Fortress of Mist
Authors: Sigmund Brouwer
Praise for
Fortress of Mist
“Sigmund Brouwer’s masterful storytelling and eye for detail turn
Fortress of Mist
into a grand—and harrowing—adventure for every reader. You’ll feel the grime of castle dungeons, the sting of sword blades, and the elation of victory. It’s a story full of surprising twists, shocking betrayals, and baffling mysteries. But at its heart, this book is about courage, wisdom, and hope—and losing yourself in a fabulous story well told.”
—R
OBERT
L
IPARULO
, author of
The 13th Tribe, The Judgment Stone
, and the Dreamhouse Kings series
“Sigmund Brouwer spins an exciting story with
Fortress of Mist
, full of classic elements and clever twists. His style is reminiscent of the wonderful Lloyd Alexander, and I felt both comfortably familiar with the unfolding story and pleasantly surprised by new plot developments. As the young orphan hero struggling to establish himself as ruler in a world of courtly intrigues and dangerous Druids, Thomas will appeal to boys and girls, young and old. Brouwer keeps us guessing, and I was particularly interested by his use of scientific “magic.” An engaging read that will leave readers eager to pick up the next volume.”
—A
NNE
E
LISABETH
S
TENGL
, author of the award-winning Tales of Goldstone Wood series
“From the first line, readers will be hooked into this page-turning adventure. An engaging and compelling read.”
—D
EBBIE
V
IGUIÉ
, author of
Kiss of Death
O
THER
N
OVELS BY
S
IGMUND
B
ROUWER
Merlin’s Immortals Series: The Orphan King
The Canary List
Flight of Shadows
Broken Angel
Fuse of Armageddon
The Last Sacrifice
The Last Disciple
The Weeping Chamber
Out of the Shadows
Crown of Thorns
The Lies of Saints
The Leper
Blood Ties
Double Helix
Evening Star
Silver Moon
Sun Dance
Thunder Voice
Degrees of Guilt
FORTRESS OF MIST
PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Sigmund Brouwer
Cover design by Mark Ford
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
WATERBROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brouwer, Sigmund, 1959–
Fortress of mist : a novel / Sigmund Brouwer.—First edition.
pages cm.—(Merlin’s immortals; book 2)
Merlin’s immortals is a revised and expanded version of The winds of light series.
eISBN: 978-0-307-73122-7
[1. Druids and druidism—Fiction. 2. Knights and knighthood—Fiction. 3.
Civilization, Medieval—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction. 5. Great Britain—
History—Medieval period, 1066-1485—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B79984Fp 2013
[Fic]—dc23
2012039449
v3.1_r1
Contents
Midsummer, Northern England—AD 1312
M
IDSUMMER
, N
ORTHERN
E
NGLAND
—AD 1312
T
homas woke to a kiss on the forehead from a woman he once believed he had loved, a woman who had betrayed and spied upon him, a woman he had watched die.
But now, in the light of the single candle she held, she looked down upon him and smiled.
Isabelle.
“Thomas,” she whispered. “Thomas, I have returned.”
He tried to rub his face, but it felt as though his arms were pressed against his side. And because movement seemed nearly impossible, he told himself that he was still in the dream he’d been having before she kissed him.
In the dream, he’d been standing upon the same crest where he had seen the kingdom of Magnus for the first time.
At that initial sighting, the island in the center of the lake that protected Magnus had been placid, reflecting the sheep- and cattle-dotted hills that surrounded it. Then, the high stone walls that ringed the island and protected those inside had cast shadow onto the narrow drawbridge that made a full attack impossible.
In his dream, this was not how Magnus had appeared. In his dream, it had looked as it did on some of the mornings when Thomas would climb to a high point and wait for the sun to break over the
opposite side of the valley, watching shrouds of gray swirl upward from the water to hide the walls, so that the castle appeared to be a fortress of mist.
In his dream, he felt the same undefinable loneliness of yearning that drove him to sit in solitude and wait for the sun to burn away the mist and reveal the unmistakable reality of stone and iron that Thomas had conquered. In his dream, he still knew the truth: Sarah, his mother and the one who taught him of his destiny, had died. William, the knight who’d become a friend and mentor, was gone. Katherine, the first person in Magnus he could trust, had disappeared. In his dream, he felt as he did in waking—that the victorious joy he felt as the rightful heir of his reclaimed kingdom had dissolved into the burdens of duty, no differently than the mists evaporated in sunlight.
In his dream, he’d heard a voice from the mist calling his name, until the softness of lips against his forehead had pulled him from the mists and brought him the realization that it was Isabelle.
“Thomas,” she whispered. “Thomas, I have returned.”
More awake now, Thomas told himself to reach under his pillow for the dagger he kept there as protection. While soldiers guarded the only door into his bedchamber, high up in the castle, Magnus still contained too much mystery. Trust, he had early decided, was a dangerous luxury, and he always slept with a weapon nearby.
With great effort, he pulled his arms away from his body, yet it felt as if his hands were moving through warm tar. He let out a deep breath and tried to sit, but could move no further. His silk sleeping gown rustled softly as he tried to move, but it felt like a giant hand held him in place, squeezing him at the waist. What was happening to him? Could it be that he still dreamed, but dreamed that he was awake?
“Thomas,” Isabelle said, her voice too clear, too urgent, to be the work of his sleeping mind. “I offer no harm. We must speak.”
Shadows of the candle flickered across her face.
Impossible. He had seen the blow that had crushed her skull.
Her death had occurred shortly after Thomas had brought Isabelle for an audience, to interrogate her for her actions in the days just before and just after he had won the kingdom. He had been leaning forward to absorb the words he would never forget.
“Thomas, there is a great circle of conspiracy. Much larger than you and I … and there is much at stake.… Haven’t you wondered why this castle is set so securely, so far away from the outer world? Why would anyone bother attacking a village here? Yet an impenetrable castle was founded. And by no less a wizard than Merlin.”
That’s when the door had exploded open. A man, rushing toward them with a short club extended, the guards on his heels. The man swinging the club before Thomas could dive forward. Isabelle, motionless with blood matting her hair. Her attacker had worn the peculiar cross symbol on his ring that matched the medallion hanging on a chain around Isabelle’s neck.
Hours later, her head bandaged but still unconscious, Isabelle’s ragged breathing had slowed, then stopped, and she had died in his arms while the doctor looked on, shaking his head grimly, his fingers still stained with her blood.
“Thomas, there is a great circle of conspiracy … much at stake.”