by Todd Herzman
Sir Galen stepped back. ‘That… I thought that was a myth.’ He stared at Huon. ‘You… you met a Celestial?’
‘You’ve heard of them?’ Huon surged a step forward. ‘You know what they are?’
‘I’ve heard stories, but no one knows anything about them, not anymore. If… if they’re real… the stories say no one has seen one for over a thousand years.’
Over a thousand years, Huon thought. About as long as the Everlasting King has had a hold over my realm.
‘A soul binding. I don’t know what that means, Huon.’ Sir Galen sighed. ‘But I’m glad you’re free. I remember how afraid you were of going back to your realm.’ The boy looked over at the city, at the army. ‘Why are you here? Why haven’t you run?’
Huon looked over his shoulder at the moonlit city. ‘I need to find Liona.’
‘Ah.’ Sir Galen walked to stand beside Huon. ‘I understand. I heard she won her match—that she stayed at the arena.’
Huon nodded, then he looked down at the boy—the boy who’d just lost his mothers, his city. ‘Are you…’ He trailed off. Are you okay seemed like a terrible question to ask. Had Huon been okay, when his mother had been killed by the Immortal of Fire? Was he okay now, whenever he thought of it? ‘What are you doing out here alone?’
‘I… I don’t know.’ Snow padded up, nudging the boy on the shoulder. ‘I don’t know what to do. I ran. Hid… survived.’ He shut his eyes. ‘I should have stayed and fought, but they told me to run… they told me to run and now they’re dead.’
Huon bit the inside of his cheek again. He’d almost asked, Do you know that for sure? But it would have been foolish. The Everlasting King didn’t want any of Arisalon’s leaders to survive—they were killing all Legends and above. Huon knew that—Sir Galen would know that too. There was no point giving the boy false hope.
‘They took my mother, too.’
‘They did?’
Huon nodded. ‘When I was younger than you. She… hid me away, from being oathbound.’ Huon raised his left arm, touching his bracer. ‘She didn’t want me to be a slave—didn’t want me to die in someone else’s fight.’
‘Understandable.’
‘The Immortal of Fire killed her because of it.’
The boy lowered his head. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I’m sorry too.’
Sir Galen was clenching his fists, his white wolf standing beside him, staring at the boy with sad eyes. ‘I want revenge. I want…’ He looked over at the amassing army. ‘I want the Everlasting King to pay.’
Huon looked over at the army—he wanted the same thing.
‘They won’t even let me fight. Knights aren’t deemed strong enough to go to war.’
Huon faced the young Knight. ‘I want revenge, too.’
The boy’s gaze flicked up to him. ‘Yeah?’
‘I have a plan.’ Huon pursed his lips. He knew how his plan must sound to other people’s ears. ‘I want to advance past Immortal, rival the Everlasting King’s strength, and defeat him.’
Sir Galen’s forehead creased. ‘What about his army?’
‘They’re innocent. It’s not their fault they have to fight. I want… I want to free them all.’
Sir Galen looked at the army once more, then shut his eyes. ‘My queendom… Arisalon isn’t going to win this, is it?’
‘No. I—I don’t think it will.’
‘And we… we wouldn’t make a difference to this fight.’
Huon lowered his head. He didn’t need to confirm that aloud—the boy knew.
‘If I help you find Liona, can I come with you?’ Sir Galen didn’t meet Huon’s eyes.
Huon blinked at the boy. ‘You… you want to join me?’
The boy nodded.
Huon let out a sigh. He hadn’t imagined anyone would be crazy enough to come along with him on his quest—anyone but Liona, at least. Jamison had wished to escape with him, but that didn’t mean he thought he’d be able to one day defeat the Everlasting King, or liberate the rest of the surgecallers…
Huon raised his left arm, extending it to Sir Galen. ‘I’d be honoured to have you join me.’
Sir Galen looked at Huon’s arm, then grabbed it in a surgecaller greeting.
Huon wondered if it were wise, letting a thirteen-year-old join him on his quest—but the boy was of the same advancement level as him, and had in fact been a Knight longer. Besides, this wasn’t a short journey—by the time they were strong enough to make a real difference, Sir Galen wouldn’t be a boy anymore.
Huon let go of the boy’s forearm, then gazed at Caralor. ‘Now, we just need to figure out a way to get in there.’
‘Oh, I can do that,’ Sir Galen said. ‘But we’re going to have to get you out of that armour.’
Chapter 19
Huon buried his Honourbound armour on the hilltop, along with the pauldron—the one piece of Core armour he had. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to come back for it, and if he were honest, he wasn’t sure if he needed it. He didn’t know anyone of a higher advancement willing to lend him their essence, so what was the point of having the secondary core?
He felt a little… exposed, only wearing the gambeson underneath. But the gambeson, at least, was reinforced with almost as much essence as the armour had been. Some choose to fight in martial arts robes—I’ll be fine in this.
At least he no longer looked like the enemy to those from Arisalon.
‘I’m still an outsider,’ Huon said to Sir Galen, once he’d finished burying his armour.
‘No one needs to know that.’ Sir Galen was astride Snow. ‘My mothers were the leaders of Caralor—Arisalon will let us in.’
‘An army is about to lay siege to their city. How are we going to get through the gates?’
‘The gates aren’t the only way to enter.’ Sir Galen looked at Huon. ‘Why do you think I came up here in the first place?’
Huon frowned. He remembered there were only two gates into Caralor, on either side of the city. The army had amassed troops at both of these—either so the citizens of Caralor wouldn’t escape, or so they wouldn’t get surprised if they sent an army out through the other gates, Huon wasn’t sure. Either way, it didn’t look easy to get inside.
‘There’s another way into Caralor—one only known to a few. As the son of a Lady…’ Sir Galen’s face fell. He closed his eyes and let out a breath.
He’s holding himself pretty well, considering. Huon remembered what he was like, the days following his mother’s death… he wouldn’t have been able to talk to anyone, let alone plan a rescue mission.
‘You don’t have to do this, you know. You don’t have to help me.’
Sir Galen opened his eyes. His jaw, which had been tensed, relaxed. ‘I want to. And I want to join you.’
Huon nodded. He didn’t want to argue with him—he needed the boy’s help to save Liona. ‘Where’s this other way?’
Sir Galen led him to a massive trap door at the very top of the hill—one large enough even to admit Snow. A trap door that had been concealed using what must have been illusion essence. Huon’s Knight-level perception couldn’t penetrate the illusion. It was a metal door, but his fingers only felt dirt when he touched it.
Sir Galen had said a few whispered words, and the trap door had revealed itself. Huon had never seen something like it. The Everlasting King isn’t the only one with technology, Huon thought, as they entered the tunnel.
They lowered the door behind them, and Huon surged a fireball to hover in front of them, lighting the way.
They only walked a few steps before someone shot out from around the corner, wielding a halberd. An Arisalon guard. ‘Halt!’
Huon and Sir Galen stopped in their tracks. Huon bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t useful here.
‘Identify yourselves.’
Sir Galen raised his arms. ‘I am Sir Galen, son of Lady Helayn of the Forest City of Landor. We escaped when the ci
ty fell.’
‘Show me your wrists.’ The guard motioned his spear down. ‘Now.’
Of course. Huon swallowed. Anyone bound, if asked the right questions… could lead the enemy right to this entrance. They have more than one guard, they’re just hidden around the corner.
The guard stared them down, then eyed the giant wolf and sky-eagle behind them.
Sir Galen pulled up the sleeve of his martial arts robes, revealing the perfect hollow circle of his binding.
Huon hesitated. He didn’t know what to do—how could he explain his binding to everyone who saw it? I can’t.
The guard relaxed slightly when he saw Sir Galen’s wrist, then he turned to Huon. ‘What’s the hold up?’ He nodded down, motioned with his spear. ‘Get on with it.’
‘Huon is bound to my service. He’s… my bodyguard.’
Huon shut his eyes a brief moment, then rolled up his sleeve.
‘Never seen a binding like that before.’ The man stared at Huon’s wrist, stepping forward to examine it closer. ‘It’s… full.’ The guard looked at Sir Galen. ‘Where is Lady Helayn?’
Sir Galen lowered his head. ‘She’s… she’s dead.’
The guard’s expression went blank. ‘Harak!’
A guard appeared from around the corner, wearing identical armour to the first, though he lowered his head deferentially. ‘Yes, Head Guard.’
‘See to it that Sir Galen, the son of Lady Helayn, gets into the city safely.’ He looked at the other guard. ‘He’s the rightful heir to the Forest City of Landor. Should it ever be returned to us, I imagine our queen would appreciate it if he were still alive.’
The guard’s eyes widened slightly, then he nodded. ‘Yes, Head Guard.’ He motioned down the tunnel, glancing at Sir Galen and Huon. ‘This way.’
Huon followed Sir Galen down the tunnel. The rightful heir to the Forest City of Landor. It was strange, seeing someone of a higher advancement be deferential to someone lower.
Huon wanted to whisper a question at Sir Galen as they walked, but he knew whatever he said would be heard by the guard. So he walked on in silence, into Caralor, the capital city of Arisalon, entering the metal city for the second time.
~
When they exited the tunnel, the guard pointed toward the palace. ‘The city has not been breached. It’s safe to walk through the streets.’ He looked at Sir Galen. ‘I trust if you’ve made your way here, you can make it back to the palace.’ The guard bowed, then surged speed, running back to his post within the tunnel.
Huon had thought the man would be leading them right to the palace. The whole time they’d been walking, he’d been trying to figure out how to slip away from a Champion.
Huon took a moment to breathe. It was still before dawn—the Everlasting King’s army were yet to begin their siege. He’d never seen the city up close at night, the moonlight washing the metal with its glow. He’d seen it from afar—from atop that mountain. But looking up at the tall towers… he hoped the Everlasting King didn’t crumble the place to the ground.
In a matter of days, this could all be gone.
‘Okay,’ Sir Galen said. ‘Where’s the arena?’
Huon pointed at one of the largest structures in the city. The Justice Arena. Like almost everything else in Caralor, it was made entirely of metal—a massive dome, near the middle of the city, tall enough to be seen from almost anywhere.
As Huon looked around, he noticed the streets were quiet. He’d only been through the streets of Caralor twice. He may have been in the arena for almost two months, but that didn’t mean he saw anything outside of it.
They’ll all be fighting… Knights may be deemed too weak to fight, but there were very few Knights in Arisalon—anyone over the age of sixteen was likely to be a Champion.
There were only a few stragglers on the street. Some kids, running about. A few elderly, those who must have grown too old to fight. Depending on one’s advancement level, if they reached a certain age… the core began to deplete more easily. Huon knew very little about it—but he did know it didn’t affect Immortals. That’s why they were called Immortals, after all.
‘We have to move.’ Huon didn’t know how long it would take for the walls to be breached, but the first rays of sunlight could be seen on the horizon.
The siege was minutes away.
Huon triple-surged speed, sprinting through the streets toward the Justice Arena. He still didn’t know how they’d get inside—how they’d convince the warden to let one of their contenders go free. But he’d gotten this far without a plan… he had to believe he could go all the way.
Will Warden Farenz even be there? Huon wondered. She was a Legend herself, wasn’t she? Chances were, she’d be at the wall, readying herself to fight. Gods, she might have been in the battle Huon had run from—the battle he’d seen Danieja in. He kept thinking of the arena being the way he’d left it, but Liona had only been left behind because she was a Knight—everyone else there had been a Champion and above.
Have they just left her in a cell while the war happens?
Huon pushed his body to run even faster. He heard Sir Galen behind him, astride his wolf, and wondered if that was a strange sight in a place like this—a young teenage boy, flying down the street on a giant white wolf. It was probably not that out of the ordinary.
When he reached the entrance to the Justice arena, Huon halted.
‘What’s wrong?’ Sir Galen dismounted snow.
‘I…’ Huon clenched a fist. ‘What if she isn’t here? What if I came all this way for nothing?’
‘Why wouldn’t she be here? You said you were told she wasn’t in the war. And she’s a Knight—they wouldn’t let her fight.’ He stepped up to Huon. ‘What are you afraid of?’
Huon shook his head. ‘I don’t… I don’t want to get captured again.’ He gripped his wrist, wringing where his binding was behind the sleeve. That binding meant no one could ever make him oathbound again—but it didn’t mean he couldn’t be captured. It didn’t mean he couldn’t lose his freedom. He surged breath, as he noticed his heart racing.
‘I didn’t just lose my parents, Huon. I lost everyone. Everyone I’ve ever known—I don’t know if any of them survived. I don’t know if they were bound, or killed. I’m not just following you because I want revenge… I’m following you because at least I know you. Liona’s going to be here, and if she isn’t, you’ll find her. But trust me, as someone who’s lost everything—you could run off, hide in the wilds if you’re too afraid of being captured again. But you’re not going to be happy out there alone.’
Huon looked at Sir Galen—really looked at him. ‘How are you… how are you so calm?’ Again, he remembered what it had been like when he’d lost his mother.
It had only been one person that he’d lost. He didn’t know anyone else in the village, not really. They’d all died… but he’d been stuck at home for years, hidden away. He’d mourned his mother, and lamented at all the death caused for… for no good reason. But he hadn’t known the people of his village—not truly.
But for Sir Galen? It must be a thousand times worse. When Huon and Liona had first arrived in the city, they’d seen how many people had greeted the boy. Seen the way the masters spoke to him. He was the son of their leader, and seemed to get on well with the people.
And now he’d lost all of that.
Sir Galen shut his eyes. ‘I’m not calm, Huon. The only thing keeping me together is my training.’
His fists weren’t clenched, his body didn’t shake… he certainly seemed calm, but Huon imagined it was a whole different story within the boy’s mind. Is he still in shock? How could his training be helping him through this? Maybe he was surging will—maybe it didn’t only help with fighting bindings.
Huon ceased surging breath and exhaled sharply. ‘Okay, then. We do this.’
He walked up to the Justice Arena’s entrance, expecting to find a guard—but no one was at the door.<
br />
And it was… unlocked.
He opened it, and walked down the familiar metallic halls. He was starting to realise it wouldn’t have mattered much if he’d won his match with Jamison, not if he’d gotten stuck here when the army invaded.
The earth shook. Huon would have stumbled had it not been for all his training. Earth surging. A massive influx of earth surging. ‘The siege has begun.’ He wouldn’t be surprised if that earth surge had come from Terr’al himself, though he knew it would take more than just Immortal-level essence to breach the walls of this city.
Huon exchanged a look with Sir Galen, then they sprinted down the halls. All the doors to the cells were open. Huon checked every door on the right, while Sir Galen checked those on the left—but the place was empty.
He went to the lower levels, walked through the mess hall, the training hall, but he couldn’t find her.
Then he went to the warden’s office—but she was gone, too.
‘The whole place is just… empty.’ Huon clenched his fists again. He’d been afraid of getting caught, true. But worse than that, he’d been afraid of not finding her. He faced Sir Galen. ‘Do you know where they might have taken her?’
Sir Galen shook his head, then faltered. ‘Wait. Maybe I do. This is my first time in Caralor, but I’ve read about the city, about its histories. That tunnel we went through? It’s not the only one—there are underground bunkers in the middle of the city, reserved for those who cannot fight. That’s probably where the stragglers were running to.’
‘Do the bunkers lead outside of the city, like the tunnel we used?’
‘I don’t know—I don’t think so.’
Huon frowned. If the Everlasting King won, whoever was left hiding in the city… would get bound, or killed, just like in Landor.
The earth shook again. Together, they ran back out of the arena.
All the hope Huon had been feeling since gaining his soul binding—since finding out about his new abilities—dissipated the longer he didn’t find Liona.
He didn’t know why it was so important. Liona was stronger than him—she could handle herself. She’d never needed Huon. Why was it so important he find her? She’s the first true friend I’ve ever had—the only person in this world I truly trust. The thought came unbidden—and it was true.
