The King's Scrolls

by Jaye L. Knight

  “Why don’t you just give me a sword and you and I can be done with this.” It was a stupid challenge, but everything inside him screamed for action.

  The General spun around, and the soldiers jerked Kaden to a halt. His grandfather let out a harsh bark of laughter. “You would fight me?”

  Even now, Kaden refused to back down. “Yes.”

  His grandfather just laughed in his face, but his voice vibrated with dangerous intensity. “I’ve had a sword in my hand longer than you’ve been alive. You may have excelled in your training, but it takes more than skill to beat a man with experience.”

  He spun around and marched on. The soldiers shoved Kaden after him. He breathed hard through his nose, refusing to acknowledge that his grandfather was right.

  At the edge of camp, they arrived at the stocks. Here, Kaden’s eyes latched onto the only person to occupy one of them. His lungs and throat locked up.

  “Jace,” he gasped as concern doused his anger.

  Jace glanced up. Dark blood was caked around his right brow and swollen eye, dripping down to join more blood at his chin. This was not the condition they’d left him in at the whipping post.

  The anger exploded back into Kaden’s heart. His eyes flew to his grandfather. “What did you do to him?”

  The General raised his chin. “Exactly what he deserved.”

  The fight inside Kaden erupted. He wrenched against the soldiers. They tried to restrain him, but he rammed his shoulder into one and sent the man to the ground. The soldier scrambled to regain his feet to help his partner, but the General reached them first. The force of a sledgehammer plowed into Kaden’s gut. His lungs emptying, he fell to his knees, gasping for air. His grandfather’s hard fist locked onto his collar and yanked him to face him.

  “You’re quickly spending my patience,” he said through his teeth. “You’d better think long and hard about your future and have a satisfactory answer for me when I return.”

  Kaden was still trying to catch his breath as the soldiers dragged him over to the stocks and sat him down in the mud, where they unchained him just long enough to lock the boards around his ankles, and then his neck and wrists. He twisted and squirmed as his grandfather strode away, but the uncomfortable restraints were solid.

  Kyrin tensed at the sound of her grandfather’s returning footsteps. “Elôm, help me.”

  She’d worked her tears under control, determined to be strong, though she still ached for the confidence of having Kaden at her side. Her grandfather scared her more than she wanted to admit, but she had faced the emperor alone. This was no different.

  The General walked in a moment later and shoved the door behind him, though it stood open a couple of inches. Kyrin watched him cross the room to stand in front of her and resisted the urge to cower. Anger still shadowed his eyes. There was no telling what Kaden might have said on the way out. Kyrin almost cringed considering it. However, she did detect the slightest trace of softening when her grandfather peered down at her. She dared not hope she had any advantage with him, but she tucked it away in her mind.

  “Now, perhaps, we can actually talk,” he said.

  Enough ire still smoldered inside Kyrin to form a retort Kaden might use, but antagonizing him wasn’t the answer. She bit her tongue and swallowed down the words.

  When she did not speak, the General did. “You’re in very serious trouble, Kyrin.” This time he almost seemed to care when he said her name. “You’ll be dead within a week if you don’t accept my offer. Think about it. I’m giving you a chance to start over, to stop running, and live the life you were meant to live.”

  The allure of the words tugged at the place in her heart that desired a normal life, but she could never go back to the way things were—never wanted to. Especially now that her father was dead and she had witnessed the lengths her grandfather was willing to go to force his will and beliefs on others. Right now, her own life didn’t concern her.

  “How can you do this? To Jace and to Liam? How could you be so cruel?” She choked on the tears she fought to keep down.

  “Rebellion and treason are never to be treated lightly.”

  Kyrin squeezed her fists and shook her head. They weren’t rebels or traitors, but if that’s how her grandfather chose to see them, then she was just as guilty as Jace and Kaden. “If that’s the case, why don’t you have me punished and put in the stocks as well?”

  The General frowned deeply. “You’re a girl.”

  “The emperor didn’t have any qualms about that when he threw me into a cold cell, wearing only a shift, and then dragged me in front of a mob throwing rocks and screaming for my execution.”

  “You brought that on yourself by throwing his generosity in his face and threatening his life.”

  Now Kyrin pushed up from her seat, leaning forward. “I never did any such thing. I served him and did my job up until the moment I was arrested. The only thing I did was refuse to bow in the temple. It never even crossed my mind to attack him.”

  The briefest flicker of confusion appeared on the General’s face before hardening. “Are you calling the emperor a liar?”

  Kyrin nodded firmly. “Yes.”

  The General narrowed his eyes. “How dare you!”

  “How dare I what? Speak the truth?” Kyrin almost shouted. “The first time I even knew I’d been accused of attacking him was on the execution platform as he listed my crimes. Do you honestly believe I’d be stupid enough to attack him in his own palace surrounded by guards? Will you really choose to believe him over your own granddaughter?”

  If he swayed at all, she couldn’t tell. With an expression bordering on a scowl, he said, “You’ve hardly proven yourself trustworthy.”

  At his mistrust, an unexpected stab of pain passed through Kyrin’s chest, and she sank back into the chair. Suddenly, the fight had gone out of her. Family was supposed to stick together.

  “Why can’t you believe me?” She looked up at him, unable to keep her eyes from pooling. “Do you even love us?”

  The General folded his arms and cleared his throat. “Of course I do.”

  “Then why do you treat us like this?” She ended with a hitching sob, and lost the battle against her tears.

  “I’m trying to help you reach your full potential and acquire positions of influence and honor.” It was one of the only times she had ever heard her grandfather speak in a quiet voice. “Don’t you want that?”

  “I want to be myself,” Kyrin cried. “I want to live in peace with my family and my friends. I want you to accept us, all of us, for who we are—our strengths as well as our weaknesses.” She swallowed. “Do you have any idea how much it hurts to see how you treat Liam? How cruel you are to him?”

  The General bristled. “Liam is a soldier. It’s high time he took it seriously.”

  “But he’s not meant to be a soldier.” Kyrin’s voice rose again. “He never was, but that doesn’t make him stupid, or slow, or incompetent, or any of the other horrible things you’ve chosen to believe of him. He’s just different. We can’t all be you. Stop trying to make us!”

  “Enough,” the General snapped. His jaw shifted, and Kyrin believed he was actually uncomfortable. Re-gathering his composure, he said, “This argument is pointless. We’re here to discuss your fate. If I were you, I’d focus on that.”

  Determination hardened inside Kyrin. She sat up straight again. “I will never deny my God or turn from my faith.”

  The General threw his arms out in exasperation. “Then you’ll be executed.”

  “I’ve faced it before. I’ll do it again.”

  Her grandfather bent down to look her in the eyes. “You have all the power in this, Kyrin. Kaden will listen to you. If you both want to live, you’d better rethink this and talk to him.”

  Kyrin stared into his steely gaze. “Kaden can make his own decisions. I’ve already made mine.”

  Marcus knew better than to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help himself. What to do with what he
had heard spoken between the General and his sister was the question. Had the emperor truly lied? If so, what else could he have lied about? He shook his head as he walked down the hall. These were dangerous questions to ask and, truth be told, he didn’t want to ask them. But they remained like burning coals at the back of his mind.

  Trying to refocus his thoughts, he pushed open the door to the infirmary and stepped inside. The surgeon was just tying off the wrapping of bandages that covered his brother’s back and shoulders. Liam glanced at him with pained eyes and then stared back down into his lap. But that one hurt look flooded Marcus with guilt. He’d seen men beaten before, but never his brother. Liam was the last man in this fort who deserved such punishment.

  Marcus walked closer to the table. “Give us a minute,” he told the surgeon.

  The man nodded and left the room. As the door closed, Liam slid off the table, his breath catching, and reached for his shirt. He moved slowly and struggled to reach up and pull it over his head. Marcus stepped in to help, but Liam offered no acknowledgement. Gathering his jerkin, he brushed past him and turned for the door.

  “Liam,” Marcus said in surprise.

  His brother just stood a moment before facing him. He swayed a little and reached for the table to steady himself. He should sit down. When Marcus looked into his eyes, he found something unfamiliar. Mixed with the abundant hurt was anger. He stood speechless while Liam just looked at him.

  Marcus put his hands out. “What is it?”

  Liam shook his head in disbelief. Marcus wasn’t used to him acting like this. He was always so mild-mannered, but the heated emotion in his voice when he finally spoke was very real. “How could you let this happen?”

  The question knifed right into Marcus’s chest. Kaden had used the same accusing tone. “What? I didn’t do anything.” But the words caught in his throat on the way out, burdened by the growing sting of guilt.

  “No, you didn’t. You just let our brother and sister be taken captive. You just let the General beat a man Kyrin clearly cares for.” Liam’s voice dropped to a wounded tone. “You just let him beat me.”

  “There was nothing I could do,” Marcus tried to tell him, his heart rate rising. Yet, even as the words left his mouth, he had no conviction in their truth. “If I had let them go, it would’ve been treason, and I had no power to stop the General.”

  “You could’ve tried! What would he have done? Lecture you?” Liam took a step closer. “When has he ever punished you? When has he ever made you trudge through the elements until you collapsed, and then ridiculed you in front of everyone just because you didn’t understand an order fast enough? When has he ever made you the laughingstock of the whole fort?”

  Marcus swallowed hard, each true word driving a new blade into his heart. “I’ve always tried to make things easier for you . . .”

  “Making things easier and standing up for someone are two different things. Father stood up for me. He always tried to stop the General, no matter the consequences. He even took some of my punishments for me. Did you know that?”

  Marcus stared blankly at his brother as he absorbed this information. No, he hadn’t known. He shook his head as his voice abandoned him.

  “Don’t you see how much he hated our father? Or how much he hates me? And still you follow him without question, even to the point of handing over Kyrin and Kaden to their deaths.”

  The wounds in Marcus’s heart opened even deeper, but Liam wasn’t finished, his own wounds finally coming to light.

  “I’ve never been as smart as you or Kyrin, but I know enough to see something is wrong here. What are we fighting for?”

  “We fight for the emperor and Arcacia.” The words had been drilled into Marcus so many times through his life that they rolled off his tongue without thought. He’d always believed them, but suddenly, they left a vile taste in his mouth.

  “But what about the people of Arcacia? Why are we fighting them? The emperor has already killed our father, and now Kyrin and Kaden will be next. How is that right?”

  Marcus grimaced. He was a soldier. He obeyed—he served. He didn’t question authority, especially not the General’s or the emperor’s. But could he shut his mind to what his brother was asking? What choice did he have?

  “They’ve chosen their fates.” The words scratched against his throat, bitter and revolting.

  Again, Liam gaped at him. “You truly accept that?” His voice rose. “The emperor killed our father over a difference of beliefs! Do you really believe he died for nothing? Are Kyrin and Kaden going to die for nothing? Have you ever stopped to consider what it is they believe? Don’t you think it’s something we should consider if they’re willing to take it that far? We both know how smart Kyrin is. If these were just myths and lies, do you honestly think she would fall for them? Would die for them?”

  Marcus’s mind spun. Thoughts rushed in that he had never allowed before, and now that they had taken hold, they could never be easily removed. As much as he hated to admit it, Liam was right. Could he go down that road? Once he did, there would be no going back. Yet, in a way, he’d already reached that point. Even if he did choose to ignore it, the questions would always remain to haunt him, robbing him of any peace. He shook his head, not knowing what to say, and stared at the floor.

  “I’m done, Marcus.”

  His eyes jumped back up to Liam as icy cold locked up his system. He’d never seen this kind of calm resolution in his brother’s demeanor.

  “I quit,” Liam declared. “I won’t fight for what I don’t believe in.”

  “Liam, you can’t,” Marcus choked. “You’d be deserting, and the General will charge you with treason, just like Kyrin and Kaden.”

  Liam shrugged. “Then I guess he’ll have to send me to Valcré with them.”

  The ice solidified in Marcus’s veins. Not only had he lost his father, but he would soon lose three of his siblings.

  “What’s more important to you?” Liam snapped him from his daze. “Your family, or an emperor who’s willing to kill off any one of us for daring to disagree with him?”

  With these final words, Liam left Marcus standing alone in deafening silence. He’d never been so confused in all his life. He never thought he’d have to choose. He’d always believed serving his family and serving the emperor were one and the same, but it was becoming painfully clear that was not so.

  Kyrin sat on her cot and leaned back against the wall of the small room where she’d spent the rest of the afternoon and evening. Her grandfather had placed her here for time to reconsider, but all her thoughts centered on the future that awaited her. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Come dawn, she, Kaden, and Jace would be put on the prisoner transport and, in two days, would face the emperor. Their execution would probably come quickly after that. She didn’t want to think of the three of them standing on that platform, dying one by one, but the vivid memories of standing there once before made it too easy. She wiped the back of her hand across her face. The shackles still around her wrists clanked in the darkness.

  A click echoed at the door, and it swung open. Dim light from the hall silhouetted a dark figure that slipped inside. Kyrin’s heart collided with her ribs. She scrambled up and backed against the wall. What now?

  “It’s all right. It’s me.”

  Kyrin breathed out slowly. “Marcus?”

  He took her by the arm and guided her near the door, where the light fell on their faces. The desperation and gravity in his expression stunned her. In a low whisper, he said, “Kyrin, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me . . . is Elôm real?”

  Kyrin stared at him. It wasn’t a skeptical or casual question, but one burdened with a deep thirst for the truth. With a solemn, sure tone, she answered, “Yes, Marcus, He is.”

  Her brother’s shoulders sagged as he hung his head, and she barely caught his quiet murmur. “Then I truly am on the wrong side.”

  Kyrin’s heart went out to him, sympathetic to the sheer weight of w
hat he must feel. It had taken her days to understand the extent of the truth Sam first shared with her, and she’d already held strong disillusions toward the emperor. She touched his arm. “You don’t have to be.”

  His eyes climbed to hers again, and for a long, silent moment, they just looked at each other as his lifelong beliefs clashed with her words. Would he heed them, or would duty once again win the conflict? She held her breath and listened to each hopeful beat of her heart as it offered up pleas to Elôm. Her brother needed Him.

  At last, Marcus cast a quick glance out the door and, despite the lingering uncertainty in his eyes, he reached into the pocket of his coat. With his other hand, he took hold of Kyrin’s chains. “We need to get out of here.”

  Kyrin sucked in a quick breath, but her thoughts raced beyond herself. “What about Kaden and Jace, and Liam?”

  “Liam is waiting outside. If we’re careful, we can avoid the sentries and get Kaden and Jace on the way out. I assume, once we reach the crossroads, you three can lead us to safety.”

  “Yes.”

  Marcus tossed the shackles onto the cot. “Good. Come on.”

  Her pulse drumming, Kyrin followed him through the fort. The quietness of the stone hall amplified their footsteps, but no one seemed to be around. When they reached a service door, Marcus unlocked it and peered out as he eased it open. It was pitch black outside. He motioned to Kyrin, and they both slipped out into the walled courtyard. Kyrin shivered in the chill air and glanced at the sky. A couple faint stars twinkled, but most were hidden by clouds. Her attention dropped back to Marcus as they crossed the open space.

  “What time is it?” she barely whispered.

  “A little after one, so we don’t have a lot of time.”

  As Kyrin’s eyes adjusted, they caught on two towering figures. Goose bumps that had nothing to do with the cold rippled up her arms. The two idols brought her mind back to Auréa’s temple. She swallowed to moisten her dry throat, fixing her eyes straight ahead in an attempt to ignore the ominous atmosphere hanging in the darkness.