by J. B. Jenn
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” a messenger, wearing the purple and silver colors of Yul ran toward him.
Maik furrowed his brow. “What is it?”
“King Zavad sends a message, your Majesty,” the man said, bowing low to him. The man cleared his throat. “I hope this message finds you before it’s too late. I realize there is a chance something could happen to the messenger on the way to you. Times are indeed troubling. Despite this chance, I recite this message to inform you Yul is marching on Carthoda. We cannot sit by and do nothing any longer, not while our men are dying. I hope you may do the same thing, so we can push back this evil and defeat it before it spreads further. Too many people have died. I hope to see you at Dawn Stone. King Zavad.”
As soon as the man stopped speaking, Maik shouted excitedly. They were going to coordinate their attacks without having known it. It felt as if the Gods were on their side.
Maik looked toward the man again. He would have to do. The messenger he had sent to Yul was obsolete, but it was too late to call him back and send a new message.
“I need you to tell whoever commands your armies what you’ve seen here. Tell him, we hope to see him at Dawn Stone as well. And then, I want you to return to your king and tell him everything. Can you do this?”
“Of course, your Majesty.”
The man left the way he had come. Maik hadn’t meant for him to leave immediately. He had been planning on the man staying and resting for a while. Maik shook his head and turned back to his soldiers who had never stopped marching. He looked to the horizon, hoping this would be behind them soon.
Trester
During the last several days, he had noticed Querra kept looking toward him as if she had won some kind of battle. Each time he caught her staring at him, he’d nod at her, wondering what was going through her thoughts.
He guessed, in a way, she had won. She and her soldiers were here fighting for Cascade, instead of being castaways. Besides, he was fairly certain they would prove themselves. He would end up granting her everything he had told her he would.
They were marching into Carthoda. Many of the soldiers and the Relentless felt it was a suicide mission. He didn’t blame them. He, too, thought it was a suicide mission, but he couldn’t allow King Barend’s and Queen De’Nae’s plans to succeed. He had served the man for a few years and knew his goal was to unite Hartland. The idea was a good one, but he had never imagined the man doing it in this way.
Trester had sent scouts ahead to alert them to any possible attacks. He didn’t think any would come from the direction they were headed. They were cutting up through the south eastern portion of the Desert on their way to Dawn Stone. If the worst had happened and Carthoda had already marched on the Desert, it was likely they had already failed.
“Don’t judge me too harshly for what I’m about to say,” Trester said to Galtrand and Henter. “In ways, I agree with King Barend for what he wants to do. I don’t agree with the way he’s doing it, but I understand the desire. There are other ways to unite Hartland. More peaceful ways. What he wants is complete control.”
“I think at this point, a united Hartland is just a dream,” Galtrand answered, grimly. “After this, no one will ever want that. Besides, each kingdom has been comfortable doing its own thing for centuries. It’ll go back to the way it was before.”
“You’re wrong. There’s change on the horizon. After all this has passed, the kingdoms will stay in better communication. At the very least so something like this doesn’t happen again. Once this is all done with, I’m going to press the issue. The ruling member of each kingdom will meet with all the others twice a year.”
“Do you think the others will agree to it? I’m not entirely certain they will,” Galtrand said.
“I don’t know. I hope they do. I think King Maik and King Zavad will. There will be at least three of us. We’ll have to convince the others to do so, but after what has happened, I don’t think it’ll be too difficult.”
Trester looked about, thankful for being away from the destroyed city. Every time he looked across the destruction, he wondered if he could have helped save some of the city. Maybe he would have ended up dead like his brothers.
He hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to any of his family. He knew life wasn’t fair sometimes. If he had known it was the last time he would ever see them again, he would have told them he loved them, even his father.
“What do you think we’ll find?” Galtrand asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
“I don’t know. We won’t be in the Desert for long. Hopefully, our scouts will find the army moved into Carthoda, and we’ll arrive just in time to make a difference. I’m also hoping to discover Yul has decided to help. King Barend cannot be allowed to win and turn Hartland into a demon filled world. There will be nothing left. You will see what it’s like in Carthoda. Where there were demons, plant life has died. Much of Carthoda is barren now. If my inclinations are correct, we’ll all arrive around the same time.”
“How do you know?” Henter asked. “We haven’t communicated with anyone about our plans.”
Trester smiled lightly. “Let’s just call it intuition.”
Behind him, they glanced at one another. Again, Trester gave a light smile but offered no further explanation.
Gray
When they saw the army in the distance, Gray couldn’t keep the cry of joy from coming out. The other men echoed it. They had been fighting demons nearly every day. Several of them bore the marks from where the demons had made contact. Gray had a jagged wound running the length of his right arm, and a scar across his face.
So far, they had won every fight, though quite a few of them had fallen. He would always remember those men. He had kept records of those who had fallen. When he returned to Lovic, he knew the king would send out letters to each of the families who had lost someone.
The elated feeling was instantly washed away the moment he saw Casman leading the army. He should have known it would be him. Since Ogden was dead, King Zavad wouldn’t have it any other way. The king felt Casman was the best man he had. Gray shook his head.
Casman gave him a friendly nod. It was the first time the man hadn’t scowled at him, planning his death. After all, the man believed he had gotten his best friend killed. Gray even thought it at times. If he hadn’t been there, Ogden could have survived. The creature would have never noticed him.
“Join us,” Casman called to him. “We need all the abled bodies we can get.”
Gray furrowed his brow. “What about the demons that get past your army? We are the last line of defense before they get to the towns and turn our own men into their army. No, we must stay here, no matter how appealing it is to go with you.”
Casman seemed surprised by his answer. Instead of responding, he nodded in confirmation before he and the others passed them by. The soldiers were loud. Many of them were in deep conversation with the man next to him. Gray stared after them, knowing he had made the right decision. Yul needed them here where it mattered most. He knew demons would get past them.
“Sir?” one of his men asked. He was a young man, not yet twenty. Gray knew what he wanted. “May I have permission to go with them?”
Gray sighed heavily. “Go find your glory, son. Just know you’re abandoning an important job here. There will be demons filtering into Yul. We are the ones who will continue to stop them.” Gray looked toward the others. He hated to give them the opportunity to leave, but it didn’t feel right to make them stay. “Go if you must. I’m staying.”
He watched the young man who had approached him head towards the army and another two join him. He was relieved more hadn’t left.
“We’re shorthanded. With such a large army marching on Dawn Stone, I feel we’ll see more activity down here. It’s going to be tough. I’m relieved you have elected to remain behind to help protect what’s important to us.”
Ogden
The time it had taken to reach Carthoda passed slowly
, but at the same time, passed too quickly. A lot of these men would die. A few of them had already died as some of the demon army had broken free of the horde outside of Dawn Stone.
Ogden wondered what the rest were waiting for. They were less than a week from the palace. What kind of awful surprise was awaiting them? Not only that, he and King Maik were more certain of betrayal. It was maddening not knowing when and having little choice but to bring them along. He had wanted to turn them away, but it was already too late. It was too late the moment he had accepted help from them.
It was all overwhelming. To make matters worse, no one had heard from Mercea. Every time he thought of her, he felt she was in danger and needed his help, but he couldn’t abandon these people. The moment he had become a Servant, he had made an oath to protect the people of Hartland. He couldn’t forsake them just because one of his fellow Servants was in trouble.
King Maik led the army from the back of his horse. Ogden thought he was foolish. He understood the reasoning behind it. The soldiers needed to know he was among them. He didn’t think they needed to worry about him constantly though. One arrow was all it would take to end his life or one demon out of sight. Ogden couldn’t sense them the way Mercea did. His sword didn’t vibrate, alerting him to their presence. All he had was the assault of evil around him, radiating at him. That was a new power that had come to him only a few days ago. It would have helped to have it as he had met with King Sabin.
He had voiced his concern to King Maik a few weeks ago. Maik had ignored him, explaining they needed him to be fearless.
Ogden shook his head. He felt King Maik was going to get himself killed. There was nothing he could do to prevent it either. There were too many people to look after, and his focus was on finding King Barend and Queen De’Nae. He wanted to end this sooner than anyone expected. He hoped if the demons’ leaders were dead, they would become disorganized and easier to kill. Maybe some of them would even disappear like what had happened after Urian had been defeated.
“It worries me we’ve run into so few demons on the way,” one of the soldiers said.
“I’m worried as well,” he admitted. “Why hasn’t Barend moved his army to attack? Why is he only sending out small units to harass the Desert and only to take over one town? It doesn’t make any sense. I fear we’ve stumbled into something none of us are prepared for.”
When the man laughed, Ogden looked toward him. Was he one of the monsters masquerading as a human?
“I’m thinking you might not be handling this so well. You sound a bit… Well, a bit paranoid.” The man gave another laugh as he walked away.
Ogden watched him until he disappeared into the multitude of soldiers. Yes, the responsibility of the fate of Hartland was resting solely on his shoulders at the moment. Yes, it was difficult, but the worst part was not knowing when the enemy was going to strike or how. How could he possibly be prepared for that or make plans?
Once again, he received an overwhelming urge to go to Dawn Stone alone and seek out Mercea. He wasn’t certain why he knew she was there. Somehow he did. Somehow, he knew she was in danger. It took all his self-control not to leave these men behind. Maybe in a few days he would. Maybe when he knew exactly what they were facing.
Flynn
Since they had left the palace, Aull had been nothing but a persistent headache. He kept voicing they were being foolish and should turn back. He also kept wondering, aloud, when Flynn would stop thinking of him as a man who’d betray him. He needed to return and protect his nephew.
Each day, Aull, came to him with something else to complain about. Each day, Flynn had members of his personal guard escort him away and keep him away.
Today, after listening to him whine about marching across Horizon, Flynn thought about running his brother through. It would take care of one of his problems, but he was a man who didn’t condone murder. If he murdered his brother, he would never be the same man again. He would be a murderer and thus required to be held accountable for his actions.
Flynn knew he would confess to having either done the deed himself or having ordered it. There would be no other choice but to have himself sentenced to death, even if he was king. Kings set examples for the people who lived in their kingdom. There were other ways to deal with bad people.
“Were you even listening to a thing I was saying?” Aull whined next to him. Flynn sighed heavily, stopped in his tracks, and leveled the man an annoyed look. “Of course you weren’t. You’re always more focused on yourself.”
Flynn sighed, shaking his head. “It’s probably a good thing you’re out here with me. You need to learn to care about others. If you can’t care for others, you can’t rule a kingdom, effectively. If I have my way, that will never happen. Since we’ve started this, all I have heard about is how you want to go home.”
Aull snorted. It was then Flynn realized what his brother was and it saddened him. The man would always be inconsiderate and selfish. He often wondered how his brother could be that way. Flynn shook his head, trying to tell himself it didn’t matter. At least, he wasn’t like Aull. He made a conscious effort to be different.
“I still think it was a mistake having both of us come all the way out here. Your son and wife cannot run a kingdom.”
Flynn shot his brother a dangerous look. “They’ll be fine,” he growled. “They have my advisors to help them, and both my wife and son have watched my council for years, unlike you, brother. If you know nothing of the way the kingdom is run, how do you expect to run it?” Flynn shook his head again. “But, that’s not what this is about, Aull. This is about you finding yourself out here. You have never left the palace, not truly. This is your chance to prove yourself as something other than just the brother of the king.”
“Stop lying,” Aull snarled.
“Fine. This is about me not being able to trust you due to your actions. You are not a brother, but a man vying for the throne through any means necessary. I haven’t forgotten about the time you attempted to kill me, nor will I.”
“You’ll be the death of us both.”
Flynn watched his brother disappear within the ranks of his men. He didn’t care. The less he saw of him the better. He looked about. He hated what he was about to do, but he was going to march them through most of the night.
Hethera
She had returned to Lovic. The sight of the city with its red rooftops and beige buildings was a relief. Excitement at reporting her news to King Zavad made her hurry to the palace. She scanned the entry hall, looking for any servant she recognized. When she didn’t find any, she hurried to the closest one.
“Please inform King Zavad, Lady Hethera has returned from Drakal. I will be waiting for him in the throne room.”
The servant furrowed his brow. “My lady, I don’t know who you are. I will not inform King Zavad of your presence. He has more than enough to concern him at the moment.”
Ianen stepped forward. He glowered down at the young man. “This is Lady Hethera Derry. She is the wife of Ogden Derry. Besides that, she speaks the truth. The king sent her on a mission down to Drakal to speak with King Adair. He will want to see her immediately. Have I made myself clear?”
The man nodded and scurried away.
“Thank you, Ianen. As I have returned home, I don’t think I’m in any need of your protection anymore.”
Ianen gave her a small laugh. “I am to remain your guard, as well as these men from here on out. King Zavad wants nothing to happen to you. He says you’re special. After traveling with you and listening to you as you slept, I have to agree. Now that you can see what’s going to happen to Hartland, we cannot allow you to fall into enemy hands.”
She didn’t know what to say. Instead, she turned toward the throne room, eager to get her meeting with King Zavad over with. The guards remained outside, except for Ianen. She paced the throne room until she heard King Zavad clear his throat. Turning to him, she bowed low.
“What did you find?” Zavad asked.
/> “King Adair will help us. He is already sending his army. They are a few days behind me, but they are coming and they are marching fast.”
Zavad studied her for a while. “What made him decide to help? I didn’t think you’d have any success, but I sent you down in a desperate attempt he’d see reason.”
Hethera’s look darkened. “He is not a good man, your Majesty. He tried to attempt to make me his wife once he discovered I could see parts of the future.” She decided to leave the rest silent.
“How’d he discover you were telling the truth?”
“I showed him what I have been seeing in Hartland’s future. It was the only way he’d listen.”
“You can show people your visions?”
“Yes, your Majesty. I didn’t know I could until I was there. However, I will only do so in dire situations. That was one of them. The Gods gave me permission to do so.”
Zavad nodded. “Thank you, Lady Hethera. When my scouts find their army, they’ll instruct them to head straight toward Dawn Stone. Hopefully, they won’t arrive too late. Our army is already heading there.”
“I know. I also know it won’t end there.”
Zavad furrowed his brow. “What do you mean it won’t end there? Are they going to fail?”
Hethera met her king’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I cannot say more.” She rose and left him staring at her.
Mercea
It was cold. Too cold. Deep shudders ran down her spine. It was what had woken her. Mercea scanned the surrounding darkness. She was back in her cell, but there was something different. She felt different.
She pressed her back against the stone, closing her eyes, trying to remember what had happened. Memories came flooding back to her in flash. De’Nae had come to see her and had forced her to touch the glass globe. That was when everything had changed!
