The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Three





It had been a long time since Alric Thirsk had visited the small fort that he and his fellow mercenaries had built for themselves just outside of Canor. There had been no need for him to go back since he had been sucked into the adventures provided by the Dunarian Council in Jekyll Rock. Now he couldn’t stand to be at the Dunarian headquarters. He had just flown in a couple of days before to learn that King Julian Hobbes had executed three of the six remaining members. All that was left of the Dunarian Council were Kaden Osric, Darius Umar, and Nalani Geldwin.

He had ridden a sarian back to Jekyll Rock and immediately informed Kaden and Darius of Nalani and Coffman’s capture. He told them that Anithistor had captured Silas somehow, but they had already heard this from Inga who had contacted the Dunarians already. Kaden and Darius had been sickened to hear the news, but there was nothing they could do. The Dunarians were falling apart.

Alric knew that Nalani and Coffman had been taken to Mudavé. His fellow mercenary, Lorcan Zamire, had been ready to go into the wretched city to rescue the others despite his tremendous fear of the Stühocs, but Alric knew it was no use. They had gone in and rescued a prisoner from the belly of enemy territory before. They had been lucky, but they would never be that lucky twice.

Alric had kept Anithistor’s command to himself. He knew there were only two ways to get his friends out alive. One would be to attack Mudavé with a massive army composed of Humans and Erellens. The other was to serve Anithistor with Kaden’s head on a platter as Alric had been instructed. Since there was no army that could attack the Stühoc city, that left only one option.

Kaden was the leader of the Dunarians. To kill him would be to leave the small group without any direction. They would easily scatter and be defeated. This is what Anithistor wanted.

His thoughts drifted to the other day when Anithistor let him go. As Alric was being ushered out, Nalani and Coffman had both shouted for him to ignore Anithistor. To let them die. But he knew he couldn’t.

He hadn’t been loyal to much in his life, but when he cared about a person, he wasn’t going to leave him or her to be tortured and killed. Coffman had been one of his greatest friends, and Nalani was something different.

He didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t love. Couldn’t be. He hadn’t known her that long. Besides, Alric wasn’t the type that went for love because it would get in the way of his work. But for some reason he cared about her. He desired her. She was headstrong and determined. She was loyal to her cause.

If she only knew that her cause was crumbling to pieces.

He stepped next to the double-door entrance and placed a bare hand on the stone next to it. It glowed green and the doors open inward. He walked across the familiar lawn and to the house on the other side. When he went inside he was surprised to see cups still scattered across the table, remnants of their last night before going to Timugo three months ago. The group left the mess, planning to return in a few days. They had never expected to be dragged into this. Though things seemed to be going downhill for Humans in Marenon, Alric couldn’t deny he was now part of something great.

How am I supposed to do this?

Killing Kaden wasn’t going to be easy. First, he had no desire to kill the man. They had nothing against each other. Second, Kaden was the most influential Human in the cause against the Stühocs. Without Kaden, would there be an uprising? Would there be a fight? King Julian Hobbes had some muscle, but he had just executed three of the Dunarian Council members. Anithistor knew what he was doing, and he had picked the perfect assassin. He went into the kitchen and pulled down a jug of viper’s mead and poured it into a cup as he settled at the table. Before taking a sip, he looked down at his wrist. Anithistor had clasped the band around it, but had not tried to communicate with him yet. Alric didn’t want him to. It was nothing more than a taunting reminder of why Alric had been released. Frustrated, he unlatched the band and tossed it onto the table. He then reached out and sipped his drink.

He winced as the liquid burned his throat on the way down. It felt good.

He pulled out his dagger, then his sword and set them on the table. How was he going to do this? Would he stab Kaden in the middle of the night? Would he poison him? Would he shoot him with an arrow from a distance? He couldn’t just kill the man in cold blood. He had to give him a chance didn’t he? But giving Kaden a chance would be giving Nalani and Coffman less of a chance. Cold-blooded murder would have to be the way.

The door to the house began to open. He quickly reached for his sword, cup of mead in hand. Had he been followed?

When the door was completely open, he sighed with relief. Lorcan.

“Easy,” Lorcan said, holding up his hands.

Alric cursed under his breath and dropped the sword back onto the table. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry,” Lorcan said. “I saw you leaving Jekyll Rock. I thought you might be coming here.”

“Yeah,” Alric answered. “Trying to be alone.”

Lorcan walked to the other side of the table and Alric offered him the jug. He accepted it graciously.

“Thinking about Coffman?” Lorcan asked.

“And Nalani.”

Lorcan nodded.

“You know, she would be a good addition to the crew,” Alric said taking another gulp.

“That so? I’ve never really spoken with her.”

“She’s talented. Knows how to handle herself. Really dedicated to the Dunarians though.”

“So, what are we going to do about it?”

“You know as well as I do, we can’t go back in there,” Alric told him. “They’ve got our friends under lock and key, not to mention that we have no idea what they’ve done with Silas.”

“This is your second time to shoot down the idea, but I think it could be done.”

Alric snorted. “By you? You’d tremble too much when you got there. The Stühocs affect you deeply.”

Lorcan sighed, not happy with the comment, however true it was. “You’re keeping something from me. I’ve known you a long time, and rarely are you this contemplative.”

Alric stared at the ground, not wanting to get the Erellen involved. Lorcan would only try to stop him.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Alric said.

“You’re lying to me right now.”

Alric let out a deep breath. “What do you want, Lorcan?”

“What’s your plan? You always have one. What is it?”

Before Alric could come up with an answer, the green-jeweled wristband on the table began to glow. Both of them stared at the object with wide eyes.

“It could be them!” Lorcan reached out to grab it, but Alric snatched it quickly.

“It’s not them,” he said, standing against the wall behind him.

Lorcan’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How do you know?”

“Lorcan, I came here to be alone! Just get out of here!”

“I have every right to be here as much as you! See who is trying to reach you!”

“Stop it!” Alric screamed as he slammed his fist against the wall. “I didn’t want to tell you, but you’re leaving me no choice.”

Lorcan was breathing hard, waiting for his friend to explain himself.

“I didn’t slip from the Stühocs in the last second,” Alric said, staring into the Erellen’s eyes. “They let me go.”

Lorcan didn’t move.

“Anithistor let me go, that is. He’s given me a few days to kill Kaden. If I do, he’ll release the others.”

At first, Lorcan said nothing, but then, “You believe him?”

“I don’t know,” Alric said. “Sort of. I don’t think he has any use for Nalani or Coffman. He wouldn’t lose anything by keeping his end of the bargain. But he has much to gain from Kaden’s death.”

“And you came here to think about it? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I knew you would try to talk me out of it. There is no other way.”

Lorcan didn’t argue either point.

Alric held up the wristband. “This is Anithistor. He probably wants to know if I’ve completed the task.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“The truth,” Alric said. “He’ll know if I’m lying. He expects me to bring him proof of my work.”

Lorcan walked slowly toward the kitchen. “Talk to him,” he said. “I’ll be in here out of sight.”

Alric waited for Lorcan to be completely out of the room before he set the band on the table. He took a moment to catch his breath, wondering what Lorcan was thinking. His friend hadn’t given him much feedback. Maybe Lorcan was as torn as he.

He reached his hand out and touched the surface of the jewel. Anithistor’s head floated in a green light in front of Alric’s face. Alric knew he looked flustered, but there would be no hiding it.

“Have you finished the job?” Anithistor asked.

Alric shook his head. “I need some time to figure out how I’m going to do it.”

“You mean to say that you need time to formulate a new plan to get to your friends without killing Kaden,” Anithistor said coolly. “It shouldn’t take long to finish this. You will come here with Kaden’s head in a basket. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. Don’t forget that your friends will suffer a very gruesome torture if you don’t accomplish your task.”

“It’s delicate,” Alric explained. “If you expect me to get his head to you, I have to be careful about it.”

“I don’t want to hear your explanation. I want to hear that Kaden is dead. Do this quickly.”

Before Alric could respond, the green light faded and he was alone. Lorcan slowly walked into the room when he felt it was safe. The two of them looked at each other wordlessly for a long moment.

“What are you going to do?” Lorcan finally asked.

Alric shook his head. “I don’t have any options. We’re not talking simple death here. Anithistor will actually torture them until they die. It would be the worst death imaginable.”

Lorcan didn’t dispute this as he sat back down at the table. Alric joined him and finished off the rest of the biting liquid that was in his cup.

“How do you want to do it?” Lorcan asked.

“What?”

“Kill Kaden. How do you want to do it?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I’m with you in this,” Lorcan said. “If you’re in this position then so am I. I don’t know a lot about Nalani, but Coffman has been one of us for years. I’m not going to let him go out that way.”

“You’re willing to murder a man in cold blood over it?”

“You are!” Lorcan shouted.

“I’m the one that was forced into the situation,” Alric said. He could feel his cheeks turning red with frustration. Why wouldn’t Lorcan just leave him alone? “You’re too close to Kaden anyway.”

Lorcan shook his head. “The man’s a wreck right now, Alric. Julian took everything away from him. The Dunarians lost most of their council; they’ve lost all of the medallions, and Silas has been captured. They’ve got nothing left. They have no hope.”

“You think we should kill him?”

“Of course I don’t want to,” Lorcan replied. “But if I had to choose between Coffman and Kaden, I’d choose my good friend every time. Unless some miracle happens, the Dunarians are finished with or without Kaden Osric.”

“I never thought you’d be with me in this,” Alric said.

“I never thought I would have to be.”

Alric nodded.

“I have seen the man’s passion,” Lorcan continued. “His hope for the Meshulan is real. His desire to see The Reckoning through is real. He is a man of honor, and I think if has to die, he will die with honor.”

“What do you propose?”

“First, we’ll take him outside of Jekyll Rock,” Lorcan said. “We’ll tell him that we need to show him something. When we’re far enough away we explain to him the situation, and you will challenge him to a duel.”

“Me?”

Lorcan held up his hands. “You’re the one that got into this.”

“And what if he beats me?” Alric asked. “You’ll let him go? You’ll have lost two friends then.”

Lorcan sighed. “Fine, he will have to fight both of us. It won’t be a fair fight, but he will still die with honor.”

Alric sat for a moment, thinking about how crazy all of this was. They were plotting a man’s death. It was something Alric never felt comfortable doing.

“Last time we planned a person’s death, you turned on me,” Alric said.

Lorcan shook his head. “That was different. Silas was bait in Timugo. First of all, we weren’t planning to kill him; we planned to let him die. Second, our friend’s lives weren’t at stake.”

“But they were!” Alric held up a finger. “When you tried to save Silas, you put all our lives in danger.” He let out a chuckle. “If you think about it, you’re the reason Silas stayed in our lives. Now we’re here. If you would’ve left him to be captured by the Anwyns like I planned from the beginning we wouldn’t be in this mess at all.”

“Yes, and maybe we would be safe now,” Lorcan came back, “but what then? Eventually the Stühocs would take over and we’d all be in a mess anyway. It’s only a matter of time.”

“So you believe in Silas?” Alric asked. “Even though the Stühocs are winning the war in every aspect?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Lorcan said. “All I know is you can’t put all this on me. I think he serves a purpose for the good of Marenon, and I would still save his life even if I knew it would lead to this moment. Do I think killing Kaden is right? Of course not. But neither is allowing our friends to be tortured to death.”

Lorcan had a point. There was no right and wrong in this situation. Only wrong. There was no good moral decision to be made. The two of them had an obligation to those that they cared about. Coffman was their friend. And Alric had grown to care for Nalani, even though he knew she would hate him if he came back with proof of Kaden’s death. But at least Alric would have saved her life.

Neither Alric nor Lorcan knew what would happen after Kaden’s death. Perhaps the Stühocs could still be defeated. Maybe someone better would rise and lead all the Humans to victory. But in his heart, Alric knew this would not be the case. All of Marenon was dying. What was one more life?