Kalina just nodded sadly, but Garth caught Niki’s attention. “Perhaps,” he began, “you are destined to marry this King of Alcea.”
Niki blushed but she quickly looked at the three boys and smiled. “Perhaps you are right, Garth. I only know that I am to be a queen. I have nowhere else to turn, so I guess I will go with you.”
Kalina smiled grimly. It was not the strong commitment that the others had given, but perhaps that was as close as Niki could come. “Okay,” she confirmed, “ we are all in this together, then. The first thing we need to do is create uniforms like Garth’s. We will all dress in black leather with many pockets. The boys will grow beards so they look older. Tanya, you will get a black leather cap to replace your brown one. I think when you let down your hair by removing that cap, it will unnerve your audience enough to make them forget they were questioning your age.”
“We will get rid of the wagon and no longer be gypsies,” Garth added. “The wagon would cause us to move too slowly and leaves tracks which are too readable. Tanya, you will join Arik and Tedi for instructions. Fredrik and Niki will also get instructions from me so they will be useful in situations where magic would not be a good idea.”
The boys looked enthused, but Niki was sadly staring at the ground. “What is the matter?” Tanya questioned.
Niki looked up at Tanya and gave a weak smile. “All of the boys here knew their parents,” Niki mused. “That means that the Child we have with us is the descendant of the Dark One.”
Garth caught her eye. “Your logic is not as good as it appears,” he interjected. “The descendant of the Dark One whom everyone seeks was the child of the Empress of Sordoa. The child was born in the year of the Collapse.”
Niki caught her breath at the implication. Garth had not said the son of the Empress of Sordoa and all of the boys knew their parents. A chill ran down her spine and she shivered. Who would accept the daughter of the Dark One for a queen and how could she possibly kill her father? Niki threw herself into Tanya’s arms and cried.
“What of this King of Alcea?” Fredrik asked. “What do you know of him?”
“He would have to be descended of the royal line of Alcea,” Garth explained. “Alcea was a very ancient country that grew and took up a large part of the continent. Somewhere along the line, its name was changed to Targa. In the royal line of Targa would be a descendant of John Secor, a great painter who never assumed the throne. In the years before the Collapse, Mordac murdered King Eugene. King Eugene’s heir was John Secor, but he refused the throne. In a compromise, Duke Whitley became King Byron. King Byron’s adopted son was Prince Oscar Dalek, who was married to John Secor’s daughter, Princess Callie. So the rightful King’s daughter married the actual King’s son. The child of their marriage would be the rightful heir to the throne. They had a child who was lost when the ship they were on was sunk in the Sordoan Sea. He was born in the year of the Collapse.”
“Wasn’t Oscar Dalek the boy merchant who became rich by creating a private army to deal with bandits?” Tanya asked. “Uncle Boris used to tell stories of him.”
“The same,” chuckled Garth. “Oscar Dalek became the richest man in the world with schemes which always benefited the other party. He started Targan shipping on the Targa Sea with a new type of boat he designed. He had the Great Canal built and he introduced his mother to Duke Whitley who went on to become King of Targa. That is how he became a Prince.”
“Sounds like quite a character,” Tedi grinned. “Someone should have had him sell land in a peat bog for Sarac’s new home.”
“How did the Empress of Sordoa get involved with Sarac?” Arik asked. “I mean, Sarac wasn’t royalty or anything, was he?”
“No,” Kalina explained, “Sarac had a plan to take over the four great nations of the continent by replacing their rulers with his own people. The Empress of Sordoa was none other than Aurora.”
Niki started crying again and Tanya hugged her.
Kalina continued as if she hadn’t noticed. “Aurora befriended the Sultan of Sordoa and eventually they were married. She already carried Sarac’s child before the marriage and the Sultan believed it was his own. Aurora convinced the Sultan to declare himself the Emperor and her the Empress, which he did shortly before she killed him and took over the throne.”
Niki broke out in hysterics and Tanya shot Kalina a foul look. Kalina eyed Tanya directly and continued. “Everyone who is involved in this party has a right to know these facts, Tanya,” Kalina lectured. “Niki is getting hysterical for no reason. If she does not wish to hear this information, you may take her for a walk.”
Tanya tried to raise Niki and take her for a walk, but Niki refused. “I have to hear it sometime,” Niki sobbed. “I might as well hear it now.”
Kalina nodded and resumed. “When Sarac learned of the Ancient Prophecy, he sent his Black Devils to assassinate Aurora and her baby. The assassins did manage to kill Aurora as she was running away with her baby before the crowd closed on them, but the baby disappeared. Nobody knows if the child was male or female.”
Niki looked up at Kalina. “You mean Sarac tried to kill Aurora and the baby and Aurora tried to save the baby?” Niki asked.
“As misguided as Aurora was,” Kalina explained, “the Sordoans loved her. Alex and Jenneva were there to save Aurora’s baby and they helped to kill the magician assassins that Sarac sent. The Palace Guards tried to take Alex because they knew he was a Targan Ranger. Then the crowd attacked the guards because Alex tried to save their beloved Empress. Somehow, in the commotion, someone grabbed Aurora’s baby and disappeared.”
Niki sat up and wiped her eyes. “Well,” she stated bitterly, “that is reason enough for him to die.”
Everyone looked at Niki and saw the hatred in her face. If she had been the weakest member to pledge support before, she now looked like she would be willing to rip Sarac apart with her bare hands.
Garth suddenly sat upright and cocked his head. “Everybody gather their gear and saddle a horse. We are leaving immediately. If you can’t get it together in two minutes, leave it. We are about to have company, Dark Riders to be exact.”
Garth leaped to his feet as the last words left his lips. He quickly wrapped the Sword of Heavens and raced to the wagon to select which items he would be taking with him. The whole camp followed his lead and ran silently gathering their belongings.
Chapter 14 Young Warriors
Tremors of fear and determination rang through the campsite as the gypsies and the children prepared to evacuate the camp before Wolinda and the Dark Riders arrived. Evidently, the magic display given off by the Sword of Heavens was sufficient to alert the witch, Wolinda, who was leading the group of Dark Riders. Events of the day had been sufficiently unusual that no one had thought to question Garth on how he knew the Dark Riders were approaching and everyone scrambled to secure the things they each wished to bring.
Garth rummaged through the wagon selecting the items he did not wish to leave. He piled up several long lengths of rope and several quivers of arrows before reaching for the heavy canvas satchel. The satchel was divided into two compartments and Garth was relieved that the children had not thought to search through it. One side of the satchel held a large number of Lanoirian Stars that he had purchased from a source in Ongchi the last time he was there, but the other was packed with deadly myric quills. A touch to the point of one of those quills would have meant instant death to the children who touched them, something he would cover in his next lesson. He had purposely exaggerated the two minutes that it would take the Dark Riders to arrive so the children would not dawdle. He knew they had closer to ten minutes, but that was still cutting it close when it came to fleeing from servants of the Dark One.
Tanya appeared at the back of the wagon. “Is there something I can do to help you?” she asked. “I never unpacked my belongings and Arik has already shown me the horse that I will be riding.”
Garth stared at the young girl who enjoyed dressing as a boy. He handed her the coils of rope. “Use one of these to create a lead for the two wagon horses. We will be taking them with us. Then secure the other coils to my horse.” She turned to go and Garth reached out and held her arm. “Do you have any fighting skills?” he asked.
Tanya looked up at the imposing gypsy and grinned. “More than any of your boys. Uncle Boris often bartered
