Kaliam nodded. “How is he?” he asked. “How is Aelic?”
“He is awake,” Baldergrim replied, but he seemed reluctant. “He has been asking for you, but . . . uh, Kaliam, Sir Aelic has taken grievous wounds. We have tended to him with such medicine as Yewland has to offer, but I do not know if it will be enough.”
“Then let us cease this chatter!” Sir Oswyn bellowed. “For I bring salves and remedies like no other in The Realm.”
Baldergrim nodded. He turned and whistled a soft, melodic trill. And from the trees, a white dragon spiraled down and landed next to him. Without a word, Baldergrim leaped into the saddle, and his steed swooped into the sky.
The others followed, and from the air, the Knights of Alleble saw that the Battle on the Forest Road had penetrated far deeper into the heart of Yewland than they had imagined. When Kaliam peered down into the woods, he saw open areas with blackened glades and scorched, leafless patches of trees.
The green Castle of Yewland itself did not escape entirely unscathed. Once a thing of wild beauty, like a solitary flowering plant burgeoning upon its hill with bud and bloom, the castle now seemed more like a rosebush after a storm. Turrets leaned or were roofless—one had even crashed to the hill and lay there in a pile. Several of the elaborate wooden stairways and balustrades were burned. But the main gate was still intact.
Baldergrim’s white dragon steed hurriedly descended and landed lightly on the wide balcony of the castle’s east side. The others landed, and Baldergrim led them up several curving halls, up one flight of stairs, and to a large arched chamber. The room radiated green light, though from whence it came, none could say. There were no windows and no torches. Still, they could see the room was a house of healing, and the gentle green light was welcome.
There were numerous beds, mats, and cots, and upon them lay many of Yewland’s wounded braves. Nock appeared and warmly greeted his old friends. “This way, my Sentinel,” he said, and they followed him.
They found Queen Illaria, Trenna Swiftfoot, and Thrivenbard at Aelic’s bedside. Aelic lay there, eyes closed, his porcelain white skin now a dull ashen gray. When Kaliam saw the blood-soaked bandages on Aelic’s head, arm, chest, and stomach, he wanted to cry out, but he bit his tongue and smiled bravely.
“My son!” King Ravelle cried, and though he wanted to swoop to Aelic’s side, he made way for Oswyn, who knelt by Aelic and opened a huge satchel. Oswyn fished around for a while and removed several cloth pouches and a half-dozen small, corked bottles. He went to work at once, examining wounds, crushing herbs from the packets, and daubing Aelic with salves.
“We found him just before sundown last night,” Thrivenbard said. “It is no wonder that he was not found before. Kaliam, he was in the Sepulcher.”
“The Sepulcher!” Kaliam exclaimed.
“Aelic fell into one of the pits where the Seven were buried,” Nock explained. “When Aelic was last awake, he told us that one of the Sleepers chased him there. His dragon rescued him then.”
“We found Gabby in that cursed valley,” Thrivenbard explained. “She had been mauled. We can only guess that the Sleeper left Aelic for dead.”
Oswyn lifted the bandage on Aelic’s stomach, and they all heard his sudden intake of air.
“Oswyn, what?” King Ravelle asked, and his voice pleaded. Oswyn turned to the king, started to speak but didn’t.
Finally, he looked at King Ravelle and then Kaliam. “He is gravely ill. That is all I can say for now.”
“Is there not anything I can do?” Queen Illaria asked. And Sir Oswyn looked at her and was reminded of her kindness to them . . . and their feast the night before the Twelve left for Acacia.
“Maybe . . . ,” Oswyn said, half to himself. “Your Highness, would you bring me a flask of Golden Tear?”
The queen did not question. She didn’t even command an underling to go and get it. She sprinted herself from the healing chamber and returned in moments carrying a tall green urn.
“Will this be enough?” she asked.
“I am not sure,” Oswyn replied. He opened a large leather satchel. Long gray, feathery weeds spilled out. He snapped them again and again until they fit in his mortar. Then he ground them rapidly with a pestle. The air around him filled with a sharp odor. Sir Oswyn took all the contents of the mortar and poured them into the urn with the Golden Tear. He covered the urn with his hands and shook it.
“King Ravelle, Nock, lift Aelic so that I can make him drink this.”
The King and Mallik carefully sat Aelic up, and Oswyn slowly poured sips of the mixture into Aelic’s mouth. Aelic groaned a little, and he coughed the first mouthful back out, but Oswyn kept pouring. Then Aelic began to swallow.
Suddenly, Aelic’s eyes popped open. “Os?” he whispered.
“Shhh,” Oswyn said. “Drink this. All of it if you can.” Aelic did as he was told, and he drank until the urn was empty. Then they laid him back down.
Aelic’s eyelids fluttered, but they remained open. He looked around. “Father!” he cried. And King Ravelle took his hand. “Father, I am sorry . . . I—”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, my son,” Ravelle said, brushing the damp hair from Aelic’s forehead. “I have heard the tale of how you fought. Valiant, I call you, one who seeks glory for King Eliam the Everlasting.” Aelic smiled.
“Enough talk for now,” Oswyn said, then gently added, “Leave me with my patient.”
There was a spring in Oswyn’s step as he walked into the chamber where King Ravelle, Kaliam, and the others awaited word on Aelic’s condition.
“You may all see him now, but only briefly. He needs his rest,” Oswyn said.
Quietly, they followed Oswyn to Aelic’s bedside.
“Look, his skin is better, nearly restored!” Mallik exclaimed. And behold, Aelic’s skin had lost the gray cast, though it still lacked the vitality of a healthy Glimpse.
“What was that you gave him?” Trenna asked.
“It is an herb called yarrow, or staunchweed in the common tongue,” Oswyn said. “Then I remembered how quickly the Golden Tear restores a knight’s energy, and I thought perhaps it would speed this healing herb to unknown wounds within Aelic.”
“You are brilliant!” Thrivenbard exclaimed.
“We have great need of such wisdom in this room,” Queen Illaria said, and she looked kindly upon Oswyn.
“Do not lavish accolades upon me,” Oswyn replied. “Aelic is improving, and for that we have King Eliam to thank.”
Oswyn went to Kaliam, leaned toward him, and whispered, “The next few hours will tell us much, but I still do not know if I caught it in time.”
“Aelic, lad, you are made of sterner stuff than those trees in Nock’s forest!” Mallik laughed. “To tangle with a Sleeper, and then last for days at the bottom of a pit? I agree with your pa, that was valiant!”
Aelic smiled at Mallik, but then he coughed and winced in pain. “The wolvin was far beyond my skill,” Aelic said. “It brushed me aside like an insect.”
“And if I ever find that wolvin,” Mallik said, “he will pay ten-fold what he did to you, and I will collect with my hammer!”
“Well, it should be easy to recognize it,” Aelic said, closing his eyes. “Before I fell, I saw Gabby take a chunk out of the back of the Sleeper’s neck.”
“I will remember that,” Mallik said.
“Kaliam,” Aelic called. His voice sounded weaker than before. “Kearn took her. He took Antoinette. He said he would take her beyond the Gate of Despair—that she would be tortured.”
Kaliam knelt by Aelic. “Aelic, do not fear,” he said.
“Kaliam, I know she wrongfully left our company, but we cannot abandon her to that dark place and—”
“We will not abandon her, Sir Aelic,” Kaliam assured him. “King Eliam has a plan for her rescue, of this I am certain. And even in that place, she is not alone.”
Aelic turned to look at his father. “What about Mother?” he asked.
; “She was in Acacia for a time,” King Ravelle said. And in his voice there dwelled an ancient sorrow. “I have searched there many times, but in vain. I dispatched messengers there before we left Alleble to come here.”
“You were in Alleble?”
“Yes, all of Mithegard dwells there now—safer than being a close neighbor to the enemy!”
“It makes me glad,” Aelic said with a soft chuckle, “. . . even in such a time as this. For the Glimpses who serve the everlasting King should be together. Does it not seem so?”
“Yes, it does, my son. It is now as it always should have been.” King Ravelle looked up at Queen Illaria and shook his head slowly. “How so many, including myself, distanced ourselves from Alleble . . . abandoned Alleble . . . it was folly.”
Aelic nodded, coughed again, and then suddenly clutched at his stomach. He yelled and fell backward. Oswyn was there in a flash. He delicately pressed his fingers at various places on Aelic’s stomach. At one place he paused, felt again, and then he looked up grimly.
“Oswyn?” King Ravelle cried. “What is happening?”
“Mallik, Kaliam, please take King Ravelle outside,” Oswyn said gently, but urgency ran through his words like a current. Kaliam and Mallik firmly escorted King Ravelle from the room.
Some time later, Sir Oswyn and Queen Illaria emerged from the chamber and found Kaliam, Mallik, and King Ravelle sitting along a wide hearth.
“Oswyn!” King Ravelle exclaimed, and they all stood. “How is my son?”
“He is resting,” Os replied. “Aelic had worked himself up, and jostled his wounds before they were healed. A little more yarrow and Golden Tear I gave him, and now he rests.”
“Will he survive this?” King Ravelle asked plaintively.
“I cannot say,” Os replied. “But I suspect that those wounds which remain will—” A shrill scream followed by the breaking of glass cut Oswyn’s words, and they all raced into the house of healing. They found one of the nursemaids standing over Aelic’s empty cot. She wore a horrified expression and turned to Oswyn.
“My lords!” she cried. “Sir Aelic sat up and asked me for a flask of water. I was away just a moment. When I returned . . . he was gone!”
They gazed down at the cot, empty except for Fury in its sheath and the bloodstains on the sheets. Aelic was gone.
9
THE FIRST MOVE
Antoinette woke to the eerie sounds of war horns echoing off the dark mountains of the Prince’s Crown. Startled, she rose to look out her cell’s single window. It was just barely dawn, and a sickly red haze enveloped the Grimwalk far below. Antoinette saw a dark line of knights snake slowly out from the Prince’s fortress. Antoinette had never seen so many soldiers—some on foot, some mounted—row upon row upon row. And now visible flying above them were huge black dragons. They were thick-limbed and had impossibly wide wings. Each dragon carried beneath it, dangling from a web of cables, what looked like a carriage filled with yet more troops.
There were waves of these dragon-transports, and they soon outpaced the soldiers on horseback and on foot below. But they all went to the northeast.
“Behold the power of Paragor’s hand!” Kearn said from behind her.
Antoinette jumped and spun around. “Kearn!” She sighed forcefully. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, for some time,” he replied, walking casually to the bars of her cell. He ran a long, pale finger up one of the bars. “You seemed so anxious for news, and that, among other reasons, is why I am here.”
“And what news do you have?” Antoinette asked, suspicious of Kearn’s motives.
“Why, good news, m’lady,” Kearn said. “Today is a momentous occasion, for Paragor has unleashed the first wave of his final campaign. A force four times that of the one we spent on Mithegard and double that of the army we used to lay waste to Yewland. In a day’s time, the stubborn Glimpses of the Blue Mountain Provinces will be dealt such a blow that they will be unable to supply the help that your precious Alleble requires!”
Mallik’s folk, Antoinette thought. “This is not good news.”
“Did you think I meant good news for you?” Kearn laughed.
Antoinette ignored the slight and asked, “Why the Blue Mountains?”
“I would not expect you to understand my master’s strategy,” Kearn said. “Your Sentinel, Kaliam, saw firsthand the devastation at Clarion. And he knows full well that even now the Wyrm Lord is being nursed back to the strength he wielded of old. He knows the walls that surround Alleble will fail under the withering heat of the Wyrm Lord’s breath. So to whom would your mighty King turn to have the walls of his city rebuilt? The Blue Mountains, of course. Should they be allowed to fortify King Eliam’s walls, our conquest of Alleble would be . . . delayed. Paragor will strike first, and the Blue Mountain Provinces will go the way of Clarion!”
“King Eliam will go to their aid!” Antoinette said defiantly.
“He may,” Kearn replied. “This too works to our advantage. You see, King Eliam will know nothing of our attack until it is too late. Alleble’s forces will not arrive in time to stay the damage we will do to King Brower’s stoneworking equipment. They will have no way to transport their precious blue granite, and Alleble’s walls will remain vulnerable. Then the true strength of Paragory will be unleashed, and Alleble will fall!”
“Kern, you seem so confident,” Antoinette said skeptically. She twisted at the silver ring on her finger. “Do you really think it will be that easy to defeat King Eliam and his allies?”
“War is never easy,” Kearn said. “King Eliam has daunted Paragor at every turn. But the advantage is ours now . . . in numbers, strength, and strategy. We will win.”
Kearn and Antoinette stared at each other in silence as if the war between Paragory and Alleble were being waged in their gaze. With a flourish of his cloak, Kearn turned to leave the chamber.
“Wait!” Antoinette called to him.
“What is it, Lady Antoinette? I have duties.”
“Tell me something before you go,” she said, seeking his eyes with her own. “Why did you take my Book of Alleble?”
Kearn immediately looked away. “I did no such thing.”
Antoinette ignored his response. “You’ve been reading it, haven’t you?”
“Do not be absurd,” Kearn replied. He opened the chamber door and was halfway through. “What in The Realm would lead you to believe that?”
10
LEGEND OF
THE THREE
Praise to the King that you have returned!” Farix exclaimed as he helped Kaliam with his dragon steed in the pens behind the Castle of Alleble. Farix looked among the other riders: Mallik, Nock, Oswyn, King Ravelle, Thrivenbard, Trenna Swiftfoot, and a few braves from Yewland he did not recognize. “Where . . . where is Sir Aelic?”
“I wish I knew,” Kaliam replied. “He was grievously wounded and seemed near to death, but Oswyn’s skills may have delivered him from that dark door. Yet, Farix, in the midst of treatment, Aelic vanished!”
“You mean, he has gone to the Mirror Realm?”
“I do not know. I need to seek our King’s wisdom on what this might mean.”
“Go, then, to the King’s chambers,” Farix said. “For he is looking for you also. Much has transpired in your absence. More of our allies have come, seeking refuge within our walls. Acacia and the other small realms closest to us.”
“Any word from the Blue Mountains?” Mallik asked.
“Nay. But that is not unexpected. They will be bearing slabs of blue granite and an array of equipment. It will take some time for them to transport such things.”
“True, but please bring word when we hear from them.” Kaliam turned to leave, but Farix stopped him.
“There is one other thing. Our citizens have begun to speak in whispers about the war. They are asking about the Three.”
Kaliam stared. “The Three Witnesses of Legend?”
“Yes,” Farix replied. “Naysmith
e and others have been gathering. They are convinced that the Three are abroad.”
“I really need to see King Eliam,” the puzzled Sentinel said, and quickly took his leave.
Several anxious hours later, King Eliam’s throne room doors opened. Brilliant white light spilled into the hallway and Kaliam emerged. He seemed to be staring into a distant place that only he could see. He walked right by Lady Merewen, who had been waiting for him.
“Kaliam!” she called, and hurried to catch up. “Were you going to simply pass me by?”
He stared at her for many long moments before recognition dawned on him. “M’lady Merewen! Prithee, forgive my lack of courtesy. I . . . my mind was in another world.”
“What?”
“The Mirror Realm,” he said to her. “And perhaps, in coming days, all of us will be looking there as well.”
“You speak in riddles,” Lady Merewen said.
“I only echo the riddles spoken to me by our King.”
Lady Merewen took Kaliam’s hand. “Come, my Sentinel. Dark halls lit only by torches are no place to discuss such mysteries. Allow me to bring you to a brighter place where light may be shed on all that is unknown.”
Kaliam mumbled an agreement and Lady Merewen led him past the throne room doors on the right and then left at the next hall. A moment later, she stepped over a threshold and into a passage. From a distance it looked like a solid wall, for the stone inside blended wholly with the stone on the outside wall. At last, they passed through a pair of tall, arched doors that groaned of many years with little use as they moved them.
They entered into a glad green courtyard bathed in the golden light of the late afternoon sun. Tall white statues of fair maidens and strong warriors stood at the openings of flagstone paths that wound their way through a maze of blossoming hedges. Vines with tiny pink, purple, and blue flowers clung to the stonework, benches, statues, and walls, filling the courtyard with sweet smells and a feeling of safety.