DAWN OF THE PHOENIX

by A. J. STRICKLER

  K’xarr tried to keep his voice down. “You want him to go, then you tell him you don’t trust him and that he should leave now because no one really wants him here. Whatever Kian is, I count him a friend. I won’t ask him to leave or take any glory for what he did. I’m particular about the people I travel with. You insult them and you insult me, you should take very close account of that, General. You do what you must, but I will not be a party to it."

  Kian stood across the vast dining hall watching K’xarr and Ansellus’s conversation. He turned and tapped Endra on the shoulder. She was talking to Rufio and Vandarus about the day’s events. “What is it? Is something wrong?” Endra asked.

  “K’xarr is my friend. Do not be hard on him. I know he seems harsh sometimes, but we can trust him.”

  She looked at Kian questioningly. “What makes you say that now?”

  Kian looked across the throne room where Ansellus and K’xarr were still talking. “It was something I heard him say.”

  Endra didn’t understand at first then she smiled, and Kian knew she grasped what he was telling her. He had been listening to K’xarr’s conversation. “I must go, Endra, but I won’t be far.” He started toward the door.

  “Why?” she asked. He heard her but didn’t look back.

  His pupils dilated, in the dark he could see. The night couldn’t protect its secrets from him anymore. His mind was clearer in the dark. His new instincts seemed to melt away in the moon’s soft glow. He walked aimlessly through the palace grounds, the fog in his brain dissipating the more he walked. How many men had he killed today? He could not even remember.

  He was a warrior, killing was a part of that, but the men he fought today hadn’t been true opponents. They had been his quarry. They had stood no chance against him and Malice. He needed to find a way to bring all this under control. He could accept the fate the gods had dealt him, he had been doing that all his life. What he could not live with was not being in control of his actions and his thoughts.

  He would try to stay away from the palace, there would be less trouble for the others if he did. Knowing K’xarr had defended him meant a great deal to the swordsmen, but it wasn’t K’xarr he was worried about.

  Endra said she loved him and he knew it was not a lie, but he could sense she was afraid. He had to think about her and what he should do about his feelings for her.

  Kian looked up at the stars that filled the sky. As always his thoughts turn to his mother and brother, and he wondered if they were looking at the same sky or if they lay rotting in a grave somewhere, forgotten to everyone but him.

  He found himself out at the edge of the princess’s garden. It was nice. He would find somewhere to sleep out here. It would be better for everyone if he kept his distance.

  “You are very quiet tonight, my champion.” Malice whispered from its scabbard as Kian spun and dropped into a crouch, ready to spring. A woman dressed in a beautiful black gown stepped from the night, her face covered with a black gossamer veil.

  “I’m no one’s champion. Scarlett said she would be the one to return. Who are you?”

  The woman glided across the grass to stand right in front of him; she was tall and showed no fear of him or his sword.

  “First, dear champion, I’m no mere sorceress like that redheaded harlot. I am a goddess, the Mistress is what you mortals call me, and you should be kneeling in my presence. But since things are as they are, I will excuse it.”

  Kian had heard the name before, one of the Old Gods, she was the Queen of Hell, the wife of the Reaper. He could sense the woman’s power, it emanated from her like a fine perfume.

  “I was not aware I ever agreed to be your champion.”

  “You picked up my sword, you spilled blood with it, that is all it takes. You belong to me now.”

  “I belong to no one.” Kian tightened his grip on the sword.

  “Think what you will, my dark warrior, it matters not to me. You will come to know your place in time.”

  Kian growled and stepped closer to the woman.

  “Before you do something hasty, I want you to remember this. I can be very generous or I can make you wish you had never crawled out of your mother’s womb.”

  Kian swung the blade. It was a blur, but instead of crunching through flesh and bone, the blade passed harmlessly through the woman.

  “I told you I am a goddess, you fool.” The Mistress raised her hand, fingers open. It reminded Kian of a claw. A dark red light discharged from her palm and struck him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Again and again, the goddess fired her magic into his body, and every time he felt as if he was being skinned alive. Finally she ceased her barrage. Kian lay smoldering on the ground, barley conscious.

  “Remember this lesson, champion, I have returned. I will rise to my former glory and you will help me. You have no choice in the matter, monster. I require little from you, save obedience, otherwise do as you will. I like the woman you have selected. Take her as your mate, I approve of it greatly. Stay in Bandara or leave. I really don’t care, but know this: your allegiance belongs to me." She vanished, leaving her champion lying on the ground near death.

  Most of the next morning had passed before he was found. It was Tressa, Endra’s daughter, who came upon Kian’s still form. She was playing with her brothers in the garden when they saw him lying unconscious in a circle of burned grass.

  Tressa, being a smart girl, ran to the palace to find her mother. Her brothers rushed to Kian’s side and tried to wake him up. Then the boys tried to pull him up by his arms.

  When Tressa returned with Endra and K’xarr, Vinsant and Payton had started trying to roll Kian towards the palace. “We will take him, boys,” K’xarr said. Endra and K’xarr both took note of the burned area in the grass. Neither said anything, but both knew something unnatural had happened there.

  They had placed him in one of the empty rooms on the second floor of the palace. Endra sat beside his bed, holding his hand. Rhys had finished examining the half-elf and stood at the foot of the bed staring at his patient with his arms folded. “I have no explanation for the burns on his body. The closest thing I have ever seen was a boy who had been stuck by lightening.

  "The boy was dead when they brought him to me, so I have never treated this kind of burn. However, Kian seems to be quickly recovering on his own, perhaps another side effect of his transformation. I would say with a little rest, he should be good as new.” K’xarr nodded his approval.

  Endra squeezed Kian’s hand. She felt him give a gentle squeeze back. “I will stay with him, you two go on. I’m sure the princess will need your help questioning Lyfair.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Rhys asked. “I can stay if you want. K’xarr can handle the princess’s inquiry.”

  “Go, we will be fine.” K’xarr opened the door. “Come on, Rhys, she can do more good for him now than you can.” Rhys touched Endra on the shoulder and the two men left the room.

  As they headed down the stairs, K’xarr stopped the healer. “What do you really think happened?”

  Rhys took a deep breath. “Well, my first guess would be he was attacked with some kind of magic, there really is no other explanation.”

  “I was thinking the same thing. Ever since he was…changed, things with him have become strange and I don’t like it. He is not the same man I met in Thieves Port, that’s for sure. I will tell you something else. I don’t like that damn sword he found in the Dark One’s tower either.”

  Rhys rolled down his sleeves and checked to see if his hands were clean. “What would you be like if that had happened to you? I know you want to fix him, K’xarr. It’s natural for a leader to try and help the men under their command, you want to make Kian whole again. You have to understand, you have no choice but to except the way he is now. He will never be the man you knew before. I will do what I can, but he is broken and for now, I have no way to mend him. Trust me, I understand your frustration. I wish I could help, there is just nothing
I can do.”

  K’xarr gave his friend an ironic smile. “Sounds like you want to fix him too.”

  Rhys returned the smile. “You don’t like to lose a fight, right? I don’t like to lose a patient. I guess we are both a little stubborn when it comes to accepting defeat, it’s just our nature”

  K’xarr nodded. “You’re right, Rhys. I just wish we didn’t have to deal with sorcery, though. I truly hate it.”

  Rhys sobered. “I am afraid as long as you travel with Kian, you will have to deal with it. When we have the time, I hope he will let me study his anatomy. It will help a great deal when I need to treat him.”

  The corner of K’xarr’s mouth rose in a half-smile. “Just keep him on his feet. I will need him if we’re going to try and hold the damn city. Come on, the princess is waiting.”

  Raygan sat on the Phoenix Throne. No one stood with her, as was customary. Not even one Royal Guardsman was left to stand watch at the foot of the dais. The Kian creature had killed or chased off all of them. There was no council or advisers. She sat on the throne completely unattended and alone.

  Raygan looked down at her feet. They didn’t even touch the floor. She felt like a child, abandoned and forsaken by the world she knew, pretending to rule a kingdom that saw her as just a girl, not the monarch of a powerful nation. True, the people loved her, but just as a princess, not as queen. She motioned for a servant to bring a small stool to place under her feet. Raygan would not have them dangling in front of everyone, like a baby in its feeding chair.

  She was nervous. Ansellus said she was in control of Bandara now, and would soon be crowned queen if he had anything to do with it. Raygan had liked the sound of that, but Cain and her husband were still in the north along with the High Lords Bradford and Fox. She was sure they would have something to say about Ansellus crowning her queen. Not to mention, her father-in-law. Duke Blackthorn had not been captured and that man would die before he saw her on the throne.

  Ansellus had yet to speak of his brother, but she knew it troubled him that Tobias was in league with Cain and the Blackthorns. Ansellus was a man of honor, as were his ancestors. He would most likely settle things with his brother personally.

  She had too many problems of her own to be worrying about Ansellus’s, but the one foremost in her mind was she had no idea how to rule. That had always been Cain’s role. A close second was the child growing in her womb. If there was one thing she knew less about than politics, it was being a mother. She had never really had a mother herself, so she had no example to go by. She would just have to try and do her best with all her new responsibilities.

  K’xarr and Rhys entered the throne room together along with the rest of the mercenaries who had helped retake the palace. The only ones missing from the group were the monster and the overly attractive woman Endra. She could live without the Korlest woman attending court. The barbarian woman could cast a shadow on her beauty and Raygan didn’t like that one bit. Of course, Endra would never have the poise she possessed, the princess thought, but the woman could distract some of her subject’s attention away from her, and she couldn’t have that.

  She would worry about the nature of her supporters later. K’xarr said Bishop Lyfair had told him he had information about her father’s death. If it turned out Lyfair was telling the truth and not just lying to save his skin, she could finally find out what happened to her father. “Bring in Lyfair.”

  K’xarr motioned for Cromwell to get the holy man. Lyfair was not restrained, but the big Toran walked alongside him as he entered the throne room.

  Cromwell bent down and whispered to Lyfair. The barbarian’s whisper was loud enough that everyone heard what he said. “If you try anything, I will kill you, holy man.”

  Raygan rolled her eyes and the small crowd of servants and minor nobles issued a collective gasp. How would she ever deal with these people? Lyfair was a man of the Church, for heaven’s sake. He could not be treated like a common criminal.

  Lyfair nodded to the huge man. He knew the princess’s new supporters wouldn’t hesitate to kill him, they were savages and most likely pagans, but the princess was aware of the law. Only the Church could condemn him. If he was killed, she would have to answer to the Holy Father in Tyro.

  He had to tell his story just right. If he did, he might have a chance to walk away from all this. It was a stroke of luck that Blackthorn had disappeared. Now he could lay all of his sins at the duke’s feet.

  “Bishop Lyfair, I was told you have information for me?” Raygan was doing her best to try to sound regal and hide how anxious she was to hear what the holy man had to say.

  Lyfair gave a slight bow. “I do, Highness. I wish I had been able to give it to you before, but I didn’t really find out until recently that my suspicions were true. As you know, things here in the palace were dire for all of us. Duke Blackthorn was mad with power and I was being threatened, just as I know you were. There was just no way I could have gotten to you earlier. Now I see my mistrust of the duke was warranted.”

  Raygan remembered how frightened she had been after her father’s death and the threats Duke Blackthorn had made. Could he have been threating Lyfair too? “Yes, Your Eminence, I’m well aware of how things were. You are safe now and have my undivided attention. So, I just want you to tell me what you know about my father’s death.”

  Lyfair lowered his voice. “Are you sure you want everyone to hear this, Highness?”

  A flash of anger crossed the princess’s face. “Just tell me, there should be no secrets about how a king dies.”

  “As you wish, Highness. I have found out there was a conspiracy against the king. Several members of his council were involved; of course, all the information I have gathered was obtained after the vile deed was done, Highness. If I would have only known before, I could have stopped it. It is a guilt that weighs heavy on my soul.”

  “Please just get on with it, Your Eminence. I’m sure my father’s death upset you greatly. I want you to tell me how he died, just get to that part.”

  Lyfair gave her a sad smile. “Of course, Your Highness. They used the healer Finn Selmac first. When your father grew ill, Selmac did everything in his power to keep him sick, and I understand that they hoped nature would take its course and your father would just simply die.”

  The color drained from Raygan’s face as she thought back on her father’s illness and how he would get better only to relapse again. She began to believe what Lyfair was telling her, it made sense.

  “Of course, Highness, your father was too strong and too close to God for the healer’s treachery to succeed. He would not succumb to the illness that plagued him or the men who tried to worsen his condition.”

  Raygan’s eyes began to fill with tears, but she held them back as best she could. She had to hear it all, no matter how painful it might be. “So, when my father would not die for them, what happened?”

  Lyfair cleared his throat. “Well, Highness, I don’t know what their plans were exactly, but I assume they planned to murder him when they realized he was not going to die from the illness. It was then your father made his decree that you should be his heir instead of your brother. I believe he discovered their treachery somehow and that’s why he decided that you should have the throne instead of Prince Cain. You father was a very trusting man, he had a great deal of faith in his friends, and I believe it was his undoing. He did however manage to thwart their plans before he was killed by taking Cain out of the succession. We can take some comfort in that small mercy.”

  She could not hold back her tears and they began to roll down her flawless cheeks. Her father’s gentle face flashed into her mind. He was so very trusting and caring, he seldom had an unkind word for anyone. How these evil men had taken advantage of him and his good nature was unthinkable to her. “I want to know how he died and I want to know now.” She had never been so angry in all her life. She hadn’t even noticed that Rhys had joined her on the dais until she felt his hand resting on her
shoulder and heard the murmurs from the crowd.

  “I would rather not give the details, Highness. I will just tell you that it was William Blackthorn who perpetrated the horrible deed.”

  Raygan jumped to her feet, throwing Rhys’s hand off her shoulder and wiping the tears from her face. “You will tell me in what manner my father was killed, Bishop Lyfair, or you will come to regret it.”

  “Very well, Highness. From what I understand, after giving your poor sick father a beating, the duke suffocated him. It was a terrible death, Highness, from what I overheard the duke telling his accomplices, and it was not quick. You must try and remember. As awful as his death was, the king’s frail body was released in to the arms of the Almighty and now he resides in Heaven with his God."

  Raygan slowly sat on the throne, eyes full with the tears of rage.

  “I can give you more details on the conspiracy, Highness. I have heard several conversations and know just about what they were planning to do.”

  Raygan slowly looked up at Lyfair as if she had just noticed he was there. “Names, just give me their names.”

  Bishop Lyfair did as his princess asked and gave her every name involved in the regicide but his own.

  “I have only one question left, Bishop. Did my brother know about this conspiracy?”

  Lyfair shrugged. “I have no proof of it, Highness, other than how close he and the duke became after your father’s death. And as you remember, he was quite upset when you father named you heir. By his actions, I don’t see how he could not have known?”

  Talorn had his king’s arm around his neck and was helping the wounded monarch off the field of battle as best he could.

  The king had fought valiantly until an arrow punched through his armor and buried itself in his thigh. The wound was deep and Cain had lost a lot of blood, but it was all Talorn could do to get him to leave the field.

  They had held their ground against Havalon’s sons today, but it was too late. He and Cain both knew it, but it was good to see his Bandarans fight so well. There was not much they could do now but fight on and pray for God’s mercy.