Lines of Fire (The Guild House - Defenders Hall) (25 page)

Kalia stepped to his side. “Before the duel begins, before those gathered here, I say these words. I am heart bound to Alric and will be his forever.”

He held their hands aloft. “As I am heart bound to Kalia. I promise forever.”

The Swordmaster glared. “This foolish gesture won’t change what will happen. We will fight to the death. When I win, the bond to my mate will be broken. Also Kalia, so will yours. You will serve Petan who will stand at my side and be named as my son.” He beckoned to Alric. “I offer you a chance like your father had. Break your bond with my daughter. Take your bihorn and ride as far and as fast as you can before you perish by my blades.”

Alric stared at the older man. His lines of fire barely moved. They appeared as ribbons of black marble. “Among the Defenders are those who can see the lines of fire flowing over a man’s or woman’s skin. The Swordmaster’s are dark and tainted.”

“Truth,” the Justicar shouted.

Scattered yeas spread among the audience. “We see,” rose from the patrols.

The Swordmaster laughed. “Not tainted.”

“False.”

“The lines I now bear give me unlimited power. You do not know how matters with the Defenders progress. Speak no more. My years of experience and the number of duels I’ve fought have darkened my lines.” He gestured to his Seconds. “Will you who have followed my orders for many years stand with me? We can defeat this challenge and keep the Defenders strong.”

Alric waited for the answers. Tension crept along his spine like the movement of inchworms across the ground. How many years had passed since the leader faced a true challenge? The Swordmaster’s father, grandfather and several greats had ended their role as leader in a sham duel. If Robec appeared, would the Swordmaster permit his son to win?

The Left Hand bowed. “I will not stand with you. A change is sorely needed. You have neglected to order the patrols into the east sector to capture the outlaws terrorizing the people we swore to protect.”

The Right Hand rose. “I will not stand with you. Since the day your closest friend was banished we have walked together. On that day I remained silent for I wanted his place. I can no longer remain at your side. You did nothing to protect my daughter from the wiles of your favorite. Your son has always been second in your esteem. The child I foolishly rescued has taken Robec’s place. Alron was right. Petan should have been fostered.”

The Swordmaster’s face turned as dark as his lines. “When I win I’ll challenge both of you.” He stood taller. “Now I banish you both. Leave the Hall.”

In the stands, nine men rose. The leaders and seconds of the other Guilds faced the podium. The Justicar raised a hand. “You issued a challenge and were answered. Until the duel ends you have no right to banish anyone. You know the rules set by the Defenders when they crossed the mists. Those rules were designed to fight the sorcerers lest they rise again.”

Alric straightened. Had a sorcerer followed them or had one risen from among the commoners?

“Then I will fight but not alone,” the Swordmaster shouted. “Robec, come forward and join your new found power to mine.”

A stir moved through the audience. Alric turned a full circle searching for the leader’s son. He spotted a man entering the salle. His hands tightened on the hilt of his sword.

“Robec won’t come,” Petan said. “He is a coward and fears what was given to him by one, more powerful than we are. Swordmaster, I’ll stand at your side only if you promise when Alric dies, Kalia will be mine and I will be your successor.”

“Since Kalia was promised to you before her ill-chosen match, the promise of her as your mate stands.” The Swordmaster’s lip curled into a cruel smile. “As for the other, when the duel ends I’ll declare you my heir once there is a grandson of my line.” He moved to the Seconds. “Make the circle double.”

When Ganor stepped forward, Alric shook his head. “You don’t have to stand with me. I’ve fought two before.”

“But I will. My decision comes from within. Neither man will follow the formal patterns.”

Kalia pressed her lips to Alric’s. “You must and will win.”

“I hope so.” He removed his vest and shirt. While she folded them, he removed the chain holding the bracelet. “When the duel ends we’ll exchange the common bracelets for this one until copper ones are made.” He bent to kiss her.

“Fight wisely,” the patrol members shouted.

Alric took his place in the circle and studied his opponents. The lines of fire on the Swordmaster’s skin barely moved. Petan’s flowed but not with the vitality as Alric’s and Ganor’s. The circle was formed to the largest size. Alric and Ganor stepped over the sand filled leather sacks marking the boundary.

“Ready?” Alric asked.

“As ever.” Ganor replied. “I’ll fend off the Swordmaster. You see to Petan.”

The Justicar and the Artisan examined the swords and knives of the men. Then the pair mounted the raised platform to act as judges. The Chief Healer and his Seconds stood at the edge of the circle.

“Begin.”

Alric nodded to Ganor. They separated and slowly advanced. The Swordmaster and Petan stood less than a sword length apart. Both men charged forward. Alric moved toward Petan. He knew Ganor would take the Swordmaster, especially with the sluggish movement of the leader’s lines.

Petan’s lines of fire telegraphed his coming actions. Alric drove the other man back. Ganor and the Swordmaster exchanged a flurry of blows. The older man retreated and stepped too close to his partner. On a back swing Petan struck the Swordmaster’s abdomen. The older man stumbled and fell. Blood pooled around him. Petan leaped aside.

“Time,” the Justicar called.

Alric wondered if Petan’s action had been an accident or deliberate. He kept his gaze on his opponent and moved aside to drive the action away from the fallen man. Ganor dragged the Swordmaster to the edge of the circle where the Healers waited.

Petan charged. Alric focused his attention on avoiding a singing blade and a jabbing knife. During a feint Alric knocked Petan’s knife from the circle. Alric sliced his knife across his opponent’s thigh near where he hoped was the place Kalia had stuck her knife days before. A lucky blow cut across Alric’s knife arm. He danced away and took a moment to halt the bleeding.

The slash on Petan’s thigh made his gain awkward but he continued to attack. His lines of fire grew sluggish. Alric saw his chance to end the duel. He battered Petan with a series of blows driving the man back until Petan fell over the sandbag barrier onto the sand beyond the circle.

“Duel ended,” the Justicar and Artisan shouted. “Alric is the winner.”

“Send Petan to the Isle,” a man shouted.

Alric lunged after Petan and nearly landed on the barrier. Petan ran toward the exit. “This isn’t over. I will return and face you again. My master wants the Defenders to be mine.”

Alric watched Petan vanish. Though Alric wanted to end the threat the other man posed, by the time he made his way through the people milling around the Swordmaster his enemy had vanished.

The Justicar raised his hands. “A new Swordmaster now guides the Defenders. What sentence will you pronounce on the defeated?”

“None not already in place,” Alric said. “Petan was vanished weeks ago. The Swordmaster’s fate isn’t mine to judge.” He left the circle and walked to where Kalia argued with her mother.

“You will not touch him,” the older woman said.

“Mother, I can stop the bleeding. If the flow isn’t halted he will die soon.”

“He has chosen his own fate. He’s mine and I will decide how and when he crosses the abyss.”

“Meral.” The Swordmaster’s voice rasped. “I bind my heart to you as I should have done years ago when I desired what my friend possessed.”

She knelt at his side. “I can heal the blight now but it’s too deeply embedded to spare your life.” She pressed her lips to his.

Alric gasped as the Swordmaster’s lines slowly cleared. Each one flared scarlet for a moment before vanishing. So did the matching lines of his heart bound mate.

Kalia stepped forward. Alric caught her shoulders. “You can’t help.”

She turned and pressed her face against his chest. “Why not?”

“The choice isn’t ours. We haven’t been asked for our help.” He drew her closer. “I failed to help my father for the same reason. He never asked me to spend his lines to heal him.”

The last bit of darkness left the Swordmaster’s lines. Kalia’s mother laid her head on her bondmate’s chest. Kalia’s tears soaked Alric’s chest. He raised her chin. “He is at peace and so is she. The bodies must be prepared for internment.”

Robec raced toward them. Had he been in the stands the entire time refusing to answer his father’s call? Alric looked at the other man’s lines of fire and saw they hadn’t changed since the last time he’d seen them. He released Kalia to her brother’s arms and turned to the Seconds.

“Will you banish us for our failure to support the Swordmaster?” the Left Hand asked.

“You did what you thought was right,” Alric said. “I thank you for standing aside.”

“Will you remove us from our roles?” the Right Hand asked.

Alric shook his head. “Until I learn more about how the Defenders were in the first days after our arrival, I’ll need your help and experience. Until I find others to stand at my side I hope you will remain.”

“What about Ganor and Sando?” the Left Hand asked.

“Neither wants to leave the patrol.” Alric smiled wryly. “Neither do I.”

The Right Hand nodded. “I will serve. My father told me a tale. Once there was a council made up of the Swordmaster, the Seconds and all the patrol leaders who were in the Hall.”

“Then after a day of grieving I’ll call a council to meet. Thank you.” He turned to Kalia and Robec.

* * *

Kalia clung to her brother. Grief spilled between them. Their father’s rule had ended. He had died with clean lines and she could think of him with love again. But her mother had joined his dive into the abyss. Had the ending been worth the price?

A new thought cut through the sadness. Her mother had heard the words she’d always wanted. Amid the grief, Kalia felt a moment of joy. Did her mother’s sacrifice mean the Defenders could change?

Petan remained alive. He would return. She knew that and rubbed her arms.

“You all right?” Robec asked.

“Just thinking of Petan’s threat and what that could mean.”

Robec stiffened. “He was never my friend. I know that now. Do you believe he will come back here, especially when everyone knows what he has done?”

“Yes, and he’ll bring this master he speaks about.”

Robec stepped away. “He told me I’d been chosen by one greater than all men. That’s why my lines are darkening.”

“So were mine.” She looked up and saw Alric. She held her hand for him to clasp.

Alric slid an arm around her waist. “The bodies are being prepared. When they are, we will go to the crypt to honor them.”

“Honor?” Robec said. “For our mother yes, but our father lost his honor years ago when he surrendered to the blight.”

“You’re wrong,” Alric said. “His lines were clear when he died. He told your mother the words she wanted to hear.”

Kalia nodded. “She sacrificed herself to save him. Their hearts were bound in death.”

“But he didn’t tell us what we need to know,” Robec said. “Why did he accept the taint? Why did he allow Petan to steer his life and decisions?”

“There was no time to ask.” Kalia clasped her brother’s arm. “Petan knows the answers. We must find him.”

“That will be my quest.” Robec squared his shoulders.

“You will have another search,” Kalia said. “One to take the taint away.”

“How? Every time I worry or think about Petan, the darkness grows.”

Kalia nodded. “I know what the dark emotions can do to the lines. Mine are clear again. Remember what we told you. Alric and I have a double heart bond. Seek the one for you.”

“Here?” Robec made a face. “I’ve met every unbonded woman residing in the Hall. None interest me.” He turned to Alric. “Since you’re the Swordmaster give me leave to wander on detached duty.”

Alric nodded. “You have my hope for success. Before you leave, spend time in the Archives. Learn what you can about this infection, heart bonding and the sorcerers our people crossed the mists to leave behind.”

Robec’s mouth gaped. “Do you think one of that ilk came here?”

“Yes.”

Kalia clasped Alric’s and Robec’s hands. She nodded in agreement. “Tomorrow I’ll help with the search.” She turned to Alric. “Do you recall which book you found that reference?”

“The second one you gave me.”

The Right and Left Hands approached. “The women have cared for the body. The crypt has been opened.”

Alric turned. “Kalia, you and Robec will lead the way.” He struck the summoning gong five times. From the patrols, the leaders and their seconds approached. The litters with the bodies were lifted and the procession began. The people of the Defender’s Hall marched in orderly lines from the salle, across the forecourt, through the gates to the crypt where the bodies of the dead were placed.