She sat down next to Diamond and opened her bag, then offered her a banana. Which, true to herself, Diamond refused with a wave of her hand, her eyes were glued to her sketch book as her charcoal flew across the page with deliberate strokes. Topaz shook her head and took a bite of her banana. The girl barely ate, she was all skin and bones, with hair so thick like it was sucking the life out of her.
Topaz looked over at the burly man who was hunched over his sword with a rag, cleaning it with the gentleness of a mother with her newborn. He was a second-class officer of the forty-fourth regiment. She knew him from watching the training exercises at the barracks. He could take a good blow, which made up for his slowness and though he was quiet, Topaz knew he was constantly taking stock of his surroundings. There were two other senior soldiers with them, and of course Nyla and Ben. Understandably, her father had not sent Ruby’s knight with them. Topaz thought that this was actually overkill for a trip to the Northern territory. The north was one of their most peaceful and politically stable territories. And of course, her father was not expecting Ruby to try to escape again.
On horseback, the trip could be made in half a day, but at the rate they were going, with all their burdens and at the pace of a carriage, it would take them almost a day to make it to the pass. They had stopped for a break just a little while ago at Ruby’s bidding, who was blaming her odd behavior on her concern for Deswald’s dying horse. But Topaz knew better, it would not be long before life for all of them would change. She was sorry Nyla and Ben had to be the ones coming with them, for they would surely feel the wrath of her father when he found out that Ruby ran away again.
Once her sister and the others had left, Topaz turned to Ben with a sly grin.
“So, you and Nyla huh?”
Ben looked up sharply and for the first time she saw a negative emotion flash across his face.
“Uh… not really. Not anymore.”
“Really? It’s all everyone at the barracks talks about.”
Ben grimaced, “that’s the problem. You know Nyla, she was a palace guard for a year. She doesn’t like attention… any attention.”
“Hmm, and your relationship was drawing too much of that? That’s why you broke up?”
Ben shrugged, “Nyla’s special, she just… has a thing or two to learn about loving someone other than herself.”
He nodded as if to accentuate the end of the discussion and turned in the direction of the horses.
Topaz sighed, love was a dark and scary thing, she thought. Surprisingly, her thoughts strayed to Jahreed. She wondered if she would see him while staying with her sister. If her letter had helped in anyway and what he would possibly do if he found out who she really was.
She sighed and started to unwrap one of miss Cleo’s corn cakes. Ben tended to his horse for a solid two seconds before he circled back to where Topaz was with his hands on his hips, and squinted at the forest.
“They should be back by now, shouldn’t they?”
Topaz grinned at his nervous fidgeting, “well it depends. She didn’t say if it was one or two.”
Ben looked horrified, and Topaz laughed. She guessed that not many people wanted to think of a princess’ royal bathroom duties.
“Hey…” she started.
But Ben lifted a finger to stop her so sharply that her words dissipated on their own accord.
“Did you hear that?” he glanced in the direction of the other men, who didn’t seem to share his concerns.
Topaz was about to make a smart remark about his obsession with Nyla, despite what he said, but then she remembered his keen Tyattaran senses. He could hear and see better than most, when he wasn’t too distracted by his own voice.
It was then that Topaz heard it too. Sure, enough it was a scream and it belonged to Bianca. Reflexively, Bianca’s husband jumped to his feet and started moving in the direction of his wife’s voice. Ben was not far behind.
✽✽✽
Haddin stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the military gathering below and smiled proudly. His soldiers alone amounted to an impressive six thousand men, equipped with the best military equipment his engineers could construct and backed by his own magic and that of the high sorcerers of Dravia. His mother would be proud, his father would eat his tongue. His smile turned into a sneer at the thought of his father. Following the initial guilt of killing him, raw hatred had risen up in its place. And he felt nothing now for the man but pure hatred. Especially after finding out about his plot to dismantle everything his mother had tried to build. Briefly his mind wandered to his brother, Drayton. Thoughts of him also had the power to damper his mood today. He hoped he was dead, but nothing had confirmed it and there was a small part of him that still sensed his life force in this world. But in a few days, there would be no denying who is the rightful king of Dravia and soon, Saharia.
“Your majesty.”
He turned to find his new army captain looking at him warily. Captain Trait had ascended the ranks after Captain Hesk, his predecessor, had abandoned his post with a third of his best men. Hesk’s actions left a nagging worry in the back of Haddin’s mind, but when he looked upon the army he had amassed, his fears were easily quelled. Whatever was Hesk’s persuasion, he could never thwart this, no one could.
“Is everything ready?” he directed his question at his new captain.
The man nodded jerkily. For such a skilled warrior, the man utterly feared him. Usually that was something he relished, but somehow it did not appeal to him very much in the person of his army captain. Hesk had been a loyal and exceptional subject, but he never shook in his boots before him. Instead he was always a pillar of immovable, unsympathetic pride.
“Our men are as ready as they’ll ever be your majesty,” Trait replied.
Haddin nodded and sighed deeply, “right you are. But the task ahead of us is a great one, our numbers are great, but they barely rival that of our enemy. Fortunately, we have the element of surprise and magic on our side… we also have some allies from the North-East. They should join us by the time we reach the Aldorian border.”
“Allies from the North-East?”
Haddin smiled slyly, “don’t pry, you know how I like dramatic flair.”
The man bowed quickly, “yes your majesty.”
Haddin extended his hand and a red flame appeared in his palm, he then waved his hand from left to right, creating a translucent pattern of sound waves in the air before him. He then pushed it forward so that it extended over the army below.
“Warriors of Dravia!”
He spoke softly, but his voice boomed across the yard below. In response the men pounded their staffs against the ground and knocked their swords against their shields. Haddin smiled.
“Today you make history. Today you join me as I stand on the cusp of placing Aldor in its rightful place… beneath us!”
The men cheered and Haddin extended his arms, “we have a great advantage, our victory is sure. As your king I lead you into an unprecedented battle, one so great that your names will go down in books of the gods. Every Aldorian you cut down, will bring you closer to immortality. Your names will forever be on the lips of common and uncommon folks for generations to come. Will you fight for that honour!”
A unanimous shout of agreement shook the walls, as the men chanted and stomped in excitement.
Haddin laughed maniacally, “Tonight we march!”
And to think his father had once thought him incapable of warfare.
Chapter 31
Ruby tasted mud on her tongue mingled with her own blood, from a cut on her lip. Hard hands shoved her harder into the ground. From there she was forced to watch Bianca struggle against her own attacker as Nyla fought to subdue the ongoing onslaught of four… no five, she blinked. Fear was dimming her vision.
“Oh, mighty El,” she whispered, this earned her a knee to the back.
The familiar sound of an arrow whizzing through the air relieved her, even as her own assailant fell heavily o
n top of her back.
“I got you princess,” she heard a man say.
Once the weight of the lifeless body was lifted off of her, she found herself looking up into the worried eyes of one of her father’s soldiers.
He extended his hands towards her, “come on, let’s get you out of here.”
But before she could reach for his offered hand, his eyes rolled back and a sword through his midsection greeted her instead.
She screamed as the soldier fell. Both Ben and Nyla were occupied fighting a ruthless band of men; too skilled to be angry villagers. Bianca was safely in the arms of her husband, blood drying along her temple where she had been hit. This left Ruby alone, facing a sneering man with murder in his eyes.
“Well well well, it’s the orphan princess,” the man crooned.
“This time you won’t get away.”
With a growl she kicked out her legs at his knees and he bucked, staggering backward. She reached for the fallen soldier’s sword and struggled to her feet. She spat the taste of blood onto the ground with unladylike flair and charged towards the man. Their swords met and she felt the vibration of its collision down her arms. She gritted her teeth and pushed back, planting her feet for an offensive counter attack. She was a princess, but she was no damsel in distress.
Ruby fought hard and was successfully keeping the man subdued but she was growing tired. Her arms felt like rubber and the troubling reality of her limited combat skills could not be denied. She could not defeat him; he was slow and awkward but he was strong and by the humorous glint in his eyes he knew it… he was playing with her.
“Give it up princess and your death will be quick.”
She did not have enough breath to respond, instead she growled at him, moving from left to right with a drunken stagger.
“Your fight is in vain, surrender now and possibly keep your head.”
He waved his sword and with little effort knocked her sword from her grip. She yelped and grabbed her strained wrist, her weakened knees buckling beneath her. Now she was in the perfect position for him to take her head with one smooth sweep of his hand.
She watched him lift his blade, then squeezed her eyes shut. But instead of the sudden death she anticipated, she heard a grunt followed by a scuffle. She opened her eyes when it was clear that she was not dead. And when she did, it was to the sight of Odi mercilessly pounding her attacker with his rod. She winced when his assault ended with a firm hit on the man’s head. He fell like a log.
Odi made his way towards her now and extended his hand.
She slapped his offered hand away and glared up at him, “what took you so long? I could have died,” she growled.
She could not see Odi’s full face under his hood and mask, but she was sure his blank expression remained. Yet he seemed to smile with his eyes as he looked down at her. That was something that she noticed he did. Was that a Nerubian thing? She wondered.
“You seemed to have it under control,” he replied.
“No, I didn’t.”
He nodded and extended his hand again, “you are right. You still have a lot to learn.”
“Who are these people attacking us,” she asked.
He shrugged, “what I know for sure… is that they really do not like you.”
Ruby rolled her eyes and Odi grabbed her arms, “come,” he said.
“This is the perfect chance to get away.”
Ruby yanked her arm from his hand and glared at him in outrage, “my friends need help.”
Odi looked at her blankly then towards Nyla and Ben, then back to her again as if he did not see what she was talking about.
“Help them!” she commanded.
He hesitated, until she saw his eyes widen. Ruby turned in the direction he looked and gasped.
“I think our greatest problem is that person,” he pointed with his staff in the direction of a new comer.
He stood away from everything fully clad in black, a sword in his hand, a helmet with only slits for eyes on his face.
“He reeks of the darkness,” Odi said.
“Go join your sister. I’ll handle this.”
✽✽✽
“Make way! Make way!”
Ruby and Topaz turned around to find Ben and Odi hurrying towards them, with Nyla in the middle. Her arms were draped over their shoulders and she looked like she was on the verge of passing out.
Ruby jumped into action, quickly tossing one of the blankets onto the grassy ground so they could put Nyla down. They were all breathless and sweaty, Ben had a cut across his cheek and his straight Tyattaran hair was falling all over his face. His eyes were wide with worry and it wasn’t long before Ruby saw why. Glaring back at them was a wide bloody gash across Nyla’s stomach, and a gaping wound on her arm. She was covered in blood and muttering incoherently.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Ruby observed.
“You need to clean the wounds,” Odi said from above her.
She turned and Topaz handed her a cloth and a bottle of wine “it’s clean,” she said breathlessly. There was no time to ask her where she had gotten the wine.
“Hang on Nyla, we’ve got you,” Ruby said as she leaned forward to clean off the wound.
As she poured the wine, Nyla roared in pain. “Oh dear,” Ruby cried as she worked, pressing the cloth against the wound with steady hands.
“It won’t stop bleeding.”
Now Odi gently nudged her aside, “it’s poisoned,” he said.
He stooped down over Nyla and reached for her arm, then reached into a small satchel strapped to his side and took out a small pouch. Ruby watched as he maneuvered around the bleeding to pour what looked like a glittery powder unto the wound. He then wrapped the cloth over it neatly and moved on to tend to the deep wound on her stomach. Ruby was no healer but Nyla’s wounds looked fatal and from the look on Ben’s face he was thinking it too.
“It does not seem like she has damaged any major organs,” he said.
Odi worked quickly and quietly, with everyone holding their breaths. The only sound was Nyla’s groans. Then he straightened up and his expression unreadable under his mask.
“This should keep the bleeding under control and speed up the rate of healing, while her body expels the poison. But she is weakened, she cannot continue the journey without aid.”
“How did you…” Topaz started to ask.
But Ruby interjected quickly, “Thank you,” she said.
He stood up now and walked a little way off and leaving Ruby with her friends.
“Who did this?” Topaz demanded.
Ben was standing looking down at Nyla with rage in his eyes.
“Serin,” he said angrily.
“Did you get him?” Topaz asked.
Slowly, Ben shook his head, “he ran away.”
“We have to get off the road, she needs a healer,” Bianca was saying.
She reached up and touched her stomach and swayed slightly, “and so do I.”
Ben stooped down and scooped Nyla into his arms, “come on!”
Ruby hesitated, her gaze shifting from Topaz to Odi from where she still knelt on the ground.
“Go ahead Top,” she said.
Everyone stopped to look at her, except Ben he was busy packing Nyla into the carriage.
She got up and took a deep breath. Two of her father’s men remained. They too were a bruised and bloody mess. They stood beside Bianca and Tim who would not leave her side.
“I am not going to the North. It was never my intention.”
Ben perked up, “wait! what?”
“I’m going with Odi, and nothing you can say will convince me not to,” she said firmly.
Ben looked at Odi, “I’m not letting you go with this… I don’t even know who he is.”
“He is the guy who just fought beside you and saved Nyla. Trust me Ben.”
Ben’s expression softened, as if he somehow understood, “Princess…” he said softly.
“Please Ben.�
�
He nodded slowly and turned to the others, “we have to go.”
“You,” he pointed his sword at Odi, “Take care of her, or I will find you and I will make you bleed so hard; your little healing dust won’t be able to save you.”
“On my honour,” Odi replied.
“And a word of advice,” Odi added, “the man you’re going after… the magic he carries. It’s a dangerous kind, it’s one that evolves and changes the carrier. But it is also indestructible.”
“What do you mean?” Ben asked.
“If you see him again, you cannot kill him, or his curse will pass to you.”
Ben nodded, “okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Princess,” the soldier known as Zenhall stepped forward, “our orders are to…”
“Your orders,” she interrupted, “are to get this party safely to the North city. It did not say that I have to be a part of it.”
The man gapped at her, “you know your father will not approve of this.”
She nodded her head in the direction of Odi, “tell him I had help. You couldn’t stop me.”
“Or we’ll just tell him the truth, if any of us survives this” Topaz said, she was back to being the bringer of gloom.
“Come on let’s go people. Nyla needs help,” Topaz said as she hugged Ruby quickly and tightly.
“Don’t forget your dear sister,” she whispered.
Ruby hugged her back fiercely, “never.”
Diamond gave her sister a small smile and handed her the wrapped-up painting she had done for her.
“Be safe Ruby.”
Ruby watched them go and sighed, this could very well be the last time she saw any one of them. It was clear now, that she was officially on the path of no return.
“Come on,” Odi said, “we have a tiring journey ahead.”
She moaned, “I’m already tired.”
“We’ll rest, but not here.”
“Ready?” Odi asked, as he drew her horse close to her.
“Doesn’t matter,” she replied.
✽✽✽
From his stately prison Ajorel could see the activity down at the barracks. He was a farmer by profession, but he knew when a kingdom was preparing for war. Stone Vale had an impressive army by itself and once they were joined by soldiers from the other territories, they would be a formidable opponent. He shook his head, unfortunately that would not be enough.
Kingdom's Darkness (Gemstone Royals Book 2) Page 25
