The Ring Keeper, page 46
Zarek had left the horse saddled and ready to go. He mounted and pulled her up behind him, and they rode away in the faint moonlight.
Callonen
CALLONEN SPENT MOST OF THE DARK HOURS on the walls keeping watch. The night remained silent with no sight of the Shekkar. When dawn was only a couple of hours away, Callonen yielded to General Gray and agreed to get some rest.
After a few brief hours of sleep, Callonen donned his armor and went back to the city walls with the general. Sarine’s troops were in position to defend the walls and gates. An army approached. These weren’t demons, but men in the blue uniforms of Ara. Why hadn’t the Arans attacked during the night, when the Shekkar could have fought with them?
The troops marched closer until they stopped just out of bow range, and a small group rode forward. They carried the blue banner of Ara. A tall man on a dark horse led them. He wore black armor and a helm that hid part of his face. A dark beard covered his chin, but Callonen recognized him. And there was no mistaking that voice.
“I want to speak with Callonen, Emperor of Sarine.”
It was Haldreth. His long-lost brother had come home.
Callonen seized a bow from a soldier, nocked an arrow and drew, taking aim at Haldreth’s throat. “Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you right here and now!” His arms trembled with the need to fire. Here was the man who had taken Allia, likely tortured and killed her. He’d sent Gavin to steal Cirana.
Haldreth laughed. “Is that any way to greet your brother after all this time?” He stopped laughing and stared at Callonen. “Don’t shoot. I brought someone with me to ensure your good behavior. If you harm me or any of my people, she will die immediately.”
Callonen lowered the bow, his heart hammering in his chest. They had Cirana. What was he going to do? What would Haldreth ask for? Callonen’s insides twisted like snakes.
“Don’t worry, brother. I want to talk first.”
“You brought an army here just to talk?”
Haldreth laughed again. “Oh, no. They’re ready to attack the city on my command. But first…” He gestured to one of his men, who rode forward.
When Gavin took off his helmet, Callonen’s hands raised the bow again before he could stop them. As much as he wanted revenge, he couldn’t risk them harming Cirana. His jaw clenched and with tremendous effort, he lowered the weapon.
“I trusted you,” Callonen spat. “You claimed to love Cirana and then betrayed her.”
Gavin didn’t reply.
It was Haldreth who responded. “Cirana belonged in Ara. She was born there, after all. And now the power of the ring will remain in my control.”
Gavin raised his hand to reveal the healing ring.
Haldreth turned back to face Callonen. “You should be grateful the Warding is gone, otherwise you would know everything about Cirana’s experiences during her time as our guest.”
Feeling his muscles slacken, Callonen sank to one knee. His deepest desire was to protect his loved ones, and he had entirely failed at that. Tears stung his eyes. He loved Ana as if she were his own daughter. But in the end, he had failed her, and everyone else he loved. He reached inside his collar and took out a silver band hung on a chain. Allia had intended to put her father’s ring on his hand when they married. He closed his fist around it.
“Callonen?” Haldreth called. “Don’t go yet. I came to present you with an offer.”
Forcing himself back to his feet, Callonen peered over the wall.
“I’ll make this an easy decision for you,” Haldreth said. “I will order my army to retreat. We won’t attack the city or harm anyone. All you have to do is walk out here alone and give yourself up. It’s time you and I resolved our differences.” Summoning another horse forward, Haldreth commanded, “Bring her!”
One of his guards rode up with a black-shrouded figure in front of him. Haldreth pulled the cloak away, and Callonen saw a golden-haired woman in a white dress.
It couldn’t be.
Callonen’s heart stopped for a moment. Their hostage wasn’t Ana. Did this mean that Haldreth had killed her?
Haldreth did not allow time for his brother to cope with the shock. “Come out now or I will kill Allia.”
She struggled, very much alive. “Don’t listen to him, Cal!”
Haldreth struck her with the back of his armored fist. Her head snapped back at the impact and blood welled on her cheek. The guard behind her held her arms, and Haldreth drew his knife, pointing it at her heart.
Callonen saw her stiffen as his brother pushed the point into her skin. A stain of red blossomed on the white fabric.
“Stop!” Callonen yelled. “I’ll come!”
“No!” Allia screamed. The guard behind her put his hand over her mouth, silencing her.
Haldreth smiled and lowered his knife.
Callonen turned to General Gray. “Keep the city safe. Guard the gates at night so the demons can’t get in.” He pulled the chain over his head and held the ring out to Gray. “Please keep this safe for me. Don’t let anything happen to it. Hold onto it until I ask for it again.”
Gray nodded and took it.
Callonen looked around at his men. They were all staring at him in disbelief. These were his friends, men who had been at his side for many years. “I thank you all for your excellent service,” he said, unbuckling his sword belt and setting the weapon aside. He turned toward the stairs down to the gate.
“Emperor, you can’t do this!” Gray put a hand on his arm.
“My whole life I’ve put Sarine first! You cannot ask me to watch Allia die.” Callonen threw off the hand.
“But he’s going to kill you!” Gray protested.
Callonen stopped and turned to look him in the eye.
“He will torture you,” Gray said.
“I know,” Callonen answered, turning to leave.
Gray didn’t try to stop him as he walked down toward the gates. It would be over soon. The Warding was broken, and the demons would kill him when night fell. With Callonen gone, hopefully Haldreth wouldn’t harm anyone else. Without the Warding, Sarine had no more protection against the demons and Haldreth would control everything.
“Open the gates,” Callonen ordered. His stomach knotted.
The guards stared at him with wide eyes, but no one dared disobey him. The heavy gates opened, and Callonen passed through them alone. As they shut behind him, he approached Haldreth’s men.
He could see Allia. A guard still held her, but she was alive. And she had been all this time. Her eyes were dark with despair and there was blood on her cheek where Haldreth had struck her, but she was just as beautiful as he remembered. If anything, he’d forgotten exactly how lovely she was. Or maybe it was just that he’d never been happier to see anyone in his life. But not like this. Gray was right. They were going to die. At least he had seen her one last time.
Haldreth called up to the men on the walls. “Don’t worry. We won’t harm him,” he promised. “We will have a friendly chat, work things out between us, and you’ll have your emperor back soon.”
From horseback, Haldreth glared down in triumph at Callonen, who met his brother’s eyes, but didn’t speak. What was left to say? The Arans brought a horse and Callonen mounted. A guard held the reins. As if Callonen would try to bolt after all of this!
They rode away, and Callonen didn’t look back at the city. He glimpsed Allia a few horses ahead. She turned and met his gaze for a moment, and he recognized the heartache in her eyes.
Seeing her beloved face made him feel more alive than he’d felt for many years. She looked thin, worn and older now. The pain Haldreth had caused would have changed her. Everything that had happened during these years apart had changed him too. Did she think he hadn’t tried to rescue her? Or that he’d forgotten her? He knew he still loved her, no matter what.
The thought gave him no hope. They were both in Haldreth’s power, and they were going to die. At least it would finally be over. Without the Warding, there was no longer anything forcing him to keep going. He could finally be at peace. All he wanted was a chance first to tell her how sorry he was.
They rode over a hill into a little dell where a few patches of snow lingered. He saw a peaceful farm with a patch of trees behind it. The place was empty now, and a camp of Aran soldiers surrounded it. They took Callonen past the tilled fields to the edge of the woods.
“Now,” Haldreth said, “we can deliver a proper greeting to my brother.”
The soldiers laughed and dragged Callonen from his horse. He saw others tying Allia against a tree. As he glanced toward her, one of the men slammed his fist into Callonen’s face.
“Wait, wait,” Haldreth ordered. “Just a moment.” He stepped in front of Callonen. “We can’t let any blood get on his clothes.” He fingered the edge of Callonen’s white tunic.
When he nodded to the others, they jeered and surrounded Callonen, pulling off his armor, clothes and boots, even the signet ring his father had given him just before he died. They gathered everything and took it into a nearby tent, leaving Callonen standing there in his underclothes. He felt so alone. No guards, no friends, no Warding.
“That’s better!” Haldreth took off his helmet and rubbed his bearded chin, staring at Callonen appraisingly. “You look good, brother, you really do.” He touched the scar on Callonen’s chest, a reminder of the day he had stabbed his brother in the heart—a day Callonen would never forget.
Haldreth turned to his men. “Where is Cob?”
A short, nervous-looking man hurried over to them. He held a razor and a pair of scissors. Another servant followed him with a small table and chair. Haldreth beckoned them forward. “Take your time. Get a good look.” The man stared at Callonen intently, then he nodded to Haldreth.
“You! Bring that chair over here,” Haldreth ordered. He sat down, and the barber copied Callonen’s haircut.
When Cob had finished, he handed Haldreth a mirror.
“The left side is uneven, idiot!”
Cob rushed to correct it.
“That’s better.”
The barber proceeded to give Haldreth a shave.
When Cob was finished, Haldreth nodded to his men, and they shoved Callonen against a tree a few paces away from where Allia was bound and tied him to it.
Callonen tried to prepare himself for the pain. He was going to die. His brother had won.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Year of Warding 42, Sarine’s Countryside
Callonen
BLOWS CAME AT CALLONEN from all directions. He clenched his jaw and tightened his muscles. Something smashed into his left knee, and pain radiated up his leg. He would have fallen if weren’t for the ropes holding him. A hammer-like blow struck his right arm below the shoulder. He had stayed silent until then, but he screamed as the bone broke. Everything seemed distant after that, except the pain. It started in his arm, but it spread everywhere. He couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything.
The blows stopped for a moment, and Callonen inhaled, trying to clear his head.
Gavin stood in front of him. The others backed away a little. The traitor raised his knife and leaned close to Callonen, whispering, “I used this blade on Cirana.”
“No!” Callonen cried. It was too late. There was nothing he could do now to help her.
“I made sure she suffered.”
Callonen shut his eyes, trying to block out the image of Cirana captive in Ara.
White-hot pain exploded from the side of Callonen’s head. Blood poured down his neck onto his shoulder, and Gavin dropped a severed ear to the ground.
Callonen sagged against the ropes, gasping. Gavin stepped away, and the other soldiers pulled back. For a moment, Callonen just breathed, and the absence of any new injury seemed a relief. He tried to get control of himself. The shouts and mocking laughter stopped abruptly.
He raised his eyes a little.
The group of soldiers parted to make room, and Callonen saw himself walking nearer—white tunic, silver armor, his dagger with a white gem on the hilt, his favorite boots, and his signet ring.
I’m dead. I’ve died, and I’m looking at myself.
Blinking hard, he looked down at his battered body, his bare feet. Still here.
It was Haldreth.
He walked forward to face Callonen. Now that he’d put on Callonen’s clothes, the effect was uncanny. “Dear, dear brother,” Haldreth crooned. “Enjoy your time out here. I regret I can’t stay, but I’ll be back. You must remain alive long enough to provide every bit of information I need. Then your time will be over.”
“It won’t work,” Callonen mumbled through swollen lips. “You haven’t been here in more than twenty years. So much has changed.”
“That’s true,” Haldreth admitted. “But Gavin spent a great deal of time near you, observing every part of your life.”
Callonen’s brief hope collapsed. It was true. Gavin would be able to fill in many of the missing details, maybe enough to convince everyone.
“If you try to stop me, it’ll only be worse for her,” Haldreth said, drawing the dagger. He turned toward Allia, where she was still tied against a tree. With a careless slash of his blade, he left a long cut across her arm. The red blood stood out sharply against the white of her dress.
Allia gasped.
“Stop!” Callonen cried. “Don’t hurt her. You’ve already caused enough pain.”
“There’s no such thing. I’ll see you soon, brother,” he said, mounting a horse. In a moment, he was gone.
Callonen stared at Allia, unable to look away. After missing her for so many years, he could never get enough of her. He longed to touch her, to remove the ropes that bound her and bandage her injuries and comfort her. But he couldn’t move. She gazed back at him, her golden hair hanging loose and one side of her face bruised and cut where Haldreth had hit her. Dried blood stained her dress.
“Callonen.” She said his name softly, so no one else would hear.
He could see the mist of her breath in the chill air. “I’m sorry I ruined your life. I failed you. I failed everyone.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “None of it was your fault.”
“But I should have seen. I should have known what he was going to do. You warned me about him!”
“No one knew what he was going to do.”
“I can’t ask you to forgive me,” Callonen said. “But I had to tell you how sorry I am. I would give my life to make you happy.”
“Callonen…?”
He couldn’t see her anymore. Everything spun and blurred around him.
Pain and cold dragged Callonen back to consciousness. The coarse ropes bit into his chest and arms as the rough bark of the tree scraped against his back. He shivered uncontrollably. The night air stole the warmth from his body.
Where were the Shekkar? He’d expected them as soon as darkness fell. Were they in the city killing his people?
And Allia?
He raised his head to look at her. In the dark, he couldn’t see her face. Several guards stood at their posts, not far away. It was too late for him. He couldn’t save himself, but he had to do something to help her.
His brother’s threats echoed in his mind. There must be some way to free her. Pulling against the ropes sent waves of agony from his arm, and he passed out again.
When Callonen opened his eyes next, the sun was up. It wasn’t much warmer, but enough to keep him alive. He didn’t even have the energy to move. Pain burned through his body. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if his brother finished him. But what about Allia?
Callonen could sense her. She was only a short distance away, hurt, cold and afraid. He could feel it.
Then he realized the Warding was providing him with insight into her feelings. But wasn’t it gone forever?
He could sense she had done things she was ashamed of in order to survive. Fear and desperation had driven her to violence. She felt guilty for helping Haldreth summon the Shekkar, and was convinced she was responsible for the deaths of everyone who had been killed by the demons.
Callonen raised his head a little to look at her. She hadn’t moved or responded, but he knew how she felt.
He’d been in so much pain, he hadn’t realized the Warding was returning. Not until now. But it was gradually expanding around him.
At first, he only felt Allia. She was nearest to him. He could still feel the goodness in her, the strength, love and virtue, mixed with the dark things she had done out of desperation. She felt the horror of driving a knife into Haldreth’s flesh. Determined to stop his plans, she had wanted to kill him.
Callonen couldn’t blame her for any of it. He didn’t need to know exactly what had happened to know that Haldreth had forced her. She’d endured so much.
As time dragged on and his reach extended, Callonen realized he could sense the other men in the camp. Some were terrified. They obeyed out of fear of Haldreth and his demons. Others were violent, greedy or angry. When they looked at Allia, they felt lust. Sensing it made him sick.
The Warding was definitely coming back. Not that it would matter much at this point… Callonen wouldn’t last long like this. Even if his brother didn’t come back to kill him, he didn’t think he’d survive another night out in the cold.
A long, painful day passed. But Callonen was with Allia. It was agony to see her alive and right in front of him when he’d thought her dead for so long, only to realize that Haldreth was going to kill her.
Callonen’s eyes traced the line of red across her arm where his brother had cut her. Blood had soaked down her sleeve. More suffering would follow. Haldreth would make sure they didn’t die too quickly. But Callonen would endure anything if he could prevent that from happening to Allia. When their eyes met, he saw love and despair.
Darkness fell, and the cold chilled him to the bone. Callonen had no way to warm himself, and he knew Allia suffered the same. How long would it take them to freeze to death?
Sometime in the middle of the night, their watch changed. One of the new guards appeared to be ill. The other slapped his friend’s back. “Nothing’s happening here, and nothing is going to happen. I’ll watch. You can sleep for a while. I’ll wake you before the guard changes, so no one will know.”
