The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (23 page)

Waiting as patiently as he could, the king sat and stared
into space, thoughts of all manner of horrors filling his mind. The
sky outside was still dark, though it would not be long until
sunrise now. He swigged from the glass again and the strong liquid
caught in his throat before a burning warmth spread down to his
stomach. As he stood to refill the glass again, the door to his
chambers burst open and a young soldier strode in.

“
Your Grace!” he saluted.

“
What news have you?” Arwell asked.

The soldier shook his head. “I regret there is
nothing
good
to report, Your Grace. A gatekeeper has been found
severely
injured on the east
side of the city. He’s had his throat slit and is unconscious,
though he does appear, by some
miracle,
to still be alive, even if it is just
barely. The gate he guarded leading onto the plains was wide open.”
The soldier looked apprehensive.

“
What else?” Arwell beckoned. “By the look on your face I know
there is more. Out with it man!”

“
We’ve also found the remains of several creatures
nearby. They appear to be helspawn of some kind. Captain Tiberius
says they are of a breed he has never
seen
before. They are larger and look much more
ferocious.”

“
More
ferocious?” the king spat. “We’re talking
of
helspawn
here man! They
already
look ferocious!”

The
guard shook his head. “Yes Your Grace. As I say, I am relaying only
what Captain Tiberius has told me.

“
Where is Tiberius now?” the king asked.

“
He
is surveying the rest of the city as we speak, but it appears that
your daughter may no longer be in Rina.”

The king exhaled heavily. “Gods
damn
you wizard!” he
growled. “This is not what was planned!”

“
Your Grace, with your permission I will prepare a
search party immediately to scour the lands around the city.
We
will
find her.”

“
At once!” the king snapped. The man bowed and
turned to go. “
Wait!
” Arwell ordered suddenly. “No. No, you must not prepare a
search party. You must do nothing of the like.”

The soldier looked puzzled. “
No
, Your Majesty?”

Arwell nodded and closed his eyes a moment. “We
must
not
look for her.”

“
Your Grace, do I
understand
you correctly? You wish for us to
stop
our
search?”

“
Boy
, there is nothing more I would like than to rouse every
damned soldier in this city – every man with eyes and order them to
look over every blade of grass to find my daughter. I would leave
this very instant myself and come with you if I went with my heart.
But I cannot allow my fear and selfish instinct to overcome what I
know is to be the course of action that must be taken. If we start
looking for her, we might lead more of those creatures straight to
her.” He took another gulp of his drink.

“
Your Grace, I think I am missing something here. I do not
understand your reason? The princess is gone! Kidnapped,
perhaps!”

“
My daughter must not be found. Not by us,
or
anyone
else. And she is not kidnapped. She is with Thadius and the
wizard, the man who was here these past days. They
will
take care of
her.”

“
Your Grace, as I understood it, the ambassador
from Mahalia was dragged before you in chains not two days ago! How
can you
trust
this man?”

“
I
trust Thadius and he assured me he trusts the wizard, even if I
don’t.”

“
But… where are they going?” the soldier continued to
ask.

“
Somewhere I cannot disclose.” He nodded. “She will come home
when all this is done. In the meantime, we must defend the
city.”

“
When all is done? Your Grace, what are we to defend Rina
against?” He scratched his head. “My pardon, but I am deeply
confused.”

“
Things more deadly than
your
young mind can imagine,” the king said
bluntly.

“
But
Your Grace-”

“
Do you intend to make it a
habit
of questioning the words of
your
king
?” Arwell barked.

The
soldier stepped back. “No. Of course not, Your Grace. My
apologies.”

The
king waved him away. “Tell Tiberius to come back and speak with me.
We must fortify Rina.”

The
man took one last look at his king in stunned silence, before
bowing again.

“
Of course, Your Grace. By your
leave
.”

King
Arwell watched the man go and then, with a cry of despair, he threw
the glass to the floor. It shattered to pieces and with a thud he
sank back into his chair and stared at the floor.

“
Be
safe my daughter,” he whispered. “And when your work is done, come
back to me.”

It
took the rest of the night walking for the three travellers to
reach the nearest village to Rina. Emalin Noire was a small town
with a small population. The sheep in the outlying fields
outnumbered the people inside the village by three to one, and the
small number of quaint houses the people lived in, built of grey
stone with thatched roofs and window boxes full of flowers, were
spaced out around a cobbled square, through which a steadily
flowing stream ran its length: an offshoot from the river Iden that
flowed onwards to the fields, spilling off into irrigation ditches
dug along its length. Colourful, painted wooden shutters were
closed to ward off the night breeze, the windows having not glass
but a diamond latticework of bound canes which did little to stop
the cold.

Matthias, Josephine and Thadius moved through the quiet town
square. It was still early, dawn having just broken the darkness,
and a grey haze still hung across the town. No - one was around and
Josephine cupped her hands into the cold, clear water and drank
gratefully. Her throat was as dry and scratchy as a briar patch.
She could have plunged her head into the stream.

“
Thirsty?” Matthias asked, standing over her, a rakish grin on
his face.

Josephine stopped a moment, nodded silently, and then drank
some more. The water kept spilling between her fingers before she
could drink a good handful. Matthias chuckled.

“
I
probably wouldn’t drink too much of that water, if I were you,” he
continued.

“
Why?” The princess spluttered, dipping her hands in to the
water again.

“
We’re downstream from Rina and this water comes from the
river on the outskirts of your city.”

“
And why is
that
a problem?” she asked tersely, between
sips.

“
Where do you think your
sewage
is dumped?”

Josephine stopped mid - gulp and her face paled
over.

“
It’s fine princess,” Thadius interrupted. “The water is
filtered further upstream. Continue drinking if you wish.”
Josephine gave Matthias a scolding stare, and continued.

“
In that case, I think we could do with filling
these.” the wizard knelt by Josephine’s side, and began dipping two
canisters in the water. “I didn’t have any time to prepare them
before we left Rina.” When they were full, he strapped them around
his waist. “How exactly
do
you filter the water?” Matthias asked.

“
After
all
that has happened to us overnight, you are
interested in our plumbing and
drainage
solutions?” Thadius
retorted.

Matthias shrugged. “Perhaps another time. Are you alright?”
Matthias asked, watching the knight as he scanned the
village.

“
Just looking for trouble,” Thadius said sombrely.

“
You’ve been here before?” Matthias asked.

“
I
have,” Thadius replied. “Many years ago I served on guard duty
here. I haven’t returned since. There is not much to write home
about. Any newcomers to the village and the news will be spread
around in minutes.”

“
Then perhaps we should keep moving,” Matthias
replied.

“
I will be dead from
exhaustion
first!” Josephine exclaimed. “I need to
rest!”

“
There’s an inn, the
Grey Fox
, just down there,” Thadius pointed. “We
should be able to get some food and a drink. I for one could do
with something.”

Matthias nodded hesitantly. “Alright. But we won’t stay for
long. And before we go in, we might have to do something about your
appearance.”

“
What do you mean?” Josephine asked.

“
You’re the heir to the throne of Aralia. I’m sure that your
father’s loyal subjects would know the face of his daughter if she
were to arrive in their presence, especially this close to Rina and
in such a small village. And as for the way you speak. It is
very...”

“
Yes?” She growled, her eyes narrowing.

“
Very…
majestic
. It might help our efforts if you were to speak
more like your countrymen.”

“
And
how exactly is that?” she scoffed.

“
Well… you know. A bit more…
common
.”

“
Common?
” The princess hissed.

“
Yes,” Matthias continued. “A bit like Thadius!” he jerked a
thumb at the soldier.

“
Watch yourself, wizard,” Thadius warned, and waved
his pipe at Matthias. “I would show a little more respect to my
charge. And to me as
well
, if you value your legs. I have little patience
for you after last night.”

“
You
know
what I mean,” he said. “It’s important you heed my
advice in this matter. Don’t enunciate in quite the same way. Just
try to blend in!”

As Matthias stared into Josephine’s enraged eyes,
there was a flickering moment in their recesses of hurt. He sighed,
as he felt a pang of guilt lower his heart. “Princess, I know this
is difficult for you, and this isn’t what you are used to. But I
need you to understand I'm not asking you to do this for my own
benefit, or putting you through any of this for some kind of
personal pleasure. I’m trying to protect you. You
do
know that, don’t
you?”

“
You
claim
honourable principles,” she said, her lips
trembling. “But I cannot help but believe you enjoy this. I do not
know anything about you! You are a stranger from a foreign land who
has
dragged
me away from my home, and since we have left you have
failed to address me in the manner to which I am entitled. I
am
still
the princess. Whether I am in the city or not and you are
under my father’s orders to care for and respect me! I am heir to
the throne of Aralia!”

“
Yes you are,” Matthias said. “Your face is well
known for being one of the most dazzlingly beautiful in all of the
western nations. You are the ‘Jewel of the West’, a woman any
prospective lord would be lucky to wed.
Look
at you,” he continued, gesturing to
Josephine. “Beneath that cloak you still wear the clothes of
royalty, and above it your hair shines golden and your eyes dazzle
with the beauty of a future queen. It is a beauty that will get
you
killed
if you are recognized. Beyond the safety of the palace
walls, not all people look
up
to royalty. And those that do would bow to your feet as
soon as they laid eyes on you.”

Josephine swallowed. “What would you have me do?” she asked.
‘Am I supposed to shed my skin like a snake until I fit a guise
that will satisfy your tastes? I cannot change who I am, Matthias
Greenwald!”

Matthias smiled gently. “With time,
anyone
can change. All I
would ask is that you heed my advice and disguise your beauty, at
least a little, until we are safe again.”

Josephine looked to Thadius. “You agree with him?” she asked.
Reluctantly, Thadius nodded.

“
He speaks sense, Your Highness. As much as I wish
he did not, I think you
should
disguise yourself in some manner if it will keep
you safe, which I believe it will. Emalin Noire has enough
gossiping
housewives
to spread the news of your presence far and
wide.”