Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four (116 page)

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Authors: Robert J. Crane

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She kissed him, brought him close, and they made love, loudly and long into the night. When they were done, he fell asleep contented, his rest now dreamless and all his worries relieved, her head lying on his shoulder.

NOW
Epilogue

The noise was subtle but there. Cyrus heard it, out of the archives, on the staircase, the scrape of a shoe against stone. He put the journals aside and pulled a blade. Letting it point in front of him, he felt the strength surge through him from it. There was an odor blowing through now from the darkened plains outside. It smelled of decay, of rot—
out of the east, no doubt.

He took a step forward, letting his armored boot land on the floor as quietly as he could make it. There was no fear in him, now, only caution. He could feel the weight of the sword in his grasp, the strength it gave him—and the slightest twinge of hunger from his stomach, protesting loudly at having not eaten for hours. It sent a swell of dryness to his mouth, and reminded him to take a drink of water at his next convenience—
a strange thought for a man who has just heard an intruder in a dead place.
He stepped out of the archive into the Council Chambers, letting his eyes ease around the room. The fire was going in the hearth, the torches were all lit, and he waited, trying not to even breathe, listening for the sound outside the half-opened door, which was hanging partially off its hinges. He was at an angle where it was not possible to see the stairs, though he knew that whoever was climbing them—or had already done so—would have to enter his field of vision in moments.

Cyrus tensed, bringing his sword back for a swing. The weight of it was solid in his hand, and he held it straight back, ready. He let his breath out slowly then took another as quietly as he could.

“You know,” came the voice through the open door, “if you’re going to invite someone to a place, it’s not really very sporting to sit just inside the door, waiting to ambush them.”

Cyrus felt his breath all come out in a rush. “You.”

“Me,” the voice came again from the room outside. “Would you mind lowering your sword so I can come in without fear of being filleted?”

Cyrus chuckled darkly and lowered the blade, putting it back into the scabbard that waited for it on the right side of his belt. “Come in.”

“About time,” came the voice again, and the man who said it was only a moment behind it, stepping in past the broken doors, avoiding hitting his head on the low-hanging arch of the trim. “Place looks like hell,” the man said—
though I wouldn’t always have called him a man,
Cyrus thought.
Troll, in fact, would have been the preferred insult for quite some time.

“Vaste,” Cyrus said with a nod. “It’s good to see you.”

“Thanks,” Vaste replied. “I get the feeling you don’t say that much anymore.”

Cyrus shrugged, turning his back to the troll and walking toward the window. “Perhaps I might out of politeness. But meaning it? No. Not since …” he cast a hesitant, regretful look back. “Well. You know.”

“I know.” There was a pause. “You left poor Windrider meandering about outside. I felt bad for him. He looked lonely.”

“He knows the way to the stables,” Cyrus said idly, staring out into the dark.

“Because there’s so much for a living horse to do in there,” Vaste quipped. He eyed his old chair at the table and bent over, picking it up and setting it upright again. “What are the odds that this old thing will still hold my—” He pulled his hand away from it and it promptly broke in half along a split at the back, then the bottom collapsed under its own weight. “Well, damn.”

“There’s a chair in the other room if you’re of a mind to sit,” Cyrus said, waving at the archive.

“I don’t really
want
to sit, but my body would appreciate it after a few days of unpleasant travel. Hard to find a ride down here nowadays.”

“Do you blame ’em?” Cyrus asked, looking over his shoulder dully at the troll.

Vaste pursed his lips. “No. Not particularly. Not after what happened. Still, made it damned inconvenient to get here.” He stood in the middle of the room and looked around. “So … before I go get that chair … you
were
serious, weren’t you?”

“About what?”

“In your letter.”

Cyrus waved vaguely at the walls around them. “Clearly.”

“But, I mean … the other—”

“Yes,” Cyrus said quietly. “Yes, I meant it.” He waited for Vaste to say something, something light and funny, something to redeem the darkness of the moment that felt as though it had seeped in from outside unchecked by the candles. “It really is good to see you, by the way.” He looked and caught the troll staring back at him. “I meant it when I said it to you. I wasn’t just being polite this time. It’s … good to see another one of us around.”

“One of us?” Vaste said mockingly. “You mean … one of the handsome? The debonair?”

There was that lightness I was looking for.
Cyrus looked around the wrecked Council Chambers, felt the pervading sense of grief and loss that came with the memories of this place.
It didn’t have quite the effect I was looking for,
he decided, looking back out the window.
It never does anymore.
“No,” he said, and his eyes took in the world outside—darker than it had been a few years ago—
and with … so much less to believe in.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant—”

“I know what you meant,” Vaste said. Cyrus felt the troll’s tall presence next to him, and they looked out into the darkness together.
Just like we always have.
“I know what you meant. You meant …” The troll’s scarred face grimaced, and his onyx eyes flicked toward Cyrus, the light dancing off them.

“Survivors.”

Acknowledgments

You'd think that with a book this size, the acknowledgments would correspondingly drone on and on, but I'm going to try and keep this brief. Unlike, you know, the book itself.

Heather Rodefer once again Editor-in-Chief'd her way through the entire, 400 typed page, 10 Point Times New Roman beast of a manuscript. She calls it my Encyclopedia. Let me tell you something, Ms. Editor-in-Chief - Encyclopedias don't have a plot. I'm pretty sure Crusader does. Somewhere in there. Muchas gracias, Heather.

Deb Wesley again kept me on track with the technical details, reminding me of things like the fact that horses would not be able to descend a spiral staircase. Whoops. Also, she helpfully substituted the words, "Whicker" and "neigh" for all the whinnying that happened. Just a little variety, you know. It helps. Thank you, Deb.

Robin McDermott took time out of her life to go over everything in fine detail and let me know I was calling Ryin Ayend by both his names on pretty much every occasion I referred to him. Sorry, Robin. It's fixed now. For that and a thousand other error corrections (and getting your Gmail address suspended while mailing the book to me in 30 pieces of scanned text) I thank you.

Paul Madsen helped give the book another good look over as final error correction when it was nearly ready to go. My thanks to the great Paul, who waited patiently for the book for...well, almost as long as the fans.

Thanks to two of Cyrus's biggest fans who read through to make sure I was on track with this story, David Leach and James Boggs. Their feedback was invaluable.

Once again the cover was designed by the incomparable Karri Klawiter, who should really be making a fortune as a mind reader. I'm glad she's not, though, because I need book covers.

Editing was once more handled by the great Sarah Barbour, who did this *while she was on vacation* and even did a second pass, heroically going back for more when I would have thrown in the towel, personally! Her dedication amazes me.

Much gracias also to my group of secret sprinters, who helped me drive through to the end of this work at high speed. Mad props, all.

Last in the roundup, but never least, is my parents, who came to stay with us during both the 2nd draft and 3rd draft of Crusader, which allowed me to work late in the night on the manuscript. Thank you both. Also, my wife and kids, who are the reason I do this and the reason I get to. Love to you all.

Author's Note

Well, that took about forever to get out. Sorry. I hope you think it was worth the wait. It ended up a heck of a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be, and of course my other series took off like gangbusters, and since I do actually have to pay the bills, the adventures of Cyrus and Vara took a back seat for a bit. Sorry again. These books take a good long while to write, which is why it will be until 2014 before I can get volume five out. BUT! Don't despair too much, because I have a few Sanctuary offerings to hopefully whet your appetite between now and then. I've added a novel starring everyone's favorite (or least favorite) dark knight to my schedule (check out the teaser on the next page - it started as a novel but is pretty much a trilogy now) as well as a novel starring Aisling (that one's just a standalone novel - for now). They won't be as long as Crusader, obviously, or book five (teaser is on the same page as the one for the Terian novel) so I can write them more quickly and get them out to you without having to dedicate
months
to working on nothing but them (as I did with Crusader).

Anyway, again, I'm sorry for those of you who are waiting. I'd love to finish these main books (Volumes 5-8) sooner, but it's just not possible right now, not with the numbers it's selling. I will finish this series (and even add additional side books/trilogies and short stories) because I love the world of Arkaria and all its occupants, but it's going to be slower because of how big these books are. Thanks for your patience (if you have patience - I *really* appreciate it if you do) and if for some reason this series were to explode the way the other has (The Girl in the Box), selling tons and tons of books, I can pretty well promise I will be back to finish it sooner. I'm nothing if not a ruthless mercenary. Meat pies don't pay for themselves, after all...

If you want to know as soon as the next volumes are released,
CLICK HERE
to sign up for my mailing list. I promise I won’t spam you (I only send an email when I have a new book released) and I’ll never sell your info. You can also unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for your support and thanks for reading!

Robert J. Crane

About the Author

Robert J. Crane was born and raised on Florida’s Space Coast before moving to the upper midwest in search of cooler climates and more palatable beer. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in English Creative Writing. He worked for a year as a substitute teacher and worked in the financial services field for seven years while writing in his spare time. He makes his home in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

He can be
contacted
in several ways:

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Cyrus Davidon will return in

MASTER

THE SANCTUARY SERIES, VOLUME FIVE

The disappearance and presumed death of Alaric Garaunt has thrown the guild of Sanctuary into chaos. Added to the upheaval are the sudden disappearance of Sanctuary's old allies, The Daring, the resurgence of the Dark Elves in the war, and a mystery brought to Cyrus Davidon by an old friend. As the darkness rises in the land of Arkaria, Sanctuary must find a way through their struggles to unify, even as a battle between two pillars of the guild threatens to tear them asunder once and for all.

Coming in 2014

But first...

THY FATHER'S SHADOW

A SANCTUARY NOVEL

BOOK ONE OF THE KNIGHT OF SHADOWS TRILOGY

Terian Lepos is a man without a home. Cast out of Sanctuary, he wanders the land of Arkaria until a messenger arrives with a curious offer, one that will take Terian into the darkness of Saekaj Sovar, a place he thought he had long ago left behind, and into the service of the Dark Elven Sovereignty, where he will face his worst fear - his father, and the secret that drove him from his homeland once before.

Coming Autumn 2013!

Other Works by Robert J. Crane

The Sanctuary Series

Epic Fantasy

Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One

Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two

Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three

Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four

Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five*

Thy Father's Shadow: A Sanctuary Novel*

Savages: A Sanctuary Short Story

A Familiar Face: A Sanctuary Short Story