TheRedKing (32 page)

A quiver tore through Hypatios. The sensation surprised,
annoyed yet excited him.

Draped around his neck, Beauty said,
You’re frightened.

“No more than usual.”

You can’t lie to me. It’s Areus. He’s powerful, but we’ll
kill him.

“That’s the plan. His head on a pike.” Hypatios gazed at the
tip of his lance.

I don’t think you’ve ever been stronger.

Beauty slid over his chest and curled around his arm before
once again coiling around his neck.

A faint smile touched Hypatios’s lips. Everything seemed to
stop for a moment—he heard nothing except the rustle of wind in the trees, the
blowing of horses and the creak of the archers’ bows as they prepared to launch
the first attack.

Then the silence was broken by thundering hooves, battle
cries and the clash of steel.

Hypatios and Notus raced forward to meet the enemy
onslaught.

As he unseated men using his lance and blocked enemy blows
with his shield, Hypatios searched for the only man he truly wanted to
fight—the man he intended to destroy.

Then his gaze fell on the big blood-bay stallion, the one
who so resembled Notus. The rider, long and lean like Hypatios himself, fought like
a tiger.

A thrill shot through Hypatios as Areus’s gaze locked with
his.

With a shrill battle cry, Hypatios urged Notus toward Areus
at full gallop.

Already flooded with the energy of battle, Areus experienced
a tingling sensation and his heart beat even faster when he caught sight of Hypatios.
Astride his blood-bay stallion, the Zaltanian prince, his shield and lance
poised for battle, raced toward Areus.

His lip curled into a snarl beneath his faceplate, Areus
positioned his sword and lance and urged Cosmo to a gallop.

They passed, each managing to block the other’s lance. Twice
more they charged, but on the third pass, Hypatios’s lance snapped. He dropped
it and drew his sword.

Again they charged, but before they clashed, Cosmo screamed
in pain and fell. Areus grunted as he struck the ground. He instinctively
raised his shield to protect his face as Hypatios’s stallion reared above him,
his hooves about to smash Areus, but when Cosmo rolled to stand, he knocked
Hypatios’s horse off balance.

Both animals rolled on the blood-soaked grass. Hypatios hit the
ground hard and Areus took a moment to glance at Cosmo, noting what had made
him fall. An arrow pierced the horse’s flank. At least both stallions had risen
to their feet, but Areus had no time to aid his equine companion.

Hypatios rose, grasped his sword and swung at Areus who drew
his own sword and blocked the blow.

Their blades clashed with power that jarred Areus’s teeth.
He’d almost forgotten how strong Hypatios was, despite his lanky build. They
traded blows, then momentarily backed off, circling each other.

Areus felt a ripple by his foot and glanced down quickly.
His boot clamped over Beauty, just below her head. He stepped hard, but Hypatios
swung his blade at Areus. He lifted his shield, but the power of the blow
knocked him off balance, forcing him to release the snake.

Hypatios spun and struck him again. His blows rained on Areus
like a relentless storm, driving him off the field and toward the forest. Areus
scarcely noticed when the sounds from battlefield faded. All he heard was the
clash of his steel against Hypatios’s, the throb of his heartbeat in his ears
and their grunts as they fought each other with every bit of strength they
possessed.

Though Areus had endured countless battles and had fought
men faster and stronger than himself, he had always managed to survive. Usually
he could outthink an opponent if he couldn’t overpower him. Hypatios was
different. They were a perfect match in body and mind, yet in all his life Areus
had never met an opponent so blindly determined and filled with such raw
hatred, nor had he ever felt that way about a foe.

Areus’s breath came in ragged gasps as did Hypatios’s. His
sword felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds and each crack of Hypatios’s blade
against his shield jarred him to the bone.

Somehow, Areus found a reserve and returned Hypatios’s rain
of blows. Hypatios stumbled on a root and Areus took advantage of his
distraction, striking harder and faster.

Hypatios recovered quickly. Snarling, he met Areus’s attack
with renewed energy. The soggy leaves, still damp from the morning mist, were
slippery beneath their feet. Neither paid attention to their footing or the
slope behind them until the ground seemed to give way and they fell.

Areus grunted in pain, rolling over rocks, branches and
roots, grateful for his helmet that probably prevented him from bashing his
skull.

Somehow he managed to grab hold of a root sticking out of the
ground. It stopped him from rolling and he lay, his chest heaving and lungs
burning. Every inch of him ached.

When he could finally move again, he checked himself for
broken bones. To his surprise, he didn’t seem to have any. Merely bruises.

Slowly he pushed himself to his knees and glanced around. If
he was careful, he could crawl or even walk back up the slope.

Where was Hypatios?

There was no sign of his enemy.

Then he heard grunting and panting behind him.

He turned, crawled a bit and looked over a drop of at least
fifty feet onto rocks and rushing water. If Areus had rolled just a little
more, he would have fallen over the edge and no doubt been killed.

Hypatios hadn’t been quite so lucky. He had fallen over, but
managed to catch a thick tree root growing out of the cliff. He dangled over
the rapids. One of his arms appeared to be injured. Unable to use both arms
fully and weighted down by the chainmail, he struggled to pull himself to
safety. When he tried using his feet for leverage, he couldn’t manage a
foothold. Instead rocks and dirt tumbled beneath his boots.

“This must be fate,” Areus said.

Hypatios’s gaze shot up. Through the slit in his helmet, his
green eyes, filled with pain and desperation, turned furious.

“Go on and kill me. This is the only chance you’ll ever
have. You couldn’t do it in battle.”

Anger sparked inside Areus as well, then he relaxed and said
calmly, “I’ll pull you up, but on one condition.”

“Zaltana isn’t mine to give. It belongs to my father and
even if it was mine, I would die before offering it to you for any reason.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask for. There are things
you don’t know about me and about yourself. Are you willing to talk peace?”

“You don’t want peace.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted for Lortia. The question is, do
you want it for Zaltana? Are you the man Cosma thinks you are, or are you a
monster like your father?”

“I don’t know any Cosma,” Hypatios said, his voice strained.

Areus could tell his strength was waning. He needed to
decide fast if he would help his enemy—his brother—or let him fall to his
death.

With an almost unbelievable effort, Hypatios pulled himself
high enough to sink his gloved hands into the ground. Still, all Areus had to
do was kick him off the edge.

“Cosma is known to you as Cassandra.”

Hypatios’s gaze shot to Areus again. “What do you know about
Cassandra?”

“She’s in Lortia. She came to me because she wanted to find
a way to bring peace between us—not just our kingdoms, but
us
.”

“That’s a lie!” Hypatios raged. He slipped and Areus quickly
grasped his forearms.

“Expending energy in a fit of temper isn’t a wise idea in
your position.”

He felt Hypatios trembling, though from anger or physical
strain he wasn’t sure. It was probably both.

“Why would she go to you?” Hypatios rasped.

“Because she’s my mother.”

Hypatios laughed humorlessly. “Another lie.”

“She’s also your mother. If she wasn’t, you’d be dead
already, Hypatios. She’s the only reason I’m holding you at this moment. Now
look at me and tell me that’s a lie too.”

Their gazes locked and Areus tightened his grip on Hypatios,
preventing him from slipping. Hypatios nodded ever so slightly and Areus hauled
him up, grunting and struggling not to slip or they’d both fall.

Finally Hypatios was on solid ground again. He lay flat on
his back, panting, his eyes closed.

Areus, also breathing heavily, sat beside him.

After a moment, Hypatios’s eyes flew open and stared warily
at Areus.

“Are you ready?” Areus asked.

Hypatios looked from Areus to the edge of the cliff and
Areus’s stomach clenched. Had he been a complete fool to rescue this madman,
his enemy?

“If I go down, I’m taking you with me,” Areus said.

Hypatios glanced at him from the corner of his eye before
pushing himself to his hands and knees. He climbed up the slope and Areus
followed at a safe distance.

Brother or not, he probably should have killed the bastard.

When Areus reached the top of the slope, Hypatios sat
cross-legged, his helmet resting beside him. Soaked raven hair clung to his
head. His scarred face glistened with blood and sweat. He held Beauty whose
forked tongue flicked over his cheek as he spoke softly to her.

Areus took off his helmet as well and wiped sweat from his
eyes. He kept his distance from Hypatios and the deadly snake.

“You nearly crushed her,” Hypatios said, glancing at him. “I
should kill you for that.”

Areus curled his lip. “She had it coming.”

A faint, malicious smile tugged at Hypatios’s lips. “You
didn’t enjoy my pet’s embrace last time?”

“If she ever tries to embrace me like that again, I’ll have
her head.”

Hypatios’s smile faded and his cool gaze swept Areus, then
he whispered to the snake. The creature slithered off, disappearing into the
vegetation.

Studying Hypatios carefully, Areus asked, “How do you do
it?”

“What?”

“Talk to them?”

Hypatios shrugged. “I can’t explain it, but they’re easier
to talk to than most men. And they’re more honest.”

“It sounds as if you haven’t known many good men then.”

Hypatios glanced at him again, his expression scathing and
disbelieving.

“So Cassandra is in Lortia,” Hypatios said, picking up his
helmet and rising to his feet.

“She is. And her real name is Cosma.”

The men continued hiking through the woods. Areus assumed Hypatios
was as intent as he was on making their way out until the bastard flew at him
with a dagger.

“I should have let you die,” Areus snarled, grasping
Hypatios’s wrist before the dagger slashed his face. Hypatios raised his other
hand to grasp Areus, but due to his apparent arm injury it lacked sufficient
strength to be of much use.

“Why didn’t you then? Do you think I’d believe that fable
about us being brothers?” Hypatios snarled. He drove his knee toward Areus’s
midsection, but Areus raised his own leg to block the blow and kicked forward,
throwing Hypatios off him.

Areus drew his sword. He and Hypatios circled each other.

“I promised our mother I would try to spare you, but you’ve left
me no choice.” Areus raised his blade, but a movement toward his left drew his
attention. Just as Beauty raised herself high on her tail and struck at him, Areus
caught her just behind her head. He flung her as hard as he could into the
trees. He would have lopped off her head as promised, but Hypatios was already
attacking.

Areus swung at him with his sword and Hypatios jerked back.
The tip of Areus’s blade grazed his mail-covered chest. Areus thrust at him
again and Hypatios dropped to the ground, his leg shooting out to sweep Areus
who crashed onto his back with a grunt. Hypatios rolled onto him and Areus dropped
his sword, using both hands to clutch Hypatios’s wrist, preventing the dagger
from cutting his throat. He managed to throw Hypatios onto his back. His
forearm braced across Hypatios’s neck, he leaned hard, intending to crush his
windpipe, but Hypatios bent his arm and forced his hand under Areus’s elbow,
preventing him from applying full pressure. Then Hypatios’s eyes widened.

“We’re both fools,” Hypatios murmured.

“Speak for yourself,” Areus said—before he was knocked off Hypatios.

Lying flat on his back, he glanced up to see that he and Hypatios
were surrounded by tall, thickly muscled, half-naked warriors. Their shaved
heads were covered in blue and red paint and they carried spears decorated with
fur and feathers.

A dark-skinned man with gray eyes stepped forward. He wore a
fur cape and a long string of wooden beads dangled from the front of his
leather codpiece. He carried a staff with a large blade attached to the top.
Apparently he was the leader.

Areus and Hypatios pushed themselves to their knees. Before
they could stand, the warriors stepped closer, their spears pointed at the
brothers.

“I’m Areus, King of—”

The leader bellowed and made a chopping motion with his
hand. Raising an eyebrow, Areus fell silent.

“I don’t think he’ll bow to you any more than I will,” Hypatios
quipped.

Again the leader shouted, his bare foot lashed out, kicking Hypatios
in the face.

Hypatios jerked back and spat a mouthful of blood.

Using rope made from strong, braided reeds, they bound the
brothers’ hands snugly behind them and tied their ankles so that they could
scarcely take a full stride with their long legs.

Then, using their spears, the warriors urged the brothers to
rise and marched them deeper into the forest.

After several hours, they stopped for a brief rest during
which the warriors refreshed themselves with food and drink. Hypatios and Areus
were allowed water.

Seated under a thick tree, they observed their captors.

“I had no idea a tribe such as this inhabited the forest so
close to the Lortian border,” Areus said.

“They’re Reed People, no doubt survivors of General Zenon’s
attack on their village a few years back when he crossed the Mountains of Wrath
to reach Tanek. According to my father, they were the only inhabitants who had
claim on the mountains, so Zenon destroyed them.”

Areus glanced at him in disgust. “More peace-loving
Zaltanian compassion. They probably think I’m one of you, that’s why we’re
being treated so well. Tell me, did Zenon bother to learn anything about them?
For instance what is their usual method of execution?”

“How should I know? I was in the south.”

“Killing more people, no doubt.”

Hypatios curled his lip. “And you’d know nothing about
killing, oh infamous Warrior King of Lortia.”

“I fight to protect my people from animals like you, not to
conquer, rape and kill those who mean me no harm.”

“I have never raped anyone and I don’t allow my subordinates
to do so.”

“That’s the rumor about you. Our mother confirmed it, but I
still find it hard to believe it of any Zaltanian warrior.”

“Violating women doesn’t make a man, no matter what you
might think.”

Areus stared at him aghast. “I don’t think it. That’s a Zaltanian
trait. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t be here.”

“I suppose this is leading into your lie about Cassandra
being our mother. How did you come up with that story, Areus, and why would you
think I’d be less apt to kill you if I believed we shared blood?”