Hope (4 page)

Lanclor forgot his exhaustion for the moment as her excitement filled him. All of the death, all of the cruelty he saw every day; all was pushed to the back of his mind as he watched Mikael enjoy the time with his adopted daughter. Mikael glanced his way and gave him a curt nod.

"I’ll provide any help I can, but we’re short on knights as it is." Lanclor walked over and took the reins from the groom. "Keep me informed of any new developments. I’ll keep in touch. Be safe, Guardsman Mikael."

"Be safe, Sir Lanclor."

Lanclor envied Mikael’s distraction from work, but distractions were something Lanclor couldn’t afford and his wings drooped not just from the added weight of the rain as he led his horse from the courtyard toward the castle.

The afternoon mealtime had passed and Lanclor found himself leaning against the wall behind Guardsman Mikael in Royal Guard-Commander Warren's workroom. He knew Mikael took pride in his job, but he bordered on breaking regulations with his black hair falling an inch below the back of his helmet.

"Sir Warren, I'm here to report on last night's activities."

"Yes, Mikael. Please take a seat. I have to go over things with Sir Lanclor, so please try to make it quick if possible."

"Yes, Sir. We investigated a murder last night, which looks to be another incident of a Changed man. He had been missing for a couple of days when his wife found him in a field. He tried to kill her last night, but somehow fell and struck his head. The blow snapped his neck. That makes ten this month alone."

Warren rose from his chair. "I fear this is becoming an epidemic. That’s why I’ve asked Sir Lanclor to meet with me to discuss it."

"Is there something he can do about it?" Mikael clenched his hands behind his back, out of sight of his commanding officer.

Lanclor sensed his frustration and remained silent.

"I'm afraid he’ll have to do something." Warren nodded to Lanclor. "The knights are more capable of handling situations that involve dark magic. You know as well as I do that most of the Guardsmen aren’t adept at magic." The Guard-Commander shuffled through some papers signaling an end to that line of discussion.

"I know, Sir, but can't we try to learn more—"

"Enough, Mikael. We’ve already had this conversation three times. You might be a skilled magic user, but the rest of the Royal Guard is not." Guard-Commander Warren sighed then continued in a level voice. "The Guard is here to protect the people from themselves. We’ll handle the thieves, rapists and murderers, and the Knighthood will have to handle any of the evil magic behind it. That's just how it is and how it will always be."

"Yes, Sir." Mikael appeared to have a hard time reining in his frustration.

Lanclor had heard him mention how tradition had a tendency of getting in the way of investigations. Mikael and some other members of the Royal Guard were capable of investigating a magic-related crime. However, with something of this magnitude, the Knighthood should deal with it.

Mikael sighed in resignation and finished his report, relaxing his hands and assuming the detached posture of a Royal Guardsman. Lanclor’s mind kept wandering back to the words of the widow.

Hareld was always a gentle soul.

Lanclor knew people could change, just not overnight.

A firm knock sounded upon Kathryn’s door. "Come in."

"My name is Elena. I’ve been assigned to clean your chamber." She was a short woman in her twenties with thinning hair and a generous smile.

"Hi, my name’s Kathryn. It's nice to meet you, Elena." Kathryn wasn’t sure if she should leave or just hover in the background. She really just wanted to talk. "Do you mind if I stay while you clean? I haven’t had another woman to talk to for a while now."

"I don’t mind at all. I can work and easily hold a conversation." Elena stripped the bed.

"How is it that you can speak our language? It doesn’t appear to be the chosen one on this world."

"My mother was from Earth. She taught me when I was young."

Someone else had been to this world and yet back home there was no talk of this alternate world. "Your mother was from Earth? How’s that possible? Did she ever find a way back? Well, obviously not, or you probably wouldn’t be here. Sorry, I’m just surprised." Perhaps people mentioned this alternate world and others dismissed it. Just another headline on the news far behind the latest murder or political scandal. "What part of Earth is she from?"

"Chicago. She told me the story so many times. She was cleaning her sink in the kitchen of her apartment when she blacked out. When she awoke in the middle of the market square, a bunch of Av’lorians gathered around her. A man who spoke English, which is considered an ancient language here, approached her and tried to comfort her." Elena smiled as she tucked the ends of the clean sheet under the mattress. "She was terrified and didn’t believe what was happening, but she learned to live with what happened after cycles of searching for a way back."

It seems like kitchens are a popular starting point.

"The man who befriended her that day became her husband—my father. She often told me of life back on Earth." She smoothed the fresh sheet and spread clean blankets over the bed. "She told stories of how crime was spreading across her world and I think she was eventually glad to have come to Av’lor. Only when I became an adult did she share that she had been married with a child back on Earth."

Elena smoothed the blanket and moved toward the tub. "She missed them dearly, but said she never regretted re-marrying and having me. They both died last cycle during an attack on our village."

"I’m sorry to hear that." Kathryn couldn't imagine losing both of her parents. One was hard enough.

"They’ll be missed." Elena smiled at her and sank to her knees to wipe the tub.

"Elena, what is Av’lor? Is it the afterlife?"

Elena smiled and shook her head. "No. Av’lor is a world parallel to Earth, or at least that’s how my mother explained it to me. I didn’t really understand what she meant. From the histories, the dragons brought a bunch of humans here from Earth to fight their battles."

"What the hell is that?" Kathryn hopped onto the bed, pointing at a creature the size of a rat sitting next to the door. It cleaned its red pointed ears and four eyes with a scaly paw. A long tail with some type of whisker on the end moved back and forth as if watching for danger.

"Oh, it's just a mouse." Elena tried to hide her smile without much success.

"No, that is some type of lizard-bug thing. A mouse is cute and furry." She wasn’t getting off the bed with that thing in there.

Elena laughed. "My mother used to have a fit about the animals here too. I never understood that. Mice are great. They keep the bugs out of your room. It's the cats that you have to worry about. Disgusting things."

"Cats? What do
they
look like?"

"Similar to the mouse, but blue and about twice the size. They have six eyes instead of four and stubby tails."

"That doesn't sound too bad. Do they kill the mice?"

"Yeah, they kill the mice. Then when you're sleeping, they gnaw on your toes. My brother lost two toes to a cat when we were growing up."

Kathryn cringed, hugging her knees to her chest. She snuggled her feet beneath the blanket.

"I enjoyed talking to you, Kathryn. I’m all done with your room now. I’ll come every week to change your linens and do some general cleaning. We can continue our talks then."

"I’ll look forward to them. Nice meeting you, Elena." The mouse ran under the tub as Elena approached the door.

"You as well, Kathryn. Be safe." Elena left the room. Kathryn just shook her head, regretting the large glass of water she had for lunch. She imagined the mouse just waiting for her foot to touch the floor.

Kathryn awoke in a cold sweat and with a feeling of dread. She could still remember the waking dream with the sound of the knights’ wings and their cries as they fell toward the lake. She’d had the same one for the past week, but it seemed like tonight’s held a sense of urgency. It always ended in the golden knight’s fall. She struggled with herself about telling someone about it.

Tonight’s version convinced her otherwise. Nobody would care if it was a dream, but if it were a possible future, she would be a fool not to tell someone. She lifted the covers and drew her legs over the edge of the bed. With a deep breath, her bare feet hit the cold floor and she hurried over to her clothes. After she dressed against the chill of the night, she opened the door into the outer room. Rielle’s head swung toward the sound, her hand going for her sword.

"I need to speak with Sir Lanclor."

"It’s the middle of the night. Go back to sleep," Rielle said in an insulting tone, turning back to her book.

What a bitch.

Kathryn's feeling of dread from the dream turned into anger at Rielle's unending scorn. "I need to speak with him
now
, Rielle,"

Rielle’s head whipped around. "Okay, but if he gets angry, I’m not going to take the brunt of it." She rose, straightened her sword, and led Kathryn through the hall toward Sir Lanclor’s private chambers. They reached his room after a long walk and Rielle knocked against the heavy wooden door.

There was a gruff reply from the other side of the door and Rielle opened it in response. Sir Lanclor sat at a desk below a bright light globe with a large map in his hands. A helmet covered his head, but his armor sat on the table across the room to her left. He must have put the helmet on just before they came in—some type of secret identity rule. Sir Lanclor’s black shirt with three buttons undone did nothing to hide his broad chest. His sparse chest hair just visible beneath his thick neck drew Kathryn’s eyes. Just admiring the natives.

"What’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?" His gruff question pulled her attention to his frowning eyes.

Such a charming guy.

"Kathryn insisted on speaking with you. She wouldn’t take no for an answer." Rielle answered in a neutral voice.

Sir Lanclor’s eyebrows raised a fraction. "Well? What is it?"

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. "I’ve been having recurring dreams over the past week. I felt the need to tell you what I saw after tonight’s dream."

"Go on," he said without pause.

"I saw a group of twenty knights in diamond formation with you at the lead and Sir Garrent in the rear. There was a golden knight in the middle among the brown and gray knights. You were flying over a forest with a river running through the middle. The river ended in a waterfall over cliffs to a lake below. I was then looking at you from below, standing on the cliff beside the waterfall and saw you pass overhead. Black shapes flew up from the trees and attacked from the rear." She hoped this was real or they’d probably lock her up. "The battle ended with the golden knight covered in blood and falling toward the lake."

Both Rielle and Sir Lanclor stared at her, unspeaking.

She wasn’t sure what else to say. "I know it could just be a dream, but it was just so
detailed
. I felt like I had to tell someone. Since you were leading the knights in the dream, I thought you were the logical choice." Kathryn couldn’t tell what expression passed across Sir Lanclor’s face, since his helmet showed her only his eyes.

"Thank you for telling me. I’ll think on it. Good night." He looked down at his paperwork and ignored them.

His abrupt dismissal hurried them from the room. "Well, that was a little disturbing," Rielle said as she walked
with
Kathryn back to the room. "Did you have Sights on Earth as well?"