The Kinshield Legacy (56 page)

Daia swallowed. She hesitated to ask what it could be, fearing she already knew the answer.

“Now that you got your problems ironed out with the Sisterhood, I’m guessing you’ll want to return to the compound and continue your life as before.”

She scowled at him. “No, Gavin, I made a vow to you, and I intend to honor it.”

He nodded. “I know, but I’m just saying if that’s what you prefer to do, I’d release you with no hard feelings.”

“You don’t seem to understand,” she said. She turned so she could look directly into his eyes without straining her neck. “I told you that you won’t have to do this alone. If you don’t want my help, you’ll have to send me away. I won’t leave voluntarily.”

His dark eyes deepened, and she felt his gentle touch with her mind. She took the connection firmly, intently, such that he wouldn’t doubt whether she would help him with whatever he asked, whenever he asked.

“Good,” he said, pulling back his mental brush. “’Cause I need you. Not just your conduit gift, Daia. You. Your sword, your strength, your insight, your faith in me – you helped me find the courage to confront Ravenkind. Now I need you by my side to face what’s to come.” He took a deep breath. “Ever since I realized that being king is... something I got to do, I’ve wanted to ask you something. I’m not sure what the protocol is, so I’m just going to ask.”

Oh crap
, she thought.
Here it comes.
Her heart began to tick madly. “Gavin, wait. Before you say anything more, I have to tell you: I’m not well-suited for this. I gave up the opulence and ostentatiousness of nobility so that I could help people. And I want to help you, just not in that way.”

He cocked his head. “What are you saying?”

She rested a hand on his forearm, feeling the soft hair and the warmth of his skin. “I’m saying I’m not the right choice to be your wife and queen.”

A smile crept over his face. He covered her hand with his own. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not asking you to marry me.”

She jerked in surprise. “You’re not?” Her face tingled with embarrassment.

His smile fell away as he shook his head slowly. He picked up her hand and gripped it as he would in a handshake. “Daia, I’m asking you to be my champion.”

Read the conclusion of Gavin Kinshield’s adventure in The Wayfarer King, book two of the Kinshield Saga.

The Wayfarer King
Chapter 1

He picked up her hand and gripped it as he would in a handshake. “Daia, I’m asking you to be my champion.”

The smell of the crackling mesquite logs in the fireplace at the Elegance Inn filled Gavin Kinshield’s nose, and the flicker of the fire’s golden light on Daia’s face illuminated the shock in her gaping mouth and wide eyes. Gavin grinned, amused that she hadn’t anticipated the question. Wasn’t that what she wanted? She’d hinted as much in the days leading up to their journey to the Rune Cave and assumed the role in the three days since.

Their relationship had been forged on the roads of Thendylath in search of a kidnapped blacksmith. It had been sharpened in the battle against Brodas Ravenkind for the sword, Aldras Gar, and for the King’s Blood-stone. Now it would be polished and wielded over a lifetime of battle and labor as he worked to rebuild the country as its new king. He’d received her pledge of fealty already, but this was different.

Her hand tightened around his own. “Yes. With all my heart, yes.” Her voice quavered thickly. Her pale-blue eyes gleamed in the flickering light of the fire. “I would love nothing more, and I’m honored you asked.” Still gripping his hand, she went to one knee before him. “I, Daia Saberheart, daughter of Dashel Celónd, pledge my life to protect and serve you. As your champion, I offer this solemn vow: to take up arms and defend your health, your honor and your right to rule Thendylath. As I swear before my king, this service is yours for as long as I draw breath.”

“Did you just make that up?”

Letting go of his hand, Daia smiled as she retook her seat on the chair beside him. “Yes. Did you like it?”

“It sounded very courtly.” Gavin breathed his relief. “Awright, that’s one thing off my mind. Now for the rest.”

“What worries you more, the demon in the palace or Ravenkind?”

Gavin ran his tongue over the gap where his right eyetooth used to be. Brodas Ravenkind, no doubt livid over losing the battle for the King’s Blood-stone, wanted Gavin dead, but monstrous beyonders invaded the realm of men every day, slaughtering innocent people, leaving orphans and widows and parents torn apart by grief. These were his people. Their safety was his first concern. “Ravenkind can wait. As long as Ritol’s imprisoned in the palace, the invasion will never end. I got to deal with Ritol first.”

“
We’ve
got to. You’re not alone. Did your vision in Sohan give you any idea how to send it back?”

It wasn’t a vision he’d had but an ancient memory. He knew that now, and he knew what he had to do. The notion of facing the most powerful of beyonders gave Gavin a chill. He stood and went to the fire to warm himself, but its heat did nothing to comfort him from the shuddersome thoughts roiling through his mind. “King Arek’s plan was to enter the beyonders’ realm and summon Ritol. He was going to take Ronor along to buy him time to find the vortex and return home, but for some reason, he abandoned the plan. He said it was flawed, but he didn’t tell me why. I think it was because he didn’t have you.”

“But you do. What’s our plan? How are you supposed to find the vortex and summon Ritol?”

Gavin returned to his seat. “Help me a second, will you?” He felt Daia’s mystical conduit-force connect with him. At once, his muscles felt stronger, his hearing sharper, his thoughts clearer. He let his mind drift two hundred years into the past when he was Ronor Kinshield, champion to King Arek, back to the moment he found the king in his private study, chiseling the runes into the tablet, infusing the five gems with his magic. Images and memories flooded his mind, images of the king lying broken and dying, the queen brutally slain in a cave, memories of the lordover’s comforting words assuring him they would devise a way to restore the monarchy.

He pushed aside the haunting images and thought back to the times they’d traveled across the country. King Arek would sometimes stop, peer into the distance, then change course to find someplace that looked like any other place to Ronor’s eye. Then he would step through an invisible door into nothingness and come back hours or sometimes days later with stories of beings both terrifying and lofty. Somehow Gavin was supposed to know how to do that too.

He released the connection with Daia and blinked, clearing away the images and settling his eyes back on the inn’s hearth. “King Arek used his magic to find the vortex. Guess I got to learn how, then go through it.”

She nodded. “Do you have what you need to summon Ritol once we get through the vortex?”

“Not yet. I need a Rune o’Summoning.” Ronor had never seen the rune, but he’d known there were two. King Arek had one, and Crigoth Sevae, the would-be usurper who’d summoned Ritol, had the other. “King Arek died in the palace with one in his possession. Sevae had the other, but I don’t remember where he lived, so I don’t know where to look for it.”

“Remember?”

Gavin realized she didn’t know he was Ronor Kinshield reborn because he hadn’t told her. That detail would stay his secret for now. Maybe forever. “Did I say remember? Anyway, maybe the curator at the museum in Ambryce has Sevae’s rune in his collection. I want Stronghammer to put the other two gems into the hilt o’my sword, anyway.” He’d been carrying the fourth and fifth gems from the Rune Tablet around with him and was eager to have them safely placed into the hilt so he wouldn’t lose them. “Let’s leave for Ambryce tomorrow.”

“Perhaps the mage who enchanted it can teach you to find the vortex. I’ll introduce you.” She yawned and stood. “We should try to get some sleep. It’s a long ride.”

“Yeh, goodnight.” He stared into the fire, listening to her footsteps fade up the stairs. Though Ritol troubled him, something else kept him from sleep and twisted his gut with worry, something Brodas Ravenkind said four years ago, after slaying Gavin’s wife and daughter.

Cross me again and I’ll kill every Kinshield in Thendylath and deliver their heads to you.

Available now where The Kinshield Legacy is sold.

About the author

I grew up in the mid-western USA and in Hawaii, and earned a B.A. in Russian from Florida State University (go ‘Noles!). After a year in Taiwan teaching English and studying Mandarin Chinese, I lived in the Arizona desert where I founded a Rottweiler rescue organization, studied karate, went backpacking, tried sky-diving, did some downhill skiing, got a couple motorcycles, wrote software, and spent time on the shooting range. In 2010, I retreated to cooler, greener Georgia. I earn my living as a full-time writer.

As an independent author, I don’t have a team of publicists and marketing specialists to spread the word about this book. I’m just a writer sitting at my keyboard searching for readers like you. If you enjoyed the story, please tell a friend! If you are so inclined, a review or rating on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing would also be greatly appreciated.

If you’d like to contact me, visit my web site at http://www.kcmay.com/ or email me at [email protected] — I welcome your emailed comments!

Dedication

For my mom with love and gratitude.

Acknowledgements

From start to finish, I had a great deal of help and encouragement from my “local” friends and family, and from the friends I’ve made in the online writing community. My special thanks go to my brother, Kirk, who offered me his impressions and insights on the early drafts as well as the later, to Carol Scarr, who critiqued my novel not once but twice, to my writer buddies Connie Weidel, Jo Van De Walle, Susan Hopewell, and Tony Valiulis, and to my esteemed teacher, Carol Davis Luce who is also an amazing writer.

Sole Sacrifice