Death and Honor: Book 1 of 2

by James Wisher

  Tears streaked Gabriel’s face when he finished. He shook his head. “I didn’t mean…”

  “To tell me?” Solan said. “I know, but you need to. The pain and tension in you was clear when I touched your shoulders last night. If you hadn’t told someone it would have eventually consumed you.”

  “How could you have known?”

  “Do you remember that feeling that came over you? That was the Bright Shield. He compelled you to hide. That’s how I learned what happened, He told me.”

  “Why me? Why didn’t he save my parents or my brother?”

  Solan shook his head. “He must be cautious how he acts in our world. If he is too direct he risks repercussions. You were away from the battle. It was a simple, subtle thing to guide you to a hiding place.”

  “Why would he bother?”

  “I believe you have a great destiny before you. There is a battle coming, a great battle in an ongoing war between the forces of light and darkness. If I’m right you have an important part to play.”

  Gabriel took another sip of tea to cover his uneasiness. “I’ll do my best to be ready.”

  Solan smiled, but he seemed sad. “If I’m right none of us will be ready. I hope we’re up to the challenge.”

  “We?”

  “The four of us, you, me, my friend, and one other who has yet to be revealed. I don’t understand why but the forces of light seem to come in groups of four.”

  “Like the four paladins.” Gabriel said, the pattern clear at last. “They were legends. I’m nothing compared to them.”

  Solan laughed. “The four paladins became legends. At the time they were men, scared men, who wanted to return to their families alive. That’s what they fought for, Gabriel. Not fame or wealth, only the chance that their children would grow up safe. They won their battle but not the war. They imprisoned the evil being they fought, and now it’s close to getting free.”

  Gabriel frowned. “The legend says they destroyed the evil they fought.”

  “Only in the story, it makes for a better ending after all. In reality they locked it away and like any prison this one has a key. The demons have recovered three of four pieces to the key. My friend stole the final piece from an overconfident warlock.”

  “And she put it in the caravan to bring here. That’s why that monster attacked our home, it thought Father had it.”

  Solan nodded. “They didn’t only think he had it, he did have it. Jeremiah told my friend he hid it before he went to try and find her. The key fragment is still somewhere on the grounds of the estate.”

  “Shouldn’t someone go get it?” Gabriel asked.

  “In time, perhaps, but for now it’s safe where it is. If I send someone after it the demon would appear to claim it and I have no one strong enough to fend off a demon that I can send. Any agent would be slaughtered and the demons would claim the final piece of the key.”

  “I’ll go; I’ll kill that monster for what it did to my family.”

  Solan shook his head. “Against such a beast you’d be torn limb from limb. No mere sword of steel can harm such a creature.”

  “How can I get justice for my family if I can’t hurt the thing that killed them?”

  Solan patted him on the shoulder. “Be patient. In time all things are possible. When my friend arrives I’ll introduce you. In the meantime remember this place will always be a sanctuary for you.”

  Solan got to his feet and guided Gabriel to the front door. “Good day my young friend. I’ll see you again soon.”

  Gabriel left the church and walked down the street, with no particular destination. His mind reeled with everything Solan told him. If he hadn’t seen the demon with his own eyes he would have thought most of it a fairytale. As it was the old priest’s word struck him as the absolute if incomplete truth.

  Gabriel glanced up at the sun and decided it was late enough to head over to Amanda’s inn. The problem was he had no idea where it was. Only half a day had passed but Gabriel was eager to visit the girl. He found being with her both calming and exciting. He wouldn’t tell her about his conversation with Solan, both to spare her the burden of such knowledge and because he didn’t want her thinking he’d lost is mind.

  Gabriel turned down a street lined with taverns, most of which looked closed. Halfway down the street he found one open, an uninspiring place named The Dancing Bull. Inside the common room was empty, a slim man with a goatee stood behind the bar.

  “Can I help you?” He asked when he noticed Gabriel.

  “Can you tell me how to find the Peaceful Arms Inn?”

  “Going to meet a girl?”

  Gabriel frowned but nodded. “How did you know?”

  The bartender grinned and poured himself a shot of something. “You’ve got an anxious look about you. Only two things cause that on a regular basis and that’s women and gold. If you’re looking for the Peaceful Arms gold isn’t an issue, that leaves a woman.”

  “Very perceptive,” Gabriel said, impressed. “So how do I get there?”

  “Three blocks north take a right then go five blocks more, you can’t miss it.”

  “Thanks.” Gabriel dug a silver coin out of his pocket and flipped it to the bartender.

  It took ten minutes to reach the inn. The bartender was right, it was easy to spot, three stories tall made of carved timbers, and it had a covered entryway for carriage to unload their wealthy passengers without fear of rain or snow.

  He took a deep breath, walked to the door and entered. Exotic hardwoods he couldn’t even begin to name decorated the entryway. A row of cushioned chairs lined one side of the hall. A pair of heavy double doors separated the rest of the inn from the entry hall. Beside the doors rested a desk behind which sat a whip thin man with an oiled mustache.

  The thin man spotted Gabriel, got up, and came toward him. “Can I help you young man?” He had a soft, almost feminine voice.

  “Yes, sir, my name is Gabriel St. Jaques Kane. Amanda Cariden said she was staying here and that should stop in and see her.”

  “Yes, of course, mistress Cariden said you’d be stopping by and wished me to alert her as soon as you arrived. Please have a seat and I’ll let her know you’re here.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  The innkeeper or so Gabriel assumed the man to be went back to his desk and tapped a silver bell several time. Two young men and a woman in black livery appeared from behind the doors an instant later. The innkeeper spoke to the young lady who glanced at Gabriel then disappeared behind the doors.

  Gabriel adjusted his sword then sat down. The two young men kept a wary eye on him as though expecting him to grab a piece of furniture and run out with it. Gabriel sighed. He should have worn something fancier.

  Five minutes later Amanda appeared through the doors. She wore a simple blue dress and black shoes that looked comfortable enough to allow her to walk around for a while. She’d tied her long blond hair back in a ponytail.

  Amanda smiled when Gabriel caught her eye and hurried over to him. She held out a hand which he bowed over. “My lady.”

  “Just Amanda, please. I didn’t expect you quite so early.”

  “I woke up early, a habit from the academy.” He didn’t mention the nightmare. Gabriel offered his arm. “Shall we?”

  Amanda linked arms with him and they left the inn. Outside Gabriel asked, “So where did you want to go?”

  “I thought we might walk through the market then head over to the Golden Boar for lunch. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds good. I’ve never been to the Golden Boar.”

  They turned toward the market. “Oh it’s wonderful. Every day they roast a whole boar over an open pit. The meat is wonderfully juicy. It comes with spiced, fried potatoes and a small loaf of crusty bread. I stop by at least once whenever we come to Lord’s Way.”

  The market was a short walk from the inn. In a large vacant lot the city had set aside for the purpose merchants had set up two score stalls. The market was strict
ly reserved for foreign merchants who came to the city to sell their wares but didn’t live here year round. A quick glance revealed a large variety of wares and few customers.

  As they approached Gabriel asked, “Are you looking for anything specific?”

  “No, I just wanted to browse, see if anything catches my eye.”

  Hanging bunches of dried herbs filled the first stall and Amanda only paused for a moment before moving on. The next stall had many colorful bolts of fine silk and these held her attention a good deal longer. Gabriel kept his eyes moving, scanning for pickpockets or other threats. He expected no trouble; there wasn’t enough of a crowd for thieves to hide.

  Amanda moved to the next stall which held a variety of leather goods. A heavy black sword belt with silver studs caught his eye. He ran his thumb down the fine grain. The craftsmanship was exquisite.

  “Do you like it?” Amanda asked.

  “It’s very nice, but far too extravagant.”

  Amanda smiled and they moved on. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement. He looked back and a man at the spice stall looked away when Gabriel caught his eye. Frowning, he followed Amanda through the market. Once in a while he’d look back and there was the stranger one or two stalls away.

  “You seem a little distracted,” Amanda said.

  “Sorry, could we head to the restaurant?”

  “All right,” she led them out of the market and down the street. They’d gone a block when Gabriel smelled a bakery. He spotted it three doors down.

  “That smells good. Let’s take a look, perhaps we can stop on our way back.” He guided her over to the bakery window. In the reflection the familiar man walked a little ways behind them. Gabriel whispered. “Someone’s following us. Don’t look back, just go inside. I have an idea.”

  They went inside and a woman behind a glass fronted counter said, “Can I help you?”

  “My name is Gabriel Kane, lieutenant of the Watch. Does this building have a back door?”

  “Yes, sir, through the kitchen. Is there a problem?”

  “I’m not sure. Amanda, please wait here and act like you’re interested in buying something.”

  “Okay, everything looks so good.” there was a tremor in her voice.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t be long.”

  Amanda nodded and he ducked out through the kitchen, past a huge brick oven, and out the back door. A quick glance revealed no one in the alley between the bakery and the next building. Good, hopefully the man didn’t have an accomplice.

  Gabriel crept down the alley which was remarkably free of litter. At the end he poked his head out and there he was, standing at the bakery window looking like a customer hungry for a bite to eat.

  Gabriel darted out of the alley and pounced on him before he could react. He wrenched the man’s arm around behind him in a hammerlock. “See here,” the man said. “Release me this instant or I’ll call the watch.”

  “Good idea,” Gabriel didn’t let up the pressure in the least. “You can explain to them why you’ve been following me and the lady around all morning.”

  The man sputtered but said nothing coherent. Amanda came out of the bakery and her eyes widened. “Harn!”

  “Do you know this fellow?” Gabriel asked.

  “Harn’s one of my father’s servants. What’s he doing here?”

  “He’s been following us all morning.” Gabriel released the servant.

  Amanda crossed her arms and scowled at Harn. “Daddy sent you, didn’t he?”

  The servant stared at his shoes. “Yes, lady, your father asked me to keep an eye on you to be sure nothing happened.”

  Gabriel’s fist clenched, he didn’t need some overfed house boy telling him he couldn’t protect Amanda. “What would you do if there was trouble? I took you down easy enough.”

  “You caught me by surprise.”

  “That’s true,” Gabriel said. “If I’d meant to kill you I’d have announced it first.”

  “That’s enough from both of you,” Amanda said. “Harn, go tell my father I don’t need a chaperone.”

  “Lady,” he said. “I’d rather kiss a silver adder.”

  Gabriel smiled; a silver adder bite would kill you in about six seconds. He suspected the duke’s displeasure would do it even faster.

  “We can’t have you following us around all day,” Amanda said.

  “Those were your father’s orders. If I return now he’ll dismiss me and I have a family to feed after all.”

  “Here’s a thought,” Gabriel said. “How about you head over to the Dancing Bull, have a drink and relax. When we’re ready to head back we’ll stop in and get you. You can resume sneaking along behind us and what the duke doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

  “That sounds good,” Harn said.

  “Great. You head on over, we’ll be along in a few hours.”

  Harn bowed to Amanda and offered Gabriel a nod before departing. They watched him until he was out of sight. “That mystery is solved.” Gabriel said.

  “Is he what had you so distracted?” Amanda asked as they started toward the Golden Boar.

  “Yeah, I was afraid it might be a friend of the man that escaped last night thinking about sticking a knife in one of us.”

  Amanda swallowed hard. “I can understand how that would distract you.”

  It was a short walk to the Golden Boar. The tavern was much simpler than he’d expected, a large fire pit filled the center of the room, a whole pig roasting over it. If heaven had a scent Gabriel expected it resembled the dining room of the Golden Boar. A couple dozen tables surrounded the pit, about a third of them occupied. They’d barely got through the door when a slim, dark haired girl about sixteen ran up and hugged Amanda.

  “So nice to see you, Amanda,” she said. “Would you like your usual table?”

  Amanda glanced at Gabriel who nodded. “Yes, Chloe, thank you.”

  They followed Chloe over to a table in the far corner. Gabriel removed his sword from his baldric and leaned it against one of the empty chairs then sat down facing into the room where he could see anyone approaching. Amanda sat across from him.

  “The usual, Amanda?” Chloe asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  She turned to Gabriel. “For you, sir?”

  “The same, thank you.”

  Chloe nodded and went to fetch their food. He noticed Amanda smiling at him. “What?”

  “You have no idea what I usually get here yet you agreed to eat a plate of it. I find that strange.”

  Gabriel shrugged. “You said the food here was good. Besides they could bring almost anything and it would taste better than what I ate every day at the academy.”

  She laughed. “I’ve never had a bad meal. I’ve had some I didn’t like, but none that were poorly prepared.”

  Chloe brought their meal, a plate of shredded pork in a red sauce, fried potatoes, and bread. She also brought two mugs of heated cider. While they ate Gabriel listened to Amanda talk about growing up the daughter of a duke, she seemed happy except for the part about every nobleman in the country asking her to marry them.

  When they finished eating Amanda said, “Listen to me, I’ve talked nonstop. You’ve hardly been able to get a word in edgewise.”

  “That’s all right.” Gabriel whipped juice from the meat off his chin. “I’ve never been a talker; Xander usually did the talking when were together.”

  Gabriel’s throat tightened, three and a half years and the mere mention his brother made him want to cry. It must have shown because Amanda said, “Tell me about him.”

  “Xander? He was two years younger than me and resembled Mother more than Father.” Gabriel smiled when he remembered. “Xander wasn’t very interested in honor and that drove Father crazy. I remember not long before the fire we were sparing and Xander refused to use the proper blocks. He said he wasn’t strong enough to fight the way Father wanted and if he did he’d lose. Whatever else you could say about Xander, he hated to los
e.”

  “You miss him.”

  “I miss them all, every day. Sometimes the pain fades after I’ve been awake a few minutes and other times it’s with me all day. I don’t think it’ll ever go away completely and I don’t want it to that would mean I’d forgotten them.”

  Amanda laid her hand over his and he smiled. They talked of lighter things and after an hour left to collect their spy and head back to Amanda’s inn. When they reached the Dancing Bull they found Harn half drunk at the bar.

  The bartender looked up at them; studied Amanda a moment then looked at Gabriel, and winked. Gabriel managed not to smile at the man’s approval.

  “Harn!” Amanda said when his condition became clear.

  “Hello, miss, didn’t expect you so soon.” Harn slurred his words together and Gabriel realized he was in worse shape than he’d first thought.

  “Do you think you can manage to follow us back?” The disgust was clear in Amanda’s voice.

  “Sure I can.”

  “Then let’s go,” Gabriel said.

  Harn staggered to his feet and followed them out of the tavern. Gabriel set a slow pace to make sure the inebriated servant didn’t lose them. When they reached the inn Gabriel stopped outside. “Lunch was wonderful.”

  “I had a great time too,” Amanda said. “When can get together again?”

  “I’m not sure. I report for duty tomorrow so I’ll probably find out my days off then. Whatever they are, I’d like to spend them with you.”

  “I’d like that too. I’m starting at Madam Clara’s Finishing School next week so I’ll be in the city for the foreseeable future.”

  “My first day off I’ll stop by. Of course you’re welcome to visit Uncle Duncan’s anytime.”

  Amanda frowned a little at his suggestion. “I prefer to avoid Morgrin if possible. No offense.”

  “None taken. I prefer to avoid him when possible as well.”

  She laughed, leaned in, and a kissed him. Her lips carried a hint of cider. Amanda stepped back and said, “Remember that, when you hurt. I hope it will take some of the pain away.”