Authors: Thomas Rath
No one could believe what they were hearing though Thane recognized the appeals that Bedler or Zadok had used to almost draw him in as well. “But, my lord,” Ranse continued trying, “what of Haykon and its annihilation? What of the people that were butchered at this Lord Bedler’s command?”
The king stifled a yawn with one hand. “A simple misunderstanding,” he replied, looking at his finger nails. “Had there been a competent leader,” he suddenly spat, his mood vacillating erratically, as he shot a withering look at Colonel Braxton, “Haykon would still stand instead of its refuse clogging the outskirts of my city with their filth!” The king sat back and let out a sigh once again seeming in control of himself. “But,” his voice was steady, “what is done is done. A sacrifice for the greater good. Their deaths will prove the catalyst to a better life for us all.”
Neither Dor nor Jack could stand to listen to anymore of the king’s insanity and apathy for his own as both moved as if intending to scramble up the stairs. Thane grabbed Dor’s arm holding him back and flashing a warning look. Jack, though more restrained, did take a step forward mounting two steps before finally realizing where he was and stopping.
“Dagan!” Jack shouted, his anger taking over completely. “You pompous piece of royal dung. You are not fit to rule this people. You never have been. You have allowed your indecent, amoral, decadence to cloud your mind with what pleasures you while your kingdom is being systematically torn down around you!”
King Dagan’s face was red with rage that someone should speak to him in such a way, but it took him a moment to find his voice as the shock had completely overwhelmed him. Rising from his throne, he descended a couple of steps toward Jack as if in an open threat of physical harm.
“How dare you speak to the king in such a manner! I will have your head as a toy for my hounds for such insolence! You forget yourself, man.”
“No,” Jack raged, moving up the steps himself now as if eager to clasp his flexing hands around the king’s neck. Ranse’s brothers recoiled in obvious fear as the women suddenly bolted for the sides of the hall screaming in terror. Colonel Braxton, still sworn to protect his king, grabbed Jack’s arm before he got too far up the steps but that didn’t stop the raging mountain man from continuing his verbal barrage. “You forget yourself! You are no longer fit to rule this people in carelessness and self indulgence. You are no longer worthy of such a responsibility or station. You must be removed.”
King Dagan retreated at Jack’s lunge and now stood behind his throne as if keeping it between him and Jack would protect him. Neither the man in brown robes nor the Waseeni boy moved but merely watched and listened in amusement as if witnessing the squabbling of two squirrels fighting over a nut. “And who do you think will remove me?” he hissed. “What army do you own that you can bring to bear against me and those loyal to their king?” he laughed.
Jack paused for a moment, the anger suddenly giving way to an inward struggle that made him appear as if struck physically ill by the king’s words. The sudden change in his demeanor seemed to give the king courage and he moved to the front of the throne once more.
“You see,” the king spat. “You are nothing, and you will die for your impudent words to one so much higher and greater than yourself!”
Jack’s face still revealed the struggle that was obviously tormenting him as he stood dumb before the ranting king. Thane moved up the stairs beside his friend, followed closely by Jne, and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. Jack turned to look at him and when their eyes met, the struggle suddenly seemed to dissipate into a decided victor. Turning back to the king, Jack reached into his shirt and pulled out a medallion that hung from a necklace around his neck. Teek recognized it immediately and reached for the one Twee had given him thinking that Jack must have taken it when he slept, but his was still tucked securely away in the pouch hidden in his loin cloth. It was identical to his.
“I have this,” Jack said finally, holding up the medallion. “I have the mark of the kings of old passed down from generation to generation as I received it from my father just as he had from his father. And in the face of your incompetence and ineptitude I, once again, declare myself the king and ruler of these lands reclaiming my birthright to do so as the lost king returning! I am Lord Kenden, rightful heir to the throne.”
All eyes focused on Jack as the room suddenly fell into hushed silence. Even the chattering sounds from the women stopped as everyone seemed to take a deep breath. Dagan’s eyes were riveted to the amulet in Jack’s hand as it swung slightly from side to side, his face suddenly draining in color to pale. The brown robed figure turned and stared at the Waseeni boy who returned his questioning gaze as if communicating their own wonder without words. Thane and Dor traded glances between each other and Tam with a mix of disbelief and wonder while Domis and Teek beamed with pride at the privilege of being attached to someone whose importance had just exploded in size. Ranse looked at his father and then back at Jack and the medallion he held, recognizing the symbol but uncertain whether to believe what Jack had just claimed. Jne seemed unaffected by the revelation and merely watched with a slight grin, waiting to see what would happen next, clearly hoping it would include a fight.
Braxton released his hold on Jack’s arm and took a step back, a strange look of relief and joy mixed in his countenance as he bent his knee and suddenly knelt before his old friend. “Upon my life…” he started.
Dagan took a step toward them. “What are you doing?” he said almost in a whisper.
“…I again pledge my service, my land…”
“Stop what you are doing,” Dagan squealed. “He is not the king. He’s a fraud.”
“…my posterity, and my sword, to uphold and protect your name and person…”
Dagan’s protests suddenly became a rage. “Stop what you are doing! Stop it this instant! He is not the king! I am the king! I am the one!”
“…though it require my very life to lay down in your defense…”
“STOP!”
“…I will give it and count myself blessed in the process. I am your man today and forever.” The colonel finished his oath and then stood, a broad smile filling his face. “Welcome back, my Lord Kenden.”
At the speaking of that name there was an audible gasp in the room. “It can’t be,” Dagan breathed. “Kenden died with his wife and child when the trolls attacked them.”
Jack leveled his gaze on the once king. “Not so, Dagan. Only my wife was killed. My son was captured and I have searched for him these many years. I left the crown for good that day and if it weren’t for your complete inability to think of anyone else but yourself, I would have remained as I was. But you forced me out, and I will not easily forgive you for it.”
Dagan’s face suddenly became twisted in hate and rage. “You’re supposed to be dead! I am king because you died with your son. I am the rightful king, I…” Dagan never finished his thought but instead suddenly fell in a crumpled heap down the steps where he landed face up, his death mask eternally carved into a stupor of incomprehension.
Everything seemed to happen at once as the brown cloaked figure dropped the slightly beating heart he’d ripped from Dagan’s chest and then shot with incredible speed toward Jack, his clawed fingers intent on repeating their gruesome work. But Colonel Braxton, having seen him take Dagan from behind, was already at Jack’s side, pushing him away as the robed figure bore down on them. Jack tripped on the stairs and went down as Braxton took the claws directly into his own chest. Only the chain mail he wore beneath his tunic saved his life though the force of the attacked sent him flying.
Jace pulled a dagger from his boot while Jne and Thane jumped on the brown robbed assailant struggling to hold him down. Thane wrapped an arm around his throat in an attempt to subdue him and felt an almost instant connection between himself and the man. But he was no man. Just as understanding was forming itself in his mind, Thane and Jne were catapulted back with more force than ten men could have mustered. But it was too late. Thane knew the truth.
He landed hard on the marble floor knocking the wind from his lungs and temporarily stealing his voice with it. Amazingly, Jne landed on her feet, as if part feline and crouched in defense, though the look on her face betrayed the amazement she felt at having been so easily dislodged.
Jack tried to regain his feet as Tam and Dor rushed to help Thane. Meanwhile, Jace pulled another dagger that had been hidden on his person and tossed it to Ranse. Dagan’s other sons sat in their chairs, unable to move as their screams mixed with those coming from the gaggle of women who were now running about pell-mell as if unable to form the complete thought that would direct them to one of the exiting doors.
Jace let fly his dagger, its force enough to have easily penetrated the man’s robes and pierce his heart but to his amazement, the blade merely bounced off and fell with a clang to the floor.
Teek and Domis were quickly at Jack’s side, pulling him to his feet and trying to get him to one of the exits when the brown robed figure rose to his full height and then continued to grow in size. Thane watched from where he had landed, his brain knowing what was going to happen but his voice still unable to communicate it as he struggled to refill his lungs with oxygen. The others watched in horror as the brown robed figure grew larger, the fabric of his clothing expanding around his body, as if another skin, before hardening into small sections. No longer was a man standing before them but a scaled creature that continued to expand in size and bulk.
It was then that Thane was finally able to work his diaphragm enough to shout to the others, “Get out! It’s a dragon!”
Teek looked to the Waseeni boy still watching from the dais and called out to him. “Hurry! Come with us, now!”
The boy looked at the growing, brown figure, his eyes locked on its transforming shape with a look that could almost be described as envy before he suddenly leaped down the stairs toward Teek and the others as they ran for the pillars and the door beyond. The dragon was now at full size, its terrible girth filling much of the room as it roared a terrible sound that shattered the glass domed ceiling and rained deadly shards down upon those still in the center of the room. Dagan’s oldest son’s screams were cut short as a large piece of glass sliced his neck, cutting his vocal cords, and almost completely severing his head. His brother escaped immediate death, receiving a slight gash on his arm but was not spared as the brown dragon bore down on him. He opened his mouth to scream but the dragon fear gripped his heart, stealing his voice and releasing his bowels. The prince was frozen like a bird caught in the hypnotic gaze of a great serpent waiting to be eaten. But it didn’t eat him, instead it released its terrible breath in a stream of liquid decay that hit the prince directly in the chest and almost instantly decomposed him into a mass of rotted flesh that dropped into a rancid pile.
Turning quickly, the dragon expelled another load of liquid breath at the fleeing companions just missing Jne as she ducked behind the nearest pillar. The rock immediately began to age and then started crumbling away, unable to hold against the dragon’s exhalation. The deteriorated pillar, no longer able to sustain its top heavy weight, dropped under its own mass and then toppled to the side where it cracked the pillar next to it before crashing to the ground creating a huge divot in the marble floor.
Not looking back, Jne jumped for the open door where Thane stood calling for her, the others having already raced through and down the hallway. The dragon’s roar filled the great hall and was quickly followed by another stream of decaying breath that shot through the open door where Thane and Jne had just been and sprayed against the opposite wall where it immediately decayed the stone revealing the room beyond.
Thane feared the dragon would use its breath to continue to rot away the walls in an attempt to capture its escaping quarry or bring the whole castle down around them in a heap but after the last discharge of corrosive breath, the dragon seemed to stop. As they raced further down the hall and around the many corners and through the countless rooms, the rumblings from the dragon ceased. Thane didn’t stop to wonder why, though he felt that it still didn’t bode well for them. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on catching the others, hoping they had followed the same route out as they had used coming in. Using the power of the TehChao Tane he knew he could at least get them to the same door they used on entry.
Making a final turn, he discovered the door from which they had entered, and to his relief, saw the others there catching their breath, waiting for them. “What now?” Ranse asked, directing his question to Jack.
“The dragon does not seem to be following,” Thane offered, “though I can’t be certain. It’s too big to walk through the hallways but that is not to say it hasn’t returned to its HuMan form.”
“We are compromised,” Jack added, “that is for certain.”
“But whether it follows as man or beast,” Braxton inserted, “we need to sound the alarm and get the people out of the city.”
“But what if it attacks while we are in the open?” Dor asked.
“Then better to die fighting and with honor,” Jne said.
“I agree with Jne,” Tam added, “but with what can one fight such a thing? Only Jace seems to have any weapons, and a couple of daggers will not help.” Jne smiled at the Chufa woman as if suddenly gaining a greater level of respect for her.
“Well, we can’t stay here and argue the issue,” Jack said. “We need to act now and start moving people out of the city. Whether the dragon attacks or not, Bedler’s army certainly will, no matter what Dagan thought.” Jack looked at Ranse with his last comment to gauge the once prince’s reaction but saw nothing there but determination.
“Wess’ men!” Ranse suddenly added. “I had forgotten them. We need to get them out.”
Jack paused for a moment to think. This was unraveling faster than he’d hoped though with Dagan dead they might at least still have a chance at getting most of the people, including what army was left, out of the city. “All right,” he finally said. “You and Jace go to the dungeons and release Wess’ men and anyone else you find down there. See if you can’t gather supplies and weaponry as you go, especially long bows and quivers, and meet us at the west gate. Spread the word as you go and keep your sight to the skies. The rest of us will take to the streets from here and see what we might do to rouse the rest of the city. It won’t be easy to convince people to go so a visit by that dragon may not be a bad thing after all.”
“But where are we going?” the young Waseeni boy asked.
Jack regarded him for a moment surprised at his mixture of emotions. Though happy that Teek was no longer alone, there was something that gnawed at him about the boy that he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around. He had, after all, been at Dagan’s side in the throne room, a strange position for someone so young and who didn’t fall under the king’s rule. “What is your name?”
“Tryg,” the boy answered, his tone sounded almost challenging.
“Well, Tryg,” Jack said, forcing a smile, “We will make our stand at Bedler’s Keep.”
Tryg looked as if he might say more, but Jack quickly cut him off. “Now let’s move. It will take all the time we have just to get the women and children out of the city.”
Jack moved as if to open the door and Ranse and Jace were turning back to the castle’s hallways when Jne stopped them. “Wait. You must save those who can fight first.”
Jack gave her a stern look. “What?”
“You must alert and gather all that can fight first. You cannot waste time on those too young, too old, or too weak. We cannot waste supplies and time coddling the helpless or we all suffer and perish for it.”
Thane was shocked by Jne’s words, as were most of the others, but then their logic suddenly pierced him. It was a cruel thought indeed, but the time to act had almost passed them and sacrifices would be necessary if they had any hope of survival. Jack seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same moment, but he could tell the taste was bitter indeed for his old friend to stomach.
“She is right,” Jack whispered. “We must first gather our army.”
Jne nodded, her demeanor not revealing any sorrow or regret with what she’d said. She was a warrior, and warriors were well accustomed to the tragedies and terrors of war. It did not mean she relished the idea of innocents being slaughtered; she was not so calloused as that. But she understood that some things were necessary when it involved assuring the lives of the greater number of people—in this case, possibly multiple races—no matter how horrid the costs.
“But we will deny no one the chance at life,” Jack added. “All who are willing will be allowed to come and we fight to the end to protect them.”
Jne just nodded, as did all the others, though their faces reflected the horror of the situation.
Ranse turned to go, motioning to Jace as he did so, but the large bodyguard stopped and turned back to Jne. Reaching into his boot, the weapons master produced another long blade that he tossed to the Tjal woman. “You might need this,” he said, and then smiled.
Jne deftly caught the blade by the hilt and smiled back, nodding her appreciation as Jace turned and followed after the once prince. Thane watched the whole exchange and suddenly felt a slight pain in his chest that quickly turned into anxiety. It surprised him and he instantly recognized the feeling as being the same he’d felt when Dor and Tam were together. Jne looked at him quizzically but he quickly brushed past her as Jack called all to prepare to leave.
“We don’t know what we will face when we go through this door, but when we reach the outside, immediately fan out and sprint for any cover available. Once we know we are clear, we will then make our way back to the city.” Everyone nodded, steeling themselves for what lay ahead. Jack did not wait long before pushing open the door and leading them out.