Origin (7 page)

Elwyn twisted and turned, struggling to break free from her attackers grasp. The man was incredibly strong, but not strong enough to prevent her from twisting around to face him. She bit down on the man’s hand as hard as she could and at the same time elbowed him in his solar plexus. He uttered a gurgling scream as she broke free from his grasp and stumbled into Thane’s outstretched arms. As the assassin pulled his knife and stepped forward to renew his attack, Keroc, talons outstretched, tore into the assassins scalp. As the man stumbled back, his sharp teeth tore open the killer’s neck and severed his jugular vein. Hot blood spurted from the now dead assassin splattering the three of them as he fell to the ground.

Thane put his arms around her, drawing her away from the body and back to where they’d been standing.

“Keroc, update Ayron and let him know that two more of Crawley’s men are dead and that Elwyn is fine. Then, please scout the area for any more stragglers.”

As Keroc flew off, Thane walked over to where he had tethered his mount, got a clean cloth from his saddle bags, and gave it to Elwyn.

“Here, wipe the blood from your arm,” he said, hoping it would help to distract her from the horror she’d just experienced.

“I don’t understand,” Elwyn whispered stunned and shaking so badly she could barely hold onto the cloth. “Why would anyone want me dead? The only people I know are in this village and except for hunting in these woods, I’ve never been away from this place. The only people that I know, I have known my whole life. The worst thing that I have ever done was to embarrass some of the boys from my village and a few of the neighboring villages by winning an archery contest a few months ago. It upset and embarrassed our village elder Ston because his son was in the competition and expected to win. Ston immediately issued a proclamation limiting sporting competitions to males. The truth of the matter is that Ston can’t stop me from learning and honing my skills, but he can keep me from competing and demonstrating them publically. I would view him as my worst enemy, but I doubt he wants me or my uncle dead. Even if he was that angry, I don’t think he has the money to hire a bunch of assassins to do the job. If he was that upset with us, he’d probably just try to us kicked out of the village.”

Thane realized, from her words, that Elwyn was rattling nervously, anxious to think about something other than death and dying. He could also tell that she was a very confused and resentful young woman who was not willing to acknowledge the seriousness of the attack on her uncle or herself. Thane was pretty sure that her uncle would know the reasons why they were attacked, and was surprised that he’d decided to keep his niece in the dark. He hoped the man lived long enough to share them with her, so that she would understand the danger she was in.

As he cleaned the blood from his cloak with a damp cloth, he also realized how much punishment she’d probably endured living in this small village because of her skill with a bow. In his society young women were praised and affirmed for any talent or ability they possessed. He tried to lighten the mood of the conversation by saying, “Well they should have known better than to try to compete head to head with an elf, or maybe your village elder, this Ston, just doesn’t know any better.”

“What is an elf?” Elwyn said, her voice rising nervously. “I’m tired of all this mystery and death. I don’t trust any of you. I’m leaving now.”

A
yron arrived back at the village square just as his men finished putting together a makeshift stretcher. A local couple, who lived nearby, offered the use of their home as a temporary hospital. He gratefully accepted their offer, anxious to get Rhys to a more secure location as soon as possible. Ayron doubted that what was left of Crawley’s men would try to mount another assassination attempt, but the square was difficult to defend and he didn’t plan to leave anything to chance. It was obvious to him that Rhys was well liked. Quite a few of the villagers gathered in the square after the initial excitement of the attack died down. They were concerned for Rhys and wanted to find out how he was. It took an appeal from Clayre to convince the crowd of villagers to separate enough to clear a path to the nearby home. As soon as the way was clear, Ayron gave the order to move him. As the stretcher passed by, he could see the hilt of the dagger still protruding from Rhys’ chest.

“The wound must indeed be grave if they haven’t removed the dagger yet,” he thought to himself. “I have a feeling that my questions are going to have to wait until the healers have had a chance to tend to him.”

His men succeeded carrying Rhys on the makeshift stretcher, without incident, to the dwelling that had been procured for his care. For the next forty minutes, Clayre with the assistance of Ayron’s healer Galdor, worked on Rhys. Whether Rhys lived or died depended on how much damage the dagger had done and the skill of the healers working on him. Ayron knew and trusted Galdor’s skill. Since Clayre was a stranger to him, he was happy that Galdor was there to assist her. Ayron waited outside the hut, not wanting to distract them from their work. After what seemed like an eternity but was little more than half an hour, Clayre, drying her hands on a clean towel, exited the hut and approached him.

“We have removed the dagger from his chest and for the moment he is resting, but even I can’t predict the outcome.” she said, with fatigue and worry radiating from her body. “The dagger did not pierce his heart nor does it appear to have been dipped in poison, but it did penetrate his left lung, leaving his recovery extremely hard to predict,” she added heavily. “I fear the journey back to health will be long and hard for Rhys, especially if infection sets in. Even if it doesn’t, he may always be left with some weakness in that lung. He will definitely need a lot of nursing and support from Elwyn and me if he is to have a chance to survive.”

Ayron cut in, not intending to be rude but feeling the urgency to keep his promise to Elwyn to return to her as quickly as possible. He addressed Clayre with all the dignity that his royal line and position in the ruling family would allow, while still trying to maintain some rapport. “I am Ayron, brother to Azavon, the ruler of Silvendil; a land to the north. My responsibilities are to keep my land, its many races, and the ruling family safe from harm.”

Ayron could see that he had her attention, and continued. “I met Rhys and his sister Rhianna when they were about Elwyn’s age. My brother and I helped them escape the assassination squads sent after them by King Stefan when he usurped the throne of Avrelan.”

“But that’s impos…” Clayre started to say.

“Please listen Clayre, I have a lot to say to you and very little time to do it,” said Ayron interrupting her. “Rhianna was born about two minutes prior to Rhys, making her heir to the throne of Avrelan. King Stefan plotted to murder the entire royal family in an attempt to take over as ruler. With the help of an aunt, Rhianna and Rhys escaped into Everin Forest. Azavon and I were hunting in the area with some of our men, when we stumbled across the two of them; cold, exhausted, and terrified. They’d been able to avoid two of Stefan’s assassination squads, but it was only a matter of time until they would have been caught, tortured, and murdered. We offered them sanctuary and took them back with us to our capital city of Findara.”

Ayron took a deep breath and continued, “Eventually Azavon, my brother, and Rhianna fell in love, and married. Rhys left shortly after the wedding to seek his fortune in Unity. I think he felt he would be safe here in Tarlon even if Stefan did discover his whereabouts, given the treaty of non-violence and the fact that he was not heir to the throne. But when Rhianna died, in Stefan’s eyes, Rhys became heir to the throne. I’m pretty sure that Stefan was unaware of Rhys location or Elwyn’s existence until very recently. And, I think the knowledge of her existence prompted today’s attack. The men that arrived in the village today just ahead of us were sent by King Stefan to kill them both.

“But Elwyn would be no threat to a king. She has nothing. She is just a young girl, and has never been away from the village,” said Clayre giving him a puzzled look. “I can guarantee you that she has no idea that she is heir to anything more than a small dwelling and a blacksmith shop.”

“Clayre, I heard Crawley order his men to find “the girl” after he believed that Rhys was dead or dying. King Stefan has to make sure that both of them are dead in order to eliminate any threat to his throne. If Elwyn is Rhianna’s daughter, she is the rightful ruler of Avrelan. If she were to die, Rhys, Rhianna’s brother would be the next in line to rule. Rhys knows this and has obviously worked very hard to keep her well hidden all these seasons, not knowing who he could trust.”

“Ayron, this is all so difficult to believe. I have known Rhys for many seasons. Never once has he ever hinted to having a secret like this.”

“What do you know of his background before he came here? Has he ever spoken of his childhood, or that of his sister? My guess is that your knowledge of Rhys began when he showed up to live in your village. You probably have no idea what secrets that man holds or what inner demons from his past have haunted him.”

“Well, Rhys is in no condition to speak for himself right now and I’m not sure that I need to know these things if he is unwilling to share them. I only care that he and Elwyn are safe from harm. I love them both more than anything else in this world. They are my only family.”

“There is something else that also needs to be considered. It appears that Elwyn may be the daughter of Rhianna and Lord Azavon of Silvendil. If that is true, she is heir to the throne of two nations in the Known Lands, and therefore an even more serious threat to King Stefan’s rule.”

“I can confirm that Elwyn is Rhianna’s child. I was present at her birth. I was also present at Rhianna’s death a month later when a mysterious illness swept through our village. Rhys has raised her since then.”

“I can see that you care deeply for Rhys and Elwyn, but it is imperative that you accept that they are both in extreme danger and cannot remain here any longer. In fact, every hour they remain in this village the danger to them increases.”

“But why would they still be in danger if your soldiers killed the men sent to assassinate them? It sounds to me as if you’re overreacting, Ayron.”

“I don’t believe I am. There are still some of Crawley’s men unaccounted for, and if they make it back to King Stefan, who I believe is behind this, another attempt could be made on their lives within the day. You may be in danger as well, since you were with Rhys when he was attacked.

I will allow you a short time to stabilize Rhys, now that the dagger has been removed. My men are constructing a litter that will rest on an old wagon frame we found at the blacksmith shop. I believe that for him to make the journey to Silvendil right away would be too difficult and might well kill him, so I am planning to take him to the village of Amarni, which is just across the border in the land of Urafiki. I would like you to accompany him and continue to care for him; both on the journey and after he arrives.”

“Ayron, I still think you are overreacting to this situation. Rhys has lived in this village for the past seventeen seasons and Elwyn was born here. Maybe the attempt on their lives was a warning and this will be the end of it. Besides, Rhys shouldn’t be moved.”

“Clayre, I know that you would like to stay here and hope that everything will return to the way it was. No one likes change when it is thrust upon them, but I promise you that neither Rhys nor Elwyn will ever be safe in this village again. I don’t think that you will either; which is why I have asked you to come with us.”

“Ayron, you just don’t understand. I am the healer in this village and have a responsibility to the people that live here. How can I just leave everything behind? Why can’t we just stay here? Rhys is no threat to that king. Surely he must realize that. And what of Elwyn? How will she deal with having to go to this foreign land?”

Ayron could see fear and confusion rising up in the simple village woman. Since she was vital to the success of his plan and since he believed that her life was also in jeopardy, he knew he had to find the right words to convince her that she should accompany them. He took a deep breath and began.

“Clayre, from what I have seen you seem both an intelligent and courageous woman. I am guessing that you have been through some difficult times in your life. If nothing else, I know that being a healer is a difficult job that requires both courage and determination. I know it is hard for you to believe what I am saying, but it is the truth. I wouldn’t question your diagnosis as a healer and I am asking you not to question my assessment as a military leader. My men and I plan to leave today, and take you and Rhys across the border into Urafiki, where you will be safe from King Stefan.”

“Today!” Clayre cried, her face turning pale.

“I realize this whole situation is unsettling, and will continue to be that way for a while, but I am asking you to put aside your fears and cooperate with my efforts to save your life and the lives of the two people you love the most. I would not ask you to leave immediately unless I believed every word I’ve said to you in the past few minutes. I want you to know though, that I will not force to you do anything or go anywhere against your will. It must be your decision to accompany us. I will, however, be leaving with Rhys as soon as the litter is finished and I have completed making arrangements for Elwyn’s safety”

“What do you mean?” She cried. “Isn’t she coming with us? I will not consider being separated from her. Nor, I know, will Rhys.”

“I would like you to accompany me while I talk with Rhys about the situation. I will keep it as brief as possible, but he has the right to decide what is best for himself, and for Elwyn.” Ayron said, as he turned and walked toward the hut, with Clayre following close behind. As he walked, he projected the need for a bit more time to Thane, through Keroc, hoping fervently that Elwyn would be patient for a little while longer. The last thing he needed right now was for her to be running around the village searching for her uncle, or arriving here and burdening this man, who was in a fight for his life, with an emotional appeal to stay with him.