Valley of the Ancients: Book Three of the Restoration Series (17 page)

Atock and Enton waited in the shadow of the last warehouse. It was an old stone building that looked like a decent puff of wind would blow it over.

Heather stopped next to them and looked around. "Seen anything? Any guards?"

"I can see one now." Enton said. He stared hard off into the distance.

Tensing up, Heather followed the direction of his gaze but it still took a moment or two for her to locate the guard in the shadows of one of the other library buildings.

"What's he doing?" Heather asked, squinting hard to make the man out. He appeared to be sitting down with his back against the wall. His legs stretched out in front of him and his head rested against a wooden barrel. "Is he asleep?" she asked surprised. From everything she had been told, the security around this library was supposed to be the best. So far she had not been impressed.

Before they answered, Atock and Enton shared another look.

"Something is definitely not right," Atock answered. "This place has always been overrun with guards and I've never seen one of them asleep."

Heather considered for a moment and then sighed. "Doesn't matter. Lead on. If something happens, Atock I want you to guard Dagan with your life. Enton, you watch Cassandra." Atock scowled but Enton broke out in a grin.

"With pleasure," Enton said, still smiling.

Men!
Heather thought. Here they were perhaps about to walk into a trap and Enton was thinking with his little head. "Go on," she said with a shake of her head.

The two men trotted off across the street and Heather led the rest after them. All the while they expected a shout to stop, the sound of running soldiers, or even the sounds of arrows flying around them, but they ran unchallenged.

They crossed the street and moved into the shops and inns of the city. They traveled for nearl fard.her ledy twenty minutes just to make sure no one was following them, and finally they headed back to their rooms.

They arrived just as the sun was coming up and they silently entered the inn. They really didn't want the other guests to know when they arrived.

Heather collapsed to her bed, sure that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Within moments of closing her eyes, she was sound asleep.

Heather woke the next morning to a soft but incessant knocking on the door. Mikela sat up quickly and rubbed her eyes. It hadn't taken long for Heather to kick Enton across the hall to share a bedroom with Aaron.

Pausing only long enough to remove her belt knife from its sheath, Heather quietly approached the door. Gripping the knife with her left hand, she unlatched the door and opened it a crack. Her whole body slumped as Atock peered through the opening.

"Everything okay?" Heather asked, fearful that something may have gone wrong.

"Not sure," Atock answered. "Dagan ordered me to gather everyone up." He grimaced at the words and Heather knew how he felt. None of them liked taking orders from the old man.

"He didn't say what it was about?" Heather asked.

Atock shook his head. "Not the first hint."

Heather nodded, "All right. Give us a few minutes and we'll meet you in Cassandra's room." Atock nodded and started to step away but Heather caught him. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost mid-day," Atock replied and then he was gone.

Less than ten minutes later Heather and Mikela knocked on Cassandra's door, opened it, and slipped in.

The room was large, one of the largest at the small inn. It was normally reserved for wealthy merchants but both Dagan and Cassandra had insisted on having one of the rooms. Heather hoped their carefree manner with money wouldn't draw too many eyes.

The room had two chairs and a small table near the door. A fireplace was set into the wall and was currently unlit. Two windows looked out over the inn's small courtyard and then farther out into the city. It was not a grandiose room by any means, but for this small inn it was rather nice.

Dagan sat in one of the chairs next to the table with the stolen prophecy resting in front of him. He was strumming his fingers on the edge of the table in a most impatient manner. Enton sat in the other chair next to one of the windows and Atock was standing next to the second window watching the courtyard beneath. Cassandra sat on the edge of the bed and she too looked impatient. The only one missing was Aaron.

"Where's Aaron?" Heather asked before she was even completely in the room.

"He's visiting some of the shops near the library," Atock said, momentarily turning from the window. "Just making sure they haven't discovered the theft yet."

"Good thinking," Heather said. It was a good idea and probably something that she should have arranged. This being in charge thing was rather overwhelming. She didn't know how Flare handled it as well as he did. Thinking of Flare brought up feelings fes, ants butof sadness and worry. She missed him but there was something new as well; fear. She had thought that she had known Flare but now she wasn't so sure.

"Well, come in and close the door." Dagan said, his grumpiness showing through.

Heather ground her teeth. She was tired and still feeling the affects of last night's thieving. It was very possible that she might explode on the old man at any moment. Saying nothing, Heather closed the door behind her and then moved over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Mikela and Cassandra. "All right," she said in her most calm voice. "What is it?"

Dagan sighed, suddenly looking awfully weary. "I have spent the whole night reading this prophecy," he tapped the folded up papers as he spoke. "In some areas, it agrees with the standard Kelcer prophecy that we all know." There were several sharp intakes of breath, but Dagan continued as if he hadn't heard them. "But in other areas it does not."

They stared at him blankly, not sure if this was a good thing or not.

"The common tongue Kelcer says many things about the prophesied one. But one of the first things is that he will wield Ossendar. Do you remember what comes after that?" Dagan asked, looking at each of them in turn.

After a brief pause Cassandra answered, "Yes, but it never really made any sense to me. Something about being covered in darkness but glowing like the sun."

Heather gave the magician a respectful glance. She had heard the prophecy before but she didn't remember any of this.

"Not exactly," Dagan said shaking his head. "The common tongue translation says that the one to come will have a halo of fire."

"And what does that mean?" Cassandra asked.

"Nothing. It's a horrible translation." Dagan answered calmly. "The original Kelcer prophecy says the one to come will be helmeted with Golden Fire."

"Okay," Heather said slowly. "Still sounds like rubbish to me."

Dagan gave her a sorrowful smile. "In antiquity, the golden helmet called Ashteroth was also known as Golden Fire. It was last worn by a prince of the faerum in the Third War of the Races." He sighed, "It was in that war that helmets made of bronze or gold got a nasty reputation. People have had a rather superstitious view of them ever since."

Enton, Atock, and Mikela all looked confused by this pronouncement and Cassandra looked sick. Heather was also confused, she knew that she had heard that name before. "I think I've heard of Ashteroth before but I can't remember where."

"You heard about it from me, on the day I arrived in Eled Aminor." Dagan paused and sighed deeply, "And furthermore, you saw it in the treasure room last night."

The silence only lasted for several moments and then everyone started talking at once. Even though they were in one of the nicer rooms, it still wasn't all that big and the sound was deafening. Heather put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. The whistle was piercing and everyone stopped talking.

"Quiet!" Heather commanded into the sudden silence. She turned towards Dagan farou0">, the only one who had not been talking. "So are you telling me that one of the signs of Kelcer's destroyer is that he will wear that helmet in the treasure room?"

Dagan nodded, "And we have to steal it."

Heather's mouth dropped open, "What? We just stole the prophecy last night and now you want us to go right back in there?"

"We have to," Dagan answered calmly. "It's one of the signs."

No one answered him for several moments.

"Dagan," Heather finally said, "what happens if the helmet just stays there? Will Kelcer's prophecy be fulfilled or is it a requirement?"

Dagan smiled. "Prophecies are strange things and few can decipher them. Kelcer was quite insane but he seems to have been given a vision of something. His vision did not say that a person who carries Ossendar and wears the helmet would restore the Dragon Order. What he said was the person who restores the Dragon Order will carry Ossendar and wear the helmet." Blank looks greeted him and he sighed deeply again. "Kelcer did not say that the Dragon Order might be restored, but that it would be restored."

Heather opened her mouth to respond, but cut off as someone knocked on the door.

Atock and Enton moved quickly and quietly across the room and waited on either side of the door while Heather opened the door wide.

Aaron stood alone in the hallway.

"We're in serious trouble," he said quietly and then slipped in the doorway.

Heather glanced left and right down the empty hallway and then closed the door. "Explain," she said simply.

"Well, I was headed to the library," Aaron began, "I didn't plan on entering it but I wanted to make sure everything was normal."

"And?" Heather prompted when he paused.

"I couldn't get near the library. The buildings are surrounded by soldiers and they are searching everyone that gets near the place. I was stopped and searched twice in less than half an hour."

Heather turned her stare to Dagan, "Could they know we stole the prophecy?"

Dagan didn't answer her. He was staring at the far wall, his eyes had gone wide.

It was Cassandra that spoke. "Run!" she shouted, climbing to her feet and staggering towards the door. "They're here."

Heather most definitely wanted to ask who they were but she was having issues thinking. Her head felt heavy like after a night of drinking ale.

Enton had opened the door to the hallway and Heather stumbled through. She stopped in surprise. The hallway that had just been empty a moment ago was now completely full of soldiers. The nearest soldier to Heather raised a quarterstaff and brought it down on her head.

Heather fell to the ground hard, her head throbbing. Opening her eyes she could feel a warmth running down her face and somehow she knew she was bleeding. She looked up at the soldiers, just in time to see one pull back his foot to kick her. Luckily the blow knocked he fught">

Heather awoke to someone rubbing cool water on her face. The water was soothing, which was good since her head was throbbing. Her eyes blinked open and she realized it was Mikela who was washing her face.

Mikela smiled a worried smile at Heather, "Welcome back."

"Back?" Heather asked groggily as she forced herself up to a sitting position. "Where did I go?" Her hand moved up to rub her aching head.

"You've been unconscious for most of the day and that's a nasty cut you have." Mikela's eyes moved upwards and studied a spot on Heather's face. "I was getting worried."

Heather moved a hand up and felt the painful wound where her hair met her forehead. It was sore and swollen. She opened her mouth to speak but the sight of the bars in front of her completely drove all the other thoughts away.

She was sitting on an old and rather smelly cot. It was one of two in this cell. The cell had a back wall made of solid stone and the other three walls were iron bars that ran vertically from floor to ceiling. The cell was small, maybe ten feet by ten. To their left was another identical cell. Cassandra sat there watching them.

There was another cell to their right but it was empty. There were three more cells on the other side of a small walkway. The far left one contained Atock and Enton, Aaron was alone in the center cell, and Dagan was by himself in the last cell all the way to the right. They were all watching her.

"What happened?" she asked. Her mind was still felt foggy, but the rising panic was helping to wake her up.

"Magic." Mikela answered simply. She looked worried.

"Yes, some sort of sleeping spell." Cassandra said through the bars. She didn't get up, just spoke at them from her place on the bed. "I sensed it, but it was too late."

Heather nodded, remembering the heavy feeling that had settled on her just before she was knocked out. "Who caught us?"

"Obvious. Isn't it?" Dagan said quietly from his cell.

"Haven't you seen anyone?" Heather asked and Mikela shook her head.

As if on cue, the sound of a heavy bolt being drawn back caused them all to turn their attention to the wooden door that stood on the left end of the walkway. Heather hadn't noticed it before, but the door was solid wood, reinforced with iron straps. It would be hard to get through that door, even with an ax.

A man stepped through the door into the gloom of the prison cells. There wasn't much light as there were no windows and only four torches to light the whole area. It was hard to see the man who entered, but he moved to the center of the walkway where the light from the torches illuminated him. Well dressed and clean cut, he had the look of someone used to authority. He was tall and lean with a dark complexion. His short hair was black and curly and he surveyed them with a fierce determination.

"The King has been notified of this," he paused searching for the right word, "incident. He is most displeased. So displeased, in fact, that he is coming here himself."

"That doesn't sound good fdiv>t, ." Heather said, moving over to stand against the bars.

The stranger smiled. "No. It's not good. I have been ordered to leave you alone, but I think that's so the King can see the interrogation himself."

Heather's breath caught in her throat at that.
Torture!
she thought, her spirits sinking even lower.