By the Sword (5 page)

“I guess you have a pathetic imagination,” said Talya.

The smiles were wiped off of the other knights’ faces.

“Well, there is no need to be insulting. It was a logical assumption,” said Atalsa. “Usually women are archers.”

“Not this one,” Talya muttered.

Atalsa scoffed.

Tasar laughed.

“Relax, Atalsa. They’re just pups. Not even eighteen yet, I’ll bet.”

Talya rolled her eyes.

“I’m an archer,” smiled Tanel, “and Talya’s the best sword fighter I have ever seen.”

“Is that a fact?” snorted Tasar
. “If she is so great, then why did you have to rescue her?”

Talya slammed her fork down on the table and glared at the oaf. The taunting had gone on long enough.

She took a deep breath. Rage was something best left for the Malinorians, but it wouldn’t hurt to put a cocky brute in his place.

“Do you want to have a go?”
Talya
asked.

“You bet!”
Tasar said with a grin.

Tanel rolled his eyes as Talya got up to get her sword.

*****

Jalarn beheld the splendor of Cardamon’s riches as his men loaded the army’s carts with gold, silver, and precious gems from the large mines. He had never seen so much wealth in all his life.
They would have to return in a few days to gather its entirety.
Ittonifer would be very pleased with him. None of the other commanders had overtaken the palace and obtained Cardamon’s hidden wealth.
Waltez had come the closest to overtaking the castle, but Jalarn was always a step ahead of the older commander.
Indeed, the devil was smiling upon him
these days
.

King Seraphim rubbed his hands
together
nervously. The incompetent king
’s presence
was starting to gnaw on Jalarn’s nerves.

“Did I please you, my lord?”
Seraphim
asked.

“I am very pleased with your country’s best kept secret. We had no idea that your land produced riches of such magnitude.”

The king breathed a sigh of relief.

“I will take the liberty to cart all of this back to Malinor.”

“That was not the agreement!”

“Oh. I’m sorry then,” said Jalarn, unsheathing his sword.

“Wait, stop!” cried the king. “Take it all.”

Like it really mattered what the old man said to him now.

“You are of no further use to me.”

Before the king could cry out, Jalarn slit his throat.

Seraphim fell, lying motionless at Jalarn’s feet.

Commander Waltez walked over. He stared at the portly corpse for a moment.
Jalarn detected an envious glare in the man’s eyes.

“Throw him in the river and then kill the queen,” said Jalarn.

Waltez
nodded and left him.

It was time to take their spoils and return home.

*****

Ittonifer stood on the balcony of his castle. Jalarn, Waltez, and their men had returned with carts upon carts of something.

“What have they been up to?”

The sight lifted his mood. Rather than rush back home like a pair of idiots, they had been shrewd enough to collect some of their enemy’s spoils.

“They must have something heavy in those carts,” said a feminine voice from behind him.

It was his daughter, Chrissa. She came to his side and they watched as the army entered into the city. The civilians quickly cleared the streets.

“Father, I’ve been training every single day. Please, allow me to join our troops in the battle against Sanctus,” she said.

“You already know my answer.”

“Why did you even bother teaching me the sword if—”

“
Enough,
wench!”

The girl crossed her arms. She had become much too headstrong. Now seventeen, his daughter had been eligible for marriage two years ago. The imp would be better off putting her energy into providing him with strong grandsons rather than arguing with him on a daily basis
about matters that did not concern her
.

It was Ittonifer’s unfortunate fate that his only child was a female. At least his nephew, Jalarn, was proving to be quite useful.

Heavy footsteps sounded from behind them.

“My lord, I hope that I’m not intruding.”

It was Naeshi – Ittonifer’s senior guard.

“What do you want?” asked Ittonifer.

“Jalarn has requested to speak with you. He says that you will like what he has to say.”

“He had better be right.”

Naeshi’s eyes wandered toward Chrissa. His gaze remained on her. She was dressed in a sleeveless gown in the same inky shade as her hair. It hugged her tall, graceful form and emphasized her creamy white complexion. Her blue eyes glared back at the man before
she
returned
her attention
to the view below.

If the guard did not do anything to mess up, like the one before him, Ittonifer would give Chrissa to him. It was high time that another man was given the responsibility of handling her.

Ittonifer walked with Naeshi back through his chamber and down the long hallway that led to Jalarn’s wing.

Jalarn met them at the end of the hallway. The lad wore his typical arrogant expression. Unlike most
twenty
year olds, he was
quickly
climbing his way to the top of an empire.
Still, he had a long way to go before he impressed Ittonifer.

“Speak, Jalarn,” said Ittonifer.

“I trust that you know Cardamon is now part of the empire,” said Jalarn.

“Is the king dead?” asked Ittonifer.

“
Yes. But not before
he had offered to give us half of Cardamon’s wealth as tribute, and in exchange for their lives. I kept him alive long enough for him to show me where their country’s wealth is stored, and then killed him myself. Waltez took care of the queen.”

Ittonifer grinned.

So, my brother’s son has turned out to be as shrewd as he is strong.

“Where is my money?”
asked Ittonifer.

“
Half of it
is being brought to the vault as we speak,
and I will send a group back to collect the remaining treasures
. We have experienced great victory,” said Jalarn.

“You are wrong, young commander,” said Ittonifer. “We are not victorious until Sanctus is defeated and every follower of this so-called God is slain.”

Jalarn nodded, but annoyance flickered in his eyes. It would do him good to remember his place.

“How many Cardamonians were slain, Commander?” asked Naeshi.

“Nearly everyone, but a few cowards managed to escape. Some knights from Sanctus came unexpectedly on horseback, but they did little damage. We managed to take many of them, but their general got away.”

“So, General Edandir has been sticking his battle-hungry nose where it is not wanted again,” said Ittonifer.

If Ittonifer knew General Edandir as well as he thought he did, the man would persuade that flighty woman ruler to let him lead his army to Malinor. It would be refreshing to have a worthy enemy to go to war against.

Ittonifer was pleased with
the fall of Cardamon, as well as
his new installment of wealth, but there was still much more that they needed to accomplish. Even once they overtook Sanctus, it would not be enough for him.
There was a whole world of interesting land out there.

“We must ensure our victory over Sanctus. We are strong, but outnumbered. They have powers from their religion that we cannot ignore.”

“Hardly comparable to the great power of our lord, the great prince
,
” Jalarn argued. “I think we need to focus on gaining more knowledge from him.”

“Yes,” said Ittonifer with a nod. “Our great prince is willing to help those that prove themselves.”

Ittonifer was impressed at Jalarn’s thought process.
The boy was becoming more like him.

*****

Talya and Tasar
stood
on the field outside of the meal house
glaring at one another
. A small crowd of knights
had already
gathered around them.

“Ready when you are, little lady,” said Tasar with a grin.

Talya sprinted toward Tasar and blocked his careless swing.
Tasar’s large frame was still clumsy and inexperienced.
Cardamonian knights were generally a couple of years ahead in skill and agility. There had been no better teacher than General Landine.

Tasar hit Talya in the stomach with a high kick, catching her off guard. She stumbled backward, annoyed with herself for allowing her mind to wander so easily.
Talya
took a run at him and hit the lower part of his sword with all her might,
knocking
it
from his hand. She stood with the point of her blade at his chest.

Many of the knights cheered and hollered. Some laughed.

“I guess I could use some more training. You’re good,” he muttered.

“We all can
improve in some way
,” said Talya.

They shook hands. He wasn’t so bad, after all.

Tasar and Atalsa walked together back to the meal cabin. Some of the young men taunted Tasar
for being beaten by a girl
.

They haven’t seen anything yet, Talya thought.

Talya stepped away from the crowd and practiced her swinging techniques.

“It sure is energizing to practice while the morning is still cool,” said a familiar voice.

It was General Edandir.
Talya regarded him with a nod and then continued to work on different
maneuvers
.

“I’m sorry for the loss of Cardamon. I know how you loved it there.”

“We’re going to get it back,” said Talya.

Talya took a run and kicked
her right foot
high in the air.

“I saw you fighting that Malinorian commander before you disappeared into the woods. I was very impressed with your skill, Talya. You were fighting against Ittonifer’s nephew
, Jalarn
. You have become an excellent knight.”

Talya’s eyes widened. Her father had
actually
just complimented her.

“That would explain why the brute had been impossible to beat then,” said Talya.

Ittonifer was an expert swordsman. Jalarn had no doubt received his training from him.

“I’ve decided
on
who
I’m going to take with me to Malinor,” he said.

“And?”

“You’ll find out shortly.”

Thousands of knights and soldiers swarmed onto the training field like hungry flies. Talya was almost afraid to hope that her father would take her on the mission. It was the very adventure that she needed to occupy her mind.

“Attention, soldiers!” shouted General Edandir.

The soldiers lined up according to rank. Talya lined up with the knights.

“Tomorrow, six exceptional knights will travel to Malinor with me. When I call your name, please stand beside me.”

“The first knight that I am going to call out is Sir Tanel.”

Tanel stepped out of his line and walked
over
to his new general.

Talya smiled. He was the perfect choice.

“Next, Sirs Timlin and Pori.”

Two muscular, dark-haired swordsmen, twins, emerged from the crowd. Talya recognized them
right away
. They were about ten years older than she.
She had learned how to hold a sword properly from Timlin. She smiled as they bickered quietly with one another on their way over to Edandir.

“Sir Endil, please step forward.”

A formidable man in his mid-thirties, with the largest arms that Talya had ever seen, walked over and
stood in between the twin brothers
.

“Next, Sir Wenyn.”

Another young archer stepped forward. Talya was sure that he could not possibly be as good as Tanel.

There was only one more knight left to be called.

Talya bit her lip in anticipation. The suspense was driving her crazy.

“My final knight is Lady Talya.”

Talya exhaled and ran over to stand with the chosen group.

Tanel grinned at her and they hugged.

“We’re going to Malinor!” cried Talya.

She pushed away the irritation of being called last and relished in the fact that her father had finally recognized her for something.

*****

In the dimly lit library, Chrissa’s mind swam so much that she could barely focus on the old manuscript that she was reading. The words started to blur together on the page.