A World Apart (46 page)

"Until His Majesty and I come to an understanding, I place the boy under the protection of the Temple."  Jonas announced, staring grimly at Genela.  "To try to seize him will mean that you seek to violate the Agreement and I will have to take steps to defend it."

That statement seemed to rouse the king.  He waved off the guards and Genela, his face now angry.  "They have my daughter, Brother Jonas, and I will do what I must to rescue her."  He stated, tone sharp.  "But I will not be the one to violate the Agreement."

"I have no wish to challenge you, Your Majesty, but I cannot allow an innocent life to be thrown away to satisfy our enemies."  Jonas said more softly, sympathy in his voice.  "I know that you are heartbroken, but please do not do anything rash."

"What do you suggest I do?"  The king demanded, rising from his throne and coming down to stand in front of Jonas.

"If you are willing, we should send a party in force to win her back."  Jonas said.  "I will accompany them myself, along with other clerics, to battle the demons and try to free the princess.  It is better to fall fighting them than to acquiesce to their demands."

The king smiled grimly.  "Then we are of the same mind.  I have already ordered two hundred soldiers to be ready at first light to ride to the Forest where she was taken.  You and as many clerics as you think appropriate will be a welcome addition."

"Also, a messenger will be sent to mobilize all of our southern garrisons.  Once they are ready, I plan to sweep the entire Forest to drive out the demons and their followers.  I will burn it to the ground if that is what it takes."  He finished, face set.

He looked at Alleon.  "Sir Alleon, will you consent to lead this expedition?"

"I gladly accept, Your Majesty."  Alleon replied with a bow.

"I will accompany this expedition as well, Your Majesty."  Dominic said, loud enough to carry across the hall.  "I will be Jonas' sword, keeping him safe so he can defeat the demons."

"Your presence will lend courage to the men, Dominic."  The king replied, seeming taken aback by the offer.  "Thank you."

"I will go as well."  Marcus said loudly, defiantly.  "I should have gone with her in the first place.  I will not be left behind again, even if I have to go alone."

The king stared at Marcus, weighing his demand, then nodded.

"I will go to, Your Majesty."  Jake said.  He felt the eyes of the court turn towards him, as well as the king's.  "I care for the princess and do not want to see her hurt because of me."

"But for you to go would mean that the demons could succeed in getting what they want, if you are taken."  The king replied, voice neutral.

"They will not take me."  Jake said resolutely.  He embraced his magic, brilliant blue light shining forth, reflecting off the walls.  He heard the gasps around the hall.

The king nodded, hope rising in his eyes.

...

Jake took Norlan back home after they finished at the palace while Jonas and Dominic left to make plans.  After they told Madalin that Jake was leaving again and why, she went in and made him several pouches of food to take with him.  Jake went to his room and tried to sleep, but it did not come, images of Keria in the hands of the demons haunting him.

Dominic rode up in the early morning hours to retrieve Jake.  Jake had his bags ready to go and, after a tearful goodbye with Norlan and Madalin, mounted up.  They made their way quietly in the dark, riding to join the rest of the expedition.

It was probably an hour before dawn when Jake followed Dominic into the West Gate's courtyard.  The courtyard was packed with soldiers and a smaller number of clerics on horseback, along with several large wagons packed with supplies.  Dominic led them over to a smaller wagon sitting off to the side.  The wagon had stacks of blankets and what looked like bandages loaded in the back, along with various jars.  Jake was surprised to see Jonas sitting on the bench, his staff resting against his shoulder.  He was even more shocked to see Hailyn sitting next to Jonas.

"Good morning."  Jonas said in greeting.  He saw Jake's gaze.  "Hailyn is quite a skilled healer, which may be needed.  Also, besides being strong in her power, she is ready to take her final tests as an apprentice.  This will give her a taste of what the clerics in the army face."  He smiled fondly at her.  "Under my watchful eye, of course."

Alleon, his armor gleaming in the torchlight, rode over and spoke quietly with Dominic.  After a few minutes of conversation, Alleon rode to the gates, calling the soldiers to attention.  The courtyard noise faded as the soldiers formed up and waited for orders.

"We ride after our captured princess."  Alleon said loudly as his stood in his stirrups.  "We will pursue our enemies to the ends of the world, if needed.  When we find them, we will rescue her and avenge our fallen comrades.  We leave now and will not return until we have success.  Be prepared for long days in the saddle, as we need to move with all possible speed."

With that, he signaled to the gate guards, who went into the gate room.  Within a few seconds, the sound of the large outer gates opening echoed across the courtyard.

Alleon wheeled his horse and headed out the tunnel, his standard bearer next to him, the rest of the soldiers following in ordered units.  The wagons went next, with Jake and his friends bringing up the rear.  They passed out of the city and headed west on the Royal Highway.

Once on the road, Alleon redeployed his soldiers.  He sent outriders on either side of the column and scouts ahead.  Some of the soldiers fell back to form a rear guard while others rode next to the wagons as security.  Jake was a little surprised at the pace, a little faster than he expected, given the wagons.

They rode for the rest of the day, finally pulling a short distance off the highway as the sun went down.  Jake had thought that they would have turned off the highway near the waystation he remembered, to head south, but Dominic explained that it would actually be faster to take the main southern road.  It was wider and in better shape.

Over the next couple of days, Jake spent most of his time riding next to Jonas' wagon, talking with Hailyn.  At times, she would join him on Dontas, so they could speak more privately.  He was glad to have her back, enjoying her presence and realizing he had missed having a friend his age to talk to.

Jake was not sure what to think about Marcus.  He rode in silence for the most part, looking pensive.  However, when they stopped the second night, he approached Jake after dinner, Dominic sitting nearby, observing.

"I want you to know that you are not to blame for this.  It is our enemies who caused this to happen."  Marcus said directly.  "We are now comrades-in-arms, for better or worse.  In this quest, we may need to defend each other.  Until we recover Keria, I would put aside our differences."  He held out his hand.

Jake rose and shook his hand, nodding.  "Until Keria is safe."

They reached the site of the attack late in the afternoon of the third day.  There were some soldiers from the closest garrison already there, recovering weapons and other equipment.  Alleon went to speak with their commander.  He came back to report that the messenger allowed to escape had ridden to the garrison after the attack.  Once the commander had enough forces, he had marched them here.  They did not have sufficient men to pursue the half-men, but had buried the dead and guarded the site.

They made camp nearby, mobilizing early the next morning.  The scouts found the tracks of the princess' carriage, along with the tracks of a large body of horses.  They followed it for a couple of hours until it reached a wide forest road that ran north-south.  The tracks headed south and Alleon gave the order to follow.

They had traveled for a few hours when the scouts rode back to report that they had found some tracks leading off on a forest road that branched to the east, apparently by a small group that broke away from the larger.  They had stopped and searched the area.

"We found this at the intersection of the two roads."  The lead scout said as he handed Alleon a small reddish bead.  "We went up both roads a ways, but could not find any others.  However, the carriage tracks continue to the south."

"We have to assume that the princess was with the carriage."  Alleon stated.  "We will continue to follow it."

However, when they reached the intersecting roads, Dominic asked for a halt.  He went to look at the tracks himself, the lead scout at his side, and went up the side road, disappearing for several minutes.  He returned and called Alleon over.  Jonas, Jake and Marcus joined them.

"It looks like a small group, maybe fifteen or twenty horse."  Dominic said, frowning.  "I found several demon prints, as well.  Something about that bothers me.  If it was simply a group of half-men, I would only expect to see one demon, if that."

"Do you think the princess went that way?"  Alleon asked, concerned.

"I don't know."  Dominic replied, shrugging his shoulders.  "It just doesn't seem right."

"I can't turn aside from the larger group to chase this down."  Alleon said.  "We would lose precious time if it turns out to be wrong.  I have to assume that she is with her carriage."

"I agree, Alleon."  Dominic said.  "I will ride out to track this down while you continue after the main party."

"If you think there are demons, Dom, I will come with you."  Jonas said.  "There are enough clerics with the soldiers to meet any challenge without me."

"I want to go."  Jake said quickly.  "I can help if there are demons, as well."

"I go where he goes."  Marcus said, nodding at Jake.

Dominic stared at them, apparently weighing his options.  He turned back to Alleon.  "If you are willing, task out four soldiers to come with us.  They can help guard Jonas' wagon and act as messengers if we find something.  We will ride until we know that the princess did not go that way.  If there is nothing, we will return and follow your trail."

Alleon quickly agreed and selected four soldiers to go with them.  Jonas called over some of the clerics and distributed most of his medical supplies to them.  Jake saw Jonas and Hailyn discussing something, both of them looking at him.  Jonas nodded and Hailyn joined him on the wagon.

They quickly gathered some extra supplies, food and water, then moved off the road.  With a final farewell, their small group headed off on the easterly road, the rest of the soldiers and clerics continuing south.

They made their way along the road for the rest of the day, Dominic tracking their quarry's passage.  Jake rode next to the wagon, talking with Hailyn while Marcus rode on the other side.  As the sun was getting low, they came upon a fork in the road.  Dominic stopped, dismounted and looked around the area, checking the roads and surrounding areas while the rest stood by.

"Our trail still leads east."  He said.  "I can't find any evidence that they traveled down the side road."

"However, these markings indicate that a mining camp is down the side road."  Dominic continued, pointing to some carvings in a tree near the fork.  "They may have information.  We should probably go down to ask if they have seen anything."

Jonas glanced at Hailyn, a frown on his face.  "These camps are rough places, the men suspicious.  It may be best if we only send a couple of riders.  I should be one since clerics are generally welcome."

"I agree.  I will go with you for protection."  Dominic said, catching his meaning.

"We need to stop for the night anyway."  Jonas said.  "Maybe we could set up camp here and then go talk to the miners."

Dominic nodded and went into the woods.  After ten minutes, he returned to lead them to a clearing he found, set back in the woods.  The sun was setting by the time they finished making camp.  Dominic assigned the soldiers guard duty, then went over to where the rest were sitting next to the wagon.

"Jonas will need to take Dontas."  He said to Jake.  "I don't want to take the wagon or the soldiers' mounts.  He can match Shadow, so that may allow us to escape if the need arises."

"No problem, Dominic."  Jake replied.

After a quick meal, Dominic and Jonas mounted up and headed off in the direction of the miners' camp, leaving the rest of the group behind.

…

Night had fallen over the woods as Dominic and Jonas rode up to the mining camp.  The camp consisted primarily of tents, with a couple of ramshackle wooden buildings in the center.  A rough wooden palisade had been erected around the perimeter, with a makeshift gate in place.  The entire camp was surrounded with large torches and fire pits.  Standing behind the gates was a group of armed miners with a mismatch of weapons and armor.  Several others were on the palisade with bows, arrows notched but not drawn.

"Halt!"  One of the men yelled, anger and fear in his voice.  "Don't come any closer!"

Dominic and Jonas stopped their horses and sat still, making no threatening movement.  Jonas slowly lifted his hand and called out.

"I am a cleric of the One."  He said, loudly but calmly.  "I am sworn to protect and serve all men in His name.  We are no threat to you; we come only seeking information."

"Prove it!"  Another voice from behind the gate called.

Jonas embraced his power, his shining form driving away the night.  He sat there, unmoving, letting the miners decide the next steps.  He heard some murmuring from the men, then the gate was opened just enough to allow a gap for them to ride in.

Dominic went first, the miners stepping back from him, clearly intimidated.  Jonas followed, holding onto his power.  The gate was quickly pulled closed behind them.

"The last thing I expected to see was a cleric."  One of the miners said, a large, bearded man carrying a rusty axe.  "Would you be willing to look at our injured, Brother?"

"Of course."  Jonas said, sliding off Dontas' back.  Dominic was on the ground as well, watching the miners, hand resting lightly on his sword.  "Where are they?"

"In the main building."  The man said, turning back towards the wooden building.  He looked at the other miners.  "Back to your posts!"  He snapped.  The other miners left, mumbling under their breath.