by Jason Kenyon
Salestis swallowed hard.
‘This is an interesting set of circumstances,’ Aleks said.
‘It’s just a handful of unfortunate misunderstandings,’ Salestis said. ‘We are being led away from the purpose of this trial, which is to decide Unette’s guilt.’
‘Or we are being led away from the actual truth,’ Archimegadon said. ‘That is, that Salestis de’Cirana, Her Radiance, knew precisely that Unette was going to murder the King, which is why she let it happen, with Knight Champion Terrek kept far away – so she could both get the King out of the way, and make herself appear to be the heroine of the night.’
‘This is nonsense,’ Salestis said. ‘I have done nothing but work myself to the bone trying to keep order in this kingdom.’
‘Very well,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Is the evidence you presented a fake, or did you know all along that Unette and the Clerics were planning to murder the King?’
‘You shut up, mage,’ Salestis replied. ‘You seem to have forgotten that you are a prisoner here – it’s not your place to be delivering commands.’
‘Is your evidence fake, or did you know about this plot and let it happen anyway?’ Aleks asked. ‘Since you seem to need to hear it from someone with authority.’
Salestis froze, and then her eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint in her sharpened irises. Before she could reply, though, one of Salestis’s paladins stepped forwards, her face concealed behind her helm. It was the same paladin Archimegadon had noticed shortly before, who’d been involved in several hushed discussions with other officials.
‘The Order will take it from here,’ she said, and Archimegadon recognised the voice of Lyssina. ‘If Salestis and Malthanes were aware of this and let the assassination go ahead, then both are subject to death penalties for the crime of treason. Malthanes has already suffered his at the hands of Valia Relassis, but we will carry out justice and judgement on Salestis.’
‘So, you will turn on me as well?’ Salestis asked.
‘Things have gone too far, Your Radiance,’ Lyssina replied, and her voice sounded unnaturally formal. ‘It has long been apparent that you have been creating unnecessary conflict with those who should be our allies. We respected you for your lineage and personal record, but it seems that we have all been mistaken. I have been speaking with other members of our Order since last night’s debacle, and discovered that I was not alone in this impression.’
Salestis looked between Lyssina, Terrek, and Aleks, and Archimegadon saw the moment she simply gave up. Could she have kept arguing her case? Probably. But perhaps, like Archimegadon, she was worn down by her battles and losses. She suddenly seemed young, sad, and alone, and Archimegadon felt that he saw her for a moment as she had lived, over-shadowed by parents who had never been there for her.
‘You were all so glad to live off the kingdom I created,’ Salestis said. ‘What have any of you ever done?’ She pointed a finger out at all the paladins in the chamber, and they avoided her gaze. ‘Look at you all, too ashamed to even answer me. I took a kingdom on the brink of collapse and brought order to it! I made it possible for you to walk the streets without being scorned for your faith, and this is how you repay me?’
Lyssina was the sole paladin who dared look back at Salestis, and she remained motionless as her former leader’s voice grew loud enough that it echoed throughout the chamber. The crowd of onlookers watched in total confusion as Salestis and her former aide faced each other in the centre of the room.
‘You don't care that I did what I did, it only matters that I got found out,’ Salestis said. ‘You two-faced bastards, you'll get nowhere once I'm gone. You'll lose everything I earned for you, and go back to hiding in your pathetic borderland cathedrals pretending to do the Light's work. But go ahead, enjoy your obscurity pandering to godless heathens. At least I won't have to see you squander it all.’ She raised her hands. ‘Go ahead – take me prisoner. Let’s get this done with.’
‘As you wish, Supreme Commander,’ Lyssina said, and she called over some of the other paladins, who, despite their faceless helms, looked baffled to be leading out their own master in Unette’s trial.
Archimegadon didn’t quite know what to do as Salestis was taken away, but he decided to avoid saying anything snide. Distasteful as he’d found her and her plots, there wasn’t much he felt he needed to add now that she’d earned herself the death penalty.
‘Very well then,’ Aleks said. ‘With regard to Unette and her accomplice, the sentence must undeniably be the same as that of Salestis. Take them away, and they shall be executed on the field of the tournament along with her.’
‘Wait, what are you..?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘Dupe or not, you assisted Unette in her crimes, and that is treason,’ Aleks replied. ‘You have left me with no other choice.’
Archimegadon would have gladly blasted Aleks into oblivion then and there, but for the magic shackle binding his powers, and he found a new understanding of just how frustrating it must have been for Ithalna during their journey. All the same, he was tempted to find something to throw at Aleks, but Lyssina appeared at his side with Ithalna.
‘I will take them both now to be prepared,’ Lyssina said.
‘Good,’ Aleks said. ‘Now, as to this sad business regarding the duplicity of Salestis, we will need to arrange another meeting to discuss exactly what that means for the rest of us, but…’
‘What it means is that you will be reinstating the Knights of Valanthas officially,’ Terrek said. ‘The Paladin Order should be removed at once from power for this treachery. After months of thrusting the blame upon my knights, it would be an injustice to let them walk away from this unpunished.’
‘Knight Champion, I…’
‘I will not hear anything to the contrary,’ Terrek said.
Consternation broke out across the meeting chamber. A group of paladins in ceremonial armour pushed to the front of the crowds and called for Aleks to dismiss the trial and meet instead with them to discuss matters going forward. This instantly earned the ire of Terrek’s knights, who hurled abuse across the chamber. Unlike previously, Terrek did not call them to silence, and Aleks seemed quite lost on what decision to take. Many of the members of the audience fell into frightened silence, while others called support for either of the two opposed factions.
Archimegadon blinked. Now what was going on?
‘Time for you and Unette to leave,’ Lyssina whispered to him. ‘Things are about to get ugly.’
Chapter Thirty-Six: Partings
‘Well, you had a pretty good try,’ Ithalna said, as Lyssina led her along with Archimegadon back towards the Iron Wing.
In the confusion of the outbreak of hostilities between the paladins and the knights, Lyssina had led away Ithalna and Archimegadon by herself. The other members of the Order had been distracted by Terrek’s inflammatory outburst, and had allowed Salestis’s former aide to deal with Unette alone. Archimegadon was hesitant to feel any optimism about that just yet, though he was glad to be away from the meeting chamber at least.
‘I’m not sure I have anything to say to you ever again,’ Archimegadon said to Ithalna.
‘Ah, I suppose you want some explanation regarding my husband,’ Ithalna said. ‘It is true – I did murder him. He was not a good man.’
‘What on earth was there in it for you?’ Archimegadon asked. ‘It didn’t advance the cause of the Clerics in the slightest!’
‘No, it did not,’ Ithalna said. ‘That is because we did not kill him for the Clerics. We killed him for me, just as Salestis said. He was abusive, unpleasant, and dangerous to those who were close to him. Killing him made the world a better place.’
‘Yes, it worked out wonderfully,’ Archimegadon said with a glare. ‘And now we all get to die, because of your stupidity. You deceitful, lying, treacherous…’
‘Do you actually think I led you away by myself to have you executed?’ Lyssina asked, and Archimegadon froze in the middle of his uncontrolled ou
trage. ‘I’m letting you all go. In fact, I’ve already freed Mellara, and she should have helped your friends get to a meeting spot outside the city while the trial was taking place.’
‘You’re really helping us?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘I slipped a key to Mellara earlier,’ Lyssina replied. ‘You stopped the plot with the Syrakh like I asked, so I upheld my part of the bargain.’
‘Well, you’re the first person to bother with that so far,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Is that not going to have repercussions for you as well?’ Ithalna asked Lyssina.
‘Of course it is,’ Lyssina replied. ‘I am leaving the Order, though. After they catch their breath, they’ll remember I was Salestis’s aide, and I doubt they’ll be forgiving. Commander Vandore has already been dropping quiet threats around me, and he’s the most likely person to take over now. Once I’ve got you two out of the palace, I am going to the harbour to take a ship away from Valanthas. With any luck, they’ll check the records and follow me overseas instead of looking for you lot still here.’
With activity centred on the meeting chamber, the palace was relatively quiet elsewhere, which made it convenient for Lyssina to sneak her prisoners off to one side just before they reached the Iron Wing. She instead took them down a side passage, which wound through some dismal, damp stairways until it finally brought them back out into the sunshine. Along the way, she removed their bindings, which they left tucked away in the shadows, and supplied Ithalna with a change of clothes – in the regalia she’d been given for the trial, Ithalna would have attracted guards from miles around as soon as word got out that she’d never made it to the Iron Wing.
Once they were outside, Archimegadon saw that they were at the edges of the palace grounds, and was relieved to find that their departure through the gates next to the river went unchallenged, since the guards recognised Lyssina as Salestis’s aide, and were as yet unaware that the position of Regent was now empty again.
Lyssina took the two former prisoners a distance away from the palace before allowing any further conversation. The paved roads surrounding the palace gave way to a dusty track as they came closer to the banks of the Aren, where trees to either side lent them some cover from roving eyes.
‘So, what on earth is actually going on?’ Archimegadon asked once they’d paused at a fork in the path.
‘The losses suffered by the Shield caused some upset,’ Lyssina replied. ‘Several members of the Order approached me with concerns, and suggested that it was time for a change in leadership. I turned them down at first, but when all of that came out at the trial, they urged me to put a stop to it while you were all arguing, and so I did.’
‘I thought you and Salestis were close,’ Ithalna said.
‘So did I,’ Lyssina said, and it took her several seconds to compose herself. ‘I’m… not sure I ever knew who she really was. I thought it was Malthanes making her do those things, but it was her all along. It had to stop… just as much for her as for the rest of us.’
‘And you are content with the penalty of death that you gave her?’ Ithalna asked.
Lyssina met Ithalna’s hard gaze, and Archimegadon thought for a moment that a fight would break out. It seemed that even Ithalna realised that she’d gone too far, as she was the first to look away. Feeling the unbearable tension in the air, Archimegadon decided to change the subject fast.
‘Do you think Terrek is going to push his complaints?’
‘It seems likely,’ Lyssina replied, looking relieved to grab onto a way out of her brief stand-off. ‘Salestis treated his organisation badly. I don’t think the Order will be willing to give up the throne, even after what Salestis did, though.’
‘What a mess,’ Ithalna said. ‘I am sorry, Lyssina.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Lyssina said. ‘Alright, here’s a map that shows where your friends will be waiting for you.’ She handed a roll of paper and a few small pouches to Ithalna and Archimegadon. ‘Oh, and I rescued your money as well, though your weapons and such were kept somewhere else – I gave Mellara directions, but it might be a little tricky for her to get it all back.’
‘Thank you.’ Ithalna checked over the map, peering off down the east path as she matched up local landmarks.
Lyssina glanced behind them meanwhile. ‘We’d better not hang around – someone is bound to notice soon. So… this is where we all part ways, I guess.’
‘I am eternally grateful for your aid,’ Ithalna said. ‘Do not worry – I do not intend to cause you any further trouble in future. My business in Valanthas is concluded.’
Lyssina’s smile was weak. ‘I wish all of this could have been different. All the same, we can’t change it now, so I’ll just say that I hope you all go on to live in a bit more peace.’
‘I shall do my best,’ Ithalna said with a smile. ‘You must be sure to take care of yourself as well.’
Archimegadon stared at the dusty path that split in two directions – in one way, it led to his companions, and in the other, the path ran past the royal palace to the harbour. The wind was gently blowing east, to wherever Lyssina had arranged for the companions to await them, but…
‘Are you coming, Ardon?’ Ithalna asked.
‘No,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I… no, I am not.’
‘Sorry, what?’
‘I’m not coming with you all,’ Archimegadon replied, shaking his head. ‘I’ve had it with this whole business. I’m done with paladins, and mages, and cultists, and demons… liars and traitors, back-stabbing, politics, and all of that.’
‘Is this because of what Mellara said to you?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Yes, it is,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘They all think it – that it’s my fault what happened to Tharanor. That my decisions are constantly the ones that get us all in trouble. And perhaps they’re right. Life was better when I didn’t have other people’s lives hanging on my decisions.’
‘You managed to turn things back on Salestis,’ Ithalna said.
‘And another life is lost,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Moreover, I seem to have started a power struggle in the opposite direction, if whatever that moron Terrek was spouting was serious.’ He kicked a stone across the path, and watched it bounce off other rocks until it finally flew from the path and was lost in the grass. ‘If Valia is still out there ready to cause trouble, then I’m not the one to deal with her. I do not want to kill her, and that will always hold me back. If you wish to go on and finish her off, then it’s best for me to leave, and let you all do it properly.’
‘You are the leader, though,’ Ithalna said. ‘Nobody will be happy to see me return to the group – they only care about you.’
‘Hardly,’ Archimegadon said. ‘You heard what Mellara said. Tharanor will never fight with that hand again, and it is my fault. Not to mention how Neurion and probably Anjilo feel.’
‘So you are simply going to run away?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Yes, I am going to run away!’ Archimegadon replied. ‘If I’d done that a long time ago, things might have been a lot better now.’
‘If not for your intervention, that monster would be poised to slaughter hundreds, maybe thousands of innocents,’ Lyssina said. ‘And Malthanes would have become Supreme Commander.’
‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I don’t care. I am leaving, and that is that.’
‘Ardon, I am sorry,’ Ithalna said, and she gave him one of the coin pouches. ‘Please, take this, your payment, and come with us. I never wished for my choices to bring this upon you. I have made terrible decisions as well, and this is all more my fault than yours.’
‘Leave me alone, Unette,’ Archimegadon said. He tossed the pouch back to her, hoping that he still had enough of his own money to book quick passage out of Arenfel. ‘Go and find the others. I don’t want to see you again.’
Ithalna took a deep breath. ‘I am sorry that our friendship had to end in this way.’
‘Me too.’ Archimegadon folded his arms and
looked away from her.
Thinking better of saying anything further, Ithalna just gave Lyssina a quick hug, waved at Archimegadon, and then headed away down the lonely path to the companions. Once she’d gone, Lyssina put a hand on Archimegadon’s shoulder.
‘Shall we go?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I need to find a ship of my own, and fast.’
*
Not too far from Arenfel, deep in the shadows of the forests, Valia sat surrounded by the remaining demons that had survived the assault on the Shield’s lair. Her two red guards lay at her feet, but she ignored them, hugging her legs close to her and gazing blankly into space.
The Order had taken much from her, and despite destroying the Shield, it had been a mixed victory. Helping the old man and the others had cost her many of the Shulgar, and without their superior numbers she did not know if she could properly damage the Order any longer.
But then, if she really wanted to hurt the Order… no, kill it… then just randomly murdering members or even leaders was not going to do the trick. No, there was something much better she could do, and she mentally thanked Marr for all the information he had provided her during her service.
It was going to take some time and research, but it was a direction, and she was eager to get started. And if it brought her into conflict with the old man and the others, then so be it – she’d kill them too.
*
Lord Diojin, master of Stornis Hold, sat in the study that had once belonged to Malthanes, and he thought over the offer that Knight Champion Terrek had made him. Would it be possible with what he had now? It was unlikely at best.
There was a knock at the door, and then a man walked in without even waiting for a reply. In his twenties, with long, blond hair and a roguish grin, the man could not have looked more different to the grizzled leader of the Blade.
