DAWN OF THE PHOENIX

by A. J. STRICKLER

  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 watched 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 Although their lovemaking had grown more often and more furious, he had become quiet and more withdrawn as days went by, spending most of his time practicing his swordsmanship in the garden.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 quietly 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 believe 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, and 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 that it must be beautiful, many of them pointed and nodded in approval.

  Lyfair started, “On this day, the Holy Church in its divine wisdom has asked 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 Lyfair but Lyfair himself. Lyfair 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.

  She knew K’xarr had told Lyfair to add in the Phoenix Queen part of the ceremony for some political or strategic reason. He didn’t know what a great weight that put on her shoulders. How would a foolish young girl like her ever live up to the reputation of the fable
d Phoenix Queen? The legendary woman had founded the kingdom and made it the jewel of the middle continent. She led her armies to victories undreamed of even by the greatest of generals.

  She was just a girl with no army and an empty treasury and enemies on every front, and she didn’t know how to fix any of it. She was nothing like the Phoenix Queen and never would be.

  Bishop Lyfair had told her after the ceremony that Cain had not been officially crowned by a member of the clergy and that made her the unchallenged Queen of Bandara in the eyes of God and the world. She knew that would mean she would have to bear the kingdom’s burden alone now. There was no going back. Raygan laid her head on the table so she could gaze at the crown and quietly wept.

  The leaves had begun falling from the trees in the palace garden, the crops were all harvested, and King Havalon had arrived. The Abberdonians had begun to make camp and started to construct their siege engines.

  K’xarr had conscripted, with the queen’s permission, some eight thousand recruits from the city. He had only a few weeks to train them before the Abberdonians had arrived. It boosted the forces inside the city to eighteen thousand, and it would just have to do.

  K’xarr had told the queen that Blackthorn’s men were mostly cavalry, but they were well trained. They would have to be the core of the city’s defenses. The young general was as ready as time had allowed.

  Raygan herself could no longer hide her pregnancy and had taken to wearing large robes and spending very little time in public, but now her city was under siege. It was time for her to be queen.

  Kian stood atop the great wall, watching the Abberdonians, his long black hair waving with the breeze. He saw K’xarr approach. The new Bandaran general leaned on the parapet beside the swordsman, looking out over the Abberdonian forces. “They look like a fit army, don’t you think?”

  Kian folded his arms. “I know little about armies, K’xarr. I wouldn’t be the one to ask.”

  K’xarr gave a dry chuckle. “The truth is I don’t know much more than you. I just follow my gut. This is what I have always wanted to do, Kian. Even back in Camira, when I heard the old stories about the great armies of the past, I thought commanding men was what I was meant to do. Now that I’m doing it, I’m starting to have my doubts. There is a lot more to it than I bargained for.”

  Kian rested his hand on Malice’s hilt. “You will find out soon if you have the knack for it.”

  K’xarr nodded his agreement. “Lyfair told me that the Church will not sanction any conflict in the winter, all armies on the continent stand down from the first snows of winter until the spring thaw. He said he didn’t believe Havalon would attack until spring, because winter is so close. I have never heard of anything so stupid in my life. Snow never stopped the warriors of the Harsh Coast from killing each other.”

  Kian leaned against the parapet like K’xarr did. “What will you do then?”

  The commander looked at him. “What can I do but attack Havalon? It will give us an advantage, he will never expect an attack. He will think we will sit out the winter just like he is planning, to Hell with the Church and their rules.”

  “They will say you are a pagan and you are going against the Church’s edicts, the Bandarans will not want to support an attack,” Kian offered.

  K’xarr’s jaw tightened. “I’m going to do it anyway. Besides, from what I have heard of Havalon, he won’t hesitate to counterattack and then he will have defied the Church just like I did. As for the Bandarans, if the queen tells them they must fight in the cold, they will fight in the cold. They fall all over themselves trying to please the girl.”

  The half-elf didn’t comment. He knew K’xarr, he would do whatever he thought best, and he was also right about the queen. Her people loved her and would obey almost any command she issued. The only problem he saw was that the Camiran didn’t take orders well and the new queen loved to give them, but he saw no reason to point that out. “What do you need me to do?”

  K’xarr pointed to the Abberdonians. “When the fighting starts, I want you to kill as many of them as you can.”

  The swordsman mockingly bowed towards K’xarr. “As you command, General. I promise I shall keep their gravediggers busy.” Kian grinned, showing his fangs. K’xarr knew Kian would keep his promise.

  Duke Blackthorn despised the Fox family and hated their ancestral castle. It had none of the splendor or opulence of the palace. It was even drearier than his home in Braxton Bluff. Right now, he had little choice of accommodations. The Bandaran army had retreated inside the city of Northham and he had to accept the fact he would have to put up with Tobias Fox’s shoddy hospitality, for now. He had at least been given his own quarters, not much but a bed, table and chairs, and a large chest for his things. There was a large fireplace in the room, which was at least something. It would help now that the nights had gotten cold.

  The privacy was what he really needed. He pulled the amulet out of the pouch on his side. He didn’t want to use it, he hated the wizard, but he saw no other course. Talorn and Cain had been chased inside Northham and he only had one other ally. The duke began to rub the magic device in the pattern he had been shown.

  “I had forgotten you still had that, Willy, hand it over.” The wizard appeared before Blackthorn with his hand out, and the duke reluctantly placed the amulet in the sorcerer’s outstretched hand.

  “Wise decision. Out of curiosity, what did you summon me for?”

  Duke Blackthorn fixed his eyes on the Dark One. “I want your help with Bandara.”

  The wizard reached out and put his hand on the duke’s chest. William’s face contorted with pain as his heart began to beat faster and faster. He wanted to fall to the floor but his knees wouldn’t bend.

  “I told you I was done with Bandara. It doesn’t interest me anymore.” The Dark One snatched his hand from the duke’s chest and William fell to his hands and knees. The masked sorcerer straddled him and pulled a wickedly curved dagger out and put it to the duke’s throat “Time to die, Blackthorn.” The Dark One pulled the duke’s head up by his hair, exposing his neck. “They may not know it, but the young girls of Northham will sleep much safer tonight,” the sorcerer said.

  “Wait,” the duke croaked. “I can give you something you might want.”

  “Draw one last breath and tell me what you have that I could possibly want,” the wizard said as he let the dagger draw a little of the older man’s blood.

  “My father told me that when the Phoenix Queen was buried, my ancestor Braxton Blackthorn placed an item of great power inside her tomb with her. It was said its magic is what led the queen to so many of her impossible victories.”

  The sorcerer took the knife away from the duke’s neck. “What item are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but my father said it was the most powerful thing in the kingdom. It was said to have enhanced the queen’s magic.”

  “I thought no one knew where the queen’s tomb was; the legends say she was buried in secret,” the wizard said as he climbed off Blackthorn’s back.

  William struggled to his feet. “Whatever was buried with her was the reason she was buried in secret. Braxton was afraid of the magic, so he entombed it with her. Before he died, Braxton told his son where the queen’s body rested and it has been passed down through my family from father to son ever since.”

  The Dark One pointed the knife at the duke casually. “If your family knew where it was, why didn’t you go loot it a long time ago?”

  “Along with the location of the tomb, a warning was also passed down to never seek the tomb out, the magic inside was dark and evil and the tomb itself cursed, and I believed what my father told me. I never sought it out and I never heard that any of my ancestors tried to find the tomb either. So whatever it was, it must still be there.”

  The wizard thought for a moment, weighing his options. “You give me the location of the tomb. If there is something of use to me there, I will do what I can for you. If not
, I will make you beg me to kill you.”

  William had little choice. “Agreed.” He got out a map of Bandara and pointed out the location to the Dark One.

  “I know you won’t be going anywhere, Willy, so I shall return as soon as I can.” With that he vanished, leaving William Blackthorn to hope his father’s story was true.

  The tomb had been easy for him to find. It was a small sea cave on the east coast of Bandara, not far from Turill. It was well hidden at the bottom of a sheer cliff. If you didn’t know where to look, it would never be found. He waved his hand in an odd circular motion and stepped off the edge of the cliff. The wizard slowly floated down the side of the crag like a feather.

  Only part of the entrance was above the water, just tall enough for a man to walk in, if the man could walk on water. Fortunately, he could. The Dark One spoke a word of power. He landed gently on the calm waters of the Eastern Sea, walking over to the cliff's base and into the cave.

  The darkness was like a wet shroud. He muttered a word and a light appeared floating in the air beside him. The cave was not deep and he found himself walking on a rocky floor after about forty yards.

  There ahead of him was the sarcophagus of the Phoenix Queen. Braxton Blackthorn had to have used magic to get the huge sarcophagus into the cave, it was massive and made of solid gold. He could feel the spells that had been cast on the great casket to preserve it from the elements.

  Engraved on the lid was the Bandaran Phoenix. He wondered if any Bandaran had ever seen one of the legendary birds. The engraving was close to what the real creature looked like. Few believe the great avian truly existed, but he knew they were wrong, he had once seen one of the creatures in the great desert far to the south. The creature had been beautiful beyond words. He shook the memory from his head. There were wards he had to dispel, so he didn’t have time for reminiscing.

  When he finished getting rid of the last of the protection spells, he put his hand on the sarcophagus. It was warm to the touch. The lid was heavy but slid easily enough; whoever had built it had been a master craftsman.