“You aren’t leaving without me,” Danella said, stepping into Mansel’s room as he finished stuffing the last of his clothes into a satchel. “There is nothing for me here.”
“I’m going to Ebbson Keep,” Mansel said. “To fight with the king’s army.”
“So will I,” she said.
“You are not a warrior. And if what Zollin fears is true, it won’t be safe for you anywhere near the eastern border.”
“You aren’t listening to me,” Danella said. “I won’t be left behind. If you don’t take me with you, I’ll just follow you on my own.”
“Please,” Mansel said, stepping close and looking down into her sad eyes, “you can have a life. If not here, then in some other village or city. I know it doesn’t feel that way now, but you can have a great life.”
“I’m finished letting others speak for me,” she insisted. “I won’t be told what to do, not by anyone. I’m coming with you.”
Mansel studied Danella for a long moment. She was short, incredibly thin, and fair-skinned. She was also beautiful, with long golden hair, fine features, and piercing blue eyes. She moved with the grace and precision of a dancer, and her thick woolen trousers, tall riding boots, and heavy, quilted shirt only made her seem more alluring somehow. Mansel knew that a marriage could be made for her to a wealthy merchant, or even a man from a noble family, but he also knew she would be miserable. He felt her pain and loss, just as he felt his own for Nycol.
“If you come with me you’ll have to do what I tell you, when I tell you. It’s not a matter of controlling you, it’s about keeping you safe.”
“Alright, I’ll do what I have to do,” Danella said.
“Go pack your things. You’ll need clothes, sturdy things that will stand up to this weather and warm enough so that you don’t freeze.”
“I have all I need,” she replied, her hand on the handle of a small dagger with a delicate-looking blade, sheathed in plain leather. “When are we leaving?”
“Now,” Mansel said, as he adjusted his sword belt and slung his satchel over his shoulder. “Go down to the stables and select yourself a horse. Tell Persey that you’re going with me and he’ll make sure you have a reliable mount.”
Danella seemed satisfied, but not happy. The grief from losing Vyctor was too recent, her pain too intense, for happiness to break through. Still, she had gotten what she wanted, even if Mansel doubted that she understood what she was taking on. Their flight from Tragoon Bay had happened quickly, and in the relative comfort of a wagon. Riding all day long on horseback was a very different matter, and in the cold, wet weather of winter it would be trying to anyone.
Mansel had one last stop to make. He knocked lightly on the door to Zollin’s room and stepped in when his friend called. A small, leather-bound bundle with the king’s royal seal stamped into a thick layer of wax and tied together with a sturdy, leather thong was sitting on a table.
“That for me?” Mansel asked.
“It is. I need you to take it to Ebbson Keep. The nobles will be following you, and the army leaders are waiting there. Hopefully Duke Ebbson will be there as well. Gather as many of them together as possible and open it in front of them.”
“What’s in it?”
“Orders, strategy, tactics, hopefully the things they need to be ready to fight when I arrive. But you can’t wait for me. It’s possible that the gargoyles will attack again. If they do, we need to present a united front.”
“Alright, I’ll deliver your message.”
“And you’ll ensure that everyone works together,” Zollin said. “The army was sent east under Branock’s command. I have ordered them to stay there in case the gargoyles return, but for us to have any chance of success, we need the nobles to submit to one leader. I’m recommending you for that task.”
“Why me?” Mansel asked, his voice level, but his heartbeat increasing at the very thought of leading an army. “I’m no soldier. I don’t know anything about military tactics.”
“And hopefully you won’t have to worry about any of that. I should be there soon, but I have to go in search of Lorik. I have to at least try to win him over to our cause. If for some reason I don’t return, I need you there keeping everyone focused on the real enemy.”
“Real enemy?”
“We both know what is bound to happen. The nobles will start bickering with each other and trying to win the loyalty of the army in hopes that they can rise to the throne. I don’t care about their ambitions, but the threat from the gargoyles and whatever is commanding them is all too real. We need to be ready.”
“They won’t listen to me,” Mansel said. “I’m just a mercenary.”
“You’re a hero of the Witch’s War,” Zollin argued. “And you have this.”
He reached out and placed another leather-wrapped bundle into Mansel’s hand. The warrior took the bundle, and looked at his friend.
“And this is…”
“My direct orders giving you control of the King's Army,” Zollin explained. “If all else fails, use this letter to take charge. Tell the nobles and commanders that any man who defies the king’s orders will face charges for treason. Get them ready for war, Mansel. They have to be ready.”
“I’ll fight for you Zollin, you know that. I’ll do pretty much anything you need from me. But when this is all over I’m going in search of Quinn.”
“He’s lost his mind, Mansel. The man we knew is gone.”
“Maybe, but he shouldn’t have to die alone. I’ll find him and bring him back.”
“That would be the greatest gift of loyalty I could ever receive,” Zollin said, stepping close to Mansel. “Every day I regret letting him slip through my fingers.”
Mansel didn’t say what he felt, which was that once he returned Quinn to Zollin’s safe keeping in Orrock, that he would be free to disappear. He had an obligation to the people he loved, but once that obligation was met, he needed something new in his life. What he really wanted was to find a way to end the pain of losing his beloved Nycol. He’d tried drowning his sorrows in strong drink, but that was only a temporary fix that created many more problems than it solved. Death was the only true escape from his pain, and while he wouldn’t end his own life, he wouldn’t run from it either. He would go to meet it, happily.
“We are all doing what we have to do,” Mansel said. “But we will defeat the army in Baskla, be it men or monsters. And we will find Branock and bring him to justice. You will have peace, unless your child turns out to be like you.”
Mansel grinned and shrugged his shoulders as Zollin stared at him through narrowed eyes. Then they embraced and Zollin wished his friend good luck.
“May you find this Lorik and bring him to our side of things,” Mansel said. “Just don’t take too long.”
“I’ll see you in Ebbson Keep,” Zollin assured him.
“Until then,” Mansel said.
He left the wizard king and walked briskly down to the kitchens where a set of thick saddle bags was waiting on a long wooden table. The servants had packed enough food for Mansel and Danella to cross Yelsia twice, but he was happy to have more than enough. He added the saddle bags to his shoulder and went out to the stables.
Danella’s mount was a strong-looking mare with a tan hide. It was a full hand shorter than Mansel’s gelding, calmer, with a look of wisdom in her eyes. Danella was already in the saddle, holding the reins in one hand and her other propped on the saddle horn.
“Took you long enough,” she muttered.
“Never rush a king,” Mansel said in reply as he slung the saddle bags across his horse’s back just behind the saddle.
“These horses are a loan, not a gift,” Persey growled.
“Take it up with your new sovereign,” Mansel said.
Then he urged the horse forward, at a brisk pace, enjoying the sound of the horses' hooves on the cobblestones. Danella stayed directly behind Mansel as they rode through the city. At the gate the road changed from cobblestone to h
ard-packed earth and the smell of human waste assaulted their senses. The horses snorted and Danella’s face pinched into a frown. But Mansel merely kicked his own mount into a canter, riding quickly out of the sprawling ghetto that had been built around Orrock.
A few minutes later they were past the last of the mud huts and animal pens. Orrock was behind them, the entire kingdom of Yelsia lay before them, and Mansel felt the weight that had pressed down on him since returning to the capital slowly slipping away. He was riding toward danger, with a level of responsibility he had never known in his young life, but for the next week he could enjoy being out on the open road again with a sense of adventure in the air. For the first time since finding his wife slaughtered in the Great Valley, a spark of happiness lit inside him and he felt good again.
Chapter 7
Brianna and Zollin waited on the castle roof, watching the sun come up. Just two days in the castle, with servants preparing lavish meals and enjoying the comfort of a soft, warm bed, had spoiled the young wizard. Brianna didn’t seem to mind either, in fact she was getting back the muscle tone she had lost while being held captive in the underworld. Her belly was getting bigger as well, just a smooth, round protrusion that Zollin found surprisingly appealing.
“You're glowing,” he said as the pink light of dawn lit up the tall tower behind them.
“That’s the sunrise, Zollin.”
“No, it’s you.”
She smiled, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. She was struggling with emotions she couldn’t quite control. There was guilt for leaving Zollin, even though the urges for freedom and adventure that had lured her away still pulled at her mind. She also felt a deep sense of sadness for Danella, and guilt for not being a better sister. She had been too busy to see her parents other than the brief and uncomfortable glimpse of them in the throne room, but the truth was she didn’t want to see them, and that made her feel guilty too. Despite everything else going on Zollin still seemed to care about her, which was almost more than she could believe. She felt as if she had become a weight around his neck, but as long as he wanted her around, she would stay.
“This will probably be my last trip for a while,” she said, putting a hand on her stomach.
“Even so, I think there will be plenty to keep you busy.”
“I had no idea I’d be anywhere near my parents when the baby came.”
“It won’t come until summer, right?”
“That’s right, but it looks like we’ll be here, in Orrock.”
“Your dad will be great.”
“It’s not my dad I’m worried about and you know it.”
“You’re a strong woman, Brianna. You can handle your mother.”
“She’ll worm her way into the castle and get her claws into our baby if she thinks it will raise her social status.”
“If she becomes a problem we’ll send them away.”
“I couldn’t do that, Zollin.”
“Sure you could. She’ll be miserable no matter where she is. And your father can make a living in any city in the kingdom. We’ll just come up with an excuse. Perhaps even make him an ambassador someplace.”
“You are the most positive person I have ever known,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Do you remember what it was like when we left Tranaugh Shire?”
“You mean terrifying?”
“I mean exciting. It was the most thrilling thing I had ever experienced, running from my old life and into the unknown.”
“We were being pursued by wizards and mercenaries. That’s not my idea of fun.”
“I never really considered the danger,” Brianna said. “I just wanted to be included, to escape the mundane existence that my life was turning into.”
“Do you miss Todrick?” Zollin asked.
“I sometimes feel sorry for him, but I barely knew him. I guess his death was my fault, but if we had stayed in Tranaugh Shire I would have wished for death.”
“His death was my fault,” Zollin said. “He was always looking out for me. I wish he had lived long enough to see where we are now, but I know he wouldn’t accept it, or accept me. He hated that I was a wizard. His biggest dreams were to be a butcher, just like his father, and live a comfortable life in the village.”
“That’s why I had to leave,” Brianna said.
Zollin felt her body tense beside him.
“At first I enjoyed being in the Great Valley again. I love the mountains and the serenity of that place, but the longer we stayed the more I felt like it was becoming Tranaugh Shire. If we were still there and I had the baby, we would have never left. I felt trapped.”
Zollin had known this conversation was coming, and he wasn’t really ready for it. He wished they could just go on as if nothing had ever happened, but he knew he needed to hear her explanation for leaving, and she needed to hear how it made him feel. But talking about those types of strong emotions was difficult under the best of circumstances. One wrong word, or the smallest misunderstanding, could result in a horrible fight.
“Even after we left?” he asked. “I want to understand Brianna, I really do.”
“I wanted us to leave. I wanted to experience that feeling of freedom I felt when we fled Tranaugh Shire again. I was just a frightened girl back then, and I wanted to travel the Five Kingdoms in confidence.”
“We were doing that, weren’t we?”
“No, Zollin. I wanted to fly, to feel free, to feel like I could handle whatever I might encounter. When the creatures in the forest took me prisoner I was so angry. I hated that I had gotten us into another mess and I hated that you had to come rescue me.”
“I didn’t blame you,” Zollin said quietly.
“I know that, but at the time I just felt like no matter what I did I was going to be trapped in your shadow.”
“And that is a bad thing?”
“No,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “It’s not bad. We are a team. I get that now. We need each other.”
“Yes,” Zollin agreed.
“But I felt as if… at the time… as if you were Tranaugh Shire. I know that’s crazy, but I don’t want to just be a wife and mother. I want to be strong and capable on my own.”
“You are. You saved the dwarves. You survived being held captive in the underworld. I couldn’t have done that.”
“You had to come rescue me,” she said in a quiet voice.
“You came and rescued me after the Witch’s War. I was on the verge of death with no chance of survival apart from you. No one else could have saved me, and I certainly couldn’t save myself. You rescued me and nursed me back to health. Your support meant everything to me. I was just so focused on what I thought I needed that I didn’t see how much you were suffering.”
“You did the best you could,” Brianna replied.
“No, I was only kidding myself,” Zollin said. “I’m not just being hyper sensitive when I say that all the magic in the Five Kingdoms links back to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when the Torr was still around they had all the magical power centralized in one location. Maybe neutralized is the better word. Most of the magical creatures went into a kind of hibernation. Then my powers developed and if I had just gone to the Torr things would have gone on as they had for over a century.”
“You don’t know that,” Brianna said. “There’s no way to prove that dragons and witches and all the rest had anything to do with you.”
“Kelvich said I was waking up the magical world.”
“Was he worried about it?”
“No.”
“Then you shouldn’t be either.”
“That’s easy for you to say. Look around, the Five Kingdoms are in chaos. There is no order, no safety.”
“Don’t you see, Zollin,” Brianna said, turning to look at him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gripped him tight. “We don’t all want safety. We don’t want to live in a tame world, where everything is predictabl
e. I don’t want that. I’m not saying I want to see people suffer. I would do anything to help the people I love, but I don’t want to hide in the shadows and let my life pass me by.”
“I want to be with you,” Zollin said. “I don’t want to overshadow you or make you miserable. I love you, Brianna. I want to make you happy.”
“You do make me happy, and I want to be with you. I just lost sight of that.”
“So you’ll stay?”
“I’ll stay, I promise.”
“And I promise not to hold you down. I can’t say what the future holds, but whatever comes we’ll face it together. And we’ll make decisions about our lives, about our family,” he smiled, “together.”
“That’s what I want, more than anything.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. The flood of emotions he was feeling was almost overwhelming. Under different circumstances nothing could have kept him from making love to her, but the familiar sound of dragon wings pulled them apart.
“Ferno’s timing is unbelievable,” Zollin muttered.
“Dragons have no concept of romantic love. They don’t mate.”
“That’s not really encouraging,” Zollin groused.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Brianna said with a smile as she stepped up onto the parapet that surrounded the rooftop.
When she jumped Zollin’s heart almost stopped. He’d seen her do it many times and every time he felt the sting of terror. Losing her was something he couldn’t fathom, and the thought of it made his heart ache so badly that he couldn’t breathe. Yet when she had left him and he had no idea if he could ever win her back, he hadn’t been as worried as when he saw her leap off the castle roof. He couldn’t explain why, he just knew they were meant to be together, and as long as she was alive he would love her.
Then Ferno roared and Zollin looked up. The huge green dragon had landed on the roof of the castle without a sound. Zollin felt a surge of warmth and happiness from the dragon.
Controlling Chaos (The Five Kingdoms Book 12) Page 5
