Chael's Luck (A Knights of Dorathan Novel)

by Chester, Mireille

  Cole turned red. “General…”

  “Cole, I think we can see where you stand on this. You’re on wall duty for the next week.”

  “But…”

  “I don’t doubt that your best interest lies with the Knighthood, however, it’s clear that you have issues with Chaela and Ian even though they’ve both more than adequately proven themselves.” He looked around at twenty odd men watching the show. “If any of you have issues with following Chaela into battle, walk away now. I won’t have this mission jeopardized by big egos and small minds. By gods, men, our lives depend on this. The king’s life depends on this. We are being threatened by someone we’ve put our trust in for the past thirty six years. Maybe it’s time we look to someone we’re not entirely sure about.”

  Caleb’s father took a step forward. “Was Caleb with Sir Gavin?”

  I nodded. “Sir…”

  “Is he dead?”

  I hesitated then decided on the truth. “Yes, sir.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment.

  “Sir? I’m… I’m sorry about Caleb.”

  He frowned and looked at me. “He did that to you, didn’t he?” He gestured to my face.

  “He did, sir.”

  “And yet you’ll say you’re sorry he’s dead?”

  “I am, Sir. He was a good man, even if he did pick on me while we grew up. This last couple of years he’d obviously been influenced by Sir Gavin.”

  “Thank you.” He nodded and fell back into line.

  “Men, let’s move.” The General led the way to the king’s chambers. “Your majesty!” He pounded on the door and the king appeared.

  “What in the world is going on?”

  I tried not to gawk at the king in his sleepwear.

  “Your highness, there’s been a complication in our plans to recover the book. It seems that Sir Gavin is the one who’s been after it all this time. He plans on destroying the Knights in an effort to get the throne.”

  It seemed to take a few minutes to register with the king.

  “By gods! Do we know where the book is?”

  I stepped forward. “Not exactly sir. We do, however, have a way of tracking it. Ian is with his father at the moment trying to talk him out of the situation. I’m hoping this can be resolved peacefully. My chain sir, can lead us to the book. We’ll be leaving as quickly as possible to get there.”

  The king nodded. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “I don’t think so, sir. I will, however be appointing the stable boys as your personal guard when we leave.”

  Everyone, the king included, turned to look at me.

  “The stable boys?”

  “Yes, sir. They’re a great bunch of lads, sir, and very well trained. I’ve seen them practicing on numerous occasions. If sir Gavin manages to say the spell on the night of the new moon, there won’t be any Knights left to protect you. You’ll be unguarded. The stable boys, however, don’t have the Knights’ blood running through them. You’ll need protection when Sir Gavin comes with his army of goblins.”

  He nodded and looked to the General.

  General Krane nodded to me. “You’re a credit to your father, Chaela. You’ve a great mind, just like his.”

  I smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

  The king retreated to his chambers to alert the queen as to what was taking place and the rest of us headed back to the stables. By the time we got there, we were a crew of thirty.

  Mac shook his head. “I wish we’d had a bit more notice. Thirty men isn’t much to go into a battle with.”

  I gave him a slap on the back. “Ah, come now. Don’t you remember when we ran into that small patrol of trolls when we were fifteen?”

  “I do. I also remember being hauled home on a stretcher.”

  “Well, that’s what you get for trying to help me.”

  He grinned. “You won’t have to worry about it this time. You’re on your own.”

  Our horses were brought out to us and I was surprised to see that Klora was following behind Nate quite calmly.

  “I think we’ve struck some sort of a bargain. I talk nicely to him and he doesn’t try to kill me.”

  I laughed. “I’m glad. Nate, I’m putting you in charge of the king.”

  “Sir? Um... ma’am?”

  I gave him and the rest of the stable lads a quick run through of what was happening. “If the spell is said, the Knights will die. It will up to you and the rest of the lads here to protect the king.”

  He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  I swung onto Klora. “Oh, and keep an eye on Whisk for me, alright? The poor boy’s done enough keeping up with the horses for the next little while.”

  “Yes, sir. You can count on me sir.”

  I smiled. “I know I can.”

  The General met us at the gates. “Good luck, Chaela!” He saluted and the rest of us returned the honor.

  “To the end!”

  I pulled Klora around and we galloped off into the dark. I looked up into the sky. We had two days until the new moon. I concentrated on my chain, and steered Klora in a large arc until I felt it start to warm.

  “This way!”

  A few of the Knights hollered their acknowledgment. Here was hoping we were going to get there soon enough.

  *****

  Ian gave a long look at his father’s back. What in the world had he been thinking? Why hadn’t he just gone with Chaela? Now that she was gone, it left him on his own against the six goblins and his father.

  “Chael’s luck,” He grumbled to himself.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. I’m just a bit upset that I couldn’t convince Chaela to come along, that’s all.”

  His father grunted. “Flush her from your mind, son. Women do nothing but get in the way.”

  Ian frowned. “I didn’t know you thought this way.”

  He was answered by another grunt. “I’m not talking about your mother. She was an angel. She always did as she was told and bore me three sons. That is what a woman is supposed to do. Obey.”

  Ian couldn’t help the grin as he thought of trying to tell Chaela what to do. She’d probably break his nose. The thought of her brought on the empty feeling he’d realized he always felt when she was gone. Had she made back to Gleama? She’d been quite hurt when he’d left her. What if she was more hurt than she’d let on?

  “Are you listening to me?”

  Ian pushed all thoughts of Chaela from his mind. “What was that, father?”

  “I said, I’m glad you came to your senses. I would have hated to have to kill you.”

  Ian frowned. “If you were going to kill me if I didn’t come, then why did you let Chaela go?”

  Gavin shrugged. “You seem fond of her and there’s not much she can do to stop us now. As for you, well, I was going to do it to teach you a lesson.”

  “I imagine it’s hard to learn something when you’re dead.”

  His father looked back at him and grinned. “Yes, I imagine it is.”

  Ian shook his head. “You’re confusing me.”

  “Am I?”

  Good gods, what had gotten into his father? Five years ago, the man had been brilliant. Now, to talk to the man, he’d obviously lost his mind. Absolutely nothing he said made sense.

  “I was wondering, father… what happened to make you decide this was the best course of action?”

  Gavin shrugged and took a minute to think about it. “Do you know, I think it was when you left? For my son not to want to be a part of the Knighthood there was obviously something wrong with it. You should have been top Shadow, Ian, and instead, you walked away.”

  “There are some things that are not right no matter who you are.”

  “I tend to agree.” Gavin nodded his approval. “For this reason, we will make things how they should be.”

  Ian sighed. Talking sense into the man was obviously out of the question. “How did you come about recruiting Caleb?”

  His father s
norted. “I picked out the weakest of that crew. He was a good soldier. Willing to do anything his superior told him. His hatred of Chael was an added bonus. It wasn’t hard to convince him that the rest of the lads were against him and with the runt.”

  “So Caleb was guilty of nothing else than of believing your lies.”

  Gavin nodded. “Like I said. Weak. A strong Knight would have stood up for his fellow Knights-in-training; would have stood up for himself.”

  “You got him killed.”

  The elder Murphy shrugged. “It was necessary.” He turned to look at his son. “Of course, he’d still be alive if he’d left his hatred of your woman alone.”

  Ian grunted, his anger flaring as he remembered the sight of Caleb groping Chaela as he’d ridden up on Klora. “It didn’t look to me like he hateful towards her when I got there.”

  Gavin grinned. “Yes, well, I think it was your woman that convinced him this was a better way to go.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, you didn’t see that part, then. The part when she told him she was his; that she wouldn’t fight him?”

  “You’re lying. Chaela would never put herself in that situation.”

  “And I’m telling you I saw it with my own eyes.”

  Ian took a deep breath. There was no way she’d do that. No way at all. Chaela had honor. Of course, she might do it to save those she loved, he told himself. Of course. Right? He thought back to the tender look in her eyes as he’d taken her the first time. The way she’d trusted him with her body. She loved him, damn it. He inhaled deeply. Of course she loved him.

  “What are you thinking of, boy?” Gavin looked back to him.

  “Not much. We’ve two nights until the new moon. Where are we going?”

  “The Hallonadain Cliffs.”

  “There’s nothing there.”

  His father grinned. “Precisely. That means no one around to bother us, no one to alert anyone else as to our whereabouts.”

  “It’s perfect,” agreed Ian. “Do you have all the ingredients for the spell?”

  Gavin’s grin widened. “I do. Ian, my son, two nights from now, legend will be made.”

  Ian patted Klard on the neck. “Don’t worry, boy. They’ll be there on time.” He looked up to make sure no one else had heard.

  Here’s hoping you’re right, he thought to himself.

  *****

  I gave Klora his head as the warming around my arm turned more intense. “I think we’re catching up!”

  Mac nodded to acknowledge that he’d heard. “We should make camp at the tree line!”

  I nodded, though I wasn’t happy with stopping for the night. The horses, however, were lathered and in need of a drink and their riders were in need of food and sleep. Mac seemed to read my thoughts.

  “They’ll have to stop too, Chaela!”

  “I know! I just don’t like it.”

  Harry pulled up beside me. “I’m starving!”

  I smiled. “I know. I’m stopping this whole thing just so you can eat!”

  He grinned. “Thank the gods!”

  Some of the older Knights smiled and shook their heads at our antics. We slowed the horses as the trees got closer. By the time we were at the tree line, we were walking and the horses were breathing a bit easier. I gave Klora a pat on the neck.

  The horses tethered where they could eat and the fires going, I pulled my blankets out of my pack.

  I traced my fingers over the chain around my arm.

  “Is it still warm?” Harry came to sit beside me.

  I nodded.

  “Well, that’s a good sign at least.”

  Hal brought me a cup of coffee. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

  I shrugged. “I guess we just get on the horses and ride.”

  Caleb’s father came to sit with us. “I just wanted to say, I’m proud of the bunch of you.”

  “Sir?”

  “We started telling you at an early age that to be a Knight you need courage, honor, and loyalty. Your group here, you’re what it means to be Knights.”

  A few of the older Knights nodded.

  “You’ve stuck together, defended each other, and are willing to brave what the rest of us will think to make sure one of your own won’t be thrown out.”

  Mac shrugged. “Sir, it really wasn’t that big of a surprise when Chaela appeared and told us the truth.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” laughed one of the others.

  “No, really. We always knew there was something off about Chael, yeah? Caleb took that point to the extreme,” he nodded an apology to the man’s father, “When she showed up in the middle of the night wearing a dress and asking for help, it was more like the final piece of the puzzle falling into place. The fact of the matter is, sirs, whether she’s Chael or Chaela, she’s still the same person. She’s still saved our behinds more than once, she’s still beat us in challenges, and she’s still the first one to step up when one of us needs help.” He shrugged. “Now, she just looks like she’s supposed to.” He grinned. “That and we’re scared of her.”

  I frowned. “Scared of me?”

  “Well, if we say we don’t want you around, you’ll give us all a good shot and damn it, Chaela, you hit hard!”

  Everyone started to laugh.

  “I think Cole would agree with that today,” someone laughed from by the fire.

  I grinned. “What can I say? I had good sparring partners.”

  We all passed around the bread and cheese and a flask of water. “Alright, everyone. Let’s try to get some rest. Four men on watch at all time, three hour watches.” I climbed up into a tree and watched as Harry, Hal, and Mac followed suit. I watched as the others settled into their blankets.

  “Here’s hoping for a quiet night,” I mumble to myself. I looked up at the stars and pressed the chain to my lips. “Ian, hang on. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  A wolf howled, a horse snorted, and a night bird took to the sky. Here was hoping we’d get there soon enough.

  *****

  We left our site before day broke over the horizon. I followed the heat the chain emitted.

  “I wish this thing would just show me the way. I don’t realize we’ve veered off course until the warming lessens and by then we’ve lost time that we have to make up by finding the right direction once again. If we don’t reach them by tonight, we’ll be too late!”

  Mac smiled. “It’s better than having no idea where were going.”

  “I know, I know… I just have a very bad feeling about this.”

  “What, the fact that we might all die?”

  “Of course, but it’s something Blarenagin said to us; something about the ingredients Gavin would need to activate the spell.”

  “Well, let’s go over it again. What did he say Gavin would need?”

  Everyone within earshot was listening. I thought back to my time in the great forest.

  “Alright. He said the caster of the spell would need to say a charm… that whoever was blessed by this particular charm wouldn’t need to worry about the second spell’s effects. He said that for the second spell, the caster would need a goblin’s tear, a bat’s foot, a pinch of horse hair, the trunk of an elf tree, the new moon and the sun’s blood.”

  John frowned. “The first three are simple enough to get your hands on… but if he needs an elf tree, he’s heading in the wrong direction.”

  “What’s this about an elf tree?” Sir Francis, one of the oldest Knights in our group rode up beside me.

  “Gavin needs an elf tree to set the spell in motion.”

  Francis swore. “Then we’d better speed it up a bit.”

  “What? Why?”

  He looked around to all of us. “You’ve never heard of the lone elf tree of Dorathan?”

  “That’s just a legend,” commented Hal.

  Francis shook his head. “Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

  I nodded. “You kno
w exactly where it is?”

  He smiled and spurred his horse forward.

  “I guess that’s what we get for being young and laughing at all the old men’s legends,” remarked Harry.

  The older Knights close enough to hear grinned.

  “Alright, then, if you think you’re so smart, what did the old elf mean by the sun’s blood?” Hal challenged them.

  Everyone looked at each other and it seemed like we all had the same answer. No one had a clue.

  “Is there an eclipse happening the night of the new moon? Maybe it’s the red color he was talking about.” John shrugged.

  We shook our heads.

  “I need everyone to think of anything and everything they’ve ever heard of that might include the sun. We need to figure this out.”

  We rode in silence for what seemed like hours. We alternated between walking and running the horses.

  Sir Francis’ horse fell into step with Klora.

  “We’re about a half away.”

  I nodded.

  Harry moved up to my other side. “Umm… Chaela?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, I was just thinking…”

  I frowned at the look on his face. He was so pale his freckles stood out like blood spots on his skin.

  “It’s just, well, what if he, Blarenagin, didn’t mean the sun’s blood?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We assumed it was the sun’s blood because he’d mentioned the moon. It’s been bothering me how Gavin simply let you go when Ian agreed to go with him.”

  “Harry, spit it out!”

  “What if it wasn’t sun spelled s u n. What if it was son spelled s o n.”

  My stomach sank and the blood drained from my face so that I matched Harry.

  “Now! We have to get there now!”

  We all kicked our horses and shot forward. I looked at the sinking sun, trying to will my heart to slow.

  “Hang on, Ian,” I muttered to myself. “We’re coming.” I gazed into the sky. “Chael, you bastard, you can’t take him away from me.”

  We climbed a tall hill and I pulled Klora to a stop. Mac swore. Gavin stood at the fire, a pot already bubbling with ingredients. The goblins he’d employed were scattered all over the small valley. At the bottom of the hill, not far from the fire, stood the lone elf tree of Dorathan and tied to it was Ian. He hung from one of the branches much in the same manner as I had in the cabin. His head lolled forward so that only the top of his dark blond head was visible to me. Someone had stripped him of his shirt. The sight of the cuts that had been inflicted to his chest and sides sparked the anger deep inside of me.