The Journey's End (17 page)

She met Malik’s eyes and he winked at her.  “You back with
us little girl.”

She sighed, then shifted back to fully human.  Her fur pelt
melting away beneath the nanite armor.  “If I must be.”

He smiled and stepped back, opening up the room to the rest
of the participants.  She saw right away that Lara was crying and in her father’s
arms.  The Ambassador looked grim.  His eyes closed in relief when he saw her. 
When he opened them again he looked at Menelaus with new respect, nodding his
thanks.

 Menelaus acknowledged it with a regal chin lift.  Then Lara
was running through the soldiers and flinging herself in Nori’s arms.  Menelaus
caught them against his chest, otherwise they would have hit the floor.

“I’ll be damned.”  Tolan Lark muttered.

“Truth.”  The truthsayer answered beside him, then looked
stricken.  “I am sorry.  I should not have…you truly do believe that?”

Tolan Lark took her hand and kissed the back of it.  “I am
in no need of your services pretty girl.  I would keep my truth’s secret, even
from myself.  But I am happy in my small part to see you freed, however
unintentional.”  Then he turned and walked out of the room, muttering as he
left. “…at least some good came from this farce.”

She watched him leave, and then caught movement from the
Wosite side of the room.  “Where are you going Nesmet of the Wosite?”  She
asked loud enough that every eye turned and looked his way.

“Clearly I am not safe here, as long as that creature is
allowed to roam free.  I am returning to my ship.”

“I’m afraid that will not be possible great one.”  The
Ambassador motioned for the guard.  “You will be remanded into custody and
taken to face the charges of kidnapping and human trafficking.  Not to mention
a little matter of League law you broke by trying to overthrow a neighboring
government.  That is never looked upon well in the planetary courts.”  While
Nesmet was cuffed and taken away struggling and yelling his people looked on
stunned.

“Who is next in line to rule the Wosite?”  Tryne asked as
they just looked after their leader stupidly. 

Finally, a man from the back spoke up.  “I believe that
Jerom would be best suited for this task.”  Nori looked to the blue robed man
close to the front who had escorted her to her room.  “He has the best business
sense.”

“You are Jerom?”  The Ambassador asked.

“I am.”  He swallowed.  “What will happen to the Great one?”

“He will face the League and probably spend the rest of his
life on a rehabilitation planet.”

He lost the color in his face.  “A penal colony?”

Menelaus growled.  “There are worse things.”

Jerom’s color returned to his cheeks quick.  “Of course, I
will strive to be a better leader than he has shown himself to be.

“A little advice,” Nori said drily.  “Don’t call yourself
the great one.  It’s arrogant and makes people want to laugh at you behind your
back.”

The Ambassador sighed.  “It’s like all those years of
training meant nothing to them,” he muttered.

Menelaus chuckled, then watched as the new leader of the
Wosite approached and bowed before them.  “King Menelaus, under the
circumstances we will of course wish to pursue the continuation of trade
between our people.”

“When pigs…”  Nori’s angry sputter was interrupted by a hand
covering her face. 

“We will see.”  Menelaus said, while keeping his wife silent
with effort.  “I must first clean up the mess Lord Dunstan will have no doubt
made in my absence.”

“It is my belief that he was promised technological help by
the Great one.  But we have no interest in continuing trade with the man and
will not be honoring Nesmet’s deal.”

“Then it should be a quick clean up and I will be in touch.”

The Wosite left soon after looking displeased but not
without hope for future profit.  At least they would face no trade sanctions
from the League of Planets.  They also had hoped that they had not made an
enemy of such an unexpectedly well-connected man as the King of Kenosha.

General Renik was running out of ideas.  As soon as the King
had disappeared, he had pulled all the people within the walls and secured the
gate.  Just in time to face a siege by Lord Dunstan and his new in-laws the
Kirny’s.  He had called for assistance but it seemed no rider had made it
through the substantial army they faced to reach their allies.  After five days
of nothing, he was ready to admit no help was coming.  He did not want to face
the other possibility.  That Menelaus was dead.

“Sir, there is a messenger at the gate who rides under a
banner of truce.”

“We will see him in the lower bailey, and under no
circumstances is the gate to be opened.  Truce or no, with this group of lowly
kurs it is probably a trap.”

“But then how do we get him to the bailey?”

“Put him in a basket and pull him up the wall for all I
care, but the gate stays down.”

The young soldier bowed low.  “Yes sir.”  Then departed at a
fast clip.

Renik turned to the only other man in the room, his most
trusted Captain.  A blonde giant named Ranulf who was deadly with a spear. 
“Find the Lady Leanne and shadow her every step.  They will not get another
chance to use her against us.”

“Of course General.  I will guard her with my life.”

“See that you do.”  Then the General was alone in his Kings
private office.  He closed his eyes and rubbed his tired face, before getting
up and doing what he had to do.  He just wished he knew what that was supposed
to be.

***

The messenger was Lord Dunstan himself.  That was
interesting.  If he was less of a man of honor he could kill him now and be done
with it, but despite the temptation, he could not kill a man under a flag of
truce, and they would still have Lord Kirny to deal with anyway.  No doubt
Dunstan was banking on that keeping him safe, which would explain the derision
he was wearing when he looked around at the people filled lower bailey.

“You could not find a more suitable place for surrender than
this?”

“You wish to surrender?  I accept.”  Lord Renik said,
pointing at a soldier.  “Check him for weapons.”

“I am here under a flag of truce for your surrender.  To
assume I am armed is an insult.”

“To assume you are not, inults my intelligence,” Renik
said.  “Check him, thoroughly.”

“This is pointless you know.”  He said while the man searched
him.  The soldier pulled a knife out of Dunstan’s right boot.

“I am sorry, I wasn’t listening,” Renik said with irony.  “What
were you saying?”

“I was saying it is pointless to fight for a dead man.” 
Every sound in the bailey died.

Renik narrowed his eyes.  “Are you saying you killed
Menelaus?”

“Of course.”

“Then produce his body.”

“That I cannot do.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I burned him to ashes.”  His voice was just smug
enough that Renik nearly believed him, except for one thing.

“If you have no body, then no King vote can be announced,
even you aren’t that stupid.”

He watched in satisfaction while Dunstan ground his teeth. 
“It is an outdated tradition I intend to do away with.  The people are not
educated enough to make those kind of decisions for themselves.  Look at how
Menelaus has made a mess of Kenosha.  Laws and regulations that restrict a man’s
right to rule his people as he sees fit.”

“I sincerely hope that should King Menelaus ever pass that
is the speech you give the people when it’s time to vote.  I’m sure they will
respond well to the idea of becoming merely chattel in your holdings.”

“At least everyone will know their place.  When I take this
keep, and I will, my first priority will be to remind you of yours.”

“Lord Dunstan.”  King Menelaus said from the North side of
the Bailey, the people parted, and there he stood with Nori beside him and
followed by armored League marines.  “It never ceases to amaze me when you continuously
insist on speaking when you have absolutely nothing to say.”

Lord Dunstans face went white and then red with rage.

But no one was paying him any attention, all eyes were on
the King. 

Seeing him, whole and with his chosen queen beside him,
Renik went weak in the knees.  “You are a bit late returning my lord.”  He
called in mild reproach.

“I was otherwise engaged general, but I had no doubt you
could handle whatever came in my absence and indeed you have.  What have I
missed?”

“Nothing much, sir, just a five day siege by the combined
armies of Lord Kirny and Dunstan.  Calling for our surrender and an end to the
king vote.”

“Is that all?  Our allies?”

“We have been unsuccessful in getting them word.”

“Well that will be remedied first then.”  He turned to Nori
and kissed her hand.  “Would you mind my dear?” 

“Of course, you want all of them brought to the battle or
should we just blow the encroachers up from space?”

Lord Dunstan went pale again.  “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Nori asked.  She looked him over in disgust. 
“Isn’t that the deal you made originally with the Wosite?  I mean before ‘the
idiot one’ Nesmet was arrested and the new leader declared your deal null and
void?”

“You lying bitch!” He screamed and lunged for her.  He did
not even get close before he was piled under at least three soldiers and, Renik
was amused to note, one of the herdman who had obviously not liked his campaign
speech either.

“Lord Dunstan if you attack under a banner of truce you lose
your protection.”  Renik called to be heard over the bellowing.  “I would advise
you to silence before I take the excuse to kill you myself.”

The yelling cut off mid word.  When everyone stood up Lord
Dunstan was alive but somewhat the worse for wear, crouched on the dirt.  He
looked at King Menelaus and Nori.  “You and your creature will beg for mercy
before I am through with you.”

“Is he calling you my creature or me yours?”  Nori asked
Menelaus, canting her head to the side.

He shook his head.  “I expect it was an insult either way.” 
He looked at Dunstan, speaking louder, so that all would hear.  “I accept your
challenge and call for swords.”

Dunstan narrowed his eyes and then stood, wiping off the
dust as he rose.  “I will kill you and then your witch.  But not before I make
her my whore.”

“That was definitely me he was referring to that time.”  She
shook her head.  “He’s a little slow in the head.  He just does not learn.”

Menelaus kissed her on the lips and pulled out his sword.  “Too
late now.”  He said grimly then sauntered into the space the people had quickly
cleared.

No one was willing to give Dunstan their sword until Nori
pointed at a random Kenoshan guard.  “You, throw him your sword so we can get
on with this.”

The guard sputtered but with one look from his general he
pulled his sword, looking pained.  “You’ll get it back.”  She called and
watched his back go rigid.  She could hear the general sigh even as he came to
stand beside her.

“No man would ever want a sword back that had been used
against his king.  It would be dishonorable.”

Nori looked at him to make sure he was serious.  “So what do
you do with the sword then?”

“We melt it down and craft a new one free of taint.”

“Oh, for the love of…”  She turned suddenly and caught the
soldier just as he handed over the sword and turned to bow to his King.  “We’ll
replace your sword.  The king has a whole wall of them in our bedchamber.  You
can have one of those, no problem.”  That did the trick, the soldier looked at
her and flashed a smile.  Of course, Menelaus was now looking pained and she
could hear the League marines laughing at her expense, but you couldn’t please
everyone.  She smiled her most innocent smile at her mate, which admittedly was
not so innocent.  He just shook his head while the General chuckled beside her.

Then Dunstan was charging him and he had no more time to
play with his wife.

Nori looked on unconcerned as they danced around each other,
flashing blades.  She had seen enough of Menelaus with a sword to know when he
was playing with someone.  “Why is he dragging this out?”  She muttered.  “He
should just kill him and be done with it.”

The Generals brow went up.  “Whatever his arrogance has led
him to, Dunstan is still considered one of our finest swordsman.  This will be
no easy kill.”

Nori snorted, but her voice went low.  “I have seen Menelaus
fight, general, and so have you.  No matter how skilled he is technically,
Dunstan just does not have the speed to compete with Menelaus.  He can take
Dunstan down any time he wants.”  

“Yes, but let’s keep that our little secret, shall we?”  His
voice just as quiet he went to pat her on the shoulder and pulled back at the
last second.  “I forgot, no touching.  My apologies.”

Nori chuckled.  But then got caught up watching the fight. 
The general was right about one thing.  Dunstan was good with a sword.  Nowhere
near as good as Menelaus, but he was no slouch and he had a longer reach then
her mate.  All the speed in the world would do Menelaus no good if he didn’t
use it.

“If he gets hurt for some stupid secret I will kill him
myself.”

“I will hold him for you.”  The General muttered seeing the
same thing she did.

Dunstan lunged and twirled, taking the offensive and forcing
Menelaus back with pounding strength.  Then in a move that was too fast to
catch Menelaus twirled, catching Dunstan’s lunge and then with another whirl,
he slid under it and thrust his own sword right through Dunstan’s black heart. 

Close enough to read the shock on Dunstan’s face, Menelaus
spoke.  “If there is a special place in hell for men who abuse women, go there,
and reap what you have sown.”

He watched the light die from his eyes and pulled back his
sword.  He turned to see Nori was already walking toward him.  Still in her
nanite armor and knee boots she looked dangerous striding across the empty
space toward him.

“I suppose you just had to drag that out for dramatic
effect.”

He smiled.  “Something like that.”

“Any wounds?” she asked.  Looking him over while she walked
closer.

“Not to speak of.  Was it necessary to give away one of the
swords from my father’s collection?”

“Don’t be a baby about it, your whininess.  I’m sure you’ll
survive without one sword.”

“The collection is hundreds of years old.”

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him.  “Aren’t
you supposed to defeat your opponent and then immediately declare your love of
the gentle maiden with a kiss, before we go off to live happily ever after?  I
specifically recall Lara mentioning a kiss.  Not that the knight would fight
and then immediately start harping about his sword collection.”

He raised a brow, finished wiping the blood from his sword
and sheathed it.  “Show me a gentle maiden and I’ll see what I can do.”

Nori laughed because she couldn’t help herself.  “You are so
going to regret that remark, Your Highness.”

“Really,” he looked doubtful.  “How do you plan to
accomplish that, give away another of my antique swords?”

“I could, but I think I will do something more psychologically
harmful.”  Then she leaned up and kissed him.  “I’m going to tell Lara on you,
and she will in turn give you the full lecture on what is expected of the gallant
hero.”  She kissed him again.  “In full dramatic detail.  There could be
illustrations.  Probably tears.”  Nori smiled wickedly while Menelaus looked
far less smug.  “Have fun with that.”  Then she turned and started to walk away. 
Menelaus gowled, watching her ass sway with narrowed eyes.  Before he could go
after her, they were interrupted.

“Your pardon Your Highness, but we still have an army camped
at the gates.”

Nori snickered at his distraction and he glared her way
before giving the general his full attention.  “Of course, General.  I’ll take
care of it.”

He looked at Nori and she nodded turning to the League
Marines.  “Signal my father.  We are ready for him.”

The marine nodded and turned to signal the ambassador.

A few minutes later, there was a large sea of gasps and
screams when a ship appeared to blot out the sun.

Then she handed Menelaus a communicator that would broadcast
from the ships coms.

“This is King Menelaus.  I have returned from peace talks
with the Wosite and am giving you notice that we have joined the League of Planets. 
It has always been the job of the nobles to protect the people.  Some have done
this job well, others have not.  I intend to insure that all people have the
rights due free citizens regardless of which of the 12 lords they live under.

Lord Dunstan conspired with the Wosite to take the throne
without Vote.  He then broke the law again by attacking my wife under a banner
of truce.  He challenged me and I accepted, by our own laws, when he died all
of his possessions reverted to me.  If you are a soldier in Lord Dunstan’s
army, as your new lord, I order you to return to your homes.  You need not die
today. 

Lord Kirny, I would dislike having to kill my own people,
however if you wish to meet in one on one combat, this battle can be decided
with no blood lost but your own.  You have one hour to call challenge or
depart.  The choice of life or death is yours to make.”

Menelaus handed back the communicator.

Nori smiled at him.  “That ought to do it.”

“Let’s try this again, shall we?”  Menelaus hauled her up
and into his arms, bending her back over his arms.  Then he took possession of
her laughing lips amongst the raging cheers that erupted around them.  They
never noticed that the Kirny and Dunstan armies started to disband almost
immediately.

The crew on the Ambassadors ship took note of it, then
switched their attention to the two lovers.  The Lady Lara and her father had
completely opposite reactions to the display.  Lara sighed dreamily, dropping her
chin to her fist, and watched the kiss with relish.  Her father harrumphed and
set course for some other part of the Solar system.  “Like she never had a
diplomatic lesson in her life,” he grumbled.