Bloodless Knights (22 page)

I
stared at the men behind Patrious; everyone appeared to be in the same
miserable, soaked condition. I was sure we would all be grateful to stop. It had
been a day full of sadness, stress, and too many situations I would like to
completely forget. Except one; I continually thought about Elena. I looked at
the hairpin attached to Vivian’s cloak.

Vivian…where
art thou? I could see her black hair glistening in the church on the first day
I set eyes on her. I remembered her pale, flawless skin and the green eyes that
warmed me with their gaze. As much as Elena pleased me, I knew my heart
belonged to my mystery lady and I had to find her.

As
Flash moved forward, my eyes pulled me from my dreamland, focusing on what was
before me. We had turned the bend and I could see a valley below. The most
magnificent valley I had ever seen!

Red
and black rock protruded from the ground, encircling a flat top of red rock. The
mountains surrounding, began at the flat rock and soared upward on three sides.
On the west side of the enclosure, Louie Bay gleamed. The bottoms of the
mountains were covered with crusty lava that had flown from one; a trail of
hardened black rock remained. The lava had stopped and pooled slightly on the
east edge of the rock, making an extraordinary contrast. Snow covered some
places but there was still enough visible rock that I could guess what was
underneath. A vast waterfall flowed down the side of the south mountain and
continued its path to a long river flowing to Louie Bay.

The
most stunning sight was a castle that had been formed from red rocks at the
base of the east mountain. The stronghold was built with two sides against the
mountain and seemed to have been formed from nature. Four turrets stood guard
at each corner of the castle; windows were appropriately cut and filled with
impeccable stained glass. A wide moat secured the glorious building and a
bridge had been constructed with rocks from the area. It was truly a
spectacular sight to behold.

There
were a few houses and buildings near the castle but lack of smoke coming from
chimneys suggested they were vacant. A large forest covered the ground at the
edge of the bay and the mountainsides were lush with trees as well. The kingdom
seemed to be one that many could be happy and thrive in.

Valen
looked at the sun that hovered toward the west. “Wait for it…” he suggested.

“Wait
for what?” I asked dumbly.

“Shh,
ye won’t wanna be missin’ it.” He pressed a finger to his lips but continued
staring at his home.

Silence
filled the crew as we stared at the city unlike one I had ever imagined. The
sun set further and suddenly the city seemed afire! Little rays of light
bounced off the rocks and the city glowed with a warm light.

“OH!”
Cried the completely astonished men. The sight was more than breathtaking; it
was like heaven.

“What
is it?” Someone asked.

“Diamonds…”
Patrious proudly stated.

All
we could do was stare at what was happening before our eyes. I knew nothing of
diamonds, and had never seen one, but I made a quick decision that I liked
them. I couldn’t wait to hold one in my hand, and slay the dragon with it.

As
we watched the sunset, something caught my eye from the forest near the bay.
Everyone else seemed to see it at the same time. My heart sank in my chest.
Faceless riders, one after the other poured from the trees and made their way
toward the castle. At the same time they made way there, the castle gate
dropped and people began descending.

“What
in blazes?” Thundered Patrious, clearly angry that people had invaded his home.

Nobody
replied, just continued watching what unfolded. Everyone in the city seemed to
be on their way to the same place. Hundreds of wolf-headed riders continued
from the forest. I stared at them, knowing if we were to meet them, we were
sadly outnumbered. I prayed we would not meet them, even knowing that it was
inevitable, and then changed my prayer to ask advice for how to beat them.

I
wondered who the folks were leaving the castle.  They walked to a large flat
stone near the river. I could not imagine what the point of this excursion was.
Then things started to make sense…

The
Faceless took our kidnapped soldiers, and others they had gathered from the
Mistrust Forest, and hoisted them atop the rock. Since the prisoners didn’t
fight, I guessed they were still in the hypnotized state we passed them in. It
confused me to see people that way; I wondered if they were under a spell of
some kind.

The
next thing we saw was something that took me back to Brendan’s tournament. From
atop the south mountain, Gittins head appeared, followed by his long thin neck
and fat body. His large body soared toward us. I noticed all the men hover
back, against the hill, hoping he didn’t see us. The monster seemed to be
concentrating on what was on the rock slab and nothing else. It suddenly
occurred to me that the dragon was going to feast. The Faceless soldiers, and
whoever the people from the castle were, had offered living sacrifices to the
beast.

I
shook my head as the beast drew closer to our friends. I couldn’t watch what
was happening and the last thing I saw was the soldiers and people bowing to
the dragon. Terror filled me as I turned from the scene.

Patrious
noticed and said to me, “Sir Tristen, let’s ride hard to my castle right now.
This trail curves around, making it easy to get to the castle before the people
return - if we leave now.”

The
men overheard this - and in agreement – shouted, “Ride!”

Patrious
turned, yelling, “Charge!”, as he led the way through the snow. Our exhausted
horses desperately pounded their way to the Winnow family home.

#
# #

Because
of the snow, our trip took longer than Patrious had anticipated. As we
descended the last part of the hill, and approached the gigantic castle from
the north side, we saw the giant beast fly back to the top of the hills. He had
apparently enjoyed his meal and was well-fed.

We
arrived too late to retake the castle, and watched the last of the eerie people
enter the gate to cross the bridge. One person at the end of the line had a
sway in his step, and hair-style that struck a familiar chord in me. Although
the man was holding the hand of a dark-haired little girl, I was sure I
wouldn’t mistake him for anyone.

“Brendan?”
I called out as more of a question than a statement. I felt a shock tear
through me but I was absolutely sure the departing man was in-fact my lost
brother.

The
man and the child he was with both turned to look at me. I froze in utter astonishment.
Not from seeing my brother, but seeing the miniature face of my darling Vivian.
Then I looked closely at the girl and realized that as she did resemble Vivian,
it was not an identical replica. My mind was fooling me again.

Brendan
looked at me without so much as a bit of recognition on his face. “Aye, sir?
How is it that ye knoweth my name, but I knowest not thine?”

“Brendan!
It’s me! Thy big brother, Tristen!” I got down from my horse to approach him.

Patrious
rode fast behind me, “Stop, Tristen! It’s a trick! It must be a trick!”

I
stopped, but continued to stare into my brother’s brown eyes. Brendan had a
scar on his cheek from a riding accident as a child; this man possessed the
same, and I felt that Patrious was wrong.

“Sir,
I apologize, but I’m not who ye think I am.” Brendan turned and said, “Come
along Aiva let’s get inside before nightfall.”

“I
can’t wait to see the pond again! It’s so pretty.” The little girl skipped as
Brendan walked with her through the gate. He quickly turned and looked back at
me, as if suddenly confused, and then shut the gate behind him.

I
rushed the gate, reaching my hand out to grab for it, but an invisible barrier
kept me at bay. I tried again, but fell down. I had smacked something I
couldn’t see.

Commotion
sounded behind me and Valen shouted, “Sir Tristen!” as I heard him approach.

“Have
you been hurt?” Valen asked as I stood up in a daze.

I
shook my head, “No, I was stopped by something.” I approached the gate again,
slowly, and was again kept out by an obstruction of some kind. “There seems to
be something here that I cannot see.”

I
held my hand against the unseen wall and moved along the side. I walked with my
hand against the shield-type wall and didn’t stop until I reached the end of
it. I turned to the side of the castle and walked toward it until the force
stopped me again. The undetectable shield enclosed the moat as well. It seemed
the castle was surrounded by a protection we couldn’t pass.

Valen
had been following me curiously, “What is it?”

I
shook my head, “I knowest not.” Then Valen followed me back to Patrious and the
others.

“There
is not a pretty pond inside my castle!” We overheard Patrious growl to the men
as we approached. He directed his attention to us and barked, “Well? What is
the bugger we’re facing now?”

I
told Patrious about the seemingly invisible cover that encapsulated the palace.
He frowned. “This isn’t the first time my home has been denied me. I got it
back then; I will get it back again!”

“What
doest thou mean, your majesty?” I knew nothing about Hereford or any battles it
had fought. I certainly didn’t know about any of its past, or present,
inhabitants.

Patrious
climbed from his black horse and got almost directly in my face. His unlined
teeth seemed to growl at me as he spoke, “About twelve years ago, warriors from
Telemo attacked us in the night and drove us from the castle. They kidnapped my
three oldest children, my son and two other daughters. They held the children
for ransom, but of course I couldn’t pay it, as all my gold and possessions
were in the place they were garrisoning. I gathered warriors from Bendixon and
St. Anthony, and we returned to drive away the foes, but they were gone and so
were my children. Elena was but a baby and Elizabeth was with child, Elex.
Elena had been with Elizabeth when the attack occurred but our other children
were taken and never seen or heard from again.” Sadness passed over Patrious’
face then he raised his eyebrows, “My daughters knoweth not this story; kindly
keep it between us.”

“The
story is not mine to tell.” I patted Patrious’ shoulder.

He
placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “Sir Tristen, thou art a great man.”

“Tell
that to my father!” I feigned a laugh.

Patrious
sternly stared in my eyes, “Methinks he knowest, Tristen, and that is what he
doesn’t like.”

The
truth in the king’s words stung. I wanted my father to be a great man, but his
selfishness and greed kept it from him. I sighed.

The
king gazed over his property as he continued, “This is a time of great evil.
Many dark monsters exist. It is up to us not to become one.”

Valen
severed the moment between us, as he told the king the men wanted to camp. The
sun was going down and darkness was approaching. My body ached for food and
rest and I was sure the other men felt the same.

I
looked at Flash’s weary eyes and knew our animals were probably begging for a
break as well. I got on his back and whispered to him, “It’s about over Mr.
Flash, we will rest soon.” His legs pulled us forward as we followed Patrious
toward the river.

Patrious
called back, “Let’s camp near the river and get some fresh water. I knowest an
excellent cave we can spend the night.”

As
we headed toward the river, without as much as a sound of warning, we were
overtaken by Faceless warriors. One after the other charged at us from what
seemed to be thin air. The soldiers literally seemed to appear right before our
eyes. I was surprised enough, that I fell off Flash.

I
rolled out of the way from being stomped to death by charging horses. I
watched, powerlessly, as my troops fought with blades of steel. I waited behind
a bush searching for anything I could do! As my comrades sliced at the
Faceless, I didn’t see one of the wolf-heads fall; my men dropped all over. I
was behind a bush without a horse. The worst part of it all was the weapons
that defeated my men: none.

I
helplessly stared in horror, as the Faceless merely looked upon their targets.
A crystal-breath of thousands of little ice daggers floated from where their
faces should have been, hitting the objective with absolute precision. So much
was happening I couldn’t concentrate on anything, until I saw Flash standing in
the middle of the fray. He seemed terrified, searching for a direction to go. I
wanted to run to him but there was too much happening between us.

Just
as I saw a spray of deadly crystals heading his direction, something hit me
hard from behind, slamming me to the ground. I could see nothing for a moment.
The night was dark, but I was seeing stars of a different kind.

“Tristen!”
A familiar voice barely breathed in my ear. My brother…

“I
knew it was thee…faker!” I whispered as my eyes focused on his face. “How did
ye get here?” He backed away once he had my attention. Men and horses alike
were screaming behind us. I desperately wanted to do something to help my
little army, but alas…I was useless.