The Queen Maker

by Kristen Gupton

  “Fair enough,” Keiran agreed, heading back toward the horses. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 6

  Danier wasn’t sure if he was really making any progress or not. It seemed like he’d been riding for hours, but the forward push was slow at best. His horse was having a difficult time getting through the snow as it came up to the animal’s chest.

  At times, he wondered if he was closer to the river valley or the camp back behind him. He started to lose hope and even feared he might have ended up on the wrong road altogether. The general stopped multiple times, trying to gauge his direction, but with the cloud cover and dense forest all around him, he couldn’t get his bearings.

  Several times, he simply stopped to close his eyes and listen, trying to hear if the Tordanians were on his trail yet or not. In his desperate state, Danier had no idea how much time he burned during those breaks, but it would begin to total into a few hours.

  After sinking into his thoughts for a long while, he started to pay more attention to his surroundings. He realized the depth of the snow was growing shallower, and the road was definitely on a downward slope. The mountain pines were giving way to oaks and cottonwoods. Ahead, it didn’t look like there were any other mountains before him. He realized he’d cleared the last pass, and he was on his way down into the river valley.

  His horse picked up a bit more speed as the way grew easier. The road hit a sharp bend, setting into a series of switchbacks that would carry him into the valley. Down below, he could see the valley floor under the overcast sunlight. Not far from where the land flattened out, the river wound its way across the landscape, the level northern expanse of his homeland just beyond. Hope perked up within him as he realized he was going to survive.

  After rounding another switchback, Danier spotted a group of wagons stopped on the road. As he neared, he could see it was the last of the coal wagons that he’d sent from Edinau the day before. He kicked his horse and raced down to them, finding they were the last three wagons in the convoy. The others, including the one carrying the woman, had already made it down to the docks.

  The general’s heart soared, knowing his plan had worked out in his favor. He told the caravan the Tordanians attacked Edinau, and few managed to escape with their lives. The lies he gave of his heroism were met with eager nods of belief from his men. They wished to show no sign of doubt no matter how incredible his tale seemed. He finished it by telling of his miraculous escape, having fought his way through at least a dozen Tordanians.

  One mounted guard with the caravan was sent racing back toward the docks with urgent and specific orders. The general remained with the wagons, riding amongst them as they continued on their slow descent down toward the river.

  They hadn’t traveled far before Danier caught sight of something through the trees, several switchbacks above him. It took several minutes to be certain, but he finally settled on the realization the damned Tordanians were catching up to him. As expected, it looked to be several of them, too.

  He gave passing thought to his men left behind, wondering if the Tordanians had simply killed them all or not. Regardless, if none of his men from the last camp were going to make it, there would be no one to challenge his version of events.

  Still, he didn’t wish to be caught by the Tordanians when he was so close to escape. His horse was struggling after several days without proper food or water and exhausted from being pushed mercilessly. He knew the Tordanians would get to him before he made the river. All he could do was hope the man he’d sent ahead would deliver his orders and send others up before it was too late.

  ***

  Keiran could hear the wagons rattling down the road below easily enough. With the information they’d received at the last campsite, he was quick to hope Thana was in one of the wagons. When he caught glances of them through the trees, he struggled to try and spot her despite the distance, but to no avail.

  It didn’t look as though there were many men with the wagons at all, but they were definitely pushing their horses. They seemed aware of their pursuers.

  Keiran had nearly a hundred men behind him, but he hoped they wouldn’t be needed for a fight. He wanted to get to the wagons before they reached the company of the other Sadoris who were surely down in Lodain.

  They raced downward along the road, but to Keiran, it seemed as though the distance to the retreating wagons wasn’t closing up. His emotions were getting the best of him and starting to impair his judgment over the situation.

  He continually eyed the forest strips between the road’s switchbacks, debating on whether or not to simply cut straight down the mountainside. He had faith in his horse and was plenty confident in his riding skills.

  Jerris looked over and noticed the expression Keiran wore and where his eyes were constantly scanning. The redhead didn’t have the same bravado with his riding his friend did.

  “Whatever it is you’re thinking of doing, Keir, don’t!”

  “I can’t lose them,” Keiran growled between clenched teeth, his fangs already visible. He pulled the reins and hung a sharp right turn, charging into the trees and down the steep, snow-covered slope, leaving the others behind.

  “You bastard!” Jerris yelped, cutting right as well. He decided he needed to commit to following before he actually thought about it and lost his nerve.

  Keiran’s horse lowered his rear and made it down the mountain doing something between running and simply sliding. Trusting his horse, Keiran loosened his hold on the reins and let the animal control the situation.

  Patrice, Jerris’ horse, wasn’t making it with nearly as much grace. Not as big as Keiran’s horse, Patrice’s shorter legs seemed to be paddling in all sorts of directions during the descent. Half of the ride down the mountain was done sideways or nearly backward.

  When the section of forest was cleared, Porter leapt from the trees and out into the center of the road. Keiran decided to stay on it, knowing he’d just made up a huge distance via his shortcut.

  Patrice hit a berm of snow on the edge of the road and stuck in it, her rear still elevated from catapulting down the hill. Though Jerris saw it coming, he was helpless to stop from being thrown over the horse’s head and out onto the road. There was just enough snow on the ground to keep him from seriously injuring himself as he landed face down. He was stunned from the impact, and it took him several moments to get up and back into the saddle in pursuit of his friend.

  Keiran glanced back and saw Jerris take the spill, but he couldn’t afford to stop. He felt bad but knew that Jerris would be fine. He was too focused on catching the wagons to halt his own progress. Porter skidded around the next sharp bend in the road, and Keiran saw the wagons directly before him. A tense smile cropped up as he reached down to pull his sword from its sheath.

  From around the bend past the wagons, however, emerged a multitude of Sadori soldiers. Danier had sent the guard down earlier with orders for them to come his way. He smiled to himself as he followed the wagons into the crowd of soldiers, continuing toward the river. All of the soldiers would delay the Tordanians and allow him to escape from the enraged vampire at his back.

  Keiran’s smile faltered, and his eyes widened when he saw the Sadori horde coming toward him. He’d been so focused on the wagons and Danier he’d not sensed them coming.

  They were definitely making their presence known, however. They gave shrill battle cries, all of them holding their short swords above their heads.

  He reined Porter to a quick stop, debating on what to do. He wasn’t sure how far back his own army was, given his little detour through the forest. While he knew he could handle several of the Sadoris at once, an entire army was something else. He couldn’t afford to let the wagons or the general get lost in the chance Thana was with them.

  He looked to the side, seeing there was only one more switchback in the road before it straightened out toward the river. If he cut through the trees again, he would come out in front of the wagons, and it would safely get
him past the Sadori soldiers moving up the mountain.

  He looked back over his shoulder, seeing Jerris coming around the previous bend. Surely, the redhead would either follow or turn back to wait for the others.

  Then again, it was Jerris.

  Keiran cursed to himself and sat tall in the saddle. He called back for Jerris to follow him before he bolted into the trees, deciding to head off the wagons and Danier.

  Jerris saw this and instantly settled on following Keiran, knowing he’d rather suffer another spill from his horse than face several dozen screaming Sadoris. With his teeth gnashed and his head already pounding from his fall, Jerris moved to follow. After all, it was his duty to stay at Keiran’s side, no matter what.

  The snow thinned on the ground as they raced downward. By the time Keiran’s horse cleared the trees to stand on the road, there was little more than a scant dusting of powder on the ground.

  Keiran knew Jerris was coming up behind him. He could hear the guard cursing and yelping as Patrice struggled through the trees and underbrush. He appeared on the road next to Keiran, a trail of blood running down the side of his face.

  “Are you all right?” Keiran asked, looking up the road to see if the wagons were nearing yet.

  Jerris had no idea he was bleeding. “Aye, I’ve taken worse. Where are they?”

  “Coming,” Keiran said, lifting his left hand and pointing with his rapier.

  The wagons emerged around the last bend, Danier leading them atop his white horse.

  The redhead nodded and drew his weapon, signaling his horse to rush forward toward the general. Keiran was a little surprised by that and hurried to catch up and overtake his friend.

  Danier saw the two men coming toward him, and he ordered the wagons to stop. He was ready to make a stand, having nowhere to run. Since the rest of the Tordanians were being held up by his own men, he figured he could take out Keiran and the single guard alone. If not, he still had another option but killing the Tordanian King would be optimal.

  Keiran pulled his horse to a stop before the wagons and the general. The men on the wagons had already gotten off with their weapons drawn, putting themselves between the king and Danier.

  The vampire’s green eyes narrowed as he glared at the general. “I grow tired of asking you this, but where is she?”

  “All this trouble for one woman?” Danier asked, his head canting to the side. “She does have some significant value to you then?”

  “All of my people have value to me,” he replied, Porter nervously shifting beneath him. Keiran’s anger pulled away at his self-control, but he knew he needed to fight it.

  “Then you will be glad to know she is safe.” Danier momentarily glanced over at Jerris. He frowned, recalling that the redhead had killed at least three of his men.

  Jerris caught the look and tensed his jaw, trying to muster some of the bravado he’d shown during their last encounter. His entire body was rigid, simply waiting for the action to start.

  “The king asked you where she is,” the guard said.

  Danier didn’t give any regard to Jerris’ words at all. He simply shook his head and motioned toward Keiran with his free hand. “Let’s settle this.”

  Keiran realized if he charged past the men on the ground to try and reach Danier that his horse would be cut out from under him. Unwilling to sacrifice the animal, he hastily slid from the saddle and started forward. His anger swept aside any concern he may have possessed about the odds.

  Jerris saw this and knew what Keiran was up to and opted to do the same. He reached Keiran’s side and advanced along with him.

  The six men on the ground before the wagons readied in return, moving forward to meet them. Though there were several of them, they were supply-train drivers and not regular soldiers. While all of them had undergone some basic training, fighting wasn’t their specialty.

  Keiran and Jerris, however, had spent the better parts of their lives training.

  Besides that, Keiran was officially furious. All he wanted was to get Thana back, go home, and be done with it. Being toyed with by the Sadori general was the last thing he wanted to cope with, and he snapped.

  His conscious mind was shoved aside in a raging fit. His left arm swept forward to meet the first of his attackers’ blades hard enough to make the man lose his grip. Keiran reeled slightly before running him through with his rapier.

  Jerris didn’t have time to pay any attention to what Keiran was doing. Two of the men came at him at once, and he actually grinned. The young guard replayed what had happened earlier when he’d faced off with two men simultaneously in Edinau. This time, it was much easier to deal with. These men didn’t have the sense to coordinate their attacks in unison. Instead, they rushed in on him blindly, holding their weapons in such a way that left Jerris far too many openings for attack.

  The vampire was left to deal with the other three. In his fury, the world around him slowed down like it had during his bout with Kanan. The three men set upon him, but for all the advantage it gave them, they might as well have been coming one at a time.

  The first of the three was fooled into raising his sword to ward off a high, downward slash from Keiran, but the vampire pulled back. He let the momentum of his sword carry it around, and then he slashed the Sadori across his exposed stomach.

  The man dropped his own weapon, his hands pressing over his abdomen as he tried in vain to keep his entrails inside. He collapsed into the dirt, writhing.

  Another came at him from the right, holding his sword like a bat, ready to swing at Keiran while his attention was diverted. However, Keiran sensed him coming and crouched, sweeping out with his right leg and taking the man down to the ground. The vampire stood up again quickly and stabbed through the center of the fallen man’s chest, killing him.

  Keiran pulled his sword from the body and swung around as he turned. The last man impaled himself on the blade, not able to stop his forward momentum once Keiran spun to face him.

  In the time it took Keiran to take out four men, Jerris was able to take down the two who’d come after him. He stood there looking down at the men, who were still writhing on the ground in the throes of death.

  The guard finally brought his gaze up to Keiran, seeing the man there wasn’t presently his lifelong friend. There was something eerily vacant in Keiran’s eyes and posture. Jerris wondered if he wouldn’t carry on and kill absolutely everyone on the scene, including Jerris himself.

  The vampire’s instincts were twisting up in his stomach with the scent of blood so heavily in the air. His eyes fell upon his blade, the steel red from what he’d done. He could smell that all of it was tainted, though, and useless to him.

  Keiran’s eyes flashed with hatred, and he looked up at the general. “Last chance. Where is she?”

  Danier went pale upon seeing how quickly the Tordanian King had cut down four men. He’d never seen anyone move so fast. After his own fight with Keiran, the fact the vampire was capable of killing him sunk in. The Sadori knew he’d met his match, and it was time to use the last ace he possessed.

  “I will show you exactly where she is,” he said, maintaining an outward calm he no longer felt. His left hand slowly moved down his side and toward a small pouch hanging from his belt.

  Keiran took several quick strides forward, shaking his head. “Don’t you move another goddamned inch, General!”

  “It’s nothing that can harm you, it’s just a spyglass.” Danier took the risk and went ahead, pulling out the copper instrument, letting gravity help pull it open into its functional position. He held it down at his side, not wanting any of his actions to be perceived as aggressive. “I suggest you take this and look down the road to the dock.”

  Keiran looked at Jerris for a moment, the expression he wore worrying the young guard. The redhead gave a weak nod and stepped over one of the men he’d killed before going over and taking the telescope from the general. He walked back toward Keiran and gave it over. The vampire took it, loo
king at the redhead. He silently but forcefully communicated that Jerris wasn’t to take his eyes off of the general.

  Keiran lifted up the spyglass and peered down into the valley, to where the Sadoris had several large ships moored. On the deck of one of the ships was Thana, being restrained by two men. A third one stood before her with a spyglass of his own, looking back at the Tordanian king.

  “Now,” Danier started, knowing by Keiran’s changed posture he’d seen the woman, “as you can tell, she is just fine. However, if I am harmed in any way, they will cut her throat and throw her off the ship.”

  Keiran slowly lowered the telescope and turned to face the general again, his fangs clearly evident. His breaths came in short gasps, his chest growing incredibly tight. His right hand seized down around the spyglass, and it gave off a tortured crunch, the lenses erupting from both ends as shards of glass. The sword in his left hand shook badly at his side.

  “What do you want?” Keiran asked, his throat going dry.

  The general looked thoughtful, taking on a more relaxed posture. He realized he finally had Keiran where he needed him to be. “To simply be allowed to get to that ship and go home.”

  “And then you will give her back?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. She’s not only my ticket out of this dismal country, but a fellow Sadori who needs to be repatriated to her homeland. If I were to pass her off to you, you’d have your archers light their arrows and catch the ship on fire the moment I did so. I’m certain you can understand my predicament.” The general gave a smile, placing his free hand on his hip. The way he looked down at Keiran and Jerris demonstrated the pleasure he took in wielding power. “She will live, however, as long as you let me get home.”

  “How do I know you won’t just kill her anyway once you are out of my archers’ range?” Keiran asked.

  “I have plans for her. The poor thing was completely convinced she was one of you Tordanian mongrels, and it is my duty as a Sadori to help her return to her people. It will take a long time to rehabilitate her from living here, but it shouldn’t prove impossible.” Danier looked wistfully off toward the ships, continuing to smile.