Shard Knight (Echoes Across Time Book 1) (18 page)

Pride lowered his hand, and the shield returned to its normal color and size.

Rika pulled in short ragged breaths through clenched teeth and remained on her hands and knees.

“I’m happy to keep this up,” Pride said. “Can we drop this charade? Or should I keep going?”

“No! Please don’t hurt her again,” Finn said.

Rika’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I never stopped looking for you father. I never gave up.”

Finn’s face sagged. He looked like he’d aged ten years in mere minutes. “Why didn’t you go back to Ayralen Rika? I never wanted this for you.”

“While I’m all for family reunions, I’m a busy man. Ambassador Finn, I believe it’s time for you to share all you know of Elan’s Heart.” Pride held out his palm and let spirit energy gather. “Where have you hidden Elan’s rings?”

“I’ve told you, I don’t -”

The shield surrounding Rika surged to life, and her body convulsed as blue energy crackled around her crawling across her skin as if alive. Her eyes bulged and rolled back in her head. She drifted on the edge of consciousness as her body seized.

“You’ll kill her Pride. Stop!” Finn said.

“It’s you killing her Ambassador. I’m willing to let the girl die. You can make it stop.”

Rika’s mouth hung open as her self-control slipped away.

Finn’s eyes widened with panic. “Stop and I’ll tell you everything I know. She’s dying.”

Warmth spread through Pride’s body. Elan had prevailed. He released the ball of spirit in his palm and smiled. He’d brought these dogs to heel.

Rika’s body went limp as the torrent of energy ceased, and she lay motionless with only the restraining shield holding her in place.

Pride snapped his fingers and motioned to the shard healer on duty. “Corporal, I need her awake if you please.”

The knight knelt next to Rika and placed her hand on Rika’s back. A white glow spread from her hand across Rika’s back before enveloping her entire body.

Rika gasped and snapped her eyes open. She sat back on her knees dazed.

“Ambassador Finn. If I’m forced to do that again, I won’t stop until she’s dead.”

Finn nodded. “I’ve seen one ring in Ayralen. I thought I’d find the second ring here in Meranthia.”

“Fine. Tell me what you know,” Pride said.

“Father no!” Rika said

“I won’t let him kill you Rika. Not like this,” Finn said.

“He’ll kill us both anyway,” Rika said.

“You’re right about that Miss Finn, but if I receive cooperation from both of you, your death won’t happen today. Perhaps you’ll find salvation in one of our new colonies. Your immediate survival depends on the information I receive. If it satisfies Elan’s curiosity, I’m not without compassion for your plight,” Pride said. “Please proceed Ambassador.”

“One ring belongs to Danielle Deveaux. She’s the Prime Guardian’s daughter. She wears it on a chain around her neck,” Finn said.

“Have you shared all your secrets? Anything about Elan’s Heart that you haven’t mentioned? Please be aware, if you lie, I’ll know, and your daughter will pay with her life.”

Finn’s eyes widened darting from left to right. “I believe the rings interact with Elan’s Heart in some way, but that’s just a theory. That’s all I know. I’ve told you everything,” Finn said.

Pride glared at Rika. “Miss Finn, your father’s life depends on straight answers to my questions. If you attempt to deceive me in any way, I’ll kill him where he stands. Elan knows, his life no longer serves a purpose.”

Rika’s face went ashen. “You’re a monster.”

“Those who follow Elan’s law, I treat with love, kindness, and respect. I confess to upholding Elan’s Word. I’m trying to remove the blight your species has inflicted on our realm.”

Rika’s jaw clenched. “What do you want to know?”

Pride put on his best smile. “That’s the spirit! Maybe there is potential for you Miss Finn. I need information about the boy. Where’s he now?”

“I’ve no idea. I was unconscious when he escaped. Don’t you remember?”

“Yes, but you must’ve planned an escape.”

“Ronan and I planned to escape through Gulley’s tomb. We’d made no plans after that. Lord Randal told me Patron Tyrell rescued him which I thank God for.”

Pride flinched. “Elan is God, and He had no intention of rescuing that vile traitor.” His voice rang with contempt. “Where’s Tyrell? He’s wanted for murdering the queen. Did you concoct this plan with him? Remember, your father’s life depends on the answer.”

“Ronan thinks Tyrell fled to Ayralen. He assumed Tyrell thought he died in the house fire. I’m sure Tyrell’s appearance surprised him.”

Pride crossed the room and stood within arm’s reach of Finn. He stretched out his palm and gathered a ball of pure spirit. Pride inched the crackling blue orb toward Finn’s nose until it hummed a hair’s width away.

Rika’s eyes went wide with shock. “I’ve told you everything. You promised to spare his life.”

“Remember Miss Finn, if I find out you’ve lied today. I’ll kill you both.”

Sweat beaded on Finn’s brow, and his body trembled.

Pride dropped his hand, and the ball dissipated into nothing. “Niles, send the Ambassador and his daughter to the colonies. I have no further use of them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Lord Randal said.

A Prince’s Regret

Eight hundred yards away the six-horned buck took its final drink from the cool mountain stream. It reacted too late, mere moments before impact. Feral instincts that had kept the beast alive, didn’t work against a shard imbued hunter firing a bow from half a mile away.

The arrow struck the beast broadside just behind its front leg sinking to the arrow’s fletching. The buck whined and gave a brief struggle, but the fatal shot struck true. The deer collapsed after running a few steps.

As Ronan came on the buck, he drew no satisfaction from the act. He ate or died, and thought the latter a fitting end. He drew his belt knife and dropped to a knee beside the fallen deer.

Patron Tyrell crouched next to Ronan bearing his knife and helped with the field dressing. “That was fine shooting Ronan. Clean and quick.”

Ronan grunted as he worked. He didn’t want or deserve the praise. He could rank dropping a defenseless deer as his highest achievement during his entire dismal life.

Tyrell went about his business without further conversation. They dragged the deer carcass to the river’s edge and secured it on a rocky overhang letting the blood drain.

Ronan had forced Tyrell to endure three weeks of silence and one-sided conversation. He didn’t want to talk and needed no reminder of his utter failure. That disastrous night haunted his memories every moment of the day.

His recklessness and arrogance had placed Rika’s life in jeopardy, or worse, death. Hindsight made the choices that night obvious. She’d followed him because she trusted him. Even though she bled from a wound far more serious than she said, Rika never complained.

How had he missed the evidence Tyrell left him? His cloak fastener marked the entrance to the passage beneath Gulley’s tomb like a painted arrow, and Ronan had ignored the sign.

She had urged him to find Tyrell and take a few scant minutes to think about their plan. He’d yelled at her like a fool and plunged ahead running his life on a mixture of rage and revenge. Ronan couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever placed another person ahead of his own selfish desires. Why had she paid for his blind arrogance?

Tyrell’s cabin lay a day’s walk through the foothills and pine trees of Kipley’s Vale. From there, Freehold lay another three days south. They hadn’t seen another person for days, but a dozen villages surrounding Freehold had posted generous rewards for information leading to their capture or death.

“Let’s make camp here tonight,” Tyrell said.

Making camp had turned into a daily ritual. Ronan gathered enough wood to fuel the fire for the entire night while Tyrell prepared camp.

They worked without speaking each man going about his routine.

Ronan set the last piece of wood atop the pile he’d made on the swept earth Tyrell had prepared for the fire. He carved venison from the deer carcass they’d dragged to the edge of camp.

As the sun’s last light set over the evergreen forest, the heavy scent of campfire smoke blended with the mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat. The perfect evening temperature accentuated the eastern moon rise under a field of stars replacing the orange and yellow hues of sunset.

Glassy-eyed, Ronan sat staring into the embers. Not bothering with a knife, he gnawed free a chunk of venison where it sat skewered atop a dirty stick. He chewed without any thought to taste as grease coating his lips dribbled down his chin becoming trapped in his thick beard. The grease ran through his beard spattering droplets on the ground between his legs. He didn’t bother to clean his face.

Tyrell sat across the fire staring at Ronan with concern deepening the lines etched in his face. “How long are you planning to live like a vagabond? It’s time to take control of your life.”

Ronan leveled a dull-eyed stare at Tyrell. “Master Tyrell, with all due respect, everything I touch turns to ash. I’m a horrible decision maker, and honestly, I’m not that bright. Rika will be better-off without me mucking up her life.” Ronan’s shoulders sagged. “Besides, she’s probably dead by now or worse,” he said, voice trembling.

“So you’ve decided?” Tyrell stood and stretched. “We’ll pack up and head to Ayralen tomorrow. Traveling by night will be safer, so pack any supplies -”

Ronan glared at Tyrell. “I’m not leaving.”

“You said you weren’t willing to help Rika, and I came to save you,” Tyrell said. “Rather than live like bandits, we should head to a country that won’t hang us on sight.”

“I want to help her. If I could save her this second…I don’t know how Master Tyrell.” His voice shook with desperation. “I’m afraid she’ll die if I intervene.”

Tyrell settled back into his seat and nodded. “I see. Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Ronan shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Tyrell said.

Ronan’s eyes narrowed. “Have you lost your mind? Of course I don’t. You’re the smartest man I know.”

Tyrell nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate that.” He picked a stick from the wood pile and prodded the campfire’s embers. “If I’m so smart, why did I allow your mother to die on my watch?”

Ronan froze and set aside his venison. “Master Tyrell, what happened five years ago was beyond your control. My circumstance was far different. I could’ve stopped anytime. Instead, I made one bad decision after another.”

“Ronan, I lost you for five years.” His voice trembled. “Do you know how many times I’ve replayed that night in my mind?”

Ronan stared straight ahead into the fire afraid to breathe.

“I made a series of bad decisions that day. Had I changed a single one, your mother would live today. I should’ve uncovered Pride’s plot before it got that far, and I never should’ve ignored my instincts after your match with Bryson. The lies Pride told us in the changing room narrowly convinced me of his innocence. Looking back, Bryson’s message appears an obvious decoy when combined with everything we knew. I should’ve done my job and protected you and your mother when you needed me most, and I never should’ve left you alone in that townhouse.”

Ronan held Tyrell’s gaze for several moments before he spoke. “You made the best decisions you could with the knowledge you held at that moment. It’s easy to second-guess yourself.”

Tyrell stared at Ronan for a long moment letting his advice linger above the crackling fire.

The realization struck Ronan like a battle knight’s backhand. Running away made Rika’s problems worse, and he could no longer afford self-pity. Wallowing in his own misery couldn’t help Rika and served to make him feel worse.

Tyrell’s steel blue eyes bored a hole through Ronan. “Ronan, it’s not the mistakes we make that define our legacy. It’s how we react to those mistakes that give us character.”

Heat spread through Ronan’s face. He’d acted a fool long enough. He used his sleeve to wipe away the grease smears from his beard. “I don’t know where to start Master Tyrell.” His shoulders sagged.

“It starts with one good man Ronan. One good man can change the world.”

Ronan met his master’s gaze, and an ember of determination warmed his chest.

“Stop punishing yourself,” Tyrell said. “Rika needs you to be Ronan Latimer. Trust her.”

Ronan winced. Could the man read his mind? “You sound like Rika. She’d have a few choice words for me right now.”

“She sounds like a smart woman.”

“I love her Master Tyrell. I’ve never told her, but I do. She has no idea.”

Tyrell stared into the fire wearing a thoughtful expression. “I’m sure she knows, but the next time you see her, you can tell her yourself.”

Ronan let out a deep breath. “Thank you…for everything.”

Tyrell shrugged. “Someday your son will need the same advice. When that day arrives, you’ll know what he needs to hear.”

“What do we do? I’m open to ideas,” Ronan said.