Children of the Sun and Moon (26 page)

As Korben had
suspected, Payton did not know he was being used. Slowly he moved
his sword away from Payton’s neck, but did not put it away. “How
long have you been blacking out and not remembering what has
happened?” asked Korben, softening his voice.

Payton slowly
stood. “Since a few days before the twins were born.”

“That long! You
should have told someone.”

“I know,” said
Payton, obviously embarrassed. “I didn't know what to do. I was a
palace page. I carried privileged information personally for the
king. If I told anyone I may have been taken off the position, and
not made it to where I am.”

Korben
understood his reasoning. Payton had been an orphan, left at the
temple of Allorethna. Jeremy had personally chosen Payton for this
post. It was more than he could have ever dreamed of.

“You could have
told me.”

Payton felt
ashamed. “You've always been like an older brother to me, Korben.
Don't think it wasn't appreciated, but you're a close friend to the
king. How could I tell you?”

Korben,
suddenly realizing that he had ignored Robyn this entire time, let
the matter drop. When he spun around, the stable boy was gone.

“I don't think
we will be seeing much of him anymore,” stated Payton.

“I think it's
you we will need to be watching. We already knew about Robyn being
a spy, but Gillock had taken care of it. It appears Malena decided
to risk using you to get information. Do you remember
anything?”

Payton shook
his head. “No, just like the previous times. It has become more
frequent since the general and his men arrived. I just assumed I
hadn't been getting enough sleep.”

Korben was
going to respond when a shout came from the direction of the
barracks. Both Korben and Payton were running before the shout was
repeated.

“What is it?”
yelled Korben as they approached.

One of the
soldiers turned and replied, “Baron Lychen sent someone to spy on
us. We spotted two men running back towards the south. We figure
the baron will soon know of our plans.”

“Did anyone get
hurt?” asked Payton.

“The stable
boy. He was running when the baron's men were spotted. I guess he
was in the wrong place. Sword went clean through his stomach. He
won’t live the night.”

The moment
Robyn was mentioned, Korben had started running. He barely heard
the last part of the soldiers report. He found Robyn, lying on one
of the beds, his stomach loosely bandaged. There were two soldiers
near him, both were men who came with the general. When they saw
the captain they stood and saluted. “He was stabbed by accident,”
one stated.

“Don't be so
sure,” Korben responded. “One of you quickly go to the Temple of
Allorethna. Ask for Meechie. Bring him here immediately.”

The soldier,
which had spoken, saluted then ran off towards the town. “Payton,
go inform the king, he should be in the library. Bring him down
here as well.”

Payton saluted,
and ran towards the castle. He still felt ashamed for not coming
forward with his blackouts, but since he didn’t know why they were
happening, how could he? He found the king exactly where Korben
knew he would be.

“Your
highness,” said Payton, bowing. “You’re needed at the barracks.
There's been an incident.”

Jeremy did not
even ask what happened, he just nodded and followed Payton out to
the barracks.

“What is going
on?” he asked Korben.

“Someone has
stabbed Robyn. My men think it may have been spies sent from
Lychen, but I’m not so sure.” Korben then moved the king off out of
earshot and informed him of what was discovered with Payton.

“Payton should
have come forward, but I understand why he did not,” stated Jeremy.
“So, you think someone was sent to do this?”

“Yes,”
responded Korben.

Jeremy was not
so sure. “I do not know, but it all happened far too quickly. He
may have been hurt on purpose, but I am not sure whom did
this.”

Both men stood
silent, and both were wondering just what was happening to their
little kingdom. Meechie arrived moments later.

“What’s going
on?” he asked, out of breath. “Your soldier wouldn’t say why I was
summoned.”

Korben moved
over towards Robyn. “This boy has been stabbed. We don't know by
whom, but it may be fatal.”

Meechie did not
say another word. He quickly moved over to where Robyn was laying
and examined him. His face changed from shock to horror and he
hollered to have the room cleared, save for the king and Korben.
Once everyone was out, he chanted quietly, moving around the room.
When he arrived back to where he had started, he explained his
actions.

“That was a
spell, your highness.”

The king said
nothing, he had already surmised as much.

“There is a
dark magic at work here,” Meechie continued. “Come and look at this
wound.”

Both men moved
in and noticed how odd looking the wound had become. “You see the
odd colouring. Whomever stabbed this boy was using an enchanted
sword. It was made to look like a poison, but anyone who possesses
magic can sense the oddness of this immediately.”

Korben nodded.
“I thought something was odd, but with all the excitement I pushed
the feeling aside.”

The king was
visibly upset by this news. “Well, now we know it was not Baron
Lychen who sent those spies.”

Korben and
Meechie turned to face the king. “The Order was behind this, your
highness, I would bet my life on it,” stated Meechie.

“It is my guess
as well,” he replied. “I just do not know why they would attack
this boy. No one but us knew who he was.”

Meechie looked
confused. “Who he was?”

“He was a spy
for Malena,” answered Korben. “We don't know when or how he was
chosen by her, but he's been feeding her information for a while
now. Most likely, since he came to work at the castle two years
ago. It's odd the Order would target this boy.”

“I feel that
there's more to this than we know, and the boy will not be telling
us any of it,” said Meechie, his voice quiet.

Jeremy and
Korben looked over to see Meechie closing Robyn’s eyes. “Whoever
did this had a reason, and I'm guessing part of it was to throw you
off, your highness.”

Jeremy now
looked at Meechie confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, now you
are curious as to why this boy was killed. Normally, you would put
a lot of effort into finding out why, and my guess, that is what
the Order is hoping for.”

“I see where
you're going with this,” said Korben. “Think about it, your
highness. The Order doesn't want the prophecy fulfilled. They will
do anything to ensure this. Throwing you off keeps you from helping
your children. There's also the chance the Order is helping Lychen
and Dubar with their plans. Either way, the Order must be behind
all of this and by killing Robyn it sets you off your guard.”

“And by setting
me off my guard, it will be harder for me to see a fight
approaching. This means Lychen is most likely preparing to attack,
and soon.”

All three stood
in silence, taking it all in. “I must go back to my temple, there
are things which need to be done if a war is about to happen.”

They bid
Meechie farewell, and moved over to Robyn’s body.

“We must have a
proper funeral for him. He had no family that we know of, so he
will be buried next to the royal tombs.”

Korben nodded,
understanding the king’s reasoning for this.

He may have
been a spy, but had never hurt anyone and was just a child. “I will
make the arrangements, your highness. You need to go inside and
prepare for whatever is about to happen.”

Both moved off
in separate directions, saddened with what had happened and what
was about to.

Malena shrieked
louder than she ever had before. She had lost many spies over the
years, mostly due to her overusing them. People with no magical
abilities could only handle so much stress on their minds before
they went mad or died. Robyn was young, and had many years left.
His death hit her hard, mainly because of the mental connection.
Gillock had blocked it, but once the boy was stabbed, they were
connected once more.

The pain was
overwhelming, and as suddenly as it came, it was gone. She knew
Lakin had something to do with this. He was well aware of her
situation with Robyn, and knew that with magic he could reconnect
them. Slowly she regained her strength, and pulled herself back
onto her throne. “That wizard has vexed me for the last time.” She
moved her mirror over and called to Moray.

“Yes, my
queen,” came his voice.

“I am changing
our plans. I want you to come back here. There is something I need
you to do.”

Moray looked
dismayed, but his expression changed quickly.

“You presume
much if you think you can order me around, Malena.”

Malena became
worried, but did not show it. There was no way he could have broken
her spell. He was bound to this world by her will alone. “I think
you presume much if you think I cannot,” was her response.

Moray grinned
evilly. “You are weak, and I tire of you. I think once I have
killed off the twins, I will go to the Tower, and join with
Lakin.”

Malena’s worst
fear became realized. If Lakin and Moray joined, he could release
an entire demon army onto Melarandra. “You will not get away with
this. I summoned you and I can send you back.”

Moray laughed,
and the sound made Malena’s skin crawl. “You silly human. I am no
longer within your power. When you made this body ready for me to
inhabit, you transferred not only me, but the binding spell as
well. I am now here with a will of my own.”

Malena was
stunned. She had tried every spell she had on him, silently, and
nothing had even swayed him.

“Now if you
don’t mind, I have two children to kill, and their friends to blame
for it. Oh, don’t worry, your highness, they will not suffer,
much.”

She was going
to respond, but the mirror went dark. A chill took over her body,
and she realized her hold on Moray was gone. She considered trying
to reach Lakin, but changed her mind. He did just try to weaken
her. Lakin would be quite angry if someone killed the twins, a fact
that Moray appeared to have forgotten. She could not let the twins
die, not when she was so close to being free. Somehow, she was
going to have to let Vernia know what was going on, without Lakin
knowing. If the wizard knew a demon wanted to join with him, it
would make things move quicker than they already were. Malena sat
back in her chair, and realized what had to be done. She was going
to have to kill Lakin.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The funeral
took place the next day, with the entire town in attendance. Only a
few knew the truth of how the boy died, but how he died didn’t
matter to the people present. Why it had occurred was what bothered
them the most. All were aware a war was coming but none was
prepared for a child to have been killed. Jeremy had filled in
General Traug when he had returned about what happened. They had
lost the trail of the men who had killed Robyn, but the news was
not a surprise to the king. With the Order behind them, he would
have been surprised if they had been caught.

Meechie had
decided to oversee the funeral, something that did surprise the
king, seeing as Robyn was not one of their order. He could only
assume Korben had convinced his old friend to do it. Slowly the
soldiers carried the casket by the throngs of people. Following
behind, as was custom, came the king. Korben on one side, Olrond on
the other. At the front of the procession was Meechie, chanting and
singing songs to Allorethna, asking her to keep Robyn safe on his
journey to her.

As they came
closer to the royal cemetery, tears started to stream down the
Jeremy's face. They were not just for Robyn, but for all of the men
in front of him and the townsfolk they had walked past. Soon,
funerals may become a daily occurrence, a thought that did not sit
well with him. Death was always a part of war, and this war was not
going to be any different. Jeremy could not push the thoughts from
his mind. Soon many would die, and for what? To save the kingdom
from a greedy duke and his friends? Was it really worth the risks?
So many things going through his mind, he did not even notice they
had arrived at Robyn’s burial site.

Jeremy made his
way to stand next to Meechie. The king was not required to say
anything about someone who was not part of his family, but he felt
he should.

“Robyn was not
of royal blood, but he had been a part of my household for the last
two years and with no family of his own, I felt it only right to
place his body here. It always saddens me to see someone so young
die, but his death will not be in vain. Duke Dubar and Baron Lychen
threaten our livelihood, and this is something I cannot allow. You
are my subjects, but you are also my family. We will thwart these
attempts to take our lands from us, and push them out of the
Central Lands for good.”

The clapping
and cheering was so loud, no one heard the end of his speech.
Jeremy did not mind though, he was just glad that despite
everything which had happened, his people still believed in him. He
moved off and let Meechie finish the ceremony, then Robyn was laid
to rest. Everyone gathered inside the palace ballroom for the wake,
and Jeremy was glad to see the townsfolk were in high spirits, even
with Robyn’s death hanging over the room. “If only it could last,”
he muttered to himself. Tomorrow the townsfolk would start moving
inside.

Lakin watched
the funeral and laughed at the king’s speech. Luthien and Tarowen
had done well in making the king upset, but he had hoped the death
of the boy would have made him less eager for war. It upset him to
see they had only succeeded in making his resolve stronger.
Although the Magima were in disguise, it was only a matter of time
before Traug recognized them. Another problem he would have to deal
with. Lakin sat back and smiled. He wondered how Malena was taking
things and his smile turned into an evil grin. He hoped this
incident would put Malena in her place. Since Brin came to him, he
had noticed just how bothersome Malena had become. He heard
shuffling coming from his rooms and moved to see what Brin was
doing.