Fate of the Tyrant (The Eoriel Saga Book 3)

by Kal Spriggs

  He had become so bemused by the words of the long-dead author of the book that at first, he hadn't heard the voices in the main room of the library.

  "... how go preparations for the wedding?" Aerion recognized Katarina's voice and he felt his blood chill at those words. Wedding, he thought in sudden panic, what does she mean wedding? Just how much had he missed in the past weeks he had spent with his company on patrol?

  He recognized Lord Jarek's voice readily enough, "Well, though I'm not sure how I feel about rushing things as much as we have. I mean, we haven't formally announced the betrothal, yet, and there's still the issue of my brother..."

  Aerion felt the blood drain from his face. I'm an idiot, he thought. Clearly Lady Katarina and Lord Jarek were planning their wedding. Aerion felt his heart sink. He had hoped that she might feel something for him, but clearly whatever she felt for Lord Jarek was stronger... or else it was just that he was a noble while Aerion was just a commoner.

  He felt tears well up in his eye and his hands began to tremble. Damn him, Aerion thought, damn Jarek to all the torments. He hoped that a demon would eat the man's heart and soul. He hoped that the arrogant ass would fall down the stairs and be paralyzed for life. I will kill him, Aerion thought angrily. It would be easy enough to wait until Katarina left and then to grab Jarek and throw him out the window. The fall from the high room should kill him.

  Aerion realized that he had half stood, about to put the thought into action. He froze, then, horrified at himself. What kind of terrible person had he become where he would murder a man for succeeding where he had failed? Lord Jarek had won over Katarina and Aerion had not. That was the end of it.

  Whether it was or no, he realized the two had ended their conversation and left. Aerion peeked out and saw that the library was empty once again. He peered down at the book in his hands. It belonged to Jarek, he knew, especially if the nobleman had made some arrangement to depose his brother, the current Baron. Aerion should put it back. It was Lord Jarek's property, just like Lady Katarina would be soon enough.

  Aerion carefully closed the book and then tucked it inside his tunic.

  ***

  Lady Katarina Emberhill

  Zeilona Gora Keep, Barony of Zielona Gora, Duchy of Masov

  22nd of Ravin, Cycle 1000 Post Sundering

  "My Lady," Bulmor said from the doorway, "Quartermaster Solis and his daughter, Kara, are here to see you."

  Katarina looked up from her discussion with Lord Theodore. The Baron of Nine Peaks had become a valuable resource over the past few weeks. Katarina wasn't sure how, but he had begun to fill the role that Arren Smith had once held. "Excellent, send them in," Katarina said. Officially, Kara was merely Solis's assistant. Unofficially, she had become Katarina's spymaster. The young woman had a sharp mind and Katarina had come to trust her... though she still missed Arren Smith. The old man had been a font of wisdom and had seemed to know someone everywhere... and he was dead because of Grel and Covle Darkbit, killed in their attempt to recapture the Ryftguard through treachery.

  "My Lady," Solis gave a slight bow and his daughter an even slighter nod. Then again, she carried her son in her arms, which would make much more than that an issue. The infant slept peacefully, which Katarina hoped would continue.

  "I understand there have been some... issues with supplies?" Katarina asked.

  "Yes," Solis said. "Primarily from some of our newer allies." He hesitated and Katarina could tell he wanted to choose his words with extreme care. "Some of the noblemen have been quite insistent about what they are due." She saw his gaze flick to Lord Theodore.

  Katarina sat back as she realized just what Solis meant. The cold weather gear that they had was to be given as a priority to those who needed it. That should be those selected for patrols, which was why Katarina had told Solis to plan for just that. But if certain nobility thought that they were being slighted or shorted, they would cause problems in other ways.

  She looked at Lord Theodore who gave Solis a slight nod, "May we have a few minutes to discuss this, quartermaster? If it is an issue with the nobility, I'm certain that the less you are involved, the better."

  Solis gave him a relieved smile, "Much easier for me, my Lord." He could plead ignorance on the reasoning behind any decision they made and deflect any angry noblemen to Katarina. He gave Katarina a bow and then departed.

  "Have you heard of this already?" Katarina asked, seeing that Lord Theodore looked relaxed.

  He sighed, "No, though I can't say that I am surprised. Earl Joris is representative of a substantial block of our Duchy's nobility... namely, they think that their birth makes them better than everyone else. They believe that they deserve the best of equipment." Lord Theodore smiled slightly, "I guarantee that Earl Joris, his sons, and most of the noblemen that have joined us since, all have the best cold weather gear. Their men, depending on who confronted Solis, probably have excellent equipment as well, better than most of your newly formed companies."

  "What they feel they don't have, though, is your respect," Lord Theodore said. "They haven't been given the best assignments or the crucial fights. They haven't been complemented for the excellent uniforms and polished equipment of their people." He raised both hands, as if balancing that against something else. "When you have been so supportive of commoners taking up arms, it makes them nervous."

  "They haven't exactly earned any of that, though," Katarina said somewhat waspishly. After she took Zielona Gora, a variety of lesser and greater noblemen and women had joined her ranks. The nobility, with the exception of Lord Theodore and his children, had come with demands attached to their help. Lord Otylyk and Lady Paulina both wanted favorable resolutions to a longstanding legal dispute about their inheritance. Lord Marcel wanted the return of lands seized by the Usurper for failure to pay taxes. At least a dozen more of them had issues, complaints, or simply demanded some of her time.

  "In their eyes, their very birth entitles them to more," Lord Theodore said. "And to give them some credit, many of them have protected their lands from Hector's mercenaries, banditry, and the occasional Noric raid." His slight smile suggested he thought little of that accomplishment.

  Then again, since Nine Peaks was the most remote holding of the Duchy of Masov, she could understand that. The Barony of Nine Peaks was high in the southern mountains that bordered the Duchy. Lord Theodore and his ancestors had fended off not only Norics, but also dealt with sorcerers and their creations as well. While his companies lacked some of the polish and crisp uniforms from the other nobility, they had solid combat experience... and he had not come asking for favors.

  But I will have to manage these others or else I'll have fighting within my own ranks, she thought.

  Katarina frowned as she considered the thorny problem. "I can't allow them to take our limited resources merely to show their own importance, but if I don't give them something, their rivalry with my common-born troops will only grow."

  Lord Theodore gave her a smile and a slight nod.

  "They might be assuaged with more opportunities to succeed, but after Earl Joris lost an entire company..." she shook her head, "Most of them aren't eager to cross blades with Covle Darkbit."

  Lord Theodore shook his head, "Rightfully so, though I think sending some of them to chase bandits in safer areas might do."

  "What I would like to do," Katarina said slowly, "is give them a positive example, one of their own with a company..." she quirked an eye at Lord Theodore, "perhaps your son?"

  His expression grew a bit strained, "My family is not, I'm afraid, the most popular of houses among my peers. For that matter, young Jack has a way of... pricking their sensibilities." Katarina chuckled at that. It was true. Young Lord Jack was impulsive and expansive, eager to fight. He lived and fought among his common-born soldiers, with no separation and no arrogance. In Katarina's mind, he was exactly the kind of noble that many of her new allies should emulate.

  Of course, his very nature abraded them and, t
o make matters worse, he thumbed his nose at many of them. From what Katarina had heard, he'd been involved in at least two duels since the snow started falling.

  "What about Jarek?" Katarina asked. "He's well born enough to command their respect, he gets along well with the other commoners on my staff, and he's capable enough in a fight from what I've heard."

  Lord Theodore hesitated, "That is true, to a point." His gaze went to the window, "He'll soon be the Baron, here, too, which will give him more weight among the other nobles. Jarek is a solid young man, no doubt about it, else I'd never agree to the betrothal between him and my daughter. My concern, however, is that he has not commanded in battle. He's fought at my side and at the side of young Jack, but not with men under his command. I think he needs some experience."

  Katarina nodded slowly, "With a company where he will learn to look out for his people and a captain who he respects." She felt more than a little temptation to send him with Lord Jack when the young nobleman led his company south to hunt down any sorcerous beasts come down out of the mountains.

  At the same time that would be a distant thing, and Lord Theodore's statement about the other noblemen looking down on his family wasn't far wrong. She remembered that even her father had made jokes about the Barons of Castle Nine Peaks, that they were "country nobles" and that they lived and worked alongside their people.

  Katarina didn't think that was a bad thing, but the other nobles did. They would view Jarek's assignment there as a punishment or worse and would discount any accomplishments he had with them, just as they did for Lord Jack already.

  Earl Joris's troops were out of the question for a variety of reasons. Just to begin was the fact that she didn't trust them, not after losing an entire company to Darkbit's men. Beyond that, Joris's men were arrogant and she had little doubt that Lord Joris would try to manipulate Jarek somehow... or marry him off to a young niece to secure his alliance. Of course, she thought with a familiar bitterness, he's already in love with someone else. It wasn't that she didn't feel happy for Jarek, but she had hoped that their friendship could grow into something more... and that it would cause her to stop thinking about Aerion.

  "What about young Swordbreaker?" Lord Theodore said.

  "What?" Katarina asked, somewhat quickly, half afraid that she had guessed the course of her thoughts.

  "Everyone knows of his accomplishments," Lord Theodore said, his expression polite. "They know he has earned your respect. If you were to send young Jarek to accompany him, to learn some about battlefield command, the other nobles might accept it."

  Katarina nodded slowly, "I suppose..." In truth, it frightened her to have two of the men she cared most about exposed to danger. She had nearly lost Aerion in the storm and it was only the first storm of the season. For that matter, the patrols had grown more and more dangerous as the remainder of Hector's mercenaries grew more and more desperate. Most of them had already committed such atrocities that even if they surrendered they would face execution.

  Yet at the same time, she could not allow herself to be swayed by her feelings... not for either of them. Jarek was her friend and Aerion was something more than that, but she was fighting a war. If Jarek could learn how to be an effective commander with Aerion, then that was where she needed to send him. "Yes," she nodded. "I'll speak with Jarek. What might salve their tender sensibilities in the meantime?" Katarina asked.

  "Assignment to the Ryftguard," Lord Theodore said. He held up a hand as Katarina started to protest. "Not in command, mind you, but we both know the Ryftguard is shorthanded as it is. Another company there to help guard the fortress, perhaps one of Earl Joris's companies, would go a long way towards making them feel important and needed." He sighed, "And some of their frustration is entirely understandable. They signed up for a war, they want to fight Hector. Many of the pettiness you see now is because they're stuck waiting it out until spring."

  Katarina sighed, "Some of it is because they're idiots."

  He chuckled at that, "Yes... yes, that is true enough."

  ***

  Captain Aerion Swordbreaker

  Aerion brushed snow off his shoulders as he stepped down into the low room and then extended a hand to help Kara descend the steps. With space at a premium, the latest group of refugees had been put up in open cellars scattered around the town. When the storm eased a bit, Aerion had finally found out where Josef's brothers and their families ended up.

  Quinn, Walker, and Nakkiki had already gone ahead, and Aerion heard their voices down the corridor.

  "…want to tell you how much he meant to us," Quinn said earnestly. "He was a good friend and we miss him every day."

  "It does my heart good to hear that," a deep voice said. "Josef... he was always the baby of the family, you know? Youngest and the most impulsive of us all." As Aerion rounded the corner he saw that it was Jakub, the oldest of the brothers, who spoke. Like Josef and the other brothers, Jakub was a big man, broad of shoulder, taller than Aerion, and with dark hair and weathered skin. "We didn't know what happened to him after he left, but we always hoped...” he trailed off and wiped at his eyes a bit. "Sorry, it's just hard, we've all lost so much over these past few months."

  Aerion saw Nakkiki put a big hand on the man's shoulders and Quinn nodded, "No shame in it. We've all lost a lot." He turned and saw Aerion and waved him over, "This is Captain Swordbreaker. He was Josef's friend too."

  Jakub looked up and gave a nod, "We've met, though we didn't have time to chat," he offered his hand. "We wouldn't be alive to have this conversation without you, Captain Swordbreaker."

  Aerion stepped forward and took it. "It is the least I can do. Josef was a good friend, I'm glad that I could save his family." He heard a squeak from the infant in Kara's arms and he turned. He saw that Kara had hung back in the doorway, hesitant to step forward. He gave her a slight smile, "Speaking of which, this is Kara."

  Kara came forward and Aerion realized that it was the first time he had ever seen her nervous. Even when he had escorted her to interrogate some of the captured mercenaries, she had a look of confidence and determination. Now, though, she seemed uncertain.

  "Kara and Josef were close," Aerion said softly.

  Jakub smiled a bit, "No need to hang back, girl, if you were close with my brother, which means you are practically family."

  Kara returned his smile, "Aerion put it a bit more delicately than some others might." She held up the bundled infant in her arms. "This, is my son, Josef." Aerion didn't miss an edge to her voice, almost one of challenge, as if she expected a hostile response.

  Aerion saw Jakub's eyes go wide and the big man seemed unable to speak for a moment. The other brothers, too, seemed shocked. Finally, the big man nodded slowly. "You are a surprise, little one," he said gently. He looked up at Kara, "Might I hold him?"

  She nodded uncertainly and the big man reached out and gently lifted the baby from her arms. He chuckled a bit as the infant stared up at him. "He's a big one, already, eh?" His brothers chuckled.

  "Josef's son for certain," one said.

  "Hello, young fellow," Jakub said to the child as he blinked sleepily at him. He kissed the child's forehead and then gingerly passed him back. "You're family, then," Jakub said to Kara.

  "Of course she's family," Jakub's wife said as she came forward and embraced the other woman. "What else do you think that would make her? Idiot men making statements like that. As if it wasn't plain as the sky being blue or fire being hot."

  Aerion saw Jakub roll his eyes, but the big man didn't say anything else as Kara was bundled away by her new "sisters" who all wanted to examine her and her child.

  As the women withdrew, Jakub looked at Aerion, "I understand your company is where the fighting is fiercest?"

  Aerion shrugged, "I don't know about that, but I would be glad to have you with me." In truth, Aerion felt nervous about being responsible for the lives of Josef's relatives. Even so, he felt a bit of pride that he had saved them on the road and ev
en more that they wanted to sign on with his company. "Once you have had some time to recover from your journey, talk with one of Lady Katarina's recruiters. Tell them you talked with me, they can make sure you end up with Ghost Company."

  Though his company was at near full strength right now, it wouldn't stay that way for long, he knew. Lady Katarina had pulled a number of his more experienced men to augment the new companies they had begun to stand up. Jasen, his First Sergeant, was one of the first to go, along with most of his other experienced sergeants. By the time that Jakub was ready, Aerion figured he would have room.

  Jakub nodded, "Sure."

  ***

  First Sergeant Walker

  Walker flinched as Aerion's sword strike stopped only a few inches from his face. He sighed and took a step backwards, "You're getting better." Walker couldn't help the sour note in his voice. When he had first joined Katarina's forces, Aerion was barely fit to fight. He was still weak from the mistreatment of Hector's mercenaries, he had some small amount of training, and no real technique to speak of.

  Walker, on the other hand, had some of the best combat training that his father could arrange... along with a very thorough education on the various weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the human body. The first few times they had sparred, Walker had held back, in good part because he hadn't wanted to discourage his new friends.

  Josef was this big lumbering oaf and Quinn... well, Quinn is still sloppy, Walker thought. Aerion had shown promise, but not much more than that.

  "Of course I'm getting better," Aerion said with a grin. "I've got you to train with every day, I still get in practice rounds with Bulmor, and in case you missed it, we've been in a few fights."

  Walker just shook his head at that. What Aerion didn't realize was that Walker had trained in combat since he could walk... and while he still held back in their sparring matches, it wasn't by as comfortable a margin as he would have expected.