Crown of Kings

by GJ Kelly

  Garin continued on, pushed onward by the excited crowd towards two rows of guards who guided the commoners to the public room and the wealthy to private ones. Garin had expected to be squashed into a room with all the others but when he reached the door a hand barred his way.

  “Not this way, Wizard,” the guard said politely but firmly.

  Taya didn’t even pause as she continued on past him and into the already crowded public room, but Drake stood by Garin and glared furiously at the guard.

  “And why do you stop him? Don’t you know he is the Wizard of Portsan? He has as much right as anyone to go into that room!” Drake bellowed at the guard but the man, older than Drake by as much again, stood his ground.

  “It’s okay, Drake,” Garin said, hoping to silence the warrior before they attracted much more attention than they had already gained. “I can come back tomorrow as I am expected to anyway.”

  “No need for that Wizard,” the guard said respectfully. “There’s a special viewing room for the higher ranked guests. You are too important to be in with that lot.”

  The last few words were said with a sneer as he jerked his head towards the overcrowded room of people.

  “But the warrior can go in there if he wishes,” the guard said, obviously taking a dislike to Drake.

  “Oh,” Garin said, not knowing what else to say for a few seconds. “I… uhm… my manservant will come with me.”

  Drake raised an amused eyebrow at Garin’s description but said nothing.

  “If you so wish,” the guard replied, not meeting Garin’s eyes and pointing the way to a smaller door just past where he stood.

  The door led to a long corridor and then to a set of steps, wide and elegant with deep red carpet running up the middle. Garin began to wonder if he had gone through a wrong door as this was looking far too grand for his humble likings.

  “At least they know how to treat a wizard here,” Drake said in an attempted whisper but his voice echoed down the empty corridor.

  A guard was standing just at the top of the stairs, breathing heavily but attempting to hide the fact. Garin assumed he had been posted there in a hurry when word had spread that a wizard was heading that way.

  “In here, Wizard,” the guard said and indicated another door off to the right. “If you need anything I’ll be right outside.”

  The guard rushed over and opened the door before stepping back politely and averting his gaze down to the red carpet that led to the door.

  “Thank you,” Garin muttered, not sure if he was supposed to thank the guard or not.

  The room they entered was large and furnished with soft chairs and large sofas, but apart from the furnishings it was empty and for that Garin was grateful. Drake followed him in and the guard shut the door with a soft click that made Garin wonder if they had been locked in.

  “Over here, wizard,” Drake actually whispered this time and Garin hurried over to see what the warrior wanted.

  When Garin reached the low parapet balcony that Drake stood next to he saw the reason for the soft voice. Just below them was the king! It was a long way down to where the king, resplendent in his deep red robes, sat upon the gilded throne. The auditorium below them wasn’t the same one the petitioners were crammed into though, for this room was much smaller. There were only four people in the presence of the king. Two young men knelt before him and two guards stood at the door.

  “You wish me to settle your dispute of land boundaries?” King Peiter’s voice was sharp and unpleasant. His long pointed nose stuck out from a face that looked like he had just been sucking lemons and his complexion was pale with ruddy spots of colour on his cheeks.

  One of the men nodded and spoke without looking up. “Yes, Your Majesty. Our father died without saying his wishes on who should receive the land. We cannot agree on who gets which parts.”

  “Did he indeed?” the king asked in a sly tone. “And you are obviously not aware of the ruling on such matters.”

  “No, Your Majesty,” the other man replied respectfully.

  “In such cases the land reverts back to the crown,” the king said bluntly. “You both have one full cycle of the moon to get your families off my land!”

  “What?” The first young man’s head snapped up and he stared at the king in horror. “But that land has always been in our family...”

  “Guards!” the king bellowed angrily. “Remove this man. Throw him in the dungeons for daring to look the king in the eye and for questioning my ruling!”

  The two guards hurried forward and took hold of the unfortunate man by the arms. They dragged him away while his brother followed, looking confused and upset.

  Garin stared at Drake in stunned amazement. Had that really just happened? He pinched his arm and was more than a little disappointed to feel that he was indeed wide awake. The king was unfeeling and nasty and this was who he was supposed to see tomorrow! Suddenly tomorrow was too soon and he was about to sink into one of the chairs when a movement by the wall made him turn his attention back to the king.

  He hadn’t noticed the man before, probably because his white robes blended into the whitewashed stone walls but now Garin saw the man step forward to talk to the king. White robes! Garin gulped as he saw the long wooden staff the man carried. Another wizard!

  “I don’t think I like this king,” Drake said in such a low voice for the big warrior that Garin had trouble hearing him.

  “Me neither,” Garin agreed, still watching the wizard over the low wall. He looked to be an older man, but not quite as old as Master Eyan. His hair was long, as was his beard, but it wasn’t white like Master Eyan’s and his face wasn’t much gentler looking than the king’s. They were a well matched pair by Garin’s reckoning. But the fact there was another wizard here had him worried. If they already had one, why did they need another? The room below fell silent for a few seconds and Garin was again about to retreat to a chair when the guard who had stopped him at the door came in to speak to the king.

  “Wizard of Portsan… Where?” The whispered conversation drifted up to Garin’s excellent hearing. The guard pointed up to where Garin stood and the king looked up. It was a calculating, hard stare that bore straight into Garin. “That can’t be Eyan.”

  At the sound of Eyan’s name the older wizard’s face turned upward and piercing blue eyes held Garin fixed to the spot. For a few seconds the old wizard stared at Garin, seeming relieved that it wasn’t Eyan who stood there.

  “He’s not the Wizard of Portsan,” the wizard declared loudly and turned his attention back to the king. “He is an imposter!”

  The king just frowned, unable to reply as the door opened again and Taya was shown in by two guards. The other guard left the room, bowing deeply as he backed out and the huge doors clanged shut again.

  “I come to petition the king,” Taya said loudly, staring the king in the eyes and making no attempt to kneel as the last two had done.

  “And what is it you wish from the king?” King Peiter asked sourly, drumming his fingers on the ornate golden arm of his chair.

  “I have heard there are healers who have no need of the title of wizard or the often marred and useless abilities they profess to have,” Taya said bluntly and Garin felt the colour drain from his face in horror. Didn’t she realise there was a wizard standing right behind the king? But Taya either hadn’t seen the white robed man, or didn’t care, and she continued her request. “I wish to have such a healer sent to our village of Portsan to tend the sick, so we can dispense with the inadequate and over-rated wizard who lives there.”

  The king simply stared at Taya for a full minute, obviously as taken back by her request as Garin had been. His mouth worked madly as he fought for words but finally he shook his head and waved his hand to the wizard behind him. “Wizard Kazar, show this impudent girl how mistaken she is about a wizard’s powers.”

  Wizard Kazar stepped forward but Taya didn’t so much as flinch or take a step backwards. Garin had to admire her co
urage, if nothing else. He was horrified that she had come all this way to complain to the king about Eyan’s and his own wizardry.

  “One last chance to take back your words,” the wizard said with a tone that implied he hoped she didn’t recant.

  “Wizards are over-rated, bungling fools who should be out fishing for a living like the rest of us!” Taya said hotly and looked like she would love to stamp her foot. She clenched her hands into fists at her side and glared at the king and the wizard with equal distaste. “I have never met one who could do more than trick us out of our hard earned catch!”

  Wizard Kazar didn’t reply, instead he frowned and looked closer at Taya, then he turned and whispered in the king’s ear. The king raised one eyebrow in surprise. “Really? Are you sure?”

  Taya looked unsettled at the attention but was forced to stand and await the king’s decision. The wizard stared at her for another few second and then lifted his staff several inches off the floor.

  Garin didn’t see any other movement, or even the wizard’s mouth move, but a second later a puff of green smoke engulfed Taya and then faded.

  “Taya!” Drake bellowed when they both saw that Taya was no longer in the room. “What have you done to that little missy? Bring her back, or by Cordak I’ll come down there and make you wish you were never born!”

  Garin felt his mouth drop open as he stared at the spot where the redhead had been. What had Wizard Kazar done to her? True she was a self-opinionated annoying person and she had nothing nice to say about his chosen profession, but he felt a responsibility for her.

  “Who else is up there?” the king said angrily as he turned his golden haired head up towards Garin and Drake. “Bring them down here!”

  The two guards hurried across the room, avoiding the spot where Taya had been, and up a small set of stairs that had been carved into the stone wall. Garin hadn’t noticed them before, as his attention had been on other things, but they led up to the viewing room.

  The guards reached the top of the stairs in a few seconds, not even puffing from the sudden exertion and they approached Garin hesitantly. They eyed the staff nervously and then moved around Garin towards Drake.

  “I’m ready for a fight if you are!” Drake bellowed and reached over his shoulder to draw his sword.

  “Drake,” Garin said loudly. He had to repeat it twice before the young warrior frowned and dragged his attention from the two advancing guards.

  “What?” Drake asked bluntly. “Aren’t we going to fight for her?”

  “Yes, but not with swords,” Garin told him and flicked his head back down in the direction of the wizard who still stood in the room below. They wouldn’t achieve much if the wizard spirited them all away and he didn’t doubt Wizard Kazar could do it. “We need to find out where she is.”

  “Ah, forgive me wizard. I know nothing of these things. Of course, once you get that feeble old man to tell you where she is you’ll whizz her back as if she’d never been gone.” Drake sheathed his sword with a metallic snick that echoed around the room and then beamed at Garin. “I forgot for a second there that you were a wizard of great powers.”

  Garin simply grunted his reply, unwilling to admit he wouldn’t know how to bring Taya back even if he knew where she had gone. The guards stood back a few steps and allowed Garin and Drake to precede them down the stairs and into the presence of the uncrowned king and his wizard.

  Garin held his head up high, as well as the staff, as he walked slowly down the stairs. His one trump card was that these people didn’t know his magic was non-existent. He allowed his long white sleeve to cover the part of the staff where the black material was bound around it.

  “You threaten a king and his wizard?” Wizard Kazar asked incredulously as the huge warrior stopped before him. Garin stood slightly to one side wondering how they were going to get out of this in one piece.

  “He only wished to protect the poor misguided young girl who stood before you,” Garin said quietly. He decided the best way out of it was to admit the other wizard was of greater power and not even try to show him otherwise. “Of course a wizard of your standing was bound to take offence. She is just not used to such power. I’m sure she meant no harm.”

  Wizard Kazar let his gaze slip over onto Garin as the young wizard spoke. After a few seconds his gaze turned into a frown as he stared harder at Garin.

  “Your master…” Wizard Kazar prompted.

  “Master Eyan,” Garin supplied. At least the wizard wasn’t looking angry anymore, but his puzzled look was just as disconcerting.

  “Eyan,” the wizard said with a tone of disgust. “That is his staff?”

  “I’m taking it to him,” Garin said quickly in case the wizard accused him of stealing it.

  “To Mount Renga… no doubt,” Wizard Kazar said with a sarcasm that made even the king look at him in surprise. “Just what town did he find you in? I thought I’d dumped you all in places where he’d never find any of you.”

  Garin frowned. What did his home town have to do with anything? And who else had he dumped in the poor city streets? He stared at the wizard in confusion for a few seconds until the older wizard started to look impatient.

  “I lived in Scaret before I was apprenticed to Master Eyan…” Garin started to explain but the wizard’s face had suddenly gone as white as if he had seen a ghost.

  “You’ll be Garin then?” he said with a shake of his head.

  “You know me?” Garin asked in surprise. The only wizard Garin had ever met was Master Eyan and he’d never even heard his master speak of this wizard, Wizard Kazar.

  “You could say that,” Wizard Kazar seemed to be distracted. “How….long….have you been apprenticed this time?”

  “This time?” Garin repeated and frowned deeply. Drake nudged him hard in the ribs and he remembered what they were supposed to be finding out. “Where is Taya?”

  “How long!” the wizard insisted and Garin was sure he could see fear hovering in the back of the wizard’s eyes.

  “Five years,” Garin replied, hoping that one answer would deserve another.

  “Five!”

  Obviously it didn’t. The wizard gulped then tried to calm himself.

  “You don’t remember me?” he asked.

  “Should I?” Garin asked, racking his brain to see if he could recall the wizard’s face.

  “All may not be lost then!” Wizard Kazar declared loudly and with one swift motion he kicked the staff out from Garin’s grip, sending it flying across the room.

  “What’cha go and do that for?” Drake asked, taking a step towards the wizard and reaching over his shoulder to grip Felgardin.

  Garin had no time to see what the older wizard’s response would be as green smoke engulfed them both and the room faded into nothing but a deep mist.

  oOo

  -6-

  As the mist began to clear, Garin blinked and rubbed his eyes. Someone was crying softly nearby, and another deeper and much angrier voice was bellowing loudly.

  After a few seconds Garin’s vision cleared and his saw they were in a dark dungeon. The gentle sobs were coming from a small form, curled into a ball in the corner of cell. The bellowing was coming from Drake, who stood before the iron bars of the cell door, heaving on them and yelling at the top of his voice that a thousand unpleasant ends awaited those who’d so treacherously cast him into this place.

  “Drake,” Garin muttered.

  “…and then, by Cordak, your brothers and fathers! And your fathers’ fathers!”

  “Drake!” Garin called, his voice firmer.

  “Eh?” Drake gasped and wheeled around. Suddenly the warrior’s eyes widened in recognition. “Master Garin! Thank Cordak! Quick, if you’ll have these bars open then Felgardin and I will make those cowards pay dear for such vile treatment...together, we’ll…”

  “Drake. I have no staff. I can do nothing. Nothing at all.”

  “Eh?” Drake gasped and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly the warrior’
s shoulders slumped as he realised the truth of Garin’s words. The staff was doubtless in Wizard Kazar’s possession now. And everyone knew a wizard was powerless without his magical elf-tree staff.

  The sobbing from the corner drew Garin’s attention again and with a gasp he recognised a patch of bright red hair.

  “Taya!” he cried, and rushed to kneel by her side. He reached out and laid a gentle hand upon her shoulder, but she shrank from his touch with a cry, and began sobbing all the louder.

  “Ah, young missy!” Drake sighed, and politely but firmly pushed Garin aside to gather the weeping Taya into his arms. “It’s all right, missy, we’re here, you’ll come to no harm, I promise you.”

  Garin felt a lump growing in the back of his throat as he saw Taya’s arms slide around the great warrior’s neck, and she sobbed quietly into Drake’s chest while he held her tight and stroked her head.

  Garin sighed and stood up to survey their surroundings. The light was dim, coming from a dozen candles stuck to a rickety table outside the bars. The walls were old, solid stone, and covered with a green slime where years of dampness had trickled down them. Dirty straw littered the cold stone floor. There were no beds, no chairs, no furniture. Just the straw and the cold flagstones, three stone walls around them, and the iron bars in front.

  Garin felt tears pricking the back of his eyes, and he turned away from where Drake knelt comforting Taya, and went to sit in the corner furthest from them. The floor was hard and he drew his knees up under his chin and buried his face in his arms. What could he do? Nothing. Nothing to still the tears of the girl who despised him and all wizards. He couldn’t blame her, not really. Her grandfather lay ill, probably dying, in Portsan, miles away, and all Garin and Eyan had been able to do for the man was prepare limeberry oil to ease his laboured breathing. Perhaps Taya was right, perhaps one of these new healers could cure her grandfather and not just relieve his suffering for an hour at a time.

  Now here they were, the three young travellers who’d set out from Portsan together, trapped in a damp dungeon cell with nothing but themselves, their own fears, and the light from a dozen guttering candles to keep the darkness at bay.