“This mercenary tracked the elven woman to her brother’s house and found a young boy playing outside. The brother had taken a human wife, and the elven ears made it a certainty that this was the older king’s son. The family was slaughtered, the house and barns torched, and every trace of the boy’s existence eradicated. No one knew about the existence of a daughter, who was hiding in the woods watching in horror as her family was butchered before her albino eyes,” Merlin finished softly. “While you are a daughter of Bordin, your brother was the son of your grandfather, conceived on that fateful night, and a contender for the throne if Bordin did not produce a male heir to replace him upon his death.”
“Oh my God,” he muttered; stunned. The two women were still embracing; the tragedy clearly being relived through the ranger’s eyes. “Do you know who the mercenary was?”
Kylee shook her head, long white hair untied, eyes swollen with tears. Willow had stepped back and was wiping the older woman’s face, taking a real look at her newfound sister for the first time. Their eyes locked; the grief they both shared soothed earlier angers and forged a new understanding between them.
“You said that the man was on his way to Lancaster; did he make it?” he pushed.
Jared had come to stand beside the mage, having been silently summoned by the older man. “This is going to be painful to watch,” the blind boy whispered, and he felt a pull on his mind. Five consciousness were brought together, their thoughts mingling as Jared dove into Kylee’s memories. From the recesses of her mind he found what he was looking for and to their horror, they all relived those terrifying moments leading up to her family’s deaths.
He saw the younger man leading the band of soldiers order the slaughter of a helpless woman and boy; of the burning of their corpses and the buildings beyond. He was turned away for the most of it and Tristan focused on the man’s face, trying to force the memory to give him a name. As if called, the man turned to the side and they all got a glimpse of his profile. His mind reeled, and he violently yanked himself out of the telepathic bond.
“Was that—?” Willow croaked, her voice broken from the sobbing.
“I remember when he arrived at the castle. He was a young, frightened teenager, begging for a chance to serve my father. I was only four at a time, but I can still hear my father’s soothing voice tell the boy that if he wanted it that badly, then he’d be allowed into the palace; but that he’d have to prove himself. I know it’s the same person, but how can such a frightened youth be the butcher I just saw?” he blurted, trying to fit the pieces together.
“I don’t know why I didn’t see it when we were in talking in your room. I knew something was off—but I couldn’t put a finger to it,” Merlin muttered in response. “And youth is a matter of acting, not true appearance. Do I look to be just shy of three thousand?”
Kylee had wiped her face with her arm and her eyes hardened at their remarks. “Are you saying you know who that man is? That he’s here, in Lancaster?” Her voice had become cold, her hand fingering the long knife on her hip.
“Clint,” Willow groaned softly and suddenly his world clicked into place.
II
The chilled stone mirrored Erik’s heart. His passion had cooled and now with cold detachment, he looked out upon the grasslands of his homeland; knowing that if she was just pulling some prank to get his attention she would’ve been found by now. His eyes searched the horizon, watching his men patrol the fields by torchlight; they weren’t going to find anything.
He didn’t know where his daughter was, but he would find her. He kept repeating that, trying to will it into being. What good was it to be king when his own flesh and blood could disappear without a trace? Was that to be the curse of his kingdom; to lose everything for the price of a crown? He feared it would, but still dared to hope.
Arms slipped around him, holding him tight. “Any news?” Amysta asked, fear edging the corners of her voice. She also had begun to suspect that this was not a product of their daughter’s dramatics, but something far more sinister. He knew that she was still nursing hope, but with every passing hour it became harder to sustain.
He shook his head, unable to put to words the heaviness in his heart. He couldn’t turn to face her, afraid that her grief would eclipse the detachment he was hiding behind. He refused to break down, to appear less than confident in front of his wife. She needed his strength, even if she put up a strong front. If he fell apart, the hope she festered would follow as well.
“They will. She is probably trying to prove to you how grown up and smart she is,” she comforted her husband, and he didn’t know who was trying to convince whom. The two hugged each other atop the rampart, looking down at the hundreds of soldiers patrolling the fields. There was no way she could hide from the entire army; there weren’t that many places to do so that hadn’t already been searched.
“Sire, we found something!” called a voice from below.
He shrugged out of her arms as gently as he could and strode towards the stairs, taking them two at a time as he rushed to greet the soldier hailing them. After a few hasty words, the two left through the front entrance and into the field beyond. Watching her husband go, she hoped it wasn’t a body that her husband was running to, the dread refusing to be kept in check as it seared her heart.
“Let her be all right,” she whispered to their Gods.
She turned and took the steps slowly, mind wandering. Ever since she had been a child, Bella had been constantly vying for her father’s attention. She knew that he had wanted a son and never stopped trying to prove that a daughter could be every bit as rewarding. The change in the old traditions, the naming her as his heir, did not stymie those attempts—as they had hoped it would. She swore if this was one of those stunts—she didn’t know if she could forgive so easily the pain that their daughter had put them through. Erik was cool on the outside, but she knew that he was a wrecked shell and grief was eating away at his soul. Such scars would take time to heal.
She met her escort at the bottom of the steps and together they journeyed back into the palace to await further news. She prayed that this would end soon; for their sanities sake. Already, the nights had been long, restless; neither wanting to speak what was really on their minds. Was this some kind of ransom attempt, some brigand trying to make quick gold? As bad as it sounded, that would be the safest scenario for her daughter at the moment. With wild rumors of goblin hordes swarming the land, being in the Phoenix’s clutches would be a far-worse fate. At least brigands knew better than to hurt their merchandise; no one paid for a dead body.
Yet, she felt in her heart that it wasn’t that simple—it never was. Already the machines of war were being built, the fires of conflict stoked; and that Erik would march to the Phoenix’s fortress in the Deadlands with every elf in the lands if that’s what it took to get her back.
She prayed it didn’t come to that.
III
“You can’t go back there,” he told Kylee, aware of the role reversal he was now assuming. Earlier that morning, it was he that had wanted to return. Now he had to try and stop his new sister-in-law from committing suicide. Her fierce eyes gave him pause. Was this what Merlin went through when he tried to talk sense into him?
From the smirk on the mage’s face, he could guess the answer.
“Clint is behind two sets of walls, an entire fortress mustering for war, a very large keep, and a palace situated across its top. You’d have to avoid the patrols of both armies, get into the city, which is sure to be evacuating into the castle grounds at this very instant, through the guards patrolling the castle’s outer and inner gates, navigate the chaotic city within, find a way into the locked-down keep, and climb to the very top where the palace is. Then it’s just a few hundred Guardians, Home Guard, and John himself that you’d have to get through. Don’t forget, my brother has no idea of what’s really happening; he will not allow you to kill his new aide on your say so alone. Windel, Preik, get over here,” h
e summoned the two Guardians who had turned at the commotion and were standing ready if needed.
“Sire?” Windel asked, his breath stinking of Grog.
“How likely is it that our ranger here can get into the castle and through the palace guards undetected?” he asked, already knowing the answer but wanting her to hear it from someone else. Kylee’s eyes were only growing harder as he pushed, but he would not relent. Willow had just found out she had a sister and he wasn’t going to let her lose her the way he’d just lost his father.
“Suicide, Sire,” Preik spoke up as Windel cleared his throat. “If the scouts have pulled back, then the city before the castle is being evacuated, and they are needed to assist in that endeavor. All travelers, regardless of race, will be heavily suspect and detained for questioning as possible agents of the enemy force. The keep will be in lockdown; passwords only for passage in or out. Getting to the top floor and to the keep’s roof will be impossible as only the king can give permission to non-military personnel to enter or leave the palace grounds. She’d be stopped at the castle’s outer gates and taken into holding; possibly until the siege ended.”
“And if Clint learns that a white-haired albino elf is being held for questioning, then he will order your execution. He is the king’s aide; his will is the king’s. The soldiers manning the walls will not question such an order; especially with an approaching army on the horizon,” he explained firmly.
“Clint, Sire?” Windel inquired.
“Guardians are infamous for their ability to shroud themselves in plain view, to remain hidden and watch without being detected. What were you two doing while I was recovering from my gunshot wound?” he demanded. Preik looked to Windel, as if there was some secret here that no one was supposed to know. “Spit it out!” he commanded, and he heard the sound of his father’s voice within his own; stinging him with fresh grief.
“Uh, we’re not supposed to—,” Preik began.
“This is our prince and future king,” Windel countered. “Our loyalty is to Griedlok, not the Guardians of Lancaster,” the elf snapped. “There are passage ways within the palace walls; a secret only given to the security forces that guard the royal family. They run the length of the palace. You can move about unseen, with hidden doors and viewing points so that we can guard you without you even knowing it. When your father was talking to the three of you, we were within one of these passages.”
“Only for your safety,” Preik added in, afraid of reprisal. “We heard everything that passed between you and that’s why we didn’t report to our Captain when we left. Your father wanted it kept a secret and his orders superseded any others.”
“I didn’t know of any secret passage ways,” he marveled; then a sickening thought hit him. “Would the king’s chief aide know?”
Understanding burned in their eyes as both men nodded in unison. “In case the king is incapacitated, the aide is advised to use the passage if the king’s life is threatened.”
“Clint knew about the passage ways. Which means he could’ve slipped into my father’s room at any time he wanted and poison him. He wasn’t a scared little boy looking to serve my father; he was a mercenary with a mission and his master is the Phoenix,” he stated out-loud; feeling the dread of what those words meant. Clint had been attending his mother during her illness—
“Merlin, you promised me that you would deliver the man responsible for butchering my family,” Kylee reminded the mage, still not deterred.
The older man’s face was drawn, and he knew he had been boxed into a corner. “If there wasn’t an army bearing down on the castle right now, I’d take you back there and we’d finish this together. Constantine was an old friend of mine and if I could bring his killer to justice—I would. But we can’t take that chance. What we are doing is more important than the need for vengeance,” he told the ranger, but she turned away and refused to look him in the eyes. “Listen to me. When I first saw you, I had a vision that you would one day stand over your mother’s murderer. That vision has never changed. It will happen. You trusted me once when I told you to wait, can you not trust me now?”
The elven woman refused to answer him. Instead, she turned and walked away. He took a step forward but was barred by his fiancé’s arm. “I’ll talk to her,” Willow said softly, then went after her sister.
“Clint knew that you were there.” He was talking out-loud; working things out in his head as Merlin’s eyes met his. “If he is an agent of the Phoenix, then he would have been warned about you. He acted surprised, but there had been something in his eyes at the time—recognition. He’s well placed. My mother’s sudden illness and death. My father was healthy a year ago, but his health was failing him fast; hard to believe of a man of his age. The assassination attempt on my life. The poisoning of my father. All strategic moves to remove my family from power. If John were to die now, with me in disgrace and on the run, he could seize power and throw the castle gates wide; allowing the enemy horde to just walk in unopposed.”
“You just said that going back was suicide,” Merlin reminded him, letting him work things through with only a little nudge for support.
“John is in danger and he must be warned. I cannot go. If Clint got a whiff that I was anywhere near the castle, he’d have me ambushed and killed. Same goes for Willow; not that I’d let her leave my side. No, what we need is someone that knows how to disappear right in front of your eyes, that knows the ways in and out of the castle without detection and can get to my brother swiftly, warn him before it’s too late,” he stated, glancing at the two Guardians at his side.
“I will go, Sire,” Windel offered. “But you should know, not reporting to our Captain was a serious breach in protocol. It’s likely I’ll be thrown in the stockade long before I get anywhere near your brother.”
He had already had similar thoughts, but he saw little choice and the elf nodded in unspoken understanding. “I have a letter from my father. The seal is unbroken. I was going to read it later tonight, but it’ll serve better sealed. Give it to my brother. If it contains what I think it does, then he might be persuaded to hear you out. But I want it back. It’s my father’s last words to me and I charge you to keep it safe until you see me again.” He reached into his pouch and withdrew the scroll.
There was a bit of blood on the fringes, must have seeped through during the battle, but otherwise it was unharmed—the seal intact. If it had been broken, then his brother could question the contents; this way there would be no doubt that it was their father’s hand. With a heavy heart, he handed it over. The Guardian took it respectively and tucked it away.
“Are you okay to ride?” he asked, remembering the Guardian’s breath when he had first approached.
“Sire, I’m an elf. It’d take more than a swig of that hideous tasting Grog to hinder me,” Windel assured him.
“Then ride like the wind. Don’t let anything hinder you. Get to my brother and expose Clint for what he is. When I return to Lancaster, I want to see his corpse hanging on the battlements for the entire world to see,” he sneered; feeling the anger in his heart over his parent’s deaths.
The elf bowed, “as you command.” Then the Guardian sprinted for his horse. Untied and mounted, Windel gave them one last wave then rode into the night.
Chapter 12
Ascension
I
“My original intention was to leave Kylee here to guard our backs and the horses, but after last night—I don’t think that’s wise,” Merlin told Tristan as the two breakfasted on a fallen tree overlooking the path leading to the heights above.
Willow had gone off with Kylee almost immediately after waking, accompanying her on a quick scout of the area. The ranger had been cool towards him and he shook his head at her demeanor; he was only trying to save her from doing something reckless and stupid.
“You expected Jared to make the climb? I’m sorry, powers aside, the boy is blind. Climbing a mountain is no place for a handicap like that. He says h
e uses other people’s vision to allow him to see; I don’t see how that’ll help him scale a cliff. We’d all be watching what we’re doing, not paying attention to him. He’d be a liability and a danger to the rest of us,” he observed, finding it refreshing that Merlin was involving him with the decision making; even if it were only for show. “And if Jared doesn’t go—Reyna won’t.”
“And I wouldn’t let Token climb a tree stump, much less a mountain face,” Merlin continued in agreement.
“The real danger should be down here anyways, right?” he ventured, the childhood stories coming to the forefront of his mind.
Merlin shook his head. “I don’t know. A powerful magic resides in the heights above and it clouds my vision. Superstitions are usually based on some fact.”
“Out of the pan—,” he blurted.
“And into the fire,” Merlin finished with a nod. “No way to tell until we’re there. Six of us should do just fine.”
He laughed, “you get to tell Reyna she’s guarding the horses again; no way am I stepping into that lion’s den.”
Merlin chuckled along with him. “Thanks a lot.”
Half an hour later, they were packed and on the trail that led up the mountainside. Reyna had already come to the same conclusion they had and had been prepared to argue if Merlin had insisted on taking Jared along. The only complaint she had, had to deal with babysitting of the still sleeping dwarf, who farted in his sleep as if to illustrate her point. The whole army could find them with as much ruckus he was making.
Kylee and Willow had appeared shortly after and confirmed that no sign of the enemy had been found. They worked on packing light for the next leg of their journey; the pair keeping to themselves. Tuskar had been left behind, and he saw the remorse in the ranger’s face at their parting. But as with Jared, it would just be impossible to take the wolf with them.
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