‘This is Flow Mage Shella,’ Daphne said, pointing at the Rakanese. ‘And her brother, Prince Sami. And Jayki, Shella’s servant. We also picked up a few Kellach, and a renegade Rahain.’
Dale smiled, his eyes focussed on Shella. ‘Well done, Daphne.’ He pulled the gate open. ‘Come in,’ he said, welcoming the group. ‘The old farmhouse at the back has beds made up, and I can warm some food for you all.’
‘You got anything to drink?’ Shella asked.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Dale bowed to her as if she were royalty. ‘There’s wine, and brandy.’
‘I’ve heard of those, but never had them. Which one will get me drunk quicker?’
Dale frowned.
‘Brandy,’ said Daphne. The Holdings woman glanced up at Sami, who was riding on Bedig’s wide shoulders. ‘Does her mood improve when she’s drunk?’
‘If we’re lucky,’ Sami rasped. ‘Sometimes it makes her worse.’
Shella snarled. ‘Shut up, you useless cripple.’
Daphne moved to confront Shella so quickly she stepped backwards in shock.
‘Don’t call him that,’ Daphne growled, inches from her face.
‘I’ll call him what I fucking like,’ Shella blustered. ‘He’s my brother.’
‘Miss Daphne?’ she heard Dale say. ‘Please?’
Daphne pulled back from Shella, but her face remained grim.
Shella noticed Kylon watching. She wondered who he would have helped if she and Daphne had come to blows.
‘Come on,’ said Bedig. ‘I’m starving.’
The group moved off. Dale led the way to a long, single-storied stone farmhouse, with thick shutters covering the windows. They walked through the main entrance into a large room, with a fireplace, and a huge dining table along one wall. In a chair next to the roaring fire, an old Rahain man was sitting.
‘Councillor Laodoc!’ Daphne called out. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Good evening, Miss Daphne,’ the old man smiled. ‘Such a relief to see you! I’m here to accompany you on your journey to the Holdings city on the Plateau.’
Daphne glanced at Dale. ‘Where’s Father Ghorley?’
‘He’s not here, I’m afraid,’ Dale replied. ‘He did however, leave you a message, which should explain everything about former councillor Laodoc.’ He walked to an open chest on a table, and withdrew a letter.
Daphne took it from his hands and began reading.
Shella looked around the room, as everyone unloaded their packs onto the floor. Dale and the old Rahain man were the only ones who had been awaiting their arrival, it seemed. Jayki stood by her side and Bedig set Sami down next to her. She watched as Dale sent some guards to the kitchen to ready the evening meal. He then turned to Shella.
‘I have prepared a room for you, ma’am,’ he said, clutching his hands together. ‘Do you have any luggage?’
‘Nope,’ she smirked. ‘Nothing but what we’re wearing.’
‘We’re well-stocked here,’ Dale smiled. ‘There are three wagons in the rear stables, all packed with supplies for your journey. Mostly provisions, but Father Ghorley did insist we brought along a selection of clothing. Hopefully you will find something that fits.’
‘Very thoughtful of you,’ she said. ‘You seem awfully keen that we travel to your capital city, Dale.’
The Holdings officer opened his mouth, but didn’t reply.
‘Of course,’ she went on, ‘it’s not like we have much of a choice. Where else could we go?’
Dale nodded. ‘And now you have another fellow traveller,’ he said, flicking his eyes over to the old man sitting by the fire.
‘Yeah,’ she replied. ‘Can’t wait to spend more time with a Rahain.’
They gathered the seats and chairs round the long table, and ate a warm meal together. Shella noticed that Daphne kept to the other side of the room, talking to the Kellach. Dale had seated himself to Shella’s right, and kept up a constant stream of polite chatter, which she ignored, not even bothering to nod occasionally.
After dinner, the wine and brandy flowed and Shella approved of both, following several thirds of enduring the rancid rice spirits they had distilled in the tenement’s basement. As the evening wore on, Shella noticed the old Rahain man glancing at her. She had avoided him throughout the meal, and he looked away when she returned his gaze.
She got up and took a seat by the fire next to him.
‘So who are you, exactly?’
‘I am Laodoc,’ he replied. ‘Not, as Miss Daphne said earlier, a councillor. Not any more. I am a fugitive from Rahain, condemned for opposing the war against the Kellach, and the atrocity carried out against your people.’ He paused. Shella stared at him, betraying no emotion on her face. ‘Please believe me when I say,’ he went on, ‘that what happened fills me with the most profound regret.’
For a moment Shella felt like giving in to sadness, and allowing her built-up tears to overwhelm her, but guilt and shame filled her again.
‘Even after I killed your delegates?’
‘That was you?’ he replied, the colour draining from his face.
Shella held up her right hand, and the room stilled, as everyone turned to her in silence.
‘Yeah,’ she said, staring at her hand.
‘Maybe you should put that down,’ Daphne said.
Shella glowered at her. ‘Or what? You might be used to everyone else obeying you, but I’m not happy being ordered around.’ She turned to Dale. ‘Does she have to come with us?’
Dale squirmed. ‘Father Ghorley has placed Miss Daphne in command…’
‘Well,’ Shella said, ‘I’m not sure I care to recognise her authority.’
Daphne tensed.
Shella rose from her chair, and walked round the table to where the Holdings woman sat. The rest of the room remained hushed, watching them.
‘I’m not frightened of you,’ Shella said, a crooked grin on her lips, as she stepped up close to Daphne.
The Holdings woman got to her feet and faced her.
Shella hesitated, then smiled.
‘Two killer mages in the same room at the same time,’ she said. ‘See how they all look at us, Daphne. See the fear in their eyes.’
Kylon muttered something in his own tongue. He took a step forward, and guided Shella back to her chair by the fire, where Laodoc was sitting, his tongue flickering.
As she sat she saw Daphne shake her head in anger. She stormed out of the farmhouse, slamming the door behind her.
Shella groaned. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to have to put up with her all the way to the Plateau.’
‘You and I will be saying our farewells in the morning, Shella,’ Kylon said, as he sat down beside her. ‘Let’s get drunk together one final time.’
‘More drunk, you mean.’
‘But first,’ he said, ‘go outside and apologise to Daphne.’
‘Why?’
‘She saved our lives, Shella,’ the Kellach frowned, ‘and now she’s giving up looking for Killop, to make sure you’re safely escorted to Plateau City.’
They paused as a Holdings soldier placed a fresh bottle of brandy onto the table in front of them. Laodoc reached out, and poured himself a glass.
‘She doesn’t like me, Kylon,’ Shella said.
‘No wonder,’ he said, ‘the way you speak to people. But you’ll be travelling together for thirds. You’d better learn to get along with her.’
‘Then she’d better learn to stay out of my way.’
He shook his head. ‘I know why you’re turning on everyone. You blame yourself for what happened to the Migration. Queen Obli knew nothing of what was going on before the end. She was shut up in her palace, while the whole burden of defending the city fell to you. You may have made some mistakes, but the Rahain were going to destroy the Migration, no matter what you did.’
Hatred filled her. ‘How do we make them pay?’
‘You travel to Plateau City,’ he replied, ‘and present your case to the
king. If anyone’s strong enough to resist the Rahain, it’s the Realm of the Holdings. Daphne and Laodoc are your allies in this. They are witnesses. Bedig will also be going with you. He told me that he has decided to follow you to the capital.’
‘You’re letting him go?’
‘He’s a free man,’ Kylon shrugged. ‘He can go where he pleases.’
Shella nodded, then rose to her feet, picking up the bottle of brandy.
‘I think I’ll see how Daphne is doing.’
Kylon raised an eyebrow.
‘I’ll behave,’ she said. ‘I may even be polite.’
She walked to the front door of the farmhouse, opened it, and slipped outside.
The evening air was cool in the gorge. Shella looked up, and noticed the seven stars shining in the eastern sky. Ahead of her, she saw Daphne alone in the darkness, sitting on a low stone wall, a red glow by her mouth.
‘Hello,’ she said. Daphne ignored her, her face an expressionless mask.
‘I’m sorry about before,’ Shella said, sitting down on the wall beside her, ‘and I realise that I’ve never actually said thank you for rescuing us, so, thank you.’
Daphne sat smoking for a moment. ‘You’re welcome.’
‘I have some good news,’ Shella said. ‘Dale mentioned to me earlier that they have brought your horse. I don’t know what that means exactly, but he seemed to think it would please you.’
Daphne said nothing.
‘So,’ Shella went on, ‘what’s that you’re smoking, then?’
‘Keenweed. From Sanang.’
‘Then how come you’ve got some?’
‘Kellach and Sanang bandits smuggle it through the mountains to Rainsby, and from there…’
‘Bandits? Do you think we’ll see any?’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Why?’
Daphne sighed. ‘We won’t be going anywhere near the Sanang Mountains. But if you want to see wildlife, there’s plenty of it in Rainsby. Place is run by gangsters, and over-run by Kellach refugees.’
‘I want to make the Rahain suffer, Daphne.’
The Holdings woman nodded, then passed her the lit smoke-stick. As Shella took it, she noticed that Daphne’s left arm was at an awkward angle.
‘What’s wrong with your arm?’
Daphne shrugged. ‘Got injured a couple of summers ago, when I was fighting in Sanang. Bastard called B’Dang D’Bang crippled it.’
‘Crippled?’ Shella repeated, her face going red. ‘Oh Daphne, I’m sorry.’ She looked away, thinking of her brother. No wonder everyone hated her.
‘It’s all right,’ Daphne said. ‘My other one works well enough.’
Shella laughed. She took a swig of brandy, then passed it to Daphne. She glanced at the smoke-stick. ‘Is this stuff addictive?’
‘Probably,’ Daphne muttered, and took a drink from the bottle.
Shella shrugged, and inhaled. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then she felt her senses expand, her eyesight, her hearing, her sense of smell.
‘Wow,’ she said, blinking. She looked at the farmhouse, taking in the tiniest details. She gazed back at Daphne, and it was like seeing her for the first time, her nut-brown skin, and long dark hair, tied at her neck. Her green eyes shone in the starlight.
‘You’re actually quite good-looking.’
Daphne almost smiled, and shook her head.
Shella pulled on her mage powers, feeling out the currents of liquid flowing round Daphne’s body. Different from the Rahain, and the Rakanese, she thought. She drew a little more, and her senses were flooded with the complex physiology of the Holdings woman, the narcotic-tainted blood pumping around her body, the alcohol in her stomach, her organs, her heart, her womb…
She pulled back, almost crying out. ‘This stuff’s amazing!’ she yelled, gazing at the keenweed stick in her hand.
Daphne nodded, and took a sip of brandy. ‘Maybe you and Kylon are right,’ she said. ‘Maybe I should stay in Rahain and look for Killop. I also have some unfinished business with the woman who betrayed Laodoc and Simiona.’
‘I thought you had family waiting for you in the Holdings, now that you’ve been pardoned.’
‘I do,’ Daphne said, ‘and I want to see them, but Killop’s out there, in the mountains somewhere. It feels like I’m abandoning him.’
‘But you’d have to live in the wild, like a bandit.’
‘So?’ Daphne shrugged. ‘I’ve lived rough before.’
Shella stared at her, her mouth opening in surprise. She doesn’t know, she thought.
‘What’s the matter?’ Daphne asked, her eyes narrowing.
‘Daphne,’ Shella said. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t be drinking so much, or smoking, and I don’t think you should be living up the mountains.’
‘What?’ Daphne snapped. ‘You sound like my mother.’
Shella sighed. ‘Daphne, you’re pregnant.’
This concludes The Queen’s Executioner
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Author’s Notes
April 2019
Thank you for reading Book One – The Queen’s Executioner and I hope you enjoyed it. For those who have also read From the Ashes and are hoping for more Keira, then I can reveal that she’s one of the main point-of-view characters in book two of the series – The Severed City, which begins a few days after the ending of book one.
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As I write this, there are only six more weeks until the release of The Queen’s Executioner. It’ll be the culmination of a long-held dream, to have a book out that people will enjoy reading. Following that will be the rest of the series, which will be available in the next few months. It’s been an incredible year and my thanks go to everyone that made it possible, especially my wife who has inspired and supported me at the same time.
About the Author
Christopher Mitchell is the author of the Magelands epic fantasy series.
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For more information:
www.christophermitchellbooks.com
[email protected]
The Magelands Series
From the Ashes
The Queen’s Executioner
The Severed City
Needs of the Empire
Sacrifice
The Trials of Daphne Holdfast
Retreat of the Kell
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