Myrkron (Volume Two of The Chronicles of the Myrkron) (24 page)

To take his thoughts off their pace,
Attis concentrated on his breathing and turned his mind to light meditation.  He heard Lord Micah’s voice from a night long ago as all the Avari sat in the square listening to the Avari Lord speak.

“
In life as in battle, patience is your greatest asset.  When your mind is calm and clear, your eyes and ears will see and hear that which will elude a troubled mind.  Wait for waiting’s sake alone and you will find that time no longer has power over you.”

Chapter Twenty

As Michael started to walk toward the classroom, he was calm once again.  The centering technique of the Avari had refocused his mind and steadied his body.  He had barely taken a step when Merric appeared before him, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Did you call me, Michael?”  Merric asked amazed.

“Aye,” Michael answered.

“But how?”

“If I knew the answer, Merric, I would tell you.  Right now, we have bigger issues.  Mortow has sent many ships, containing large numbers of Weres, to flank us.  They sail for the coast just west of Kantwell.”

Merric looked from Michael to the two Avari, seeing the stunned expression on Branik’s face
, he instantly pushed all questions aside and spoke the words of transport.  The four of them materialized in the scrying chamber.

“Show me,” Merric commanded.

Michael turned to the basin and placed his hand on Merric’s arm.  “
Ostendo
.”

The liquid in the basin blackened then cleared quickly.  Merric could see Kantwell
, and then it was as if he had taken flight.  He winged his way west of the walls and traveled with the speed of a Swiftclaw.  Quickly, a beach came into view, and then he was over the ocean speeding toward nearly a dozen huge ships.  As he neared them, his pace slowed and he banked right, circling the sailing vessels below.  Merric could see the crews lowering sails and preparing to drop small landing boats.  “Michael, how long ago was this?”  Merric asked not taking his eyes off the vision in the basin.

Michael looked a bit puzzled.
  “Uh, right now.”

“I must warn the King!”  Merric said quickly
, then spoke the words of transport and vanished.

Michael let his concentration go and the image in the basin vanished.

“There is nothing King Brose can do that will make any difference for the people of the villages west of here.  Most of his men march east to The Slot and even if the others leave this instant, they will be too late to save those villages between Kantwell and the coast.”  Michael turned to face Reek and Branik.  “I’m about to do something of which Merric would not approve. Are you with me?”

Branik’s face
broke into a wicked grin.  “If you go to face them, then we should gather more Avari,” Reek said with caution in his voice.

“I do not go to face them.  I go to destroy them.  I have all the Avari I need right here with me.  What say you, Branik?”  Michael asked.

Branik smiled, remembering the day in The Slot when Michael destroyed all the attacking Weres.  “You will leave some for us this time?”

Michael laughed
. It was a tense, strained laugh that broke slightly with the fear of what he was about to do. But what choice did he have?  If he did not act, then many innocent lives would be lost in the wake of the Weres push to Kantwell.  He felt his stomach lurch at the thought of the killing he would have to do.  “If I can help it, no.  What I must do, I must do quickly. I am not exactly sure if I can control it.”

Before he could over think it or talk himself out of it, Michael spoke the words of transport and took the three of them to the beach.

Merric appeared inside the courtyard of Castle Brannin. The place appeared empty.  Most of the troops had already been sent or transported to The Slot.  He hoped to be able to transport enough warriors to the coast to stem the tide of Mortow’s forces getting ready to make land there.

He walked up the steps
leading to the audience hall.  The two guards flanking the door nodded to him, and the one on the right opened one of the double doors to admit him.  Instead of taking up his post once again, the guard entered the hall behind Merric and closed the door.

Merric turned to him with a questioning look.

The guard cleared his throat before speaking haltingly.  As Merric looked closer at the face under the helmet, he noticed that the guard was a young man probably no older than fourteen or fifteen.

“Wizard Merric, I am sorry
, but the King left yesterday for The Slot with the last of his knights.”

If a young man such as this was on guard duty
at the audience hall then there must be few men left at the castle and those would be personally guarding the Queen and the Prince.

“What is your name, guardsman?”  Merric asked kindly trying to put the boy at ease.

“Ranoff, Sir.”

“Well Ranoff, since the King is gone, whom did he leave in command?”

“That would be the King’s castellan, Gregory, Sir,” Ranoff replied.

“
Ah yes, Gregory.  It is vital that I speak to him at once,” Merric said letting a thread of authority slip into his voice.

Ranoff stiffen
ed slightly at the tone.  “I will fetch him immediately, Sir.”

“Hurry, lad.”

Ranoff bolted through the deserted hall and down the west wing, his boot strikes echoing through the chamber.

Merric walked down the steps onto the main floor of the hall and came to a halt about ten feet from the steps
leading up to the King’s throne.  He began to figure in his mind, how many men he was going to be able to bring to bear against this new threat.  There were only about twenty-five Avari left at Kantwell, and Ataum had left about the same amount of Forest Guard behind.  Merric doubted there would be a hundred able bodied troops within castle Brannin.  One hundred and fifty men against a couple thousand Weres; even with twenty-five of those being Avari, the odds were not good.

Merric refocused his attention on his surroundings when
he heard the sound of tramping feet coming from the west wing hall.  He recognized Gregory at once as he emerged from the hall with Ranoff and three other men.  Long black hair streaked with threads of silver pulled back into a thick braid that trailed halfway down his back.  A full beard displaying more silver than his hair was also braided at the corners of his mouth.  Gregory was fit, but not physically large, only coming up to Merric’s chest.  A long white scar ran from his left cheek bone to the corner of his mouth.  His green eyes scanned the room casually and, after satisfying himself all was in order, locked on Merric.  The black and green tartan of his kilt matched well with his hair and eyes.  He wore a dagger and a long sword at his white belt, which was a glaring contrast to the rest of his attire.

“Wizard Merric, what brings you to Castle Brannin?
”  Gregory asked, coming to a stop a few paces from Merric.

“Mortow has sent a group of ships containing a great many Weres to flank us.  They will make landfall today
, off our west coast near Kantwell.  We must gather what warriors we can to meet this threat, else all of those left behind will be in danger,” Merric informed him.

Gregory’s mouth set in a firm straight line as he listened to Merric.
  “We haven’t many men left, but what we do have are yours.  When the King informed me he would be joining the army at the Slot, I sent for my kinsman, Darian.  He brought what men he had remaining after the call to arms.  I cannot leave the Queen and young Prince unguarded, so a few will have to stay here.  I can give you about seventy-five men and myself.  Darian and the remaining men will provide protection for the Royal Family.”

Merric was disheartened to hear
the number. It was less than he had anticipated.  “We must make haste, Gregory.  Our best hope is to hold the beach before they make landfall.  We will be severely out-numbered and any advantage we can exploit, we must.”

Gregory turned to the man on his left, a red haired man half his age dressed in a
matching tartan.  “William, run and gather the men and bring them here.  Hurry, lad.  Ranoff, please return to yer post.  You and the other guardsmen will be under Darian’s command until I return.”

Ranoff looked frightened by what he
overheard and swallowed audibly.  “Sir, I would accompany you to help protect our people.”

Gregory’s mouth twitched up at the corner where the scar met it.
  “And the Shifters would run scared before your bravery, lad, but I need men of such courage here to protect the Queen and the Prince.  Off with ye now.  Return to yer post.”

Ranoff was visibly crestfallen
, but he saluted and walked off toward the main doors.

Merric was a bit shocked to hear Gregory’s accent.  As Castellan, Gregory spent more time at court than in his homeland
, and the mannerisms and speech patterns of the court were strong in him. Yet, Gregory and his kin were from the far northeast of Branna.  Their lands bordered the Anvil’s Teeth Mountains, which was the border of the dwarven lands.  The fact that he made reference to Shifters instead of Weres was a testament to how close his people actually were with the dwarves.

Gregory turned back to Merric.
  “I assume since time is short, we will be traveling by magical means,” Gregory inquired, all traces of his accent once again gone.

“Aye.  I will have to take us from here to Kantwell
to get the others.  We only have about twenty-five Forest Guard and close to the same number of Avari, but I will bring them all.  Even with my help, I fear we will not be enough,” Merric said slumping slightly forward.

“Bah!  Those Shifters donnea
know what they be in fer.  With the elite o’ four separate lands coming ‘gainst ‘em, they donnea stand a chance.  The Avari, the Forest Guard, my Highland kin and the Headmaster of Kantwell himself, I almost feel sorry fer ‘em,” Gregory laughed heartily.  “It will be the stuff o’ Bard’s tales!”

Merric forced himself to smile.  He knew the bluster behind Gregory’s words would not be enough to stem this tide of darkness
, though he appreciated the sentiment behind them.

When Merric returned to Kantwell
, thirty minutes had passed. He found a very anxious Martin waiting for him along with about twenty Avari.  Martin was twisting and pulling his sash in agitation when Merric popped into the Great Hall.

Martin ran forward quickly.
  “Headmaster Merric, Michael has left.  He took the two Avari, Reek and Branik, with him.”

“Damn!  I needed his help in transporting the men,” Merric said hotly.

“Do you know where he went?”  Merric asked.

Martin nodded his head looking sick.
  “I overheard him down in the scrying room.  He has gone to the beach to meet the Weres.  He sounded frightened.”

“How did you manage to overhear him down there?
  Oh, never mind!  That is not important right now.  You sure he went to the beach?”

Martin nodded his head slowly.
  “Headmaster, I am afraid for him.”

“That makes two of us.  Why are all the Avari here?”

“I gathered them at once after Michael left.  I knew you would need them.”

“Good man.  Stay here and help Mathis.  If we do not return, he is to be Headmaster.  It will fall to him to defend Kantwell and her students
.”  Merric spoke the words of transport. He and the Avari vanished from the hall.

Merric and the Avari reappeared in the Elven encampment just south of Kantwell.  Merric stumbled with fatigue, but was instantly caught by a firm hand on his arm.  Merric looked to see who had caught him.  He sucked in a breath as his eyes beheld one of the strangest sites he had ever seen.  Not only had he been caught and held on his feet, but by a slip of a woman; a woman with the most arresting eyes he had ever seen.  Her slender face held a few fine lines around eyes with lavender irises, surrounded by a golden ring.  Her long black hair was pulled back severely and streaked heavily with white.  Her features were delicate, though the hand on his arm was firm and unyielding.  The white Avari tunic she wore covered a frame that was decidedly feminine, yet the bare arm was heavily muscled and bore many scars.

Merric straightened and cleared his throat in embarrassment.  He realized he had been staring.
  “Sorry about that.  I must be getting clumsy in my old age.  Thank you for preventing me from looking like a drunken fool.  I am fine now.”

The woman smiled and Merric could see where the lines around her eyes had come from.  The sunlight caught her eyes and gave the illusion that the golden rings around her irises
were turning.  Merric’s breath caught in his throat again.

“Only clumsy of mind,
Magika.  One of your station should know better than to push himself so hard so quickly.  If you keep this up you will be of no use in the coming battle,” the woman whispered so only he could hear.  The smile remained intact on her face as she spoke while her tone conveyed the seriousness of her rebuke.

Merric frowned.
  “I haven’t the luxury of prudence right now.  We have little time and great need.  I do what I must,” Merric said in irritation.

The woman smirked at him as she released his arm.
  “Anger can be a good thing.  It can fuel the body in times of need, but do not allow it to cloud your mind,” the woman told him, and melded in with the other Avari.