Kethril (16 page)

“Really?” the king asked in amazement.
“That’s fascinating, almost as fascinating as my scepters.” He
turned back to Sir Danth. “Are you truly sixteen hundred years old,
Sir Knight?”

One of the nobles watching snorted. “He’s
probably some sort of imposter.”

“It may be true,” a young priest said. The
other priests around him turned in surprise and then let him move
forward. He was dressed in a robe of pure white wool tied at the
waist with a golden belt. Liselle could see that the young man’s
eyes were milky with blindness. She considered how to cure that
blindness.

The priest continued. “The armor is empty
with the exception of an old soul . . . a soul that despairs its
existence and . . . something else, which is not shown to me at
this moment.” He bowed and walked backward behind the other
priests. “I shall pray on the matter.”

“How extraordinary!” the king exclaimed.
“You
are
a Knight of Morhain.” Sir Danth bowed without
speaking. The king leaned forward, making his personal knights
nervous. Liselle saw them grip their swords and take a step
forward. “Would you like to hear about my scepters now?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I await the details with
great anticipation.”

“How wonderful! I like you, Sir Danth.” King
Cranwer held up his right hand. “These are my oldest and newest
scepters.” He pointed at them with the scepters in his other hand.
“The oldest is named ‘Thunder’. It was my great, great, great,
great grandfather’s.” The one he pointed at was silver with a
diamond at the top. The shaft was jagged in two places, much like a
lightning bolt. “It had magic in it at one point, but it’s gone and
some of the runes were scratched, so it can’t be recharged. He
would use it in battle against the skeethies, sending lightning
bolts against the hordes. The thunder of those bolts would echo in
the canyons.”

He pointed to the newer one, which was made
of thick, gem-encrusted gold with a small handhold in the middle
and a giant, round sapphire on the top. “This one is called
‘Fluffy’. I had it made two years ago. It sleeps on the pillow next
to me.” King Cranwer leaned forward and whispered loud enough for
everyone nearby to hear. “It has magic too, but I’m not allowed to
tell anyone what it does.” Then he winked.

Standing normally, he held up his left hand
and continued with the introductions. “This is ‘Bonkers’.” He
gestured to high-quality leather bits of cloth wrapped around what
looked to be a wooden shaft and knob. They ranged from dark to
light and were attached with golden studs throughout. “I bonk
people on the head when they misbehave.” He leaned in again. “I
have to be careful because more than one servant has died because I
hit them too hard.” He put a finger in front of his lips in a
hushing gesture.

The last one was made of gold, with a
bejeweled base and crown. It was the most beautiful and tasteful of
the three. “The other one is ‘Sue’. She’s my best friend. My wife
gave her to me as a wedding gift.” He looked at the throne with a
black pillow on it. “She’s wonderful.” It wasn’t clear whether he
was talking about his absent wife or the scepter.

“So do you like them?!” he asked, holding
all four forward for them to see.

“Oh yes, very much!” Liselle agreed
enthusiastically along with the others.

“Now, I’ve introduced my scepters. You must
introduce yourselves to me just as noble Sir Danth has done.” King
Cranwer scanned the companions and his eyes settled on Emmaoen, who
had remained with them, becoming a part of their group in a way.
“My dearest niece! How lovely to see you. Are you well?” He held
his arms out wide.

She rushed into his arms. “I am, Uncle. I
made some new friends too!” Liselle wondered what rank that would
make Emmaoen. She glanced at Anilyia who was appraising the
wizardess in a new light.

King Cranwer frowned. “You’ve made some very
dangerous friends if rumors are to be believed, my dearest
Emma.”

“I know, Uncle. That’s part of what I like
about them. They’re lots of fun and Vevin’s real good at killing
spiders.”

A wave of emotion flashed across the king’s
face before he hid it. “That’s good, Emma. Would you introduce me
to your friends then, or shall they introduce themselves?”

“They don’t like talking about themselves,
so I should do it.” At a nod from the king, she held her arm out to
Liselle, who stepped forward and curtsied as Sir Danth had taught
her during their travels. “This is my best friend, Liselle.” The
declaration surprised Liselle, but she didn’t have time to think
about it because Emmaoen was rushing headlong in giving out pieces
of information that Liselle didn’t realize the wizardess knew.

“Liselle is powerful, although most people
can’t see it. I think she’s the child of a goddess or something.”
Liselle’s jaw dropped and everyone in the room stared at her.
“Flowers like her and she’s very nice, which is a good thing
because she could probably destroy the city if she got angry.”

King Cranwer took Liselle’s hand and kissed
it. “Beautiful, divine Liselle. It is an honor to have you in my
home. Any friend of my niece is welcome.” Liselle blushed red in
response, not knowing how to respond.

“Don’t get too friendly, Uncle. Vevin is her
mate and he gets jealous.” Emmaoen held her hand out to Vevin, who
blushed deep purple. “This is Vevin Dragon, Uncle. He’s also nice,
which is good because he could destroy the city too, although he’s
a dragon so he’s not allowed to do so unless the city attacks him.”
The individuals responsible for protecting the king were pale. An
adviser near the throne even had tears in his eyes.

“I’ve never been attacked by a city, so I
think it’s safe,” Vevin reassured the king. “You have a wonderful
castle and I love your scepters, especially Fluffy!”

“Why thank you!” King Cranwer held Fluffy up
for Vevin to get a closer look. He took a minute to describe the
intricacies of the design and to show off the gems. Nobody was
willing to interrupt a dragon and king, so the audience just
listened.

When they were done, Vevin stepped back next
to Liselle and Emmaoen introduced Anilyia. “This is her Royal
Highness, Princess Anilyia Felicia Romenia Illiath Turllisa Wannita
Ullbra of the Kingdom of Mayncal. She was kidnapped by agents of
Iynath and held in the caverns of the Rojuun.”

Anilyia stepped forward. “Your Majesty,
thank you so much for inviting me into your beautiful castle. I am
honored that you would introduce me to your grand scepters. As my
father is not here in person, I give you heartfelt greetings of our
kingdom and the hopes that sunshine graces your people with its
blessed warmth for so long as they live.” With that, the Princess
curtsied deeply, sinking near to the floor.

King Cranwer bowed deeply in return. “The
beauty of Princess Anilyia of Mayncal has been spoken of even in
this far kingdom. I find that it has not done the truth justice. A
suite will be made available in addition to servants to care for
your needs. We will speak of your needs on the morrow.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Anilyia stepped
back next to Tathan.

Emmaoen gestured to Tathan. “Tathan of the
Shadows is the one you wished to meet. I’m sure we all know of his
reputation.”

Tathan stepped forward and bowed to the
king. Liselle didn’t know of her cousin’s reputation and was dying
to find out by that point.

“Greetings, Tathan of the Shadows.” King
Cranwer welcomed him without bowing. “It’s very considerate of you
to accept my invitation.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. The castle is very
nice. I’ve noticed a lot of valuables lying around,” Tathan replied
with a smirk. The king laughed, but he was the only one. Nobles
started checking their fingers and necks to see if their jewelry
was still there. Tathan became serious. “We haven’t been told why
you called us to the castle, although I will say that I’m flattered
by the fact that you sent a regiment to escort me.”

“Your reputation precedes you. I wasn’t
certain a regiment would be enough honestly. Now that I see you
travel with such esteemed friends, I’m surprised it was.”

“My companions have distaste for killing or
slinking away in the night. Had I been alone, the regiment wouldn’t
have noticed me,” Tathan informed him without hint of boastfulness.
“I must say that I’m very curious as to what need a king has of a
rogue.”

“A very good question.” The king walked
toward the mysterious lady and Steve the Squirrel. “I was informed
that you were in my kingdom and would be causing great trouble. The
lovely Felina suggested I have you captured and turned over to her
so that she may take you in for various bounties.” King Cranwer
indicated the green-eyed woman. “She believes that such an action
would be beneficial to me as it would keep my people safe.”

“I can’t imagine a king would send a
regiment to arrest someone and then allow another to take the
bounty,” Tathan replied. Irritation showed on his face.

King Cranwer looked thoughtful for a moment.
He pointed the scepters in his right hand at Tathan. “You have a
good point. I wouldn’t normally consider the request. Do you know
why I did this time?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Tathan responded.

“Because of Steve here.” The king went to
Steve and put an arm around the squirrel’s shoulders. Neither Steve
nor Felina looked thrilled by the gesture. “Steve is the most
amazing squirrel I have ever met. We’re best of friends, you
know.”

“Umm . . .” Tathan was at a loss for
words.

“Steve can leap quite high and he’s soft
too!” King Cranwer used the back of his hand to pet Steve’s head.
The squirrel looked decidedly unhappy. “At least he is now that we
give him a bath every day. He smells nice too. At first, we tried
lavender oil, but switched to nut oil. He likes that much better.”
Felina’s jaw was set in frustration at the treatment of her minion.
Liselle could see what Tathan was talking about when he said that
the bounty hunter’s eyes were striking. Steve had the exact same
eyes too, but that was eerie.

“His fur does glisten. It’s very nice,”
Tathan agreed.

King Cranwer moved next to Felina. “When
this beautiful woman told me that Tathan of the Shadows was
entering my kingdom I took it very seriously. I know what chaos
you’ve stirred in other countries. He waggled the scepters in his
right hand at Tathan. “It was very nice of Felina to let me know
even if she did have her own motive for doing so.” He honked
Felina’s nose. “Honk!”

Felina glared furiously at the king. Liselle
could feel her drawing in energy. Suddenly, every guard had their
swords out. Wizards readied energy at their fingertips. One of the
wizards, an older woman with long locks of grey and power in her
eyes said, “If you dare to draw energy against the king, the
remainder of your brief existence will be nothing but
suffering.”

The bounty hunter released her energy
immediately. “Every other part of my existence has been suffering,
so it wouldn’t be any different.”

King Cranwer honked her nose again. “Honk.”
She glared at him in helpless anger. He turned back to the
companions. “So I have a proposal for you and your friends, Tathan
of the Shadows.”

“I’m very curious to hear the proposal,”
Tathan replied. “If it’s turning me over to the bounty huntress for
the price on my head, I’m not thrilled . . . which bounty is it, if
I might ask?”

The king stopped and tilted his head to the
side for a moment. “I haven’t the slightest idea to tell you the
truth.” Turning back to Felina, he asked, “What bounty are you
collecting?”

Felina stepped forward. In a low, rhythmic
voice that resonated throughout the room, she answered, “There are
twelve bounties that I will be collecting.”

“Twelve? I thought there were fifty or so.”
Tathan rubbed his chin in thought. Either way, it sounded like a
lot to Liselle. He had told her that his past was dark, not that he
was famous for it.

“There are eighty-three,” Felina replied.
Her voice caught a person’s attention and made them listen. There
was also an edge to it that could cut someone. “Most aren’t worth
collecting and require you to be dead, which would make it
difficult to collect the rest. The twelve I’m going to turn you in
for are the best way to make money.”

“That’s very impressive, I must say,” King
Cranwer interjected. “Eighty three bounties? I’m not certain I’ve
ever heard of anyone with so many. Have you, Historian Alcan?” he
asked, turning to the old man again.

“The most I have heard of is thirty-six for
the Putrid Pirate Gallemmor,” the historian said.

“Ah yes. Does he really smell as bad as they
say?” the king asked.

“I’m certain I don’t know as I’ve never
attempted to sniff him,” Alcan replied.

“Eighty-three bounties,” King Cranwer
remarked coming back to Tathan. “That’s more than double the Putrid
Pirate Gallemmor. Very impressive.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Tathan bowed.
“You mentioned a proposal?

“Ah yes. My proposal.” He rubbed his chin.
“I have a problem I need help with and I would like your companions
to handle it for me. They seem rather capable, what with the
ability to destroy cities and the such. In exchange, I will release
you from prison and give you a one-week head start before I release
the beautiful Felina and my best friend Steve to track you down.
How does that sound?” He beamed a smile.

“What?!” Felina exclaimed in outrage. The
guards drew their swords again, probably because it looked like she
was about to strangle the king with her bare hands.

Liselle’s heart tightened at the word
‘prison’. She couldn’t imagine going on without her cousin and even
though it sounded like he was the worst criminal ever to walk the
world, she wasn’t willing to let him rot in a cell.