by Matt Heppe
“Akinos made him eternal. He’s a slave to Akinos now. Morin helped me escape so that I would bring you this message. Akinos’s army is marching for King’s Crossing. If he gets there and joins his allies, all is lost. We shall all perish.”
“Morin is one of these creatures now? Why did Akinos do that to him?”
“I tried to stop him. I…” She trailed off. How could she explain that terrible moment? Would they believe her when she told them of the eternal who had used her to convince Morin to become eternal? “Morin is powerless against Akinos now. None of the eternals can harm the wielder of the Orb.”
“My brother didn’t fight?”
“The Orb is too strong. But he said that you were strong enough to fight Akinos. You and Forsvar.”
“And these allies you spoke of?”
“The Namiri and the Tebar.”
“Teborans,” Boradin corrected. He turned to Sir Fenre. “Send for Champion Nidon. Tell him I wish for the Knights of the House to prepare to ride. Call for my couriers as well. We must marshal the army. As many as possible in just a few days.”
“All this on her word, Your Majesty?” the steward asked, casting a doubtful glance toward her.
“On my word! Do it!” Relief flooded Hadde as Fenre ran from the chamber. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said.
“I don’t do this for you. Akinos lives. The Orb has returned. It isn’t just your word that pushes me to action. My eyes see far. My ears hear much.”
“Prince Morin said that this was my purpose," Hadde said, touching her Spiridus Token. "That Landomere wanted me to bring you this message.”
“Perhaps,” Boradin said. “But the Blind Prophet’s writings say differently. I’ll take no risks. Not with Akinos, nor Morin, nor with you.” The king turned to one of her guards. “Lock her up.”
“Tower or dungeon, Your Majesty?”
“What? Why—” Hadde started, but the guard cuffed her into silence. Blinding pain flashed through her skull as waves of darkness threatened.
The king stared at her. “Tower. And send a surgeon.”
Hadde pulled from the knight’s grasp. “Why imprison me?”
“The archer’s offspring shall slay the sun,” he replied. “You’re a danger to me and my son.”
“No! Morin said that Akinos was the sun and my message was the offspring that would bring his doom.”
“Morin says much, but understands little.” He waved his hand. “Take her away.”
***
The surgeon looked down at Hadde as she lay exhausted on the straw pallet. “A bit banged up, but you’ll live. At least the king doesn’t want you dead. If he did, he’d have locked you in the dungeon instead.”
“Tell the king he must send an army…” she managed before darkness overcame her. From time to time she awoke, alone in her cell. Her bedding smelled of old straw and the blanket was coarse, but at least there was a pitcher of water beside her. But she never woke for long, and each time she fell asleep she dreamt fever-fueled dreams of fire and violence.
Keys jangling in the lock woke her. She blinked against the bright light as the door opened. "Leave us," a familiar voice commanded. Hadde struggled to put a name to the voice as she raised herself onto her elbows. She blinked her bleary eyes clear as the girl sat down on the bed next to her. “Maret?” she said, her mind still addled with fatigue. “What happened to your face?”
The girl recoiled and shielded her face with her hands. Even the veil she wore could not completely hide the bandages and long scars. Hadde saw that even Maret's hands were bandaged. “But, Hadde… you know what happened.”
Hadde rubbed away the fatigue that tried to pull her back to sleep. She glanced around the room and frowned at the unfamiliar sights. And then, in a sudden rush, it all came back to her. She reached to Maret and pulled the girl’s hands from her face. “Maret, I’m so sorry.”
“No, Hadde, I’m the one to blame. It was my stupidity. My jealousy. I was a fool.”
“No! It wasn’t your fault. It was Waltas.” Hadde pulled Maret closer and weakly embraced her. An image of Maret on the surgeon’s table came to her mind, and she couldn’t stop the tears that followed. Maret hugged her close and for a time they both cried at the memory.
“How are you up and healed so soon?” Hadde asked.
“Orlos did it. He healed me. But he died in the effort.” Maret pulled back and stared Hadde in the eyes. “Is it true what they said about Waltas?”
Hadde frowned. “What do you mean?”
“They said he looked like a porcupine.” Maret’s eyes narrowed as she spoke.
Hadde saw Waltas sprawled in the blood-spattered snow. She quickly pushed the image from her mind. “He did,” was all she managed to say.
“I hope it hurt.”
“More than you could…” Hadde tailed off. Maret could imagine that kind of pain. “It hurt a lot.”
“Good.” Maret turned away and picked up a tray from the floor. “I’ve brought you some food. And that brazier for warmth.” She placed the tray on Hadde's lap and walked to the door, the floor threshes rustling as she walked. The only pieces of furniture were the bed and the brazier, Hadde noticed. A tall narrow window let in light.
“Guard!” Maret called through the door’s grate. “Bring five fresh blankets, a linen shift, and a bucket of clean water.” She turned away from the door before the response came.
The girl’s tone surprised Hadde. “You sound different.”
Maret returned to her seat beside Hadde. “Have some food. I brought some chicken broth.” As Hadde obeyed, Maret said, “It was the king’s responsibility to safeguard me, and he failed. Everyone knows it. I’m a living stain on his honor. He will give me whatever I ask.”
“But even so, how is it you’re ordering guards around?”
“You’re not in the dungeon, Hadde. You’re just being confined until the king decides to set you free.”
“What's the difference?”
“The difference is I can make your stay comfortable. At least until King Boradin finds a way to be rid of me.”
“Be rid of you?”
“Send me home. I can't stay here any longer. He will negotiate some agreement with my father, compensating him for the damages to me. I’m no good to my father anymore. Who would marry me now?” She put down the bowl and looked out the window. “I’ll be a lonely spinster hidden away in my father’s keep.”
“Your father—” Seremar’s silver visage appeared in Hadde’s mind. How could she tell Maret of what had become of him? Her mission leaped back into her thoughts. “I must see the king! I have to convince him to go to King’s Crossing to fight Akinos.”
“He already left. This morning.”
“But I just spoke with him.”
“Two days ago, Hadde. You’ve been asleep. Don't you remember any of the conversations we have had?” Maret gave a little laugh. “I suppose it was all fever-talk. Your journey took a terrible toll on you.” She paused.
“We spoke?” Hadde stared down at her plate, bewildered. “I don't remember anything. Just some bad dreams."
“We spoke,” Maret said, “but that doesn't mean I understood much. Please tell me what is happening. There are rumors of Morin and Akinos and the Orb of Creation.”
Hadde recounted her story to the maiden, leaving out only the details of her relationship with Morin and the meeting she had with Maret’s father. “Don’t give up,” she concluded. “King Boradin will return with the Orb and heal you.”
“You think so?” Maret traced a scar across her palm. “I’ve been so miserable since it happened. Only Orlos’s words have kept me from… kept me going.”
“Orlos spoke to you?”
“When he healed me. I was in darkness and I was terribly afraid. I kept thinking Earl Waltas would come back and attack me again. Then I saw a point of light in front of me. It was Orlos. When he came close the darkness disappeared and we were alone in a great forest. Orlos was young. He told me I would be sa
fe, and I believed him.
“He showed me Landomere. It was so wonderful—I didn’t want to leave. He put his Spiridus Token around my neck and I fell asleep. When I woke Orlos was dead and I had this.” Maret pulled Orlos’s Token from under her collar.
“He saved me, Hadde. But I feel guilty. He was the last of the spiridus, and he’s gone because of me.”
“Maret, he was dying. I saw him. I spoke with him and he was very ill. Even the spiridus cannot live forever, and he knew he was going to die soon. You gave his death significance,” Hadde said, absently fingering her own Token. “Saving you allowed him to leave us with one last gift. You.”
Maret took a deep breath. “Orlos told me something else as well.” After a long pause she said, “I’m pregnant.”
Hadde gaped. “How could you know so soon?”
“He knew. When he told me, I wanted to die. I couldn’t bear the thought of giving birth to Waltas’s child. But then Orlos told me something very strange. He told me it wasn’t the earl’s child anymore. Orlos said, because his spirit was in me, the child had become his. Is that possible? Could he do that?”
“I... I don’t know. The spiridus are very magical. They and the dragons were the firstborn among Helna’s creations.” Hadde paused. She didn’t know the answer, but she could see the hope in Maret’s eyes. She had been through enough pain. “If Orlos said it, it must be true. The child is his.”
***
Hadde woke with a start and stared blearily around her chamber. She heard a shout in the distance. An acrid stench hung heavy in the room. Despite her weakness, she jumped from the bed and ran to the window. A haze of smoke drifted over the bailey. But from outside the keep or within?
Steel clashed on steel. More faint shouts came from below. She pressed her face against the window’s narrow opening. To her right she saw the front face of the Great Keep. To her left stood the gate towers. Footsteps pounded past her door. “What is happening?” she called out. She went to the door and shouted for the guard, but there was no response.
She returned to the window. A dozen soldiers ran across the bailey. Before they reached the gate, its huge doors swung wide. Roaring a victory cry, a white-cloaked, torch-wielding mob swarmed into the courtyard.
Returnists.
Hadde gasped at the sight of three silver-skinned eternals leading the attack. Their argent skin seemed ablaze as it reflected the torchlight. The mob swarmed the soldiers in the courtyard. Three ran for the keep as the others were cut down.
“Shut the doors!” Hadde shouted. Her cry was lost in the fury of the crowd. Led by the eternals, the Returnists stormed the Great Keep. From within the keep she heard the muffled sounds of combat. Hadde picked up the stoutest stick from the few that lay on her little woodpile. It was a pitiful weapon, but better than none. She took it to the door and hid herself against the wall.
Looking at the stick clutched in her hands, she wondered what she was doing. Was she going to beat the first person that came through the door? Sighing, she sagged until she sat on the floor. She was a prisoner. Helpless. All she could do was listen to the sounds of the struggle.
The battle was short-lived; silence soon overtook the keep. The odor of smoke slowly faded. By dawn only a few Returnists walked in the bailey below. A score of dead soldiers lay heaped next to the gates. There was no sign of the eternals.
She considered calling out to the Returnists and asking them to let her out of her cell, but thought better of it. How much did they know? Would they know that she had warned Boradin against Akinos? It was too much to risk. She could wait.
Settling herself at her window, she watched as the Returnists brought arms and supplies into the Great Keep. The dead soldiers were removed as stores were piled in the bailey. It was obvious the Returnists planned on remaining for a long time, and that they thought someone would try to force them out.
A day passed. Hadde felt stronger. Then another passed and her food ran out and her water nearly so. No one came for her, and she resisted calling out for help. She had seen enough to know that the Returnists expected an attack.
All through the night Hadde listened to the sounds of the Returnists making their preparations. It was dawn when the first warning shouts rang out. She watched as Returnists manned the gate towers. They rained crossbow bolts and stones upon unseen attackers beyond the keep’s walls.
More Returnists spilled from the keep and formed a shield wall facing the gates. Only half wore armor, and many held their weapons awkwardly, but all stared at the gates with equal intensity. They cheered as one of the eternals joined them.
The eternal stood facing the Returnists with his back to the gate. “The Orb returns!” he called out. “It marches to us as I speak. But an enemy would see it taken from you. We must be strong. We must hold out until our salvation arrives. Praise the Orb!”
“The Orb returns! Praise…” The chant faltered as many in the crowd pointed toward the gate. A few still cried out with enthusiasm, but most shuffled in the ranks.
Hadde followed their gazes. Flames engulfed the gates, burning them as if doused in oil. Hadde had never seen a fire so intense. The gate’s defenders desperately hurled missiles at the unseen enemy beyond the wall.
“They’re coming!” A shout echoed from the tower. Just as the eternal turned to face the fire, there was a terrible crack, and the gates exploded. Flaming shards of wood sprayed the defending ranks of Returnists. The blast threw many to the ground.
Knights of the House charged through the smoking ruins. She recognize the king only because he held Forsvar in front of him. The Godshield blazed with blue-white fire and the Returnists recoiled from its piercing light.
The eternal, thrown to the ground by the explosion, leaped to his feet. “Stand!” he shouted. The massed Returnists wavered. A few ran for the keep, but most rallied around him. Boradin strode into the bailey, his golden mace held aloft. He thrust it forward and flames engulfed the eternal.
The knight screamed at the fiery onslaught and charged the king.
Boradin collapsed to one knee and his fiery assault died. Nidon leapt in front of him to take the eternal’s charge, but the charge never arrived. Just in front of the king the eternal stumbled and collapsed to the ground. His silver skin turned black as he crawled a few strides and then lay still.
The Knights of the House shouted, “Salador!” as they raced forward. The Returnists broke and fled for the keep, but their comrades had barred the doors behind them. The knights hacked down the fleeing masses as the Returnists crushed one another in their efforts to escape. Their lack of arms and training hastened the slaughter.
Hadde turned away from the massacre and curled upon the floor. Cries of agony poured through the window. She pressed her hands against her ears, but couldn’t stop the sound.
A piercing scream, higher than the others, caused Hadde to look toward the window. Another followed soon after. Someone bellowed orders. Nidon? The noise of slaughter stopped. Hadde raised herself and peered out.
Returnists, their white clothes covered in blood, lay piled in heaps against the Great Keep. Dozens still lived, huddled against the walls, their arms raised to shield themselves. But they need not have made the effort. The Knights of the House had given ground before the walls. In the open space between the knights and the Returnists, two girls in dresses lay sprawled on the gravel.
Hadde gasped. Two maidens.
“More will follow if you don’t leave the bailey!” a voice shouted from above. Hadde looked to a crowded balcony high on the keep’s face.
There, amongst a crowd of Returnists, stood an eternal. Above his head he held a maiden. Returnists held more maidens to either side of him. Hadde recognized them all. She saw Jenae, and then she spotted the queen.
“No,” Hadde murmured. How could any man be so wicked? So twisted? She didn’t want to believe it possible. But he already had.
“Villain!” Boradin shouted. He stood in the bailey glaring up at the eternal. “Pu
t her down!”
“As you wish.” The eternal cast the girl from the balcony. Hadde couldn’t turn away. The girl screamed as she plunged headfirst for the ground. A moan of dismay rose from the knights as she fell.
Boradin raised both arms and a gale rose up and swirled around the falling maiden. Nidon sprang forward and caught her, but she struck him with such force that both were thrown to the ground. A second knight ran forward, his shield raised high to protect the champion and the maiden. Hadde cheered as she recognized Melas.
More cheers joined hers. “Magus Elementar!” the knights cried. “Boradin! Nidon!”
Nidon stood, lifting the girl easily in his arms. She clung to him as he carried her to safety. Melas guarded their retreat. But something had happened to Boradin. He knelt on the ground on all fours and vomited into the gravel.
Nidon passed the maiden off to another knight and rushed to the king’s side. Other knights joined him. The eternal laughed. “Save this one then!” All eyes rose to the balcony. The eternal held another maiden before him, a dagger at her throat.
Hadde recognized her. “Jenae,” she whispered. At the same moment Melas shouted her name from the courtyard. He ran to stand below the balcony.
“Stop this outrage, Brother Gredoc!” Another eternal shouted as he shoved his way onto the balcony. He gazed down into the courtyard and saw the dead maidens and then stared at the eternal holding Jenae. “You cannot do this!”
“They must be taught a lesson,” Gredoc replied. The two eternals started arguing, but Hadde couldn’t make out the words. The second eternal lunged forward as Gredoc drew his dagger across Jenae’s throat. Blood jetted from the deep slash as the eternals struggled over her. Jenae was flung over the balcony in a shower of blood.
“No!” a howl of rage and anguish rose from the knights. Gredoc seized another hostage. Queen Ilana struggled in his grasp, but he held her fast. The second eternal stared over the balcony at Jenae’s fallen body. His head hung low.
Melas attempted to run to Jenae, but Nidon seized him. "Stand fast!" he commanded. Melas fell to his knees, his mailed fists tearing at his helmet straps.
