Third Power

by Robert Childs

  “Trust me, I know,” the winged soldier assured him. “I can recall choking down similar meals while on patrol.”

  “I do believe I have something to say in the matter,” Princess Vessla said.

  “Not if it is anything other than yes,” Lurin replied.

  “He’s right,” Haldorum interjected. “Princess Vessla, I told you from the start this would not be palace life. If that is the kind of treatment you expect then I think your place best served back at the fortress with your father.”

  She pursed her lips, clearly displeased, and snatched up a water skin. “Very well,” she said tightly. “If I must, I must – but if I see a single grileden…”

  “Fear not, princess,” Haldorum assured her, “they are nocturnal—as are most of the more unpleasant creatures who call the Granar their home. I’m sure Eegrin will be more than enough to keep you safe.”

  Princess Vessla took a second water skin from the woodsman and then tromped off in the direction indicated. “Come, Eegrin,” she said.

  The young soldier sighed and rolled his eyes good-humoredly. “Be right back.”

  When the two had gotten out of earshot Scott remarked, “She’s a bit of a bossy one, isn’t she?”

  Haldorum seated himself by the smoldering coals of last night’s fire and chuckled. “I am afraid her Highness knows nothing other than complete obedience to her every word. But we—as I am sure we will have to remind her again—are not her subjects.” He glanced in the direction Eegrin and the Princess had gone and then back again. “Actually, I must give her credit; she is handling all of this quite admirably. I imagine it has been no small adjustment to get used to her new setting.”

  “I don’t know if she’s all that bad, really,” Sonya chimed in. “I’m actually beginning to like her. She’s very nice when she wants to be.”

  Scott snorted. “She just feels guilty over you nearly dying for her, that’s all.”

  “Why don’t you try cutting her a little slack?” Steve’s annoyance was evident in both his tone and his countenance. “So what if she can’t fight. In raising her I doubt her father’s major concerns included teaching her how to kill.”

  Scott placed his hands on his hips and pursed his lips in wry grin. “My, my, did I strike a nerve?”

  Steve sighed and shook his head. “She’s just not that bad once you get to know her, that’s all.”

  “I agree,” Sonya piped with a nod.

  “Now hold on a second,” Scott said. “I never said she wasn’t a nice girl, just one with ulterior motives.”

  Lurin came up behind Scott and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You need to relax a bit, lad. If you give her half a chance she might just surprise you.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

  Steve dismissed his friend’s concerns as both Kayliss and he made their way over to the remnants of the fire. Taking a seat beside the wizard, Steve said, “Do you have a minute?”

  “Certainly. What is on your mind?”

  “Doubts. There is something I’ve been trying to figure out since last night, but so far I’m not having much luck. I thought maybe you could tell me what’s going on—or at least give me an idea.”

  “I’ll try,” Haldorum nodded. “What is it?”

  Steve swallowed, hesitant. “I’m pretty sure I had nothing to do with saving Sonya last night.”

  The old wizard looked both intrigued and perplexed at the same time. “And what makes you think that?”

  “Well, because I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I mean, I wanted to help—I was trying to help—and then I heard that voice.”

  “What voice?”

  “A voice—I don’t know. I heard it once before when Eegrin, Sonya and I were escaping the jailhouse. Last night it told me not to interfere, as though what I was doing would only get in the way.”

  Haldorum’s gaze dropped to the ashes of the fire as he grew quiet. “Certainly unusual,” he said softly. Then louder, “What this alien voice is I cannot even guess; but so long as Sonya’s life was saved it hardly matters.” He stood and Steve rose with him.

  “But what do I do about it?” Steve asked.

  Haldorum shrugged. “Nothing. What can you do beyond try to understand it?”

  “But how am—”

  A sharp scream pierced the forest calm, cutting him off. Lurin and Haze immediately drew their weapons but Steve was already running with sword in hand and Kayliss following close behind. He darted from their campsite, dodging between trees and hurtling bushes and fallen logs, charging through the underbrush with a mission. His heart beat like a drum in his ears and he pressed on headlong, his confidence bolstered by the reassuring presence of the great cat right behind him.

  Ahead the trees gave way to a tiny clearing and a single winding stream cut a path through this. There, on the banks of the stream, Eegrin and Vessla struggled in a net surrounded by several armed men.

  I need a diversion, Steve thought.

  Kayliss cut right and poured on the speed, appearing and disappearing amid the trees ahead like a white wraith. The tiger burst forth from the cover of the forest and bounded the short distance to the Jisetrians, driving the men from their prey, snarling viciously and stalking first one, then another, while Steve moved in unseen from behind.

  “Don’t move!” he told his friends. Vessla and Eegrin quit their struggling as Steve slid the length of his sword into the net. With a sharp upward slice the razor sharp edge cut the thick strands entangling the two and in the next instant they were free. Steve turned on his heels to lead them away but found his path blocked by still more men who followed from the forest behind him. A quick glance to the left and right showed still others emerging by the dozens even as Kayliss drove back the original four.

  Eegrin took one look at the crossbows leveled against them and showed his palms to the humans wielding them.

  “Kayliss, here!” Steve instructed. The tiger backed away obediently and returned to the young wizard’s side.

  In excess of fifty men pressed in from all sides and Steve, Eegrin and Kayliss formed a protective triangle around the princess with drawn weapons held at the ready. Rather than shoot them, however, a single man stepped forward from the others with his sword still sheathed at his hip. He was of medium height and possessed an astute look to his stern, handsome face. He was wearing a ring of daggers belted around his waist and a worn, brown forest cloak about his muscular shoulders.

  He stopped up short and spoke with a voice that was both strong and clear. “Fighting will give you nothing but consequences, boy. Best you surrender now.”

  Haldorum, Haze, and Lurin all stepped out of the forest and moved through the surrounding crowd with the ease of a town hall gathering.

  “Maxwell, even as a boy you were always trying to talk your enemies down,” Haldorum said smiling.

  The man turned his head at the sound of his name and smiled at the wizard. “Why you old rogue! Where have you been hiding out?”

  “Here and about,” Haldorum replied cryptically. He clasped hands with the man and then hugged him. Steve and Eegrin both dropped their guard as understanding dawned on the faces of both.

  Referring to the two young men Maxwell said, “Do not tell me you’ve gone this far out of your way to recruit a couple of boys.”

  “Careful,” Haldorum chuckled. “I would not make a habit of referring to the Third Power of Mithal as a ’boy’.”

  Maxwell’s eyes widened and he looked quickly back at Steve as a murmur of surprise spread through the surrounding soldiers like a wave. Maxwell glanced open-mouthed back and forth between the wizard and Steve several times before finally managing to speak. “It is truly him? You found him?”

  “The one and only,” Haldorum assured him.

  Maxwell appeared for a moment on the verge of losing control of the excitement so obviously welling up in him, but then a moment later he seemed to remember himself and squared his shoulders, walking up to Steve with the dignity
of a professional soldier. “It is a great honor,” he said extending his hand, “to meet you at long last, uh…”

  Steve sheathed his sword and then took the proffered hand. “Steven. And you are?”

  “Maxwell Donn,” he said with a slight bow. “Commanding lieutenant of Resistance Dispatch One. I apologize for the capture of your friends. Can never be too careful with the potential of redcrests lurking about. Had we but known…”

  “Do I look like a redcrest?” Princess Vessla flared from behind Kayliss and Eegrin. “I am a royal Jisetrian princess, fiancée to the Third Power, and I do not fancy being snared and dragged across the ground like some fish!”

  “A thousand apologies, Your Highness,” Maxwell replied. “We of the Resistance can hardly afford not to be too careful where Azinon’s men are concerned. Rest assured, it shall not happen again.”

  Princess Vessla folded her arms over her chest, but said nothing more.

  Maxwell leaned in toward Steve slightly and in a low voice remarked, “It is a feisty one you have chosen to wed.” Then straightening he finished more loudly, “My congratulations to the both of you on your engagement.”

  Steve fixed him with wry smile. He liked this man. “Thanks.”

  Maxwell then turned to the rest of his men, who still seemed to be awed that they stood in the presence of the fabled Third Power. “What are you all gawking at?” he yelled. “Try to act like a disciplined lot and escort Her Highness and the others back to their camp. Nessid, you and Ketrid inform the rest to meet us there with the horses—and be quick about it! I want to leave for Shallows Crag immediately.”

  Twenty men appeared at the campsite leading two score of horses. A horse was provided to each member of Haldorum’s party, except for Lurin, who set out with ten other scouts on foot to ensure the way ahead. Not unexpectedly, Princess Vessla stayed close to Steve’s side—as would have Kayliss, if Steve had not sent him to skirt the edges of their large band to keep the horses calm. For much of the day Sonya, Scott, and Eegrin followed in the rear of the procession, while Haze and Haldorum rode near the front, engrossed in discussion with Maxwell Don.

  Steve noted the impressive way every soldier followed Maxwell’s orders with disciplined and unquestioning swiftness. If something was ordered done, it was done immediately. Though he supposed such discipline a necessity when faced with a foe the likes of Azinon.

  “Why are you so quiet?” Vessla asked him, rousing him from his thoughts.

  Steve turned as though noticing her for the first time. “What? Oh, sorry, just thinking I guess.”

  “Well, you have been quiet long enough. We princesses are notorious for our need for attention,” she said with a teasing tone, “and right now I want yours. So talk to me.”

  Steve smiled at her self-deprecation and the disarming way about her. “All right. What do you want to talk about?”

  “Us, as a matter of fact,” she replied. “Let us talk of our wedding day!”

  A mix of concern and uncertainty clouded his face. “Are you sure this is what you want, Princess? I mean, don’t get me wrong, you are beautiful and any many would be lucky to have you but…well, there is no love between us.”

  “It is not as though it will be that way forever,” Vessla replied almost as a teacher explaining the obvious to a student. “You like me now, do you not?”

  “Well...of course.”

  “Do you believe me to be a woman difficult to fall in love with?”

  “No—I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “There you have it, then,” she said matter-of-factly. “When you are finished here we shall return to Jisetra to be wed. Our love will grow over time and I shall bear you many strong and healthy children.” A mischievous grin upturned one corner of her mouth as she said, “But certainly not until we have had sufficient time to get to know one another.” She giggled at what Steve felt was, by now, a very familiar flush to his cheeks.

  “Okay, time to shift gears,” he said fidgeting nervously in his saddle. “If we’re going to be married perhaps you should tell me more about yourself. You have a magical ability; tell me about it.”

  Princess Vessla looked visibly pleased with his interest and she beamed. “It is quite simple, really. If the person is willing – and even sometimes when they are not – I can see things about them. Sometimes I can even see things about them they do not know themselves. It is called post-cognition; an ability to look back at what has been.”

  Steve whistled impressed. He could see how a talent like that could come in handy—though he felt sorry for their future kids, for they were never going to get away with anything. “How could you know something about someone even they are unaware of?” he asked.

  “Everything in our lives that helped to shape who we are touches us psychically—a kind of invisible tether, linking us to everything about our past. Momentous occasions, key decisions, strife, our joy; all of it is still there, following us around and building as we live our lives. We are all really just walking volumes of history in that way. Not everything in our lives do we remember—like your birth, for example—but they are events that touched you all the same and can be read if you have the talent for it, as I do. I could show you, if you like.”

  Steve raised a hand. “Nope, that’s okay. I have enough trouble with my own powers.”

  “It is no trouble. I will tell you something harmless—like who your parents are—just to show you what I mean.”

  “No, thank you, Princess, really. Fortunately, I know who my parents are and, like my father once said, what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Princess Vessla gave him a curious look and he amended, “I don’t think it was meant to be taken literally. It’s just an old adage on my world that means some things are better left alone. I think I turned out okay just as I am. If there’s something about me I don’t know then it’s probably best I not know it, you know?”

  Princess Vessla laughed. “One of the things I like most about you is the fact I do not understand a thing about you.”

  It was Steve’s turn to laugh. “Now you sound like me,” he teased.

  Maxwell heard them both and drew back on his reins to fall in beside the Third and his Jisetrian fiancée. He was smiling grandly and paused to greet the princess before addressing the young wizard. “Haldorum has been telling me many things about you.”

  “I hope it’s nothing I can’t live up to later.”

  Maxwell laughed. “Fear not! If the prophecy is to be believed, your skills dwarf even the wildest imaginings of my men. Tell me, though, what are your plans once you’re settled in with the Resistance?”

  Steve noted the seriousness in Maxwell’s eyes. It almost seemed as though—yes, he was. The man was testing him somehow.

  “He will not be settling in at all,” Vessla replied for him. “In case you have forgotten, the Third Power is betrothed, and there is a wedding to attend to.”

  “I see,” Maxwell said leaning his head back slightly. “You will not be staying long then—departing as you will to attend to…nuptuals.”

  “Are you interested in my fiancée’s plans for me or mine?” Steve asked flatly.

  Maxwell appeared surprised by the rebuke, as did Vessla. “I can see by your tone I have offended you,” he said. “I apologize. It was not my intention.”

  Steve relaxed his defensiveness with a rueful sigh. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I know you’re only looking out for the cause you serve and the men who serve it with you. What I should have said was no, I’m not leaving—at least not yet. There is a lot I still have yet to learn; about all of you, about this war, and we still have to figure out how to free the Emperor.”

  “Then you truly believe he yet lives?” Maxwell asked, his eyes conveying his hope.

  “Yes, I do. And I believe it is also possible he has the Imperial Princess as well. That much is only a theory, but I’m sure Haldorum has already explained my reasons to think so.”

  Maxwell nodded. “If you are ri
ght, and we get even one of them back, it could spell Azinon’s downfall as well as the fulfillment of the prophecy.”

  “But tell me, lieutenant, how did you get involved in all this?” Steve inquired. “I know it’s a little off the subject but I’m curious.”

  “I’m afraid my story is no more pleasant than any other. Immediately after the overthrow of the Imperial house the Dark One set his armies loose to ravage the outlying towns and villages. Perhaps Azinon saw it as a way to reward those who followed him.” Maxwell shrugged. “Who knows, but my home was one such village.” A sad smile creased his face and Steve could only imagine what horrors he was remembering from that day. “I was not much older than you are now when they came. The townspeople scattered, of course; they were not fighters. The redcrests took anything and everything they wanted; women, food, provisions of all kinds. There were a few of us who tried to fight but we were outnumbered and ill prepared. My father was slain trying to protect my mother, and when he died she slit her own throat rather than allow herself to be violated. The village was set to flame with only myself and a few others managing to escape with our lives.”

  Steve could not even begin to imagine what witnessing something like that could do to a person. Seeing your family slain, your home burned to the ground; those were the scars that never completely healed.

  “So that is why you joined the Resistance?”

  “Actually, no,” Maxwell Don replied. “My father had always taught me to go on with life no matter what it may deal me. So I did. I took to living as a vagabond and in my travels I came upon a young lady who stole my heart away the moment I met her.”

  Princess Vessla, silent to this point, suddenly declared, “A love story! I knew it.”

  Maxwell tipped his hat. “Indeed, Princess, but I am afraid this one lacks a happy ending. You see, she died as a result of this magical plague haunting us all today. When it came, it struck in all parts of the kingdom at once, suddenly and without distinction. Some claimed it the wrath of God, punishing mankind for his misdeeds. Others like myself, however, knew only the darkest evil could inflict such harm.” Maxwell looked ahead, staring at some far off place as his countenance grew rigid and his voice constricted in a cold, controlled anger. “It was when the plague took my beloved that I decided to join the Resistance. Azinon and this sickness are linked somehow—directly or no—and he will pay for what he has done to those I loved.”