Secrets at the Keep (Kingdom of Denall Book 2) (27 page)

Scar made a public display of Trae’s interrogation in the center of the camp and told all the soldiers to watch as an example of what would happen to them if they were traitors. His ten commanders stood in a circle looking out at the men they had led. While they were the appointed commanders, Trae could see in the eyes of the soldiers who were gathered, that they wanted it to be different. They had pity on him and wanted to help, but none moved to stop this.

He looked to the woods and wondered for the thousandth time where Dune was. He should have been back at least two days ago, but there was still no sign of his magician friend. Scar held the branding iron close to Trae’s skin and shouted a question so everyone gathered could hear. “Are you going to admit that you are a traitor?”

Trae flinched away from the red hot iron and made a decision. Jurden was now out of Scar’s reach, the ten people who needed to be stopped were all close, and it seemed as if Dune was not coming. He needed to get himself out of this. “I am here because I love Denall!” Trae called out over the gathered soldiers. “I am loyal to Denall and all I have done is because of that loyalty. The only traitor here is you.” Trae turned to glare at Scar, and the man leaned in close with the hot iron.

“That’s what I hoped you’d say, slave,” Scar said with a grin. He pressed the hot iron against Trae’s arm and Trae screamed out in pain. The red metal burned the letter S on him. He was now branded a slave like many of the other men in the camp.

Trae channeled power through the Strength Stone and pushed his body away from the hot iron. He strained and pressed against the ropes and leather straps until they dug into his skin, slowly stretching until they began to tear. As the ropes broke and he burst free of the restraints, he grabbed the hot iron from Scar’s hand and swung around, backhanding Scar with the burning metal. As he was falling to the ground, Trae grabbed him and spun him around, holding him in a head lock to use Scar as a shield.

The ten commanders drew their weapons and closed in a tight circle around Trae. He knew there was no way to beat ten armed soldiers with a now cooling iron poker and a severely injured arm, but that was not his plan. He needed to start uniting the men behind him.

“Soldiers of Denall,” he called out to them as he spun in a circle to keep the commanders from attacking his exposed back. “This is no ordinary supply convoy. We are taking supplies to support an invasion of Denall.” Trae could see that the soldiers were not fully convinced, but some of the commanders who had him surrounded turned around to face outward and protect against an uprising. He spun again, keeping Scar between himself and the circle of commanders. If his words did not work soon, he would break Scar’s neck and take out as many of the commanders as he could before he was overpowered.

“Think about it for a moment.” He called out loudly. “Do you really think we need one hundred soldiers and three hundred slaves to protect these carts? They’re filled with food, and clothing; nobody is going to attack us on the road for carting food. Some of you don’t even know that the servants on this trip are slaves. Why else would he have a brand with the letter S on it?” Trae held up his arm to show the group the fresh brand that burned bright on his arm. He stopped talking and let what he had said sink in. The soldiers along the outside began to talk with one another, some even stepped forward with hands raised.

“Stand down!” Scar called out. “Remain at attention, or you will be punished.”

Jurden was the foremost among the gathered soldiers, and he broke rank to step up, “We can figure this out,” he said, trying to defuse the situation. “If everyone puts down their weapons.”

Trae nodded when Jurden stepped forward. It was a glimmer of hope. If Scar’s men would drop their weapons they would be stopped. “Yes!” Trae said in agreement, “If we can look at the facts, you’ll see that these men are…” Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot up his leg as Scar stabbed him with a concealed knife. Trae fell to the ground, grabbing at his injured leg. Scar kicked Trae’s burned arm and he yelled out in agony.

“That is enough!” Scar bellowed. “This imposter,” he pointed at Trae, “and this traitor,” he pointed at Jurden, “are going to die, along with anyone who supports them.” He looked out at the gathered men. “Would any of you like to share their fate?” at first nobody stirred in the crowd. The soldiers looked nervously from person to person, unsure what to do. Trae could see the conflict in their eyes. They wanted to do what was right, he could tell, they just needed a push.

One soldier stepped forward, his sword held in front of him. Trae could not see his face beneath his helmet’s visor, but he was grateful for this brave man and he released a breath. With one man brave enough to step forward, there was hope. Wren joined him, followed by a dozen more, until the entire army stood with swords pointed to the center of the camp. Seeing that he was outmatched and outnumbered, Scar screamed out and lifted his arm to plunge his dagger down into Trae.

Before he could strike, a large ball of fire came down from the sky, consuming the entire circle of men surrounding Trae. Scar and the commanders were instantly burned to ash along with everything around him. Trae defensively put his hand up to shield him from the heat, but it did not touch him. While the fire burned all around him, there was a circle of unscorched grass immediately around his body. It was a very unsettling sensation to be in the center of a fireball, looking at it from the inside. But quickly it faded away, leaving a pile of ashes where Scar and the commanding officers had been.

The soldiers fell backward and began scrambling about in a panic. Trae scanned the group until his eyes fell on the soldier who had first stepped forward. The mystery soldier pulled off his helmet and Trae recognized Dune.

Trae rolled onto his side, trying to take the weight off his leg, and keep from touching his branded arm, while Dune made his way to the center of the camp, dropping his armor as he walked, revealing a magician’s cloak. When he reached the center he leaned down and pressed his hand on Trae’s leg, and Trae could feel warmth as the wound healed. “Thanks for showing up,” Trae said with a slight frown.

“Don’t mention it,” Dune responded. “I think I’ll take my face back now,” he said, waving his hands in front of Trae, revealing to everyone else that Trae was indeed not the magician they thought he was. Dune pulled him to his feet and the two stood together.

When Dune spoke it was carried with a magical power over the entire camp. “Men of Denall,” he began, “My name is Dune. I am a commander in the king’s army.” He held up a small shield that had the crest of the king, and one by one the men settled down and turned to listen to him. Trae had never seen Dune’s crest before, but from his experience in Norwell, it looked like the ones worn by the King’s Guard.

“There is an army coming. These supplies are being sent to feed them after a long voyage, and to give them strength to wreak havoc in Northern Denall as a distraction to divide and weaken the king’s army.” He paused for a moment so that what he said would have time to sink in. “What will you do now?”

It was a bold question, and he let it linger in the air for many silent moments. Finally, Jurden stepped forward.

“We should meet them! We should continue on! We were recruited as soldiers in defense of Denall. Let us defend as we had intended to do!” He stalked passionately in front of his fellow soldiers as he spoke, and then turned to Dune. There was a murmur of ascent that came up from the crowd, and Dune pushed forward with the growing tide of eager voices.

“Yes! Instead of being tricked into falsely supporting invaders you will meet them with an army ready to fight! In place of support they will have resistance. We will cripple this force, giving our king time to mobilize his army for the real invasion. You have been recruited by Omer, one of the king’s appointed barons, and I now ask for your loyalty. Will you go into battle for your country?”

Without a moment of hesitation, Jurden threw his arm up in the air and shouted his agreement. He was joined by Wren, and within a moment a dozen others joined with them. Soon one hundred men were down on one knee, raising their swords in the air to pledge their allegiance to the king.

“I need to inform the king of what is happening, and rally some support. I hope to bring some reinforcements to stand by your side. But until you are joined by other Denallian soldiers, with the authority that I have as a captain of his personal guard, I am appointing Jurden and Wren as commanders of this army. They know where the supplies are headed, and they will lead you well. Your job is to slow down the invaders until reinforcements come,” Dune pronounced. Jurden and Wren both looked completely shocked by the promotion, but humbly nodded their agreeance.

“What about the slaves?” Trae whispered in his ear.

“What do you think we should do with them?” Dune asked.

Trae scratched his head for a moment, “I think we should grant their freedom, and let them choose what they want to do. I imagine most will go home to help with the uprising, that’s what I would do.”

Dune nodded with a smile, “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” He magnified his voice again, “Men of Hess, gather close so you can see me,” Dune said over the camp. The men dressed in rags and some sturdy work clothing circled around and looked up to Dune with confusion on their faces.

“You have lived your life as slaves to Omer, you have given your sweat and blood to fill his pockets. I promise you that you will receive justice, and he will be punished for his crimes. As we speak there is an uprising, some very good men are going to overthrow Omer and free your families. You have a choice to make. You are brave, strong men, and we would be honored to hire you as soldiers. You will be paid as members of the king’s army under Wren and Jurden’s command, or you are free to go.”

One of the men from Hess stepped forward and called out as if asking the question that was on everyone’s mind. “What do you mean free to go?”

“No man has power over you,” Dune replied. “You are free, and by the time you get back to your families they may already be free as well. You are no longer and will never again be slaves.”

“We’ve never been outside of Hess!” One man said, stepping forward. “How will we get home?” Many others agreed. Before the few men with their complaints could gain any traction, Trae stood up.

“I’ll lead you back,” he said, raising his hands into the air so they could know who was speaking. Dune moved as if to object, but Trae continued. “The soldiers will take the supplies they need, and we’ll take the rest back to Omer’s Keep and to Hess.”

The men of Hess looked in amazement at each other and tears filled their eyes as they embraced and huddled together in groups, talking about what had just happened. Dune stepped up to Trae, “I could really use your help,” he objected.

“So do they,” Trae argued. He rubbed his arm over the scar and looked pleadingly at his friend. “We can’t just send them on their way, they’ll get lost and die. I need to bring them back.”

Dune looked at the men from Hess, then back to Trae. “Does this have anything to do with a certain someone back in Omer’s Keep?” he said with a goofy smile, and exaggerated batting of his eyes.

Trae’s face went slightly red. “No,” he responded quickly.

Dune pulled out the iron ring that was glowing yellow. “Really?”

“Fine,” Trae admitted. “I think Pentra needs my help. I don’t know what was happening back there, but I can’t shake the feeling that she’s in trouble.” He thought of their conversation as they had danced, and the sadness in her eyes.

“What about the invading army, what about Denall?”

From behind him, Trae was startled when a young woman answered Dune’s question. “He needs to go back to Hess, and you need deliver a warning.”

Trae and Dune swung around and found themselves face to face with Maggie. “It’s you.” Dune said in a surprised tone. “Is Melna coming here?”

“No,” Maggie replied. “She’s on her way to Pike Point. She won’t be a problem for you anymore. I’m here to tell you something, although I’m not sure I fully understand it myself.” Dune raised an eyebrow and Trae stood, completely confused as to what was going on. “Mordyar is coming from the south. The Magicians need what they lost.”

Dune dropped his eyebrow and stared at Maggie in complete surprise, then he looked at Trae. “What’s going on?” Trae asked. “What does that even mean?”

At first Dune did not answer, but looked distantly to the south. “That’s a phrase from an ancient magician prophecy,” Dune answered. “It means I need to return home.”

“Right now?” Trae asked in shock. “What about getting the message to the king? What about the reinforcements?”

“Mordyar is coming from the south. He will kill all of my people if I do not go back. If the magicians unite we might be able to stop him, and at the least we can definitely slow him down. They need to have a warning that he is coming. You need to get a warning to the king. When you get to Omer’s Keep, find a man named Kire. Tell him Mordyar is coming from the south, he’ll know what to do.”

Maggie placed a hand on Trae’s shoulder. “To stop Mordyar, this is what needs to happen.” Trae looked from Maggie to Dune. He was still feeling a little confused by everything that was happening, but he knew that leading the freemen home was what he needed to do right now.

“We want to stay with Jurden and Wren,” called the old man Trae had previously noticed sticking close by him. He was coming toward them with a group of a dozen other slaves. “My name is Asher,” he said, extending his hand. “I have been waiting to be free for forty years – ever since I was brought to this cursed island. I have even been in battle, trying to earn the freedom of my fellows from Hess,” he indicated the scar on his face. “Now that we finally have obtained the thing I have longed for, the entire island seems to be in danger of falling into slavery. I cannot allow this. I don’t know how much I can help, but I’d like to use my freedom to do some good.”