Cathexis: Necromancer's Dagger

by Philip Blood

  “This letter is counseling treason, and you may be an accessory. Consider yourself under arrest and follow me, we are going to see Lord Ardellen and expose this treasonous letter to him, as it should have been done many bells ago,” and the officer held out his hand for the letter.

  Becaris gave it to him and the colonel turned his back and headed toward the door.

  The confused young knight started to do as ordered, but Becaris was a man who believed in destiny, and when it called he went with his gut. In this moment of decision, he considered Lady Elizabeth: who she was, her integrity, and her royal bloodline, everything he knew of the Kirnath sorceress. When he’d last spoken to her he considered how she had sounded, and the undercurrent of pain he’d seen deep in her eyes; pain that would have come from the loss of her beloved husband. She’d looked like a cornered pack mother protecting her cub. In his heart, he could not believe she lied, and if she told the truth then she was out there protecting the heir, his sworn charge and nothing could make him break his oath as Knight Protector of Michael Ardellen.

  Once decided the knight acted swiftly. He pulled his belt dagger and struck the colonel with the pommel across the back of the head. He quickly caught the officer's falling body to keep it from making noise as it landed. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m not your soldier anymore, I am a Knight Protector of Michael Ardellen, and somewhere out there he needs me,” he said softly to the unconscious officer.

  He tied up the colonel with some rope he found in the closet and then put him under the desk. Taking the man’s keys he locked the pompous officer in his room and made a quick stop at his own chambers before heading to the stables. It was dark when he rode out of the barracks and into the city. He would be leaving Tarnelin soon, but first, he had one more errand to perform.

  Becaris located the correct street and found the modest apartment for which he was searching. He knocked at the thick wooden door which was answered by a portly woman with red rosy cheeks and dark hair; she was dressed in a simple, but clean dress and cream white apron. The woman was rather short, so Becaris had to look down as he said, “Is this where I can find the Knight Protectors, Lasar, and Rasal?”

  The woman looked at his clothes and her gaze took in the polished light armor, rolled back lace cuffs and the broad lace-decorated baldric that hung across his body from the right shoulder, proclaiming his noble house. “Who wishes to speak to my boys?” She inquired.

  “You are the fair mother of my friends? I am honored to meet you. Excuse my rudeness in not introducing myself, I am Becaris, their brother Knight Protector,” and he doffed his tall wide brimmed hat and bowed, sweeping the hat clear to the ground.

  Embarrassed at the compliment from an obvious noble, she opened the door wider and said, “Please come in, my boys have just finished eating.”

  Stepping into the simply furnished room Becaris noticed that the mother of his friends looked furtively around the room, obviously embarrassed, so he turned and inspected it and then spoke in a sincere tone. “What a beautiful house you have, milady. I wish that I could have grown up in a house that made you feel as welcome, comfortable and at home. I envy your sons.”

  “Thank you for your fair compliments. We do our best for our boys; they have made us so proud,” replied the small woman.

  Lasar came in from the kitchen door and seeing Becaris his face blossomed into a smile. “Becaris, what brings you here on this fair evening?” he exclaimed, but his smile slipped when he noted the stern expression that Becaris was trying to hide from his mother. Lasar called his brother from the other room, “Rasal, you best come in here, Becaris has some news for us, I think.”

  Becaris handed Elizabeth’s message to Lasar, who began to read it.

  “Would you like something to drink, milord?” asked the boy’s mother.

  “Yes please, a glass of water would be wonderful,” replied Becaris with a half bow to show his gratitude.

  Rasal came into the room as his mother went into the kitchen, and he too read the letter. Becaris waited for him to finish before speaking, “I believe what that letter says. I saw Lady Ardellen just after she went to see Jatar and on her return, all color had left her face. I believe that is when she found out he had been killed and his body possessed. She wrote this letter and had me show it to all the servants and commanders. The last colonel who read the contents of the message tried to arrest me and take me before Jatar, I had to hit him and stuffed him under his desk.”

  “Dead?” asked Lasar.

  “No, he will recover, but I tied him up before I left. I packed up my traveling gear and I am leaving the city as instructed. I thought you would like to have the opportunity to make your own decision about what to do.”

  The two brothers looked at each other, and without even speaking they communicated in a glance. They both faced Becaris and Rasal spoke, “You’re not going to wait the year to join up with Lady Ardellen and the others, are you?”

  “No, I have decided to disregard that portion of the letter. Michael may need my protection. Lady Elizabeth stated that they will be pursued, so I will try and catch up to Michael, or failing that I will try to stop the pursuers from reaching their quarry.”

  “Good, we’re coming with you. Give us a moment to pack and say good-bye to mother and we’ll be right out.”

  Becaris grinned with gratitude and said, “I had hoped to have the two of you at my side, but it was a decision that you had to make for yourselves. Gather your gear, my brothers; I’ll be waiting at the stables.”

  Drake spoke quietly to Elizabeth to avoid waking Michael who slept fitfully in her arms. “Milady, we must stop to let you and Michael rest, it lacks only five bells until dawn.”

  Elizabeth looked up tiredly and replied, “Yes Drake, you are right. Look for a good place to rest a few bells, we all need it.”

  A short time later they came to a small stream that crossed the path. Hetark led them upstream a short way until he found a clearing that was hidden from anyone traveling on the path by a gently rising hill.

  “In four bells the sun will come up, I will take the first watch,” Hetark said to the other two knights.

  Drake nodded and said, “Wake me after about one bell and I will take the second watch, then I will attempt to wake Gustin for the third,” Drake began to smile and added, “I’m not sure I can shake that fat carcass of his awake, I bet he sleeps like a hibernating bear.”

  “Fat, I’ll have you know this is solid muscle!” Gustin snapped back just a little too quickly.

  Drake grinned and said, “Ah, Hetark, I think I hit a nerve.”

  Hetark smiled at this friendly exchange, but said, “Why don’t you tend the horses, Drake? Let `solid muscle’ and I set up camp,” Hetark suggested.

  “Fat, he says,” Gustin muttered, and then added, “we’re not done with this, little man.”

  Drake smiled and said, “Oh, I’m just getting started.”

  “I can take a turn at watch,” Elizabeth added as she came walking up to where the knights were joking. At her approach, Drake and Gustin grew quickly silent.

  “You can have the fourth watch, milady, after Gustin,” Hetark answered. Gustin started to speak, but Hetark gestured for him to be quiet with a finger held to his lips.

  Elizabeth caught Hetark’s gesture and figured out his ploy, but she decided to let him get away with his gallant deception, she would need her rest in the coming days. She lay down under her blanket and fed Michael before attempting to sleep with her fatherless child held gently to her bosom. The brave young knights ignored the sounds coming from beneath the shaking blanket as grief for the loss of her husband caught up with the young mother. Finally, the sounds of restful breathing commenced as Elizabeth enjoyed a brief respite from her grief and worries by the medicine of peaceful slumber.

  At dawn’s first light Gustin awakened the rest of the tired travelers. Elizabeth smiled at Hetark. “I should be angry with you for deceiving me, but I’m really thankful, so I find it h
ard to scold you.”

  Hetark replied humbly, “I shouldn’t have misled you, milady, please accept my apologies.”

  “Oh, stop it, I appreciate the rest, however, while the others are getting the horses ready I have something I wish to ask of you.”

  “Anything, milady,” the knight answered sincerely.

  “Remember what you just said, you see I want you to teach me to fight,” said Elizabeth while looking intently at the knight’s aura and facial expression for his reaction.

  Elizabeth noted Hetark’s consternation as he tried to figure out how to break his reply to her gently, he searched for the right words. “Milady, it’s not that easy. I practiced for years to reach this level of expertise, and excusing my presumption, but I had the advantages of being a man during those years.”

  “Don’t worry about insulting me Hetark, I know you aren’t used to the idea of a female warrior, but remember that I am a Kirnath Adept. I have been trained in the most important discipline, how to learn. I’m confident that I can learn anything I put my mind to, and due to some of my training, it will be at a considerably accelerated rate.”

  “But still, milady, to start from the beginning and teach...”

  Elizabeth interrupted, “It won’t be from scratch, Hetark; I had a little training at the Kirnath School a few years ago.”

  Hetark didn’t look too impressed at this confession, in his opinion battle techniques taught by a group of healers did not carry much weight, but Elizabeth excused his prejudice, it was formed from the cover stories that the Kirnath themselves fostered to keep their other skills a secret.

  Hetark looked apologetic as he said, “What I could teach you in a short time would put you in greater danger than teaching you nothing. You might feel competent enough to fight and if you met a real warrior you would be hurt or possibly killed; I can’t take that responsibility. Perhaps some day when we have the leisure to learn it correctly,” Hetark’s words trailed off as if the subject was closed.

  “Hetark, to pass the tests and become Michael’s Knight Protector you had to be among the best fighters in the kingdom, correct?” she asked suddenly, surprising the knight with the change of subject.

  “I can fight, milady,” replied the knight humbly.

  “Good, defend yourself, warrior!” Elizabeth said and she set Michael down on her blankets. She pulled a dagger from the sheath at her waist and approached Hetark.

  Hetark stepped back and held his hands wide as he said, “This is foolish milady, what will my taking that blade away from you prove?”

  Elizabeth smiled and just said, “Defend yourself Hetark; I can heal you if I cut you, but the pain will be real. As your ruler, I order you to defend yourself against my attack.”

  Realizing that she meant what she said Hetark quickly assumed a crouch with a purclaw-like grace. He assessed her stance, noting that she placed too much weight on her back foot and locked the wrist of her knife hand too rigidly to maneuver it correctly. Seeing the move he needed to step within her guard and remove the knife with a quick twist, Hetark launched into action.

  When he moved Elizabeth wasn’t there, in fact, she moved faster than a person’s reaction time should have permitted. She stepped away from his advance and brought the knife up toward his face.

  Hetark had to throw himself sideways to avoid the sharp edge, but then decided to turn the roll into an attack and sprung from the somersault toward Elizabeth's legs.

  But again she wasn’t there; she flew over his low leap in a hurdle that began long before it was possible to see his intent. He landed hard and she came down on his back. Elizabeth tapped him lightly on the back of the neck with the butt of the knife before he could move to show that she had him and could have used the blade.

  She stepped away and sheathed her blade as she said, “Enough, now are you convinced that I will not fall to the first trained warrior I face?”

  “Truly, I thought myself one of the best fighters in the kingdom, but if you can defeat me that easily there is no reason I should be teaching you, perhaps it is you who should teach me,” Hetark exclaimed with chagrin.

  “Hetark, I have seen you fight; you are an incredible warrior, one of the best I have ever seen,” she replied honestly.

  “But you, a barely trained woman, defeated me easily,” he answered, still showing amazement in his voice.

  “I cheated,” she said simply.

  “You did what?” he blurted.

  “I cheated, I used my Kirnath abilities to read your surface thoughts so that I could see what you intended just before you acted; I even picked up your criticism on the placement of my weight and my wrist being too stiff.”

  “You can read my mind?” Hetark said in an almost choking voice, a little fear showing on his face.

  “Only your surface thoughts,” she answered quickly, “I can’t just walk through the corridors of your mind looking in any door. I also want you to know that I have never read your thoughts before and I won’t do it again unless you give me your permission. I needed to show you that I can learn in ways that you didn’t understand, or even think possible. We don’t tell most people the full capabilities of the Kirnath; it makes people fear us too much. You are my friend Hetark; please don’t be afraid of me. I showed you this Kirnath ability because I trust you, now won’t you trust me?” Elizabeth asked as she looked intently into his eyes.

  “I will try, milady, but it is difficult,” he answered, trying to be truthful.

  “Think of it less as mind reading and more like seeing someone’s expression. A person’s expression is a clue to what they’re thinking, as their surface thoughts are a clue to their inner mind,” she said in an attempt to explain it in terms to which he could relate.

  “That helps a little, but about your lessons, why do you need them when you can read a person’s intentions? If you can take me this easily then you can defeat most warriors,” he reasoned.

  “That’s true, however, there are some people out there with mind shields, some are trained and some are natural, but they do exist. I ran into one just recently. Do you remember the Tchulian commander who was at the palace, Harland Von Dracek? He had a shield that I could not penetrate. It was the thought of him and shields like his that convinced me to learn to fight for real.

  “You see, Hetark, I rely too heavily on my Kirnath powers, but I refuse to be caught unprepared for any eventuality in the upcoming confrontations. I’ll do whatever it takes to give myself another edge to strike at our enemies. Right now I run for the life of my son, and that doesn’t put me in a position where I should be making threats, but I’ll tell you this, they have awakened a predator who but slumbered in content. These conspirators thought me a house purclaw with its claws removed, a minor pet easily destroyed. They miscalculated. I am awake now and I will shake the world until the vermin who attacked my family drop out like the hidden insects that they are, and then I will squash them.”

  Hetark was taken aback with the passion and conviction of this great Lady of whom he realized he knew so little. Then he said, “I understand now, milady, and I will teach you want I can.”

  “Thank you Hetark, that means a great deal to me. Now, get up and show me what was wrong with my weight positioning and how supple should my wrist be when fighting with a knife.” Elizabeth took a fighting stance.

  Hetark stepped behind Elizabeth to show her the proper positions and maneuvers to improve her technique.

  Gustin and Drake soon had the horses ready to go, so the lessons had to be physically concluded, however as they continued down the southern forest path Hetark instructed Elizabeth verbally on the various facets of personal combat. Soon Drake and Gustin were also joining in the conversation. As they instructed her in the different forms of combat she watched in their minds to actually see how it was done and to imprint their aura memories in her mind.

  The vorghoul creatures loped along the forest path at a league eating pace, occasionally bending to the ground to smell the s
cent of their quarry.

  Werwoe was in the lead and the other two followed a step behind on either side forming a rough triangle. As he ran, the horrid beast chanted to himself and the two who followed:

  “Kill the men, kill the woman,

  eat the men, not the woman.

  Bring the boy alive and well,

  take the cloth and follow the smell.

  Kill the men, kill the woman,

  eat the men, not the woman...”

  It was not long past sunrise when they came to where the trail of their quarry left the path for a short way, after a moment of hesitation they followed it over the hill. When they discovered the remains of the camp they became quite agitated, their movements jerky and swift.

  They sniffed the ground extensively where Elizabeth had lain, their mouths hanging open and salivating as they inhaled the strong aroma of their prey; they were not far behind.

  Lifting their misshapen heads the vorghouls cried out their insatiable hunger with a high pitched warbling screech, and then leaped to the hunt again with new vigor as they swiftly closed the gap on their prey.

  Drake was a few paces behind Elizabeth and Hetark, while Gustin rode a little ahead at the point position. Drake turned his head and listened intently for a moment, then called to the softly conversing Elizabeth, “Milady, did you hear that strange call?”

  Elizabeth gave him a questioning look and answered, “No, I was speaking with Hetark, what did it sound like?”

  “It was high pitched, a lonely sound that just trailed off at the end. I spent my youth growing up in this forest and I’ve never heard any sound like it in these woods.”

  Elizabeth called forward to Gustin, “Bide for a moment, I need to concentrate.” Then she closed her eyes and extended her aura perception in an ever widening circle. The further out the circle went the slower it traveled as she taxed her abilities to look for enemies.