By the Sword (4 page)

“Me, too.”

Talya pushed her way past him.

Tanel walked over
to the general
and nodded.

“I am glad to see
that
you are well, Tanel. I saw your parents. They are looking for you.”

Tanel’s eyes widened.

“Thank God they made it out,” he said.

“You should go to them, son.”

“Before I leave, is there any news about my general or the king?”

General Edandir hesitated. Then, he decided that Tanel had a right to know. Besides, he was Talya’s friend.

“My scouts have informed me that the king has surrendered,” said Edandir.

Tanel’s grey eyes flickered.

“How could he betray our Lord
like that
?”

“I can’t answer that,” said Edandir.

“General Landine and all of us fought to defend that man! Many lost their lives.”

“
I know. Fear does strange things to people. King Seraphim was terrified of what Malinor would do to him.”

Tanel shook his head.

“
Your general and commanders are dead.”

Tanel took a step back
with wide eyes
.

“I’m sorry. War is always ugly, even when it is the
only
option.”

“Are you sure that General Landine is dead, Sir?”

Edandir nodded.

“I hope that you can take solace in the fact that Sanctus accepts you and your family as one of our own now.”

“Thank you, General. I have to tell Talya. She predicted the worst about them… and she was right.”

“They were all friends of mine, especially King Seraphim. I don’t know how long they will keep him alive.”

“Do you think there is a chance that he will have a change of heart?”

“That is between him and God.”

Tanel nodded.

“Please allow my daughter to have some rest before you tell her.”

“Yes, Sir.”

They parted ways.

The loss of men that Edandir had known for years weighed heavily on his spirit. He would have to push his sorrow aside for the time being. He had to stay focused.

Although Sanctus’ army was greater in number, Ittonifer was a clever man. He would think of some plan to try and overpower the last God-serving nation. The man was worse than a contagious
disease
.

Edandir was going to find out what his next plan was. It was time to
put a
stop Ittonifer’s madness for good. He should have done so long ago.
That treaty the sadistic ruler had signed was pure symbolism. Edandir had tried to convince Queen Roselyn of that.
Men like Ittonifer never changed. They
might
go into hiding for years at a time
, but they always
reappear – with the intensity of a
n erupting volcano
.

That evening, Edandir sat with his commanders at a long table in the grand banquet room of Queen Roselyn’s palace. Dinner was about to be served
, but t
hey were still waiting for the queen to enter the room. It was unusual for her to be late.

“The sooner we rid ourselves of that tyrant, the better. I don’t see what there is to talk about!” grumbled Commander Sanere from across the table.

Edandir nodded in agreement
, but their diplomatic queen
would most likely suggest that they evacuate the country
,
rather than stay and fight.
Until he convinced her to do otherwise, of course.

“I’ve heard that the queen might clear everyone out of the city by the end of tomorrow,” scoffed Timlin, a twenty-something knight at the table next to Edandir’s.

“Idle gossip is never worth listening to,” said his wise twin brother, Pori.

General Edandir grinned as his friends debated about what the queen would decide. The fate of their country rested in her delicate hands. It was ironic that such a quiet, peaceful ruler was about to stand before a room of anxious warriors.

This will be interesting, to say the least.

The large doors of the banquet room opened. Two palace guards walked in and stepped to the side as the queen entered into the room.

Everyone stood.

Queen Roselyn was striking as always, dressed in a dark green evening gown with her dark hair pulled back into an elegant high bun.
Her quiet confidence gave her a noble air, regardless of what she wore, Edandir thought.
She sat on her purple velvet throne. Her troubled hazel eyes betrayed an otherwise stoic countenance.

“Warriors of Sanctus,” the queen’s authoritative voice resonated throughout the large room
as she spoke
, “you all know my stance on going to war. We are now the last nation independent of the empire. I understand that it will now be very difficult to peacefully reason with them…”

“Reason?” a commander down the table scoffed.

“There is nothing peaceful about those Malinorian animals,” said another.

“Silence!”
hissed
Edandir.

“While it is extreme to suggest that we evacuate the land, I cannot
yet
bring myself to send my entire army into war. We have already lost so many. I will need to hear from God before deciding on what we must do, but I wish to obtain your input before I do so.”

A deep murmur circulated throughout the room. Several
commanders and
knights stood.

Roselyn’s bright eyes flashed toward Edandir.

“Sit down!” shouted Edandir.

The
y
quickly returned to their seats.
Edandir
would deal with the fools later. He stood and nodded at the queen.

“Queen Roselyn,” he said.

“Speak, General.”

“Our army is as skilled as it is large. I think that, at this point, we need to know what Ittonifer is planning to do next. Our spies have informed me that the majority of Malinor’s men have marched back home. Only a handful of them have remained in Cardamon
, so there is no immediate threat
.
”

“Go on.”

“
I would like to lead a small group of spies to Malinor the day after tomorrow. We could take the firedrakes for faster travel. I hope this
will
put you
r mind
more at ease as you decide what to do.”

“That is a wise proposition,” the queen nodded. “Is there anything that you would like to add, Commander Sanere?”

Sanere stood
quickly
.

“I think that we could wipe them out if we attacked tomorrow!”

“Too soon,” said Edandir.

“None of us feels that running away is the answer,
Your Majesty
,” said another commander.

 
“Your Majesty, we wish to stay and fight!” cried a knight.

The queen stood and
t
he room fell silent once again.

Finally, her troubled gaze rested on General Edandir.

“I
will not
decide on anything tonight, of course. Prepare the army in case of an attack. I will allow you, General, and six other knights to leave for Malinor tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you,
Your Majesty
.”

Several servants walked into the room then. They placed steaming plates of food on the tables.

For the first time all evening, the queen smiled. It was far too rare when she smiled.

“Eat well, valiant knights of Sanctus. For we know not what the next week will bring.”

Chapter Three

Talya awoke to searing pain and a cluttered mind. Tanel had broken the
earth-shattering
news to her just before he had left to go to the banquet last night. She could hardly believe that their king had been so cowardly. He had turned his back on God and on all of those that had fought for him. That was the only way that the Malinorians would keep him alive.

She wondered if the king would change his mind once Sanctus won Cardamon back from Malinor. At least General Landine and his commanders wouldn’t have died in vain
if he did
.

Talya closed her eyes again as the pain in her stomach returned. All of her mentors were dead.
Hanten
was dead.

Talya a
rose from her hammock and rushed to the women’s washing room. She quickly washed up and then shrugged into her favorite tunic – a faded olive green garment with a mended rip at the side. The tear had come from one of the first times she and Hanten had practiced the sword together.

Talya closed her eyes and, for a moment, escaped back to that time.

Ittonifer and his men are going to pay dearly for killing Hanten.

Although Talya’s shoulder hurt, she felt well enough to train. A knight only needed one arm to
wield
a sword. She slipped on her black leather belt and boots and then quietly made her way to Tanel’s hammock. He was still sleeping.

Talya shook him.

“Wake up, lazy bones!” she hissed.

He shot straight up, eyes wide.

“Are you crazy? It’s at least an hour before sunup!”

“Hush. There’re people still sleeping around you. Now get up so you can tell me all about last night.”

“
I was sleeping, too.
”

“Shut up!” snarled a lad in the next hammock.

Tanel turned over and pulled the blanket over his head.

Talya shook him again.

“There’s no arguing with you, is there?”

Tanel sat up with a huff, stretched, and jumped out of his bed.

“Just let me wash up first.”

“Of course.”

When he returned, Talya grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him outside.

“You didn’t have to drag me.
We have
lots
of time before training.
”

“I just want you to tell me all about last night on the way to breakfast.”

Tanel scowled at her.

“It wasn’t anything worth shaking me out of my sleep for! Nothing was decided, but the queen has agreed to allow General Edandir and six knights to see what the Malinorians are up to.”

“Well, that’s a good start. Did he decide who he was taking with him?”

Tanel didn’t say anything.

“Did you hear me?” asked Talya.

“I can’t believe I let you drag me out of bed.”

“Oh, stop. It isn’t that early. Please, tell me what my father decided.”

“Nothing yet.”

“He had better ask me,” said Talya.

She glanced at Tanel
, who wiped his eyes with a long yawn
.
She suddenly felt a little guilty for interrupting his slumber.

“Are you hoping to go?” Talya asked him.

“Of course I want to go, but General Edandir will make the right choice.”

“He’d better.”

Talya and Tanel entered the meal cabin where several other knights were already polishing off their plates.

“Oh, look. There
a
re people crazier than you, Talya,” Tanel muttered.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a
n early riser
.”

“No comment.”

They both grabbed healthy helpings of eggs, fresh bread, and smoked pork,
and then
sat down at a nearby table.

Two other
young
knights joined them. Both of them looked to be around eighteen. One was a girl with black hair and intense indigo eyes, and the other was a strapping, light-haired lad.

“You two from Cardamon?” asked the boy as he forked in a mouthful of eggs.

Talya was too hungry to bother with answering him. She hadn’t bothered to eat dinner the previous night.

“Yes,” answered Tanel. “I’m Tanel and this is my friend Talya.”

“I’m Atalsa,” said the girl. “I’m very sorry to hear about Cardamon.”

“So are we,” said Talya, “but we’ll get it back. I’m sure of it.”

“I’m going to slaughter those demons,” said the lad.

“His name is Tasar by the way,” smiled Atalsa. “I must say that I am anxious to get into battle myself. Those Malinorian knights sound like they are from Sheol itself.”

Talya decided
that
she would
take a
break from chewing now that the topic had become interesting.

“One of ‘
em
nearly killed me yesterday,” said Talya. “Tanel here saved my life. My rival was a commander. We fought for nearly two hours, and I almost had him. I hope to see him on the battlefield again. Then I can finish him off.”

“A little thing like you fighting a Malinorian commander for two hours?” laughed Tasar. “I just can’t see it.”