Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (24 page)

"Sire."

I looked up from my hands. Headmaster Ambrose stood near the base of the steps, hands clasped yet mostly hidden in the long sleeves of his robes. He'd taken to wearing his large cowl, due to the frigid drafts that had taken permanent residence in these empty halls. His sharp angles and pasty white skin pierced the shadows of that hood, and the effect made him look like the harbinger of death. With this news, perhaps he was.

"The Sight showed you this?" My own voice sounded far off, distant.

"It was Master Antoni who saw it," the headmaster continued.

The Sight was Master Antoni's strong suit, which was why he'd been assigned to Fleck's care and training during the short period of time when Fleck had lived here. That seemed like so long ago, though it'd only been a few weeks. He'd left with Tran Chiton to find the other Dalorens at Indanna's Keep, where he belonged. Where he would be safe—hopefully.

"Where is Master Antoni now?" I asked.

"He's in his chambers, trying to gather more information for you. It's been difficult for him because the Sight is unstable at this time."

"Why is that?"

"We're not sure. There seems to be something happening to Gaia—some kind of interference with the magic inherent to this world."

"Could it be the shield?" I asked, and everyone in the room had their attentions locked on the headmaster.

"It is a natural assumption—yes—however the shield is not whole, sire. Lord Pontefract still possesses the unity stone."

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"But what's to stop him from handing it over today? This moment, even?"

Headmaster Ambrose did not comment.

"If I may, your highness," Aegis Del Conte interjected. "Perhaps you should explain the urgency of the circumstances to King Darius?"

I looked over at Aegis Cicero Del Conte. He'd aged ten years in a matter of weeks. And I'd been the one to give Aegis Sonya, his wife, leave to go to Pendel. I took a deep breath. "You think I haven't tried?"

Aegis Del Conte's gaze didn't waver. "I think you need to try again. We can't wait any longer, and his power would be a great help in this war. It would also be good for the people to be reminded of what he can do. It's been a very long time since he's shown them what he's capable of, and the display might give the people hope."

He was right, of course, but I'd tried and tried to get through to my grandfather, and every failed attempt left me more discouraged than before.

"There is something else, sire," Headmaster Ambrose said.

I almost didn't want to know. "Yes?"

"The princess has accepted Lord Pontefract's offer."

I shut my eyes, feeling Aegis Cicero Del Conte's eyes on me. All my efforts to keep Daria from being a political piece, and she'd gone on her own volition. I thought of Alexander, and I felt hollow inside.

"When?" I asked, opening my eyes again.

"According to Master Antoni, it happened sometime yesterday, though he couldn't be exactly sure. Again, the Sight is—"

"Unstable. Yes, I understand. Does this mean I no longer need to worry about Lord Pontefract handing Eris the unity stone and that we're finally going to receive Orindor's aid?"

The headmaster's thin lips pinched together. "We hope; however, the Sight is ambiguous on both accounts."

I silently cursed the headmaster and his blasted Sight.

"Speaking of Lord Pontefract, sire," Aegis Rol Garrix interrupted, "Aegis Han and I haven't seen Lord Tiernan amidst the ranks today."

I looked over at Sir Armand de Basco who, apparently, hadn't heard this news either. He frowned at Aegises Garrix and Han.

"When did you notice he was missing?" I asked.

Aegis Garrix glanced at Aegis Alver Han, who stood beside him. "Aegis Han saw him leave sometime during the night watch."

"Define
leave
," I said.

Aegis Han scratched the stubble on his jaw, "We've been keeping an eye on Lord Tiernan's position, your highness. He's been patrolling their ranks since they arrived. Last night, I saw him on the eastern corner talking to someone. It wasn't a shadowguard. The person was in a cloak and I couldn't see their face. But then Lord Tiernan just…vanished. He was there one minute and the next…gone. I haven't seen him since."

He must have used an amulet. I frowned. Lord Tiernan was the commander of my uncle's army. It didn't make sense for him to leave. "Why didn't I know about this sooner?"

Aegis Han's gaze dropped. "I'm sorry, sire. I…I thought he would come back. I wanted to make sure he didn't before I told you. I didn't want to concern you needlessly, and at the time, his absence didn't seem important."

"I decide what's important," I said.

Aegis Han's gaze dropped. "Yes, your grace."

I looked over at Sir Armand de Basco. "Why in Gaia's name would Tiernan leave his station?"

"I have no idea, sire," Sir Armand de Basco replied, still frowning at the two Aegises.

"Any thoughts, Headmaster?" I looked to the headmaster, but the headmaster only stared straight back.

A figure in my periphery drew my attention to the doorway. There stood my grandfather.

How different he was. It had always amazed me how my grandfather's presence could fill a great hall. It was as if he were a beacon, blinding everyone with his power and strength, and when he left, the room seemed dull and lackluster with a void that was impossible to fill. But not today, not now.

Now he was the shadow of the man I knew him to be, an artistic sketch with defined edges and shapes but no substance inside, no flourishes or distinguishing characteristics. Nothing that filled him in and made him alive. Nothing that lifted him off the page. This man was weary and old, cheeks hollowed from malnourishment, eyes sunken and dulled as though someone had stolen the light right out of them. But there was something humbling about him, too—about the way he wore those simple grey robes. He looked like an ordinary man, one who had experienced so much trauma in his life that it hovered over him like a cloud. He'd come to us exactly as he was, looking precisely how he felt, and it was the most honest I'd ever seen him.

It took all of us a moment to forget our surprise and remember this weak and frail man was Gaia's king. And then it seemed no one quite knew what to do with themselves. They would have stood, but they were already standing. They would have bowed, but he was still too far away. I, however, stood up from the steps and descended, heading straight for my grandfather. "Your majesty, I'm so glad to…"

The king cut me off with his eyes. There was a spark in them now—not quite the light from before, but something else. Something very determined. I slowed to a stop. The hall was silent except for the rain that had begun smattering upon the windows.

"I am not your king," my grandfather said at last.

I opened my mouth to respond but faltered, unsure of what to say to that.

"A king doesn't run and hide in his chambers when things get difficult," he continued. "A king doesn't abandon his kingdom when he's struck by tragedy. At least not any good king." His eyes moved over my face. "The people deserve better. They've always deserved better. They deserved your father, and they deserve you. I didn't come here now to be worshipped, Stefan. I came to serve you, in any way that I can—that is, if you'll still accept my help."

His eyes were so blue, it looked as though something inside of him had melted. Perhaps something had.

"Yes," I replied. "Yes, of course."

He nodded and strode into the room. We all watched him as he walked, stunned by this new Darius who was so different than the man we all knew. That man had spared no expense in his displays of power and pomp and steely resolve, yet he'd never seemed stronger to me than he did right then.

"What happened to the table?" he asked.

Headmaster Ambrose looked accusatively at me.

"Ah, it's gone," I said, scratching the space behind my ear. "I had the servants take it away to use for firewood for the people."

My grandfather stared at the place the table had been. "Good. Though I'm sad to see it gone, it seems it's serving a much better purpose."

A few of the guards exchanged surprised glances.

My grandfather's eyes slid over the room slowly, as if he were trying to fill all the empty spaces with his memories of what should've been where. "I hate to ask this of you, since my ignorance is no one's fault but my own…but it would help me better serve you if I knew how things stood."

I exchanged a weary glance with Aegis Del Conte, and then I told my grandfather everything, starting with the night my father died. My grandfather stared at the bleary window, his gaze lost in my words. I told him about Alioth, I told him about Gesh. I told him what I'd just learned about Campagna and Pendel. I told him about Daria and her mission in Pendel, and a haunted look crossed over his face.

"Where is Daria now?" he whispered.

"In Orindor. She accepted Lord Pontefract's proposal to secure his help."

My grandfather sighed and closed his eyes. His face sagged with guilt. "I've done so much wrong by her." There was a tremor in his voice. He opened his eyes, and I noticed they were glassy. "She should never have gone. Orindor will not help us."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

Everyone waited on my grandfather.

"I know Commodus," he said. "He might have loved your father, but he loved his brother more. Unless Tiernan turns—which is doubtful—Commodus is as good as Eris's, assuming he doesn't run away with his tail between his legs. That's possible. Commodus might have a veneer of dragonbone, but he's all cowardice inside. He will do what needs to be done in order to save his own skin, and his son, Danton, is just like him." He exhaled slowly, and then turned to face everyone standing in the room. "If Tiernan has left, as you say, we haven't much longer. We may even be too late. I propose we attack tonight."

There was a second or two of shocked silence, and then a wall of protests filled the room. Sir Armand and the Aegises and the advisors—even Headmaster Ambrose wasn't in favor of this plan, and said, "Sire, perhaps you should return to your chambers and rest. Your grief has clearly altered your reasoning."

"How can we be too late?" Aegis Garrix's voice rose above the others. "Surely Lord Eris won't attack without him."

"Eris doesn't need Tiernan." My grandfather chomped on the name
Eris
. "The shadowguard operate as a hive—at least Eris's creations. You know as well as I that most of the army out there is comprised of sorcery. They need only Eris's command."

"If that's true, then why has Lord Tiernan been with them up until this point?" one of the advisors, named Gregius, asked.

"To report to Eris, I imagine. Eris can't be in all places at once, powerful as he is. He still hasn't figured that out. At least not yet."

"We still don't have enough men," Sir Ambrose interjected.

"If we wait, Eris will have the unity stone—he may have it already—and then he'll have the shield at his disposal. At that point, it wouldn't matter if we had all of Gaia on our side. We must inflict what damage we can now, and I have faith that with all of us working together, we can do our fair share—perhaps even hold him off until Gesh arrives."

Grandfather looked to me, expectantly. He was leaving the ultimate decision to me. I would not let him down.

"Headmaster Ambrose…" I turned my attention to the headmaster. "The guild are all present, are they not?"

My question was met with a bloated pause. "Yes—that is, all except for Master Durus. He is currently with Aegis Sonya Del Conte, though what I don't know is if they're still in Karth or if they crossed the Black Sea with Sir Torren's men."

Aegis Del Conte's jaw worked as he stared down at the floor. The headmaster, however, looked indifferent.

"Even without Master Durus, I've no doubt the combined power of your guild can do much to help," I said.

Headmaster Ambrose did not comment.

"I'd like to speak to Master Jaren about his illusionary skills as soon as possible."

"Yes, your grace," the headmaster said.

"Perhaps we can make it seem like we're more than we really are. And Sir Armand…gather whatever men you can find and have them wait in the courtyard for further direction. Aegises will take women and children to the safety tunnels underground, and then you will all join Sir Armand de Basco's ranks in the courtyard."

A few said, "Yes, your grace."

"Each member of my personal guard will attend Sir Armand de Basco and do whatever he asks."

The men in the room nodded curtly.

"What about you?" Aegis Del Conte asked, eyes darting between my grandfather and me, still unsure as to whom he was supposed to defer to.

I glanced over at my grandfather. There was so much love and pride in his gaze, it reminded me of Father, and my chest tightened.

"If it's all right with you, I'd like to take my place on the wall above the main gate," Grandfather said.

"No," I said, knowing at once what he intended. "That's out of the question. You can work from here—"

"Stefan."

"There's no reason for you to be exposed—"

"Stefan…"

"Aegis Del Conte can stay with you—"

"Stefan, please," he said in a tone both pleading and resigned. The kind of tone that said he wasn't happy about the circumstances, but this was the way things were and I needed to let him do this.

I wouldn't let him do this. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself," I said. "Not like this."

His smile was sad as he reached out and rested his frail hand upon my shoulder. "For too long I've stood aside and watched while others died at my bidding. I will not hide any longer." He removed his hand from my shoulder and turned it over, palm up. A ball of fire suddenly appeared, hovering above his palm like a miniature sun. His power lay with fire, and I could feel its heat from where I stood. My grandfather would deplete his energy and his life creating a fire large enough to destroy the enemy beyond the walls. "It's time I use the gift Gaia has given me to make amends with a world I have wronged."