The Lost Duke

by Kristen Gupton

  Garhan had taken Stepan’s outfit as planned, and the Alerian guards didn’t pay him any particular attention. They took his proclaimed identity at face value.

  Keiran, Jerris, and Kanan quickly made their way into the middle of the Tordanian men. They clued in the Tordanian guards to their plan and ordered them not to attack Garhan or Mari if the situation deteriorated.

  The Tordanian guards, in turn, were greatly relieved to have Keiran and the others back. If nothing else, the group was whole once more, and they no longer feared for their king’s safety as they were now in direct control of it.

  As they got underway, Kanan and Jerris remained at Keiran’s side as he rode in the center of the pack. Mari was staying to the rear of the group with Garhan, the other Alerian guards surrounding them as they had on the way in.

  Though they’d gotten up early and cut their sleep short, there was a nervous energy coursing through them all. They quietly wondered if Stepan had made it, but they would only know for certain once they got out of the country as the Alerian guard had opted not to wait for them.

  It was late morning when they arrived in the border town, a few hours before their original estimated time of arrival. They followed the lead of their Alerian guards, keeping a watchful eye out on the town around them. It was relatively quiet, the people living there going about their daily routines.

  They were taken straight to the gate as the man tasked with escorting them there still wanted credit for getting to the border ahead of schedule.

  Adira had been waiting, however. She stood on the walkway above the gate, flanked by several archers. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared downward, her posture rigid.

  Keiran spotted her and halted once they were close enough to recognize who she was. By then, however, they’d been identified in return. Jerris and Kanan pulled their horses to a stop before Keiran’s, the other guards tightening ranks around their king.

  “I knew the rest of you would show up before long.” Adira focused on Keiran, however, looking down from the height she stood at was dizzying.

  Though Keiran opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by the guard Mari had promised the bonus to. The man was eager to ensure he was going to get his reward. The logic around Adira beating them to the gate didn’t cross his mind, his thoughts too clouded by his greed to care.

  “I pushed and got them here as quickly as possible, Your Majesty,” he said, stopping his horse directly below Adira. “The courier said there would be an additional bonus for getting them here ahead of schedule.”

  Adira’s cold stare shifted to Mari, spotting her beside Garhan. “Oh, yes, the courier. She’s said many things on my behalf lately, hasn’t she? You will be paid, but I need all of your men to move to the side for now.”

  The guard nodded and motioned for his men to pull away from the group of Tordanians. They went to the left, leaving the Tordanians standing in the road with Garhan and Mari.

  “We’ve traveled through your country without harming anyone, Adira,” Keiran said. “I see no need for there to be bloodshed now. Just let us go, and you will be rid of the only two vampires in Aleria.”

  A nervous twinge caused Adira’s expression to falter, but she was too high up for Keiran and the others to see. “Unfortunately, I’m not entirely certain that’s the truth anymore. I was paid a visit by Athan Vercilla, but maybe it was just an elaborate trick on your part to scare me into letting you leave.”

  Keiran looked toward Jerris, the redhead shrugging in response. The idea he’d finally made some sort of intervention into their current adventure was almost a relief.

  The Tordanian king turned his sights back up toward Adira, and he held back a smile. “That was no trick of mine. Athan does as he pleases. He is more than skilled enough to come and go on a whim, wall surrounding your country or not.”

  “I was afraid so,” she replied, letting her arms fall to her sides. “If it is the case that vampires can travel with impunity, regardless of what defenses we have, I’ll have much to think about. I find it hard to believe there is such a difference in the level of power between you, Garhan, and Athan.”

  “We discussed this before, and I was honest the first time. Athan has been around for centuries, and he’s grown strong over time,” Keiran said. “It will be a long while before either of us are able to circumvent your defenses like he can, if ever. Still, let us go and that will be the end of it. You will never have to deal with us again. I harbor no ill will toward this country.”

  She looked at the archers beside her, readjusting her stance as the wind began to pick up. While she wanted to order the entire group slain to definitively end the situation, the eerie feeling she’d had during Athan’s visit welled up and shook her resolve.

  She’d already missed her chance to kill Stepan. The best she could do now and not violate the ultimatum Athan had given her would be to kill Mari.

  With her voice quiet enough for only the archers to hear, she gave them a quick order before looking down at the Tordanians. “Then leave.”

  Kanan called out to the others and gave them the order to get through the gate quickly. He didn’t have a particularly good feeling about the situation, but if there was a chance Adira was sincere about letting them just ride out, they needed to take it while they could.

  Keiran and Jerris urged their horses forward, still amid the group of guards as they passed under the gateway. The vampire never took his eyes from Adira, except for the moment he lost sight of her as they moved through the gate. Once on the other side, he turned in the saddle to see she wasn’t looking at him, but rather at Garhan and Mari as they followed the rest out.

  The wind was worsening, and Keiran was forced to look away as the dust the horses kicked up blew into his face.

  Kanan had waited for the rest of the group to get moving before he made his way out, stationing himself behind Garhan and Mari. He wanted to ensure that all of them made it through the gates before he went. As Mari and Garhan passed beneath Adira, he signaled his horse forward as well.

  Adira waited until Mari reappeared on the other side of the gate before giving her signal. “Now!”

  The archers quickly brought up their longbows and drew back their arrows. The wind made their aiming more difficult, but it was a relatively short distance to let their arrows fly.

  Kanan saw the archers shift position as the two immediately before him cleared the gate. He shouted for them to run, and kicked his horse into a gallop.

  Without looking back, everyone, including Mari and Garhan, urged their horses on faster. Kanan had feared they were walking into a trap and had discussed with them the importance of obeying any order he gave without hesitation, and the message had been heard.

  The whistling of the arrows through the air was drowned out by the similar noise of the wind gusting through the trees flanking the road. The way the wind swirled beneath the gate caused the arrows to deviate from their intended paths, darting in errant directions.

  Kanan cleared the gates, the massive wooden doors immediately beginning to close behind them. Adira didn’t want any of the Tordanians doubling back, nor did she want the Ibianese soldiers on the other side of the structure getting any ideas about acting up in light of the arrows being fired onto their side of the border.

  As the volley of missiles started to come down around them, Garhan felt one sail past the side of his head, hitting the cobbled road beside his horse and shattering. He looked over at Mari, seeing an arrow strike her left shoulder.

  She cried out from the sudden pain and looked back to see the shaft of the arrow bobbing from her shoulder with each of her horse’s strides. With the reins held in her left hand, she groped back with her right trying to wrest the arrow free. It tore away with an agonizing rip, and she cast it to the ground.

  The vast majority of the arrows had gone far astray, littering the ground beside the retreating band. Adira saw the courier get hit but not fatally. She lifted her hand again and screamed at
the top of her lungs for the archers to fire again. Immediately, their next barrage of arrows was on its way.

  Kanan looked back to see the archers drawing again, and he did his best to get closer to Mari. He realized the courier was Adira’s intended target. He was able to pull up alongside her and held out his left arm, trying to shield the woman as best he could from the next attack.

  Once again, the wind played havoc with the archer’s targeting, but out of the dozen arrows fired, some found their mark.

  Mari cried out again, feeling another arrow strike her, this time in the lower back. The nature of the pain was remarkably different as it sunk in deep, unfettered by bone. Though there was a good deal of adrenaline coursing through her, an instant and profound nausea swept over her.

  Kanan saw the arrow hit her at the same moment one lodged into the triceps of his outstretched arm. He grit his teeth but refused to drop his arm away, desperate to cover Mari. Garhan slowed his horse and pulled behind the courier’s animal, standing in the stirrups to further block anymore arrows from hitting her.

  Still not seeing Mari fall from the saddle, Adira shouted out for yet another volley, however, the archers didn’t respond. They all knew the group was growing too far away, and the Ibianese soldiers on the other side of the gates were already moving out onto the roadway, their archers preparing to return fire.

  Mari’s head began to swim, though she managed to stay in the saddle longer than most would have. Garhan looked back to see the archers falling out of range, and the road they were on headed downhill ahead, taking them out of the Alerians’ sights.

  He rode up next to Mari and reined his horse to a stop as the woman finally slipped from consciousness and began to fall. Garhan managed to catch her, pulling her small frame into his arms.

  The others became aware of what was happening and stopped. Kanan hurried from the saddle, ripped the arrow from his arm and moved around, offering to take Mari from Garhan so he could dismount as well.

  Garhan passed her off to the guard and scrambled to the ground. He took Mari from Kanan and carried her to the side of the road, tears of fear already marking his cheeks. Carefully, he knelt, clutching her tightly.

  The arrow protruded from her back a few inches from her spine. The tip of it was embedded solidly into her kidney, a profuse trail of blood spilling out.

  “Mari!” Garhan looked at her face, seeing the ashen color of it. She was still breathing, but the movements of her chest were shallow, and her eyes weren’t closed. They stared up at the trees, unfocused.

  Keiran and Jerris dismounted quickly and ran over.

  Jerris stopped next to his father, seeing three more arrows protruding from the older man’s back. “Dear God, how many times were you hit?”

  Kanan flashed Jerris a glance, unaware of the arrows he’d taken beyond the one in his arm. He had focused so closely on the woman he’d been unaware of his own condition. “Once.”

  Jerris shook his head and moved behind him, trying to judge how badly the old man had been hit. “There are three still in you!”

  “What?” Kanan asked, looking back over his shoulder and only then becoming aware. His left arm tingled from the elbow down from the damage the first arrow had caused. The ones in his back still hadn’t been picked up by his brain. “Oh, hell.”

  Jerris toyed with all three of them briefly, seeing they were fairly superficial and easily removed. He gripped them sequentially, pulling them out of Kanan.

  The old man grunted as the steel tips cut their way out of his flesh when pulled, but their simple removal meant they weren’t too deeply lodged. The thick leather vest he wore had undoubtedly saved his life.

  Keiran went to Garhan and knelt before him. He could see the large pool of blood on the ground as it poured from Mari, and the nature of the injury was clear enough. “Poor Mari… Garhan, I’m so sorry.”

  Garhan’s teary eyes came up to meet his brother’s, his complexion pale. “God damn Adira! She couldn’t just let us go…”

  Keiran moved closer, seeing and feeling that Mari, though unconscious, was still alive. However, with the amount of blood she was losing and location of the arrow, he understood it was only a matter of minutes. Even a doctor wouldn’t have been able to save her. “Do you want me to take the arrow out?”

  Garhan slowly shook his head. “You know as well as I do we can’t save her.”

  There was a moment of silence as Keiran admitted to himself Garhan was correct. Guilt emanated from the other vampire, and it hit Keiran hard.

  He met his brother’s gaze again, his head cocking to the side. “It’s not your fault, Garhan.”

  “I should have insisted we leave the moment I was out of that damned house,” he replied, his voice cracked and his shoulders began to heave. “I was selfish to bring her into this…”

  Keiran moved to Garhan’s side, putting an arm around his shoulders. He glanced over to see Jerris tending to Kanan’s injuries.

  Kanan stood stoic as his son fussed behind him, his gaze fixed on Mari. Pain was evident in the old man’s eyes as he regretted not stopping the fatal arrow she’d taken.

  “I’d waited so long to see her again.” Garhan hung his head and held her tighter to his chest, conscientious not to allow the protruding arrow to be jarred against his legs or the ground. Nausea twisted up in his stomach as his remaining composure withered away.

  Keiran tightened his hold around Garhan, forcing his eyes away from Mari as her body began a series of weak convulsions. She drew in several erratic agonal breaths before her body went completely still in Garhan’s embrace.

  Garhan buried his face against Mari’s neck, only then reaching for the arrow and tearing it from her body, angrily hurling it to the side. He cried bitterly, his teeth gnashed together.

  Though he’d been away from her for ages, his love for the courier had never faded. The previous few days following their reunion had proven their relationship hadn’t suffered from their time apart. The two of them had carried on as they worked to escape the country as though they’d never been pulled away from one another.

  Jerris finally moved to stand at Kanan’s side, convinced the old man was too tough for the arrows to have damaged much. He followed his father’s gaze, seeing Garhan crying over Mari. He looked at Keiran, the Tordanian king giving a slow shake of his head to tell Jerris the woman was dead.

  The redhead felt a distinct illness wash over him at the sight of it, the memory of Keiran’s assassination several months before stirring up unwelcomed feelings. He turned to look at his father, seeing the profound sadness in Kanan’s expression.

  “There’s nothing else we could have done without causing more of us to die,” Jerris said, lowering his gaze to the dirt.

  “Aye, but for the girl to be the one to pay doesn’t seem fair,” Kanan replied, shaking his head. “For her to be punished like this for doing the right thing… It’s wrong. I should have made her and Garhan ride in the middle of the pack with you and Keiran.”

  “More would be dead if she’d been further into the group.” Jerris met his father’s eyes. “The wind had their aim scattered. You’re lucky you’re alive, old man.”

  “It would have been better for me to go doing my job than a woman who still had a chance at many more years,” Kanan said, frowning.

  Jerris lifted his hands, seeing them smeared with his father’s blood. His stomach knotted worse at the sight, and he moved away from the group to try and settle his nerves before he vomited.

  * * *

  Adira had seen the second arrow hit Mari before she and the others moved out of view. She also saw the old guard get hit with a few shots, and Athan’s warning about none of the others being harmed echoed through her mind. She didn’t get too long to dwell on it, however, as her guards were soon hurriedly ushering her off of the walkway as the irate Ibianese soldiers fixed their aim on all of the Alerians they could see.

  She wasn’t terribly worried about upsetting her neighbors by attackin
g the group in their territory. It would only take a good-sized bribe going into the right hands to get the Ibianese to forgive her small infraction. Besides, no one hit mattered to any real degree to the Ibianese.

  Once she was safely on the ground, she began to think about the older guard getting hit again. There was a possibility others might have been injured as well, but she’d focused on the woman too closely to notice.

  Regardless, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she hadn’t technically broken her deal with Athan. The group had been allowed out of Aleria safely. Her order to attack had been given once they were through the gates and on their way out.

  Though Adira wasn’t going to let her guard down, she hoped to get away with it. Surely, the archers missing their mark wouldn’t be held against her. She’d told them to only hit the woman, after all. Her pride reared up, a smile coming to her lips as she moved back toward the inn to prepare for her trip back to the palace. She’d done her best to meet Athan’s terms, and the errors made hadn’t been her own.

  Whatever the consequences were, the Tordanian king and Garhan were both safely outside of her country. However angry Keiran may be over events, the country he ruled was weak and far from capable of challenging Aleria.

  The thought made her laugh, and she gave one last look toward the gate. Up where she’d been standing with the archers sat a large raven. Adira recalled the bird that had flow beside her carriage a few days before, and her smile instantly vanished. Pulling her attention away from it, she hurried from the scene.

  Chapter 10

  “How long is he going to carry her body in this heat?” Jerris asked Keiran.

  “I’m not going to prod him about it for now,” Keiran whispered.

  They’d gotten back onto their horses and were on their way to the first town on the Ibianese side. It would only take them about half an hour to reach the small city. Garhan had been asked if he wanted to bury Mari’s body before they started out, but he’d refused.