Dark Quest (12 page)

After a while, Prince Elgorn strode up the path. “Welcome, Egam. It has been many years since last you visited. Is this Jenneva the friend of Alex Tork and the student of Egam?”

“She is,” Egam replied.

“Then Glendor bids her welcome. Jenneva, you may enter Glendor. I am Prince Elgorn.”

Egam quickly told Elgorn of the King Eugene’s death and the need to inform Alex of the death and warrant. Elgorn dispatched a runner and then led Jenneva and Egam to the village.

Sergeant Witzak shouted, “Elf runner, Captain.”

Alex strode over and received the news. He thanked the runner and turned to his men. “Men of the Targa Rangers, King Eugene is dead. He was brutally murdered last night along with two of your brothers, men of the Red Swords. The Crown is under the control of Duke Nelson as Regent for an unspecified heir.”

The Rangers were mumbling and whispering. “There is more. There has been an arrest warrant issued for the suspected murderer and all Targan army personnel are required to search for the man.”

The Rangers were shouting now. Angry cries of revenge and death to the murderer filled the campsite. One shouted, “Who is this man? What does he look like?”

Alex held up his hand to signal silence. “The warrant is issued in the name of Captain Alexander Tork, Commander of the Targa Rangers.”

Oscar left the council meeting and hurried down the corridor towards the Palace exit. The Colonel caught up with Oscar as he was leaving the Palace. “Oscar, I need to talk with you.”

“Now is not a good time, Colonel. I’m rather pressed for time.”

Colonel Gregor saw the concern etched in Oscar’s face. He could almost smell the fear emanating from the young Duke. “Allow me to travel with you, Oscar. The Red Swords are loyal to me and I’m sure that I can help with your problem.”

Oscar stopped abruptly. “My problem? What do you know about my problem?” Oscar looked up and down the corridor. He had to gain control of himself. Oscar felt foolish when he realized that his errant behavior might actually signal to others that there was something to discover. Besides, the Colonel was a friend and supporter. He may very well need the assistance of the Red Swords before this was over. “I’m terribly sorry, Colonel. I fear that I have been rather preoccupied and my manners are rude. I promised Callie that I would not be late for dinner and I have to go back for another session of the Council. Why don’t you join us for dinner?”

The two men started walking towards the Palace Shadow where Callie was staying. “Colonel, where would your Red Swords stand if an heir to the throne were found, but the Regent was trying to bypass the line of succession?”

“My men’s allegiance would be to the heir,” stated the Colonel. “Has the Council found an heir?”

“And what if Kingdom law allowed the Regent to be crowned even if an heir still lived?”

“The Red Swords have always been loyal to the Crown. If the Regent were to be crowned legally, we would owe our allegiance to him.” The Colonel was beginning to sense the reason for Oscar’s discomfort. “Until the Red Swords have been informed that the Regent has been legally crowned, our lives are at the asking of the heir. If you have discovered an heir, Oscar, you must let me help get him to the throne.”

The men entered the Palace Shadow and saw Callie waiting at a table. As they approached the table, Oscar introduced Callie to the Colonel.

Don’t overreact, Callie. He is a good man and we will need his help getting you out of the city.

“Colonel, I have discovered whom the proper heir is. I have not informed the other council members yet, but they will know soon. The problem is that the Regent has invoked an old law that allows for his coronation if the heir is not presented in a certain amount of time. I think Duke Nelson intends to seize the throne for himself. He has not stated so, but the man is as power hungry as any man I have ever met. I cannot foresee him voluntarily stepping down.”

“I can believe that the Regent would love to rule, but even he cannot stop a lawful heir from being crowned,” stated Colonel Gregor.

“Perhaps I have dealt with too many bandits in my short years, but Nelson strikes me as a man who will let nothing stand in his way.”

“Oscar, tell me whom the heir is and I will take a thousand Red Swords to escort him to Tagaret. Three thousand, if necessary.”

“Colonel, the heir is John Secor, Callie’s father.”

Callie dropped her glass and the water spilled all over the table. Oscar quickly mopped up the water and surveyed the room. Other patrons had been attracted by the commotion and Oscar proudly exclaimed, “I’m so sorry, my dear. Very clumsy of me.”
Keep calm, Callie. There is more to this than even I know.

“Well, that’s wonderful, Oscar. I really don’t see your concern. My men can be ready to depart in half an hour.”

“Not so quickly, Colonel. If John isn’t here in two weeks, the Regent will be crowned. John is currently in Kantor and it would be impossible to get him here in that amount of time.”

“Oscar, I can help with that problem,” the Red Sword began. “I can’t tell you how, but I believe that I have friends who can accomplish that task.”

Oscar imagined that he knew who the Colonel’s friends were and wondered how he found out. More importantly, had anyone else found out? “Colonel, there is one more thing that you should be aware of. Lord Habas was arrested this afternoon.”

“Arrested? By whose authority and for what reason?”

“Regent Nelson ordered it for assisting the assassin Alexander Tork. There is also an arrest warrant out for Jenneva.”

Colonel Gregor slumped in his chair. “Then all is lost?”

“No,” replied Oscar. “I can have John Secor in Dalek in a week. You will need to arrange to have the Red Swords strung out between here and Dalek to protect us on our way back. More importantly, I want you to protect Callie. Get her to Dalek for me.”

Callie you must use the Door in my study at Duke Whitley’s castle. Walk through it, but do not close it. On the other side will be three other Doors. Knock on the one directly on your left. It will take you to Atar’s Cove. Stay there and wait for me.

Colonel Gregor watched as Oscar stared at Callie. He knew Oscar cared for her very much and was trusting him to guard her. “I will have my men in position and fresh horses will be available along the way for you.”

“Thank you, Colonel. I am on my way. Stay and have dinner with Callie. I will inform the first Red Sword I see that you require his presence here. Never leave her side, Colonel.” Oscar rose and left the Palace Shadow. He knew where he could get fresh horses on the way. There were more than several of Larc’s men along the route.

“You have my deepest gratitude, Colonel. You are risking much to help my father and myself.”

“You are of the Royal Line, Callie. I would be remiss in my duties to behave otherwise, although I probably would have accepted the assignment anyway. I know that Oscar is a patriot. He has given much to Targa.”

“All of this makes little sense to me, Colonel,” admitted Callie. “How could anyone believe that Alex would harm the King? Just because his sword is capable of great damage doesn’t necessarily mean he wielded it.”

“I know, Callie, it wasn’t even his sword. Wait a minute, you’ve just made me realize something. King Olweg’s sword was missing from his bedroom and I assumed it was the murder weapon, but how could it have been?”

“What do you mean, Colonel?” she asked.

Colonel Gregor described his observations of the murder scene. “So you see, if the sword was in the room, it couldn’t have been used on the guards outside the room.”

“Well, I am no investigator,” she questioned, “but how could someone have killed the two guards outside without alerting the King? Plus, there were no footprints in the blood.”

“Well, the Sergeant had no problem jumping over the blood flow.”

“Yes, but that also would have made a great deal of noise.” Callie tried to picture the scene in her mind. She wished her father had been there to paint a picture.

“You are right. When the Sergeant leaped over the blood, he slammed into the door. Yet the king was not alerted. He was still in bed when he was struck.”

“Colonel, what if the King was killed first? The murderer would have access to the sword to kill the King. Then he could have easily walked out and killed the guards last, so that no one would be able to report who had been in the room last.”

The Colonel pondered Callie’s course of logic. “That would mean that the killer was admitted to the room. He would have been known to the guards as an acceptable guest, or the King would have notified them that he was expecting this person. Accepting this premise, the guards would still have reacted to a guest leaving the king’s bedroom with a bloody sword.”

“Is it possible that the guards had left for some reason or that they may have been killed at a later time?”

“No, the guards would never leave their post. Besides, their bodies were cold, just like the King’s.”

“But you mentioned that their blood was still flowing. That would indicate to me that they hadn’t been dead very long at all.”

“You’re right, of course,” exclaimed Colonel Gregor. “Unfortunately, I can’t reconcile those two facts. Perhaps I will have a discussion with the King’s Physician when I return from Dalek.”

A Red Sword Corporal came into the inn and reported to the Colonel. He ordered the Corporal to give a note to Sergeant Ferguson. He scribbled a hasty note and the Corporal left. “We have to get you out to the Klandon Road, Callie. I hope you are packed.”

The Council of Advisors had reconvened and Duke Whitley wondered about Oscar’s absence.

“I’ve got it,” shouted Duke Moran. “A distant cousin of King Olweg’s had a son and there is no record of his son’s death. The cousin is paternally connected and was given the ambassadorship to Cordonia. His son is John Secor. We have to let the Regent know right away.”

Duke Whitley began to speak and ended up just clearing his throat. Oscar must have found out and that is why he left. He is getting Callie to safety. “I don’t think that is a very good idea, Duke Moran. You know Regent Nelson won’t want to be bothered with what may very well be false information. I think we should check every possible heir before jumping to the conclusion that we have the proper one.”

Most of the Council members grumbled. They obviously did not enjoy spending their time plodding through the archives, but they finally agreed to check a little further. Duke Whitley knew he had bought precious little time for Oscar, but right now he would take any time he could get.

After several more hours of searching, Regent Nelson entered the room and Duke Moran blurted out the news. Regent Nelson thanked the Council for their work and dismissed them. He promptly spun on his heel and left.

Duke Whitley noticed that the Regent had another new aide following him. This one was a young man with long, black hair. There were many new faces in the Palace these days. Things were beginning to look desperate. Lord Habas was in jail. Alex and Jenneva had warrants out for their arrest. Oscar and Callie were running for their lives. It was not long ago that they had all been enjoying life together in Kantor.

Sergeant Todd Racor volunteered to go to Lavinda. He had, after all, actually seen Alexander Tork before, so he was a likely choice to check out the village. Todd thought back to the day that Alex had saved his life. He had thought he was going to die at the hands of the goblins, but Alex killed the goblins with his myric quills. He owed his life to Alex and was hoping he would not find him. Still, if Todd had to bring him in, that would be preferable to one of the other soldiers who were threatening to kill Alex on sight. He had followed stories of Alex during the goblin war and his own station rose in the Bordon garrison because he had actually met Alex. Todd hoped someday to join the Red Swords and had visions of Alex sponsoring him. It didn’t look like that would ever happen now.

Todd rode into Lavinda and was greeted by a couple of young men. “Greetings to Lavinda. I am Sergeant Todd Racor from Bordon. I am seeking Captain Alexander Tork. Is he here?”

“Laman Jawor, village leader, and this sour puss is Kyle Kinder, Lavinda’s mortician when we need one,” quipped Laman. “I’m afraid that you won’t find Alex here. He’s much too valuable to the Kingdom to languish in the valley. Why don’t you join us for some dinner? You can rest your horse before you return to Bordon.”

Todd was relieved. He allowed a young girl to take his horse and followed Laman into the village. The villagers were having some kind of a party and the village square was bustling with activity. Tables were loaded with food and the smell of roasting pork made Todd’s mouth water.

Laman handed him a mug of ale and asked, “How are things in Bordon these days?”

Todd realized that these villagers were so remote that they weren’t even aware of the King’s death. “Pretty hectic, actually. Things in the world seem to move rather quickly these days. We’re gearing up for a possible war.”

“It’s not goblins again, is it?” asked Kyle.

“No, there have been a rash of murders and robberies at temples throughout the land and people in Tagaret think the Cordonians might be behind it. I guess Alex hasn’t been by in a while has he?”

Laman helped himself to another mug of ale. “Oh, he stopped by about three or four weeks ago, but he couldn’t stay. He’s got some new elite group that he is training, called them the Targa Rangers. He stops by every time he goes through the pass so I guess he’s still up north somewhere. I should think the Army would know where to find him. It’s kind of strange for them to send you here.”

“Well, actually the Army has no idea where to find him. That’s why they sent me to look.” Todd didn’t know how to tell these villagers that their hero was an assassin.

Kyle swiftly drew his sword and held it to the Sergeant’s chest. Laman reached over and relieved the Sergeant of his sword. “What the heck are you doing, Kyle?”

The party atmosphere instantly evaporated and Kyle said, “This fellow is not telling us the truth or at least not all of the truth. I think he might be a Cordonian spy, sent here to get information on Alex’s group. Now I think the young Sergeant is going to tell us why he is really here.” Kyle pressed slightly with his sword to emphasize his determination.