Rebels and Fools (The Renegade Chronicles Book 1) (25 page)

Behind
the archer, Jalil Shenn was hurrying down the corridor, heading toward them,
and Klye did not like what the expression on the healer’s face told him. He and
Lilac returned to the room, where the healer joined him at the window. Through
the glass, Klye watched gravely as six Knights riding abreast circled around
the temple.

A
sudden flash of red light reflected off the window pane, and Klye spun around,
doubting what he saw—or, rather, what he didn’t see.

Horcalus’s
bed was empty. He, Ragellan, and Lilac Zephyr were gone.

“What
magic is this?” Jalil Shenn whispered, looking genuinely confused.

Klye
took a step toward Horcalus’s empty bed. “It was Lilac…”

Another
great crash resonated from the direction of the temple’s entrance.

*
         
*
         
*

As
the minutes passed at the pace of a laden pack mule, Selwyn McRae thought more
and more about his exchange with the healers. The situation was so ridiculous
he hardly believed it was happening. Who in the hells did these priests think
they were that they could openly defy the king’s will?

The
subcommander was all too aware of his men’s restlessness. They fidgeted with their
equipment and talked in low voices. McRae was certain they were speaking of
him, their impotent commanding officer. He would be a laughingstock if he
returned to Fort Milo empty-handed, especially when the rogue knights had been
within his grasp.

Commander
Calhoun be damned, McRae thought. I’m going to handle this
my
way.

“Come
with me,” he told the Knights standing nearby. “We’re going to give the healers
one more chance do right.”

This
time, they were greeted by a heavyset woman who was almost as tall as McRae. It
occurred to him, then, that the Renegades might have taken the healers captive
upon arriving. Jalil Shenn and his compatriots could be acting under the
Renegades’ coercion. If this were true, it would be the Knights’ duty to free
them from their captors…

To
the woman, he said, “If you do not send the Renegades out at this very minute,
I will order an attack on the temple.”

McRae
thought he heard one of his men gasp, but he ignored it. He didn’t like the
idea of storming a church any more than they did, but he would not be denied
the opportunity to bring in the two rogue knights—not to mention the Renegade
Leader.

“You
know we cannot comply with your demand,” the woman replied, folding her arms
across her ample chest.

“Then
you leave us no choice,” he hissed.

When
the priestess saw him raise a hand to signal his men to assemble, she quickly
shut the door, and McRae heard a bolt sliding into place.

“Break
down the door!” McRae shouted. “We’ll enter the Temple as a single unit, with a
small company of mounted warriors watching the outside in the event that they
try to escape through some other passage.”

This
is it, he thought. No more keeping swords sheathed as the rebels did as they
pleased. No more hiding behind the walls of Fort Miloásterôn, hoping the
Renegades would grow bored with their revolution and give up the fight.

McRae
felt a great rush of energy course through his body. It was finally time to do
what the Knights of Superius should have been doing all along.

Passage X

Ragellan
closed his eyes to shield them from the blinding light. When he opened them
again, he found himself outside, standing on a road lined with a dense wood on
either side. Horcalus lay on the ground a few feet away. The younger knight
moaned and restlessly rolled his head back and forth.

Ragellan’s
first instinct was to run to his friend, but discipline dictated otherwise. He
reached for his weapon—only to realize he didn’t have one—and spun around.
Lilac stood nearby, weaponless but in a battle-ready stance.

“What’s
going on?” he asked her.

Lilac
surveyed the area around them. When she had her back to him, Ragellan saw her
shoulders rise suddenly, and he had to take a step to one side in order to see
past the woman.

A
black-robed woman regarded them silently from farther down the road, her hands
lost in the folds of her gown, which billowed out behind her. He and Lilac
watched silently as the woman took great strides toward them. When she was
close enough, Ragellan called out to her.

“Who
are you? What do you want from us?”

Ragellan
feared he knew the answer to the latter. A part of him refused to believe the
Knights of Superius would hire a spell-caster to hunt him and Horcalus, but
they had already sent a
sai-morí
to do just that.

Clearly,
the Knighthood was capable of anything these days.

“I
am Dark Lily,” the woman in black replied. “But you needn’t introduce
yourselves. I have been travelling with your band for some time.”

Ragellan
didn’t quite know how to take that, but he supposed Dark Lily must have used
her magic to observe their trek through the forest.

“And
you are a bounty hunter hired by the Knights at Fort Splendor,” Lilac said to
the wizardess. “You are here for Ragellan and Horcalus.”

“So
you have put the pieces together, have you?” said Dark Lily dryly. “But allow
me to clarify. I am not a bounty hunter. I am an assassin.

“Subcommander
McRae and his Knights have provided the perfect diversion. While they take care
of your friends, I have all the time I need to complete my mission.”

Ragellan
wondered what Lilac knew about Fort Splendor, but he put the quest aside and
mentally prepared for battle.

Dark
Lily withdrew a slim, silver object from inside her robe. Lilac sprang at the
assassin. Black lightning crackled from the wand, and Ragellan watched Lilac
throw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding the spell. She hit the ground hard
and did not immediately rise.

Ragellan
came forward then, but he was rewarded for his effort by drawing the wand’s
fire. He tried to avoid the lightning, but one bolt grazed his shoulder and
sent him spinning to the dirt road.

The
knight fully expected another blast to follow and braced himself for contact,
but Lilac was back on her feet by that time, and Dark Lily was once again
aiming her wand at the other woman. Ragellan took the opportunity to regain his
footing and circle around the wizardess.

Dark
Lily sent a few more black bolts in Ragellan’s direction, but none of them hit
him. When Lilac took a direct hit to the chest, Ragellan was close enough to
their attacker to strike.

But
Dark Lily saw him coming and managed to pull out of the path of his fist. She
pointed the wand at Ragellan and said something unintelligible. His body tensed
as he awaited the black explosion that, at such a close proximity, would surely
rip him apart.

Both
hunter and prey were surprised when the wand did not answer her arcane command.
Dark Lily shrugged and dropped the wand to the ground. “Must be all used up,”
she muttered. “It’s just as well. I wouldn’t want any sparks to burn your
pretty little head before I deliver it to the Knights.”

Ragellan
rushed forward. Dark Lily drew a sword seemingly from nowhere. He recognized
Lilac’s broadsword immediately, remembered all too clearly how the blade had
butchered goblins and the
sai-morí
alike.

Keeping
his arms outstretched for balance, he tried to anticipate the assassin’s next
move. He bent one knee slightly and shifted his weight to that leg, ready to
dive out of the way if necessary. If he was to disarm the woman, it would
require perfect timing.

But
Dark Lily did not advance. “After witnessing your prowess in battle, I have
come to respect you, Chester Ragellan. Even with this enchanted sword, you
might best me in a one-on-one combat…except for one important fact.

“I
don’t fight fair.”

The
next words that came out of her mouth made Ragellan’s skin crawl, even though
they made no sense to him whatsoever. If he could strike while the assassin was
busy with her spell…

He
dove forward, but Dark Lily disappeared into thin air.

Ragellan
tucked down into a roll. As he hit the road, he heard the air swish past his
ear. Although he couldn’t see her, Ragellan knew the wizardess had not run off.
No, Dark Lily was still nearby, and she had just barely missed her mark.

Ragellan
sprinted over to Lilac, putting as much distance as he could between himself
and where Dark Lily had been. When he reached Lilac, he peered around at the
dusty road and the grass that surrounded the wide path, wary of any signs of
the unseen stalker’s pursuit.

Through
a series of quick glances—never taking his eyes of the road for more than a few
seconds—Ragellan determined that Lilac was alive. Her shirt was blackened from
the wand’s magical discharge, but her chest rose and fell at a regular pace. Ragellan
shook the woman roughly until her eyes opened. She sat up and looked around,
her body rigid.

“Where
is she?”

Ragellan
was half-crouched over Lilac, and as he spoke, he continued to watch the ground
all around them. “She’s invisible, and she has your sword.”

Lilac
swore as she pulled herself to her feet. “The good news is that she can’t cast
any more spells while she is invisible…at least I don’t think so. The bad news
is she won’t have to if she has my sword.”

A
sound caused them both to start. The dust on the road seemed to move by itself,
scattering impossibly though predictably. Ragellan could almost see the
wizardess’s footprints as the uncanny disturbances drew closer and closer to
them. The assassin was moving too fast.

Ragellan
pushed Lilac away and yelled, “Get Horcalus out of here!”

He
did not wait to see whether the woman obeyed him. His eyes remained fixed on
the advancing footprints. When no more appeared, Ragellan sighed and closed his
eyes.

“Your
luck has run out, Knight,” said a voice on the wind.

“Gods
forgive me if I have sinned,” Ragellan whispered and desperately lunged
forward.

He
heard the sound of a blade whistling through the air but felt only the
slightest prick on his neck as the invisible weapon separated his head from his
body.

*
         
*
         
*

Deciding
he must deal with one problem at a time, Klye set aside his worry for Ragellan
and Horcalus and focused on coming up with a plan to escape the temple. His
mind frantically reviewed the limited options that lay before them.

“Jalil,
we’ll need our weapons back.” When the healer, who suddenly looked much older
than he had that morning, hesitated, Klye added, “We’ll lead the Knights away
from the temple, avoiding an incident if we can. But we have to be able to
defend ourselves. Or would you rather us all get massacred here in your
Temple?”

The
Renegade Leader had kept his tone as even as possible. He had to remind himself
that Jalil Shenn and his priests had helped his band, asking nothing in return
but for the Renegades to respect their rules.

After
a deep sigh, Jalil lowered his gaze to the floor and replied, “Very well. If
you look inside that chest by the bed, you will find your gear.”

“Thank
you.”

Klye
wasted no time in brushing past Jalil and opening the cedar chest. He quickly handed
the short sword to Plake. Ragellan and Horcalus’s blades were there, but
Lilac’s sword was missing. A wave of worry washed through him, but Klye pushed
it back. In a matter of minutes, the Knights would infiltrate Mystel’s Temple,
and he had no intention of being there to greet them.

He
gave Othello Horcalus’s longsword and Plake the blade Ragellan had carried. To
the latter, he said, “Try not to cut your foot off.”

“Is
there a back way out of here?” Pistol, cutlass in hand, asked Jalil.

Another
boom resonated through the temple. It was louder than any of the prior ones and
was immediately followed by the sound of shouts and boots pounding against the
polished hardwood floors.

“No
time for that.” With an apologetic look at Jalil Shenn, Klye said to Plake,
“Help me with this.”

Plake
followed Klye’s lead, and the two men carried the wooden chest over to the
window. A startled Jalil shuffled out of the way, pressing back between two
beds. “What…what are you doing?”

Klye
answered by starting to swing the chest back and forth. As he and Plake
increased their speed, the chest swung higher and higher, until its ascent was
level with the circular window. “On three, let go.”

The
Renegade Leader counted aloud, turning his head and bringing his hand up to
protect his face from the flying glass fragments. He then used his sword to
knock away the dagger-like shards that still clung to the frame.

“All
right, let’s go. Once we’re outside, stay close together.”

Scout
was the first one through the window, followed immediately by Othello. The
pirates went next. When Arthur began to struggle, his shirt caught on the
splintered pane, Klye helped the boy free himself from the window’s frame. Then
it was Klye’s turn.

As
he propped a leg up onto the windowsill, he said to Jalil, “I am truly sorry
for this. We didn’t intend to bring our troubles to you.”

The
healer offered Klye a wan smile. “The fault was not yours, Klye Tristan. I only
pray that if we ever meet again it will be under better circumstances.”

“I’ll
drink to that,” Klye muttered, hoisting himself up onto the ledge.

“Stop!”

The
command caught Klye by surprise, and he tipped his head back in time to see
four Knights storm into the room. He pushed himself through window and deftly
dropped to the ground outside the Temple, where the others waited. There were
no Knights within sight.

“Follow
me!”

Klye
ran as fast as he could, heading in what he deduced was a northerly direction.
At most, he had put ten yards between himself and the temple when he heard the
sound of metal scraping against wood. It wouldn’t be long before the Knights
began their pursuit.

Just
then, several mounted warriors galloped around the western corner of the
temple. Perhaps they had heard the window shatter, but Klye thought it more
likely that Sir McRae had ordered the riders to circle the Temple.

Klye
ignored the stitch in his side and concentrated on the trees that seemed to
tremble in the distance. As he ran, he asked the gods—whichever ones happened
to be listening—to get him out of this one.

And
if you keep Ragellan and Horcalus safe, I just might start believing in you, he
prayed.

*
         
*
         
*

Lilac
resisted the urge to collapse and surrender to the sobs constricting her
throat. There was no mistaking her sword’s deadly song. Without looking back,
she knew Chester Ragellan was dead.

Drawing
strength from the rage burning beneath her anguish, she obeyed Ragellan’s final
request and sprinted over to where Horcalus lay, unconscious and unaware of his
imminent peril.

When
she reached the knight, she lowered herself to one knee, keeping a wary eye on
the area around them for signs of the assassin. Her eyes, blurry with the
promise of tears, hurried past the spot where she had left Ragellan. She found
no evidence of Dark Lily’s presence.

The
road was eerily quiet. All was still except for a slight breeze that toyed at a
few loose strands of her hair. I am going to die, she thought, the realization
hitting her like a balled fist to the gut. The despair that came over her was
almost immediately replaced by anger at the injustice of getting felled by such
a cowardly murderess.

Then
to her astonishment, Dark Lily appeared off to her right. The wizardess looked
as surprised as Lilac was, but she quickly regained her composure, relaxing her
shoulders and continuing toward Lilac and Horcalus at an almost leisurely pace.

“This
is a beautiful sword,” the assassin said, holding Lilac’s blade aloft. “I’ve
come across more than a few enchanted weapons over the years, but this one is
different. I can sense a great power inside that rivals any talismans I’ve come
across. I hope you don’t mind if I add it to my collection.”