“Aren’t those other guys going after her?” Dalton asked.
“Joe and Twitch,” Cole said. “They’re on her trail, but I won’t leave here until I know she’s all right. I wouldn’t leave you either. I’ve thought a lot about this. Aside from everything else, I really think that staying with Mira will be the best way to help Jenna and the others. Don’t get me wrong. I hear about Morgassa, and I want to run.”
Dalton nodded. “It might not be a bad time to search in other kingdoms for a while.”
“I hear you,” Cole acknowledged. “But with Mira, we get help from the resistance wherever we go. And if Mira can defeat her father, we might free everybody. I don’t think that happens without her help.”
“We also might get caught breaking into Blackmont,” Dalton pointed out. “Or we might get killed by some horrible monster.”
“I didn’t say it was safe,” Cole said. “But if we want to help Jenna, staying with Mira beats wandering blindly without any help. Don’t forget, sticking with Mira led me to the people who helped me find you.”
The door opened without warning. Jace burst in, his eyes bright with excitement. “Have you guys heard the news?”
“I don’t think so,” Cole said.
“The Rogue Knight challenged the Dreadknight to a duel,” Jace said. “The Dreadknight accepted. They fight tomorrow for control of Edgemont.”
“Whoa,” Cole said. “Seriously?”
“Everybody is talking about it,” Jace said. “I guess word is out all over town. Only residents of Edgemont are supposed to attend the fight.”
“Have you talked to Skye?” Dalton asked.
“I can’t find her,” Jace said. “She must have gone out to follow up on the news. You get what this probably means.”
“The Rogue Knight learned about Honor from Mira,” Cole said. “Do you think she told him on purpose?”
“Maybe,” Jace said. “She may have decided the Rogue Knight was the perfect tool to bust into Blackmont Castle. Or maybe the Rogue Knight pried the information from her and wants to add another princess to his collection. Either way, there’s a good chance Mira will be at the duel.”
“There’s also a good chance it’s a trap,” Dalton said.
“What do you mean?” Jace asked.
“Rustin Sage wants the Rogue Knight out of the picture,” Dalton said. “But he doesn’t want to risk his championship. If Rustin knows where the Rogue Knight will be tomorrow, it would be a golden opportunity.”
“We have to be there,” Cole said. “It’ll be our best chance to help Mira.”
“Let’s hope Skye is working on it,” Jace said.
Skye returned later in the afternoon. She came to Cole’s room with Sultan. The boys had been playing a dice game Jace had taught them to pass the time.
“You heard the news about the duel tomorrow at dawn?” she checked.
“We’re going, right?” Jace asked.
“Sultan will help us,” Skye said. “It’ll be complicated. We have information from contacts within the Merriston guardsmen.”
“Rustin Sage plans to surround Edgemont tomorrow during the duel,” Sultan said. “He’ll let them fight it out, because if anybody can beat the Rogue Knight, it’s the Dreadknight. If the Rogue Knight loses, problem solved. If the Rogue Knight wins, Rustin Sage and his knights will descend with his guardsmen and a battalion of legionnaires.”
“Isn’t that against the rules?” Cole asked.
“They have an excuse,” Sultan said. “Because of his robberies, they’ve labeled the Rogue Knight a criminal. They’ll deny him his rights as a champion and take him by force. The governor is backing the plan, along with Alderman Campos.”
“We have to be there,” Skye said. “If the Rogue Knight loses, we’ll rescue Mira and get away. If the Rogue Knight wins, there may be a window of opportunity to free Honor. Should the Dreadknight fall, the Rogue Knight will temporarily be master of Blackmont Castle.”
“Until the Merriston guardsmen and the legionnaires take him out,” Dalton said.
“It’ll be dangerous, but I’m not sure we’ll ever have a better chance,” Skye said. “Get some rest. We’ll leave in the night. I want to arrive well before dawn.”
By the time the first hints of sunrise began lightening the sky, Cole sat huddled beneath a blanket at the Edgemont Arena. Many people had already claimed seats on the tiered benches surrounding the battleground. Skye and Sultan had disguised themselves and the three boys as an actual family who lived in Edgemont. Sympathetic to the rebellion, the family had agreed to skip the fight.
When Cole and the others had reached the arena, officials had taken down their names and the father’s occupation, then quizzed them about where they lived. Sultan had given all the right answers, and they were admitted to the event without trouble.
Cole wore his Jumping Sword. Jace had Mira’s. Dalton brought a knife. Sultan and Skye were armed as well. The illusionists had hidden the weapons with seemings.
The early morning was cold enough that Cole could see his breath. He held his blanket close around him and kept watch for Mira.
Because time had been short, they hadn’t attempted to rendezvous with Joe and Twitch. Skye had guessed that Joe would show up at the fight. So far Cole hadn’t noticed them in the crowd.
Color slowly bled into the sky. The walls of Blackmont Castle loomed high above the arena, with sharp, angular towers soaring even higher. Harsh and jagged, the entire castle appeared to be composed of dark iron, though Cole assumed at least some of that had to be an illusion.
As dawn approached, spectators crammed into the arena. Cole became pressed shoulder to shoulder with Dalton and Jace as people sandwiched themselves onto their bench. Latecomers stood on the stairs and wherever they could find a spot.
With the sun about to rise, the Rogue Knight strode out onto the arena floor, his bright armor impeccable. He drew Verity and saluted the audience. Most cheered him, though some booed loudly. Eight knights came after him, and lastly the little Halfknight, who received some jeers.
The knights formed up at one side of the arena. Directly above them, in the first row of the stands, Cole saw Mira. She wore a scarlet cloak and looked unharmed.
“Do you see her?” Cole asked Jace.
“Where?”
“Just above the knights,” Cole said.
“You’re right!” Jace exclaimed. “She looks . . . well.”
Cole thought Jace had stopped himself from saying “pretty” or “beautiful.” She did look very nice. Cole was too relieved by her presence to tease him.
Jace spread the word to Skye, who nodded as he pointed toward Mira. Cole explained to Dalton where she was. The scarlet cloak helped him find her.
“She doesn’t look like a prisoner,” Cole observed.
“No,” Skye agreed. “But looks can be deceiving.”
A hush fell over the arena as the Dreadknight emerged from the far side. His dark armor matched the jagged appearance of Blackmont Castle. Spikes bristled on his helmet and his broad shoulders. Cruel edges protruded from his vambraces and greaves. The Rogue Knight was an imposing figure, but the Dreadknight stood at least a full head taller. He carried a broadsword nearly the height of a man. The blade looked thick enough to chop down a tree.
The Dreadknight’s twelve other knights came out and lined up behind their master. None looked nearly as fearsome.
Sheathing his blade, the Rogue Knight went to the center of the battleground to await his opponent. The Dreadknight held his oversize weapon in one hand. Cole suspected most men using two hands would have to drag the broadsword along behind them.
Flames spewed out from within the Dreadknight’s helm, causing many in the audience to flinch and gasp. Inky smoke unfurled into the air above him.
“Is this for real?” Dalton asked, shaking his h
ead.
Cole looked at him, relieved to finally have someone else with him who understood just how crazy all these experiences were. “It’s like the jousters at the Renaissance festival,” Cole said. “Except this might be a little more intense.”
The Rogue Knight drew his sword again. “No need to wallow in theatricality,” he cried, swishing Verity through the air. The flames and smoke disappeared, some of the spikes vanished from the armor, and the Dreadknight shrank a little, though he was still half a head taller than the Rogue Knight. His sword remained enormous.
The Dreadknight halted about ten paces from the Rogue Knight. “You dare to challenge me for control of Edgemont?” the Dreadknight asked, his voice a roaring bass.
“I would prefer if you stepped down voluntarily,” the Rogue Knight replied. “I respect your many years of service as champion here. I admire your prowess in combat. You are past your prime. There is no need for you to perish today. Why not retire and enjoy the fruit of your labors?”
“For that insult I will end you slowly,” the Dreadknight thundered.
“Forgive me if I end slower than you expect,” the Rogue Knight replied. “Shall we?”
The Dreadknight lumbered forward, sword raised in two hands, and brought it down as if swinging a sledgehammer. The Rogue Knight sidestepped the swipe and sprang forward to counterattack, but the Dreadknight’s blade had not gone into the ground as had seemed inevitable from the force of the swing. The Dreadknight halted the fall of his broadsword and whipped it sideways, bashing the Rogue Knight in the side and flinging him to the dirt.
Cole bit his lip almost hard enough to draw blood. If they wanted access to Blackmont Castle, they needed the Rogue Knight to win! Otherwise, they would be forced to take Mira and run.
The blow had crumpled the side of the Rogue Knight’s armor. Blood wasn’t apparent, but the brutal impact could have broken his spine.
The Dreadknight advanced on his fallen opponent. From his back, the Rogue Knight deflected a brutal downswing. Still supine, the Rogue Knight kicked at the Dreadknight with both legs. The larger knight spun away from the kick, reversed his grip on the broadsword, and stabbed the point at the Rogue Knight’s head.
Cole almost looked away as the tip of the giant blade scraped against the helmet and plunged into the dirt. The Rogue Knight had jerked sideways just enough for the sword to strike a glancing blow. Rolling away, the Rogue Knight scrambled to his hands and knees. The Dreadknight savagely kicked him in the side. Verity flew free as the Rogue Knight went sprawling.
Weaponless and wobbly, the Rogue Knight rose to a kneeling position while the Dreadknight readied his broadsword for a home run swing to the back of his opponent’s neck. Unsure whether the Rogue Knight would even see the blow coming, Cole winced as the huge blade hissed toward the fatal strike, but the Rogue Knight ducked it, losing one of his antlers rather than his head. He then lunged at the Dreadknight’s legs, wrapping them with both arms like a veteran linebacker. The Dreadknight went down hard, landing flat on his back.
Armor scored and deformed, helmet asymmetrical with the single antler, the Rogue Knight staggered to his feet and retrieved Verity. Sword in hand, he turned to face the Dreadknight as the larger combatant used his broadsword like a crutch to stand up.
“I want you to know,” the Rogue Knight said, “you’ve given me a better fight than any champion I’ve faced.”
Back on his feet, the Dreadknight took a firm stance and held up his sword. “You have heart,” the Dreadknight said. “I’ll grant you that much.”
Sword down at his side, the Rogue Knight walked toward the Dreadknight with a measured tread. “I will spare you if you join me. I seldom make this offer. Be one of my knights. Help me right the wrongs in Elloweer.”
Roaring, the Dreadknight charged forward. Entirely on the defensive, the Rogue Knight deflected one mighty swipe, then another, and another. The Dreadknight attacked relentlessly—forehand, backhand, forehand, backhand. Though the Rogue Knight managed to knock the swings astray, he had no time for a counterattack before the next one came his way. The Dreadknight tirelessly pressed his opponent back. Each ringing collision of blades made Cole wonder how either man kept hold of his weapon.
After getting backed up to the wall of the battleground, the Rogue Knight changed his grip, keeping one hand on Verity’s hilt, but moving his palm to the flat of the blade. Instead of deflecting the next blow, the Rogue Knight stopped it cold. For a moment, the two knights stood frozen, locked in a contest of strength. Then the Dreadknight tried a kick. The Rogue Knight dropped his sword and caught the leg with both hands.
Cole leaned forward to the edge of his seat. The new situation caused a pause in the combat. The Rogue Knight lacked his weapon, but he had his opponent in a tricky position.
“Balance is important when wearing armor,” the Rogue Knight said, holding the leg and walking the Dreadknight backward. The hulking knight hopped on one foot to keep from falling. “Try to swing at me.”
As the Dreadknight pulled back his arm to swing, the Rogue Knight twisted his leg so that the larger knight was at the very edge of toppling. The Dreadknight had to hop wildly to stay up and couldn’t bring his sword to bear.
“This is over,” the Rogue Knight said. “One last chance. Join me, and our enmity is forgotten.”
“You’ve lost your sword.”
“You’ve lost the fight.”
“We’re even at best.”
“Very well. I warned you.”
Cole thought the Rogue Knight would use his hold of the Dreadknight’s leg to push him over backward. Instead, the Rogue Knight shifted his grip, heaved the Dreadknight into the air, and body slammed him. As one, the audience gasped in shock and amazement.
The Rogue Knight picked up the Dreadknight’s broadsword, turned it so it was tip down, raised it high with two hands, and plunged it between the helmet and the top of the breastplate. The Dreadknight lay still as the Rogue Knight stalked over to retrieve Verity. The Dreadknight’s broadsword protruded from the fallen champion like a gravestone.
CHAPTER
23
PRISONER
The audience watched in stunned silence as the Rogue Knight crouched and picked up his sword. With a flourish, he raised Verity high, and the assemblage burst into applause.
Cole was on his feet. Everyone else had risen as well.
“No way!” Jace yelled in amazement. “That didn’t just happen! Did you see that?”
Cole had seen. The Dreadknight had lost in a big way.
Moving to the center of the arena floor, the Rogue Knight absorbed the adulation for a long moment before sheathing his blade and raising his hands to calm the cheering. The crowd began to quiet down and sit.
The Dreadknight’s twelve knights gathered around his still body. They withdrew the huge sword from him and removed his helmet. The arena became silent. Because of the distance and those huddled around him, Cole couldn’t see the Dreadknight well, but he could tell that he had gray hair. With the tension of the fight over, it hit Cole that he’d just watched a man die. This wasn’t some action movie—it had really happened, right in front of him. He glanced quickly at Dalton and saw that his friend looked ill.
“Now he’s the Deadknight,” Jace murmured.
The Rogue Knight raised a hand to speak. “Knights of the Dreadknight,” he called. “Do you confirm that I have won this challenge?”
One of the knights took off his own helm. He had longish brown hair and a trimmed beard. “I am Desmond Engle, first knight of the knights of Edgemont. The Dreadknight has fallen. You are the new champion of Edgemont, Rogue Knight. Have you a name?”
“The people have bestowed on me the title ‘Rogue Knight,’” he answered. “It suits me for now. The alderman of Edgemont and all who serve under him are hereby relieved of their positions. I would like to meet with the former knig
hts of Edgemont in order to discuss possibilities of continued service. The guardsmen of Edgemont are now under my command, and will defend this city from any outside incursion. Until further notice, there will be no tax burden placed on the people of Edgemont.”
Enthusiastic cheers greeted his final statement. The Rogue Knight waited for the reaction to die down.
“It has not escaped my attention,” the Rogue Knight continued, “that during the night, guardsmen from neighboring cities, principally Merriston, accompanied by a large group of legionnaires, have taken up positions at the outskirts of our city. The coward Rustin Sage wants to arrest me as a criminal rather than face the challenge I made to him more than three fortnights ago. I have won all my championships legally, but when I tried to pressure Rustin to do his duty and fight me, he declared me an outlaw. Rustin Sage seeks to escape justice, and in the process, he threatens to undo our system of government.”
Murmurs percolated through the arena. Some people seemed to support the Rogue Knight. Others grumbled against him.
“If you are not a fighter, I suggest you return to your homes,” the Rogue Knight said. “Knights, guardsmen, and fighting men of Edgemont, I implore you to do your duty and defend Edgemont from any aggressors. Merriston has no authority here. Not even the High King has the right to come here and unseat your champion.”
The crowd reacted with some outrage, but Cole didn’t think it felt like enough. Many people mumbled to one another uncertainly. Some men and women shook their heads. Several in the crowd began to make their way toward the exits.
“I hope the neighboring cities are bluffing,” the Rogue Knight said. “If they have come in earnest to violate the laws of the land and wrest away my championship, we will resist them. I will now retire to Blackmont Castle with my knights and the Dreadknight’s men to make preparations.”
“Permission to remove the Dreadknight’s remains before we join you at the castle?” Desmond asked.
“Granted,” the Rogue Knight replied. “But I need access to Blackmont.”