The Path Of Peace (The Cremelino Prophecy Book 3) (11 page)

“That’s
right,” Alessandra continued. “Because the King does nothing, we have to do
things ourselves. That is why we are here to protect you against the King and
his people—the governor and the ambassador.”

Kelln
wanted to shout out. She was making this personal now, which was quite unfair.
But now he understood what this was. This was the Preacher’s way of trying to
trap Kelln once again. Alessandra would bad-mouth the King and him, forcing
Kelln to confront her and her father.

“But
how will
you
protect us?” a man up front asked, still wearing his
baker’s apron. “What about the Guild of Thieves?”

“They
will cooperate with us,” Alessandra informed them. “We are reaching an
agreement with them. Those that join the Guild of Protection will not have to
worry about the thieves.”

The
people seemed impressed at the breadth of the new guild already. People started
talking in small conversations among themselves.

“You
are just a girl. How can you protect us?” a large man shouted, from the Guild
of Bricklayers by the looks of his clothes.

Someone
else took up the mantra also. Soon dissent rang through the cavernous room.

With a
flourish, Alessandra lifted up her arms, and the lanterns glowed brighter. She
twisted her right hand, and a sword flew away from the side of one of the
attendees. She flicked again, pushing out her palms in front of her, and two
people fell to the floor.

Kelln
receded farther into the shadows. Was she a wizard, too? He remembered
conversations they had had, wondering if the powers would flow from her
grandfather to her father and then to her or not. Kelln thought about her
grandfather, the kindly old Alastair, who had been blinded by the powerful rage
of his son, the Preacher. Kelln had learned a lot from the old man, holed up
with him for a few days in the Black Forest. That is where he had learned to
trust in God, a higher power that directed them. Whenever angry or frustrated,
he thought of that teaching and felt peace. He tried to do so now.

Tali leaned
close to him, interrupting his reminiscing thoughts. “The power is not coming
from her.”

“What?”

“I can
sense people’s powers. I feel Mr. El’Lan, your Preacher friend.”

“He’s
no friend of mine. Tries to kill me each time he sees me,” Kelln mumbled, realization
dawning on him. “The Preacher? He is here then?”

Tali
nodded.

All
three of them started looking around. They moved around the edges of the room
with care. Most of the crowd was enthralled in Alessandra’s performance and did
not notice the three of them. A few people looked at them as they moved around,
but once they got a whiff of the fish, they moved away.

“There
he is.” Kelln pointed to a man in the shadows about a quarter of the way around
the room from them.

Tali
nodded. “That is where the power is coming from.”

“Now
what?” Rapp asked. “Do we kill him?”

Kelln
looked at him and shook his head. “No, Rapp. We’ll follow them and watch where
they go. We need to find out their full plans. Once I know that, I will bring
the guards with me to confront him. He is powerful, so we must be careful.”

Rapp
looked disappointed they weren’t going to kill Mr. El’Lan.

The
magic stopped, and Alessandra continued. “Now mark your name or guild on this
paper, and we will contact each of your privately about what it takes to join
our guild.” She motioned them to a small table where a parchment and quill
stood waiting for the signatures.

Some of
the attendees slipped away, but most gathered to sign. They were interested in
anything that could protect them from the Guild of Thieves.

As
people left and the dim room became less crowded, the small group of three hung
back farther in the shadows and hid behind a large broken doorframe. Soon
everyone had gone except for them and the Preacher and Alessandra. Tali used a
small amount of her power to amplify the voices of the father and daughter, who
stood on the other side of the room by a small lantern.

“You
did well, daughter,” the Preacher said.

“They
are easy, Father. They jump at anything to believe in. But do you think it will
work? Will he come?”

“Yes,
he will come,” the Preacher said. “He won’t be able to resist the temptation.”

Kelln
had an uncomfortable thought that he was the “he” they were talking about.

“Once
the ambassador is gone, then we can take down the governor, and I will take
control of Mar through my new Guild of Protection, “ the Preacher said.

“First,
I need information on my mother,” Alessandra said. “The guildmaster said he
would investigate for me.”

“Alessandra!”
The Preacher threw up his hands, looking exasperated. “What is this obsession
you have with your mother? She is either dead or doesn’t want to see you. But I
am here, my daughter. I want you. I need you.”

“I need
to find her, Father. You don’t have to understand.” Her voice stood on the verge
of tears. “I just do—she is my mother after all. I have lived most of my life
without her. I need to just see her. If it means betraying Kelln again, I will
do it, don’t you worry. Your little plans of taking over the city are safe with
me.”

“Little
plans? Alessandra, don’t you see what we are doing? Chaos here in Mar, a war
brewing with Arc, Belor barely restrained. The Kingdom of Darius DarSan
Williams is about to topple over, and there is nothing he can do about it.” The
crazed wizard paced the floor in front of his daughter.

“Once
chaos is in place, I will hand these lands over to the eastern lords. They will
save the people from destruction and gain their trust. Then they will give me
the western lands to rule.“ The Preacher lowered his voice. “And I want you by
my side to rule with me. Someone has to keep my legacy going.”

“But I
don’t have your powers.”

“Not
yet you don’t. But we will continue to work with them. Any time now we will see
a breakthrough. You will see.” The Preacher stopped and looked around the
darkness with alarm on his face.

“What
is wrong?”

“Someone
is using the power.”

Tali
stopped the amplification of the sound, and the three of them huddled in
silence.

“There
is no one here,” Alessandra remarked. “It must be your power residue from
earlier.”

Rapp’s
leg twitched against the door, echoing in the dark empty room.

“Who’s
there?” The Preacher’s voice boomed, and a light began to spread out over the
room.

“He
knows we’re here,” Kelln whispered.

“Hold
on, boys. Here we go.” Tali stood quickly and, with a sweep of her hand, sent a
blinding light and spray of rocks across the room.

“Go
now!” she ordered the other two, and they began to run toward the entrance.
Light came through the doorway from the starlight outside, but the opening was
still halfway around the room.

The
Preacher answered with a bolt of lightning, but because of the earlier blinding
light, his aim was not true.

“You?”
they all heard the Preacher roar.

He had
spotted them.

“I will
kill you once and for all.”

The
three ran even faster toward the door. They looked back over their shoulders,
and energy built up around the dangerous man.

Alessandra
grabbed her father’s arm and screamed, “No, Father, you promised you wouldn’t
kill him.”

Kelln,
suddenly glad to overhear the sentiment that could save his life, didn’t know
if her father would heed the reminder. Still running toward the doorway, the
three of them spotted Radiance just outside the doorway. A glow became visible
around Taliana, and she pushed a blinding white wind into the Preacher and his
daughter, then dove through the doorway. On the other side, she collapsed the
doorway around the door and buried the opening in rubble.

Taliana
hugged her Cremelino. “Such power. Such emotion. Incredible. Radiance amplified
my power tenfold.”

“Are
they dead?” Kelln asked.

As if
to answer, a blast hit the wall from inside and bricks began to fall from the
outside of the building.

“Run!”
Rapp shouted.

The
group ran through the streets. They heard blasts and explosions behind them.
The sky lit with fire as one building after another exploded.

“I
guess you made him mad,” Rapp said matter-of-factly.

The
other two laughed.

Soon
they were in another secret residence the governor kept, safe from the Preacher
and his daughter. After cleaning himself, Kelln sat in a study alone while the
other two finished up. He couldn’t help think about how Alessandra didn’t want
to kill him. He could take some consolation in that fact. But he was beyond
that now. The words she spoke about taking him and the governor down and the
Preacher talking about taking down the rest of the Realm frightened him and
solidified in his mind that Alessandra and the Preacher both were now enemies
of the Realm, and one of his responsibilities as ambassador was to protect the Realm.

“Berlain,”
he said out loud. The name of Alessandra’s mother. He had known earlier in the
year of her desire to see if her mother still lived. He didn’t blame her for
wanting to see her mother again, but things had gone too far—past the point of
reason in that search.

Then a
thought came to him. He could find Berlain first and get Alessandra away from
her father. By separating the two of them, he would have a better chance of
stopping the madness and restoring order to the city.

“Oh,
Rapp,” he called. “I have a perfect job for you.”

SUR

D
arius rode his Cremelino at a dangerous
speed for a day and a half before he had to stop. Both of their energies were
depleted, and though he was wild with worry over Christine, he knew Thunder
could not take much more, and he needed some sleep to be able to think clearly
again.

The path down the mountain
communities had been painstakingly slow. Riding in the darkness of night had
been hard, and they had to constantly watch out for turns, roots, and rocks on
the poorly maintained road. Since meeting up with the main road running from
Mar to Sur, he was able to use Thunder’s full resources of strength and speed.

Entering a small village about
half a day’s ride from Sur, Darius found a decent inn, gave Thunder to the
stable boy’s keeping, and stumbled into the common room. He had decided to keep
his identity hidden, not for any more reason than to be able to eat and rest
undisturbed. He vowed to himself to come back at a later time and visit with
his subjects as King.

The warm platter of meat,
potatoes, carrots, and fresh bread filled his body with new strength almost
immediately. After eating his fill, he retired to his room. A few hours of
sleep should be enough for him, but he didn’t know how much time Thunder
needed. He sent the question out to the Cremelino, always a background presence
in his mind now. The answer back came in a whisper, signifying the horse’s
tired condition; however, he said he would be ready to go when Darius was.

Three hours later, approaching
midnight, a knock sounded on Darius’s door. He jolted out of bed, realizing he
had slept deeper than intended. It was the young son of the innkeeper, the boy
he had paid to take care of his horse.

“Sir,” the boy mumbled,
embarrassed to have woken a customer at this time of night. “I am sorry to
disturb you, but a trader came in from Sur just now. He was stabling his horse
when he caught sight of yours. You told me to tell you if anyone paid special
attention to your horse.”

Darius nodded for the boy to
continue. Darius hoped the man didn’t recognize the type of horse it was. That
would send rumors flying around the area. The Cremelinos were a breed used by
the King and those closest to him. Of course, he had given one to Christine as
a gift, and now one had gone with Taliana Penrose also. It had availed him the
means to communicate with Kelln about the disappearance of Christine.

“He told me he thought it funny
he had come across two white horses of the same size and appearance that same
day.” The boy yawned. The late night traveler had obviously woken the boy up.
“We don’t see too many horses of that color around these parts.”

Sleep left Darius. “Where did the
man say he had seen the other horse?”

“I don’t know. I was barely
awake.” The boy still had a hard time keeping his eyes open. “By some barn
outside of Sur or something. You can ask him yourself. He’s sitting in the
common room drinking ale.”

Darius grabbed a coin and stuck
it in the boy’s hand. “Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.” He rushed back into
the room, put his boots on, and gathered his things up.

The man sat drinking ale by
himself. Two other men were still up at the late hour, nursing their drinks in
a far corner. Darius approached the lone man. Sitting down opposite him, Darius
began drilling him with questions on the horse he had seen. The man was taken
aback and didn’t seem to trust Darius at first. A few coins and drinks later,
however, and Darius had all he needed.

Sending a quick thought to
Thunder just moments before arriving in the stables, Darius informed his horse
they were on their way again. As soon as Darius was on his back, Thunder
galloped off into the dark night. Even at a fast pace, it would still be early
morning before they arrived in the area where the man had seen Lightning.

As the sun began to rise over the
Superstition Mountains, Darius noticed more and more villages along the
highway. Sur was a short distance away now. The man had told Darius he'd been
visiting a farmer friend of his who had found the horse lying down and hurt. He
had coaxed her up and into his barn.

After turning off the main road
and asking a few directions, Darius found himself riding down a small lane.

A weakened thought came to his
mind.
Darius?

“Lightning. I am close.”

Who is with you?
Lightning
asked.

Thunder!
came the proud
thought from Darius’s newly bonded horse.

A sense of pleasure from
Lightning intruded upon his thoughts but no other words.

Soon they found a small farmhouse
with a large green barn. Dismounting quickly without stopping, Darius ran to
the barn. He found Lightning lying on her side. Taking off a makeshift bandage,
Darius found a large gash still oozing pus and blood. Another cut stood out
across her white leg. She had been given some straw and food.

His heart constricted to see his
wife’s horse in such bad shape. He wiped the tears from his eyes and knelt
down. Without thinking of what to do, he instinctively covered his hand over
the Cremelino’s wound. He drew strength from his own heart and opened himself
up to the horse. He thought of Lightning and what she meant to him and to
Christine. He thought of Christine being taken, and a sob escaped from his
throat. He tied to concentrate on Lightning and drew strength from Thunder.
Soon a soft glow overlaid the wound, and it began to close up. He then
proceeded to run his hand over the smaller wound on her leg.

Sighing from the energy drain,
Darius finally opened his eyes. Turning toward a sound in the opening of the
barn, he saw a man silhouetted against the barn door.

“I’ve never witnessed anything
like that before, young man. What did you do? Who are you?”

Darius smiled, stood up, and
placed his hand on a wooden rail to offer himself support. He could hardly stay
on his feet. “Thank you for caring for her, sir.”

The man moved closer to Darius.
“She was hurt something terrible. Looked like a sword wound, though I don’t
know who would slice up a horse around here, especially such a beautiful
creature like she is.”

The two watched as Lightning
slowly stood up. Silently she sent her thanks to Darius.

The man stood there, still
waiting for an answer to his questions.

Darius put out his hand to shake,
“I am Darius DarSan Williams, King of the Realm.” The man
reached out his hand in shock and surprise. Before Darius could shake it, he
collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

A short time later, Darius opened
his eyes. He realized he was laying on a floor, staring up into the underside
of the roof of a small modest home. Sitting up with care, though no longer
dizzy, he glanced around. The man and his wife were sitting on two chairs,
gaping at him.

“You feeling better, son?” the
man said.

His wife ribbed him and
whispered, “Don’t call him son. He’s the King. You have to call him Your
Majesty or Sire or my Lord or something.”

Darius shared a weak smile and
held up his hand. “It’s fine, sir. Thank you for taking care of the horse and
for bringing me in here.”

“What you did out there with that
horse was truly amazing,” the farmer responded. “I wouldn’t have believed you
were King No offense, Sire, but you are kind of young, except I had heard our
new King had wizard powers of old. It must be you.”

“It
is
me. I know, hard to
believe, sometimes even for me.”

The wife stood up and went to the
kitchen, “I have some food here for you, my Lord.”

“I need to leave right away.”
Darius stood and wobbled for a minute. He had to find Christine, but he didn’t
want to alarm these people with that news.

The man helped Darius to the
table. “You wouldn’t want to miss my wife’s cooking, now would you?”

“And you do need your strength,”
his wife piped in.

Darius was moved by the
compassion of these people. He sat at the table and found himself suddenly
ravished. He ate three platefuls of potatoes, eggs, and hot griddle cakes.
“That was one of the best meals I have ever had. The castle chefs could learn
from you.” He beamed.

The lady blushed, and the man
looked down in embarrassment. Darius realized they were just average farmers
trying to make their way in life.

“What can I do to repay you?”
Darius asked.

“Oh no. Nothing, Your Majesty.
It’s our pleasure to help you,” the man answered humbly. “Just watching you
heal that horse was a treasure for me.”

“My powers . . . ?” Darius still
didn’t know what people thought about his powers.

The lady of the house smiled.
“Don’t worry about that. We are not as superstitious against magic around here
as they are in the capital. It’s like any kind of tool, I gather. You can use
it for good or bad. Every once in a while, there will be talk of some wizards
from Arc coming into Sur. They’ve never caused any trouble from what we have
heard.

Darius, touched at their humility
and understanding, felt proud of how many good people were in his realm.

“You have been so helpful in
events that you are not even aware of. I will repay you somehow, but now I need
to get to Sur.” He stood up from the table and hugged each of them, sending
traces of his power into them to thank them.

The two backed up from him with
amazement on their faces. Then they bowed low to him and bid him farewell.

Darius climbed back on Thunder,
and with Lightning by their side, they rode off at half speed. Lightning, still
weak, would be fine after the healing completed.

Wizard, I have lost contact
with her.
Lightning sounded frightened.

“It’s probably the injury you
suffered,”
Darius suggested.

There is a spark every once in
a while, but it gets farther away each time I try to find her.

“Have they taken her to Arc
then?” Darius mused out loud.

They entered Sur a short time
thereafter, and Darius found the Governor’s home and the rest of the guards
that had been with his wife. They were devastated and afraid of punishment.
Darius was tired and frustrated but tried not to take it out on the men. They
were doing their best. One of the guards recounted to him that she had gone out
on an early morning ride and had never returned. After searching, they found
the two dead guards north of the city. Neighbors mentioned seeing black-clad
riders in the area.

“Why would Arc take her?”
Governor Bree Handover asked out loud. The man was a good steward of the city
and seemed genuinely concerned for the queen’s disappearance.

“A good question that we will
soon find out. Can you send some men up in the mountain pass and see what they
can find out?”

The mayor nodded. “The Arcs have
a small army camped on the border, Sire. We don’t grasp their full intentions.
They have said it was an honor guard to meet you.”

“An army for an honor guard!”
Darius grew angrier. “Are they taunting us now?”

“It is said Bronwyn Anwar, the
King’s son, waits there to meet with you as you invited.”

Darius stood, exhausted beyond
measure. He had to keep going. The longer he waited, the further Christine
could be. “Then I will ride to meet him and force an answer as to where my wife
has been taken.”

One of the guards stepped over to
Darius. Eric was second in command to Roland. “You are tired, Sire. Why don’t
you rest first?”

“I can’t rest,” he almost wailed.
“My wife has been taken. I will not rest until I find her.” Anguish bubbled up
inside him, testing his limits. He reached inside himself and pulled on
strength he didn’t know he had. He pushed away the tiredness and set his mind
for the task at hand.

The guard, Darius’s elder by
twenty years, continued, “Let us at least get you cleaned up and presentable, my
Lord. If you are going to meet the prince of the Kingdom of Arc, let’s show him
the King of the Realm in all his glory and power.”

Darius smiled without it reaching
his eyes. “Very well. You are right. We must have a show of power.” Turning to
the mayor, he gave orders, “Mayor Handover, contact the garrison here, and tell
whoever is in charge to bring his battalion. We ride at noon.”

Two guards accompanied the King
to wash and change clothes. Somewhere in the midst of their help, they also fed
him. In the back of his mind, he communicated to Thunder and Lightning for them
to be ready to ride. The stable hands were feeding and watering them well.

Their ride in the late autumn air
began clear but grew cooler close to the mountains. Leaves hung in oranges, reds,
and yellows, sending a glorious splash of color throughout Sur and its
surrounding lands. The greener evergreens of the mountains were sprinkled in,
growing thicker closer to the mountains themselves.

It was the type of day Darius
usually gloried in, the type of day to lift his spirits. Today all he saw in
his mind was his wife. Only wed hardly five months now, he couldn’t bear the
thought of losing her. Not after all they had been through. Not after the
persecutions she had suffered in the farmlands, not after the year they had
spent apart, not after having her by his side at last. The Diamond Palace was
still being constructed for her, a palace set in the meadow by the Lake of
Reflection, a place they had spent so much time in as teenagers. The place
where she had first kissed him, and where he had asked her to marry him. It
would be a grand home away from the castle, where she could enjoy the
surrounding farmlands and forest.

Gazing up into the pass, he wiped
a tear from his eye. He had met an ambassador from Arc once when younger. His
father had introduced him to Darius—an advisor to the King, a large man named
Olan Sallir. The thing he most remembered was his vivid green cloak. How dare
they take his wife.