Bloodless Knights (12 page)

I
hoped Asher and Jadorion had better luck than I had, but remembering Flash had
appeared alone, I highly doubted they had found my treasure. I looked around my
ruined home and could see not one sign that Vivian had been in it, or even
existed for that matter. I blew out the candle and walked to what was left of
the chaise. I rested my weary legs on the rumpled cushions and stared out into
the black night. It had stopped raining and for the sake of the expedition
ahead, I hoped it would stay subdued for a while.

I
reached a point where I was so broken that I couldn’t figure out how to pull
the pieces back together. I knew I had lost some important pieces of who I was,
and as I sat on the lumpy and disgraceful seat, gazing into my front yard, I
made a decision that I would not stop until all the pieces were back together
correctly. I brushed aside thoughts that I would lose everything, and let the
hunger of victory flood through my veins. I may be a man of many things, but a
quitter had never been one. I wouldn’t hold that title today either. Although
my brain had refused to quit, my body decided to relinquish and allow me to
doze off.

#
# #

I
had always been a light sleeper and jolted awake at the sound of approaching
horses. The horses were coming at an alarming speed. I stealthily slid under my
oversized bed, hoping the mysterious riders were either known to me or, at
least, not looking for me.

Having
heard many horses in my life, I concluded there were three horses bounding
toward me. From the pace they were galloping, I presumed they were either
running from something or hurrying to something. It didn’t take long before my
curiosity was appeased; the horses broke twigs and branches in the front yard
of my house. I heard whispering, then more cracking wood as someone dropped
from a horse and walked toward my house. The steps stopped for a moment, then
came inside the wreckage through the squeaking-hinged door.

“Psst…Tristen?”
A male voice cut through the char-spiked air. The voice was so quiet I couldn’t
identify the speaker so I waited for a moment, hoping he would speak again.

He
didn’t disappoint me. “Tristen? Art thou here?” Asher’s voice seemed lower to
the ground. I rolled out from under the bed and he jumped.

“Blazes!
Ye scared the shite out of me, Tristen!” Asher’s right hand clutched his chest.
I chuckled but stopped when I saw his attire. He was wearing a full uniform of
the crown; I could hear the chainmail clanking under his red tunic. He carried
a long broadsword in a sheath at his side.

I
had many questions for him but the only one I dearly cared about tore through
my lips like a hot knife through butter. “Did ye find Vivian?” I got close to
his face so I could see him better but watching him shake his head would have
burned my eyes even from across the room.

“No,
Tristen. She wasn’t there. But I have even worse news than that. Grab anything
ye need and walk with me.” Asher’s long legs quickly carried him to the front
door. I made sure I had my sword then decided all I needed now was Flash from
the barn and I could walk away forever. As I followed Ash, I doubted there
could be worse news than not finding even a hair from Vivian’s head. I felt
completely gutted and fought back the urge to vomit.

The
pace Asher was keeping alarmed me. “What is the ‘even worse news’?” I nearly
ran to keep a comfortable distance. Ash didn’t respond.

When
we got outside, I could see three horses that were either dark colored, or
totally covered with mud. One horse carried Jadorion, the other two patiently
waited for riders.

“Flash
is here. I put him in the barn to dry-off. I want to get him. He is carrying my
packs.” I waved at Jadorion, who was also donned in a full kings-crown uniform,
then turned to go to the barn.

Asher
swiftly reached for my arm and got in my face. “That’s fine, Tristen. We will
get him but we have got to move away from here as fast as we can go. Jadorion
and I saw a procession of torch-carrying soldiers leaving the castle grounds as
we fled from the stables. Marshall Phil gave us these horses, some armor and
weapons, however, I suggest ye mount this horse and let Flash pack the items
behind us. Time is of the absolute essence at this moment; we simply have to
get on our way before we are seen.”

The
panic in Asher’s voice was enough that I did not argue with him. I hurried
toward the horses. Jadorion handed me the reins to the smaller of the two horses
and Asher took hold of the large horse. I grabbed the horn of the saddle, put
my foot in the stirrup and situated myself on the leather cushion. My heels
grazed the horse and we all headed toward the barn.

Flash
was at the door, apparently waiting for us. I grabbed the lead rope that was
attached to the bridle and led Flash into the bone-chilling cold. He followed
without a problem. I still didn’t know where Jadorion found Flash but he was
proving to be a fine caliber horse.

I
pulled the barn closed and four horses headed toward the valley where I had
found Vivian throwing boulders. That day seemed like a lifetime ago and I
wanted to revisit the time and take her away right then. If a heart could break
in a chest and ooze from every pore, that would be the way I felt. I knew I was
riding a horse in the dark, stabbing cold, but it seemed as if I was merely
floating along without existing. I had never felt this way before and I did not
like it. I needed to find Vivian; it could not end like this!

Thoughts
pulled me along as I mulled over the devastation I left behind. Concern and
worry tore me different directions as I wondered what had happened to Vivian.
My inner battle raged through me as we rode far from our homes.

Suddenly,
an ear-splitting screech came from above the treetops and through the cloud
cover over our heads. The noise was unfamiliar to me, but I assumed it was a
call from either a hungry or angry dragon. I knew if the dragon hadn’t spotted
us yet, he soon would. We needed to hide and it had to be quick!

We
were approaching a cave that I knew Asher was familiar with, but Jadorion would
need to follow us. “Ash, head to the south-gate cave.” I called to him softly
enough to be scarce, but loud enough to be heard.

“Aye!”
He called back at me and guided his horse slightly left. Jadorion followed him
and I made sure Flash was still attached to the lead rope I was holding. He
was, and obediently stayed by my side.

Another
head-crushing scream came from the sky; it was closer now. I felt my heart quicken
and my face grew hot. My fingers clutched tightly to the reins of the nameless
horse who was breathing hard from his unannounced race. It seemed as if the air
was being squeezed from my body by fear but I would not let this dragon get the
best of me, or my men. Our horses charged over rocks and mud around a hillside
that housed a midsize cave with a small opening. If we could make it, the
dragon would not be able to get in. We just had to make it.

The
sun peered over the top of the east mountain, lighting the dreary day just a
touch. I saw Asher disappear into the cave and relief warmed me as Jadorion was
swallowed into the hole as well. I was slightly behind them; it seemed my horse
wasn’t in the best of health.

If
I would have been a few seconds faster, I wouldn’t have had to face the
nightmarish visage of the dragon again. The giant’s head bolted around the
mountainside. He gnarled his lips at me to expose a horrid set of bloody teeth.
The horses turned at the sight of the beast. Luckily for me, they followed the
leaders and turned into the cave. Encounter number two was mostly avoided;
however, the dragon did have to shout his disproval into the musty cave. The
ghastly echo nearly threw me to the ground. Asher and Jadorion, who had already
dismounted their animals, put their palms over their ears. The looks on their
faces when they saw me hurled through the crevice, told me that they had
assumed I had been a tasty dragon breakfast.

“Well
praise the almighty Lord! That was a close one, Tristen!” Asher hurried toward
me with his arms outreached. He grabbed the reins of both horses and drew us
deeper into the cave. I jumped off the horse that miraculously got me into the
cavern and pulled my friends close to me in a giant hug. We were possibly stuck
in the cave with a tyrant outside guarding the door, but we were together and
we were alive. Air returned to my lungs and my heartbeat tried to return to
normal.

“I
hate dragons!” Jadorion chirped.

Asher
glanced at him, “Well, lad, Tristen and I love ‘em; especially how fuzzy and
cuddly they are. And they taste good with beer.”

I
couldn’t hold in my amusement and it felt good to just let go of a hearty
laugh.

Jadorion’s
lip quivered a little then he burst out laughing and Asher did too. Anyone
happening upon us would think we had lost our minds but relief flooded over us
in our mirth.

Being
in the cave was like being in a box without holes. The stale air wanted to
suffocate me but I refused. The only light in the cave came from the opening in
the rocks. It was a faint light, but it was enough to see what was happening
and also to unveil that the cave was much smaller than I remembered it being.
We were fortunate the hole faced east or we probably would have no light at
all.

The
time Asher and I had been in the cave, we were camping during training for the
soldiers. It had rained, causing a flood in our shared tent that had soaked us
and our belongings. In the middle of the night we wandered around looking for a
more solid place for the tent. We stumbled upon the cave only because we heard
violent snoring inside. At least a dozen of our troops had already found the
cave and situated themselves for a warm, rainless night. The tunnel had stayed
dry then and was currently waterless.

I
decided we were about to catch some shut-eye, but first I addressed Jadorion
who was laying on the ground with his head in his hands, “Hey my squire…what’s
on thy mind?”

Jadorion
remained silent for a time then finally answered with, “It’s my fault yourn
lady’s missin’.”

“Oh
no it isn’t, Jad. Ye simply listened to yourn friar, which is what ye are
supposed to do. Ye did the right thing. Do not question that. Everything will
work out the way it should, I firmly believe that.” I went to the packs on
Flash’s back and opened one of them in search of a sleep roll. Though I didn’t
believe even one thing would work out correctly, I knew I had to tell myself
and my men that it would or we would fail. A positive attitude had saved my
backside more than once.

“Do
ye have bedding?” I inquired as I released a bag from the horses flank.

“Aye,”
The men piped in unison as they reached for their packs.

I
stopped a moment and turned to Jad, “Perchance might you tell me where you got
Flash? He’s been a fine horse.”

Jadorion
stopped rummaging through his pack to look up at me. “I bought ‘im from a
strange looking man at the tourney. He said that was the fastest horse in the
land.”

I
let out a surprised sigh. “Thou bought him? But with what money?” I suddenly
felt guilty that my squire had paid for my transport.

“T’was
no big deal, sir. I simply used some of the money I had earned as a page.” Jad
continued back into his bag.

I
scratched my head, what a delightful thing for my squire to do for me. As
touched as I felt, I merely mumbled, “Grammarcy, Jad.”

Jadorion
pulled a blanket from his bag, smiled at me with tired eyes and nodded.

“We
will get a bit of rest and hope the dragon will go back to his mountain. We
must not sleep long though, we have to be on our…oh my!” I stopped abruptly as
I viewed the contents of the pack. Vivian’s cloak was inside. I picked it up
and held it close to me. Her delicious rosy scent enveloped the fabric. I
noticed it was heavy, and looked for a pocket or anything that could weigh it
down. I saw nothing, but noticed the hems seemed to be weighted. I turned the
seam and looked closely. The cloak was lined with gold coins. The gold shocked
me. Why would a woman with so much gold need to win the measly prize of
Brendan’s celebration tournament? I closed my eyes as if the movement would wipe
away the thought that she was a deceitful liar.

Asher
and Jadorion had rushed by my side, visibly appearing to think I was cracked.
“What is it?” Jadorion worriedly inquired.

I
rubbed the velvety fabric between my fingers. Vivian had planned to go with me,
or she wouldn’t have left a gold-lined cloak in my care. Panic swelled inside
my chest. What if something had happened to her? What if she never made it to
the tree either?

I
cried out, “It’s a clue! But I knoweth not of what sort.” Asher and Jadorion
anxiously looked at each other and then to me.

“Let’s
get some rest Tristen. Maybe ye can make sense of it in yourn dreams.” Ash
patted my back and walked toward his temporary resting spot.

I
felt completely and utterly hopeless. I doubted I could sleep but I settled
back and rolled myself in Vivian’s cloak. I knew I would spend my entire life
trying to find the woman I lost.

I
awoke to my stomach questioning my brain if my throat had been cut. The
“grumbles” were informing me that it was time to throw something at them. I
fastened the buttons of Vivian’s black cloak around my neck and woke Asher and
Jadorion.

“Is
Gittins still outside?” Jadorion wiped his nose with the back of his hand then
stood up.

I
squinted my eyes to see if he was awake; he appeared to be so I asked, “Who is
Gittins, Mr. Jadorion McArthur?”

“That
dragon who’s fixin’ to gittin’ us? I just had a nightmare about him and his
name is Gittins.” Jadorion curled his lip at me as if I was the daftest person
alive.

Asher
laughed energetically, clapping his hands together, “Now that’s rich! I like
it.”

I
shrugged my shoulders, “Well, I guess if the beast has to have a name then
‘Gittins’ as good as it gets. Now I’m sure ye men are as hungry as I am. We
need some nourishment.”

“Maybe
yourn lady made something good and put it in yourn packs.” Ash suggested.

I
cringed at the stab through my heart when I thought of Vivian but I grabbed the
bag and peeked inside. Sure enough, there was a large loaf of bread and some
dried meat and fruit. I almost didn’t want to eat it as it was probably a final
reminder that she baked for me. However, the smell of the rosemary bread
tickled my nose and begged me to inhale it.

Asher
and Jadorion eyed the food greedily. Ash whistled low and slow, “Alright, my
Lord, I have to agree with ye on this one; that was a good lady ye had there.
We probably want to find her. What’s in there? Looks like some fish, rabbit,
maybe some venison?”

Grief
froze my throat. I didn’t speak, just wanted to eat. I tore a large piece off
the crusty loaf and handed it to Jadorion. I found a large slab of meat and
rested it on the bread. I wanted to eat slowly and savor the meal but my hands
didn’t cooperate with my thoughts and before I knew it the entire feast was
devoured. The salt from the cured meat left my throat even more parched and I
knew we needed water.

I
remembered Vivian told me she didn’t eat fruit, so I knew she had packed that
for me. I grabbed a candied apricot from the summer before. My family, and many
royal families, did not eat fruit. Fruit was usually eaten only by the vassals,
but since I spent so much time with them, and out fighting battles, I had grown
to like it.

The
Wheeler clan in Burberry had candied many fruits and since they knew I liked
them had sent me a large vat for Christmas. Obviously Vivian had found the
container; she filled a knapsack almost to the brim.

The
Wheeler clan had captured our army during a battle. We had made mistake after
bloody mistake. The leader of the clan, Marius, promised to spare our lives if
we helped them build a few dozen storage cellars. During our stay, we became
fast comrades.

“Brief
me on thy voyage to the Lists, up ‘til when ye found me under the bed.” I
addressed Ash who had just engorged himself on salted fish.

He
cleared his throat and said, “Well, there’s not much to say other than we went
down to the Lists and yourn lady was nowhere to be seen. Because of the mud we
couldn’t tell if she had even been there or not. We turned back and decided to
visit Marshal Phil for necessities and armor. When we were there he insisted
that we take some horses he had. He told us they weren’t the best but they were
better than using our own hooves to scale the terrain. Right when we were
leaving the barn though, we saw the troops gearing up to leave the castle.
Those blazing torches told us they were on the lookout for escapees and I just
knew we had to hurry. So Jad and I took to riding quick as we could to yourn
place. When we saw that it had been burned down, I hoped ye hadn’t been
killed.”

“I
need water.” Jadorion blurted out.

Asher
nodded, “Ye read my mind lad.”

“Well
we have to get moving anyway. Let’s throw a rock outside to see if Gittins
attacks.” I walked toward the opening of the cave and found a boulder about the
size of my head. Asher was immediately by my side. We lifted the rock together
and hurled it through the crevice.

Nothing
yelled or flew by, so we decided to chance it and gathered our things. I had
found my armor among the things in the pack and decided to put it on. Although
I knew it would be cold to wear, I wanted to be prepared. As I covered with the
gear, Asher tapped me on the shoulder.

“Tristen,
I’ve been thinking that we probably better change our names for safety sake.
After all, it’s only a matter of time before yourn father’s troops send word
that they’re looking for us. We can’t be traipsing around like fools; we have
to be ready for what’s coming.” Asher closed his pack, fastening it tightly
after removing a long brown cloak for him and one for Jadorion.

Asher
had thought things through more than I had. It was clear to me that my judgment
was suffering. Of course my father would come looking for us. I was sure if he
hadn’t already, he would put out a bounty for us. I nodded my head in
agreement.

“Well
now, what shall we call ourselves?” I inquired, already knowing my answer.

“Do
I have ta change my name also? ‘Cause I don’t wanna and nobody knowest me
anyhow.” Jadorion whined as he fastened the cloak Asher had placed in his
hands.

“No,
ye don’t have to.” Asher barked then stuck his tongue out. “Ugh, I am so
thirsty! I will be Sir Donovan Wood.” He fastened his wool cloak around his
neck and smiled at me.

I
smiled back at him. I chose a name that reminded me of Vivian and in honor of
Tepsis Rudd, who had taught me to ride a horse. “Okay, Sir Donovan! I will be
Sir Vivicus Rudd.” My voice cracked too. We really needed to get water. I
looked at Jadorion’s brown curly hair limply hanging around his long, thin
face. He seemed to appear more fragile every time I blinked.

After
a quick discussion we decided to continue heading northeast to the bay. That
was the direction Patrious would go, and at this point, that had to be the
direction we went as well. I could not simply guess where Vivian was going but
I did keep faith alive that she was going somewhere and that we would meet
again; hopefully sooner rather than later.

“I’m
grateful to ye men for getting this horse for me, but methinks we will put him
to pasture. He seems like he’s running out of steam. I will ride Flash.” I
patted the grey horse on the neck and after debating whether or not we should
relieve the horse from the tack, we decided to leave it on him. We knew he
would more than likely wander back home to Marshal Phil and it was probably
considerate of us to return his gear to him. We also didn’t want to carry it.

We
moved out of the cave without incident. From the position of the sun it was
about mid-day. The wind blew frozen air at us. A few clouds glazed the sky but
they didn’t appear to be carrying any water for drowning us. The water on the
ground was mostly frozen so we stopped to pick up the ice and let it melt in
our mouths. It was not my preferred method of putting water in my belly, but it
worked a little to ease our dry, parched lips.

The
grey gelding followed us for a bit, until he became bored without a rider, and
stopped to focus on some wilted cherry blossoms sagging on a tree limb. I waved
goodbye to him, because after all, he did save me from Gittins.

The
three of us rode our galloping horses in silent tandem. Asher led the line with
Jadorion in the middle and I followed behind. We swiftly headed east toward
Louie Bay. There was a band of boats that would get us across the bay in no
time, if they were still there. If they weren’t, we would have to go around the
entire bay through the city of Anthony and the Mistrust Forest to get to
Hereford. I hoped we didn’t have to take the land route since it would take us
days, instead of hours, to reach the castle the dragon was holding hostage.

 After
riding nearly two leagues, the ground lit up from the reflection of the sun
glowing off the bay. I rapidly scanned the area. It appeared we needed to head
further north to the fishing port of Bendixon, for boarding boats.

“I’m
stoppin’ for water.” Jadorion declared as he continued to the bay. Asher
followed Jadorion in obvious agreement. I decided they were wise and followed
them.

We
rode a bit further when I heard in the near distance a scream that slashed my
hearing. The sound was like a little girl who had been totally startled, and
devastated, at the same time. The yell was followed by, “No, no, NO!”

Asher
jolted ahead, and it was then that I realized the shriek had passed through
Jadorion’s lips.

At
the edge of the bay, Jadorion had stopped his horse and was starring at
something that seemed slightly covered with dirt and twigs. Closer examination
revealed one boot, then another. A pair of legs seemed to be snuggled inside of
the boots. Jadorion stopped screaming but his paler than usual face gave away
that he was unsettled.

Asher
and I dropped from our horses and landed on the frozen ground. I noticed the
water in the bay had a thin ice crust forming near the shore. I couldn’t
comprehend why everything was freezing; the cold spell was supposed to be over.

Jadorion
had clearly discovered a body and although it appeared lifeless, I drew my
sword just in case. Asher pulled his from the sheath as well and followed me to
the body.

Of
all the times in my life that I wish I had not done something, this was one.
After pulling back the twigs and seeing the man was indeed face down eating
dirt, I should have left it at that. However, I simply had to roll him over to
see if I knew him.

Shockingly,
there was no way for me to know if I knew him or not. The man’s throat seemed
to have been ripped out by an animal with large, fang-like teeth. His mouth
hung wide exposing a tongue that seemed to scream. The most frightening part of
the gruesome façade was that the poor man’s eyeballs had been pulled out, by what
appeared to be claws, which had left deep, rotting slashes from his forehead to
his cheek. I had seen many horrible and disturbing things in my short life but
this was by far the most awful. I turned to the side of the body and hurled
like I hadn’t done since I was a child.

Asher
came up just as I was emptying my guts on to the rocky dirt. He stopped in his
tracks, sensing that he didn’t want to see what had caused my distress. Like a
gentleman, he waited for me to finish then asked, “Is it someone we know?”

I
wiped my mouth on the back of my shirt, being so careful not to tarnish
Vivian’s cloak, “I cannot confirm or deny that question.” I looked intently at
Asher who seemed to read my mind and simply shook his head.

“What
did it?” Ash returned the sharp, metallic sword to the leather scabbard hanging
at his side.

I
watched Jadorion lean over the horn of the saddle on his horse. His gaze was
pointedly fixed on me as he waited for my response.

I
walked a few paces from the body. It had been there for a while and the smell
was poignant. “My neighbors, the Mives, had stopped by the other night to
inform me that a vicious animal had killed one of their cows. Patrious told me
that a tiger had saved him from Gittins. If I had to make a total guess at this
time it would be that this man was attacked by a tiger. It seems to be on the
loose. I have personally never seen a tiger, but I knowest they resemble large
cats. They can run fast, take down prey bigger than they are, and do it
swiftly. I do not presume we would like to run into this thing.”

I
wanted to drink from the bay, but not near the rotting body. I grabbed Flash’s
reins and led him due north to a stream that flowed to the bay. Asher and
Jadorion followed. The horses were directed to drink, while the men and I stuck
our faces in the biting icy water and inhaled the soothing liquid.

After
wiping the invigorating water from my face, I searched my pack and discovered a
flask. I probably should have seen it before, as it was full of cool water. I
should have known Vivian would have packed water. The tin flask was one my
mother had given me before my first battle away from home. I was only twelve
years old. Mother had sobbed the entire night before the company left. She told
me to sleep by her in her large fluffy bed, then held me in a chokehold all
night long. My father constantly put up the biggest fight, telling her that I
was too big to be sleeping in her bed. Mother hadn’t cared; she always let
Brendan and me in her room.

Thoughts
of my mother made my eyes burn. I hoped she was still fighting hard, but after
the condition I had left her in, I doubted she had made it this long. All I
could concentrate on was that she wanted me to slay the dragon. I felt
extremely discouraged, but I would move to try.

I
stared blindly at the flask as Asher whispered, “Tristen, ye had water the
whole time! Oi! So, what is yourn take on what’s happening around here? Things
are getting evil, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I’m
seriously worried that this may be the end of all time.”

I
stuffed the metal flask into my bag. The little hairs of my beard begged me to
cut them but all I could do was jab my fingernails into my skin and scratch. No
amount of rubbing eased the itch but it gave me a moment to think.