Liliana stared at an empty seat and brooded on the fate of the four friends.
Eric, big strong Eric, had fallen to a wild boar while out on a hunt several years before. The boars in England had Changed into massive brutes and were deadly to small groups. Humans avoided them whenever possible.
His best friend, Gerard, small and quick-witted, was lost in a way that was especially hard for the paladin to accept. A simple cut that he had gotten from working around the castle had turned septic. The healers had done all they could, but the infection had raced through his tiny frame and taken him within days.
Little Anna, a sweet and quiet young woman, had been lost during the influenza epidemic that had swept through the castle the previous year.
And Virginia.
Liliana sighed and rubbed her eyes, not listening to the buzz of conversation around her.
Virginia had been a blond beauty. The oldest of the group, she had been bold and decisive, a natural leader. And she had been the only one of the quartet to survive.
She was still living in the castle somewhere, but the death of all of her friends had changed her. She had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with the mages or Liliana. She lived by herself, contributed to the castle's workforce and was left strictly alone, as per her wishes.
I wonder if she has regained any of her power, Liliana thought sadly. She was a healer and, even without the others, she could still use her gift to a certain extent. But unless she came forward to offer her help, everyone would continue to respect her choice to remain isolated.
The other mages that had once joined Liliana and the rest had passed as well. Barnaby, Deloris, a few others whose names the paladin couldn't recall. All gone.
It's an unforgiving world, she thought. But then, I suppose that it always has been.
After dinner, she was the first to leave the hall. She was not really in the mood for a prolonged meeting. The others looked at her in surprise. It was unusual for Liliana to leave early.
Tamara appeared to be as withdrawn and dour as Liliana was and they exchanged a mute look of understanding before the paladin left the room.
Back in her rooms, she got undressed and then sat by the window, staring out into the night. Her window faced toward the east and she could see distant flashes of white as ocean waves crashed along the beach several miles away.
The stars were blazing brightly and the crescent moon was on the rise. She watched it numbly as it climbed above the horizon.
The symbol of the goddess, she mused. But was it a good sign, or a bad omen?
Liliana snorted in disgust and stood up. She didn't believe in signs or omens.
We make our own luck, she told herself as she slipped into bed. There is no fate; there is only life, and death.
Chapter 23
A frantic banging on the door to her room tore Liliana from a deep sleep, and she stumbled to her feet before she even knew that she wasn't still dreaming.
She lumbered clumsily into the sitting room and opened the door.
A guardsman holding a torch was waiting there, wearing full armor. His face was pale and he looked at the paladin with wide eyes.
“Lady, forgive me for waking you but Tamara insists that you come to the great hall at once.”
“The great hall?”
Liliana looked at him blearily.
“The meeting hall, you mean?” she asked thickly.
“Yes, lady, that one. You are asked to get there as quickly as you can.”
He began to turn away and Liliana grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.
“What's happening? Are we under attack?”
“No lady, I don't believe so. But Tamara sounded most urgent and I know that means that something important is happening. Please hurry.”
“I will,” she replied with a nod, feeling more focused by the second. “Tell Tamara that I'm on my way.”
“Thank you, I will.”
The guard trotted off, leaving the hallway outside of Liliana's room dimly lit by a few scattered torches. She closed the door and rushed to get dressed and put on her armor. Tamara wasn't known to sound false alarms.
When she reached the door leading into the meeting hall, Liliana paused for a brief moment and breathed deeply. It wasn't easy to run in plate armor, especially with a sword on your hip and a heavy shield across your back and she was panting rather loudly.
She caught her breath, knocked loudly and opened the wide door without waiting for a reply. As she walked into the hall, she stopped just inside the entrance. There were only other two people in the room, standing in front of the burning logs in the fireplace and speaking quietly. Tamara was one. And the other was...
“Argentium!” the paladin exclaimed. “You're here.”
The argent dragon bowed slightly, his shining armor flickering in the firelight. He towered over Tamara and it made her look like a child standing next to him.
“Lady Liliana,” Argentium said in his deep, melodious voice. “How good to see you again. I appreciate your prompt response to my summons.”
“Your summons? I don't understand. Tamara? What's going on?”
The mage gestured at the tall figure standing beside her.
“I will let our guest explain,” she replied. “It is his tale, after all.”
She walked down the table and sat down in her usual seat. She rested her hands on the table and became still.
Liliana frowned at that answer, but she made her way across the room until she stood in front of the fireplace. She looked up at the preternaturally handsome face with his enormous blue eyes and waited expectantly.
“I am here to offer you a choice, my friend,” Argentium explained. “I am, as I hope you know, very fond of the human race. I gave my life once to save them from the evil servants of the Chaos lords. And I would not see your people destroyed now; now that they have endured so much and come so far.”
“What are you saying, my lord?” Liliana asked in confusion. “Why would humanity be destroyed? And what is this choice you are offering?”
“They are related to each other. Allow me to explain. The three young primals who have returned to Earth know what happened here yesterday. They know that two of their children were killed by the defenders of Nottinghill Castle. And they are, let us say, displeased.”
“Displeased?”
Liliana and Argentium both looked over at Tamara, who was sitting partly in shadow in the dimly lit room.
“The primals are displeased that we defended ourselves?” she asked angrily. “My lord, the dragons attacked us, not the other way around. Would they have rather had their children raze the castle to the ground? Well, that is unfortunate, but we will not apologize for protecting our people. And you can tell them that if you wish.”
The dragon smiled gently.
“I already have,” he said, surprising both Tamara and Liliana. “You did what anyone would have done in the same circumstances, and they understand that. I said that they were displeased, not angry. You fought bravely and won and they accept that.”
“Well then,” Liliana began. “If that's the case, what...”
Argentium held up a hand to stop her.
“I said that the two primals who lost their children accepted that loss. However, the primal red did not lose a child. What happened instead was that a broken, suffering young dragon limped back to his sire, who was forced to end the young one's agony.”
The argent dragon glared coldly at Liliana.
“Do you understand, paladin? The primal had to kill his first-born child because you allowed that red dragon to escape alive. What were you and the others here thinking?”
Tamara gasped audibly and Liliana felt a stab of pain in her heart.
“But, but, my lord,” Tamara stammered. “We didn't know. The dragon retreated and we expected that he would heal up and renew his attack. In fact we've been on alert ever since, waiting for his return.”
The cold fire died in the d
ragon's eyes and he shook his head heavily.
“Yes, of course. Humans. You don't think the way that my kind do. Even for one such as I, who have known you so well, you are confusing. But you see, a dragon as young as the one who attacked you and then fled is incapable of healing himself. And not even a primal can heal another of his kind. The only mercy that can be given is the gift of a swift death. Well, mistakes have been made, but it is too late to stop the tide now. And so we come back to the choice that I must offer to you, lady paladin, as an emissary of the primal red dragon.”
Liliana was still trying to accept what she had been told. To hear that her people, and by extension herself, had been responsible for forcing a parent to kill his child, well, it broke her heart. And yet what else could they have done but defend themselves?
“You are an emissary?” she asked. “I see. Very well then, what does the primal want?”
Argentium drew himself up to his full height and spoke formally.
“Rubrathian, the primal red dragon, gives the people of Nottinghill Castle this choice: at dawn, he will wait in the field to the south of the castle. At that time, either the humans will send out a champion to face him in battle, or Rubrathian will burn Nottinghill to the ground. There will be no survivors.”
He paused and then looked from Liliana to Tamara and back again.
“What is your answer?”
“Our answer?”
Tamara jumped up and walked quickly over to stand next to the paladin. She looked up at Argentium.
“That is an insane choice,” she told him. “No one can fight a primal dragon and live! It is suicide.”
“That is incorrect,” the argent dragon replied. “Simon O'Toole destroyed several of the old primals alone and without aid.”
“I could argue that he always had some help, my lord, but that is irrelevant. Simon is no longer with us, and none here in the castle has his powers. All of the mages together could not defeat the primal red.”
“Which is why I asked for the lady Liliana to be present when I gave you the choice,” he told them.
Tamara looked confused at his response.
“I don't understand. I know that Liliana is a paladin, but she has no magical powers, no spells to aid her in battle. And I doubt that blessed sword of hers would do much damage to a primal's hide.”
Argentium didn't answer. He just looked at Liliana silently.
“Tell me, Argentium,” she said evenly, without looked at Tamara. “What happens if the champion faces this Rubrathian and fails?”
“He will consider the debt owed to him by humanity to be settled. Furthermore, I have elicited from him a vow that in future battles between men and dragons, he will remain aloof and not take vengeance if his offspring are defeated again.”
The dragon shrugged, his armor jingling with the gesture.
“It is the best that I could do for your people, my friends. Rubrathian is not evil, but his honor demands compensation, this time, and compensation he will have. I cannot interfere in this matter, beyond what I have already done.”
“Thank you,” Liliana said sincerely. “You didn't have to aid us in this, but you did and I am grateful for it.”
He nodded.
“And your answer?” he asked.
“I will face the primal at sunrise,” Liliana told him firmly. “You have my word on it.”
“Thank you, lady paladin. I shall pass along your response to Rubrathian.”
He extended his hand and she shook it once, their gauntlets ringing at the contact.
“Goodbye, Liliana,” the dragon said softly. “I shall remember you.”
“Goodbye, Argentium. And thank you, for everything.”
He walked to the door and was gone so quickly that Tamara didn't get a chance to say anything.
“Wait a minute!” she finally spluttered. “Liliana, what are you doing?”
“What needs to be done,” the paladin replied evenly as she removed her gauntlets.
She dropped them on to the table, took off her shield and laid it next to them and then sat down.
The mage sat down next to her and grabbed both of her hands.
“What do you mean, what needs to be done? We can fight this Rubrathian or whatever the monster's name is.”
“Can you? You just told Argentium that the entire castle couldn't take on a primal. Which is it?”
“No, I said we couldn't beat a primal. That's different. But we can certainly fight him.”
“And lose.”
Liliana squeezed her friend's hands and then let them go.
“Tamara, I don't want to argue with you. Just listen, okay? What Rubrathian basically wants is a sacrifice, an eye for an eye. And in exchange, he will never again bother mankind. Of course his offspring probably will, but he will not. Plus, he will leave Nottinghill and its people alone. Surely that's worth a single life, isn't it?”
“Do you actually believe that a primal will keep his word?” Tamara asked bitterly. “That he won't attack us now or in the future?”
Liliana's smile was slightly vicious.
“If he doesn't, he'll have to face Argentium. Remember, he did not give his word to us; he gave it to the argent dragon. And he values honor above all else. Oh yes, Rubrathian will keep his word, if he wants to live.”
“But why you?” the mage asked plaintively. “Why not someone else? I'm quite sure that there would be a number of volunteers that would go in your place.”
“I would never allow it,” Liliana told her. “And Argentium knew that. That's why he asked to meet only me. And it has to be me for another reason.”
“Which is?”
“I need to expunge my guilt.”
Tamara looked bewildered.
“Guilt? I don't understand.”
The paladin looked up at the high windows of the hall and saw a light tinge of pink reflected on them. Dawn was approaching slowly and inexorably.
“We are responsible for forcing a parent to kill a child. I don't care that they were dragons. I don't even care that the child was attacking us. What I care about is what happened. Dragons have emotions, Tamara. They feel love and hate just as strongly as we do. They are thinking beings. Now, put aside their species for a moment and tell me how you would feel if it had been a father forced to kill his son because of what we did.”
“I...”
Tamara rubbed her red eyes and stared silently at the flagstone floor.
“I know what you are saying, Liliana, but you weren't responsible for that. You never struck a blow against the dragons.”
“But I was there. I was one of you. And the guilt of the deed is shared by me as well. So, to settle this, to make peace with the primal red and to cleanse myself of my guilt, I will ride to battle.”
She smiled at the mage.
“And I will do so of my own free will, so don't you blame yourself, you hear me?”
Tamara covered her eyes and Liliana realized that she was weeping silently.
“Hey. Hey now, don't cry.”
The paladin stood up quickly and moved around to firmly grip the mage's shoulders.
“I don't want to lose another friend,” Tamara said through her hands. “I have so few left already. I know that sounds selfish but it's true.”
Liliana gave her a gentle shake and stepped back to her chair. She sat down and waited patiently for the mage to lower her hands.
“It's not selfish,” she told her gently. “It's human. You'll always be my friend, Tamara. Always. And remember this: I know that there are worlds undreamed of beyond this one. I have seen them. Death is not the end, my dear friend. It is just the closing of one door and the opening of another.”
She patted the mage's hand reassuringly.
“We will see each other again, that I can promise you.”
Tamara wiped her eyes on her sleeve and nodded.
“I'm not religious, but I want to believe that. So thank you.”
The paladin grinned.
> “I'm not religious either,” she said with a teasing grin. “I assure you the gods did not choose me because I'm devout. Far from it, actually. And besides, the lady whom I see in my visions insists that they aren't gods. So there you go. Even the gods don't believe in gods.”
Tamara laughed in spite of her tears and Liliana joined her.
“There, that's better. Now, I'm going to go back to my quarters to get ready. If I'm going to face my last battle, I intend to be as prepared as I can be.”
“Very well,” Tamara told her. “I'll meet you at the front gate at sunrise.”
She looked up at the high windows and sighed loudly.
“Which shouldn't be too long from now.”
“I know. I'll be quick.”
Liliana winked at the mage and then picked up her shield and gloves and left the hall. She didn't have a lot of time to get ready.
Back in her quarters, the paladin sat down on the window ledge again, and watched the eastern sky begin to grow brighter. She was in a very strange frame of mind, unsure of how to feel when her almost certain death lay ahead of her in a very short amount of time.
Liliana had told Tamara the truth; as far as she knew, there was some sort of life beyond the physical plane of Earth. The visitations from the lady who refused to think of herself as a goddess proved that. Where else had her abilities to heal and to battle evil come from?
But would she see her children again? Or her grandchildren? What about all of the friends and companions who had passed on through the years? She didn't know.
All I do know, she told herself firmly, is that if I confront the primal red dragon, win or lose the people of Nottinghill Castle will be spared his wrath. And I'm ready. I haven't feared death since I lost everything I knew in Moscow.
She was actually surprised that she had survived as long as she had. Reckless, that's what Simon had called her once.
Yes, perhaps I am. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between recklessness and bravery. Either way, I will face this Rubrathian the way that I have faced every opponent since Moscow; with no hesitation and with my eyes wide open. After that, whatever happens, happens.
The First Paladin (The New Earth Chronicles Book 1) Page 30
