The Gauntlet Thrown

by Cheryl Dyson

CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SILVER

  With Kerryn’s assistance, Brydon and Jace donned black clothing, cloaks, and helms before walking with relative safety through the main doors and into the courtyard. Jace pulled his cloak forward enough to cover his breastplate and disguise the red trim. They made it to the stables without being accosted and located Shevyn and Toryn concealed in a large tack room.

  "Shevyn!" Kerryn exclaimed. He rushed forward and enfolded her in an embrace. She clutched him with a happy sob.

  "No time for that," Jace said. "As you can see, she is safe, though not for long if we—" Jace suddenly grabbed his temples with a loud cry and fell to his knees. Brydon recognized the signs. Reed! Brydon cast his mind out to Jace in order to help, somehow, but Jace began to speak. His voice was hoarse, as if he forced the words out with effort. After a shocked moment, Brydon realized he was praying.

  "I claim victory for Your name’s sake. I put on the armor of Adona. I put on the girdle of truth. I put on the breastplate of righteousness. I put on the gauntlets of peace…" Jace’s voice grew stronger and the strain in his face relaxed somewhat. "…I take up the shield of love. I put on the helm of salvation. I grasp the sword of spiritual victory. In Your name’s sake I defeat the minions of Shaitan!" The last word rang in the small room and Jace got shakily to his feet. He looked at Brydon triumphantly. "Apparently, Reed has an aversion to the Holy Word. He was trying to discover our location. Kerryn, tell us how to get out of here before he tries again."

  "There is no easy way," Kerryn protested. "The gates are shut and guarded. The only way is for me to go up to the tower and open them myself so that you may ride through to safety."

  Brydon rolled his eyes at the idiotic selflessness of the man. Toryn did not quite manage to subdue his guffaw.

  "You would get yourself chopped within minutes and we would be cut down with arrows on our way out," Jace said. "No, there has to be an easier way..."

  Shevyn cleared her throat. They turned to see her leaning against a door that had appeared in the flat wall.

  Jace laughed. "I should have known. This castle is rife with secret passages."

  "How did you know of this one?" Brydon asked her even though he expected no answer and received none. "Where does it lead? Beyond the outer walls?"

  Shevyn nodded.

  "Excellent. Let’s get out of here," Toryn said adamantly.

  Kerryn stood watch near the doors as they collected their horses and led them through the tack room and into the dark passage beyond. Toryn gave Jace the reins of a tall chestnut stallion that almost looked like Fireling, but without white markings.

  "Shevyn got him for you," Toryn explained. "As well as this." He handed Jace a broadsword with an ebony grip.

  "Marvelous girl." Jace smiled. "This is my own blade and Archangel, my stallion. She remembered." He took the horse and led him after Shevyn.

  "Wait!" Brydon exclaimed softly. "What about Davin?" He noticed that Toryn had brought Davin’s sorrel gelding. He was mortified that he had completely forgotten about Davin in the excitement.

  "Do not worry about him. He will probably annoy them long enough for us to escape. It will be difficult for them to catch a panther, or a wolf, or a gypsy moth," Jace said. Brydon nodded, appeased. Kerryn looked at them in puzzlement.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  The sound of booted feet came to them with a jangling of mail and Kerryn gave them a parting salute. "I will mislead them," he said. "Hurry."

  Brydon needed no further prompting. He and Toryn towed Fang, Darkling, and Davin’s horse into the secret doorway and closed it shut behind them, trusting Kerryn to conceal the opening from the other side.

  The passage was dark, but Shevyn carried a torch and the dim light made Jace and the horses appear as dark silhouettes. The corridor was barely wide enough for the horses and they snorted fearfully, not at all liking the trapped feeling. Neither did Toryn, as his dark muttering revealed. They followed the passage in a long, roundabout, downward path and Brydon noticed several other branches that led off from the tunnel they traveled. He wondered how much of a maze they had entered and hoped Shevyn knew where to take them.

  After a dark eternity, they slowed and then stopped.

  "What’s happening?" Toryn asked.

  "Jace?" Brydon called. "Why have we stopped?"

  "I have no idea," Jace replied helpfully and Brydon relayed the statement to Toryn, who muttered almost inaudibly. They heard another grating sound and then they were traveling on again, having entered another concealed passage that branched off from the main one.

  "Close the door behind you, Toryn," Brydon suggested.

  "How am I supposed to get around the horses?" Toryn asked.

  "Squeeze by. I think there is room enough here."

  He heard Toryn grunt and swear as he tried to get past his obstinate mare, and then a yelp and the muffled whopping of a fist on horseflesh. And then more swearing.

  "What is taking so long?" Brydon asked.

  "Stupid, flea-bitten, lop-eared mare stepped on my foot!"

  Brydon grinned and continued down the passage. Time was a lost concept in the winding tunnels and he soon grew too tired to be tense. At long last, they reached a cavern too large to believe at first. It was dimly lit by sunlight that showed through cracks in the ceiling.

  "What is this place? It looks like a hollowed out mountain," Toryn whispered in an awed tone. "You could fit an army in this cavern!" Shevyn was already at the farthest wall, tugging on what was probably another door. Brydon went to help her.

  "That is probably what Kerrick had in mind," Jace said and checked his saddle. "He could bring horses and men through the tunnels one at a time and gather them here. When he had a large enough force, he could let them out to attack the enemy from the rear."

  "Until the enemy followed them back in here."

  Jace shook his head. "If a force entered here, they would be forced through the tunnels one by one. They would be easily picked off that way. Not to mention the likelihood of them getting lost in the warrens."

  "If Reed is the king of Ven-Kerrick, then surely he knows about this passage! Won’t he be waiting outside with a garrison?"

  Jace smiled wearily and shook his head. "He will not be waiting."

  "How do you know?"

  Brydon and Shevyn had succeeded in opening a large portal, letting in the bright sunlight of afternoon. Brydon turned to hear Jace’s response to Toryn’s question.

  "He is not waiting outside because he is not the king of Ven-Kerrick," Jace clarified as he mounted his stallion. He rode through the stone gate at a trot, leaving Brydon to stare after him in amazement. The others filed out and Brydon dragged the gates closed again. From the outside, the opening resembled nothing more than the rock face of a cliff embankment. The castle was nowhere to be seen.

  "It is beyond that rise," Jace explained. "This place is well-concealed."

  "If Reed isn’t the king, then who is? And who is Reed?" Brydon asked as he double-checked the stone doorway. It looked absolutely natural—a chunk of rock with a crack running down the side. As he mounted he judged the time to be mid-afternoon. It was difficult to believe that a few hours ago he had ridden hopefully into Ven-Kerrick, relishing the end of his quest. Now it seemed his quest had started anew.

  "That is a subject I am not at liberty to discuss," Jace said. "There is too much at stake right now."

  Brydon exchanged a glance with Toryn.

  "So where do we go now?" Toryn asked.

  "My quest remains the same," Brydon replied. "I have to find the gauntlet." The knowledge that Reed was not the king of Ven-Kerrick had lightened his spirits considerably. If he found the gauntlet now, there would be no one to gainsay him taking it to Falara.

  "We do not even know where it is!"

  "Of course we do. It’s in Silver," Brydon said.

  Toryn heaved a long-suffering sigh. "What are we waiting for, then? Let us get to Silver."