WindReaper
THE WINDLEGENDS SAGA
BOOK V:
by
Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Copyright © 2002 by Charlotte Boyett-Compo
New Concepts Publishing edition January 2007
Cover art by Jenny Dixon, © copyright January 2007
Published by New Concepts Publishing
Smashwords Edition
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Dedication
To Stacey Bucholz:
With many thanks and much love. Happy reading, dear one!
WindLegends Saga
Glossary
Abbadon: Fortress of Prince Jaleel Jaborn; a dark and forbidding place.
Abdul Hussein: Owner of the Kilnt quarry in the Inner Kingdom
Ageless Ones: Depraved demons who control the wickedness of man
Amber-Lea MacFadden: Red-haired beauty who first catches Conar’s then Brelan’s eye; was lover to both.
Abyss: Hell
Asoteks: Fierce war-like tribe who lived on the land before it became Chrystallus.
Alel: Supreme god of the Seven Kingdoms
Alel’s Force: Men and women who fought against the evil that sprang up after the Burning War. (see James Alel)
Alexi Romanovitch: Foreman of the stone quarry in the Outer Kingdom
Ali-Sajin Balizar, Prince: Emir of Rysalia
Anastasia Steffensberg: Tzarina of the Outer Kingdom
Andre Belvoir, Sir: Master-at-Arms of Norus Keep; sentinel for Queen Medea of Oceania.
Andre Talebov: Outer Kingdom Healer
Antoine du Mer, Duke: Father of Cul du Mer
Anton Steffensberg: Tzar of the Outer Kingdom
Andre Andreanova: Yuri’s brother and a quarry worker in the Outer Kingdom
Angelique Saur: Mother of Brelan, one-time mistress of King Gerren McGregor
Anya Elizabeth Wynth: Daughter of King Shaz and Queen Medea of Oceania; sister of Princes Grice and Chand
Anya Katrine: Clipper ship captained by Serge Nicholayevice Kutuzov of the Outer Kingdom.
Appolyon Kiel: Commandant of the Labyrinth Penal Colony on Tyber’s Isle
Asher Stone: Rachel’s and Sajin’s brother.; Lives at Huhurn Oasis.
Azalon Ben-Hasheed: Asaraban merchant.
Balt: Town west of Boreas
Barracoon: Prison transport ship running to Guilder’s Cay
Baybridge: An asylum for the criminally insane
Baybridge Harbor: Entrance to the capitol of Virago
Belial: Henchman of Jaleel Jaborn; Sentinel to Princess Sybelle
Belios A Tobin: Battle cry which means Prince of the Wind
Bennett Beriault: Another illegitimate son of King Gerren McGregor
Bent Armitage: Giant who was the Chief Executioner of Serenia
Black Ascendency, The: Raven of Immortality; merged with Conar in Chrystallus
Blasdin McGregor: Gerren’s father; husband of Hestia
Boreas: Northern zone of Serenia
Boreas Keep: Fortress of the McGregor clan and capitol of Serenia
Boreal Queen: Cargo ship captained by Holm Van de Lar
Boreas Wind: A clipper ship
Boris Micalovek: One of the Outer Kingdom warriors
Borstal: Prison transport ship running to Guilder’s Cay
Brelan Saur: Illegitimate son of King Gerren McGregor
Brell: Royal family of Chale
Brianna McGregor, Princess: daughter of Conar and Catherine
Briar’s Hold Inn: Owned by Harry and Meggie Ruck; where Conar and Liza first consummated their love
Brotherhood of the Domination: An ultra-secretive society of sorcerers dedicated to ruling mankind through black magic
Brothers of the Wind: Priests who take care of the temples in the Seven Kingdoms
Burning War, The: Last war in which mankind was all but eradicated.
Capstan Mountains: Borders Kensett and Rysalia; highest peak is Mount Ireni
Carbondale Gate: Archway between Virago and Serenia
Catherine Steffenovitch: Daughter of Tzar Anton of Outer Kingdom; wife to Conar and mother of Brianna
Cayne Summerton: Healer at Boreas Keep
Celene McDonough: One of the women at Abbadon
Century: Where the Temple of the Winds is located.
Chale: Small Principality ruled by the Brell family; capitol at Meiraman; keep is called Briarcliff Keep
Chand Wynth, Prince: Youngest son of King Shaz of Oceania
Ching-Ching: Master of the martial arts in Chrystallus
Chaseton Montyne, Prince: Regent of Ionary
Chrystallus: Ruled by the Shimota family; keep is called Binh Tae Palace, capitol at Nyotoka
Ciona: Seaside town that is the home of Brelan Saur
Clere: The lawgiver God of the Seven Kingdoms
Comium: Hemlock
Conar Aleksandro McGregor: Prince Regent of Serenia; son of Gerren and Moira
Codian McGregor, Prince: Son of Glaen and Liza; known as Cody; had a twin brother who died at birth.
Colsaurus: A town in Serenia
Corinth: Town near the Temple of the Winds
Coron McGregor, Prince: Son of King Gerren and third in line to the McGregor throne
Courts of the Seven Kingdoms:
Chrysanthemum -- Chrystallus
Green Isles -- Chale
Hills -- Ionary
Sands -- Diabolusia
Sea -- Oceania
Storms -- Virago
Veldt -- Necroman
Wind -- Serenia
Creel Point: Dunes in Oceania
Cyle Alla Jemann, Princess: Galen McGregor’s first wife who died from a fall from the balcony at Norus Keep
Colsaurus: Town near Norus Keep
Cul du Mer, Duke: Father of Roget and Teal; owner of Downsgate
Daniel: One of Conar’s illegitimate sons
Daniel Pauley: Guard at the Labyrinth loyal to McGregor family
Daughters of the Multitude, The: Secret society of high born ladies dedicated to bringing harmony and peace back to the world
Deathwielder: Sword given to Conar when he was invested with his powers in Chrystallus
Demonicus: An arch-prelate of the Domination
Djebel ed Kjinn: Sybelle’s keep near Helix
D’Lynn du Mer: Illegitimate daughter of Duke Antoine du Mer; grandmother of Gezelle
Diabolusia: Desert country; capitol at Deseo, near Heaj; keep is called Devil’s Nest; ruled by the Sabina family
Dorrie Burkhart: Tavern maid at the Briar’s Hold
Downsgate: Ancestral home of the du Mer family
Drew Llywelyn: Illegitimate son of King Gerren; monk in the WindKeeper Order in Diabolusia
Dulwitch: Capitol of Eurus Zone of Serenia
Duncan Connor: Another illegitimate son of King Gerren; Raja’s sentinel
Dundenon: Military training town near Rommitrich Point
Dunswitch: A town near Norus Keep where Conar and his men were attacked and Rayle was killed
Dyllon McGregor: Son of King Gerren of Serenia and fourth in line to throne; married to Grace Brell, sister of Tyne
Dyriel McGregor Shimota: Sister of King Gerren and wife of Chrustallusian Emperor Tran.
Elite, The: Prince conar’s personal guard
Emmie Lou Tucker: Nanny to Conar’s children; wife of Ronnie
Epstein: Town where Ivor Keep is located
Eurus: Eastern Zone of Serenia; Capitol at Dulwitch is governed by Prince Coron McGregor
Fealst: Orphanage town in Oceania; capitol of Windswept Province
Galen Nicholai McGregor: Son of King Gerren and second in line to the Serenian throne; twin of Conar; regent at Norus
Galbrath Convent: Brutal nunnery run by the Brotherhood of the Domination
Gatherer, The: The Angel of Death
Gerren Yuri McGregor: King of Serenia and father of Conar; had numerous illegitimate offspring
Gezelle Castile: Servant girl at Norus taken in as Liza’s personal maid; half-sister of Roger and Teal du Mer
Ghurn: Penal colony town to west of Serenia
Gilbert Tarnes: First mate of the Boreal Queen
Great Abbey of the Domination: Temple of the Brothers of the Domination; located near Corinthian Pass. This is where the most secretive ceremonies are performed.
Great Lady, The: Leader of the Daughters of the Multitude aka Lady of the Waters; she is the Windmaster’s Mate and Keeper of the gate
Grice Wynth, Prince: son of King Shaz of Oceania
Grotto, the: Underground waterway where Prince Tristan was conceived, where Conar nearly died and Galen was murdered
Guil Ben-Shanar Gehdrin, Prince: Hasdu prince
Guilder’s Cay: Penal colony at Ghurn Colony
Hern Abra, Sir: Master-at-Arms of Boreas Keep and sentinel to Queen Moira
Holm Van de Lar: Captain of the Boreal Queen; husband of Mary and father of Jenny
Hujurn Oasis: Where Balizar Arbra’s camp was in Kensett
Habi Al-Kanoor: Slavekeeper
Haelstrom Point: Capitol of Virago
Haji El-Sabor: Stowaway eunuch
Harim Ahnaham: Assistant to Khan Subet and slave warden in Rysalia
Harry Ruck: Co-owner of the Briar’s Hold along with wife, Meggie
Hasdu: Tribe of desert nomads
Healers: Physicians
Hebra St. Martyne: Chielf Temple guard at Serenia and later Proconsul of Virago
Hesar: Royal family of Virago
Hestia McGregor: Gerren’s mother; wife of Blasdin
Holy Dale: Ancestral home of the Sorn family; near Wixenstead Harbor and not far from the Carbondale Gate.
Hound and Stag Tavern: Where Conar and Liza met
Hull: Town south of Boreas
Illuvia: One of the god Alel’s many wives; goddess of the seas (spelled Alluvia and Aluvia in some other countries)
Inner Kingdom: Country in the Ventura Province; Capitol is at Tasjorn and the royal family is Alla Lajeel.
Iomal: The city of Insults in the Southern Zone of Norus; once owned by Chale but now houses a contingent of the Southern Forces.
Ionary: Small principality ruled by the Montyne family; capitol at Derbenille and the keep there is called Ravenwood
Ipsmal: Town that is Zone capitol of Zephyrus ruled by Prince Dyllon
Ivor Keep: Estate owned by Legion A’Lex and given to him by his father, King Gerren; near Epstein in Boreas Zone; where Conar was conceived
Jabus Andoire: Cardinal of the Domination
Jabal: Inner Kingdom emirate just north of Rysalia. It has two princes, Raman and Nadar who were sent to the Labyrinth.
Jabol: One of the dual capitols of Kensett
Jabyl Jemann: Sheik of the Hasdu tribe; father of Princess Cyle
Jah-Ma-El: Illegitimate son of King Gerren; a priest in the Domination
Jaleel Jaborn: Hasdu Prince from Dahrenia who wished to marry Princess Cyle and took his revenge for her death out on Conar
James Alel: Commander of the North American Force fighting during the Burning War.
James Brigman: A Temple deacon
Janusk: Country in the Inner Kingdom
Jasmine Cay: Where Princess Nadia was born
Jasmine El-Gehdrin: Half-sister of Guil who is a dead ringer for Liza
Jemann Jaleem: Prince, son of Jabyl.
Jenny Van de Lar: Daughter of Holm
J’Nal: Viragonian greeting meaning ‘peace’
Joannie MacCorkingdale: Daughter of Boreas’ cook Sadie
Jobatik: First settler tribe of Chrystallusian lands
John Boggs: Stablemaster at Boreas
Jonas Crews: Illegitimate son of King Gerren
Jost: Town southwest of Breas Keep
Julian Faustine: Illegitimate son of King Gerren and twin of Morgan
Kaileel Tohre: Archbishop of the WindWarrior Society and Cardinal of Ordination for the Brotherhood of the Domination.
Kalli Jaborn, Prince: Jaleel’s brother
Kanan: Cousin of Chaim and servant to Princess Sybelle.
Katrina Balizar, Princess: sister of Rysalia Emir, Ali-Sajin
Kegl: Island off the coast of Virago
Keil Jabyur: High Priest who trained Jah-Ma-El at the Great Abbey of the Domination
Kensett: Country that is the emirate of King Soabe Ben-Alkazar, father of Sajin and Sybelle; dual capitols at Kharis and Jabol in the Capstanian Mountains
Khamsin: The name onar takes in the Inner Kingdom when he leads the Samiel (Wind Force) there.
Khan Subet: Slave trader
Kharis: One of the dual capitols of Kensett
Kharis El-Malich: Sabrina’s sentinel
Kilnt: Quarry where Storm Jale was worker
Kirk Newkern: One of King Gerren’s illegitimate sons and twin of Nathan.
Koussev: Mother language of the Outer Kingdom; high speech of the royalty.
Kym Taborn, Princess: Eldest daughter of Shalu
Lakeland: Town ten miles west of Century; where the Pigeon’s Roost tavern is
Lake Myria: Crescent shaped lake north of Boreas Keep
Legion A’Lex: Eldest of King Gerren’s sons and illegitimate. Commander of the Serenian Military and Vice Commander of the Serenian Forces.
Lucifus River: Border between Serenia and Diabolusia
Lydon Drake: Guard at the Labyrinth
Madalon: Great Circle of the Lost from whence came the sword called Deathwielder
Maelstrom: Mysterious bubbling waters that lead from one point in time to another
Mahmed Allajon: Slavetrader
Maiden’s Briar: Blow fish poison
Marsh Eden: One of Conar’s Elite and third in command behind Thom and Storm
Maxine Saur: Brelan’s mother
Medea Wynth: Wife of Shag and Queen of Oceania; mother of Grice, Helen Louise, Francis Jean, Martha Ann, Chand and Laura-Alana; surrogate mother of Anya Elizabeth
Meggie Ruck: Co-owner of the Briar’s Hold with husband Harry
Midworld: Where Inner and Outer Kingdoms are located
Miquel Espanoza: Diabolusian warrior who is an ally of Sybelle’s.
Moira Nadia Hesar McGregor: daughter of Syn-Jorn Hesar; wife of first Xander Hesar then Gerren McGregor; mother of Conar
Montyne: Royal family of Ionary
Morgan Faustine: Illegitimate son of King Gerren and twin of Julian
Myra Luz: Wife of Elite Morgan Luz; mother of Conar’s son, Wyn
Nadia Steffensberg: Daughter of the Outer Kingdom Tzar; sister of Catherine
Nathan Newkern: Illegitimate son of King Gerren and twin of Kirk
Necroman: Jungle country whose capitol is at Jhakar; keep is called Lionheart and it is ruled by the Taborn family.
Nicholas Beriault: Illegitimate son of King Gerren; was raped by Kaileel Tohre
Nikabuto, Master: World’s greatest Healer; lives in Chrystallus
North Boreal Sea: Northern waters above Serenia
Northwind: A clipper ship
Norus Keep: Regent home of Prince Galen and capitol of the Southern Zone; is one of the Pathways to the Maelstrom
Nyles Ben-Jani: Hasdu commander of archers sent to siege at Norus
Obelisk, The: The three-sided temple within the Shadowlands where the Daughters of the Multitude go to consult with the Great Lady and the Oracle.
Occultus Noire: High Priest of the Brotherhood of the Domination; was in line to be Arch-Prelate
Oceania: Island country ruled by the Wynth royal family; capitol at Seadrift.
Outer Kingdom: Land ruled by the Steffensberg royal family.
Palace of the Tzars: Steffensberg family home
Palace of the Winds: McGregor family home at Boreas Keep
Paegan Hesar: Youngest prince of Virago
Pearl Allegra: Champion wrestler living in Chrystallus
Peter Steffensberg: Son of Tzar Anton of Outer Kingdom
Rachel Stone: Sister of Asher; she is Liza’s double; was mistress of Jaleel Jaborn; mother of Daniel with Conar;
Raine Chastayne: Bastard son of Raphaella and Conar
Raine Jael: A Hasdu from Ventura
Raja DeLyle: The woman who first seduced Conar; mother of his illegitimate son, Regan
Raphaella Chastayne: The Windweaver, Keeper of the Loom; sister of Shaz Wynth and mother of Liza and Raine. She is the guardian of World’s End.
Raphian: The Supreme Evil Entity of the Domination; Bringer of Storms; Destroyer of Men’s Souls
Rasheed Falker: Prince Guil’s henchman
Ravenwind: Black flag ship of the Raven’s Wind Force; was once the Vortex prison transport
Rayle Loure: Was captain of Cona’rs elite; twin of Thompson (Thom); killed by Hasdu near Dunswitch
Regan DeLyle: Illegitimate son of Conar and Raja
Rhinea: Town s, sw of Boreas Keep
Robbie MacCorkingdale: grandson of Boreas cook Sadie; priest of the Brotherhood of the Domination; Kaileel Tohre’s right hand man.
Roget Du Mer: Son of Duke Cul and brother to Teal and Gezelle
Rommitrich Point: Old stone abbey near the city of Dunswitch in Eurus zone.
Ronnie Tucker: Keeper of the Kennels at Boreas; husband of Emmie Lou
Rupert Von Schlesendorg: Suitor for the hand of Catherine Steffernsberg
Rupine: A Hasdu Healer
Rylan Hesar: Crown prince of Virago; brother of Paegan
Rysalia (Middle Sector): Capitol of this country is at Dahrenia and is ruled by Shiek Jabyl Jemann; Abbadon fortress in near there.
Rysalia (Northern Sector): Nomad Emirate ruled by Jaleem family, capitol at Asaraba
Rysalia (Southern Sector): Capitol at Basaraba is ruled by Gehdrin family, Sheik Sadaam Gehdrin.
Sabrina, Lady: Owner of a breeding farm in the Inner Kingdom
Sadie MacCorkingdale: Cook at Boreas; mother of Joannie and grandmother of Robbie
Sajin Ben-Alkazar, Prince: Son of King Syam; brother of Sybelle, Jahi, Hashir, Mahmed, Nadir, Zadir, Kahlel, Balkar, Sagar, Nadar, Khan and Rasheed. He is known as The Hawk.
Samiel: Inner Kingdom Wind Force led by Khamsin (Conar McGregor)
Scrubroot: An astringent
Seachance: Oceanian clipper ship
Seachange: Conar’s second black stallion
Seaflower: Wynth family summer retreat
Seayearner: Conar’s black stallion
Sager El-Balidar: Arch-Prelate with Conar was a boy; grandfather of Guil Gehdrin
Sasheon Ben-Alkazar: Son of Sybelle and Conar
Se Huan: Young woman who cares for Conar in Chrystallus
Sentian Heil: Farmer turned Elite; sentinel to Liza
Serenian Star: Carries prisoners to Haelstrom Point
Serge Nicholayevich Kutuzov: Captain of the Anya Katrina
Seven Kingdoms, The:
Chale
Chrystallus
Ionary
Necroman
Oceania
Serenia
Virago
Sentinels: Warriors trained by the Daughters of the Multitude as guardians and messengers for a Daughter
Serenia: Capitol at Boreas and home of the McGregor clan.
Shadowlands: The mystical land where the Obelisk of the Daughters of the Multitude can be found.
Shalu Taborn: King of Necroman and father of Kym
Shaz Wynth: King of Oceania; husband of Medea; father of Grice, Helen Louise, Anya Elizabeth, Francis Jean, Martha Ann, Chand, and Laura-Alana
Shanyon David Phelps: ex-Elite who killed a Boreas temple guard.
Shasamie: Nomad wench who was one of Sorn Jamar’s prostitutes
Sirenes: The protector goddesses of the Multitude
Sorn Jamar: Nomad chemist who gets Conar addicted
South Boreal Sea: Southern waters below Serenia
Spittin’ Cat Tavern: Worse tavern in Boreas
Storm Jale: Elite guard and secondi n command of Elite forces behind Thom
St. Steffensberg: Capitol of the Outer Kingdom
Suzerains: Hasdu kidnappers
Svetlana Steffensbert: Daughter of Tzar and sister of Catherine of Outer Kingdom
Sybelle Beth-Alkazar: Sister of Sajin; keep at Djebel ed Kjinn near Helix in Deimann province; is an Amazeen and will bear Conar a son she names Sasheon
Takahemmanon Khyrtuslish: One of the archers at the siege of Norus; called Taka by his friends; is a Hasdu guide
Tamara: Conar’s Eldest illegitimate daughter
Tataina Steffensberg: Daughter of the Tzar and sister of Catherine
Teal du Mer: Half-brother of Roget and Gezelle; a gypsy
Temple of Chrystaus: Where Conar was given his powers during a ceremony in Chrystallus
Temple of the Winds: A university for the advanced training of WindWarriors, at Century near Corinth
Tenerse: A very powerful drug that is highly addictive. When mixed with various other liquids can achieve diverse results…
(1. Milk: strong sexual arousal; aphrodisiac
(2. Ale: severe, irrational anger
(3. Water: potent sedative; hangover cure
(4. Wine: stupor, hallucinations, ear ringing
(5. Brandy: Uncontrollable anger
(6. Taro root: severe heightening of pain
(7. Vinegar: severe lessening of pain
(8. Fruit juice: poison
(9. Mead: madness, irrational behavior (depending on amount)
(10. Distilled Water: what Reapers take to control Transitions
Tia: One of Conar’s illegitimate daughters
Tjorn Faulker: Rasheed’s father
Tolkan Coure: Arch-Prelate of the Brotherhood of the Domination
Traer Saur: Brelan’s grandfather
Tran Shumota: Emperor of Chrystallus and husband of Dyreil McGregor
Treacle: A healing potion
Tristan McGregor: Son of Conar and Liza; adopted by Galen as his own
Tribunal: Governing body of the Seven Kingdoms
Tymothy Kullen: Guard at the Labyrinth; raped Holm Van de Lar’s daughter, Jenny
Tyne Brell, Prince: Regent of Chale; excellent swordsman; sister Grace is married to Dyllon McGregor
Vanion: Liza’s familiar
Vasdane: Male and female familiar of Conar’s
Veldon: A quarry in the Outer Kingdom
Ventura: Homeland of Princess Cyle Jameem
Virago: Capitol at Haelstrom Point; governed by the Hesar Family; keep is called Tempest Keep
Vortex: Carries prisoners to Tyber’s Isle
Windflower: Flagship of King GerrenMcGregor
Windkeeper: Liza’s gray mare
Windswept: Ship Holm Van de Lar used to take the royal sons on when there were small
WindWarrior Society: A mystical sect of men dedicated to the preservation and protection of their individual homelands.
Wixenstead: The outlaw Syn-Jern Sorn’s hideout
Wynland: Conar’s eldest illegitimate son by a woman named Myra whom he later marries to one of his Elite, Morgan Luz
Conar lifted the goblet and took a long drink, and then his lips stretched into a smile that reminded Liza of a panther mesmerizing its prey. His black shirt was opened to the waist. A hanging brazier, directly behind him, lit his golden blond hair like a shining beacon and reflected off the sheen of his black leather boots. As he again raised the goblet to his lips, a flash of silver fire arced from the metal and lit his face, a face that had all the predatory scorn and power of a jungle beast etched on its hard planes. When he lowered the goblet, he licked his lips, his eyes still holding hers. Liza felt the power of that gaze flit through her belly like wildfire.
By the smug turn of his lips, the knowing smirk on his finely chiseled mouth, the bored look in his expressive eyes, he obviously knew he held her in his power, and seemed to be enjoying her trepidation. Liza felt her knees shaking. It seemed he was draining her, sucking the life from her body, and she put out a hand as though to ward him off.
The instant she did, understanding lit up his face. One tawny brow lifted slowly in acknowledgment of her predicament.
“Don’t,” she whispered, beseeching him.
Conar gave her a vengeful smile. The blue heat from his arrogant, hateful gaze impaled her, violated her. For a fleeting moment, those blue orbs sparked with a fire that leapt out at her, as though he were reminding her of his previous ownership, his right to her body, his place as her master ...
Terrible and dreadful is he,
From himself derive his law and his majesty.
Swifter than leopards are his horses,
And keener than wolves at evening.
His horses prance,
His horsemen come from afar:
They fly like the eagle hastening to devour;
Each comes for the rapine,
Their combined onset is that of a stormwind
That heaps up captives like sand.
He scoffs at kings,
And princes are his laughingstock;
He laughs at any fortress,
Heaps up a ramp, and conquers it.
Then he veers like the wind and is gone--
This culprit who makes his own strength
His God!
Habakkuk 1: 7-12
PART 1
Chapter One
His sons were playing tag along the garden wall, ducking in and out of shrubs and bushes, squealing with childish glee, pretending to shoot one another with invisible bows. They had dark hair like his and Liza’s, but they had his bright, sky-blue eyes. “A deadly combination,” Gezelle had said, when she told him how the little girls in the village were already beginning to follow the two boys about. They were handsome lads, Legion thought with pride, and getting taller every day, it seemed. Jarad would be five in April; Kells, the youngest, and by far the most precocious, would be four in two days’ time.
King Legion A’Lex turned his proud gaze to the boy he had taken on as his own. The boy was sitting beside him on the fountain, staring wistfully at his half-brothers as they ran about. The seven-year-old had a heavy frown on his face.
“It won’t be long now,” Legion remarked, patting the boy’s knee.
Codian McGregor turned melancholy eyes to the man he knew as uncle and father, and grimaced. “It just bores the heck out of me.”
Legion threw back his head and laughed. “I know.” He glanced at the lad’s left leg, encased in a heavy cast. “When the cast comes off, you should try safer and more graceful pursuits than falling down stairs.”
Codian, his shy gaze following Jarad as the child leapt with ease over a low shrub, shrugged. “I think so, too, Papa.”
“You could try teaching your brothers and sister how not to break a leg,” Legion teased.
Codian blushed and ducked his head. He thought back to his laughing commentary as he tried to show his younger siblings how to slide down the curving banister from their sleeping chambers to the main floor. He had failed dismally. And had broken his leg in the process.
“I don’t tink I care to wearn dat,” Kells had told him with a smug look on his almost four-year old face as Codian howled with pain. “Must huwt wike hell, huh?”
Tall and ungainly for his seven years, Codian--or Cody, as his mother called him--thrived on his role as teacher to the younger children. He had set himself up as their tutor, confidante, and all-around boss. He dreamed of one day becoming a great scholar and felt he had the brain for it. Although Cody knew, should anything happen to his older brother, Corbin, who was interned at the Great Abbey of the Domination high atop Mount Serenia, he, himself, would one day be King, his thoughts were not of ruling.
The boy was really painfully shy and nervous. Strangers made him uneasy and he preferred a good book to conversation. Unlike his father before him, Cody McGregor did not covet what, by rights, was not his. Instead, the only son of Galen McGregor was thankful for whatever he was given, accepted it with pleasure, and asked for no more.
“Cody?” a small voice called. He sighed, looked to the heavens, and then turned to Legion. There was rampaging misery on his face. “Papa?” he pleaded.
“Might as well answer her, Cody,” Legion warned. “She won’t give up.”
Cody nodded sagely, sighed again, and shook his head. “Ain’t that the truth?” he asked in a voice beyond his years. He looked about when his name was called in a more plaintive cry. “Over here, Jillian!”
Jillian’s face was excited as she ran to A’Lex and her half-brother. She held out her hands. “Look what Uncle Marsh gave me!”
Legion, uncle and father to the girl, let out a long breath. He was going to kill Marsh Edan yet. “Who’s going to care for it, Jillian?” He eyed the little puppy with a mock frown.
“Me, Papa!” Jillian exclaimed, cuddling the puppy close to her chest. She planted a loud kiss on the wiggling puppy’s head. “His name is Deogie.”
Cody actually winced. “De-o-gie?” he asked in an exasperated voice.
Jillian smirked. “You named your cat that silly name. Why can’t I name my puppy just as silly a name?”
Legion’s lips twitched and he gazed sideways at Cody. The boy was not only blushing, he looked positively embarrassed.
“ ‘Ceatie’ isn’t a silly name,” he defended. “It’s an ancient Viragonian name meaning ‘jungle hunter.’” He narrowed his gaze. “I told you that.”
The little girl, only ten months younger than Cody, lifted her snub nose and turned her pretty little face to Legion. “It spells ‘cat,’ Papa. Doesn’t it?”
“I believe so, dearling.” Legion felt as though he was looking at Brelan Saur when her dark eyes lit in triumph. She turned them to Cody with condescension.
“See?” she snapped.
Cody sighed as though he had the troubles of the world on his thin shoulders. He looked away and saw Gezelle’s oldest boy, Christos, being bombarded with make-believe arrows. The three-year-old melodramatically clutched his chest and fell down to the giggling glee of his playmates. Cody sighed again and wished he could be playing with them. He liked to assume the role that Jarad was now playing to the hilt.
“I am the Dark Overlord of the Wind!” Jarad called as he leapt to a stone bench and clutched his right fist over his heart. “I will set things to rights! I will turn the world with my bare hands!”
“You’ll turn that bench over if you don’t get down, Jarad A’Lex,” his mother said quietly from her place under the spreading willow. “Get down.”
Legion chuckled. Liza was sitting there, knitting in hand, not paying attention to her brood’s rampaging of the garden, yet she was perfectly aware of everything going on around her.
“Mama!” Jillian shrieked, running to the willow. “Look what Uncle Marsh gave me now!”
“Maybe she’ll bother Mama for a while,” Cody said with a sigh of relief. Legion flinched as the stone bench on which Jarad had been standing toppled over. The boy fell backward into a hydrangeas bush. The look on his face was priceless: mouth open in surprise, eyes going to his mother, face turning a scarlet red.
“Are you hurt?” his mother asked, still not looking up.
The scarlet red turned darker. “No, Mama.”
“Put the bench back up.” She lifted her head and fixed her son with a stern look. “And don’t climb on it again.”
“Yes, Mama,” the boy promised, his face averted.
“You’re too hard on our children, Liza,” Legion called to her.
Those lovely green eyes shifted to him. “Someone has to be, Milord,” she said in a prim voice, then lowered her head over her knitting again.
Legion A’Lex loved all the children his wife had birthed, but was especially fond of their youngest, Kells-- “the three-year old with a mouth,” as Cayn had labeled him just the day before. The boy had the intellect of a child four times his age, and was nothing but a bundle of ready-made mischief. His backside stayed black and blue from Legion’s palm.
“Tow de line, Jawad!” Kells smirked as his older brother tried to right the bench by himself, a task proving a tad too hard for the youngster’s strength. “Tow de line, boy!”
“Kells,” his mother warned. She looked at him, one black brow perfectly arched.
“Just setting tings to wights, Mama. Like de Dark Overword would.”
Liza glanced toward her husband and smiled. How often of late had they heard preposterous tales of the man they called “Darkwind” and his renegade group of freedom fighters? The children had become enamored of the man, yet no one really knew anything of him except that he seemed to be able to be in five places at once.
“I believe the Dark Overlord would help a man in need,” Liza told Kells. She glanced pointedly at Codian who had hobbled over and was struggling mightily with the stone bench. “Isn’t that right, Legion?”
“So I’ve heard,” Legion agreed.
Kells frowned. “I suppwose so.” He nudged Jarad to one side, and the two of them helped Codian, whose face was red with his efforts to right the bench.
Kells dipped his knees and lifted his end of the bench, moving the stonework into place. When he was through, he dusted his small hands and jabbed a finger at his chest. “I will be de Dawkwind foe a while!”
None of the boys questioned his statement. They simply fell into play with Kells leading.
A’Lex shook his head. The brat was a handful. He glanced at his wife and saw a secret smile on her pretty face. No doubt she thought so, too.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her.
Her smile widened. “Quite well, Milord.”
He nodded, his attention going to her protruding belly. It wouldn’t be long before the brood of kids had a little sister, he had been informed. When you were married to a Daughter of the Multitude, you didn’t need to ask how she knew what sex her babe would be.
When Legion heard Kells ordering his brothers about, he grinned, recalling what Kells had said about his mother’s latest pregnancy ...
The child had placed his fists on his hips and stared at her. “Annuder one? Wherevew shall we put dem all?”
“Isn’t the keep big enough for all of us?” Codian asked in a condescending tone. After all, it was wise to keep younger siblings in their place. It was a dogma by which Codian McGregor lived.
Kells turned a frosty stare to his big brother, not at all intimidated with the pique in Codian’s voice. “Gezelle has fwree boys and dat girl.” His upper lip lifted at Leonore, Gezelle’s dark-haired child of four summers, who looked at him with adoring eyes. “Modder alweady has five of us. Dat makes nine. Annuder one would be juss too damned much!”
“Kells!” his mother warned softly with her sternest voice.
“So?” Jarad asked in a bored tone.
“So ...” Kells snapped. “We shall be overwun with childwen!”
“There’s still plenty of room, Kells.” Legion laughed. “Your mother and I could have a child a year for the next twenty years and still not fill up the keep.”
Both Kells and Liza turned horrified eyes to Legion, but Kells’ shocked voice spoke for them both. “You awen’t planning on actuawy doing dat, are you, Papa?”
Legion shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought on it.”
Liza sniffed. “Well, do!”
Legion grinned and wagged his thick brows at her, but Liza was not appeased or amused. She frowned at him, her green eyes dark with reproach. She didn’t say more about his outlandish statement until they were preparing for bed that night.
“I really thought to have four to six more,” he teased.
“Then, you’d best think again, Milord!”
“Give me one good reason why we can’t have at least a dozen brats?” He tried to put his arms around her, but she slipped away.
“I will soon be thirty-one years, Legion. That is not a reasonable age at which to birth children. Nine is quite enough, thank you!” Her face turned dark and Legion knew she was thinking of the three children she had lost long ago, two by her first husband-- Conar--and the third, Codian’s twin brother, who had died at birth.
“You’re not old,” Legion said, wanting to take the pain from his wife’s heart. He darted around the bed and grabbed her, rubbing her belly, although she tried to push away his hands.
“Stop it!” she hissed.
His hands swept over her. “Stop?” he asked, cocking a brow.
“At your convenience, of course,” she murmured, melting into his arms…
The next morning, Legion’s grin widened as he remembered. It had been on nights such as that when this latest A’Lex offspring had been conceived.
“Legion?”
He turned to find Marsh Edan striding toward him. The man was now Master-at-Arms at Boreas.
As Storm Jale’s cousin, Marsh had taken in the man’s family when Storm was sent to the Labyrinth Penal Colony almost six years earlier. Along with Storm’s wife and three children, Sentian Heil’s wife, Sherind, and his four children had lived next door. Two years earlier, Storm’s and Sentian’s families had simply disappeared, and Marsh had been hard to console.
* * * *
“What could have happened to them?” the warrior had asked. “I come home and there’s a note saying they were leaving and for me not to worry. They up and go, telling me nothing about even wanting to, and then tell me not to worry?” His fist slammed down on Legion’s desk. “Where the hell could they have gone?”
Then, Thom Loure’s sister-in-law and her family had disappeared on the same day Ward Summerall’s wife and daughter did. Three days later, two more families disappeared from Boreas.
“Where are they going?” Marsh had asked.
Legion had a theory, but when he conveyed it to Edan, the man looked at him with astonishment.
“Storm? Why wouldn’t he have contacted me?”
“If he and Heil and the other men have joined the resistance fighters,” Teal du Mer remarked, “they wouldn’t want people to know their whereabouts. They sent for their families. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“You knew they were out, Marsh,” Legion reminded the warrior. “Remember, Brelan Saur sent word when he returned from Chrystallus. He got them all out of the Labyrinth.”
“But where are they, Legion?” Liza had asked when he told her of the missing families that evening. “Why haven’t Grice and Chand written? Why haven’t they sent word to me? It’s been more than six years since I’ve seen them.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, dearling. Brelan said they were fine. You know he wouldn’t lie to you.”
“They’ve been back two years, Legion! Two damned years and not once have I heard from them. Tell me why!”
But at the time, Legion hadn’t been able to explain why his wife’s brothers, or any of the others Saur had rescued, had not contacted them. Unless, he thought, they had joined the man called Darkwind and his resistance fighters, the Wind Force, as they were being called. Legion hoped not. The Wind Force were bound to be captured one day, just as the men who had led the original rebellion, and either killed or shipped to Tyber’s Isle.
That had been a year ago, Legion thought, and still the Wynth brothers had not returned to Serenia or Oceania. Liza had not seen her brothers for almost seven years.
* * * *
Now, Marsh stood before him, frowning. “Du Mer’s waiting for you in the study, Legion. Another family disappeared this morning.”
Legion stared at him. “How many does that make?”
Marsh’s brows drew together and he looked across the garden. “Ward Summerall’s family. Maurice Belyeaux left a few weeks ago.” He glanced at Legion. “That was Nyle’s youngest brother, the only one left in his family, I think.” He scratched his head. “The Lanier’s have been gone almost a year, and the Herndon’s left before that. That’s about thirty or so that’s come up missing.”
“All family members of men who were in the Labyrinth,” Legion sighed.
“I miss them, you know.”
Legion understood. Marsh, a confirmed bachelor, had welcomed the chaos of Storm Jale’s family into his home and had doted on those children as well as Sentian Heil’s children next door. Marsh had seemed to thrive on the noise and laughter.
“Well, if they are with that man, I hope they keep their heads down,” Legion said. He looked back through the library door. “Did Teal find out anything at all about the Raven?”
“I got a man who swears he saw him possibly as close as Corinth ten days ago. He saw the Darkwind’s handiwork about eight months ago over by where Norus Keep used to stand, and he says he knows it’s the same man.”
“He’s good,” Legion quipped, wondering about this hero called the Raven. “I’ll give him that.”
“Another shipment of gold destined for the main temple was taken three nights ago near Colsaurus. As always, they found a red-tipped feather at the scene. To date, that makes sixty-four thousand gold pieces taken this year alone. I don’t have any figures from late last year, the time the man began plundering Temple coffers.” Marsh looked at his King. “That’s a lot of gold, though, Legion.”
“What could he be doing with it all?”
“Well, there’s been no trace of any of it found. He’ll be a wealthy man if this keeps up, and we’ll be starving in the streets trying to pay it all back to Tohre.”
“Maybe the money isn’t for him,” Liza said softly.
Legion turned a baleful eye to Marsh. “My wife and sons see this man as a champion of the people. She keeps telling me what he seems to be doing is for the good of our people. Her romanticism is catching. I’ve heard other people hinting in just the same way.”
Liza laid down her knitting and fixed her husband with a steady gaze. “How do you explain the Spiel’s being able to keep their farm from the tax man, Legion? They didn’t have money one day and the next they come up with five hundred silvers? Or what about the Illion winery in Chale? That family has owned those orchards for more than a hundred years. It was about to be confiscated for overdue tariffs on their wine, then somehow the tariffs got paid.” Her chin rose. “Paid, I might add, in the tax office some two hundred miles from Jaiu. And what of the other similar instances in Ionary and Virago? I heard only yester morn that a home for indigents was saved from sale by a mysterious back payment of taxes. That was in my homeland. If you can’t find the money this man is stealing, how do you explain the things I just mentioned?”
“You think he’s giving the money to those who have need of it?” Teal du Mer asked as he strolled through the library door into the garden. He turned a sour expression to Legion. “I got tired of waiting for you!”
“Kingly duties, du Mer,” Legion quipped. “I’m seeing to my Kingly duties.”
Teal arched a thick, dark brow, but kept his thoughts to himself. He looked at Liza. “So you believe the Darkwind is behind all these latest re-payments of taxes?”
“I think the man’s doing everything he can to fight Kaileel Tohre.” She shrugged. “And for that, I thank him.”
Teal laughed at her militant expression. “You may be right, Milady. A while ago, a heavily armed group of guards was set upon near Lilst, where they held a score of young women destined for sacrifice in the Temple. Not one of the Temple Guards remained alive. The women were freed, unharmed, but not before one of them got a good look at the man who led the rescuers. He had the same black outfit, mask and all, as all the other sightings of him. But I also learned he was spotted in Virago, Oceania, and Ionary on the same day.”
“There could be five men calling themselves the Darkwind,” Liza said.
“Even so,” Marsh said, “there has to be one man leading it all. If that’s the case, that would mean a well-organized resistance.”
“How do you fight a man like that?” Legion asked.
“You don’t,” Liza said, looking at him. “You help him.”
“Liza ...” Legion began, but she held up her hand.
“Think about it, Milord. If this man can do the miraculous things he has been accused of doing, can we not look the other way if his fight is with Tohre? Can’t our men be a little slower in getting to a place we think him to be? Can’t we hinder the guards when they set traps for him?”
She flung her long, black braid over her shoulder and placed tiny fists on her shapely hips. “We haven’t been able to do one damned thing to help our people since Tohre took over. Now that someone else is doing it for us, doesn’t it shame you into wanting to help him?” Her green eyes came alight with an inner fire. Legion had not seen her look that way in years. Not since Brelan had left for the Labyrinth six years earlier.
“We don’t know for a certainty that he is fighting Tohre,” Teal said. “It only appears that way. He could be just another mercenary lining his pockets with Temple gold.” Teal shrugged as he made his next point. “He could even be working for Tohre.”
“Stupid man!” Liza hissed. “Doesn’t that alone tell you anything, du Mer? It’s Temple gold he steals, not merchant, not seaman, not artisan. He doesn’t take from farmers or builders or winery workers. He doesn’t take from anyone who was loyal to the rebellion years ago, but you know damned well he stole a shipment of dress material from that greedy, old Chalean who helped Tohre’s men sneak into Tyne Brell’s palace! And what happened to that material, I ask you? Would a mercenary have need of dress material?”
“No, but the orphans at Ghurn got new uniforms a few months ago,” Marsh answered quietly.
“Precisely!” Liza snapped. “He takes only from the Tribunal and Temple coffers and from those who collaborated with Tohre and the Domination. Why do you suppose no villager will give you information about him? Could it be he’s helping them and they are protecting him?”
“She’s right,” Marsh agreed. “Every time we ask, everyone suddenly turns mute and deaf. The only people who give any news of him are Temple Guards and the like who ran away when they saw him coming.”
“Or those women who were saved from the sacrificial slabs,” Teal added. “They were positively mooning over him. Said he spoke to them, kissed one’s hand, and bid them have a safe journey back to their homes.”
“If he was a mercenary,” Liza said, her voice alive with fire, “he might well have taken one of those girls with him, might he not?”
Legion shook his head. “I don’t know, Liza.”
“I would have,” Teal grinned.
“So, you think the people are hiding him from us?” Marsh asked.
“Of course. They’re hiding their champion,” she said, “and they will continue to do so.”
“That’s a dangerous game,” Legion warned. “People could lose their lives for protecting him.”
“I don’t think the Darkwind would let anything happen to his people. If it came down to him or them, he’d give himself up.”
Legion stared at his wife. “You’re a dreamer, girl! No man would give his life for this country in this day and age!”
“You are wrong, Legion A’Lex!” she shot back. “I believe this man would. If I ever get the chance, I know I will help him!”
She called her children Gezelle’s, and the three or four others that were playing in the garden. She scooted them ahead of her into the library, but before following them, she fixed Teal du Mer with an appraising look.
“When you join his forces, and I know that’s what you’ve been trying to do, tell him the Queen of Serenia sends him her best wishes.”
Chapter Two
Kaileel Tohre slammed the report down on his desk and turned to Robert MacCorkingdale. “How the hell do you lose a wagonload of women?” His ice-blue eyes narrowed with scorn. “And fifteen well-armed guards?”
Robert leveled his gaze at the Arch-Prelate. “They were ambushed, Holiness.”
Tohre stood, placed his hands on the desk, and stared hard into MacCorkingdale’s
face. “Did you say ambushed?”
High Priest MacCorkingdale looked away. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Tohre, he just didn’t like looking into the old man’s wrinkled face. “We did not sense anything was going to happen. We thought we had the wagon train well protected.
“You didn’t!” Tohre bellowed. He swept his arm across the desktop, scattering the contents to the floor. “Get out of here, you bumbling fool!”
Robert’s chin came up. By the seed of Raphian, he hated this man! But he kept his face carefully correct, his bow reserved and respectful enough for Tohre not to notice his own livid rage. He turned to go. “I promise you, we will find him, Holiness!”
“If the bastard doesn’t find you first, you worthless dog!” Tohre shouted, throwing a paperweight at the retreating High Priest.
* * * *
When the door shut firmly behind MacCorkingdale, Tohre spun around, his attention going to the young boy seated across the room. “Come here!”
The eight-year-old walked to Tohre’s desk. He clasped his hands in front of him. “How may I serve you, Master?”
“Pick up this mess,” Tohre instructed, flinging a hand to the array of papers and quills on the floor.
As the lad knelt to do his bidding, Tohre’s vision swept over the bright blond curls covering the boy’s head and falling just to his thin shoulders. He looked at the proud profile, the chiseled lips, and the slight cleft forming in the strong-looking chin. His regard moved over thick, tawny brows and high cheekbones, gauged the boy’s latest height and weight.
“You look more like your father every day,” Tohre said wistfully and was rewarded with the boy’s immediate attention. The boy’s eyes became frightened, anticipation glowing in the sky-blue depths. “You have his same look about you, Corbin.”
* * * *
Corbin McGregor straightened up. He placed some of the papers on Tohre’s desk, his hands trembling violently, and then turned to retrieve more, but the Arch-Prelate’s chill words stopped him.
“Come to me, Corbin.”
The boy swallowed and turned his gaze back to Tohre’s unholy face. What he saw made him groan inwardly with despair.
With heart hammering painfully in his thin chest, he took a step toward the man’s chair.
Chapter Three
He didn’t like this.
He damned well didn’t like it at all.
Everyone was looking at him as though he was the entree for that night’s supper.
He turned his head as far as the gag would allow, but winced when the ropes cut into his wrists, which were bound and tied above his head.
Hanging like a piece of curing meat! he thought in disgust. Trussed up like a hog ready for butchering! That thought sent a shiver down his spine and he groaned. This was not good. This was definitely not good!
Four men entered the stable, all of them bigger than him. They looked rough and dirty beneath the great capes they wore to shut out the harsh chill of Viragonian winter. And, beneath their ragged beards, they looked angry. One, somewhat smaller than the others, came toward him, drawing off his heavy, fur-lined, leather gloves.
“Heard you want to meet up with the Darkwind?” A rough, callused hand grabbed the prisoner’s chin. “What for?”
Through his gag, Teal du Mer could only mumble. Sweat dripped down his sides, and his arms strained out of their sockets as he hung from a crossbeam. These men, filthy and rank-smelling, didn’t seem the sort who would play fair in a card game, and they scared the hell out of him. One near the door seemed to be giving him a close scrutiny.
“The Darkwind don’t want no fools on his payroll,” the man gripping Teal’s chin scoffed. “Any man of his that would get caught and strung up like you don’t live long in the Wind Force! But maybe that’s what you was looking for, eh? Got a death wish, gypsy?”
Laughter rang out when the man started Teal’s body swinging against his bonds. A grimace of pain shot over du Mer’s gagged face. Tears came into his eyes as the hemp cut into his wrists.
“How do you expect the man to answer with that rag in his trap, Thrush?” the man by the door asked.
“Don’t reckon he needs to talk none, Hawk. We can gut him and be done with it. He’s one of the King’s men, anyway.”
Hawk pushed away from the door. The light in the barn was murky at best and he seemed to want a better look at Teal. As he drew near, he pulled off his gloves and swirled the cape from his wide shoulders. He handed the woolen covering to one of the others. “Maybe we should interrogate him before we think of killing him, if he is, indeed, one of A’Lex’s men.”
“Ain’t no doubt!” Thrush snarled. “I seen him all cozy-like with the King and his whelps that day I told you A’Lex was fishing over to Ivor. This bastard is as close as they come to the King.”
“Well, let’s question him first,” Hawk repeated.
Teal sent a grateful look to the man. There was something oddly familiar about his voice, but Teal was too frightened to think.
“Ah, hell, Hawk!” Thrush complained. “What can this dimpled darling tell us? He’s a gypsy! You know they don’t tell no truths!”
Teal drew in a harsh breath, knowing well the feelings most mercenaries had for gypsies. He watched as Hawk, obviously the leader of the quartet, came to stand directly before him.
“Take off his gag,” he told Thrush in a voice that brooked no argument. Or comment.
Thrush mumbled under his breath, but untied the rag covering Teal’s mouth.
Teal licked his dry lips and swallowed, breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded at Hawk. “My thanks, sir. I am in your debt.”
The leader squinted. “Who are you?”
“I am du Mer. I am with the King’s personal guard, but I have left him in the hopes of joining the fight against Kaileel Tohre.”
“He’s lying,” one of the others scoffed. “I say we kill him!”
“Please,” Teal begged Hawk. “Will you at least hear me out? What danger am I to you?”
“You could have led men to us!” Thrush snapped.
Teal looked at the man. “You’d have seen men lurking about if that were the case.” He turned back to Hawk. “I came alone. Honest!”
Hawk stared at him a long time, the look steady and evaluating. “Cut him down.”
“What?” Thrush exploded. “He knows our hidey-hole!”
“I said to cut him down!” The bark was curt and hard as steel.
Reluctantly, Thrush severed the rope. Teal dropped to the ground with a thud, his bound wrists throbbing and his ankles, tied together with rawhide, aching from the tight constriction. A hard gush of air drove from his lungs as his numb legs buckled and he crashed to his knees. He shook his head to clear away the pain, and then looked up at the leader. “Again, thank you.”
“Leave me alone with him,” Hawk demanded of his men.
“You’re joking!” Thrush hissed.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“I hope you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, the Darkwind will have your balls, Hawk!”
When the three men left the stable, Teal breathed a sigh of deliverance. “I don’t think they like me.”
“They don’t know you well enough to dislike you, du Mer,” the leader scoffed. “Give ‘em time!” He reached behind his back and drew out a wicked-looking, double-edged dagger.
“There’s no need for that. I wasn’t even armed when I rode in here.”
Although Hawk likely saw the fear on Teal’s face, he ignored it. “That was a singularly stupid thing to do, don’t you think? Coming into a heavily armed camp with no weapon?”
Teal shrugged. “I’ve done even more stupid things, I guess.”
The leader bent over and sliced through the ropes on Teal’s wrist with a quick, effective sweep of the lethal-looking blade. Re-sheathing his dagger, he sat on a bale of hay and watched Teal chafing his rope-burned wrists.
“I’m no spy,” Teal said as he turned his attention to the rawhide around his ankles.
“No, I’d say you were sent by Legion A’Lex to infiltrate our force and report back to him what you could learn about the Darkwind. You would be the logical choice for him to send.”
Teal eyed the man. “You know our King?”
“I did once.” The man sniffed. “He was a good man. Once. I guess he’s done all he could for our people, but it wasn’t enough. He has a lot to lose if he helps too much.”
“You’re Serenian, then?”
The man’s heavily-bearded face seemed to turn sad. “I have no homeland, anymore, Teal. The Tribunal took that away years ago. I owe my allegiance to the Darkwind.”
Teal tensed. He hadn’t told the man his first name, but he wasn’t surprised the man knew it. If they knew about his association with Legion, they knew his name. But the man sitting before him seemed awfully familiar and Teal stared at him a long time. “Do I know you?”
A deep chuckle came from Hawk. “You thought you knew me. Look a little closer, Teal. Tell me what you see behind this beard.”
Teal stood, wincing as the blood returned to his toes. He walked to the man and peered down at his upturned face.
Blue eyes gazed up at him with laughter. Lips underneath the beard twitched with either mockery or humor. The dark brown hair was thick and wavy, just enough gray running through it to make the color even more interesting, and the brows, so like his own bushy growths, were cocked in ...
With a suddenness that made him gasp, Teal knew. He took a step backward. “Roget?” he whispered, his voice incredulous.
“In the rather rank flesh, little brother.” Hawk chuckled as he stood up, only a few inches from his brother’s stunned face. “If you can stand the smell of me, I might give you a hug.”
For a moment, Teal could only stare at the beloved face he had waited half a lifetime to see again. “Brelan Saur said you were out of the Labyrinth, but when you didn’t send word, didn’t try to come home, I thought something might have happened.” Tears formed in his eyes. “I thought you might be dead.”
“Brelan is on his way to Boreas Keep tonight. It’ll be his first time home in four years. I know there will be a happy reunion this eve.”
“No happier than the one right here, right now!” Teal fell into his brother’s arms. The tears of a little boy who had been torn from his big brother so many years before came rushing up to choke him.
“Why haven’t you sent news to us?” Teal asked a few minutes later as he and his brother sat in the stable.
“The Darkwind would have been compromised. Originally he sent Brelan home to tell Legion everybody was safe and out of that hell-hole.” Darkness passed over Roget’s face. “Everyone except Hern, of course. He’s buried on a farm outside Ciona. But when Brelan got back to Serenia, he couldn’t find a way to get to Legion without Tohre learning of it. He was able to get messages through after Hesar’s men were in place inside the palace, but he didn’t dare show himself at Boreas.”
“But why? Tohre knew Legion had sent Brelan there as Chief Warden. All he had to do was report back to Legion and let Tohre think his time was up at the Labyrinth.”
Roget looked away. “There was a good reason why, but I can’t tell you. Just let it suffice to say that had Brelan shown up at the palace, Darkwind’s identity would have been compromised.”
“So it’s just one man leading you, then?”
Roget grinned. “We all have worn the uniform of the Dark Overlord of the Wind. We did that to confuse Tohre’s men and throw them into chaos.” He chuckled. “It worked, too.”
“You know there’s a stiff bounty on his head, don’t you? Kaileel has declared the Darkwind a fugitive of the Tribunal.”
Roget’s face split into a smug grin. “He’s a burr under Tohre’s saddle, that’s for sure!”
“But who is he? I mean, the leader.”
“I can’t and I won’t tell you. I will, however, tell you he’s a nobleman. Someone, like me, who was cast out of his homeland and sent to the Labyrinth on trumped-up charges just like the rest of us. He became our leader because he is the strongest. He’s a man worth following, worth dying for. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for him, Teal.”
“Do you think he would allow me to join him? To fight for him?”
There was a quick shake of Roget’s head. “Not to fight for him, brat, but maybe beside him.”
“Will you ask?”
Roget got up from the straw bale. “We’ll see.” He made his way to the back of the stable and entered a dark stall.
Teal’s brows drew together. “What’s back there?”
“Come and find out!”
Puzzled by his brother’s odd behavior, Teal watched him fumble with one of the boards at the back of the stall. A click sounded and the back portion of the stall moved inward.
“Secret passages!” Teal breathed, and the little boy and the gypsy in him overjoyed with the prospect. He followed Roget through the low doorway.
Two men stood just inside the door. In the faint light cast by a single taper on a table, their faces were hard, alert, and deadly. Teal felt them watching him for any sign of betrayal, and he shuddered. He sensed they would have gutted him for sure had he found this passage on his own.
Once inside a room set into the mountain behind the stable, Roget took his brother’s arm. The room beyond was in total darkness, but, near where they stood, a darker shadow seemed to hover lower.