Thornbear (Book 1) (42 page)

He used another command and the great sword reformed, becoming whole once more, a dark ruby set in the pommel.

“Is that what I think?” she asked, gesturing toward the red stone.

He nodded, his heart aching as he saw her eyes begin to water. “I picked it up after he died.”

“I never dreamed…” she said softly. “And you never told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s long past time for apologies, Son,” she answered. “You’re a man now, no more excuses. Show me the armor.”

“Tiersen,” he said and the silver scales appeared, flowing over his body and encasing him once more.

Her eyes widened, tears brimming. Rose stumbled, but Elise caught her.

Gram dismissed the armor and put his arms around her.

“You looked just like him,” mumbled Rose.

***

Gram’s family encouraged him to stay in that evening, rather than eat in the great hall, but he declined. He wasn’t looking forward to the stares and attention he might face, but he figured he might as well get it over with.

When he stepped into the hall the wide room fell silent. Heads turned and people gawked at him. Everyone knew him already, of course, but they stared at him as if he had become a new thing.

Gram ignored the looks and headed for his customary seat, hoping they would return to their conversations quickly, but that was not to be. Someone stood at one of the lower tables, the one where the majority of the guardsmen sat, Perry Draper.

“Hail the champion of Cameron Castle!” he said in a loud voice.

Gram watched him in horror, wondering if it was a joke of some sort, but the rest of the guardsmen stood, quickly, one after another. Perry raised his cup high, “Three cheers for Thornbear!”

The entire room came to its collective feet then and cheers rang out, followed by clapping and more rousing cries.

Gram was forced to stand, since it seemed rude to do otherwise, but his mouth refused to give him an adequate response. He stared about him, feeling his face grow hot.

Lady Rose came to her son’s rescue. “Thank you, everyone. My son is honored by your cheers, but I fear he is still fatigued from his ordeal. Please sit. Let him eat in peace.”

There were nods and a few more cheers but the crowd finally settled and people took their seats again. Gram looked at the seats around him. Of the Count’s family, only Conall was present. Moira and Matthew had left early, along with the Countess, to search for their father. He wasn’t sure where Irene was, but he imagined she had probably elected to dine in the family apartments, to avoid the same attention.

Carissa gave him a sympathetic look from the same seat that Alyssa had once used. “Bear up, Gram. It won’t last forever, but you deserve the praise.”

A second silence fell over the room and people began to stand again. Penelope Illeniel stood in the doorway, flanked by her two oldest children.

It was customary to stand until the Count and Countess had taken their seats, but Penny seemed disinclined to do so. Instead she moved to stand in front of the center of the high table, as though she would address the gathering. Matthew and Moira moved to stand on either side of her.

All three of them had obviously just returned. The twins wore supple riding leathers, while the Countess herself was still armored, wearing the enchanted mail her husband had long ago crafted for her. Her sword was still belted at her side, which was even more unusual. She removed the metal cap from her head and set it heavily on the table behind her.

She was sweaty and red from a day in the sun, and her braids had fallen to frame her face, making her look like some poet’s version of a warrior-princess. She waved her hand at him, “Gram Thornbear, come stand before me.”

Shit.

He did as he was told, feeling awkward as he rose from his chair and walked across to stand where she had indicated. “Yes, Your Excellency?”

The Countess raised her eyes, taking in the room as she spoke, “I have spent the day searching, and when I was not involved in that endeavor, I was with my daughter, making sure she would recover. Because of that, I have not had time to talk to you regarding your actions over the past week.”

She wants to talk about it? Here?!

“Your Excellency, if you like, I would be happy to answer any questions you have, but I would prefer not to…”

“Silence,” she commanded. “You will speak when I have finished.”

“Yes, milady.” Gram heard light laughter coming from the crowd.

“My youngest daughter has spoken highly of you regarding her rescue. I have also taken counsel with my oldest son and daughter, and both of them agree that you behaved in a fashion that has made you worthy of high honor here in this hall. Even more telling was the story relayed by my daughter’s companion, Grace.” Penny stepped forward then, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes. She leaned close and kissed him once on each cheek.

“Thank you, Gram, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. If it weren’t for you I would have lost my daughter. That is a debt I will never be able to repay. If my husband was here he would thank you as well.”

She embraced him then, while Gram stared wildly at Matthew and Moira, uncertain what he should do.

The Countess pushed him back then, holding him at arm’s length before releasing him. “Kneel, Thornbear.”

What?
Gram’s confusion was growing, but he did as he was told. He watched in horror as she drew her sword and he realized what she was about to do. “Wait! I’m not old enough. I haven’t even…”

Penny gave him a stern glance and Gram closed his mouth.

“For your service, your loyalty, and your bravery, I will see you knighted. Do you object?”

He kept his gaze on the floor, “I am not worthy, Your Excellency.”

She smiled, “Fortunately, it is not your place to judge.”

Matthew leaned in and whispered something in his mother’s ear. She nodded and sheathed her sword again.

Matthew addressed Gram, holding out his hands, “Your sword, please.”

“I don’t have… oh.” Gram called Thorn, making certain to summon it in its whole form. He offered the great sword’s hilt to his friend. Matthew then passed it to his mother.

Penny spoke once more, holding Thorn with its point toward the ceiling, “The sword is a symbol of a knight’s troth and trust, of his enduring fealty to his liege. The Knights of Stone were created to serve both this house, and the best interests of humanity itself. Will you swear fealty to me and my husband, the Count di’ Cameron?”

“I so swear, Your Excellency,” answered Gram.

“Then by the power I hold in trust as Lady of Cameron, Countess and servant of the Queen of Lothion, I dub thee knight,” said Penelope. She brought the tip of the sword down to rest on one shoulder before lifting it and touching the other. “Rise Sir Gram and take up your sword.” She reversed the blade and held Thorn’s hilt toward him.

As he took it, she continued, “You father would be proud of you, Sir Gram, and his father as well, whose name you carry. May you ever wield Thorn in justice and for the protection of the weak.”

Gram placed the point against the floor, holding the great sword by the ricasso, just below the quillons. “I will spend my life for that purpose, my lady.”

A large hand descended on his shoulders. “Stand, Sir Gram.” Cyhan was behind him, dressed in his armor and formal regalia, as Grandmaster of the Order of Stone. It was something Gram had rarely seen, and he hadn’t even noticed the big knight’s approach.

Sir Cyhan bent down behind him, buckling gilt spurs onto Gram’s boots, the final symbol of knighthood. Then he stood and delivered a powerful blow to Gram’s shoulders, the traditional ‘buffet’. “Welcome brother knight,” said Cyhan before embracing him.

The hug, coming from a man that never showed emotion, undid him. Unable to help himself, Gram wept, while the hall cheered once more.

The Countess wasn’t finished, however. “Sir Gram, your service has left me in your debt. Is there anything you would ask of me? I will grant any boon, if I am able.”

Wiping at his eyes Gram thought for a moment. In his mind, being knighted was more than enough of a reward, but there was one thing that had weighed on his mind. “If it isn’t too much, I would like to recover Alyssa’s body.”

Penelope nodded, “Tomorrow you will ride with me. Layla will take us.”

“Layla?”

“My dragon.”

Chapter 39

Cyhan stayed close to him when he left the hall after the meal. It was obvious he wanted to talk, but it was a while before Gram could escape from the numerous well-wishers who followed him. It seemed as though everyone in the castle wanted to shake his hand, or give him advice.

“Excuse our newest knight,” said Cyhan, “but I need to discuss some matters with him.”

He cut through the crowd like a ship through a storm, extracting a grateful Gram from their well-meaning chatter.

“Let’s get some air,” suggested the older warrior.

The breeze in the courtyard was cool. The sun had already retired, leaving the moon to provide most of their illumination. They walked to the gatehouse and ascended to the walls. The parapets provided an excellent walkway, showing the town of Washbrook beneath them in monochrome hues.

Without preamble the senior knight began, “Grace told me that their leader’s name was ‘T’lar’.”

“There’s more,” said Gram. “Did she tell you what else he said?”

“That he claimed to know me,” replied Cyhan.

“He said your name was Arzam, and that he was your brother.”

“Grace told me that much,” responded Cyhan in a neutral tone.

Gram watched his face, hoping for some sign of confirmation, or denial, but there was nothing. “He also said you were a traitor.”

There was a flicker then, but it was gone so quickly Gram almost wondered if he had imagined it. “Tell me the rest.”

“Alyssa, her name turned out to be Jasmine, she called him ‘zaihair’. He said he was her teacher, and he offered to take me as his student. He said some other things too…” Gram had difficulty figuring out how to frame the rest.

“What?”

“He said she was your daughter.”

Cyhan’s response was immediate, “I have never fathered a child.”

There was no hesitation there, but he didn’t bother to deny being called a traitor,
noted Gram. “She seemed surprised when he said that,” added Gram. “When she was here before, she told me that she had an uncle that abused her. T’lar said you had abandoned her.”

“I have no children,” said the big warrior once more, but his eyes were thoughtful.

“Maybe he lied.”

“T’lar was many things, but he would not lie.”

Gram’s stomach churned at the thought that T’lar had been completely honest. Some of the things he had said about Alyssa…

“Ruth,” said Cyhan at last. “It could only have been her. She hid it from me.”

“Can you find her? To ask…”

“She’s dead,” said Cyhan, cutting him off. “She died at the hands of the shiggreth, while kidnapping the Countess.”

“Oh.” Gram remembered the story. His father had tried to save her and been taken prisoner along with the Countess. Little had been said about the woman that led the abductors, but now it seemed she had been one of Cyhan’s lovers.
What do I say to a man whose brother, daughter, and previous lover all were involved in kidnapping attempts against the Count’s family? What kind of place does he come from?

“You killed T’lar,” stated Cyhan, looking directly at Gram.

“Yes, Zaihair.”

“Tell me how.”

Gram described the fight, how T’lar had beaten him without killing him, how he had asked Alyssa to kill him instead, and how Gram had used Thorn to take him by surprise. At the end he included the fact that he had beheaded the dying man.

“My brother was a fool,” said Cyhan simply. “You were kind to kill him swiftly.”

Gram was feeling uncomfortable.
I just told him I slew his brother and he thanked me.

“You worry that I will bear a grudge?” suggested Cyhan, reading his face. “I will not. T’lar made his own choices. If I had been there, I would have done the same.”

“Could you kill your own brother?” The words slipped out before Gram realized what he was saying.

“I have done worse,” answered Cyhan. “T’lar was right to hate me. He had good cause to call me ‘traitor’.”

“Why?”

“You did not tell me everything T’lar said to you,” said Cyhan bluntly, ignoring the question. “But I do not wish to hear it. You said that he was my daughter’s teacher and I know what that means. I am glad that you killed him.”

T’lar’s words echoed in Gram’s mind,
‘I taught her to fight, and I taught her to fuck’.
He also remembered Alyssa’s words regarding her early life,
‘I was twelve’.
The thoughts made him clench his fists.

Cyhan watched his face and then continued, “My teacher had three students. I was the oldest and my brother T’lar was his second student. The third…” The big man’s voice caught in his throat for a second.

“The third?”

“The third was my sister. She was five years younger than me, and her name was Jasmine. I killed my master when I was seventeen.”

Gram stared at the older knight, his mouth falling open.
And T’lar named your daughter Jasmine as well… That’s sick!
“I’m… that’s…”

The old warrior looked away, turning his back to hide his face. “I will not mourn my brother’s death.”

“Did your sister survive?” asked Gram.

“She was killed, as a lesson to me, for interfering.”

And then you killed your teacher,
thought Gram. He was curious about the details, but the nature of the story was too awful for him to pry.

They walked for a while longer, bound together by silence. They stopped when they had reached the side that faced away from Washbrook, looking instead down on a wide field that stretched away to the forest beyond. The wind and moonlight on the tall grass created the illusion that they were looking over a wide body of water.

“Tell me about my daughter,” said Cyhan quietly.