Chapter 11
Seth looked out over Ashenland from the balcony of his room. He'd gotten a good night's rest for the first time since meeting the twins. He had no complaints about the recent events in his life. They had woken him from an empty life of solitude. But meeting the prophesied ones had revealed not only his survival, but his location as well. And, although no one was brave enough to search the Blood Mountains for him, the treeline would be constantly monitored in case he ventured out at any time.
Serva came to mind. He knew the large cougar was watching over their home even though he'd tried setting him free. After ten years of living in that cabin, though, the cat wouldn't leave so easily. Seth missed his friend and wished he could have him in Ashenland with him, but the Elves may not have been so friendly to a wild cat, no matter how domesticated he may be.
A knock on the door interrupted Seth's thoughts. Stepping away from the window, he crossed the large room and opened the door. He was surprised to see Efreal standing there. It wasn't typical of a king to call upon someone so personally.
"Sire," Seth said dipping his head slightly.
"May I come in?" Efreal asked with a bright smile.
Seth stepped aside quickly and said, "Of course. Come in."
Efreal entered, crossed to the large, soft bed then turned back to Seth as he shut the door.
"So what brings you here this morning, your majesty?"
"Please,” Efreal said with a warm smile, “no formalities when we're in private. Call me by my name."
"Very well," Seth said dipping his head again.
"I came to discuss your plans to rescue your sister," Efreal said, beginning to pace.
Seth relaxed a little. Discussing a tactical plan was much easier to do than the formal way he had to act in public. "Arland and I can sneak into the castle easily enough and get to her. It's getting out that poses a problem."
"As you know, I have no intentions of sending any of my men to assist you if things go wrong."
"I understand. However, if I am successful in retrieving her, will you help my escape from the castle?"
Efreal rubbed his smooth chin and paced with his other hand behind his back. He made humming sounds as he considered Seth's question.
"I will not send men for war."
"I'm not asking for that. All I'm asking for is cover for my escape. I won't go to war without help from both you and the Centaurs. Hopefully our giant friend will be able to acquire help from his people."
"The Takor?” Efreal scoffed. “They've never had any part in our efforts."
Efreal walked out to the balcony.
Seth joined him as he said, "It's true they haven't been there to assist us, but they have never posed a threat to us either. As far as I know, there have been no relations between Eranithians and the Takor at any time."
"Nor have there been with the Elves and the giants," Efreal said as he scanned the surrounding city.
"Maybe it's time that changed. You know Arnath will send word to the Geoth."
Efreal spit onto the floor of the balcony and said, "Don't mention that word around me."
"You know some of them still exist. They've just gone into hiding since Mirgol defeated them back in the days of Thorum." Efreal sighed and stared for a few moments. Seth looked in the same direction. They must have been looking at the same, large, purple house near the Western Gate. It was hard to miss, being the largest in that area.
"Tell me your plans and I'll make my decision," Efreal said.
Arnath sat on his throne glaring at the men he'd sent with Broc a few days ago. His face red with anger, one hand balled into a fist on the arm of his throne, the other rubbing his temples with a thumb and forefinger.
"Tell me exactly what happened," he said just above a whisper.
Broc's second, Margus, stepped aside to allow one of the soldiers give his account of the attack on Garandol and the twins. He was the only one to return from the scrimmage. The rest had gone into hiding.
"Sire," he bowed.
Arnath waved off the courtesy and the man continued, "Broc led us in for an attack which should have been easy. We outnumbered them nearly ten to one. We could see them easily in a small clearing as we charged, but when we got to the clearing, they had disappeared. Then we started to fall, sire. They were attacking from the trees. Or so we thought. When Broc called Garandol out, he stepped out from behind a tree."
"Fool!” Arnath shouted, leaning forward as he did, “Garandol is a wizard. He can be wherever he wants!"
"Yes, sire. Of course, sire."
"Continue," he said with frustration as he leaned against the back of the throne.
"Yes, sire. Garandol entered the center of us and approached Broc. Then with his powers he threw all of us off of our mounts. The men who hit trees died, the rest of us were unconscious for a time. I was among that group. When I came to again, I ran into the battle. Sire, the boy is much stronger than we expected, and his skills are sharper as well. He took most of the men down with such speed and accuracy...He...he fought like Seth, sire."
Arnath growled and rubbed his head with both hands.
"Although, it was the girl who ended everything, sire."
He looked up at the soldier, glaring, "What?"
The scared soldier fidgeted nervously as he continued his story, "You see, the boy had Broc with a sword to his throat and ordered us to throw down our weapons. When we did, Garandol and the girl gathered them. One of us threw a knife at her but she dropped the rest of the weapons and stopped the knife in midair. The other weapons never hit the ground. She sent them through the air and put us all to blade point. The boy told us all to come here and tell you everything that happened or we would all die. That's when I came back, sire."
Arnath stood up and paced before his throne. This new piece of information about Jennifer had his mind reeling. If he could somehow harness her, he could use her as a great weapon.
"Sire, if we could," Margus said, "give us a regiment and we will recover Broc."
"No!" he said. "He's betrayed us and joined our enemy. I will send you with one hundred men, go and kill them all. At very least, keep the girl alive and bring her to me. Go as soon as you're rested."
"Yes, sire!" Margus said striking his left shoulder.
"And, Margus," Arnath said as the soldier began backing out of the room with the others.
"Yes, sire?" he asked bowing to him.
"Consider yourself promoted to General."
Margus looked up at him then bowed again and stuck his shoulder one more time, "Thank you, sire."
The men backed out of the room and left Arnath in silence. Engard stepped out of the darkness behind the throne. "Margus as General?" he asked in his birdlike voice.
"He was Broc's second and from what I could see, he didn't trust Broc in his return. He will do all he can to destroy Broc, or die trying. Either he will prove himself useful or useless. This is his test."
"But you give him the title now?"
"Confidence is a soldier's best weapon."
"Mark," came Serina's familiar voice.
Mark sat up and looked around. Everyone was sleeping still, but Serina's voice continued to call to him. He stood to look for her. The he saw her as she stood across the fire from him in the white gown she always wore. He hurried to her and she took his hands.
"My uncle is sending Margus with one hundred men to kill you all. You must wake everyone and hurry for Kushen," she sounded scared.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," he said a little too overconfident.
"No, they're leaving now. You must leave before they get here. It will only take a few hours for them to reach you. You're not far from the castle."
"Okay," he said.
"Go, Mark. Wake everyone now!"
Mark sat up and saw it was still dark. The fire was down to just embers. He could just barely see the faces of his travel companions. Suddenly Serina's warning flooded his mind again. He tripped over a tree root as he went to Jennifer and fell on top of her.
"What the...? Mark? What are you doing?" she asked angrily.
"Get up! We have to go now!"
"What? What's going on?" she asked at the urgency in his voice.
He didn't answer her question. Instead, he went to Garandol and shook him awake.
"Garandol get up, we have to leave now. Broc wake up!"
Broc sat up suddenly and looked around, "Whats going on?"
"Serina warned me that Arnath is sending one hundred men here to kill us."
"Serina?" he asked looking around again.
"She's still at the castle. You know she contacts me through my dreams."
"Who did she say Arnath is sending?"
"Margus with one hundred men," he said throwing dirt on the embers.
Garandol was already working on clearing the camp. Mark went to work repacking his travel pack. Jennifer did the same. "Mark, can you finish with my pack? There's something I gotta do,” Jennifer asked.
"Sure," he said as he finished packing, then he went to hers.
He heard something that caught his attention. A whistling sound. Mark looked around and saw Jennifer was the one whistling. Her whistle sounded exactly like Arland's when he called the horses to them. He went back to packing, hoping she was calling the horses to them.
Once he finished packing her pack he felt the rumble of hooves coming. He looked at Broc and then Garandol. Broc nodded at him as if to say,
"They're here."
"Jennifer! Let's go!" Mark shouted.
"They're coming!" she yelled back.
"I know, we have to hurry!"
"No, look!" she said.
He looked up and saw her pointing to the west. Three horses came running through the trees. Mark felt another rumble in the ground. He spun in the opposite direction and saw torches in the trees. It was Margus and his men.
How long was I out after I talked to Serina?
"Let's go!" Mark shouted and swung onto the white stallion. Jennifer ran to him and he reached out. When she grabbed his arm, he swung her onto the horse. She held Mark around the waist as he followed Garandol and Broc south, away from the mountain.
Through the trees ahead of them, Mark saw torches like he'd seen from the west.
"Garandol!" he shouted.
He saw the torches as well and directed them east.
More torches.
Mark knew the only place they couldn't be was the mountain. He stopped his horse and redirected him for the mountain. Four soldiers broke their ranks and followed him. Mark pushed the horse hard and reached the foothill first. The trees on the hill were thick, too thick for the horse, so Mark and Jennifer slid off his back and sent him away. Jennifer took hold of Mark's arm as they hid in the trees.
Mark looked around their thick tree and saw three men spreading out to surround them.
"One is missing," he whispered.
"What?" she whispered back.
"There were four that followed us."
"So?"
“I only see three.”
"What are you doing?" she asked grabbing his arm as he started to head farther up the hill.
"I'll be right back. Just stay here."
She let go of his arm and looked around the tree, watching the three men coming up the hill. Mark made his way up the hill to another tree in search of the fourth soldier.
"Mark! Come on out!" It was the fourth man.
His stomach tied into knots. He sounded like he was near the tree he and Jennifer had been hiding behind.
"Come out, or I cut her throat!" the soldier threatened.
He had Jennifer! Mark's heart fell into his stomach; his stomach sank even lower. How did they get her? Did she let them grab her? What is she up to?
Come out Mark, I have this under control. Jennifer said telepathically.
What are you up to? Just trust me. Come out and do what they say. Be ready for anything.
Mark sighed and stepped out, holding his sword by the blade in surrender. As Jennifer came into view he saw the soldier holding her with one arm around her torso and a dagger to her neck. He knew Jennifer could turn the blade on him or control his mind to let her go.
"Drop your sword," the soldier said.
Mark did as he was told and dropped his sword. Immediately two other soldiers had each of his arms. The third took his other weapons from his belt, then tied his arms behind him, binding him at the wrists. He suppressed a smirk as he noticed the soldier tied the ropes too loosely.
"Let's go," the soldier holding Jennifer commanded.
They forced Mark ahead of them with a soldier on either side of him and one behind him. The fourth grabbed Jennifer by her long hair and pressed the dagger against her back. The soldiers led Mark and Jennifer to where they had Garandol and Broc tied up.
"We wanted you to see their execution before we took you to Arnath," the soldier holding Jennifer captive said.
"So are you the one in charge of this operation?" Mark asked.
The soldier laughed and said, "No, I am the General's second. General Margus wanted to deliver Broc's execution personally because of his betrayal against us and against the king."
"You realize you've all betrayed the true king right?" Mark asked as they stepped out onto the road.
"You believe Seth is supposed to be king don't you?" the soldier asked laughing.
"King of Eranithia, yes, but you've betrayed the one true king."
"And who might that be?"
"You don't even know his name," Mark said, his voice thick with sadness. "How could you forget Sol? The one who created you and all that you see."
The soldier burst out in laughter. When he finally gained control of himself again, he said, "You believe in that fairy tale? Sol? Ha!"
"You're going to wish you hadn't laughed so much."
"Why? What's going to happen?"
Mark felt a slight tremor in the ground. He grinned when he felt a second one, then a third.
"Sol has sent help. If you let us go, I will guarantee you will not be harmed."
"What help?" he laughed some more.
"Sol provides for the faithful."
"Enough of this Sol nonsense!"
A fist struck the back of Mark's head. He stumbled forward but didn't fall, but he saw stars the rest of the way to their friends.
Garandol and Broc were both bound with their hands behind their backs, on their knees. They showed no fear of death. Mark saw Garandol's mouth was shut tight, his eyes focused on Margus as the General threw insults at him. Broc's face was red with anger as he struggled to speak but he was silenced by a gag in his mouth. The leather strip was held on either end by a soldier, pulling back on it as if it were a horse's bit.
Mark, slip out of the ropes and dive forward at my command, Jennifer said.
Okay.
Mark worked at the ropes binding his wrists until, finally, he freed his thumb. From there he would be able to move quick enough. He tried to remember which of the soldiers had his sword.
Which one has my sword, sis? Mark asked Jennifer.
The one behind you.
They walked a few more yards then, Jennifer yelled, "Now!"
Mark leapt forward as a tree came crashing down on the two soldiers that flanked him. He rolled to his feet and turned back. The soldier from behind him stared in shock at the tree that killed his friends. Mark took this opportunity to attack. Mark ran forward a few steps, jumped onto the fallen tree and tackled the soldier to the ground. The soldier recovered quicker than Mark expected and rolled over to pin Mark to the ground. Mark pushed him up in a bench press lift and threw him to the side. Then Mark rolled back onto his shoulders, placed his hands in the soil and sprang to his feet. He rushed to the soldier and kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold. Mark looked and saw Jennifer lifting her escort ten feet into the air. He smiled at his sister then looked down and saw his belt and sword on the ground near the soldier. Bending down he picked them up and put them back around his waist.
"Let him down, sis," he said.
She dropped the soldier but stopped him so he hovered a couple inches off the ground.
"You didn't think you'd really be able to hold us did you?" Mark asked with a sideways grin.
The soldier was too afraid to speak.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Not in such a defenseless position. Jen, let him down so we can fight fairly."
She dropped him the last couple of inches. The soldier stumbled back a step as his feet hit the ground. Mark pulled out his golden sword and waited for the soldier to do the same but he wouldn't reach for his sword.
"You're not afraid to fight a boy are you?" Mark mocked him.
The soldier looked at his fallen friends on the ground.
"Are you yielding?"
He nodded vigorously.
"Good, have they seen us yet?"
"No, but we've heard you," someone said from behind.
Mark spun quickly with his sword ready. A horse carrying the new General walked up to them.
"You must be Margus," Mark said. "It's a pleasure to meet the new General."
Mark gave a slight bow.
Did you hear Timberfoot coming? he asked Jennifer.
Yes. They have us all surrounded.
Mark stuck the tip of his sword in the soil and leaned against his sword as he raised up from his bow.
"Arnath is looking forward to meeting you," Margus said.
"Oh, and I look forward to meeting him as well. Unfortunately, I have an appointment that you and your men are making me and my friends very late for."
Margus smiled wide and said, "I apologize for the inconvenience, perhaps we should reschedule your capture."
"Tell you what. Let's forgo this so called capture and later on I'll stop by the castle and hand myself over to your king." "He is your king too."
Mark chuckled and said, "You see, I thought you'd say something like that. The thing is, I'm not from around here, so he's not my king. Although, I do serve Sol. He is my king. I do what he tells me."
Margus shifted in his saddle. Mark knew he was getting under his skin.
"Sol, you say?"
Mark gave a single nod.
"What if I told you Sol was dead?"
"Then I'd say you were sadly mistaken."
"Have you ever met him?"
Mark was silent.
"I thought not-"
"I have," Jennifer said speaking up for the first time.
"Have you now?" Margus asked turning his attention to her.
"Twice."
"Twice? That is amazing. Tell me what does he look like?"
"Sol appears to us in whatever form he chooses."
Margus chuckled then, with a grin, he continued, "That is convenient isn't it? Since he doesn't have a form that all can see the same way, anybody could say, look, there's Sol, or here, here is Sol."
"When he comes to you, you know," she said with a hint of anger behind her voice.
"I am sure.”
"His spirit came to me yesterday, and is with me now. But he will only show his spirit to those who love him."
"And do you love him?" Margus mocked her.
"With all of my heart," she said with a confidence so great that Mark thought he may cry.
"Does he love you the same?"
"Yes."
"If he does, then maybe he will save you."
"If he chooses not to, then it means it is my time to be with him forever. Either way, his love for me won't die."
"We'll see. Shoot her," he said to one of his men.
The soldier raised a crossbow and aimed at Jennifer. She stood bravely, waiting for her fate. Then, suddenly, the earth shook violently and roars rang through the trees. Mark looked around the forest and saw five giants rushing in from all directions. The closest one to them grabbed the soldier with the crossbow and lifted him from his horse.
"Don't hurt my friends!" the giant growled, then threw him into a tree. The soldier's body laid in a crumpled heap at the foot of the tree.
"Timberfoot!" Mark called up to the giant.
Timberfoot grinned down at him then went to work wiping out the soldiers. Swinging a spiked club like the other four giants. He took out multiple soldiers at a time. Mark, inspired by Timberfoot's efforts, took up his sword and attacked Margus. Margus was so distracted by the arrival of the Takor, he didn't see Mark coming for him. Mark jumped from the fallen tree, tackling him off of his horse. They separated as they hit the ground.
Margus recovered quickly, jumping to his feet, sword ready.
"Don't take on more than you are able," Margus warned him.
"I won't," Mark said.
Mark rushed at Margus, lunging his sword at Margus's neck. Margus blocked, Mark swung in the opposite direction at Margus's midsection. Margus jumped backwards, then raised his sword, his eyes wide and crazed. Then with a growl, he rushed forward swinging his sword quickly for Mark's neck. Mark blocked the sword and pushed back, holding Margus in place.
"Too much for you, boy?" Margus growled as he saw the pained look on Mark's face.
Mark relaxed his face into a grin. He'd been toying with Margus to make him think he couldn't handle him. Fear flashed in Margus's eyes. Mark took advantage and kicked him in the stomach then brought the hilt of his sword up, striking his chin. Margus stumbled back, head spinning.
"I'm not too much for you am I?" Mark asked mocking him.
Margus let out a battle cry and came at Mark furiously. Mark matched him blow for blow. His plan was to exhaust Margus, so Mark let him come at him, sticking to defensive maneuvers. He moved backward up the hill as he fought. Blocking a blow to his left, then right. Deflecting the blade from his neck, everything Seth had taught him came to him as if it were second nature. Then he hit a wall. He looked back and saw the tree Jennifer brought down on the two soldiers earlier.
Margus gave a wide toothy grin and said, "One must learn to pay attention." Then he raised his sword and swung at Mark. Mark ducked and stabbed Margus in the leg. Margus fell to the ground as Mark pulled out his sword. Then he stood over Margus, blade pointed at Margus's chest.
"Do you yield?" he asked.
Margus spit in his face. Mark wiped away the spit from his eye without looking away from his prisoner. Then he pressed the tip of his blade against Margus's neck.
"Do you yield?" he asked again, his blood boiling with anger.
"Kill me."
"No. I've bested you. Your men have either abandoned you or have been slaughtered. If you yield to me, I will let you live and you can return to your king.”
Mark suddenly realized that Margus feared returning to Arnath empty handed, “Or is that what you fear?"
"He will kill me if I return without you."
"But you had no idea five giants would come and best you and your men."
"He won't listen. He will kill me as soon as I return."
"Then your blood be on his hands not mine. Sol protect you," Mark said and walked away from him to join his friends.
As Mark turned to join the others, he saw Jennifer with Garandol and Broc, greeting Timberfoot and his friends. He smiled at Jennifer as she turned around, hearing his thoughts as he approached. Her beautiful smile shrunk and her eyes widened. He knew Margus was making a final, desperate attack. Mark spun, pulled out his dagger, and hurled it at Margus all in one fluid motion. The dagger entered Margus's throat with the sickening sound of ripping flesh.
Mark walked over to the general, and stood over him. Staring down at him as he died.
“I tried to give you a chance,” Mark said sadly.
Margus choked on the blood filling his throat. Running out of breath, he involuntarily sucked down blood as he tried to breathe. When, finally, Margus breathed his last, Mark bent down and removed the dagger from his throat. Then, he cleaned it in on Margus's tunic and replaced it to its small scabbard. Mark, then, took out his sword, placed the tip in the soil and knelt in the ground. Resting his head against his hands holding the sword, he prayed.
"Forgive me, Sol, for the lives I've taken."
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