By the Sword (7 page)

She glared at Edandir.

“I will tell you about it one day, but for now, we
have
a mission to complete,” said Edandir.

“Yes, Sir,” they all replied in unison.

They remounted
their dragons
and flew to the south side of Ittonifer’s homeland. They landed in a dense forest and tied their dragons to the thick tree stumps.

A dirt road just past the forest led them to Malinor City
.
Edandir had not been there since his youth, but it had not changed at all.
It was strange to experience the sights and smells he hadn’t been around for decades.

The city’s sharp, jagged architecture, all built of black stone, hinted of Malinor’s brutality. Merchants clothed in dull, drab colors yelled at darkly dressed townspeople on the street.

The general and his spies walked by a large crowd of what appeared to be the Malinorian elite.
Men in well-tailored black tunics and shined leather boots were accompanied by tall, beautiful ladies adorned with dark makeup and tightly laced corset gowns
.

There were no children. In Malinor, the very young were neither seen nor heard.

The crowd was most likely watching either a public torture or a slave auction.

Edandir flinched. Talya had
drifted over to
the group of people. She stood on tiptoe, trying to see over some of the men.

Tanel grabbed her arm and brought her back to the group.

Edandir shook his head.

There were several Malinorian knights patrolling the streets. Talya should have known that she had to be extra careful
so as not to draw any attention to them
.

“We are here solely for this mission, Talya,” whispered Edandir. “This is not a leisurely excursion. Don’t make me regret asking you to be here.”

She nodded, but he knew beneath that mask was a scowl.
It was a mistake to bring her along.

“Where do you think Ittonifer is?” asked Tanel.

“Probably on the training field.”

They left the bustling city and traveled down another dirt road
that
led to the military base. Edandir felt like he had been there just yesterday. It was so familiar. Thousands of soldiers dueled and sparred on the training field.

Edandir scanned the area for Ittonifer. The man often personally trained his knights, but today there was no sign of him.

An alarming shofar’s cry pierced the air. It had come from the inner city.

All of the Malinorian soldiers sheathed their swords and marched toward the city.

Edandir jogged over to one of them.

“
Why
is everyone quitting so early?”

“Where have you been? Everyone’s to be at the coliseum this afternoon. Ittonifer’s got something special planned.”

I’ll bet.

Edandir and his spies followed the hundreds of soldiers to a grand amphitheater in the center of the city.

“Stay close to me, everyone
. If we get separated somehow, then we will meet back in the forest. Go there as soon as this meeting is over
,” said Edandir.

They all walked inside.

Edandir had never been on the inside of the great structure before. He remembered
back
when it was first being built. It was larger than he had imagined it would be.

Thousands of people already sat on stone benches. The Malinorian knights were seated at the bottom rows of the circular building.

Edandir and his small clan sat down side by side.
He was relieved they hadn’t been scattered by the crowds.

“I’ve never seen anything like it!” Talya exclaimed.

She was sitting next to him, but anyone within earshot could have heard her unmistakably feminine voice.

“
Please don’t speak until we leave this place,
” Edandir hissed.

He was about to
continue the lecture
, but a series of horns interrupted him. The audience instantly fell silent.

The
orchestra
began to play a soft, mournful piece of music.

Edandir had heard that song once before. He had nearly forgotten. The
intoxicating
tune took him back to a time over twenty years ago. He didn’t want to go there again.

Ittonifer stepped onto the field wearing his
armor
and
battle helmet.

The crowd cheered, drowning out the song
and its enchantment
.

The
Malinorian
ruler looked imposing as always with his prominent stature and powerful build. He had barely aged.

Ittonifer stopped once he reached the middle of the field.
The music ceased.
Another tall, fully armored man approached Ittonifer and then bowed at his feet.

It was Jalarn.

*****

Talya watched the warrior that had nearly killed her bow at his uncle’s feet. She balled her fists.

One day I will kill you. Then we will see which one of us is truly alone.

His hollow voice still echoed in her mind
.

“Commander Jalarn,” began Ittonifer in a loud voice, “you have proven to be my most worthy commander. You cleverly gained King Seraphim’s trust, took all of his wealth, and
now
you have fully submitted yourself to the prince.”

Talya gritted her teeth. She wanted to drive her blade right through Jalarn. He had killed Cardamon’s king – her king!

Her gut knotted at the thought of him entering into eternity after denying
God
.

Then again, what about me?
I haven’t stepped foot inside a church for years
, let alone prayed
. What if I had died back in the forest?

Ittonifer tapped the flat part of his sword on his nephew’s left shoulder.

Then, Jalarn stood.

“Malinor, behold your General. My left-hand man!”

The auditorium roared with thunderous applause and loud cheers.

Several ladies threw flowers and jewelry onto the field. Ittonifer’s guards gathered up the items.

A line of cloaked men entered the stadium and bowed
once they reached
Ittonifer.

Once again, the people stilled and silence settled in.

“They’re sorcerers,” whispered Edandir.

Talya rolled her eyes.

What kind of a ruler would be naive enough to believe that magic is real? I thought Ittonifer was clever.

“Aterun, high priest of Malinor, please step forward,” said Ittonifer.

A shriveled elderly man stepped out from the line of warlocks and hobbled over to the ruler. He knelt.

“Citizens of Malinor,” said Ittonifer, “I bring you our lord’s devoted servants. Through their devotion to the dark arts, we will conquer Sanctus! We will send thousands to their deaths by our
lord
’s power. He will give us what is rightfully ours!”

The crowd cheered.

“Aterun will lead us all in a chant. Together, we will curse the rebel nation and their warriors. Their destruction will begin today.”

Edandir turned to Talya and leaned close.

“Guard your heart, Talya. Pray,” he said.

“Why?”

She couldn’t remember her father ever talking about prayer. Sure, Sanctus was a God-serving nation, but a lot of the military people didn’t really practice it. He had apparently changed a lot since she moved to Cardamon.

“This is a matter of life and death, Talya. Trust me. Pray.”

The strange music started to play again.
A chill ran down Talya’s spine.

Life and death.
What is he talking about?

On her other side, Tanel shifted in his seat.

“We shouldn’t be here,” he said.

Maybe there was more to this magic stuff
than she had thought
.

“But magic isn’t real, right?” Talya whispered, feeling childish.

“Magic is just a fancy word for devil worship. It is powerless against God, but it can deceive and conquer humans,” said Tanel.

“
Well, then. I guess we had better pray
,” said Talya.

H
is eyes bore into hers for a moment before he closed them
.

Talya started to cover her ears as she tried to focus on saying something to God, but the music was… beautiful.

The sorcerers began to chant in perfect harmony to the song.

Beyond the music, beyond the noise, Talya
thought she
heard a thick, soothing voice whispering to her. She moved her hands away from her ears.

“Talya…”

She shook her head, but it
had already
permeated her mind.

“You want this. You know you do. I’ve been watching you, and I know what it is that you seek. Your so-called God has failed you. His people have held you back. I will make you more powerful than you could ever dream. I can give it all to you. Just submit your life to me.”

Talya trembled. It was the dark lord. She knew
it
.
But s
he liked what he had promised,
even though
it was wrong. She had ignored God for years, but she could never follow the devil. Not for any reason.

Talya clenched her jaw.

No!

Chapter Five

Jalarn lost himself in the
melody of the
seductive song. As he chanted along with the warlocks, a warm sensation crawled up his back. He willed it to permeate deep into his soul,
as
it had in the sorcerer’s
lair
.

Jalarn felt energized
by the dark presence encircling him
, but he wanted so much more.

A faint mist formed in front of Aterun
and
grew into a thick cloud
that
spread across the coliseum’s field.

Images formed inside. Powerful, winged demons danced and jumped in the fog. Some of them rode on skeletal unicorns. The
supernatural
riders joined a great marching army
–
Malinor’s army.

It is showing us the future.

The warlocks ceased their chanting
and t
he fog vanished.

Malinor’s citizens sat in awestruck silence. No one had ever seen anything like it.

“Men of Malinor,” Ittonifer said. “Through our prince’s
guidance
, Aterun has found out where ten of the great beasts of old reside. We will use them, along with our superior power, to destroy Sanctus.”

The crowd cheered.

The great beasts of old?
I wonder what other secrets the prince will soon reveal… to me alone.

Ittonifer turned to leave the field.

Jalarn
followed closely
behind him
feeling more dazed than he ever had before
.

At last, after countless hours of blood
, pain,
and sweat, everything was falling into place for
him
. As the General of Malinor, he would have better opportunities to
learn and
make
use the prince’s spells.
He was not alone anymore.

*****

Chrissa left the coliseum with her four handmaidens. She had just experienced the most captivating sight of her life, and all she wanted was to be alone to think.

She trailed behind her servants and then stepped
into
the great,
fast-moving
crowd on the street. She
brought
her lace shawl over her head and picked up her pace, pushing her way through the congested road. She found a less busy street and walked
briskly.

She smiled as t
he sun’s rays warmed her face. Sunshine, among other things, was far too rare in Malinor.

Chrissa slowed when she
passed
by the various merchants. Several of them called out to her, motioning toward their
goods
.

“Take a look at my gold bracelet collection, little miss!” cried one of the men.

“Good day, fair lady. Come take a loaf of my fresh bread before they are all gone,” grinned a pudgy baker.

“Miss! Have I got a bargain for you,” said another man.

The aggressive voices started to blend together.

Chrissa passed them by. The last thing she needed was
more useless trinkets
.
The only thing that she really wanted was her own sword, and her father had denied her that pleasure.

She finally reached the most beautiful fountain in the city. It had been a long time since she had seen it,
because s
he rarely had a chance to get out of the castle.