Dare to Believe: Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy Bundle (Series Bundle Andy Smithson Bk 4, 5 & 6): Dragons, Serpents, Unicorns, Pegasus, Pixies, Trolls, Dwarfs, Knights and More!

by L. R. W. Lee

  Regents Cronkar and Bellum strode over to meet Andy, bowing as they reached him.

  “Rise.”

  “Majesty,” Regent Bellum began. “I’m so sorry to hear.”

  “We were afraid something like this would happen,” Cronkar confessed.

  “Abaddon was responsible for the chieftain’s death, but not the King, queen, and Mermin.”

  The news brought the pair up short.

  “Captain Ladilas hasn’t had time to give us a full report. What happened?” Bellum asked.

  “Did you notice there’s no fog?”

  The sun had risen, but from their startled skyward looks, it was clear the pair had been too busy to notice.

  “They willingly gave their lives to break the curse. It’s over.”

  “He did it. The King’s deepest desire,” Regent Cronkar murmured.

  “So that’s what he meant. His final words before you all left on your mission,” Bellum deduced.

  Andy nodded.

  “Over five hundred years of trying,” Cronkar whispered.

  “Send a pigeon post to all the communities, but tell them not to come here. It’s too dangerous at the moment,” Andy commanded.

  Bellum looked around the courtyard. “Where’s Razen? He needs to—”

  Andy clenched his jaw. “He’s a traitor. Should you or your men find him, you will bring him to me to face his punishment.”

  Both regents turned puzzled eyes on Andy.

  “I won’t elaborate now.” Andy barely held his fury in check.

  Captain Ladilas echoed the gloomy mood as he approached and reported, “The centaurs would like to have Chieftain Cedrica’s pyre outside at sundown. They’re preparing it as we speak.”

  “Absolutely. Do they need anything?”

  “They asked if you’d light it with Methuselah.”

  One more slain in our battle with Abaddon. How many more will have to die? Andy ground his teeth. “Tell them I would be honored.” He patted the officer’s shoulder. “Thank you for giving me time.” The captain nodded.

  I’ve got to check on the doppelgangers!

  Those gathered spotted Andy, turned to face him, and bowed. Sniffles interrupted the silence. But first I need to address my people.

  “Rise, please.” Andy scanned his subjects’ faces. “We will hold their funerals tomorrow morning. We’re notifying the other communities, but I’ve asked that no one come. It’s too dangerous.” He swallowed down a lump. “Their loss is not in vain. You notice the fog is gone?”

  Murmurs rose.

  “They gave their lives to break the curse.”

  Mouths gaped at the pronouncement.

  “Yes, that’s right. After all those years, all those Curse Day Remembrances—” Andy’s voice cracked. “—the King realized his dream in the end.”

  Something good had come from this and Andy clung to that fact. But he’d been awake for the last twenty-six hours and his emotions again bubbled to the surface. No, I need to be strong for my people. He buried his sorrow.

  Hans approached. “Your Majesty…”

  The salutation sounded wrong coming from the healer whom he knew so well—they’d experienced so much together. Andy held up a hand. “Hans, can you call me Andy, at least in private?”

  Hans smiled. “I’d be happy to…Andy.” He put a gentle hand on Andy’s shoulder. “I couldn’t help noticing. I know you want to be there for the people, but you’re tired. You need some rest or you won’t be able to think clearly. This isn’t your burden alone. Let others share it with you.”

  Andy’s mind fought the assessment, but he knew Hans was right. “Thanks.” A yawn escaped, making them both laugh. “Okay, I surrender.”

  Andy turned to head to his room.

  “Would you accompany the king to his rooms? He needs to rest.”

  Andy glanced over his shoulder. Hans had asked Sergeant Fulk to run interference for Andy. “It would be my honor.” The soldier smiled and Andy soon had a shadow.

  As Andy walked up to his room, he took advantage of the opportunity. MiniMe, please find Caldwell.

  As Andy had when he first saw Giant’s Ring, he felt dwarfed by the size of the colossal circle of stones buttressing substantial crossbeams. It glinted golden in the morning sun. They reached it! All the company members stood with mouths gaping as they took in the spectacle. A pillar of white steam rose from a grass-covered mound in the center. Mermin was right. The hearts of Oomaldee and Cromlech have linked up again. We just need Carta’s to do the same. But what’s that going to take?

  Satisfied that Caldwell and company were doing well, Andy requested, Please show me Judson.

  Like Caldwell, this lookalike also stood with mouth gaping. Unfortunately, it was over a pile of debris. What is that?

  “The Resolute Watchtower’s been destroyed!” Judson exclaimed.

  “Along with a good portion of the wall,” Daralis echoed.

  Andy’s stomach clenched.

  The group approached to inspect. Unlike with Mendell’s discovery the day before, there were no giants in sight. The place was deserted. But the telltale signs were there. Andy gazed the length of where the wall had stood, but only the rolling hills and decimated ruins of Carta stared back.

  Crap! Okay, find Mendell.

  When MiniMe hadn’t shown Mendell’s view by the time Andy reached the door to the royal suites, he asked, What’s wrong?

  “Uh, Andy, I can’t raise him.”

  What do you mean? Andy’s stomach soured.

  “Mendell’s inneru has always been easy to locate. But I can’t find them anywhere. They’re missing.”

  No. They have to be around. Keep trying. Andy found it hard to breathe. Another thought hit him. Vulture-folk can find out what happened, and fast. He turned to head back downstairs when he remembered Hans’s words: This isn’t your burden alone. Let others share it with you.

  “Sergeant Fulk,” Andy spoke.

  The soldier had already started back down the spiral staircase. He stopped and turned around. “Yes, Majesty?”

  “Something’s wrong. Have Regent Cronkar send a detail of soldiers who have been turned. Tell them to find Mendell’s group. I don’t care if Abaddon knows. They can get there faster flying than if we sent ground troops.”

  “Yes, Majesty. It shall be done.” Sergeant Fulk saluted and pivoted.

  The soldier guarding the door to the royal suites stepped forward to open it. Their rooms. Andy’s knees suddenly turned wobbly and he held up a hand.

  “Are you okay, Majesty?” The sentry took a hurried step forward to steady him.

  Andy sat down on the top step and held his head in his hands. Things will never be the same. Over the next several minutes he worked to calm his aching heart. It’s never gonna get easier. He exhaled.

  After several minutes, Andy stood and nodded to the guard then stepped into the secluded corridor. The door latched behind. The space felt even more cold and foreboding than he remembered. He reached the first door, Mermin’s chambers, and took a deep breath. He forced himself past the next, Father’s old room, and stopped before Imogenia’s childhood room where he’d slept since his return. The silence made his labored breathing all the more obvious. Andy glanced further down the hall to the last door—the royal bedroom—and sucked in a shallow breath. He shook his head. I can’t.

  Andy turned the knob in front of him and hurried inside. While he lay down, he never slept.

  That night, Andy stood with Jax, Houston, Twyford, and Royston outside the castle walls, watching the pyre burn down. Two dozen soldiers stood guard on the perimeter.

  The prone silhouette of the fallen centaur chieftain had nearly disappeared in the roiling flames. Andy’s thoughts flashed back several months to Yara’s funeral pyre. A hollow feeling made his chest ache. Hans put a hand on Andy’s shoulder and Hannah gave him a one-arm hug. Alden watched with wrinkled brow.

  All the occupants of Castle Ferrin seemed to be in attendance. Servants clu
ng to one another, sad for the centaurs’ loss but also longing for the support of their comrades as they mourned their sovereign’s passing.

  Shrieks went up as eight zolt swooped in and landed before Andy. Houston, Jax, their fellow centaurs, and a host of soldiers bolted to protect him. The bird-men transformed into their royal-blue liveried selves and everyone exhaled.

  “They’re ours,” Regent Bellum boomed, jogging over.

  “I apologize, Majesty,” Major Cahill bowed. The officer had been turned three years prior when Abaddon made a failed attempt to overrun the castle. Despite his appearance, the man’s loyalty had never wavered. “The regent let us volunteer to investigate what happened to Mendell’s company.” The major looked over at his compatriots, who puffed out their chests. “You’ve no idea what that meant to us.”

  Andy smiled. The need for information had outweighed any design to encourage these brave souls, but he was glad to see some good had come of it. He filed the idea away for future reference.

  Major Cahill shook his head and Andy’s hopes fell. “We found them near Mount Hope. Abaddon not only turned them but tortured them first.”

  Every muscle in Andy’s body tensed. “How do you know?”

  “Their anguished looks are captured in stone.”

  He’d known it as soon as the major started his report, but words made it real. Andy fell to the ground and retched.

  Sleep was unkind to Andy, and as he brushed his teeth the next morning, dark-ringed eyes looked back at him from the polished metal mirror. A knock on his door interrupted dark thoughts.

  A girl bobbed, trying to bow while holding a breakfast tray. “Marta thought you might like to take breakfast in peace this morning, before…” She let the thought fall.

  The maiden set the tray on the table near Andy’s bed, curtsied, and departed.

  Andy’s stomach felt as if he rode a boat that was tossing and pitching, but he attempted a few bites. He was grateful when another knock rescued him, and he got up to answer it.

  “Kalpit asked me to bring this up, Majesty.” Andy recognized the girl from the tailor shop, who bowed as he opened the door.

  “Rise, please.”

  She held out a black velvet bundle. “Your new robes. Kalpit knew you’d need them for today.” Andy needed no reminder.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

  “Amice.” The girl bobbed a curtsy.

  “Thank you, Amice. Please tell Kalpit thank you for me.”

  “I’ll do that, Majesty.” She smiled then turned and left.

  Andy closed the door and retreated to the bed to inspect the neatly folded parcel. A royal-blue coat of arms emblazoned the left sleeve, just like on Father’s robes. He ran a finger over the fox and chain emblems. Father had designed the crest after Grandfather forbid him from using the purple one when he’d killed Imogenia. Father had said the fox represented wisdom. The chains represented bondage. And the raguly, the line dividing the two, depicted encountering difficulties. You broke your chains, Father, and you grew wise. He ran his hand over the crest.

  Andy dressed. After taking several deep breaths, he headed out to join the staff and military in bidding farewell to their king, queen, and wizard. He followed the stairs to the ground floor and stepped out into the courtyard. Several servants in black livery lingered, but he knew most had already assembled in the hall of monarchs.

  Servants and soldiers bowed as he passed. He acknowledged them but didn’t linger—he couldn’t if he wanted to preserve his stiff upper lip.

  A hush of whispers reached him as he neared his destination. Stepping through the hulking doors, Andy spotted more than a hundred chairs set out in circular rows around the three stone tables where Father, Mom, and Mermin lay. Aisles formed spokes in the wheel.

  Silence fell in his wake as he strode to the middle. Hans and Alden did a good job. Mermin’s silvery hair had been combed. His smile was peaceful and he was dressed in new black robes. Andy swallowed hard. Father, who lay in the middle, had been cleaned up too. His black robes covered the wound left by Razen, and his hands were folded over his heart.

  “Mom.” A whisper escaped. Through watery eyes, Andy took in her peaceful repose. Like the others, Hans and Alden had dressed her in black robes bearing the King’s insignia. He moved to her side and put a hand on her arm. He let silent tears drip on her robes. “I love you. I miss you so much,” he whispered. He ran the back of his hand across her cheek.

  Andy walked around the table and to Father’s side. He had only known the King for six years, but Andy knew how much the man loved him. If he and Father had a contest to see who loved the other more, it would be declared a draw. “I’ll try my best to make you proud,” Andy whispered.

  “You already do, Son,” Father whispered back. He stood in his pearlescent form near the doors in the back, next to Mom and Mermin. Andy didn’t care how Father had managed to hear him let alone throw his voice. “I love you,” Andy and Father said at the same time. That they uttered the same words at the exact same moment made them both laugh.

  His ancestors were unusually quiet, Andy realized. He wiped his eyes and scanned the room. More surprising, however, was that Imogenia and his grandparents were nowhere to be found.

  Why?

  While Andy had been focused on the dead, everyone else had been seated. Most sat respectfully in silence. Some cried softly into handkerchiefs. Others sobbed onto a friend’s shoulder.

  Max the goldweaver sat next to his wife and nodded when Andy caught his eye. Henry and Oscar and their families sat nearby. He recognized Kalpit the tailor and his assistants. Gwinny, Ox, and Emmadank from his Oscray team grieved together with the kitchen staff. Trevig and his wife sat down front next to Marta, Hans, Cadfael, Lucee, and their children. Ro, bless his five-year-old heart, seemed to be trying to sit still. Hannah and Alden sat next to them.

  Regents Bellum and Cronkar sat at the front, heading up the plentiful military ranks. They had risked their lives to protect the kingdom, and their presence comforted Andy.

  Jax, Houston, Twyford, and Royston entered the hall and took places at the rear next to the shimmering forms of Father, Mom, and Mermin. The centaurs didn’t seem concerned about the trio’s ghostly presence.

  Andy retreated to an open seat Trevig and his wife had created beside Marta, who leaned over and hugged him. Marta wore a freshly pressed black dress. She’d braided her bright purple hair with small white flowers that smelled like baby powder. The scent reminded Andy of a perfume Mom wore, and for a moment he closed his eyes.

  Several minutes later, Andy heard a harp strum. He turned to see Bigul, an older man of slight build, stroke the instrument. Next to him, Alaap and Liber played the oboe and lute. Andy remembered the musicians from happier times. They had played at the celebration when Father heralded Andy as prince of the land. Today their music reflected the somberness of the occasion, capturing the loss and despair everyone felt. The notes echoed the ache in Andy’s heart.

  When the serenade finished, Regent Cronkar rose and walked to a position near Andy. He proceeded to recount the story of when Father apparently had a run in with pixies. Sounds like my encounter with the little menaces. A chuckle escaped Andy, and he noticed the tale also brought smiles to those around him.

  Hans stood next. For the second time in Andy’s memory, the tall, slender healer had shaved off his pepper-gray stubble, and Andy hardly recognized him. He shared a remembrance involving Mermin and his never-ending urge to invent. Andy was not at all surprised when Hans confessed a few of his attempts had landed the wizard in the healer’s care. Andy shook his head and grinned.

  Regent Bellum then shared an incident from when Mom first embarked upon her quest to solicit help from Oomaldee’s friends and neighbors without fully understanding her audience. Apparently in her enthusiasm, she’d run amuck with the ogres…literally. Andy cringed, but the regent had a way of exaggerating and embellishing, and listeners chuckled.

  Andy had
not heard any of these particular episodes, and laughter lightened his mood. He wasn’t alone.

  Murmurs erupted when the regent yielded the floor to King Nithi XXVI, sovereign of the dwarfs and friend to Andy and Father. Andy’s eyes grew wide. When did he get here? He must have dropped everything and come right away in order to be here on such short notice. Andy caught the sovereign’s eye, and the dwarf winked at him. Mazar and Brufn, two of Nithi’s guards, accompanied him. They sat at the front near the regents.

  “I’m so glad Regent Cronkar saw fit to notify me of recent events. I’m pleased I could be here to honor my good friend and your honorable king.” The monarch shared several remembrances that Andy had never heard before. Apparently, Father had paid the man several visits and the two had grown close. “I look forward to getting to know your new king just as well,” he concluded.

  Bigul, Alaap, and Liber played two more songs, more upbeat and hopeful than their earlier tunes, after which the ceremony adjourned. What Andy had expected to be excruciating turned out just the opposite: the funeral had celebrated the lives of Father, Mom, and Mermin, and Andy found his mood lighter for the first time in weeks.

  Andy glanced around and noticed Father, Mom, and Mermin’s spirits no longer in attendance. He made a beeline for King Nithi. “Thank you for being here.”

  The portly king leaned in. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. My condolences. Your father was a good man.” A twinkle appeared in his eye as he added, “I have to say, I’m still very impressed with your knowledge of dwarf history. I mentioned you to a few of our scholars, and they also didn’t know what to make of you.”

  Andy smiled. “Thank you.” And thank The Hobbit.

  “I’ll leave you to it then,” the dwarf king added. “I have some matters to address back home, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate.”

  “I will. Thank you again. Your being here…means a lot to me.”

  Nithi patted Andy on the shoulder, then he and his entourage headed for the doors.