Traitors (The Traitor King Saga Book 1)

by A. M. Hickman

  Blaze raged forward, attacking him with her shout and sword. His flashing speed was smooth as he avoided the swinging attacks of her sword. Every gliding move was a perfect reaction to her stabs, slashes, and strikes. He was engaged but also held the air of a master sparing with a student; this wasn’t his best. And his hood never moved! In a furry, she threw her blade toward his head repeatedly, not expecting to hit the black orb but hoping his dodging would throw the stubborn fabric. Time and time again, he silently thwarted her every attempt. Who was he? Who was he?

  Why do you care?

  The thought entered her mind so unexpectedly that it threw her off balance. His parry sent her sword flying to the side. Blaze jumped back and toward her sword, getting closer to her weapon and farther away from his. However, the man lowered his sword and stood in place. His thin black figure stood out from the still ring of red. Out of breath, she retrieved her sword and prepared for the fight to continue. The kaffing Urlifican just stood there. Only the flames behind him dared show life. “Who are you?” she screamed at him, but only her echo answered her. “Who the kaff are you?” she asked again.

  Why the kaff do you care?

  She pointed her sword at the enemy. “I demand that you answer.”

  What do you gain from knowing the Urlifican’s identity?

  “Just lower your hood.”

  Do you think knowing whose life you take makes the death any different?

  “Are you too scared to fight face to face?”

  Are not they all Urlificans?

  The fires died to embers in the torches.

  JUST KILL THE URLIFICAN! KILL THE ENEMY!

  “DIE!” Blaze rushed forward with her demand. The intensity of this second onslaught was unmatched by any previous fight in time. Like lightning fighting in the sky, their swords shimmered and crashed in the dimmed pulses of the torches. Black and red mixed into an omnipresence of darkness. She could see nothing, but the energy and glow of her enemy and his sword drew her in like the surface of water after a deep dive. Each move flowed into another as she was consumed by the power of her rage.

  Her sword crashed down upon the blade of her enemy, only to be thrown to the side. This momentum was used to circle her sword in and up, attempting to split the Urlifican in two. The man leapt back spryly. She almost had him. Pressing forward, Blaze attacked again and again, each of her blocked moves morphing into another attempt for blood. Her power was becoming too much for the retreating Urlifican. Her enemy was pressed against the wall of red, and her sword sank into his chest. Blaze yanked her sword out expertly as the body crumbled to the ground and the torches came back alive.

  Very good. Such power! Such power!

  Bending down to the limp cloak, she whipped the hood back to finally learn the identity of her enemy. Her own death stare gazed up at her. Blaze leapt up and away in abhorrence. That’s not possible! She looked down at herself and realized that she was garbed in the same blood red leathers as the wall of Urlificans around her. “No! No!!!” She threw the rusty sword to the ground, and it shattered into droplets of red upon the stone. Tearing at the suffocating leather, she struggled to free herself from the colors of death, only to have them melt into her skin. Her scream tried to pierce the air, but it was overwhelmed by a laugh so dark and crushing that it shook the entire castle...

  Blaze awoke in a thrashing furry, attempting to rip her shirt off in horror. Gasping, her senses came into focus as she escaped to the world of the awake. The purple hue of early morning muted her surroundings as she shivered under the chilling blanket of dew. Blaze absently brushed the droplets off of her arms as she rose from the damp ground with grunting stiffness. There was a nicker behind her, and Blaze turned to see the loyal dun walking from the edge of the field. Blaze smiled, and patted Lily as her velvety nose nudged her chest. The reins and saddle were still on her moist body; the dew not sparing anyone of his enveloping kiss.

  “I am sorry, Lil. I really should have taken these off of you.” Blaze set about removing the tack from Lily, the mare shivering with relief from the rubbing leather. As Lily gleefully rolled patterns into the grass, Blaze smiled and shed her worn clothes for the spare ones kept dry in the saddle bag. The woolen tunic and leather pants clung to her damp body, but her spirits lifted with the warmth. She tied her matted hair back into a knot and sank into a deep morning stretch. The dawn quickly blushed into morning’s reds and yellows as she ran around the field once to warm up her stiff muscles. The small clearing was divided in two by the rippling stream, each half covered with spring’s first flowers, various shrubs, and bordered with large oaks and spruces. A family of pheasants squawked in alarm as Blaze glided past their roost.

  Finishing back where she started, Blaze reached up to the sky with closed eyes and tried to clear her mind of any thought. Once she became as tall as possible, her arms fell until she doubled over and hugging her stiff legs. Her whole body resisted extensive movement, reminding her of the previous day’s fights. Her arms and shoulders were the worst. The bruises from Bark’s onslaught marbled her arms, and her muscles complained about the new experience of fighting someone other than Obrae.

  Blaze planted her foot back in a lunge, stretching her calf and her will power to not think of the previous day’s events. Raising her arms and sinking deeper into the stance, she stared straight ahead into the sun filled woods, flinching at the memory of Kent’s last moments; his face distorted in anger, pain, and confusion. “No,” she whispered in a shiver. Changing legs, she pierced the woods with her gaze, determined to let the mosaic of still browns and greens fill her mind and slow her racing heart.

  Suddenly, just beyond her focus, the browns and greens of the forest shifted. Blaze froze to the spot. Something was out there, and it was big. Her eyes searched the whole area where she had seen an entire patch of bushes move, but all was still. The creature must have sensed her attention.

  Never moving her eyes from the spot, she cautiously lowered to grab Obrae’s sword and fasten the belt around her waist. If only she had a bow; there were beasts in these woods that were better dealt with at a distance. Stalking forward, Blaze leapt over the stream and progressed toward the unconcerned mare. Lily looked up and nickered. Blaze stiffened as the patch of bushes in the woods. There was definitely something in them.

  The towering gray stone wall in front of her revealed that they were very close to the Zantar Cliffs. No one ventured beyond the wall of stone for fear of the Wilderness, nor did many wander its borders. As the homeland of the cohe, the Wilderness existed as a breeding ground for monsters and horror stories. Hunters’ tales of encountering massive beasts tickled the imagination, until one arrived with a claw the length of a man’s finger.

  The hidden creature hadn’t run away like prey, or continued on in its business like a bear. Whatever it was, it remained hidden like a hunter. Blaze whistled as quietly as she could for Lily to come to her. The mare swished her tail and complied to the call. Blaze grabbed her bridle and walked her back to the supplies, constantly looking over her shoulder. Blaze berated herself for being so careless. Burdock could be on her tail; although, as the fully risen sun beamed down upon her, she guessed that he would just now be able to track her. None the less, he was not the only danger this close to the cliffs.

  Lily picked up on her nervousness and started to skip around while Blaze tried to saddle her. “Lily. It’s alright,” she tried to sooth. Finding some dried chestnuts in a saddle pouch, Blaze offered the favorite treat to Lily as a bribe. The mare took it greedily and was content while Blaze finished putting the saddle on. A morning breeze drifted in from the west, and Lily squealed while leaping forward, as if the air had smacked her. Blaze reigned in the startled mare. She leapt into the saddle and shifted around to see what was behind them. Nearly falling out of the saddle, she tried to comprehend what stood before her.

  At the edge of the clearing, the dolinbi stood as tall as Jonathan. It slowly lowered the elevated head-sized paw silently to the gr
ound while its yellow eyes stared into her soul. The green stripes upon brown fur made it nearly invisible against the wooden background, only the slight twitching of its tail and rippling of the defined muscles revealed its bulk when the feline began to crouch. As the giant feline prepared to attack, two massive wings the color of tree bark rose from its back, like an eagle about to leap from its perch.

  Lily squealed again and leapt forward, nearly rolling Blaze out of the saddle. A rumbling roar vibrated from the beast through Blaze’s core as it bared its fangs and pounced into the air. Massive wings unfurled and propelled the dolinbi forward. By the time Lily entered the woods at a full gallop, the dolinbi was soaring across the stream and landing upon its padded paws.

  Weaving the terrified mare through the twisting trees, Blaze dared to look back to see the hunter’s progress, but no cat or shadow pursued them. Lily’s labored breathing and pounding hooves were all that disturbed the forest. “Whoa, Lil, whoa!” Blaze pulled back on the reins, but Lily wouldn’t obey. She continued to drive forward, lather patching the heated mare’s galloping body.

  The horse was going to run herself to death. As they reached another clearing, Blaze threw herself backwards and pulled the reins as hard as she could, causing Lily to rise up, leap forward, and wheeling around at the leather’s request. Keeping the reins tight, Blaze forced the crazed mare’s head in. Her gallop quickly fell to a canter, then a walk.

  Blaze relaxed her hold on the reins and let Lily lower her head to suck in as much air as her wheezing lungs allowed. The dolinbi, if still around, was silent and hidden. Blaze searched from ground to sky.

  Dolinbi existed? Vague stories about the True King’s elite knights, called the Diakono, and their soul creatures, the dolinbi, flashed in her memory. There was no question that the large feline with powerful wings matched the description of those fabled creatures tamed by the True King, but the Diakono and dolinbi both disappeared after the True King’s defeat, and most likely never existed.

  A soft breeze carried the spring fevered birds’ songs to one another as the sun bathed them in soothing warmth. The sound of trickling water joined the wooded chatter and awakened an intense thirst in Blaze. Lily’s ears perked up at the refreshing sound, and she quickened her pace.

  Blaze laughed as she rode the thirsty mare, equally excited to quench her parched throat. Lily threw her muzzle into the stream’s water, and Blaze dug her palm into the piercing cold and inhaled the refreshing liquid. The cold ran through her body with shivering aftershocks.

  An internal growl vibrated throughout her body in response to the water. Blaze looked up to find the sun a fourth of the way through his daily journey and realized that she hadn’t eaten in an entire day. Reaching for the saddle bag, she procured a piece of jerky and bread. “At least I remembered one thing, huh, girl.” Lily grunted and threw her head up, slinging water droplets into the air playfully. A large rock invited Blaze to sun bathe while enjoying her brunch, so she filled her water skin and relaxed upon the warm surface as her thoughts wandered back to the morning’s events.

  Was the dolinbi real? Surely a flying cat wasn’t that easy to lose. Did she imagine the mythical creature? It had blended into the woods so well, even with the sun shining upon it. Lily would have become nervous because of her nerves, so it wasn’t too far fetched to picture the whole thing being imaginary, which terrified Blaze. This was no time to be losing her mind. She was on the run now, a renegade. Killing one Urlifican was certain death. A whole troop? Unforgivable.

  She closed her eyes and laid upon the warm rock with the weight of her calamitous fate. Despite training for nine cycles to defend herself and loved ones, Obrae and Jonathan still ended up victims of Urlifec’s evil reign. She didn’t know where she was going or what she was going to do. Was she going to be on the run for the rest of her life? Would she have to live in the woods for the rest of her days? Blaze covered her face. Was anything going to be certain?

  Realizing the overwhelming melancholy enveloping her, Blaze jolted up and towards Lily. She mounted with her back straight and eyes forward, urging the mare onward. It was time to move away from this place. “Lily, we are going to have to watch ourselves and not let our guards down. There are more dangers than rogue dolinbi here.” Lily snorted in reply.

  Obrae kept a map of Lesira in his living room from his travels before settling in Srift. Many nights, Blaze sat by the flickering fire studying the skin. Krute was a moderate town resting upon the point of Thundrum lake, where the mighty Thundrum river was birthed. The journey was about ten days’ ride from Srift by road. However, if she followed the Zantar Cliffs and Thundrum’s shores, she estimated the trip would take five days. It sounded as good a plan as any; she could avoid populated roads and end up in a town distant from the core of Lesira, where her enemies roosted.

  The day progressed without any threat of danger or mishap. As the sun began to sink, Blaze began to worry about the night. Whether the dolinbi existed or not, sleeping in the open provided many opportunities to unfriendly beasts. She needed a shelter. They ventured so close to the cliffs that Blaze craned her neck to see their sharp edge. Perhaps the rock wall contained some caves.

  Turning Lily to the left, only a few moments passed until they were under the cliffs’ shadow. Lily’s hooves clashed against rock as the woods leapt away, keeping a stony barrier between wooded life and the cliffs. The mare’s ears swiveled at every unknown noise, and her muscles twitched, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Goose flesh roughened Blaze’s arms. She patted Lily’s warm neck in encouragement. “We’ll be alright. We just need a place to stay.” Her voice reverberated off of the granite and was amplified eerily around her.

  Day light quickly faded, and the evening life started to stir. Bats whirled and clicked through the air; frogs replaced the birds’ cadence. Deep in the woods, a fox started to bark while an owl warned the mice of his alertness. Ahead of her, a small divot revealed itself. It was just deep enough for Lily to walk in and be protected from rain, but Blaze was ready to start a fire and have her back protected. She dismounted near the woods and started to stack firewood upon the saddle.

  After a sizable stack was collected, she lead the mare to the divot and started the arduous task of building a fire from scratch. Once its warm cackle and dance seemed sustained, she felt safe enough to relieve Lily of her tack. The mare headed for the grass that extended from the woods while Blaze settled into camp. Another piece of jerky and bread was her supper, washed down with the rest of her water.

  Night’s dark cape covered the land as the moon began to take her place in the sky. Propped against the saddle with a blanket covering her, Blaze drifted into her nightmares under the flickering lullaby of the fire. A wolf cried out in the distance.

  ********

  His head exploded with every bitter breath. Agitation, tension, and loss stiffened his entire body. When trying to move, he found his body made of lead. Dare he open his eyes?

  The memory threatened to surface despite his efforts: the face of a woman tormented with worry, the core-clenching feeling of betrayal. “No,” he gurgled. That was a past that didn’t matter, a past before Grand General Kent.

  And then, Burdock remembered the trial. Everything froze as all feeling dissipated through his bottomless stomach, but then rage began to radiate like an unquenchable fever. His heartbeat accelerated, his breathing hissed through clenched teeth, his red eyes opened, ready to ignite all who were guilty. She would die.

  Ignoring the total ache that clawed at his body, Burdock stormed from the room into the pub. “Where is she?” he roared as the bartender jumped to attention. “Where is the kaffing traitor?”

  “Sir, you’re awake. Maybe I can get you some water or dried ginger?” the flustered man rambled.

  Burdock’s hands rose to strangle the air. “Don’t kaffing play with me, dung. Where is she?”

  “I...She...” the bartender stuttered under Burdock’s rage, his fingers absently twisting a rag to its sn
apping point. “She...she fought Bark. Fought Bark an’ ran.” Burdock wanted to kill the man. He wanted to kill the whole kaffing village. Grabbing the sword at his side, he swung toward the bartender who jumped back with a holler. The mug Burdock aimed at exploded into shards and pelted the pub door. Rattling breaths scorched the room as he fought to stay in some definition of control. Glaring at the large bag of flesh quaking before him, he spat each word as if to hit the man, “Pack. Food. Water. Now.” Burdock stomped to the door, mug pieces crunching like bones under his feet. He turned to see the man unmoved, “NOW!” The man jumped into action, rushing to the storerooms.

  He left the pub and let his coarse voice raise the dark village. “BARK!” Silence answered him as he walked toward the unused gallows. “BAAAARRRRKKK!” Burdock climbed onto the platform and turned to the absent village, shouting the man’s name again, “BARK! You Wilden! Answer your lord’s call or be deemed a traitor!”

  A crash and horse’s whinny came from the stables. Burdock leapt from the platform, feeling nervous eyes watch him through door cracks as he made his way to the stables. Bark jumped when Burdock blasted through the stable doors. Found at the front of the building, he was midway putting a saddle onto a gray gelding, a poorly wrapped bandage crowning his head. “So, looking to run are you?” Burdock spat.

  “N-no my lord. I was looking to go after the Traitors.” Bark laid the saddle onto the creature and backed away, hands raised. Burdock’s eyes narrowed; the mongrel should have told the truth. “If you were so loyal, you wouldn’t have let the Traitors go nor let that Wilden beat you with just a scratch on the forehead.” He flicked the bandage, causing Bark to cringe backwards. Burdock sheathed his sword and finished saddling the horse.

  “My lord,” Bark’s hand rested on his shoulder.

  Before the oaf could scream, Burdock whipped a dagger from his waist and pressed the cold steal into the coward’s throat. “Your blood should be payment for King Urlifec’s loss,” he hissed.