by B. T. Narro
A crowd was circled around the middle of the training center, but none within the metal fence appeared to be training as they ignored the charred dummies around them. More were passing through the gate to see what had drawn so many people as Kirnich began to push through. He made an easy path for Desil and Beatrix to follow.
“Stop them for crimes against the king!” yelled someone from close behind.
The crowd turned, their confused exclamations stopping abruptly. Some moved to put themselves in front of Kirnich, but in doing so they revealed the portal behind them. Kirnich barreled into one man who tried to grab him, then easily pushed another out of his way.
“It was Allephon Estlander who killed the king!” Beatrix announced. “Anything else you hear is a lie.”
People asked each other if the king really was dead, some already wailing in despair. A few identified the princess to the crowd, but a storm of shouting from their pursuers, to stop Beatrix the traitor, covered every other sound.
Kirnich stopped just in front of the portal and shoved anyone back who showed even a hint of aggression. Desil tried to do the same, but the crowd got hold of his hands and arms and pulled him away from Kirnich, the arrow wound on his arm searing with pain.
A collective scream of agony rang out as if the entire crowd had stepped in front of a jet of fire. They fell around Desil, freeing his limbs. Beatrix toppled into the portal as she gasped for breath. Kirnich grabbed Desil’s hand and just about threw him into the portal after Beatrix.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Colors spliced during unnatural shifts of perspective. It was as if the recent days of Desil’s life had been depicted on cards that were now shuffled just in front of his eyes. His stomach wanted to expel its contents, but Desil held back until he could at least figure out which way to the ground.
He felt as if he were in several places at once. Marros swarmed him in one while his mother scolded him in another. Looming somewhere was the darkness of the armory, Micklin guarding the exit.
Desil could only whisper as he fought his sideways stomach. “Did Kirnich make it through?”
“Yes,” the warrior groaned. “Where are we?”
“Close your eyes and wait for it to pass,” Basen advised them. “The longer a portal stays open, and the farther the entrance is from the exit, the worse the feeling when you pass through. The one you just went through was open for minutes, many miles away.”
Desil’s arm stung with fury. He clenched his teeth as he checked the wound to find a crust of dirt around it. Leida crouched with a water pouch poised above his arm.
“May I clean it?”
He nodded. She poured water and gently brushed away the dirt with a cloth.
“We didn’t expect to see the two of you return with Desil,” Adriya told Kirnich and Beatrix. “What happened?”
Both sat silently as tears poured down Beatrix’s anguished face. Even Kirnich seemed to be having trouble speaking as he stared forward with his palms against the dirt. Desil’s nausea returned as the responsibility fell to him.
With a vile taste in his mouth and the stench of the late king in his nostrils, he could do nothing but close his eyes and breathe deeply, trying to calm himself. Fortunately, Adriya and the Hillers seemed to figure out what this reticence meant as they uttered sounds of dreadful shock.
“Fernan is dead?” Adriya asked in a whisper.
“Yes,” Desil answered and wasn’t sure he could describe the scene. That smell. He spoke about what he could instead, as anger gripped him. “Micklin trapped me in the armory. He means to kill Beatrix and anyone helping her stay alive. He’s doing this for Allephon, and only because of some promise that Micklin will be exempt from arrest for all his future murders if Allephon seizes the throne…which might already be the case. Micklin will kill many people unless he’s stopped.” But Allephon might be the greater danger.
Beatrix stared ahead at nothing in particular. They were still in the old Kreppen encampment, near the charred wall where the creatures had been punished. Leida finished cleaning Desil’s wound and started treating it with a potion, wetting a fresh cloth and dabbing the bloody hole in his arm. She pressed a bandage against it, then wrapped it tightly with the same cloth.
“How did you get this?” she asked.
“I was shot by an archer fortunately lacking either the skill or the strength to embed the arrow any deeper. We all were shot,” Desil specified.
Kirnich slammed his fist against the dirt, then popped up and stormed off. Desil first thought it was something he’d said, but as he heard the warrior pacing and grumbling about Allephon, Desil realized that Kirnich was beginning his grieving.
“Excuse me,” Beatrix muttered as she got up and limped away. Desil and the others watched her go silently. She wandered between the shredded huts with her head down, her gait faltering, a hand coming over her face, her shoulders shaking as sobs wracked her small frame.
Leida started to go after Beatrix.
“Let’s give her some time alone,” Basen said to stop his daughter.
Desil was surprised when he glanced at the headmaster’s face to find a tear running down his cheek. His monotone voice had tricked Desil.
“In fact, I’d like a moment as well,” Basen said.
“Take as much time as you need, Father.”
He nodded grimly, then walked the opposite way as Beatrix.
Desil finally felt strong enough to stand, his nausea faded. Leida hugged him as soon as he was on his feet.
“I’m glad the three of you are safe. Beatrix and Kirnich didn’t make it sound as risky as it was.”
They eased apart.
“Beatrix hadn’t figured we might find her father dead and would have to flee.” Desil glanced at Adriya, wondering if he should open his arms to her as well.
She stepped toward him and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. “Glad you’re safe.”
“Tell us everything,” Leida requested.
Desil recounted his brief journey from being stuck on the roof of the castle to facing Micklin in the armory. But when he came to the part of the tale where he entered the king’s sleeping quarters, his eyes stung with tears. He had to stop, or he would find himself crying in front of Leida and Adriya. The realization of Fernan’s death struck him like a rock to the back of his head. It knocked loose the fears and sorrows he’d bottled up.
Fernan might not have been a perfect king, but to be killed by his own son, poisoned no doubt, was appalling. And to be left to rot—and found by his daughter that way when she expected him to be alive—was a gruesome end that no one deserved.
Why hadn’t the king been buried? Why hadn’t word gotten around about his death? Chills ran down Desil’s back as he realized the answer.
“Allephon must’ve planned for this.”
“Planned for what?” Leida asked.
“He arranged for his father to be poisoned and then discovered by Beatrix. Fernan probably fell ill and wasn’t seen by anyone in the castle for days, even after he died, but Allephon continued spreading tidings of Fernan’s illness expecting the reports to reach Beatrix. Allephon wanted her there. He wanted…wants…bastial hell, he’s the king now. He wants her dead, along with anyone willing to help her.”
They all looked toward Beatrix, but she had walked too far and put too many derelict huts between them. Kirnich had disappeared as well.
“We can’t abandon her,” Leida said.
“I wouldn’t ever suggest that,” Desil replied.
“Good.”
“At least you stabbed Micklin in the foot,” Adriya said. “Leida, how long until he’s able to walk again given the best healing?”
“One day to walk, two to run.”
“One day should be enough time to get to Tenred.” Adriya leaned in the direction Basen had gone as if she might follow him. “I thought your father and the king were enemies?”
“They’ve had disagreements as of late, but they worked together for twenty-fi
ve years. I think Fernan was both friend and enemy, but more friend.” Leida sighed. “His highness’ death will be Allephon’s justification for the war. The rest of Kyrro will hear that our king has been poisoned by our enemies in Tenred. Beatrix will be blamed for it as if she was working with Tenred.”
“A bounty will be put out for her and Kirnich, and possibly the four of us as well,” Desil said. “I don’t know what crimes they will accuse us of, but I imagine they will be enough to justify execution.”
Adriya and Leida greeted the news with gasps.
“We have to get to Tenred before news of what’s happened reaches them,” Adriya said.
“What will we do there?” Desil asked.
“That’s where the battle is taking place,” Adriya explained. “While you were gone, Basen risked taking a portal to the Academy to speak to his wife. Kyrro’s army now sieges Tenred. The chemist we need should be there as well.”
That reminded Desil of the potions in his pocket that he’d taken from the armory. “Do either of you know what these are? There were many more like these two in the armory.”
Leida and Adriya shook their heads.
Basen returned. “Where did Beatrix and Kirnich go?”
“We’re not sure,” Leida answered.
Basen pointed at the potions in Desil’s hands. “Did you get those from the castle?”
“In the armory. What do they do?”
“You pour one into the other and put the stopper in. After a moment, the vial will break and smoke will cloud the air. Good find. Hold on to them.”
Desil pocketed the potions.
“Well, I thought this through,” Basen continued, “and we can keep to the same plan, but there’s something the three of you need to know. Now that Allephon has taken power, he’s wrestled control from all his siblings and probably accused Beatrix of something that will allow him to imprison her; perhaps it’s the murder of their father. The four of us are in similar danger—”
“We know, Father,” Leida interrupted politely. “We were just discussing the same thing, and we’re not going to stop helping you.”
He showed her half a smile. “If I didn’t think I could keep us safe, I would figure out something else for the three of you to do. But for now, getting to Tenred as soon as possible is even more important than before. The Wind Knights have to be alerted to what’s happened before Allephon’s men can lie to them—I still don’t know how many are part of this plot, but I will figure it out if I need to.”
“You don’t need to take all of this onto yourself,” Leida said. “We’re here to do more than follow orders.”
“She’s right,” Desil added.
“Thank you.” Basen briefly bowed his head. “I’m going to speak with Beatrix and Kirnich, and then we’ll leave.” He walked off.
“We’re taking a portal to Tenred as soon as he gets back?” Desil asked.
“He can’t take us directly to Tenred without making a portal within the castle there,” Leida said. “The closest we can get is Regash Forest.”
Depending on where in the forest Basen could deliver them, it would take about a day of walking to reach Tenred. “I hope the portal exit is far from the Krepps there.”
Leida and Adriya glanced at each other nervously.
“Not exactly,” Leida said.
*****
Desil imagined that the Krepps were just waking up around this time. The more revered among the creatures probably started their day with a breakfast of raw meat from a fresh kill on one of the farms, while weaker Krepps begrudgingly chewed on oats as they pondered how they might earn more respect today. It was the currency in their society, with the most powerful Krepps enjoying the most comfort in their—what Desil considered to be—small homes on their straw-filled beds.
None of the Krepps wanted to wake up to the sight of humans in the middle of their territory. Worse, many Krepps would use humans as a way to prove themselves. Killing a single human wouldn’t earn them any respect, for a human should never win a fight against a Krepp in their eyes, but killing two or three trespassers in a battle against the odds could be just what many of them would want. It might even be a pleasant thought to calm the creatures during sleepless nights.
Desil had told Basen a few times by now that there had to be somewhere else near Tenred, besides right in the middle of the Kreppen territory in Regash Forest, where the headmaster could take them. But Basen had confirmed to the point of showing his annoyance that the only alternative was a portal directly into the castle, which Basen had agreed never to use without explicit permission from Tenred’s king. Given the war, their party would never make it out of the castle alive and certainly wouldn’t be able to traverse the entire territory of Tenred and get past the final wall, where Kyrro’s army lay siege.
“But is there really a chance we can make it out of the Kreppen settlement after teleporting into its center without permission?” Desil had fought to prove himself to the primal creatures before they’d allowed him in, and even with a Krepp escort, the looks he’d received were far from welcoming.
“I’m friends with two of the Krepps, Nebre and Zoke, and their leader respects me,” Basen said. “Rickik is old for a Krepp, but he will remember me. No harm will come to us.”
Desil remembered Nebre as the Krepp who’d given him Basen’s note that told them where next to go, during their search for Leida’s missing parents. Nebre hadn’t seemed to be in a position to stop an angry mob of Krepps, but if this was the only way, then Desil might as well shut his mouth.
He trusted that if Basen really thought they would be safe, then they would be. Desil’s worry came from the hints—Basen’s glances away from Desil’s gaze, and the hurry to get him to agree—that Leida’s father was keeping the extent of the danger from them.
They waited a while longer for Beatrix and Kirnich to return. Basen had gone off and spoken with them before coming back to tell Desil and the others that they needed more time to cope with what had happened.
Desil wondered if the headmaster had persuaded them or if they were sticking with the group by their own volition. However, there was a more important question to ask.
“When do they plan to separate from us again?”
“That depends on what happens when we meet with our army outside Tenred.” Basen left it at that.
When Beatrix and Kirnich returned, Basen chose from the many pieces of glowing akorell metal at their feet with a kick to one the size of his fist, separating it from the group.
“Leida, can you help me take out the bastial energy from the rest of the akorell metal on the ground? Be careful when you do, though. Each holds enough BE to burn yourself if it’s too close.”
“I will be careful.”
They mirrored each other as they made a gripping motion over a single block of akorell metal at a time. They each pulled an arm back as they drew out the white hot energy, then pushed the arm forward to shoot a beam of it out toward the ocean.
When it was time to draw out the energy of the last one, Leida wore a mischievous grin. She took out the energy as before, but instead of shooting it into the air, she aimed the beam at the nearest hut. The force of it blew a small hole through the ragged cloth. Flames ignited. They fed on the material and grew, then spread along in a dance.
“Leida, we don’t want anyone knowing we use this area!” Basen ran to the hut as it collapsed and started throwing dirt onto the flames.
Leida joined him. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know it would catch fire.”
“What did you think would happen?”
“I wasn’t sure.” With the help of the others, they extinguished the fire. Their trouble putting it out made Desil think of how easily his mother could’ve squelched the flames with sartious energy. He had a hope that Basen would recruit others when they met with the Kyrro army, specifically a sartious mage like Effie who could counter Erwal’s skill with bastial energy, but Desil figured Basen would’ve mentioned recruitment if it w
as part of the plan.
Desil looked forward to getting the Wind Knights involved with this plot to stop the war. After finding out what Allephon had done, Desil didn’t see how the Wind Knights could support his play for Tenred.
“I’m sorry,” Leida repeated. “I’ve never casted a spell with that much energy at once. I wanted to see how powerful it was.”
Basen looked apologetic himself. “I didn’t mean to raise my voice.” He gave her a wry smile. “I probably would’ve done the same if I hadn’t already tested the power of the akorell metal. But if you think that beam is powerful, imagine feeding sartious energy into the cluster of bastial.”
“Oh, the size of that fireball must be as big as Kirnich.”
Basen put his hand on his daughter’s back as they headed to the portal spot in front of the charred wall. “Later I’ll tell you about the time that I and a team of mages extracted energy from three akorell stones and made the largest fireball I’ve ever seen. We nearly destroyed our entire troop in the forest.”
“This was during the war?”
“Yes.”
“Why wasn’t it in Mother’s book?”
“Probably because no one who understood anything about bastial energy would believe it really happened, and then they might start questioning the other true events she’d gone through so much trouble to chronicle.”
Beatrix and Kirnich eventually reunited with the group but had lapsed into a sullen silence. Kirnich appeared to be seething as he ground his teeth, while Beatrix seemed vacant of thoughts as she stared ahead lifelessly.
“Are we all ready?” Basen asked.
“I am,” Leida said, though no one else spoke up.
Basen shifted his gaze from person to person. Desil nodded when the headmaster peered at him, as did Adriya.
“Ready,” Kirnich grumbled and put his hand on Beatrix’s shoulder. “Are you?”
“Yes,” she said but made no effort to rise from where she huddled on the ground.
“Do the two of you want your wounds looked at before we leave?” Leida asked, studying them intently.
