The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (23 page)

I chuckled to myself.

*****

The castle was
buzzing with news of the death of Lord Michaels. His troops were
given the option of joining Markus or being imprisoned. Most joined
but those loyal to Michaels fled the city. Markus sent a division
of troops to Riverside to maintain order as the news broke. It was
hard to say how the people would react. Despite being power hungry,
Michaels had been perceived as a good ruler for the town. Our hope
was that people would be more focused on the upcoming war than
local politics.

The future king went all out with the
dinner. The staff seemed happy to help him create a grand feast to
honour the fallen. We toasted the soldiers who took back the city,
Lord Cook and the old king and his family. When Markus started
talking about his family, the mood shifted. He quickly excused
himself and called it an early night. Ser Cook agreed and retreated
for the night as well.

The coronation ceremony the next day
had been beautiful. The small group of attending citizens were
treated to a fine spread of food and ale as relief washed over
them. Balendar would finally have a leader to help rebuild the
city.

The coronation was
short and Markus, dressed in a robe that made him look like he was
being swallowed whole, rose to address his people for the first
time. He was clearly shaky and nervous, but took a deep breath and
spoke in a clear and confident voice:

“
Thank you all for
coming. Unfortunately our celebrations will be short. There is
still much for us to do and not enough time in which to do it. We
have lost much recently. Our mothers, fathers, brothers and
sisters...” he trailed off and took another deep breath. “But we
haven’t lost our will to live or our need to bring the man
responsible to justice. He now threatens our borders again with an
army of enslaved Evenawks.” A murmur rose amongst the citizens. “He
thinks he can catch us unaware and weak but we will rise and meet
him in Archanion. He will not set foot in Balendar to hurt us ever
again. I promise you.”

It was short and simple but the
citizens responded to his honesty with a small cheer. Words weren’t
going to be enough. His actions would be judged carefully and
victory would be the only thing to truly reunite Balendar.

“
I would like to call
up and introduce the members of my new court as is the tradition,”
Markus continued. “Lord Gregory Kent of Rooksbend, Lord Kyle Cook
of Malkia and Lady Sandra Middleton of Davalin.” The three, dressed
in their best, rose to bow towards the crowd. “The Lordship of
Riverside will be removed from the Michaels family and given to the
Scott family with Elizabeth Scott being granted the title of Lady.”
A polite round of clapping from the citizens. “Everyone, please
enjoy yourselves. There is plenty of food and drink. Could I see my
court over here please? Kairu, please join us as well.”

I broke away from my spot with Natalie
and the crowd shot me some weird looks. Either the name had thrown
them off or they were trying to figure out why I was special enough
to talk to the king. I joined the others and Markus led us away
from the group.

“
Be honest with me,”
he said to us. “The speech sucked, didn’t it?”

“
Not the worst in
history,” Lord Kent said.

“
It had its moments,”
Kyle Cook said.

“
I didn’t fall
asleep,” Cathy said.

“
The cake looked
delicious,” I said.

He laughed. “Hopefully this isn’t how I
will be remembered. Alright, we have a lot of work to do. I want
everyone heading back to their cities and getting their armies
ready. We’ll need to form some sort of battle camp outside the
borders. We’ll work out a spot later. Lady Sandra and Kairu, I have
something I need to ask you about our opponent.”

Lord Kent and Kyle
bowed and left to perform their duties. King Markus paced back and
forth before looking up at us. “In times like this it is customary
for the king to take an advisor. Sandra, your knowledge of what
we’re facing makes you the perfect choice.”

Oh dear.

Cathy chuckled nervously and looked at
me before facing King Markus. “I’m not the best choice. I always
turn to Kairu for advice. You are better off making him your
advisor.”

“
It is too soon after
Davenport, or Desroche or whatever he is called, for me to do
that,” King Markus said. “But I know how close you two are. That is
why I asked you, Sandra; figured it was a package deal.”

Cathy chuckled. “Turning into a good
leader already?”

“
Don’t need to be a
good leader to see the obvious,” he said. “We should, however, not
make it well known that we are close to a Mage. No
offence.”

“
None taken,” I said.
“Things are still tense.”

“
Exactly,” he said.
“Hide it as best as you can.”

“
Done,’ I
said.

“
Now,” King Markus
started, “you’ve given me the quick version. But what’s the real
story? How are we going to win this?”

“
By destroying
Desroche’s control over the Evenawks,” I answered. “The Evenawks
don’t want a fight. We shut down his control and the war is
over.”

“
Getting there is the
problem,” Cathy added. “Only one way up the mountain if you don’t
have wings.”

“
That makes it
difficult to try and invade Ghanlar,” Markus said thoughtfully. “We
almost have to sit and wait for him to come out.”

I nodded. “Pretty much. Luckily, he
seems eager to invade Balendar. He might rise to a challenge if he
finds you marching across Archanion.”

Markus thought for a
second. “Would he actually send his armies to fight in a strategic
position like the mountains?”

“
He wouldn’t, the
Evenawks would,” I answered. “The brainwashing doesn’t leave a
whole lot of room for intelligence. Attack at the base of the
mountain, then retreat back into the field. They will follow in a
blind rage and Ca-Sandra and I will lead a team up the mountain
behind them.”

“
Cassandra?” Markus
asked and Cathy shot me a look. “What’s wrong with you and names?
What’s next, Jamarkus?”

I laughed. “It’s not a speciality of
mine.”

“
Back to the point,”
Cathy said. “I think we have a plan that works. Draw the enemy out
and infiltrate.”

“
It wouldn’t hurt to
have some allies to reinforce the line,” I said. “I have some
friends in Nesqa. I could talk to them about joining
up.”

“
You continue to
surprise me,” Markus said. “If you can get the Nesqian army to ally
with us, it would definitely help morale. Sandra, go with Kairu to
act as a representative for us. Take as many soldiers as you need
for an escort. Secure an alliance and meet us at the edge of the
Archanion Field. We’ll be set up there.”

Cathy bowed with a
smirk on her face. “Yes, my Liege. I’ll send word to Davalin and
have my troops sent here.”

“
I’ll take care of
them,” Markus said. “For the first time since we’ve met, I actually
feel we can do this.”

“
One step at a time,
my Liege,” I said. “One step at a time.”

Chapter
20

King Markus insisted we stay for one
more night before heading out but the sooner we left the better.
Too much time had already elapsed since we left Desroche in Ghanlar
and I wanted to check in with my Nao friends to ensure they were
safe.

Cathy picked up Lady Middleton’s newly
repaired noblewoman’s armour and was happy to be rid of the clunky
iron. Strapping on her sword and shield, she beamed at the thought
of hitting the open road again. For all her talk of enjoying hot
food and soft beds, she was a fighter and wanderer with an
attention disorder. After this mission, it was going to be tough to
keep her in one location again.

I was shocked to see
Natalie ready to join us. I knew we would be leaving her behind
soon, but she wanted to join us to Riverside at least. She was
suited up in her armour and at the docks long before Cathy and I
arrived.

“
The ferry won’t wait
forever,” Natalie called out to us. “You guys coming or should we
wait for the next one?”

“
We’re here, we’re
here,” Cathy replied. “Keep your top on.”

“
I see you brought
the kitchen help with you,” Natalie joked, pointing to my clothes.
“This is why nobody takes your fashion tips seriously.”

I shook my head and boarded the ferry.
After going through all of my clothes on this trip, I had borrowed
a durable looking set from the servants’ closet at the White
Castle. If I was going to have arrows fired at me, I wanted
something that I could destroy without damaging my conscience.
Nobody would care about this set the second I left town.

“
You should consider
getting some personal armour,” Natalie suggested, taking a seat
with Cathy.

“
It’s always too
bulky and restricts my use of magic,” I said, sitting beside her
and Cathy. “Plus, how could I use my demon skin to protect myself
against magic if I’m covered in armour.”

“
Get a custom set,”
she answered. “A chest piece without the shoulders. Oh, and don’t
wear gauntlets. You can still use your full arms for magic and keep
those vital organs safe.” She smacked me in the stomach.

“
That’s...a good
idea,” I said thoughtfully. “I had promised myself I wouldn’t wear
armour again but I always seem to end up in a suit. I might as well
find something comfortable when I have the coin.”

Natalie pulled out her bag and threw a
full coin purse at me. “Your share for taking down Joe. He won’t
need it.” She turned to Cathy. “None for you because you are
already a rich lady of the court.”

“
Not even a loan
until I make it home?” Cathy joked.

“
Ask Demon, I’m not
sharing,” Natalie answered with a smile.

“
Well...thanks,” I
said pleasantly surprised.

“
No problem,” Natalie
said. “Seems every time we get together we are taking down a crime
boss and taking their loot. If you run low on coin, just come find
me. There are still a few crime bosses I hate left.”

I laughed. “Good to know. Should I look
for you at Aaron’s farm or just go immediately to the nearest
prison?”

Natalie laughed. “It wouldn’t hurt to
check them but you are better off looking for me in Malkia. I was
staying with my sister before all this.”

“
I didn’t know you
had a sister,” I said surprised. “What is her name?”

“
Emily,” Natalie
smiled.

I chuckled. “You are just messing with
me now.”

“
Maybe, maybe not,”
Natalie said. “You’ll just have to come to Malkia and find
me.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a
deal.”

Natalie turned to Cathy. “You can come
too since you two are joined at the hip.”

Cathy scoffed. “If I’m not too busy
ruling the world by the end of this.”

Natalie chuckled. “I’ll keep an ear
open for your name.”

We enjoyed the rest
of the ride, joking about each other’s fighting moves. They spent a
long time exaggerating the scene of me dropping the axe behind the
castle. It wasn’t one of my finer moments, but I was glad Cathy
didn’t blow her cover and tell Natalie older stories about
me.

When the ferry pulled
into the Riverside dock, Natalie stood up and faced us. “This is
where we split,” she said. “There is still too much heat on me up
here and I’m better off disappearing solo. Besides, there’s someone
I need to check on.”

“
A certain farmer?” I
asked.

She smiled. “A certain set of evil
twins.”

I chuckled. “I hope to see you and
Aaron after this.”

“
If things are as bad
as you’re saying, you might see us sooner,” Natalie informed.
“Little Marky is going to need some skilled volunteers and we
happen to know a skilled archer.”

“
Good luck,” I
smiled.

“
You too, Demon,”
Natalie said and then turned to Cathy. “Take care of him,
Sandra.”

“
I can’t make any
promises if he decides to use a weapon again,” Cathy
replied.

“
Hey!” I
exclaimed.

Natalie laughed and
joined the crowd. She weaved her way between a couple of groups and
disappeared from sight. Cathy and I stood up and followed the
remaining people off the boat.

“
Didn’t Markus grant
her a pardon?” Cathy asked.

“
I don’t think she is
ever worried about city guards,” I answered. “Chances are ‘Jokes’
will want a cut of the Diamondback Joe haul.”

“
I didn’t think she
would give you a cut,” Cathy said. “She must like you.”

“
Is that your
professional opinion as a woman?” I asked, stashing the coin purse
in my pants.

“
That’s my
professional opinion as someone who doesn’t form bonds with people
easily,” Cathy answered. “Am I going to have to be jealous that
she’ll replace me?”

I laughed and threw my arm over Cathy’s
shoulders. “Like anyone could replace you, Cathy. I’ll always want
you around.”

I dropped my arm from Cathy’s shoulder
as we disembarked from boat. The town of Riverside was back to its
usual busy self. With the upcoming fight on everyone’s mind, the
need for soldiers and supplies occupied people’s thoughts and the
recent political mess was already a thing of the past.