Before the Dawn (27 page)

"You," Rogan declared and ruffled Raven's
hair even though the younger man kept trying to push him off.
"After all these years, and after all the women who have thrown
themselves at you—you pick a servant, and a mortal. We can't wait
until you tell Father. Let us know when you plan to do so because
I'm sure it will be quite a scene. And we definitely intend to be
there to witness it." Then he winked at Meran and walked off with
the two other Princes, still chuckling.

"Well," Trevor smiled at Raven and Meran, who
didn't even look at each other. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"It will be twilight soon," Raven suddenly
said, now acting like nothing had happened. "We must go and prepare
for the battle." He turned away from them without another word and
made his way towards Lady Ceirdwyn.

Trevor gave Meran a questioning look. She
just smiled crookedly and shrugged. "Let's go," was all she said to
him. "We've got people to save."

***

Chapter 27

The silver trees glinted with the many colors
of the setting sun. Their brilliance cast metallic reflections on
the faces of the soldiers who stood at the ready, swords in hand,
waiting for the signal to attack. The dying rays of sunlight also
gave a dull sheen to the silver armor of Lady Ceirdwyn's
automatons. The clockwork men, except for one that Raven had
retained as a charioteer, made up the first lines of fighters since
their brute strength would be particularly useful in forging a way
to Prince Benwyr's castle through any fortifications he may have
set against his brothers' forces. The Princes were positioned on
their mounts after the automatons, and the rest of the soldiers
were arrayed behind them.

Brannon kept glancing at the darkening sky.
All good humor he had possessed earlier while joking with his men
was gone now and he looked very grim. Even Rogan and Kaemon, who
had been laughing earlier over the smallest jests, were quiet. In
fact, all the Princes looked grim, including Raven. While they
waited, he led his horse a short distance away from his brothers so
he could give last-minute instructions to the two mortals who would
be riding into a battle that nothing had prepared them for. He was
clearly tense because he repeated himself several times before Lady
Ceirdwyn finally snapped at him.

"They will be safe with me!" she hissed.
Meran and Trevor, who were bundled up in a chariot being driven by
one of the automatons, tried to look reassured. The plan was for
Lady Ceirdwyn to ride alongside them and slaughter anything in
their way. She would make sure they would get to the castle, where
Raven would join them, then they would find Aline and the other
girls and hope that nothing would go wrong with this sketchy plan
that had all the potential of being ruined a hundred different
ways.

Raven gave his mother a hard stare. "I gave
them my word, mother," he said. "And you gave me yours," he
reminded her. "We will help them save their friends and send them
home, unharmed."

She nodded brusquely. "Yes. Yes. Now stop
fretting."

Raven turned his attention back to the two.
"Be careful," he told them yet again. "I've placed enchantments on
you that should protect you, but I cannot guarantee that my brother
will not be able to break them and hurt you, especially after he
realizes you have come to take Aline away. And make sure that Aline
and the others would agree to leave the Strangelands willingly. Cut
them with the silver leaves to awaken them if you must. Aline, in
particular, must be willing to leave. Ignite the silver leaf within
her the way my mother taught you so she will have a better chance
of fighting off the spells that Benwyr has threaded around her.
Remember, you must be away from Silverhaven before the dawn, or the
enchantment would be completely renewed—"

"We'll do what we can, Raven," Trevor
interrupted him. All these reminders were just making him more
nervous. "We won't let them become enslaved by the magic again. I
won't leave Aline here, no matter what."

"We're going to make it, all of us," Meran
seconded. Then she reached out hesitantly and traced Raven's hand
with light fingers. Her eyes were downcast and her voice was low
when she said, "You should be careful, too."

There was an awkward little silence for a
moment, at least it was awkward for Trevor, then Raven nodded. He
murmured to his horse and, with a last look at them, he went to
join the other Princes.

"My son is fond of you." Lady Ceirdwyn's
voice was sharp, but her gaze was even sharper as she studied
Meran.

Meran's expression was carefully blank. "I'm
sure I don't know what you mean," she lied.

The immortal woman shrugged. "And I am sure
you speak falsely. No matter. He can have his choice of lovers,"
she declared. "I do not wish to rule his heart. As long as he
becomes the King he was meant to be, then I do not care who he
loves."

"Is that really all you care about? Raven
being King?" Meran was annoyed by the woman's stubborn devotion to
that one ambition that her son did not even share. "What about what
he wants for himself? He's never seemed interested in ruling a
kingdom. What makes you think he's not going to just ruin things if
he’s forced to be in charge?"

Lady Ceirdwyn looked astonished. Not because
a mortal dared to talk to her in such an impertinent manner, but
because someone had spoken aloud an idea that she had honestly
never given any credence to. "That is inconceivable," she scoffed.
"Raven was born to be a King. He may hem and haw now and declare
that he does not care for a crown or a throne, but it is his
destiny to be the ruler of Leralond."

"So you did everything you could to destroy
the one person who threatened that," Meran sounded disgusted. "And
now Raven's going to have to kill his brother, a brother he loves,
because your schemes have neatly ruined several lives just so you
can get what you want. Why? Because his father didn't make you
Queen so you want to at least be a King's mother?"

Trevor was prepared to push Meran out of the
way the second Lady Ceirdwyn would raise her heavy sword and cut
down the insignificant mortal who was annoying her. But, to his
consternation and surprise, Lady Ceirdwyn only laughed. He frowned.
These people seemed to be making it a habit to confound his
expectations.

"Such fire in one so easily burned by it,"
the immortal woman drawled. "You do not know what I know, mortal
girl. I have heard the prophecies the wisest of my people keep
hidden for fear of their power. Remember, I was a battle maiden,
with no need for any man, but I made a choice to become a King's
lover and bear his child. Not for my glory, but for a cause greater
than you could ever understand."

Meran looked like she was about to retort
something nasty when her words were cut off by the sound of a horn.
They all looked up in attention automatically, as if the horn had
commanded them to do so, and they watched as the last light of the
sun flashed once and then was buried beneath the horizon. The sun
was gone, and she could no longer interfere in the affairs of the
Courts. Darkness swiftly spread over the land and torches suddenly
flared in the hands of various soldiers.

The silver trees slowly began to glow, giving
off their own illumination that was paler than moonlight. Before
the eyes of the soldiers nearest to them, the trees twisted into
new shapes, becoming thicker and sprouting sharp spikes and edges
until Silverhaven was ringed by a shiny, wicked-looking barrier.
The way was impassable unless one was prepared to risk life and
limb against those nasty thorns.

In the stillness that came over the army at
the sight, an exasperated sigh was heard and Raven's voice carried
quite clearly to everyone's ears.

"I suppose it was too much to hope for that
Benwyr would let us kill him without any fuss."

Trevor suppressed a mad urge to laugh. He had
never felt so over his head before and a sudden surge of adrenaline
jolted him. He was going to war, sweet Jesus, he was going to war
in another world with beings who could wipe him out of existence
with a little finger. And he was going to do it without any special
skill or power that usually gets picked up by the heroes in these
stories. Instead, he was solely relying on the protection and mercy
of an incredibly ruthless woman and an unreliable, troublesome
Prince.

He felt a hand touch his, and he turned to
see Meran looking at him with concern. "I think," she whispered,
"that we're going to die, don't you?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat and
nodded. "Hell, yeah," he agreed. "We’re as good as dead."

She shrugged and gave him a crooked smile.
"Oh, well. Whatever."

Brannon then broke the tense silence that had
come over their company with a shout. He lifted up a hand gloved in
mesh and a ball of white fire appeared on his palm. It hovered in
the air and it began to grow bigger and brighter until it was as
dazzling as the sun. Trevor could feel its deadly heat even from
where he was standing, but Brannon didn't even seem to be affected
by it. Instead, the eldest Prince began chanting in a language the
mortals couldn't understand and the ball of fire kept growing in
intensity as it floated higher and higher in the air. Soon, it was
high above their heads and their army looked like they had brought
their own miniature sun with them. Then Brannon boomed out one last
word and the small sun he had created emitted a blinding flash that
pulsed out from it in a fiery ring. While Trevor’s eyes were still
trying to adjust, the ball of fire flew straight towards
Silverhaven's barrier with a sound like a piercing wail. It crashed
into the silver trees and the brilliance of the impact was
unbearable until the light faded and they saw that a clear path had
been burned through the different groves straight to the far lake
where Benwyr's defenders waited for them.

"Attack!" Brannon commanded. The soldiers
roared and, led by the automatons, they poured into the breach.

Benwyr wasn't going to let them get to his
castle that easily, of course. The trees moved and came to life
while his brothers' soldiers were crossing the opening through the
groves. Silver spikes pierced through warriors, gold branches flew
at them like spears, and diamond trees exploded into thousands of
tiny, hungry shards that blinded eyes and cut throats.

"Kaemon!" Prince Kei shouted in warning to
his twin before several knife-like leaves of silver could sink into
the other's face. Prince Kaemon put up his shield just in time to
save himself and the leaves all hit the shield harmlessly.

"Enough of this!" Kaemon was angry now. A
silent communication passed between him and his twin, then they
both nodded at each other and brought their horses as close as they
dared to the sides of the opening Brannon's fireball had cut for
their forces. Moving as one, their hands made a series of gestures
and, with a sound like thunder, water from deep within the earth
rumbled and then shot through the ground in geysers. But the twins
were not finished yet. They continued to make smooth, flowing
movements with their hands and arms, and the water glowed then
began to curve until their army was cocooned safely within the
liquid while the trees battered uselessly at them. Whenever a spike
or leaf would touch the water, it disintegrated as if it had come
into contact with acid. However, the inside of the cocoon was as
dry and solid as earth. The soldiers quickly seized the opportunity
to regroup afforded by this reprieve and Brannon hollered orders
until the men had formed one compact unit of warriors once
more.

Then the twins nodded at each other again
and, with a swift series of hand movements, they burst the bubble
of water that protected them from the deadly trees. The water
rolled away from them in roaring waves that swept everything in
their path and the groves were quickly devastated by the sudden
flood. "Come on then!" Kaemon shouted at his brothers and the
soldiers once they had a clear way towards the lake.

They moved forward once more, and were met by
the swords and arrows of Silverhaven's soldiers. Brannon laughed.
"This is more like it!" he exclaimed lustily and fell to cutting
down the men who tried to halt his advance with a mad glee in his
eyes. Rogan and Baydr looked like they were having a great time,
too, and even Orland shook off his usual quiet manner and dealt
with the enemies who came his way with fast efficiency. However,
the person most enjoying herself had to be Lady Ceirdwyn.

She and her horse moved like one being as
they struck down foes left and right. She was so brutal and skilled
at dealing death to opponents that the chariot bearing the humans
was completely untouched even by so much as a wayward arrow. A
battle frenzy possessed her and her amber eyes glowed with a vivid
blood-red light in their depths. With the way she was fighting, she
could have decimated Silverhaven's army all by herself.

But then the Lords of Silverhaven took to the
battlefield.

They swooped down on the invaders and brought
death. Scores of soldiers fell to the ground writhing in
unspeakable torment as their bodies were warped and molded into new
unnatural shapes like they were nothing but common clay in the
hands of one of Silverhaven's Lords. Another Lord flicked a red
mist at the warriors that tried to rush at him and they all
crumbled into ash. Two other Lords transformed themselves into
hulking brutes with long claws and ripped through their foes with
frightening ease. The battle had now become more of a challenge as
the Princes found themselves having to fight opponents that were
more or less their equal in power.

"I do so enjoy a good match," Rogan commented
and smiled down at Meran's terrified face where she huddled in the
chariot during a lull in the fighting.