Elrond looked questionably at Yantis. "Forgive me, but who exactly are you to be giving the orders?"
Yantis smiled. "I am the one who is going to bring your queen back home, but only when I can be assured of her safety."
Elrond gave Yantis a salute. "That is a good enough answer for me. There is only one problem. I am only a corporal. Nearly all of those men out rank me and will resist taking an order from me."
Aram stepped forward. "I am the rightful prince of the throne and on my authority, you are now captain of the house guard."
Elrond bowed to Aram, but hesitated. Aram motioned for him to speak his mind. "Well Your Highness, none but those in this room witnessed such a proclamation and begging your pardon, but there is no proof you are who you say."
Aram was stumped. The man made a valid point. Broden took over from there. "Captain, you have been named captain by the rightful heir. Now, as the still-standing king, I also proclaim it. The proof you require is here."
Broden walked over to a small table and opened a drawer. He pulled a small box from inside and opened it up. Broden took out a couple small items and then replaced the box in the drawer before walking over to Elrond.
He pinned the two tiny insignia upon his collar, then handed him a ring bearing the house seal. "You may notice one of those insignia isn’t pinned on straight. Do not straighten it. It is a message to all those of rank that the king himself has placed them upon you."
Elrond smiled and saluted Broden, then turned to Yantis. "Lord Mage, I shall have the men already at my disposal set out along the wall. The two hundred men you spoke of would be greatly needed to protect the castle twenty four hours a day."
Yantis nodded that he understood. "One more thing captain; feel free to spread the word that Queen Mayla has returned." A genuine grin lit the man's face. He saluted Yantis, turned and left.
They were about to head out to the courtyard when Rix staggered out of the room. "What did I miss?" Rix went over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink.
Aram shrugged. "What’s the last thing you remember?"
Rix took a long swig of brandy and smacked his lips. "I seem to recall something about me saving the day, or something to that effect."
Aram laughed out loud. "So you don’t remember Tollis saving your life and you whispering your undying gratitude in his ear?"
Rix looked aghast. "I didn’t. I wouldn’t. … Did I?"
Tollis stepped up. "As I recall, your first born son will be named Tollis, after his father’s hero."
Rix snorted and took another drink. "Now I know you two are lying. Tollis would be a stupid name even if I was half conscious."
Broden whispered to Yantis. "These three are friends?"
Yantis chuckled. "The best of friends."
They all filled in the missing time to Rix, while they made their way to the courtyard. Once they walked out the doors they were greeted by four guards. "Which of you proclaims the authority to promote a corporal to a captain?"
Rix snickered and pointed at Tollis. "That would be him there and I will wager he could kill all four of you before you could draw weapons." Tollis looked at him in shock. Rix shrugged. "I said you could; I didn’t say you would."
Broden stepped forward. "I am the one with the authority, at least until Queen Mayla arrives." One of the four men placed his hand on his sword hilt.
Rix clapped happily. "Oh, please try to draw it. I do so love to win bets."
The guard glanced at Tollis. He was present earlier and had witnessed the big man dispatch two in mere seconds. He removed his hand from his sword. Rix leaned forward. "That is why the corporal is now your captain. He is the only one of you with the balls to claim his true allegiance. In fact, I detest cry baby cowards. The four of you are released from duty. Remove your cloaks and see yourself off my grounds at once. I will not walk the halls having to look over my shoulder to make sure a coward isn’t behind me."
Rix could see the rage boiling in the man’s eyes. It was obvious his respect for Tollis’ skills were all that kept him at bay. Rix smirked at the fool and turned to his companions. "You go on ahead; we have a schedule to keep. I will take care of this personally." Aram and Tollis exchanged looks, shrugged and turned to leave.
Yantis grabbed Broden by the arm, pulling him along against Broden’s protests. "It is four on one! You cannot leave him with those odds!"
Aram looked back at the now grinning lieutenant and stated loud enough for him to hear. "Four on one; perhaps we should stay and help the guards. They will never lay a hand on Rix."
As his companions walked away, Rix looked back at the guard and smiled. "Here is the wager now. Before you can draw your weapons, I will have you stripped naked and chased from the grounds with a whip. You may want to take your first option and remove your cloaks on your way out."
Two of the four guards went to a knee. "Forgive us my lord. He doesn’t speak for us all. We two were only here to figure out who was in charge. Things have gotten seriously confusing of late."
Rix looked at the man and saw sincerity in his eyes. He also saw that his rank was sergeant. "Very well Lieutenant; report to Captain Elrond and see where he needs you two."
The man saluted and stood. "Yes my lord, but I am only a sergeant."
Rix shrugged. "You were until you impressed me and it seems the house guard is about to be two lieutenants short." The man saluted again and walked away. Rix sighed with boredom and looked at the last two. "So what’s it going to be men? You walking out without your cloaks, but retaining your dignity, or a brisk run in the nude?"
The guard who up until now had remained silent, removed his cloak and walked away towards the gate. The last man stood there trembling in rage. Rix could see his desire to draw his sword clearly written on his face, but he just ripped off his cloak and threw it to the ground. He spun around without a word and stormed out of the gates.
Rix was tempted to taunt him more, but he suddenly realized that if he used magic after so short a rest he may be in a bad position. So he let the man walk away. He looked out into the courtyard and saw men streaming through a portal in single file. Jerald and his mother were standing beside Aram, Yantis and Broden. As Rix approached them, he heard Yantis saying. "I cannot hold the portal long enough to transport that many men. I had hoped Rix would be able to, but that is out of the question until he has rest. I can get most of these men through and then Aram will have to reopen it to get the last of them. But even he cannot hold a portal long enough to move every man here tonight."
Jerald nodded his acceptance. "With the mages locked out and a little over two hundred men on the inner walls, we should be safe enough here for now. But I want every man I can get here as soon as possible."
Yantis nodded. "I understand Jerald. Trust me; we shall do everything we can to get as many men here as quickly as possible."
Rix yawned. "I think I am about done for the day. If someone would direct me to a dining room, then a bed, they may earn my eternal love."
They were all seated in the great hall of the castle, surrounded by the remnants of a huge meal. They were all there . . . almost. Victor, Dimsey, Mayla, Rix, Tollis, Jerald, Yantis, Aram and Broden were there; all that was missing were Rianna and Arlaina. Aram suggested to Tollis that the girls had had enough shopping and the two of them went to retrieve them.
They went into the inn, but the girls weren’t to be seen in the common room. Aram asked the innkeeper what rooms they were in and went upstairs. He knocked gently on the door, but got no answer.
They went to the other door, thinking perhaps they were sitting together. He knocked on that door and it swung open just a touch. It wasn’t common for Arlaina to leave her door unlocked. Aram pushed the door open further and saw the room was a wreck. His heart started to pound in his chest. He ran into the room and looked around frantically. Tollis too, seemed to be on the verge of panic. Aram heard a faint sound in a corner by the overturned bed.
Tollis heard it a
s well and literally threw the bed out of the way. Crumpled up in the corner, bruised and battered, was Rianna. Tollis scooped her up into his arms gently and kissed her. To his relief, she smiled. "I knew you would come for me."
Aram leaned forward. "Where is Arlaina? I can’t find her!"
A tear rolled down Rianna’s cheek. "I am sorry Aram. I tried to stop them, but they had a mage. Most of this damage to the room was her doing. She was like a wild animal that had been caged. But the mage put a spell on her and she froze. That’s all I remember. I must have blacked out at that point."
Aram was in shock. "Did they say where they were taking her?"
Rianna winced as Tollis shifted her weight a little. "Ilsador is all I know." Aram opened a portal back to the castle. Everyone jumped to their feet when Tollis walked in with the battered Rianna. Aram walked through empty handed. Mayla took one look in his eyes and cried out.
Aram walked over to Yantis. "Can you open a portal to Ilsador?"
Yantis looked Aram in the eye. "If I do, what do you plan to do?"
Aram looked at him as if he had asked if water is wet. "I intend to kill them all."
The End
Book Two
The Wrong Enemy
Chapter 1
No Time for Finesse
Aram paced the floor. "I have given you two days. How much longer will this take?"
Yantis sighed. He tried not to get angry at Aram; the woman he loved was being held by the Mages Guild. Yantis wasn’t sure if he could have waited as long as Aram had if the roles were reversed. "Patience Aram, just a little more time and you will be as prepared as I can make you for what you intend to do."
Aram paced a few more times. "What if she doesn’t have a little more time?"
Yantis grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen to me. They are trying to use her as leverage. What good would she be to them if she were harmed?"
It wasn’t the first time Yantis had use this same logic on him, but with each use, it seemed to lose potency. Yantis pulled Aram into a hug as he saw the tear start to form in the corner of his eye. "Be strong nephew. Rix has already cast two enchantments on that marvelous blade. He assures me it is fully capable of at least two more, but he only has one left to learn. That blade of yours is far too valuable for him to risk failing an enchantment on it. Once he has perfected the spell, he will need one more night’s rest before he can enchant the blade itself. Go and try to get some rest. I will come and get you personally if anything changes."
Aram nodded numbly, turned and walked away. He noticed people gave him wide berth when they passed him in the hall. He couldn’t help but wonder why. He was just walking aimlessly when he realized he was outside his mother’s door.
Broden had relinquished the king’s living quarters to her. He had shown her the storeroom where he had kept hers and Aramis’ belongings all these years. Her quarters were furnished and arranged the same way they had been years ago. There were no guards at her door. Jerald insisted that if they couldn’t stop an intruder before he had gotten that far in, two men would be useless.
Aram chuckled at the thought of the over protective Jerald saying such a thing. Aram started to turn and walk away, when the door suddenly opened. There stood Mayla in all her royal glory. Aram smiled a sad smile at her and she ushered him in. She took him by the shoulders and steered him to a chair by the fireplace. Then she forced him to sit.
Mayla crossed to the chair opposite him and sat down herself. "You are lucky!" This caught Aram off guard. He looked up like she had gone mad. Her face was as stern as he had ever seen it. "You think you are the only one that has known loss?" Aram blinked. "You mope around here day in and day out and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. Are you so callous as to think you love Arlaina more than I loved your father? Do you think you love Arlaina more than Rix and I loved his father? Did you see him moping around? I know you think he is just heartless, but I assure you that is not the case. For the last two days your brother has been working tirelessly trying to help you get Arlaina back. Have you so much as given him a thank you?
I love you Aram; and trust me, I know greater pain than what you are enduring. I have zero chance of getting my Aramis back, but the fact that you are here today is because I moved on and did what I must to keep you safe. Stop looking at the horrible side and try thinking about how lucky you are that she is alive. You have a chance to hold her again. You may also want to go and hug your brother’s neck. Have you even noticed the toll the past two days have taken on him? What about your best friend Tollis? Have you even considered how he must feel seeing you mope around while he still has his new bride?
Instead of feeling grateful she is safe, he feels guilty because of the pain you have let yourself wallow in. I don’t expect you to go skipping through the castle, whistling merry tunes, but this funk you are in is inexcusable and I have had enough. Now get yourself up to your room, clean yourself up and go set things right with everyone!" Aram sat there in awe. Who would have imagined a thorough scolding by one's mother could make them feel so much better? He stood up slowly and gave his mother a grateful smile.
Aram leaned over and kissed Mayla on the forehead. "Thank you mother, I needed that. I have been a fool and needed it thrown in my face to see it." He kissed her once more and left her room, heading straight for Tollis. . . .
Acknowledgements
Thank you for coming along on my little fantasy. I have a website set up that will allow Aram’s fans to ask him questions. Get insights on when the next book will be released and talk with other fans.
I would like to personally thank Jason Stuart for making the website functional and available.
Thanks CK, you rock!
http://assassins-intent.onyxx.org
About the Author
K.W. Lanford was born and raised in Texas. I have always loved fantasy books. I played D&D in my youth and loved it. Reading fantasy was a way to enter those other worlds when gaming wasn't available.
I still live in Texas with my wife and two girls. I have a full time job so I only get to write in my spare time. Book two has been too long coming and I apologize to everyone who had to wait so long.
Speaking of book two, it is coming along nicely. I wanted to get this one republished before I release it.
UPDATE!
Book two is finished! Look for "The Wrong Enemy"
If you want to know more, join the website and ask me!
The Trials (Assassin's Intent Book 1) Page 20