Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel) (4 page)

Harry grinned at the challenge and spurred
his horse on, though he headed toward the shortest and narrowest of
the swampy paths.

Klora’s head came up in disgust as he stepped
into the swamp and sank to his fetlocks. I gave him a pat on the
neck.

“Come on, now. It’s just a bit of mud. Just
remember; stay between the rows of swamp grass and this is as deep
as you’ll have to step.”

Klora shook out his mane but proceeded into
the swamp without much more persuading. The stench of rotting swamp
grass and decaying whatever had managed to get sucked into the
swamp clogged my nostrils. Klora’s eyes started to show white as he
spotted something covered in flies floating nearby.

“Easy, boy. Almost there.” His steps made
sickening sucking sounds and I knew that should he bolt, we had a
very good chance of ending up like the fly covered mess to the
right.

“Chael!”

I looked up to find Harry already on the
other side of the swamp. The others were no longer in sight.

“Do you want me to wait here in case he goes
over?”

I shook my head. “Go! I’ll catch up!”

Klora picked that moment to jump sideways,
away from a small serpent swimming toward us. I spurred him with my
right leg, trying to keep him on the path. He jumped away from the
jab and I spurred with both legs. He bogged down, fighting to pull
his legs out of the muck. The motion threw me forward in the saddle
and I clenched my teeth as my thigh landed on the swell of my
saddle.

“Come on, Chael! Three more jumps like that
and you’re out!” Mark’s voice echoed through the swamp.

Klora launched himself again, and true to
Mark’s estimate, we were soon clear of the swamp. I jumped off of
him and wiped his legs off, looking for any cuts.

“What happened to Jarran?” inquired Harry of
Mark’s mare. I looked up and noticed she was limping as he led her
out of the woods in our direction.

“Caleb. He cut us off just before the first
log jump. I had to put on the brakes to avoid running into him but
I couldn’t slow her enough to stop her and she tried taking the
jump anyway.” He shook his head. “She caught her knee on it.”

“Maybe it was an accident?” Harry didn’t look
very convinced at his own suggestion.

“I’d like to know what’s gotten into him
lately.” Mark shook his head. “Anyhow, the two of you better get
going if you’re going to catch up.” He started to lead his mare
around the swamp. Harry and I got back on the trail.

“Good gods, why do I even bother asking you
for help. You’re so busy trying to make my life miserable, it would
never occur to you to make things a little easier.”

Harry glanced at me, his eyebrows raised.
“Who are you talking to?”

I rolled my eyes. “Just a useless, good for
nothing god who seems to love taking pleasure in my bad luck.”

If he was going to comment, he changed his
mind at the sight of a tall, rocky trail.

“Have you ever gone up the cliff path
before?” Harry looked up the nearly non-existent trail.

“Never.” I gave Klora a kick and gave him his
head. My horse, who did show a sense of self-preservation from time
to time, dropped his head and started to pick his way neatly up the
trail. I leaned forward and hung on to the saddle, making sure to
stay out of his way.

The top of the path opened up onto an open
field and the two of us urged our horses into a gallop.

“How far ahead do you think they are?” I
yelled over to Harry.

“My best guess is that they’ve made it to the
last fork.”

Both horses perked their ears at the sight of
a third standing by the woods. Harry and I looked at each other
grimly.

“That’s Mac’s horse.” I pulled Klora to a
stop.

“So where’s Mac?”

A cough startled Klora.

“I’m right here. Bastard pushed me off my
horse.” He tried to sit and lay back down with a groan into the
ferns that were hiding him. “I mean literally. He reached over,
rammed his horse into mine, and pushed me off with his own hand.
Bastard!”

Harry and I dismounted. “Are you hurt?”

“I think I’ve a few cracked ribs by the feel
of it.”

I looked down the path. Deep inside of me,
the need to win this race, to prove myself burned. Mac coughed
again and groaned. I thought back to my dream. Maybe I’d been wrong
when I’d told the visitor I wanted to win. It was definitely
something I wanted, but did winning make me a Knight? I looked down
Mac.

“Alright, let’s get you up on your horse and
we’ll take the shortcut back.”

Mac shook his head. “You can still catch up.
I’ve seen Klora at a dead run. If you go now, you’ve got this race
won.”

“He’s right, Chael. You could still win.”

I shook my head. “I’m not leaving you here
alone with Mac lying in the woods. Let’s get him up.”

It took a few tries, but we finally managed
to push Mac up onto his mare. He lay on her neck, trying to keep
the tears of pain from spilling from his eyes. I took his
reins.

“Just hang on to your saddle. We’ll go as
slowly as we need to.”

Harry grinned. “I wasn’t aware that Klora had
a slow speed.”

I laughed. “We’re just full of surprises,
Klora and I.”

“Oh?” Mac looked up, still pale from his
climb up his horse.

I shrugged. “It’s just a saying.”

By the time we had gotten back to the
starting line, the only people waiting were Harry’s father, Sir
Gregory, Mac’s father, Sir Charles, my father, and General Krane.
Harry and I dismounted and helped Mac off of his horse.

“What happened?” Sir Charles rushed to his
son’s side.

“I fell.”

“You mean you were pushed.” I glared at him,
angry he was covering for the man who’d done this.

General Krane frowned. “Who pushed you?”

Mac shook his head and General Krane turned
his attention to Harry and I.

“It was Caleb.” I answered.

“He’s also the one that ran Hal’s horse into
the woods which caused him to fall and break his arm,” added
Harry.

“And he cut off Mark and Jarran just before a
jump which caused the injury to Jarran’s knee.”

The general turned his attention back to Mac.
“Is this true?”

Mac stared at the ground and nodded.

“And what of you two?” inquired my
father.

“We came upon Mac lying on the ground… we
couldn’t just leave him there.” I smiled at Mac who nodded his
appreciation.

“I was going to try by myself and we told
Chael to keep going, but he insisted on staying to help.” Harry
gave me a pat on the back.

The General raised an eyebrow. “Harry, you
didn’t want to win?”

“Oh, of course I did, sir. My horse, he’s a
good one, but mostly on short distances.” He gave the speckled grey
a pat. “There’s no way I could have caught up and passed the
leaders to win. Chael, on the other hand, well, Klora may be high
strung and out of control most of the time, but he’s got speed and
stamina like no other horse I’ve ever seen. Chael had a chance to
win and we thought he should take it.”

The general turned his attention to me.
“Chael? Do you think you could have won?”

I took a deep breath, not sure how to answer.
Did I want to sound conceited? I decided to say what I felt. “I
think I still had a chance, sir. Like Harry said, Klora is a bit of
a meathead, but he’s got heart.”

“And, now I ask you; did you not want to
win?”

“More than anything, sir.”

“Then why stay behind? Harry could have
handled the task of bringing Mac back on his own.”

“True enough, sir. However, I’m a strong
believer that a Knight doesn’t leave a man behind. Mark and Hal
were able to walk back on their own, but Mac, well, if something
had happened and he’d fallen while on his way back, Harry would
have needed help to get him back on his mare. The honor of winning
the race would have been amazing, but it wouldn’t have been greater
than the dishonor I would have felt had I left Mac and Harry
alone.”

My father beamed where he stood while Sir
Gregory and Sir Charles nodded their approval. General Krane looked
at my horse thoughtfully where Klora was starting to dance around
on the end of his reins.

“Chael, in all of your years of training,
you’ve always been a team player. I remember a conversation I’d had
with you a few months ago. You wanted to win, you’d said. However,
I got the feeling that you felt you needed to win.”

“Sir?”

“Did you feel you needed to win this
race?”

“I…” I looked at Klora. “Yes, sir. I felt I
needed to win this race. Just as I feel I need to finish the
testing tomorrow as top man.”

“And why is that?”

I took a deep breath and ran a hand though my
dark brown hair. “I felt I, well, Klora and I, had something we
needed to prove. We’re different, yeah? I’m small and I think we
can assume I’ll never be as tall or as thick as the rest of you and
Klora…” I gestured to my horse who nearly jumped out of his skin at
the movement. I smiled. “He’s black and doesn’t have one calm nerve
in his body.” I looked at the ground, embarrassed by what I was
about to say. “Honestly, sir, I thought that if I could win the
race and if I can come out top man tomorrow, we might be able to
prove that we’re not as different as everyone seems to think we
are.”

I looked up at my father and saw the sadness
on his features before he managed to hide it away behind a blank
mask.

Harry and Mac were gazing at the ground,
obviously embarrassed by what I’d just said. I met the General’s
gaze.

“I’m not looking for pity, or special
treatment, sir. We’re all here to prove ourselves and we all have
our reasons why.”

He nodded. “True enough.” He looked at Klora
again.

Sir Charles looked from his son to me. “I
agree with your fellow Knights-in-training. Klora should have won
that race and I’ll be forever thankful for your help in getting Mac
home.” He scratched his chin. “Chael, if you could fight anyone
tomorrow in the arena, who would it be?”

“Caleb.”

“Just like that? You don’t want to think
about it?”

I shook my head. “Just like that. I want
Caleb.”

Everyone turned their attention to General
Krane who nodded. “Caleb it is.”

My father gave me a pat on the back as
everyone mounted and headed back to the city.

*****

“Caleb?” My uncle’s surprise was clear on his
face.

I nodded and thanked my aunt for the mug of
ale. “You look surprised, Uncle Peter.”

“That’s because I am. By gods, you could have
picked a smaller opponent to prove yourself with. The man has a
good eight inches on you and is twice as thick. Now, I’m not saying
you’re not good at what you do. The gods know I had my doubts when
your father announced what he had planned for you as child, but
you’ve managed to prove yourself.” He shook his head. “But
Caleb?”

I took a sip of my drink. “I’ve fought him
before. He’s arrogant, cocky.” I glanced at my aunt who stood in
the kitchen, pale. “You don’t have to worry, Aunt Jannet.”

“You know what I think of this whole ordeal.”
She frowned and went to her room. My uncle looked after her then
turned his attention to me.

“I’m going to agree with your aunt on this
one. You’ll get hurt. And what happens when they take you to the
back to mend you and they see what you’ve been hiding all these
years?”

My father grunted. “It’s not up for
discussion. Chael has picked an opponent and he’ll win.” He smiled
and patted me on the back. “Tomorrow, there will be one more Shadow
Knight in the family.”

Everyone had a drink and thought about what
would happen. My uncle, obviously upset, excused himself and joined
my aunt in their bedroom. I looked into the fire, relaxed by the
ale. Whisk thumped his tail against the floor, the hollow sound
repeating itself as I reached down to pat his head.

“Don’t let them worry you, Chael.”

I smiled. “I’m not worried, Dad.” He refilled
my mug and raised his to mine.

“Tomorrow, you’ll show them.”

I took a long swallow. “Tomorrow, Caleb’s
going to wish he was three times the size he is now.” My father
chuckled and agreed before heading to bed.

I had started to doze on the couch and I felt
the pull of a dream. Even as I let it take me, I couldn’t help but
think it was strange to have more than one in a week. I waited
until the spinning room around me turned into a hayloft. Someone
cleared their throat and I spun.

“Who are you?” I asked, shocked. The visitors
in my dreams had always been someone I knew.

The man stayed quiet. His black hair and
black eyes caught the light of the moon as it streamed through a
small window. He leaned back against the wall.

“Are you sure you want to waste your one
question on that?” His voice was deep, but not gruff.

I took a deep breath and shook my head.

“Alright, then. What do you want to know?”
His dark eyes were filled with amusement.

“Tomorrow…”

He laughed and I stopped talking, anger
welling in my chest. I glared at him. He got himself under
control.

“I’m sorry. You were saying?” His grin was
mocking.

“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, but
you can get the hell out of my dream!”

He shook his head, still smiling. “I have to
give you an answer.”

“I’m not asking a question.”

“Oh, but you are. I can feel it. Whether or
not you want an answer, here it is.” He pushed off of the wall and
came to stand directly before me. I looked up at him and clenched
my jaw, refusing to step back as he obviously tried to intimidate
me. “You’ve always been a brave one,” he exclaimed, his grin
widening. “Though, sometimes, I’m not sure if you’re brave or
stubborn.”

I frowned and watched as he went to sit on a
bale.