Brock, Luthur, and Yotul rode side by side as they emerged from the woods surrounding Staerdale Castle. They moved off to the side, letting their soldiers pass by them into the field.
“They look proud,” Luthur said.
Brock nodded. “Yes, they do,” he said as a contingent of Dwarves pulled four trebuchets into the field.
“Do you think the Darkstriders sent their forces to face Sumia and King Faeler?”
“The attack on Port Eldham should have started four or five hours ago. If they were going to send them at all, they’d already have done so,” Brock said. “Yotul, could you ride ahead and set up the siege? We need to be ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Yotul said as she cracked her reins.
Brock watched her ride towards the front of the column. “I can’t believe it’s almost over. It’s been a lifetime.”
Luthur frowned. “You sound sad.”
“No, not sad. It’s just—well, I’ve never done anything else but hate the Darkstriders and worked towards keeping my promise to Thea the Loyal. And now—one way or the other—it ends today,” Brock said.
“As soon as Galin opens the gate, we’ll take them out,” Luthur said.
“I wanted to ask you about the trebuchets.”
“What about them?”
“Are you going to use them after we’re inside?”
Luthur laughed. “No. We’d kill more of our own people if we did that.”
“Why did you bring them?”
Luthur frowned. “Just in case Galin fails. As you said, one way or the other, it ends today.”
“So be it.” Odella, please look after my boy and help him succeed in his quest, Brock thought.
“Come on, let’s join Yotul. We can’t let her have all the fun.”
Brock smiled as he followed Luthur onto the field.
Where is that bastard? Kade thought as he stormed through the corridor towards Daylor’s chambers in Staerdale castle. The only Dark Elf he trusted had just betrayed his nephew, the one Daylor knew Kade wanted to save. Kade knew about Daylor’s frequent trips out of the castle, including his fascination with Tadus School of Magic. Maybe Tanyl needed to know? Would that make things better or worse? Sometimes, revenge can feel good in the moment, but cause great pain in the end.
Kade flew around the corner. His eyes bore into the door ahead of him. He had to know what he’d told Tanyl. How deep was Daylor’s betrayal. What if Daylor told Tanyl about his plan to kill him? Kade swallowed. No way. If he had, Kade would already be dead. No, Daylor wants something, but what? Why betray Galin? Kade unsheathed a dagger from his belt as he flung the door open.
Daylor jumped to his feet from behind his desk. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Kade slammed the door shut while his eyes never left Daylor.
Daylor looked down at the dagger. “What are you going to do with that?”
Kade lunged over Daylor’s desk, taking him to the ground.
Daylor’s mouth began to move, speaking unrecognizable words.
“No you don’t,” Kade said as he punched Daylor in the mouth. He flipped the Dark Elf onto his stomach as he pulled a piece of twine from his pocket. After yanking Daylor’s hands behind his back, Kade tied them up with the twine.
“What do you want?” Daylor gasped. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. That’s why you’re still alive,” Kade said as rolled Daylor onto his back. He put the dagger to Daylor’s throat. “If you start an incantation, you’ll be dead before the second syllable, got it?”
Daylor nodded.
“Why did you betray my nephew?”
The blue-skinned Dark Elf’s face reddened. “I betrayed? You betrayed him and his parents long ago.”
“I’m fixing that now. Maybe . . . maybe he can forgive me,” Kade said. He pressed the dagger against Daylor’s larynx. “Why did you betray him? In case you don’t know, there’s an army surrounding Staerdale Castle right now. Tanyl didn’t send reinforcements to Port Eldham when the Vulwin Elves attacked, so it’s probably lost.”
“You sound upset about that.”
“I’m upset about Tanyl doing something out of character, as if he’s following someone’s advice. What did you tell him?”
A trickle of blood began to form on Daylor’s throat under the dagger. “All right, I’ll tell you, just take the dagger off my throat.”
Kade returned the dagger to its sheath. “Go on.”
“I just got back from being with your nephew. You should be proud of him. He’s assembled a . . . unique army. Not only Vulwin Elves and humans, he’s recruited Dwarves, the Gnomes with their flying ships, some Feral Orcs, and a blue dragon.”
“A dragon?” Kade smiled. “How can they lose with a dragon on their side?”
Daylor frowned. “It’s not as much of an advantage as you think. We vanquished hundreds of those creatures. Their weaknesses are well known to us, to Tanyl.”
“So you know their plan?”
Daylor nodded. “I’ve got a pretty important part in it.”
Kade’s face darkened. “Is that what you told Tanyl?”
Daylor shook his head. “Do you realize what he’d do to me if I told that I came from a meeting with the army that wants to kill him?”
Kade put his knee on Daylor’s chest, shifting all of his weight on the Dark Elf. “What did you tell him?”
Daylor gasped for air.
Kade let up a bit. “Tell me!”
“I had to give him something. He caught me as I was returning through the dimensional tunnel. So, I gave him the Vulwin Elves. They weren’t crucial to Galin’s plan. So what if nearly a thousand Vulwin Elves get slaughtered. I didn’t tell him about the humans, the dwarves, and the gnomes that will be attacking the castle tonight. Did I mention that a dragon was coming with them?” Daylor asked.
“There’re nearly ten thousand troops inside the castle. How many does Galin have?”
“Not that many, perhaps two to three thousand,” Daylor said.
“He may have expected some of those troops to reinforce Port Eldham.”
“Galin did.” Daylor frowned. “There was no need to reinforce Port Eldham. Tanyl sent three legions of Feral Orcs from the Tadus School of Magic to the port.”
“How?”
“Magic, of course. They had several hundred mages cast Bexon’s Dimensional Tunnel. They crossed the continent in a matter of seconds. When I said I gave up the Vulwin Elves, I wasn’t kidding,” Daylor said. “May I get up now?”
Kade rose to his feet. “Of course.”
Daylor dusted himself off and picked his chair up off the floor. “You said the siege has already started?” he asked as he sat back down behind his desk.
Kade nodded. “A few hours ago. Ryul is going frantic.”
“Typical of the military types, jump for action with little involved.”
“How can we help Galin? You said you knew the plan,” Kade said. He tapped the sheath on his belt. “If you betray him any further or if he loses, I’ll kill you.”
Daylor stared at the dagger. “I know.”
“How do we help him?”
“Galin is waiting for a portal from me to get inside the castle, specifically into the gate house.”
“Why not just fly over the walls?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Our archers would simply shoot them down,” Daylor replied. “You know that.”
Kade leaned forward. “What do you need me to do?”
“Keep Tanyl occupied and be ready to execute your plan.”
Kade nodded as he left Daylor’s chambers. For a moment, he looked back at the closed door. Can I really trust him? Where is his loyalty? To Galin or to his people?
Galin sighed as he watched Ellis roll a pebble between his fingers. They removed the large table in the center of his tent to make room for the portal. Sure, he trusted Daylor to send it, but—oh hell, he just hated the damned wait. As soon as they got to the tent, even though they knew it would be several hours, Galin and Ellis rushed to move the table and drew their weapons. The excitement overcame them. As the seconds, the minutes, and the hours passed, their adrenaline waned. What if—?
Jena snapped her fingers. “Hey, you in there?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Galin replied.
“Leave him alone already,” Ellis said. “Can’t you see he’s fighting the battle in his head? If you can’t be there in person, pretending is the next best thing.”
Mae kissed him on the cheek. “My hero.”
Ellis pushed her away. “Stop it. You don’t believe that.”
“After we’re done today, I’ll truly give myself to you. Completely,” Mae said with a smile.
“Are you going to get married?” Galin asked.
Jena giggled.
“No,” Mae said. “He hasn’t asked me yet.”
Ellis twirled one of his daggers in his left hand. “And I won’t, either.”
Mae slid her hand around Ellis’s waist. “Is there anything I can do to persuade you?”
Galin rolled his eyes. For a second, the small gem on Mae’s ring began to glow. Something’s not right, he thought.
“Galin, can you go over it again?” Jena asked, obviously trying to change the subject from Mae’s and Ellis’s future exploits.
“Sure.” Galin straightened up. “Sumia and King Faeler should have drawn some of the Darkstrider soldiers from Staerdale Castle-hopefully, most of them—and Father should have surrounded the castle by now. Daylor will open the dimensional tunnel from the gatehouse to here. We enter it and kill any guards in the gatehouse on the way to the controls.”
“Easy,” Mae said.
“You kind of take the fun out of it,” Ellis said.
Jena’s face crinkled as if in deep thought. “Why couldn’t Daylor do it himself? I mean, you know the guards would see the tunnel. The gatehouse can’t be much bigger than the one at Iron Fist Keep, could it?”
Galin blinked. Why couldn’t Daylor do it? He popped from the castle to Tadus School of Magic and back again all the time. Surely, someone in Staerdale Castle must have seen him, after all, he’s been doing it for at least two years, if not longer. No, Nyna trusted Daylor, and that was good enough for him. Nyna couldn’t be wrong, right? Galin shook his head. “I’m not sure, but we’re not at the castle, either.”
“Have any of you been to Staerdale Castle before?” Mae asked.
“Not me,” Ellis said.
Jena smiled. “I’ve never been to this part of Axain before.”
Mae looked directly at Galin. “You?”
He looked away. “No.”
“Oh,” Mae said as she looked away.
“Well, at least our horses will be fed well, even if we screw it all up,” Ellis said with a grin. “I’m starving myself.”
Jena laughed. “All you care about is keeping your stomach happy.”
Ellis pulled a muffin from his pack. “Yup,” he said as he tossed it in his mouth.
Galin reached for the muffin. “Can I have—” He snapped his head to the far end of the tent. A tiny, bright, yellowish-orange light appeared three feet off the ground. “It’s time,” he said as he got to his feet.
Jena, Ellis, and Mae all jumped to their feet.
Galin approached the tiny light. The mere seconds he waited seemed like days. He slammed his eyes shut as a light brighter than the sun flashed from the portal. A rancid smell stung his nose as a gust of wind crashed into his face. It was there, then it was gone. He opened his eyes. The small light morphed into the dimensional tunnel they were familiar with.
Ellis held his nose. “Damn, it stinks. I don’t remember that before.”
Galin shrugged. “This is also the first time we weren’t at the starting point.”
Mae drew her sword. “Who cares? Let’s go.”
Ellis pulled out his daggers. “I’m ready to finish this.” He beamed at Mae. “I’ve got a date afterwards.”
“I’m ready,” Jena said after she drew her short sword. “Galin?”
There would be no turning back. Once they stepped into the tunnel, they would be on their own until they brought the gate up. Did he believe in the prophecy or not? The prophecy already declared him the victor, but . . . what if it was wrong? What if he was leading his friends to their deaths all because he wanted to become king? Sure, he was doing his duty, but to be king—
Jena elbowed Galin’s side. “Galin, ready?”
Galin swallowed. This is what faith is, he thought. He drew his sword. “Let’s go.” He stepped into the portal and disappeared.