Dark One Rising (27 page)

“Don’t make an issue of it, or I’ll go upstairs and change back.”

He laughed. “Okay, you win. Please, have a seat.”

She went around the table and took her place across from the king. After she was comfortable, a servant came forward and served her a plate of food and poured a glass of wine. She looked across the table at Dain, as he leaned back and smiled at her.

“We were just having a conversation about you.”

She looked at Alekzand’r then and glared. He shifted in his chair.

“Really? I’d really like to hear about it.” She did not remove her eyes from Alek’s.

“I was just saying…” the king began.

Alekzand’r cut him off. “Uh…the king and I were just discussing that you may start feeling a bit restless and may want to take a ride in a week or two. He can arrange for someone to escort you into town, if you’d like.”

She shifted her emerald eyes from Alekzand’r to Dain. “Would that be safe, Your Majesty?”

“In a few days we should know if the coast is clear for the time being. That said, I would send along an armed escort of course. I think it would be alright, as long as you behaved yourself and didn’t wander away from your protector.”

“I can protect myself. An armed man would be unnecessary.”

“I prefer not to be ill-prepared. I have no doubt that you could give anyone who may want to hurt you a good run, but I made a promise, and I won’t break it due to lack of vigilance. As long as you are my guest, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“If Fallon is looking for me, is it safe to leave the walls of the keep at all?”

“We have sentries watching. If he crosses over the border we’ll know about it. He would not have been able to get here so quickly, however, even if he knew where you went.”

“We arrived here in a little over a week.”

“True, but you and Alek took the short cut, remember?”

“Ah yes, the Sorcerers Wood.”

“You knocked a week or more off your time, at least. Fallon’s men were not able to come through that way; they have to come across country. They’re about two weeks behind, give or take. I believe you’re safe for the time being. I would ask though that you not leave the gates of the keep, Your Highness, unless you are accompanied, just in case.”

She nodded at him and took a bite of her breakfast.

CHAPTER 16

M
elenthia wandered around the castle for awhile before finding herself on the portico on the lower level, at the east side of the keep. The porch looked out onto the gardens, but a stone pathway lead to the left, down to the fighting arena on the far side of the bailey. She heard noises coming from there so she took the path and eventually found herself at a spectator area where she could see the men-at-arms practicing.

She leaned on the railing of the bleacher section and watched the two men who were moving back and forth, swords clanging together, dust kicking up creating clouds in the cool afternoon breeze.

She watched with rapt attention at the mastery of the opponents, the way their bodies moved and the way they swung their weapon with each parry or riposte. She heard someone approach from her right and turned to see a young squire coming toward her. He bowed when he reached her side, and she smiled at him.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness. Are you enjoying the sport?”

“They’re quite good.”

“Yes, His Majesty is one of the best swordsman in the kingdom. One of the best archers as well.”

Her eyes went wide with surprise when she realized that she was watching the king practice. She took a moment to watch their movements closer, to determine which one was the handsome rogue that had agreed to watch over her. After a few more minutes she had it figured out by his body size and strength and by his movements. He was definitely handsome, but the way he held his weapon and wielded it, and the way his body moved back and forth across the fighting arena was what made her ears warm.

She watched the competition to the end, when eventually the opponents conceded to each other and bowed. The king removed his helm and brushed back a lock of dampened blond hair out of his face. He must’ve sensed her standing there because he looked in her direction, smiled and waved. She waved back, her ears warmer now from embarrassment at being noticed, gawking like a school girl.

He re-sheathed his sword and wiped his face with a linen handed to him by a squire, then headed in her direction. When he reached her, he smiled again and bowed slightly. “Did you enjoy the view?” he asked in jest.

Her ears got warm again, this time more intensely; she hoped that it wasn’t noticeable. She kept the conversation on the swordplay. “You’re quite the sportsman from what I hear, Your Majesty, and from the display I’ve seen, I would agree.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. Although I don’t know how well I’d fare against you. The rumor from my man Alek is that you’re just as adept at swordplay. That’s something I would relish to see.”

“Thank you. I’ve worked hard to become so.”

“Is there nothing your brother didn’t teach you?”

“He prides himself on being thorough at everything he does. Apparently he didn’t do a good enough job at teaching me how to be demure and ladylike. That’s a skill that I’ve been told many a time that I lack.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

She smiled at his kindness, but before she could answer, he changed the subject. “It would bring me great pleasure if you’d do me the honor of dining with me this evening. I would be pleased if you’d grace me with your presence and allow me to get to know you better. We’ll more than likely be together awhile you and I, and I want you to feel at home while we are.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty. I would be delighted.”

“Dain, remember?”

“Dain.”

“That’s better. There are a few things I must attend to. I’ll see you in the king’s dining room at seven.”

She didn’t know if it was a good idea to get to know him more intimately at all but did not want to jump to any conclusions about him yet. She decided he deserved to be given a chance since her brother seemed to trust him, and Alek assured her she would be fine under his roof. It would be impolite to refuse considering what he was risking by hiding her, so she would have dinner with him and see where that led. She would determine whether it was a bad idea later.

***

A few weeks later, Dain and Alek were sitting across from one another in the conference room, looking at a map. There were papers scattered all over the table. They had been at it for hours, and Dain was tired. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, sighed, then continued. “From the information I have gathered, it seems that Fallon has taken over the two southern most towns in Isamar, Barksdale and Xandra,” he said pointing at the two cities on the map. “He keeps sentries posted at the gates of the larger city, Barksdale, and has the gate guard collect tolls as travelers come through. He must be using the money to keep his army funded. Why he would want to have control over cities in Isamar I cannot guess. The Isamarians are nomads and don’t mingle with outsiders. Out of all four provinces, they still don’t have an alliance with anyone. They generally like to rule themselves and have been part of the old Free Cities pact for the last two hundred years.”

“Perhaps he wants to change that.”

“Maybe. Fallon must be holding something over them or has promised something in order to have obtained their allegiance.”

Alekzand’r answered, “He doesn’t seem to want anything other than power over the cities he is taking over. The word from my spies on that end are that he generally leaves the cities devastated. Takes their money and their livelihood, giving them nothing in return. He’s been using fear as a tool to gain their compliance.”

“Yes, the dark arts are quite capable of instilling fear in people, and these two cities in particular have no real army to protect them; they are too small. Having a sorcerer threaten them is push enough I think.”

“No, there’s something else.”

Dain looked across the table at him. “What is it?”

“It seems that Fallon has called a wraith from the pit.”

“A wraith? Are you sure?”

“I would bet my life on it. I meant to tell you sooner, but we got busy with state issues. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Melenthia either. I didn’t want to frighten her more than she already is. It chased her over the Cliff of Sorrow, then chased us down when we left Zhen That’s the main reason I used the Sorcerers Wood. Escape was imperative.”

“A wraith, and it didn’t catch her?”

“Usually a wraith won’t go out in water, so I thought that was how she escaped in the river. But..”

“But what?”

“This one chased us for miles before we disappeared into the Sorcerers Wood. It was pouring down rain, Dain.”

Dain stared at his friend, his forehead scrunched in dismay. “This one can go out in water?”

“It appears that way.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Fallon has not only mastered the dark arts, but has mastered over them. He has enough knowledge and power to create his own creatures. I fear a wraith is only the beginning of our concerns.”

Dain got a chill. “I would’ve never pegged him good enough for that.”

“Obviously his master taught him well, or maybe, Fallon is just more evil than the wizard ever was.”

Dain slumped back in his chair, rubbing his eyes again.

“Are you alright, Dain?”

“I’m weary.”

“Maybe we should take a break.”

He looked at Alekzand’r and frowned. “No, we need to push on. I want all information that we can gather. I have sent Brogan to the Danstrom Mountains to the dwarves at Yarden to talk to Dagon.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Dagon is a cranky little man, but he owes me a debt. Even if he didn’t, he’s not pig-headed enough to not see that banding together will make us stronger. We must be strong if we are to fight Fallon and his evil. No one will be immune to his wrath, not even the dwarves hidden in the tunnels of the mountain. And because I want everyone to be ready to face whatever is coming; I prefer not to have anyone face it alone.”

“And Brogan agreed to that?”

“He was reluctant, but he has a debt he feels he owes me, and that’s why he agreed.”

“You said you didn’t expect anything from him.”

“I don’t, but this one time I pretended I did. Information is what we require, so I used that to my advantage.”

Alekzand’r shook his head. “You’ll feel differently if that turns out to be a suicide mission.”

“I told him not to put himself in harms way. If he can convince the clans to pledge allegiance, that’s what I want, but if they refuse, I told him to get out and return home.”

“The mountain itself is dangerous enough, then he has to contend with Dagon.”

“I’m not really worried about Dagon. His temper is really only a show for his people. He’s shrewd, but fair. He’ll see the importance of his aid. Besides, he owes me, and I have gone six years without collecting. Now it’s time.”

“I hope you’re right. Sol is also trying to get some answers. He’s in Vallis trying to seek the information we need. I should be hearing from him soon as well.”

“Brogan did tell me something interesting. Now I don’t usually believe tall tales, especially ones that come from superstitious commoners, but I’m beginning to believe maybe there’s something to this tale.”

“What is it.”

“He said that people believe in a prophecy about a Chosen One, a man who will fight against evil to save the world.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that one too. We don’t know if it’s even remotely true, and I’ve not heard of anyone saying that the Chosen One had even been born. It could very well be three hundred years from now for all we know.”

“Yes, but the stranger part is the rest of the story. They think that Melenthia is the Chosen One, that she was given Tanith, the magical Elvin made sword from the prophecy for a reason. They say Fallon wants to marry her to have power over her so that she can’t destroy him.”

“Melenthia? The Chosen One? Now I really have heard everything.”

“She’s different. She’s been an odd girl since birth, and she was given Tanith from the elves. No one receives a gift like that from the elves for no reason, especially not an odd, ordinary girl.”

Alekzand’r stared at Dain. “You’re insane. There’s no way Melenthia is the savior of Aelethia.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“Then I’m wrong, but what if you’re right? How would she ever defeat Fallon and whatever evil he’s bringing forth?”

“I don’t know. When Sol gets here maybe we’ll have the answers to that riddle.”

“I’ll admit that she’s an odd girl, and the gift from the elves has always had me wondering, but I hardly want to believe that she could be the one. However, the Tanith Prophecy does seem to be an especially talked about subject as of late.”

“Did you not tell me once that sometimes the ones we think are insignificant can have the biggest impact?”