Shadow of the Knight

by Matt Heppe

  A thrill of power went through him. At that instant he became aware of every threat near him. Ilana and the man in the bed shone like beacons of danger. There was a man behind him in the next room. There were guards nearby in the hall, men he couldn’t see, but who were a threat to him. He also knew exactly where Sulentis was.

  The shield came loose from the wall, but then a strap caught. Orlos pulled at it, but it wouldn’t come free. Queen Ilana lunged for him, grabbing his arm. Desperate, Orlos pushed the naked queen away, but then the man under her reached for him.

  Forsvar came free and Orlos toppled backwards. His back struck a dresser and then his head hit the wall. He was dazed, but he had Forsvar.

  “Hey, what—”

  Orlos turned. A naked man stood at the door. He held a silver tray in his hands. On top were a crystal decanter and three glasses. There was a small loaf of bread there as well.

  Sulentis lunged from behind the curtain and dashed across the room. Close by him, the man at the door snatched up the wine decanter and let the tray drop. He ran at Sulentis, crying out, “My queen!”

  Orlos stumbled away from the queen, but something held him—Ilana clutched a handful of his tunic. Orlos pulled away, and twisted up in the blankets, the queen and her lover both toppled to the floor. He was free.

  “Guards!’ she screamed. “Guards!”

  Sulentis had almost made it to Orlos when the man from the doorway struck him on the side of the head with the decanter. It shattered in an explosion of wine and glass and Sulentis collapsed.

  Orlos slipped Forsvar onto his arm. He felt stronger than he’d ever felt before. The man who’d struck down Sulentis charged Orlos, but it seemed as if the man moved in slow motion. Without a thought, Orlos swung Forsvar, striking the man and sending him reeling.

  Orlos looked to Sulentis, but he was motionless. The window was no escape. He ran through the open door, broken wine glasses crunching under his boots. Just as he entered the room, two guards burst through the door—both held swords and shields and were fully armored.

  “Stop!” one shouted.

  Orlos pulled his spiridus cloak over him. It enveloped him in an instant, and was more complete, more impenetrable, than it had ever been before.

  The men ran a few paces towards him, but then froze. “Where is he?” one said.

  “Get him!” Ilana shouted. “Stop him,” And then she cried out in pain and toppled through the doorway. She clutched at her bleeding feet.

  One guard ran to her. The other was about to follow when she shouted, “Close the door!’

  Orlos ran for the door as the second guard turned back to it. Orlos raised Forsvar, putting his shoulder behind the shield, and slammed into the man. The guard crashed into the wall and slumped to the floor. Orlos leapt through the doorway and ran down the hall. More guards approached from both directions, but his spiridus shadows held strong.

  The hallway was wide and lit by several lanterns. Murals and small tapestries decorated the walls. There were stuffed chairs and benches outside many of the rooms.

  Orlos pressed himself against the wall as four guards approached at a run. All had swords drawn as they pounded down the corridor. Orlos held Forsvar over his chest and cleared his mind of all thoughts but of his spiridus cloak.

  The guards passed close enough that he could have touched them, but none took any notice. He knew there’d be more. And soon they’d lock down the keep.

  He ran.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “There are men coming,” Escalan said.

  “What?” Telea roused herself from where she had been drowsing in the lee of their little boat. She got up and joined Escalan where he watched the open field from behind the shelter of a small tree.

  “See them?” he asked.

  “Yes.” There were a dozen men, at least, riding up the lane between the two fields. “They’re coming right for us.”

  “It can’t be Sulentis,” Escalan said. “Let’s get the boat back into the river.”

  “But what about our friends?” Telea asked.

  “These men have no reason to be here. Our friends must have been captured.”

  Telea was about to turn away when a voice shouted, “Escalan! Telea! It’s me, Fendal. Come out. We’ve succeeded.”

  Escalan paused. “Did Handrin take the throne?” he asked Telea in hushed tones. “Did he send Fendal for us?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I suppose he could have sent Fendal.”

  “Come out! No need to hide,” Fendal shouted. The men in the field dismounted. Fendal and another man led the way. They were armed, although in the darkness it was too difficult to make out too many details. Telea crouched lower behind the tree. The men couldn’t possibly see them.

  He’s lying, her demon said. He’s come to betray you.

  You’re certain?

  I can hide you.

  “Escalan, it’s a trap. He’s lying,” she said. The men were closer now, just twenty strides away. At least half of them had crossbows, and while they weren’t aiming them, they were clearly carried at the ready.

  “Go to the boat. Now,” Escalan said. They backed from behind the tree and ran to the boat. “Push!”

  Telea strained as hard as she could, but the boat barely budged. “We brought it too far ashore.”

  “Push harder!” Escalan said.

  They heaved at the boat, but its stern dug into the muddy bank. Telea heard men crashing through the thin wood screen. Escalan drew his sword and turned to face them.

  Hide in the boat.

  Telea threw herself over the side of the boat and crawled under a rowing bench. She felt the demon’s cloak of shadows flow over her. Be silent.

  “Hold there!” a man shouted. “You’re under arrest. Drop your sword!”

  “Do it,” Fendal said. “Don’t make them kill you.”

  “You betrayed us,” Escalan said. “How could you?”

  “I had no choice. They captured me.”

  “You didn’t have to help them!” Telea heard the fury in Escalan’s voice. She feared he might attack Fendal and be cut down by the soldiers.

  “Drop it,” the man’s voice came again. “Where’s the woman?”

  “She ran,” Escalan said. “Somewhere downstream.”

  “He’s lying. I saw someone by the boat.” The voice came from right above Telea. Someone new. “The boat’s empty, though.”

  “Look around it. Look in the water. Come out, woman!” the leader’s voice said. “Come out, or we will kill your friend.”

  “What?” Fendal said. “You can’t. He’s Rayne, Prince Handrin’s valet.”

  “I don’t care who he is! He’s a dead man if she doesn’t show herself.”

  Don’t do it, her demon said. You must live… for us.

  I won’t let him die.

  “Come out!” the man shouted again.

  “Run, Telea!” Escalan shouted. A man yelled, and then she heard the sounds of a struggle.

  “Kill him,” someone said.

  “I surrender,” Telea shouted as she stood. “Don’t hurt him!”

  “What in Dromost?” A soldier standing next to the boat stepped back in surprise. “Where were you hiding?”

  “Damn you, fool,” another man said. “I thought you searched the boat.”

  “There was nothing to search.” The man seized Telea by the arm and dragged her from the boat. She tripped over the edge and fell hard on the ground. Escalan had been knocked down as well and had a sword at his throat.

  “Gag her,” a man ordered. “Their friend says she can cast spells with her voice.”

  “No! We don’t—”

  The man holding her struck her a blow in the temple. The world spun and suddenly her face was in the dirt. Before she could speak she was gagged and bound. Her temple pounded where she’d been struck.

  Her captors threw her across the back of a horse and soon the group was riding down the lane. The ride was an agony. Not onl
y did her head hurt, but the cantering horse jostled her with every step, driving the breath from her and making it nearly impossible to breathe. She gagged and nearly retched from the rag stuffed in her mouth.

  The ride seemed to take forever, but eventually they entered the city. Bells tolled and horns blared. She saw a torch-lit cobbled street beneath her. Every step the horse took hurt her more than the last. Despite the pain, she raised her head to see her surroundings. The movement was a mistake—it forced the rag deeper in her throat, and she gagged and coughed. She felt her gorge rise and then vomited.

  She choked and sputtered. The vomit couldn’t clear her mouth and filled her nose. She tried to throw herself from the horse, but had no leverage.

  “Get her! Someone get her! Dromost take her, she’s choking.” Rough hands threw her from the horse. The gag was yanked from her mouth.

  “Keep it on her. You heard what they said.”

  Telea took a deep breath and then a coughing fit seized her. She coughed and choked and threw up again, and then passed out on the street.

  They dragged her down a hall. Lanterns lit the way. Two men had her. Still she heard bells tolling. A door opened. “Take this one as well,” a man next to her said. “Lock her up. Gag her.”

  “What in Forsvar’s name is wrong with her? She’s a mess. And what’s wrong with her skin? Why’s it so dark?”

  “She’s mixed up with all this.”

  Telea was so weak she could hardly raise her head. Each heartbeat pounded her skull like a hammer blow. Sulentis had failed. The queen had taken him, and now her mission had failed as well.

  She tried to speak but coughed instead.

  Play dead. Be weak. Don’t be a threat, her demon said.

  I must speak with the queen. I must tell her—

  No. Don’t be a threat, and they won’t gag you.

  Maybe the queen—

  She’ll kill you. The demon’s tone was strident. Stay small, and strike when they don’t expect it. Be a worm.

  How do you know so much?

  For a moment the demon made no reply. I’ve been here before. I lived here for a time in another life. The Demon’s voice was distant, as if lost in the memory.

  “It’s really missing then?” one of the men said.

  “Shut up, man. She’s listening.”

  “What is she going to do?”

  “I told you, she’s in on it. The queen will want her interrogated later.”

  “Come on,” a third voice said. “The sergeant will be furious.”

  New hands took Telea and dragged her down the hall. A door slammed.

  “Telea!” a voice called. Escalan’s voice. “What have you done to her?”

  “Shut up!” the guard shouted.

  Telea’s head lolled to the left, and she saw a cell. Several cells. Finally they stopped. A heavy door was opened and the men dragged her into the room where they cast her onto a straw pallet.

  “They said we’re to gag her,” one of the men said. Telea could see them now. Two men in aketons with daggers and cudgels at their belts. They wore blue tabards with a gold crown over manacles depicted on it. One was bald and large, the other thin and stooped with long hair.

  “What for? She got a foul mouth?” The long haired man laughed.

  The bald one shrugged. “He didn’t say.”

  “She won’t be no problem. Will you?”

  Telea didn’t reply. She turned her face into the straw.

  “She’s an odd looking one,” the bald guard said. He knelt down beside her and grabbed the back of her thigh. “Would like to get a look at the rest of her.”

  “Now?” the other guard laughed. “Maybe clean her up first. By Forsvar, you’d screw anything.”

  The bald guard grabbed Telea’s breast and gave it a hard squeeze. She flinched back from the pain and knocked his hand aside.

  “Whoo, look who’s got fire.”

  The cell door is open, her demon said. They won’t expect it. Take his knife.

  I can’t fight. Not both of them.

  Don’t fight. Summon a demon. They’ll rape you, and the queen will have you killed.

  I’m too weak, Telea thought. I’m injured and can’t think straight.

  Let me do it, the demon urged. I will do it for you and free us both.

  The guard shoved his hand between Telea’s thighs. “I’m sort of curious about you,” he said.

  “Come on,” the other guard said. “Not now. What if the inquisitors come for her?”

  “Let’s just take a peek.” The guard pulled her dress up above her thighs.

  “No,” she muttered. She tried to force his hands away but didn’t have the strength. He would take her. The demon was right. She’d be raped and killed, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Almost nothing.

  Without another thought, she let the demon have control. Something deep inside her told her it was wrong, but she didn’t care. Her demon would stop the man. Her demon would free her.

  Telea’s mind retreated as strength surged through her limbs. Gone was the fatigue and pain, the confusion of her concussed mind. The demon had control and thrilled with his new strength.

  Telea wrapped her arms around the guard and pulled him down on top of her. “Woah!” the startled guard cried out. The other one laughed. From far above, it seemed from out of her body, Telea watched the scene unfold.

  The guard had his hands on either side of Telea, pushing himself up, off of her. Her right arm was wrapped around his neck, one of her legs was coiled around his. Her left hand was free to go for his knife.

  The other guard, standing at the door saw it and shouted, “Watch out!” He jumped forward but was too late.

  Telea drew the dagger across the bald man’s head, slicing through the flesh and into his skull. He screamed out in pain and threw himself back, breaking her hold on him.

  Her demon started to chant. From the very first word, smoke boiled from the guard’s skull. His scream rose tenfold as he clutched at his head, tearing at the wound as if trying to pull something from within his skull. Blood washed over his face and neck throwing clouds of thick, black smoke.

  The skinny guard backed away, his eyes wide with horror. He missed the door and fell into a corner of the cell. The bald guard stood, twisting and writhing, and then he let out a long howl. He stumbled backwards against the cell door, and when he opened his eyes they glowed red, as if some fire burned within his skull.

  The skinny guard lunged for the door, but the demon-possessed guard threw himself atop him. The smaller man screamed for help, but the demon wrapped his hands around the man’s neck from behind and slammed his head into the floor. The guard went limp, but the demon didn’t stop, slamming the man’s head into the stone over and over until his skull broke open, and his brains were splattered across the floor.

  The demon laughed and turned its gaze on Telea. “Now it’s your turn,” it said, the voice a low rasp.

  “I command you to obey me.” It was Telea’s voice, but she didn’t say the words. It was her demon speaking through her, still in control of her body.

  The demon stood and licked the blood off of its hands. “I don’t obey you, worm. You brought me here, and when I go back I will perish. I will make you suffer for that.”

  “I summoned you. I command you.” Telea’s voice said. Her body sat up and crawled towards the back of the cell.

  “Worm!” The demon gathered itself to spring on Telea.

  Sing! Sing! It will not obey me!

  Telea sagged as the demon released control of her body. Her head pounded with the pain of her wound She was weak and dizzy, but the summoned demon was just paces from her, and there was only one thing she could do.

  Telea gathered her music around her and threw herself into the Song of Light. The demon recoiled at the very first note. “No! No!”

  She sang louder, pushing past her own pain and focusing only on the sound of her voice. The demon gave an anguished screa
m and threw itself out the cell door.

  The music wasn’t right. She didn’t have full control over it. She wanted to banish the demon—to drive it from the world, but she didn’t have the strength.

  Telea stood and stumbled out the cell door, but the demon had already fled down the hall. It was too far away for her song to affect it any more, at least in her current condition. The demon yanked the door open and disappeared.

  She sagged against the wall. Escalan’s cell was down there. She had to free him.

  Telea staggered half way down the hall before she thought of the key. Who had it? The demon who ran away? She ran back to her cell. She couldn’t look at the guard’s crushed head. Even the thought of it made her want to retch.

  She stepped over his body and pulled open his belt pouch. Relief flooded her at the sight of a heavy ring of keys. She snatched them up and fled the room.

  “Escalan, where are you?” she called as she ran down the hall.

  “In here! Help me!” Someone shouted. She looked through the bars of the iron-bound door, but it wasn’t him. Then she heard his voice calling from two cells down.

  “What happened?” Escalan asked. “I heard screams.”

  “I—I killed the guard. The other fled.”

  “Do you have the keys? He’ll be right back.”

  Telea tried the first key, but it wouldn’t work. “He won’t be back,” she said. The second key turned the lock and Escalan pushed the door open.

  “How do you know?” he asked.

  “Trust me. How do we escape?”

  “We don’t. We have to save Handrin.”

  “How? How’s that even possible?” She put her hand to her aching skull. Pain throbbed there, almost unbearable.

  “I’ve spent most of my life in this keep.” He glanced down the hall. “Come on.” He took her by the arm and led her through the door and into the guardroom.

  “This isn’t the main prison,” Escalan said. “These cells are part of the Great Keep. I know every hall and every stair.”

  Here, in the guardroom, Telea heard the chiming of alarm bells. “I don’t understand what’s going on, Escalan. Why are the bells still ringing?”