Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches: Omnibus

by Robert Stanek

  Vilmos felt suddenly stung. He turned away, hiding the tears in his eyes.

  Adrina sat beside Vilmos. She spoke softly to him. “You were about to answer my brother’s question. What were you going to say?”

  “Nothing,” Vilmos said through his tears.

  Apparently Prince Valam noted Vilmos’ tears too, for as he spoke his voice, which had never been truly gentle before, was also soft. “Go on, please…”

  Vilmos shifted to a more comfortable sitting position. “William of Sever was not born in Gregortonn. Gregortonn is the capital, it is not a place of birth.”

  Seemingly remembering something from the past, Adrina laughed, “Chancellor Yi’s lessons…” Her voice trailed off and for a moment it seemed she wasn’t going to explain. “All births are registered according to the ancestral home of the father. For census, tithe and tax.”

  “Of course,” Vilmos said. He found he was smiling. “My father muttered many silent curses in its name. It was the only of his responsibilities that he disliked.”

  Emel waved a hand under his chin. The conversation stopped. Vilmos turned and saw a guard approaching.

  “To your feet!” shouted a gruff voice, signifying an end to the brief rest. Apparently their captors were eager for the feeling of safety being within the borders of Sever would provide.

  Vilmos struggled to his feet, and stared glumly at Prince Valam momentarily. Then his thoughts turned quickly to what lay ahead. Whatever their struggle, it would take place in the Vangar. Vilmos was sure of this now as he had been sure of no other thing.

  Chapter Nine:

  Bushwhacked

  Like thieves in the night the enemy army had stolen upon Quashan’. From atop the city’s fortified walls, Chancellor Van’te stared out at the enemy host. In the two days since their arrival, they had staged no attacks against the city and though they barred all travel into or out of the city, they harassed its residents in no other way.

  Chancellor Van’te turned to the young sergeant at arms beside him. “How many do you estimate today?”

  Sergeant Danyel’ grimaced. “A few hundred more arrived in the night. Still, nearly the same as yesterday, around ten thousand.”

  “That is my estimate also.” Van’te looked glumly to the young recruits on the wall. “How many were you able to rouse to the city defenses?”

  “Two hundred more,” Danyel’ said proudly. “I told them nothing of the garrison’s absence. None would have believed me anyway, who would believe the entire garrison, save for the handful which includes me, is gone.”

  The chancellor scrutinized the sergeant, then said in a soft voice, “You think me the true fool to allow such an order to pass, don’t you?”

  “The seal was genuine, and what man can refuse a summons by his King. Perhaps Imtal is likewise besieged.”

  Chancellor Van’te wasn’t able to respond. “Runner!” came the cry from the west wall.

  Chancellor Van’te grinned, he knew if he were persistent enough one of his messengers would get through. “Give the man some help!” Van’te shouted to the archers on the walls. As archers began firing wildly at the

  enemy line out of their range, the chancellor moved to leave the wall. “Sergeant Danyel’,” he said, “lead me from the wall.”

  The two hurriedly made their way to the courtyard where they hoped to find good news. It was a short walk. Still Chancellor Van’te, well advanced in his years, found he was wheezing and puffing by the walk’s end.

  When Van’te and Danyel’ reached the courtyard, they found the runner winded and hunched over after his sprint across the field. Still, without delay the runner handed Chancellor Van’te the scroll, and in earnest the chancellor began to read its contents. “By the Father, “ Van’te muttered to himself, “it is from Prince Valam…” His voice trailed off and shock registered on his face.

  Chancellor Van’te turned to say something to the runner and found the man gone, as if he had vanished. “Sergeant Danyel’,” Van’te screamed in a high-pitched nasal tone as only he could, “I want that runner found!”

  Danyel’ signaled to the two soldiers beside him. They hurried off. Danyel’ asked, “What does it say? Is the message truly from His Highness?”

  Chancellor Van’te showed the scroll to Danyel’. A mute minute passed, then the sergeant said, “Are you sure this is truly Prince Valam’s writing? Couldn’t this be an elaborate hoax to make us quit the city?”

  A pained expression crossed Van’te’s face. He blamed himself for what had transpired. He felt suddenly tired and old. “I have schooled His Highness all the years of his life. Surely by now, I should be able to recognize his scrawl… See the loops above the I’s, the double slashes on the T’s and the way he stops to make an L?”

  Danyel’ nodded.

  “Done that since he was a boy first learning to write, just to annoy me—Yes, I am sure it is his handwriting.”

  “Do you really believe that if we opened the gates of the city, the army surrounding Quashan’ would guarantee safe passage for all who wished to leave?”

  “Prince Valam didn’t.”

  Danyel’ seemed confused. “What do you mean?”

  Chancellor Van’te flattened out the scroll and pointed to the last few lines.

  Danyel said, “I still don’t understand.”

  “The handwriting switched here… Can you see the darkening of the strokes?” Danyel’ shook his head. “Never mind, never mind. Only a foolish old man or a young boy such as you would think five hundred could defend a city from ten thousand.”

  “You, Chancellor Van’te, are no fool,” Danyel’ said. He patted the chancellor on the back. “If any can save Quashan’, it is you. Tell us what you would have us do, and we will do it.”

  “At any rate, there is little we can do now. Soon enough they’ll know we do not intend to quit the city, the attack will begin then…”

  Prince Valam turned to Emel. “How many men are stationed around the periphery of the camp?”

  “You mean, is there hope for escape this night?” Emel leaned close to Valam and whispered something that Adrina couldn’t hear, but, from the expression on her brother’s face, it wasn’t good news. Adrina returned to her muddled thoughts. Since their capture, her thoughts had been ever jumbled and never clear.

  A day of trudging along overgrown paths had left her exhausted and in tears. Mostly she was distraught because she had always considered herself capable of doing anything a man could do, yet every day now she saw how much she depended on Emel and Valam to make it through the day—especially this last day. Here she had found a bitter truth, until now her life had been the pampered and sheltered life of a spoiled little girl.

  Adrina was also agitated because it seemed Valam and Emel left her out of their plans for escape. Disappointed, she remembered a conversation she had with Emel days ago, just before Alderan. She had told him, “I am as good with a blade as you are, perhaps better…”

  Emel had replied, “Besting me on the practice field is not the same thing, Adrina.” She remembered how coldly Emel had said it, and how bitter the truth of it was now that she understood what he had meant.

  Again she heard the words of the mysterious lady in her ears. The evil brings the change you so wished for. It has found a home in the emptiness of your heart. You care too little for those around you. You see not the servants who toil for you, workers in the fields on their hands and knees with the whip at their backs, drudges scouring the kitchen floors… You must open your eyes!

  Adrina thought back to another time, and when she closed her eyes she saw the quiet fields of Mellack Proper—it was then only two days after she met the mysterious lady and her journey was only beginning. Lying there on the cold ground, her body sore, her stomach rumbling, the fields of Mellack Proper, the orchards of Duke Ispeth, the hills of the Braddabaggon and even the mires of Lord Fraddylwicke all seemed desperately far away.

  Adrina rubbed painfully blistered feet. “My eyes ar
e open, truly open,” she whispered to the wind. Opening her eyes meant much more than simply seeing the things around her. It meant looking for and finding understanding in the world around her, looking not only with her eyes but also with her heart, mind and soul, and then finding resolve to action. It meant being a participant instead of an onlooker.

  “Adrina!” hissed Emel in her ear, breaking Adrina from her thoughts.

  Adrina started, Emel clasped a hand over her mouth. Adrina noticed then that the camp seemed suddenly shrouded in darkness. Beneath the forest canopy no stars were visible. Even the central fire seemed muted by the stark darkness. Then she noted that the logs on the fire were all but fiery ashes. Apparently, many hours had passed in what to her had seemed minutes. “Yes?” Adrina finally answered.

  Emel squeezed her hand. Just then Adrina noticed the ropes that had been tied around her feet and hands were gone. Before she could speak her thoughts Emel nodded his head as if he were reading them. Her eyes went wide. Adrina tried to speak again. Emel put a silencing finger to her lips.

  Valam gripped her shoulder and turned Adrina to face him. He showed her four fingers and then pointing to Emel, he lowered three. With two fingers raised, he pointed to her. Three to Vilmos whose eyes were as wide as saucers. Four, Valam pointed to himself.

  He then turned her head to look around the camp. In the distance Adrina saw the immense trunks of the great southern trees whose intertwined boughs formed the clearing they were in. At the far edge of the camp a number of watch fires were set, but they also burned low. Only a handful of guards still stood their watch. Valam pointed out two of them. In the dim light Adrina watched them. One kept slapping both hands to his face, apparently trying to erase sleep from his tired eyes. The other was leaning up against a tree and, to some degree, faced their direction.

  A long period of complete silence passed as they waited, for what Adrina wasn’t entirely sure. Then, without preface, Valam raised a single finger and Emel slipped away. For an instant afterward, she saw Emel’s silhouette against light cast by the fading fires and then he disappeared into the unshadowed gloom.

  Adrina held her breath as Valam gripped her shoulder. Unexpectedly, he embraced her, and for a moment she was smothered in his great embrace, then, just as suddenly, he ushered her into the gloom after Emel. Her thoughts swam; she didn’t move. Valam gave her a push and suddenly she was racing along the ground on her hands and knees.

  Many times she cast nervous sidelong glances to the center of the camp and to the nearest two guards at the perimeter. Any minute she expected someone to shout an alarm and the camp to burst into frenzied activity. As fear and anxiety sought to overwhelm her, she fought to hold them in check.

  She knew she had finally reached the edge of the camp when the trunk of one of the great trees appeared in front of her. The next thing Adrina knew, friendly hands were gripping her waist and pulling her to her feet. She didn’t pull away from Emel’s embrace. Instead she hugged him fiercely. His warmth was the only reassuring thing she had known for days and now it was even more reassuring.

  Silently, she waited with Emel. The next face she hoped to see was that of the boy, Vilmos. Slowly over the five days of their captivity, Adrina had come to know Vilmos. To her it seemed a strange darkness lurked behind his eyes and also that his thoughts were ever distant, and he was distant. She found this oddly alluring, for in him she saw a bit of herself.

  Thinking she saw movement in the gloom, Adrina leaned forward. She knew at once the burly figure she saw wasn’t Vilmos. Panic entered her mind and, momentarily, the urge to flee. She pushed back against Emel’s warmth, her body growing tense.

  Abruptly, Emel grabbed her and roughly pulled her back and down. Huddled against the ground they lay together. She saw a figure outlined against the murky pale of the dying lights in the camp. Soon afterward, a second shadowed form joined the first.

  “Erravane?” hissed the first. Adrina held deathly still.

  The other responded with, “Yes.” From the voice alone, Adrina couldn’t tell if the second figure was a man or a woman, though the first she thought a man. Among Prince William’s soldiers, only a dozen of the several hundred were women. Although they were few, it seemed that they held high positions. Valam had suggested that perhaps they served as William’s personal bodyguards, though he had been honestly unsure of this estimation since several of them came and went seemingly at their own leisure.

  A long period of silence followed. Adrina couldn’t see what transpired, though she knew both figures still stood only a few feet away. Then with a sudden heave, both were on the ground and for a time they rolled around in the leaves. Afterward, again silence. She knew only that Emel’s presence beside her was a powerful comfort.

  Suddenly, she heard muffled laughter and again the whispered voices.

  “Quit, you’ll alert the camp,” hissed the first.

  “Not likely.”

  “What do you mean?” the first sounded at the end of his patience. “Why are you here, Erravane?”

  Behind her Adrina heard Emel’s barely audible gasp. He had recognized the first voice at nearly the same time as she.

  “One question at a time my sweet.” Adrina was sure now, the second was a woman. Her name was Erravane, and the first was Prince William. “I have found what you sought.”

  “And the traitor?”

  “Oh yes, a present for you.” Erravane rose to her knees, then dumped something onto the ground. She cackled madly, then said, “His head.”

  William jumped to his feet. “I trust the other is alive?”

  “The southern encampments have proceeded north as planned. The bulk of your army is spread out through the forest. Your commanders will join you here, tomorrow.”

  “What of King Jarom’s army? Wait a minute, what of the—”

  Erravane cut William off, “You are ever impatient. She is well. I believe the deceased—” Erravane kicked the head and it rolled past Adrina. Only Emel’s firm and comforting grip around her waist kept Adrina from screaming. “—Was tricked. Though I am not sure how. These creatures have strange powers.”

  “Then you were right?”

  Erravane cooed. “Yes, my sweet.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I was afraid you’d prefer her to me. And what of this princess? I’ve heard tell she is quite striking.”

  William said, “She is a child.”

  “She is the enemy. Have you so soon forgotten the empty stare in your father’s eyes?”

  “I never will.” William began to move back to the camp. “No games this time, Erravane, no games… Dawn is only a few hours away. I trust your pets will harry my men no longer?”

  “My dear William, they take only what they need. The disappearance of one or two in the night is of little consequence. Would you rather have them turn on me?”

  For the first time as he turned back to Erravane, Adrina saw Prince William’s face clearly outlined in the pale light. “Perhaps it would not be such a—”

  Erravane put a finger to William’s lips. “You still need me, William of Sever. Do not say a thing you will later regret.” With that, Prince William strode away, and soon afterward, Erravane. Both went in separate directions.

  Emel helped Adrina to her feet. Finally she took a deep releasing breath. Before she had been nearly afraid to breathe and had done so only sporadically. Erravane and William had been so close.

  Adrina heard movement in the leaves behind her. She turned, sighed, knowing at once it was Valam.

  “I circled around,” Valam explained. “The boy?”

  Adrina shrugged.

  Emel who had been staring intently toward the camp said, “There, on the far side, do you see?”

  Adrina and Valam turned and stared. On the opposite side of the camp, reflected in the light of the dying embers of a perimeter fire, was a mostly shadowed face. Undoubtedly, it belonged to Vilmos.

  “Were you listening?” Emel asked. Valam nodded and
Emel continued. “The time to make our escape is now or never.”

  “No,” Adrina hissed angrily. “Vilmos is one of us.”

  Valam took Adrina’s hand. “Alas, there is little we can do now. We would waste precious time if we tried to circle the camp. We cannot. There is too much at stake. You heard as well as I, the forest is full of William’s men… Perhaps it is for the best. He should fare well and, should his instincts continue to lead him south, he will find safety quickly.

  “On the other hand, we will not be so fortunate. Our duty takes us north. We will have the whole of an army at our heels until we either reach Quashan’ or die trying.” Valam paused, took a deep breath, then added, “Quickly now…”