Secrets at the Keep (Kingdom of Denall Book 2) (31 page)

After four turns, he had the feeling he knew where she was headed. He stopped asking for directions and ran to Omer’s audience chamber. When he came to the waiting room, a guard was standing in front of the door. “Where is she?” Kaz asked, feeling certain Maggie had passed by. He wasn’t sure why he was even following her, but he felt a strong desire to talk to her again.

“She dropped off a package and left,” he responded. “You just missed her.”

“Thanks,” Kaz said, and he ran down the corridor of the keep toward the front gate. When he got to the front entrance, he caught a glimpse of a dark war horse galloping away north on the road leading away from the keep. He knew it was Maggie and he could see there was no hope of catching her. He wanted to talk with her, find out why she was at the keep and how she had saved his life. When he saw her he was shocked at how different she looked from the frail girl at the archery tournament. She was confident, fierce and very pretty. He stood for several minutes at the front gate watching until she turned a corner and galloped out of sight.

Kaz walked back through the keep slowly his mind consumed with everything that was happening. He turned down a less used servant’s passage hoping it would be calmer, but before he had gone far, he heard a commotion. “He’s dead!” someone shouted. Not knowing what else could go wrong today, Kaz ran quickly to see what was happening.

“What’s going on here?” he asked as he made his way through the people. When he came to the opening in the group he saw an armored guard dead on the ground next to a chair.

“He was guarding this room,” one man explained, pointing to the open door.

“What was he guarding?” he asked.

The man shook his head, “Not what, but who. That’s Maven’s room,” the man responded. “Omer just set this guard here less than an hour ago and now he’s dead and Maven’s gone.”

“Oh no!” Kaz exclaimed as he broke into a run to the back of the keep. He wasn’t sure who Maven was, but if he was important enough for Bendar to set up the guard, he felt certain Bendar would want to know he was missing.

Moving as though they had wings on their feet, Trae and the newly freed men from Hess had made amazing time. Trae had prepared the men for the possibility of needing to fight for the freedom of their families. They had found sturdy clothing and spare weapons among the supplies that had been in the wagons they had been transporting to the east, and supplied themselves as best as they could. The men were eager and nervous as they came within sight of Omer’s Keep. As they cautiously approached the south side of the keep, however, things looked to be in chaos. There was a mass of people dressed in rags, jumping and cheering as they loaded supplies into carts.

It seemed too good to believe, but it appeared to Trae like the slaves had taken over the keep and were raiding it for supplies.
What happened?

Before he had time to stop them, the men around him in the woods broke away from him and ran toward the keep. Trae ran after them, shouting for them to stop. He didn’t know what was happening, but having a group of over two hundred slaves charging the keep couldn’t possibly help anything.

He ran faster and faster, pushing himself as he passed the slaves. Although it didn’t help the scene to have him running at the head of this charging army, he needed to do what he could to keep them safe.

As they came closer to the keep he noticed that Omer’s soldiers and servants were working hand in hand with the slaves to load up the supplies. Whatever was happening, this was not an open rebellion. Everyone was working together to prepare wagons and turn them toward Hess, and his group was charging in to break it up. Trae ran several paces in front of the group, turned around and held his arms up. “STOP!” he shouted above the noise of the running group, but his voice was drowned out.

Despite them not hearing what he was saying, to his surprise and joy, they seemed to realize that what was happening was not a coup. They slowed down to a jog as they came up to join with the other ex-slaves. Trae took a deep breath as he watched their happy reunion. They excitedly spoke together in a din of noise and confusion that Trae could not follow.

“Hello,” said a melodic voice. Trae spun around and found himself face to face with Pentra.

“Hi,” he responded. “What happened here?”

She looked up to the keep, then back at Trae with a hint of suspicion in her voice, “Nothing. Omer has just decided to free the slaves.”

“Really?” Trae asked incredulously. “That doesn’t really seem very Omer of him.”

She smiled. “And it doesn’t seem very Scar of Scar to have let this group return back home with their freedom.”

“It did take some convincing,” Trae said cryptically.

“Will he be coming back when he changes his mind again?”

Trae shook his head from side to side. “Scar is dead. What is left of the army is headed east not to supply the invading army, but to stop them.”

“Then why did you not take these men with you? Why did you come back?” Pentra asked, looking at Trae with a kind look in her eyes he had not seen before.

Trae didn’t know what to say to her. He couldn’t tell her the truth, that he couldn’t stop thinking of her since he had left. “Our conversation,” he responded simply. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that you could use my help. Besides, these men are free, it was their choice if they wanted to join the army, not mine.”

Pentra smiled again, lighting her entire face. “Thank you.” Trae inclined his head. Seeing her smile was worth the trip, and knowing she was safe and the slaves were free, he couldn’t help but return a genuine smile. It seemed like some things were starting to go well.

“Pentra!” a voice called from the crowd. As an out of breath young man pushed his way to them, Trae recognized him.

“Eagle Eye Kaz,” Trae said with a smile, “It’s good to see you again.”

Kaz scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “Thanks,” he replied, though it was obvious he didn’t know who Trae was. Without making any small talk with Trae, he turned to Pentra. “Where’s Bendar?”

Pentra pointed to the right, and started walking in that direction. She motioned for Trae to accompany them. “What’s going on?”

Kaz looked at Trae questioningly. “Who is this guy?” He whispered, but it was loud enough for Trae to hear him.

Before Trae could answer Pentra stepped in. “This is Trae,” she said as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He crippled Omer’s army, and brought almost three hundred people from Hess back to their families. We can trust him.”

“Thank you,” Kaz said, then he scrunched his eyes as if trying to remember something. “Have we met before?” he asked.

“We sort of did,” Trae said, a little embarrassed about their last interaction. “In Lexingar I saw you competing in the archery tournament.” Trae didn’t want to mention that he was also in the tournament disguised as the pompous Sir Trevor.

“It’s nice to meet you, Trae,” Kaz said, but he still acted a little standoffish, as if he didn’t know whether he liked Trae or not. They took a few more steps through the crowd and came up to Bendar. He was directing the operations that would involve assisting men who were too weak after weeks and months of imprisonment to return to their homes on foot.

“Lord Omer,” Kaz said with a polite bow, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have some urgent news.”

“Yes?” Bendar responded.

Kaz spoke quietly as if it would make what he was saying in a crowd private. “In the hallway I passed Maven’s room. The man you set to guard his room is dead, and Maven is gone. I’m not really sure who Maven is, but I thought you’d like to know.”

Bendar pressed his head between his hands as if this information was going to make his head explode. “I guess that answers the question of where Mordyar’s other men are,” Kire spoke from beside Bendar. “We need to stop them,” he added.

“I know all the local roads and horse trails,” Pentra cut in. “I’ll follow them and bring him back.”

“I don’t know,” Bendar said hesitantly.

“Please,” Pentra practically begged. “It shouldn’t take long to catch them if I get going quickly, and it would get me out of the keep.”

“I’ll go with you,” Trae added. He didn’t know much about what was happening, but he knew he wanted to stay with Pentra, and if she was doing something dangerous, he wanted to be there to help.

Bendar looked to Kire who nodded, “It makes sense to send someone who knows the area and can track them. We even know the direction he is headed,” Kire added. “He is going to try to reach the Orften mountain range, where he believes Mordyar is located.”

“Then we’d better get going,” Pentra said, grabbing Trae’s hand as she pulled him through the crowd. “There are only two trails heading east from here, if we’re lucky we might catch them by sunset.”

Kaz was getting sick of all the trips he was making all over the keep by the time he came back to Omer’s office. After chasing Maggie, finding Maven missing, and reporting that to Bendar, he had been sent on his most recent assignment: questioning the stable boys about Maven’s departure. He had left with three other men, which meant Trae and Pentra were outnumbered, but it also meant all of Mordyar’s men were out of the keep.

As he waited to be admitted into Omer’s office, Kaz was glad he hadn’t been chosen as the new Omer. It was a headache just being in this place, let alone running it. The door opened and Kire beckoned Kaz to join them around Omer’s desk.

When he entered the room he found that Kire and Bendar had been joined by the large man Pentra had asked to be removed from the dungeon. Before he could ask about the guest, his nose was filled with a nasty, putrid odor. “What is that smell?” Kaz asked as he walked into the room.

Kire turned around from the desk. “It’s a rotting hand,” he responded matter-of-factly.

Kaz stopped where he was and leaned to the side to see around the broad man in front of him. On Omer’s desk was a small sphere next to a partially decayed hand. It was the oddest thing he had ever seen. “What is that?” he asked in disgust.

“It is a message,” Kire answered. “It can only be listened to once, so please gather close.”

Without having time to ask about the other man in the room, Kaz joined them in a circle around the desk. He plugged his nose and was grateful he didn’t have the gift of enhanced smell. When he was near, Kire picked up the small ball and gently placed it in the hand.

The ball became light, and inside a white, wrinkled, unnaturally old face appeared. The image made Kaz catch his breath and he couldn’t take his eyes away. The crimson hair, the five intellect marks, the evil black eyes. It was Mordyar. “Melna,” he spoke in a raspy, yet powerful voice. “You failed to secure the Stone of Power in Lexingar,” his eyes burned with anger. “You have failed me, and will be punished!” He fiercely spat. “Unless,” he held up one frail looking finger, and Kaz could see five magic marks on his left wrist. “You kill the king. With King Robert and Baron Clifton dead, Denall will be without any leadership. If I come and find Denall divided and broken, I will let you live.” Mordyar’s hands waved in front of his face in the sphere, then it went black and the ball cracked in half and crumbled into dust.

Silence filled the room for a time, Kaz felt his heart pounding in his chest. He had heard of the invading army, he had been told that Mordyar was coming, but it didn’t seem real until now. Mordyar’s evil was real and it was palpable. Looking in his eyes and hearing the sound of his voice, Kaz felt the hopelessness of standing against such a powerful sorcerer. He took a calming breath and looked at Bendar, then Kire. Each of their intellect marks were flaring dark red.

Kaz remained silent as he watched Kire working to solve this problem. “This is what we know,” Kire said, addressing everyone in the group.

“There are two armies coming to attack Denall. The first is coming from the northeast. Trae informed me before he left that Mordyar himself is landing in the south with an army. I would suppose from this that the northern invasion is being used as a distraction to divide the king’s attention. At the same time Mordyar is trying to orchestrate the murder of the king and the second in line to the throne. With Omer’s assistance, he very nearly had the entire royal succession out of the way. Our friend Omer has certainly done plenty of damage.” When Kire finished laying out Mordyar’s plans Kaz was shocked. He looked at a map they had laid out on the desk and wondered how they could possibly stand against this kind of attack.
How many other pieces did this invasion have?

After a short silence, Kire turned to Bendar. “Does Omer have message pigeons?” Bendar nodded. “Good, we’re going to need some messages sent out right away. One to the king and another to Baron Clifton.

Bendar nodded, but looked hesitant. “If they are anything like the messages we receive, we get rumors of threats every week, sometimes multiple times per week. It will take time to get there, and it might be ignored. Especially rumors of threats against the king’s life. He already has his personal guards, I doubt they will listen,” he said.

“Then we’ll send them again, and again until they know we are serious,” Kire concluded. “Fortunately, the king is in no immediate danger, as this message was intercepted, but it seems that the plan is already in motion to assassinate Baron Clifton.” Kire then looked pointedly at the shaggy, tattered prisoner who stood in the room. “Mylot, I think he will listen if you lead a patrol of soldiers into Lexingar. Are you feeling up for that kind of trip?” As soon as he said the name, Kaz could see it was the man who had bested Farin in the tournaments. He was ragged and beaten up and had a scraggly beard, but it was him.

Mylot nodded. “I’ve been waiting to get going since Omer locked me up. Give me a horse and I’ll leave right now!”

“Hold on,” Kire said, holding up his hands as if to stop Mylot from physically running down to the stables right then. “You need to get cleaned up, and get properly fed. We’ll have a horse ready for you soon. By sunup we will have a patrol of soldiers ready to head out. I also want you to have protection.”

“Some good armor is all I need,” he replied.

The more he saw Mylot talk, the more he did see a resemblance to the cocky man from the tournaments. Kire cut in. “The king and Baron Clifton have been targeted. I’m not going to leave you exposed. Especially when we have one of Denall’s most powerful visors and possibly its best archer right here.”

“Where?” Mylot asked, looking around the room.

Kaz tilted his head to the side, “Really?” he asked in shock. “You want me to go with him?”

“Absolutely,” Kire said enthusiastically. “You need to keep him safe. You’re the right man for the job.”

“That’s fine with me,” Mylot said, but he looked down on Kaz critically. “As long as you don’t get in my way again.”

Kaz gulped down the lump in his throat. He had hoped Mylot didn’t remember him from Lexingar, but it seemed he did. “Yes sir,” Kaz responded.

“You’ll need to prepare your belongings and get something to eat,” Kire said. “We’ll gather the men and let you know when all is ready.”

Before Kaz exited the door, he turned back to Kire, “What should we do after we get there?”

“You stick with Mylot, keep him safe,” Kire responded. “The house of Tran married into the royal line. If he is not already a target, he will become one soon.”

*****

The next morning, before the sun rose Kaz stood on the ramparts of Omer’s Keep and looked south toward Hess, a tired yet satisfied smile crossed his face. He had saved his friends and helped to bring freedom to the village of slaves. And soon Bendar would bring a stop to the scheme of robbing travelers and ‘saving’ them in Omer’s name. He felt like he had accomplished something great, but yet he had no time to enjoy the small victory. He felt like he was caught up in another dangerous adventure that was entirely out of his control.

Kaz heard some footsteps behind him and knew exactly who approached. “Hello Kire.”

Kire circled around to face his apprentice. “Very nicely done.” Kaz smiled at the sincere compliment. “What are you doing out here?”

Kaz got a sad look on his face. “I just thought that I would be seeing Dungan soon, not going back in the opposite direction. I thought that after I saved Bendar and Pentra, my adventure would be done. I thought I’d return home after my Troven. It’s been almost a year since I left.” He paused and again looked out over the balcony.

Kire placed a comforting hand on Kaz’s shoulder. “It’s not easy when your life turns in a direction that you hadn’t expected. But there is a greater destiny for your life than you have planned, and going south tomorrow is for the best.”

“I know why you want me to protect Mylot,” Kaz said.

Kire nodded, “I knew you’d figure it out,” he said with a smile.

“He’s from the house of Tran. He’s the child isn’t he? The one you told me about when we were at your cabin.”

Kire nodded, and a crease in his forehead let Kaz know there was more going on, “I was convinced he would be born with the sixth gift. All the evidence pointed to the house of Tran, but he’s a strongarm. It doesn’t quite add up.”

“Do you think he’s somehow connected to the last gift or the Changing?”

“I do,” Kire admitted. “I’m not sure how, but I think so. It is very important that you keep him alive and safe.”

“Wow,” Kaz said in shock, “That’s a lot of pressure. What about the patrol of trained soldiers? Are they ready?”

Kire nodded. “They will be shortly. That’s actually what I came here to talk with you about. And as a point of clarification, the group is not going to be made up of all seasoned soldiers,” Kire confessed.

Kaz turned to look at the older man and leaned in expectantly, “Please explain.”

“There are two problems,” Kire began. “One,” he held his finger up. “Most of Omer’s soldiers are still out in the woods working to attack and save travelers.”

“And two?” Kaz asked with a raised eyebrow.

“There is a small group of about fifty defected soldiers who started out working for Omer, but decided it was more lucrative to work on their own. They have been known to attack small traveling groups. Bringing them to justice is on Bendar’s ever increasing to do list.”

Kaz opened his eyes wide in surprise. “So we’re going without any soldiers and we might be attacked on the way? That sounds wonderful,” he said sarcastically. “Any other good news?”

Kire seemed hesitant to go on, but after taking a deep breath, he continued. “You’re not going alone, just not with seasoned soldiers. The men I did get you were recruited from the dungeon.”

“You did what?” he asked in complete shock.

“They were in there for being loyal to the king, or for fighting against Omer. Sometimes both. So you will have a group of fifty men, most with some level of military training, but all of them have agreed to follow Mylot.” He paused and looked Kaz in the eyes. “They all have said they will fight against Mordyar.”

“Of course they did!” Kaz said in almost a shout. “They would say anything to get out of the dungeon.”

Kire shook his head, “I gave them this option after I freed them,” he explained. “I wouldn’t give you a group of men I felt were unstable. They have passion and, understandably, a bit of anger. They are a drawn bow that needs someone to point them in the right direction. Being in Omer’s dungeon does not mean they did anything wrong; quite the opposite.”

Kaz nodded. He knew Kire wouldn’t set him up for failure, and the older man did have a point. He had almost ended up in the dungeon himself, but he wasn’t entirely sure he was up to this task.

“There’s one more thing,” Kire added.

Kaz closed his eyes and turned his head away playfully. “I don’t know if I can handle anything else at this point.”

Kire pulled out a small box and set it on the rampart next to Kaz. “These are special potions I received from the magicians in Coffal many years ago. I think in your travels you’ll need them more than I will here.”

“What do they do?” Kaz asked as he looked at the small glass bottles.

“There are instructions for each potion,” Kire answered. “Please remember they are very valuable and should only be used in extreme emergencies.”

“What kind of emergencies do you think I’m going to have?”

The older man patted Kaz’s back. “I don’t know all the details of your future. I do know that the Stones of Power are gathering as prophesied. The Changing is coming, and you are a part of that.”

Although the response didn’t answer his concerns, it somehow made him feel better to know that Kire had confidence in him, and he was part of a larger plan. “I guess I’m off to my next adventure,” Kaz said as he closed the box from Kire and his face brightened with a smile. “There’s never a dull moment when you’re with the great Kaz Kinsley.”

Kire’s face cracked into a broad smile. “You have that right!” he agreed. “Now get going, your horse is saddled and the men are assembling.”