Silver Dragon (40 page)

"You men have served with our enemy. You sought to kill and plunder the
Kingdom and her people for your own personal gain. I shouldn't have to tell you how this appalls me. Surely you're not all saintless men with no regard for powers greater than you? This world is an amazing place, but it would be nothing without the Allfather and his saints providing guidance."

"You who have turned your backs upon society and propriety stand to serve a harsh sentence upon our return. A sentence that will mean hanging for most, if not all of you. For some of you
, this form of justice may serve as a kindness compared to what you truly deserve." Aleena fell silent as she watched them. Many of them glanced about or looked nervous. One man continued to glare at her with a gaze that screamed his hatred.

"You, what is your name?" Aleena asked him.

He smiled, revealing his teeth and showing some to be missing.

"You will answer her!" Durak spat at him as he stepped forward with his fist raised.

Aleena held up her hand. "Striking him will do no good," she said. "He has already bartered his soul to darker forces."

The man she'd struck struggled back to his feet. She glanced at him and saw him drop his gaze to the ground
immediately. Aleena scanned the rest of the mercenaries before her. "I offer all of you this, one second chance. Fight for us in our crusade to strike back against Sarya's minions and when we are victorious, you will be allowed to go free."

Aleena turned back to the man
who continued to undress her with his eyes and promise a very painful time spent under his care. She forced her back to remain still instead of shivering. "All except you. You will have no such option. Take this man to Paladin Amos for judgment."

Durak grabbed the man roughly by the neck and pulled him away from the others. He dragged the man across the uneven valley floor towards Sir Amos. Aleena watched them go for a moment
and then turned back. "Will you join our forces or face judgment like that cur?"

In a matter of moments
, the shouts and hands rang out, pledging their loyalty to her and the Knights of Leander. Aleena smiled grimly. She had her first command. She turned and saw Celos staring at the commotion the mercenaries were making. She nodded to him to show things were going well. He looked away but not before she saw the scowl on his face. Would nothing she did ever be good enough for him?

Aleena's new troop was kept separate from the rest of the knights while they conferred with Sir Amos. After several minutes had passed
, they broke up and Celos made his way over to her. She could tell by his stiff gait she wasn't going to enjoy the conversation.

"We leave immediately," Celos said. "Sir Amos wrung a confession out of the prisoner you sent over. A runner escaped to the north. We must take them while we have the initiative."

Aleena frowned. "Well, we wanted their attention. It seems we've gotten it."

"Yes we
have, but Sir Amos wished the Knights to progress further before we became mired down."

"We've already accomplished a lot," Aleena said.

Celos laughed. "This from the woman whose ambition knows no bounds? We've taken perhaps a tenth of their forces in the mountains. Do you know what that means? It means we've decimated them."

Aleena felt her brow furrow. "I thought decimating meant destroying an army?"

"It sounds nice, but pretty words can dress up the worst of tragedies. Actions and deeds speak far louder than the sweetest of words. Remember that."

"I will," she vowed. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and asked, "What do we do with this lot?"

"You lead them into battle," Celos said with a darker laugh. "They will charge first and you will be among them. Remember when I told you not to embarrass me?"

Aleena's cheeks burned at the memory. "I failed you, didn't I?"

"It seems that way," he said. "But if you can pull this off, you might yet have a chance to earn your spurs. Or if you fall, at least earn an honorable mention in the telling of this chapter in the history of the Knights of Leander."

Aleena stiffened. "We will crush our enemies."

Celos nodded. "That’s the spirit. Now convince that rabble to do the same thing and you're halfway there."

Aleena nodded and turned back to the men behind her. She took a breath and advanced towards them. The mercenaries grew quiet as she stood in front of them. A few even attempted to stand at attention. She fought the urge to laugh at the presumptuous men. Aleena paused and wondered, was she guilty of just as much presumption? The mercenaries were lawless men and many of them probably criminals of one sort
or another before they became enemies of the Kingdom. Still, what if they were as they were because they had no guidance? She'd spoken to Durak of needing to try harder to receive Leander's grace. Perhaps many of these men only needed the same nudge?

"We're moving out and heading north, to the next camp. They know we're coming by now, or they will by the time we get there. Our job is to meet them first. You will receive your weapons back. Durak and I will be with you during this attack."

She paused and looked at them, her eyes finally resting on Durak. "I don't know what your lives have been like. I don't know if you've been good men down on your luck and looking for gold to feed your families or if you're bandits and common thieves. I don't know, and I don’t want to know. I don't care. You're with the Knights of Leander now and your past is behind you. You are mercenaries but you've earned a clean start in my eyes. That makes us all equal. As I said, Durak and I will be fighting with you. What happens to you happens to me. If you are injured, we will fight for you and pull you back the same as I expect each of you to do for me. You are all my brothers now and I am your sister. Even if some of you may be the brothers I never wanted, blood is thicker than water."

Aleena turned and looked to the north. She pointed up the trail towards the enemy that awaited them through the passes. "Will they give you the same honor? Will they put their back to yours and fight until their lungs will draw no more breath?"

She turned back and looked at the mercenaries. For the first time, she saw a different look in their eyes. Some of them stood a little taller, interested in what she said. A few had bright eyes and looked as though they were almost excited.

"Our cause is just and has the blessings of Saint Leander. That means you will have the blessings of Leander, no matter what the outcome. If you fall
, Saint Leander will receive you with open arms and help you stand again in the afterlife. I was a barmaid trying to woo a mighty warrior into taking me away and making me his wife before I met Leander. Let His light shine on you and imagine what you can become."

The men looked around at one another, some of them visibly taken by her speech. Durak gave her a brief nod, filling her with courage. "Now will you fight for me, my brothers, as I will fight for you?"

She received nods and mumbled assents to her questions. She shook her head and spoke again in a voice that was loud and stern with conviction. "No, I can't hear you. Shout it to the heavens so Saint Leander can hear your conviction. Let Him know that we will be victorious this day, in His name! Will you fight?"

The chorus of cries on the second round made her heart thump in her chest and a smile split her face. She nodded to them and turned to see the other knights looking at her. Sir Amos was smiling and even Celos couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. She would show him
; she would show them all.

"We're to take the lead so let us show the others how it's done. Grab your weapons on the way
." Aleena pointed to where the weapons from the fallen had been tossed in piles on the ground. The men walked or ran to them and reclaimed what had been theirs or, in a few cases, upgraded. A few of the men grabbed extra equipment, outfitting themselves as best they could. Aleena urged them forward and took the lead, striding confidently to the north with Durak at her side.

"This will be glorious," Aleena assured him. She turned and saw him nod as he gazed at her. Something in Durak had changed too, she saw. She saw the same old excitement in his eyes when he was faced with a new challenge that he knew he would be good at. She grinned and quickened her pace.

Chapter 25

"So this is where the trolls are all at," Kar whispered.

Alto peered around the
rocks at the inward facing mouth of the cave that led into the mountainside. There were mountain trolls moving about the large hall and performing whatever task they'd been given. Some carried equipment or weapons while a total of six stood guard at different tunnels that branched off from the main tunnel. Alto's eyes barely paused on the trolls; he was looking for a way up to the top of the mountain.

"Clumsy work," Mordrim muttered as he stared at the enlarged cavern. "Crude and barely even safe!"

"We've got Alto. Just tell him where to go and hit the mountain so it falls down on top of them," Namitus suggested.

"Enough," Alto growled. "Be serious
. We don't have much time."

"The equinox?" Kar reminded him.

Alto spun to face the wizard. "There was no date in my vision. It was dark outside. I was there, Trina was there, and Sarya was there. No reason why this couldn't be that same day."

Kar frowned
and then nodded at the possibility. "Well then, why are we waiting?"

"For you to shut your mouth," Garrick grumbled.

"You'd look good as a snow hare," Kar turned to him and said. He wiggled his fingers and caused the barbarian's eyes to widen. Garrick stepped back and reached for his sword.

"Stop it!" Alto hissed with his eyes on Kar. He turned to Garrick and reassured the man, "He's not going to turn you into a rabbit."

"Those trolls are all over the place. How do we keep an alarm from going out?" Karthor asked.

Alto frowned. He'd forgotten to bring
a bow. Then again, the trolls had hide so tough an arrow had about as much chance of punching through as Garrick did of being invited to a royal ball. He looked at the wizard again. "What can you do?"

Kar sighed. "You probably don't want to see my juggling act. I could pull the light from the hall, but trolls can see in the dark.
I could put up an invisible wall for a time as well, but only one and there are too many tunnels."

"What about the bird?" Namitus asked him.

"You want me to summon my familiar? Why?"

"No, not that bird, I mean the big one that scared the wasps away."

Kar scratched at his short beard. "Scarcely enough room in the hall for that, and why would it bother a troll?"

"Well
, maybe a bird wouldn't, but would a dragon?"

"They serve a dragon," Alto pointed out. He turned and looked at the hallway again. "Is that cavern even tall enough for a dragon?"

"Is it tall enough for a giant?" Kar asked him.

"Yes, barely."

"Then it's tall enough for a dragon. They're longer, by far, but they don't walk on their hind legs," the wizard explained.

"Let's just go and kill them," Garrick growled.

Alto nodded. "I think we must. Remember the hide of a troll is too hard for most blades."

"Use your axe," Mordrim said to Garrick. "It came from a dwarven forge
; it'll cut a troll."

Garrick reached down to his hip to the hand axe he seldom used. He untied it and held it up, studying it. "Kind of small."

"I heard that lass from the tavern saying that when she came out of your room," Mordrim said with a wink.

Namitus snorted and put his hand over his mouth.

Alto turned away from his crew and drew his spiritblade. "Namitus, you and Garrick are the quickest—you get the ones farthest down the hall. I'll take the two on the right and Karthor and Mordrim the two at the large tunnel on the left. Kar, do whatever it is you do."

"And it's such a fine place to be wenching," the wizard muttered.

Winter chuffed from where he'd sunk down to rest on his belly.

"You think you can help?" Alto asked the unicorn.

Winter opened his mouth wide and chomped his teeth together, making a loud noise that caused Alto to glance over the rock at the trolls again.

"Why not
? Maybe you can at least keep them busy. Get those far ones before they can shout out an alarm." Alto looked at the others and nodded. "Ready? Go!"

Alto lurched to his feet and had barely taken two steps when the long
-legged barbarian and the shorter but fleet-footed rogue burst past him. Winter passed them a moment later, his hooves pounding into the stone floor so hard that it seemed he was leaving depressions in the rock. Mordrim and Karthor couldn't overtake Alto but they ran down the hall and veered left towards the trolls that were stepping away from their posts to challenge the runners.

The trolls lumbered out to meet Garrick and Namitus, causing both men to stop. Alto was there in a moment and swung with all his might, remembering how hard it was to injure a mountain troll. His blade severed the troll’s arm and hewed halfway through the gray-skinned monster’s leg. His next strike killed it where it fell on the ground.