Return to Caer Lon (30 page)

The answer echoed into the semi-darkness.

“Awfully simple,
magician
. Pendragon brings me to the Source, or I kill you all.”

Chapter 31

Wolfryth
started
on
Elwyn.

Derek pulled Sacha to his chest, blinding her so she didn’t see the tongues of fire darting at her twin brother. He couldn’t conceal her from the screams though, and soon wished he too could hide from the
screams
. She jerked with every blow, every spell
. S
ometimes
she
whimper
ed
even before Elwyn
cri
ed. Each burn, each whip, every mental torture Wolfryth inflected to
her brother
, Sacha felt too. The horrible images the sorcerer drilled into her brother’s mind
-
blood, death, monsters feasting on human flesh
-
she saw as well. She twisted and sobbed
against
Derek’s chest, and the only thing he could do was looked at their suffering and b
ear
it.

The display of cruelty would have been easier to understand if only the sorcerer had actually asked something. But the man was silent. Terrifying silent. The only noise the prince heard was the crack
s
of the torches and - his jaw clenched hard - bones.

An inhuman shriek tore the silence apart, and Elwyn’s body went limp. The prince embraced the woman in his arms tighter, her face buried against his heart to muffle her cries of anguish. Her teary murmur took him by surprise.

“Take the comb, Derek, please… He must not find it.”

His fingers brushed on the wood restraining her hair, the charm that had apparently protected her from the blonde’s attack earlier, but would likely fail to spare her now.

“I’m next. Keep the comb with you. Please…”

“I won’t let him touch you.”

“Don’t do anything; whatever he wants, he must not have
it
. He will kill us anyway.”

The giant was already turning to the couple in the other cell. Derek nodded imperceptibly against her forehead, and the comb disappeared inside his clothing. Then he struggled to stand, shielding her from view
. A roar of laugher
welcomed
the effort.

“You’re just as ludicrous as your father… True to the knight’s vow to protect the
w
eak and the
h
elpless…
Szarik
”

Sacha yelped in terror as she started slipping on the ground, pulled to her tormentor by some invisible cord. Derek lunged forward to seize her hand
,
but the b
o
nds
foiled
his attempt. The shackles bit into his wrist. Derek almost hoped his wound
would
reopen, so the blood would oil his hand
into freedom
. He yanked twice at the handcuff, bringing up a laugh from Wolfryth.

The young woman was
now
kneeling
at the giant’s feet, prostrate. H
er free hair fl
e
w over her shoulders to the ground, her arms loose by her sides. Derek growled in warning.

Wolfryth put two fingers under her chin to force her face up.

“What a pity to mar those angelic features.” He cast a glance toward the chained prince. “Don’t you think?”

“I forbid you to touch her!”

If he only had a weapon, a sword or even his dagger, he would throw it at the brute without hesitation. Derek fisted his hands, pulling desperately at his bonds. The sorcerer returned his attention to the woman at his feet, his fingers pressing hard into her cheeks.

“What do you say, seer
?
W
e are close already, after all those nights
of
sharing dreams.”

Derek roared.

“Leave her alone! I’ll kill you, I swear...”

“Snoeren!”

No sound came out when Derek bawled his frustration
. He growled
, the effort nearly tearing his throat apart
and spat, “Let her go, now!”

Wolfryth twisted his head, the golden eyes a thin line of hatred. The sorcerer lifted one hand and the prince’s shoulder cracked loudly. He gave a ferocious pull at his chains nonetheless, trying to reach for the immobile form of Sacha.

“Derek, don’t.”

Her order froze him into place instantly. Amazed, the young man saw Sacha slowly ar
i
se and brush off the sorcerer’s hold with a backflip of her hand. Surely it was surprise that gave her the leverage
. T
he top of her head didn’t even reach the man’s chin, and he was twice as large as she was.

When she spoke again, Derek barely recognized her voice in the deep cavernous tone.

“Your time is coming to an end, Wolfryth
. Y
ou can’t break
Him
; he is the Blood and the Source will obey to his command.”

The giant took one step back, his scared face distorted with fury.

“The Source shall be mine.”

“The Power obey
s
the Blood of the Dragon and only him.”

“Enough!”

Wolfryth slapped her so hard Sacha fell on the floor again.

“Sacha!”

The weight in Derek’s chest lifted partly when he saw her stir, stretching carefully her arm toward a still unconscious Elwyn. She reached her brother, first close enough to touch his arm then his chest, before she managed to push upright and take his head on her lap. Her fingers roamed over the ashen face, and Derek blinked in disbelief. Under the tender caress, Elwyn’s bruises seemed to fade, the biggest marks shrinking to a copper flick before they vanished completely. He didn’t know she had such magic within her. She probably didn’t know either. Her eyes were dreamy, their focus very far from the body in her arms.

The prince rattled his chains to attract the sorcerer’s attention back to him. If she needed time, he’d buy her some. But the wolf-man was already marching upon the woman who had defied him just a moment before, his top lip curled up to bare his teeth. Derek pulled the last card he had.

“I’ll do it!”

He had no idea what the
"
source of power
"
was
. His
stomach heaved knowing Sacha wasn’t really aware of her actions, too lost in magic to see the danger; he had to stop that man, and he only knew one way to do so: standing, with a sword in his hand.

“I’ll take you to the Source.”

Only then
,
he understood what it was. Sacha had asked him not to take the sword out of its s
heath
of stone. She had asked him to refuse, whatever happened
. The
sword was his, she said, his birthright. Whatever the sword really was, she had pleaded him not to reveal it, but it was the only way. He just couldn’t stand seeing her and Elwyn tortured without at least fighting for them. God forg
i
ve him. He just couldn’t.

“You leave them alone, and I’ll unlock it for you.”

Wolfryth was going to kill them all. But he could have at least one chance to bring down the beast. One chance was all it took.

oOo

The guard bowed before Sonia, apologizing
for
disturb
ing
her evening.

“This letter just came in for you,
m
y
l
ady. It is sealed with red wax.”

The mark of urgent messages. Above the crimson lace
,
the wax bore her mother’s seal.

“Thank you.”

The man bowed again, leaving her alone once more. The brunette pecked at the fire anxiously while she broke the seal.

My daughter,

The world has changed already. You know what to do.

She folded the piece before throwing it in the fire. Her mother always answered questions with riddles; such was the Guardians
'
way.
What was worse was that she understood exactly what her mother meant.
Some days, she wished that habit had not rubbed
off
on her so much. Sonia dismissed the thought.
T
oo much was at stake for regrets or wistful wishes.

The brunette returned to the door to lock it before she opened one of her chests and took
out
the books it contained. When she reached the bottom, she pressed a small scratch in the wood
. A
panel slipped
aside
, revealing a piece of old tapestry rolled to form a case about three feet long.

Sonia slowly ran her index on the intricate gold and red stitches forming runes she didn’t recognize. The symbols seemed incredibly fragile compared to the tired leather bond tied at one
end
.

After a few minutes, she stored the tapestry back in its hiding place and replaced her chest under the bed.

Her mother had the power to read all
Elements
, the first high-priestess with such gift in generations, and she, the elder of the Children, was the Carrier, as it always had been among the Faerlings since
Caid
had
entrusted
the Scabbard to their guardianship. Yes, she knew what to do.

oOo

He refused to associate the twitch in his fingers or the beating inside his body with impatience. Only fools would rush in without a second glance, and he was not a fool. The scar on his face reminded him of the cost
of
mov
ing
close to
a Pendragon unprepared.

Wolfryth sneered disdainfully, eyeing the shadows in front of him. He had
no
more leverage on that one than on his father. The feelings
the young one
sustained for his friends gave him strength, more than his old man had fifteen years ago when fighting for his life. He would break the young
er
anyhow, just like he had his father.

The sorcerer reported his attention on the silhouettes jumping from step to step in front of him. The seer was helping her brother, one arm circling his waist. Her connection with Elemental Air and Fire was strong; nearly as strong as his. But the daze in her eyes while she healed her brother proved she hadn’t mastered all their possibilities.

Such a pity, to waste useful resources when there were so few truly gifted. He pulled the wolf
skin higher on his massive shoulders. Her threat was nothing. In a few moments, he would bath in the Ultimate Power Source, seiz
ing
up its energy to become a god among men. Thinking about a legacy was useless for one about to taste
e
ternity.

oOo

Geraint turned from the armour
o
n display to look at the seven men
standing
around the large table. Four of them were soldiers, friends and allies in charge of his fiefs. The other three were merchants, notables whom the inhabitants of Haven had chosen to represent them at
the
d
uke’s council. They all shared the grey temples of age and rounding bellies. None were fit to go to war. He felt like a farmer about to throw his sheep into the lion’s den.

A light knock on the door announced the last member of this particular council. Geraint escorted Ylianor toward an additional chair at the end of the table, grateful for the former queen’s presence by his side.

“My friends, please take a seat.”

Grifelt, one of the merchant with whom Geraint enjoyed a game of dice once in a while and the senior of his counsellors said: “You don’t look like the proud father who is about to announce us the one news that could bring the delightful company of the Lady Ylianor at this table.”

Ylianor bowed her head and smiled at the subtle welcome
.
Geraint cleared his throat, and began before he regretted his decision.

“Unfortunately, Master Grifelt, such an announcement is yet to come. No, I summoned you here tonight for less pleasant reasons.”

The smiles born from the image of the
handfasting of the
fierce-tempered
L
ady of Haven and Prince Derek gave way to more serious faces.

“As you all know, the past weeks ha
ve
brought worrying news. The northern and eastern lands are plundered. I dispatched a company in the east and it was attacked within our frontiers. Some information I received only yesterday confirmed that Wolfryth is the one threatening us.”