Dark One Rising (34 page)

“Aye.”

“I tried to run, of course, and they chased and caught me. I ended up in prison to await trial. Dain must have heard the story from Alekzand’r, who I assume believed my story, and stepped in. I was released, the goods returned to the rightful owner, along with what was left of the silver after expenses, and I was escorted back to Yarden where I would be punished by my clan as was tradition. The Clan Chief was my father at the time. Almost three years later I received a message that the mercenary who had hired me had been tracked down and dealt with. By that time, Dain was King, and he informed me that I would owe him a debt, which included the money it took to track the mercenary down, and compensation for my release. I was young and reckless, not so unlike him I suppose. Kindred in spirit you could say. Now that I’m clan leader, I can repay in full with whatever he needs.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Dagon, because the help is needed and time is short. Fallon and his troops have been wreaking havoc all over. It’s not enough that he has more cities under his rule than he has earned, or deserves. He’s on his way to taking over ones outside his own province. Ashlan has already fallen victim to his wrath, and I fear Randor’s cities are next. He controls the toll bridge on the Xanthe, took it over from Randor months ago. He keeps the money and pads his pockets to fund his army.”

“What does he want?”

“A throne.”

“Randor’s throne?”

“All of them. Dain thinks he’s after the entire kingdom, and he’ll get it if the realms don’t stand together. Dain sent me to ask for your allegiance. If we go to war, it will take all the troops we can gather together.”

“How can Fallon hope to get enough men to gain power over everything?”

“He has the darkness on his side. He has made a pact with the Dark One and has already called up creatures from the depths to help him.”

“Good Lord, that is a feat in itself.”

“Aye. It seems that Fallon is more adept than anyone imagined, more so than even his previous teacher.”

Dagon shook his head. “No wonder my sentries have spotted groups of unexplainable creatures marching through the pass.”

“We ducked a group of giants ourselves on our way to you.”

“Does Fallon control the shipyards?”

“In Ianna and Kieran we think, but so far no one has reported anything odd in Seabrook. But, that’s only for now.”

Dagon blew out another puff of smoke from his pipe, making another circle in the air, which disappeared in a swirl over his head. He was somewhere far away for the moment, lost in thought, contemplating the future. He finally came back and looked hard at Brogan.

“Fallon has tried time and again to gain our trust, but the dwarves are a suspicious lot and trust no one easily. I’ll admit that we are mistrustful, especially where our mines are concerned, and we don’t allow outsiders to see our inner workings. Dain, and Colwyn before him, left us to our affairs and never demanded payments from any of our finds; in return we have kept to ourselves, out of trouble. Fallon is a plague that will easily eat away at every corner of this kingdom, but his minions, whatever they are, will not be fought against so easily. How can we expect to rid ourselves and fight against creatures we know nothing about?”

“The elves are working on that as we speak.”

“So they have agreed to an alliance as well?”

“Not officially, but Dain is confident they will.”

“Why is Dain so confident about that? They haven’t joined forces with man for centuries.”

“Alekzand’r has someone on the inside that has special rapport with the Elders. He’s speaking to the elves on Dain and Randor’s behalf.”

“I see.” He paused for a moment then, “Off the subject. It is rumored that Princess Melenthia is in care of the king.”

“She is.”

“Why would she need to be protected?”

“Her father promised her hand to Fallon, not knowing what he was doing, and she escaped the castle and went into hiding. Her brother, Prince Kevaan, made arrangements with Alekzand’r Morgan to take her to Drydon Keep to keep her safe. Fallon has yet to discover where she’s hiding, but I doubt she will evade him for long. His wraith is sinister, and he has powers we have yet to discover. He will seek her out, and I’m willing to bet he will find her soon enough. We don’t have much time. Dain is putting plans in order as we speak.”

“What other troops can he hope to gather?”

“He will send a representative into Isamar soon to speak with the chancellor and the Tribal Council in Salador. We’re all in this together. Like I said before, if we don’t band as one, we will lose.”

“Strange times we have come into, Brogan. Strange times indeed.” Dagon sat back again in his chair, his head tilted slightly upward, staring at the ceiling in contemplation. He turned his head toward Brogan, his deep brown eyes not revealing his thoughts. He rubbed his bearded chin and chomped on his pipe stem.

“We will have to bring the clan leaders together in order to make a decision. I can’t make a decision without the approval of the full council. I will see that the council convene first thing in the morning. I can ultimately make the final decision, but it has to be discussed; it’s the way of our people. There hasn’t been a reason for us to join the humans in hundreds of years. It’ll be hard to convince them, but we will. We must.”

“I hope you’re right, Dagon. We don’t have a lot of time. Things are moving faster than anyone could have predicted. Even the elves have had surprises where Fallon is concerned, and therefore, things are more dire than predicted.”

“Aye. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll convince the council that the time has come to fight. I would hate for you to go back to Dain with no as the answer. He might decide to triple my debt.” He smiled a bit to lighten the mood.

“What if the council stands against you?”

“I’ll make them see the light, if it’s the last thing I do. Fallon is death for us all.”

“Aye.”

“Tomorrow then. I will have someone fetch you at dawn.”

Brogan nodded and stood. Another dwarf took him and his men to their rooms.

CHAPTER 20

D
ain and Melenthia walked through the garden, Melenthia showing him all the different varieties of blooms that grew there and, as promised, their names as well.

“It’s amazing to me that you still remember all that after so many years. I don’t recall learning anything as a child and retaining it into adulthood.”

“What about swordplay and horsemanship?”

“I learned those as an older boy, in my teens. I didn’t learn as young as most. And to be honest, I wasn’t a very cooperative student. Besides, most of that comes as second nature to me.”

“Well maybe so, but it didn’t hinder your ability to learn it well nevertheless. Being known as one of the best swordsman in the kingdom is quite an accomplishment.”

“Perhaps. Where did your mother learn it all? Her mother?”

“Probably. She didn’t talk about my grandparents much. I don’t even, to this day, know their names. I think they died when she was young. It was probably too painful to talk about. She was really an outdoors type of person though. She loved the sun and the fresh smells of nature, and the freedom of the air.”

He laughed. “It’s easy to see where you got your passion from.”

“I miss her.”

“I’m sure you do. It must have been hard being raised in a houseful of men. I miss my mother at times too. I, too, was young when she passed. If she had been alive as I grew into a man, perhaps I wouldn’t have turned down the wrong path. One can never know. We can only move forward and hope to make things right for the future.” He paused. “She would’ve liked you. You have such a carefree spirit, and your joy for the littlest thing is infectious. I’m beginning to catch your fervor.”

She blushed. “It pleases me that you think so. I try very hard not to become buried in the everyday. I instead try to see things as an adventure so I won’t go crazy. My station often requires me to give in to what others feel is right. I, on the other hand, fight to do what
I
feel is right, and it’s, more often than not, frustrating for my father. I know if my mother were still alive I wouldn’t be in this predicament. She would’ve seen me for what I am and made others see it too.”

“I believe your father and brother love you. I don’t think your father planned things this way. I believe he doesn’t realize what he’s done.”

“I want to believe that too, but I’m not sure what to think anymore.”

“Eventually we will figure it out. Together.” He touched her hand lightly and briefly.

She smiled. “Thank you for your kindness and for agreeing to keep me safe.”

“No gratitude necessary. You’ve made it extremely easy. I enjoy having you here.”

They moved through the garden and were interrupted by a squire quickly approaching from a side gate. The boy reached their side and bowed low to his king. “Your Majesty, there has been a dispatch brought moments ago from Seabrook. It’s marked urgent.”

“Thank you, Henri. I’ll be along in a moment.”

The squire bowed again and left, briskly walking down the garden trail and out the gate once more.

“I’m sorry to cut this afternoon short, but I’m afraid I’m always king first, host second.”

“It’s alright. I will amuse myself until dinner.”

He bowed to her then moved away from her down the garden path in the opposite direction the squire had gone. She watched him go, his pants hugging his muscular behind, the way he walked, all of it. She sighed. Because of his kindness and the fact that he was fun to be around, her physical attraction to him was steadily growing. She could easily see herself falling in love with him. He was extremely handsome with his broad chest, slightly wavy hair, and pale blue eyes. Those eyes. So pale blue they were almost translucent at times. She could easily get lost in them, and had, on a couple of recent occasions. Anytime he caught her staring at him, she would quickly look away, not wanting him to know she was so taken in by them. She had come here feeling concerned with him, but now, she was comfortable and readily wanted to be closer.

She really didn’t want to be alone for the rest of the day, so, compelled by her need to be near him, she went into the castle to find him. Besides, maybe there was something she could do to help.

She found him in his study. When she entered, he was seated at his desk looking intently at the parchment that was rolled out on the surface of the large desk. When she approached, he looked up, brow furrowed.

“I don’t mean to interfere where it’s not my place, but is there anything I might do to help?”

His face lightened a bit, but he still looked concerned. “I suppose since some of what is going on concerns you, you should know what’s happening.”

She got closer to the desk, and he motioned her to sit. She sat in a chair in front of the large ornate desk and placed her hands neatly in her lap, legs crossed daintily at the ankles. Being demure in front of him didn’t bother her; in fact, she actually liked to do it. The dresses just seemed comfortable with him.

“It appears that Fallon has started whatever campaign he’s planning. I have word from a reliable source I have keeping watch, that two of his men have bribed the Port Authority to allow unmarked ships into the harbor. The dispatch says that there will be four large industrial size ships landing at an unknown date and will pick up several squads of men, and carry them into Sailors Bluff, which also entails crossing through the Corlane Strait, which in winter is quite a feat. The sum paid to hire ships of that size is considerable, but the silence is costlier still.”

“Are you going to try and stop him?”

“Unfortunately I can’t be in more than one place at a time. I will have to rely on my loyalists to relay information as I need it and keep me ahead of Fallon if possible. We will wait a bit to see what more information can be gathered, then I can decide what actions to take. I’m waiting to hear from Alek as well, and I have men on their way to Yarden to speak to the dwarves on my behalf. Hopefully I’ll have news soon from them as well on agreement of allegiance. If they’ll join. At least I know that he has begun to move. It looks like he will start his campaign with or without you in his possession.”

“What are the odds he will give up on me?”

He looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Not high. He will continue to look for you. You are somehow a part of his plan, and if I know one thing about the duke, it’s that he hates to lose. If I were to guess, he probably intends to try and take Lachlan Castle so that he can solidify his position. No one of importance will follow him if they don’t think he can win this war. If he has Lachlan, winning will at least be possible. I will send word to your brother that Fallon’s troops are on the move.”

“Do you think the castle is really in danger? Is my father and brother in danger of losing their throne, or worse, their lives?”

“Your brother will make sure the city and castle are adequately fortified. I don’t think Fallon will move in that direction quite yet. He has more work to do in order to have an army strong enough. We have some time.”

She changed the subject. “Do you think he knows I’m here?”