“I guess that takes care of that conversation,” I mumbled to myself. As I walked back leisurely down the long hill, I thought back to my confrontation with Caleb. I’d been busy practicing my offensive skills with my slaggens, a pair of short swords that were my weapon of choice, when the other two knights in training had come upon me. Caleb had started his usual harassment which included making fun of how small I was and then starting in on the reasons for why my father might have named me after the god of back luck. Of course, he wasn’t the only one who liked to bring up that fact.
I looked up at the sky. “You know this is all your fault, yeah?” I turned my gaze back to the path I was walking on, not really expecting a response from Chael himself.
I grunted and smiled to myself. Whenever I could feel the teasing start to get to me, all I had to do was think back to the looks on everyone’s faces when the list of potential Shadow Knights had been announced. My name had been the first to be called out; being small had its advantages. The Shadows were the assassins and the special duty members of the guard. To pass the Shadow Knight testing was an honor not many received.
You haven’t received it, yet, I reminded myself. The distant rumble of thunder reached my ears and I looked across the plains to the west where the dark clouds were assembling. I broke into a jog in an attempt to beat the rain home.
“Blasted horse,” I grumbled. “You know, Chael, you could give a man a break every once in a while. Eighteen years of bad luck seems like a bit much. They named me after you, for gods’ sakes. You’d think you’d be honored, not seeking out revenge by making my life miserable.” I continued ranting to my namesake as I made my way home.
By the time I walked into the front door of the cabin, I was soaked. My father sat by the fireplace, a cup of tea in hand.
“I put Klora away for you.” He didn’t look up from the papers he was inspecting.
“You should’ve just let him run away. One good crack of thunder would have done it.” I pulled my boots off, set my slaggens against the wall, and made my way into my bedroom. The room was clean; one dresser, a standing mirror, a bed, and a bookshelf. On the dresser sat a picture of my mother. I picked it up, smiling. She’d been beautiful. Though I’d definitely taken on more of my father’s traits, the wide green eyes and the dark brown hair, I still held some resemblance to her. I took a quick look in the mirror as I pulled a dry tunic over my head and straightened it. My left eye was swollen and blue and the knuckles of my right hand were bruised.
“Chael, come have a look at this.” He moved over on the chair so I could have a seat. I smoothed out the map.
“Where are we going?”
“Nestle Lake.” He pointed to a small town two weeks from Gleama, my home since I’d been born.
“What are you looking at, then? We’ll take the Hallow Road and be there in no time.” I traced out one of the secondary roads between the two towns. My father shook his head.
“A runner came in yesterday from there. There have been goblin attacks all along Hallow Road the past few weeks.”
“Is that why we’re being dispatched, then?”
Again, he shook his head.
“Alright, then, we’ll take Vil Road. It’s a bit longer than Majorn Road, but we’ll be farther away from the goblins.”
He nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“When do we leave?”
“The day after the Knight’s initiation.”
I glanced at him and back to the map. “Dad?”
“Hmmm?”
“Are you worried of what might happen? I mean, if something happens and I get hurt during the Shadow Knights’ test…”
He frowned.
“I just… up until now, this has been easy. I mean, there are those like Caleb who like to think they know what is going on, but once I’m Knighted, it will be harder, won’t it?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Is it the test you’re scared of?”
“Of course not. I’ll take the test and I’ll pass. I was born to a long line of Shadow Knights, yeah?” I threw his favorite line back at him and he grinned.
“Yeah.”
“I’ve just been thinking… what happens to you if they find out?”
“They won’t. You’re my first born, Chael; my only child. You’ll be a Shadow Knight and you’ll be one of the best. After all of the hours you’ve put into training, you deserve it.” He folded the map and went to his room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
*****
I lay in bed, listening to the thunder rumbling over the hills. I grumbled and rolled onto my side, pulling the covers over my head as another flash of lightning lit up the room. Whisk, the large, grey, wirehaired hound my father had given me as a sixteenth birthday present, raised his head, whined, and stuck his face under my bed. The rain hit the window pane with such force I had to look up to see if it would hold under the pressure. The wind slowed for an instant and I heard the sound of something hitting the barn wall. Whisk cocked his head at me.
“Maybe he’ll get hung up in some ropes and hang himself,” I grumbled. Whisk whined and I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Let’s go see how he’s doing.” I put a pair of pants on under my nightshirt, pulled on my boots, and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.
I opened the door and was pushed backward with the force of the wind. Whisk went to sit behind my father’s chair.
“What? This was your idea!” I raised an eyebrow at my dog. He lay down at my objection. “You’re lucky I don’t make you sleep outside!” I whispered loudly. When that didn’t seem to faze him, I closed the door behind me and bent my head against the gust of wind that met me outside.
Lightning flashed.
One, two, three… My count was interrupted by the booming of the thunder. I swung open the barn door and closed it behind me. The pounding of Klora’s panicked struggles in his stall echoed within the dark building.
“Hush now, boy.” I lit the lamps and stood by his stall. The black stallion shied at the sound of my voice, turned away from me and kicked out with one hind leg. The wood resounded with the impact and I sighed, frustrated.
“I came to see if you’re alright and you try to kick me. Come on, now. I brought you an apple.”
Klora ceased his pacing, his nostrils flaring, his ears turning constantly as they took in the sound of the rain hitting the barn.
“There you are.” I opened the stall door and quickly closed it should he get the idea to run. He pawed at the straw under his hooves. “Klora, easy now.” I made sure to keep my voice smooth and quiet. “You have to calm down. Look at you. You’ve worked yourself into a sweat and you’ve barely room to move in here. You should be trying to get some sleep. I should be trying to get some sleep. How are we supposed to pass the Knights’ test if we’re dropping from exhaustion?”
I took a step toward him. When he didn’t try to kick, paw, or bite, I took another, still talking. “You know, Dad says you’re a good horse. Personally, I think you’re a little high strung.”
His eyes rolled back to show off the whites as another burst of thunder rolled over the countryside.
“Easy now. Don’t you want the apple?” I brought my hand up slowly and ran it gently up and down his face. “You know, it’s not going to be easy tomorrow. It wasn’t going to be easy to start with, but now that it’s been raining for a week, the testing area will be a swamp. That means you’ll have to try and pay a bit more attention where you’re stepping and not so much attention to the crowd that will be there to watch.” The gods only knew how he was going to react to all the cheering that would be happening. If Klora was his usual self, it was most likely I’d end up in the muck before I even had a chance to fight.
“Do you know, Dad asked me if I wanted to use Klard tomorrow.” I looked to the big grey sleeping three stalls away from the one I was in. Klora pushed against me with his nose, insulted by the fact I’d stopped scratching behind his ear. I gave him the apple to make up for my lapse of atten
tion.
“Do you want to know what I told him? I told him no. And do you know why?”
Klora nodded his head as he chewed the apple and I smiled. “I told him no because you do have one thing going for you and that’s the fact that you can run. Now, don’t go getting any ideas. It’s not something I’m particularly fond of when you decide to do it and I’m not on you, but we’re going to need speed to get through the race. So you see, I need you to get some sleep and to quit wearing yourself out.”
The thunder exploded over us and I gave Klora an extra good pat on the neck when he didn’t jump out of his skin.
“What do you think?” I asked him. “Do you think we can do it?” I didn’t wait for his answer as I slipped out of the stall and latched it shut. Klora put his head through the opening. His long ebony forelock fell into his eyes and I brushed it back.
“I still remember the day your dam dropped you. You were the first foal I’d actually gotten to see born. You were so small and gangly.” I smiled at his snort. “Well, now, look at you.” I felt my heart drop just a fraction and my smile slipped. “You’re the only black horse in the land. No one can ever remember seeing a black.” I remembered the looks on my father’s and uncle’s faces when the colt had shed out of his foal hair, but instead of giving way to grey like the rest of the foals, the dull black had given way to the shimmering raven color that now stood majestically before me.
“I’m not sure if you remember, but the first thing Dad told me when he realized you weren’t going to turn grey was, ‘well, I was going to give him to you regardless, Chael, but now there’s no doubt in my mind this horse is meant to be yours’.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We’re a pair, you and I. I couldn’t get rid of you if someone offered me a year’s salary. We’re different and because of that, we have to stick together.”
Klora took a deep breath and snorted.
“Many of them expect us to fail, tomorrow. I’m too small… They know something’s off, but they can’t put a finger on what it is. And you, well, Chael’s luck, you’re black; black and flightier than the wild kittens that live in the hay loft.” I gave him one last pat on the nose. “We’ll prove them wrong, tomorrow. I’ll take care of the fighting and you take care of the running, yeah?”
His soft nose touched my cheek. The wind outside had subsided and by the sounds of it, so had the rain.
“Get some sleep,” I ordered as I stepped out of the barn.
Once I was undressed and dry once again, I stretched out under my blankets. Whisk’s tail thumped the floor by the bed and I reached a hand down to pet him.
“Good night, Whisk.” I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes.
I felt myself start to dream before I was fully asleep and suddenly, I found myself sitting on a fallen log in a clearing. Klora stood tethered a few feet from me, his ears twitching lazily in the sun as he grazed on the long grass. I looked around, knowing I’d be getting a visitor. This time, I was shown my father. He smiled and came to sit beside me.
“He’s a good horse.” He nodded toward Klora. “You’ll have no problems with the race.”
“Caleb won’t make things easy for me.” I voiced my worries, just as I’d learned to do at a young age when these strange dreams had started to occur.
“No, he won’t. It’s a guarantee he’ll make things hard on a few of the lads. Having said that, your dislike of Caleb can’t get in the way of your goals.”
“You mean winning?”
“If that’s your goal.”
I frowned. Winning was definitely something I wanted. It was something I’d been working toward my entire life. The knights’ games were made to show off your talents; to prove you weren’t being knighted just because your father was a knight. There were many out there who looked at me, my small size, my lack of muscle, and assumed just that. We were one of the Knighthood’s oldest families and I was my father’s only child. I smiled at him.
“Don’t worry, dad. I’ll win.”
“I know you will, though I don’t think it will be exactly how you planned.”
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant and stopped as he vanished. I sat for a while longer, wondering if I was going to get any other visitors. When it became obvious I wouldn’t, I stood, which promptly propelled me into another dream, one I wouldn’t remember in the morning.
*****
My father smiled down at me as I stepped out of the cabin. I looked up at him on Klard’s back and had to squint to keep the mist of rain out of my eyes.
“How does it feel?” he inquired.
I shrugged and had to tighten my hold on Klora’s reins as he sidestepped at the sound of my armor moving. “It’s not like I haven’t put it on before. By gods, I’ve practiced in it enough times.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not the armor… the day. Today, you become a Shadow Knight.” His smile widened as he said it.
I couldn’t help smiling back. “It feels good. Of course, it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s keep the celebrating to a minimum until it does. You didn’t name me Chael for no reason and I don’t want his luck following me into the arena.” I swung onto Klora and gave a whistle. Whisk came loping around the side of the barn and came to sit beside my mount.
“You’re bringing the dog?”
“Of course. I want to have someone there besides you cheering for me.”
“There will be plenty of people there cheering.”
“Well, either way, he helps to keep Klora calm.” Whisk’s tail thumped the ground and Klora jumped to the side, almost leaving me in the dirt. “Well, most of the time.” I patted the thick neck under me. “There, now, Klora. Remember our talk last night.” I made sure my sword was secure in its scabbard on my saddle, hung my shield on my back, and tied my slaggens behind my seat.
My father grinned at me and I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be glad when I no longer have to wear all of this bothersome metal,” I grumbled. He looked so comfortable wearing his regular deer skin pants, high boots, tunic, and riding cloak. The only extra protection the Shadow Knights had to bother with was a thick leather vest.
“Quit complaining and let’s get moving.”
The horses broke into an easy canter as we made our way toward the city of Gleama just as the sun broke over the horizon.
We rode through the gates just before midday. Though I’d been born and raised just a short distance away and had been in the city numerous times, I was still amazed by the tall white rock buildings spread along dark grey cobblestone streets. Klora’s shoes hit the stone and I tightened my hold on him to keep him in check. The last thing I needed on the day I was to be knighted was to kill an innocent child who happened to get in the way of my runaway horse. I smiled at a small girl holding on to her mom’s hand as she stared up at me, her eyes wide. My chest swelled with pride. Today I would be knighted. Today, Chael’s luck would end. The thought brought a bigger smile to my face. Literally. Today, I would show them I deserved the title they would give me. Today, they would see.
“Chael.”
My father’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked back at him. I could see he was trying not to laugh. Without a word, I turned Klora back toward the street I had forgotten to turn onto.
“What were you thinking about?”
I shrugged. He glanced at me.
“It will be fine. You’ll do fine.”
I nodded and stopped Klora at the gates to the arena. The Knight standing guard saluted my father.
“There’s been a change of plans, sir. They’ve decided to hold the race first this year.” He looked at me. “We were told you’d been informed.”
I frowned. “No. No one came to tell me.”
“We sent the runners out a week or so ago. Caleb told us he’d told you.”
My father grunted. “What time does the race start?”
The man looked into the sky and looked at us apologetically. “You have twenty minutes or so to get there, I’d say.”
I swore, turned Klora and trotted back toward the gates that led out of the city. Once outside the walls, we kicked the horses into a fast canter.
“Blasted Caleb!” I shouted to my father. “Why does he insist on being such an ass?”
My father frowned. “There are those among us who will forever try to make other’s lives miserable.” He glanced at me as Klora found another gear. “Calm yourself, Chael. Don’t burn him out before we get there.”
I took a deep breath and tried to forget how angry I was Caleb. We’d grown up together; had trained together since we’d been five years old, and yet he’d never been someone I could have considered a friend. In fact, though I got along with everyone for the most part, the twins, Harry and Hal were probably the only ones I would consider true friends with Mac a close third, though since he’s started to spend a lot of time with Caleb the last year, he hadn’t been a part of our group as much.
I could see a crowd standing at the top of the long hill we were climbing. I breathed a sigh of relief as someone spotted us and put up our family’s flag. Pride swelled my chest at the sight of black winged horse on the green fabric. The crowd spread and let us through. Caleb’s eyes widened at the sight of me. Mac grinned. I jumped from my horse, handed the reins to my father who proceeded to lead him around so he could catch his breath. I stripped out of my armor as quickly as I could. Mac rode up on his almost white mare.
“Glad you could join us.”
I frowned at him. “If you were so worried I wouldn’t be here, you should have told me about the change in date the day you ran into me last week.” I swung back up onto Klora and gave him a pat on the neck. “Easy, boy.”
“Caleb said the runner had already told you.”
I shook my head. “He got to Caleb first who told him he’d let me know.”
“So you don’t know about the change in the course, then.”
I tried not to let my shoulders sag. “There’s a change?”
Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel) Page 2
