By the Sword (17 page)

“What did I tell you about the horses?” the man roared.

It sounded like the same man that had given him the piece of bread when he was younger.

The boy hung his head.

“If I catch you sparing the enemy’s horses again, I will beat you so badly that you will wish you were never born!” the masked commander yelled.

He struck the boy numerous times.

The youth didn’t cry out. He stood tall and proud, and not one tear emerged from his emotionless eyes as the last morsel of humanity was beaten out of him.

Talya awoke covered in sweat. The cool breeze hit her flesh, chilling her to the bone. She took a canteen from her bag and drank. When they landed, she would have to make a fire.

Talya could think of nothing else but that horrific vision.

Why am I seeing these things? How can I help this boy now that he has become like every other soldier in Malinor?

Talya remembered the scroll that Uittan had given her, and she opened it, intent on reading at least one chapter before they got to the forest. As she read the words, peace began to coat her troubled heart. She felt like a fool for avoiding God for so long. Her soul had felt empty for so long, but she had grown accustomed to the vacant feeling.

Before I die, I want to help him. As Uittan said, there is still hope for him. Maybe after I get rid of Jalarn, it will be easier to accomplish that.

*****

Tanel had finished shooting targets for the evening. With help from Pori and Timlin, he had learned the basics of
fighting with
the sword earlier that day. At least he had a backup plan if he ran out of arrows,
as he had
in the past battle. With the magically created monsters that Malinor would unleash on them, it would take many rounds to take just one of them down.

Tanel was still in shock that Talya was on her way to Hunter Forest at that very moment. It meant that he would not have a chance to apologize to her before the war. He had been cruel to her since their journey to Malinor, especially considering that they were both still grieving Hanten.

I was blessed by God to still have Talya as a friend. I should have been there for her, especially when she had been doing a good thing by helping that defenseless girl back in Malinor.

Now he might never have the chance to tell her that he was sorry.

General Edandir was approaching him. Tanel cleared his throat.

“You are improving with the sword. I saw you dueling a while ago. Good work,” said the general.

“Thank you, Sir,” replied Tanel. “I just wish that Talya was here to see it.”

“My one comfort is that she’s excellent with that sword of hers. She’ll get herself out of anything that she comes across,” said General Edandir.

Tanel nodded. At the very least, she would have her valuable weapon. That gave him some peace of mind.

Atalsa ran up to them. Her indigo eyes were wide
and s
he was holding a sword.

Tanel’s heart raced when he recognized it. It was Talya’s sword.

“What are
you
doing with that?” Tanel asked.

“Talya left it beside my cot with a note saying, ‘I am giving this to you for the battle. Please use it well. It’s high time that you fought like a real knight.’ I – I thought that it was a joke, but then I didn’t see her at all today, and I heard about her mission to Hunter Forest from Sir Timlin.”

Has Talya completely lost her mind?

“Why in the world would she leave her sword here?” asked Tanel.

“Give that to me,” Edandir said as he took the sword from Atalsa.

The general scanned the field for Uittan. He saw the prophet and stormed over to him with Talya’s prized weapon.

Tanel followed close behind him.

“Do you know anything about this?” Edandir asked the prophet.

He gestured at the weapon with his free hand.

“She is not to bring any weapons on her journey,” replied Uittan.

“Oh no,” said Tanel.

The thought of his friend without a weapon of any kind made him feel sick. This was Hunter Forest she was traveling to.

“I would be very careful what you say, lad. The Lord gave me the terms of this mission.”

“Yes, Sir,” Tanel replied.

General Edandir shook his head. He gave Talya’s sword back to Atalsa and walked away. He was obviously too furious to speak with Uittan.

Atalsa rested her hand on Tanel’s shoulder.

“I know this must be hard for you, but Talya would be quite the scrapper even without a weapon. The giants are not animals. She will be fine. Why don’t we fire some rounds before dinner?”

Tanel nodded. The only thing that he could do for Talya now was pray for her. God would protect her. She was doing His work, after all. In the meantime, he had to stay alive so that he could make it up to her later.

“We should also make sure that you get some lessons on how to use that sword, too,” said Tanel.

“Yes. It would make Talya proud,” smiled Atalsa.

*****

The full moon highlighted the treetops of Hunter Forest below. Talya figured that reclusive giants would probably prefer being in the thickest part of the forest, so she waited until they passed over the center
to signal that they needed to land
.

Now, if only I knew how to steer a Pegasus horse downward. Well, here goes nothing.

Talya clicked her tongue and pulled gently on the mare’s mane. The horse complied and they swooped down
quicker than Talya would have liked
.
She
cinched her arms around the horse’s neck.

The Pegasus landed gracefully, much to Talya’s relief. No wonder the Malinorians preferred the elegant equestrians
over
firedrakes.

Talya jumped off of her steed, enjoying the feel of solid ground beneath her feet. A soft, trickling sound reminded her of how thirsty she was. She followed the sound and came to a small stream.

“Come here, girl,” Talya cooed to the horse.

The mare trotted over and they both had a long drink of the refreshing water. Talya also splashed some on her dust stained face and arms. She would never take the valuable liquid for granted again.

The air was very warm and humid. No fire was needed.

Talya scanned the area. The trees there were the tallest that Talya had ever seen. Their trunks were as thick as houses and they seemed to extend into the sky for miles. She wondered if the insects
and spiders
were also much larger than normal. At least she now had a dagger with her if that were the case.

The familiar smell of roasted beast filled her nostrils. It had to be pork. Her stomach rumbled. It felt like ages since she had eaten.

Her horse grazed hungrily on the lush, leafy bushes all around them.

At least one of us won’t go hungry.

Talya wanted to see where the aroma was coming from. Was it the giants making their evening meal, or was it the Malinorians? If it
was
the latter, she would have to find the giants soon.

Deep voices arose in the distance. As Talya quietly made her way through the thick brush, she saw two Malinorian knights standing nearby in a clearing. They were both digging their teeth into large chunks of meat.

Talya
slowly backed away, stepping carefully. She could not afford to be heard, let alone spotted. Not without a decent weapon. It was not that kind of mission anyway.

Talya had no idea what part of the forest the giants would live in.

You would think that they would be easy enough to spot.

Talya didn’t even know which direction to go. Maybe that was the idea. God probably wanted her to depend on Him instead of her own strength for a change.

“All right, Lord, I admit that I really need
Your
help. It was stupid of me to think that I could do this on my own.”

Talya
felt strange asking Him to help her.
She
was
probably
the last person that
had the right to
be asking for God’s help.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she searched for
even the slightest
hint of human civilization.

The night was calm and quiet.

Just like the evening when I killed Waltez.

The memory of his face just before she had impaled him with her sword flashed through her mind. She tried in vain to forget about it. The eerie stillness only made her think of it more. If Talya did not know better, she would have thought that Waltez had regretted burning down that village.

Suddenly, a bunch of leaves and branches rained down on her.

What is going on?

Chapter Eleven

Chrissa closed her eyes. She wished that she could just disappear. She opened them again and wanted to cry. One of her handmaidens
curled
the last few strands of her ebony hair.

Chrissa could barely breathe in the overly tight black corset gown that she wore. Another one of her servants placed the long
, matching
lace veil over her head.

“You look so beautiful,
my lady.
Naeshi will be so proud to have you as his bride,” breathed one of the girls.

Chrissa took a deep breath. It was the most depressing day of her life.

“I think I’m going to be ill,” she said.

“Don’t say such a thing,” said her eldest handmaid. “You can’t let anything spoil your beauty today. Have a glass of water to settle down.”

“I need a moment alone,” said Chrissa.

The girls stared at her for a moment before finally leaving her in peace. Chrissa fought to hold back the tears that had threatened to fall all morning. She just wanted to die.

Die, or become someone else.

A soft, cool breeze streamed into the heavily fragranced room. Chrissa went to the open window and took in more of the fresh air. It would be the last time that she would be able to enjoy the view of the grounds surrounding the barracks where she could watch the army march and train.

She and Naeshi would live in the west wing of the castle. Chrissa would spend the majority of her days there, unless her husband allowed her to leave the room.

Husband?

Chrissa shuddered. She closed her eyes again, imagining that she was in a different place and time, where she could live the way she wanted to.

Like that enemy female knight that saved me from Naeshi.

Suddenly, a sharp cackle from just
outside
startled her out of the daydream. A blackbird had landed on the ledge of Chrissa’s window. Once she moved, the bird flew away and disappeared into the
trees
.

A free soul.

With a sigh, Chrissa turned away from her window and walked toward the door. She was getting married today and here she was fantasizing of things that would never happen for her.

Then, her heart raced as an idea formed in her mind.

*****

An impossibly tall
young
man stood several feet away from Talya. He looked to be around her age. He had probably been watching her from up high in a tree before jumping down.

He has to be at least twelve feet tall.

The giant glared down at her.

Talya
realized that even with her sword she would not be able to take on a giant by herself. She decided it
would be
best to initiate the conversation before he crushed her.

“I apologize for intruding,” she said as politely as she could, “but I come to you in peace.”

The giant scoffed.

Talya swallowed nervously.
What a
ridiculous thing for her to say.

“I’ve been sent to speak with you.”

The large young man just frowned at her. The thick bushes behind him rustled, and he was joined by another equally tall, but much older man. He had long white hair with a matching beard.

Talya’s heart drummed against her ribcage.

“What is it that you want, child?” he asked.

“I just want to speak with you before the Malinorians do.”

The two giants exchanged glances.

“Malinorians? Here?” asked the young one.

“We have not dealt with your kind for many years,” said the oldest one.

“It was very foolish of you to come here,” said the younger one.

“I didn’t come of my own accord. God sent me here.”

“God?” spat the younger giant.
“He doesn’t live in this part of the world.”

There was more pain in that statement than anger.