The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Seven





Alric could hardly keep his hands from shaking as he walked in the fields east of Jekyll Rock. The stronghold was small in the distance and the three travelled together silently. Lorcan kept a slow pace behind Alric and Kaden; he was probably just as nervous.

Alric couldn’t believe they were about to do this. He had never killed a man in cold blood. He had experienced his fair share of shady dealings, and he had let people die before, but never had he been a murderer. It was never how he worked, yet on this morning he would be forced to do so.

Kaden had no idea of course. Before the sun had risen, Alric and Lorcan told him that there was something that he needed to see just outside of the city. Kaden tried to ask what it was, but they told him that he would just have to see it for himself.

“I just don’t understand why you can’t tell me,” he said.

“You just…you just have to wait and see,” Alric answered. “We aren’t far.”

He looked over his shoulder to make sure the guards from the city wall wouldn’t be able to see them. He wasn’t comfortable with the distance yet, so they kept walking.

The sun had barely come up over the horizon and Alric could tell that it was going to be a beautiful day. The summers in Marenon were always beautiful in the western part of the land. But regardless of the summer’s natural beauty, he knew it would be the grayest day of his life.

The night before, he had talked extensively with Lorcan about the plan to kill Kaden. They never could decide on a specific ruse to lure him, so they decided just to tell the man the truth once they got him far away from the city. Lorcan had insisted that they let Kaden die with honor, but that didn’t mean much to Alric. Honor was just a word. Kaden was marked for death either way, so there wasn’t much use in giving the man a chance, but Lorcan was unrelenting. Kaden wouldn’t die without knowing the reason. He would know why Alric and Lorcan killed him. Alric would rather stick a knife in Kaden’s back. It would be quick and Kaden’s pain wouldn’t last.

He wished there was another way. He had cursed Anithistor over and over for putting him in this position. But Coffman was his friend, and Nalani deserved to live. Kaden was just another soldier that would become an unfortunate casualty of war.

After a few minutes, Alric looked over his shoulder again and felt satisfied with the distance between them and Jekyll Rock. He stopped abruptly in the middle of the open field, and the others did the same.

Kaden shrugged. “What is it?”

Alric closed his eyes for a moment. Was he really going to do this? Was it possible that Anithistor was bluffing? He took a deep breath and turned to Kaden.

Kaden looked from Alric to Lorcan and back to Alric, then his eyes narrowed. “What is this?” he asked. “You told me to bring my sword. What do you want?”

Alric pulled out his sword slowly and studied the glinting blade. “I’d like to tell you that we actually had something to show you, but we don’t.”

“You brought me out here to kill me didn’t you?”

Alric’s silence was his answer.

Lorcan spoke next. “We’ve been put into a difficult position.”

“Anithistor says he’s going to torture and kill Nalani and Coffman if I don’t bring your head to him.”

Kaden stiffened at the words.

“He thinks if he can kill you, then the Dunarians will be completely lost,” Alric said.

“I see,” said Kaden. “So that’s it? You just planned to bring me out here to die? Why did you have me bring my sword? To give me a chance?” He laughed loudly at this.

Alric’s face didn’t change. “Personally I thought it would be better to stab you in the back, but Lorcan here thought you deserved more honor than that.”

“So you want to fight me? The two of you against me? How does that give me honor?” Kaden pulled out his sword and threw it at Alric’s feet. “No. That’s not how it’s going to happen. You’re going to have to kill me while I’m unarmed.”

“Pick up your sword,” Alric said.

Kaden shook his head. “No. You’re going to have to murder me. I’m not giving you the satisfaction of a fair fight.”

“You forget that this was Lorcan’s idea, not mine. Cold-blooded murder is exactly what I had planned.”

“So be it,” Kaden said, opening his arms for Alric to stab him through the chest. His cheeks flushed red with anger. “It’s all over anyway. The Dunarians have lost. Garland Ainsley’s plans have failed. The Reckoning is finished. Everything I’ve fought for was for nothing.” Kaden stared at Alric with a deep sadness and anger in his eyes.

“Do you really believe that?” Lorcan asked.

“Why shouldn’t I? The enemy has captured the prophesied deliverer. The Dunarians have lost most of the council. It’s over! So just kill me and be done with it!”

“But you understand why we’re doing this, don’t you?” Alric asked him.

“Of course,” Kaden said, arms still wide. “You’re a coward.”

“What?”

“You’re afraid to go in there and try to get them out yourself.”

“It would be impossible,” Alric argued. “Anithistor would kill them.”

“Do you think when you show up with my head that Anithistor is going to let you or the others live?”

“I don’t know!” Alric screamed. “All I know is that’s the only chance we have!”

“Then shove the sword in my chest, Alric!”

Alric charged without thinking. He pulled the blade back and stabbed forward to impale Kaden with the sharp metal, but he had been careless. In the last second, Kaden dodged to the side and grabbed Alric’s arm as he stabbed through. With his other hand, Kaden slammed his fist into Alric’s nose and threw him to the ground.

Kaden stood above Alric with the sword in his hands. For a moment, Alric was sure that Kaden was going to kill him, but he only looked up at Lorcan.

“You want to try to kill me too?”

Lorcan stood for a moment, breathing hard through his nose. “Of course not,” he said as he dropped his head in disgrace.

Kaden looked back down to Alric.

“Next time you plan to kill someone, don’t give him a chance to defend himself,” he said.

He walked a few paces away with his back to the other two. Alric sat up and tried to wipe the free-flowing blood from his face.

“I haven’t given up hope,” Kaden said. “And you shouldn’t either.”

“You mean you don’t believe those things you said?” Lorcan asked.

He turned to face them both, a look of sorrow and even weariness in his eyes. “Well, it’s true that a lot of hardships have befallen the Dunarians,” Kaden answered. “But I do believe in the prophecy. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I believe Silas and the others will be freed somehow.”

“I think I know how,” Lorcan said.

Kaden snorted. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Lorcan said, smiling.

Alric and Kaden looked at Lorcan and realized that he wasn’t focusing on them, but rather something far in the distance.

Lorcan pointed. “Sarian!”

Alric and Kaden both jerked their heads to see where Lorcan was looking. At first, neither of them saw anything, but then Kaden nearly shouted when he recognized the bird.

“It’s Fury.”

The three of them stood together, watching as Nalani’s sarian flew closer. They could see three riders on the bird’s back, and one of them was obviously Coffman.

The three on the ground waved their arms and shouted for the riders to land near them. When a shout came back in recognition, the bird circled around them, finally landing about twenty feet away. An extremely tired Coffman, Nalani, and Silas slid off the back of the sarian and quickly made their way to the others.

“How did you…what did you…” Alric stuttered, but the words escaped him.

“It wasn’t easy,” Nalani said as she walked toward Alric to embrace him. Alric was surprised by the gesture, but accepted it fully. When they let go, he slapped Coffman on the shoulder, letting him know he was glad to see him alive.

Kaden had rushed to Silas. “I thought we’d lost you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Silas said. “But I’m afraid there’s not much time to catch up.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“The enemy is on the move,” Silas explained. “They’re moving fast too.”

“Anithistor told Silas he was sending an army to attack Jekyll Rock,” Nalani said. “And we just flew over the army not two hours ago.”

The color drained from Kaden’s face. “How big?”

“Big,” Silas answered.

“It’s Anithistor’s new army,” Coffman said. “The Soldiers of the Dead.”

Alric remembered the army too well. He, Nalani, and Daewyn Florelle had only been seconds away from becoming the first soldiers in that army. He had told Kaden and Darius Umar about the weapon that Anithistor had created, but he had no idea the Stühoc king would be sending them so quickly.

“They are large in number,” Nalani said. “Stühocs, Nestorians, and controlled Humans. They’re led by the Nestorian, General Mintuk.”

“Two hours out by sarian,” Kaden said as he scratched his beard. “They’ll be here by nightfall.”

“Maybe sooner,” Nalani said. “They were running when we flew over them. We won’t have time to get reinforcements. We’re on our own.”

Kaden swore coarsely. The others jerked their heads to him in surprise. “We would have seen them coming if Julian hadn’t taken the medallions from us.”

“There are thousands of them,” Coffman said.

“You three need to take Fury and get to Jekyll Rock,” Kaden said. “Dublin will meet you there. Alric, Lorcan and I have something to discuss.”

Alric’s insides went cold. He knew he had screwed up, but he wasn’t sure how the Dunarian leader would take it. Surely Kaden would know that they acted with good intentions.

Before mounting the sarian, Silas grabbed Kaden’s arm. “Have you heard anything about Inga? Is she safe?”

“Yes,” Kaden said. “She’s with the Erellens. She is safe.”

Saying nothing more, Silas, Nalani, and Coffman mounted the sarian and took off toward Jekyll Rock. Kaden kept his back turned to Alric and Lorcan who stood behind him with their heads hung down in shame.

“No one needs to know of what you tried to do today,” Kaden said. “We are not enemies.” He turned to face them. “You will fight with us tonight. You will show the Dunarians your true loyalty by fighting to the death for them if it should it come to that.”

Alric and Lorcan nodded in agreement.

Kaden held up a finger. “If I so much as get a whiff of you two trying to leave, or plotting against anyone within the Dunarian Order, I’ll have you executed in a second. Am I clear?”

“Yes,” they both said.

“Good. I know your intentions, so we’ll never speak of this incident ever again.” Kaden straightened his cloak and turned toward the city he had led for the past seventeen years.

“Tonight gentlemen, we will die with honor.”