Cathexis: Necromancer's Dagger (9 page)

“Rasal,” Jatar said, speaking to the first
twin, “if your brother Lasar was wounded in battle, dying, and you
might save him by leaving Michael’s side, thereby only slightly
increasing his danger, what would you do?”

“I would swear to avenge my brother’s death
when it did not conflict with the care of my charge,” answered
Rasal with a grim look on his face.

Jatar stepped before the other twin and
asked, “Lasar, if you were dying of a wound as in the situation I
described to your brother, what would you do?”

“I would tell him to leave me, and I would
die happy knowing I had passed on in the service of my charge,
Michael Ardellen, long may he live!”

Jatar looked to Elizabeth who gave him a nod
signifying that all six of the men had answered honestly.

Elizabeth asked them all a final question.
“Would you swear on your eternal souls that you are true to the
Ardellen’s and to Michael with no other allegiance?”

All six of the young men responded ‘yes’,
and Elizabeth confirmed their answers by watching their auras and
verifying that they remained constant. She again nodded to Jatar
telling him of their true commitment.

Jatar then turned to Captain Fintok. “I find
these men exceptionally suited to their task, I thank
you,
captain, as always, my friend, you have
done an impeccable job.”

Lord Jatar faced the watching assembly and
raised his voice so all could hear. “Now comes a difficult choice,
each of these men is dedicated to the service of our son, Michael,
each has trained for the honor of Knight Protector and each of them
is worthy. Lady Ardellen and I must now confer before making our
choice.”

Jatar stepped back from the kneeling men and
spoke with Elizabeth quietly.

After a few moments Jatar walked forward
again and faced the crowd with the six kneeling candidates before
him; he drew his sword and held it above the heads of the young men
pointing up at an angle toward the ceiling and then he called out
in a loud voice for all to hear, “I choose to break from tradition
at this point in the proceedings!”

There was a low sound of questioning voices
from the assembly, but Jatar ignored them and continued
speaking.

“Normally we would adjourn to the
antechamber to inform our selected candidate of our acceptance in
private, he would then accompany us back to the throne to be
knighted, thereby showing you our selection.
Instead,
I intend to make my choice
publicly.”

Again the crowd murmured at this change in
the expected ceremony.

“I do not do this to be insensitive to those
not chosen to the post, for they are all ready to die in the
defense of my son! Each of these men has my greatest respect and I
bow to their courage and dedication,” Jatar inclined his head as a
show of respect. “Indeed, they are all worthy of
knighthood
and of the title Knight Protector.
And so we now choose to knight not just one, but all six of these
courageous young men, and we give them all the title of Knight
Protector!”

The crowd of spectators burst into
conversation
at this unheard of,
but welcome change in tradition. Most of
those watching
were rooting for one candidate, and this
way everyone’s choice won.

Jatar ignored the noise of the people,
raised his sword high and moved over to the first in line. He
proclaimed in a loud resounding voice: “In the name of G’lan, I,
Lord Jatar Ardellen, ruler of Lindankar give you the rights of
Knight Protector,” and Jatar brought the sword down to rest on
Hetark’s
right shoulder as he
spoke the words. “Do you swear to protect and serve Michael
Ardellen, so long as you and he both live?”

“I do, milord.”

“Then arise Sir Hetark, Knight Protector of
Michael Ardellen!” Jatar took a gold ring from Captain Fintok who
stood to his left and placed it on the third finger of
Hetark’s
right hand. The upper portion of the
ring was formed in the shape of a shield. Jatar moved down the line
of kneeling men as he repeated the ceremony and gave each of the
new Knight Protectors a matching ring. When they had all been
knighted Jatar spoke to the knights in unison. “You six men must
now become as close to one another as real brothers; let all the
energy you have spent on
competition
now be used in pursuit of friendship and
cooperation with one another in your service to my son. Captain
Fintok was designated as my Knight Protector on my first birth
celebration; let his example serve as your model.”

Jatar, having completed the knighting,
stepped back and made a proclamation to the assembly: “These six
men were once in contention, now I ask that they be equal brothers
in arms, I give you the Knight Protectors of Michael Ardellen.”

The crowd erupted into cheers for the new
Knight Protectors.

When the tumultuous applause had faded
Elizabeth spoke to the six knights in a voice that carried, so all
could hear. “Now good sir knights, do your first duty as Knight
Protectors and bring your charge forward for the instating of his
birthright.” In a quiet voice for them alone she added, “Bring the
whole crib and set it before us.”

The Knight Protectors, three of them to a
side, reverently picked up the white and gold crib that held baby
Michael, their young master. The pride felt by these young knights
shown from their faces like beams of sunlight. They picked up and
then placed the crib gently in front of the waiting parents.
Michael stared up at the large men and a smile came over his face,
perhaps because of the bright highlights gleaming off the shining
chain mail or perhaps he sensed a little of the love and
protectiveness pouring out of these tough men.

With a sweep of his arm to point out the six
Knight Protectors, Jatar said, “I have broken tradition and
knighted six Knight Protectors so that Michael will never be
without at least two loyal knights within call, protecting him
always. You six are now brothers as if you came from the same womb
and Michael is your son now as he is mine, he is your liege lord
that you’ve sworn to protect, and he is your country’s future
ruler, guard him well.”

The answer came in unison: “We will,
milord.”

Jatar spoke out to the watching throng, "Now
that Michael has his Knight Protectors the moment has come; I, Lord
Jatar Ardellen, do formally designate my legally born son Michael
Ardellen as my heir and first in
line
of succession to the throne of Lindankar. Let the
celebrations begin, the land and people of Lindankar have an heir
to the throne on this wondrous day!”

The cheers of joy sprang forth from the
assembly of nobles and as the doors opened at the back of the Great
Hall the cheering spread from the palace across the city like a
cresting ocean
wave
until the
whole city celebrated the crowning of the new heir.

One of those celebrating in the Great Hall,
who dressed in the fine clothes of the upper nobility, smiled and
cheered with the rest, yet his thoughts were far from celebrating
the new heir. He knew that before the sun set Lord Jatar's soul
would be forfeit. The picture of what was about to befall Jatar so
amused the man that he laughingly grabbed at the nearest noble and
turned the man around. “Isn’t it a wonderful day!” he proclaimed
and clapped the man on the back in celebration.

“Yes it is!” the surprised noble replied.
“Wasn’t it a grand idea to appoint all six Knight Protectors for
young Michael?”

The conspirator continued laughing as he
placed his arm on the other noble’s shoulder and replied, “Oh yes,
Michael should be well protected now,”, but he added in thought,
at least until I have him killed later today.

Both nobles walked out of the hall together,
heading to celebrate for two totally different reasons.

A full bell later Gavin, Jatar’s personal
household servant and old friend, stood before the door of the
Ardellen’s sitting room and stated, “Your coach is here milord and
milady.”

“
Thanks,
Gavin, that’s good timing,” Jatar responded. “Elizabeth has just
finished getting Michael ready for his church blessing. Are you the
only household staff member still here at the palace?”

“Yes milord, I thought you might need
something, so I stayed to help.”

“That was very thoughtful of you Gavin, but
the rest of today is for celebrating and I expect to see you out
having a good time with the rest of the household staff. Go ahead
Gavin, enjoy yourself, I promise you it won’t hurt.”

“But what if milord or milady is in need of
something?” Gavin asked with a furrowed brow.

Elizabeth spoke up from where she was
leaning over Michael’s crib, “Then we can fetch it for ourselves.
Besides, we’ll be out of the palace for the rest of the day anyway,
so there’s no need for anyone except the outer guard to remain. Now
go out and have some fun!”

Gavin’s stern face looked so completely
unhappy at the thought of having fun that both Jatar and Elizabeth
burst into laughter. “Oh stop it, Gavin!” Jatar exclaimed. “Now I
order you as your ruler to go out and not come back until you have
drunk five cups of ale at the nearest tavern, kissed at least one
girl, laughed at three jokes and told at least one of them to
someone else.”

“Three jokes, milord?” Gavin repeated with a
look of concentration, he had taken Jatar far too seriously, “What
if they don’t make me laugh?”

“Then you’ll have to listen to more until
you find some that strike you as funny, now out you go to start
your merry making assignment,” Jatar ordered in amusement.

Elizabeth held Michael wrapped in a purple
blanket as Jatar accompanied them down to the coach waiting in the
courtyard. Four of the Knight Protectors stationed themselves
around Michael; Hetark and Becaris took the lead while the
diminutive Drake and towering Gustin followed. As they neared the
Grand Entranceway they came upon two of Jatar’s boyhood foster
brothers; Lord Pellev Welter, ruler of Tazlany and Lord Verdew
Kestle, ruler of
Belorn
.

“Pellev, Verdew, are you both going to Saint
Helen’s church for Michael’s service?” Jatar asked.

Lord Pellev smiled and replied for both of
them. “Of course Jatar, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

A palace guard approached in such an obvious
hurry that Hetark and Becaris stepped between him and Michael, just
to be safe.

When he was near the guard stopped and spoke
quietly to Jatar, “Lord, Captain Fintok sent me to find you. There
has been trouble with Lord Tysol’s departure at the city gate. The
captain requests your counsel on what action should be taken. A
meeting of the military and guard officers is convening in the
strategy room to discuss our response to this provocation.”

“That must be handled with care, Jatar,”
Elizabeth cautioned, “we may be at war if we give Tysol a
rallying
call that unites the
people of Datoria. Perhaps you should see to this personally.”

“But I don’t want you going to the church
alone Elizabeth; the meeting will have to wait.”

“I have the Knight Protectors with me, I’ll
be fine,” she assured her husband.

“I will follow her Jatar, and I promise to
look after your wife and son,” Lord Pellev offered.

“And I too will go with them,” Lord Verdew
added.

“I would appreciate it greatly, brothers,”
Jatar said with relief.

“Don’t mention it Jatar,
after all,
what are foster brothers for if they
can’t escort their brother’s lady to safety?” Pellev asked with a
warm smile.

“Then if you’re sure you will be all right?”
Jatar’s voice trailed off.

“I’ll be fine,” Elizabeth reassured him,
“I'm a Kirnath sorceress and I have four brave Knight Protectors
and two ruling Lords to protect me. If I'm not safe then we're in
more trouble than threats from the Lord of Datoria. They need your
wisdom to handle that idiot. This is another one I owe Tysol; there
will be a reckoning some day.” Elizabeth gave Jatar a quick kiss on
his cheek and walked out with Pellev,
Verdew,
and the Knight Protectors to the waiting
carriages.

Jatar headed for the west wing for the
meeting with his officers.

Major Harland Von Dracek entered the palace
sleeping chamber and found CAracusS seated next to a table where a
gagged man lay bound. The captive’s eyes darted around wildly
looking for unlikely help. The Merc major ignored both his
struggles and his pleading eyes and spoke to the seated
necromancer. “I see that the antidote has taken effect, are you
fully recovered and ready to begin?”

The voice of CAracusS replied in his raspy
monotone, “Yes, the last effects of the pollen are gone. Is
everything going according to plan?”

“The Kirnath sorceress has taken her child
to the church and Jatar is busy in the palace handling the
prearranged Datorian disturbance. As we expected, all the servants
have gone into the city to celebrate, so for all intents and
purposes the inner palace chambers are empty,” the major
answered.

“What if we’re disturbed while I use our
subject to open the bridge to the Dark Plane?” The necromancer
asked
while gesturing with his
dead gray hand toward the bound man on the table.

“I ordered your two underlings to stand
guard at the entrance to the guest hall. They will attempt to keep
anyone from disturbing us."

“Excellent, then we are ready to begin,”
CAracusS replied as he walked over to the fireplace and grasped the
hot poker embedded in the coals. When he pulled it out the end of
the rod glowed orange from the intense heat stored within the ugly
metal.

The bound man’s eyes widened as the
necromancer approached. CAracusS slowly lifted the searing hot
poker toward the poor victim’s straining face. Fear exuded from the
bound man’s eyes like the sweat that seeped from his pores.