Death Knight by Vaughn Heppner

Author:Vaughn Heppner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Sword & Sorcery, Mythology & Folk Tales, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Paranormal & Urban, Epic, Genre Fiction, War, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Vaughn Heppner
Published: 2012-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The next morning, Swan forbade any angry letters to be sent to Banfrey. Let the High Priest wonder and brood. That might delay his gathering of the King’s Army.

Soon thereafter, they rode out of the castle and took the swamp route. Three grueling days took them through it. It was odd, but the swamp didn’t seem as bad as before. It rained on them and some of the trees were black, but the grim presence… It had departed.

The first night north of the swamp, Gavin posted heavy guards and instructed that they build large campfires. Many of the men had trouble sleeping, as they lay wrapped in their campaign cloaks. Sensing their fear, Swan walked among them and sang sweet melodies. Soon they smiled, and one by one, they nodded off.

Gavin left the fires, whistling softly, pausing and whistling again, until he heard the return whistle. He soon squatted beside Hugo in the dark. The old crossbowman crouched behind a boulder, his one good eye scanning the night. Moonlit grasses waved as crickets chirped nearby. In the distance, a wolf howled.

Hugo cocked his head and then shook his seamed face. “That ain’t no wolf.”

“Just like Muscovy, eh?”

Hugo adjusted his leather hunting cap, grunting.

“Muscovite Rules,” Gavin said softly.

Hugo glanced at him. “Those are rules for blackhearts. We’re the crusaders, Swan’s crusaders. You’ve her reputation to think about.”

“Reputations don’t help dead men.”

“Don’t you understand? Men fight when they believe in something. They’ll flock to a seer leading them crusading, but they won’t flock to a rogue filled with guile.”

“Is that how you see her?” asked Gavin.

“She’s a seer.”

“Yes. Our Seer,” Gavin said. “And that’s my point. As you did the other night with the assassin, I’ll do with the army she’s given me. To save her, I’ll shoot a man in the back.”

Hugo shifted uneasily. “That was different.”

With a cool breeze on his cheeks, Gavin eyed the night, the silvery grasses and the twinkle of distant stars. “We battle darkspawn, old friend. I know you understand what that means.”

Hugo grunted once more. “You saved many of us in Muscovy, aye, I’ve never forgotten that.”

“I saved a handful. Maybe we can save another handful.” Gavin brooded. “You saw Forador Castle, or what it had become. Vivian, Joanna and the boy weren’t there. Surely they must be dead by now.”

“Or turned into darkspawn,” Hugo said. “But we can save them.”

“You believe that?” asked Gavin, his rugged face one of surprise. “I surely do not.”

“Our Seer can save them.”

“That isn’t how it went in Muscovy.” Gavin lowered his voice. “We burned them at the stake, remember? That was the only salvation left them.” Before Hugo could answer, Gavin pushed off the boulder and strode back to camp, wrapping himself in a cloak and lying by a fire. He stared at the flames, hearing again in his memory the screams and howls of those they had burned. He shuddered. Fighting darkspawn was always ugly. There was nothing noble in it. One way or another, it stained you.

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