Myrkron (Volume Two of The Chronicles of the Myrkron) (18 page)

Attis
smiled as well, nudged his brother, and pointed to the two.

Trask glanced at the two dwarves as they approached Ralk.
  “There is one that will sleep easier tonight,” Trask stated evenly.  “Come, let us inform Kale of our intentions and get on our way,” Trask said to Attis as he rose from the table.

Attis
nodded his assent and rose also.

All of the dwarves were on their feet
, congratulating Kale and slapping him on the back.  Kale held his wife close in the protective circle of his arms as if afraid she may disappear if he let go.  He noticed the two Avari approaching, and smiled at them.

Attis
smiled in return, but Trask’s face remained expressionless and he merely nodded to the dwarf.

As the Avari got close
to the group enjoying the impromptu celebration, Trask cleared his throat loudly to get their attention.  “Commander Kale, my brother and I have decided to join the search for survivors.  We would take our leave immediately,” Trask stated evenly.

Kale looked to Axethane Ralk, who shook his head, telling Kale it was
his place to answer.  “If that is what you both wish, then I wish you a safe and fruitful journey.  Shall I relay any message to Commander Salic upon my return?”

“Only that we
have joined the search, and will return when we are able,” Trask explained.

“Gentlemen, one request before you leave,” Axethane Ralk said
, as he rose to his feet.  “Please bring any survivors you find back here.  The tunnels to the Warrens are small and they will afford the best protection.  I will leave as many Forgers as I can spare to guard them.”

Kale turned to him in surprise.
  “Axethane?”

“Aye, lad.  I march with you.  I will not stay shut away while the fiends that did this to our people roam free
.  We fight now, not for our homeland, but for our existence.”  Ralk’s stance grew rigid.  His voice deepened and gained an echoing effect that wasn't caused by the hall.  It was almost as if another’s voice joined his.  “If we are to pass from this land, then let it be with the blood of our enemies on our axes and their lifeless bodies under our boots.”

Kale felt his blood stir and his pulse race.  That voice
; it was the Axethane’s Call, and Kale could see, by the look on the other dwarves' faces, that they felt it, too.  It called to the very soul to avenge the fallen.

Trask finally smile
d.  He nodded to Axethane Ralk.  “It shall be as you request, Axethane.”

Trask and
Attis spun and headed for the door.  Ralk followed.  After the Avari ducked through the door, he sealed it behind them.  As he turned, Ralk saw Gant stagger into the hall and fall to his knees, clutching his head.

“Father!”  Gant
uttered the single word as he fell to his side on the floor.

Ralk bolted to his son and knelt down beside him.
  “Gant, what is wrong, my son?”

Through gritted teeth, Gant managed to whisper
, “Make him stop, father.  Please make him stop.”

Ralk motioned for the other dwarves to back away as they had all gathered round to see what was wrong.  Ralk scooped his son up in his arms and addressed Kale.
  “Get the men ready to move out at dawn.” Without waiting for a reply, Ralk turned and walked out of the hall.

Kale didn’t hesitate.  He told the men to find every Forger they could and bring them to the hall.  Kara, still clutched tightly in one of Kale’s arms
, pushed gently away from him.

As the men left the hall, she stared up at Kale.
  “You have changed, my love.  When you left, you were my husband.  Now, I behold a warrior before me.  I can see in your eyes that you have endured much since we parted.  I do not want you to leave, now that I have you with me again.”

Kale opened his mouth to say something but she forestalled him with a shake of her head.

“I know that you must.  With all that I have seen recently, I feel silly for my selfishness, but know that I would accompany you if I could, but I cannot,” Kara said placing a hand on her stomach.  "If it were only my life I put in danger, I would readily join you on the battlefield, but we have another to think about, and I feel that the new life within me needs protecting even more now.”

Kale’s
expression went from shock, to joy, to determination in an instant.  He tentatively reached out and covered Kara’s hand with his own.  “You give hope where none previously existed.  This is great news.”  Kale laughed, snatched Kara up in his arms, and spun her around.  He set her back down gently and held her at arm’s length, looking her up and down.  “Are you sure?  I see no signs.”

“Quite sure,” Kara answered, smiling at Kale
's enthusiasm.

“How long?”  Kale asked in delight.

“The night before you left, so five months now.  He will be a mighty Forger by the way he kicks,” Kara said as she led Kale to a nearby table so she could sit down.

Furl and his young assistant came to the table to remove the empty bowls.

“How do you know it will be a boy?”  Kale asked.

Furl filled two clean bowls with stew and placed them in front of Kale and Kara.
  “Never doubt a woman’s intuition in these matters, lad.  You will find they are right more often than not.  Congratulations to the both of you,” Furl said as he ushered the young dwarf with him back to the kitchen to give the couple a little privacy.

“You should listen to Furl
, dear.  He is wise,” Kara said with a teasing smile.  “So tell me, how is Bran?  He is keeping you out of trouble, isn’t he?”  Kara asked smiling happily for the first time in days.

Kale bowed his head and spoke softly.
  “Bran is Axethane now.  And, aye, he is keeping me out of trouble and danger, for that matter.  He sent me on this mission to remove me from that danger.”

Kara’s eye
s grew round at hearing Bran was Axethane and she did not seem to notice the resentment in Kale’s words.  “Bran is Axethane?  I cannot imagine him as such.”

“I was there, Kara.  I witnessed it with my own eyes.  He is our leader now
, and I still do not know how I feel about it.  I mean, he is Axethane, and he has proven himself to be the kind of leader only an Axethane can truly be,” Kale tried to explain.

“So Bran has changed as well
.  He has responsibilities now, my love, but I cannot conceive of him discarding your friendship.”

“He did not
. I did.  I don’t know how to describe how I feel.  He was my best friend and now it seems wrong to assume such familiarity with him; as if it would be disrespectful.”

“
So this is the change I see in you.  Kale, you anvil-brained, hammer breaker!  How do you think Bran feels?  You turned your back on him when he probably needed you the most.  There he is dealing with all the changes that come with his new station and you just up and tell him you’re not friends anymore?  I have a mind to let the Delvers use your head to crack stone at the quarry!”  Kara said in exasperation.

Kale flinched as if Kara had physically struck him.
  “It wasn’t exactly like that,” Kale replied meekly.

“Then
what, exactly, was it like?”

“I don’t know,” Kale said with a shrug.  He remembered the hurt look on Bran’s face that day
, but he couldn't get passed the knowledge that Bran
was
different now; someone to be respected, not someone to joke around with like in their younger days.  “I know it hurt him, but I cannot see him as he was.  Damn it, Kara,” Kale said and slammed his fist down on the table, “he is Axethane.  He is apart from us now.”

“Only because you make it so,” Kara said gently, covering Kale’s fist with her hands.  Kara rose to her feet, her bowl of stew untouched.
  “I have to see someone.”

Kale stood up as well.
  “I’ll come with you.”

“No
, you eat.  You will have to leave soon, and you need your strength.  I will be back in a little while,” Kara assured him.

“Don’t be long
. We haven’t much time together, and The Great One only knows how long it will be before we see each other again,” Kale told her tenderly.

Kara smiled at him.
  “I will return as quickly as possible.”

Kale’s eyes followed Kara as she left the hall.  He heaved a tremendous sig
h and turned his attention to the bowl of stew before him.  He really wasn't that hungry, but he knew that if Kara did not see an empty bowl when she returned, he would never hear the end of it.  As he started eating, Kale remembered the last meal he had eaten in this hall.  It was the day Bran had become an Axethane.  Kale shook his head, pushed the thought from his mind and focused on his stew.

Ralk carried Gant to his quarters and ge
ntly laid him down on the cot.

Gant had been muttering non-stop the whole way, repeating one single word over and over, no
.

As Ralk started to straighten up, Gant clamped
a hand to his father’s wrist.

Ralk grimaced at the vise like grip
, but said nothing.

“Please make him stop, father,” Gant pleaded.

“Make who stop, lad?”

“The Axethane.  Please make him go away.  I do
n’t want to hear him anymore.”

Ralk stiffened.
  “Why would you want him to go away?  What is he saying, son?”

“
He tells me Jame is dead.  Oh, father!  He says mother is gone, too,” Gant told him and went slack on the cot, releasing Ralk’s wrist.

Ralk fell to his knees beside his son and bowed his head.  Tears streamed from his eyes
, but no sound came from him.  Ralk reached out tenderly and stroked his son’s hair.  “Son, look at me.”

Gant was still repeating the word no, over and over.

Ralk had to reach him.  He rose to his feet, wiped his eyes and squared his shoulders.  “Captain, Gant!  On your feet, Forger!”  Ralk barked out the command.

Gant stiffened at the tone and rose instantly to his feet in front of Ralk, the command instantly breaking through his grief.  He stood facing his father with tears still flowing down his cheeks.
  “Yes, Axethane.”

“We leave at dawn for The Slot.  Our people have need of us.  They have been sorely pressed
, and our axes are required,” Ralk’s voice still held the ring of command.

Gant wiped a hand across his eyes
and stood at attention.  “Yes, Axethane.”

Ralk’s face softened a bit.
  “Be ready, son.  Listen to the Axethane.  You are certainly worthy of him and, although the news he carries is not what we would want to hear, he would not mislead you.  If he says Henna and Jame are gone, then all is left us is to make sure those responsible pay from their crimes,” Ralk told him, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder.  “You can reject the Axethane, that is your choice, but know that I have never regretted my decision; and I would be proud to have you at my side as Axethane or as my son.  You must decide before we leave.  I know it is not much time, but in war there is never enough time.  There are things we must discuss if you become Axethane.  I will need your answer an hour before we depart at the latest.”

Gant simply nodded and bowed his head.
  “Do you think it is true, father?  Could they both really be dead?”

“Aye.  If an Axethane brought you this news then it is beyond reproach.  I am so sorry
, my son.  You have lost so much so quickly.  I never wanted you to have to go through something like this, but I know the pain you feel.”  Ralk pushed Gant down so he sat on the edge of the cot and then he sat down beside him.  Ralk leaned over resting his elbows on his knees and folded his hands together.  “I never told you this, but I had a wife before Henna, your mother.  Her name was Silven.  We had been married for a little over two years when the race war started,” Ralk said softly.

Gant was startled by the news and stared at his father
, though Ralk kept his eyes on the floor.

“
When I was called to my unit, Silven was eight months pregnant.  One night, we were fighting a fierce battle in the Glimmen Marsh against a large group of Shifters and suddenly there was a voice in my head speaking to me and showing me maneuvers I had never seen before.  I ignored it at first, but it persisted. I began to try a few of the moves.  Before I knew what had happened, I was knee deep in Shifter corpses and the battle was over.  Our unit lost twelve men, but we had cut down nearly four hundred Shifters.  When the count was announced, I had killed over two hundred of them myself.  The men proclaimed me Axethane and saluted me.  I was several years younger than you are now.

"
I recall the tale of how you became an Axethane," Gant commented.

"Yes, but there
's more to it.  After the men saluted me, the Axethane told me Silven had died in childbirth.  My son had lived for only a few minutes, and then he joined his mother at the Great One’s side.  I was devastated and refused to believe it.  I asked that a runner be sent to learn the truth of the matter.  Four days later word was brought to me that it was true.  The Axethane had been silent during that time.  After the news was confirmed and, I was alone with my grief, he spoke to me again.  He told me that he was sorry for my loss and felt badly that he had to bring me such sad news, but that was how most Axethanes were chosen.  They tended to choose Forgers without families because of the danger in which becoming Axethane placed that Forger.  I accepted the mantle of Axethane then and there,” Ralk finished.