Dark One Rising (36 page)

He walked down the streets, looking for anything that would give him proof of who was behind this. He was not optimistic; there wasn’t much left. The echoes of horse hooves on the cobbled streets bounced off the crumbling walls of what was once a fairly prosperous city, nestled on the banks of the great Elanorrah Lake. Travelers would come down river to trade and purchase supplies before moving across the open land to the south or east. Now almost deserted, it housed only about fifteen-hundred people, merchants and tavern owners who refused to move on. A few traders still preferred the river entrance to a trek across land from the Tiernan Sea in the southwest. The fees from the toll up river near Barden kept most from passing through. Those coming into Azlyn from the sea chose instead to sell their wares in Pembroke or Boones Ferry in the east end of the province. Usually the city was clean and taken care of, but today it was entirely different. A different city sat before him now.

Down another street he had to skirt a dead man that was lying in the road, the body bent in some weird contortion. When he rounded a corner, he was met with a crossbow pointed at his head. He stopped his horse in its tracks and looked down at his aggressor.

It was a young man, maybe eighteen or nineteen, his simple tunic torn and smeared with blood, his leggings soiled. His brown hair was limp, and a recently healed cut on his forehead was crusted with blood. His eyes were large, his mouth tight in an angry snarl. He was shaking. Alek was afraid he would loose the arrow by accident simply from unsteady hands. Alek didn’t speak, afraid that anything he said would set the youth off. He simply raised his hands in surrender and waited.

“Come back for more, eh?”

“Take it easy, son, I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Save it. I know you’ve come to pick off the rest of us, but you won’t take me alive.” He raised the crossbow higher, finger hovering over the trigger.

If Alek didn’t settle this kid down, he might just find another hole in his head, and he had as many as he needed. “I swear on His Majesty, King Dainard Llewelyn Grayson of Azlyn, that I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to see the devastation and report it to the king himself. Put down your weapon. I won’t harm you.”

The youth lowered his bow. Alek could tell from his stance and the expression on his face, however, that he was still not entirely confident that he would live out the day but hoped that this stranger was telling the truth. Alek looked down at him and smiled, trying to make the boy relax so they could talk. He lifted his hands away from his sword and held them up in front of him in a surrendering gesture again, then spoke, “I’m going to dismount now. When I get to the ground, I’ll let you have my sword as a gesture of trust. Do we have an accord?”

The boy eyed him some more, then nodded. Alec dismounted and slowly removed his sword from his scabbard, handing it to the youth hilt first. The boy dropped the bow and arrow, grabbed the sword, and held it out toward Alek.

“My name is Alekzand’r Morgan or Alek to my friends. I work for the king. What’s your name, son?”

The kid hesitated, then answered, “Maddon Ellbert.”

A look of recognition crossed Alek’s face at the name. He rubbed his chin and looked down at the boy. “Ellbert. Are you any relation to Nalo?”

The boy looked surprised. “He was my grandfather.”

“I know your grandfather well, Maddon. He and I served in the king’s army for a time. Is he well?”

“He’s dead!”

Alek was taken aback by the boys declaration. “What happened?”

The boy lowered the sword slightly but didn’t change his stance. Alek knew he needed more reassurance. He started to reach into his pocket, but the boy reacted, pulling the sword higher, inches from Alek’s throat.

“Whoa, son. I’m only going to reach into my pocket and give you something that will prove that who I say I am is the truth. Calm down.”

The sword point stayed where it was. Alek reached into his pocket slowly, to not scare the kid into running him through. He pulled out a small square medallion hanging on a chain, stamped with the king’s logo, and handed it to the boy. The boy grabbed the medallion with one hand, while still holding the sword to Alek’s neck with the other, and looked at it.

“How do I know you didn’t kill a king’s knight and steal this from him?”

“You don’t, but if you need help, you’ll have to take the chance to trust me and hope you’re not mistaken.”

The boy conceded. He once again lowered the sword. This time, the tip touched the ground. He was surrendering.

Alek took the sword from the youth’s limp hand and re-sheathed it. The boy handed the medallion back to Alek.

“Keep it as a reward for your bravery.”

The boy looped the chain over his head. He looked at it again for a moment or two, then rubbed a hand across a tired face. “I’m sorry I doubted you, but I’ve lost everyone I know to Fallon and his army.”

“So, the duke is behind all this talk?”

“Yes. I saw him myself. He has a large force already and is enlisting more. The giants have already been bribed into his ranks. They carry his colors. They came through here a few weeks ago and tried to recruit men for his army. Those that refused, and women and children that could not join, were killed, the town set ablaze. My grandfather and father were two that refused. They are both dead.”

“Have you no family left?”

“My father told me to take my mother and sister underground for safety. The city’s aqueduct has been long abandoned for newer more industrious methods. The water was long ago drained: only underground caverns remain. They move across the entire city. Over a thousand men, cowards all of them, followed the giants out of here. Another five hundred, including women and children, are still hiding. The rest of the men stayed behind to fight. They killed over fifty giants, but it wasn’t enough. The rest of the giants eventually killed everyone left and set the town ablaze. After I saw my mother and sister to safety, I came back up and fought alongside my father and grandfather, but in the confusion of the fires and fighting, we were separated. When I fought my way back, they were both dead. I killed three of the monsters myself, but not in time to save them or a few of my neighbors. I’m the only Ellbert male left.”

Alek placed a consoling hand on the boy as his shoulders drooped in defeat. Alek could tell that he was tired, as well as pretty beaten up, and he felt a sense of pride. He fought bravely and proudly, and courage such as that should not go unnoticed.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the underground tunnels as well?”

“We send out a two man patrol every morning and every evening, keeping watch for more trouble. There’s nothing left for them, but we cannot risk them coming through again and finding what’s left of our families. You’re the first person not in league with Fallon to come through here for weeks.”

“You’re a brave lad, Maddon. Your father and grandfather would be proud. You fought hard, and you’re protecting your family still. That is commendable, and the king will know it, I swear.”

“It matters little now. There’s nothing left for us here. I know we must move on, but where we’ll go I don’t know.”

“Do you have any idea which way the giants went when they left here?”

“I can’t say for sure if they have strayed off course from their original path, but they headed southeast, toward the coast.”

“Which could mean they have bartered passage from Soros, but where they would go from there I have no idea.”

“One of the men that stayed to protect the women and children said he thought they would go to Sailors Bluff, then into Boones Ferry. From there, they could take over the Triple Cities to give them passage across the border. It’s rumored that he has enough in his purse to enlist more than fifty thousand men into his army. His plan is to take over Aaralyn first, then change where the border lies. If he can take over the Triple Cities and transfer control of that border to his men, Azlyn will have a hard time controlling his movements.”

Alek stared at the boy, in awe of his knowledge of warfare and his wealth of valuable information. “You’re an extraordinary youth. How old are you?”

“Eighteen, sir. I’ve been taught many things by my grandfather.”

“And it shows. Your grandfather was a master strategist. He’ll be missed. I think it’s time we get word to the king and prepare him for what’s coming. Can you ride hard, Maddon?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s go down to the aqueduct and discuss some things with the others, then I’ll send you to Pembroke with message. Do you think you can make it without incident?”

“I’ll travel the mining roads and stick to the shores of the Elanorrah. With the snow, they’re rarely traveled at this time of year. I’ll deliver that message if it’s the last thing I do.”

Alek patted the boy on the back and motioned for him to lead the way. Things were bleak. Dain had to be ready. What was left of Amaris would have to be evacuated, and he’d need more resources for that.

***

Since Alekzand’r had departed, Melenthia and Dain had been eating dinner alone in his private royal dining room. Just as other evenings, Dain was seated at the table by himself. She approached, and he looked up at her and smiled.

“Alek still has not returned?”

“I assume he won’t return for a few more weeks. There’s information we need, and he’s the best one I have to gather it.”

“He doesn’t stay in one place for very long does he?” she asked seating herself next to him at the table.

“Not by his own choosing I assure you. I feel guilty for having to send him out so much without giving him much chance to revive. This time, however, he volunteered.”

“I’m sure he’s used to it.”

A servant came and placed dinner on the table, pouring Melenthia wine. They sat for a few minutes in silence, eating the prepared meal they had been served. She occasionally, nonchalantly, looked in his direction. All those rumors she had heard about him, about his boyish charm and easy way of getting women to succumb to them intrigued her, but she had seen nothing to indicate the rumors were true. They said he was a player, never once settling down with anyone for more than a month of two, but yet here he was, eating alone with her. He had never once used any lines to try and woo her. He seemed to have taken his promise to Alek and her brother seriously, but then wondered how long it would last. The last time she stole a glance in his direction, he caught her. She looked away quickly, a flush of red filling her cheeks.

“What is it?” he asked her, smiling in amusement now. He was not making fun of her, but she had him intrigued about what she was thinking about.

“Nothing.”

“Oh come now, Your Highness. I can practically see the wheels in that pretty little head of yours turning. There’s something you want to ask me. I can see it in your eyes. Go ahead. I have nothing to hide.”

She looked at him again, this time, the embarrassment gone. “Okay. I was just curious as to your lack of company these days. You seem to have taken my comment about women in and out of the castle seriously. You didn’t need to change your ways on my account.”

He stared at her for a moment, a small smile of amusement on his face. “My, aren’t we bold. Well, I did ask for it didn’t I? If you must know, as soon as I knew you would arrive, I made a pact to conduct myself in a more proper manner, especially while you’re under my care. To tell you the truth, I have grown bored of my whims. I crave something better, something with more meaning and purpose.”

“That’s a noble endeavor, Dain.”

“Yes, and one I’m not sure if I can stick to forever. But so far so good.” He changed his tone to one of playfulness. “My infidelities amuse you, do they?”

“No. I just wondered how much of all the rumors about you were true, and how many were the bawdy tales of women who only wished it was they in them.”

He laughed. “I see where your views of my behavior could be misconstrued. However, most of them are sadly probably true. I’m trying though. We’ll see where my efforts get me.” He lifted his glass to her and said, “For now, the present company is satisfactory.”

She blushed slightly again and lifted her glass in response. They continued dinner in silence.

It had been a month since their ride into town, and he still had not given her the necklace. He decided it was time to be bold. Tonight was the night.

He stared at her, looking her up and down and taking in all of her beauty. The curls of her hair bounced as she walked or moved, the copper highlights shiny in the candlelight. As usual she was a ravishing beauty.

After dinner, she started to excuse herself and rise from the table, but before she could leave, he cleared his throat and said, “A moment, Melenthia.”

She sat back down. He wore a simple coronet on his dirty blond head tonight, with small silver leaves and vines intertwined around it. His pale blue eyes gazed at her with genuine affection. He reached into his doublet pocket and pulled out the necklace, placing it on the table in front of her.

She looked at it, then back up at him. “What’s that?”

“A gift.”

“What for?”

He laughed lightly. “For nothing in particular. I just wanted you to have it. You seemed to really be taken with it, so I wanted to give it to you.”