***
The following morning Allan flew over the city with Kenneth as his prisoner. He wasn’t afraid to be seen. He was pleased, when he had a spare instant to notice, that folk were looking up at him. He knew the sight would get them talking about him, or more accurately, the Defender. He wanted them talking.
I’m about to give them something real to talk about. Why not make the day memorable for everyone?
He coasted over the homes and shops to the Lord’s Manor. The guards watched as he flew over the wall. Fortunately for his intention of making an impression, the main reception room of the manor hall had a large window. Allan lowered himself so that he and his prisoner were a single pace above the ground.
Through the window he could see that Lord Gillam was addressing his guests. Neville was next to him. Beside the young man was a woman, tall and slender, with a pleasant face. Allan judged that those in the room were far enough from the window that they wouldn’t be hurt by flying glass.
He’d considered using a spell to shatter the window. The problem with that is that it would drain energy. He was already using up some to fly. He might need more to escape if something went wrong. He also felt that inflicting a little pain on his prisoner would keep him telling the truth. He shifted Kenneth so that he was behind the man. He guided them forward and through the window. Once through he aimed for the platform that Gillam and the others were standing on.
He was halfway there when Gillam shouted, “Guards! The Defender! Arrest him!”
“Hold!” Neville shouted.
“What?”
“He has Master Kenneth!” someone in the crowd called out.
Allan landed. He forced Kenneth to his knees. “My Lord, Master Neville, pardon my interruption, but I have news I think you must hear.”
He gave some thought to what he would say when this moment came. He was aware that he had to impress the important men and women in the room. He also had to make them wary about challenging him, and to understand the reasons for his actions. Most of all, he realized that he had to make them believe in his power, not only as a mage, but as a man who stood for certain ideals and beliefs.
“What news is that?” Neville asked.
Allan was pleased to see that Neville appeared somewhat curious. He was more pleased to see Gillam’s eyes darting around. The most pleasing sight was that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Captain William whisper something to a guard. The guard nodded and left the room.
“I think Master Kenneth should speak for himself.” Allan jerked off the cloth that had been tied around Kenneth to keep him quiet. “Master Kenneth, how was it that criminals knew when His Lordship was bringing in more silver to make coins?”
“I told them,” Kenneth answered, his voice harsh and low.
Allan gripped the man’s right shoulder as hard as he could. “Speak up, so everyone can hear you.”
“I told them.”
“Why did you do that?”
Kenneth closed his eyes. “His Lordship instructed me to.”
Allan waited for the gasps and head shaking to end before continuing. “Why would His Lordship want his own silver stolen by criminals, Master Kenneth?”
“He wished their help in a job, a special job.”
Allan squeezed again. “What job was that?”
“To murder Master Neville and Lady Juliet.”
At that, Neville turned on his father. He pushed the man back, and drew the older man’s sword from it scabbard. “Father! Why would you do such a thing?”
“It’s a lie, by this outlaw,” Gillam replied.
“It’s not a lie, Master Neville,” Captain William called out.
Coming in behind the Captain were more guards. With them was Boss Conner and the man who had run the brothel where Allan had captured Kenneth. The two men had their arms and legs in shackles.
The Captain pointed at Conner. “This is Conner, the boss of a gang of criminals. It was his gang that the Defender caught attempted to steal the shipment of silver. He’s confessed that Master Kenneth hired him to attempt the theft. He’s also confessed to his role in the conspiracy to attempt to murder Master Neville and his bride.”
“What other evidence do you have?” Neville asked.
“This.” William turned to another of his guards. The guard tried to hand him two items. William shook his head. “Hold them up.” The guard complied. “These are coin stamps, found in Master Kenneth’s room. They bear the seal, not of our Domain, but that of the Domain of Hillview.”
A tall man with fair hair stepped away from the crowd. “Let me see those.” The guard approached the man. The man, whom Allan guessed was the Lord of Hillview, looked at them for a moment. “By the Goddess! These are the very coin stamps that disappeared from the hands of my Treasurer, three months ago.” He turned to Kenneth. “Why did you have them?”
Allan bent down. “Answer His Lordship.”
Kenneth let out a breath before answering. “The murderer was supposed to be caught with silver coins, cast from those stamps. It was to be proof that His Lordship was involved in the murder of his daughter and Master Neville.”
“Proof that Lord Gillam would use to provoke a war, yes?”
“Yes.”
Allan heard murmurs through the room. He was pleased at how angry some of them sounded. “Captain William, you brought in another man in chains,” he said. “Who is that man?”
“He is the owner of the brothel where you found Master Kenneth,” William replied.
“Why have you brought him?”
“To further condemn Lord Gillam. This man bought a young woman who was not otherwise a slave, but the daughter of a free man. He forced this woman to become a whore. He also removed a young man and a young girl from the streets, and forced them into having sex, even though both were not of age when taken in.”
“That’s outrageous!” the Lord of Hillview said.
“How is that the crimes went unpunished?” Allan asked.
“Master Kenneth was a patron of this brothel. He conspired with Lord Gillam to make certain the guards didn’t know the location of this brothel, and couldn’t shut it down.”
“You are a sick and twisted man, Father.” Neville jabbed the point of his father’s sword against his belly. “Perversion, crime, stealing from His Majesty, plotting to murder your own son. You don’t deserve a trial. I should run you through.”
“Wait!” The word was out of Allan’s mouth before he had the full intention of saying it. An instant later, he was aware of everyone’s eyes on him.
“Why?” Neville sounded hurt, and a little angry.
Allan took a breath to focus his thoughts. “Your father is a criminal, like these other three men. That he is Lord of Elderwood makes no difference. He has the same right to a trial as any of them.” He paused. “He ought to face the same punishment as them.”
“Again, why?”
“Because his crimes, their crimes, were born of the view that they are above the law. They are men of power, be they the Lord of Elderwood, or the master of a company of criminals. Up to now the law has only punished those who didn’t have the means, or the power, to get away with their crimes. The poorest subjects of Elderwood have gone to jail, while those who had powerful friends, or enough coins to pay off a guard, went free.
“I use my magic to help the good people of Elderwood. I wanted to end the worst of the crime and vice. That’s what brought me to this day, Master Neville. But what I did means nothing if you kill your father, no matter how much evil he was behind. We have to use our power for good, whether that power is magic, wealth, or a title.”
“All well and good, friend,” Neville replied, “but what of it?”
“Using our power for good means holding ourselves to a higher standard, Master Neville. For you, it means putting your father on trial for his crimes. For me, it means not using my magic to kill, or get revenge, or to harm innocents. If we want folk to do good, then we must do good ourselves.”<
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“You burned a man’s house down,” Gillam said.
“I burned down the house of a man who sold his daughter to a brothel,” Allan replied. “A man who made his own daughter into a whore. A man who made his daughter think she was kidnapped. A man who, upon having her brought back to him, rejected her because it would cost him coins to help her. I may have let my anger get the better of me, but I didn’t kill him for what he did. His daughter is now being cared for, and he’s facing trial.”
“What the Defender did hardly compares to your crimes,” Neville said to his father. “What he said has persuaded me to spare your life long enough for you to go to trial for all that you’ve done. Guards, take my father into custody. Master Kenneth, also.”
Four guards came through the crowd. Two took hold of Gillam’s arms. The other two took hold of Kenneth and stood him up. The four of them marched them to stand with the other two prisoners.
“For now,” Neville said to the gathering, “I shall act as Lord of Elderwood. My father no longer holds that title, and does not deserve any respect. My first action, as Lord of Elderwood, is to dismiss the charges made against the Defender, and to thank him for his service to us.” He turned towards Allan and started to bring up his right hand.
Allan raised his own right hand. “Your Lordship, I thank you for dismissing the charges. As to accepting your thanks, I ask instead that you be a better man than your father.” He turned to the crowd. “I ask that all of you be better than Gillam. I will be watching.”
He turned away from them, and from Neville and Juliet. He walked to the window that he had broken open. He concentrated. His feet rose from the platform. He coasted through the window, rose straight up as quickly as he could, and flew away.
NINE
The Defender: Elderwood Page 22
