The Lords of Valdeon (40 page)

"You have been called by the Jalora as the new bearer of the Lion Ring. You are my heir, son. This is why you received a rare visit from the animal spirit which represents the ring. This is why your body is changing, and the power comes unbidden to you." Leo watched his face for a moment and then continued. "All young heirs experience such things in their sixteenth year. They are called to service by the Jalora. It is Andarian tradition for the father to place the Heart of the Warrior Ring upon his heir's finger. A father dreams of such moments with pride. You have been called, Seth. It is your time now."

Leo reached inside his waistcoat next to his heart and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in fabric. He set it on the table and gently unfolded the cloth. A silver ring glistened in the morning light. Metal wrapped around a black stone. The image of a lion's head was etched in white at its heart.

Riley leaned over Seth's shoulder and frowned down at the ring. "It doesn't look like much."

"It sleeps. Many covet the power dormant within this stone. Men of evil would take the ring and use its power to bring harm to the people of Andara. For two years I have been hunted, hiding in long-forgotten fortresses to protect the Lion Ring." Leo looked down at the stub on his left hand where his finger had once been. "I did what I had to do to keep it safe. We must see you to the Obsidian Citadel in Lea, my son. We will find friends there. They can train you to protect yourself."

Leo's words drifted across the table. They reached Seth's ears through a haze of growing desire and urgency. His father's message was still clear despite the pounding in Seth's ears. Danger would follow if he dared put on the Lion Ring.

"Will you take up the ring and be its bearer? Will you follow the Jalora's command as its ranger and servant?" Leo raised a hand before Seth could speak. "Before you answer, be warned. The ring must accept you as my heir. If it does not, there’s a possibility it will kill you."

Seth ran his eye along the ring's surface once more. Power reached out toward him in invisible tendrils. It called to him. The draw to touch the ring's surface was irresistible. His fingertips brushed lightly along the silver. Then the white lion trapped within the stone turned its head to look at him. Seth jerked away.

"You've seen it, yes? The spirit of the ring." Leo came closer to him. "Stand with me, my son. Stand like the man of honor you are to become. Take the ring."

Seth lifted to his feet, still watching the ring as his father held it before him. Leo slid the Lion Ring upon Seth’s left middle finger. Searing pain raced up his arm, into his chest. He fell backward as the strange sensation moved into his brain. Flashes of color and light exploded around him. Then everything grew still in one last pulse of brightness.

I have waited a very long time for your coming, Child.
The voice was neither male nor female.

"You know me?"

Its ancient power surrounded him, brushing at his curls. It was soothing and intimate. Seth gave into the embrace as the presence entered every pore of his body. His loneliness faded. The deep wounds wrought by his mother’s death and the cruelty of Fergus McCloud were healed, but not forgotten.

There is great strength of heart within you, but also there is emotional control.
The voice surrounded him with soothing tenderness.
You will be great. Your name will live on throughout the generations. I have called you to me, Lion. Serve me with honor.

Seth tentatively opened his eyes. He was lying on his bed in the farmhouse. He'd survived. A new sensation pulsed from his left hand. He lifted his arm and saw the Lion Ring sitting firmly upon his middle finger. Gone was the black of death. Now the stone sparkled clear iridescent. The lion's head, now black, regarded him. Then it turned to stare into the nothingness to his left. Inside the belly of the ring, his blood pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

Muffled voices came from the kitchen. Seth turned toward them. Instantly, the voices grew sharper as if he were standing next to them. Dante was grilling Riley on packing some sort of bag. Riley, to his credit, was answering with patience and respect.

Seth stumbled a bit as he moved down the hall toward the kitchen. The ring was bringing everything into sharper focus for him. It was as if he'd been blind and deaf his entire life. The Lion Ring had restored his senses.

Leaning against the wall, he looked upon the crisp images before him. Water droplets rolled down the newly cleared luncheon plates. Riley's shirt freshly laundered, but cuffs still speckled with faded red stains. His gaze was drawn outside and into the fields beyond. Early morning sun had left them and dusk had come.

"Well, awake at last!" Dante had a look of pride and hope in his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. Different."

Leo came into the house, wiping his hands with a cloth. A flash of images crossed Seth's vision. He saw his father in the barn. Leo had been building something. It was a contraption for Seth's training. What manner of magic was this? He hadn't known what to expect when he'd put on the ring, but this was beyond belief.

"You seem well." Leo gripped Seth's arm with a pleased smile. "The odd feeling you have now will soon pass as you grow accustomed to the ring. It is a part of you now. The sickness will fade in a few days."

"I don't feel ill, Father."

"Of course you don't!" Dante's assurances came a little too quickly. "He has his father's strength."

"Come, Dante! Break out another bottle of wine. My son bears the Lion Ring. We must celebrate!"

Riley gave Seth a fierce grin and began taking glasses from the cabinet. Dante took down a dusty bottle of wine from behind his spices and put it on the end of the table. He pulled the stopper with a loud pop.

Leo brought two long bundles from the corner of the kitchen. Careful to avoid the wine, he laid them on the table. He unwrapped the first bundle and handed it to Seth. It was a sword. Several roaring lions growled from within the strong Valdeonian steel. Gold inlay twisted cord-like around the hilt. The exquisite blade was perfectly balanced.

"It’s beautiful, Father!"

His father strapped a sword belt and sheath around Seth’s waist. Leo stepped back and smiled. Hope. Pride. Love. They all shone in his eyes. Standing before Leo, knowing without a doubt he had his father's respect, was the best moment of Seth's life.

"In Valdeon, a boy’s seventeenth birthday is an important event, yes? He becomes a man. And a man needs a good sword at his side." Leo placed both his hands on Seth's shoulders. "A ranger must have the finest of weapons."

He reached for the second bundle and took it out of the cloth. It was another sword made with fine Valdeonian steel. The hilt was solid silver. A single lion head roared from the leather.

"Come here, Riley Logan! A squire must have a good blade at his side while he serves his ranger."

Seth bumped Riley with his shoulder and grinned. "I wouldn't have anyone else as my squire, Riley. You've earned that blade."

"Thank you!" Riley smoothed the fine blade as Leo put the belt around his waist.

Seth gripped at the hilt of his sword, enjoying the twist of gold upon silver. It was perfectly balanced and must have cost his father a small fortune. He just hoped his skill improved enough to be worthy of such a weapon.

"Come to the barn, my son. I can see your eagerness to test your blade." He marched out the door, his own excitement quickening his pace. "Bring the wine, Dante!"

Inside the barn, Leo had built a large structure of gears and wheels. The contraption was made entirely of wood and stood taller than a man. Scents, grease and freshly cut wood, filled the air. Their odor was made all the stronger by his new senses. Riley elbowed him when Leo slapped at the contraption, causing it to spin around.

"Leo calls it a sword dummy. He let me practice on it this morning. My backside and shoulders will never be the same, I can tell you."

"Come have a glass of wine, Curl Top." Dante handed Riley a glass. "You're about to see what a ranger can do."

Leo motioned for Seth to take a seat on a barrel. He walked to the center of the barn. Moving slowly for Seth's benefit, Leo placed his feet into position. The right toe pointed toward them. The left foot moved to the side, touching his right heel. Leo drew his sword and held the tip before him, a hair's breadth from the ground. It remained perfectly still.

"I'm about to show you the first stance in the Dance of Death. It is a technique only given to rangers in service to the Jalora, for it takes the Jalora's power to execute these moves. We do not move upon the ground as we fight, my son. Here, I believe I may have enough residual power to teach you, yes?"

Twisting his body in a sudden burst of speed, Leo performed the first stance. He was impossibly fast. Seth couldn't keep pace with his eyes. It was incredible. Leo's boots made no imprints upon the dusty barn floor. He really had left the ground by the Jalora's magic.

"Watch as I move into stances two, three, four, and five."

The dance, though intended to be violent, was beautiful. He was enthralled by his father's skill and mastery. Leo must have been a powerful ranger before parting from the Lion Ring. Seth's fingertips stroked the crystal upon his own finger. They'd been joined for a short while, but already he couldn't imagine a life without its gifts.

"It's beautiful, Father."

Leo came to a stop in the first stance. Loss haunted his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by pride as he smiled at Seth. "Yes, but it is also a horrific site for your enemy."

Leo moved through the five stances, twirling toward a bale of hay. His sword passed through it, not disturbing a single blade. He pushed the top half to the ground. Hay rolled along the barn floor, finally falling apart when it came to a stop.

"Now you try, my son."

Seth leapt to his feet and looked down into his ring for a moment. He did feel different, but had he truly changed? Seth pulled his sword out of its scabbard and took the first stance. The sword whipped around and he fell into the second, third, fourth, and fifth positions. His movements were sharper and more fluid. The sword seemed to be attached to his body, almost a part of him. He brought it forth, striking at his target. The second bale of hay exploded into ribbons. Covered in yellow strands, Seth wiped at his hair and clothes.

Leo laughed and came to join him. "Excellent start, Seth. It will take practice, yes?"

"And your teachings, Father."

Their eyes met. A blurred image flickered past Seth’s consciousness. He couldn’t quite make out the distorted scene, but in Seth’s heart he knew time alone with his father would not last much longer.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Wolf lowered his tired body to the foot of the bed and pulled off his boots with a groan. The past few days had been filled with endless tactical meetings for the defense of the city. He had sent his squire to bed ages ago. A ranger's strength was fed by the Jalora, but it didn't extend to those serving with them. He'd worked everyone to their breaking point, including himself. The Jalora's gifted energy wasn't without its limits.

He collapsed back upon the mattress with no energy left to take off his trousers. Closing his eyes, he listened to the faint sounds of night outside the window. Cricket song from the gardens drifted over him upon the cool breeze. Sleep reached out for him, but its hands remained at bay. Then a soft touch brushed at his ear. He began to chuckle as the delicate strokes moved to his hair. Rolling over, he stretched his arm out to pull Dulcina to him. Empty blankets met his touch. What bangtail mischief was this?

Blazing light broke through his sleepy haze. Straining against the brightness, he blinked his eyes open. Standing at his bedside inches from his face was a mighty lion. Energy glowed around its body, forming a massive mane of brilliant light. He recognized the great beast. This was the spirit of the Lion Ring. Its image spanned the ceiling of the Obsidian Fortress in Lea. Legends claimed the Emperor of the Luminawni, Ancients as they were sometimes called, had painted it in honor of the last Jalora Master. Fierce jaws and an eternally watchful gaze had guarded Ranger Headquarters for a century.

Ethereal green eyes bore into Wolf's soul, pinning him to the bed with their power. Then the great beast turned and moved to the door of his bedchamber. Its short growl shook the very room. Wolf's body rose instantly. Muscles and bone took on a life of their own. Wolf's conscious mind followed as an uneasy passenger as his feet fell onto the cold, tiled floors. Taking a slow pace, his body moved closer to the waiting beast. A puppet hand stretched out and opened the door.

Massive paws moved soundlessly into the palace corridor. The lion paused and turned its intense eyes upon Wolf. Dressed only in trousers, his body followed obediently. He didn't resist as the beast drew him onward. Passing between patches of haze and solid objects, they skirted the realm of dreams and mist. The everyday world of man moved past them in distorted, faraway pictures.

The haze released them from its willowy body. Lion and man stood together under the glass of the Grand Atrium. Rumbles of metal against metal thundered before them as the golden doors of the throne room opened. The veil of night parted, throwing Wolf into brilliant white light bursting into the atrium. The incredible power of the Jalora stretched out around his body, pulling him onward. Bounding past him, the lion ran toward the Altar of Providence. Its giant form stopped before a figure made entirely of light. A glowing bulbous head tilted downward. The great beast, once wild and fierce, tamely rubbed against the being. A fingerless hand petted the lion fondly.

Come forward, Xavier the Wolf.

He staggered toward them. Suddenly released from the bonds of energy, he fell to his knees. The Jalora’s power was everywhere, pulsing into Wolf's very soul. Gulping in air, he struggled to breathe. He was drowning in its presence. Then the crushing power withdrew from inside his body, allowing Wolf to speak.

"I am your servant, Holiness."

The being of light turned its featureless face to him.
Yes you are, Child. I call you to service. You wonder why I come to you in full power, Xavier the Wolf. You wonder what the changes to your body and powers could mean. The people of this land have forgotten me. Many have grown blasphemous and arrogant. They have allowed my age old enemy into their hearts and minds. The Sarcion revels in their disrespect. It has gained a foothold in Andara. War brews.