner looked away and shook his head. “No. I will always be her champion.”
“She has a husband, now. She has no need of a champion.”
“No,” Conner said. “I think she needs me more now more than ever. She was forced into this marriage under the pretense of protecting the kingdom.”
Marik put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Conner, you must release yourself from her. It will not go well for you. Neffenmark is evil. As pure as it comes.”
“Then we must fight him!” Conner said loudly.
Marik glanced around and up to the battlements were Royal Guard were patrolling. He was sure they heard Conner, but they kept their eyes averted from them. Softly, the ranger whispered, “You cannot say such stuff. Not now. Even if you believe it, you cannot let anyone overhear you. If word got back to Neffenmark, he could have you imprisoned. You cannot do any good shackled to a dungeon wall.”
“They will not take me without
a fight!” Conner said.
“And you cannot do the Princess…I mean Queen Elissa, any good dead, either,” Marik said with a firm, but quiet voice.
“But I have to do something. I cannot just sit around and do nothing. Watch them be married, watch him be on the throne.” He turned to the White Mountains and continue. “I think it is time for me to go. Master Goshin could probably use some help with whatever it is that he is looking for. I can go find him.”
“I know it would be tough for you to hear, but I think it would be good for you to be here. And I think it would be good for Queen Elissa, too. She will need as many friends around her as she can have. As difficult as it is for you, just imagine what it must be like to be her. She is the one who is really stuck in the middle of this. She is the one who lost her father and her life turned upside down. She went from a princess with no responsibilities to the queen of the kingdom. Plus, a marriage to a man that she surely does not, and probably could never, love. She may not need a champion, but she does need good friends.”
Marik waited for a reply. After a few moments, he added, “At least give it some time. Just don’t abandon her right now.”
Conner gave a slight nod and said. “Very well. What about you? What are you going to do?”
“The battle with Thell hurt us bad. But it was the loss of squires and young knights that hurt the worst. It will take some time for us to get our numbers back up to where we can protect the kingdom fully. And when I say some time, I mean years, not months. We could have easily absorbed some loss. But we lost about a quarter of the knights in service and almost half of the squires. And since it takes a good ten years to train a young boy up to be a knight, it could be a long time before we have the numbers again. So I, and all the other knights, will be spending our days training young boys to become knights. “
“You know,” Conner said. “It only took me a few months.”
“Master Goshin did a fine job training you to fight with a sword,” Marik said. “But he did not teach you to ride a horse, or to take care of a horse, or to fight from a horse. He did not teach you how to forge a blade or how to fight with other weapons. Or to make a weapon foraged from the forests. He did not teach you how to lead an army or other men. He did not teach you how to act in court, or to dance.”