The Rise of the Wrym Lord

  “Done, then!” Ebenezer said, and he handed Antoinette the end of the chain.

  “Seventy-five!” yelled the old Glimpse. Ebenezer shook his head.

  “One hundred gold!” He tried again.

  “Did you not hear me?” Ebenezer yelled. “This blade is priceless! Take your gold and go home. This market is closed!” And with that, Ebenezer started to leave.

  “Wait,” Antoinette said, tugging on his robe. “You gave me her chains, but you did not give me a key to unlock them.” The slave girl looked up suddenly.

  “Here it is,” he replied, handing her a long gray key. “But I would not release her until you have trained her well.”

  Ebenezer walked away, still marveling at the sword. The crowd began to disperse, except the old Glimpse. He stood there glaring at Antoinette as if he could cause her great bodily injury with his eyes. At last, he shook a cane at her and shuffled away.

  Antoinette turned to the slave girl. “Follow me,” she said. “As soon as we get out of town, I’ll get these ridiculous chains off you.” The slave girl nodded. Her eyes were so dark, like polished coal. But they glinted green.

  Antoinette carried as much of the chain as she could manage. The two of them moved quickly through Edge-town-proper and finally into the Outskirts. Once beyond the city, Antoinette and the girl ducked behind a grassy hillock. Immediately, Antoinette took the key and began to unlock the shackles. “What is your name?” Antoinette asked.

  “I am Trenna,” she replied. “Trenna Swiftfoot.”

  “I’m Antoinette,” she announced as she turned the key in the last lock. The heavy chains fell away to the grass. “Well, Trenna, you are free!”

  Trenna fell at Antoinette’s feet and wept openly. She began to kiss the tops of Antoinette’s boots. “Hey,” Antoinette said, kneeling and lifting her chin. “Don’t do that! You don’t know where my boots have been.”

  “You do not understand,” Trenna replied, tears streaking her face. “Three years of my life I bore those chains! I had given up hope of ever being free. Then I saw you in the crowd. There was hope in your eyes, and behold! You paid a great price to redeem me! Why did you do this?”

  “I was angry,” Antoinette replied. “No one should be enslaved! We were all made to be free. In a way, that’s what I’ve been fighting for since I’ve been in The Realm.”

  “You are a warrior then?”

  “Yeah.” Antoinette laughed. “I guess I am. I serve as a knight under King Eliam the noble ruler of Alleble.”

  “I know of Alleble,” Trenna said. “The famous twin archers from my homeland went there and won great glory!”

  “Nock and Bolt,” Antoinette confirmed. “That’s right, you’re from Yewland. Did you know them?”

  “How could I not? I made it my business to know every brave or huntress who possessed such skill. I learned from the masters whenever I could.”

  Antoinette nodded and asked, “Trenna, Yewland is a free land. How did you end up in those chains?”

  “I was distracted while hunting a clever wolvin in the forest on Yewland’s southern border,” Trenna replied, rubbing her wrists. “A dozen spearmen lay in wait for me. The hunter became the prey. But, Lady Antoinette, may I ask you something? You said that all must be free, so why do you then serve King Eliam?”

  “All who follow King Eliam do so willingly,” Antoinette said. “There was a time when King Eliam gave up something precious to save his people, and they have not forgotten it. I serve King Eliam because he loves me and wishes only to bring peace to The Realm.”

  “Then I will serve him too,” Trenna said.

  “What?” Antoinette stared.

  Trenna’s eyebrows arched high, reminding Antoinette of Nock. She looked at Antoinette quizzically. “You have set me free, Lady Antoinette!” Trenna said. “I deem that you did this in keeping with the precepts of your homeland. You follow the example of King Eliam, so I will follow him too. Just tell me how.”

  Trenna stood there, waiting. Antoinette wasn’t sure what to say. She tried to remember how she first believed in Alleble. It wasn’t really a specific memory though. Her parents had taught her, and she just accepted it. Then she thought about the ceremony where Kaliam invited her to make the good confession. Yes, that’s what we’ll do! she thought.

  “Trenna,” she said, “I think following King Eliam is the work of a lifetime—at least that’s what my parents told me. But, it has to begin somewhere. So, let it begin here, now.

  “Trenna Swiftfoot, do you give your service to King Eliam? Even if you are threatened by enemies who want to kill you, even then will you trust King Eliam? Answer aye only if it really shows what’s in your heart.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Trenna answered, “Aye!”

  Antoinette grinned. “Then, Trenna, kneel before me.” Trenna knelt on the grass and looked up expectantly. Antoinette reached down to her side, but then she remembered her sword was not there. She loosened her belt, removed the sheath, and laid it on Trenna’s shoulder. “Trenna Swiftfoot, by your making the good confession, I now dub thee a willing servant of King Eliam the Everlasting!”

  Then Antoinette watched as something wonderful happened—something she would never forget as long as she lived. Trenna’s dark eyes gleamed green, but the color began to change. And suddenly the purest blue shone forth.

  Antoinette embraced Trenna. “Welcome to the Kingdom of Alleble!” Antoinette said, and it was her turn to cry.

  Back in the farmhouse, the white dragon sniffed Trenna from head to toe and honked twice.

  “I think that means it likes you!” Antoinette said.

  “You mean she likes me,” Trenna replied. “Do not forget. I was raised in Yewland where beautiful steeds like this one abound.”

  “She, huh?” Antoinette laughed. “Will she bear the two of us?”

  “With little trouble. We are both light, and she is a powerful creature, grander than many I have known.”

  “Good,” Antoinette said. “Then we can go to Yewland together, and I can drop you off.”

  “What do you mean by ‘drop me off’?” Trenna asked, her eyebrows arching again. “You will not drop me from the sky?”

  “No! Of course not.” Antoinette felt very awkward. How could she explain that she had left Yewland in secret to pursue a mission of her own—outside King Eliam’s plan for her? How could she explain that to Trenna, who had just chosen to serve King Eliam? And Antoinette simply would not lie to her.

  “Trenna, I can’t stay with you in Yewland,” Antoinette said. “I am chasing a soldier of Paragory, and his trail is already growing cold.”

  “One of the many who came through Edge?” Trenna asked.

  “Yes,” Antoinette replied. “He is one of their commanders. His name is Kearn.”

  “Has this Kearn harmed you?” Trenna asked. “Are you seeking revenge?”

  Antoinette felt the dull throb in her side. “He has harmed me,” she said. “But I don’t want revenge. Oh, it’s really hard to explain.”

  “Then you shall have to explain it to me as we seek Kearn together!”

  “What?”

  “I will not be dropped off at Yewland and allow you to fly into peril alone!” Trenna said.

  “But don’t you have family in Yewland?”

  Trenna nodded gravely. “Yes, they are dear to me, and I will return to them as soon as may be, but . . . Lady Antoinette, you are family now as well. You bought me and gave me back my freedom. I am coming with you.”

  Antoinette was speechless.

  “Besides,” Trenna said, smiling mischievously, “you said yourself that the trail of the Paragor Knights has grown cold. My tracking skills will be of good use, will they not? Let us depart, for the sun is waning. And though I will easily follow the trail in the dark, I prefer not to.”

  Antoinette couldn’t argue with that. She had no idea how she would find Kearn and the Paragor Army in the wilderness.

  Trenna led Honk and the sti
ll-speechless Antoinette out of the farmhouse and into the golden light of the evening sun. Antoinette climbed into the saddle, and Trenna sat in front of her. “Now, while we search for the trail, tell me two things,” Trenna said. “First, tell me why this Kearn is worth our pursuit. Then, explain to me how you came to Alleble, for you are not Glimpse-kind.”

  As Antoinette began to explain her adventure to Trenna, Honk took flight—effortlessly bearing her two passengers into the sky.

  35

  LEGEND OF

  THE WYRM

  Many Glimpses in Yewland are faithful to King Eliam,” Trenna said, winding her long dark hair into braids. “Some of them told stories of the Mirror Realm. I always thought they were myths, clever tales to entrance the little ones. And yet, here you are, proof that they are true.”

  “People in my world find it hard to believe too,” Antoinette said as they flew north of Baen-Edge, following the trail of the enemy.

  “So I have a twin,” Trenna said. “Only she wears skin like yours and lives on—”

  “On earth,” Antoinette explained. “And yes, your twin is out there somewhere.”

  “Amazing!” Trenna said. “And this Kearn?”

  “He is a Glimpse of a young man named Robby, who happens to be very important to a friend of mine.”

  “I am amazed at you, Lady Antoinette!” Trenna said.

  “Why?”

  “You came all this way alone, risking your life for a friend!”

  Antoinette sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was time to tell Trenna the rest of the story. “I didn’t come alone. There were eleven others. We set out from Alleble to come to Yewland, for Queen Illaria had been threatening to break up the alliance.”

  “What? Why?” Trenna asked.

  “Well, that’s what we wanted to know. We discovered that Paragor had sent an imposter to Yewland posing as an official from Alleble. This imposter, Count Eogan, made horrendous claims and nearly destroyed the alliance.”

  “What happened?”

  “The imposter fled Yewland just before my team arrived. He apparently went to Acacia.”

  “Did you pursue him there?”

  “No,” Antoinette replied. She took a deep breath. “We were supposed to, but while I was in Kismet, I saw Kearn. I realized who he was, but he escaped. I wanted to go after him, but my commander insisted we follow the imposter to Acacia. I . . . I went against his orders, took this dragon, and, well . . . that’s why I’m here instead of in Acacia with my team.”

  Antoinette wished she could see the expression on Trenna’s face, but she could not. Trenna sat in front. Finally, Trenna nodded and said, “You should not have defied your commander. And it pains me to hear that you forsook the mission King Eliam assigned to you. And yet, I understand the division that strove in your heart. Growing up in Yewland, I lived with such division every day. One of my very closest friends could not understand why I would not follow King Eliam. I am not sure myself, really. I suppose I liked the idea of Yewland being an independent power in The Realm. How strange it is that now, when I finally acknowledge him as my King . . . it is due to your disobedience. I find it heartening in some ways.”

  “What do you mean?” Antoinette asked.

  “It is good to know that King Eliam can make noble use of imperfect servants, that good can be made—even from mistakes.”

  They flew in silence for some time, each busy with her own thoughts as gradually a starry darkness claimed the sky.

  Honk! The white dragon bobbed her head.

  “She smells something!” Trenna said. “Smoke it is. Lady Antoinette, take her down.”

  With the heels of her boots, Antoinette applied gentle pressure to the dragon’s sides. They circled quietly down into a grove of pines.

  “The enemy’s camp will not be far ahead,” Trenna explained as they slipped off the dragon’s back. “It will be better for us to go on foot.”

  “I feel naked without a sword,” Antoinette said as they crept slowly through the trees.

  “I cannot claim to be sorry you are without one,” said Trenna, “for that blade paid my price. Surely slaying all of them was not your plan, was it?”

  Antoinette was silent.

  Trenna stared at her. “You do have a plan, do you not?”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Antoinette admitted.

  “Well, you may wish to begin thinking,” Trenna whispered. “I see the flicker of a campfire ahead.”

  Antoinette crouched lower to the ground, for she saw the light ahead as well. Most of the trees were evergreens—for that she was thankful. Walking upon their needles made little sound. Still she was cautious. Whatever plan she decided on, it surely did not include being captured because she stepped on a dead branch. At least she didn’t have to worry about Trenna. Apparently her experiences hunting had taught her to use great stealth, for she made no sound at all.

  Antoinette and Trenna passed a clearing where a group of not less than forty dark horses grazed on ferns and tall grasses. The horses seemed not to mind the strangers who were crawling through their midst. Antoinette and Trenna followed a wandering path through more pines and came as close as they dared to a second clearing where the Paragor Knights were seated around a crackling fire.

  Then, behind a hollow fallen tree, the two spies lay motionless and silent. Antoinette still did not have a plan, so she decided it was best to wait and listen.

  “I am not one to question the master,” said a gravelly voice. “But I still do not think it is true.”

  “Yeah, Grimmet is right. Why ’re we botherin’ with all this Wyrm Lord superstition anyway,” answered another knight who obviously had his mouth half full of something tough and chewy. “We have enough troops to take Alleble down ourselves!”

  “What, ’ave you got rocks in yer ’ead, Savadrel?” came a third voice, deep and throaty, full of contempt for the others. “Yeah, we might be able to knock down the enemy’s front gate with what we’ve got. But should the plan fail, Yewland, the big chaps from the Blue Mountains, and all the rest a’ the stinkin’ allies will come char-gin’ in and run us down. We need an edge, I say.” There was muttering among the many knights sitting near.

  “Well, the plan’s already failed in Yewland,” said the knight called Grimmet. “I daresay we’ll contend with those cursed bow-hawkers before we’re done!”

  “The plan in Yewland did not fail,” came a new voice, low, confident, and menacing. Antoinette recognized it as Kearn’s. “The master did not expect Yewland to change sides like so many of the weaker kingdoms have. Eogan’s work there was simply to plant seeds of doubt—to purchase time and stay their hand until we have achieved our goal.”

  “That’s just grand for now,” said Grimmet. “But what about when we return? The trees along the Forest Road will be ripe with archers! What will we do then?” A dozen other knights grumbled in agreement.

  “Faithless, you are!” Kearn hissed, and the other knights fell silent. “When our mighty Prince at last frees the Wyrm Lord from his tomb in the Shattered Lands, all will flee before us! It is no legend! King Eliam himself knows this. That is why he hid the scroll away in the old tree, where he thought no one would ever find it. And, as for the Braves of Yewland, there will be few enough of them when we return. For as the prophetic scroll decrees, the Wyrm Lord will call forth his allies of old. And the Seven Sleepers will again prowl the woods of Yewland!”

  There were cheers and raucous laughter around the fire. Antoinette’s eyes met with Trenna’s, and what she saw there mirrored her own fear.

  36

  CAPTURED

  Antoinette risked peering over the fallen tree and saw Kearn stand up and face his men. “Feast a little longer, recover your strength!” he said. “We have a hard ride still before us. Put all thought of fear and doubt out of your minds. Tomorrow we begin a season of victory.”

  Kearn leaned over and whispered something to one of his lieutenants and then stepped out of th
e firelight into the trees on the other side of the clearing. Where’s he going? Antoinette wanted to know. She ducked down and turned to Trenna.

  “I’m going to follow him,” she whispered. “Maybe if I corner him one on one, he’ll listen.”

  “And maybe he will put a dagger in your back!” Trenna replied. “That is your plan?”

  Antoinette frowned. “Have you a better one?”

  “Yes,” Trenna said. “How about we both get out of here, right now? I do not know anything about this Wyrm Lord they spoke of, but I know enough of the Seven Sleepers to convince me there is great danger on the horizon. There are many in The Realm who must be warned!”

  “I know, but I can’t just leave without trying,” Antoinette said. “Go back to the dragon. If I don’t come back in twenty minutes, or if you hear them coming for you, fly out of here. Go to Acacia. Find my team from Alleble. A tall knight named Kaliam leads them. Tell him all that we heard. He’ll know what to do.”

  “I will not leave without you,” Trenna said indignantly.

  “If I don’t come back, you have to. Remember, you are not bound to me. You are a servant of King Eliam. This news must get to Kaliam.” Trenna nodded grimly. She embraced Antoinette quickly and was gone.

  What have I gotten myself into? Antoinette asked herself. She shook her head and crept away from the fallen tree. Careful to stay out of sight, she made her way around the clearing and into the darkness under the pines. She followed as best she could the direction Kearn had taken moments before. She moved slowly, placing each foot deliberately upon the carpet of needles. All the while, she scanned the trees.

  The tension made her heart race, and her side throbbed in rhythm. Finally, she saw him. Antoinette crouched behind a wide pine trunk and stopped moving. He was standing at the edge of a fold in the land where perhaps a creek or rivulet flowed. His back was to her, and he gazed up into the western sky, seemingly at the moon.

  “Come out of the shadows, Antoinette,” he said without turning. Antoinette’s heart hammered.

  “How did you know?” she asked, and she stepped slowly out from behind the trees.