Kingdom's Dawn (7 page)

“Even if I had a dozen of my best men, it would be suicide to take on Lucius under these conditions!” Gabrik said with as much pain in his voice as Leinad felt in his own heart.

“The Dark Knight?” Leinad whispered. The mere sound of those words passing his lips struck fear in his bosom. He had been face-to-face with the archenemy of the King, and he hadn't even known it.

Gabrik crawled slowly to the ridge on his elbows and knees to reconnoiter the situation. Leinad remained motionless on his back and tried to make sense of these bizarre events.

After a time, Gabrik retreated to Leinad's position and placed a clenched fist to his lips, momentarily lost in deep thought.

Leinad suddenly became aware that Gabrik was much more than a town blacksmith. He rose to a low sitting position and stared at Gabrik. Knowing that his father was dead or dying and that he could do nothing was agonizing.

“Gabrik,” he said softly. “What do we do?”

“We have no choice but to remain unseen until they leave,” Gabrik said.

“When I left the farm this morning, there was a little girl with my father, and I haven't seen her yet. Have you?”

Gabrik turned and looked at Leinad. “No, I have not. We must hope she is hidden away someplace.”

“We have a cellar beneath the kitchen floorboards. Maybe my father had enough time to hide her there.”

“Maybe,” Gabrik said softly. “Maybe.”

Leinad closed his eyes, but the image of his father being
pierced was vividly imprinted on his mind. He turned away from Gabrik to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

Gabrik returned to his lookout position at the top of the ridge. “Leinad! They are leaving,” he whispered and motioned for him to join him.

Leinad peered over the ridge and into the horror that would change his life forever.

He saw his father lying motionless on the ground. Lucius mounted and gave an order to his men. Torches were set aflame and thrown onto the house. Lucius reared his horse and led his men off the farm to the northeast.

Once Lucius and his men were beyond sight, Gabrik and Leinad ran to Peyton. Leinad felt as though he were running in place, for each moment that passed was a moment too long.

“Father!” he cried as he fell to Peyton's side.

Peyton was still breathing, but his breaths were short and raspy. He opened his eyes. The pained look on his face was nearly unbearable for Leinad. Gabrik had already torn open Peyton's tunic and was trying to stop the blood loss.

“Leinad.” Peyton gasped. “Tess … cellar!”

Leinad looked at the burning house, which would soon be engulfed in flames. He did not want to leave his father, but he knew that he must.

“Leinad,” Gabrik said, “I must help your father, for every moment counts. Go find the girl!”

Leinad ran into the smoke-filled house and was forced to the floor by the noxious fumes. There he found some breathable air and crawled into the kitchen. He found the cellar floorboards and removed them as quickly as possible.

“Tess!” Leinad screamed through the smoke and fire.

The temperature was rising quickly, and he was worried that the roof might collapse at any moment.

“Here I am, Leinad! Here!” Tess screamed.

She climbed the ladder up to the kitchen floor, and Leinad pulled her out. Tess stood to run, but Leinad pulled her down beside him.

“Crawl to the door!” he said and pointed in that direction.

Leinad followed close behind her, and they made their way out of the burning house. They both fell to the ground and gasped for air. Leinad forced himself to his feet and ran back to his father's side. He looked at Gabrik for some sign of hope, but Gabrik refused to pause in his desperate work to save Peyton's life. He applied a sweet-smelling salve to the wound and pressed a clean cloth against the river of blood.

Peyton grabbed Leinad's arm weakly. “Tess?” he whispered to Leinad.

“She is safe,” Leinad said.

Peyton closed his eyes for a brief moment of relief.

“Father, hang on! You cannot die!”

Peyton opened his eyes and looked lovingly at his son. “Leinad … I … love you.” Peyton coughed and his lips turned red from the bleeding within his body. “I have prepared you for a greater purpose … stay true to the King.” Peyton struggled for breath. “Discover the promise and … beware … of … your brother!”

Peyton's grasp on Leinad's arm loosened, and his arm fell to the ground. The last bit of air escaped from his lungs, and he died.

“No!” Leinad cradled his father close to his breast. Peyton's final words were temporarily lost in an avalanche of emotion. A flood of tears ran down his cheeks and onto the pale face of his father. His moans of mourning were hidden beneath the crash of the farmhouse and the raging fire that engulfed the remaining timber.

“I'm sorry, Leinad,” Gabrik said. “The wound was too severe. I did everything I could.”

Tess made her way to Peyton's body and knelt across from Leinad. Though she was well acquainted with hardship, Peyton's death crushed her softening heart. She cried the tears of a lost child. Leinad's tears of sorrow could not quench his burning anger.

G
ABRIK HELPED
L
EINAD
bury Peyton next to his beloved wife, Dinan, on the lush hillside that welcomed the sun each morning near the farmhouse. The somber trio gave honor to Peyton and Dinan in reverent silence. Never before had Leinad felt so alone.

Leinad knelt down and grabbed a handful of the cool, soft dirt. Digging the grave had given some respite to the intense sorrow Leinad felt, but in the stillness of the moment, grief once again pressed hard upon his soul, and he could not restrain his tears. He wept bitterly for his father.

He had felt the same deep hurt in his heart eight years ago when he and his father stood over his mother's grave. This time there was no one to comfort him as his father had … no one to hug him and give him the courage to carry on. His sorrow penetrated to his bones.

Leinad fought through the intense feelings of anger and revenge to search for some purpose that would persuade him to press forward. After a few moments, Tess placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and then at Gabrik with moistened eyes.

“Why, Gabrik? Why?”

The impact of an ancient war cut deep into Leinad's heart, and he knew that Gabrik felt it too.

“Because Lucius knew that your father was the key to the kingdom.”

“So now that he is dead, hope is dead. And what have we gained?” Leinad asked bitterly.

“No, Leinad,” Gabrik said. “The hope lives on!”

Leinad stood motionless at his father's grave long after the shadows had reversed their direction. He clung in desperation to the memories of his father, afraid that they too might fade like those of his mother. Though in his mind he knew that his father was gone, it did not feel real. The distance of time had not yet seared that truth into his heart.

As he raced through the memories of his father, he could not stop before he rushed once again into the tragedies that had occurred earlier that day. It was only then that Leinad remembered in astonishment the words his father had spoken just prior to his death. The words sounded in his mind almost as though his father were still speaking them.
I love you … I have prepared you for a greater purpose … stay true to the King … discover the promise and … beware … of … your brother!

Broken from his trance, Leinad ran back to the ruins of the farmhouse. Tess was searching through the blackened
remains and had found the scorched combs Peyton had given her. Though unusable, she held them as though they were a treasure to her.

“Tess!” he exclaimed, worried that the only one who might be able to answer his questions was gone. “Where is Gabrik?”

“I don't know, Leinad,” she said, somewhat amazed at Leinad's sudden enthusiasm.

“Gabrik!” Leinad called, searching the surrounding country.

Gabrik peaked a nearby rise in the terrain and cantered his horse toward the farmyard. Just then, along the same ridgeline but a good distance to the north, another rider appeared. His horse reared and neighed. Gabrik stopped his horse and turned to look at the rider, as did Leinad and Tess. The rider was in full battle dress, covered in armor from his neck to his feet. His presence was threatening.

Leinad felt apprehensive, and his mind struggled with many questions. Was this a scout for an entire army or a lone rider? Was he hostile or friendly? With no sword or horse, Leinad could not fight or flee. How could he protect Tess if he needed to?

The rider raised both of his arms into the air, then lowered them below his waist and bowed his head. Leinad saw Gabrik reply to the rider with the same gesture. Then Gabrik and the rider rode toward each other. Their exchange diffused the tension, and Leinad relaxed somewhat.

“What is it, Leinad?” Tess asked.

Leinad turned to see her sweet face covered with streaks of
soot, and he was reminded of the day he saw her on the streets in Mankin. It was the first time he'd had thoughts of someone other than himself since the tragedy of the morning. He was ashamed that he thought he was the only one truly hurting.

“I'm not sure, Sunshine,” Leinad said.

Tess smiled slightly. He addressed her with the nickname Peyton had given her. It seemed to bring her comfort, and Leinad felt it too.

“Thanks fer savin' me from the fire, Leinad.” Tess wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him.

Unsure of what to do, he gave her a quick hug back.

“It was, uh, nothing, but you're welcome,” Leinad said. Tess let loose and gave Leinad some room.

“What we gonna do now?” she asked.

Leinad watched intently as Gabrik and the rider covered the remaining distance between them.

“I don't know,” Leinad said, still focused on the distant figures. “I just don't know. I know how to farm, and we've still got the land. I guess we'll continue on.”

Leinad suddenly became aware that he alone was responsible for Tess now. The burden of providing for, teaching, nurturing, and protecting another seemed so easy for his father, but the thought of it nearly panicked Leinad.

Leinad saw Gabrik and the rider salute each other and separate. The rider turned back north from where he came, and Gabrik directed his horse toward Leinad and Tess at a pace significantly faster than earlier. When he drew near, he slowed his horse to a halt and dismounted.

Leinad approached him and looked up into Gabrik's eyes—eyes he once feared, but that was no longer true. His
quest for answers overpowered any inhibition he might have once felt.

“You heard my father's last words, and I think you know what they mean. Who are you, Gabrik?” The question was simple. Leinad knew that its answer would go far beyond that of “the blacksmith of Mankin.”

Gabrik looked at Leinad, then turned to adjust some leather straps on his horse. There was an urgency in his movements that hadn't been there earlier. The muscles rippled across his back.