Hammers in the Wind (4 page)

King Badron stood on the balcony of his bedroom watching the brewing storm with mild interest. Nothing nature offered matched the coldness of his heart. The wrath growing in him kept him warmer than any fire ever could. The pain of his son’s death threatened to rip his sanity asunder. He wanted revenge. That twisted desire made demands of his soul he would gladly surrender. Fists clenched behind his back, the king of Delranan plotted. That Harnin sought Bahr only compounded his anger. Of all the people in his kingdom the one-eyed fool had to choose him. Years of carefully laid plans disintegrated around him. Malweir conspired against him.

He’d walked the blood-stained halls of Chadra Keep more than once since the night before. No matter how many times he did it or how hard he looked there was nothing new to find. Not even the ghosts of those slain remained to haunt him.  His mind scoured every thinkable scenario and he still came up short. How could the Pell Darga manage to infiltrate his most secure sanctum so effortlessly? It didn’t make sense. A single idea pushed towards the front and refused to disappear. He didn’t want to admit it. He couldn’t. But the answer was undeniable. He had a traitor in his Keep.

“Guard!”

The tremble in his voice belied pure malevolence. A shallow-faced guard entered and saluted. He was impossibly young, even for a man of the North. Uncertainty danced in his eyes. The man he replaced had been horribly slaughtered in the attack.

Badron’s gaze narrowed sharply. “Find me Lord Harnin.”

“At once sire.”

The one-eyed battle lord entered shortly and bowed to his king and friend. “My lord?”

Badron kept his back to the man. Thunder played havoc with the heavens. “Have your men discovered anything?”

“Nothing as of yet.”

His fists clenched tighter. “How is it the enemy so successfully managed to breach our defenses? You are charged with the security of this kingdom.”

He knew he’d been betrayed. He felt it in his bones. Harnin swallowed tightly; suddenly fearful for the reasons behind his summoning.

Badron continued, “They knew exactly what they were doing, Harnin. How?”

His voice ground like stone breaking glass.

Harnin resisted the temptation to defensively draw his sword. “We are working on that, sire. My men have only begun their investigation.”

Badron finally turned. Murder reflected wildly in his blue eyes. “What promise of loyalty can you offer?”

“What are you getting at?”

Harnin felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. He’d been a favored son of Delranan since before Badron became king. Badron’s sudden turn against him was insulting. Attacking the king offered no hope. No, that wouldn’t do at all. There was no reason for this sudden suspicion. Harnin would never dream of going against his king and friend. He had nothing to hide, but Badron was a foul-tempered man with little joy in his heart.

“Loyal to you perhaps. After all, you selected every one of them personally. But how loyal are they to king and land? What reassurance can you give me that I should trust you?”

He’s bordering on madness, Harnin thought. The loss of his son has pushed him too far. He had to proceed cautiously from here or find his neck at the end of a short rope.

“Have I ever given you concern to doubt my loyalty? Everything I have done in my life has been for this kingdom. Your father shared his dreams with me and I helped achieve them. You and this kingdom are all that is important to me. I swear it on the honor of my fathers.”

A wave seemed to crash in Badron’s mind. The violence drained from his eyes.

“These have been dark days for us all. Forgive my insecurities but I cannot be sure whose sword still remains in my service.” He took a seat on the nearest bench and wiped his forehead.

“There is nothing to forgive, sire. Had I… lost my family I would be much less of a man.”

“Indeed.”

Badron shifted his gaze from his most trusted captain to a wall map of the northern kingdoms. A dark glimmer clung to the corners of his eyes, a taint almost. Deep desires reflected in them. He was a man whose own world simply wasn’t enough.

Suddenly emboldened by the king’s softening, Harnin inched closer. “Sire, you mentioned a traitor. How can we be sure who it is? All of the council was assembled during the time of the attack.”

“Is that the limit of your curiosity?”

“Sire?”

“This traitor could be anyone from the lowest chambermaid to my very own daughter herself,” Badron’s voice was laced with disgust.

Shock spread across Harnin’s face. The relationship between king and daughter was tumultuous at best, but he’d never dreamed to accuse her of treason. “Are you saying Maleela is capable of betraying her own blood? Causing the death of her brother?”

“You and I both know she holds no loyalty to her kingdom. Our designs for the future disagree with her.”

“But to sell us out to the Pell Darga? How could she even know where to find such allies?” he protested. “There must be some other force at work here.”

“Few people believe the Shadow People actually exist. We know better. Both you and I have seen and fought them. Their hatred of us is nearly as great as ours for them. I agree that if Maleela is responsible she had help from the inside.”

“This takes us to a very dark place.”

“No darker than the murder of my heir. Send out your spies. I want to know who did this and why.”

“Yes sire.”

The king nodded, satisfied for now. “Good, now on to other business. How goes the search for the men to hunt down the Pell?”

“We have more than enough willing men to go. I believe Bahr will even agree to pilot them east.”

Badron’s eyebrow arched. “Truly?”

“I will know for sure tomorrow at dawn. He was intrigued but doesn’t want me to know.”

“Perhaps his old hatreds have mellowed with age.” Badron laughed. “Maybe we will get lucky and the Pell will succeed in killing him to save me the trouble.”

Harnin cleared his throat. “I hate to admit it, but he is the best chance we have for success. He also has the best chance for bringing us a war.”

That foul gleam returned. “Precisely. Now go. Inform me when your team is assembled. The time is fast approaching when the glory of Delranan shall be sung across all of Malweir.”

*****

Heavy rains and driving winds forced the small band of riders to find shelter for the night. Outriders discovered a thick stand of firs less than a league ahead and returned to lead the rest to the relative safety. Eight horses bearing drenched and miserable riders pulled in nearly an hour later. Lightning struck the nearby hilltop as the riders dismounted.

“Tether the horses while we try to raise some tarps for shelter,” Aurec shouted above the shrieking winds.

His men silently obeyed. Seasoned professionals, they knew what needed to be done. They also knew there would be no fire tonight. The prospect of a cold, wet night dampened their spirits. Aurec sighed and not for the first time. His palm caught the heavy rain drops as they fell splashing across his forearm. Doubts ate at him. He was a prince, and a damned fool of one if today was any indication. Exhausted and far from the warm halls of Rogscroft, his actions might well have pushed his kingdom to war. He shook his head ruefully. The prize stood before him, miserable and soaked to the bone. Still, her splendor was worth the risk. He only hoped she was worth the cost to come.

Maleela stalked up to him and slapped him hard across the right cheek. Her eyes fumed with anger. “You idiot! Do you have any idea what would have happened if they had caught you? Do you?”

Aurec rubbed some of the sting away. “Relax my love. You know I couldn’t risk leaving your safety to others. Not with so much at stake.”

“My father would have fed you to the wolves and turned his army loose on your kingdom.”

“I fear that is an inevitability, but your father is mad. His desires threaten to rip apart the northern kingdoms. I did what was necessary to save both our lands. War is coming and I’ll not sit by while your life hangs in the balance. I had to come and get you. I… I can’t imagine a world without you in my heart.”

The stiffness of her stance softened. Her deep blue eyes, the same as her father’s, glimmered with their own wetness. She rushed into his waiting arms and held on for dear life.

“Aurec, you shouldn’t risk yourself so foolishly,” she whispered through the tears. “Not even for me.”

He pulled her away just far enough to look down into her face, framed so beautifully by her wet hair. “You are my everything, Maleela. For you I would risk the gates of death itself.”

She hugged him like a woman who knew that she was about to lose everything. Their love remained hidden between their families. Initially endorsed by both fathers, it had become a cancer to both kingdoms. She’d long suspected Badron had used her to manipulate himself into a position to declare war. She’d even come to accept the fact that he never really loved her.

Aurec touched a fingertip softly to her lips and smiled. “Don’t worry about your father, not tonight. Tonight you are safe with us.”

“How did you know that is what I was thinking?”

“You think I don’t know you?” he teased. “The shelter will be finished soon. Try to get what sleep you can. We’ve a long way to go before we reach safety. I doubt even your father’s best trackers can find us in this weather.”

It stopped raining sometime during in the early hours just before dawn. The ground flooded easily during the storm, turning the surrounding countryside into a marsh. Aurec’s men slowly forced themselves up. Their bodies were sore from a combination of the forced ride and the weather. Their feet hurt. Wet boots and socks only made matters worse. The predawn chill dug down to the bone. Trying to start a fire was pointless. All the fuel was waterlogged. Aurec made the decision to strike camp.

Venten approached his prince wearing a haggard look. He laid out the small map and repressed a shiver. Gaunt and experienced, he rubbed his salt and pepper beard. “It is a two-day ride to the Murdes Mountains. If this weather holds Badron’s hunters will catch us.”

“Agreed,” Aurec nodded. “But this can be turned to an advantage. Once we cross these plains here the forests running the length of the foothills should give us enough cover. Badron won’t know which way we went. Most of the trails leading up into the mountains are hidden.”

“That’s assuming he doesn’t take the bait.”

“What bait?” Maleela asked with a yawn.

The murder of the house guards sat ill with her. Regardless of her situation, her loyalty still lay with her kingdom and her friends. Men she’d known for the better part of her nineteen years were dead because of her. Aurec tried to assure her that they’d only killed the men that gave them no choice. Regardless, she disapproved. She and Aurec were no co-conspirators in what could only lead to war.

Venten and Aurec exchanged a cautious glance. Secrets passed silently between them.

“We didn’t use any of our own weapons. Everything came from outside sources,” Venten answered carefully.

Her eyes narrowed sharply. “What sources?”

Venten deferred to his prince.

He exhaled sharply. “The Pell Darga, my love.”

Her heart twisted. “What! Do you have any idea they what will do to us all?”

Aurec held up his hands in mild defense. “Calm down, love. We had no choice. We couldn’t allow your father to make the connection with Rogscroft. Too much is at stake.”

“But the Pell Darga! They’re bloodthirsty savages. My father will waste no time in marshalling the Wolfsreik.”

Her face burned dark crimson. She felt betrayed.
How could he lie to me like this?
Doesn’t he understand what has been set in motion?
Destructive visions filled her head as she closed her eyes tightly. Maleela struggled with conflicting feelings. She loved Aurec, but felt entirely helpless. He acted out of love’s best interests but sometimes that wasn’t right or enough. The Pell Darga and Wolfsreik would decimate one another in a senseless struggle. Her boundaries constricted even tighter.

“The Pell are not what you believe them to be,” Aurec whispered. “Our people have had dealings with them for generations. They are no more evil than you or I.”

“That won’t matter.”

Aurec gripped her by the shoulders. “Maleela you must understand that there are grave risks each of us must undertake if this is going to be successful. I’m sorry, but those men had to die and we had to make it look like the Pell Darga did it. Otherwise we never would have made it out of Chadra Keep. Badron will stop at nothing to take over the northern kingdoms. This was the only way. I can’t ask you to understand now, just that you will forgive me for what I had to do.”

Maleela relented, albeit reluctantly. She trusted Aurec enough to see them all to safety. Lingering doubts gnawed at the back of her thoughts as the band mounted up and prepared to ride. If her father was determined to attack what difference did it matter where the hammer fell? Every man, woman, and child in the north would soon be at risk but his biggest concern was how Maleela was going to react when she learned he had killed her brother.