Silver Dragon (23 page)

"This from the same guy
who claims to have dropped a mountain on some people?" Durak asked.

"I heard about the mountain from Lady Patrina first," Aleena said. "Alto confirmed it. He told me of his family and how he saved his sister from the same fate as the rest of their family."

"Burned alive or drawn and quartered?" William asked, earning a chuckle from Durak and the others.

Aleena stood up. "Caitlyn told me how they beat her and forced themselves on her, then they cut the heads off her brothers and sisters while they forced her and her parents to watch. They killed her parents and kept her around for entertainment until Alto showed up. They didn't expect him to be able to kill them all but he did."

The laughter faded as Aleena delivered the news of what Caitlyn and Alto had told her. The men glanced at one another with uncertainty in their eyes. "That's how I know that Alto's gone after them and how he needs help. Now, more than ever, he needs a light to guide him out of the darkness."

A new voice from the door startled them all as it spoke. "Perhaps you'll get your chance to help your friend, but you won't do it by sitting and gossiping in here. On your feet
! You've got a long night ahead of you if you want to be ready to join the knights on the field!"

Aleena and the others stiffened and then leapt up as Celos stared at them. He scowled when he saw the inappropriate dress that Aleena wore. "Get dressed
—you've got two minutes. Tonight you learn what it means to set up a camp in the winter."

Several of the recruits groaned at the prospects but Aleena had already leapt to her feet and raced back to her trunk. She flipped it open and pulled out her pants and shirt
and then started to yank her tunic off without moving to her changing screen.

"Recruit Aleena!" Celos barked at her as her shirt was pulled up almost above her waist. "You will not act so brazen while you claim service to Saint Leander!"

She nodded and swallowed, realizing she'd been too caught up in the moment. She hurried over to her privacy screen and scrambled into her clothes. She waited until Celos announced it was acceptable for her to come out. The men had already left, leaving only Squire Celos waiting for her.

"Is it dedication or stupidity that drives you?"

Aleena stiffened and stared at him. "Dedication to do Saint Leander's will, Squire Celos."

"If that's true
, I admire how you put his will above yourself," he said and then paused. "But I don't believe you. Why would a woman want this? This is a life of hardship and service. A life of pain and bloodshed. A life where you can never really have what you want the most. What I can't figure out is what could possibly make you endure this?"

"Perhaps,
squire, you don't understand women as well as you think you do," Aleena suggested in a clipped tone. "Or men, for that matter. I want this more than any of the men who share this room with me. I have worked harder and will continue to work harder. I will beat them, and I will stand at your side one day as an equal."

Celos smirked. "For your sake and that of Saint Leander, I hope
you're right. Now fetch armor and weapons and then join the others on the obstacle course. You'll be camping out there tonight, and let me recommend keeping watch. There's no telling when your enemy might try to surprise and overrun you in the middle of the night."

Chapter 1
5

Alto rounded a corner and found a staircase ahead of him. He frowned. The servant he'd spoken to hadn't mentioned stairs. He turned back and saw empty hallways. He traced his trail back to a four-way junction of halls and studied them. Was he supposed to turn left there or keep going? He frowned and was about to select another direction at random when he heard a shout followed by the unmistakable sound of steel striking steel.

Alto took off down the passage that would have taken him straight. He ran past several doors, ignoring them, and continued to follow the sound of battle. The sounds faded before he found the source, but still he ran on. He was headed in the right direction, that much he knew.

The wandering warrior rounded a corner and found a pair of doors that were scratched and chipped. Splinters of wood were scattered on the floor. He moved to them and pushed the double doors open to see a dining room. Trussed up in table cloths and gagged were two guards.

Alto turned away, ignoring his urge to chuckle. It seemed he wasn't the only one
who found the guards insufferable. He turned away and looked down the hallway. Whoever had defeated the guards hadn't come past him, leaving him to believe they'd gone the other way. Alto took off, walking as quickly as his injured hip would allow.

He turned at the next intersection of hallways but had to go back when it ended at a great hall reserved for large dinners or balls, both of which he doubted took place in the remote city often. By the time he made it back to the intersection
, the fire in his veins was fading and his hip began to burn with a fire all its own. This time, he was guided by the sound of steel on steel from the passage on his right.

Alto limped down
the hallway and turned another corner. The sounds were closer, urging him on. He turned down a side passage and saw a group of guards being driven back by his companions. One of the guards was on the floor cradling his chest while the rest were trying, and failing, to not give up any more ground. Blood dripped from the arm of one of the men still fighting.

Alto drew his sword and felt a momentary flash of heat rush through him. His joints loosened and his breathing eased. He passed beyond the wounded guard and saw that blood was running from his lips as well as his chest. He guessed the guard's lung had been pierced. Without the help of a priest
, he was not long for the world.

"Alto!" Kar cried out when he glanced behind and saw that young warrior approaching.

The others looked up, surprised by the wizard's shout. The Highpeak guards used that to their advantage and pressed back, drawing a curse from Tristam and a loud clang as a sword rang off Mordrim's helm.

"You should know not to hit a dwarf in the head!" Mordrim spat at the surprised guard. Mordrim's
hammer smashed into his hip, knocking the guard to the side and into the man next to him before he collapsed to the ground and grabbed his hip. Garrick lashed out with the hilt of his sword and smashed the off-balance guard in the face, dropping him beside the man with the crushed hip.

The final guard took a few more steps back
and then risked a glance at the doors behind him on the hallway. Both were closed but he had no other escape except past the Blades of Leander. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees. "Mercy!" he cried.

Garrick kicked him in the chest and sent him flying onto his back. He pointed down at him while the man coughed and struggled to pull his breath back in. "Don't get up," the barbarian growled.

"Alto! Saints above and below, you're alive!" Tristam turned and said.

"Where've you been, up the dragon's arse?" Kar wrinkled his nose and asked. "You smell like it!"

"I've been busy," Alto said. He turned and looked them over. "Where's Patrina?"

"That's what we want to know," Tristam said. "Something about the people running things here doesn't add up right."

"What happened to her?"

"Aren't you paying attention?" Tristam raved. "We don't know! She dragged us out here
, looking all over these thrice-damned mountains for you and then we came here, figuring maybe you'd head north into them caves again. Then last night while we was sleeping, she up and run off on us."

"She ran off?" Alto said.

"Well, that's what the baron and his man want us to think," Kar said. "Now we've drawn blood against the guards of Highpeak while under contract with the Kelgryn."

Alto shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"What? You hit your head on some rocks while you were in the mountains?" Kar asked.

Alto shook his head. "That's got nothing to do with it
. Patrina being taken was cause enough to strain tensions. It nearly worked in the spring; this time there's no mistaking it. My guess is that they planned to turn you loose to run back to Holgasford once you'd calmed down."

Kar nodded. "Clever. I missed having your wit around."

Tristam looked between the two men. "So what's next then? Do we go back to the jarl?"

Alto frowned. That was a week of time lost getting there, plus the time coming back. Time that horrible things would be happening to Patrina. Also time that he should spend gathering the materials for the weapon he needed.

Alto glanced at the sword in his hand. Did he really need another weapon? Wouldn't this one do? It warmed him and made it so that nothing could stop him.

"You've still got the knight's sword," Karthor pointed out.

Alto jerked his head up. "Yes, why?"

"No reason," the priest said.

Alto narrowed his eyes. Karthor was bothered by something, he could tell. He glanced at the priest's father and saw the wizard's eyes dart away from his. There was something going on. Something they didn't want to tell him.

"The baron, is he in his office?" Alto demanded.

"We don't know," Tristam said. "That's why we're here, though."

"Then let's find out." Alto strode through them and
looked at two doors. He moved to the farther one and tried the latch, only to find it locked. Alto stepped back and planted his boot on it, knocking it open. He felt something give in his hip, causing him to stumble. He grabbed the doorjamb and kept his feet, and then glanced in to see the empty office.

"Not here," Alto said. "Try that one."

"Are you hurt?" Karthor asked him.

"Later," Alto said. "Try the other door." He held on to the wall until he felt certain he could support his own weight.

"You see how he knocked that door open with a kick?" Mordrim asked Garrick.

"You need to be used as a battering ram again?"

Mordrim chuckled but held up his hands. Garrick stared at the door and planted his foot next to the latch. He kicked it hard enough that not only did the door burst in but he sent himself stumbling back into the wall behind him. The extra force saved him from a sheet of flames that fell down from the sill of the door to blanket the opening. The flames disappeared as quickly as they'd arrived, leaving behind only some blackened wood along the doorjamb and floor as proof of their brief existence.

"What foul trick is this!" Garrick cried out.

"A magical trap on the door. Had you opened it with a key without being able to disarm the magic, it would have roasted you alive," Kar explained. "It would appear Master Victor is a wizard. Funny, I didn't notice any magic about him."

"You're probably getting old," Tristam said. "Is it safe to go in now?"

"There's no probably about it," Kar lamented. He peered at the doorway and then through it. "Yes, it seems safe enough now. I'd advise you not to touch anything, though."

"Good call," Namitus said as he slipped through the doorway ahead of them. He peered around the small office and then frowned. "Nothing of use. The desk might have something in it
, though."

"Don't waste your time. If they had time to leave, they didn't leave anything important to us," Tristam said.

"But," Namitus began.

"Come on," Tristam ordered. "We've got to find them!"

"Dungeons?" Mordrim asked.

"What is it with you and dungeons?" Karthor asked. "Come to think of it, we found you in one."

"Dwarves like dirt," Garrick offered.

Mordrim scowled and opened his mouth but Alto interrupted him. "Anyone entering or leaving the city is being searched. Let's get out of here and find whoever's left in charge here."

He turned and started walking down the hall but his hip forced him to half drag his leg. He scowled and looked down at it.

"I t
hink it's later," Karthor said. "You're a mess. Whose blood is all over your cloak?"

"I lost count," Alto admitted. "Ogres and goblins mostly. Found a giant last night."

"A giant!" Tristam crowed. "You killed a giant?"

Alto nodded while the man with the broken hip cursed as he tried to pull himself away from them. Alto looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. His sword twitched in his hand. "We need to kill those men."

"Son, sheathe your sword; there's no threat here," Kar said.

Alto looked at him and then glanced down at his sword. He glanced around a final time to see everyone looking at him. Feeling foolish, Alto sheathed the sword and let go of it. As soon as he relinquished his grip
, he swooned and would have fallen if Karthor hadn't grabbed him.

"That sword is ill
-fated," Kar muttered.

Alto glanced down at the blade and forced his legs to hold him upright. He pushed Karthor away. "Ill
-fated? It's a powerful blade. Without it, my trials in the mountains would have not gone well."