Chapter VII

  Drake couldn’t sleep that night, yet instead stood at his window watching the occupying army. The campfires were dim in the distance, and it seemed like there was a lot of men still alive out there. Could it be they were getting reinforcements? Could it be just a ploy to worry him? Was there a chance that he could just be imagining it? His head ached with all the thoughts running through his mind. He paced up and down his room thinking hard, yet nothing came of it. It wasn’t until Rhey yelled at him that he tried to sleep. First, she had demanded that she sleep in the same room with him, then for him to lie down next to her and sleep. She said she wanted to be protected by her knight, yet Drake knew she just wanted his company. She slept soundly curled up in his arms, like the night they were in the woods, yet he couldn’t force himself to sleep. When the sun came up, he was back out on top of the wall pacing back and forth.

  “Gods, I wish I knew what they were up to,” he cursed to himself.

  “I suppose we’ll find out tonight,” Dolmont said sullenly. “Drake, do you really have to do this?”

  “I’m not trying to sound arrogant by saying this, yet do you know anyone else who might be able to survive?”

  “That’s my point,” Dolmont said seriously. “I’m not sure you can survive this.”

  “I can because I have to,” Drake told him.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” he argued.

  “Maybe not to you, yet it does to me. Dolmont, in the time you have known me, when did I take a serious risk?”

  “Never,” he admitted, “yet I don’t think now is the time to start making bad habits. No one can come to your aid out there. What happens if you get hurt?”

  “I’ll survive,” Drake told him shortly.

  “What if you don’t?”

  “My mother is here if I fail,” Drake answered. “I might not be very expendable, yet even I’m replaceable. I know what I’m doing.”

  “So, you have a plan.”

  “No, I have an idea. A plan in this situation is not a good idea. Just keep a close watch for me and we’ll see what happens.”

  “You’re insane,” Dolmont accused with a hint of awe.

  “Thank you,” Drake said brightly. “Now listen, if there is any way that I survive, yet can’t come back to the castle, I want you to listen to Rhey. She will know what to do.”

  “How?” he asked doubtfully. “Did you tell her what to do?”

  “Something like that,” Drake replied evasively.

  “That’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. How is it that Rhey knew what the man had said without you ever telling her about it?”

  “I don’t know,” Drake lied. “She might have been listening at the door.”

  “She couldn’t have been,” Dolmont shook his head. “She was with Soren and Karmet.”

  “Then I have no idea,” Drake lied again. He didn’t want to lie to Dolmont, yet he didn’t want to start anything either. Magic was, after all, strictly forbidden.

  Dolmont sighed and let the subject drop. Drake spent the whole day on top of the wall, staring out at the army before him, trying to get some sort of an idea of what he would do when he got there. Stirring up the horses was a nice idea, and maybe setting a few tents on fire, yet there was nothing earth shattering enough to get the whole army back into the fight. All day he mused, yet there was nothing he could think of. If worse came to worse, he would just have to assassinate as many high-ranking officers as he could. When night came, he went to the south gate and took off all his armor.

  “I wouldn’t want to be heard sneaking through their camp,” he told his officers when they protested. “Something like that could get me killed.”

  He snuck out on foot because with the winter coming, he didn’t want the hooves to be heard on the hard ground. His only weapons were the black clothing he wore to hide in the darkness and the Dragon dagger belted on his side. He shivered in the cold of the night and decided to run most of the way. When he got close, he slowed down and leveled his breathing to not warn anyone. It was just a few hours after darkness when he reached the encampment, yet most of the soldiers were already passed out. He passed through the forest of tents, carefully avoiding the dwindling fires to see that the soldiers had been drinking all day. Even though he didn’t approve of their behavior, he had to admit that it was beneficial. He stepped over a man that hadn’t made it to his tent and kept moving.

  The night was fruitful. He found many of the sleeping horses and cut their reins. They never noticed. When he found officers quarters, he crept in quiet as a field mouse and cut their throats. It was nasty work, yet it went well. When dawn started coming around, he got a mental call.

  “Drake, I think you have had enough fun for one night,” Rhey told him scathingly. She was angry because he forced her out of his mind all night. “Come home.”

  “Not just yet,” he replied. “I have just a little more to do.”

  He pushed her back out of his mind. He crept quietly into the last pavilion, the one he had been looking for all night, and cut the throat of the second in command. He shivered, not from the cold, yet from having to do this grim business. He wrote a quick note to the commanding officer, apologizing for his work, and crept out of the tent.

  It was pure chance, unplanned and unwelcome, that he ran into the man he had talked to only two days before. Drake’s eyes went wide, so did the other man’s. He tried to hide his blade, yet too late. The man rushed past him and looked into the tent. His face was chalky white when he turned around.

  “That was my best friend,” the man whispered angrily. “You killed my best friend.”

  “Are you ready to continue the battle now?” Drake asked casually. “We can start any time.”

  “No battle,” the man said darkly as the blood returned to his face in a deep red. “I have no need to go to battle when I hold the key to the castle. I will hang you on a cross.”

  “Good luck with that,” Drake said lightly and ran.

  The man started shouting orders even as he started chasing Drake. The twelve-year-old boy, surrounded by grown men, ran like a frightened rabbit between the forests of stumbling legs. At first, only a few soldiers realized what was going on, yet the harder he ran, the more they understood that he was to be apprehended. Men started jumping out of nowhere, trying to startle him or catch him, yet only got a streak of black passing them and a cut or stab from his dagger. It was a hard run for Drake, having to dodge men and tents and fires, yet just as he managed to break through their ranks, a man jumped on him. He was blindsided and caught off guard, yet even as he was falling to the ground, he was stabbing. He struggled to get out from under the nameless dead man and by the time he did, he was surrounded.

  “Come here my little rabid rabbit,” a soldier laughed.

  One step towards Drake proved to be his last. Armed soldiers may have surrounded him, yet he was like a trapped wolf hacking and slashing at any who came too close to him. The commander of the army pushed his way through the growing crowd to stare at the killer of his best friend.

  “I’m going to crucify you in your own home,” the man spat. “I will rape your mother and kill your friends. Throw down the blade, boy. You have no chance of getting out of this.”

  “Take it from me,” Drake growled.

  The man moved forward, and Drake slashed at the air before him.

  “Ten gold pieces for the man who puts an arrow in his leg,” the commander said.

  Drake picked up a shield, almost as large as him, and spun all the way around, catching all the arrows that were shot at him.

  “Impressive,” the commander said.

  “Try this for impressive,” Drake spat as he threw the shield at him.

  The commander was hit in the chest and Drake jumped up on the shoulders of the closest soldier and started running on the crowd’s heads. It was short lived. His ankle was caught, and he fell hard to the ground. His dagger was knocked free from his grasp by the impact and was quickly picked up by a soldier. Many hands grabbed him and pulled him up and managed to restrain him. He clawed, bit, kicked and punched, yet it wasn’t enough. His hands and feet were tied, and a gag was put in his mouth. They carried him to a tent and secured him to chains. When it was safe, the commander entered.

  “You are a very strong and able boy,” he commented. “It’s such a shame things had to end like this. I went back and got your note, by the way. Did you really think that was supposed to make me feel better? You killed an unarmed man, in his sleep, and all you can do is write a note that says you’re sorry?”

  Drake managed to spit out the gag.

  “I also killed twenty of your officers,” he added.

  “Only twenty?” the man feigned shock.

  “It was a slow night,” he bantered. “I do hope it doesn’t set you back too far, but I know how hard it’s to find good help these days.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The commander backhanded Drake. Drake simply smiled.

  “Are you so easy to taunt?” he asked. “If I had known that I would have stepped on your boot.”

  The man slapped him again. Drake spit blood onto his boots. This time, the man punched him.

  “Now wasn’t that so much easier?” he asked lightly.

  The commander was so enraged that he punched Drake several times before stopping. The struggle to get up hurt, yet it still wasn’t enough to stop Drake.

  “You really must gain control of your temper, sir,” he told him. “If you lost control that easily in battle, I’m surprised you made it to such a high rank.”

  That one earned Drake a kick to the teeth. His nose was now bleeding, and he was spitting out more blood. He didn’t speak again, yet he was hardly cowled.

  “This is a curious blade,” the man said after he regained his composure. He held up the Dragon dagger and looked at it with mild curiosity. “I seem to remember this from somewhere.”

  Drake pretended to look mildly curious.

  “Ah, yes, now I remember. Your father used it to kill my first-born son. I am so glad it came into my hands. I think I will use this to cut open your mother’s belly. Then maybe, if I feel some sort of compassion for you, I’ll use it to kill you.”

  Drake could only smile in defiance, though it hurt. Tears started to swell in his eyes, yet he forced them back. The tears puzzled him since the pain wasn’t that bad. A small whimper came from some unknown place and then he understood. Rhey felt everything he felt, so it was as if this man had just punched and kicked her as well as him. A sickening anger rose within him, driving Rhey and the pain from his mind. Something about it made him very sure Rhey could no longer feel his pain, yet his curiosity washed away his anger. The pain and Rhey both flooded back into his mind, yet the commander looked at him in shock.

  “What did you just do?” he demanded of Drake.

  “Give me that blade and I will tell you,” Drake croaked.

  “You are a demon from the beyond,” the man accused.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Drake spat.

  “You are,” the man said, starting to look afraid.

  “Fine,” Drake said through clenched teeth that hurt. “I am a demon. Now will I have to take that blade by force, or will you hand it over quietly.”

  “What will you do with it?” the man demanded in fright.

  “I will use it to bathe in your blood and call upon my father to condemn your family for eternity,” Drake said sarcastically.

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Then I will rip out of these chains and take it from you so I can bathe in your blood and damn your children.”

  “You can’t rip out of these chains,” the man said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

  Drake squirmed until he got himself into a comfortable sitting position and looked up at the commander of the army trying to take his home.

  “Just keep that thing close by,” Drake told him. “I am going to want it back and I’d hate to rip apart all these men just to get it.”

  He didn’t know what the man was talking about, yet he was in no mood to play anymore.

  “If you will excuse me,” Drake said politely dismissing the commander. “I have had a long night and I want some rest.”

  The man looked frightened, yet he was still in control. Drake watched as his mind worked and seemed to dismiss whatever he had thought he saw. Drake was no longer interested, yet there was a certain satisfaction when he watched the commander put Drake’s dagger into a strongbox near the entrance to the tent. He gave Drake a hateful glare then strode from the tent. Drake made no move to contest his actions, yet instead sat calmly and watched him leave. Once he was gone, Drake’s attitude changed.

  “I’m sorry, I should have been more conscious of our bond,” he told Rhey. “It was my mistake to get you hurt.”

  “You were just doing what you had to do,” she replied. “I don’t blame you for it. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

  “I’m not out of the woods yet,” he told her.

  “You’re still alive,” she pointed out. “Can you get out of those chains?”

  “That should be easy,” he assured her. He gave a strong tug on the bolt in the ground to prove it. The bolt moved very slightly. “See? These chains couldn’t hold me.”

  “So, when are you going to break out?”

  “Tonight, maybe,” he answered. “I don’t think it would be safe until then.”

  “He probably has half the army guarding you after that display,” she agreed. “What happened when you got really angry? I couldn’t feel you anymore.”

  “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I just got really angry, then I realized you couldn’t get hurt and the curiosity overwhelmed my anger.”

  “Sounds interesting,” she said as they both felt a surge of pain. “I’m going to go take something for this. Mother is good at making medicine.”

  “All right,” he said. “I should be back tonight if he doesn’t start fighting again.”

  “Please be careful.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Rhey’s mind pulled away from his, leaving him alone in the tent with nothing but his pain, chained to the ground. He lay down and slowly fell into an uncomfortable sleep. Every time someone passed his tent, Drake woke with a start. Every time there was a loud bang, he woke with a start. Every time someone spoke, he woke with a start. The day proved uneventful yet bad for Drake. He didn’t sleep well, yet he did sleep. The lack of sleep the previous night, coupled with his adventure that morning, forced him into slumber. The silence, many hours later, brought him back to full consciousness. He listened carefully to the sounds around him, trying to pinpoint where the guards were. There were few footsteps, yet as he listened, quiet shuffles of feet betrayed their owners. Drake pulled very slowly and quietly against the bolts holding his chains. He almost cheered with the excitement of freedom yet kept himself quiet.

  “Are you with me Rhey?” he asked.

  “Always,” she replied. “Are you on your way?”

  “Just about. Get to the south gate and get ready to open it. Post as many archers as you can along the wall and get some pitch ready. I’ll be there soon.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she said allowing a hint of her worry enter her mind’s voice.

  He sent her a comforting feeling along with the image of them in the woods. She smiled and moved into action. He crept quietly to the door and used the stakes that held his chain to pick the lock of the strongbox containing his dagger under Rhey’s instruction. Dagger back in his hand, he used it to cut the bracers of the chains off and crouched by the door. After taking a deep breath, he stabbed the man posted there in the back and turned to slice open the other one. He sheathed his dagger, grabbed a sword, and ran for it. It took only a moment for the alarm to sound and every man close by was chasing after him or blocking his path. He jumped over some and sliced through others, never stopping his flight. Luck was with him when he ran into a paddock of unsaddled horses. He vaulted onto the back of one and whooped and smacked as many of the others as he could before men started closing in. The chaos that erupted only made better his escape, yet his fast horse was quickly cut out from under him. He cursed as he fell with the horse, yet still managed to jump off and keep running.

  He fought as he ran, hoping against hope that he would survive this. One man managed to open his sword arm and another, one of his legs. His wounds were not terrible, yet the pain slowed him. He was puffing by the time he reached the front lines, and he was hurting. He was exhausted and he wasn’t sure he could run anymore. As he looked ahead, there was before him a line of men waiting. He took a glanced behind him and saw there were men right on his heels. Drake could think of nothing else to do, so he charged the line. Fifty feet to go and hooves thundered, drowning out the shouts from the men behind him. Drake’s only thought was to keep running, running back to the castle and Rhey. He thought of her as he slowed. It looked as if he would never again see the startling blue eyes of that devious little girl. He would never again breathe in the smell of wildflowers in her hair. Never again would he feel the soft touch of her hand in his. It’s often said in life threatening situations, you realize things about yourself. What is also told is that in the same situations, time seems to slow down.

  The thunder of hooves pounded in his ears and all the shouting of the soldiers closing in on him blended together. The clash of steel on steel rang like an encouraging song. He turned, which seemed to take forever, to see the men bearing down on him. His mind caught up with what he had seen before he turned and knew that Dolmont and his officers had come to his rescue and were breaking through the ranks. A single voice rang in his mind.

  “Draconice!” it said.

  His will to live and his endurance returned with a renewed fervor. Time sped back up as he took a heavy swing with his stolen sword at the men before him. Three men were down in one stroke and two fell with the second. He fought with a heavy hand, and none could stand before his blade. Only one thing stood in his mind, and it carried him though the waves of soldiers attacking him. His sword broke into a man’s skull, so he pulled the one from the falling corpse and continued his onslaught. His drive was grim, almost blind in the melee, he fought any who came within the range of sword point and came out victorious. Arms, legs, and heads flew from where he stood, and nothing could stop him.

  A horse bumped into him as he looked for more men to kill in his zone. He spun around and saw Dolmont with a tentative hand reached out to help him up. He took it and leaped on the horse’s back.

  “Ride,” he called to his men; the men that had saved his life. There could never be enough words to tell them of his appreciation. He would try, of course, yet that would have to come later. His drive still had a firm grasp on him and there was something that he needed to do. He never looked back, or even listened for a pursuit, yet as they reached the south gate, arrows flew over their heads like a welcome home celebration. The horses sped through the gate, and it was quickly closed. Shouts were ordered, screams littered the night, and the sounds of fighting rented the air, yet Drake had no ear for any of this. His eyes searched out one thing, and when they found what they were looking for, the sword in his hand dropped and he walked slowly through the struggle around him. He crossed the entrance courtyard and stopped just before the one thing that drove him back home.

  He looked into blue eyes, glittering like the stars above them; inhaled the sent of wildflowers; and took soft hands into his own. Though the words were not stuck, he didn’t speak. In moments such as these, one couldn’t speak before the right time. Stuck in their own little world, neither of them knew the sounds deafening the silence of night were gone and that people were holding their collective breath, waiting for the right moment, surrounding them. When it came, his voice was but a whisper.

  “I love you, my Rhey-annah,” he said.

  “And I love you, my Draconice.”

  Mature beyond their age, or the timing of fate, no one ever knew why they did it. yet when the words were said, there was nothing else for them to do but kiss. It was the kiss of lovers, yet it was the kiss of children. Their lips met in a whirlwind of their combined emotions passing through each other and their embrace was new, yet it felt as though old lovers reuniting. It was their greatest moment of love. In all the years that would come, people would still tell of that moment when the two most special children in Borom met for the first time as lovers. Young maiden’s hearts would forever flutter after that moment with the retelling. When their lips finally parted, they smiled to each other. There was nothing more to say, so they simply stared into each other’s eyes.

  It started with a single man. To this day, no one knows who it was, yet he started to cheer, which soon blew up to a magnitude that shook the foundation of the castle. Drake’s officers patted him on the back and hugged Rhey, yet they still knew nothing of their surroundings, frozen in their love. What finally broke their shell was Lady Nelver tapping her foot and looking down on them with a scowl. It took a moment for them to understand what was making her so angry, yet when they did, Drake slowly pushed Rhey behind him. Just then, he was very aware of the silence around him.

  “Oh, stop that,” she snapped and pulled him into a hug.

  Drake was so dumbfounded that he didn’t speak. He simply stared up at her.

  “Do you really think so little of me Drake?” she asked. “You were made her knight because we all knew this would happen. I know I might have sounded harsh at times, yet I always knew you two would be together.”

  “What about our birthday?” Rhey asked indignantly.

  “It was simply to drive you two closer together,” she shrugged. “I know my daughter, and I know you would delight in going against my wishes.”

  “Well, that takes all the fun out of it,” Rhey pouted.

  “Do you take it back?” Drake asked knowing the truth. In her heart, she couldn’t resist the smile he gave her, yet outside she was calm as an underground lake.

  “Of course, I do, silly,” she said smiling. “I only liked you because it grated on my mother’s nerves.”

  “I’m so unloved,” he sighed.

  She laughed and stood on her toes to kiss him again. They wrapped an arm around each other’s waists and turned to the rest of the crowd that had gathered.

  “We’re at war, gentlemen,” Dolmont shouted mockingly. “Grab a girl and kiss her.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Only if you can find one willing,” Drake chuckled.

  “Sorry about your luck Dolmont,” Rhey added teasingly.

  He looked hurt.

  “Back to your posts,” Drake yelled. “We still have an army trying to kill us all.”