Rise of the Champion (The Sword of Kirakath Omnibus #1)

by Billings, Ryne

  “No,” he answered immediately, feeling as though he had just eaten a spoonful of cinnamon. Of all the men that he had killed, those two were the only men that he knew the names of. “My father would not have wasted any words on cowards like them.”

  “I suppose not,” Katie said, neither disagreeing nor agreeing with him. “It just goes to show you that there are all sorts of men in this world. There are men like your father, who was honorable. And there are men like them, who are despicable cowards.”

  “What’s your point?” Caleb asked stiffly. He did not like the prospect of discussing his father. The loss was still too fresh for that.

  “My point is that you need to decide what kind of man you are,” Katie said simply. “You stand in a place where you should not be, by your own admission. You are coming to get a sword that has been left untouched since before your great grandfather was even a twinkle in his father’s eye. And what are you going to do with a sword that, by your words, is very special? You’re going to hunt down a force of men that were easily able to massacre a village.”

  “I’m a hunter’s apprentice,” Caleb said quietly. “Hunting is all I know, so you can be sure that I’m going to hunt them down. And you can be just as sure that I’m not going to spare a moment’s thought about what kind of man I am. That’s not a question that concerns me at all.”

  “But-”

  Caleb turned towards her, his eyes piercing through her impassive exterior. “Before you tell me that I need to decide what kind of man I am, try looking in the mirror. What kind of woman are you? You sit on the wrong side of the law. You’re bound by so many secrets that I can’t even begin to guess who you truly are. And you’re so insecure about your secrets that you lash out at me for keeping small secrets.”

  Though Katie looked abashed by Caleb’s words, she stood her ground, meeting his eyes with her own. “That doesn’t make my words any less valid. Yes, I do have problems, but they are my problems, not yours.”

  “And my problems are not yours.” Caleb retorted.

  “Yes, they are,” Katie said quietly. “You have a death wish. You’ve made that clear. If we continue along the path you have chosen, we’re both going to die.”

  Though he would have liked to disagree with her, he found that he could not do so and maintain his honesty. “You have the choice to walk away.”

  “I owe you for saving my life. I’m not going anywhere,” Katie replied as she walked forward, headed towards the doors that led from the great hall to the courtyard.

  No wonder Hector said it’s impossible to understand women.

  Shaking his head away from those thoughts, Caleb followed after her.

  He managed to reach her just as she pulled one of the doors open, revealing the courtyard. He was forced to squint, suddenly going from the dimly lit castle to the bright courtyard.

  His eyes darted around the courtyard once he managed to adjust. It seemed that the only thing of note in the castle yard was the tower that stood at its end.

  “Broken stones,” Katie commented so softly that he almost didn’t hear her.

  He suddenly became aware that quite a few of the stones slabs that lined the ground of the courtyard had been broken cleanly in half. Others had entire chunks missing from them.

  That’s a little strange. He could not find it in him to actually be concerned by the strange occurrence though. Sure, that was the only part of the castle that really seemed to be damaged, but it was over seven hundred years old and had been left unoccupied during most of that time. It was not really that odd in the grand scheme of things.

  “Let’s see what’s in the tower,” he said as he began to make his way to the castle across from them.

  Katie followed after him silently. It seemed that she realized he could only be single minded when he was that close to his goal.

  It only took a few minutes to reach the tower and for Caleb to pull the metal doors open.

  As soon as the doors were open, Caleb and Katie both went wide eyed. The doors had taken them to a hallway, but that was not what had their attention. The doors to the throne room were on the other side of the hallway, and they had been knocked down. From the way that they had rusted and were bent out of shape, it appeared as though they had been down for a long time.

  Only Katie was focused on the doors still, however.

  Caleb’s eyes were focused on the single throne that stood at the end of the throne room. A longsword was resting across the arms of the throne, glinting from the sliver of light that was allowed into the room from the open doorway.

  Without hesitation, Caleb walked across the hallway and through the doorway.

  Katie tried to follow immediately afterwards, but she was suddenly thrown back.

  Caleb, a few feet past the doorway, looked back and gasped in shock. Katie was lying on her back in the doorway of the keep, and something had appeared in the doorway of the throne room. It was a transparent barrier with a light blue tint to it.

  He took a step to it an extended his hand out to touch it, but he stopped when he heard a voice.

  “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. It has a nasty little kick. I’m sure your friend can attest to that.”

  Caleb’s eyes quickly went to Katie, who was slowly sitting up. He then looked over his shoulder and saw a human-like figure walking towards him.

  So that’s what he meant when he talked about a specter of the past.

  Walking from the throne towards Caleb was a ghost-like figure. It appeared to be wearing a cloak over a suit of plate and had a sword at its left hip, but that’s about all he could tell at that moment.

  A feeling that could only be associated with fear encompassed him at the sight of the spectral being. Griffins were something he could accept. Ghosts were not. Sure, they were both beings of legends, but he had never had any reason to suspect that ghosts were real.

  His eyes widened as a forgotten memory came to the surface. How could I have forgotten about that?

  With incredibly clarity, Caleb saw the memory playback in his mind. It was of the incident that came with the first surge of pain that felt like his blood ignited on fire. It was of the incident where the spectral being drew a sword from the ground.

  His fear turned to shock as he realized something that was even more surprising than the existence of ghosts.

  Wait a second… that’s the guy I saw in the forest before I encountered the bear.

  There was no mistake about it. With the memory of the sword wielding specter at the forefront of his mind, the similarities were undeniable.

  Caleb froze as his eyes flickered between the specter’s sword and his own. They looked to be identical.

  “Who are you?” Caleb asked quietly.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing,” the specter replied as he stopped a dozen feet away. “The last company I received had absolutely no idea what this room contained.” As he said that, he gestured off to the side.

  Caleb’s eyes followed the specter’s gesture to a skeleton next to the wall to his right. His stomach immediately felt uneasy. It did not have a single trace of flesh upon it, giving him a fairly good idea how long it had been there.

  “I honestly don’t know how long it’s been since he showed up. Time passes unnoticed… by the dead, at least,” he remarked.

  As Caleb’s eyes returned to the specter, a realization struck him.

  He looks just like me. It’s almost like looking into a mirror.

  That thought did not sit well with him, especially based on what the specter had just said.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “My name is Caleb of Kirakath. I was sent here to get the Sword of Kirakath.”

  The specter smiled at those words.

  “My name is Sir Edmond, and I am the Keeper of the Sword of Kirakath. I was the last wielder of the sword and have stuck around to make sure no one reclaims it.”

  “We have a problem then,” Caleb said as he grabbed the hilt of his longsword and drew i
t. “I wasn’t asking your permission. I was informing you that I’m going to take that sword, Sir Edmond.”

  The specter drew a ghost-like sword identical to Caleb’s at those words. “You can try.”

  “Gladly,” Caleb said as he held his longsword in both hands and ran at the ghost.

  As Caleb dashed towards the spectral knight, Katie watched with fear clear in her eyes. As with the griffin earlier, she was too shocked to do anything. Unlike the last time, however, there was nothing that she could have done. A shimmering barrier still stood between her and them.

  A frown made its way to Caleb’s face as the spectral knight’s sword met his own. No sound echoed from the clash of sword, though the ghost-like sword appeared to be just as strong as metal.

  “By the look on your face, I take it that you’re surprised,” Sir Edmond mused. “If you had a normal sword, you’d be able to cut through me effortlessly… though the blade would never actually touch me. You are lucky to carry my sword.”

  “I thought that was your sword,” Caleb said as he glanced to the throne.

  “It is,” Sir Edmond agreed immediately. “There’s no rule saying that you can’t use two swords in your lifetime, is there?”

  Now I remember… Lance mentioned that he used both swords. I seem to be forgetting too many things as of late.

  “Be silent,” Caleb said as he jumped back and spun around. He used the momentum of his body to swing the sword in a long, powerful arc that was aimed at the spectral knight’s knees.

  Sir Edmond, however, had different plans. As soon as Caleb turned his back to him in the spin, he stabbed the top of the ghost-like blade into Caleb’s right shoulder. He withdrew the blade immediately. The damage was already done.

  Caleb howled in pain as he released his sword hand, causing the sword to fly off to the side and slide across the stone floor.

  “You’re not very good, are you?” Sir Edmond asked sarcastically. “What kind of swordsman turns his back on his enemy? Fancy flourishes and spinning arcs are best left for performers. They have no place in battle. Why do you insist on insulting me?”

  “I’m not a swordsman,” Caleb grumbled, slowly rising to his feet.

  “And you want the Sword of Kirakath anyways?” Sir Edmond asked with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t intend to sell it or anything, do you?”

  “Not at all,” Caleb said before dashing towards his fallen sword. He reached down, picked it up, and spun around with it just in time to parry Sir Edmond’s strike. “I’m a little busy, so you’ll have to forgive me if I wrap this up in a hurry.”

  Sir Edmond snorted at his foe’s words. “Feel free to show me how you intend this.”

  Immediately, the two men went into action. A repetition of striking and blocking began as Caleb attempted to overcome the spectral knight.

  From her position, Katie was easily able to see something that troubled her. Caleb held his sword with both hands and used all of his strength and speed to fight the ghost.

  Sir Edmond, however, held his sword in one hand and appeared to be bored. Though neither one of them managed to land a strike on the other, it was clear that Sir Edmond was winning.

  After a few minutes of engaging in their battle of swordsmanship, Sir Edmond slapped the flat of his blade against Caleb’s wrist, making him drop his sword. He then delivered a sharp kick to Caleb’s abdomen, sending him flying a few feet backwards.

  “Do you see now? Your attempts are futile. I’m a master swordsman and I literally cannot feel exhaustion. You, however, are an amateur swordsman and lack the endurance to fight a sustained battle,” Sir Edmond said as he looked down at the young man. “If you vow to walk away and to never return, I will let you leave. Otherwise, your life is forfeit.”

  Caleb was not listening to Sir Edmond though. Once again, it felt as though his blood was on fire. It was unlike any other instance though. It was more painful… more intense.

  Unlike the last time it happened, the pain did not knock him out or incapacitate him at all. In fact, he felt stronger.

  What is this?

  Caleb’s eyes drifted to the sword that was resting upon the throne. It was less than fifteen yards away.

  It’s within your grasp. You can reach it before he can reach you.

  The sudden voice- a voice that was not his own- surprised him, but he felt himself agreeing with it.

  I can reach it before he reaches me. I have to. It’s the only way.

  “Are you out of breath?” Sir Edmond asked, clearly annoyed at the Caleb’s silence.

  Caleb nodded slowly. Sir Edmond seemed to close his eyes the moment that the response was given. It was in that moment that Caleb turned and bolted towards the Sword of Kirakath.

  Time seemed to slow down as he came closer to the throne, his eyes taking in the details of the sword. It looked almost identical to his sword, but the pommel bore the insignia of a griffin on it, the hilt appeared to have been wrapped in thin silver wire, and the guard bore the inscription of Kirakath in the space between where the blade and the hilt met.

  Caleb’s hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword as he reached it, knowing that he did not have time to admire the finely crafted sword.

  As soon as his hand touched the sword, the fire in his veins grew even more intense, but it also seemed to focus. The pain subsided, being replaced by a feeling of discomfort.

  Jumping back about a foot, Caleb spun the sword around in an arc, narrowly avoiding the throne and parrying Sir Edmond’s spectral blade.

  “Impressive,” the knight said, looking mildly amused. “What do you think that will accomplish? Just having a sword will not make you special.”

  Caleb’s response came in the form of pushing the spectral knight’s sword back and swinging his sword in a fast arc, leaving a shallow cut on the ghost-like armor that Sir Edmond wore.

  Like lightning, Caleb’s blade flashed again, beginning a relentless assault on Sir Edmond. Their blades met a hundred times in the space of a minute, shocking Katie, who was still watching attentively.

  With each passing moment, Caleb appeared to grow even more impassive and his movements grew sharper. It did not take long for him to have Sir Edmond fighting entirely on the defense, barely managing to block the fierce strikes of the Sword of Kirakath.

  The moment when it was clear that the battle was over was when Caleb slapped Sir Edmond’s sword off to the side. A single moment was all that was needed for Caleb to thrust his blade into Sir Edmond’s center.

  The room exploded in light, radiating from the sword of Kirakath, immediately after his blade struck true.

  With that, the barrier that held Katie from entering the room vanished and Sir Edmond was gone.

  “Caleb!”

  He turned just in time to see Katie rush up to him and wrap her arms around him in a hug.

  “Is something wrong?” Caleb asked, mildly uncomfortable. The discomfort was no longer from the fire in his blood. It had faded with Sir Edmond. He just was not used to such interactions with a girl, especially one that seemed to dislike him a great deal one moment and then treat him the exact opposite the next.

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you,” Katie said quietly. “All I seem to do is stand around and watch you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Caleb said as he took a step away from her and sheathed the sword of Kirakath in the scabbard that he had used for his other sword. “You couldn’t have helped anyways. He said that it was only because of the magic of that sword that I was able to fight him.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Katie said, looking down at the floor.

  “Come on,” he said, straightening up. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He began to walk towards the doors with that said, only stopping to pick up his original sword.

  With that, Caleb and Katie made their way through the ruins of Draesa.

  They had a long journey ahead of them.

  Chapter 20

  “This is the last place
I expected to see you again,” Lance White said as he leaned against the wall, his eyes on the approaching younger man. Even in the dimly lit tunnels beneath Caldreth, Lance could easily recognize the young man before him. It was Caleb of Kirakath.

  “I suppose it is,” Caleb said with small nod. “It took a bit of work, remembering how to get here, but I thought I should pay you a visit.”

  As he said those words, Caleb held his longsword out with its blade pointed down to the ground.