Gods Of Blood And Fire (Book 1)

by A. J. STRICKLER

  K’xarr and Rufio could see Raygan was deep in thought, then they saw the light of understanding shine in her eyes. “Help me to understand what must be done. I was not trained like my brother. I have no idea what I should do.”

  K’xarr looked into the Princess’s eyes. “I wasn’t trained either, Highness, I just go on my instincts. I will do what I must to see you on the throne. I know you don’t want to hear this but I have seen the steel in you, Highness, I believe it is in your nature to be ruthless, even cruel, you must forget what your father taught you and be your own woman, do what you believe is right, not what you think he would want you to do. If there is killing that must be done you can leave that to me.”

  Raygan sat down and leaned back in a large wooden chair. She regarded K’xarr and Rufio for a moment then spoke. “I don’t know if I should be angered by what you two said or take it as a compliment?”

  “Take it as good advice, Highness.”

  They had done all that could be done, nine thousand battle weary Bandarans marched into the city of Northham and the safety of Castle Fox.

  Talorn sat on his horse, stroking the animal’s neck as he watched the tired soldiers file into the city. His father rode up beside him, Talorn had no wish for his company, he had done nothing but criticize what he and Cain were doing since he had arrived, and he had refused to tell Talorn how he had gotten up north so fast or where his army was.

  “Well, Son, it seems you and your King have failed to defend our lands. What’s your plan now? To hide here at Northham until the Abberdonians starve us out?”

  Talorn hung his head. “I will have to talk to the King, for now, we hold Northham and the castle.”

  Duke Blackthorn turned his horse in a circle so he could face his son. “Tell the King after you talk to him, I might have a way to defeat Havalon, if he is interested in making a bargain with me.”

  Talorn looked at his father. “The King has to deal for your patriotism?”

  “You and your self-righteous ideas have almost doomed the Kingdom, it’s time I take charge or there will be no Kingdom to bargain with. My patriotism is unconditional, I will save Bandara. It’s up to you and the King if you wish to be involved or not. The Kingdom needs a man in charge, not two boys playing at war.”

  The duke galloped into the city. Talorn looked up in the sky and said a prayer. He was having his doubts about holding the city, but winter was coming and the fighting would stop until spring, it might give him time to think of something. His mind kept wandering back to his wife, if what his father had told him was true Raygan had taken control of Turill. He knew his father had embellished what had happened in the capital. He made his wife out a mad woman and her cohorts, demons. He didn’t believe that was true at all.

  No matter what happened, he didn’t think she would leave her husband and brother to their fate, even if they both might deserve it. He had to hope the people helping her would come up with a way to save Bandara, he hadn’t talked to Cain about it, but there was just no way to push the Abberdonians back out of the Kingdom.

  Trying to tell Cain would be a waste, the King would hear nothing about it, but that didn’t change the fact that the best they could hope for was to hold their ground. The fate of Bandara no longer rested with its King and his general, if there was any hope it was in the hands of a spoiled Princess and the men who were aiding her. He hoped God was with them, they would need his mighty hand when they faced the Abberdonians.

  K’xarr was summoned to the Princess’s private chambers a week after Kian slew the Lord Kaspar on his order in front of what was left of the Bandaran nobles. The guards outside her door parted as he approached, he knocked gently on the door. “Enter.”

  K’xarr walked into the room, the Princess was alone. “You summoned me?”

  She took a sip of her wine. “Would you like some wine, commander?” He nodded and she poured him a goblet herself.

  K’xarr had never seen her serve anyone before he wanted to say something but held his tongue. “What’s the occasion, Highness?”

  The Princess handed him the wine. “Every noble left in Bandara has offered me their support. Bishop Lyfair said he would be more than happy to crown me Queen of Bandara and would write a letter to the Church explaining why my brother was being deposed, you were right about what happened in the throne room. I have gained the respect of the nobles as well as their support.”

  K’xarr drained the wine and held out the goblet for more. She gently poured him another. “I’m glad it worked out, Highness, I don’t know if you gained any respect, but from what I have heard they are afraid of you now. It will be a great advantage in the days to come.”

  The Princess filled his goblet again before commenting on what he had said. “It’s you and the others they fear, K’xarr. I will not deceive myself about that, but you do serve the Queen.” She smiled at him. K’xarr didn’t argue the fact; for now he did serve the throne of Bandara.

  “I have received word today that my brother and my husband have retreated to the city of Northham, their army has been all but defeated and they are surrounded by Prince Griffyn and Prince Donovan. I hoped you would tell me what you intend to do about King Havalon and the Abberdonians?”

  “Highness, I’m still securing the city, oh, by the way, I also wanted to tell you that we have found no sign of the girl Isabella, the one you asked us to locate, in my opinion, she is no longer in the city.”

  He saw the concern on her face. “Please, keep looking if you can. I want her found. I don’t believe she would run away.

  K’xarr could tell the girl meant something to the Princess. “I will, but I would not get my hopes up. As to Havalon I have a few ideas, but nothing I could really tell you now.”

  “Very well, keep me informed about your plans; also my coronation will be within a month, you must be there.”

  “I will be there, Highness, you can count on it.” K’xarr turned and left the Princess’s room.

  He didn’t have the first idea what he was going to do about the Abberdonians. He had never been in this kind of position before. Why she wanted him in command while Ansellus was gone was a mystery to him. He wanted to ask, but in truth he already knew the answer.

  Raygan couldn’t trust anyone else. Greyson Kyle was Duke Blackthorn’s man and she would never allow him to command anything. K’xarr knew he was really all she had. He would do his best to defend the city. He didn’t have the experience or knowledge of the Abberdonian King he would have to face. He was just a young man from the mountains in way over his head. It didn’t matter, he had his courage and a sharp sword. If his dream ended in Turill, so be it. He would face his death with a smile.

  Summer was gone and the cool winds of fall could be felt during the night, King Havalon marched south with twenty-five thousand men as his sons besieged the city of Northham.

  The city of Turill was still waiting for the crowning of their new Queen, when the news of the approaching army spread through the city. The Abberdonians would be at the gates by winter.

  “You were right, Rufio; K’xarr has led us to places I never thought I would be.” The wind on top of the great wall of Turill blew Vandarus’s blonde hair across his face, and it was much cooler compared to the air in the city. The two warriors had decided to take a walk around the fortifications of the city. The wall was huge, forty feet tall and ten to twenty-five feet wide in places. The battlements of Turill looked impenetrable.

  Rufio adjusted his cuirass. “These straps are too tight.” He fumbled with them a moment then walked on. “So, you’re happy with the way things are?”

  Vandarus laughed. “Why wouldn’t I be? We almost have free run of the city and we are in Princess Raygan’s good graces, what’s not to be happy about? For God’s sake, Rufio I’m sleeping in the palace.”

  Rufio grinned at his friend, he couldn’t help but like the younger man. “It wasn’t too much trouble taking the palace, but it might be a little harder holding on to it.”

>   “What do you mean?”

  “Vandarus, have you forgotten the Abberdonians? Do you think Havalon gives a damn who is King or Queen here? No, he’s going to ride down here and take this city, if he can and kill us, all for good measure.”

  Vandarus’s good humor dissolved into the evening breeze. “Perhaps the Bandaran’s will defeat him in the north. Then Cain and Raygan can settle their differences and the people can live in peace again. God, this city doesn’t need a civil war.”

  Rufio shook his head. “They won’t be able to stop him. From what K’xarr told me, reports say they are all but finished up there now. They have retreated into the city of Northham, it’s just a matter of time for them now. It will be us and the men we have here to repel Havalon’s army.”

  Vandarus thought a moment. “We have only Duke Blackthorn’s men, it’s not enough, even I can see that. I don’t care if Ansellus vouches for them, how can we trust them? Blackthorn murdered the King. They might be Bandarans, but they are his men. You think K’xarr might decide to ride on before he gets stuck here?”

  Rufio stopped walking and looked out over the Bandaran landscape. “K’xarr won’t leave. Even though he cares little for Bandara or its Princess, he will stay and die in the shadow of its walls before he gives it up.”

  Vandarus leaned against the parapet. “If we can’t win, why would he still stay and fight?”

  “It’s his nature, he would see it as being craven to pull out now and he couldn’t live with that. Don’t tell him I said this, but he makes a poor mercenary. A sell-sword must know when a battle can’t be won and when it’s time to pull out and quit. K’xarr is no quitter and he has too much pride. I know that sounds foolish and maybe it is, but it’s how the man is, hardheaded and stubborn.”

  Vandarus shook his head. “I can’t leave either. Even if K’xarr left I would stay, this is my homeland and I have to fight to defend it, even if it’s a bad idea. I just wish there was another way.”

  Rufio spit off the wall and watch it fall to the ground far below. His aim was off, he missed the guard walking the perimeter by a foot. “Then you can die a hero, my friend, and maybe someone will sing a song about you.”

  “No one’s going to sing about either one of you whining dogs.” Something blocked the last of the evening sun and a large shadow fell over them. “No one is whining, Cromwell,” Rufio said.

  The Toran crossed his arms over his huge chest. “Sounds like whining to me, whether to fight or not, if you were Toran you only have to hear the clash of steel to know the answer to that question, besides no matter what the odds, if my sword brothers are going to war, then I will be at their side.”

  Vandarus rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the parapet. “I have no problem fighting if there is a chance to win. It sounds like we don’t have much of a chance, and you can’t blame me if I want to live a little longer.”

  Cromwell put his big hand on Vandarus’s shoulder. “If you want a long life, become a farmer.”

  “Yes, Vandarus said he liked famers. I bet he would be a good one too, famed throughout the land. You could become the mighty wheat warrior Vandarus,” Rufio said with a straight face. Then he looked at Cromwell and both men burst out laughing.

  “You both can go to hell,” Vandarus said stomping off.

  “Now why is he mad?” Cromwell said and they both laughed again.

  ***

  Kian sat holding one of his legs and gazing into a small pond in the Princess’s garden. Although their lovemaking had grown more often and more furious, he had become quiet and more withdrawn as days went by, spending most of his time practicing his swordsmanship in the garden, he had told Endra that his body could do things now that it couldn’t before and he had to weave the two together again, body and blade.

  She didn’t really understand, but it seemed very important to him. Many times people stopped to watch his exercises, mostly the nobles who came to speak with the Princess. All of them looked on with amazement at his speed and acrobatic skills. She wondered what he thought about the attention but decided not to ask.

  The Princess had talked her into allowing the children to spend their days being educated by the royal tutors. After she thought about it, Endra liked the idea of them learning to read and write, it also gave her and Kian more time to be alone.

  She approached her lover as quiet as she could, knowing the whole time he could hear her every step.

  “You try to sneak up on me every time you come out here, why?”

  “I like to pretend I’m stalking my prey. I miss my homeland sometimes and the hunt.” Kian tried to smile at her and she acted like she didn’t know it was forced. “What were you thinking of?”

  Kian motioned for her to sit beside him. “I was thinking about what my mother would have thought about this garden, I don’t know if she ever saw such beauty, but I believed she would have loved this place.”

  Endra sat beside him leaning back on her hands. “I wish I could have met your mother, she must have been a very special woman.” Kian didn’t answer or acknowledge what she had said. It made her uneasy when he did that.

  “You know Havalon is coming. K’xarr will expect you to fight.” He nodded but said nothing. “If you want to leave I will go with you, this isn’t our fight.”

  He adjusted the vambraces on his forearms and turned to face her. “Is that what you want to do?”

  Endra flipped her dark hair with a quick turn of her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “No, I don’t want to leave. My friends are here and I feel like we started this and we should finish it, but if you asked I would go with you, we don’t owe anyone anything. There is no reason we have to get mixed up in this war.”

  He stood and offered her his hand, she took it and he pulled her to her feet. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he turned and faced her. “There was a night before we met I was alone and wounded surrounded by a large number of men that were going to kill me because I defied them.

  I should have died that night. K’xarr, Cromwell, Rufio, and Vandarus stood by me even though they didn’t agree with what I was doing or why I was doing it, I have not forgotten that night. You see, it doesn’t matter if I believe in this war or not, I will stand with them even if it means my death, because I believe in them.”

  She put her arms around his neck. “Then I will stand with you, because I have not forgotten the man that found me alone in the woods fighting for my life.” Kian held her close; he wished he could remember that man too.

  The grand throne room of the palace was packed full with every noble, rich merchant, and anyone of importance that was left in the city. Raygan walked toward the phoenix throne, dressed in a sleeveless red dress trimmed in gold. The front cut down to her navel, the back cut down just above her hips, it was slit up one side revealing her shapely leg. Gold bracelets on both wrists and a ruby necklace adorned her neck. She felt a little improper, but K’xarr told her to wear the most flamboyant dress she had, it was a bit tight, thanks to the little Blackthorn in her belly, she was just starting to see a small rise in her stomach. No one else noticed it but she could and it did not make her happy.

  Bishop Lyfair stood behind the throne holding the crown. It was still covered with a white cloth. Rhys and K’xarr had asked her to allow them to commission a new crown made just for her by the royal jeweler. It was going to be a surprise the two men had told her, it worried her greatly, neither one had very good taste but she loved surprises so she had allowed it.

  Both K’xarr and Rhys now flanked her as she walked up the steps of the dais. Earlier in the day she had named Rhys a Lord of Bandara and adviser to the throne, it made him a noble. It was an empty title, but she could keep him close to her now without any unpleasant issues.

  The two men took their places to the right and left of her as she sat down on the magnificent marble throne. Bishop Lyfair uncovered the crown and raised it above her head.

  Raygan wanted to turn and look at it
, but continued to look straight ahead; she could tell by the reaction of the crowd it must be beautiful, many of them pointed and nodded their heads in approval.

  The Bishop started. “On this day, the Holy Church in its divine wisdom has ask me to bless this woman as she begins her reign as sovereign ruler of this great nation.”

  No one saw the look K’xarr gave the Bishop but Lyfair himself, the Bishop gave him a slight nod and continued. “By her right of birth and her noble blood in the name of God the Pope and Holy Mother Church; I crown Raygan Albana Blackthorn Queen and declare her to be the Phoenix of Bandara, long live the Phoenix Queen.”

  The little Queen stood up on shaking legs to the wild applause of her people. “K’xarr, what have you done?” She said out of the corner of her mouth.

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I have brought the Phoenix Queen back to life.”

  Raygan sat in her room now dressed in a white robe looking at her new crown sitting on the table before her. It was exquisite, a wide gold band with a phoenix in front carved from solid gold. Small rubies were set in the gold for the bird’s feathers and tiny diamonds for its eyes. Its wings were spread as it rose from the flames. The flames themselves were superbly cut fire opals; it was truly the crown of the Phoenix Queen. Rhys and K’xarr had done a wonderful job.

  She hadn’t spoken to either since the ceremony. She had gone to her chambers immediately afterwards, saying the baby was causing her discomfort but the real reason was she was terrified.