The Trials (Assassin's Intent Book 1)

by Lanford, K. W.

  Rix snorted. "You give me something worth focusing on and I will show you more focus than you have ever seen."

  Yantis tapped a finger to his lips, apparently deep in thought. "I shall tell you what, stay with me for a few days. Let’s see if there is any hope of arranging those thoughts in your mind into something cohesive. I warn you now though; the road to becoming a mage is a long one. It will not happen overnight."

  Rix just grinned. "Once I set my mind to a task you shall be amazed at my focus." Aram and Tollis laughed out loud at that statement.

  Aram stood up from the table and took the ring from Tollis. "Master Yantis, Let me take this ring for a few hours to verify your story. Sir Tollis and Lord Rix here will remain with you to give you assurances that I will return with it."

  Yantis nodded to him. "That sounds fair. Although I still haven’t been told how you are all connected to King Aramis, I can see for myself you are indeed connected. We shall remain here. Do what you need to do. Perhaps young Rix and I can start a few lessons?"

  Rix jumped up from his seat and started dancing around singing. "Gonna be a mage, gonna be a mage!" Yantis just sighed.

  Aram rode hard for the compound. He quickly made his way to Victor’s office and knocked on the door. The door was answered by Jerald and Aram sighed in relief. If the big general was here, so was his mother. Jerald stepped aside to let him in. His mother was sitting on a couch talking with the mayor? Aram walked up to his mother and nodded to the mayor. "I beg your pardon, Mayor, but I need to speak with my mother."

  The mayor stood up and bowed deeply to Mayla. "Thank you, Your Highness, for indulging an old man with such pleasant memories. But it is late and I must return to Warrington with this most wonderful news." He bowed once more then left.

  Mayla could see the trouble in Aram’s eyes and she motioned him to sit with her. "What is it son?"

  Aram sat beside his mother and held up the ring. Mayla’s eyes went wide, then wet, all in the span of a heartbeat. Gently, she reached out and took the ring as if it were the most precious object in the world. "Where did you get this?"

  Aram looked up at her. "When we got back to the inn, a mage named Yantis was waiting for us. He said you had given him the ring as payment to find father's killer."

  Mayla looked up into Aram’s eyes, a smile spreading slowly across her face. "Yantis lives? I had heard he was killed in his quest."

  Aram sat back, relaxing just a bit. "So you know him? His story is true?"

  Mayla nodded. "For the most part; he was being careful with the information he gave you."

  "Yantis is my brother. I gave him the ring to use as a focus for divination. You must bring him here right away. Tell him who you are. If he doesn’t believe you, simply say. 'Lala lives and wants to see you.' There are only two people in the world that knew he called me Lala. Please, Aram, make haste; I can’t wait another day to see him." Aram hugged his mother and left the room.

  Instead of heading for the stables, he ran for the cliffs. He told himself it was because it was faster than the horse, but couldn’t help feeling a little guilty that he was looking for an excuse to ride the wind again. He made his way to the cliffs and flew.

  Aram entered the private room of the inn just in time to see Rix wave his hand at a candle. Instead of the little flame coming to life, the entire candle melted into a puddle of cooling wax. There were three such puddles on the table. Tollis was leaned back in a chair, laughing jovially at Rix’s failure and Yantis seemed to be struggling to be stern without laughing himself.

  They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at Aram. "Yantis, I need you to come with me." Yantis looked at him and Aram could see him calculating a response. Aram leaned forward, placed both hands on the table and looked Yantis in the eyes. "My name is Aram Blackenwood. My mother, Lala, wants to see you."

  Yantis stood so quickly his chair fell over onto the floor. He looked deeply into Aram’s eyes. "Don’t play with me, boy!"

  Aram could see him trembling, but couldn’t tell if it was in rage or shock. "I speak the truth, 'Uncle'. Mayla lives; she asked me to fetch you as fast as possible. Her exact words were, 'I can’t wait another day to see him.' She also told me the truth of your transaction with my father’s ring. It wasn’t payment; it was so you could use it for divination."

  Yantis looked like he would faint. Tollis jumped up and quickly grabbed him for support. Tears were streaming down his face. "It’s true? My Lala lives? Please; you must take me to her with all haste! Better yet, I shall take us there. I need you to focus on a spot near her, but a place where there will be no one around." He walked over to Aram and placed both hands on either side of his head. "Do you have such a place in mind?"

  Aram nodded. Suddenly, he felt a sensation pass through his body like a chill and warmth all mixed together. Yantis turned and drew a large circle in the air. The air seemed to shimmer for a few seconds and Aram could see the spot he had imagined inside the circle. Yantis motioned towards the circle. "Everyone through, I must be last. The spell will end when I pass through."

  Rix, without a second thought, jumped into the portal. He turned when he got through and looked back, grinning like a maniac and waving them on. Tollis shrugged and stepped through, followed by Aram. As Yantis had said. as soon as he stepped through, the hole in the world vanished.

  They were just outside the stables and quickly made their way to Victor’s office. Jerald met them just outside Victor’s door. He smiled and extended his hand to Yantis. "It’s good to see you again."

  Yantis returned the smile and clasped arms with Jerald. "It is good indeed to see you. Is she in there?" Jerald nodded and opened the door. Yantis stood at the threshold, apparently trying to rein in his emotions and then stepped though. He was still looking at the floor, trying to find the courage to face the reality of his prayers being answered, when she hit him.

  Queen Mayla Blackenwood threw all tact and decorum aside and jumped into her brothers arms as soon as he walked through the door. They held each other and cried. There weren’t words for how they were both feeling and there were none needed. Jerald cleared his throat and Mayla stepped back from Yantis and smiled. "Please come in and tell me everything."

  Chapter Eight

  Gathering Information

  Yantis explained how he had spent the first five years trying to divine anything he could about King Aramis. The only thing he could find was something about a journal in a secret cubby. Hearing this, Mayla’s eyes went wide! "I had forgotten about that! I wonder if it could still be there, in our old room in the castle."

  Yantis shrugged. "Even if it is still there, do you think it would be of any use? As far as I could tell from my scrying, it was only a journal."

  Mayla smiled fondly. "Aramis wrote everything in that journal. He had to have had some foreknowledge of what was transpiring the night of his death. He came to me that evening and bade me to take Aram and hide. He said he would rather be safe than sorry and that I shouldn’t panic. He told me, should anything go wrong, to seek out Victor and stay hidden and safe. Victor hid us at a great burden to himself. I sought out Yantis for aid. He used his magic to disguise me and I gave him Aramis’ ring to try and find answers. With the disguise, Aram and I were able to live out in the open, no longer hidden. When Aram turned four years old, Victor had bade me to let him teach the child in the Order so that when the day came, Aram would be able to protect me. I did what I thought was best for my dear baby boy and gave him to Victor. I was distraught. I left there crying. I didn’t know or care where I was going; I just went. I was walking the roadway when a man in a wagon saw me. He stopped his wagon, jumped down and ran over to me, obviously thinking I had been robbed or worse by highwaymen. He looked into my eyes and without a word, simply held me and let me cry."

  She looked at Rix. "This was the kind of man your father was. I know he was hard on you growing up, but in his heart he was only trying to prepare you for a world that was uncaring and cruel. At night,
I would have to hold him while he cried knowing you hated him for it." Rix hung his head, a tear slowly trailing down his cheek. Mayla continued. "As time wore on, the disguise Yantis had spelled me with faded. But the changes were gradual, so everyone just assumed it was a natural thing. I lived a good life, but always there was a hole where Aramis and Aram were missing."

  Yantis leaned forward. "So this whole time I thought I had failed, I may have discovered the one thing you most desired?"

  Mayla nodded. "Yes, it is entirely possible. However, he kept the book in a hidden nook under the window sill in our room, on the top floor of the castle. Even if we had known this, there is no way we would be able to retrieve it."

  This time it was Aram who spoke up. "Until now." They all looked at him. "Thanks to Victor’s insistence that I learn every facet of what the Order has to offer, I am probably the only one capable of retrieving that journal." Mayla started to object, but Aram cut her off. "Mother, I can do this. What’s more, I want to do this. I cannot carry on pretending I don’t know there is a journal written by my father. Even if it holds nothing about his murder, I would dearly love to get some insight into the father I never knew. Yantis, would you cast your disguise spell on me?"

  Yantis nodded. As he walked over to Aram, he noticed a faraway look in Aram’s eyes, but just shrugged and passed his hand before Aram’s face. Aram’s features shimmered and then changed. The changes were small, yet the effect was dramatic. Not even his friends in the room would recognize him.

  Victor and Arlaina exchanged knowing looks; Aram had absorbed the knowledge of the disguise spell. Aram’s eyes came back into focus. "Victor," he said. "I would like to borrow a horse from the stables and provisions for the road."

  Tollis stepped forward. "Make those provisions for two. As it is my father’s duty to protect the queen, it falls to me to protect you."

  Rix stepped forward, but Aram cut him off. "Rix, I know you would love to come on an adventure with us, but I think we would all be better off if you could stay and learn more from Yantis. Having two mages on our side could do nothing but help."

  Yantis muttered, "Unless one of the mages blows us all to smithereens with a miss-spell."

  Everyone laughed and looked to Rix, who only shrugged. "Don’t worry, Yantis; I doubt your failed spells would do much damage. Well I guess that’s settled; I will be going to bed now. All this adventure and excitement has left me drowsy." With that, he walked out of the room.

  The next morning, Aram and Tollis went to the stables, only to find Dimsey and Arlaina already had four horses saddled and ready to ride. Aram smiled at them and they all mounted up and rode out of the compound.

  The road from Warrington to the capital city would take about a week at an easy pace. Although Aram was anxious, there was no dire need for haste. On the fourth day, Tollis called them to a halt and pointed into the distance. There was a cloud of dust on the road ahead. "Looks like one rider, but he is riding hard," Tollis said.

  They decided to just keep their course and stay alert. As the rider approached, Tollis spotted the armor of the royal guard, but there was also a braided rope on his left shoulder.

  The rider noticed Tollis and reigned to a stop before him. He clasped a fist to his heart. "Lord Blackenwood, fortune smiles upon me this day. I have ridden out from a group of two hundred men, who are headed to Warrington to put down the resistance. I managed to get the duty of scout, so I took it upon myself to try and get warning to the town. None of the men know what’s going on there, but we have heard rumors that the ghost of King Aramis walks the town and that the queen lives. Has the time your father promised finally come to pass?"

  Tollis nodded to the soldier. "Indeed it has, Sergeant. How many of the two hundred are loyal?"

  The sergeant smiled. "All of them, my lord. Captain Rosenthal suspected this was what we were waiting on, so he volunteered his company to suppress the uprising before it got out of control."

  Tollis thought about it a moment. "Wait here another day or so and then return to Captain Rosenthal. Tell him the time has come. He needs to send for reinforcements; we need everyone loyal out of there before your company’s true loyalties are discovered."

  The sergeant clapped a hand to his heart again. "It will be done, my lord. If you’re riding to the capital, the road before you is clear. Our men are marching on the west road, so as to not attract attention."

  Tollis nodded. "Tell Captain Rosenthal my father is at the Order and that he should take our men there. Father will fill them in on the details when they get there." With another salute, the sergeant made his way to a clearing beside the road and started to set up a small camp.

  The group continued on their way, each deep in their own thoughts. Truly, it seemed they were caught up in a snowball rolling down a huge hill, with nothing to slow its decent. After awhile of riding in silence, Arlaina spoke up. "We will need to find an inn in the capital and formulate a cover story for our visit."

  Aram looked over at her, confused. "People have to have a reason to visit the capital?"

  Arlaina laughed. "The false king is paranoid and keeps close tabs on the comings and goings of those in the capital."

  Aram considered this for awhile. "Couldn’t we just be coming to see the capital for the first time? Tollis and I have just come of age. Is it rare for young people from the country to want to see a big city?"

  Arlaina shrugged. "That could work, but what of me and Dimsey?"

  Aram smiled. "Oh, Uncle Dimsey was a requirement of my mother; she couldn’t have us hooligans making a bad name for her. As for you, I would suggest you be my betrothed, but I fear the fight I would have on my hands when Rix got word." They all laughed.

  Arlaina pouted. "Oh and my hand wouldn’t be worth fighting for?"

  Aram chuckled. "Worth a million fights--with an enemy who has scruples." They all laughed again. Aram continued with all seriousness. "Arlaina, I would be honored to be your betrothed."

  Arlaina sniffed at him. "I shall consider it. If you had asked me yesterday I would have agreed, but today your nose is far too big to be attractive."

  They approached the gates about midday and were called to a halt by the gate guard. He approached them like a man who had done this task a thousand times and was angry at them for forcing him to do it yet again today. "What businesses have you in the city?"

  Dimsey was the one to speak. "I have brought my young nephews and one of their betrothed, to see the city sights for the first time. You think you have a depressing job? Try being chaperone and baby sitter all at once!" The guard actually chuckled. Dimsey continued. "Where might we find a decent inn near the sights that will not rob us of a month’s wages?"

  The guard thought it over. "Try Holstead Inn; if he has rooms available, they are the best for the coin in the whole capital."

  Dimsey smiled knowingly. "And whom shall I tell the good proprietor led me to his establishment?"

  The guard winked at Dimsey. "Tell him Hicks sent you his way."

  As they rode though town, Aram asked, "So where will we really stay?"

  Dimsey chuckled. "We shall stay where we were sent. Although I do not doubt the room will cost extra when I mention Hicks' name; that is exactly what I shall do."

  Aram turned in his saddle. "Why would we do that? I thought we would want to stay out of sight."

  Dimsey chuckled yet again. "So, am I to assume the role of master once again? I thought I was only here to make sure you didn’t violate young Arlaina’s honor!" Aram shook his head in resignation and Dimsey chuckled even harder. "In answer to the question pressing so strongly against the inside of your skull Aram, the best shadows to hide in are the ones you don’t look for. If anything should go amiss during our visit, why bother with the people who are standing out in the open? Wouldn’t someone intent on causing such a ruckus, not want the guards themselves to know where they were staying?"

  Aram bowed in his saddle towards Dimsey. "Thank you, Master, it seems you have taught me
all that I know, yet failed to share all that you know."

  Aram finally took the time to look at his surroundings. The city was a grand place. The streets were all cobbled, lined with houses and shops of all kinds. They rode through a market square, with hawkers selling their wares from carts and covered tables. The amount of people pressed into the small space was amazing. When they had reached the road the inn was on, Aram reigned in and sat staring in wonder at the castle. Across the road from the inn was an open garden, bordered on its far side by a great wall. A wide road led through the garden to a grand set of gates. Beyond the gates, upon a hill, stood the castle. It was magnificent! There were great towers with bridges connecting them. The main building itself had to be at least six stories tall. High above the great courtyard was a balcony, the same balcony he had seen in the tapestry at the inn in Warrington.

  Arlaina spoke, pulling Aram from his thoughts of what was and what would be. "Let’s go inside, wash the road dirt off and get a decent meal."

  Aram's mind returned to the present with a jolt. He looked around and found Dimsey had already dismounted and led his horse to the stables. Aram finally responded to Arlaina, nodding his agreement before they too, stabled their horses. By the time they got inside the inn, Dimsey had already rented them rooms and ordered a meal. So they all went upstairs to clean up before eating.

  Aram entered his room and was stunned. It was huge in comparison to his shared dorm back at the Order. It could even be considered huge in comparison to the room at the inn in Warrington! At the back of the room sat a steaming bathtub. Aram didn’t know or care how they had gotten heated water into his room so fast, but he was grateful. He immediately stripped down and sank into the tub. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, yet quickly. Although the hot water felt good, the prospect of a hot meal was more tempting at the moment. He dug through his backpack, pulled out fresh clothes and got dressed. Just as he was about to leave his room, he noticed a small side door. Curious, he walked over and opened it up. …