by James Green
“Sir Keyris, you’ve arrived,” Anastasia said, turning to the new arrival. “Ulmar has found your wagon, and he and his new friend have slain the bandits that took it.”
“I see that,” Keyris replied.
In a moment the giant knight was there with us, towering over everyone. He looked around and then dropped his mace into the loop at his waist. With a practiced motion he removed his helm and tucked it under his arm.
The face under the helm was a noble one, lean and cruel. He had close-cropped grey hair and his eyes were dark, almost black. On the right side of his face a jagged scar marked his forehead and cheek. The weapon that had made it had just missed taking his eye as well.
“The Queen’s dwarven pet has managed to succeed, has he?” Keyris snorted. “With the help of a spearman, too. The aether truly does shine on even the lowliest.”
He looked me over, appraising. He didn’t seem very impressed. I met his eyes without flinching, and after a moment he looked away.
“What is that beast doing out of the cages?” He asked after he caught sight of Mithra behind me.
“He’s mine,” I replied.
“No, he’s the property of the crown. I recognize that pup from the stolen shipment. You found him here in this camp, didn’t you? By what right do you claim this hellion, soldier?”
“Sir Keyris, young William here is a new Beast Mage,” Anastasia said. “This pup is his first bound hellion. You know that it’s impossible to break that bond without death, so leave it be. The Queen will have use for our newest Beast Mage, as you know.”
“Very well. I doubt that the deal will be endangered by the lack of a single hellion wolf pup. I will check the cargo.” Keyris stalked off toward the wagon without paying me a second glance.
“The cargo?” I muttered, mostly to myself.
“Yes, the wagon contains hellions,” Anastasia offered. “The bandits you two slew attacked the caravan transporting them to the Kingdom of Charmane and hijacked it. My Queen would have been very upset if that new trade deal had been upset on the very first exchange of goods.”
“Ah, I wasn’t told,” Ulmar said. “A wagon like that, I expected prisoners. It doesn’t look like a hellion transport.”
“The cargo is valuable. Keyris is the knight responsible for this shipment, and he chose the most secure method of transport that he could. It’s a shame the bandits interfered, but it was fortunate that you two found them before they managed to distribute them.”
On the other side of the clearing I watched Keyris produce a key and open the slab-steel door on the back of the wagon. He looked in the door for a moment. Faint, muffled sounds drifted our way and Mithra’s ears perked up. Seeming satisfied, Keyris closed and locked the door once more.
“Joshua, fetch some more horses,” Keyris bellowed. “We need to get this wagon moving again.”
One of the men that had entered the clearing with him straightened up and gave a quick salute before dashing away.
“Gentlemen,” Anastasia said, looking at me and Ulmar. “Let’s leave Keyris to his task. William, you’ll be accompanying me and Ulmar to Kostick. I’ll send word to your company that you’ve been seconded to the Valkyries by the Queen’s order.”
Kostick was the regional capital a few hours away. As a spearman I’d never had any reason to go there. When we got leave it was almost never in a big city. They didn’t want soldiers there—too much trouble. Soldiers got paid to fight, and they liked to do it even when they were drunk and whoring.
“We should depart,” Anastasia said. “I’m sure my Queen will be very pleased to meet you, William.”
My head was spinning. I’d found out I had a magical affinity after all, a powerful one. I bound a hellion and got into the bloodiest fight I’d ever been in outside of the phalanx. Now I was going to meet the Queen?
I smiled widely, feeling better than I had in ages. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 3
We walked in contemplative silence through the woods, Anastasia taking the lead. I couldn’t help but admire her very shapely rear as she picked her way through the dense brush. Mithra padded silently beside me, occasionally stopping to sniff something interesting.
Thirty minutes later we emerged from the forest, the first purple of predawn lighting the skies above.
On the edge of the forest the knights had made camp, a simple cluster of large tents and campfires. A sentry challenged us, but recognized Anastasia and Ulmar immediately and waved us through. Men were beginning to emerge from the tents, and I could detect the faint smell of cooking meat and coffee. My stomach rumbled at the thought of food. I felt an echo of the sentiment from Mithra.
Horses were tethered in a group on one edge, guarded by alert sentries. One steed was enormous, making the other horses look tiny in comparison. A true King among horses, the stallion was black with a white streak on its forehead. He nipped at the others when they came too close to his feed bag.
“Damn, look at that monster,” I said. “I’ve never seen a horse that big.”
“That is Sir Keyris’ horse,” Ulmar said. “Because of his size and weight, he requires a large and strong mount, but you’re right that that beast is exceptional. I’ve seen him fight, and even wearing barding that steed moves like the wind. It’s well trained and vicious, to boot.”
“William, Ulmar, you have the run of the camp,” Anastasia turned to us and said. “I will return shortly.”
With that, she walked off and entered the largest tent in the center, what was obviously the command tent.
“Let’s get some food, William,” Ulmar said. “I smell something cooking and your pup looks like he could eat my horse.”
Mithra’s ears pricked up and I felt an eager anticipation.
“No, you’re not going to eat a horse,” I said to him with a laugh. “We’ll get you some meat, though.”
Mithra drooped a bit, seemingly disappointed.
Ulmar led us to one of the bigger fires, and the soldiers gave us a wide berth. Both of us were still covered in blood from the battle, and I was sure that having a hellion wolf with us didn’t help. No one interfered, however. I knew exactly where they were coming from. As a common spear in the Queen’s army, I would never challenge a knight in camp. That sort of presumption was far above my station, and the punishment from my sergeant and officers would be swift and brutal. If I didn’t get some strokes with the lash, I’d be a lucky man.
At the cook fire Ulmar greeted the man working there, a pudgy, balding fellow. His arms were covered with old and new burn scars. He looked up from his collection of pans sizzling away over the fire and straightened when he saw Ulmar.
“Sir Ulmar, I’ll make up a plate for you and you companion immediately.”
“Don’t call me sir, Garrick. I’m a knight, not nobility. Ulmar is fine.”
“Of course, Ulmar.”
“This is my new friend, William,” Ulmar said and slapped me on the shoulder. The casual strength in the blow was noticeable. Ulmar must be built like a mountain under that plate.
“Greetings, William,” Garrick said. “I see you’re a spear in Seventh Gar. That’s a good company I hear. What you doing with us?”
“I’ve been seconded to Lady Anastasia,” I replied.
His eyes widened a little, but he composed himself and nodded. “None of my business. Take a seat if you like. Does your hellion need something to eat?”
“Meat, if you can spare it,” I replied. “Uncooked would be best I think.” I felt strong agreement from Mithra at that.
Garrick turned to a wooden box nearby and opened the lid. He reached in, pulled out a ragged chunk of fatty meat roughly the size of my head, and handed it over to me. It was beef, or maybe deer and felt cold to the touch. Having fresh meat was one of the perks of being a knight it seemed. In the Queen’s Army, spearman were rarely given meat, and even then, it was usually salted or dried. The box behind Garrick would contain expensive cooling enchantments to prevent fresh meat
from spoiling.
“Thank you, Garrick,” I said.
Mithra sat attentively nearby while his eyes tracked the meat in my hands. I held it out to him, and he gingerly took it in his jaws and pulled it from my hand. He laid down and began to rip chunks from it before he swallowed them down with barely a chew.
Minutes later, Garrick handed each of us simple tin plates loaded with eggs and roasted meat. We sat down on one of the many stools nearby to eat. The meat was juicy and delicious, the eggs crispy on the edges with the yolk still running. A glorious meal, in other words.
We were just finishing when Anastasia found us.
“Good, you’ve eaten. William, I’ve arranged transport for you. We don’t have a spare mount or saddle, so you will be riding with the supply wagon. In Kostick, we will acquire a mount for you.”
Kostick wasn’t that far away, and I would have been happy to march there. A few hours of marching to reach my destination? That was like a leisurely walk in the park to a Queen’s Spearman. It wasn’t to be, though. The nobility didn’t march, if they could help it.
“Thank you, milady,” I replied.
She walked away without any further explanation. A moment later, I heard someone use their parade ground voice to announce that we were striking camp and moving out.
Garrick finished what he was doing and distributed the last of his cooked food to the hungry soldiers that rushed in. The ones that missed out on hot food would just have to make do with trail rations. Ulmar and I handed our plates back and moved out of the way.
“I’ll go and see to my mount,” Ulmar said. “If you’re going to ride with the cargo, maybe see about cleaning yourself up some. You’ve got a few minutes.”
Normally when camp broke I had responsibilities. Every man in the company had a job, even if that job was just pissing on the fires. Here, I didn’t have any, so Ulmar was right. I did have a few minutes.
I reached the horse’s water trough just before a soldier was about to dump the water and load it.
The man took one look at me and waved me forward. “Just dump it and load it in that wagon when you’re done, alright?”
I agreed and got to scrubbing. A few minutes later, I felt a lot better and the water was bloody. I tipped the trough over and disassembled it before loading it in the supply wagon.
Ulmar approached, leading a horse nearly as squat and muscular as he was. It placidly chewed on something as it followed behind him. The tack and saddle were simple but functional. He’d also taken some time to clean his armor and both of us looked at least somewhat respectable again.
We both stood around waiting for the camp to fold up and disappear into one of the two wagons. It didn’t take long.
“William, you’re with me,” Garrick yelled at me from beside the second supply wagon.
I joined him on the bench seat up front and soon we were moving. Mithra didn’t much like the idea of riding in a wagon so a few minutes in he jumped off to walk beside it. The horses whinnied nervously, but Garrick easily calmed them.
The mounted knights rode in front of and behind the wagons while the common soldiers marched alongside. Garrick wasn’t much of a conversationalist so after twenty minutes, I hopped off to march as well.
The heavy infantry the knights brought with them weren’t like my spear-brothers. They had banded steel armor and were armed with long swords and shields. Still, they were soldiers and not knights and they accepted me into their marching formation easily enough. The hours flew by as I considered the monumental change my life had undergone in a single day. I still felt like a spearman of the Queens’ Seventh Gar, but my entire trajectory had shifted. I was a Beast Mage now, able to transmute Hellions with orbs. It was all kinds of crazy, so I focused on the next step: getting to Kostick.
I could smell the city before I could see it. The fresh air of the countryside began to be infiltrated by the scent of burning wood and coal.
We topped a rise and there it was, at the bottom of a wide valley full of patchy farmland—Kostick.
The regional capital was fairly small as cities went, surrounded by a twenty-foot high stone wall. The buildings had spilled out over time as space inside the fortifications became impossible to find. The masters of the city had refused to allow anything to be built within fifty feet of the wall, a defense consideration that continued to hold even in the current peace.
Regularly spaced watch towers lined the walls and with platforms, not just archers and siege weapons to rain death down on any attacker, but also a secure place for the Kingdom’s mages to defend from. With mages on the wall as well as soldiers, Kostick would be death for most armies to assault.
I’d also heard that the walls themselves were enchanted, although I had no idea if it was true or not. A soldier had told me a second or third hand tale from the last war that had reached Kostick’s fortifications. The enemy had erected mighty siege engines, called trebuchets. They hurled immense boulders against the walls, but they’d had shattered like eggs on brick. Day after day the walls had held until finally relief had come and driven the sieging force away.
That story could have been complete bunk. Soldiers loved their tales, true or not. Seeing the city then as we marched down toward it, I believed it. Knowing that the Queen was there and that I’d meet her soon made the whole thing seem unreal.
The city gates were open, mid-morning traffic heavy through them in both directions. Travelers and locals like stopped when the column of knights approached. Two Fists of soldiers formed a wedge and cleared the way, shoving people or their possessions aside to make room for the column. The gate guards helped as they could but mostly weren’t needed. Soon we were through.
The streets beyond were much the same as I’d seen in other towns and cities. Low one and two-story buildings made out of wood or stone, depending on how rich the occupants were. The streets were narrow and people had to hug the walls to avoid us. At one major intersection, the supply wagons split off to return to their depot accompanied by most of the common soldiers. Two knights continued on toward the keep accompanied by two Fists of infantry, me, and Mithra.
The buildings changed as we went deeper into the city, becoming less closely packed until finally the houses around us were manors surrounded by their own low walls and gates.
The keep in the center of the city was squat and blocky, not matching the more recent construction of the noble manor houses surrounding it.
“It was built back when Kostick was at war almost constantly,” Garrick explained as we approached. “The plaza around the keep’s walls is for more than just show. The troops assembled there. Also makes for a decent killing ground for the archers and mages inside.”
The steel gates swung open as the guard on the walls identified the knights in the lead. After we filed through, the gates closed behind us. Now in a small courtyard, the knights dismounted and handed off their mounts to a procession of stable boys who led the horses off into a nearby stable. The soldiers waved their farewell and disappeared into the depths of the keep, leaving me with Mithra.
Ulmar walked over, stretching his back. “Riding horses is convenient, but it really doesn’t agree with me.”
“You should have got off and walked with me,” I suggested.
“Hah, if only. My legs are too short, I’d be running to keep up with you humans.”
The courtyard emptied out quickly, the remaining knights passing through the main doors into the keep itself. Keyris glanced our way but didn’t speak with us.
Anastasia waved us over to where she stood near the doors, having just finished a conversation with the last knight to leave the courtyard.
“The Queen is holding court right now,” Anastasia said in a low voice after we joined her. “I will introduce you when she calls on me to report, William. Be ready. Ulmar you know how to comport yourself, but I expect you to educate William. Do not embarrass me. Our Queen is a kind and generous ruler, but she is our ruler. She must be respected and more than that
there must always be the absolute appearance of respect. Do not be informal with her unless she requests it.”
“I will do my best to make sure William is ready, Lady,” Ulmar said.
“Wonderful. Now, follow me,” she said, and then turned to walk through the doors.
The inside of the keep wasn’t as opulent as I had been expecting. There were a few touches here and there—bright flowers in vases here, a brand new carpet in the hall there—but the keep had been built as a fortress and it showed. At one point a guard captain stopped us and inquired respectfully with Anastasia about my being here, especially armed and with Mithra by my side, but she simply asserted her authority and vouched us through.
We passed down a wide hall lined with guards and entered a large, high-ceilinged room filled with people. On the far end of the long chamber sat a dais with a throne, and I laid eyes on Queen Sapphira for the first time. The few soldiers in the company that had seen her were always saying how beautiful she was. I’d taken it as exaggeration, but now I saw that if anything they had understated it.
Even from here, it was clear she was a small woman, petite and delicate. Her hair was long and immaculately styled, honey brown waves flowing down her back nearly to her waist. The low cut of her gown’s neckline showed me her womanly curves, but not nearly enough of them. Her face was delicate and beautiful, her skin flawless.
She lounged in her throne, her elegant white gown spilling onto the floor at her feet. Her face was composed with an expression of polite interest as some fop in fancy clothing was droning on and on to her about something. Tariffs, I think the gist of it was.
Anastasia gestured Ulmar and I to a corner to wait and moved to stand near the front of the court. Some of the courtiers were more reluctant to move, but she simply pushed through them and ignored their protests. I saw the Queen notice Anastasia before looking back at the fop, who continued to speak interminably.
A few minutes later she’d finally had enough and interrupted him. “Lord Meecham, we have heard your case and you are beginning to repeat yourself. We will consider the matter.”
