Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (18 page)

By midmorning of the next day, Kendrick realized he had no choice. Duncan’s wounds needed fresh bandages, and fever would set in if he wasn’t properly cared for. Kendrick and Landor laid Duncan on his horse and secured him once more on the animal’s back. By late evening, they arrived at Lady Odette’s manor.

Elise was the first to meet them. “Duncan!” she screamed. Lady Odette and Ancel came running.

“We must get him to a bed and change his bandages quickly.” Kendrick dismounted and began to pull Duncan off his horse. Landor helped. Introductions could wait.

Elise wept when she saw Duncan’s swollen face and the hundreds of gashes across his body. She didn’t seem to know what to do with herself. She reached out to touch him, then pulled back her hand, her face reflecting the excruciating pain of his wounds. Ancel put an arm about her and walked beside her as Kendrick and Landor carried Duncan into the manor.

“Take him to his room,” Lady Odette began calling out orders with the confidence of a general commanding an army. Her confidence brought no small relief to Kendrick. He knew that if Duncan could be saved, Lady Odette would do it. Elise seemed to emerge from her shock as she applied herself to the nursing duties her mother had assigned to her.

Once Kendrick and Landor had exhausted their usefulness to Lady Odette, they each fell asleep in their beds. Kendrick awoke to find afternoon sun streaming through the window. His leg and shoulder ached, but he rose and hurried to Duncan’s bedside. Elise was there, looking as if she had never left. Her hand lay gently over Duncan’s.

Kendrick didn’t say a word. He walked to the opposite side of the bed, relieved to see Duncan’s chest rising and falling peacefully. Elise looked up at him, and he saw the weariness of angst upon her face. As she gazed into Kendrick’s eyes, her own filled with tears.

“Thank you for what you’ve done,” she said. “You are a brave knight.”

Kendrick nodded toward Duncan. “He would have done the same for me.”

“Yes,” she replied, her voice tender. “Yes, he would have.”

Kendrick left Elise to continue her care for Duncan. He stopped in the kitchen, where Lady Odette had left food for him, then went to seek out Landor.

He found him sitting beneath a large oak tree a fair distance from the manor, near a stone wall that bordered the estate. The late-autumn air was brisk but refreshing, the air filled with birdsong. Kendrick wondered
if Landor was enjoying the reprieve from the icy world of his mountain refuge.

He walked over and leaned against the wall. “I wish I could find words to express my gratitude, Landor.”

Landor’s gaze seemed to be off to a distant world, or perhaps a distant past.

“He’s fortunate to be alive … as are we,” Landor said. “Lord Ra will be furious. I still don’t understand.” He shook his head.

“Understand what?”

“No one has ever escaped from Lord Ra. I truly didn’t think it was possible.”

“That’s because you have not known the Prince,” Kendrick said. “With Him, all things are possible.”

Landor flashed a smile. “Ah, yes … your Prince.” He pushed to his feet and went to join Kendrick at the stone wall. “Well, He certainly has power over
you.”

Now it was Kendrick’s turn to smile. A moment of silence passed between them, and Kendrick’s thoughts turned to the dungeons of Ra’s castle and the prisoners there. “Tell me, Landor … what exactly did I see in those dungeons? Who are those prisoners?”

Landor looked to the ground for a moment and then back to Kendrick. “Lord Ra is here to bring chaos and ruin to the kingdom of Arrethtrae. The festivals of Bel Lione were created to lure the youth of this region into his realm of influence.”

“That much I know.”

“But what you don’t know is that everyone who participates is changed. A young person will typically respond in one of three ways to the pleasures and indulgences offered by Ra.”

He paused again. Kendrick waited. Landor finally went on, “The first response is to be caught up in the frivolous, carefree activities for a while. Young people who react this way may grow discontented with the world outside Lord Ra’s castle and resist the rules and counsel of their
parents, and this sows seeds of discord in families that can last for many years. But eventually they do decide to leave the castle and go back into the world. They find a craft or trade to support themselves, get married, and start their families. But then they become feeders for Ra. They will actually encourage their children to enjoy the pleasures of youth for a season, not fully comprehending how closely they came to complete and utter destruction. This is the response of most people who attend the festivals.

Kendrick raised an eyebrow. “And the second?”

“The second response is for young people to be so completely taken with the activities at the castle that they can think of nothing else. They live for each weekly fete and monthly festival, thinking daily of the enticements Ra offers, especially the rich food, strong drink, and other pleasures. It may take weeks or months or even years, but eventually these young people reach the point where they abandon their life outside the castle walls and accept Ra’s offer to actually live in the castle. What they don’t realize is that once they make this decision, they can never leave, even if they want to.” Landor gave Kendrick a dark look. “Never!”

“The prisoners?” Kendrick asked.

“Yes. They grow weak from the indulgences. Then one day they are taken to the dungeons, where Lord Ra and his Shadow Warriors take great pleasure in their torment and hopelessness. There are fewer people who respond this way. But as you could see by the cells, many do eventually fall into the snare of death that Ra has set for them.”

Landor fell silent and seemed to forget Kendrick was even there.

“Landor?” Kendrick finally asked.

The other man turned slowly and stared at Kendrick. The glint of darkness in his eyes reminded Kendrick of what he had seen in the cabin, when Landor revealed himself as a Vincero Knight.

Kendrick’s brow furrowed. “And the third?”

Landor’s gaze softened slightly, and he took a deep breath. “The
third response is one that only few people have. Ra closely watches all who enter into his festivals, looking for just the right ones.” Landor paused again and seemed to find it difficult to go on. “These young people enjoy the sensual pleasures Lord Ra offers. But instead of growing weaker from indulgence, they grow harder and more depraved. These are the youth who thrive on the violent sporting games, finding their pleasure in the violence of the games and the torment of the wild pigs used in the contests. This is what Lord Ra wants … for they are his recruits.”

“I’ve been told that parents want this too—to have their sons and daughters serve in Lord Ra’s castle.”

Landor curled a lip. “If only they knew what that means. Lord Ra takes the very best—or perhaps more accurately the very worst—and trains them to master the sword. He equips them with an entire armory of evil plots and devices and sets them loose to wreak destruction and chaos upon the region. He promises them great power and prestige. He calls them conquerors.”

Landor’s tone grew ominous. “In reality, Lord Ra owns their souls and takes great pleasure in watching his reach expand through the death and destruction they cause. These men and women become—” Landor broke off and turned away from Kendrick.

Kendrick finished softly, “The Vincero Knights.”

Landor nodded.

Kendrick pondered what Landor had just told him and wondered how such a thing could happen. Surely there must be many who chose to be willfully ignorant of Lord Ra’s plots.

Landor turned back to face Kendrick. “In the mountains you said Ra and his warriors were more than mere Arrethtraen men. You called them Shadow Warriors. I can see that now. I’ve heard of other strongholds in the kingdom that train Vincero Knights too. If the Dark Knight truly controls all of them, then he must be powerful indeed!”

“Yes,” Kendrick replied. “But his days are numbered. One day he
will face the Prince, and it will be his end.” Kendrick’s thoughts turned back to Teara. “Do all of Ra’s guards and knights know of the prisoners he keeps in the dungeons?”

Landor shook his head. “No. There are two guardhouses—one for Ra’s Shadow Warriors, where the access to the dungeon is, and one on the other side of the castle yard for his Arrethtraen guards and knights.”

“You’re saying the Arrethtraen recruits don’t know anything?”

“Some of them may suspect, but they learn quickly not to ask questions and not to go into the warrior guardhouse. When a youth is taken captive, it is done at such a time and in such a way that no one sees it.”

Landor’s voice dropped only to a whisper. “Only those who become Vincero Knights learn the full truth of the dungeons.”

“And you were such a one?” Kendrick tried to imagine Landor as a bloodthirsty knight whose sole purpose was to destroy, but all he could see was a man who risked his life to save his own and Duncan’s. It didn’t make any sense. “Why did you leave?” Kendrick asked.

Landor walked over to the tree, placed his hand on its thick trunk, and leaned against it. He lowered his head and Kendrick could tell he was struggling with something deep.

“I was one of Lord Ra’s loyal Vincero Knights. For years I did his bidding and destroyed many people … many homes … many dreams. I gathered a band of murderous thieves to broaden my influence, much as Lord Ra has done, and to insulate me from the crimes. Then one day something snapped inside me and I … I couldn’t …”

Landor swallowed hard. He straightened and turned to face Kendrick. “I couldn’t do it anymore. That day I mounted my horse and rode. I rode until night fell and then rode the next day too, caring not what direction I took or where I ended up. When I stopped, I hid, because I knew that once you belonged to Lord Ra, you always belonged to him. I knew he would come for me, and he did—over and over and over. He sent other Vincero Knights after me—at first to bring me back, later to kill me. I have been running and hiding for many years.”

Landor’s voice grew heavy with weariness. “I am tired. When you came to me, I … well, I found it impossible to refuse you.” He looked straight into Kendrick’s eyes and smiled sadly. “Your heart seemed so pure, even after having endured your own tragedy. I found myself curiously refreshed by your goodness. I … wanted more. And now.” He paused, a look of bafflement on his face.

Kendrick walked over to Landor and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am neither pure nor good, Landor, and it is not me you seek. What you see in me is the work of the Prince, for only He is pure and good. He has called all who are weary and heavy laden, my friend. Through Him you will find rest. He came to restore this land, these people”—Kendrick swept his hand as if to include the whole region—“and to restore you, no matter what you’ve done. He came also to destroy the strongholds Lucius has built and to free those who are in bondage!” Kendrick stood tall and faced his new friend. “That is why I’m going back.”

Landor looked at Kendrick in disbelief. “To Ra’s castle?”

Kendrick nodded. “Lord Ra and the castle of Bel Lione must be destroyed and his captives set free.”

“My friend,” Landor said quietly. “We overcame those two warriors because of surprise, not because of our might. Ra commands an army of guards, knights, and warriors that strikes terror into the hearts of all. Men don’t fight him; they flee from him. You still don’t understand his power!”

Kendrick shook his head. “No, Landor.
You
still don’t understand the
Prince!
Tomorrow I ride for Chessington to call all Knights of the Prince to arms against Lord Ra. Ride with me and see what great and mighty things the King and His Son are doing in the hearts of men and women across the land. It is time to retake this region, not hide in fear.”

Landor looked at Kendrick and did not scoff at him this time. Something in Kendrick’s passion seemed to crack the wall that he had built around his heart … something powerful.

CALL TO COURAGE!

The following morning, Kendrick rose and began his preparations for the journey back to Chessington. He went to the stable to saddle Pilgrim and found Landor packing his own steed.