The First Paladin (The New Earth Chronicles Book 1)

by J. J. Thompson

  Daniel turned away from the forge and scowled, but not at her.

  “That bastard,” he growled. “He convinced a group of guardsmen to back him, once Malcolm and Aiden had headed out on their yearly scouting trip. You were gone as well, and I'm not laying blame on you, lady, but there was no one left here with the strength and skill to stop him. The mages were powerless, of course. If they hadn't been, Tamara herself would have burnt him to ashes, I have no doubt. And the loyal guards did not want to attack him and his cronies because the villains took hostages.”

  Liliana sheathed her sword and stared at him in surprise.

  “Hostages?”

  “Aye. Some of the children and their mothers were snatched up and locked away 'for their own protection', Lincoln said, along with the mages. Evil so and so. Luckily, when Malcolm returned, he used one of the hidden passages to enter the castle.” He chuckled. “Always suspicious, that one. He and Aiden were informed about the situation by a loyalist and they rounded up the traitors so quickly that by the time Lincoln knew what was happening, he was alone. And as most of those types do, without his lackeys he turned coward and surrendered at once. Lucky for him. Aiden had to restrain Malcolm, I hear. The big man was ready to tear him apart with his bare hands.”

  “Yes, I'm sure he was,” Liliana replied. “Malcolm has a soft spot in that big heart of his for the helpless. Threatening children? Oh yes, that would enrage him. So what now? I didn't get an answer at dinner. What happens to the traitors? The population isn't so large that you can afford to feed a bunch of prisoners for months or years to come. And, as angry as I am at their disloyalty, I would not countenance their executions. Of course, as someone who doesn't actually live here anymore, I suppose the most that I could do to stop that would be to protest.”

  Daniel looked around dramatically, as if checking for eavesdroppers.

  “I hear,” he said, lowering his voice, “that they are going to be expelled. Exiled and left to fend for themselves. Seems entirely too generous to me, but at least the leadership won't have blood on their hands.”

  Liliana considered that.

  “Won't they?” she asked after a moment. “Without the protection of Nottinghill's walls, even a band of warriors stands little chance of surviving for long out in the wilds. It may not be the same as an execution, but it's damned close.”

  The smith shrugged indifferently.

  “You reap what you sow, lady; that's what I say. Once they're gone, that Lincoln fellow can order his men about to his heart's content. Let's see how long they put up with that before they deal with him themselves.”

  Liliana stretched, her armor creaking in harmony with her movements.

  “Well, that's not my concern, I suppose,” she said. “It's been a long day. Thank you again for your services, Daniel. I'm off to bed. Have a good night.”

  Daniel extended his hand and the paladin shook it firmly.

  “Any time that you need my skills, feel free to return, lady,” he told her warmly. “Sleep well.”

  Liliana was up and on the road with the dawn the next morning. She had had a quick bowl of porridge and a cup of herbal tea for breakfast and had left soon after. She'd said her goodbyes to her friends the night before so that she could head out as early as possible. The journey home would see her arriving at dusk at the earliest and traveling by night was something that she did not want to do.

  “Safe journey, lady paladin,” the guard who opened the small door in the main gate said.

  “Thank you,” she replied and waved as she set out for home.

  Traveling in armor was not the most comfortable thing in the world and Liliana wished yet again that she had a horse of her own. Unfortunately, horses were incredibly rare on the New Earth. Many of those that had survived the initial dragon attacks had become prey for monsters or had Changed into monstrous creatures themselves. There had been a few wild herds of almost normal looking horses reportedly seen by refugees who had made their way to the castle, but none of them had allowed people to approach close enough to capture any. Like the wizard Simon's three horses, the Change that most creatures had gone through had made equines much more intelligent.

  But almost a decade of traveling by foot in armor had hardened Liliana to its weight and awkwardness and now she wore it as easily as others wore regular clothing.

  And when I take it off, I feel naked, she thought with amusement. But I can never get used to constantly wearing the damned helmet.

  Instead she carried her helm in a pack that she wore across her back, over her shield. Besides the helmet, Liliana always packed rations, a water bottle, a roll of bandages along with ointment made by the castle's resident apothecary, and a sharpening stone. Today she'd also packed up a couple of loaves of fresh bread wrapped in linen that a cook had slipped her at breakfast with a nod and a wink.

  She stopped at the crest of the last hill before she lost sight of Nottinghill and looked back at the castle. In the early morning light, it looked like something out of a dream. Liliana hoped that it would always be a beacon of hope to the few survivors of the human race who managed to find their way to it.

  It was fortunate that Malcolm had weeded out Lincoln and his crew, she thought as she took in the majestic sight. People have gone through enough without having to deal with some tin-pot dictator. Let the innocent live with as much peace and dignity as they could find.

  With a final nod toward the distant citadel, she turned and began to descend the hill.

  Her small house, more of a cottage really, was located by a narrow river a good thirty miles south of Nottinghill. She'd found it by accident a few years back when doing one of the routine sweeps that she made looking for any survivors.

  Malcolm, Aiden, the late paladin Lei and herself had all begun the patrols about a year after Simon O'Toole had disappeared into the Void. They would mark their progress on a large map of Britain each time they returned, with the goal of one day exploring every square mile of the countryside. Lately they'd branched out, crossing into Scotland and Ireland, using small boats when needed that could still be found occasionally in storage along the coast.

  The cottage had been more or less intact. The roof had had a sizable hole in it and the front door had been kicked in, probably by desperate survivors not long after the initial dragon attacks, but those were easily repaired. A small garden grew wild behind the cottage and Liliana, well experienced in growing her own vegetables from her days raising her children in Moscow, was pleased to see that she could cultivate food for herself.

  Game was plentiful, of course, and rabbits and wild deer were everywhere. Fortunately, the smaller animals hadn't been Changed after magic had returned to the world and were still safe to eat.

  Tamara thought that I was mad when I told her about my plans to rebuild the cottage and move away, Liliana thought with a smile as she walked along. Her long legs ate up the miles and the weather was mild but not hot, so she could keep up a steady pace without melting inside of her armor.

  What about monsters, she and the other mages had asked. Or ruffians? Why leave the shelter of the castle's walls?

  The paladin sighed and shook her head, her short dark hair ruffling in the wind.

  How do you tell the people you care about that you want to be alone without insulting them? How can you say to your friends that their company becomes stifling over time and that you need space? How do you get away from everyone but still retain their goodwill?

  For Liliana it had been simple. Never one to shy away from meeting her problems head-on, she had simply informed them that she was leaving and that was that; end of discussion.

  As she entered a thickly forested section of the trail, a rustling in the bushes to her right made her stop and listen warily. She gripped her sword hilt loosely, prepared for combat but relaxed and alert.

  The moment passed and nothing emerged from the undergrowth.

  Small animal of some sort, she thought as she moved on. Or something larger that
didn't want to die that day.

  Birds were singing loudly all around her. It was the middle of nest-building season and, since the dragons had decimated the human race, the one significant benefit had been a surge in the wildlife population, especially birds.

  Liliana smiled as she walked, listening happily to the amazing number of little voices that joined together into one raucous chorus that rang out from one end of the forest to the other. It was, in the paladin's opinion, nature's song of pure joy.

  Life is celebrating another spring, she thought whimsically. As horrible as the end of humanity was for us, it certainly benefited nature in a big way.

  The trees of the forest, which basically stretched out for most of the length of England now, except for miles of grassland in the center of the country, grew thick and tall. The lakes, rivers and streams had cleansed themselves of pollution and contaminants and were well stocked with fish and aquatic animals. And the air was sweet and smelled of life and growing things.

  It's as if nature was celebrating our demise, Liliana thought ruefully. And who could blame it? We weren't exactly careful guardians of mother Earth, I suppose.

  She shrugged irritably at the dark thoughts. Ever since losing her family, the paladin had changed her attitude and tried to live in the moment. Life was too precious, and too perilous, to waste it constantly worrying about things she couldn't change. Better to concentrate on living than dwelling on the past.

  Liliana stopped at midday to rest and have a quick meal. She sliced up one of the loaves of fresh bread, cut off several chunks of dried venison from a larger piece that she had brought from home, and sat on a mossy tree stump to enjoy her meal.

  Although the forest didn't change much as she traveled, and her woodcraft was far from extensive, she generally knew where she was when she journeyed from her cottage to Nottinghill and back again. And from where she sat, she could tell that she was about halfway home.

  She chewed the meat and bread slowly, sipping from her water flask occasionally.

  If I keep up this pace, I should make it back before sunset, she thought with satisfaction. That's good. It will give me a chance to check the perimeter while it's still daylight. Let's hope that my fence is still intact.

  One of the factors that had convinced her to repair the cottage and move in was the high wooden fence surrounding the property. Whoever had once lived there had either been slightly paranoid or had wanted complete privacy.

  A ten foot high log fence stretched all around the perimeter of the grounds. There were two gates; a main gate that was wide enough to drive a car through, although cars hadn't functioned in years, and a smaller narrow gate on the side that faced the river.

  The layout had reminded Liliana poignantly of her friend Simon's tower and the high stone wall that he had built around it.

  Her fence was nowhere near as grand or as secure as a twelve foot high stone barrier, but it served well enough. To make the perimeter barricade even more formidable, she had spent a week chopping at the tops of the logs along the fence, sharpening them to keen points. And then, still not satisfied, Liliana had dug a deep trench along the outside of the entire palisade. It was three feet deep and six feet across and it had taken her several more weeks worth of labor to complete it. She'd still had obligations to the people of Nottinghill and couldn't spend all of her time on her fortifications, but eventually the ditch was complete.

  And then she had filled it with wooden spikes that she sharpened and hardened with fire. It was a brutal-looking barrier and even Malcolm, who had visited several times over the years, had been taken aback by it.

  “Planning for a siege?” he'd asked the first time that he had seen the finished barricade.

  “Planning to survive,” she'd answered matter-of-factly.

  Liliana put her water bottle back into her pack, slung it over her shoulder and stretched slowly.

  Time to move, she thought. Daylight waits for no one.

  She arrived home with the sun still a hand's span above the horizon. The forest thinned out into open fields about a hundred yards from the river and she stepped out of its shadow and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.

  The fence looked intact from a distance and there were no signs of any disturbance. Still, she was cautious as she approached. The world was a savage place now and looks could be deceiving.

  Small scrub bushes littered the open area between the forest and the river and she stepped around them as she walked forward. A light breeze slipped past her from the direction of the river and the fresh scent of plants and clean water made her smile.

  The smell of home, she thought. How lovely that I recognize it now.

  She stopped ten yards from the gate and studied the barrier. The gate was closed and secured from the inside and anyone who approached it might believe that someone was in residence. Which was exactly what Liliana wanted.

  I would be a fool to leave my gate open for any hostile creature to just walk in, she thought.

  She turned to the left and began to walk along the perimeter, checking the trench for any signs of disturbance, or any bodies. Animals such as deer or foxes occasionally became trapped in the ditch, unfortunately suffering a long and painful death on the spikes if she wasn't home to put them out of their misery. It was a sad side effect of her need for security, but she had hardened herself to it, considering it a necessary evil.

  Fortunately, this time the trench was empty, except for scattered clumps of dead leaves and trash left over from the winter.

  I'll have to clean that out now that I'm home for a while, she told herself. If the spikes get clogged up with too much debris, they won't be very effective.

  A slow inspection of the entire fence took about fifteen minutes and then Liliana walked back to the rear entrance. The small platform that she used as a bridge to cover the trench here was inside, naturally, and the gate looked securely closed and bolted as well. But there was a trick to opening it.

  The paladin moved carefully down into the trench, made her way through the spikes and stepped up again to stand in front of the gate. She removed her right gauntlet, ran her fingers over the wood on the right side of the heavy door and pulled out a small block that blended in perfectly with the rest of the wall.

  Slipping her hand inside, she found a thick piece of rope, grasped it firmly and pulled it toward herself.

  A rasping sound came from the other side of the gate, followed by a clunk and Liliana smiled as the door opened inward about an inch. She had lifted the locking bar high enough to open it, a system that she had invented herself.

  She replaced the block of wood, pushed the gate open and stepped inside. Then she turned around, shoved the heavy door closed again and dropped the bar back into place, sealing the gate.

  It was only then that she was able to relax and look around her property.

  Home at last, she thought happily.

  The wall around Liliana's home surrounded not only her cottage, but her garden and a large front yard as well. Tidy flower beds in the yard were just beginning to show early blooms. It was always neat and well-organized; the paladin preferred it that way.

  There was a deep well in the middle of the front lawn that allowed her access to clean sweet water all year long. A reliable water source was a necessity and it had been one of the reasons that she had chosen to move in. Granted, she could have drawn her water from the river, but the well was protected inside of her walls and that was a safety feature that she very much appreciated. A low, red brick wall surrounded the well and she kept it protected from dirt and leaves with a thick wooden cover.

  Before entering the cottage, Liliana walked out into the center of the front yard and looked around. Except for the wind making the flowers and long grass ripple and dance, it was still and serene. She sucked in a long breath, tasting the sweetness in the air and let it out again slowly. She felt her tension drain away as she did so.

  However, she didn't spot what she was looking fo
r around the property.

  Why doesn't he ever meet me when I get back, she wondered. It might just a game to him. Or maybe he was hungry and slipped out of the small hole I cut for him in the wall to hunt? Either way, she felt a small twinge of disappointment.

  Liliana removed her pack and dropped it at her feet. Then she took off her gauntlets, laid them on top of the bag and put two fingers of each hand in her mouth.

  She blew through her fingers and a piercing whistle resounded across the yard and out into the lands beyond. After listening carefully for a moment, she shook her head and did it again.

  This time there was an answer.

  Somewhere beyond the wall a shivering howl echoed through the forest, and all of the sounds of birds and grasshoppers ceased abruptly. The call was chilling, the cry of a predator on the hunt.

  But Liliana smiled and waited expectantly. So he was close by. That was a relief.

  A few minutes passed and then she heard a digging, snuffling sound from her left and looked over at the wall. A low square hole, no more than two feet square and covered with a wooden flap hinged at the top, was pushed upward and a huge black form forced its way through the opening.

  “You're getting too big for that door,” Liliana called out as she held back her laughter. “One day I'll come home to find you stuck halfway through.”

  A growl was her only answer as the creature finally got through the portal with a final wrench and leaped toward her.

  It was a dire wolf, an animal that had returned to the world along with so many other creatures out of legend. Its head reached almost to the paladin's shoulder and its thick black fur made it look even larger than its two hundred pounds of weight.

  “Grom! Careful, my friend. My armor will bruise even you.”

  The wolf ignored her words and reared up, placing his fore-paws on her shoulders and staring into her eyes.

  His eyes were so dark that they looked purple and his canines were almost two inches long. But it was his tongue that Liliana was more concerned about at the moment as the wolf began licking her entire face and head at once.