The Chronicles of Lorrek Box Set

by Kelly Blanchard

  “Very good.” Roskelem smiled, pleased, then looked at his daughter. “Leave us.”

  “But, Papa—” She opened her mouth to protest, but a firm glare from Roskelem silenced her. She narrowed her eyes, gave him a curt nod, then stormed out.

  Alone at last, Roskelem looked at his visitor. “And do you know who you are?”

  This had already been a long day, so he let out a ragged sigh as he lowered himself to the bed—perplexed as to why his body didn’t pass through the bed as it had done to other objects. The only reasonable explanation was magic. He shook his head at the man’s question and closed his eyes. “Nay, I do not.” He opened his eyes and looked straight at Roskelem. “Who am I?”

  Roskelem stepped close, staring hard at him. “Your name is Lorrek, and you are my prisoner.”

  Ignoring the mention of being a prisoner, Lorrek closed his eyes yet again and tried to summon memories to mind using his own name as a reference point, but they skirted just beyond his reach. When he thought he had something solid, it slipped away like water through his fingers, and he growled, frustrated. Little memories whispered to him. Names with no faces—Anelm, Moren, Athorim, Mordora, Wordan. Snapshots of places—black walls in the desert, an abandoned ballroom, snow and mountains, emptiness with utter darkness, a huge domed room lined with spheres along the walls. None of it made sense. He couldn’t link one with another and had no idea what the chronological order was of these fleeting memories.

  He remembered nothing. All he knew was he possessed some kind of magic and he was this man’s prisoner.

  Now that he thought about it, Lorrek looked around his room and realized it wasn’t the dungeon, and he wasn’t bound by chains. Furrowing his brows, he lifted his hands, indicating no chains. “If I am your prisoner, then why am I free?”

  “Because of your special condition.” Bitterness coated Roskelem’s words, and he leaned forward to poke Lorrek’s shoulder only for his finger to pass through what should have been solid skin and muscle. Lorrek flinched from Roskelem’s touch but wasn’t surprised when his hand passed through him. The king of Serhon chuckled as he drew back. “However, I have a cure that will remedy your condition, but you can only earn it if you honor and obey my every command without question.”

  At Lorrek’s puzzled look, Roskelem began to pace the length of the bed. “You are a renowned warrior though you may not remember that. My weapon masters assure me that despite your loss of memory, your muscles will still remember how to fight. Do not ask me how that is possible. I do not know. It makes no sense to me, but nonetheless, if it is true, then all the better for you, for you see, I have a task for you. If you complete it, then...we can negotiate the terms of your imprisonment. Who knows...” He smirked at Lorrek, but Lorrek narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps you may earn the right to regain your memory. All you know for certain is that this task I have for you is the only way for you to regain what you have lost.”

  Not trusting a word spoken by this man, Lorrek guarded his own words. “And what would you have me do? What is this...task?”

  The sly smile remained on Roskelem’s lips as he pulled back and straightened. “I want you to kill someone for me.” He chuckled at the wild look Lorrek gave him. “What? Surprised? You shouldn’t be. After all, you have done much worse.”

  Lorrek saw the hatred in Roskelem’s eyes and concluded whatever sin he must have committed had been against this king, but that didn’t explain why Roskelem kept him alive and wanted to use his skills. “How do you know I will do as you say and not run away as soon as I am free from these walls?” Lorrek lifted his chin to show his defiance for this man.

  Roskelem ground his teeth with barely contained fury and forced a smile upon his lips. “Trust me, once you kill this person, I will be the first person you will try to find.”

  Lorrek stared at Roskelem for a long moment. He wanted to ask him why he was so confident in this, but he decided it was best to wait. “Very well.” He nodded. “Who is this person I am to kill?” He looked straight at the king of Serhon.

  Roskelem lifted his chin then smiled.

  Lorrek tried not to scowl. It was almost as if Roskelem had planned the whole thing, and Lorrek had walked right into it. Nothing frustrated him more than being unable to retrieve even the most recent memory as a way to determine what had happened, how he got here, and what his plan had been. Without his memory, he had nothing and had to start from the bottom. However, Roskelem’s voice drew his attention, and he listened to learn what assignment he might be given in order to regain his memory.

  “The person you are to kill is only known as Vixen. She is an acclaimed killer—a trained assassin and a master thief, and she is personally responsible for thwarting my claim to power. I want you to hunt her down and kill her.”

  Lorrek considered his options. He was tempted to ask what would happen if he refused, but he already suspected Roskelem had many plans. He wanted to give the king no reason to fear him—perhaps he would release him then, and Lorrek could find his own way. So he nodded. “And where may I find this ‘Vixen’ assassin?”

  “It is rumored she lives among the thieves.”

  “So you want me to go hunt down a band of thieves, hoping it is the same group which she occupies?” Lorrek lifted his brows. Even now the plan sounded weak. Perhaps Roskelem was not as powerful as he wished to appear. “This...I can work with,” he concluded silently but kept all thoughts to himself.

  “I can help you with that.” A new voice entered the conversation, and Lorrek looked to the door and found a man with arms crossed, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe—not too tall in height, stocky in built but with well-defined muscles especially in his arms, “Like the arms of an archer,” Lorrek noted but found no name for this stranger as well.

  “Ah yes, of course.” Roskelem’s voice dipped into sarcasm, but he drew himself out of it in time to smile at Lorrek and gesture to the man. “This is my son, Prince Haskel. He is...well familiar with the more...” he struggled for the proper term, and Haskel uncrossed his arms and stepped into the room.

  “I’m familiar with the thieves. Two in particular owe me a favor, and it’s about time I collect. They should know of Vixen’s whereabouts.”

  Lorrek saw the way Roskelem slid a glare to his son and also the way Haskel kept his eyes firmly on Lorrek, ignoring his father altogether. Sensing the strained relationship between father and son, Lorrek recognized a possible ally—or at least someone who might explain past events to him, but he would wait until they were not in the presence of King Roskelem.

  Lorrek swung his feet over the edge of the bed. He looked up at Prince Haskel and smiled. “When do we leave?”

  Haskel seemed taken aback by Lorrek’s eagerness, and he frowned. “With my father’s approval, we can leave tonight. Our best chance of tracking thieves is after darkness falls.”

  Both men looked at Roskelem, who was already nodding but couldn’t scrape that disapproving frown from his face. “Yes, yes, this is for the best. You may go tonight, but do not bring your sister.”

  Lorrek glanced back to Haskel in time to catch the faintest of smiles tugging at the corner of his lips before Haskel tamed it into nothing and bowed to his father. “Then I shall make ready the provisions.” With that, he straightened and left without his father’s dismissal.

  “And I suppose the healers would order you to rest until it is time to leave.” Roskelem sounded almost disappointed, but Lorrek sensed the king did not want to stay in his presence for further conversation. The king moved toward the door. “A guard shall fetch you when the time comes. Do not try to leave. I will sense it, and I will be forced to render you unconscious, and you will be of no help to us then.”

  “You have my word, Sire.” Lorrek bowed his head and kept his head down until he heard Roskelem leave.

  Once the door closed, Lorrek lifted his gaze, saw the empty room, then lifted his chin.

  His icy blue eyes narrowed.

  He didn’t li
ke this—didn’t like it at all.

  2

  In the stables, Haskel saddled his horse then heard the stable door open and glanced down the stalls. Seeing the dimly lit form of his sister carrying a lantern as she approached him, he bowed his head between his shoulders as his hands gripped the saddle on the horse. “Gremina, Father has specifically commanded you not to come.”

  She stopped at the stall beside his horse, hung the lantern on a hook on a post, and reached for the saddle on the fence. Opening the door to the stall beside Haskel, she placed the saddle on its back and looked across to her brother—a mischievous smile ever on her lips. “And how often do I do as Father requests?”

  “I wish you would—one day.” Haskel lifted his gaze heavenward but knew he could not stop his sister when she set her mind on something.

  Ignoring him, she began to fasten the saddle onto her horse. “This isn’t right, you know.” She tightened a strap then looked over her horse’s back to her brother. “This isn’t justice. How can Lorrek pay for his crimes when he doesn’t even remember them?” She gave a dry laugh then returned to her work at hand. “This is simply Father’s way of keeping Lorrek in his control because he knows his own powers aren’t enough, but he will never admit it.”

  Tired of not having the answers and weary from failing to protect his family, Haskel gathered a deep breath then looked across to Gremina with hard eyes. “What do you suggest we do then?”

  “Give him back his memories.”

  Haskel frowned. In reality, Lorrek was the youngest prince of the northern land of Cuskelom. It was because of Lorrek that Haskel and Gremina’s oldest sister, Atheta, had disappeared, and their father had been enraged by this, vowing revenge. However, for the last ten years, everyone had thought Lorrek was dead—everyone except for Lorrek’s eldest brother, Theran, who had insisted he search the entire planet for his little brother. Haskel had hoped Lorrek was dead, but in case Theran was right, Haskel had assigned two thieves, who were brothers and due to be hung for their crimes, to follow Theran in exchange for their freedom.

  However, there was no need for this since Lorrek showed up unexpectedly in his father’s court a few days ago and surrendered himself in order to secure the freedom of Princess Anelm of Athorim. Haskel had wondered what relationship those two had, but he hadn’t pondered on it long. Instead, he witnessed his father command Anelm to strip Lorrek of his memories, and now woke a man, great in power yet oblivious to his past. In Haskel’s mind, this was a very bad idea because what if Lorrek’s memories returned in an instant, and he killed them all out of vengeance?

  Hoping their father knew what was best, Haskel shook his head from those dreadful thoughts and sought to reassure his sister. “Father said he would restore Lorrek’s memories as soon as Lorrek kills this Vixen assassin.”

  “Don’t you get it?” Gremina stepped around her horse and marched up to the half wall between the stalls. Gripping it, she scowled at her brother. “Papa doesn’t have the power for that! He can’t give Lorrek back his memories. He’s just saying that because he wants him to be his henchman.”

  When she saw Haskel lower his gaze, ashamed, and slowly resume the task of fastening the saddle on his horse, Gremina shook her head in disbelief. “Can you imagine it? Imagine our sister’s murderer walking around the palace freely, coming and going as he pleased at the command of our father. Would you be able to live with that? He doesn’t remember anything, so he could pass you in the hall, and smile, and greet you like an old friend, and you wouldn’t be able to explain anything to him. Is this justice? Is this revenge? Because it’s not for me.” Feeling she had made her point, Gremina stepped away from the wall to continue tending to her horse.

  Haskel reflected on her words. It was true. It was all true. He couldn’t imagine seeing Lorrek day after day, running here and there, like an errand boy for his father. It hurt too much, and the only thing saving Lorrek from being run through with a sword every time Haskel saw him was that Lorrek lacked a solid physical body. Not for the first time Haskel cursed his father’s magic that brought nothing but shame upon the family.

  “How would we help him retrieve his memories?” He finally looked across the way to his sister. “We cannot storm into Athorim and demand Princess Anelm undo the mess.”

  Gremina shook her head. “I know.” This was where her plan stalled. Due to her father’s obsession with magic, she stayed away from magic users out of distaste. She didn’t believe them, didn’t like them, so now when she needed one, she had no resources, so she shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe Mother might know someone powerful enough...?”

  That was possible, Haskel had to admit. Their mother lived among the thieves, and the thieves knew all manner of people. Finding a sorcerer powerful enough to unlock Lorrek’s memories was a possibility. “But we need to track down Aradin and Dustal first. They’ll know where we could find her.”

  Gremina nodded. Usually if they wanted to meet with their mother, they had to wander the woods of Serhon until some thieves tried to ambush them. They would announce their lineage and relation to Queen Sidra, the thieves would immediately withdraw from their attack and escort them to where the queen had set up camp. She never stayed in one place for very long, and she never told Haskel or Gremina when or where she would move next.

  Recently, Aradin and Dustal had crept into the palace and gave Gremina a fright when she went to visit her brother for discussion one evening and found the thief brothers there. Dustal smiled at her and told her how much he missed her pretty face, and Aradin yanked his brother aside before Gremina could whack him over the head. She knew Haskel’s childhood but commoner friends would only risk their life to come into the palace if Haskel gave them a special assignment, so she asked why they were there, and Aradin told her how they had been in the company of Prince Theran for the last several years at Haskel’s request.

  “And why are you here now?” Gremina had crossed her arms and glared at them.

  Dustal shrugged. “Because he was heading to Nirrorm, and there’s no way we’re going there.”

  “Apparently Verddra overthrew Nirrorm,” Haskel informed his sister.

  Gremina had stepped back, alarmed. “And Princess Mordora?”

  “Safe.” Aradin calmed her with a dismissive gesture. “We ran into her and her guardian in the forest. That’s how we learned about Nirrorm, and then Theran decided to go there.”

  “And we’re not going to mess with Verddra—not one bit!”

  Gremina didn’t understand the history between the brothers and Verddra, but she didn’t question it. Now with the brothers back in Serhon, Haskel and Gremina had more direct means of communication with their mother as Aradin and Dustal would never be too far from them, and they would always know where to find the queen.

  “I’m assuming we must track down these thieves in order to learn the whereabouts of this Vixen individual?” That was a voice neither royal sibling wanted to hear, and both glared at each other over their horses before turning to face Lorrek, who approached them. “Do I get a horse?” Lorrek motioned to the horses in the stable.

  Haskel jutted his chin toward a stall. “Take one, but I don’t think you will be able to ride without a solid body.”

  Lorrek smirked briefly. “Oh ye of little faith.” He turned to a stall of a bay horse and unlatched the lock, opening the door, and stepped inside.

  Gremina stared as he began saddling the horse with expert ease. She sent her brother a disbelieving stare, and Haskel frowned.

  “How did you do that?” He tried not to sound accusing or too curious, but he wanted to know.

  “Do what—this?” Lorrek petted the horse without his hand going through the creature, and then he smiled at the siblings. “Magic. Apparently, I am skilled in that, and well, this sort of...spell comes naturally to me. Don’t ask me how I do it. I simply do.”

  Lorrek chuckled as he began fastening the saddle to the horse. “If I am not solid, then how shall I ride? If I cannot
ride, then I must walk, and thus our journey will be long and tiresome.” He finished with his horse. “Shall we be off?”

  Still trying to comprehend the fact that they were having a civil conversation with the criminal, Lorrek, Gremina sent her brother an incredulous look, but Haskel ignored her and mounted his horse. “And so we shall.”

  After leaving the palace, they rode through the night in silence and came upon the blackened field of statues where Esdras and Bodulf met them. “Will you not accompany us? We could use your tracking skills.” Haskel asked Esdras, who shook his head.

  “I must guard the statues.” Esdras motioned to his stone charges. “Lest someone comes along and breaks them.”

  Haskel drew back on his horse and nodded. “Very well.” He passed them.

  Lorrek observed the two men as they passed, but he waited until they were out of hearing range and into the forest before he directed a question to Gremina. “Why does he guard the statues?”

  “Because they are not mere statues of stone, Lorrek.” Gremina slid him a narrowed look. “They are people my father turned into stone, and Esdras’ wife is among them. He guards them because he guards her.”

  “There are rumors that there is a spell that will turn them all into flesh.” Haskel came alongside them then shook his head. “But we haven’t found it yet.”

  “Perhaps when we finish with this task, the king will let me try such a spell...” Lorrek trailed off when he noticed Gremina’s stare.

  “Why would we let you do such a thing?” She crinkled her nose, disgusted. “You are a criminal, and you would sooner break those stones than bring them back to life. Even if you did bring them back to life, you’ll persuade them to kill my father.” Despising Lorrek’s presence, Gremina nudged her horse to ride several paces ahead.