The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory (11 page)

Of
course, he was not royalty. He was third-class royalty at best, her parents’
distant cousin. Yet that didn't stop him from feeling otherwise. She had never
met anyone who had felt more entitled.

She
flushed with rage. How dare he show up here, of all places, of all times? He had
marched up here and had assumed he could just have an audience with her
whenever he wanted, and could speak in such casual terms—as if refusing to
acknowledge her new post now. His very presence, so brazen, unannounced, was
offensive to her.

"What
are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"I
tagged along with half of King's Court,” he said. “To be with you.”

"I
doubt that very much,” she said, seeing through his lies. “You came to save
your life.”

Alton
shrugged.

"Perhaps
I had a duality of purpose. True, Gareth is unhinged, and King’s Court is vulnerable.
You could say I was tempted by a certain form of self-preservation."

He smiled
and took a step forward.

"But
I also came for you,” he said. “To give you another chance.”

Gwen snorted,
outraged by his arrogance.

“To
give
me
another chance?" she echoed.
"Do you not recognize the lunacy of your words? You can recognize madness
in Gareth—but not in yourself?”

Alton
shrugged, undeterred.

"The
past is the past," he said. "I forgive you your mistakes. But we both
know that whatever happened between us does not apply now. Circumstances have
changed. Here you are—a queen without a king, a ruler without a court. Every queen
needs a king. Rulers find strength in pairs. Do you really think you can run
this great city, rule all these armies by yourself?”

Gwen
shook her head. She could not believe how pathetic he was.

"I
suppose that you fancy yourself to be the one to come to my rescue, to be my
partner to rule?" she asked, mockingly.

"Who
else?" he answered proudly, his smile widening. "You and I have known
each other since we could walk. We are both royalty. The masses love us both.”

Gwen
laughed again.

"Do
they?" she asked. "I had no idea that the masses loved you. In fact,
I had no idea that they even knew who you were.”

It was
Alton's turn to flush with embarrassment.

Before
he could open his mouth again, Gwen held up a hand. She’d had enough. She
didn't have time to waste for this. She had more pressing matters to deal with.

"I
don't want to hear another word,” she said. “I'm not interested in you. I have never
been. And I'm certainly not ruling anything with you—not that I think you're
capable of ruling anything. Not even yourself. Not to mention, I am committed
to Thor, and he to me. So you can leave now.”

Alton
laughed, a short, mocking laugh.

"Is
that it?” he asked. “Is that what’s standing between us? Thor? You can't be
serious about him. He has abandoned you, on that foolish little quest of his.
He's deep in the Empire by now, and we both know there is no possibility of return.”

He
stepped closer, pleading.

“Admit
it, Gwen. You know the truth. You know that he is gone. That he is never coming
back. That he has left you alone. So, you see, now there is nothing left
between us. Now it is time for us to marry. If not me, then who else? You will
be left alone in this world. Don’t be scared. You can admit your true
affections for me.”

Gwen
seethed.

“I'm
only going to say this once," she said slowly. "Listen closely this
time, because this is the last time you will ever hear these words. I have no love
for you. I don't want to see your face. I don't want to hear your voice. If you
come before me again unannounced, I will have you arrested. Now leave me.”

With
that, Gwen turned her back on him, and took two steps forward, looking back out
over the parapets, surveying the Canyon. Her heart was pounding inside, and she
prayed that this time he would get the message, would leave, and that she would
never see his face again. She was shaking with anger at his presumptuousness,
and she didn't want to do anything rash.

Gwen did
not hear his footsteps retreating. She was about to turn and look, when
suddenly, she felt a strong hand covering her mouth, and another reaching
around and grabbing her by the chest. Alton held her tight, even as she
struggled, and he was surprisingly strong for a thin and bony boy. He took
several steps forward with her, leaning her forward over the edge of the
parapet.

Gwen's
heart plummeted, as she looked straight down at the fall, and realized how
close she was to being pushed over the edge.

"Do
you see that drop before you?” Alton cried. “Do you see what I can do? Admit
your love for me. Admit it! If you do not, I will—"

Gwen
suddenly remembered all that her father's fighters had taught her. She remembered
that she wore boots with wooden heels, and she raised a foot high, and stomped
down swiftly on Alton’s toe.

He
screamed out like a girl, losing his grip, and she freed one arm, pulled it
forward, and then elbowed him in the solar plexus.

He gasped,
and knelt down, wheezing.

Then
he looked up at her, death in his eyes, and stood, preparing to charge again.

Gwen
reached for the dagger in her belt, prepared to draw it.

But Alton
suddenly screamed out and dropped to his knees.

Gwen
saw Steffen standing there, and realized he had just punched Alton hard in the
small of his back. Steffen grabbed Alton by his hair, pulled his head back to
the sky, pulled a dagger from his waist, and held it firmly to Alton's throat.

"Give
me word, my lady," Steffen said, "and this piece of trash will be
gone from the annals of the MacGils.”

"Please,
please!" Alton whimpered. "Please don't do this! I didn't mean it. I
just wanted to be with you!”

Alton
looked pathetic, kneeling there, whimpering, begging for mercy.

"I
should have him cut your throat right now," Gwendolyn seethed, still
reeling from being pushed over the edge like that. It scared her to think of
how close she had come.

"Please!"
Alton pleaded. "You can’t kill me! I am royalty after all! It is forbidden
for you to touch me!”

There
was a sudden commotion and several men burst onto the roof. Srog led the way,
along with Kolk, Brom and several members of the Silver. They all ran up to
her, and several soldiers grabbed Alton roughly, yanking him to his feet and
holding him in place.

"My
lady," Srog said, breathing hard, looking embarrassed, "please accept
my most humble apologies. Somehow this boy slipped past the guards. He told
them he was royalty, that he was related to you.”

Gwen
was still shaking from the encounter, but she dared not show it.

"I
thank you for your concern," she said, trying to use her queenly voice, trying
to step into the role they expected of her. "But I am fine. He is but a
foolish boy, and Steffen was here to help.”

Srog
nodded gratefully to Steffen.

"Silesian
law demands that any person who lays a hand on a king or queen must be put to
death,” Srog said.

"NO!"
Alton screamed, weeping like a child. "Please! You can’t!”

Gwen
looked down at him, shaking her head. As pathetic as he was, she couldn't stand
the thought of killing him—even if he deserved it.

"My
lord," Gwen replied to Srog, "I am new here, so I ask a favor. This
one time, I would ask to bend your law. In this one case I do not wish to have
him killed. I would rather some lesser form of judgment.”

"As
you will, my lady," he said. "What did you have in mind?”

Gwen
thought, trying to devise a way to rid Alton from her life for good.

"Well,
seeing as this boy claims he is royalty, let's give him the royal right of
fighting with the soldiers. Give Alton armor and weapons, and send him out in
the field with the common troops to fight on the front lines.”

"No,
my lady!" Alton screamed. "I am not a fighter!”

"Then
you shall learn to be one,” Gwen said. “Maybe you can take your martial skills
out on our enemy, instead of on a defenseless girl. Take him away," Gwendolyn
ordered.

The
guards rushed to do her bidding, dragging Alton away as he screamed in protest
the entire way.

"A
wise decision my lady," Srog said in admiration.

"My
lady, onto more important matters," Brom stepped forward. "We are
receiving reports of the mobilization of Andronicus' army. It is hard to
separate truth from rumor. But if most reports be true, we may not have as much
time to prepare as we think. We must make our final preparations and lock down
this city immediately.”

"This
city was built with an outer layer of defense,” Srog added, “built for times
like this. We can seal up our outer gates as well—but once we do, they cannot
be opened. No one can come in or out.”

Gwen
thought; she knew they needed to prepare, but she wasn't ready to seal the city
just yet.

"My
brother Kendrick is still out there," she said. "And so is Thorgrin
and the other brave Legion members. I don't want to seal the city until they've
had a chance to arrive.”

"Yes,
my lady," Srog said.

Gwendolyn
hoped beyond hope that Thor could return before they sealed the city gates; yet
she knew, with a pang of sadness, that that would likely be impossible. She
hated the idea of shutting him out.

"My
lady, there is one more matter," Srog added, clearing his throat,
hesitating. "This city was built with escape tunnels, deep beneath the surface.
If we are in dire circumstances, there is a way for a few of us to get out. For
you
to get out. If we are completely
surrounded, and our fortifications give way, Andronicus will destroy us all. We
can get you to safety. Beyond the walls. Far from here.”

Gwendolyn
was touched by the offer, but slowly, she shook her head.

"I'm
deeply grateful," she said, "but I would never abandon any of you. Or
this city. You have taken me in. I will treat it as my home. If Silesia goes
down, we will all go down together. There will be no escape. Not for me.”

The men
all looked at her with a new look, and she could see the respect in their eyes.
For the first time, she was beginning to feel like a ruler. A true ruler. This
was what it meant to rule, she felt. To lead by example.

Gwendolyn
turned and looked out over the Canyon, at the swirling mists, lit up by the
setting sun, and she thought once again, of Thor.

Please Thor
, she willed.
Come home to me.

Thor
followed the boy closely, the others beside him, as they all finally emerged
from the thick foliage of the jungle, the second sun long in the sky. It had
been an arduous hike back up from the bottom of the crater, where the mudslide
had taken them. It had felt as if they would never stop sliding, Thor and the
others completely covered in mud as they slid hundreds of feet into a huge mud
pit. They’d had to fight their way back up to the top, and it had taken too
long.

Now it
was almost dark, the boy more anxious than ever, constantly watching the sky,
and the boy seemed immensely relieved as they entered the large clearing in the
jungle, the first that Thor had seen. For a while he had been sure that they’d
never surface from that mud pit—and that they’d never get out of this jungle.

Thor was
surprised to see the large clearing before them, perhaps a hundred feet in each
direction, and in the center of it, a small cottage. Smoke rose from its
chimney, which Thor could understand, since the temperature had plummeted over
the last hour, as night began to fall. It was startling to see this cottage
here, a dwelling in the midst of such a vast wilderness, bordered by trees that
reached into the sky. Thor and the others exchanged a look of wonder. Who could
live here, Thor wondered, in this lone house in the midst of this wilderness?
It was so unexpected.

"My
grandpa doesn't take to most people,” the boy said, turning to them. “Wait
here, let me speak to him. Hopefully we'll catch him in a good mood and he’ll
let you stay the night here.”

"Thanks,”
Thor said, “but we don't need to stay the night here—"

Before
he could finish speaking, the boy was gone, entering his grandpa's house.

As
they sky grew darker, strange night birds began to make all sorts of noises. Thor
leaned back and looked up at the towering trees, reaching into the sky; they
climbed so high, he could barely even see the top, and he felt overwhelmed by
the immensity of nature here.

There
came a sudden shouting from inside the cottage, and Thor looked at the others,
shifting uncomfortably, and wondered what to do. On the one hand, he did not want
to stay the night here—he wanted to keep moving. Yet he also wanted to meet
this old man and find out if he knew anything about the Sword before moving on.