Rise of the Dead Prince (7 page)

“Crocus, when you first showed me the mirror, I didn’t believe in magic
either.
Not one whit
…
So why?” Crocus nodded in a knowing
way.

“You’re getting a little less dense with every passing hour, my boy. The reason is just this.
You
have magic in your blood. In many ways, Meier, you
are
magic, and so am I. You could not deny what was there, no matter how your rational mind might have tried. Now that you know, it is like a door that has opened. Soon the light from that door will reach other rooms. But that’s another discussion, my boy. Do you understand so
far?”

“So
…
out of all the Valahian royals, I’m the only freak like you?” asked Meier, smirking. Crocus exploded in laughter again but then quickly turned ser
ious.

“Yes, Meier, you are the
only
one. And not just in this generation either. I have been waiting for you for a long, long
time.”

9
The Ride before Dawn

T
he next morning Meier rose in the dark hour and quickly dressed. The sooner he left, the better. He needed to meet with the generals, his brothers, and his mother as quickly as time would allow. The castle was completely silent. Either Meier had risen before he thought or the victory celebration had gone on for longer than he had expected. The second one was far more likely. He sighed. There was a load of work to do. When he got to the great hall, he saw that there were still dozens of revelers sleeping, some propped on the table and others on the cold stone floor. Mira had opened the castle to all, and he could see they had gladly filled every available nook and cranny.
Oh well
, he thought.
They deserved a little rest. But sleeping on a stone floor?
Meier shook his head and quietly walked around the bo
dies.

When he got to the courtyard, it was a similar sight. Tiny camps had been made everywhere, and huddled figures were sleeping in the chill morning air. Again, the stone floor was mostly covered, even up to the borders of the stables. Meier sighed again. To the stables was where he was headed. He found a path through and went straight to where Callista was quietly sleeping. As Meier approached, her flanks were twitching, and her tail seemed to swish about on its own. He smiled. She was running across dreamland. With a soft shush, he brushed her across the neck. Her eyes opened, and she regarded him in a knowing way. She then snorted and shook her head at
him.

“I know, I know, it’s still early. We need to have a look around though,” he said and started to lead her to the water trough. Once there, she happily drank her
fill.

Meier jumped. A cold hand had touched his arm. Quickly turning, he saw Allie, the stable maid, looking blearily up at him. Meier clutched his heart, and Callista neighed. Allie had crept up so quietly that she had startled the life out of
him.

“I’m sorry!” she said with eyes wide open. Meier exh
aled.

“It’s all right, Allie,” he said, panting slightly. He quickly caught his breath. “You’d make a good spy,” he added then chuckled weakly. She smiled and laughed with
him.

“Anything for you, Prince Meier,” she said and then covered her mouth. Her face became a bright crimson, and she winced. Meier cleared his throat. He found that he was blushing
also.

“Well, uh, yes then. Um, thank you, Allie. I’ll put a good word in if you, uh, ever want to be a spy,” Meier said. It was his turn to wince. He felt like an idiot.
Try not to look at her pretty face!
he told himself, but it was hard. Together they stood in awkward silence, waiting for the other to speak. Of course, this meant they eventually both started talking at once. After the verbal collision, Meier repeated his fragmented state
ment.

“It looks like just we two are awake. At least, as far as I can see,” he said artlessly. He winced again.
Go ahead and state the obvious, stupid!
he chastised him
self.

“I’m a light sleeper, my lord. I just
…
uh well, I woke up when I heard Callista snort, and then you were there, and I
…
well, yes.” she said in a similarly maladroit way. Although it didn’t seem possible, she started blushing even harder. Allie started to retreat. She wanted to go crawl under a rock and die. Meier took a step toward
her.

“It’s just Meier, Allie,” he said. She turned to face him, with eyes even wider. “Just call me Meier, all right?” he added, smiling. Their eyes locked, and they both smiled unabashedly. Meier thought about all the years he had known this girl. She had always seemed a little shy around him, but he thought that was just how she was. No one ever looked too closely at him anyway, right? Clearly, he had not been paying atten
tion.

“Would you, uh, like to walk with me, Allie? I mean, since we’re awake anyway?” he asked. She nodded a little too quickly but smiled an
yway.

“Yes, my lor
…
uh, Meier. I’d like that.” After a second of dazed staring, the two of them and Callista walked gingerly around the sleeping bodies in the courtyard. The sky was still dark, but it was beginning to brighten. Soon it would be dawn. Meier led Callista carefully by the reins, while Allie ran her fingers across her auburn mane. Once outside the castle, they saw a similar display. Revelers and soldiers were camped all over the place. Aside from a few groans and yawns, there was no real sound to speak of. No one seemed to be upright as yet. With a creak and a jump, Meier mounted Callista and looked down at Allie with an eyebrow ra
ised.

“I’d best get to my duties, Meier. I’ll just leave you, and uh, thank you,” she said bashfully. Meier shook his head and lowered his
arm.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s still a while until dawn. Come on!” he said, laughing. Was he getting bolder? A sudden realization hit him. This business was harder than riding to ba
ttle.

Allie was stunned. Ride with the prince, the hero prince that everyone was talking about? She couldn’t speak. “I insist, Allie. Unless, I mean, uh
…
if you don’t
want
to, that’s all right,” said Meier, but before he could trip over his tongue any further, she had grabbed his arm and jumped up behind him on the saddle, holding him tightly. And that was
that.

Together they trotted through the city and then made their way to the western pasture surrounding Targov. The land was elevated here, and Meier wanted to take in the whole vista from afar. It helped him think about the coming trials to see it all from a distance. Of course, they couldn’t get there at a trot. He kicked Callista into a gallop, and Allie squeezed tighter. Despite everything, Meier found that he felt much better than he probably should have. There was a calamity on the horizon, and terrible battles were likely to be coming as well; but at that moment, those things didn’t matter. High on a hill above Targov, Meier slowed Callista to a stop and turned her to face east. The sun was coming up, peeking ever further over the horizon in hues of deep orange and gold. Meier and Allie watched in silence as the day unfolded before them. When the light became blinding, Meier turned again and looked down on Targov as the city was slowly bathed in the morning sple
ndor.

“I’ve never seen Targov like this before,” said Allie. “Thank you, Meier.” She squeezed him just a little tighter. Any tighter and he would have trouble breathing, but he didn’t
care.

“You’re welcome, Allie. Thanks for coming with me. I don’t like being alone as much as people think,” he said honestly. He felt no need to be guarded with her. He had spent his whole life brooding. Perhaps it was time to step out of the sha
dows.

When the moment passed, it was obvious that they both needed to get back to work. Meier rode back to town, only to find that it was waking up with the sun. His arrival with Allie was observed by more than a few turning heads. Suddenly, the two of them were blushing ferociously again. The watching men would fold their arms, and the women would put their hands on their hips. All were smiling at them knowingly. Meier was feeling embarrassed but finally decided he didn’t care. Allie closed her eyes. She was pleasantly terrified. She was just a shy stable maid, after all. Now she would become an unwilling celebrity. No, she’d never hear the end of it. Amazingly, she decided that she didn’t care either, although the teasing of the other girls would be relentless. She just knew it. Would they believe that she and Meier were friends going for an innocent ride, and that they barely knew each other? Not a ch
ance.

Meier said goodbye to Allie, only this time with more grace. He marched back into the great hall and then made his way to Assur’s room. His brawny brother was spread eagle, sleeping face down on his pillow, clearly dead to the world. Meier tried nicely to wake him for as long as politeness dictated before resorting to tossing a bowl of water on him. Assur didn’t move. He did, however, grunt. This was a good sign. Meier tried to roll the big man over, but this proved to require more strength than he possessed. He heard a familiar laugh from the doo
rway.

“Good morning, little brother,” said Ian, leaning on the doorjamb with his arms folded. Seeing Meier’s plight, Ian intervened. “You’ve got it all wrong, Meier. Observe,” he said, crossing the room. Ian stopped at the far wall where Assur’s axe was hanging on display hooks. Hefting the giant weapon from the hooks, his eyes scanned the room until they stopped again. There was a ceremonial shield hanging there. Perfect. Taking a running start, Ian spun around and swung the flat of the axe into the shield as hard as he could, simultaneously yelling “
AAAAASSSSSUUURRRRRRR
!” at the top of his lungs. The result was an ear-splitting clamor that rang throughout the castle, waking everyone and everything within a mile’s radius. Assur jumped so hard that he flipped over not once but twice, landing on the stone floor face f
irst.

“
GAH
!” he yelled. He was awake. Meier winced from the recent destruction of his ears. Ian just grinned evilly and went to hang the axe bac
k up.

“He’s awake now,” Ian said, with a pat to Meier’s shoulder. “So you’re welcome then.” Meier opened his jaw wide to pop his ears back into p
lace.

“Uh yeah. Thanks, Ian. About the generals
…
,” Meier said, still feeling rather deaf. Ian held up a
hand.

“Yeah, yeah, just because of you, they are all ready to go. The ones that weren’t already awake surely are now. So let’s go to the war room while our sleeping beauty here gets his pants on.” Ian led the way, yawning. “You know, Meier, we can’t all be early birds like you, riding around with pretty girls in the dawn’s light and all that,” Ian said mischievously. Meier sighed. Did everyone know? It had been less than an hour ago. “Yes, Meier, everyone knows,” said Ian, reading his little brother’s mind. “It was the first thing I heard from the chambermaid when I woke up. Well, correction. Everyone but Assur knows. So I’ll just tell
him
myself.” What followed was the most villainous laugh that Meier had ever h
eard.

“She’s just a friend of mine, you know,” Meier said defensi
vely.

“Sure she is,” said Ian in a tone of mock serious
ness.

“It was just a little ride, Ian,” retorted an annoyed M
eier.

“Sure it was,” responded
Ian.

“I’m serious, Ian,” said Meier, exasper
ated.

“I’m sure you are, Meier,” Ian said with an arm around his irritated little brother’s neck. They arrived at the war room, and Meier gazed at the sea of sleepy faces. Everyone but Assur was there. It was then that Meier saw a propped-up figure in the co
rner.

“Father!” he cried and quickly crossed the room. He carefully embraced the old man, who was smiling up at him. “We didn’t expect you so soon,” said Meier hap
pily.

“Clearly you don’t know Father that well, Meier,” said Ian smi
ling.

“He’s right, Meier,” said King Wold. “I had to get home as soon as I could to see how you boys and your mother were doing without me. I see now that I am barely needed, if at all!” Wold pulled Meier close and kissed his forehead. “You might have saved us all, my boy! Now let’s get to work with that brilliant mind of yours,” said the king, sitting up slightly more than he should have. He grunted and fell back against the wall. It would take weeks for him to fully rec
over.

“Oh, and, Meier,” said Wold. Meier turned to face the
king.

“Yes, Father?” he a
sked.

King Wold just smiled and said, “Congratulations on your new lady fr
iend.”

10
The Silence in the West

A
fter a full round of benign sniggering at Meier’s expense, the council got to business. “We sent relay riders to the west to scout and give us news about the Gunar movements,” said Ian, pointing to the relay points on the well-worn map. Meier looked at the points he had ma
rked.

“But has no word come
from
the west? Surely someone—” Meier said, but was cut
off.

“We all thought the same thing,” said Ian, “and we expected more than we got, but what we
do
have looks like good news, Meier.” Ian pointed to the fortress of Arges, some forty miles northwest of Targov on the map. “We received a rider from Arges late last night during the feast. He told us that the Gunars have completely withdrawn their garrison forces as of yesterday evening. So that’s one less stop on the map for us at least,” Ian said, smiling. The generals nodded as Ian moved the red string on the table that indicated the march line. Instead of facing northwest to Arges, it now faced due west toward the city of P
ites.

“No word from Pites? That’s odd. It’s a bit closer,” said M
eier.

“One step ahead of you, brother,” said Assur, who stumbled into the room yawning. Once he had found his way to a glass of water, which he drank thirstily, he continued. “Most everyone else was asleep when the Pites rider arrived. Of course, I wasn’t. I was awake until
…
oh, I don’t know
…
ten minutes before you
woke me!
At least that’s what it felt like. Anyway, Pites is all clear. The Gunars didn’t even pass by. Pites didn’t know about the invasion until they saw the dust from yesterday’s battle.” Assur put Ian and Meier in mock strangleholds with his giant arms to repay them for his gentle awake
ning.

Meier spoke up. “So we head straight west for Pites, camping there the first night, and then take the most direct roads west to the border, adjusting as needed based on the incoming information. Sound right?” he asked. There was a round of
nods.

“That’s right,” said
Ian.

“How many do we have with us for the march?” asked M
eier.

“You mean after that speech of yours about how they could all go home with our blessing?” Assur asked. Meier thought about what he had said. Foolish maybe, but he stood by it. If a man needed to go home, who were they to stop
him?

“Uh yes, I did say that. So how many stayed?” asked Meier. Ian and Assur exchanged gla
nces.

“All of them,” they said in unison. From the corner of the room, King Wold started laughing lo
udly.

“I should have you write my speeches from now on, Meier!” Meier didn’t unders
tand.

“I just spoke as I thought you might have done, Father,” Meier responded me
ekly.

“Nonsense, boy!” barked the king. “You spoke honestly and from your heart, and the people knew it, Meier. More than me, your mother, your brothers, or anyone else, these men stayed for
you!
Our little kingdom is not big enough for you, my
son!”

Meier knew that he should have been bursting with pride at hearing these words. In some small way, he was. It was just that such lofty praise from his father, the king, was more than he felt worth
y of.

No, Father,
thought Meier.
They fight for the man of the hour. All of them, and even you, Father, are in love with a surprise. And surprises don’t last.
Meier smiled at his father, but it was only skin deep. Now it seemed he would have to continue to amaze them or else become a disappointment. The thought made him feel ashamed. Why could no one seem to see that his successes were based mostly on pure luck? Must he continue to be always lucky or else let everyone down? The thought made him shiver, but now was not the time for selfishness. He put these thoughts away and resolved to stay silent while those more experienced planned the march. Time flew as the preparations were hastily made. Despite the tiring nature of the recent days, each task was completed quickly and efficiently. Everyone involved seemed to be filled with an unexpected v
igor.

The march started some three hours later at midmorning. The men made for Pites. What Assur and Ian had said was true. Essentially, all who had fought the day before were present. The only ones who had departed were those who had urgent family business, such as a sick parent or spouse, and the number was so small as to not merit mention. Yes, they would all see it through together. Chances were good that if the Gunars had abandoned Arges, it was only to mount a stronger defense elsewhere. News came that evening from all the relayed riders that proved this notion correct. The Gunars were amassing at the Valahian border fort of Aram. Their numbers were not great, but it was a fair guess that more were coming from Gunar. All other Valahian forts had been abandoned to boost the numbers on the border. In one way, this was excellent, since it meant the Valahian army could march directly through without stopping. In another, it was bad, since it meant there would be another terrible battle waiting for them at the end of the journey. At best speed, the Valahians could be at Aram in five days. Any number of things could happen in that
time.

The first four days of the march passed without incident. There were no changes in the Gunar defenses, and no new forces had arrived. It was
odd.

It was on the fifth day that a Gunar rider appeared on the western horizon under a banner of truce. The three princes convened with the generals to receive the messenger in the main tent. Assur sent for a Valahian westerner that understood the Gunar tongue, but this proved to be unnecessary. Once in the tent, the man knelt and spoke in an accented but perfectly clear Vala
hian.

“Hail, sons of Valahia, noble enemy of my lord, the king of Gunar. I bring terms from his majesty for the withdrawal of all Gunar forces from Valahia,” he said. A series of surprised looks circled the tent. Assur, the commander in chief of the Valahian march, spoke evenly without revealing any emotion. The messenger could be a ploy for more
time.

“Name your terms,” was all he said. The messenger, still kneeling, raised a rolled parchment bearing the royal seal of Gunar. This was taken from him and handed to Assur, who broke the seal and unrolled it. It was in the Gunar language, of course, but with a Valahian translation in the lower half. Assur handed it to his translator to verify the accuracy. Before the man could do so, the messenger conti
nued.

“My master will withdraw all forces from Valahia without conflict. The only term is that you do not attack on the morrow or pursue us into Gunar. Already preparations are being made to withdraw. We await only your answer.” Assur looked to his translator who had finished reading the document. The man nodded. It was exactly as the messenger had
said.

“Let us suppose that we do not accept your terms, messenger. What is to keep us from destroying your army here and raiding Gunar? Having been invaded, we are entitled to recompense,” said Assur. The messenger raised his eyes and spoke qui
ckly.

“There is a force of fifty thousand Gunar warriors waiting for you should you choose to cross the border, my lord. A great many lives may be spared, however, if the honored sons of Valahia accept the terms and remain within their borders.” Assur knew something was a
miss.

“How can I know this force of fifty thousand exists? Could this not be a ploy for time? Can you answer, messenger?” he a
sked.

“Indeed, my lord. I can answer. There should be a rider in your camp now that can confirm what I have said. He was captured days ago, and he was released just after I departed for your
camp.”

Assur nodded to Meier, who left the tent to see if a message was waiting. Indeed the rider was there waiting for an audience. He looked ragged and dirty, but overall in good condition for a recent war prisoner. Meier brought him into the war tent immediately. He approached the table where Assur sat and sal
uted.

“Speak, rider,” Assur told
him.

“My lord, Prince Assur, I have seen a great Gunar force from the border. The Gunars bade me take notice of their numbers, my lord, and they sent me to bear witness.” Assur no
dded.

“And how many did you see, soldier, with
your own eyes?”
asked Assur, ever thorough. The man gulped but conti
nued.

“I have seen more than fifty thousand Gunar men, my lord. They gave me all the time needed to count their ranks and files.” So it was true. One other matter was needed to be thorough enough for Assur. He addressed the
tent.

“Can any of you here confirm that this man before us is a true son of Valahia and not a Gunar spy?” Assur asked without emo
tion.

“My lord?” said the man, but a raised hand from Assur silenced
him.

“I know this man, Assur,” said Ian. “I organized the riders, and I remember his face. You are from Targov, are you not?” Ian asked. The man nodded that he
was.

That seemed to clinch it. Assur, of course, was not finished. “Very well, messenger, you have spoken truly and with honor thus far. Now I must ask you a question.” The Gunar messenger stiff
ened.

“You may ask anything, my lord, and on my honor I will answer honestly,” said the G
unar.

“Why has your liege offered these terms, knowing that he possesses the power to continue his invasion?” asked Assur. The Gunar envoy did not hesi
tate.

“My lord, it is because Valahia is cursed.” Assur could not hide his surprise, though he was an expert at doing so. The other faces in the tent showed similarly confused express
ions.

“Cursed?” he said incredulously. The messenger simply nodded, and there was a moment of silence as the response sank in. Assur finally scoffed at the man’s sincere expression. “Are the Gunar people really so superstitious? I cannot believe that is your reason to withdraw!” Assur slammed his huge fist on the table a little harder than he intended. Ian put a hand on his brother’s shou
lder.

“Nevertheless, my lord, that is my liege lord’s reason. We have withdrawn to Gunar to escape your terrible fate,” said the e
nvoy.

“Could this be the first lie you have told, messenger?” growled Assur. The messenger looked up slowly, and all could see that there was no deceit or fear in his
eyes.

“It is no lie, my lord,” said the Gunar messenger. “I know only this. My master has seen the signs. He has decreed that as of this day, no living thing shall cross the border from Valahia into Gunar. Even now, we are burning a strip of earth along our border one mile wide. My lord has decreed that not even one blade of Valahian grass must pass our border without being turned to ash. After today, even our own soldiers who became lost after the battle of Targov will be turned away from the border. If they cross, they will be put to death from afar, and their bodies will be bu
rned.”