Dark Lord of Kismera: Knights of Kismera (3 page)

“Holy Shit!” Drace mumbled. The air around him seemed to pulse with something he couldn’t identify.
I’m losing my marbles for sure. That hit I took is worse than I thought if I’m having hallucinations…and that was a hell of a hallucination.

Vashti and Drace ate a quiet meal of cheese and flat oat bread. She then showed Drace a pool of water that she claimed was a fairy pool. They led the horses to it and let them drink, then returned them to the camp and retied them to graze. Drace added a couple pieces of wood to the fire then he and Vashti settled down in their blankets.

Drace had just tucked his hand under his head when Vashti touched his arm and put a finger to his lips. He eased up on an elbow. She pulled a small stone on a leather throng from her shirt and pulled his hand to it. It was warm, warmer than from just her body heat. Vashti twisted slightly and whispered softly, “To my left; do not speak.”

Drace moved a fraction and saw the glow of some animals’ eyes reflected from the firelight. They blinked then disappeared. He caught a glimpse of a large black feline body that was gone so fast he thought he might have imagined it. Goose bumps pebbled his skin as a cold chill shot down his spine.

Vashti continued in a whisper, “From the Clan. My Lady will know by morning I am here, and will be expecting us tomorrow.”

“You mean to tell me
that,
” he paused, “I think it was a panther, will tell someone we are coming?” he whispered back.

“Yes.” She looked him straight in the eye. “The stone on my necklace grows warm when something passes within the perimeter of the crystals. They have been watching for some time. The horses did not even seem to notice.”

“There was more than one of those?” Drace asked in disbelief. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck prickled.

“Yes, there was one other. If we do not arrive tomorrow, they will come looking for us. Go to sleep, my Lord. We are now perfectly safe.”

Drace lie back as she bade him, but lay awake for a long time, feeling nervous at the thought of large felines, possible man-eating for all he knew, wandering around in the dark close to him. Visions of being pounced on popped into his mind. Some time later he muttered grumpily under his breath where she couldn’t hear him, swearing and fuming, and then clearly he grumbled. “Quit calling me my Lord.”

D
AW
N FOUND DRACE flat on his back, dreaming of an extremely large panther talking to a woman, whose features he couldn’t clearly see. He got the impression she was beautiful, but it was like looking into a mist. Everything seemed vague as he walked towards her for a better look. Something buzzed his face and he tried to brush it away. He bumped his nose with the back of his hand and instantly came awake.

“Damn it all to hell!” he swore quietly and rolled up onto his knees. He cupped his nose with both hands, and gritted his teeth as pain radiated through his head. When the pain subsided, he sat back on his heels and ran his hands through his tangled hair.

The sound of water splashing made him look; he saw Pride stretched, having a leisurely piss. He became aware of the state of his own bladder and looked around for Vashti’s whereabouts. The fire was burning again with something that looked like a thick tortilla cooking on a flat rock on the fire’s edge.

Knowing she wouldn’t leave the fire for long, he decided she was allowing him a moment of privacy. He rose to his feet, went to Pride, and put the horse between himself and the camp. Between the two of them, he thought that spot was well watered.

He led his horse to the fairy pool for a drink, and to wash his hands and face. Kneeling by the pool, he saw his reflection for the first time. He leaned forward on his knees and gasped.
Whoa!
he thought. The bridge of his nose was swollen and bruised; both eyes were blackened; and a nasty bruise covered one cheekbone. There was dried blood in his tangled hair and he had a days’ worth of beard stubble. He looked like the victim of a car accident. “Wow, MacKinnon. You’re lookin’ good,” he quipped.

There was a fluttering noise by his ear, which he nonchalantly swatted, thinking it was a bee or a fly. Then a small voice exclaimed, “Oh!”

Drace jerked back in surprise, twisting around to find the source of the voice, one hand on the ground for balance.

The fairy flicked quickly out of sight behind some leaves of a small bush. Drace’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “No, no, I saw and heard you.” Drace used the voice he usually used for skittish horses.
Fairies… of course. I’ve already survived the panthers.
At least the fairy was cute, and he hoped, harmless.

She peeked out from her leaves, shaking her tiny head.

“Now come on. I won’t hurt you,” he crooned.

She shook her head again.

“Please?”

She hesitantly came forward. Drace held out a large hand and she flew down, stepped onto it, and relaxed her dragonfly-like wings. She had very long black hair, and her eyes were very blue. She wore dark magenta flower petals as a dress.

“Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing?” Drace whispered.

The fairy replied in a high bell like sound. Drace shook his head. “I don’t understand, sorry.”

She made the sounds again then took flight, landing on this shoulder, her wings buzzing. “Oh.” She placed one tiny hand on his bruised cheekbone and repeated, “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’ is right. Now go on. I need to get back before Vashti misses me, ok?”

The fairy nodded, chimed something else and flew off his shoulder. She stopped, seeming to have an afterthought, flew back quickly, and kissed his cheek. Waving with slender delicate fingers, she flew up and disappeared into the trees. As Drace got to his feet he heard the giggles of several small voices above him.

He waved over his shoulder as he strolled back to camp, Pride in tow. “Bye ladies.”

Vashti looked up from cooking as he appeared. “Why are you smiling, my Lord? Whatever have you been doing?”

He accepted the cheese wrapped in the warm bread. “Just meeting new friends while I’m here in the twilight zone, and having my poor vanity eased,” he replied.

“I wondered how long they would leave you alone. Fairies love attractive men.”

Drace inhaled deeply through his nose, “Ouch,” he sighed at the twinge of pain. “I don’t know that I’d say I’m very attractive on my best day, let alone today.”

Oh, he is very wrong,
thought Vashti.
He is an extremely attractive man, bruises included.
She flushed, embarrassed at her thoughts of his piercing eyes, sensuous mouth and athletic build. She eyed him through lowered lashes as he began to saddle Pride. Muscles rippled in his arms as he threw the draperies over the saddle, not having any means to tie them to the back of it.

Drace caught her staring at him. “What, my tail showing?” Finished with Pride, he walked back to her. “Hey, answer something for me. Can you dream that you’re having a dream? You know, actually aware of each.”

“I do not see why not,” Vashti answered, puzzled at his question.

He told her about the dream of the panther and the woman. “I could see the woman, but not her face…she was just a hint… there, but not. Oh hell! I can’t explain it. I keep waiting to wake up from this one, but it just keeps going on and on.”

“Drace, this is not a dream. This is reality. And the reality is we need to be moving on soon,” Vashti said patiently.

He squatted down next to her by the fire. “So you’re telling me you are really an elf, and I’ve done some kind of time-travel thing,” Drace said, obviously frustrated.

Vashti sighed and brushed a stray lock of hair off her check. “It is not really time travel,” she tried to explain. “It is another plane of existence. Life of all sorts is found on many different planes. There is one who will be able to explain all of that better.”

“And the elf part…?” Drace stood up, arms crossed over his chest. “Prove it.”

“Legends usually come from
some
fact,” she said, pulling her hair back to reveal her ears. They were slightly pointed to the tops. “Convinced?”

Drace fought the truth before him, “Oh yeah, maybe that’s a birth defect, like having an extra toe or something.”

A male voice from behind him answered, “I can assure you her toes are normal.”

Drace whirled to see a tall, slender man with long dark blond hair and brown eyes. His hair was braided back and his ears were visible and shaped exactly like Vashti’s. He had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over his back and lead a handsome bay gelding. He wore brown leather breeches and a loose fitting pale blue linen shirt with long sleeves. The hilt of a dagger showed at the top of one of his tall leather boots. Another was tucked into his belt.

Vashti gave a glad cry, jumped to her feet, and ran into the elf’s open arms. He gathered her close, buried his face in her hair, and then looked up at Drace over her shoulder. Without releasing Vashti he said, “I am Ka’Ril, Vashti’s husband.” He gave a welcoming smile.

He said something in elfish to Vashti and let her go. “I knew you would be here soon, so I was headed this way when I met the Lady’s messenger last night. I thought to ride in with you.” He extended his hand.

Drace went to take it and Ka’Ril grasped his arm just below Drace’s elbow. Drace hesitated then copied him.

“My friend,” Ka’Ril exclaimed. “What in the name of all the gods happened to you?”

Drace released the elf’s arm and chuckled. “I’m not totally sure. Drace MacKinnon—pleased to meet you.”

Vashti came between the two men, laying a hand on Drace’s arm. “If you please my Lord, we need to be leaving.”

Drace wasn’t sure what to do next,
Who do these people…ah elves…think they are, taking me and dragging me around in the wilderness? I have…had…a pretty content life…isn’t this kidnapping?
He decided it would be best to just follow along and to see what happened. It was this or allow himself to become seriously pissed. Besides, being alone and lost in another ‘plane of existence’ didn’t exactly tickle him either.

Both elves helped Drace back into his armor, and finished saddling Vashti’s gelding, while Drace covered the fire with dirt. The camp was quickly broken. Soon the three were riding west, leaving the woods and entering a large plain. They rode in silence. Drace really did not feel like talking anyway. He still felt the remnants of his headache, and he was trying to figure things out as he quietly fumed.

At midday, they stopped to rest the horses. Ka’Ril produced a few strips of dried meat and several apples. Ready to go hungry instead of eating more cheese and bread; Drace accepted the fruit and a strip of meat gratefully, along with an extra water skin.

Resigned to the fact he had no choice but to continue on with the elf couple, Drace decided to make the best of it, and began to take an interest in the scenery. Although much greener, the plains they traveled reminded Drace of pictures of the savanna in Africa. It was rich grassland dotted with trees and the occasional outcrop of dark grey rock. In places, the grass reached almost to the bottom of his stirrups.

At one point Drace halted and visually searched around him, perplexed at the void of animal life. He had seen the signs: scattered manure piles, hoof prints of some cloven hoofed animal, even a sandy spot where something had wallowed, but nothing alive was close by.
Where are all the animals when there is so much grazing opportunity?

Drace noticed that Vashti and Ka’Ril had also stopped and sat watching him, probably thinking he was going to run off, so he asked Pride to catch up.
Just where the hell do they think I’m going to go?
he wondered with a pensive frown on his face.

An hour later, the three picked up a trail that became a faint dusty road.

It was mid-afternoon when the threesome stopped on a hill. Ka’Ril looked at Drace and pointed west. “There, do you see?”

Drace squinted against the sun’s glare barely able to make out what looked like a stone fortress far in the distance. “I think so. Is that where we’re headed?”

Vashti kicked her horse into a canter. “Yes, my Lord. Let us hurry.”

The sun was low over the horizon when they came to a well-traveled road and started to pass small farms and homes. Drace decided maybe it really wasn’t a dream.
It’s almost a fairytale.
Although he wasn’t ready to ditch the dream theory just yet.

Drace glanced at each farm and building they passed and was amazed at the broad time-scale of appearance. He couldn’t place a specific time period but guessed most were from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. The exception was the clothing on the few people he saw. There were no modern conveyances or wire fences, no electric lines, nothing to indicate the modern
era. They passed one farm where a middle-aged man was cultivating corn with a draft horse. He waved at them in a friendly manner as they galloped by.

They trotted through a large village near the fortress. The town was bustling with people about their work and children playing along the streets. Greetings were called to the two elves as they passed. As they neared the castle, the road became paved with cobblestones. Pride’s shoes striking the stones echoed against the buildings.

Once they left the village, Drace could see the stronghold clearly for the first time. It sat on top of a large, high hill. There were several orchards at the base of the hill, planted far back from the sides of the road.

The long incline was covered in good grass, similar to Kentucky bluegrass, and wildflowers. Several children were playing, chasing each other among a group of sheep that grazed loose and contented outside the high outer curtain wall. The open area, while doubling as pasture, also made sure no one could approach without being seen by men upon the battlements. Four such armed men watched their arrival from the curtain wall, while two more stood outside the outer gatehouse, all armed with swords strapped around their waists, and wearing chain mail and armor.

Drace didn’t know about being in ‘another plane,’ but did feel as if he had stepped through time. Drace looked up, eyeing the metal portcullis warily as they were waved on through the immense gates.

Drace was able to look around more as they slowed to a walk once inside the outer bailey. To his left were paddocks, several horses standing dozing in the afternoon sun, or nibbling scattered hay. Two large stables were close by; a neigh from a horse inside had Pride lifting his head to answer.

To his right were several large vegetable gardens Drace assumed were for the castle’s use. Further over were smaller barns for a few cattle and the sheep. Chickens scratched in the grass around them.