The Terror of Thorn: Child of War: Book 2 (17 page)

              “I cannot let you harm our King, there are rules to warfare and you simply do not kill the ruler of another nation” Brendan said as he pulled out his sword.

              “Janus betrayed my father Erik the Red to the Queen of Rangel. He was killed by this so called Patriot who lusted for power. Many of you know this to be true, my father conceived me with a witch, a woman who did not deserve the death she got. I am also married to the future Queen of Rangel, a woman Janus tried to have killed as this war began. If you want to pretend to be justified, then justify that.” Xander said as he got closer to King Janus.

              “Your majesty, this fight should be between the two of you. I will not be the person to shed royal blood. Gentlemen of that nature do not tend to last long, custom dictates you take his challenge” Brendan said as he sheathed his sword and stepped aside.

              “You’re nothing more than a coward” Duke Bodders said as he drew his weapon and stood in Xander’s path.

              Xander grabbed his sword by the blade, which on closer inspection was obviously ceremonial as no real swordsman would ever dream of fighting with such a weapon and yanked it out of his grip before delivering a thunderous punch with his gauntleted hand knocking the man out cold.

              “How do you expect to escape after trying to take my life?” Janus said as he grabbed his sword and held it out in front of him.

“I care nothing about a retreat; all I want here is your life” Xander said as he held his sword at the ready.

              Janus stopped moving and took a defensive stance. Xander raised his gauntlet and lfed his aura into it, making a stream of almost white colored flame straight into the face of Janus. As Janus tried to scream and began frantically patting his face, Xander grabbed a hold of one of his arms and using the power the armor gave him, ripped it off at the socket. Janus hit the ground as Xander tossed his arm aside.

“My vengeance is just, if there is any among you who still has allegiances to this man as he lay dying, grab your sword and let’s end this.” Xander said as he looked the other men in their eyes.

“You have some nerve” Brendan said as he walked around the table. “Are we to assume you are here on the behalf of the Rangelians, or are you here to claim the throne?”

The question took Xander by surprise. The Throne was by all rights Samantha’s but what if he took the throne? He could have his own country and be free from Rangel, free from Aubrey but is that what he really wanted? Why couldn’t he be in charge and Aubrey could live her life the way she wanted him to, smiling and making babies. Xander knew down deep he really did love Aubrey and now he could have his cake and eat it too.

“How long can we hold out against the Rangelians?” Xander said as he began to weight his options.

“The witches are tougher than we thought your Majesty” General McWilliams said apparently not willing to end up like his former monarch. “I see no way to end this fight by killing them, the only way I could see is by attrition, we could hold out for months but if the enemy commits all of their troops it looks like Rangel would close the show. Their army was split in two fighting Ingland as well as us, but apparently that part of their army got Ingland to submit. Apparently the Inglish are locked in their own civil war and Rangel was too much to handle. That army will arrive at our doorstop in a week’s time along with, if rumors are to be true, a member of the royal family, possibly your wife.”

“What of the merchant Javik?” Xander asked remembering his first mission.

“He is being treated well but is in poor health. I can’t imagine him lasting longer than a couple of months.” The Earl of Glou said.

“The plan for him was to put his daughter on the throne as a descendant to Erik the Red. She was to marry the High Witch’s son Patrick, a fearsome warrior to be on the wrong side of. Javik’s daughter Samantha has begun to covet the throne and would not hesitate to let Rangel take over as long as she can be Queen, even if as a puppet ruler. The only hope I can see right now rests with my wife.”

“Your Majesty” Brendan began, “she should be happy you have seized the throne, she could call off this whole invasion thing and leave us with our heads intact.”

“My wife would only be happy with me back in Rangel, she would likely kill all men of note and leave their wives or daughters in charge. I could not guarantee your safety.” Xander said as he thought about Aubrey’s mean streak.

“My lord, the soldiers in the castle have either been captured or killed” Joveon said as he and the men Xander assaulted the castle with started filing in the throne room. “Do ya wont me to take care of this lot for ya?”

“That will be alright Joveon” said Xander as he went back to thinking about how to end the war.

Xander explained the situation to his new men and why they may need to keep Patrick away a little while longer. What he needed though was a plan to reach Aubrey.

“Your Majesty” Joveon began, “What about the men you sent to Rangel when you wanted to meet up with their army, can you still teleport over there?

Xander smiled as he pulled his piece of cloth from out of his armor and laid it down flat. In a few moments Xander sat in a carriage with Aubrey.

CHAPTER 28

“Xander thank the Gods!” Aubrey said as she pulled him in close. This time Xander held her too and gave her a kiss as sensuous as he could muster.

“I see you must have really missed me” Aubrey said as her tears began to fall.

“I have, where are we?” Xander said as he stopped his embrace.

“We are a day or so outside of the capital of Thorn, I thought you were captured, I came here for your release.” Aubrey said as she stroked Xander’s hair.

“I had hoped you made it safely back to Rangel, I had no time to fight your attacker” Xander said as he remembered the ambush he and Aubrey had survived.

“I fought him off until the Palace Guard could subdue him, they had infiltrated all throughout that outpost. But none of that matters, the only thing that matters is that you are here with me now.”

“I have kept Patrick and the Samantha woman safe, and I have raised a small army, I can bring them to you now” Xander said as he remembered his other allies.

“The man that was found with the cloth you enchanted told us all about some of your adventures and told us you would be here as soon as you could. I have also heard the High Witch has been on a particular nasty streak when she found out her son was in harm’s way, she knows I am in route and she should be reaching our position along with General Anaya briefly with a full update on the war.” Aubrey said as she leaned in to give Xander another kiss. “Come, let’s tell everyone the Royal Consort is alive!” Aubrey said as she stood up and opened the door of her carriage. As soon as Aubrey opened the door Xander could hear someone call a halt to the march.

“Tell everyone we are making camp right here” Aubrey said as she talked to the guardsman. “The High General along with the High Witch can meet me right here, we go no further.”

“Your highness, the High General along with the High Witch arrived moments ago, I can tell them you want to meet now if you want” Xander heard someone reply.

“That will be fine, set up something as nice as can be, perhaps the tables we took from that Inn a ways back. We are going to have a feast!” Aubrey said as she closed her carriage door.

Xander stayed in the carriage with Aubrey until it was time to make their appearance. Aubrey had brought Xander nicer clothes but after their last attack, relented and let him to continue to wear his armor.

The High Witch saw Xander and seemed a little relieved, though she would never admit to needing something from someone else, Xander knew she would become more visibly relaxed once she saw her son.

“My lady would you like for me to fetch Patrick?” Xander asked trying to judge her attitude.

“That would be appropriate given we have much to discuss concerning the upcoming siege.” Elizabeth said trying not to show her hand.

Xander drew a teleportation circle and appeared back at his camp. After relaying to Patrick what the High Witch wanted, He along with Samantha traveled back to the Rangelian camp. Xander told Priscilla it would be disastrous if she were to join them, Aubrey was known to be jealous and he could not guarantee her safety. Xander gathered Patrick and Samantha and transported back to the camp.

“Enchanter, yours along with the Champions presence is required at the war table.” General Anaya began as she wondered what information they had. “Although you are men, it is likely you have seen some weaknesses that can be exploited.”

Xander, Patrick and Samantha followed Anaya to a table that was headed by Aubrey. After Xander sat down, their meeting began.

“Here is where we are at in this war, the merchant Javik was taken prisoner along with all of his men and supplies according to the Royal Consort” Anaya began. “That means we have a well-fortified enemy who can hold out for quite some time. Our preliminary attacks have been met with overwhelming force, resulting in our side taking the majority of the casualties. If we send everyone at once we may be able to take the capital but at a terrible loss of men.”

“Men are expendable, what is a couple of lives lost to the greater cause?” The High Witch said.

“We would likely not have enough people remaining to protect our Queendom and Thorn if we were to apply such an action” Anaya replied.

“Is this including the men who are loyal to my father who would likely flock to my side?” Samantha asked.

“Right now they are a wild card, I do not know the hearts of Thornian men.” Anaya replied.

“Well Xander told me he has been able to build a small army, could they help in the siege?” Aubrey asked her advisors.

“How exactly were you able to build this army enchanter, the men I spoke with said they were from the southern part of the nation and never heard of Javik or Samantha.” The High Witch asked.

“They follow me because I am the son of Erik the Red and his spitting image.” Xander began before finishing “They know I would not let anything bad happen to them like my father before me. They follow me because I would lead them to victory against an unbeatable foe.”

“You’re the son of Erik the Red? Preposterous!” General Anaya said before Patrick spoke up.

“My lady” Patrick began “Is it really all that preposterous that a Red Haired Child of War who happened to be an enchanter and whose mother was taken captive by the conqueror himself is the off spring from such a man?”

“How long have you known this?” Aubrey said as she looked at Xander.

“Since I was very young, my mother told me all about my heritage and why I should keep it secret.”

“Proof that your mother was an even bigger failure than I ever imagined” the High Witch said. “Just think of it, the men thought you, the Royal Bed Warmer was some kind of great warrior that could lead them to victory! They even thought this King Janus an unbeatable foe!”

“They are correct, I would lead them to freedom under the tyranny under Javik.” Xander said as he put a smile on his face.

“And how will you do that?” Anaya asked.

“By joining up with the Thornian army, getting access to the castle and killing him and avenging my mother who did not deserve her death and my father who was betrayed.”

“And how exactly would you do this my love?” Aubrey said as she tried to calm the group down.

“I do not have to try your Highness, it has already been done” Xander began. “His body is cooling in the Thornian throne room as we speak if it hasn’t been disposed of.”

“Why didn’t you say this to start off with, let’s put Samantha on the throne!” Patrick said excitedly.

“It wouldn’t work” Xander said as he unrolled his summoning circle cloth and put it on the ground by his feet.

“Well that was the reason for this whole thing in the first place, let’s get to rebuilding this new Queendom” the high witch said.

“It wouldn’t work because they already have a new leader” Xander said relishing the fact they were in the dark.

“And who would that be?” asked General Anaya.

“That would be me” Xander said as he let his words sink in. “You will also turn this little army around and return to Rangel. You can tell Queen Celeste if she wishes an audience she can send me a missive through official channels.”

“Xander are you insane, even if we believed you, what would stop us from taking over this country” Aubrey said as she stood up.

“I have something that Celeste wouldn’t dream of harming” Xander said as he stood up and grabbed Aubrey. “I have the Aubrey, Royal heir to the Crown of Rangel.” Xander said as he teleported Aubrey away.

CHAPTER 29

“Your majesty, we had wondered when you would return” Brendan began. “The people are demanding to see your face; your appearance gives them hope.”

“Xander where have you brought me!” Aubrey said as she pushed Xander away.

“I am assuming this lovely lady is your wife, shall we get your rooms ready?” asked Brendan motioning to Aubrey.

“This is my bride, future Queen of Rangel and currently Queen of Thorn.” Xander said inwardly laughing at being an equal with Aubrey. “No, she can stay and hear what we have to say, if she gets a little too excited, perhaps we should have a bed ready for her, just in case.”