The Dragon's Prophecy Page 19

  “Yes, and you were the only one; the punch line was in Greek, nobody else got it but the two of you. Other people began to wonder if you had been sneaking sips from the kitchen wine because you NEVER laugh, not even a little bit, you barely even smile unless Brendan’s around.” Portia shook her head, “Okay I get it, he can tell jokes that only you understand. I guess that goes back to how smart you both are. But what about how he looks?”

  This time Aurora’s face went blank, “How he looks?” She asked. “I guess I never really thought about it, I try not to judge others by their outward appearance, it can be very misleading.” She stood looking at him for several moments across the practice field as if she had never seen him before. “He is not ugly but to be honest he is shorter than most of the other squires, in fact, I’m as tall as he is. His dark hair and eyes are okay, but they look rather common to me. I guess he is a little bit more attractive than the average squire, but his appearance is not that important to me, I am much more interested in his inner qualities.”

  Now Portia felt both stupid AND shallow. She wasn’t smart enough to get his jokes and she was more focused on his physical appearance than his character qualities. This conversation was making Portia depressed; Brendan had a lot more in common with Aurora than he did with her. Aurora deserved him.

  “What do you like about him?” Aurora asked awkwardly. Girl talk was not something that she normally did and she was clearly uncomfortable discussing Brendan with Portia.

  “It’s complicated,” was all that Portia could mumble.

  “Come on! I told you what I liked about him, be fair and tell me what you like about him,” Aurora insisted.

  Portia chewed her lip for a moment. “I like that my father approves of him.” She finally said. “I like … I like that I’m not in this by myself. It’s not just about me making my own wrong decision, my father is looking out for me and he approves of Brendan.”

  After another moment of chewing her lip she continued, “I like that he is different from everyone else in this castle, just like I am. I always feel like I’m out of place everywhere I go, like I don’t quite belong anywhere. He doesn’t seem to quite fit in anywhere either. “He even looks at things differently than everyone else in the castle.” Portia looked down and began to blush, “I like the way he looks at me. He makes me feel attractive because he looks at me instead of looking past me at all the other, prettier girls. He doesn’t look at my muscles and the abilities that I have as if I am some freak to be made fun of; he’s actually impressed by my body and what I can do.”

  “Greeks have always had a thing for Amazons,” Aurora laughed, “even if they don’t like to admit it.”

  “What?” Asked Portia in confusion.

  “Nothing, just me making a joke that no one else can understand. Please continue,” Portia gave Aurora an odd look and then went on.

  “I even like his sense of humor, maybe not when he tells a joke that only you understand, but the rest of the time I do.” She shrugged, “And, I know that it is very shallow, but I do actually find him attractive. I don’t know if those are the sorts of things that can lead to love or not, but those are the things that I like about him.”

  “Your father brought him home to meet you and your need is more pressing than mine. I will stay out of the way until you make your decision,” said Aurora quietly. “I ask only that you be firm in your decision whichever way you decide. Please do not decide you don’t want him and then change your mind and try and get him back. Are we agreed?”

  Portia nodded, “We are. But the choice is not just between us, he also gets a choice in all of this and he may choose you regardless of what I decide. BUT, we will make sure that one of us ends up with him, and until then, we can both look at him without embarrassment.”

  ◆◆◆

  Portia opened her eyes and saw a dark, murky sky and a dim red light along the horizon. It looked like thousands of acres of land burning in the distance leaving a smoky haze that choked out the sun. A man in a dark cloak and hood seemed to be watching her. She couldn’t see his face, but he radiated danger and fear. Something about him seemed very familiar to her and that was the scariest part, like someone she knew was stalking her. The man in the cloak scared her as much as anything in these nightmares, even though he never did anything but watch her.

  The nightmares were always the same. She was standing on the same ridge that the castle sat on, but she was outside watching events unfold. The Hungarians were pouring over the border and the local nobles were assembling their troops to face them. Somehow Marcia got out of the castle and rode off into the woods. Hungarians were tracking her into the forest. A great cry went up from the castle and a messenger galloped at full speed to her father as he and his troops were riding off into the distance. She saw her mother leading the shieldmaidens out of the castle looking for Marcia. She saw her father’s troops turning back to look for Marcia. Without Sir Gerard’s troops and his leadership on the battlefield the Hungarians destroy the other nobles and their armies. Portia watched in helpless silence as they were all butchered. The Hungarians followed her parents into the woods and without the benefit of more troops or castle walls; they too are overwhelmed and butchered. Finally, the Hungarians turn their attention to the castle. Without enough shieldmaidens and men-at-arms to protect it, the castle was overrun and everyone inside was killed or captured and enslaved. She even watched as she, herself, was led off in chains behind the horse of a leering Hungarian chieftain.

  A quiet voice came to her, as it always did, while she was standing there crying silently to herself. “The only way to prevent this is for you to go and get Marcia back by yourself. If you can’t handle this by yourself then your parents will try to save her and everyone will die. She is being taken to the dragon and only you can save her.” A huge shadowy dragon shape with glowing eyes and nostrils seemed to materialize in the air around her. “You may die rescuing Marcia but only you can save her and everyone else. You MUST do it by yourself because no one else can be spared. If you fail…”

  Portia awoke in a sweat and lay in bed for a long time trying to go back to sleep. How many nights now had she been having these nightmares? They left her exhausted, but she knew that she couldn’t tell anyone about them. What if they were true? She couldn’t let Marcia or herself be a distraction to her parents when the war came.

  Chapter 25

  “Never assume that you know what a Black is up to. Their hearts are shrouded in darkness and their minds are enigmas.”

  The Centurion Book of Beasts – Folio IV: Dragons

  She would be having visitors soon; it was time to prepare the lair. A pit, she would need a pit. Digging it would be easy enough with her claws, though as a general rule she tried to avoid such manual labor. Perhaps a wall to hide part of the cave from view. She could make a wall out of dirt dug up from the pit and some of the bones piled up around the cavern. She looked around the cave with an eye to turning it into the perfect trap.

  One of the corners had a small pool fed by a spring. The water flowed through an underground opening out into a small stream that led down to the river. The underground passage was wide enough and short enough that a little bit of sunlight filtered in through the water creating a dim, wavering bluish glow on that side of the cavern. The Black debated about whether or not to fill in the pool and cut off all of the light in order to make the whole cave even darker. But an idea occurred to her, humans were such simple creatures at heart, they would be attracted to the little bit of light in the midst of the darkness and go to it like moths to the flame. She could use that to her advantage.

  The Black laughed an evil laugh that made even her children cringe and back away from her. The time for her revenge was close enough to taste!

  Chapter 26

  “’Put on the full armor of God,’ is a command that every Centurion should take as a sacred vow, for we fight in spiritual battles against an unseen enemy even as we fight in physical battles against the s
ervants of that enemy.”

  The Centurion Handbook of Combat – Heart and Mind: Chapter 1

  The pounding of the horse’s hooves could be heard by everyone on the walls. Brendan leaned out just far enough between the merlons of the battlement to see the rider approach the gate. "In the name of Sir Mieder, call for Sir Gerard!" he shouted to the sentries. A guard ran to get the master of the castle as the rider rode through the gate. His entire body radiated fatigue and even his horse seemed more than a little unsteady. Sir Gerard came running from the dining hall just in time to see the exhausted horse stumble and the equally exhausted rider slip from his saddle. The Iron Knight stepped forward and caught the man before he came completely off the horse and helped him to the ground.

  "We must talk," Brendan overheard the man saying.

  "First, let us get you some food and drink," replied the knight.

  "No, the talking must come first," corrected the messenger.

  "Then the talking will take place while you eat and drink," corrected the knight.

  The messenger gave Sir Gerard a severe look but saw an unbending gentleness in the knight’s face, finally he laughed, "Agreed."

  Brendan started down the stairs from the top of the wall as the two walked into the keep, the messenger leaning on the knight for support. He saw Portia making a beeline for the door only to be stopped when the door was closed. A loud thud let everyone know that the door had been barred. She hit the door in frustration and stormed off.

  “Portia!” He called after her, but she waved him off. A crowd was forming as people huddled together looking at the door and talking in low voices about what they had seen and what it might mean. He understood the crowd, if the Hungarians had come over the border en masse, then whatever that messenger had to say could mean the difference between life and death to everyone in the castle. What he didn’t understand was Portia. He couldn’t put it into words but there was something very wrong about her reaction. He wasn’t sure how he expected her to react but it wasn’t that.

  Brendan watched as she slowed her pace and began looking around furtively as she slunk away and toward the far side of the dining hall. Clearly, with the barring of the door, everyone was supposed to stay out, but, just as clearly, she was planning to sneak in. This bothered Brendan a lot. Portia upset her parents from time to time because she was impulsive, but it was not like her to deliberately circumvent their will. It was obvious that she was going to use her shortcut up to the cliff path and then jump to the balcony. The squire didn’t know what was going on, but he was going with her whether she liked it or not. If they got caught, he could take the brunt of the blame since he was used to getting in trouble.

  Brendan jogged around to the back corner of the keep closest to the dining hall and began scaling the wall. If anyone stuck their head around the corner and looked they would see him but no one bothered. He got to the balcony just in time to see her flying over his head and hitting her mark. He pulled himself up and over the railing just in time to see her pop up from her roll across the balcony.

  “What are you doing here?” She demanded in an angry whisper.

  “Helping you out, how often do you sneak around in the keep and eavesdrop on people?”

  She gave him an ugly look, “That’s more of a Marcia thing.”

  “That’s what I thought,” he whispered back, “now you have a professional on your side.”

  “Don’t take pride in that,” she countered. “Well, at least this time I beat you to the balcony.”

  “I’m just trying to help you. And for the record, I let you win, I didn’t want to get jumped on and pinned to the ground again.” She rolled her eyes. He held a finger to his lips, “From this moment on we don’t make a sound, not even a whisper.”

  The ex-thief eased open the balcony door, let her in, and then gently eased it closed behind them. He picked up the oil lamp off Marcia’s desk and smiled at the curious look on Portia’s face. If he needed to use it later, she would see what it was for. He led her down the hall and carefully past a partially open door where they could hear Lady Evelyn talking to someone. Brendan wasn’t sure who it was, but he thought it might be the nanny. He didn’t know the woman very well, but it sounded like they were talking about plans for Marcia’s care over the next couple of days.

  At the next door the hinges started to make the tiniest squeak and Brendan stopped immediately. He poured a little oil from the lamp onto the hinges and rubbed it in with his finger. Portia’s face lit up with understanding and she nodded approvingly. Once they got through that door, they were into the antechamber that connected the family quarters to the rest of the castle. Through the door to the antechamber was a storage area with spiral staircases in each of the back corners that led downstairs to the rest of the keep. He looked to Portia for direction. She pointed to the right-hand staircase and he led the way down into the darkness.

  Brendan had to admit, for a non-thief she was moving pretty quietly. They went down two floors from the fourth floor to the second floor of the keep using their hands against the stone walls for guidance. Most of the second floor was a large room that served as the dining hall for the keep in case the castle ever fell and the keep was besieged. At other times it served as a reception hall for guests. The staircase actually came out into a small kitchen area at the back of the reception hall and a doorway in the kitchen gave them a view out into the larger room beyond it. A cook was preparing food and they could see Sir Gerard sitting at a table with his back to them talking to the messenger in a low voice. Brendan strained to hear what they were saying but couldn’t quite make it out. He paused, debating what to do next. Portia took the initiative and stepped past him like she knew exactly what she was doing. She walked into the kitchen and picked up a tray of food.

  "I will attend my father and our guest," she announced to the cook. She turned without waiting for a response and walked into the dining hall. For her part, the cook glanced over her shoulder at the staircase and then began shaking her head and muttering to herself. Buried deep in the shadows of the stairs, Brendan stood back and watched. He could truly appreciate Portia’s fearlessness and initiative even as he wished it was tempered with a bit of wisdom.

  Portia passed through the doorway and headed toward the table her father and the visitor were sitting at. Sir Gerard turned to look at her and Brendan saw a plate of food in front of the messenger that had been blocked from view by the knight’s wide frame. Portia brazened it out and delivered her tray to the table anyway. The knight looked his daughter up and down, he was no fool, he knew what his daughter was up to.

  "Hermann, this is my daughter Portia,” Brendan could hear Sir Gerard saying, “Portia, this is Hermann, a man-at-arms in the service of Sir Mieder." Portia nodded in greeting.

  "My Lord, I brought some more food for you and our guest," she said.

  "Very good," he replied curtly. He turned toward his guest, "Do not speak with anyone about what we have discussed." The messenger, his mouth full of food, nodded his understanding and Sir Gerard turned back to Portia, "Please attend to our guest's needs while I go and talk with your mother. I am sure that he needs more drink and it is getting chilly; please stoke the fire for him."

  "Yes, my lord," replied Portia. Brendan watched as Sir Gerard headed toward the other staircase and started up. Her father had out maneuvered her. He would be upstairs having the important conversation with her mother while she was downstairs taking care of their guest.

  “Let me get you more drink,” Portia said with a strained smile. As she walked back toward the kitchen, she caught Brendan’s eye and mouthed the words, “Follow him!”

  Brendan moved quickly but quietly up the stairs he was on. Sir Gerard was on the other staircase and was probably moving upstairs as well since he was going to talk to Lady Evelyn. Brendan paused, out of sight, on the 3rd floor and listened as the knight continued past the third floor on his way up to the fourth. He moved quietly up to the fourth and watch from the sha
dows as the knight came out of the other stairwell, walked across the storage room and headed into the antechamber of the family quarters. He closed the door behind him.

  Brendan moved over to the closed door and tried to listen through it. It was difficult but he could hear bits and pieces. A Hungarian chieftain named Akros was coming over the border with thousands of warriors. They had already destroyed some manor and Sir Gerard was going to join up with some other Centurions and try to stop them at the river. There was a lot more that the squire couldn’t make out but he didn’t dare open the door. He heard approaching footsteps and quickly ducked back into the stairwell. He saw the knight emerge from the antechamber that led to the family quarters and then Lady Evelyn reached out from the doorway and pulled him back. He watched, with concern, the whispered conversation between Portia’s parents, he was intruding upon a scene he shouldn’t be watching but he couldn’t turn away. Lady Evelyn was always serious but there seemed to be something way beyond serious in her expression now. For Sir Gerard’s part, the only word that could describe his expression was "grim" but even that didn’t really capture the darkness of his bearing.

  Portia came running up the stairs at that moment and her father looked up in their direction.

  “Brendan, come with me, Port, help your mother.” He started to go but Portia rushed forward and gripped him in a bear hug with such ferocity that even the Iron Knight found himself unable to move for a moment. He returned her hug, then kissed her forehead and pried himself loose. "I must be going, there is not a moment to lose."

  Brendan followed Sir Gerard down the stairs. When they were out of earshot of the women, Sir Gerard started talking in a low voice.

  “There is something very dark going on Brendan, and I need you to stay here with my family. Akros has invaded Carinthia with ten thousand warriors and they have already destroyed a small Centurion castle northeast of us. The Hungarians never come in such large numbers for a simple raiding party and they avoid attacking Centurion outposts since such attacks usually cause them a lot of unnecessary casualties for very little gain. Throw in winter wolves coming too far south and Norse appearing on the wrong side of the mountains and everything about this attack feels wrong. I believe that there are other forces at work behind these events. I need for you to stay here with my family. I know that Ev and her shieldmaidens can handle any of the fighting that needs to be done but I want you, with all your unusual talents and your different way of looking at things, to be here to handle the unexpected. I feel in my spirit that something very bad is going to happen at the castle while I am gone and that you need to be here to help deal with it. My wife knows everything about Akros and his invasion and about the decision for me to join up with some other Centurion forces and face him. She doesn’t know about this darkness that I sense, and I expect it to stay that way. If I can’t even put a name to it, I don’t want to create more fear and stress for her.