Sir Winfrid stared at Derek in shock. “M-My lord?” he stammered.
Beside him, Aran’s jaw went slack.
Derek turned to look at the two, and Aran flinched at the sight of the peculiar glitter in Derek’s cold, blue eyes. “I’m telling Sir Brian about our defeat of the enemy army and their dragons,” Derek said. He turned back to Brian. “It was glorious! My men fought brilliantly, and finally the enemy disengaged. I suppose they decided Castle Crownguard wasn’t worth the effort. They won’t dare molest it again.”
“Derek…” whispered Aran.
Derek turned in his saddle and stared piercingly at the red-haired knight. “What?” he demanded.
Aran drew himself up in alarm-the glitter in Derek’s eyes had turned into a blaze. “N-nothing,” Aran murmured, cold dread gnawing at his stomach. “It will wait.”
“So you were victorious,” Brian said. His eyes flicked nervously between Derek and Aran.
“Aye!” Derek roared, swinging around again. “They ran from the sight of us! We broke their spirit, gave them reason to fear the Knights of Solamnia!”
Brian nodded hesitantly. He glanced back at Derek’s knights again. Some of them were acting restless. Derek’s words had carried back to them.
“What-” Brian began, then faltered.
Derek looked at him sharply, and Aran glanced quickly away.
“Wh-what became of Sir Edwin?” Brian asked.
Derek’s left eye twitched, just once. Brian tried not to notice.
“Lost, in honorable battle, along with Sir Pax Garett,” Derek answered hollowly. “They fought valiantly, but ’tis war, and men die. Perhaps,” he added, his eyes narrowing to glinting slits, “they wouldn’t have, if your men had reached us sooner.”
Brian flushed. “M-My lord, we’ve ridden as hard as we could-”
“No, no, it isn’t your fault, my friend,” Derek said, and rested his gauntleted hand on Brian’s shoulder. “It’s Gunthar’s. He has betrayed us, betrayed the whole Knighthood. His inaction cost us dearly, and he shall hear of it. You, Sir Brian, will travel with Aran and myself to Sancrist, where we will tell the High Council of my triumph and Lord Gunthar’s deceit. Then,” he added, his face splitting into a grin that made Aran shudder, “then I shall be Lord Knight!”
*****
They rode on. When the road forked, the knights continued north, following Sir Winfrid. They did not speak of the battle of Castle Crownguard, then or ever. Except to tell how Edwin Crownguard, standing atop the Northeast Tower, had died defending his home.
Derek, Aran and Brian turned south. When they were well away from the others, Brian could no longer contain the question that boiled within him. “My lord,” he asked, “what truly happened at Castle Crownguard?”
Derek turned slowly, his saddle creaking, and fixed Sir Brian with a glittering stare that could have bored through steel. “Victory,” he said. “Glorious victory. And one day, the bards will sing of it.”
Brian glanced at Aran, who shook his head. The message in the knight’s worried eyes was clear: Ask no more.
Brian sucked pensively on his lower lip, then shrugged. “If that is your wish, my lord,” he said, and looked back toward the dusty road.
None of the three said anything more that day.
A Lull In the Battle
Linda P. Baker
Lashing rain on the ragged slate roof.
Thunder from the heavens, punctuated by bright slashes of lightning.
The clunk of earthenware mugs on the bar as boisterous voices called for more ale.
The smack of flesh on flesh as one of his men back-handed another.
Shouts of derision. Cries of support.
The smashing of broken furniture.
This was the relaxing respite from battle.
To Laronnar, First Captain of Second Company in the Dragonarmy of the Dark Queen, the respite from battle was neither restful nor relaxing.
He stood, and his chair crashed to the floor. The sound didn’t merit a notice in the bedlam of the tavern.
With three quick, irritated strides, he was beside two men grappling together. He grabbed each by their collars and used the momentum of their struggles to crack their heads together. As both reeled, he snatched the dagger from the hand of the smallest one and drove it into the table. The blade stuck there, quivering in the smoky light.