The Way to Freedom: The Complete Season One (Books 1-5): An Epic Fantasy Action Adventure (The Way to Freedom Series)

by H. M. Clarke

  “But that can’t be!” Kalena could not believe what she had just heard. Gwidion did not teach her any of this in his lessons on the administration of the Empire. But Kral was not surprised at what Harada had told her about the Justicars. What else did she miss out on because she grew up in Kurst Village?

  “What you were taught in the classroom was how the Empire should be, but it is not how it is.” Harada ran a hand through his hair making the white lock flash in the firelight. “The four of you are going to keep a low profile while the Justicar delegation is here. They are already interested in you Kalena because of the heightened Talent you had before you underwent the Krytal. I don’t want them to use you as an excuse to gain control of us from the Provost Marshall. Just don’t do anything that would peak their interest.”

  “Yes Wing Commander,” the four cadets answered.

  “Now, all of you off to bed. And tell no one about this little jaunt of yours.”

  “Yes Wing Commander.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Quiet As Mice…

  “Kral!”

  Kalena hissed louder outside his door, quickly getting frustrated with his lack of answer. She raised her hand to actually bang at the door when it suddenly opened to reveal a tired looking Kral.

  “What? I’m trying to get to sleep.”

  Kalena pushed passed him, ignoring Kral’s look of consternation.

  “Captain Jerant should know soon enough that Asnar is free,” she said as Kral closed the door behind her. “We need to find out as much as we can about what his plans were before he covers it up.”

  And Adhamh is asleep so he cannot tell on us, she thought to herself.

  Kral, his hand still on the door handle just stared at her.

  “Just how are we going to do that?”

  Kalena tried not to smile. The tone of his voice told her that Kral would help.

  “By sneaking into his office and having a poke around to see if we can find anything among his papers.”

  Kral snorted.

  “Jerant would not leave evidence just lying around his office for anyone to find.”

  “I know that!” Kalena snapped feeling a little annoyed that Kral would think her that naïve. “But he might have hidden it in there somewhere. You know, like a secret compartment or something. My brother had one in his room where he hid all his bits and pieces in, though the whole family knew about it.”

  “He’d more than likely have a secret spot in his quarters wouldn’t he? Though that would depend on if anyone else here was involved…” Kral’s voice trailed off as he became lost in thought.

  “Then you’ll help me?” Kalena asked unable to keep the excitement from her voice. But she could not help thinking that what time they had was slipping quickly between their fingers.

  Kral nodded. “I’ve come this far with you, I might as well go the rest of the way.”

  Kalena grinned. “Excellent. Let’s go.”

  “Whoa! Hold on Kalena. This time we need some kind of plan.”

  “We don’t have time-“

  “What are you going to say if we are caught sneaking around at night? The Wing Commander told us to not cause any trouble at the moment.”

  “We just won’t get caught will we Kral. I’ve been sneaking around this place since I got here and I haven’t been caught yet. We’ll just have to be as quiet as mice.”

  Kral frowned at that.

  “Mice aren’t all that quiet Kalena, that’s how people know they are there.”

  “Kral!” Kalena reached out and grabbed his arm and started tugging him towards the door.

  “Do you even know where Jerant’s office is?”

  “Ahh…” her tugging faltered though she still held tight to Kral’s arm.

  “You’re lucky that I do.”

  The smile suddenly reappeared on Kalena’s face. “What are we waiting for then?”

  “Alright, alright. I’m coming.”

  They crept into the corridor, closing the door silently behind them. This section of the Kalar dormitories was still deserted with only the slight shuffling of their feet to disturb the silence.

  Gwidion could he heard talking as they crept passed the door to Holm’s room. Both he and Asnar must still be in there trying to help restore Holm’s crystal. Kalena again felt a twinge of guilt. It was her fault that Holm was in this mess, but if she had not done what she did, they would not have found Asnar and freed him from Jerant and whatever the Captain had planned for him.

  “I hope Holm is going to be alright,” Kral whispered once they were further down the corridor.

  “He will be, Asnar will help him.”

  “Asnar called himself an Apprentice Kalena. He might not know how,” Kral whispered.

  “He wouldn’t of tried this if he didn’t Kral. Pydarki are like that. If they can’t do it they won’t. Even I know that.”

  Kral sighed.

  “You’re right. I just don’t like him. Something about him just makes me want to grind my teeth.”

  They moved on in silence after that, making their way quickly out of the Kalar dormitories and outside into the cool night air.

  “Jerant’s office is in the same building as the Krytal Chamber. Do you know where that is from here?” Kral asked

  Kalena shook her head, hoping Kral could see her in the darkness.

  “That means you will have to follow me for once, because I know where his office is.”

  “Let’s get going then. We don’t know how long it’s going to take him to find out what’s going on.”

  Giving her a quick nod, Kral lead the way across the square with Kalena following close on his heels. Both felt very glad at this moment that the Hatar Kalar wore black uniforms as it made them hard to see to any casual eye glancing about in the darkness.

  There were not many people about, even the guards who were supposed to be on patrol seemed more inclined to stay inside their guard posts to enjoy the last remains of the Free Day.

  They crept quickly passed several buildings where loud voices could be heard laughing and singing mixed with others telling them to be quiet and go to bed.

  “I think our luck is still with us Kral. Everyone looks to be occupied.”

  “Careful Kalena, you might jinx us. Make sure you touch some wood as we pass the next door.”

  “Come on Kral. You’re not superstitious are you?” Kalena asked in surprise.

  Kral ignored her question. “Just do it okay?”

  “Fine.” And as they passed the next window Kalena reached up and ran her fingers along the wooden frame.

  “Thank you.”

  Then out of the darkness, the Krytal Building appeared and the two quickly rushed across the open ground and huddled in the shadows of its wall as they waited to see if anyone noticed them. But they saw no one.

  They then slowly crept along the wall until they came up to a small side entrance to the Krytal Building. And found that the door was unguarded.

  Kral pressed his ear to the wood and listened for a moment to see if he could hear anyone on the other side. But he could hear nothing. He turned and nodded.

  Kalena quickly grabbed the handle, opened the door and the two cadets quickly slipped into the building.

  Inside it was dark and quiet so the two began sneaking along the corridor, trying to gage exactly where they were in the building so they could try and find their way to a place they knew.

  And just as they found a corridor Kral recognized, they heard muffled voices.

  Kral looked at Kalena and whispered. “That sounds like it is coming from where Jerant’s office is.”

  Kalena did not need any more urging than that. “Let’s go and find out what’s going on.” And with that she quickly disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

  Excitement had suddenly burst through her. Maybe Jerant was in his office complaining about what had happened? Maybe someone else was going through Jerant’s office for clues like they were going to do.
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br />   “We might be hearing Brock’s men in Jerant’s office,” Kral said softly behind her.

  “Brock’s men wouldn’t be arguing with each other would they?” Kalena snapped back at him and continued her way towards the voices.

  As they crept closer, they could hear Jerant’s loud and worried voice as well as a soft but deep male voice with him. This voice seemed calm and steady.

  “-don’t know how he got back here. I can’t explain it-“

  The soft voice cut Jerant off.

  “The Pydarki is in Darkon now though at this time we are unsure of his exact location. An informant told us that he was here.”

  “How do you know it is the Pydarki I had taken?” Jerant’s voice rose again.

  Kalena heard the other voice sigh.

  “We are certain he is the same man Jerant.” The warning implied in the voice chilled Kalena.

  Kalena leaned back and whispered in Kral’s ear. “Go and find Provost Marshall Brock and bring him here. Quickly.”

  Kral nodded and disappeared back into the darkness. Kalena turned her attention back to what was happening in Jerant’s office.

  The speaking had stopped, though from the sounds she could hear one person moving around opening drawers and shuffling papers. The noise of the paper was interspersed with low muttering. It was Jerant. Kalena could not hear the stranger. It seemed he was standing still, apparently unconcerned with whatever Jerant is searching for.

  What was he looking for?

  Kalena dropped her mental barriers and opened herself to the thoughts in that room. She should not be doing this but she had to know what was happening in there. She tried to hear the thoughts of the stranger first, but when Kalena reached towards him her ‘threads’ came against a barrier that they could not go beyond. Curious, she tried to go around it but kept getting blocked. There seemed to be something that protected his thoughts from her.

  Kalena then turned her attention to Captain Jerant but was instantly repelled. The Captains thoughts whirled like a chaotic storm, jumping around half formed and slowly being whipped up into a frenzy.

  The tap on her shoulder nearly made her jump and Kalena’s heart settled back into her chest when she saw Kral and Provost Marshall Brock behind her. Further down the corridor, two more of Brock’s men were waiting, swords drawn.

  “Here it is,” Jerant’s voice was heard clearly through the door. “That Pydarki was carrying this when my men captured him.” The sound of tinkling and metal hitting the floor close to the door was heard. “The designs on the metal are supposedly unique to the Pydarki who wears them.” Jerant’s voice still held a lot of anger and Kalena thought also a touch of fear. “They are the only things that can connect me to having any contact with him. I have already ordered the men involved to be silenced. There will be nothing that can be proved against me.”

  Jerant moved again, closer to the door. “I even fixed that Hatar girl so she could not mentally over hear any of my plans and tattle it to Harada or Brock.” Jerant snorted. “If I could have, I would have made sure she had an ‘accident,’ but after she was discovered, the girl was under constant watch.”

  At these words, Kalena looked back at Brock. His face looked like stone but the look in his eyes told her he was angry.

  “I think I’ve heard enough.”

  Raising a finger, he signaled the guard to come to him and then motioned for Kalena and Kral to stand back against the wall. All the while Jerant could be heard incriminating himself still further with whoever else was inside the office.

  Once everyone was in position, Brock jabbed a finger at the door. One of the two guards immediately raised a leg and kicked the door, rocking it back on its hinges. Through the cluster of people, Kalena could see Jerant jump back against his desk, the other man was still out of sight. The two guards slipped through the opening and raised their swords, point first to the chest of Captain Jerant.

  The whole thing took only moments and now that the action had settled, Brock stepped into the room. The two Kalar quickly followed him.

  “Provost Marshall! What is going on-“

  Brock cut across Jerant’s indignant questions with a slice of his hand. “Captain Dorrell Jerant. You are to be detained in relation to the kidnapping and torture of one Asnar of the Pydarki Mystics. A crime which is akin to attacking the Emperor himself. Myself and my guards have heard enough from your own mouth to convict you of these crimes.”

  Brock drew a deep breath and Kalena could see the strained tension in his shoulders as he tried to keep back his anger. “You will be sentenced tomorrow. Guards take him a-“

  A flash of moment caught Kalena’s eye and she turned, drawing the dagger Harada had given her.

  Everyone had forgotten or had not known of the silent man, but Kalena had not.

  She leapt forward, putting herself between the Provost Marshall and the stranger, who now had a dagger in his hand aimed at the place between Brock’s shoulder blades.

  Kalena pushed forward trying to make the Stranger step back. For once her short height acted in her favor. The man ignored Kalena and moved forward, raising his dagger and slammed into her.

  And pushed his stomach onto the point of her dagger.

  Kalena immediately let go of the knife, shocked at what had happened. The man was equally as shocked. His uncomprehending eyes staring at her as he slipped slowly to the floor. His free hand grasped the hilt of Kalena’s dagger as if trying to confirm to himself that this had really happened.

  Kalena just stood and stared. She had not wanted to hurt him, just warn him off. A warm hand on her shoulder told her that Brock was behind her while one of his guards rushed to the bleeding Stranger.

  “He’s a Justicar?” Kalena heard Kral ask, but no one gave him an answer. Her focus was still centered on the man in black, though now she could see the golden book woven over his left breast.

  “I think you both have done enough here. Kral, take Kalena back to her quarters and make sure she has something to eat and drink.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Kalena felt more hands on her shoulders as they turned her around and she was led away unresisting, back to her room.

  Early the next morning Holm Lunman awoke. And shortly afterwards Wing Lieutenant Bessal bought both Kalena and Kral the news that Asnar had pulled Holm through the worst of the Crystal Shock whole and unharmed.

  Then a few weeks later the Hatar Kalar learned that Provost Marshall Brock had transferred Captain Jerant to a menial post at Fort Foxtern for an unspecified length of duration. They had also heard that the Justicar’s Office had denied any knowledge of the plan with Jerant and that the Stranger’s activities had been unsanctioned by their office. His name had now been expunged from their records for Treachery to the Empire.

  There was much gossip in the Dining Hall as to why Jerant had been sent away. Kalena and Kral said nothing though hoped that Asnar had more compensation for his mistreatment than Jerant’s banishment.

  The Dream Thief

  The Way to Freedom

  Book 2

  H.M. Clarke

  Sentinel Publishing

  CONTENTS

  1

  Waiting

  2

  Meetings

  3

  The Council Hall

  4

  Back in the Barracks

  5

  Bedtime Stories

  6

  Speeches

  7

  Aerial Maneuvers

  8

  Visions

  9

  Some Secrets Revealed

  10

  11

  12

  Visitor

  Justicar Tsarland

  Captain Fraser Vosloo

  “īsigfeðera wit þurhflēogan ūre fyrst winter tōgædre”

  -A Saying of the Hatar’le’Margarten

  (Trans: “With frost on our wings we fly through our first winter together.”)

  Chapter One

 
Waiting

  Kalena slapped leather gloves angrily against her thigh

  Adhamh stood stiffly behind her but Kalena could hear the nervous clicking of his fore claw. He always did that when he was frustrated.

  “Why do they summon us urgently and then keep us waiting?” she said aloud.

  Kalena always spoke her thoughts aloud when angry even though the small cut crystal that was implanted behind her ear made her thoughts heard clearly by Kalena’s Wingmate, the reptilian, black feathered Hatar, Adhamh.

  Adhamh only sighed.

  Silently he said, ‘We are slaves, we are Kalarthri. The Provost Marshall has Freemen with him. I saw them arrive as we approached.’

  Kalena rubbed a hand wearily across her eyes.

  ‘We were at a wake for our Wing Commanders, Adhamh. At least Brock could have waited until it was finished!’

  Tim Righter and Parta were killed during a training exercise with the First Calvary. The Horsemen did not obey orders and rammed their un-blunted lances into them undefended. The officers involved were Freemen so no charges were laid. Every time she saw a horse now it filled her with a rage that was hard to suppress.

  ‘We wait and we see. It is the price we pay for being second born.’

  All second born children in the Suene Empire become the property of the State after their fifth birthday. They are assessed and are either placed into the Armed Services or into the Empire’s Public Administration. Since the Hatar’le’margarten nations were subjugated over a century ago, the Empire now has a flying wing as the Second Born Rule carries to all provinces of the Empire.

  Adhamh’s fore claw started to tap again. In the back of her subconscious, Kalena felt the disgust that the Hatar felt at being kept as a slave. Kalena had no qualms about it. It had always been that way in the Empire. It also meant that her parents still loved her, that they didn’t get rid of her because they didn’t want her. Kalena had never seen any of her family again since the day Provost Thurad rode off with her.