The Black Robe (The Sword and the Spell) (12 page)

He didn’t know much about the king as, unlike Pellum, he had never visited Vorglave as a boy, but what his informants told him didn’t sound too promising. On his other side was a dark figure and his blood ran cold. He had heard rumours of a black magician but had hoped they were not true; now he knew they were. He cursed his luck which seemed to have deserted him and made his way down to where the Royal Guard were gathering.

Daun was not pleased, she had wanted to greet King Vorgret in person and welcome him to Alewinder as if he were part of her family, which she supposed he was. Instead her pretty maids had been replaced by four grim soldiers and the Royal Guard had turned out and now stood in neat rows as if they were about to parade at a royal review. The big difference between this and a review though was that the guards wore battle armour and were armed to the teeth. If she were in Vorgret’s shoes she would bring up his elite guard and make ready to counterattack. It was a stupid situation; the king was here to save Vinmore and if he decided to make a social visit to his sister-in-law on route to the border then that was his business and nothing to do with that scaremongering Swordmaster.

She turned angrily on Dilor the moment he appeared in the courtyard. “What is the meaning of this, Dilor? I’m only going to meet my brother-in-law, not start a war.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your Royal Guard are here to ensure that King Vorgret is duly honoured as befits his rank.”

Daun looked at the tall soldier suspiciously. “Why then are they dressed for battle and not in their ceremonials?”

“My apologies, Your Majesty, they are working soldiers and haven’t had time to dress for a parade.”

The queen looked unconvinced. “They are to remain in the city to form an honour guard for when the King enters. Do you understand Dilor? I don’t want them anywhere near me.”

“I regret that is not possible, Your Majesty. It’s my duty as Swordmaster to protect you so one troop will advance in front of you and the rest, except for a small personal guard who will accompany you in person, will remain within calling distance.”

“You would dare disobey me? Then I dismiss you from your duty forthwith.”

Dilor bowed. “I regret you are unable to do that, Your Majesty, without the signed approval of your lords and as half of your lords have found it prudent to retire to their estates you, Your Majesty, are stuck with me. Shall we proceed?”

Daun stamped her foot in anger and frustration but there was nothing she could do about it. Her father had given the lords the power to veto decisions which might adversely affect the safety of Alewinder or the royal household and whilst she had tried to remove the restriction, the lords of Vinmore held onto the power as if their lives depended on it. As there was nothing she could do about it she mounted her horse, snatched the reins out of the groom’s hands and set off at a trot leaving the Royal Guard to catch up with her.

The news of Vorgret’s imminent arrival must have already swept around the city as the wide streets were mostly deserted and what few people remained were hurrying to pack up market stalls and move themselves and their wares to a place of safety. The empty streets gave the queen easy access to the grand city gates, which hadn’t been closed in her lifetime, and the wide stone bridge over the deep moat. The first officer and his troop flooded out after her and then galloped down each side trying to form the protective barrier that their commander had ordered. Behind her the four guards assigned to accompany the Queen cantered into place whilst further back the remainder of the Royal Guard moved into lines, ready to charge the enemy if they were needed.

It wasn’t the smooth military manoeuvre designed to impress which the Swordmaster had hoped for, but at least he had all his men in position and ready to defend the Queen. He prayed to the Goddess that they wouldn’t be needed, but in his heart he knew they would. By the time he had everyone in place and had ridden to be at the Queen’s side she had pulled her horse to a stop a dozen paces in front of King Vorgret.

She gave Dilor an irritated scowl and took a few paces forward expecting Vorgret to do the same but he just sat there and stared at her. She had the uncomfortable feeling that he was undressing her to inspect the flesh beneath her rich robes. From the look on his face he wasn’t impressed with what he saw. Next to him her husband looked slightly peculiar, almost fuzzy with an expression on his face as if he was constipated or trying to say something but the words were stuck in his throat.

Daun was irritated by the inspection and took another pace forward. “Your Majesty, you are most welcome to Alewinder.”

Vorgret gave a mocking laugh and also pushed his horse forward a pace. “Good, because that’s just what I’ve come for.”

Daun looked confused and thought the king must have misunderstood her. “Your Majesty, I am pleased that you have found time to visit Alewinder, although I thought you might have done so after dealing with the problem on our southern border.

The king gave another laugh and took another pace forward. “There’s been a change of plan.” He clicked his fingers in Pellum’s direction and the prince jumped as if he had just been bitten by some stinging insect. “Tell her.”

Pellum stuttered and looked as if he was about to cry. “It’s true; he’s come to take our throne from us.”

Daun scowled in disbelief and turned her attention back to Vorgret. “You cannot mean that, brother-in-law.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Vorgret took another threatening pace forward with Pellum and Sadrin either side of him. “Don’t call me that, you incestuous bitch! Now I’ve seen you there can be no doubt about your paternity; you have our father’s eyes and his soft, flabby mouth. You’re nothing but an incestuous whore.”

Pellum shot forward making a grab for the sword that was no longer at his side. “Don’t you call her that, you bastard, she’s my wife!”

“She’s your bloody sister!” raged Vorgret, pulling his sword and hacking down into his brother’s neck in fury. Pellum’s head bounced to one side and his body slithered sideways across his horse spraying an arc of bright red blood over Daun’s exposed shoulder and white dress. She screamed in horror and jerked her horse back, away from Pellum’s corpse whilst the furious king waved his sword in her direction, screaming obscenities and reaching for her over Pellum’s body. He lunged forward with his bloodstained sword but missed his target by a finger length as Daun frantically pulled her horse aside.

Vorgret then waved his sword in the direction of his magician, his eyes wild and his face red with anger. “Kill the bitch!” Sadrin hesitated for a moment, not certain if the command was for him or the armed men behind. “Kill the bloody bitch!” screamed Vorgret again, pointing the sword directly at Sadrin. The magician raised his hand and pointed his outstretched fingers at the queen and released his spell.

The magician’s hesitation had been just long enough for Dilor to react and he jagged his spurs hard into his horse’s side and leaped in between his queen and the magician just as he released his power. In an instant the Swordmaster was gone, reduced to ashes and a dark smudge on the trampled grass. It was only an instant but it was long enough for his men to react. As one the first troop charged forward, drawing their curved swords and crashing into Vorgret and Sadrin and the front ranks of Essenland’s unprepared guards.

Neither Vorgret nor Sadrin were expecting the attack and both were driven backwards with Vorgret swinging his sword like a giant club and Sadrin cowering behind the protection of his master, too disorientated to call on his power to protect him. In a moment the Essenland troops responded and started pushing the attackers back, trampling Pellum’s body which had fallen from his horse into a bloody pulp along with anyone else who was unfortunate enough to fall beneath the hooves of their war horses. The thin line of the Royal Guard staggered under Essenland’s assault and would have broken if the remainder of their comrades hadn’t charged into the battle pushing them back over ground which had already been trampled bloody.

In the melee Vorgret and Sadrin had been dragged back to the safety of the rear ranks, both bloody but neither seriously harmed, allowing the rest of the army to engage. Vorgret’s army may have been poorly disciplined but they were well armed and eager for battle and the spoils which victory would bring them. They pushed forward bringing the Royal Guard’s charge to a halt and then pushed them back, step by bloody step.

Every man in the Royal Guard had seen Vorgret’s treachery and his magician use his power to incinerate their commander and every man wanted their revenge. They knew they were outnumbered almost ten to one but not one of them thought about running. Their commander had taught them that it was better to die beside your comrades on the battlefield than to be hunted down in the streets and die alone. The guards fought on until the last man was dragged from his horse and hacked to pieces giving Alewinder as much time to prepare for the onslaught as they could.

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CHAPTER SIX

Hide and Seek

Barrin spurred his mount forward, leaned precariously from the saddle and grabbed the reins of the queen’s terrified horse before it had the chance to rear and unseat its rider. The horse pawed the ground and snorted, throwing its head up and down in an effort to escape the smell of blood and burning flesh whilst on its back the Queen of Vinmore hung on as if her life depended on it, which of course it did. The first troop of the Royal Guard, a hundred heavily armed men mounted on huge war horses surged past them to engage the treacherous king and his magician and to fall from her horse now, where the two armies met, would mean instant death.

Using all of his strength and skill as a horseman Barrin hauled the horse out of the confusion and instantly the three other guards who rode with him closed around the queen’s horse, boxing her in and making sure that she wouldn’t fall. As one they turned around in a tight formation and galloped back towards Alewinder ignoring the queen’s orders to stop and fight. Daun may have been his queen but it was Swordmaster Dilor who had given him his orders to get her to safety at all cost and that was just what he was doing.

He glanced back over his shoulder and winced as the queen brought her riding whip down on the back of the guard riding at her side. The guard gave a startled yelp but didn’t move out of formation. Barrin thought it must have been Redruth but with his helmet jammed over his bright red hair it was impossible to tell. It didn’t matter anyway; the Queen was returning to Alewinder whether she liked it or not.

Barrin turned his attention back to the race for Alewinder’s gates just as the remainder of the Royal Guard charged past him to join the battle. The three hundred men, their swords drawn and ready to crash into the enemy, parted smoothly to let the Queen and their escort through and then seamlessly closed their ranks behind them. Barrin didn’t look back. He knew his comrades were going to their deaths and when he had time he would pray to the Goddess to be gentle with their souls, but for now he had just one thing on his mind; to get the Queen to safety somewhere where she wouldn’t be found.

It wasn’t going to be easy, and not just because the Queen was shrieking orders at the top of her voice and laying about her with her riding whip. The real problem was where was he going to hide her? There was no point taking her back to the palace, which would be the first place Vorgret would go once he was through the gates of Alewinder. He could organise the palace guard to defend her, but there was only a squad of them and the palace was open and sprawling and never built for defence. Apart from that Dilor, had been telling the people not to resist the invading army so a battle in the palace would undo all the good work his commander had done to protect them.

The other alternative was the Goddess’s temple. Again it was indefensible but it was sacred ground which offered sanctuary to those in need. Vorgret was the protector of the Enclave so surely he wouldn’t desecrate the temple by breaking into there and taking the Queen away by force? Barrin dismissed it as a possibility; he only knew Vorgret by reputation and his actions outside the city, but it seemed to him that the King wasn’t the sort of man to be deterred by desecrating a bit of sacred ground.

His one advantage was that Vorgret didn’t know the city and he did. He had been born in Alewinder and had wandered the streets with his friends all of his life. They had been into every alleyway and building and along every pathway and rooftop, and he knew of only one safe place which had never been discovered by his friends when they had searched for him.

As they clattered over the stone bridge and beneath the decorative archway of the main gates, he turned sharp left and then right towards the west of the city. The roads were deserted, the usual crowds who were about at that time of day, hiding in their homes and praying to the Goddess to be spared from the enemy outside their gates. It was a good thing too; as the roads became narrower and the buildings closer together, they had to string out in single file.

Barrin led the way with Redruth behind and then the Queen, still shouting for them to stop and return to the battle. Behind her came Tuckin, urging the Queen’s horse on with the flat of his blade every time she tried to slow it down. Lias was bringing up the rear, stone-faced and grieving the death of his uncle at the hands of the black magician. They spilled out into an empty square where a market would usually be taking place and galloped across the cobbles to the inn which stood on the far side, skidding to a sudden halt.

Before it had stopped Barrin was off his horse and pounding on the locked door shouting for the innkeeper. Behind him Redruth had pulled the queen from her horse and with the help of Tuckin were trying to quieten her and pin her flailing arms to her side. Barrin banged on the door again with both fists and when the door was opened a fraction he pushed passed the burly innkeeper and stepped inside. Redruth and Tuckin followed close behind almost carrying the struggling queen. The innkeeper recognised his son and his friends and dropped the club which he had brought with him from behind the bar. He replaced the locking bar in its holders before turning to glare at Barrin.