Dark Lord of Kismera: Knights of Kismera (5 page)

Drace’s stomach gave a loud grumble at that moment.

“Poor thing,” Estelle said. “Can you find your way to the hall? I believe they will be gathering for the evening meal now.”

“I think so,” he replied and headed for the door, stopped and came back to Estelle. He put her face between his hands and said, “Thank you for everything, Estelle. You are a peach.” Then he kissed her quickly on the forehead.

She gasped and turned crimson. He gave her a devilish grin and left the room.

IT HAD GROWN LATE enough in the day that torches had been lit along the walls in the great hall. Drace proceeded into the hall and saw that Vashti and Ka’Ril had already arrived and were taking seats on the raised platform. Seated two chairs down was a man who had to be related to the Lady Ki. He had the same blond hair, darker at the crown of his head, and long, just past his shoulder blades. He had one thin braid beside his face and the rest was unbound. His eyes were the same amber-gold, his face a masculine version of hers. Again Drace had a mental image of a lion when he looked at the young man.

Vashti motioned him to the table. “Please, sit next to me, my Lord Drace,” she said. “The meal will be served soon. I imagine you are hungry.”

He pulled out the offered chair and sat. “I’m starving! I’m kinda hoping for a huge steak.”

Vashti laughed. “My bread and cheese was not to your liking?”

Drace gave her a lopsided grin. “Oh it was some really great cheese, but I’m a meat kind of guy. Sorry.”
Oh God, let there be a steak, a hamburger, a meatball, anything with protein,
he begged silently.

A few other people began to enter the hall and were taking seats at the other tables. Heads turned as Ki entered the hall. Drace followed the example of the others and stood, nodding to her in respect, then returned to his seat.

Ki was dressed similarly to Drace except her tunic had long sleeves and was of a royal blue material. She walked easily through the hall, stopping to speak here and there as she came to the platform. She took a seat between Ka’Ril and the young blond man.

She leaned forward and looked at Drace. “Good evening, my Lord. You look much more presentable. I see Estelle used one of her potions on your bruises.”

“Yes ma’am.” He grunted when Vashti elbowed him in the side.

She whispered in his ear, “You should address her as ‘my Lady’ or ‘Lady Ki’ unless she informs you otherwise.”

“Oh, my bad,” he whispered in reply. To the Lady Ki he replied. “Yes, my Lady, I’m feeling much better, thank you.”

“I would like to see your horse in the morning. Cearan has gone on and on about him. Vashti says he even dances. Would you demonstrate this for us?”

“Yes, of course, my Lady, I would be honored,” Drace replied, politely.

“Very well then,” Ki said with a nod of her head. “What is his name?”

“His full name is long and hard to pronounce. It’s Dutch. I have always just called him Pride,” Drace said, trying to ignore the growling of his stomach as he spoke.

“What is Dutch?” Ki leaned on her elbow, giving him her full attention.

“The horse was imported from Holland. That is their language. They speak Dutch,” he informed, leaning in to meet her gaze.

“Ah, I see.” She turned slightly to the man at her side, who was shifting in his seat to better hear their conversation. “Please stop fidgeting, Cearan.” She turned her attention back to Drace and introduced the young man. “This is my brother, Cearan. He is the Head Horse Master here.”

Drace nodded in Cearan’s direction.

“Cearan is already talking of wanting to mate our mares with your stallion,” Ki added, “Pride may be too tired to be ridden if you do not protect him.” She smiled at him then and that was when Drace noticed the pronounced canines, top and bottom. The feline look was complete. That threw him off for a second.
What was up with the fangs?

Servers came in with platters of food, giving Drace time to compose himself.

“There is your steak; it is elk, not from a beef animal,” Vashti explained.

Drace was already cutting up his steak, using a knife and a simple two-pronged fork. He shoved the bite into his mouth then paused with another forked piece halfway to his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Oh God that is good!” he sighed as the tender meat practically melted in his mouth.

As servers made the rounds by the tables, he accepted a baked potato and some sort of salad greens with dressing. He ate for a while then looked at Vashti and Ka’Ril. “I don’t know where I am, but it just might be heaven.” He sighed a little in contentment.

“You are in Kismera, land of the Werre, the Lion-kin,” Vashti informed him. “This stronghold is Oralia. It means ‘golden’ in the ancient Werren language, referring to the red-gold stones of the castle’s walls.”

Drace nodded in understanding as he continued to eat. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he had been until he had gotten his first taste of the delicious steak.

He didn’t have a chance to talk further with the Lady Ki as she kept steady conversation with others at the table. Drace did catch her studying him from time to time during the course of the meal, her gaze sometimes curious, other times irritated. She finished her meal before many of the others and excused herself for the night, leaving Drace puzzled at her irritation.

Estelle woke and shaved Drace early the next morning after he had a restful night’s sleep. Following a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and warm bread dripping with real butter, Drace found his way to the stable. Cearan met him there and helped him find his saddle and tack.

“Let us ride to see some of our horses. Ki and Estelle are handling some problem in the cellars. Ki’s temper is up so it would be in our best interest to be scarce for an hour or so,” Cearan informed in a deep and friendly voice.

Drace agreed and they rode around the back of the keep and out two gates. Big pastures, with grazing horses and cattle, lined the road on either side. There were a few cottages for the horses’ caretakers and several long stables. Large trees provided shade for the livestock and a small creek ran through each pasture, providing fresh water. The knee-high grass was more of the bluegrass, and the livestock were fat and sleek on it.

Drace stopped to admire a pasture of mares that were kept for breeding. Most were black or a dark chocolate color. There were a few bays and one gray. They were big, tall mares with good, strong legs. With his horseman’s eye he could see the merits of breeding Pride to these mares. Cearan especially wanted to breed Pride to Ki’s mare as the horse was one of their best. He and Cearan stayed mounted on their horses while they discussed horse breeding and conformation.

When Cearan asked him to choose a gelding as an extra horse to ride, Drace agreed and picked a very tall, heavily built, dark bay with no white markings. Cearan led the horse behind his on their return to the castle.

“Ah, I see Ki. It would be best not to keep her waiting. I doubt her mood is much improved.” He clasped Drace’s arm the same way Ka’Ril had. “Thank you for your generosity, my Lord.” He disappeared into the stables giving orders to the stable boys.

Drace rode up to Ki, noting her look of impatience. “Good morning, my Lady. I hope you haven’t been waiting long. I just need to warm him up a little more.”

“Of course, please continue when you are ready,” she replied and moved to stand in the shadow of the stable.

A group of observers began to assemble as he warmed the stallion by trotting then cantering in large then smaller circles. He then rode to the center of the practice area and bowed his head to Ki.

He began the ride just as he remembered from competition tests. The growing crowd was so quiet everyone could hear the horse’s breath and the jingle of the bit chains. They became amazed as he performed the highest-level movements. There was an audible gasp as Pride slowed his trot until he trotted in place, then moved forward into a canter and Drace turned him, still at the canter, in a turn in one place. After turning a complete circle he asked the stallion to change leads each stride forward and with his flowing, heavy mane the horse seemed to skip. Drace brought him directly in front of Ki, halted the stallion, and asked for Levade where the black horse reared slowly. He seemed suspended; his weight squatted back on his haunches, holding it there for several seconds. He slowly came down to all fours.

Drace bowed his head to Ki. “My Lady, your dancing stallion.”

She placed a hand on the horse’s sweating neck, her mood apparently improved. Pride flinched as the onlookers burst into applause and she gave him a soothing stroke with her hand. “That was truly amazing and a beautiful thing to see. You must teach us how to ride our horses like that.”

“I would be honored, my Lady, but what you saw has taken years of training for Pride to perfect. I plan on being gone and back in my own home very soon,” he said. “If you will excuse me, my Lady, I need to cool him down and put him in his stall.”

She frowned slightly but said, “Of course. Please do. Vashti has informed me we will have a visitor soon. I expect you to be here to meet him.” She gave him an arrogant look. “You
will
be here long enough for that.”

Drace nodded, feeling more than a stab of irritation at her commanding tone. “I’ll be back here as soon as I can,” he said, “my Lady,” hoping his tone wasn’t too snotty.

D
race finished in the stable and was washing up in a bucket when a young boy came running in. “My Lord, the Lady Ki asked for you to hurry! Your visitor approaches!”

Drace grabbed a towel, dried his hands, tossed the towel to the boy, and left the stable quickly. He walked rapidly to Ki and Vashti, taking long legged strides to the center of the training field. Vashti took his hand in hers. “Look, my Lord, he comes!” she said and pointed to the northeast.

Drace’s gaze followed her finger skyward. “You must be able to see farther than I can. I don’t see a thing.”

“Just keep looking,” she instructed.

He squinted in order to see into the sky. His eyes went wide as he started, “Holy Hell! What is that?” At first Drace thought it looked like a huge bird in the distance, but it was rapidly approaching. It was definitely not a bird!

As it came closer, he could make out the leathery wings and the horned head. Its color was an iridescent white. And it was immense.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Vashti complained and Drace realized he was squeezing her hand in a death grip. He let go and took a small step back.

The dragon landed in the open area in front of them, coming down lightly on its rear legs and then touching down on its front ones. It gracefully folded its wings. Drace guessed its body alone was about fifty feet long and its tail maybe another thirty with a wingspan and neck to match its body. Vashti went forward with Ki, and they knelt down on one knee and bowed their heads in front of the massive creature.

The dragon rocked back on its haunches and raised one front leg. It gave an almost human gesture with one clawed foot. “Please rise. It is wonderful to see you again, my Lady Ki. Vashti, I see you have done well.”

Ki rose and went to the dragon. She placed a hand on its massive jaw when it lowered its serpentine neck and presented her his head. It made a loud rumble, which Drace interpreted as a dragon purr. “How was your hunt yesterday?” she asked.

“Excellent!” the dragon replied, “Two elk and a bison beast.”

This clarified to Drace why there had been no wildlife to be seen on the trip to the stronghold. He imagined every animal went into hiding when this creature hunted in their territory.

“Wonderful. If you will pardon me, I have things I need to attend to, my Lord.” Ki excused herself and with a parting dip of her head, she left for the castle.