Ossendar: Book Two of the Resoration Series (25 page)

Finally, Kara spoke up, “The church agreed to this?”

Flare nodded and smiled at her. “I had trouble believing it as well. The king personally assured me that Dalin Olliston himself approved the plan.”

Quiet once again settled in, but it didn't last long. “But, surely the church doesn't approve of you leading this mission?” Mikela said. “I mean you resemble the Kelcer prophecy so closely.”

Flare smiled at her, grateful that she had brought up the subject of Kelcer. He wanted to discuss this, but he didn't want to be the one to bring it up. “Yes, I do closely resemble many aspects of the Kelcer prophecy, but the church agrees that I was born at the wrong time of the year to be the one prophesied about.”

He looked around the table, “I need to know something right now. I need to know if any of you have a problem with this mission. I didn't pick this, but I intend to do my duty. Do any of you object to this mission?”

Several moments passed, and finally Enton spoke up, “No, I think it will be fun.”

Several smiles broke out at Enton's comments, and Flare said a silent thank you for the big man. “Good.” He walked back and forth at the end of the table. “I have decided that we will split into three groups for the journey. It will be safer for us, and we leave tomorrow night.”

Several foreheads wrinkled in confusion. “Why will it be safer?” Aaron asked.

“Well, there may be spies for other kingdoms in the castle, and if there are, then they will want to stop us from returning with the sword.” Several of the guardians nodded at this, “Also, the eleven of us are fairly easy to pick out in a crowd. If someone tries to set a trap for us, then they will be looking for eleven travelers not three or four.” He paused and looked around at the guardians. No one said anything, so he continued, “I have decided that Atock and Philip will accompany me. The second group will be led by Derek and will include Trestus, Kara, and Enstorion. The third group will be led by Heather and will include Enton, Aaron, and Mikela.”

“What? You put a woman in charge?” Enton exclaimed. “I'm a Yurkut warrior, and you want me to follow a woman?”

Heather shot a dirty look toward Enton, and opened her mouth to respond, but Flare beat her to it. “Enton, when you joined the guardians, you knew that you might be asked to serve under a woman. I am putting Heather in charge because I think that she is the best choice for this mission.” The look on Enton's face darkened. “Enton, will you follow her orders?”

Enton had an angry look on his face. “Yes,” was all he said, but he avoided Flare's gaze.

“Good.” Flare said, although he didn't feel good about Enton's attitude, perhaps he should have put Aaron in charge, but it was too late now. “None of you can say anything about this to anyone, understand?” He waited until they had all agreed. “Good, we leave tomorrow night. Everyone's dismissed except Heather and Derek.”

Flare, Heather, and Derek waited as the rest of the guardians left the room. Flare closed the door and sat down in a chair where he could face the other two. They waited quietly for him to speak. “Are both of you okay with this mission?”

“Yes.” Derek said, and Heather nodded her head in agreement.

“Good, because I'm going to need you two to take care of the other guardians. Trestus and Aaron have other things on their mind, so you will need to watch them. Kara is a priestess of the church and I'm afraid that she might not be completely in agreement with this mission.”

“Don't forget about Enton.” Heather said in a grumpy voice.

Flare focused on her, “Heather, you can't just demand his respect. You'll have to win him over.” She seemed less than convinced, so he continued, “If you just order him around, he may follow your orders, but then again he may not. You have to win his respect and have him choose to follow your orders. He's going to try you and if you respond in a negative manner, then he won't support you. Be patient and show him why he should follow you.” He waited a moment, and she reluctantly nodded her head.

Derek broke the silence, “Have you chosen the road you want us to travel?”

Flare smiled. “I have chosen the first part of your trip for you, but I want you to choose the rest of the journey for yourselves.” Both Heather and Derek had confused looks on their faces, so Flare continued, “I don't want to know all the roads you plan on taking. If one of the groups gets caught, then I don't want the other two groups to be in danger.” The faces of the other two guardians darkened at his gloomy words.

“So where do we go from here?” Heather asked.

Flare slid a map to each of them. “Heather, I want you to take your group and travel west to
Tyler
's Junction. From there, I don't care how you make your way south.” Flare looked over at Derek, “Derek, I want you to go east to the far side of the forest and then you are on your own.”

Heather nodded, but Derek asked, “Are we to meet up somewhere?”

Flare nodded, “Yes. I want us to meet in the city of
Helum
. As each group arrives in the city, we will meet up at the northern gate.”

“How are we to do that?” Derek asked.

“As each group arrives in the city, one member will go to the northern gate each day at noon. As the other groups arrive, they also will send a member to the northern gate at noon. Once all three groups have met up, then we will have to decide how to proceed from there.”

“And how long do we have for the journey?” Derek asked.

“Six weeks,” Flare answered. “That should get us there at the start of the winter festival in Helum. It should be nice and crowded.”

Kara left the meeting room and ignored the other Guardians' urgent whisperings. Instead, she headed straight for her room as quickly as she could. At one point, she thought that she might have broken out into a run, but she wasn't sure, and she really didn't care if she startled a few maids.

She reached her room, threw open the door, entered and slammed the door behind her. She leaned back against the door, breathing heavily and shaking. “Oh, Adel. Help us.” She said aloud.

She stumbled across the room and sat down in a chair. Her hands were shaking so badly that she had to set on them to keep them from moving. How could this be happening? Surely, Flare wasn't the one prophesied about. He couldn't be, he just couldn't be.

Then another depressing thought occurred to her. She was obligated to report this mission to the arch-bishops, but Flare had commanded them not to speak of the mission to anyone. What was she to do? Disobey her friend and commander, or disobey her church.

She loved and believed in Flare, but the church was her life. The decision weighed on her and threatened to tear her apart. She rested her head in her hands and cried.

Heather and Derek left the meeting room with Flare, but then they went left while he went right. They waited until he was out of earshot before they started talking. “What do you think?” Heather asked.

“It should be fairly easy until we get to Helum, from there things may get tough.” Derek said shrugging.

Heather cocked her head, “You really think so? You really think that Flare would split us up if there wasn't the possibility of trouble on the way?”

Derek smiled, “He's probably overreacting. I mean there might be someone watching for us on the roads, but they won't even notice the three small groups.” His smile got even wider, “This should be fun,” then he quickly added, “at least until we reach Helum.”

Flare had only waited for several minutes when he was ushered into a small office. Lord Maltin sat behind a wooden desk that was piled high with papers and books. It was a common theme in the room, with what seemed like all available surfaces covered with papers, even the bookshelves were overflowing.

Lord Maltin stood when Flare entered the room, his brown pants and grey shirt hardly seemed fitting for a lord, but perhaps elegant enough for a spy master. “Prince Flare, it's a pleasure. What can I do for you?”

Flare nodded his head, “The king told me to get your help if it was needed.”

“Of course. I'm assuming that this is in reference to your upcoming trip.” He pointed toward a chair that faced the desk, “Please have a seat.”

Flare nodded and sat down, Lord Maltin waited until Flare was sitting, and then he too sat down. “Lord Maltin,” Flare began, when Lord Maltin interrupted him.

“Please call me Jared. It's makes things easier.” He smiled as he spoke.

Flare smiled back, it was hard not to like the man. “Jared, I need your help. We're leaving tomorrow evening, and I have to get things organized.” Jared nodded his head as Flare spoke, “But here's the problem. It's kind of hard to organize a mission and keep it secret at the same time.”

Jared smiled, “I know exactly what you mean, but it is what I do. Perhaps I can help.”

Flare ran his hand through his hair. “Yes, I was hoping that you could. I need horses and supplies, and I need a way for us to get out of the city quietly.”

Jared nodded, “Not a problem.”

Flare was speechless for a moment. “Really? I thought I was asking a lot.”

Jared laughed, “Actually, I have to get people in and out of the city frequently. There is a small gate in the western wall; it's called the drainage gate.”

“The drainage gate? Never heard of it.”

“Not surprising, few have. There's a natural spring in that part of the city, in a public garden, and it drains through the drainage gate.” Jared grimaced, “unfortunately, some also use it as a sewer, so you'll want to bring a change of clothes.”

“A sewer?” Flare asked, suddenly liking this plan less and less.

“It's the only unguarded exit, at the moment, which you can use. There are several others, but they are unavailable.”

“Unavailable?” Flare asked. He appreciated the help that Jared was giving him, but he still didn't like wading through sewage.

“Two of the secret exits are blocked at the moment, and two more are, well, let's just say that they are unavailable and leave it at that.” Jared shrugged, “I'm afraid that the drainage gate is the only exit I have to offer you.”

Flare sighed and nodded. “If that's all you got then I'll take it. Can you arrange for eleven horses and supplies to be outside the western wall?”

Jared leaned forward in his chair, “Shouldn't be a problem. I'll arrange for two supply horses as well.”

Flare interrupted him, “Make it three supply horses. We don't know how long we'll be gone and I would hate to run out of supplies.”

Jared nodded, “Okay. There is a small grove of trees about five miles west along the western road; it's just past the second bridge that you will cross. I'll have the horses and supplies waiting for you there. There will be several servants with the horses, but they won't know your business, unless you are foolish enough to tell them.”

Flare smiled, “Thank you. I won't forget your help.”

Jared smiled sympathetically, “Luck to you. Personally, I wouldn't wish this mission on an enemy.”

Flare shrugged, “What can I do? The king ordered me on this mission.”

Jared nodded.

“Jared, How do we get our packs through this drainage sewer? I don't want to be wearing clothes that smell like sewage.”

Jared stood up, “Don't worry about that. Have them get their clothes and packs to me, and I'll make sure that they are on the pack horses.”

The castle was quiet and dark. Kara had waited until shortly after midnight to leave her room, for fear of being seen. She had wanted to wait even later, but she didn't dare. She walked down the hallway as quickly and quietly as she could, staying in the shadows to avoid being seen.

She had struggled with the decision about whether or not to tell the church about their mission, and in the end she had simply felt that her loyalty to the church was stronger than her loyalty to her fellow guardians. She hated the way it made her feel like a traitor, but she simply couldn't imagine not fulfilling her duty.

There wasn't time for her to leave the castle grounds and make her way to the golden square, but one of the arch-bishops was staying in the castle for the evening. He was scheduled to lead a sun-rise prayer in the king's garden, and it was convenient for Kara that he was here.

She paused in the hallway, just outside a dark alcove. She heard noises coming from the alcove, and with an embarrassed start she realized what was causing them. Apparently, a couple of the servants were taking advantage of the darkness for their own pleasure. She crept by without them even noticing, but then again judging by the sounds they were making, she probably could have kicked them and they wouldn't have noticed.

Kara turned onto the hallway where the arch-bishop was staying, and stopped in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat. Two guards stood on either side of the door and it took a moment for her to realize that they were wearing the colors of the church. 'Knights!' she thought. Church guards were called knights and were the honor guard of the church elite. Relief flooded over her at the realization that it was the knights that guarded the arch-bishop. Knights could be trusted to keep silent, whereas regular castle guards were not as discrete. She didn't want word of her late-night visit to get back to Flare.