The Path Of Peace (The Cremelino Prophecy Book 3) (7 page)

Mezar drew all the power from his
mind that was allowed in a moment’s thought. He hoped the suddenness of the
magic would surprise his father. Without any more thinking, Mezar sent a
hurried thought through the air, a thought that for one moment plugged the ears
of the guards and his father but amplified his sound to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, beware of my
father,” Mezar shouted. “He is in league with assassins to kill you and to turn
his sights northward to take on the Realm.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened, then
saddened. He said nothing out loud and gave no other outside appearance that he
understood, but Mezar felt that he did. It was all he could do at the moment.

Leaping sideways against the
nearest wall, Mezar launched himself off the wall and over the head of his
father and dashed out of the room. He would find help and return. He couldn’t
let his father get away with this.

His father’s shouts from behind
told the young prince his father had countered the spell Mezar had used on him.
His father began running behind him, using his power to gain speed. Mezar came
to a flight of circular stairs and bounded down them five at a time, reaching
the bottom in mere seconds. Sliding around a corner, he ran a short distance to
an outside door. Shoving the ceremonial guards aside, he jumped down more steps
and ran through the garden courtyards. His father still ran behind, but Mezar
was younger, and even though he was less trained in the physical aspects of the
power, he had more reserves of potential within him.

Visitors in the gardens stood
stunned as the two royal wizards raced through the manicured grounds of the
palace. A bolt of fire rushed by Mezar’s head once, shattering a nearby tree.
His father yelled after him, but still Mezar ran. A thin tear slid down his
face. He had never imagined his father’s lust for power would turn out like
this. His behavior was erratic and disturbing.

Entering the noble’s district
outside the palace grounds, Mezar focused on the task at hand mapping out in
his mind the best route to escape through. It became a clear plan in his head.

A man on a horse came around the
corner. Mezar grabbed the man and pulled him to the ground, jumping up on the
back of the horse. The horse was fresh and, imbued with additional power from
the prince, took off at breakneck speed. Dashing around corners, the general
fell too far behind to catch his son.

Suddenly bells heralded from the
palace, signifying an attack. That meant all gates out of the city would begin
to close. Mezar raced for the closest one, arriving just as the gate closed.

“Open the gate!” he demanded,
reigning in the horse.

“But the bells?” questioned the
guard.

“Don’t you know who I am?” Mezar
amplified his voice.

The guard flushed, bowed, and
stumbled in his speech. “Of course, Prince Alrishitar.”

“You don’t think those bells are
meant to keep me in, do you?”

The guard began pulling back open
the gates. “Of course not, my Prince. But what is happening?”

“An attack from inside the
castle.” Mezar twisted the story. “Someone is trying to kill the Emperor. I am
going for help. Can I count on you?”

The guard saluted the second heir
to the throne. “Yes, sir. You can count on us to keep watch.”

“Get a message to my cousin
Lowell. ‘Meet me in Salish.’ Tell this to no one. You will be rewarded.”

“Yes, sir. I will go right now.”

Lowell was the one person he knew
wasn’t involved in the plot. His cousin was foppish – always concerned with the
latest fashions - but extremely loyal to him and the crown. Mezar couldn’t
grasp yet how deep his father’s treachery ran. He could only trust his
immediate friends.

“Remember, do not tell anyone. In
fact, don’t take a direct route to the castle at all.” Mezar hoped this guard
did not mention the message to his father or anyone else. Lowell was not well
watched, so he figured the guard could get to him, even with the castle being
locked down.

Mezar raced through the gates
with the horse, leaving a group of bewildered guards closing the gate behind
him. He had to find Darius to warn him, but he didn’t know where the King of
the Realm was. The visitors from the Realm were still not scheduled for weeks.

Racing northwest on the main road
from Gildan, he rode toward Salish. He would make plans there. As a prince in
the royal family, in line for the throne, and a wizard, he had resources to
call upon if he needed them.

WHITE ISLAND

D
arius stood against the railing of a worn
out barge hired in a small village south of Mar. The weather turned rough and
wet. Taliana, having grown up around the water in Mar, seemed to handle it
fine; however, Roland, the horses, and even the old owner of the vessel stood
in bad shape. Darius couldn’t do anything about the weather more than to
slightly speed the wind and send small bursts of power to give feelings of
reassurance and safety to the passengers.

Through the sideways rain and
thick fog, the slow group started to distinguish the faint outlines of the
white-salted cliffs, of which White Island got its name. Some of the tensions
began to ease at thoughts that they were not going to drown after all. Darius
insisted they get to White Island as soon as possible. Now he almost regretted
not staying in the coastal village until the storm had passed.

After some time, the wet group
pulled up next to a dock on the island. A few poor drenched deck hands ran from
a nearby covering to help them and their animals up and out of the barge.
Darius traded money with the owner and invited the drenched men into the
nearest inn for a hot meal. Darius handed the horses over to some not very
enthusiastic young stable boys, and the rest of the group headed into the
nearest inn.

“Make way for the King,” Roland
announced in a loud voice, drawing unwanted attention to Darius. He sighed,
resigned to the fact he could not go anywhere unnoticed anymore. His life was
for the people.

The small group in the inn stared
at his wet, plastered, youthful body and couldn’t quite decide if it was their
sovereign leader or not.

“Your Majesty!” a voice shouted
from across the room.

Darius smiled. “Ambassador.” He
greeted his best friend in a formal manner.

Kelln El’Han strode across the
room, a slight sway of maybe too much drink in his step. The two embraced, but
Kelln pulled away with a face.

“You’re all wet!” Kelln stated
the obvious. “Aren’t your powers good for anything?”

Feeling a little embarrassed,
Darius had not thought about drying himself off with his powers. Having lived
eighteen years without knowing about them and then up until the last few months
either hiding them or using them sparingly, the King frequently forgot about
the usefulness of his power. It was easier to remember if someone else needed
help, or if there was something grand going on, but for the smaller mundane
things in his life, he was content in trying to be a normal person. Using too
much of the power also drained him and made him tired.

To make the point to the small
audience, Darius did indeed use his powers to dry his party’s clothes off with
a few waves of his hand. It felt like the right thing to do, and he did it, not
really knowing how. The quick drying hardly tired him at all. Steam extended
off of them, leaving them as dry as before the storm hit. Somehow Roland
produced a small traveling coronet for Darius to wear on his head. Darius gave
his captain a perplexed look, but Roland just shrugged as if to say that Darius
needed to maintain his image at all times. The crowd smiled and laughed. Indeed
it was their King. They stood and gave small bows before Darius motioned for
them to continue their meal.

The men’s eyes moved from their
King to the young dark haired beauty accompanying him. Taliana glared at the
men, and they looked away from the fire in her young eyes.

“Hello, young wizard Taliana,”
said Kelln in a mockingly sweet voice. “Seems like I have only found trouble
when I am in your presence.

“Only because trouble seems to
follow you.” She smiled sweetly.

After requesting a private dining
room from the innkeeper, who was more than happy to oblige his King, Darius
began asking Kelln about Mar. He was more than worried that the Preacher had
found his way there. Kelln hadn’t found Alessandra yet but seemed sure she was
around if her father was.

“Can we trust her?” Darius asked
Kelln.

“Darius, I want to so much.”

“But?”

Kelln lowered his eyes. “But I
don’t.”

Darius sucked in his breath.
“Kelln, if we find her, we will need to take her to Anikari to be put on trial.
There is too much she has done now to be pardoned of her crimes.”

“I know.” Kelln sighed.

“And I can’t let the Preacher run
free in Mar. I will send troops there to help you capture him. Belor is barely
stabilized after what he did there. I can’t have him infect Mar.”

“My father can help,” Tali
offered. “The Preacher has contacted him and wants his support. We could work a
trap for him, something he can’t stay away from.”

“Anything that feeds his ego
would work.” Darius took a spoonful of soup. The rest took a few minutes to eat
some food that the innkeeper provided them. The warm fish soup and fresh bread
warmed them inside.

“Roland.” The King turned to his
trusted captain. “You will accompany Ambassador El’Lan back to Mar. You will
stay in visible places so it will be harder for any harm to come to you. I will
send for reinforcements from Anikari that I trust.”

“Sire, my place is with you. A
King cannot be alone.”

“Kelln needs you more than I do
right now. I can take care of myself.”

Roland seemed embarrassed to
continue pushing the King in this. “Sire, please reconsider. It would not be
seemly for the King to go riding around by himself without at least one guard
with him.”

Darius let out a deep breath. “I
surmise you are correct, Captain. It is still difficult getting used to being
the King.”

“Miss Penrose here seems more
than capable of protecting our ambassador,” Roland added with a toothy grin.

“Hey, why is everyone trying to
protect me? I can handle myself.” Kelln almost pouted.

Tali rolled her eyes at him but
stayed silent and ate her food, though her eyes did sparkle with amusement.

The King rethought his position.
“We will visit with the master caretaker tomorrow morning after the storm blows
over. Afterward, Tali will accompany Kelln back to Mar, and with the protection
of the governor, whom I hope I can trust, Kelln will await for additional
troops.”

Tali nodded.

Kelln mumbled something about not
needing a babysitter to watch over him, but with the flash of Taliana’s eyes
and a smack of air on the side of his head, he just glared at her.

“Miss Penrose,” Darius said in
all seriousness, “we talked about not using the power for mundane, silly
things. Once this is over, I will need to talk to your father and you about
your powers and see what we can do about some training. Seems to be more
wizards popping up around the Realm than we knew about. With your impetuous use
of the power, you indeed might be a wizard of the heart instead of the earth.
Mezar told me about a school in Gildan. Maybe you can study there for a while.”

Taliana smiled and agreed to try
and be wiser in using her powers.

After that, the discussion moved
to small talk about the weather and wondering why they traveled to White Island
in the first place. Darius grew tired and excused himself to bed. Roland followed
him, leaving Kelln and Taliana in the dining room alone.

The weather did not subside for
two more days. Darius was told that the master caretaker was on the far side of
the island and wouldn’t return until after the rain. They spent their time
rehashing their plans and visiting with the few people that came into the inn
during the storm.

Darius always found it
enlightening to visit with his people and find out their thoughts of the Realm.
White Island was unique among cities of the Realm. Most of the physical needs
on White Island were funded by the King for the taking care of the herd of
Cremelinos. Because of that fact, the people of White Island always stayed very
loyal to the crown.

Early on the third day before
Darius was even fully dressed, a knock on the door sounded. Roland, who had
insisted on sleeping on the King’s floor to guard him in the small inn, jumped
over to answer it. It was the innkeeper, who informed them that a visitor
awaited them in the common room. Darius was excited to meet the caretaker and
threw on his traveling clothes. He informed Kelln and Taliana to meet them
downstairs.

Sunlight streamed through the
windows, brightening up the common room. It was a clean establishment that
catered to the locals, with a few traders making periodic visits as goods were
exchanged from the mainland. Looking around the room, Darius almost missed the
young man standing and looking out one of the rear windows. Darius cleared his
throat and the boy, fifteen or sixteen in age, turned around. Darius recognized
him from his earlier visit to the island.

The young man took a deep bow
toward the King. “Your Majesty, my father Haman bids you to come to our home
and visit your herd.”

Darius smiled. “Thank you. I have
met you before. What is your name again, young man?” The small boy he had seen
a year and a half earlier when he had picked up Christine’s Cremelino with
Kelln seemed a foot taller but still as skinny. His brown mop of hair had a
difficult time staying in place, but his firm jaw told of growth to still be
had.

“Jakob. Jakob Widing. I will be
master caretaker when my father gets older,” he said quickly then blushed as if
he regretted what he said.

Darius tried to comfort the
obviously nervous teen. “I am sure you will make a fine caretaker for our
Cremelinos. The one you gave me before was perfect. You were right. It was
meant for me. I gave it as a gift to a girl who is now your queen. Christine
named the horse Lightning, and her speed has been a help in many
circumstances.”

Jakob smiled with pride and led
the way out. The group followed behind, being careful to not walk in the still
existing puddles from the previous storm.

Haman Widing, a large balding man
with a happy smile, met them at the gate to his property. His wife had prepared
some refreshments of sweets and fruits that she shared with the visitors on the
front porch of their modest but sturdy home.

Off in the distance Darius could
see a few of the Cremelinos, always a brilliant white. As the horses came
closer to the group, Darius began to sense voices in his head.

Wizard of the heart, we greet
you and honor you.

A group of ten came to the edge
of the fence and knelt down on their knees in respect of their King. Darius
walked over to them.

Long has our prophecy foretold
of your coming.

“He’s talking to those horses
again, I’ll wager. Just like with the horse of the queen’s,” Darius heard
Roland tell the others.

“He can speak to them without
touching them it seems.” Haman nodded. “Good. Good.”

Are
you ready young wizard?

“Ready
for what?”

Ready
to bring peace and glory in times of darkness?

“Wasn’t
that already fulfilled?”

Oh
no, young King. You have not seen all the darkness yet. You have not seen fear
yet. Real fear comes from harm to those you love. Darkness gathers in the south
in Gildan, in the west with Arc, and in your own realm.

Darius
felt fear tear a hole in his heart.
“What can I do? I am only one person. An
untrained wizard at that.”

Remember
these three things: Rely on your friends; remember where your power comes from;
seek out all the powers at your disposal when the time is right. Only then will
you chase evil and darkness away and find peace.

Darius
turned and looked at the others. They watched him expectantly, waiting for him
to share what he heard. But he did not. He couldn’t scare them. He needed to
protect them.

Summon
the young wizard to us.

Darius asked for Tali to come
forward. She did so with glee and delight in her eyes. She approached with
caution and began to put her hand out to touch one of the Cremelinos.

“Don’t. Stop.” Darius grabbed her
hand away. “You can’t touch them without their permission. Once a person rides
a horse, they are bonded together forever.”

“But this one spoke to me and
asked me to touch his mane.”

Darius asked the Cremelino if
this was true and received an answer in the affirmative.

Taliana reached out again and
touched the smooth white mane of the large powerful horse. Holding her hand
there for a moment, Darius knew they were communicating with each other.

“She wants to go with me.”

Darius was surprised. These
horses traditionally were only held for the King and high-ranking nobles to use
to pull their carriages. Lightning had been the first Cremelino he’d known that
was given to another. Lightning had explained to him it was because of her
proximity to Darius. Lightning had been sent to help guide the prophecy along,
and at the time, Darius had not been ready for one.

Times are changing. We have
not been used properly for years now. Our original use was to be bonded as a
partner to a wizard. You have opened the way for that again, King Darius DarSan
Williams. We are meant to work together, wizards and Cremelinos.

Darius informed the group what
the Cremelino said.

“What will you name her, Tali?”
Darius asked.

Tali thought for a few moments.
“Radiance. She brightens my heart.”

Haman smiled. “For generations,
we have waited for this day, Sire. Histories have been passed down for
centuries through each master caretaker. The stories of old are returning. The
Cremelinos and the wizards will be united again.”

Darius talked to the horse again
and was informed that five other Cremelinos would accompany them back to the
mainland. When asked who they were for, he was told one was his when the time
was right, and the others would be shown in due time.