The New Guard (Crossroads Book 1) (20 page)

The
entire group of councilors were frozen in awe of Lord Avrant’s soliloquy. Then
the king spoke again, this time through nearly clenched teeth. “Now leave the
council tent, as I wish to address the Truth Blade in private.”

A flurry
of activity met these words. David turned to Deborah, his only child attending
that day, and motioned for her to leave. Nearby, Hogan, who had been serving
guard duty, led her out. The council tent was cleared out in less than a
minute, leaving David and Avrant standing alone and face to face. Another
minute passed before either man tried to speak. King Avrant was the first.

“I wonder
if a Truth Blade can lie by not saying anything. I have researched this and
come up with nothing. I wonder if the legend that those who hold the Truth
Blade cannot lie is in fact truth at all. You are the first Truth Blade in over
twelve generations. There have been many gaps between each wielder of the Sword
of Truth. Does it take that long for people to forget how deceitful those in
your position can be?”

“Lord
Avrant, I am not certain what you are trying to get at. Do you doubt that I
carry the genuine Sword of Truth? Do you care to test my mettle? If you have
really researched this weapon and those who wield it, then you know some of the
consequences of what you ask. You and I both know that I am a fighting man and
not a politician, so let’s dispense with the cat and mouse game and come right
out and speak plainly to one another.”

King
Avrant laughed for a brief moment, then his eyes turned venomous and his
expression dripped with disdain. “You wish to talk plainly? Very well. Then let
us discuss who you really are and why you are here. I count eleven children and
yourself. Twelve is such an interesting number here in the Way World. It can
lead to great power. Don’t lie now; I’ve caught you. You’ve come here because
you see my kingdom as the weak link amongst all the others. You seek my throne
to stake your claim on the Crossroads. Well, you will not have it.”

“Enough!”
David shouted and drew the Sword of Truth. At that moment, a guard stationed
outside the room looked in. Sensing that his king was threatened, he entered
and drew his own sword. David turned the Sword of Truth, drove into the ground,
and backed away.

“You want
to know why I’m here?” David said, and then motioned toward the sword. “You
want truth? There it is. I am David Koen, bearer of the Sword of Truth. This
angelic blade, though not made for the hands of man, has been entrusted to me.
I cannot lie, for I feel the sin burn within me and have to face the truth of
God and His way. I have become a soldier in His mighty army, answerable to the
archangel and the Word.

“You are
correct in this, however; this is not my only responsibility. God has commanded
me to escort my children here. They, not I, have been selected to hold sway
over the twelve kingdoms of the Crossroads. I tell you the truth; I don’t know
when this is supposed to happen. I don’t know how long it will take.
Nevertheless, I do know that you and your family receive your power from Him
who sent me, and that He can revoke your claim in His time. Can any of this
truly be a surprise? Have you not been given signs from God telling your kin
that your job is finished? If it is the will of God, why would you stand in the
way?”

Lord
Avrant stood, the blood running fast and hot in his veins. Fury boiled at the
surface of his mind. He wanted badly to strike David down, but carried no
weapon of his own. Then the guard spoke.

“Sire, is
everything alright? Do you need me?”

Avrant
looked up, death in his eyes. The guard took a step back, sword still at the
ready. The king almost gave the order to kill David, but quelled the urge.

“Leave,”
he spat in anger and contempt, “or die!”

The guard
needed no further prompting. King Avrant turned back to David and jabbed his
pointer finger at him. “Those wielding the Blade of Truth are not given the
pleasure of the crown; they are servants. You cannot rule,” he growled, “and
thus your children cannot rule. Twelve has always been the number, twelve of
the same blood. I count only eleven children. You have no claim on the
Crossroads.”

Then the
king stopped as he saw the truth in David’s eyes. There was one more child out
there somewhere, one more child to claim a crown. Avrant spat at David, his
malice taking complete control of him.

“I will
kill your children one by one before I ever see them claim all the crowns of
the Crossroads. Take up the Sword of Truth and know the honesty of my words. I
am death to you and yours, and I will haunt you all of your living days.”

Without
another word, the king turned and left the tent. David fell to his knees and
grabbed the hilt of the Sword of Truth. Avrant’s words burnt into David’s mind
and he did indeed know the veracity of them. Then David prayed for forgiveness
for his actions and help for his children.

Hogan
walked slowly with Deborah back to Way House. She was upset by the king's
reaction to David’s interruption and began to share her thoughts out loud.

“The
council is shifting into identifiable camps, and the king is heading one.
Brother Brogene is part of it; the king was delighted when he stood up. The
crown definitely has influence where he is concerned. Then Count Merrin
interrupted the king’s plan. My dad interrupted Lord Avrant’s speech to prevent
him from saying something that would ally more council members against the
crown. However, the king was still riled about Count Merrin. What do you think
is happening in the tent?”

When
Hogan didn’t answer right away, Deborah glanced over and noticed that he was
staring into the distance. A sudden pang of irritation vibrated her
already-frayed nerves. Just as she was about to turn her ire upon him, he
turned his head and the sun caused a slight twinkle in his eyes. Deborah’s
stomach seemed to drop to her knees, and she momentarily lost all conscious thought.
As Hogan started to turned his focus toward her and, she began to blush
slightly as she thought how ridiculous she must look. It took a great deal of
effort to control her facial features so as to appear normal, an effort that
was continually hampered by the very close presence of his alien handsomeness.

He began,
“My cousin has always had a temper; he does not like to have his plans
interrupted. Unfortunately, he is probably venting his frustrations upon the
Sword Bearer. I hope your father has a cooler head.”

Romantic
thoughts were pushed to the background as Deborah processed these last words.
“My father has been known to shout at several of us when we’ve taken things too
far, but, for the most part, he seems to be the most level-headed of the
family.”

Hogan
looked around absentmindedly before he quietly said, “My mother died when I was
young, and my father became more distant every year. He’s probably out there
somewhere. I don’t know. He left shortly after I came of age.”

Deborah
was shocked and saddened by this sudden turn of the dialogue. She looked down
at the ground and spoke softly in reply, “I’m sorry to hear that. My father has
always been there for us, and I can’t imagine what life would be like without
him. Not having my mother here has filled me with a sense of loss that haunts
me. To never have her or him around. . .”

Deborah
stopped, unable to finish the thought. Hogan suddenly focused on her. A deep
desire to protect her washed over him. He reached out and took her hand, and
she stepped closer to him. Their hearts began to beat extremely fast, and
warmth flooded through them. Hogan began to lean in, pulling Deborah closer.
She closed her eyes.

“Sir,” a
voice broke into the moment and shattered it. Deborah stumbled backward as
Hogan let go of her hand. Temporarily unfocused, they both looked over at the
speaker. Before them stood one of the guards who had been stationed outside the
tent. He was breathing deeply, as well, a look of alarm was in his eyes. His
military training focused Hogan’s mind quickly.

“What is
it, private?”

“Sir, the
Sword Bearer and the king are. . .” The guard stopped and looked over at
Deborah. A look of awe and concern was easily read on his face.

“What?”
she asked, concern now erasing any prior emotions. “What about the king and my
father?”

Without
looking away, he answered. “They. . . their argument has become heated. Strong
words have been said, and your father drew the Sword of Truth.”

Before
the guard could utter another sound, both Deborah and Hogan began to run back
to the tent. The private followed. When they arrived, the tent was empty except
for David, who was kneeling before his sword. Hogan scanned the room as Deborah
ran to her father’s side.

“Dad,”
she said softly as she touched his shoulder. David looked up at her with
sadness in his eyes. When he spoke his voice was hoarse.

“I’m
afraid you may be right, Deborah; the transition will not be as smooth one. I
think I have made a powerful enemy for you and your siblings.”

Hogan
broke in. “What’s happening? Why did you draw your sword on the king?”

Before
David could respond, the private interjected, “Lieutenant, they were arguing
about a new twelve.”

Hogan
looked over to the forgotten guard, who was looking and pointing at Deborah.
Baffled, Hogan turned back to the Koens, looking between the two of them.

“A new. .
.” he began to ask, but was brought up short by the nodding of David’s head.

Deborah
stepped forward and spoke. “We were brought here with a purpose, Hogan. Upon
the road that led us here, angel told us that we would be given control of the
Crossroads.”

Hogan
took a step backwards and shook his head. “What of my family?” he whispered.

David
responded. “Transitions of power have taken place in the Crossroads before. The
Coterie gave power to the dwarves; the dwarves surrendered power to the avian;
the avian lost power to the limnaid; and your ancestors were given the
Crossroads when the limnaid petitioned God’s pardon.”

Hogan
shifted from confusion and shock to anger. “I don’t need a history lesson!”

David
stopped him with a fierce look. “It has happened before, and it will happen
again and again until the end of times, or the end of the Crossroads, whichever
comes first.”

A new
voice broke into the conversation. “I have been told of a weald prophet who
said one day that each of the twelve created races would hold onto a kingdom
within the Crossroads. On that day, this world would change to become something
new in the cosmos.”

Everyone
turned to the young guard who had spoken. He did not return their looks;
instead he continued. “In those days, the kingdoms will be united as each race
recognizes the true enemy. The twelve races will stand against the tide of the
Fallen as they attempt to break the purpose of this place.”

Silence
filled the council tent as each person thought about those days. David was the
first to recover. He took up the Sword of Truth and sheathed it. He then
grabbed Deborah’s hand and made eye contact with Hogan.

“I must go
to find my children. The king has made certain promises, and I will do my best
to thwart them.”

Without
another word David took Deborah and left the tent. Hogan stumbled out the
opening on the opposite side of the tent as he digested all that he had learned.
When everyone was gone, the private shook himself, as if he was coming out of a
dream. The words put into his mouth rang within his head, as did thousands of
images accompanied them. From that day forth, he knew that he served some
greater purpose and endeavored to show that understanding in all of his
actions.

The
private had not been the only person to overhear King Avrant’s argument with
David. Count Merrin lingered outside the tent, stewing over both voiced and
inferred threats leveled at him by the king. Sheeling, an underling to Duke
Dweller and an avid gossip, tarried at the back of the tent in hopes of
catching any worthwhile news. Both men got more than they could have hoped, and
soon the news was spreading across Council Rock and Ven faster than a wildfire
in a drought.

*

David
insisted on reestablishing a watch schedule. No child was to leave Way House
without an armed adult. They were told everything that had transpired in the
council tent. In addition, David asked the Coterie brothers to train the
children in close quarters combat. The brothers agreed, and Way House turned
quickly into a fortified barracks.

*

Zilda had
been shocked when she heard what David had to say to her. He had told her of
his children’s calling and the confrontation he had with Lord Avrant. He
thanked her for her help, but professed that he could not keep her as a tutor
when it would put her life in danger. When Zilda did not respond, David got up
to leave. Before he was out the door, Zilda called to him.

“Wait,
Sword Bearer; please.”

David
turned and waited in the door frame while Zilda continued. “I have never been
employed by Lord Avrant’s household. My niece serves as one of the tutors to
the castle’s children. I was visiting her when Master Hogan came looking for a
teacher for your children. I am old, and I gave up teaching five years ago. I
felt I should visit my scattered family, and I have been doing so these last
few years. My niece’s home was to be my last stop before heading back to Heaven’s
Steps. I had intended to leave a week before you arrived. I have no excuses for
staying; I just woke the morning I was supposed to leave and did not go. So it
was every morning for a week. Then I packed and went to wish my niece well, and
at that moment Hogan came to ask her about a teacher. I felt a pull inside me
and volunteered.”

Zilda
fell quiet, and David waited. A minute passed in silence before Zilda looked up
at David intensely. “I feel it again,” she said, with surprise and wonder. “I
am with you. I maybe old and I may have been a teacher for several decades, but
I will stand with you, and woe be to the assassin who dares to interrupt this
dwarf’s lessons.”

David
smiled, and a chuckle escaped his chest. “Thank
you
mistress Zilda; you bring a smile in dark times.”

Zilda
waved David off. “Go; I have lessons to plan and children to prepare.”

David
bowed and then said, “I am grateful for your aid and alliance. I thank the Lord
Above All for every blessing He places in my way.”

Zilda
smiled and shooed him off once more. David left, feeling as if a bit more if
his burden had been lightened.

*

Two days
passed and the council was not reconvened. The allied grouping of councilors
continued to meet and plan. They would push for a council meeting soon, and
during that time they would confront Lord Avrant. In the absence of a council
meeting, the rumors of the fight between the Sword Bearer and the king
flourished. Talk of the new twelve was on everyone’s tongue. In many a
household and hidey-hole, the king was all but already deposed.

Martial
law was established in Ven and the area surrounding Council Rock. General Kolk
held a heavy hand over the council camps. Disruptions to the easy flow of
civilized life were being handled quickly and fatally. This new brand of
“order” frayed the nerves of the commoners and riled the gentry. After a few
executions, however, none dared to speak out. The council on the other hand,
quietly and quickly began to assemble stronger forces. Soon the guard tents
were filling up with sell swords, brigands, and opportunists all readying for a
promised fight.

*

Two more
days passed and the council had still not reconvened. David was one of the
first to know. Yero, in full uniform, stood before David as he was making
breakfast.

“General
Kolk has tasked me to keep you informed of the continuing council changes. The
king is not ready to bring council into session this day nor possibly the next.
You will be informed when your presence will be required.”

Yero
paused before he released his formal stance and sought out David’s eyes. On
seeing the other man relax, David turned his attentions from the cooking meat.

“Now, on
a completely unrelated note,” Yero began, “I must inform you that we will be
watching you. I have been watching you.”

David
tried to read the other man, but Yero was inscrutable.

“For the
king,” David asked.

“It was
my job and my purpose for being with you so much since the beginning. I’ve
reported your activities to him nearly daily. Never, however, have I been
unloyal
to you and yours. Spying is a job that I’m
particularly good at. In full disclosure, I don’t truly work for Lord Avrant.
My herald is the ruler of the Eighth Kingdom. My kind and I serve him by the
calling of our blood and the rectifying of an ancient sin. I am anthope.”

“Interesting,”
was David’s only reply for a few moments. He flipped and removed some sausages
from the pan and replaced them with new ones. “I had pegged you as a
half-blood, what with your stockier build and less pointed ears. I’m not sure I
would have ever suspected you as anthope.”

“Not many
can identify anthope on sight. We have troubles at times judging it ourselves!
The truth is in the eyes, though buried deep down. Many of my people continue
to genetically modify themselves to blend in with the ruling class as much as
possible. We don’t like to be recognized as different.”

David
responded, “I believe Fleet of Foot may have suspected some connection between
you and them. He told me of your reaction to Nic’s words after his. . . vision.
You have gone to great lengths to be honest with me about your various
loyalties. I am aware that it is hard for your people to be close to other
races and show true comradeship. I guess I have to ask: can I count you as
loyal to the cause I serve?”

Yero nodded.
“Yes, I stand with the king of the Eighth kingdom and with any who so boldly
walk with the Host. Your son, Nic, is one of them, though he may not fully
realize that yet. Have you had a chance to observe him of late? Have you
noticed that he is acquiring combat skills faster than the others? He is
becoming stronger, his movements more fluid. He did have a vision and within
this vision he performed and acted as few would even think possible. Your son
may possess the power to imbue light into darkness. It is a power of a
paladin.”

David
maintained his focus on the breakfast preparations, though Yero saw that he was
processing every detail of what had been said. Nearly a minute passed before
David spoke again.

“I spent
a little over a year here the first time I came to the Crossroads. I was
quickly flung into battle during a time when demonic forces tried hard to push
quickly through the Crossroads and into the outer worlds.”

“The
Season of a Thousand Crossings,” Yero intoned.

“Yes.”
David replied. “Of the group I was with, a little over half were new to the
Crossroads. There was not much down time, and I saw many things that helped to
change who I was. I am not sure if I fought alongside any of your people, but
they were mentioned only in whispers, as were the things you could become. I
don’t doubt your loyalty, for even without touching my sword I could feel it
humming with your genuineness. However, I must ask you to clarify your
statements about my son. On my planet, there is some sense of what a paladin
is, though I never encountered one or felt the need to ask for clarification
about the matter.”

Yero’s
eyes wandered as did the thoughts he voiced. “It is said that the nisse are
much like us, yet unlike my people, they have found their ways to the other worlds
and made themselves part of each of the other races. It is perhaps from their
interactions with humankind that you know of paladins.”

“I know
this as truth,” David answered, “for I have dealt with those harboring the last
of the nisse on Earth. On my planet, they have created tales to fire my
people’s imaginations and prepare us for one day when other species will walk
with us. That, however, is a story for another time. Tell me now what you know,
so I can better understand of what we speak and why you so revere your king.”

David
smiled wryly at Yero’s look of genuine shock. “You know?”

“I have
the aid of an angel and a very talkative dwarf. They are filling me in on a
great deal of information about the current ruling class and our possible
interactions.”

Yero
nodded and regained his composure. “Paladins like my liege are virtuous
knights, wholly devoted to God and His cause. They are given great gifts by the
Holy Spirit, most notably prophecy and the miraculous power to bring light to
darkness. It is this power above all that causes my people to seek them out and
battle alongside them against our enemies that much fear the light.

“On my
people’s home world there have only ever been two such knights. These warriors
saved my people from utter destruction and brought them to a sanctuary created
on the White Isle and our moon. They gave their lives to secure the White Isle
against any incursion from our enemy.”

David
pulled all the breakfast items out of the stove and from the various pans he
had on the cooktop. He took a towel and wiped his hands. “You see this in Nic,”
he asked.

“There
has only been the one vision and his increased skills. With this time of
transition for your family, it could be anything. However, the vision was
specific to my people and their ills. I would like to continue to train and
observe him.”

“This
place changes people,” David said with a sad finality. “They are to become
kings and queens. Is it your intention to take Nicodemus to the Eighth Kingdom
to replace your current king?”

“I am not
sure. His Highness the White Lord Severn is a paladin and has sat upon the
throne of the Eighth Kingdom for many generations. My people would be best
served by another paladin, though other strong warriors have also taken the
Watchward Throne.”

“Do you
just want to continue as we have been, then?” asked David.

“Yes; I
just felt that recent developments called for more candor on my part.”

David
continued to question Yero. “Does Lord Avrant know who you owe your allegiance
to?”

“I was a
gift sent here to serve by Lord Severn. He and Lord Avrant don’t see eye to eye
on most issues. Lord Avrant has seen my usefulness, though, and does not
question where my loyalties lie. In truth, unless something affects his
lifestyle or puts pressure on him, Lord Avrant doesn’t concern himself with
much.”

“However,”
David interrupted, “when something piques his interest or upsets him, beware!”

Yero
bowed and said, “As you have discovered. To that regard, I am also making
myself available to you. I will help you defend your family. There are those
within my command that are loyal to Hogan and myself more than the crown. I
have made them available to General Kolk and the watch he has set upon you and
yours. They are good men and will serve the true cause.”

“Thank
you; I appreciate your coming to me and all the help you are providing.”

Yero
waved David’s comment away. Then he spoke again. “I would offer you one more
piece of news. The council has gotten wind of your quarrel with the king, and
they may seek to attach themselves to you in hopes of gaining prestige in the
transfer of power. There are few whom you can trust to guard your interests.
Beware of their professed allegiance.”

“Thank
you again,” replied David. “In cases like that, I am grateful for the Sword of
Truth and the unfiltered guidance it affords me.”