Gods Of Blood And Fire (Book 1) (82 page)

“Majesty, we should have brought more men,” K’xarr said, trying to keep up with the little Queen’s quick pace. “Nonsense, Rufio and the men are within shouting distance and I have you and the others to protect me.”

K’xarr could tell the Queen was furious, he knew the look all too well. She had visited that expression on him on more than one occasion.

Just as they started up the steps of the palace, Cain appeared at the top of the huge marble stairs. He was flanked by a big man dressed in red robes. They were styled in the fashion of a priest. Talorn and William Blackthorn stood alongside Cain too, with at least fifty Church knights behind them, swords drawn and at the ready. K’xarr didn’t know what knight order it was, and it mattered little to him, but their symbol was a pair of open hands with a sunburst inside them. He would remember it.

“Welcome home, Sister.” K’xarr could tell the smile on Cain’s face and his greeting were sinister. The Queen didn’t return his greeting. She threw back her cloak and put her hands on her hips. Raygan’s defiant stance would have been almost comical, if not for the look of iron on her face. Only the narrowing of her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

“This is Lord Justice Dracen Milara, Sister, he would like a word with you,” Cain said, gesturing to the man in the red robes.

“I want to know why you hung those people, Cain, there was no reason for it.”

Cain pointed his finger at Raygan. “It is your fault, Sister, the people of this city need to be reminded who their ruler truly is. Their deaths are on your head not mine.”

Tears began to well up in the little Queen’s eyes. She struggled to keep her emotions in check, but it was just too hard. “You killed them because they were loyal to me? You monster,” she shouted.

“No, Sister, the only monster is the one that stands there with you.” Cain’s pointed finger slowly moved to Kian. “In the name of God and Holy Mother Church and the throne of Bandara, I hereby arrest that creature for its crimes against the people of this Kingdom.”

“Swords,” K’xarr yelled. As the two factions prepared to charge each other, two women appeared beside the K’xarr and the Queen. They were dressed in black gowns and one of them was red-headed. K’xarr recognized Scarlett instantly, the other a dark-haired woman he didn’t know.

“If you try to take him you will have to come through us … Prince Cain,” Scarlett said with contempt.

No one moved, the witches’ appearance gave K’xarr a moment. “Majesty, what is your order? Fight or flee, you know what your brother means to do.”

Raygan looked at her brother, remembering the shy boy he had been and the days of their childhood. Cain was her brother, her father’s son. All her memories of him flashed quickly through her mind. “Kill him, K’xarr.”

Scarlett grabbed the Queen and winked at K’xarr, then she and Raygan vanished.

“Kian, now,” K’xarr yelled. The swordsman leaped up the steps as K’xarr and the others followed.

Commander Deverall shouted orders to his knights. “Defend the King and the Lord Justice.” The knights circled Prince Cain, as well as the Blackthorns and Milara.

Kian’s blade ripped through the knight’s defenses and their armor. Malice showed no mercy to the Holy warriors. The Knights of Deliverance began to fall back before him. None wanted to face the devil or his vicious blade. Within seconds, K’xarr and the others had followed him into the fray at the top of the stairs.

On the right, Cromwell wielded his great axe like a titan—its heavy blade cleaving his opponents nearly in two. The fury of K’xarr and Endra’s swords pushed the left side of the knights’ line back. As Kian drove into their center, even with the Bandarans loyal to the Queen, the group was outnumbered and the knights were fierce.

The dark-haired witch floated into the air. A bolt of lightning flew from her hand, striking the knights standing in the back ranks, killing several of the metal encased men.

K’xarr looked back long enough to see Rufio and the rest of the Bandarans charging across the palace lawn. Men bearing Cain’s red-winged hawk on their uniform poured out of the place to reinforce the knights. Cain must have stationed men inside the palace. The Prince had been prepared for things to escalate.

K’xarr looked back to the battle. Cromwell caught his eye, the two men looked at each other. Cromwell had a big smile on his face. K’xarr noticed he was smiling too.

Lord Justice Milara and Prince Cain had escaped into the palace as the reinforcements had come out to join in the fight. Duke Blackthorn stood in the doorway, ready to leave the battle as well, but Talorn was refusing to follow. “Come on, Son, we need to get to the army.”

“No, Father, you go, I’m staying,” Talorn said with conviction.

“Why, there is nothing to do back there but die. Those savages and their sorceresses will kill everyone. There is nothing you can do to stop them, Son. We must get out of here while we can.”

“No, I must defend the palace, defend Turill. Raygan is my wife, but those she has put her faith in are evil, Father, and I am forsworn to God to fight evil wherever I find it. Raygan needs me now more than ever; I have to save her, Father.”

William looked at Talorn with disdain. “Then I truly have raised a fool.” The duke turned, fled after Milara and Cain without looking back. The young Bandaran lord’s heart sank as he watched his father flee. Talorn took a deep breath and ran back towards the sounds of the battle.

Oliver Deverall Commander of the Knights of Deliverance found himself face to face with a woman carrying a large bastard sword. She had lost her helmet and he easily recognized her. The woman they had run across in the north. Her looks were unmistakable.

He wondered if the Lord Justice would find her as beautiful now with blood splattered all over her face and her wavy black hair wet with gore.

The young woman was not timid. Deverall nearly failed to block her first attack. She was quick with the heavy sword. The woman parried his blade and pushed him back with a hard kick. The knight commander realized he should take this woman more serious as her bastard sword slid into the crease of the armored cuisse protecting his thigh. The woman tore her blade from his leg as she stepped back.

Blood began to pour from the bottom of his greaves. Stunned, he looked up at her in time to see the blow that knocked the helmet from his head. Deverall fell unceremoniously to the ground. “I yield, woman,” he said holding up his hand.

Endra stood above him bloodstained and winded. She reversed her grip on the sword and drove its point through the top of the knight commander’s head. Putting her foot on his twitching body, she pulled the blade free.

“You are not a woman for the faint of heart, Endra Korlest,” K’xarr said as he came up beside her.

She wiped at the blood on her face, smearing it across her cheek. “We have these holy bastards on the run now.”

K’xarr pointed his sword at the witch now standing at the bottom of the stair. “She helped with that.”

“I don’t remember that one, do you?” Endra asked.

“No, but I will be happy to make her acquaintance. Besides, I need to find out where Scarlett took the Queen.”

The last of the knights went down before the great doors of the palace and Cain’s men had fled the fight or were dead. Talorn had fought alongside the Church knights until only he remained. He saw the abomination that Lord Justice Milara had told them about. If he was going to die, he would at least rid the world of that thing. “Monster, do you have any honor? I Talorn Blackthorn challenge you to single combat.”

Kian looked at the man’s long blonde hair and polished armor; this must be the Queen’s husband. He had heard a great deal about the Bandaran general’s skill.

Cromwell walked up besides Kian, laughing. “Stay here sword brother, you have nothing to prove. I’ll chop this pretty man to pieces for you.”

“It is the Queen’s husband, Cromwell, we should let him be. She may be displeased with us if we kill him.”

The Queen’s men formed a semicircle around the knight, his back to the palace doors. “Are you a coward, monster? Will you not fight like a man or can you only fight like an animal?” Talorn jeered, trying to provoke the half-breed into single combat.

Kian said nothing, his face looked as if it were made of stone.

“Come, beast I have never been defeated, see if you can take my head like you did Donovan and Griffyn.”

Cromwell seethed with anger. “Kill that woman-haired bastard Kian or I will.”

Kian walked into the circle of men. “Why is it you want to kill me?”

Talorn straightened his back and thrust his chin out. “You are an abomination in the Eyes of God and you have attempted to corrupt the woman I love with your evil. I will not allow this to happen.”

“I know who you are, Talorn Blackthorn. you are the Queen’s husband. I want no quarrel with you and I have done nothing to harm your wife. Just walk away, we will let you go back to your men in peace. ”

“You are a demon half-breed, do you think I trust anything you say? God has ordained your death.”

Kian stood arms at his side, sword in it scabbard. “I’m no demon, nor am I evil. Would you kill me simply because I’m different than you?”

Talorn hesitated for a moment. “It is what God commands.”

Kian folded his arms across his chest and faced the handsome young man. He could see nothing he could say would change the man’s mind. “Is your God with you today?” Kian asked.

“Yes, and I will strike with his power. The evil you spread will be vanquished half-breed, and my wife will be free of your control, for I intend to slay you in his holy name.”

“I hope you said your prayers last night, you girl-faced braggart,” Cromwell said coldly.

Talorn charged the Half Elf with his long sword raised high in the air. Kian didn’t move until the young knight’s blade was coming down at his head.

The swordsman stepped to his left, pulled his dark blade and blocked Talorn’s cut. He quickly disengaged his blade rolled his wrist and delivered a blow with all his inhuman strength. The Bandaran general’s sword snapped at the hilt.

Talorn looked at the sword in disbelief. Kian put Malice to Talorn’s throat. “Your God must not have been watching that time. Give him another blade.”

Cromwell pulled a sword from one of the Queen’s men and threw it to the young knight.

Talorn again attacked, a mighty horizontal cut came at Kian’s neck. The Half Elf ducked the cut casually and spun away, causing the general to awkwardly stumble forward.

A look of disbelief began to show on Talorn’s face as he thrust at Kian’s unarmored abdomen only to have his blade flicked away and swordsman’s black-hilted long sword put on his throat again. Kian pushed the blonde hair man back without shedding a drop of his blood.

Talorn’s anger began to show. He attack again and again, but his sword could not get past the half-breeds defense.

Cain’s general was tired and his heavy armor had begun to weigh him down. He aimed a cut at Kian’s head. The Half Elf spun his sword, deflecting the blow and sending Talorn’s sword sliding across the marble stairs. The disarmed knight fell to his knees exhausted. He looked at Kian, then he began to crawl towards where his sword landed. “He has had enough,” Kian said.

“Kill him then and let’s go,” Cromwell said.

Kian looked at the circle and saw Endra standing there. He walked over to the defeated man, just as Talorn wrapped his hand around his sword’s hilt. The Half Elf stepped on the blade so the knight couldn’t pick it up.

The Bandaran Lord looked up at him and Kian struck him in the face hard enough to knock the knight unconscious.

Cromwell shook his head at the swordsman as he picked up the Bandaran general up like a sack of grain. “I will see he is taken to the Queen when we find out where she is,” the big man said.

The Half Elf nodded his agreement.

“If you would have killed him we could have just left him here,” the Toran muttered as he walked past Kian.

The circle started to disperse. Endra pushed passed the men until she was beside her lover.

Endra grabbed Kian by the back of his head and kissed him hard on the mouth, both could taste the salty blood that had splattered on their lips. “What was that for?” Kian asked surprised by Endra’s actions.

“That was for showing everyone that there is mercy in your heart.” Kian looked at the ground, a little embarrassed by her praise.

“It is what I thought you would do.”

Endra raised her eyebrows. “No, my love, you are wrong. I would have killed that arrogant bastard.”

***

The city had exploded and the Asconans poured in from the south and Cain’s army, led by Lord Fox and Lord Bradford, came into the city from the north gate. When night fell, the city was split in half with Cain’s forces on the Northside of Turill and Raygan’s on the Southside. The Queen herself was in the southern gatehouse. Ansellus and K’xarr thought it best not to try and occupy the palace just yet. The soldiers of both armies were still outside in the streets, both afraid an attack could come at any time. “This is just what I didn’t want, K’xarr, war inside my city,” the Queen said.

“It’s good to hear you call it your city, Majesty, but there is no choice now, you will have to fight, unless you want to ride away and leave Turill to the Prince.”