Knights of Riona

by KT Webb

  I stared at him, while I didn’t know the words he’d used, I understood from his tone that he didn’t enjoy “pep rallies” and being locked in a “mental health facility” was not a good thing. I gestured for him to take the lead. We piled into a shiny black vehicle with Orin in the operator seat. I’d learned about cars from the notebooks in Godfrey Tower, but I never thought I’d be riding in one. People on Earth were in such a hurry that they had to create something that would get them somewhere faster than a horse. I even learned they used the term horse-power to indicate the power of their vehicle.

  All these things rushed through my brain as the engine roared to life. Orin chuckled at the varied reactions of the knights; these men walked blindly through a violent portal but gripped tightly to whatever was within reach as the car began to move.

  “My wife knows about my former life. Surprisingly, it didn’t take much to convince her. She seemed to understand that I was different from the beginning. She’ll understand why I had to bring you home.”

  I couldn’t tell if Orin was trying to reassure us or himself as we exited the parking structure and merged into traffic. The younger men looked green while my seasoned Knights were alert and watching our surroundings. Lonzo stared straight ahead, his mind was busy with something I would have to wait to hear. He looked uncomfortable with our situation and kept eyeballing the back of Orin’s head suspiciously. I couldn’t deny that his sudden appearance was troubling, but I had no doubt that he was once from Riona.

  I held tightly to the pouch around my neck. The Bloodstone hadn’t vibrated at all since I’d had it back in my possession. I wondered if we had misjudged its ability to locate the princess; maybe it would only work in Riona. We drove for what seemed like an eternity before we finally broke free from the congested roads. We were leaving the city. I glanced at Orin, waiting for him to tell us where we were going. He was focused on the road.

  “Orin? Why are we leaving the city? Do you believe our princess is no longer there?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t the foggiest idea where she may be. I live in the suburbs, we’re going to my house. You can’t just start knocking on doors asking if anyone’s seen a princess. You’ll be talking to the police again in no time!”

  “What do you propose we do?”

  “We need to make a plan. You need to get more familiar with the area before you go traipsing about town. This isn’t Riona, people aren’t inherently good. Back home, the monsters are obvious. Here, they hide in plain sight. They look like you and me.”

  Orin’s words brought me back to the interview I’d endured with the police. No wonder they acted as though I may have had something to do with the death of those men; they were accustomed to interrogating men who behaved like Gorum.

  “So, tell me about your stories.” Lisa Petrano leaned forward excitedly.

  I gulped against the bile I felt rising in my throat. Why was I so nervous? It was obvious that she was interested in what I had to offer, but I couldn’t get over the idea that millions of people could read the stories I’d believed to be fact. What if people thought I was crazy? What if they sent me back to live out the rest of my days in the psych ward? I had to take a deep breath to keep myself from hyperventilating before I could say another word.

  “Well, I have these dreams about a place called Riona. I don’t know how or why, but I know everything there is to know about that world. I know the people, I know the landmarks, I even know how it came into being.”

  The publisher was hanging on every word I said. I took the opportunity to continue laying the groundwork for my story.

  “Riona is a world made from elements of Earth. The Great Alchemist found a way to access other worlds and happened upon a void that had yet to be inhabited. It was dark, cold and empty, but she didn’t see it for what it was, she saw it for what it could be.

  “On Earth, Sophronia was not held in high regard. Alchemy was often mistaken for witchcraft even though it is actually a special form of magic that relies on the living elements found in nature. When Sophronia found the void, she decided she would create a world from a few precious stones and alchemical methods. It started out as a way to prove her worth, but instead became so much more.”

  “How did more people come to live there?” Lisa couldn’t lean any further forward if she tried.

  This part of the story was a little dark. The people of Riona gave little thought to their origins which was just as well because they wouldn’t have liked what they learned. I waited, trying to determine how best to share the dark secret of Sophronia without making her seem evil.

  “When the Great Alchemist returned to Earth, she wanted to show the world what she could do. The trouble was, she couldn’t convince anyone to trust her enough to bring them through the portal. Instead, she lured them there.”

  Lisa’s mouth popped open like a child hearing an exciting bed time story. I hardly contained my grin as I continued with my tale. “She chose people from the villages near her secluded home and promised them access to the stone of the philosophers. Not many alchemists were said to be capable of creating the stone, but Sophronia had done it.”

  “You mean the stone that can make people live forever?” Lisa asked as she leaned back in her chair. “You do know that was used in a very well-known fantasy series, right?”

  I blinked at the publisher who now seemed ready to dismiss my story. I had no idea anyone else had written about the stone. I couldn’t let something so minute destroy my chances of becoming an author.

  “The stone wasn’t only used for endless youth, it was also used to turn basic metals into gold. She wasn’t promising eternal life, she was promising endless riches. It was something those villagers desperately needed but had never hoped to have. Why would they want to live forever if they had to work themselves to nothing?”

  I had piqued her interest again. “Did she deliver?”

  “In a way, yes. She created Riona using her blood and the famed stone. It was infused with natural elements, precious stones and the blood of its creator. Sophronia had accomplished the impossible. She had created a whole new philosopher’s stone. As long as the stone was worn by someone whose blood matched the Great Alchemist, Riona would live and flourish.

  “The riches she offered people weren’t in the form they expected, but once they arrived in the world she’d created, none of them wanted to leave. It was a chance for a fresh start in a world untouched by disease and poverty.”

  “I’ve never heard anyone put a twist like that on the concept of the philosopher’s stone. How did you come up with that?” Her green-eyed gaze was locked on me.

  I shrugged. I really didn’t have an answer for that one. The back story for Riona had just been in my brain. At one point, I believed it to be the true story of a magical world; one that had spit me out in the middle of New York City. I couldn’t tell her that, not yet. The last thing I needed was for the hotshot publisher I wanted to work with to think I was unstable. I mumbled something about creative energy and random bursts of inspiration. It seemed to satisfy her, so I let it go.

  “The first book will tell the story of Sophronia and her quest to break out of the mold society had put her in. It will give the reader a background on where she came from and what led her to create Riona.” I paused, waiting for Lisa to finish her furious scribbling. “The second book will tell of the discovery that the void Riona had been created in was actually the place between worlds.”

  “Wait, what do you mean ‘the place between worlds’?”

  I bit my lip, unsure if her tone indicated interest or confusion. “There are more worlds than just Earth and Riona. They were already there when the Great Alchemist created the kingdom she later ruled.”

  “So, in order to get to other places, all worlds have to go through Riona?” She waited for verification.

  “Essentially, but the Royal Guard of Riona identified all portals and policed them to make sure no undocumented entities traveled between wor
lds. But, they didn’t discover other worlds until the Gorum.”

  Silence. I took her lack of response as an indication that I should continue, when she didn’t stop me, I assumed she was still interested.

  “The Gorum come from a terrible place. It’s a desert, food is scarce and there is no magic. They invaded Riona and smashed things up pretty badly. The Royal Guard managed to send them back to Goru, their world, and the Order of Alchemists sealed each gate from the Rionian side. The young queen, Isadora, sent men on missions through the portals they discovered in an effort to identify each world and determine if we had any other enemies.”

  “We?” Lisa raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

  My heart pounded. Had I really said we? “Sorry, you know how writers are. I’m just really invested in my story.”

  “Hmm. And what did they find?”

  “There were a few other places that warranted supervision, but only the Gorum were outright destructive, or so they thought. Somehow, the scouts missed the Sideon. They arrived accompanied by the Gorum. It wasn’t long before Riona discovered who the true enemy was. The Sideon came to suck the life out of a new world.”

  “Do you have more than two books planned?” Lisa inquired without looking up from her notepad.

  “Yes. I believe there will be at least five.” I hadn’t thought past the third book, but I didn’t think she would go for a trilogy without the promise of more stories.

  “I want you to get me the first draft of book one. How soon do you think you can do that?” She looked me in the eyes.

  I had no idea, but Paula seemed to think I was close to finishing the first story. “I can have it to you in a week.”

  “Perfect. Once I have reviewed the first draft, we’ll talk contracts. I want to make sure your writing style is as engaging as your story seems to be. If it’s not, we may discuss the possibility of a ghost writer taking over for you.”

  I was completely clueless and a little overwhelmed. I agreed to her terms and left the office with my head held high. Once I stood on the street, I took a deep breath in the cool December air. It was refreshing and crisp. I quickly pulled out the cell phone Paula had given me and pressed the picture of her face. Every day I learned more about technology and felt more comfortable in the world around me. I stopped feeling out of place. The phone only rang once before Paula’s voice broke through the rhythmic tone.

  “Well? How did it go?” She asked before I could offer a greeting.

  “I may have promised to have the first draft done by the end of next week.”

  “Okay. You can totally do that.” Paula was ever the calming influence in my life.

  “I’m heading home. I’ll see you when you get off work!” I didn’t want to tell her how nervous I was about the whole thing, at least not yet.

  In the first year since we’d arrived, I was certain we would find Delia waiting for us on a park bench. I had hoped against hope that she would just feel the presence of the amulet and seek us out as we were looking for her. It didn’t happen. My men and I quickly wore out our welcome at Orin’s home. His wife, Alice, was surprisingly warm and understanding, but it wasn’t long before she nicely asked us to find somewhere else to live.

  We adapted to life on Earth much faster than I thought was possible. We found jobs, rented an apartment together and even adopted the technology that seemed so foreign to us. My heart ached wondering what life had become in Riona. We had no way of knowing if there would even be a home to return to if or when we found Delia. For all intents and purposes, we had become assimilated to the culture of a strange world.

  Lonzo remained my most trusted companion. He knew I was getting restless and did everything he could to keep morale high. It seemed like the longer we were away from Riona, the less I believed we would return. The problem was mine, but it had slowly permeated our number until we all felt the strain of its weight. Lonzo wouldn’t stand for it; he took responsibility for our men in my mental absence. They trained and sparred and created an elaborate plan for extraction should we find the princess.

  As we neared the end of the second year, we were ready to give up until something unexpected caught my eye in a shop window. A book. We’d been walking to lunch when I saw it. I stopped short causing Lonzo to barrel into me.

  “Taeren? What are you doing?”

  I didn’t answer. I turned on my heel and went into the store. I grabbed a copy of the book and turned it over. The author name was enough to make my gut clench, but the story description told me everything I needed to know. “Blood and Stone” told the story of a world created by the Great Alchemist. I couldn’t be certain, but I felt in my gut that this was the true history of Riona. I knew it before I saw the title of the series. I knew it because the sky depicted on the cover brought me right back home.

  I bought the book and took it outside to show my fellow knights. “We’ve found her. Delia Spencer is our Princess Delia. She’s writing her story as a fantasy fiction series called Chronicles of Riona.”

  “She’s telling people about Riona?” Lonzo was in shock.

  I flipped to the back of the book, searching for an author biography. The girl in the picture was obviously older and more mature than the thirteen-year-old princess I helped escape from her castle, but it was Delia. Her long black hair fell in graceful curls around her shoulders, but gently framing her heart-shaped face. Those piercing blue eyes I remembered so well seemed out of place against her pale skin. I didn’t need to speak to her to know she’d gone through a lot in the six years since her disappearance from Riona.

  “It says here she based it on recurring dreams she’s had for as long as she can remember.” I returned my focus to the beautiful girl in the picture.

  Something about the phrase “for as long as she can remember” struck me as odd. It could simply mean since she was a child, but in her case, I had a feeling it meant more. Was it possible she didn’t remember our world? If she didn’t remember us, how would she react when the Knights of Riona arrived to take her home?

  “At least now we know she’s still in New York. I need to call Orin to see what he knows about Petrano Publishing. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can get back home.”

  “If there’s a home to go back to,” Philo muttered under his breath.

  When I locked eyes with him, he straightened as though he expected to be admonished for his doubt. But how could I scold him when I knew he may be right. The rate at which Riona had been deteriorating when we left led me to believe we may not have a home to return to. Now that I’d found a shred of proof that Delia was alive and well, I had to grab it and hold tight. I looked away from the young knight and observed the people rushing by on the busy street.

  Even though we’d made lives for ourselves, Earth was not our home. We couldn’t stay here if there was even a sliver of hope that we could restore our world to its former glory. I wanted to hop in one of the yellow death traps they called cabs and rush to Petrano Publishing, but I had seen how celebrities felt about crazy fans. If I showed up clutching a copy of “Blood and Stone” insisting it was all real and I wanted to take her home with me to Riona, I’d be locked up in a heartbeat.

  No, I was going to have to find a way to meet her without saying who I was. I had to believe she would recognize me if we ever met again.

  “Blood and Stone” was much more than a book; it was a history of my world. I knew Delia didn’t realize it, but by writing her book she’d shared secrets about the creation of Riona that even the Knights didn’t know. At first, it felt like I was somehow betraying the trust of the throne I’d sworn to protect when I let Orin and Lonzo read the tome that had become one of my most prized possessions. But, I felt like the knowledge contained within would only help us as we fought to save our world.

  I had always respected the Alchemists in Almandine though I never understand what they did. Learning what the Great Alchemist did to create Riona only intensified my appreciation for their methods. While I couldn’t
be certain everything in the book was truth, I had a strong feeling that the details weren’t far off.

  “While this information is great, I fail to see how it’s getting us any closer to bringing her home,” Lonzo said as he handed the book back to me.

  “We know where to find her, and that’s a start,” Orin answered before addressing me. “You need to find a way to get close to her.”

  I knew he was right. I hadn’t thought of how I would do it, but it was essential to our success.

  “Delia, book three is due back with final edits this week. Are you even close?”

  I sighed and banged my head against the wall. Lisa was not going to let me off the hook. I’d been struggling with the most recent round of edits because they wanted me to change things that I knew were right. The hardest part about writing a book series based on the vivid dreams I’d been having for years was having someone else tell me they should be different.

  “Look, I’ll have the edits back to you before the deadline, but I can’t guarantee they’ll be what you’re hoping for.”

  I could practically hear her silently counting to ten on the other end of the line. We’d gone back and forth on this same subject with each book I finished. For the first book, they insisted that I make the Great Alchemist a powerful sorceress who created Riona with a magic spell; I wouldn’t budge. In the next book, they wanted me to make Riona a kingdom rather than a queendom; I insisted that it remain as I’d written it. Now, they wanted a romance to bloom between the princess and the guard who took her from her castle. It wasn’t meant to be part of the story. The princess was young and her parents had just been crushed to death by the Gorum. If I wrote in a romance at that point of the story, it would make the princess look weak and the guard look like a pig. In my dreams, I knew Taeren. He was a kind and gentle young man. He would never take advantage of the young princess who so closely resembled me.