White Angel

by R A Oakes

  Aerylln was shocked. “How can you ask that? I thought you loved him. And you two just got married recently.”

  Genevieve and Tarlen had been married quietly at Hawthorn Village, the outdoor service quite regal in its understated, majestic simplicity. Tarlen’s Mother Protector had performed the marriage ceremony.

  “Because I do love him. Oh, Aerylln, Tarlen is so proud. It’s his pride and sense of duty that have kept him going all these years. If that’s taken from him, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

  “If he can’t come back into this world, they’ll find him something useful to do within the College of Wizards,” Zorya said, trying to console her.

  “That won’t help. If he can’t fight for what he believes in, then maybe it would have been better if Tarlen had just died with his family when Swarenth overran Dominion Castle.”

  “You’re a hard woman,” Aerylln said, mystified.

  “I don’t have the luxury of being soft anymore. I’m no longer just Lady Skybrook. I’m Tarlen’s queen.”

  “Then for your sake, I hope King Tarlen can still rule.”

  “If he can’t, then the heir in my belly will avenge Tarlen and Ulray. Just this morning, Baelfire told me that I’m pregnant already. And whether my baby is a boy or a girl, as god is my witness, I’ll raise that child as a warrior. I’ll turn the baby’s training over to Chen if I have to.”

  “I love my stepmother, and she’s been good to me, but she has issues,” Aerylln said cautiously. “Would you really turn your own daughter over to her to be trained as a warrior?”

  “If Chen could instill in my daughter a faith in herself and a belief that she could rule and avenge her father and grandfather, then, yes, I’d give charge of training my child to her.”

  “Chen’s a hellion,” Aerylln warned her.

  “The time for women playing nice is over. Real women rule!”

  “Has a nice ring to it,” Aerylln admitted. “But let’s hope your child has her father to help train her along with Chen.”

  Genevieve looked at Marcheto’s wizard’s staff and thought, Oh, Tarlen, be well and come back to me. I promise to be strong for the baby and the kingdom, but I’d be much happier if you were here. Don’t leave me, my love. Come back, so I may fight once more by your side.

  “Well, the baby is going to be a girl,” Baelfire informed her. “I can tell.”

  “What are you, a midwife?” Genevieve asked, managing a smile.

  “No, just someone who’d like to see a woman crowned king someday.”

  “You mean queen,” Genevieve corrected her.

  “No, I mean king. I’m tired of sexist titles. Whoever rules a country should be called king, male or female.”

  “King Loren?” Genevieve mused. “That was Tarlen’s

  mother’s name. I might call the baby Loren.”

  “King Loren does sound great. You know, Genevieve, you just might be onto something,” Aerylln said thoughtfully.

  “But I also want my baby to know her father.” Looking once again at Marcheto’s wizard’s staff, she thought, Come back to me. Don’t make me do this all alone.

  Chapter 5

  Below Dominion Castle, at the base of the mountain. The next day.

  Chief Ambassador Valkira, General Zarkahn and his warriors galloped across the bridge, racing towards a trail that wound its way up to Dominion Castle, the heat rising off the rivers of lava being almost unbearable.

  “I’d say things have changed a bit since we were last here,” General Zarkahn said to Valkira after they’d reached the trail and slowed their horses, the general’s 12 warriors following at a discreet distance to give their master and the ambassador some privacy.

  All of them had been at Firecrest Castle with Balzekior but had also escaped, though via a different route. While there, Balzekior, anxious to gain the general’s support during a battle, had promised to depose Swarenth and make General Zarkahn lord of Dominion Castle, an enticement the general no longer took seriously, which was wise on his part.

  “Balzekior has strengthened the castle’s fortifications, but I’ve never seen anything so bizarre,” Valkira said.

  “From a military standpoint, I don’t like it. With Tarlen only recently coming out of hiding, he has no army and scant hope, for now, of retaking Dominion Castle.”

  “Yes, these lava rivers are premature,” Valkira agreed.

  “Even if such precautions were merited, smoke and flames might discourage conventional forces, but these rivers of lava won’t stop White Angel. Balzekior should have left the castle as it was. Creating this inferno makes her look desperate.”

  “Why didn’t she think of that?” Valkira asked as his eyes roamed around the decimated environment. “This doesn’t look good.”

  “The old hag must have panicked, and that’s going to make it harder for us.”

  “White Angel, King Tarlen and the others will get bolder, won’t they?”

  “I would, if I saw all of this when it wasn’t necessary.”

  “So what can we do?”

  “Just play along for now.”

  “When in doubt…”

  “Do nothing. Just listen and observe,” General Zarkahn advised. “We’ll be okay if we keep our wits about us.”

  “We rode across these rivers of fire to reach a castle ruled by a sadist and a demon woman,” Valkira laughed. “You call that keeping our wits about us?”

  “You’ve served Swarenth for years, so simply act like nothing’s changed.”

  “Even before Balzekior promised to depose Swarenth and replace him with you, we’d already decided to overthrow him ourselves. It won’t be easy to play along after making such a decision.”

  “Patience, my friend, patience.”

  “What about Balzekior? Will she honor her promise?”

  “No. The gargoyle warriors here will never accept a human master. Anyway, I have a problem believing the word of anyone who’s undead.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts?” Valkira smiled.

  “Did I say that?” General Zarkahn asked feigning amazement.

  “Well, Swarenth’s champion has returned, so the warlord should be glad to see us.”

  “I wonder if he’ll remember giving me that title?” General Zarkahn mused.

  “Oh, he’ll remember. Since you saved him from that tiger attack, you’re probably his new best friend.”

  “How flattering.”

  “I don’t know. It could be both good and bad.”

  “Why am I not surprised? Would you care to elaborate?”

  “Swarenth’s extremely paranoid. He trusts no one. No one.”

  “And how does that affect his champion exactly?”

  “Swarenth doesn’t have any friends.”

  “He does now, me.”

  “Oh, I didn’t say he’s never had any friends. It’s just that they’re all dead. He had them murdered, or did it himself.”

  “Why, pray tell?”

  “Let’s just say he’s easily disappointed in others.”

  “He reminds me of someone, if that’s the case.”

  “Who?”

  “Me,” General Zarkahn laughed.

  “I’m serious, anyone he takes a shine to ends up dead.”

  “Let me speculate on the reason. The warlord embraces someone on impulse, then when they don’t live up to his expectations, which are huge, he lashes out at them in anger. He doesn’t like anyone close to him unless they match how he thinks and feels, almost identically. Since Swarenth’s moods change so often, the friend is in grave danger of making a misstep at any given moment.”

  “You’re right, but you haven’t spent much time with him. How can you know all this?”

  “Like I said, he reminds me of me.”

  “Oh, that’s just great.”

  “Well, it is in a way. I’ll know how to play him.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right, or we’re both dead.”

  “You are so negativ
e at times,” General Zarkahn said frowning with mock disapproval.

  “So, how do you plan on playing him?”

  “If you’re looking for details, don’t bother. I’m winging it as we go along,” General Zarkahn said. “But I’ll tell you one thing. If Swarenth had been smarter, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Swarenth should never have overrun Dominion Castle. Never. Doing so was bad generalship.”

  “But he won. How can you call that poor leadership?”

  “You call this winning?” General Zarkahn laughed as he looked around. “It looks like something out of a bad dream.”

  “But Swarenth has had Dominion Castle for 30 years. He has it, not King Ulray, not the Kardimonts. So, however you look at it, Swarenth won.”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “No?”

  “No.”

  “Please enlighten me, oh wise sage,” Valkira smiled, bowing his head as if paying homage.

  “Swarenth shouldn’t have fought King Ulray. Had I been Swarenth, I wouldn’t have.”

  “You’d have avoided a fight?”

  “Yes.”

  “But as a general, your job is to win battles.”

  “The job of a general is to enhance his power base, making himself stronger. That comes not from winning battles, but by getting what you want without them.”

  “But winning battles is a good thing,” Valkira objected.

  “Not necessarily. Even when you’re victorious, you can lose a lot of warriors, and you end up being weaker.”

  “When you win, you still lose?”

  “What if you have other potential enemies? If you fight enough battles, you can decimate your forces and become vulnerable to a rival whose army’s intact. The solution is to get what you want without war. Disrupt your enemy’s alliances, disrupt his plans, keep him off balance, and fight only as a last resort.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “More, always more,” General Zarkahn laughed.

  “Swarenth lost a lot of troops when he fought King Ulray,” Valkira said. “That’s partly why Swarenth didn’t expand his power base beyond Dominion Castle.”

  “I’m sure that was Ulray’s intention. When he saw he couldn’t win, the king focused instead on weakening Swarenth’s forces to the point that the warlord would be much less of a threat to other regions of the kingdom.”

  “Well, if that’s what King Ulray wanted, he achieved it. Even now, with the ranks of Swarenth’s troops having been replenished, the warlord’s not eager to lose them again.”

  “Well, as I said, Swarenth should’ve never fought King Ulray, but he did. However, after having engaged the king in battle, it would have been better for Swarenth and his gargoyle warriors if they’d lost.”

  “Why?” Valkira asked, clearly surprised.

  “King Ulray Kardimont knew how to treat a conquered enemy. You integrate them into your own culture, taking what’s best about them and strengthening your society by making it your own. Doing that makes everyone happy,” General Zarkahn explained. “The Kardimonts had art, education, industry and were civilized. On the other hand, gargoyles have little more than brute strength and could have learned a lot from the Kardimonts.”

  “What would Swarenth have gained?”

  “Everything he lacks now. He could have worked out a truce with King Ulray, who was brilliant at making workable compromises. Ulray would have remained king, thus keeping the realm from falling apart. Swarenth could have been given governorship of that whole semiarid, almost desert region, to the far south. It’s hardly inhabited, but the Kardimonts were working on a plan to bring water into the area. It could have been irrigated and made into productive farmland. The gargoyles could have gotten out of their swamps, where they’d lived for who knows how long, and dried out a bit. Swarenth would never have been in full control, but he’d be a lot better off than he is now.”

  “You think Swarenth should’ve settled for being governor of a developing region?”

  “Why not? He needs a lot of developing himself,” General Zarkahn said. “He could have built something constructive while being educated in the ways of the Kardimont kingdom. He could have had power, built something of lasting value, and transformed the gargoyle race from a bunch of predators with no sense of purpose into a mildly backward civilization with maybe limited abilities, but their children would have had a brighter future.”

  “There’s one problem with that scenario,” Ambassador Valkira said. “Swarenth would have totally dismissed the idea of becoming a governor, and he hated King Ulray with a passion. All Swarenth wanted was to get his hands on Dominion Castle, and nothing else mattered to him.”

  “That’s a big reason why he has to be overthrown. Otherwise, the warlord is going to continue getting in the way. He has to go,” General Zarkahn said.

  “Swarenth will never give back Dominion Castle. If King Tarlen wants it, he’s going to have to fight for it. And make no mistake, Swarenth has lost none of his savagery over the years,” Valkira said. “Taking him down will be anything but easy.”

  “Just remember, the main thing is that, whatever happens, you and I want to come out on top,” General Zarkahn said firmly, wondering if he could coordinate Swarenth’s demise with a Kardimont invasion. He thought, I’d definitely be willing to settle for a governorship from King Tarlen, if he could forgive my role in kidnapping Genevieve and Dylancia. But if I did become governor of an irrigated desert far south, would Chen come after me or would she respect a king’s pardon, if I could get Tarlen to give me one?

  After considering this, he thought, No one will be able to call off Chen. She’ll never forgive me for taking her baby. Well, so sad, I guess Dylancia’s going to have to grow up without a mother because Chen must die, and it needs to look like an accident. But what about Lord Pensgraft? If I can get to Chen before Lord Pensgraft gets to me, would he be more reasonable? After all, he won’t want to risk leaving his baby an orphan.

  And what if I gave Swarenth’s head to Lord Pensgraft as a peace offering? Would he still be so intent on taking mine? Maybe, maybe not. I’ll just have to see how it all plays out.

  Coming out of his reverie, General Zarkahn saw Ambassador Valkira watching him, and the general smiled grimly, shrugged his shoulders and repeated his position saying, “Regardless of what happens, we’re going to come out on top. No matter what we have to do to get there.”

  “You’re so practical, so adaptable, and what other words can I use to describe you? Oh, yes, devious, manipulative and unscrupulous, but it all sounds very appealing.”

  “Great, thanks, and I’ll take that as a compliment. Just remember, you’re Swarenth’s chief ambassador and I’m his champion. We must appear to be his most devoted subjects.”

  “Of course, but you need to understand one thing. Swarenth isn’t as dumb as he looks. He has an almost uncanny ability to anticipate what those around him will do. So, be careful. Swarenth can be treacherous.”

  “I’ll be careful,” General Zarkahn assured him. “But I think I can outwit a gargoyle warlord.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Valkira said, yet deep in his heart he wasn’t so sure.

  Upon reaching the top of the mountain and approaching Dominion Castle’s entrance, the two conspirators lapsed into silence. After winding their way through the streets, they stopped out in front of the castle’s highest tower. Then, Chief Ambassador Valkira, General Zarkahn and his men dismounted and went inside.

  Chapter 6

  Skybrook Castle, northwest of Dominion Castle. The same day.

  Lord Pensgraft, Chen and her warrior women galloped out to meet General Tark who was riding at the head of 2,000 warriors. These men were all from The Rock, which was Lord Pensgraft’s castle, located a week’s ride to the southwest. General Tark, in addition to being head of The Rock’s army, was also Marcheto’s father.

  “I’m pleased with your rapid response, general,” Lord Pe
nsgraft said. He’d sent a messenger to General Tark telling him to gather as many warriors as possible, as soon as possible. In addition to the male warriors, 100 warrior women stationed at The Rock had also accompanied him. Chen and her own warriors had helped train these women. So, in effect, Chen was the leader of not 100 warrior women but 200.

  “Thank you, my lord. How’s Dylancia?”

  “She’s doing fine,” Chen said. Dylancia was the name of Lord Pensgraft’s and Chen’s baby, whom the warrior woman had given birth to back at Crystal Castle, Chen’s own castle three-days’ ride south, and who was here at Skybrook Castle with her parents.

  “The army would be honored to guard Dylancia, if you feel it’s necessary. We regret not being here to help when she was kidnapped,” General Tark said.

  “That’s okay, General Tark, she’s fine,” Chen said smiling. “Skybrook Castle’s no longer in upheaval, and Genevieve’s forces are firmly in control. The transition of power from her father, Lord Stallington, to herself has been completed.”

  “I’m relieved to hear it. And how are Genevieve and King Tarlen?”

  “They’re also doing fine. The king and queen are on a reconnaissance mission with Captain Polaris,” Chen informed him.

  “Where?” General Tark asked, concerned for the king’s safety.

  “Near Dominion Castle. Hawthorn Village is their base of operations.”

  “Is that wise?”

  “Maybe not, but it was all we could do to keep Tarlen from charging up the mountain and trying to retake Dominion Castle by himself. He wants his ancestral home back, and wants it badly.”

  “As do we all, my lady.”

  “General Tark, what is that?” Lord Pensgraft asked pointing at a wagon hauling a big chunk of black crystal.