By the Sword (13 page)

“I saw that Malinorian commander. Why would you let him go?” she asked.

“He used to be my friend.”

“Exactly. He would kill you in a heartbeat now.”

Edandir shook his head.

“He did try to slay you, didn’t he?”

“I am not discussing this with you.”

Talya exhaled loudly and turned to leave. Then, she stopped and faced Edandir again.

“Wait a minute. If you knew him well once, then that means he was one of the men that turned their backs on Sanctus during the Holy Wars.”

“Talya, don’t get yourself worked up over this. You need to focus on the large task of conquering the empire in a few days.”

“You allowed a man that had a part in burning down my mother’s village to go free. How could you?”

“He never meant to kill her.
He thought she was with me.
”

“I can’t believe this!” she cried.

“What happened to forgiveness? Do you not recall the Scriptures?
The ones that you could very well die for.
This war is not about revenge. It is about justice and freedom.”

“Tell that to the ones that are dead.”

“Those that have passed on are with the Lord now. They are happy and at peace now.”

“But they were not supposed to die yet.
General Landine would have never let an enemy go like you just did. You are a traitor!
”

Talya spun around and left him.

*****

Threatening, black storm clouds loomed above as turbulent winds roared over the darkening plains. The Valley of Dururn was below them now. It was everything that Ittonifer had imagined since his youth.

In the middle of the valley was a small lake of deep, navy waters. It was home to the ancient sea creatures that had once been thought by everyone to be extinct.

The stealthy, Malinorian-bred horses stepped carefully down the steep, rocky slope that led them to the dark body of water.

When they reached the bottom, Aterun shakily got down from his horse and limped over to the lake’s edge. Ittonifer jumped from his saddle and stared at the lake.

“At last,” Ittonifer breathed.

Jalarn got down from his horse and stood at Ittonifer’s side. He was as expectant as everyone else to see the strange, age-old monsters. Soon, the young general would become powerful in the dark arts. When he got to that point, there would no longer be a need for a group of magicians.

Aterun began a chant, stealing Ittonifer away from his thoughts. In moments, he would behold the beasts that would help defeat his final enemy.
His worst enemy.

The water’s surface began to bubble. Everyone froze in place as they watched Aterun’s spell unfold. A great roar echoed throughout the valley. Goosebumps covered Ittonifer’s flesh. The growing darkness made the process seem even more surreal.

A terrible beast emerged from the water. He writhed and snarled, shooting fire from his nostrils. Everyone but Aterun instinctively drew back. It was a stunning animal at roughly five times the size of a regular firedrake.

Aterun transformed its fins into powerful long legs. Large, strong wings emerged from its back. By the creature’s reaction, it was quite an unpleasant process to go through. It screamed and thrashed its head about until the metamorphosis was complete.

Next, a giant sea serpent emerged from the deep. Its rigid fangs were lengthened into fatally sharp weapons.

Jalarn watched in fascination. The lad had inherited Ittonifer’s love of watching a living thing suffer. Today, his enjoyment would be short lived.

“Jalarn, I need you take two hundred of our men with you and ride for Hunter Forest now. I will leave up to you how you win over the giants’ allegiance.”

“Of course, my lord. I will depart after Aterun is finished with this.”

“Are you now
first
in command?”

Jalarn glared at him, but then he averted his gaze and shook his head. He mounted his black stallion and put on his battle mask. Two hundred of his men followed him toward Hunter Forest.

*****

Tanel had just finished sharpening his arrowheads when he heard General Edandir’s sharp voice outside. He stepped out of the shed and saw the general standing close to the royal gardens. A tall, slender
female
form was walking quickly away from him.

Talya.

She broke into a run and disappeared.

General Edandir walked
briskly
back toward the castle without a word.

The way Talya was acting angered Tanel. She always thought that she was better than everyone else. After nearly getting all of them killed on the mission, her behavior toward the general – her own father – was inexcusable. She was acting like a spoiled child rather than a skilled knight that had pledged her life to the military.

Talya cared more about fulfilling her own goals than obeying her general. Any other knight would have been horsewhipped for such constant insubordination to his leader. She was his friend, but he wished that she would grow up.

Tanel placed the freshly sharpened arrows into his quiver, strapped it on, and then started to walk toward the barracks. An idea formed in his mind and he stopped. He knew Talya too well.

*****

Talya could barely see the Malinorian commander in the misty darkness
, but his rapid footsteps gave him away
.

He’s not moving
fast enough
to get away from me
.

She leaped through the thickening fog like a doe, clenching the dagger in her right hand. He would hear her coming soon. She had to be quick.

He turned around sooner than she had hoped.

Talya threw her knife at him. It was a clumsy throw, hitting him just above his left lung. He went to yank it out.

With an angry shout, Talya grabbed her sword from its sheath and drove it through his stomach before he had a chance to react. Instead of retrieving her weapon, she drove it deeper into his midsection. He moaned and wrapped his weakened hands around her neck. She punched him as hard as she could and then pulled her blade out of him.

As h
e fell backward
, she
relished in the agonized expression on his face.

“This is for my mother,” she said.

“You’re Edandir’s daughter
, aren’t you
?” he whispered.

“Yes. The girl you almost killed.”

“Jalarn is going to kill you for this,” he wheezed.

“He won’t
find out
that I did this. Besides, you should know that Malinorians only care about themselves. You really think that he will avenge you?”

Waltez breathed his last breath and then lay still.

Talya took her dagger out of his chest and then wiped both of her weapons on the dewy grass.

She stood over her dead enemy. At last, he had gotten what he deserved. All of those innocent lives that had been lost in the fire could now have a small ounce of justice.
It made her sick to think that the man had once been her father’s friend.

But this still will never bring my mother back.

Somehow, staring down at her fallen enemy made her feel even
more empty
. Talya
turned to leave and was startled to see a tall, lean figure just a few paces away from her.

It was Tanel. She could not see his face, but she
imagined
his judgmental glare.

“Your father did not give you orders to kill him,” he said.

“So, you were eavesdropping.”

“I was working nearby. I told myself that you wouldn’t do it, but I should have known better.”

“Waltez killed my mother. You have never had to know what it is like to lose yours.”

“That does not excuse what you just did.”

Talya did not wait to hear another self-righteous sentence come from his mouth.

“
I thought you were my friend
,”she said.

She brushed past him and then walked back to the barracks.

*****

The sun’s first rays kissed the tree-lined horizon
as
Queen Roselyn urged the sturdy mule into a swift gallop toward Sanctus City.
T
he pain of losing Opal was still too fresh.
It was difficult riding another mount back home. She was going to miss her gentle, brave mare until the day she passed on.

The man that had come to her aid in the forest sat behind her on the saddle, singing an old hymn.
He was a prophet named Uittan. Not only was he the kindest person Roselyn had ever
met,
he also
possessed wisdom and peace that could have only come from God.

Roselyn had spent the
last
night on a soft couch in his comfortable cabin. Over a soothing cup of tea that morning, he had settled many of her fears about going to war with Malinor.

Uittan had assured her that God wanted them to fight for the freedom of Sanctus. She was not going to back down and let the Malinorian Empire take Sanctus’ land. Even though she still prayed that something would happen to prevent
the
battle, she believed that God would bless her army if war
was
unavoidable.

After over an hour of riding, they reached the outskirts of Sanctus City.

General Edandir rode up to greet them, bringing a second horse with him. He had probably been watching for her since daybreak and saw her approach on an unfamiliar mount with a second rider. It was
good
to see him.

“Good day, General,” said Roselyn.

Uittan jumped down off the mule right away.

“
I am pleased
to have you back safe and well, Ma’am,” Edandir said.

He met her gaze.

“I am happy to be back, General.”

“What happened to your mare?”
he asked, concern softening his gaze.

Roselyn clenched her teeth and looked away. She couldn’t talk about it. Not yet.

“I am sorry,” said Edandir.

Roselyn
blinked and cleared her throat
.

“General Edandir, I would like you to meet Uittan. He is a prophet of the Lord.”

The general smiled and got down from his horse to shake his hand.

“I have heard great things about you from the city pastors. It is an honor to finally meet you,” he said.

“He saved me from a pack of wolves just before it was too late,” said Roselyn.

“No, child. God did,” corrected Uittan with a soft smile.

“Yes. God most certainly did,” Roselyn agreed.

Edandir’s smile faded.

“I knew that I should have gone with you, or at least secured an escort.”

I wish I had brought a full quiver and a bow with me.
Opal would still be alive. What a fool I had been to be so unprepared.

The prophet cleared his throat, and they both gave him their attention.

“There is much for Sanctus to do in preparation for this battle. I will leave you two to discuss what needs to be done,” said Uittan.

“I must speak with a young knight of yours, General.”

“Of course. Thank you, Uittan. For everything,” said Edandir.

They watched him walk toward the training field for a moment.

Roselyn felt Edandir staring at her as she mounted the horse he had brought with him.

“I have a feeling that your friends will like what I have decided,” she said, lightly kicking her horse’s sides.

They rode side by side.

“I knew that you would choose the right thing for Sanctus. You are a good ruler,” he replied.

“If it weren’t for God leading me to the prophet, I’m sorry to say that I would have had everyone boarding on ships right now. I was so afraid.”

Edandir looked deep into her eyes.

“You must remember that I vowed to protect you with my life.
I would never suggest war against the empire without being confident that we would win.
”

“Yes, of course I remember. How could I forget?”

“I found something out about you I didn’t know.”

“What is that?”

“
While you are very elegant, you
do
also
have some adventure in you.”

Edandir smiled at her.

Roselyn never really knew what to say to him when the conversation strayed from business.

“I must
return
to the barracks,” he said.

She studied him as he redirected his horse.

“Thank you, General,” she said.

“Good day, my queen.”

*****

The loud cheers of Sanctus’ soldiers, knights, and commanders echoed throughout the great ballroom. Queen Roselyn had just announced that they were going to war against the Malinorian Empire in three days. General Edandir came to her side as she held up a hand to silence the crowd.