The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (34 page)

“
That the test didn’t
prove anything,” I answered.

Donkor laughed. “It didn’t need to. I
already know you love her. I’m just trying to get you to realise
some stuff you’ve been afraid to admit.”

“
I wouldn’t say
afraid to admit,” I started.

“
Just too foolish to
realise that’s how you feel,” Donkor finished.

I laughed. “If I didn’t know any
better, I’d say you are secretly a genius.”

Donkor chuckled and stood up. “I’m just
good when it comes to the little things people like to
overlook.”

“
So what am I
supposed to do now?” I smirked. “If I’m in love.”

“
Talking to her
sounds like the simplest thing,” he answered, heading for the tent
flap. “Should be an easy conversation. She’s as much in love with
you as you are with her.”

My body started to tingle as my heart
pounded in my chest.

Donkor smiled wider.
“Judging by the look on your face, I believe you just discovered
what love feels like.”

“
A heart attack?” I
asked.

“
Yup,” he joked,
leaving the tent.

My mind buzzed as a million thoughts
raced around. My head was already hurting from the magic use but
was made worst by the last ten minutes. I needed to go out and get
some fresh air. I needed to see Cathy.

I jumped out of my
chair and stretched my back out before leaving the tent. The Jaguar
warriors had turned this dark camp into a lively place in such a
short time. I actually had to stand still and stare in awe.
Makeshift torches surrounded and brightened the camp, the warriors
were playing games and carrying on, wine in hand and a giant
bonfire raged in the centre of the camp.

I noticed Cathy at the bonfire, talking
to a warrior stirring a giant pot. The warrior was our chef for the
evening and Cathy’s interest in the preparation had intrigued me.
Perhaps she was interested in becoming a better cook because of all
our travels.

I shook my head and remained focused.
Donkor’s talk had made my mind wander worse than before and I
couldn’t distract myself with other thoughts. I needed to decide
what I was going to say. Even if the thought of it had made me so
nervous I wanted to vomit.

Part of me said ‘go
for it’, grab Cathy, bring her aside and explain things. The other
part was saying to wait until a better time. Cathy wasn’t Human and
trying to deal with all these new emotions and situations would
probably distract her during a crucial part of our mission. But
then again, if she was already dealing with these emotions, they
would be clarified by us talking.

My mind raced and my heart pounded as I
approached her. She looked up and smiled and I opened my mouth to
speak. Nothing came out.

“
You okay?” Cathy
asked. “You look like you are going to have a heart
attack.”

I smiled and laughed in relief. “Close
enough.”

“
Barasa here is
showing me some cooking secrets,” Cathy said. “Apparently you
aren’t supposed to wait until stuff burns to know it’s
done.”

Barasa laughed. “There’s no flavour in
burnt food.”

“
So what’s up? How’d
your research go?” Cathy asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing that explains
anything. Our hope is that Desroche is feeling chatty before we
kill him to get any type of straight answer.”

“
That’s my favourite
way of doing it,” Cathy smiled. “Come on. Let’s get a good spot by
the fire. The food’s just about done and the celebration is about
to start. You can finally tell me why people were saying you flew
in battle.”

I laughed. “It’s a good story.”

I pushed Donkor’s talk out of my mind.
Cathy and I were already comfortable in whatever our relationship
was called. After we were done in Ghanlar, we would have our formal
talk and sort everything out. Until then, there was no reason to
stress about it.

Chapter
30

When the sun rose over the horizon,
everyone was up and ready to go except for me. I had slipped into
the leader’s tent and claimed their bed as my own the night before
and wanted nothing more than to lie in its warmth and comfort for
the next cycle of the seasons. Cathy ripped the covers off of me
and I decided it was time to get up.

“
Come on,” she
smiled. “Today’s the day. All the running and fighting has finally
paid off and we can head back and prepare for more running and
fighting. Only this time, we’ll be doing it up a
mountain!”

I chuckled. “A change of scenery CAN be
a good thing.”

“
See,” she said,
lightly punching my shoulder, “already optimistic for the
day.”

“
What’s got you in
such a good mood?” I asked, swinging my legs off the bed and
standing up.

“
Oh, I removed your
underpants last night while you slept,” Cathy answered. “You’re
standing naked in the middle of the tent.”

I looked down at my bare skin. “That
explains the breeze.”

“
Your underpants are
on the desk,” she said, heading for the exit. “Don’t keep me
waiting.”

“
I could make a joke
about how eager you were to remove my underpants,” I called out to
her.

She stopped and smirked. “When you
finally think of one, let me know.”

She disappeared and I
shook my head. Grabbing my underpants and armour, I dressed and
gathered my belongings. One of Donkor’s men had found the short
sword I dropped and returned it to me. I fastened it to my hip and
slid the flowery staff into its sheath on my back. I exited the
tent and Cathy and Donkor were waiting for me.

“
Heard you had a
nasty wake up,” Donkor smiled, crossing his arms.

“
Something like
that,” I said.

“
I lost five gold
pieces because of you,” he continued.

“
I’m sure you’ll get
them back,” I replied.

“
Seriously, how do
you not know you’re not wearing clothes?” Donkor asked, throwing
his arms up in confusion.

“
I don’t want to talk
about this anymore,” I said, walking past them.

The Jaguar warriors
had already packed up their belongings and were heading out. Donkor
moved ahead to lead his men and Cathy joined up with me. The
warriors were excited to head back to the outpost and I had to
admit that I was a little bit as well. The novelty of the Nesqian
forest had worn out and the thought of the open grasslands was
appealing.

“
You’re not upset or
anything... are you?” Cathy asked, studying me closely.

I chuckled. “No, still trying to wake
up a little bit.”

“
I thought I might
have gone a little too far this morning,” Cathy said.

“
It was certainly
something different,” I admitted.

She giggled. “You did look funny
standing there without clothes.”

“
Oh, look, there goes
my self-confidence,” I said sarcastically.

“
Oh, like that’s
going anywhere,” Cathy said. “I’ve trained you too
well.”

I laughed. “That you have.” I walked in
silence as I thought. “You don’t normally worry that you’ve upset
me. What’s different this time?”

“
Emotions, I’m sure,”
she said with a hint of annoyance. “I was hoping that this would be
a good way to start a friendship with Donkor too. You know I’ve
never really trusted him and now that I am my own person and your
friendship with him continues to grow,” she shrugged, “perhaps I
should actually get to know him and have some fun.”

I looked at her for a
second then laughed. “Well look at you being all Human; developing
friendships, caring about people. Next you’ll want to settle down
and start a family.”

She groaned. “Don’t even. I’m still an
evil and powerful demon. Demons don’t ‘settle down and start a
family’.”

“
I don’t know,” I
said playfully. “Lately you’ve been more Human than most
Humans.”

She squinted as she studied me. “I’ll
let you know when I decide if that is a compliment or an
insult.”

We remained silent
after that, enjoying the rest of our journey. The need to discuss
the feelings of love for Cathy continued to grow in my mind, but
after the display of trying to build friendships with my friends,
she already had enough to worry about. I continued to push it down
and wait for the right time.

When we arrived at the outpost, the
warriors immediately joined the other soldiers to share their
stories of the previous night. Donkor led us straight up to the
command centre. General Kobo was already outside and strolled over
to greet us.

“
The enemy camp is
destroyed?” he asked.

“
Never stood a
chance,” Donkor answered.

“
Excellent,” General
Kobo said, turning to Cathy. “Everything is set. Messengers have
been dispatched. Word is already taking seed in the hearts of all
Nesqians. The war is on. We will not be able to join you at your
king’s camp, but tell him not to worry. The plan is still the
same?”

“
Yes,” Cathy
replied.

“
Good,” General Kobo
said. “Tell your king we’ll be there when they retreat. This battle
is as good as won.”

“
I wish I had your
confidence, General,” I said.

“
If anyone can pull
off running into the heart of an enemy’s camp, it’s you,” General
Kobo said. “You have just the right amount of insanity for the
job.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, General.”

“
Good luck. I hope to
see you after we’ve won,” he said.

“
General, I wish to
travel with them to the camp,” Donkor said.

“
I know, Head
Trainer,” General Kobo said, unfazed. “I’m making you my Ambassador
for this alliance. You know how I work and will make sure we are
properly represented.”

“
Thank you, General,”
Donkor saluted. “You can count on me.”

“
I know, my friend.
Dismissed,” General Kobo said, heading back to the command
centre.

It was no secret how much trouble he
would be in by helping us. The capital and its people would declare
his actions treason, but it didn’t seem to faze him or those who
helped him. He was doing what was right. The fallout of his actions
will be dealt with when it was time. My only hope is that I can
help him in some way.

“
You ready to head to
King Markus’ camp, Ambassador?” Cathy asked Donkor.

He smiled childishly at the mention of
his new title. “No time like the present.”

*****

There was a different feeling in the
air when we walked into the Balendar army’s camp. The Nesqian
soldiers were full of hope and optimism for the future. The
Balendian soldiers wallowed in fear and reeked of desperation. It
made me wonder if the Nesqian soldiers had just been putting on an
act.

Many soldiers turned their attention
towards Cathy and Donkor and a bit of hope returned. The Lady of
the Court has returned with a Nesqian Ambassador. Reinforcements
were on their way.

The murmurs and attention drew the
interest of the new Lord of Malkia. He broke away from a group of
his soldiers to approach us. He studied the happy giant beside us
before turning his attention to Cathy.

“
Welcome back, my
Lady,” Lord Kyle said. “I take it you’ve got good news?”

“
You can drop the
whole ‘my Lady’ bit now,” Cathy said. “You’re a member of the Court
too now.”

“
The title still
doesn’t sit right with me,” Lord Kyle said. “Come, King Markus is
preparing the offensive.”

We followed him through the camp. The
city guard were all spread out getting ready for the upcoming
battle. Despite being a shadow of its former size, the camp was
still large, resting right on the border of Balendar and Archanion.
If Desroche sent out scouts, there would be no hiding our numbers.
But then again, that wasn’t our plan.

Lord Kyle pushed
through the flap into the king’s tent where King Markus was bent
over a map with Lord Kent. The soldiers inside were shocked when
Donkor squeezed his way through the small opening. King Markus
turned towards us with a smile.

“
It’s good to see you
again, my friends,” he said grandly. “I was beginning to think
you’d miss out on all the fun.”

“
Did you have a
stroke while we were gone... my Liege?” Cathy asked.

Markus chuckled and approached us. “As
you’ve seen outside, things are a little desperate around here,” he
said quietly. “I remember my uncle telling me that a proper leader
is the one that looks confident and optimistic in the face of all
danger. No matter how delusional he might seem.”

“
Is it working?” I
asked.

“
That remains to be
seen,” he answered with a sudden lack of confidence. He turned his
attention to Donkor. “I’m glad you are here. I am King Markus of
Balendar. I trust you bring me some good news.”

“
Very good news, King
of Balendar,” Donkor said happily. “I am Donkor, Ambassador of
General Kobo. You have the support of him and his friends and he
promises to bring reinforcements for this battle. Unfortunately,
because of the timing, you will have to start the attack without
him. Based on your plan, he will be ready to assist you during your
retreat.”