Preserving the Ingenairii (51 page)

And this morning he would go and try to take over the palace.
 
She had no doubt that he would succeed.
 
But then, instead of being a lonely man, he would be a lonely man in charge of the Dominion.
 
It wasn’t a change she expected to be a positive one.

She stood, and looked down at the sleeping form of Jeswyne, who had fallen asleep beside her.
 
Stracha didn’t understand where Jeswyne and Alec had been during the past month, but it was evident that the girl felt deeply for Alec, and had been almost traumatically moved by witnessing Bethany’s death.
 
The girl had enjoyed little exposure to the ways of the real world before her interlude with Alec, Stracha suspected

With careful steps she walked around the corner of the building, and found Alec unmoved from his position.

“Yes, I’ve been here all night,” he said without turning around.

Stracha walked over to him and lightly laid a hand on his shoulder, releasing a soothing stream of healing energy to take the stress out of his muscles.

“I needed that.
 
Thank you,” he said.

“Do you need to talk?” she asked.

“I have been, all night,” Alec replied.
 
“In a different way.

“This morning though, we need to put that behind us and move ahead.
 
It’s
funny how history seems to repeat itself,” he told her, and finally turned to face the healer.
 
“When I came to Oyster Bay one time long ago, I came to kill the usurpers who had assassinated the king, and I ended up having to take over the palace.
 
I remember the members of the Guard and the units of the army and the forces from Slone that all had to be persuaded to support me.
 
And my biggest opposition came from here on the Hill.”

“What did you do to win them over?” Stracha asked, intrigued by the story.

“I killed them,” Alec said simply.
 
“That cleansing fountain out front of the Hill,” he paused as a notion struck him, “that fountain came from an explosion like the one that killed the demons in front of the palace.

“And that may be what we’ll need to help fix things up around here,” he said softly.

Alec looked up at the sky.
 
“Would you do
me
a favor and wake Parnell and Jeswyne?
 
It’s almost time for us to go.”

Stracha sensed the melancholy that remained, and knew that it was such a part of his core that she could do nothing to relieve it.
 
So she patted him on the back and left to rouse her companions, offering them each a flow of her healing powers as they arose, to take away the cramps and discomfort of sleeping on a hard surface.
 
Her healing powers now were by far the strongest among the ingenairii, other than Alec, but she still looked upon Parnell as the leader of the small house, for his skills at knowing how to work with and lead people.
 
Those were not her strengths, and she didn’t want to try them, especially if she could instead spend more time with Danel.

“We’re heading out, Alec says,” Stracha told the other two as they stood.

“How is he this morning?” Jeswyne asked.

“Alec is much deeper than I am,” Stracha said contemplatively.
 
“He’s in pain, but he’ll overcome it.
 
Let’s go see him.”

Moments later they were with Alec, and he was leading them back down the hill towards the Palace.
 
No one spoke, and they arrived at the plaza by the front gate quickly.
 
The plaza was filled with Goldenfields Guardsmen, and the gate was heavily manned by men wearing the palace uniform.
 
“Stracha, do you remember the building we used when we were here before?” Alec asked.
 
She nodded affirmatively.
 
“Please lead Parnell and Lady Jeswyne there, and keep them there until this is settled.
 
I’ll send Danel over to join you when I talk to Lewis.
 
Now, all of you get going,” he told them, and left them to go his own way towards the front.

“Alec!” Lewis said when he approached her near the gate.
 
“I’m so glad to see you alive again.
 
When that explosion wiped out those demons, I thought you had left us for good!

“The guards at the gate say that the Queen is dead, and have ordered us to return to our quarters.
 
Danel said you wanted us here.
 
What’s going on?” she asked.

“The queen did die yesterday.
 
I held her in my arms when she passed,” Alec affirmed.
 
“Now it is my responsibility to become the ruler of the Dominion and to unite the people and free them from Michian.
 
That starts right here, if you will support me with your forces.

“Will you use your troops to support me for the good of Goldenfields and the good of all the Dominion?” he asked, looking at her intensely.

“Alec, that is a big decision, and a risky one,” Lewis temporized.

“You pledged to support me.
 
You know what I can do.
 
Do you trust me?” Alec asked.

She looked squarely at him, then turned and looked at her men and woman, whose lives depended on her decision.

“I trust you with my life and with their lives, Alec,” she said.
 
“Do you want us to storm the gates?”

“No.
 
I’ll take this gate.
 
I want you to send a squad to every other gate first, so we have control of all the entrances and exits.
 
We don’t want to let anyone out right away, because there isn’t much need to let the rotten apples run free.
 
I want you to send Danel and a squad over to the building we stood in when we planned our last assault on the palace.
 
Stracha and Parnell and Lady Jeswyne will be there.
 
Then I want you to send a messenger to Colonel Holbanks, where ever he is, and let him know that you are under my command, and let him know I want his loyalty as well.
 
Will you do all those things immediately?”

“Are you sure you want to take this gate by yourself?
 
Do you have some trick you’re going to use?” Lewis asked.

“I am going to win this gate in the name of Queen Bethany,” Alec said.
 
“Today every victory I win will be a victory for her.
 
You do what I ask of you, and I’ll take care of the rest.

“Are there other military units in Oyster Bay or nearby?” he asked.

“There’s a battalion of Stronghold forces camped nearby, and a company from Three Forks is down on the wharf right now waiting for transit to the front,” Lewis quickly told him.

“Send a messenger to the Three Forks commander and tell him that the demonslayer is taking command of Oyster Bay and requests his loyalty,” Alec said.
 
“Ask him to come to the palace.

“I’ll plan to visit the gate in five minutes.
 
Give your orders in the meantime, and send your men out.
 
We’ve got a lot to do this morning!” Alec told Lewis with a smile.
 
“There’s no telling what we may decide to do this afternoon!”

He left her and began strolling among the nearby troops, touching many of them with his healing powers, telling them they would help him to win the throne and then win the war.
 
When he judged he had given enough time, he turned to the soldiers around him.
 
“I’ll go talk to the fellows at the gate and show them how Goldenfields thinks things should be.
 
You might want to watch this!” he grinned, knowing that they would enjoy and repeat that moment of camaraderie.

Alec stepped forth from the front ranks of the Guardsmen, and approached the gate alone.

“Stop.
 
Come no closer or suffer the consequences,” an officer said from the middle of the gate.

Alec surveyed the situation.
 
The immediate vicinity of the gate was held by two score soldiers, he estimated, and more were visible through windows or on the roof.
 
Alec was armed with knives and a sword.
 
He pulled out his sword, held it low, and took two steps closer to the gate.

A number of bowstrings twanged from the rooftops in response to a hand gesture by the officer.
 
Alec used his sword to block half a dozen arrows, and deflected two of them back at the commanding officer, leaving him dead.
 
Alec caught the last arrow with his bare hand, and held it over his head.
 
He knew he had the attention of every person in the palace and the plaza.

“I am Alec, once known as the Crown Protector, now called the Demonslayer.
 
I have come back to the Dominion to fight and win the war to end the invasion by the Michian Empire.
 
I am the heir of the house of Tarnum; today I am here to assert my birthright to the crown of the Dominion.
 
All those inside the palace who wish to pledge their loyalty to me must appear now before me on bent knee.
 
For the rest of you, there will be no quarter given.

“If there are officers who will acknowledge my command now, I call them to come forth, so that I may christen their blades for loyalty,” he finished his pronouncement, and waited just a moment.
 
Then he dropped his warrior powers, and obtained his spiritual energy, using it to seek out feelings that were supportive.

“You,” he pointed at a lieutenant standing by the left guard house.
 
“Approach me and kneel.”

He watched as the man stepped forward without hesitation, walked up to him, and knelt.

“Offer me your sword,” Alec ordered.

When the man did so, Alec reached out, and swiftly drew his thumb along the edge of the blade.
 
“This is my blood.
 
I will shed it for you, should the need arise.
 
Will you shed your blood for me and for the Dominion, if the need arises?” he asked.

The man raised his head and looked in Alec’s eyes, then drew his own thumb along the blade, adding his blood to the crimson edge.

Alec reached out, and slowly pulled his thumb upon the edge of the blade again.
 
As he vividly remembered from the same ceremony in Oyster Bay many years prior, a golden spark of alchemic reaction trailed behind his thumb, a bright spot visible to all around, and the blade was left with a deep golden red embossment.

There was an audible sound, as several men dropped to their knees.

Alec reached out his hand to the officer, and pulled him to his feet, healing the slice on his thumb as he did.
 
“What is your name?” he asked.

“Lieutenant Rihm, my lord,” he answered.

“This is Lieutenant Rihm, now the commander of my personal Guard of Oyster Bay,” Alec announced loudly.
 
“I see those of you who have knelt to me.
 
Stand up, bring your weapons, and come to me now.”

Several women and men flocked out of the gateway.
 
They came to Alec, and as they passed him, he placed a hand on each to offer a touch of healing energy.
 
As they arrayed themselves in the space behind Alec, in front of the Goldenfields forces at his back, the defenders left inside the palace gates shrank to only a handful.
 
“Those of you who have just joined my forces, stay outside the gates, and let no one pass out or in until I tell you to.
 
The Goldenfields forces will join me in scouring the palace.”

Alec turned to face the palace gates once again.
 
“You were offered the opportunity to take the right course,” Alec spoke loudly.
 
He reached into the bandoliers he wore.
 
“Now face the consequences.”
 
He swiftly tossed four knives outward in a smooth motion that ended with him sprinting forward and drawing his sword to launch an attack.
 
He thought of Bethany’s words about the quality of character of the people who occupied her court, and he took no pity as he charged into the gate, beginning a melee that rapidly overwhelmed the gate and spread within the palace grounds.

“Place all prisoners in a dungeon.
 
We’ll send them all to fight at the front, leaving next week,” Alec told Lewis and Rihm at noon, by which time they had the palace completely under control.

“Do we have a chaplain or a priest available?” Alec asked.

“There are priests in the cathedral, preparing it to be reconsecrated,” Lewis answered.

“Would you send a messenger to them?” he asked.
 
“Tell them I will hold a coronation the day after tomorrow in the cathedral.
 
We need to keep taking actions to consolidate power.
 
And immediately after the coronation, I will be available to the public to heal all illnesses and injuries I can manage in the cathedral plaza,” he paused, “next to the fountain there.
 
The day after that,” he paused, and his voice softened, “we’ll have the Queen’s funeral at the cathedral.”