‘Dammit,’ I muttered.
‘Do not worry yourself too much, Aidan,’ Iskandor said. ‘We will have plenty more chances, I am sure.’
Timor stopped in front of a large building. ‘Why don’t we go in here? There may be a merchant inside.’
I shrugged. ‘I suppose it’s as good a place as any to check.’
The building we entered looked like it might have once been an inn, but now it was just like every other building in Knol: nameless, rundown, and without a higher purpose. The large room we entered was filthy, with pieces of destroyed furniture littering the area and, as with the streets themselves, no decorations to speak of. There were a couple of members of Knol’s ‘citizens’ at the far right end of the room, next to a set of stairs leading to the second floor, but in the left corner, directly across from where we entered, was a man, wearing brightly colored middle-class clothing, standing behind a wooden booth with some goods spread out across the front of it. The booth was guarded by two large, ferocious-looking dogs.
As we approached the booth, both dogs stood up and slunk toward us, emitting low growls. The dogs could easily have been twins; both came up to my waist in height, both had mean, dark eyes, both had long, sharp teeth, and both had brown and black fur. The only difference was in the pattern of the fur. I also noticed that neither dog was chained up — they were allowed to roam wherever they wanted, but chose to stay by their master.
The man smiled as we approached, though we halted our approach at the warning growl from the dogs. ‘Hello, strangers! My name is Edwin — what can I do for you today?’ His greeting was extremely friendly, but I noticed that he was reaching with his right hand to his belt, possibly for a weapon.
Timor took a step forward. The dogs’ growling didn’t alter. ‘Do you have some goods for sale today?’
Edwin nodded. ‘I do…but you see, this is a dangerous town, so I hope you’ll understand if I insist on seeing some coin before I show you my wares.’
Timor took a step forward. ‘Certainly —’
I grabbed a hold of his sleeve. ‘Hold it, Timor —’ I looked at Edwin, who seemed disconcerted by the nature of my eyes. ‘You are correct, sir, this is a very dangerous town — and I notice your hand a little too close to your belt for my comfort. So why don’t you pull out the weapon you’re keeping there, and my friend will show you his coin?’
Just then, the dog on my right let out a loud bark, accompanied by a deep growl.
‘Using the dogs to guard you is a great idea,’ I added, ‘but if either of them makes a move toward me, I will slice them in half.’
Edwin, eyes glued to my appearance, gave a low whistle which apparently told the dogs to back down.
‘Now, Aidan,’ Iskandor said lightly, ‘There’s no need for hostility. I can see these dogs have served him well.’
‘They have indeed,’ Edwin agreed. ‘The thieves — even a whole band of them — always think twice before trying to rob me. They have saved me many times. That one —’ he nodded toward one of them ‘— is named Copper, and the other is named Mikey.’
‘Hey!’ shouted one of the thieves who was across the room when we entered. He was speaking to the other thief in the room, and they were heading toward us. ‘Those three have the dogs out of the way — let’s roll Edwin!’
I spun around, pulling out one of my swords in the same motion, and held the tip of the blade just inches from the speaker’s throat.
The thief’s eyes were wide with surprise. ‘O-or,’ he stuttered, ‘we’ll just go back to where we come from.’
‘I would,’ I said, and when the thieves had returned to their original places, I half-turned back to Edwin (who seemed to be having a bit of trouble recovering from our interruption). ‘We’ll help guard you while you do business with my friend.’
‘Aidan?’
The voice didn’t belong to either Timor or Iskandor, but it was very familiar.
How does everyone in this time recognize me?
I turned toward the door we’d entered, and there, almost blocking the doorway, stood a mountain of a man, wearing a suit of armor, with a huge broadsword sheathed to his back. He still had long, brown hair, but the dark, brown eyes no longer seemed to dance with as much humor and life as they used to.
‘Derrick?’ I whispered.
Derrick’s eyes seemed to stare right through me. ‘It is you. By the gods…what happened to you? When I saw you standing there, I literally thought that I’d seen a ghost! Of course, I’d stood by your side for a long time, so even when you just moved, my instinct told me that it was you, even though you look nothing like you. But when you pulled your sword on that thief, I knew you were no ghost…a ghost would have just eviscerated him or something.’
I smiled; maybe there was some of the old Derrick in there after all.
Derrick took a couple of steps toward me. ‘I had heard that you were dead.’
I sighed. ‘You didn’t necessarily hear wrong, but now is not really the time and place to talk about it. I promise you, though, that you will hear the full story soon enough.’
Derrick was then standing in front of me. He continued to stare at me for a couple of seconds longer, then he shook his head slowly from side-to-side — and then his face burst into an expression of joy. ‘Aidan!’ Then he grabbed me in a crushing embrace. ‘It is so good to see you, my friend!’
I embraced him back, genuinely happy to see him as well; Derrick had remained a good and loyal friend throughout all my time serving in Delmar’s military. And it pleased me that my new, ghostly appearance didn’t intimidate him.
I released him and started talking, pleased at our good fortune. ‘It must be an act of the gods that we meet like this! Derrick…bad things are about to happen in Delmar.’
Derrick gave me a puzzled look, but didn’t answer.
His reaction distracted me for a second, but I continued, in a low voice. ‘In a few months, the castle will be infiltrated by dark clerics called the Dyn’osi —’
‘Aidan —’
‘— who will perform an ancient ritual that will turn everyone in the city into strange beings —’
‘Aidan —’
‘— and this cult will spread like a cancer over the entire world!’
‘Aidan — stop.’
I looked at Derrick, astonished at his reaction. ‘Why?’
He sighed, and his eyes were far away. ‘Everything you just said, everything you described…has already happened. It all happened six months ago.’
I felt the blood drain from my face almost immediately. My first thought was, I’m not going to get my chance to save…to save —
In one motion, I had spun and grabbed Timor by the throat. ‘You told me…’
The next thing I knew, I was down on my knees, clutching my head with both hands, while in my mind, I was back in the Dead Citadel, locked in mortal combat with a crimson-eyed, obsidian-skinned version of my mentor. In the distance, I could hear familiar voices, trying to break through my subconscious, but they were unsuccessful.
***
When I came to, I was on the far side of the room (I’d later be told that Derrick had ‘persuaded’ the other two thieves to leave), Iskandor kneeling next to me, speaking to me in low, soothing tones. His words weren’t really registering in my mind, but his voice was having a very calming effect on me.
Not far away, Timor seemed to be concluding our story to Derrick, who, despite the fantastic nature of it all, was listening very intently. That probably had a lot to do with witnessing my latest mental breakdown, though. On the other side of the room, Edwin watched everything that was going on with a look of concern, mixed with curiosity.
‘So…this Sirak forced Aidan to fight…Garridan,’ Derrick said his name in a low tone, apparently at Timor’s urging, but it made no difference at this point anyway, ‘who had been turned into one of those…things?’
‘Yes,’ Timor answered. ‘As you have seen and might expect, he hasn’t been
nearly the same since.’
‘I wouldn’t expect him to be,’ Derrick said quietly. ‘The General took this farm boy, with nothing but dreams of becoming a knight, and made everything he ever dreamed for come true, beyond his wildest imagination. He was Aidan’s mentor, father, friend — everything to him, really. And then Aidan is forced to kill him, or be killed himself — the fact that he’s gone a little cuckoo doesn’t surprise me at all.’
There was a pause in conversation, and then Derrick said, ‘If I ever get my hands on this Sirak guy, I’ll make him wish he never left this Netherealm, or whatever the place is.’
‘If we could return to our key conundrum,’ Iskandor said in a stern voice, ‘what do we do now that we’ve arrived too late to save Delmar?’
Timor sighed. ‘Well, I can only think of two options. One, we try and find out if there is a way that we can reverse the effects of the ritual, or two, we find out when the cultists are going to make their move the next city and ambush them as they do.’
‘How can we find out if the effects of the ritual can be reversed?’ Iskandor asked.
Timor thought for a moment. ‘Well, I know of a great wizard who lives in the castle in the kingdom of Longchester, a couple of weeks north of here — it’s our next best bet.’
‘Then that should be our destination,’ Iskandor said. ‘Conduct whatever business you need to with Edwin and then we’ll be on our way. Derrick, will you be joining us?’
Derrick smiled. ‘Of course! That is, if you’ll have me.’
Iskandor smiled in return. ‘You’ve been Aidan’s faithful companion for many years; I would be pleased if you would accompany us.’
Derrick bowed respectfully. ‘Then consider me part of the group. Although…we may have another joining us, if that would be alright. I’m supposed to be meeting someone here.’ He turned his gaze to me. ‘That’s the reason I’m all the way out here.’
Just as I was about to ask who Derrick was waiting for, I heard a voice yell, ‘Get them!’ My mental fatigue forgotten, I jumped up and drew my swords, and saw Derrick draw his broadsword. Timor rejoined us from Edwin’s booth and started chanting in a low voice. Copper and Mikey were up and growling and a split second. From the second floor, eleven thieves flooded into the room, including the two that were in the room originally.
Just as it seemed as if all hell was going to break loose, a female voice rang out from behind us:
‘Enough!’
All eyes turned toward the door, where stood a human female with brown hair with gray streaks, wearing a dark brown buttoned shirt, matching brown trousers, a leather belt, and knee-high leather boots, as well as a leather overcoat. Her hair was done in a tight braid, and she had a bow and a quiver of arrows slung to her back. She was dripping wet from the rain.
I knew her, and I knew that all of the thieves knew her too; she was Kirra, the Queen of the Thieves — a moniker she earned with her aristocratic demeanor (for a thief). She backed up her superior status by not taking any hassle from anybody, be it thief, guard, child, ogre, or minotaur. To be sure, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had picked up a rock and flung it at a dragon who had flown a little too close to the ground and messed up her hair. All the guards in the world knew who she was; she only robbed the richest people in whatever city she was in, so she always had wanted posters everywhere. She had many other nicknames: ‘The Duchess’, ‘The Tigress’, ‘The Dark Lady’, ‘The Countess’, just to name a few.
Kirra strolled into room. ‘What is going on here?’
‘L-lady Kirra!’ one of the thieves stammered. ‘We didn’t know you was in town.’
‘And yet, here I am,’ Kirra said, raising her hands and looking around at her surroundings. ‘Now explain to me why you are about to attack my friends.’
Friends? What in the name of the gods is she talking about?
Apparently, the thief was thinking the same thing. ‘Friends? But, we didn’t…I-I mean, there was — how could —’
Kirra put up one of her hands to silence him. ‘Allow me to help you out, Dolf. Choose one of those sentences, start from the beginning, then finish it — you’ll find yourself less confused.’
This was not the case — Dolf only seemed more confused.
‘You have no more business here at this time,’ Kirra said sternly. ‘I suggest you all disperse — I have important matters to discuss with these people.’
The thieves all lowered their heads, and slowly they started to leave. Some went back up the stairs, while others went around us and headed out the door.
When the thieves were finally gone, Kirra turned her attention to us.
‘Derrick, my friend, it is good to see you again.’
Again with the word “friend”…Derrick, who served alongside me in the knighthood, friends with a thief?
‘And you as well, Kirra,’ Derrick responded. ‘I thought you were retired,’ he added with a smile.
Kirra shrugged. She then looked around at the rest of us. ‘You didn’t tell me that you were going to be having a party when I arrived.’
Derrick chuckled. ‘I apologize, but quite frankly, I wasn’t expecting to be having one. May I present Iskandor, Timor the Wizard and Aidan of Delmar.’
At the mention of my name, Kirra’s eyes got wide and she glared at me. Then she turned back to Derrick. ‘That is not Aidan of Delmar. I would know him anywhere.’
I was somewhat taken aback by her reaction, but I remained silent. Derrick seemed to share the same reaction, but said, ‘I assure you that it is…it is a long story, but I give you my word.’
‘A thief? I said to Derrick, staring incredulously. ‘We’re joining forces with a thief?
‘Sometimes you have to dance with evil in order to get where you need to go,’ Derrick returned.
I was suddenly furious, feeling like Derrick was giving up his honor to work with a bottom feeder like Kirra.
Kirra got right in my face — she had spunk, I give her that. ‘Do you have a problem with me, Aidan?’
I stared right back. ‘I always have a problem with your kind.’
‘A woman?’
How dare she imply that! ‘No. You are a thief, a pest to society.’
Kirra smirked at me. ‘Are you really so arrogant and self-righteous?’
I didn’t blink. ‘If by that, you mean I enjoy fighting for what’s right, then yes.’
Kirra gave me an obnoxious look, then she turned back to Derrick. ‘Why don’t you tell me why you summoned me?’ Then she turned and marched out of the room.
Derrick gave me a pleading look of apology. I just smiled and shrugged in response. ‘Catch up with us,’ he said, then he, too, left the room.
Timor looked at Iskandor and I. ‘This should be interesting.’
I couldn’t help but agree.
CHAPTER 8
When Iskandor, Timor, and I rejoined Derrick and Kirra in the streets of Knol, the rain had finally stopped, and Derrick was just about finished catching Kirra up on our story. However, contrary to Derrick’s intent listening when Timor told him the story, Kirra’s reaction was one of amusement. As we approached, Kirra’s eyes met mine and her lips curved in a smile that was mocking in its nature. Evidently, she found something about the story funny — what that was, I had no idea. But I wasn’t about to let her get the best of me that easily; in response to her smile, I sarcastically smiled back.
I caught up with Derrick, who was conversing with Kirra. When Kirra caught sight of me, that smile spread across her face again. ‘So, Aidan — I see that your hair grew a little during your death.’ She made her remark quite loud enough for everyone to hear.
Derrick cast her a reproving glance. I chose to ignore her. ‘Derrick, how exactly was it that you weren’t in Delmar when the ritual took place? Not that I’m not happy about that, mind you…I think you understand where I’m coming from.’
Derrick smiled lightly. ‘After you were exiled, Garridan protested fiercely. He was thrown in the du
ngeons for his efforts.’
I was in shock, and my heart broke a little.
‘With you two gone,’ Derrick continued, ‘the king was relying on me more than ever. The political situation just got worse, and the strain was just too much on me. The king granted me some time away, so I traveled west and got away for a week, giving me a small chance to get myself together. It wasn’t nearly enough, but I took it anyway. When I returned, no one would open the gates, and then I noticed the black beings with red eyes on top of the wall. I knew something terrible had happened, and I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to fix it. After that, I had no idea what to do…I wandered from town to town for a while, until I thought about Kirra here. I thought she might be able to use her skills to help me get in the city, so I traveled to Knol, seeking her help. As my good fortune would have it, you were there too, along with Timor and Iskandor, and you were out to accomplish the same mission.’
‘Yeah, even dead men can be of great help sometimes,’ Kirra quipped.
I ignored her again. ‘Saving Delmar is their mission,’ I corrected Derrick. ‘All I wanted to do was save Garridan… and get even with Norvin.’
Derrick’s expression, which had become jovial toward the end of his story, quickly disintegrated into a look of disappointment. ‘You’re not going to save Delmar?’
I was quiet for a second. ‘My heart is still broken,’ I said in a low voice.
‘Your ego knows no bounds, does it?’ Kirra said with disgust.
That set me off—I spun around and was face-to-face with Kirra in an instant. ‘This has nothing to do with ego. Put yourself in my position — could you see yourself simply putting things aside and going back to save the very country that betrayed you with no remorse at all?’
Kirra didn’t answer.
‘But I told you why I thought Baladir —’ Derrick started, but I cut him off.
‘— why you “thought”. Regardless, it doesn’t change anything.’
Derrick sighed. ‘But the innocent people didn’t have anything to do with it.’
I sighed. ‘I promise you, Derrick, my heart is also broken for those people. They were always so good to me. But when I think about home now — all it does is make me angry.’
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