the very will of your god.”
Valessa fumed but bit her tongue. She nodded.
“So be it,” she said. “Then why am I here, or is it only to be reprimanded and sent away?”
“The paladin,” Velixar said. “Did you ever learn his name?”
“I did not.”
“A shield,” Darius asked. “Did he hold a shield that glowed?”
Valessa thought back to Claire’s hanging. It’d been morning, and in the sunlight any glow would have been difficult to see, but…
“Yes,” she said. “It looked strange to me then, but that must be it. It glowed, as the enemy’s weapons glow.”
Velixar turned to the lion statue, and he lifted his arms to the night sky.
“Here,” he said, his voice lowering. “This is where we will bring him. At the altar of Karak, he will be sacrificed. Let his blood flow over Darius’s sins, banishing them forever. Who then would doubt my student’s faith?”
I would, Valessa thought, glaring.
“Then let us go to where the paladin hides,” Mallak said, grabbing his greatsword and drawing it. The fire on the blade burned strong, sucking in the starlight so that the darkness seemed to thicken. “You saw him last at Arthur’s castle, no?”
“He will not be there, not by the time we arrive. Arthur marches for war.”
“Will Jerico go with him?” Darius asked. His eyes remained downcast as he spoke, as if afraid to meet her eye. “If so, we must go to the battle.”
“Sebastian has been a loyal friend to Karak,” Mallak said. “There is more at stake than one last paladin of Ashhur. We must ensure Sebastian’s victory with whatever power we have. With our swords, and the prophet’s sorcery, we can turn the tide of any battle to our desire.”
“We will need to hurry,” Valessa said. “The ride here was long, and Arthur will surely have begun marching.”
“It will be many weeks until he reaches the Castle of the Yellow Rose,” Velixar argued.
“Sebastian won’t stay,” she said, shaking her head. “He’ll march out. I know it. He’s been eager to fight his brother for years. Now he’s left his cave, he’ll came riding out with his entire host.”
“If you are right, we have little time,” Mallak said. “Let us rest this night, for I see Valessa is tired. Come morning, we will ride.”
“I travel at night,” Velixar said. “As will Darius. Rest now, and then follow the main roads. Listen to the whispers of the common folk. They will tell you where the armies march, and where they will meet. As for us, we will always be near.”
With that he turned, and Darius followed him away. As the man in black stepped out of the circle, Valessa felt the very air warm, as if Velixar were a fire giving off cold instead of heat.
“I hope I show no disrespect in saying I do not trust him,” she said when certain the prophet was far enough away. Mallak tilted his head and looked as if he were examining her.
“Your faith is strong,” he said. “And you are wise in many things, but you are wrong to doubt Karak’s hand. I have met him only rarely, but every time, he has spoken with wisdom, and cunning. It was he who brought low the Citadel, though the rest of the world hears only the name of Xelrak. He has given us a great victory, and if he assures me Karak has redeemed Darius’s soul, then I will believe him.”
Valessa shivered as she thought of Darius.
“It still feels wrong,” she said. “Did you not see Darius’s eyes? He looks like a dead man, or at least diseased.”
Mallak led her from the sacrificial circle to where he had tethered his horse at the base of a tree.
“Indeed, he does,” said the paladin as he untied his mount. “But he has much to atone for. I’m sure the guilt of his failures weighs heavy on him, and will until he executes the paladin… what was his name?”
“Jerico.”
“Yes, Jerico. With his death, Darius’s atonement will be complete.”
Valessa accepted his offered hand, and she sat behind him as he rode out to where she had tied her own horse, following her quick gestures to lead him there.
“But what of Nevek? Pheus? Lars? I heard rumors of other dark paladins going missing, too. What of those potential murders?”
Mallak stopped his horse so she could dismount. As she untied her horse, the strong rope wrapped around a low branch, she heard the paladin draw his blade.
“This fire is for healing as much as cleansing,” she heard him say. She turned about, and the frightening power in his eyes sent her to one knee. “We lost good men to him, but I will not lose another if he has truly returned. Let him fight. Let him suffer, and walk Karak’s hard road. But should he stumble, or turn against all Karak holds dear
…”
He swung the sword once, cutting the tree limb Valessa had tied her horse to. It fell to the ground with a thud, having barely slowed the blade as it cleaved through the air.
“I follow your orders, not those of the prophet,” she said, her head bowed. “Speak the word, and I will turn on Velixar himself.”
“I know, girl. Now hurry. I saw an inn a mile back, and I would like to sleep on a soft bed while I still can.”
She mounted her horse, tightened her cloak about her, and then let him lead the way.
*
Kaide was surprised by Jerico’s silence as they rode back toward Stonahm. He’d expected questions, doubt, maybe even rudimentary discussion of battle tactics. But instead the paladin remained lost in thought, and this made him wonder. When required, the two traded their mounts for fresh horses at a nearby village, with every farmer eager to help out with Arthur’s war, as they called it.
Arthur’s war. Only now did they accept it, even though he’d spent years spilling the blood of Sebastian’s men. Sure, they’d given him their support, but only when he dumped bags of stolen gold at their feet. At every village, he told them of the coming conflict, and made a quick speech rallying them to battle before moving on, trusting them to find and link up with Arthur’s vanguard.
“We’re making good time,” Kaide said as they rode out from another village, saddled up on yet another new pair of horses. Kaide’s was a chestnut mare, and he liked the beast’s energy.
Still Jerico said nothing.
As they camped for the night, only a two day ride from Stonahm, he finally asked Jerico what was the matter.
“You badgered me into talking,” he said, grinning at the paladin. “I think it’s my turn, now.”
“Ashvale,” Jerico said, still staring into their fire. “What happens to the people there if we win?”
“When we win, I suppose I’ll leave that up to Arthur.”
Half a smile cracked on the paladin’s face.
“I’m no fool, Kaide. Arthur will give you what you want as reward for helping him sway the people to his cause. What will you ask of him? Will you butcher the people who live there now? Send them away without homes? What?”
Kaide leaned back and tossed another stick onto the fire. He watched it burn as he chewed on his words.
“You want to know what kind of man I am,” he said at last. “That’s what this comes down to, isn’t it?”
When Jerico nodded, he sighed.
“I don’t know anymore, Jerico. There was a time I’d have burned down every building with the people inside to reclaim my home. But we’ve made a new home now. It’s only the fire in my gut that urges me on. I may never take back Ashvale, just as I will never bring my wife back to life. But I can hurt the man who did it. I can make him suffer, as I suffered. He took away my home, my lands, and my wealth. I’ll do the same to him.”
“Revenge is never-”
“Spare me,” Kaide said, glaring. “I know what revenge is. I live with it night and day. What will you tell me,
