by Henry Vogel
The queen’s arms were spread wide, each wrist tied to an iron ring driven into the wall. Strips of cloth, which I suddenly realized were the queen’s slashed clothing, were piled on the floor next to her. The queen was left wearing only her shift and the underclothes beneath it. Worst of all, my proud mother-in-law sagged forward, only kept up by the ropes around her wrists. Head hanging down, her dull eyes were open but were not focused on anything. Queen Elaina ignored all within the room. She didn’t even look up as I entered the room.
The six men were so enthralled with their entertainment, they hadn’t noticed me yet, either. That couldn’t last long and I thought my act would be more believable if I announced myself before they saw me.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded.
The heads of the five men at the table turned my way. The man standing before Queen Elaina gave a start before spinning to face me. To my considerable relief, the queen’s head turned slowly toward me, as well.
Pointing at me with the knife, the man before the queen asked, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
The men at the table rose from their seats and drew their swords.
It had been too much to hope the men would just accept that I had authority to match the tone of voice I’d used. Still, I did the only thing I could do at this point. I continued with my act.
“Our employer was afraid you cretins would do something stupid like this. You were under strict orders to keep the prisoners secure and unharmed!” That last bit was a complete guess, but it seemed like a reasonable one.
“Aw, we ain’t harming ‘er! We’s jest havin’ a bit of fun.”
“You’re not being paid to have fun, you idiot! It looks like our employer was wise to send me to insure the prisoner’s safety.” I held out my hand. “Give me that knife and get away from the queen!”
Keeping my left hand outstretched, I continued toward the man. He looked to one of the men at the table. I’d instilled doubt but the man wasn’t ready to take orders from me yet.
“Your word don’t cut it around here,” one of the men at the table said. “Unless you got some written orders from the boss, you can just turn around and leave.”
“Written orders? Just how stupid can you be?” I snarled. “And worse, just how stupid do you think our employer is? You don’t honestly think he’d put anything about this in writing, do you?”
I’d kept walking during this exchange and was now within reach of the knife wielder. Drawing my sword, I slashed the man’s forearm and the blade fell from his hand. He retreated away from me toward his friends at the table.
“The six of you stay here.” I put all the derision I could muster—which was a lot, considering what I’d seen—into my voice. “I’ll be back to deal with you after the queen is back in her cell and safe from the likes of you!”
At a signal from the apparent leader of this crew, a couple of men moved to block my way to the door.
“Tell you what, boy, what say you stop throwing around orders and answer a few questions for me?” the leader said. “Let’s start with something easy—just who do you think you are?”
My bluster had gotten me farther than I had hoped it would, but the time for play acting was over.
“You want to know who I am?” I asked. “I am David Rice, prince consort and protector to Her Royal Highness, Princess Callan, heir to the throne of Mordan. I am the man who fought the trog leader in the city of Faroon and defeated him in hand-to-hand combat. I am the man who defeated the five assassins Ardhan Windslow sent to kill me and kidnap my wife. As far as you are concerned, I am death incarnate. Surrender now or die!”
Chapter 29
My speech had very different effects on those who heard it.
Queen Elaina lifted her head and struggled to focus on my face. I hoped she could push through the drugs and sleep deprivation to recognize me. After King Edwar, though, I didn’t have much hope.
I also hoped my reputation would lead the six men before me to surrender or, at the very least, back off and let us leave. It didn’t. Instead, they laughed.
“Look, men, it’s David the Pure—and the stories are true! I can feel his amazing powers of goodness driving the evil from my soul!” the leader said to his men. “We’d better do something before we all end up all noble-minded like Martin Bane. Do me a favor, men, and kill this idiot.”
“I don’t know, Nars,” said the one whose arm I’d slashed. “You ever listened to them songs about Rice? He’s s’pposed to be real good!”
Nars rolled his eyes. “You’re not telling me you’ve started believing tavern songs, are you Jon?”
The four other men looked at their companion and laughed.
Jon smiled nervously, “Nah. I— I was jest funnin’ with you, Nars.”
Jon’s concern had been my last hope that Queen Elaina and I could just walk away from this. As I had expected, there was only one way I was getting us both out of this alive.
Boost!
While the men were all distracted laughing at Jon, I charged. The move surprised all six of them. Instinctively, they all took defensive stances.
One of the men held his guard much too low. I didn’t hesitate, attacking him with a slash aimed at his throat. Suddenly aware his guard was out of place, the man brought his blade up to block my swing. With Boost-enhanced speed, I changed direction and brought my attack down low. Before the man even registered what I had done, his sword passed harmlessly above my blade. I drove two feet of steel into his gut. Withdrawing my now-crimson blade, I threw the screaming man at the closest man to my right. The two of them went down in a tangle of limbs and blood. I kept moving.
Despite his song-induced concern about my reputation as a warrior, Jon jumped into cross blades with me. He made a surprisingly neat move and caught me in a bind. My survival depended on constant motion, so I rammed my knee into his groin. Jon’s eyes rolled up and he doubled over, breaking the bind. As I spun past Jon, I cut his sword arm to the bone. With a metallic clatter, his sword fell to the floor. Jon dropped to his knees, cradling his arm and trying to stop the bleeding.
I had broken through the line of men, leaving two to my right and two to my left. I leapt onto the table and spun to face the room. Two men were already out of the fight. The other four looked stunned at the speed of it all. The smiles and the laughter were gone, replaced by smoldering anger. And festering fear.
“As you can see, the tavern songs didn’t exaggerate my abilities,” I said. “This is your last chance to surrender!”
“You’re a quick one, boy, and good with that sword. I’ll give you that,” Nars said. “But you’re not a real smart fighter. It seems to me you’re way over here, standing on the table, and the queen is way over there, tied to the wall. Lon,” Nars singled out one of his men, “go over to the queen. If this boy doesn’t throw down his sword, kill her!”
Chapter 30
The man closest to the queen—Lon, I assumed—raised his sword and stalked toward the queen. In the old adventure vids my father and I used to watch, there would have been a chandelier which I could use to swing over my enemies to protect my mother-in-law. I had a knife but it was simply a blade for cutting. It was too poorly balanced to throw effectively. So I threw the only other thing I had to hand.
My sword spun and flashed in the torchlight before burying itself between Lon’s shoulder blades. His back arched and a hand scrabbled over his shoulder, trying to reach the sword. The other men gaped, their eyes locked on my blade. While they were distracted, I hopped from the table and grabbed one of the chairs.
Recovering his composure, Nars was just turning back toward me when I smashed the chair over his head. The chair splintered and the guard leader reeled under the blow. I delivered a spin-kick to Nars’ head and he collapsed. I was left holding two pieces of the chair back. Armed with those sturdy clubs, I charged at the man nearest to me.
Eyes wide, the man slashed wildly at my neck. I blocked the swing with one pi
ece of the chair then smashed the wrist of his sword arm with the other. Bones snapped and the man’s sword fell from his hand. I cracked him across the head with one of my clubs. The man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped to the floor. I never stopped moving toward the queen.
The third man broke and ran toward the queen. There was no way I could get to her first, so I hurled one of the pieces of the chair at his head, then threw the second piece at his legs. He ducked and the first piece missed, but the second piece hit a shin, tripping him up. That slowed him down long enough for me to dash to Lon, who was still flailing and trying to reach the sword stuck in his back. I rammed the blade through him up to the hilt.
Putting my foot against Lon’s back, I shoved him away and yanked my blade free. I spun to face the man I’d tripped up with the thrown chair pieces. He stopped his stumbling charge toward me, arms windmilling wildly. His eyes went wide in terror and he dropped his sword.
“I surrender!”
“Smart man,” I said.
I clouted him over the head with my sword pommel. As he fell unconscious, I dropped Boost.
As I cut the queen free, she asked in a slightly slurred voice, “You said you were Callie’s guard? You’re not Rob!”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I’m Princess Callan’s guard,” I said. “And no, I’m not Rob. But let’s discuss that later. Her Highness is not far from here. She’s with her father. And we need to join them before a raider airship arrives!”
Chapter 31
Rubbing her chafed wrists, the queen peered at my face through heavy-lidded eyes. “You look familiar. And you said you were a prince consort? I didn’t catch your wife’s name. Is she known to me?”
“I believe so, Your Majesty.” I helped Queen Elaina step into her shoes and then, taking her by the arm, led her from the room. “But as I said before, we must hurry.”
“Yes, there is a raider ship on the way.” The queen came to a sudden halt. “It’s not that raider Martin Bane, is it? He’s taken my baby before, you know!”
“I do know, Your Majesty,” I replied, struggling to keep my voice calm and soothing. “But the man I’m worried about is most definitely not Martin Bane!”
I started walking again, giving the queen little choice but to stumble after me.
Unable to maintain focus, Queen Elaina’s attention wandered yet again. Her head swung back and forth as she watched the sword I held in my other hand. Despite the drugs, she proved quite capable of recognizing the blade. “Why do you carry Captain Vonsteader’s sword, young man?”
I didn’t have the time or the creativity to craft a believable story on the spur of the moment. “I’m afraid Rob lost his life defending Princess Callan. He gave me the sword before he died and ordered me to use it in defense of your daughter.”
The queen bowed her head, “Poor Callie. She must be devastated.”
Three months had passed since Rob’s death, but Callan still mourned her long-time companion and guardian. “That she is, though she tries to hide it.”
Queen Elaina came to a sudden stop yet again. “Wait a moment, young man! You said you were a prince consort and protector to a princess. And you say Rob ordered you to defend Callie.”
I could almost see the wheels turning in the queen’s mind as she struggled against the drugs to make connections. I most definitely did not want to discuss my marriage to Callan right now.
“Let’s keep moving, Your Majesty,” I said, once again nearly dragging Queen Elaina down the hallway. “Princess Callan will explain everything once we’re aboard the airship!”
“That would mean you married Callie,” Queen Elaina mused. Shaking her head, she continued. “But that can’t be right. Callie is marrying Prince Rupor, isn’t she?”
“That was the plan,” I said, walking faster. “We’ve got to hurry, Your Majesty! Time is short and we don’t want the airship to leave without us!”
Elaina continued to stumble along behind me and we moved more slowly than I’d have preferred, but at least we were moving. Soon, I could see the corridor where we’d first seen Horst, the cell guard. We were no more than thirty feet from the hallway when I heard voices.
Putting my finger to my lips in the hopes of keeping Elaina quiet, we stopped and listened. There could be no mistaking the voice.
“I thought you said there was a guard in this hallway?” Raoul said, his tone short and peremptory.
The queen’s face lit up. “Why that’s Raoul, Rupor’s brother! He’ll have a whole ship full of men with him. Those raiders you’re so worried about are in for a rude surprise!”
“No, Your Majesty,” I said, grasping for the only idea I could think of. “It’s a raider trick to lure us out!”
“Pish and tosh! I’d recognize Raoul’s voice anywhere.” Queen Elaina waved my objections aside. Raising her voice, she called, “Raoul! We’re down here!”
Boots clattered on stone as our enemies rushed toward us!
Chapter 32
I was staging one heck of a rescue. Addled by drugs and sleep deprivation, the queen had asked all the wrong questions and, based on my answers, made all the wrong connections. She might not be suspicious of me yet, but Raoul would turn her against me if he had a chance to speak with her. I could only begin to imagine how she would react if I tried to convince her that Raoul wasn’t the friend her memory told her he was. Unfortunately, I had to try to convince her of just that!
Light and shadows flickered on the wall at the intersection of the two hallways. The heavy tread of boots pounded closer to our passageway. Much as I wanted to explain the situation, I simply didn’t have the time to do so. I had hoped I could get Queen Elaina to Callan and the king. Their presence would have calmed the queen. Rest and time would restore her memory and the queen would remember I was the good guy. Right now, we needed to run.
I lifted the queen and threw her over my shoulder. Or I tried to do that. The queen held her body rigid, refusing to bend over my shoulder. I couldn’t outrun anyone with the queen throwing off my balance like that! It was time to improvise. I lifted the queen’s legs, balancing her over my shoulder like a wooden board. It was still awkward, but at least I could run.
Realizing holding herself stiff hadn’t slowed me down, the queen suddenly went limp. The sudden shift of weight threw me off balance again and I stumbled. As I fought to regain my footing, the queen beat and scratched at my back and began screaming, “Help me, Raoul! A raider has me!”
Our pursuers rounded the corner just in time to see me lurch into a side hall.
“There he is!” Raoul yelled. “Save the queen, men!”
Raoul didn’t sound believable to me, but the queen kept shouting.
“Stop shouting, Your Majesty!” I said. “Raoul is not the friend you think he is!”
“Foolish man, do you really expect me to believe that? Raoul is the brother of my daughter’s betrothed!”
“He wishes!” I said. “Look at our pursuers, Majesty. Do you see an older man with wild, gray hair?”
“Yes, I see him. What of it?”
“Look at him more closely. Don’t you recognize him?”
“I can’t—” The queen gasped, “Is that Windslow?”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “That’s extremely strange company the prince is keeping, don’t you think?”
I came to a side passage, the first I’d seen in this hallway. Without hesitation, I turned into the hallway. I immediately saw that the hallway ended in a door, but it was too late to turn around.
“I don’t know! It’s so hard to think!” the queen moaned
“Then I suggest you trust me,” I said. “I promise you Princess Callan does.”
Raoul, Windslow and their men charged into the side passage as I reached the door. Hoping to find stairs, I turned the knob and pushed. Nothing happened. The door was stuck fast!
Chapter 33
The queen hung limp over my shoulder, no longer beating and scratching my back. I hoped that meant she ha
d decided to trust me. I was afraid it meant she had been overcome by the stress of her ordeal and the stress of seeing Windslow.
Seeing my struggles with the door, Raoul and his men slowed to a walk. “You can’t escape, Rice. Return Her Majesty to me unharmed and I’ll make sure you get a fair trial.”
I had to give Raoul top marks for sticking to the script. If I had the opportunity, I would cut those marks into his forehead with my sword!
“Drop the play acting, Raoul. Her Majesty has already spotted Windslow and now knows you’re not to be trusted,” I said. “It wasn’t very smart bringing him with you, but intelligence never was your strong suit. In truth, I’m still trying to figure out what your strong suit is.”
“Do not try my patience, Rice!” Raoul cried, his eyes narrowing in anger. “Your fate hangs by a very narrow thread. Anger me further and I’ll cut that thread without compunction!”
“Well, I’m impressed, Raoul. I didn’t realize you knew such big words!” I said. “Or did you say ‘without compunction’ when ‘without courage’ is what you meant to say?”
Raoul’s face went red and he sputtered incoherent curses. Entertaining as that was, it was time to make my getaway. While bantering with Raoul, I’d considered my options. There was but one option and in other circumstances it wouldn’t have been an option at all. If the Terran Exploration Corps ever found me, I was going to be quite the case study on the effects of Boost on the human body. At least I’d only Boosted for a minute or so when dealing with thugs guarding the queen.
Boost!
I spun and kicked the door at the end of the hallway. The latch held firm, but the rusted hinges groaned and that side of the door moved an inch. Raoul shouted to his men to charge as I gave the door another kick. The hinges broke and the door pushed open a couple of feet. Releasing Boost, I ran through the door.
