Heart of the King

by Bruce Blake

  Athryn’s hand on his arm halted his protest. The magician stood and pulled the boy to his feet as he drew the mask back down over his face.

  “I suppose you need to go, too?” Mandich said, his words garbled by the chunk of rabbit meat in his mouth.

  “I too must empty my bowels,” Athryn said.

  “Ha!” Tugg guffawed. “‘Empty your bowels’? Talking like that, I hope you wipe your ass with a stinging nettle.”

  Khirro herded his companions away, leaving the two soldiers laughing so hard they nearly choked themselves on their sparse meal.

  We should be so lucky.

  They stepped off the road into the fringe of grass separating the dirt track from the line of trees. The forest on the verge of winter was quiet; the only sounds were the soldiers’ laughter, the faint crackle of the fire and the whisper of a light wind through the trees. When they’d gone a few paces into the forest, Khirro decided they were far enough away to chance speaking.

  “His scar came off, Athryn.” He kept his voice low, both to ensure the Kanosee didn’t hear and to keep from alarming the boy.

  “Yes. This type of spell does not last forever.”

  “What do we do?”

  “It seems to me that the magic is only one of our worries. The dead soldier does not have the same needs as the living. How will you stay awake for a week? How will you go without food and water?”

  Khirro sighed and peered over his shoulder toward the fire; branches obscured his view, but he still saw the figure of the undead soldier standing behind the other two. He directed Athryn and Graymon around a clutch of brambles and behind the trunk of a large tree.

  “I can sneak water and food. Sleep may be a problem.”

  Despite Graymon’s prior protest, the boy dropped his trousers to urinate against the tree hiding them from their foes. Khirro and Athryn stepped away to give the boy some privacy.

  “I think I can help you fell rested,” Athryn said.

  He rolled up his sleeve and scanned the black cursive lines tattooed on his flesh. When he didn’t seem to find what he was looking for, he pulled open the front of his shirt. Khirro watched until his finger stopped on a line as unrecognizable as the rest.

  “Here.”

  “Will your magic work so far away from the dead man?”

  “My power seems to be growing with every use. I think it will work.”

  “Good.” Khirro allowed himself a relieved smile and felt the mud on his face crack. A piece toppled off his cheek. “Can you renew this, too?” He pointed at his face, careful not to move the muscles in his cheek and jaw unnecessarily.

  Athryn sighed and nodded.

  “I know you don’t want me to cut myself,” Khirro said, “but it’s better than losing our lives.”

  “They will not kill you or the boy, not if they know who you are. I am the one whose life is immediately in danger.”

  Khirro put his hand on Athryn’s shoulder. “That’s enough reason for me, my friend.”

  Athryn nodded and stepped back as Khirro drew his dagger. The magician paused to read the archaic writing scrawled across his lower abdomen, preparing to cast the spell. Khirro breathed deep and looked toward the boy who’d finished his business and stood watching them, his back to the tree. Khirro held a finger to his lips and Graymon nodded.

  “All right.” Athryn lowered his head and began the quiet chant.

  Khirro yanked up his sleeve and brought the edge of the knife toward his forearm. Before he set the sharp blade against his flesh, he hesitated, given pause by the line of cuts he’d already made in the service of Athryn’s magic.

  I’m already starting to look like Maes.

  With a shake of his head, he closed his eyes, laid the edge of the blade against his skin, and drew the knife across his upper arm. The blade sliced his flesh, immediately bringing blood to the surface, but the sting of it was not as much as it had been other times. He let his arms fall to his sides and felt the trail of blood running down the inside of his forearm and into his gauntlet, a feeling with which he was beginning to become all too familiar.

  Athryn’s chant resonated in Khirro’s ears, lulling him until his shoulders sagged forward and his head drooped toward his chest. The chant became a drone, the drone a buzz, the buzz a growl, and Khirro’s dozing mind conjured the white tyger he’d dreamed of before, a totem he now knew to be the spirit of the king that lived inside him. He hadn’t dreamed of this version of the tyger in a long time, but now, in his mind, it stood before him, lips peeled back to reveal sharp teeth as a deep growl rumbled in its throat.

  “Beware,” the tyger said. The growling stopped.

  Graymon’s shriek startled Khirro back to wakefulness. His first reaction was to turn to the boy and hush him, but when he saw the look of fear on his face, he realized it wasn’t Khirro’s transformation into one of the dead that brought the sound from him. At the same instant he realized this, he also noticed Athryn’s chant had ceased. He pivoted back toward the magician, brought his dagger to bear in a habit he didn’t remember developing, but the sword pressed tight under Athryn’s chin stopped him.

  The dead man leered over the magician’s shoulder, his gloved hand covering Athryn’s mouth. Athryn held the thing’s forearm with both hands, but he wouldn’t be able to extricate himself without the monster slicing his throat.

  “Well, well. What do we have here?”

  Tugg and Mandich came around the side of the tree, swords drawn. Khirro’s eyes flickered from Athryn to the two soldiers and back.

  “Let him go,” Khirro said and felt another chunk of dried mud slide off his cheek.

  Mandich leveled his sword at Khirro. It quivered in the air a yard away from him. “Not going to happen. Drop your knife if you want to live.”

  They’ll kill him no matter what I do. They don’t need him.

  A step behind him, Graymon whimpered. The two Kanosee soldiers looked at him and Khirro used the instant of distraction in the only way he could see to gain some leverage. He grabbed Graymon and brought the dagger he’d used to aid Athryn’s magic up to the boy’s throat.

  “Let him go or I kill the boy.”

  Deep inside, Khirro felt an ember spring to life.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The man’s sickly smell made the two soldiers who’d brought him gag and hold their hands over their noses, but it created the opposite effect in the Archon. She breathed deep through her nose, drawing in the heady fumes of sewage and burnt flesh, luxuriating in their intoxicating odor the way other women might inhale the scent of perfume, or flowers gifted by a lover.

  “We found it...him in the south tunnel,” one of the soldiers said.

  The Archon opened her eyes and fixed him with a penetrating gaze, recognized him as the leader of the patrol she’d seen bring the man and woman with the child into the fortress. She supposed the soldier had a name, but she didn’t know it nor cared to. As far as she was concerned, he was another pawn to move about as necessary to achieve the ends she desired. She moved away from the divan and the thing she’d thrown a blanket over to hide from her visitors.

  “The south tunnel,” she repeated, her top lip curling into a sneer. “Did you find anything else?”

  “Not much,” the other soldier said. “Some body pieces. Everything was burned pretty bad. Like him.”

  “No armor? No weapons? What a about a staff? Did you find a staff?”

  “No, we didn’t, ma’am...err, your Gra...your Maj...Nothing.”

  She leaned closer to the burnt man, her hands held behind her back. As she neared, she took another breath through her nose, both for pleasure and in search of clues to the man’s identity, but the aroma of charred skin and old feces proved too strong for her senses. She paused a few inches from where the man’s nose had once been before it was incinerated.

  “Sienhin?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

  The man’s lips made a crackling sound as they parted to draw a rattling breath between t
hem. The Archon pulled back and watched the man’s lidless eyes focus on her. The life in them flickered dimly, like a candle guttering before going out, but she saw enough to recognize him.

  “Hahn,” she said, not bothering to hide her disappointed tone. She looked up at the soldiers who had dragged him to her room from the sewer tunnel. “Leave us.”

  They both bowed shallowly and retreated from the room; she relished their relieved expressions, knowing it meant they feared her. She liked to be feared.

  When they were gone, she returned her attention to her blackened former lover.

  “I don’t suppose you can tell me what happened, can you?”

  A dry click sounded in the depths of Hahn Perdaro’s throat as he attempted to swallow with a mouth incapable of producing saliva.

  “Fire,” he said, the word carried on waning breath.

  The Archon reached out with a finger and prodded the burnt flesh of his shoulder. A pained breath shuddered into his chest.

  “I know who did this to you,” she said conversationally. “He let you live, you know. If he did not desire your survival as a messenger, a warning to me, you would be dead.”

  Perdaro made a noise like he attempted to speak, but the Archon ignored the sound.

  “And what of Sir Alton Sienhin? Is he dead?”

  Hahn moved his eyes away from her gaze and the action gave her all the answer she needed. Rage twisted in her stomach and she fought to keep from lashing out at the burned husk of a man; he was already being punished for his failure, anything she might do would be a relief to him. He didn't deserve relief.

  “Now that you have brought your news, I am sure he will let you die.” She leaned toward him, brought her lips close to the opening in his skull where an ear once existed. “If it was me, I would let you suffer for failing at a task as easy as this.”

  She drew back to look in his eyes and saw fear in them, and pleading. His head moved slightly side to side, his way of saying it wasn’t his fault, she supposed. Even without a face, she saw the pain the movement brought him, and it delighted her—this was his punishment not only for failure, but for the hideous things she’d had to do to keep him loyal. He released his breath and she smelled his charred lungs.

  “Does he have the staff?”

  More painful movement, this time in the affirmative.

  “But you did not use it, so he does not know its power.” She brushed his cheek with the knuckle of one finger; he flinched. “This may work to our advantage. It seems you have served your purpose, Hahn. Time to go to the fields of the dead. I think you will like it there.”

  “N...no.” Breath hissed out of his parched throat, barely recognizable as words. The Archon leaned in, indulging him. “I...f...fight. For you. M...m...m...ake me mon...ster. Bring. M...me b...b...back.”

  She laughed aloud, a loveless, uncaring bark of a laugh.

  “Bring you back to fight for me? You could not complete a simple task while you lived, and with real soldiers I sent to assist you. What makes you think you would be a worthy soldier in death, Hahn?” She laughed again and Hahn Perdaro struggled to form more words, to protest, but she spoke over his efforts. “No, my love, he will let you die now, and so will I. Guards!”

  Perdaro flinched as she shouted and a moment later, one of the soldiers appeared in the doorway, bowing shallowly. Sheyndust looked at him and felt anger bubble inside her.

  “Bring me King Therrador,” she commanded. “Use whatever force necessary, but be sure he is alive when he gets to me.”

  The soldier grinned, showing the space where he was missing a tooth, and bowed again before hurrying from the Archon's chamber. When he as gone and the door shut behind him, she felt calm and control return. She strode to the divan where a blanket embroidered with the royal seal covered a bulky shape.

  “Rest assured, Hahn, your death will not deter my plans. Your failure may be of great service to me, actually. Not only do I now have no reason to keep Therrador alive, but I will also use the last remnants of your life so that I may have a real soldier to aid me, one who will be loyal and capable.”

  She pulled the cover away and reached down to stroke the cold cheek of the corpse lying on the divan. Her fingers traced a path to his ear where they encountered one of many feathers protruding from his skin. She plucked it and held it up for Perdaro to see. The feather was gray and patchy, the feather of a bird that had been dead for a while.

  A bird that could help me win a war.

  Hahn Perdaro’s eyes grew glassy and his breath hitched in his throat. The Archon smiled, closed her eyes, and began the now familiar spell to animate the dead.

  ***

  Therrador woke with a start, the feel of cold sweat on his forehead and surprised he’d fallen asleep. After arriving back at his chambers, he’d paced, worrying about what he’d sent Sir Alton Sienhin to do, but he didn’t recall undressing and lying down on the bed.

  He sat up abruptly and looked around the room, but night blanketed the world; the moon was dim and sunrise remained hours away judging by the quality of the dark and the lack of sound coming from the fortress around him. He looked left and right, his braided beard rubbing against his bare chest. At first, he thought the blur in the corner an effect of sleep clouding his eyes, but it grew larger as the indistinct figure approached and he realized what he saw.

  “You again,” he said throwing off the covers and standing. The air in the room felt cold on his bare flesh despite the embers glowing on the hearth. “Do you bring news of Sir Alton?”

  “I do,” the ghostly woman said.

  Therrador’s hands clenched into fists as he waited for her to continue. She floated closer and her form became more distinct, though it remained translucent. He saw the red of her hair, the green of her eyes, the paleness of her cheeks, and found that, despite having seen her a few times, despite the help she’d provided, he couldn’t remember her name.

  Elyea.

  His head jerked at the sound of the word whispered in his ear and still found no one in the room but the ghostly woman in front of him, yet she couldn’t possibly have spoken her name into his ear. The king suppressed a shiver and returned his attention to the woman.

  “Elyea,” he said. “What has happened?”

  “A trap. They were waiting for him.”

  “How is that possible? We knew not to trust Emon Turesti, but--”

  “It isn’t these two men who are not to be trusted. Emon Turesti gave his life trying to keep his secret, but it was more than he could bear.”

  Therrador’s hands loosened. “Smoke is dead? And Hu Dondon?”

  The woman looked at him, her gaze penetrating. Therrador had his answer in her lack of response and dropped his gaze from hers, his eyes flickering back and forth across the floor as if he’d find the solution to saving his kingdom lying upon it. After a moment, he shook his head to collect himself, and raised his face back to hers.

  “What of the general?”

  “He has left the fortress and is on his way to Achtindel.”

  “He survived the trap, then.”

  “With some help from a friend.”

  Therrador’s mouth fell open. “A friend?”

  She nodded. “It doesn’t matter now. The Archon knows of your plan and she has found out that Sir Alton survived. Your life is in danger.”

  “But who--?”

  He heard the sound of an insistent voice from behind the ghost woman, the words muffled by the heavy wooden door. Instinctively, Therrador reached for the sword belt that would normally have hung on the corner post of the bed. When he didn't find it, he glanced toward the portion of wall hiding the secret passage he’d used before and wondered if he’d make it across the room before the Kanosee soldiers entered. It was a fanciful thought; there wouldn’t be time to get the wall opened and closed before they entered.

  “It’s too late to flee,” Elyea said as a key rattled in the door’s lock. “Don’t move.”

  He had no choice
but to trust the woman.

  She hasn’t steered me astray yet.

  She moved closer, her ghostly form an inch from touching him, and the king shivered again.

  But I also thought Hahn trustworthy.

  Her figure became vaporous and touched his bare chest. Therrador stiffened as the ghost woman enveloped him, entered him, and he found himself unable to move. A mist passed over his vision, obscuring the room into a charcoal smear of indistinct shapes as the door swung inward and three men entered.

  Therrador heard them clearly and saw their movements as they rushed into the room, but could make out no more than their outlines in his hazy perception. One dragged the blankets off the bed and a barley human grunt followed his discovery that it was empty.

  “Search the room,” someone else said.

  The king saw dark shapes move off in different directions, heard armor clatter and furniture thump as they overturned chairs and tables, tore tapestries off the walls. He attempted to turn his head to see if they would discover the secret passage hidden in the wall, but the ghost woman held him rigid and still, his eyes the only part of himself he controlled.

  Panic drew Therrador’s guts into a tangle, not at the prospect of discovery, but at the paralysis holding him from moving, from defending himself should the need arise. He’d been a soldier too long to bear the thought of dying defenseless.

  “He’s not here,” the voice said.

  “That...that’s not possible,” a second man said, his voice rife with nerves.

  The guard.

  “Check again,” the guard said.

  In his misty prison, Therrador smiled. What would the guard’s life be worth when the Archon found out he’d let the king escape? It must have been this thought adding the tremor to his voice.

  Therrador felt a presence at his back and his smile disappeared. His muscles tensed, though he guessed he wouldn’t be able to move unless the woman released her hold on him, and part of him wondered if he would even be able to move.

  The presence behind him came closer, then circled in front of his frozen form. In the fog clouding his vision, Therrador made out the shape of the man, but his features remained indistinct. The shape paused directly in front of him, then fell to his knees to search under the bed, the soldier’s arm brushing the side of the king’s calf. He swept his sword back and forth along the length of the bed, then grunted a sound only a no-longer-human throat was capable of making, and stood.