Silver Dragon (22 page)

Garrick knocked the sword away from the guard on his side and punched him in the face, driving him back a few steps until he tripped on the rug in the hall and fell on his back. Tristam drew his sword in time to deflect the sword of the guard on his side.

"Don't kill them!" Karthor cried out as he and the others filed out of the room behind them.

"He's talking to you, not me," Tristam told the guard he faced off against. The guard snorted and hacked at him again, forcing the warrior to stay on the defensive. Tristam backed up a step as the guard pressed forward.

The guard gasped and staggered, and then fell to his knees as he arched his back and thrust his chest out. Tristam yanked his sword back to keep from running him through. Mordrim stood behind him, holding his hammer in both hands. He relinquished his two-handed grip and used his steel-covered fist to thump the guard on the head hard enough to make him crumple to the floor.

Tristam spun around and saw that the guards were both out and there was no one else in sight at the moment. He turned on Karthor. "Don't kill them? Maybe you didn't notice but we was just locked in a room and kept under armed guard. They attacked us when we came out. That's a declaration of war."

"We broke the door down," Karthor argued. "I agree we must do what we can to protect ourselves, but these men may be unwitting pawns in a greater game."

"Then that's their bad luck," Tristam growled. He turned to the others. "If somebody needs killing, then you do what you must. I'm not risking any of our lives to spare the feelings of someone else."

He saw nods all around. Karthor frowned but accepted Tristam's leadership. "Now where?" Namitus asked.

"Now we find Baron Mackay and get to the bottom of this!"

"You're going to accuse and attack the baron?" Karthor asked.

"It's looking more and more like it," Tristam said.

"This could have far-reaching effects," Kar warned. "We're working for Lady Patrina, a Kelgryn noble. This could start a war between nations that neither is prepared for."

"Yeah, well, at least it'll be good for business," Tristam muttered. "Now quit your yapping and
drag those two back in there. Let's hurry, before someone sees us. We've got a princess to go rescue."

* * * *

Alto paused outside the palace doors and sniffed. Something smelled rancid. He glanced around but saw nothing save for ice on the steps and walkway in front of the palace. Four guards stood outside the door, two to each side.

"Move along," one of them said to him.

"I need to see Baron Mackay," Alto said and stepped up in front of them. The faint smell grew strong enough to remind him of vomit.

"The
baron's not seeing anyone today; he's working on official business."

"This is official," Alto said. He pulled his hood back off and stared at them, hoping one of them might recognize him.

Instead, they laughed. "Try tomorrow and clean yourself up before coming back," the spokesman for the guards said.

Alto sneered at them as a wave of heat washed through him. He stopped himself before reaching for his sword. "I've had a long day after a long night. In fact, it's been so damn long since I got a decent night's sleep or had something cooked properly that I'm not in the mood to put up with this nonsense."

"You'll put up with whatever I feel like," the guard interrupted him. He stepped forward and reached for his sword. "Now walk away or if there's anything left of you, it'll be tossed in the gallows!"

Alto watched the guard draw his sword and he shook his head. The guard was insolent and stupid. He deserved
to be taught a lesson. "Put that away or I'm—"

"You're what?"
the guard snarled at him. He stepped closer to Alto and raised his sword. "The baron's not seeing people today. You're dumb enough he's not seeing you ever!"

The rage flushed through him and burned away the aches in his ribs and muscles. He turned enough to make the guard laugh and think he'd won,
and then drew his blade in a flash and left the guard with a spurting stump of an arm.

The stricken guard stared at his arm and held it up, shock overriding his senses. The others cried out and rushed forward, although it took two of them longer than the first. Alto caught the man's sword on his shield and buried his sword in his belly. The guard
’s chain link parted like paper for the sword in his hand.

Alto pushed the impaled man back so that he slid off his blade and stumbled back into one of the remaining guards. It gave Alto the time he needed to use his shield to block an attack and then he hewed into the man's leg, toppling him to the ground.

The final guard pulled himself free and was about to rush when he saw how Alto had easily dispatched the other three. He hesitated and then threw down his sword. Alto glared at him, resisting the urge to cut him down as a lesson, and finally stepped up and wiped the blood off his sword on the man's cloak.

"I told you this was important," Alto hissed at him. "If you've got a priest in this town
, they might live. If they don't, it's not my fault you were too stupid to let me pass."

Alto walked past the stunned guard and into the palace. He shut the doors behind him and then found the wooden plank to draw across the doors to keep anyone from following him in. He had to find out what happened to his friends and any distractions would only cause more people to be hurt.

With fire coursing through his veins, Alto strode through the palace, looking for someone to guide him towards the baron.

Chapter 14

"Recruits!"
Sir Amos called out when he entered the training hall.

Aleena turned to face the priest and stiffened to attention. She lowered the training sword she was using to her side, trusting that Durak would do the same. He was her sparring partner for the bout.

"I've been absent due to an urgent request from the Duke Jeffrey to convene a council regarding perils from the north," Sir Amos said.

Aleena gasped. Alto had fought at Highpeak and been named a hero. Then he'd gone and fought again in the mountains and stopped an invasion.
Was there more to it? That's where he'd gone again, back into the mountains because he said,
To dark places to do dark things. Things a woman couldn't handle.
She nearly smirked at that. In the weeks she'd been training, she'd quickly become one of the quickest and most skilled with a sword. She wasn't far behind with a mace, save that it was a weapon that required strength more than speed. Her training had seen to it that her body was growing stronger almost as fast as her mind was learning and adapting to her new life.

"
Sir Amos, is this about Highpeak and the monsters in the mountains?" Aleena dared to interrupt.

The priest looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "It is, child. How do you know of such things?"

"A dear friend of mine fought at Highpeak. He fought again to break their hold in the mountains, with the help of the Kelgryn."

"This friend of yours, a lad named Alto?"

Aleena held her head high and smiled. "Yes, Sir Amos."

The priest nodded. "A most remarkable young man, to hear the tales of him. We've been discussing the things he's learned and done for the past couple of days. A messenger from Holgasford alerted us to this most recent threat that was averted, but also spoke of a greater danger looming."

"Yes!" Aleena cried out, drawing the attention of the gathered recruits and Squire Celos. Celos frowned at her but she rushed to carry on. "There are more camps of monsters in the mountains, Alto told me. He went back to stop them."

"I don't know the specifics of his quest but the duke is concerned. He fears that the
Kelgryn might be right, and he fears that it may be a trick to divert his armies to the north and leave his borders vulnerable."

Aleena frowned. Alto had told her a little about what was happening. Why wouldn't the duke commit his forces to the north? She understood the danger of leaving the border undefended, but if the same threat faced the
Kelgryn, why would they attack? Lady Patrina had shown her kindness. She couldn't imagine the lady coming from a nation of men who would attack their neighbors like that.

"Father, I met Lady Patrina, the daughter of the Jarl of Holgasford, before I came here. I can't imagine the
Kelgryn would attack us at a time like that."

"I'm sure the duke will be glad to hear of your reassurance," Celos said, reminding her of her place.

Aleena cast her eyes down and blushed. "Of course, I'm sorry."

"Squire Celos is right to a point,"
Sir Amos addressed them all. "Duke Jeffrey would put little stock in the feelings of a single person, especially one without a proven history. It does not, however, invalidate your feelings."

Aleena lifted her eyes and found herself smiling because of the priest's kind words.

"For now, he is unwilling to commit his forces, but this is largely because I have volunteered the Knights of Leander to assist." Several of the recruits gasped at the news and turned to look at one another. After they calmed themselves, Sir Amos continued. "As there will not be enough of us remaining to continue your training, you will accompany us and train when and how you can. This will also serve as training in that you will see how things really happen. You will serve as aides and pages for the squires, who in turn serve the knights."

Sir Amos
waited for the excitement to die down again before he continued. "You will learn in short order that being a Knight of Leander is not all about glory. On the field of battle there are many things, chief among them fear and hatred. As a disciple of Leander, you must always carry yourself as such. Bring courage and light to the darkness. Strike down the evil and have faith that no matter how bad things may be, yours is the righteous path."

He turned to Celos and nodded. "Our forces are marshaling
; we leave in three days. Take this time to make sure they are ready for the road. That will be all."

Sir Amos
turned and left the hall. After a moment of stunned silence shared by the recruits and Celos, he started snapping orders to bring order back to them. They returned to their positions and began to spar with renewed vigor. It was just as well; their training ran long into the afternoon.

* * * *

"This is great!" Durak confided later that night as they gathered together in their barracks. "I don't know if there's ever been a time in the history of the church that the recruits were invited to a campaign!"

A
leena walked over from where she'd changed into a long tunic that served as her sleeping robe from behind a smaller curtained-off area. She'd argued successfully to stop her segregation but the priests had demanded that she still change in privacy away from the others. She sat down on the edge of Durak's bed and said, "There's never been a time when Saint Leander's ranks were so thin."

Durak and the others nodded.

"You are right, though; this is a great opportunity. For everyone," Aleena stressed. "We can show the people Saint Leander's greatness and what He stands for. How His light can help them through the darkest of times when everyone and everything else seems lost."

Durak stared at her. "This sounds personal to you?"

She nodded and offered an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry. My friend I spoke of, he's going through a dark time now. I didn't truly realize it until I came here and began to learn more. I wish I'd known then what I know now. I could have helped him. I could have talked to him and shown him Leander's grace."

"Sounds like quite a friend," Durak hinted.

Aleena's blush deepened. "He is," she said without admitting any more.

Durak chuckled and turned to the others. "Just think, in a few days we'll be riding with the knights and have the chance to see the world!"

"We'll be messengers and servants," William reminded him. "They don't trust us to do any fighting."

Durak shrugged. "Maybe not, but it will be nice to get away from these stuffy halls.
"

"These people behind this, they're evil," Aleena said.

"Of course they are!" William said with a chuckle. "Why else would we get involved?"

"No, that's not what I mean," Aleena said. "I'd heard that Alto died while fighting in the mountains. He found a way to bring a mountain down on hundreds of them
, and we feared he'd been crushed with them. He escaped, though. Escaped and—"

"Wait, this guy brought a mountain down on them?" Durak said. "Is he a wizard or something?"

"No, a warrior. A good one, too. I've seen him fight," Aleena boasted.

"How does a warrior collapse a mountain?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "One of his companions is a wizard, perhaps he was involved."

Durak and the others exchanged doubtful looks. Aleena saw them but other than pressing her lips in a disapproving line
, there was little she could say to convince them. "Anyhow, when he came back, he visited his home and found it destroyed. They'd killed his family."