“You can’t just leave me!” She screamed at the top of her voice causing the Tar of Sinis to flinch slightly.
“I should kill you and be done with it,” he answered softly and glared at her, satisfied that she quickly came to a halt and then actually retreated a few paces. He began to draw his right kali from its sheath. “Save Gwaynn the trouble and perhaps he will forgive me.”
Audra backed away another step and Nacht was pleased to see real fear in her eyes.
“But…but you promised to support me…to back me against all my enemies,” she said and though she was beautiful, even heavy with child as she was, Nacht could hear the pout of a little girl in her voice.
Nacht slammed his kali back in its sheath and turned his back on her, stuffing the one pack he would be taking with him with extra clothes and weapons.
“You promised!” She insisted, her voice growing a bit stronger now that the immediate threat of death seemed to have past. The young Queen watched him with dismay and rising panic. Everyone had abandoned her; Caiman, her father and brother and Captain Hothgaard, who if the rumors were true was now marching with the traitor from Massi…and now Tar Nacht and the Executioners from Sinis. She was alone and her life was in peril. Gwaynn would kill her, she had little doubt that and he would kill precious Aiden and her still unborn child. It was the only way he could secure lasting power for himself and his own children.
“Take us with you,” she blurted, suddenly very willing to throw her rule in the dust if it meant life for herself and her children.
Nacht laughed and turned to her. “You’re serious,” he said, grabbing his broadsword from the corner. “How fast can you waddle your Highness? Not fast enough I’d guess. And you would be so easy to hide, so inconspicuous. I never took you for a fool!”
He looked at her a moment, then began to push past her, just as shouts and warning bells began to sound in the courtyard beyond. Nacht stopped in his tracks, unaware that Audra was now clutching his upper arm tightly. Unconsciously he threw off her grip and sped across the room to the balcony. Audra, despite her condition was right behind him, waddling surprisingly fast.
They reached the stone railing just in time to see an enormous Traveler bridge pop out of existence, but they took no notice of it, both were entranced by the large army of men and horses that had apparently poured from it and into the castle. There were hundreds upon hundreds…most dressed in the uniforms of the Temple Knights or else wore the colors of Massi, but here and there Nacht glimpsed the gray and royal blue of Noble among the hoards of fighters.
Audra made no answer as they watched the defenses of Rosethorn Castle rapidly disintegrate. There was resistance from the men of Sinis, and a smattering from the royal guards of King’s Island. Nacht stared unmoving as he spotted a group of Executioners…fighting well against the mounted Temple Knights but falling quickly when a pair of Tars from Noble took to the fight.
Nacht knew he should attempt to flee, but instead he stood rooted to the spot gazing down as the last of the opposition faltered and finally all was quiet. Moments later the door to his room burst open and a host of men rushed in. Nacht dropped his broadsword and whipped out his kali, and without thought threw himself at the invaders. Behind him Audra bent and picked up the heavy sword but did not draw it out. She simply held it before her, the point resting on the ground as the first men in the room rushed toward Nacht. In the lead were a host of soldiers from Massi and three died for their speed, after that the others held their distance until a small group from Noble pushed through the crowd.
“Nacht,” a Tar of Noble said. “Stand down or die.”
Nacht smiled, knowing he would surely die, fight or not, so he launched himself at the Tar with glee. But the Tar was an exceptional fighter and easily blocked the first flurry of blows the High Tar of Sinis threw at him. The Tar of Noble countered but Nacht was also very good and turned away each blade.
More and more soldiers crowded into the room and at least three were also Tars of Noble, but they all remained near the edges of the fight, watching with tangible expectation. Nacht and Tar Endid, who he was fighting, exchanged several more parries before the High Executioner was able to recognize Prince Gwaynn, now the High King, standing near the door next to a broad, shaggy haired Tar. Nacht knew now was the time, the man he was fighting was good, very good and probably younger than he was by a good dozen years. Another flood of strikes rained down on the High Tar of Sinis but he managed to block them with grace and skill. Nacht sent his right arm swinging across the front of his body until it was aligned with his foe then he quickly launched the spring knife from beneath his sleeve, all while neatly blocking a kali aimed to remove his head from his shoulders. The knife shot from its hiding place incredibly fast and covered the distance between the two fighters in a blink. With a sharp thud the knife buried itself into Tar Endid’s left eye.
Endid cried out and wavered for a moment, then staggered a few steps to his right before dropping hard to the floor. Nacht did not hesitate but raised his left arm and pulled the trigger mechanism on his other spring knife. He aimed carefully, directly at Gwaynn’s heart. The young man was standing not twenty feet away, a ridiculously easy shot. As the knife fired and left his sleeve Nacht knew it was going to hit its mark.
The knife flashed through the air covering the distance with incredible speed, but Nacht did not follow the path of the knife, did not take his eyes from Gwaynn. He wanted to see the moment of recognition when the knife slammed home. He wanted to see the moment of death. But instead the Tar who stood at Gwaynn’s side moved faster than was possible, faster than the eye could see. He reached out and actually caught the knife by the hilt, holding it steadily less than a foot from Gwaynn’s chest.
“Tsk, tsk,” the strange Tar said shaking his bushy head and Nacht suddenly realized the man was Nev, the legendary Solitary and former Weapons Master to the High King. The Executioner felt a giddy wave of fear as Gwaynn smiled and extended one hand for the knife. Nev handed it over.
Gwaynn paused for a moment. “For my mother and my sister,” he said softly and with another blur of movement too fast to see he threw. It crossed the room in a blink and hit Nacht just below the left shoulder. The Executioner grunted with surprise and looked down briefly then the world tottered and he fell. He felt a blinding pain as he hit the floor and the knife was pushed farther into his body, but then the poison began to work. He died quickly without a last sound or thought.
?
It was late, past midnight, two days after the fall of King’s Island to the Massi forces. Gwaynn now occupied the throne of the High King. He was truly the recognized leader of the Inland Sea, and everything was quiet. Queen Audra and her son Aiden were now under guard, imprisoned in her rooms, awaiting Gwaynn’s decision whether they would live or die. To Audra it was turning into a very long wait.
But it was a decision Gwaynn had no desire to make though he knew it was necessary. The weight of it kept sleep away and when he grew tired of tossing in the unfamiliar bed he dressed and began walking the halls of the palace. He wandered steadily downward until he was near the ground level and happily met Vio, in her nightdress, starting the climb that would lead her back up to her private room. She carried a very large plate filled with an assortment of meats and cheeses in one hand and had her long cotton nightdress hiked up in the other, so as not to trip. She was looking at the tray of food and would have walked right into Gwaynn had he not cleared his throat sharply. Vio looked up, dropped her nightdress and blushed but then smiled and took a bite of turkey.
“Hungry?” Gwaynn asked, very aware of the girl’s body beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown.
Vio giggled and blushed again, fighting the urge to stroke her hair. She wondered vaguely what she looked like and hoped that she wasn’t too scary. “Famished,” she answered. “You?”
Gwaynn nodded and took a hunk of sharp cheese from her plate and popped it in his mouth. “I could eat.”
