Hope (21 page)

He reached over to feel her pulse, comforted by its steady rhythm. She must have just passed out. He wasn't going to take any chances. Sitting up, he rolled onto his knees, scooped her into his arms, and stood. The shield spells around them were strong and he decided the threat had passed. The shields would dissipate from the library in a few hours, depending upon what level they were. Lady Kathryn could always return and release them. It was sometimes dangerous to release another knight’s spells, so he chose to leave them as they were. He headed for the infirmary.

"Lak'oth ar'vat."
Master Vetera, prepare a bed in the East Wing. Lady Kathryn has collapsed, but seems to be okay.
As he walked out of the library, he paused at the door. "Tul’dir me’tir’fin." The Transport spell moved their notes to a safe place, out of sight.

He had a lengthy walk ahead of him with the infirmary on the opposite side of the building. Lady Kathryn, far from a burden, probably didn’t weight half as much as the logs he often carried to and from the practice field. It was hard to believe such a small knight could have such a powerful magic ability. She began to stir. He saw the confusion in her eyes as she saw her passing surroundings and felt the motion of his steps. Embarrassment replaced the concern in her gray eyes.

"Sir Lanclor, your neck...are you...what happened? I remember you lying on the floor, and then healing you, but nothing else." Her voice sounded faint, as if she was half-asleep.

"Do you have any idea of the dangers of untrained healing? Of course not. You just think you can perform any spell without danger to yourself. My mother is a Master Healer and I well know the dangers of untrained healing. You could have killed yourself you know, you ignorant woman!" He kept his voice low, refusing to express his anger by raising it.

She continued to look at him, her eyes unfocused. Anger entered her eyes and her lips curved down. "I can only learn so much, Sir Lanclor. Maybe I should take some healer training with all of my free time. You know, in between searching through hundreds of spells all week and training to defend Av’lor against Daemons. Oh, yeah, I could probably practice healing while I’m working with Artemis. Reading shouldn’t be too hard from horseback."

He laughed at the sheer insanity of the situation as he walked down the hallway before the infirmary carrying an angry woman and arguing with her about her choosing to save his life. She looked at him, waiting for him to respond to her sarcasm. Lanclor stopped before the door to the infirmary and looked down at her.

"Thank you for saving my life." He knew it was the last thing she expected him to say.

The anger dissolved from her eyes. "You’re welcome, Sir Lanclor."

Lanclor tried to decide how to open the door of the infirmary without dropping Lady Kathryn.

Master Vetera opened the door and solved his dilemma. "Thank goodness. It took you forever to get here. What happened?"

As Lanclor explained everything that happened, Master Vetera showed him to a bed in the back room. When Lanclor came to the part about his healing, Master Vetera turned to Lady Kathryn, now lying in the bed, and lectured her about the dangers of healing. Lady Kathryn conveniently chose that time to fall into an exhausted slumber.

A few weeks later, a firm knock sounded upon Lanclor’s door. In the middle of paperwork, he snorted with disgust at the disturbance.

"Enter!" he roared as he lost his place in the annual supplies report for the fifth time that day. Lady Kathryn walked into the room and almost slammed the door behind her, catching it at the last minute to slow it down. She stood in front of his desk with an air of anger emanating toward him. He could tell she tried to calm herself before she spoke.

Lanclor was in the mood to argue. "What’s the problem, Lady Kathryn?" He feigned ignorance, trying to start a fight. Nobody had argued with him for a while and sometimes a person just needed to argue with someone. He had ordered Lady Kathryn’s commanding knight to exclude her from a Daemon battle yet again. She was too valuable in her knowledge of the Lost Spells and her Sights. Why should they risk her in battle? Or so Alextor thought. Lanclor had a feeling Lady Kathryn would answer that question for him.

His tactics worked. She lost her temper.

"I demand to know why I’ve been excluded from another Daemon battle, Sir. I have surpassed everyone in magic level. I’m the most powerful knight you have right now!" She seemed to reign in her temper. "I must gain battle experience or I won’t be of any use to you."

His anger almost abated as he witnessed her courage. Few people would even consider raising their voices to him, let alone make a demand. If it had come from a male knight, he would have been furious at the insubordination. Coming from Lady Kathryn, he respected her more because of it.

There were few women in the Knighthood, and of those women, the vast majority were just quiet, hard-working individuals who were glad just to have the opportunity to have made it as far as they had. He didn't think women weren’t capable of being knights; he had just found that not many women wanted to enter the Knighthood. The unique factor here is that no woman, and few men, actually stood up and demanded anything from her superiors if she didn’t agree with orders. They just accepted the orders and continued with their work.

The sign of a person with leadership abilities was that person’s courage to stand up and question orders that he or she didn’t find logical. Lady Kathryn had worded her demand in a way that asked him what possible advantage her orders could give to the Knighthood. Clever.

"What would you have me do, Lady Kathryn? Risk our only Seer and interpreter of the Lost Spells on the battlefield? You’re of more use to the Knighthood here, learning in safety." He didn’t actually believe those words, but repeated the words of Alextor. Ever since that attack in the throne room, Alextor felt responsible for Lady Kathryn’s safety. Lanclor had tried to convince him that she would object, but Alextor "knew" that she would understand and not make a fuss. He was wrong.

"Learning in safety? If you think this is safety, then you’re an ignorant fool." His anger rose at the insult, but her anger surpassed his. "I’ve been attacked within the throne room and that’s one of the most secure rooms in this castle! How can I prevent my Sights from occurring if I simply increase my knowledge and not my experience? I’d be able to cast a spell against one Daemon, but I won’t be experienced enough to prevent the other Daemon from skewering me while I’m doing it! I’m sure this wouldn’t have happened if I were a man." She said this last sentence staring directly into his eyes with anger flaming in hers.

Her look of accusation nearly drove him over the edge. He stood abruptly from his chair with his left fist clenched while his right hand rested upon his sword hilt as he looked down upon her. How dare she accuse him of being sexist? Would this have happened if she were a man? Would they have blemished a man’s honor just so they could keep a potential weapon alive? His realization struck him like a blow. No, they would have gladly sent that man to the battlefield, although toward the back of the fight, so he could gain the experience to become an even more powerful weapon.

She stood defiantly in front of his desk, her eyes upraised to his, no sign of fear that he threatened her with his hand upon his sword hilt. However, the power of her physical shield spell was significant—level 15 at least—which made him realize how much she feared him. It shamed him that she feared him at all. Yet, here he was, openly threatening her when she didn’t even wear a sword. Anyone would have felt the same in that situation. How had his anger ever become so powerful it overrode his sense of honor? He removed his hand from his sword, unclenched his other one, and walked around the desk to stand in front of her. She still held her shield spell.

"Lady Kathryn, I apologize for my anger. You’re right and we shouldn’t keep you from the battlefield."

She lowered her shield. "Thank you, Sir Lanclor," she said stiffly with an even stiffer salute and began to turn toward the door.

Without thinking, he reached out and touched her shoulder to halt her turn. "I would never have hurt you, Lady Kathryn." As the words left his lips, he couldn’t believe he had actually said them. He sounded like a sentimental fool!

She looked at him and her eyes softened. "It’s so difficult to judge a man whose face you cannot see, Sir Lanclor. Even though I raised the shield, I think I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. Be safe, Sir Lanclor." She turned to leave and he let her.

As the door closed behind her, he responded quietly. "Be safe, my lady."

Borith had missed his opportunity. Now Lanclor's guard would be up. Lanclor wasn't nearly as powerful as he, but that Earthling had more than enough to make up for what he lacked. He had to strike when they weren't together or take her out of the picture altogether. That bitch would be dead soon.

A knock sounded upon his door before his master admitted himself. "You took an unnecessary risk yesterday. Not only did you fail, but you also made her realize she can counter our attacks. I told you not to do anything without my permission. I should kill you for your insubordination." His voice was deathly low, dripping with disdain. "You cannot let your personal vendetta get in the way of our goal."

"I’m sorry, master. I just couldn’t resist." The words slid from his mouth with a bitter taste.

"Silence! You’ll learn to control your desires or you’ll regret it. We need to get her out of the picture so we can continue. I feel that she’s a grave threat to all that we stand for. Our salvation is almost in sight. We just need to obtain the Orb from whoever has it, then we’ll have everything we need to open the Portal and claim Earth. I won’t let some incompetent apprentice ruin everything on a childish whim."

He played his part, bowing his head, begging for forgiveness. The Master thought he had the upper hand, but he was sadly mistaken. Borith would let him do all of the work, then claim his rightful place when the Portal opened.

"So, you’ve guaranteed our commission by the Knighthood?" the burly smith asked suspiciously.

Borith remained standing against the wall, an intimidating shadow behind his master.

"Of course you’re guaranteed the commission. Who else but the Smith’s Guild would be asked to replenish the Knighthood’s weaponry?" Borith’s master said with contempt.

"Excellent. Now, about the information you wanted. I think we found something you might be interested in."

His master didn’t disguise the impatience in his voice. "What is it?"

"We believe we know how the Orb was stolen. One of the Council, Melekir, stole it from the chamber himself. He sold it to another, but we were unable to find out whom. I’m sure if you ask him nice, he’ll tell you all about it. Is that information adequate to settle our arrangement?" The smith swayed from foot to foot.

"Yes, it’s adequate, but be warned. If you’ve created this story like you create your swords, I’ll cut off your hands and make you watch other men make swords for the rest of your short life."

Borith smiled. He didn’t doubt his master was capable of such a thing.

The blacksmith cowered. "The story is genuine. I don’t lie."

"Very well. Then be on your way and enjoy your new commission."

"I’ve heard he hasn’t had a girlfriend since he Declared." One of the first year knights gestured to Sir Lanclor sitting across the room.

The meal hall was half-full and Sir Lanclor sat alone. He rarely ate with the other knights, Kathryn noticed, and when he did, it was always without company.

"It’s not hard to see why," another first year responded, "when you’re the Soulbearer of the Betrayer, women aren’t exactly knocking down your door." They chuckled.

Kathryn remained silent. As an outsider, she didn’t understand the reasoning behind the grudge. She didn’t need to make any enemies among the knights.

"They don’t seem to be knocking down your door either. What’s your excuse?" Hal said between a mouthful of bread and fruit.

The knight stiffened. Hal had proven himself on the practice field and none of the first year knights chose to challenge him by responding.

"C’mon Kate. The air seems a little stuffy in here." Hal grabbed his tray and Kathryn followed him out of the meal room. "People like that make me sick. They don’t even know Sir Lanclor yet they think they know everything there is to know about him."