Dimitri moved away from the men at the riverbank. As they left Dimitri’s men gave intimidating looks to the men on foot holding their horses’ tether ropes. Assessing stares were exchanged. Akira felt the tension rising. She took a deep breath. A chant came to mind. One she had practiced with her father. She muttered it under her breath. She felt her own tension lessen. She glanced backwards and noticed Zane’s expression. It was if he was silently congratulating her for keeping calm. Akira faced forward not knowing if she should be annoyed or pleased. Her eyes followed Dimitri’s lead. She heard her stepfather before she saw him. He was cursing his attendant for being slow.
“You lazy cur. Get over here and pull off my boots.” The baron’s voice was raspier than Akira remembered. He coughed. He looked up from the rock he was sitting on.
“Son of a bitch if it isn’t the White Rose watchdog come calling. Never mind my boots fool. We have company.” The baron stood.
Dimitri smiled. “Welcome to the alliance Rolfe. I’m almost surprised to see you here.”
Akira smiled. Her stepfather would be hiding his annoyance. Dimitri hadn’t used any prestigious titles when addressing her stepfather.
“My king felt compelled to join your alliance. It is his orders that brings me here.” Baron Rolfe looked at Dimitri haughtily. He then looked past Dimitri. “Well now what a surprise! You have my daughter in tow. Have you come to collect the reward I’ve offered for her safe return to me?”
“Hardly,” said Dimitri. “Akira, the young warrior you refer to, is a free woman. I’m also acquainted with her father. The man that is her father assuredly is not you.
Baron Rolfe looked as if he’d been sucker punched. His face reddened. “What lies has the girl told you? Of course I’m her father. Is she addled?”
“The young woman behind me isn’t addled. Her mother is another acquaintance of mine, who shared her secret of many years. Surely, she knows who the father of her daughter is?
“This is an outrage. Lies!” Baron Rolfe’s face turned red. “Step forward Akira. Now!”
Akira moved. The baron smiled for a fraction. His smile quickly died when Akira stopped to stand beside Dimitri. She said not a word. She boldly stared into the eyes of the baron. A movement to the baron’s side caught her attention. A man pushed his way past the soldiers with hands going to their swords. It was Marcus!
“Hello, Brother,” said Akira. “I’m glad to see you looking so well.” Akira wanted to close the distance and hug her older brother, for there was a gladness in his face when their eyes met.
Rolfe laughed, “See there, she calls my son, Brother. She is my daughter, and she belongs with me.”
Dimitri laughed in return. “Are you so arrogant that you cannot imagine how siblings can have different fathers?”
Rolfe shook with building rage. He spat on the ground towards Akira. “Little whore. Just like your mother! You’re dead to me, just as dead as your mother. Curses on you!”
Strangely unsettled, Akira looked up to Dimitri. He nodded.
“My mother is very much alive and well. Did your spies not tell you she hunts for you?”
Akira savored the moment his eyes widened with shock. She glanced at her brother. Curiously there was no surprise in his face.
Baron Rolfe clutched his chest. Akira’s eyes glazed. She heard the erratic beating of her stepfather’s heart. It was a curious thing. She heard the wheeze of his lungs as his breath caught in his pain-filled chest. Akira imagined squeezing his heart.
The baron’s knees buckled. His face started turning blue. One of his men caught him before he slumped over completely.
Poetic justice thought Akira. He kneels before me now. Is it his rage that is making his heart swell to bursting, or is it my doing?” She pictured a hand squeezing his heart. But the hand she saw was not her own. Who? Akira turned quickly to look behind her at the mages. Tazir’s eyes were glazed. She saw his hand twisting with purpose. She looked back at her stepfather. His eyes were locked on her face as he made one final gasp. Akira looked at him dispassionately. She wondered if was her imagination or did he mouth the word bitch before his last gasp? In death, like in life, he had to get in the last word. Akira heard the last beat of his heart. A chill ran up her spine.
The soldier who caught the baron as his knees buckled let his body fall forward face down in the dirt. He stood, uncertain what to do.
For a few seconds, there was silence. Marcus rushed forward, knelt beside his father and rolled him onto his back, checking for a pulse in his father’s neck. He stood and faced Akira. Marcus and Akira stepped forward at the same time, closing the distance between them. Marcus embraced his Akira in a bear like hug and as he did, he looked over his half sister’s shoulder, into Dimitri’s eyes. He conveyed an unspoken message of gratitude for Akira’s safety. Dimitri acknowledged the message with a nod of his head. Rolfe’s soldiers looked stunned.
Marcus let his sister loose from his embrace. “You should go now. I have matters to attend to.” He looked meaningfully at his father’s body.
Akira reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. “Be well my brother. Tell Edgar and Ben I think of them often, with fondness. Lead strong, Marcus, take your rightful place as head of the family. I’m certain you will restore family honor.”
Marcus hugged Akira again. Akira looked up at her brother’s face, eyes once again locking with her half brother’s. For the first time in her life she whispered the words she dared not speak to anyone but her mother. “I missed you.” It was as close to saying I love you as Akira could manage. No one else heard the words. To those who looked upon them, the wetness that welled up in Marcus’s eyes would be attributed to grief for a dead father. Akira knew differently the source of Marcus’s emotion. Onlookers would think that as much of a tyrant Baron Rolfe was, he was still Marcus’s father, and a son would feel the painful loss of a father. Little did they know that Marcus had long ago grieved the absence of an honorable father. Before his father’s dealings with dark mages and partaking of their potions, his father had been an almost tolerable tyrant.
Akira looked around at the men gathering and staring. Some of her father’s men looked stunned. Others looked relieved that Akira and Marcus were not at odds with each other. The relief was almost palpable. No swords had been drawn. No one else would die for the time being. Only the mages knew that Baron Rolfe’s heart was stopped by an unseen hand among them seizing an opportunity to intensify the wild racing of the tyrant’s heart, racing caused by a terrible temper. Akira returned to face Dimitri. He put a hand on her shoulder momentarily. She continued past him and took her place once again beside Fern and Yooda.
“Our sympathy for your loss, Marcus.” Dimitri’s words were sincere. “The timing is unfortunate. I’m certain you are capable of filling the void the baron leaves, the same as if your father had died in the battlefield.”
“I am capable. The chain of command is clear.” Marcus paused. He stepped closer to Dimitri. He leaned slightly forward, speaking quietly so no one else could hear. “An odd, or perhaps inappropriate question for you at such a time when my father lays dead before us. Is it true there is a dragon nearby? It was a question he would have liked an answer to. It is the talk of the warriors camped next to us.”
“It’s true. Dragons are returning to our world. A few are our allies. You should know that the dragon’s rider is Akira. She has much to tell you.”
Marcus’s expression couldn’t be mistaken for anything but complete surprise. “My Akira, my little sister, a dragon rider?” Marcus looked over towards his sister. “My mind is reeling.” He turned and looked at his father’s body.
“Understandably. Like I said, she has much to tell you. You may be in for another shock or two. Apparently, your father’s spies weren’t all that well informed.” Dimitri paused.
Marcus made no retort to the spy comment. The small twitch at the corner of his mouth was the only indication the comment struck a nerve. Dimitri didn’t miss the twit
ch. Neither did Akira. He had no way of knowing that the man before him was holding back a smile. Akira knew. She wondered what amused Marcus.
She watched the two men quietly assessing each other.
“The commanders will meet tonight at my tent,” Dimitri said. “Come early before the sun goes down. Meet with Akira. Look for the White Rose Flag.”
“I shall come as soon as I can. The sooner I attend to matters at hand the sooner I can meet with Akira. Duty calls.”
“Duty dictates that I, too, attend to other business.” Dimitri saluted and turned away.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Akira sharpened her sword, sheathed it, she drew it out again, then sharpened it again. She braided her hair, unbraided it, then braided it again. Waiting for Marcus had her doing tasks that didn’t need doing at all. The sword was razor-sharp and her hair was perfectly braided.
“Settle down woman before you drive me to drink,” said Cronus. He folded his big arms and settled back against his bed roll.
“You big oaf. When have you needed any excuse to drink?” said Akira.
“You wound me. Besmirch my character … shame on you. I haven’t drunk ale for at least three hours! I’m so sober me own mother would be proud.”
Akira picked up a rock from the dirt floor and threw it at him. He caught it and smiled. “See! My reflexes are as sharp as your sword.” He laughed.
“I’m so tempted to singe your sideburns, but the smell would foul the air.”
“This brother of yours has got your pantaloons in a knot. Never seen you so worried about your hair. A lot of fussing. You must have missed him more than you let on.”
Akira sighed and sat down across from her bodyguard. “It’s almost been a year since I ran away from home. I tried hard not to miss my brothers.”
“You mean half brothers, don’t you?”
“Don’t nitpick. I have always considered them brothers, and that is what I shall continue to call them. Brothers, not half brothers.”
“That warms my heart,” said Marcus, stepping into the tent.
Akira’s head whipped around. She smiled, stood, and punched Marcus in the arm. She smiled even more when Edgar and Ben poked their heads into the tent. She dared not speak first. She didn’t want to cry. Warriors weren’t crybabies. Dragon riders weren’t crybabies. She gulped. The urge to cry was safely swallowed. Ben crossed the distance between them and pulled Akira into a tight hug she couldn’t resist returning.
Edgar tapped his brother’s shoulder. “My turn.
Ben relinquished Akira. Watching Edgar pick their sister up and twirl her in his arms, he gave an assessing look at Cronus who was now standing and openly smiling.
“I shall take my leave now,” said Cronus. “If you had taken much longer she would have bust her girdle.” He winked daringly at Akira.
“Singe … whiskers …” warned Akira. She tried hard to look fierce at Cronus but a stubborn smile wouldn’t budge from her face.
Ben laughed as Cronus feigned fear taking his leave. “I’ll join the outside watch. Safer outside than inside with a mage with an itchy finger.” Cronus’s parting words caused puzzled looks between the brothers. They looked around the large tent expecting to see another person in the dim light. There was no one else lurking in the tent’s shadows. Akira chewed her lip.
“You may want to sit down. I am at liberty to confide in you,” said Akira, as she pointed to a circle of hastily constructed log benches. The young men followed her lead and sat down. Marcus looked like he was beginning to understand Cronus’s parting comment. Edgar and Ben were clearly puzzled. Akira took a deep breath. Her smile faded. “By now half the camp is probably gossiping like bored old women about the goings-on of today. The family secret is a secret no more.”
“Seven hells! I’m still trying wrap my brain around the fact that we have different fathers,” said Edgar. “Did you fare better than we did with your real father? And who is he?”
“Do tell quickly,” said Ben.
Marcus sat back and patiently waited. His eyes studied the weapons Akira carried, the way she was dressed. Akira was aware of his close inspection.
“First things first.” Akira took a deep breath. “I’m not sorry that your father, my stepfather, is dead.” She looked at her brothers in turn. There were no angry shocked looks. “If you had any affection left for him, accept my condolences.”
“Your reaction to his demise comes as no surprise.” Marcus’s voice was deep and somber. “There have been enough surprises for one day. I think I can safely speak for us all that the old man’s death is a relief.” Edgar and Ben nodded their agreement. “I’ve been chasing my tail trying to damage control behind him. Saving the family name from disgrace has been a losing battle. Thank the gods he died of natural causes, that we don’t have to live with the disgrace of a father hanged for murder and treason. Each time he had chest pains, and we thought we could breathe easy, the old man stubbornly recovered, meaner and more unstable than before.”
Akira nodded sympathetically. Natural causes with a little help. “I’m surprised he didn’t die from all the potions he drank.”
Marcus smiled wryly. “I believe the potions poisoned his mind long ago. However, I do believe you have a few more surprises in store for us.”
“I can see that you already have guessed by the way I’m dressed and armed that I’m a warrior.”
“Fancy that!” said Edgar. “The little brat slashing the air with her pointy stick turned into a real warrior.” He tousled her carefully braided hair. “Scandalous and unheard of back home. Are you good with a sword?” His words teased, but there was serious undertone in his voice.
“I can hold my own.”
The light is fading. Have you a candle handy or a torch?” asked Ben.
“I can do better”. Akira reached under her leather vest and pulled out a small round orb. She blew on it like blowing on tinder. The orb started to glow. She tossed it up into the air. It floated just above their heads.
Ben’s mouth dropped open. Edgar’s eyes were wide. Marcus stood, and tried to touch the orb. It moved out of reach.
“You’re a witch?” Marcus frowned.
“No, I’m a mage.”
“How can that be? How could we not know?” Marcus looked stupefied. He followed the orb’s path back to Akira’s hand.
“Mother was protective. Being a half blood, born in kingdom that forbade magic I was a late bloomer.”
“About that half blood thing, are you going to tell us who your father is?” Ben asked.
“My father was, is, Mage Morgan.” Akira’s face saddened.
“Was? Is? I don’t understand. Is he dead or living?” Marcus looked confused. He looked as confused as Edgar and Ben. “Should we be extending condolences to you?” he added.
“My father was mortally wounded. He has been put in a trance like state. Sky Stalker flew him back to the White Rose Sanctuary where the healers will try to save him.”
“Flew? This Sky Stalker person is a wizard or a mage also?” Marcus shook his head.
“No, Sky Stalker is the dragon my father is bonded with.”
“Dragon!” said Akira’s brothers in unison.
“We thought the rumors of dragons returning from far behind the horizon over the great waters was wishful thinking of fanciful fools.” Ben couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Then it’s not idle gossip there is a dragon rider in this camp? A real fire-breathing dragon is nearby?” Marcus appeared uneasy. He stood.
“Yes, I have concealed Sky Spirit with a cloak of invisibility. Her presence across the lake was causing too much fear and speculation. The attention was disturbing for her. She and I are bonded.”
Marcus sat down again. Ben laughed. Edgar just stared at his mage half sister.
Commander Dimitri wasn’t bloody jesting that you had a few surprises. You are the dragon rider! I suppose you can walk on water too?”
Akira thought for a second. “I do believe
I can, with the right spell and a modest amount of energy expenditure.”
“Just how powerful a mage are you?” Edgar scrunched his eyebrows as he asked.
“Very powerful.”
“Then why the bodyguards?”
“Because assassins are trying to kill me, your father was hunting for me, and I’m just adjusting to my new increase of mage power. The knowledge my father imbued me with is whirling around inside my head. I find answers to questions before I ask them, remember spells I never knew. I vibrate inside with energy that scares me. Other mages may fear that I will become too powerful and try to kill me. This power is a burden. My father called it a gift.”
Akira stood. She put a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. Akira’s hand glowed. Marcus looked bewildered. When Akira closed her eyes Marcus visibly relaxed. Ben and Edgar were transfixed. Akira took her hand off her older brother’s shoulder, leaned down and hugged him. “Thank you for leading your father away from me. I know now why you smiled at Dimitri when you were whispering earlier today. Your spies were busy.”
Marcus smiled. “It was tricky and expensive to give false leads to your whereabouts when you left the protection of the mountain. When we received the king’s command to come here and offer our support to the alliance of the kingdoms we were mightily relieved that father was finally distracted from his intention to bring you to your knees.”
“I worried about your father’s association with dark mages. I feared he would be a dangerous spy for the Dark Lord. Did he bring any of his evil mages with him disguised as soldiers?”
Edgar and Ben exchanged meaningful looks. “We suspect one of our camp grunts is a poison merchant,” said Ben. “He always seemed to be near when Father had the shakes and needed more medicine.” Ben scowled as he said the word medicine. “He may have been a mage in disguise. He certainly was a lousy cook”.
Marcus “We’ve been keeping an eye on him, a close eye. He disappeared shortly after father’s heart failed him. I have several men searching for him. When they find him they have orders to kill him as a deserter.”
Akira Rides Page 16
