Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor (6 page)

I doubt Sir Baylor will even talk to me once he realizes that Tav isn’t coming
, Twitch thought.

All through the ride, he kept second-guessing himself. Once he even stopped and considered turning back, but something deep within kept driving him forward.

Bli seemed excited at first to be out with Twitch, but as they neared the base of Mount Resolute, the paytha began to flit nervously from shoulder to shoulder. At one point the little claws grabbed so tightly that Twitch had to stop. “It’s all right, Bli,” he told the paytha in a soothing voice. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

That helped until they reached the base of Mount Resolute, where Twitch tied Kobalt to a tree. He tried to make Bli stay with the horse, but the paytha wouldn’t leave his shoulder. Finally Twitch gave in and let Bli ride on his back as he climbed once again to the clearing atop the mountain.

Twitch reached the crest and walked into the clearing, feeling vaguely unsettled. He looked about for Sir Baylor, but all that moved
were tree branches stirred by the cool evening breeze, so he sat down on a large rock and waited. Bli scurried down his arm, then jumped to the ground to forage for insects. Twitch watched the paytha for a long while, then finally decided he must have missed Tav’s uncle.

As he prepared to leave the clearing, the setting sun captured his attention. The gentle breeze dissipated as if to give the glowing orb center stage for the day’s finale. Streams of sunlight seemed to beckon across the sky, and Twitch wished he could follow. For some reason his heart ached. Sir Edmund’s passionate plea to be serious about serving the Prince and Sir Baylor’s call for Tav to take up a mission of purpose had stirred his soul, and he could not remain still. He slid from the rock and fell to his knees.

“My Prince …,” Twitch began, but Bli scampered over and leaped up onto his chest, chortling in a low angry tone. Twitch gently pushed the creature back to the ground, but Bli dug his little claws through Twitch’s tunic and into his skin.

“Hey!” Twitch shouted. Normally this would have sent Bli cowering to a corner someplace, but not this time. The paytha scurried right up his chest and over his shoulder, then latched onto his back.

“Bli, get down.” Twitch reached over his head for the paytha, but the sharp claws dug in deeper. Twitch squeezed Bli just enough to let him know he was serious. Bli responded by biting Twitch’s thumb.

“Ouch!” Twitch yanked his hand away. Blood was trickling down his hand. “What is wrong with you?” he said angrily.

Bli’s chortles became low growls. “Get down!” Twitch ordered again, but Bli just growled more loudly.

Now Twitch was getting nervous, fully expecting the animal to chomp into his unprotected neck. He reached back again, and this time the paytha didn’t even wait for Twitch to grab him before biting the fleshy skin between his thumb and finger. One of the paytha’s hands reached around and sank sharp claws into Twitch’s right cheek. Twitch reached with his other hand and grabbed the creature by the back. As he yanked it away, Twitch felt the paytha’s claws rip small pieces of flesh from his shoulder, back, neck, and cheek. At that point, the creature turned into a snarling, wild-eyed beast.

“Bli!” Twitch shouted, trying to bring the animal to its senses, but it bit and clawed at Twitch’s hands until he was bleeding from a dozen places. Twitch finally threw the animal away from him and drew his long knife. Bli hit the ground and immediately turned back toward Twitch. It snarled as it flicked its tail from side to side, apparently looking for the right moment to attack. Twitch stood up, and that seemed to cause the paytha to hesitate. Then it froze, perked up its ears, and scurried off into the woods.

Twitch was breathing hard, and his heart was racing. He took a moment to catch his breath, watching and waiting for another attack from the paytha, but it did not come. Finally he sheathed his knife and dabbed his bleeding wounds on his tunic, wondering what had happened. The only other time the paytha had ever growled was once when Sir Edmund came near to talk at the haven.

Rattled by Bli’s sudden vicious behavior, Twitch took a deep breath and turned to leave, but the beauty of the sunset once again captured his attention. His mind took some time to clear, but he felt better with each passing moment. Strangely, it felt good to have his shoulders free from the weight of the paytha, and his mind finally seemed at peace without the animal’s constant chortling. He felt … free, and his thoughts turned once more to the Prince. He knelt down.

“I haven’t much to offer, my Prince, for I am unskilled, ill-equipped, and unworthy.” Twitch opened his hands and spread his arms out before him. “Yet I offer myself to You. If there is something more to following You, then show me and I will see. Command me and I will obey. Lead me and I will follow. If my feeble life can be used by You, I give it. I am Yours, my King and my Prince.”

Twitch bowed his head. He had never dared speak such words before, for he knew such an oath demanded pursuit, but this moment and place had caused his heart to spill out. It felt good … and a little strange. Twitch shuddered with the sense that a curtain had been drawn open behind him … a curtain hiding another world.

Overwhelmed by the thought, Twitch ducked his head and glanced to the right—just in time to see Sir Baylor lunge straight at him with shoulder lowered.

Twitch tried to stand, but Baylor hit him square in the chest, and they careened to the ground, rolling perilously close to the ridge that fell off far below the clearing. Twitch gasped, his lungs collapsing from the force of the blow, as Baylor scrambled to his feet and drew his sword.

Twitch reached for his chest with his left hand and his sword with his right. His response seemed like slow motion compared to Baylor’s. His confusion mounted as Baylor turned his back to him. The mighty knight assumed a two-handed hanging guard stance, facing something Twitch had only imagined in his nightmares.

Just beyond Baylor stood a massive dark warrior, who growled and cursed as he recovered his sword from a vertical cut that had split the ground where Twitch had just been kneeling. The warrior unleashed a volley of cuts and slices toward Baylor. Their swords collided in brilliant, ear-piercing clashes.

Twitch instinctively backed away on his elbows, still trying desperately to regain his air. The grip on his lungs finally released, and he drew a shaky breath.

Twitch rose up to one knee as he saw Baylor catch a slice with his sword and quickly counter with one of his own that caught the dark warrior off guard. The warrior cursed and stepped back, and Baylor capitalized on this slight advantage. He feigned a thrust but then quickly changed to a powerful two-handed slice that blasted into his enemy’s shoulder. Thrown off balance, the warrior stumbled toward the ridge. Baylor advanced with a thrust, and the warrior lost his footing. He screamed and grasped for the edge of the ridge as he tumbled over. Baylor then turned to engage another massive warrior who had come at him from behind.

“Move, kid!” Twitch heard a different voice scream from his right. He turned just in time to glimpse another grisly blade arcing toward him.

Twitch’s stomach rose to his throat. He dove forward, away from the deadly cut, and felt the tip of the blade slice through the back of his tunic, grazing his right shoulder. He hit the ground and rolled to his back again.

What is happening?
he wondered, fear filling his heart as yet another
dark warrior loomed over him. There was nothing Twitch could do to stop the inevitable. He closed his eyes and turned his head away as the glinting steel thundered down like a lightning bolt.

This time, the clang of metal on metal was so close to his head it hurt his ears. The scuffle of boots cast dirt and pine needles into his face. He looked up to see a knight maneuvering his sword so deftly that Twitch could hardly follow it. Slowly the warrior retreated as the knight advanced. Twitch once again crawled away from the fray and quickly regained his feet.

The clearing now vibrated with the intensity of battle. Two other knights had appeared from the woods to join Sir Baylor and his comrade. Each knight was engaged in a life-or-death duel with an evil warrior who seemed to defy Twitch’s perception of reality. The knights’ clothing was subdued, but each clearly bore the mark of the Prince. They seemed fearless. Each fought for his life and yet for something more.

These men fought not as individuals, but as a finely honed team. When one knight faltered, another deftly moved to protect his companion, then quickly reengaged his foe again. As a force of four, the knights formed an impenetrable wall of protection. Twitch finally drew his sword as well, but it seemed a paltry action when he realized just how inadequate his skills were in comparison.

“Kessler, Drake’s flank!” Twitch heard Sir Baylor command as he wounded an opponent, then ran to assist another knight. The one named Kessler moved with the speed of a panther to engage the warrior attacking the knight who had saved Twitch. After a few more moments of tenacious fighting, the dark warriors disengaged and retreated into the surrounding trees.

“Where did they come from?” the knight named Kessler asked as he and his comrades scanned the area for more threats. Sweat dripped from ringlets of black hair that hung around his handsome, dark-skinned face. He was the first to sheath his sword.

Sir Baylor just shook his head. With narrow eyes he continued his scan.

“Yes, what happened, Commander?” The one called Drake turned
to face Baylor. He was a large knight, nearly equal in size to the warriors they had just faced. His sandy hair and bright blue eyes did little to diminish the fierceness of his countenance. “You know as well as we that they don’t attack without a purpose.”

“You’re right, and I didn’t expect them here.” Baylor sheathed his sword and turned to face Twitch for the first time. “Where’s Gustav?”

Twitch was still stunned by what he’d just experienced. He shook his head as if to awaken from a bad dream. “He didn’t come, sir.”

The fourth knight abandoned his search at the perimeter of the clearing and walked toward the rest of the group, his sword and long knife still firmly in his grip. He walked past Twitch as if he wasn’t there and stood before Baylor.

“We delayed another day for nothing? And risked this exposure?” he asked Baylor. The intensity of battle still lingered in his brown eyes. A half-grown mustache and sparse goatee gave his youthful face a roguish appearance.

“Easy, Purcell,” Baylor said. “We lost nothing.”

“And gained nothing,” Drake added.

Kessler grinned. “You blokes needed to sharpen up a bit anyway.” He slapped Purcell on the shoulder as he walked to the ridge leading down from the mountain. “What’s next, Commander?”

Purcell sneered briefly at Kessler, then sighed and sheathed his sword. He spun his long knife about his palm before snapping it into its own sheath. “Shall we prepare to leave, sir?”

“It appears so.” Baylor shot a quick glance toward Twitch. “Rendezvous at the river. I’ll be there to join you shortly.”

The three knights saluted and began their descent down Mount Resolute. Baylor stared hard at Twitch, who was keenly aware that his cheek was convulsing again.

Baylor crossed his arms across his chest. “Why didn’t Gustav come with you … and why are you here?”

“I … I wanted to talk to you about—sir, what just happened?” Twitch rubbed his chest, wondering if he found it difficult to breathe because of what he’d just seen or because of Baylor’s impact on him.

“That was just a glimpse of the war I warned Gustav about.” Baylor looked from one side of the clearing to the other, then settled his eyes back on Twitch. “Why they attacked you is peculiar. Perhaps they thought you were Gustav.”

“I don’t understand,” Twitch said.

“You don’t have to.” Baylor walked to the edge of the ridge. “You’d best follow me down and be on your way.”

Twitch stayed close to Baylor. The first part of the descent was steep, but the grade became gradual enough for Twitch to walk beside Sir Baylor.

“Who were those warriors?” he finally mustered the courage to ask.

Baylor seemed to ignore the question, and Twitch didn’t dare ask twice. Somehow he felt guilty about the recent skirmish, as if it were somehow his fault.

They walked a few more paces.

“They were Shadow Warriors under the command of Lucius.” Baylor said it matter-of-factly, but chills ran up Twitch’s spine.

They came to another lesser ridge that led to their final descent. Baylor hesitated, briefly peering into the gathering dusk.

“Who are those knights who fought with you?” Twitch asked. “Who are you … really?”

Baylor looked over at Twitch.

“Look, son. You’ve already seen too much, and you shouldn’t even be here. These men—they are the tip of the Prince’s sword. Their commitment is total, their sacrifice is great, and their skills are unmatched. I’ve searched the kingdom over to find them. They put their lives on the line for the King and His Son every day, and sometimes …” Baylor turned away. When he turned back, his jaw was clenched and his eyes red. “Sometimes they fall. What I ask from them—what the Prince asks of them—is much, and I would give my life to protect them. Their secrecy is part of that protection.”

Twitch swallowed hard. Something stirred deep within him, something he had never felt before. For one brief moment of his life he had been witness to a whole new world of conflict and purpose. It was a
glimpse he couldn’t forget. It also told him that Sir Baylor was everything he seemed to be and more.

“I want to join you, sir.” Twitch could not stop the words if he’d tried. They had formed deep in his soul and spilled out before he could think them away. It was a defining moment, a moment that might thrust him into a whole new world about which he knew nothing—a world of battle!

Baylor halted and stared at Twitch; then a slight smile crossed his lips. His gaze softened as he put a hand on Twitch’s shoulder.

“Don’t take this wrong, son, but this unit isn’t something you join. My knights are carefully selected, and Gustav—”