Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart (12 page)

“Yes, but that is my most important role. You see, Dalton, I collect broken and tarnished treasures and make them priceless!”

Dalton saw himself in those words, and his eyes welled up with tears. “I will never know how or why you came to me when I was dying in Drox’s canyon, but I thank you. I owe you my life, Master Sejus.”

Master Sejus smiled and gripped Dalton’s shoulder.

“Rise up, Sir Dalton, Knight of the Prince. Rise up and be strong!”

Dalton stood, and the two men embraced. Master Sejus grasped Dalton’s shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes.

“Drox will come for you, and you must face him alone.”

Dalton lowered his eyes but Master Sejus squeezed his shoulders tighter.

“You are able. Remember who you serve.”

Dalton lifted his eyes and felt the power of the Prince renew his strength.

“The King reigns,” Master Sejus said.

“And His Son!” Dalton exclaimed with authority he had never spoken nor felt before.

Master Sejus smiled and nodded. He turned to travel west, and Dalton set his eyes to the south. Master Sejus walked a few paces but turned to face Dalton once again.

“Dalton, I came to you because you called for me.”

He then turned again, walked down the ridge, and disappeared into the trees.

“I called for you?” Dalton whispered to himself, puzzled, as he thought back to that dreadful day.

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Dalton’s walk to Lewerton took most of the morning. It was just as Master Sejus had said. Yergillay gave Dalton a courser, a horse trained for travel and war, to make his trip to Salisburg. Dalton promised to treat the animal well and return him in a few days’ time.

By midmorning of the third day, Dalton arrived home. His father and mother wept with joy, for they had thought him dead. They talked at length, and Dalton shared his incredible story with them over the delicious meal his mother hastened to prepare. Dalton learned that his parents had asked Koen to quarter Chaser for a time. He would need to ride out tomorrow to collect the horse—but today he was much more concerned about another reunion. As soon as he felt he could leave his parents, he hurried to see Lady Brynn.

Dalton rode up to the manor, and a servant took his horse. He was escorted into the parlor and waited for Lady Brynn to come. Another servant disappeared up the staircase, and moments later he saw Brynn rush to the top of the rail, looking down in disbelief.

“Dalton?” she whispered.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized that it truly was him. She ran down the staircase and fell into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” she said through her tears.

“I’ve returned and have so much to tell you.”

Brynn stepped back and wiped her tears. She laughed, then cried more, then became angry. “Why did you wait so long to return?”

Dalton grabbed her hand and led her to a bench nearby. They sat, and Dalton told his bizarre story. It was strange for them both, for Dalton had never spoken so passionately about the Prince. The words felt and sounded strange to him, which he did not expect. Lady Brynn squirmed at times, not from his portrayal of the hounds of despair or the death ravens or even his near fatal wound, but from the fervor of his newfound devotion to the Prince. He realized this was new for her, and he tried to soften his words a little, allowing her space to adjust.

When he finished, she looked up at him and smiled—a little indulgently, he thought. She lifted a hand to his cheek. “I’m just so glad you’re back. Please don’t ever leave me again.”

Dalton smiled but could not respond, for his thoughts were already preoccupied with devising a way to set his fellow knights free from the bondage of Drox.

“I’m glad to be back too,” he finally said.

They enjoyed many hours together, and Dalton was amazed at how often he spoke of the Prince. For some strange reason he didn’t yet understand, it brought tension to their relationship. Brynn always seemed eager to change the subject, and she talked a lot about her plans to travel and see the rest of the country.

The following day, Dalton traveled to Koen’s farm to greet his friend and retrieve his horse. He went first to the stables and found Chaser. He tied up the borrowed courser and then rode Chaser to the front of Koen’s home.

Lacy was the first to see him, and she ran into the house shouting
as he dismounted. Koen’s entire family rushed into the front yard. Koen ran to him first, with eyes wide, and hugged him like a lost brother. Dalton was surprised, for this reunion seemed warmer and more enthusiastic by far than his time with his parents or even Brynn. He hugged Koen back and looked at Carliss over Koen’s shoulder. She was smiling bigger than he had ever seen before.

Dalton released Koen and hugged each of the members of the family in turn. Carliss was last. She put her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly, then quickly released and turned shyly away. Dalton had to suppress a smile as he turned his attention to little Lacy, who had slipped her hand into his.

Koen’s family invited him into their home, and they sat around the kitchen table as he told his story. The entire family hung on each word. They were a silent and motionless audience that eagerly soaked up the tale. Here, his passionate words for the Prince brought smiles and nods. It was so different yet natural, and he felt at home. When he finished, there was a unified sigh of relief. Not a word of his story was questioned, and they showed deep concern for the rest of Drox’s prisoners.

Koen’s father put a hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “You’ve inspired us, Dalton. I would love to one day meet this Master Sejus.”

“I hope to return and meet with him again. I have so much more to learn,” he replied.

“What will you do now?” Koen asked.

Dalton looked at each of the faces that were staring at him. “I’ll have no peace as long as I know that a place like Drox’s prison holds fellow knights in bondage. I will go back.”

The family looked solemnly at him.

“You can’t go alone,” Carliss said.

“You’re right. He is too powerful for one man, and the Vinceros and guards there are many.” He looked at Koen and his family. “Will you come with me to petition the haven for help?”

Koen reached out and grabbed his arm. “We are all with you.”

Dalton felt like he was amidst brothers and sisters. “Thank you,” he said with relief

When it was time for Dalton to leave, he went to get the horse Yergillay had loaned him, but it was gone. Koen’s family helped him search the nearby countryside, but there was no sight of the horse. Dalton despaired, for the borrowed horse was a fine animal and it would take him a long time to earn enough to pay Yergillay back.

“It is strange,” Koen’s father said. “We’ve never had anything like this happen here before. I’m sorry, Dalton.”

“It’s my own fault,” Dalton replied. “I must have tied him too loosely.” His joyous reunion was sobered by the animal’s disappearance, but there were larger concerns for the time being.

The next morning, accompanied by Koen, Carliss, and their father, Dalton rode back into Salisburg, but his appearance before the subcouncil of knights and other prominent members of the haven at Salisburg proved to be a disappointment. They gave his tale only a lukewarm reception, and he felt he had to convince them of the truth of it.

“You say there are no locked doors on the cells?” one knight asked. “I find it quite…incomprehensible that the prisoners would just stay there. Why don’t they leave?”

“Fear keeps them there. Fear that Drox will hunt them down again,” Dalton replied.

“Why haven’t we seen evidence of this before?” another knight asked.

“I don’t know,” Dalton said, exasperated. “Perhaps you are not looking!”

Sir Treffen stood. “Dalton, it isn’t that we don’t believe you. We just need more to go on before we act. Where is this prison you speak of?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, realizing that he had never asked Master Sejus of its whereabouts. At the time, he hadn’t considered attacking it, for he was preoccupied first with healing and then with being prepared if Drox ever came back for him.

One of the knights rolled his eyes and turned aside.

“But I know someone who can find it,” Dalton blurted out.

The council conferred quietly for a moment; then Sir Treffen spoke. “We will send two knights to accompany you to find the location of the prison. When you have discovered it, report back, and we will then decide what to do.”

“I will go with him,” Koen stood up from the back of the room.

“And I,” Carliss joined her brother.

Dalton turned and looked at his friends—true friends.

“Very well. So let it be. This meeting is adjourned,” Sir Treffen announced.

Dalton took a deep breath, and Koen, Carliss, and their father came to him. Koen’s father looked disappointed.

“It is not enough,” he said shaking his head.

“What should we do?” Dalton asked.

“Do as they say, but be careful, and do not allow yourselves to be discovered. Meanwhile I will send for Sir Orland.” Koen’s father thought for a moment. “Dalton, show me your best guess on a map as to the location of Drox’s prison, and describe some of the landmarks if there are any. We must be ready to strike quickly.”

Dalton nodded. “We will first ride to visit Master Sejus. He will show us the way to the prison.”

They decided to take one full day to prepare and leave the following morning.

How in the kingdom will I tell Brynn?
Dalton wondered.

Dalton, Koen, and Carliss set out for the Northern Mountains the following day. They traveled north along the Frates River to Kaar Lake and then northwest to the foothills of the mountains. They arrived in Lewerton late in the evening and spent the night there. The next morning, Dalton went to the stables to explain what had happened to the horse
Yergillay had loaned him and to promise repayment, but the owner of the stables knew nothing of the man or the horse.

“But I was here a week ago,” Dalton insisted, scratching his head.

“You didn’t talk to me,” the barrel-chested man scoffed.

“No, I didn’t. Yergillay met me in the evening and brought the horse to me.” Dalton looked about, searching for the stableman that gave him the horse.

“Which stall was the horse in?” the owner asked.

“The far one on the end,” Dalton pointed. He looked briefly at Koen and Carliss, wondering if they were beginning to think him mad. “It was a fine horse…a courser.”

“Look,” the owner said angrily. “That stall hasn’t held a horse in over a month, and I have never heard of this man you call Yergillay. Be gone from me. I don’t have time for such nonsense when there’s work to do.”

Dalton squinted and shook his head.
What is going on?
he wondered.
How will I find Yergillay and repay him now?

Lewerton was small, and it didn’t take Dalton long to confirm that no one in the village had ever heard of a man named Yergillay. Puzzled, they left Lewerton and headed up into the mountains.

They rode in silence for a while, for Dalton was preoccupied with the strange disappearance of the animal no one had seen and the man he had borrowed it from. After a few miles, Koen teased Dalton about it briefly, then engaged him on talk about their mission. Dalton’s spirits gradually lifted, and by late morning, as they neared Master Sejus’s cave, Dalton could hardly contain his enthusiasm. He cantered Chaser up to the cave and dismounted.

“Come!” he exclaimed, encouraging Koen and Carliss to join him.

They climbed up the gentle embankment that led to the cave and entered. Dalton gawked in stunned silence, for the cave was completely empty—void of any evidence that anyone had ever been there.

Dalton ran his hands through his sandy hair, his eyes open wide. “He was here, I tell you!”

Koen and Carliss briefly glanced toward each other.

Dalton frantically searched for any shred of evidence to validate his story but found none. There was not even a footprint in the dirt.

“This is where the cot was…and here was where we cooked…and over here was a chair.” Dalton walked rapidly from place to place, imagining each item. “Here…here was Sejus’s workbench with all the tools and trinkets.” He spread his hands out as if he could feel the bench beneath him.

He turned and looked at his friends in confusion. “What’s going on, Koen?” he asked.

Koen put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know, my friend. You’ve been through a lot these past few months.”

Dalton looked at his friend and hated to think that he too wouldn’t believe him. “You do believe me… Don’t you?”

Koen hesitated only an instant. “Yes, Dalton. We believe you.”

He looked toward Carliss for support, and she nodded. “Let’s find Drox’s prison.”

“All right,” Dalton sighed. “All right.”

As they left the cave, Dalton hesitated at its opening and looked back.

Am I mad?
he wondered for a moment, then shook himself and exited.

“Do you have any idea where to look for the prison?” Koen asked.

Dalton looked out into the country, and it seemed as though they were trying to find a needle in a haystack. The land seemed so vast.

“It must be less than a day’s journey from here, for I can’t imagine Sejus being able to carry or drag me much farther,” Dalton said as he considered the possibilities. “He had no horse. The Frates River is to the east, which would be difficult to cross, and the Northern Mountains are at our backs to the north. I came home via the southern route and saw no sign of it. So it must lie somewhere to the southwest.” Dalton swept his hand across a fairly rugged region of country.