Read The Sword and The Seven Stones: Diamond Page 10

  Chapter 8

  Gavin had gotten back a couples of hours later. There was no sign of Churil. Jordon walked over to the tree by the horses and sat down. He was losing his friends to this quest. Gavin walked over to him after seeing that the others were busy taking the rabbits off the spit. “This is not a time to allow your emotions to get the better of you. Reed could have died in any fight over the years and you would still be going through this. Churil also knew what the perils were. This is your job. Your personal feelings don’t matter when it comes to protecting the King and his family.” Gavin knew that Jordan was taking the loss of his friend very hard. Jordan stood up quickly and looked at Gavin in the eyes. “He dies because our Prince is spoiled and took on a fancy to go to the forbidden forest. It was not a worthy cause that he died for but a spoiled brat’s adventurist nature. How many times have we pulled that child out of a situation so his father wouldn’t find out? A glorified babysitter we are, not soldiers. Reed lost his life trying to save me.” Jordon turned to look off the cliff’s edge. He couldn’t talk anymore about it. He hated the Prince at this moment. Gavin could understand why he came to that conclusion. Looking back at Alman, Gavin knew that something had changed on this trip. Alman wasn’t the spoiled kid anymore. Something happened the last time he spoke to that blacksmith. When Alman walked out of the shed, Gavin knew something was said to make this boy become a man quickly. He left Jordon to himself. Jordon needed more time to get his head together. He knew that if he gave Jordon a direct order, he would follow it so he didn’t have to concern himself with the safety of the Prince. He walked over to the fire and sat down. Nelvil passed him some rabbit. The juice ran down his fingers as he tore another part off the bone. It was so good and eating only once a day, they were lucky that Nelvil was good with his arrows. He never missed a shot. Jordon came over too and sat down. Nelvil passed him some meat. As he took it, Jordon looked over at Alman. “So since two of our friends have died on a quest we really know nothing about, would you mind filling us in?” Jordon said through bites of the succulent meat. Alman looked over at Jordon. He knew he was angry at him for the loss of Reed. He had thought about telling them since they caught up to him and Harry, but something held him back. He wasn’t sure if he could talk to them about it. Would they even believe him if he did? He ate his meat and then took a drink of water from the canteen. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he leaned back against the rock that was at his back. “I know I am the last person that you want to be around and I’m sorry for the loss of Reed and Churil, I really am. I didn’t walk into the blacksmith’s shed in our village to go looking for a quest. It found me. I know you won’t understand this.” He pulled the sword out of the sheath and held it up. “This sword picked me. I couldn’t stop now, even if I wanted to.” He put the sword back into the sheath. He stood up and grabbed some more wood. Throwing it on the fire, he knew that he would have to tell them everything. Everyone had finished eating by now. Alman was upset by what Jordon had asked and he knew it was time to tell them all what was going on. “You may think I’m nuts. Gavin you have seen the sword’s diamond glow when the cats come near. The old man that I talk to was never the blacksmith but he dresses as one. He told me that I needed to bring back a sapling from a certain almond tree. If I do this, many people will live. If I don’t, then many people will peril, especially my father.” Alman sat back against the stone and put his bag under his head and closed his eyes. That was all the explanation that they were going to get tonight. He thought about his father and how he wished he could go back in time and tell him how sorry he was for all the foolish things that he had done over the years. That he should have listened when he father tried to show him things about the Kingdom. He couldn’t stop thinking about the old man who sent him on this dangerous journey but after talking to him in the last village, he knew that he was picked for a reason. Gavin told Harry and Jordon to get some sleep. Nelvil and he would take first watch. They were all exhausted but if they slept now, everyone would get some sleep in before the night was upon them. They knew they were getting closer to the bottom where the cats would not be able to get them so he had a feeling that they would be in for the fight for their lives tonight. He walked around the perimeter and added more wood to the fires that were going low. Nelvil checked on the horses, making sure they were fed and watered. They had two extra horses now, as he looked over. He thought about letting Alman’s and Harry’s go but he would send them out to slaughter if he did that. He would wait till there were at the base and then let them go. Alman and Harry could have Reed and Churil’s horses. They had another two hours before the cats would be back. Adding a few more sticks to the fire by the horses, he walked up to Nelvil. “How are they today?” Nelvil noticed a scratch on Reed’s horse’s left hind quarter. It was just a scratch but it looked really infected. He hadn’t noticed it that morning. He cleaned it the best he could but he didn’t think that the horse would recover. The green/yellow pus that was leaking out was telling him that an infection had already set in to the blood stream. Gavin took a look and swore. The flesh around it was hot to the touch. It was festering and he figured that the cat that scratched him must have had some venom in the claws. He had hoped that they could keep these ones and get rid of the weaker ones but now looking at it, he knew that it was a poison that leaked from the injury. It had a rank smell to it and looking into the horses eyes, he knew he was suffering. “Take him, Nelvil and make sure it is clean. He wouldn’t wait for the cats to finish the job. He wouldn’t make the horse suffer any more than it had already. As he watched Nelvil take the horse away from the campsite, Harry was coming awake. Gavin sat next to him. “You should try to sleep for a bit longer.” Harry shook his head. “Every time I close my eyes, I see Reed going through the air and then the screams that came after that.” Harry pulled out his small knife and started to whittle at some wood that was laying on the ground. “How do you men do it? You go into battle with excitement on your faces.” Harry cut another piece off the wood and then looked into Gavin’s eyes. Gavin knew that each battle was exciting for them but they went into them knowing that they would give their life for their King. It was how they were brought up. Harry would never understand but Gavin and his men where the reason why he and Alman got to live such a pampered life. “We go into battle excited, yes. We have trained our whole lives to make sure the kingdom is safe. The west side, no one had ever been able to come through there but the south, north, and east have to be watched all the time. The walls were built to maintain peace. They were built hundreds of years ago. We have to make sure that peace remains.” Harry nodded.

  Alman and Jordon woke at the same time. Jordon got up to take a walk around and Gavin and Nelvil took their turns sleeping. It would be dusk in another hour. Harry got up and put more wood on the fire. Looking over at Alman, he watched as his friend took out the sword and looked at it. Alman got up when he saw Jordon walk into the camp. He walked over to him. “I just want to say I’m sorry for what happened.” In the next instance, Alman was on the ground. Jordon swung and smashed him in the face with his fist. Jordon felt the satisfaction run through him and he wanted to continue but knew that he couldn’t. Gavin heard the commotion and opened his eyes to see Jordon stand over the Prince and Alman on the ground holding his jaw. Gavin closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He knew that they would work things out on their own. “That you deserved for bringing us out here.” He put out his hand to help Alman up. “Thanks,” Alman said as he got to his feet. He brought his hand up to his jaw and checked it to make sure nothing was broken. “I would never bring someone on a quest so they could die. Seriously, after the first day I knew it wasn’t an adventure anymore. This man that I have been speaking with just appears. I have no way to summon him. He is of the world Arie. I don’t even know where that is.” Jordon didn’t want to hear it. He walked away from the Prince. Alman knew he had to make him understand. He knew this had to be done. He walked with Jordon as he checked each fire
. “Look, you can hate me but I have to do this. More people will die if I don’t. You can, help with this or go home. I can’t have someone around me if I can’t trust them. So do I have your trust?” Jordon looked at the man before him. He couldn’t even count on both hands the times that he and Reed pulled him out of something before things got too crazy. This man before him was not the same man. He was grown, he also looked older, which in the time span of five days didn’t make sense. Was there witchery happening? Jordon couldn’t be sure. He had heard the stories about the west forest. They all did from birth but could there be some truth to it? He wondered now. He had pledged his allegiance to his father and that meant it carried over to the family. He knew he had to let Reed go. It was going to be hard but he had to do it so he could keep Alman safe. The Prince was his job and he was good at his job. He walked to the edge of the cliff. Looking out over the vast area, he knew what he had to do. He turned to Alman and took a knee. “I swear with whole heart and soul that I will protect the man before me with my life if need be. This you have my oath.” Alman stretched out his hand and helped Jordon up. “Thank you. This means a great deal to me.”

  Gavin knew that things would right themselves. He was glad that Alman stood up and talked to Jordon. If he was to be King one day, he would have to learn to rule with an iron fist but have an open heart.