The Destiny of Amalah (5 page)

‘Let us find the boy first,’ Thaddeus said diplomatically.

The three men rode on in silence, as they reached the place Michael had met Elana Garrick dismounted his horse once again as he saw five of the Amalayan Order lying dead.

‘Michael was here,’ he said excitedly, as he saw his small prints in the muddy grass. ‘Yet the men of the Order are slain,’ he said, clearly puzzled. The mist continued to move on but Garrick continued to move slowly and carefully around the men and study the footprints on the ground. ‘A woman’s prints!’ he said, becoming intrigued by prints on the ground. ‘Men’s boots but these were not crafted in Amalah!’

‘You can tell that from the prints on the ground?’ A surprised Raynor asked.

‘Before I was a guard, I was a hunter and tracker and my father began teaching me at five,’ Garrick replied in a matter of fact tone, before he continued to move around. ‘More of the Order lay on this ground – wounded – carried wounded.’

‘Here!’ Thaddeus shouted.

Raynor and Garrick ran to where Thaddeus was stood and they observed the pink smoke shine brightly and then dive into the ground, disappearing from their sight.

‘What happened?’ Garrick asked.

‘This must be where the boy last stood,’ said Thaddeus.

Garrick looked down at the ground beneath him. ‘Stay still,’ he ordered the two men as he moved forward and studied the ground once again.

‘Tracks,’ he said excitedly. ‘Two men; a woman and Michael,’ Garrick said smiling. ‘They left on horseback. ‘Michael is alive,’ he said clearly relieved.

‘The spell has run its course; this was the boys last step,’ said Thaddeus.

‘It matters not,’ Garrick replied. ‘I can track the horses from here.’

***

Kai and Häkan were still in the thick of the fight when reinforcement had arrived. The two men had reduced the original number but now they were outnumbered six to one: exhausted, they had had to change their tactic to running for cover and then fighting. They were retreating with Elana and Michael now at their side. Michael had the paraball and Elana had a sword and dagger.

***

Garrick, Thaddeus and Raynor rode on towards the palace in pursuit of the tracks of the horses that they believed carried Michael and the others. It was Garrick who first spotted the fight between the Order and the two men and women who were protecting Michael.

‘That’s them,’ Garrick shouted as he increased his speed.

Garrick took a Throwing Star from his belt and threw it at a member of the Order and then he took another and threw that; wounding them both fatally before he jumped from his horse and drew his sword, joining Häkan and Kai in the fight.

Thaddeus and Raynor slowed their horses down and as they approached, both sent blue energy balls at the Order; which distracted everyone – including Kai and Häkan.

Garrick’s rage at the murder of Galen and his children was now unleashed and he fought with a ferocity that surprised even himself. As the Order eventually fell and no further horn had sounded; the seven stood in a circle surrounding the slain Order and facing each other for a few moments and then Michael broke the silence.

‘Garrick,’ he said simply.

Garrick ran to Michael and picked him up and hugged him.

‘Michael, I am so very glad to see you,’ he said, as his emotions began to get the better of him.

‘The lady princess and her prince and guard saved me,’ said Michael.

‘And I thank them sincerely,’ Garrick said, turning to them and nodded. ‘Thank you. I know not who you are but I owe you a great debt.

‘Not at all,’ said Kai as he stepped forward. ‘I am Kai, prince of Mantor; this is Elana my wife and Häkan, our guard.’

‘I am Garrick. Guard to Regent Galen – Michael’s father. This is Thaddeus and Raynor.’

‘Your timing was impeccable,’ said Kai. ‘Our thanks to you all – for you saved us.’

‘We were headed to the palace,’ said Häkan. ‘We feared something was going to happen to the boy’s father and the prince’s father, who is also in attendance; not to mention the representatives of Parades.

Thaddeus looked at Kai, his face betraying his emotions

‘Tell me,’ Kai whispered.

‘The summit was a trap,’ said a grim faced Thaddeus. ‘It was Adriel’s plan of crushing the rebellion and any sympathetic leaders. No one was spared – I am so very sorry. I am sorry that this is how our first meeting begins.

Kai nodded and Elana gently took hold of his arm and grasped it.

‘I’m so sorry my love,’ Elana said.

‘And my father?’ Michael asked tearfully, who was now standing opposite Thaddeus.

Thaddeus shook his head, not wanting to tell the boy about the fate of his father, knowing what had occurred to his mother and siblings. Garrick knelt down in front of him.

‘Michael, I am so sorry. No one at the summit survived, your father included.’ Michael let out a scream and ran from Garrick and the other adults who were standing by. ‘Michael wait! It’s not safe.’

‘I will go,’ said Kai, as he ran after Michael.

‘He needs to know about his brothers and mother,’ Garrick croaked.

‘He knows,’ Elana said quietly. ‘He saw them slain. His mother helped him escape but he knows she was slain too. I found him by the river. The guards…well…anyway…we were coming to find his father.’

‘In one day he is an orphan with no home and no family,’ Raynor said sadly.

‘And in one day, Adriel has changed the fate of the nations forever,’ Garrick said grimly.

Chapter 4

Kai found Michael sat by a tree, hugging his knees and crying. Kai wanted to weep too, not just for the loss of his own father but he wanted weep for the small dark haired boy who had just lost his whole family; so quickly and so violently. He stared at Michael for few moments, agonising what to say and do, and then he sat down beside him.

‘You have suffered the unimaginable today Michael. I loved my father dearly but I was blessed to have had him through my childhood; to see me become a man and to get married. I am so very sorry for you this day; for your pain, your grief and your loss.’ Kai said gently, as he placed an arm around the young boys shoulders. ‘I swear to you that Elana and I will protect you from here on in. I know that Garrick will also protect you with his last breath.

‘I want my mother,’ he cried.

‘I know you do,’ Kai said softly. ‘I wish I could put this right but I am only a mortal man.’

‘The Order want to kill me too don’t they?’

‘With your father gone, I hope that they no longer do,’ Kai said candidly.

‘I don’t mind if they do. Then I can be with mother, father, Tristan and Saul.’

‘I think with his very last breath Michael, your father would want you to live. I think your father, mother and brothers would want you to go on and become a man: to love, have a wife and children and grandchildren. Now, you may not see it but I promise you Michael; you will have joy in your life once again. And I, Elana and Garrick, will care for you and guide you through this life.’

‘But I am the one placing you all in danger…Adriel…’

‘Adriel will be dealt with but for now, we must leave this place.’

‘Where will we go?’

‘I think the best place for us all to be is in Mantor,’ Kai said as he rose to his feet and looked at Michael. ‘Come now Michael,’ he said holding out his hand to the young boy. ‘Let us join the others.’

Michael took Kai’s hand and stood up and Kai led him back to where the others were standing. Elana looked at Kai and he saw the concern on her face. He knew her concern was for Michael and himself and he nodded slowly before turning to the others.

‘I was saying it is not safe for any of us to remain in Amalah,’ said Häkan.

‘I agree,’ said Kai.

‘We can’t travel as we are,’ said Elana. We will be recognised as royals and guards.’

‘I know some rebels who may be able to assist with clothing,’ said Garrick.

‘It won’t be safe,’ said Michael quietly.

‘Why?’ Garrick asked.

‘I think Adriel may know who they are.’

‘How can you know this?’ Häkan asked.

‘When I was travelling with my father, he let me work as a jug collector and I ran errands for men in inns. I took their empty tankards of mead away and empty bottles. The men talked freely around me, for I am a child and my father knew this. They would send me on errands with notes, thinking that I could not read.’

Everyone looked at Michael in amazement.

‘A child spy,’ Häkan said shaking his head. ‘Ingenious.’

‘What did you learn?’ asked Garrick.

‘There was one note, saying that after the summit, the rebels will not cause any more trouble. My father took this as a positive sign. He thought the wishes of the leaders…’

‘So would any man,’ said a grim faced Garrick. ‘Thaddeus, Raynor, what news had you come to tell me?’

‘That the Order had installed themselves into the school of magic in Lansten. That teachers and students alike were being offered unprecedented magical powers of they swore their allegiance to Adriel,’ said Raynor.

‘Students and teachers were leaving the school in droves,’ began Thaddeus. ‘Some remained to resist the school being completely taken over but Raynor and I ventured to Amalah to find Galen because we discovered something disturbing.’

‘Which was?’ asked Kai.

‘Some of the sorcerers were being taught the way of the Order and the ways of a warrior.’

‘Why?’ Elana asked.

‘I fear I know why,’ said Häkan. ‘I hope to the gods that I am wrong but I do not believe I am.’

‘Why?’ asked Kai.

‘To create an Amalayan Order consisting of witches; that would make Adriel…’

‘Unstoppable,’ said Kai.

‘Exactly,’ said Häkan.

‘Adriel has planned well,’ Garrick said bitterly. ‘He has annihilated the leadership of the nations; created the Amalayan Order and is now creating an Order of witches. He is well ahead before we even begin.’

Then let’s begin,’ said Kai solemnly. ‘First we leave Amalah and head to Mantor. From there, we will build our army and we will crush Adriel and his Order,’ he said vehemently.

That fateful night of the meeting of the seven was the first step in creating and leading an army into war against Adriel and his Amalayan Order. The seven were to be instrumental in the years ahead but on that night, their only goal was to leave Amalah and reach Mantor alive.

They first made their way to Michael’s house, gambling correctly that the Order would not return there. All were horrified at the sight of Michael’s slain family and Michael refused to enter the house ever again. The adults buried Michael’s family and they all stood quietly as Thaddeus said a prayer. Michael held onto Elana’s hand and wept once more. Once the brief funeral was over, they changed into ordinary clothes and packed only what they needed from the house.

The journey to Mantor would take several days and they travelled in two’s or three’s and sometimes alone. They would change the order of the grouping so they would not be recognised or remembered in the next town or village. They ate in fields and forests rather than venturing into inns, lest they come across an off duty member of the Order.

Michael rode mostly with Garrick, Elana or Kai; remaining silent for most of the journey as he grieved for his family. Only his nightmares gave away his inner turmoil and he would wake screaming until Garrick, Kai or Elana arrived to comfort him.

As they reached the outskirts of Amalah the seven rode together and when the border of Mantor grew closer, they rode hard and fast through the dead ground until they sighted the guards of Mantor patrolling the border as Tobiah had instructed.

‘No Amalayan Order?’ Garrick enquired.

‘No, Adriel has being trying to enter but he has been met with fierce resistance,’ said Kai. ‘Ironically, the leader of Mantor need not have attended the summit but his actions will only have angered my people.’

‘How far to your region?’ Thaddeus asked.

‘Two more days but we can set down here and begin sending word to the other regions of what has transpired.’

When they arrived in the first village; Kai needed no introductions and the people came out of their homes to greet him. The elders in the village came forward to speak with him – and Kai in turn – introduced the six who had travelled with him. They were led to the town hall and an emergency meeting was convened between Kai, the elders and the six.

Kai relayed the details of the massacre at the summit to a shocked council. He ordered the guard around the perimeter be tripled and he sent riders out to the regions to tell the leaders what had transpired.

Another day passed by and the seven remained together as they wandered through the village and took their meals together. Late in the evening, Kai convened a meeting between them all.

‘Before we venture any further; I wish to lay out my plans for dealing with Adriel and his Order,’ he said and then he paused for a short while. The six looked at him expectantly and he looked at each and everyone of them in turn, his face showing the strain and grief of the last few days.