The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (31 page)

If you want, I could take over,
Cathy pitched.

Still no.

You’ll feel differently one day,
she
said.

With the
setting sun, we emerged from the forest to the con’creat wall that
protected Kay Julis. I hunched over to catch my breath and saw the
Princess doing the same. I smiled weakly as I felt less
embarrassed.

To be fair,
Cathy
started
. You did fight a battle and have
been carrying your pack.

Yeah but so
has Donkor.

Donkor is a freak of nature,
Cathy
chuckled.

That is also
true.

“
Don’t tell me you guys are tired already,” Donkor smiled. “We
should swim to one of the Kays and cool off.”

“
Donkor,” Princess Morowa said through heavy breaths. “Don’t
make me smack you.”

He laughed.
“Uncle Naliwa is going to be so happy you are home.”

“
I’m happy to be home too,” she smiled. “I know that Andy
wants the Ba Moumno but is there anything I can get for you? And
don’t say ‘nothing’, really think about it.”

“
Well...” he said as he scratched his head nervously. “I can’t
say it.”

“
What is it?” she asked.

“
Nothing,” he said embarrassed.

She laughed.
“Now, I just said that you weren’t allowed to say ‘nothing’ so you
have to tell me.”

He opened his
mouth but closed it and looked at me.

“
Tell her,” I said.

“
What if she says no?” he asked.

“
What if she says yes?” I asked back.

“
Don’t talk like I’m not here,” she said crossing her
arms.

I nodded to
Donkor and he turned back to the Princess. “I want to teach.”

Princess
Morowa’s eyebrows twitched in surprise. “You want to teach?”

“
Yes,” he answered getting embarrassed. “I am good with swords
and I want to teach.”

She smiled.
“That is a good idea. You are the best swordsman Nesqa has ever
seen. Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you wanted to be a
teacher?”

“
I have never taught before,” he answered. “When I taught Andy
how to fight, it felt good. So I want to do it again.”

“
I’ll talk to my father,” she said. “I’m sure he will be just
as happy to hear the idea as I am.”

Donkor smiled.
“Thank you, Moro.”

“
We should continue,” she said as she started down the road.
“Or do you need more time Andy?”

She shot me a
smirk and I straightened myself up. “I’m good,” I said following
her.

As we
approached the front gate, the guards’ eyes widened in shock. The
Princess instructed them to send a runner to her father to inform
him of our arrival. The gate was opened, we entered and Donkor took
the lead as we walked through the city to the Palace.

Once people
recognized the Princess, they moved out of the way as fast as their
feet could carry them. The murmuring grew with the crowds as we
drew closer to the Palace. I guess seeing the Princess escorted by
a giant and a Mage isn’t a daily occurrence around here.

Climbing the
steps, the figure of the Emperor grew clearer and the Princess
couldn’t wait any longer as she raced up the stairs to hug him.
Donkor and I arrived at the top as they broke away from each
other.

“
I didn’t think I would see you again,” The Emperor said to
her. “Are you hurt?”

“
No, I was in good company,” she said.

The Emperor
turned to us and smiled. When I first saw him on the balcony, I
couldn’t make out any features but with him standing in front of me
I could see that age and the recent stress have taken their toll.
His balding head was beyond grey and starting to turn a snowy white
and his face was taking on a sickly look. Not what you would expect
from the strong Emperor of Nesqa.

That probably explains the balcony then,
Cathy said.

“
When you left here Mage, I didn’t expect you to return,” The
Emperor said. “But you have lived up to your word. Never in my
whole life did I think I’d see the day.” He chuckled to himself and
coughed a couple of times before turning to Donkor. “I should have
guessed you might tag along.”

“
I missed Moro,” he said.

He smiled. “I
did too. Was the battle great? I wish I could have charged in with
you.”

“
We didn’t charge,” Donkor said getting excited. “Andy made us
invisible and we attacked from the inside.”

“
Made you invisible?” The Emperor asked confused.

“
A simple Illusion trick,” I replied.

“
Can’t be that simple if you’ve made Donkor invisible,” The
Emperor said.

“
I wasn’t allowed to make a sound or smell,” Donkor said
excited. “But they ended up smelling me and I gave away our
position. Then Andy blew up the watchtower.”

The Emperor
was laughing at this point and raised his hand to stop Donkor.
“Tell me it all later. I believe I owe your friend Andy here the Ba
Moumno.”

“
Andy has also brought something else to my attention,”
Princess Morowa said. “We should go inside and wake
Nnamdi.”

The Emperor
nodded to the guard who raced into the palace. I followed everyone
as we entered the Palace. From the main assembly room, we headed
through a door and entered a small room containing two thrones and
a group of chairs along the two other walls. This was where the
Emperor meets with his advisers.

The Emperor
and the Princess sat down on the thrones and I sat next to Donkor
in a seat he ‘saved’ for me. A middle aged fat man entered the room
looking sleepy and irritated but smiled and bowed towards the
throne.

“
It is good to see you again, Princess,” he said. “You had us
worried.”

“
It is good to be home again, Nnamdi,” Princess Morowa
said.

“
What is the big news that has everyone waking me up?” he
asked in good humour.

“
The Mage, Andy, has brought something to my attention that
could be a threat to Kalanden,” Princess Morowa said.

“
Andy?” Nnamdi said.

I stood up and
extended my hand. “I should really get in the habit of formally
introducing myself. Second Keeper Andrew Holcombe.”

“
Chief Advisor Nnamdi,” he replied shaking my hand. “Second
Keeper, you said?”

“
Yes, I’m apprenticing,” I said.

“
I should have recognized the robes,” The Emperor said. “But
if I remember correctly Keepers don’t interfere because of the laws
of the Tower.”

“
The Tower is in a bad place right now,” I said as Nnamdi sat
down in a chair. “One of the Masters is getting hostile towards the
others and one isn’t going to stand for it for much longer. I came
across a group of dead Mages from the School of the Spiritual in
Balendar. Here in Nesqa, I found the Mages responsible for their
deaths and was forced to kill them. When both Masters find out
their groups are dead. They will go to war with one
another.”

“
It seems like this happens every few years with you Mages,”
The Emperor said. “How can we be sure something is going to happen
this time?”

“
The Keeper sent me on a quest to gather items for a ritual,”
I answered. “This ritual will make the Master unable to use
magic.”

“
Sounds like you are doing everyone a favour,” Nnamdi said.
“Why do we have to worry?”

“
When was the last time anyone relinquished power willingly?”
The Emperor asked thoughtfully. “You really think he will start a
war over this?”

“
He already feels like he owns the Tower and all of Kalanden,”
I answered. “He’ll watch everything burn before he allows his magic
to be taken from him and his school is fiercely loyal to
him.”

“
So we must prepare to defend ourselves should the war slip
into our lands?” Nnamdi asked rubbing his chin.

“
Yes,” I answered. “If I succeed in my mission there is a
chance that everything can be prevented. If I fail...the four
provinces need to stand together ready. Call a truce, cease fire,
create an alliance, anything.”

“
The Evenawks may be too far gone,” The Emperor said. “Who
knows what the Mages have done up there but as far as I’m
concerned, if the Mages go to war, the Evenawks march with
them.”

Remember the
Master meetings you went too? Cathy asked.

Sort of.

Here, she said
as a memory flashed through my mind.

“
I might be able to help with the Evenawks,” I said. “I
remember the Masters saying that there is a rebellion amongst the
Evenawks. If I can help the rebellion overthrow the Mages then they
won’t be a threat.”

“
I haven’t heard of any rebellion,” The Emperor said
intrigued.

“
The Mages don't want it to be known that they might be losing
control,” Princess Morowa pointed out.

“
We should still strengthen that border,” Nnamdi
said.

“
Andy and Donkor have cleared out the old outpost outside of
Bauda,” The Princess suggested. “I think Donkor should be put in
charge of the outpost and train the soldiers to hold the border. He
was saying that he wanted to be a teacher.”

“
He would be a good teacher but not a good commander,” The
Emperor said. “Nnamdi, select an officer to run the outpost,
Donkor, you are in charge of training of the soldiers and
protecting the border.”

“
No one will hurt Bauda,” Donkor replied.

“
Good,” The Emperor said turning to me. “You have been
most...interesting, Second Keeper. You will be the only Mage
welcome across the border whatever happens. I wish there was more I
could give you for your trip but we avoid the Ghanlar Mountains at
all costs.”

“
The Demon’s Bane is all I need, Emperor,” I said with a small
bow.

The Emperor
reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver box. “I must
warn you again about Ba Moumno. Everything about it is death. Even
if you touch or smell it, it will cause the most painful death you
can imagine.”

“
I will be careful,” I promised.

The Emperor
rose to his feet and handed the box to me. I took off my backpack
and placed the box into a safe compartment.

“
Now, please, stay the night,” The Emperor offered. “You and
Donkor can leave for the border in the morning.”

“
Thank you,” I said.

Nnamdi and the
Emperor left the room and Donkor and the Princess stood up.

“
You’ve certainly got those two fired up,” The Princess
smiled. “They will be planning and holding meetings for days
now.”

“
The King of Balendar is looking forward to an alliance,” I
said. “There should be some interesting times in the near
future.”

“
I can’t believe that I get to teach AND live close to Bauda,”
Donkor said excited. “I have to go tell my mom.”

He hurried out
of the room and the Princess laughed. “It is good to see him
happy.”

“
I can’t imagine him any other way,” I said.

“
He tries to be positive but he is still human,” she said.
“Helping you to save me has really boosted his confidence. If there
is a war the Mages are in for a surprise.”

“
Remind me to hide on the other side of Kalanden when that
happens,” I said.

She chuckled
softly. “So it looks like I’m forced to show you to the guest
quarters. This way please.”

She led me out
of the room in the direction the Emperor and Nnamdi had gone
earlier.

That mountain climbing isn’t going to be a cake
walk
, Cathy said.

Fighting a
rebellion is going to take some serious strategy.

No, I mean that actually climbing part itself,
she said.
You have the
tendency to trip while walking on flat ground.

Only
rarely.

Well, I’m convinced,
she said
sarcastically.

Chapter 27

The view from
the top of the mountains was breathtaking. From here I could see
the Tower standing tall over the Archanion Field, the forests to
the north and south and the glint of sunlight reflecting off the
white castle at Thurlborn Peak. I tried to take in all the sights
of Kalenden before the sun disappeared and cast the entire land
into darkness.

“
It really is the perfect spot,” She said as she joined
me.

She was a
brown haired beauty with sparkling blue eyes. We had travelled up
the mountains to take in the sights before I was called away to the
Tower again.

“
I’m glad we could do this one more time,” I smiled while
looking into her eyes.

“
We can still run away,” She said hopefully. “Just spend the
rest of our lives up here.”

“
I can’t,” I said taking her into my arms. “This affects all
of us. If I turned my back on it now, it will just find us in the
end.”

“
But what if you don’t come back?” She said softly as her soft
hand touched my face.

“
I will,” I reassured her. “Once it is over, it can be just
you and I till the end of time.”