The Chosen

by K. J. Nessly

  When a governor or noble left his castle for an extended period of time, he sent a letter to the Guardian council who would forward the letter to the family closest to the fortress so that they could keep an eye on it. Once the closest family had seen the letter, it was distributed to the rest of the Guardians in the region. The letter often detailed if the Governor was expecting guests who might arrive before he returned or if he had engaged some other Lord or Lady as a caretaker.

  The Dragons were quiet for a time, finally Elizabeth asked, “Could Lord Tanner be planning a coup of some kind?”

  “It’s beginning to look that way,” Daniel replied. “Why else would he take over the castle?”

  “We don’t know for sure that he did take over the castle, Daniel,” Lindsey argued. “We just know he’s staying there.”

  “We’re wasting time,” Tyler inserted gruffly. “We can ask Lord Tanner these questions after we rescue Kathryn.”

  “I agree,” David said quickly. “But we need to clearly think this through before we break into the castle. It’s a fortress.”

  “And this time, Kathryn’s not here to pave the way,” Amy pointed out.

  Nodding slowly, David said. “I know, which is why we’re going to try for the night after tomorrow.”

  “That late?” Cass cried, “I thought you said we needed to move quickly!”

  “We do,” Daniel assured her. “But David’s right. This is going to be a tricky mission and it takes at least a day and a half, maybe two hard day’s ride to get there. If we’re going to be riding that fast, our horses will be exhausted and there’s a good chance that we will be as well so an assault on David’s timeline isn’t even a guarantee, more like a best case scenario.”

  Amy bit her lip and nodded. “Daniel’s right. We can’t rush this. Not if we want to be assured of success.”

  “And while we won’t be attacking for a few days,” David said quickly. “We won’t be idle. I want us to spend as much time in the area as possible around the castle so that we can do some reconnaissance.”

  “Could we send a message to the Gryffons and ask them for assistance?” Lindsey suggested.

  Amy, Daniel, and Cass quickly voiced their support at the idea, but David shook his head. “The Gryffons are several days ride to the south on a mission for the Council,” he informed the rest of his team. “And the Sphinx’s are in the process of ridding the western edge of an occult group. We’re on our own.”

  His grim declaration silenced any other suggestions that may have been offered up.

  While the Dragons prepared to leave David asked Luke what he remembered about the governor’s castle.

  “It’s a fortress,” Luke replied.

  “We know. Anything else you can remember?”

  Luke thought a moment. “There are some cliffs behind the castle where we might be able to regroup before an attack, but I’m going to guess they’re patrolled since the rest of the land surrounding the castle is pretty flat.”

  “If I remember correctly there are some hills just past the castle.”

  Luke nodded. “Yes, about two or three kilometers past it, but what has that got to do with anything.”

  David looked at his friend, “They just may be of some use to us.” He turned to the rest of the group. “We’re leaving in the morning and I hope to reach the governor’s castle by noon the next day. Hopefully we’ll be rested enough to attack that night. If not we’ll try for the next.”

  The other Dragons reluctantly moved to their rooms to try and sleep. David knew that he should probably get some sleep as well, but he was too disturbed to be able to rest.

  The next morning he decided that he, Luke, Amy, and Jenna would travel on horseback in the open. The rest of the Dragons would stick to the trees where they would have less chance of being spotted. That night they would meet up to camp and go over and revise the plan if necessary.

  “Luke, Amy, Jenna, and I will ride beyond the castle until we pass the hills three kilometers beyond. We’ll leave our horses and use the cliffs for cover as we approach the castle,” David explained, pointing to the map spread out before him as he pointed out specific landmarks. “The rest of you will use the forest, exit beyond the hills and leave your horses with ours. We’ll meet up here,” he placed his finger next to a small stream indicated on the map, “and wait for darkness.”

  The ride to the castle was long and painful. Glancing over, David noted that Amy looked like she was facing an army alone, which is probably how he’d feel if it had been Luke in trouble and not Kathryn. He wished he could think of something comforting to say, but all he could think about was that he should have listened to Amy. She knew Kathryn the best and if something smelled off to her than he should have paid more attention, instead he had let Kathryn convince him that she was invincible…he would never make that same mistake again.

  They reached a boggy marsh late that evening and pitched camp. Destiny alighted on the top of a dead crabus tree and made short work of a small ferret-like animal. Content that they were alone, David sent Luke to guide the rest of the Dragons to the campsite.

  “Matt, can you please do something about these bugs that are intent on drinking my blood!” Natalie complained after the tents had been set up, slapping at the bugs that attempted to land on her body.

  “It’s that scent you’re wearing. It’s a bug magnet. I really don’t understand why you bother, as soon as you put on your armor the cirin will neutralize it anyway”

  “I like to smell pretty,” she replied with as much dignity as she could muster.

  “Complain to David,” the cook grunted. “A steady wind works better than me trying to control all ten thousand of them.”

  “David…”

  Her leader, engaged in a discussion on tactics with Luke and Amy didn’t hear her.

  Natalie focused on a spot that was in the center of their little circle. A small flame burst into existence.

  Quickly David stamped it out. “Natalie, I told you no fire!”

  “I’ll stop playing with fire as soon as you do something to get rid of these infernal bugs!” She returned hotly. “They’re after my blood and nothing’s dissuading them, especially since you said we can’t put on our armor yet.”

  He sighed and called a stiff breeze. “Happy now?”

  “Very.”

  Four days without food and very little water were taking their toll on Kathryn. There was no way she could attempt an escape on her own now. She had avoided eating, drinking the bare minimum to prevent Lord Tanner from drugging her again, but now she felt just as weak as she had when she’d been under the influence of the drug.

  So far Lord Tanner had visited her only during meal times, each time asking her to join him. She kept refusing him, although she had a feeling that if she kept refusing for much longer he’d order her force fed to keep her from starving herself to death.

  To top it all off, she kept having nightmares that jolted her awake in the middle of the night covered in sweat. The events varied but the general storyline stayed true in each dream. Somehow the Dragons managed to decode her message and arrived to try and breach the castle. Each time they failed and died in the attempt. The dreams scared her far worse than Lord Tanner ever could. The revelation startled her and she realized that, while she resented many of the things the Dragons did and often wished that they'd simply leave her alone, she had already begun to consider them her family--more so than Jasmine, Jasse, or even Arianna had ever been to her.

  Her anger rose and Kathryn found herself wishing that she could reach out and throttle all of the guards and Lord Tanner to ensure that none of the Dragons lost their lives trying to rescue her. However there were so many questions she needed answered from Lord Tanner that she couldn't afford to kill him, at least not yet.

  Lea stayed close by. Kathryn could tell that the young serving girl believed that she was going to die.

  “Lea,” she said quietly.

  The young woman hurried ove
r. “Do you need something, Lady Kathryn?” she asked quickly.

  “How did you get here?”

  Lea frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  Kathryn waved her hand around the room. “How did you come to serve Lord Tanner?”

  “My family was in debt, and he took me as payment,” Lea said after a moment.

  “I’m sorry.” Kathryn paused, and then asked, “Do you miss your family?”

  “I don’t even know if they’re alive.” Lea stared out the window for a long moment, suddenly she turned and gripped Kathryn’s hand. “Are you sure that there’s no one you can call for help? No one at all?”

  Kathryn thought about her note to David and wondered if they’d figured it out yet. “Not anymore,” she said quietly.

  Lea appeared on the verge of tears.

  “Lea, what’s wrong?”

  “You can’t stay here. You must escape!”

  “I’m in no condition to escape,” Kathryn told her softly, this was not a conversation she wanted other servants to overhear.

  Lea pressed harder, “You don’t understand Milady. Lord Tanner was ordered to kidnap you for someone else, but now he wants you for himself. You have to get away.”

  “Who ordered Lord Tanner to kidnap me?” Kathryn asked quickly.

  “I don’t know,” Lea said shaking her head. “Probably someone higher up in the Brotherhood.”

  “The Brotherhood?”

  “I don’t know anything other than that Lord Tanner is a new member of something called the Brotherhood. I do know that the Brotherhood hates the Guardians.”

  “Probably because they’re all criminals,” Kathryn reasoned quietly, noticing that her vision was beginning to swim…

  “We need some ideas,” Luke said. “That place is a fortress.”

  “What we need is a way in that doesn’t involve shooting the guards,” David replied, “and it’s going to take a miracle to get a miracle.”

  The two boys were lying on the sharp gray rocks that made up the cliffs behind the castle. Slowly they inched their way back down the steep incline and dropped to the dry bed of a stream where the rest of the Dragons waited.

  “Well?” Amy demanded.

  “This is not going to be easy,” David told her.

  “Lady Kathryn!”

  Lea’s frantic voice brought Kathryn out of the vision. Quickly Kathryn grabbed her arms, hardly daring to hope. Maybe this was a way to ensure that the Dragons succeeded. If not, it would certainly be their doom. “Lea is there a dry creek bed in those cliffs?” She nodded out the window to the gray cliffs made even darker by the clouds.

  “How did you know that?” Lea asked in amazement.

  “It’s better if you don’t know.” Kathryn looked into the young woman’s eyes. “I need you to do something for me Lea.”

  “Anything, Lady Kathryn.”

  “Can you get out of the castle without being seen?”

  Lea nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m very good at moving without being seen.”

  Kathryn swallowed hard. She wasn't even sure that she could trust Lea, but she had no other options. David would need help getting in, all of her dreams attested to that, she just hoped that she was sending the right person. “I need you to go to the creek bed. There will be Guardians there. Ask to speak to David. Tell him everything you know.”

  “Guardians?” Lea whispered. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive." Kathryn took a deep breath. "I need you to deliver a message." Quickly she relayed the message she wished to get to David and had Lea repeat it. "Now go!”

  Lea hurried out of the room and Kathryn prayed that she had made the right choice.

  Lea walked slowly down the stairs towards the kitchens. “Where are you going?” The harsh voice of her master brought her to a standstill. Quickly Lea lowered her eyes.

  “Lady Kathryn asked me to fetch some cool water,” she said quietly.

  “Humph, well take your time,” Lord Tanner ordered. “I don’t want her thinking she runs this castle.”

  “Yes, milord.”

  Lea hurried down to the kitchens grabbed a bucket and slipped outside. She hurried to the well and began to fill it. After a few moments she moved away from the well and began to head towards the cliffs that towered behind her. Because the cliffs provided such a perfect natural defense there was no castle wall or gate to contend with and that suited Lea perfectly.

  Quickly she found the small trail that led up into the cliffs. She hurried, even though it increased the chances of her being spotted. As she stumbled over rocks and old gnarled roots she sincerely hoped that Lady Kathryn was right.

  The creek bed had just entered her line of sight when strong arms grabbed her from behind, the hand across her mouth stifling her startled scream.

  “Easy,” the low voice commanded. “What’s a servant girl doing way out here?”

  The hand covering her mouth dropped slightly allowing her to ask, “Are you a Guardian?”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I was sent to find Guardians.”

  “By who?”

  “Lady Kathryn,”

  The hands holding her spun her around and she found herself facing an entire team of Guardians. She almost fell over in surprise. How had an entire family arrived without anyone knowing about it? “What do you know of Lady Kathryn?”

  “She told me to go to the creek and ask to speak to the Guardian named David.”

  The Guardians exchanged looks. "She specifically told you to speak to the Guardian named David?" A female Guardian asked doubtfully.

  Lea nodded quickly. "Yes! I swear I'm telling the truth!"

  One of the Guardians glanced at another who was gazing intently at her. Finally he seemed to come to a conclusion and looked to his companions. "She's telling the truth," he said firmly. "At least as much as she knows it. Lady Kathryn did tell her to come out here and asked her to deliver a message."

  Lea gaped at him. "Y...yes," she stammered. "How did you know?"

  The Guardian ignored her and continued. "Lady Kathryn's message is that if we attempt to storm the castle we guarantee our deaths and her own. Lord Tanner chose his guards because they had all faced Guardians before and as such she recommends that we use unconventional tactics when dealing with them."

  Lea's mouth dropped open.

  The original Guardian who'd grabbed her rubbed his masked chin. "Well at least that settles our discussions on attempting to take the castle by force. Now things get complicated." He faced Lea. "Tell me everything about Lord Tanner and the castle itself."

  Quickly Lea told the Guardian what she knew, ending with, “Please hurry. Lady Kathryn has grown weak and I fear my master will try to take her for his own rather than follow orders.”

  “We’re rescuing Lady Kathryn tonight,” the first Guardian assured her. “But we need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  “We need to get inside without being spotted. Can you help us?”

  Lea considered his request. "The servants’ entrance on the southern side," she decided. "It's used rarely by most servants and the guards avoid it because it smells bad."

  One of the other Guardians made a disgusted noise but the first Guardian, whom Lea suspected was the one named David Lady Kathryn had sent her to speak with, cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Where is Lady Kathryn being held?"

  "On the fourth floor in the south wing. Her room has the deer's head crest and two guards stationed outside."

  “What about the other servants?”

  "What about them?"

  "When they see Guardians storming through the castle how will they react?"

  “Lord Tanner keeps those of unquestioned loyalty close to him," Lea told them. "The rest he sent to work in the kitchens or other various jobs."

  The Guardian leader nodded. “Very well. When the first stars come out, we will attack.”

  After Lea had left, Tyler turned to David. "Are you sure
about this?" he questioned. "How do you know that we can trust her?"

  "We can," Daniel assured him.

  Tyler scowled at him. "You can't get a full reading of someone's true intentions in a few minutes."

  Daniel nodded in agreement. "True, but Kathryn did send her and the message was from her." He turned to look at David. "Lea has secrets, don't get me wrong, but she's on our side...at least for this battle."

  "What I want to know is how Kathryn knew to send her here," Elizabeth said in bewilderment. "It's not like we sent her a message telling her we'd arrived."

  "A puzzle for a later time," David decided. "For now we have to trust that Daniel's reading of Lea is correct. If we attempt an obvious approach, we all die."

  "And I really want to know how Kathryn knows that," Tyler muttered.

  "She's in the castle, Tyler," Amy replied tartly. "She's in the perfect position to gauge the possibility of success of such an attempt."

  "Right, and she came to the same conclusion we'd pretty much already come to," he argued. "So why did she risk all of our lives to warn us against a plan that'd we'd practically already discarded."

  "She didn't want us to risk our lives," Jenna said slowly. "Even with all of our planning we were still holding such a plan in reserve in case we couldn't come up with anything better," she reminded them.

  "So why warn us?" Tyler persisted.

  "Because she knows us," Amy sighed. "We've spent the last year learning to live together and I spent years as her roommate. She knows how we think, how we react." She looked to David. "Even after just one year I already know that if one of us ever gets into trouble you wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it costs to get us out."

  David nodded. "Of course I would, this family is my responsibility. You're all family to me now. Even Kathryn."

  Amy nodded. "Exactly. And Kathryn knows it. She knows that you'll risk your life on a rash plan even if it only has a scant chance of success. Same as me. She's seen me do foolhardy things in the past for friends back at school." She turned back to face the rest of the Dragons. "Kathryn's warning us against acting rashly because she knows what course we would take if no other option presented itself."