The Sword of Light: Book One of the Veredor Chronicles (6 page)

He crossed the
road and ducked into a back street on the opposite side. He
gradually stumbled his way through a network of narrow lanes and
alleys until he arrived at the docks. An icy wind blew across the
docks. Completely exhausted he found the door of The Sea Dragon and
almost collapsed on the doorstep as he struggled to knock. A few
moments passed before Stella opened the door.

‘
What happened to you?’ asked Stella, stepping out and gently
taking him by the arm.

‘
Really, I’m fine,’ he said as he unsteadily made an attempt
to step through the doorway.

A moment later
Red was at the door. ‘By Teodric! Eben. You smell like rotting
fish,’ he said, grinning for a moment.

‘
This isn’t a time for jokes,’ shouted Stella. ‘He’s badly
hurt.’

‘
No really, I’m fine...’ whispered Eben as he started to lose
consciousness.

Stella lay him
down on the floor of the common room. ‘Get some clean cloth from
under the bench in the kitchen! And get some water!’ Red’s smile
disappeared instantly. He ran off quickly to the kitchen.

Eben looked up
at Stella. She stared down at him; her green eyes full of worry for
him.

‘
Eben, you will be fine. Everything is going to be...’ were
the last words he heard that night. Everything went
dark.

CHAPTER
FOUR

Eben awoke and
looked around to find that he was lying in his bed at The Sea
Dragon. His head was bandaged, and he could feel his leg still
hurt, but the pain had lost most of its sharpness. His body was
covered in grazes and bruises, but he had been cleaned and washed.
He thought back over the night before and the ill-fated meeting and
wondered if any of the others had survived the raid. Everything had
all happened so quickly that he had no time to think. He pulled
himself out of bed and slowly walked to the door, making his way
down the stairs to the common room. Flickering firelight lit up the
common room. Red was sitting next to the open fireplace warming his
feet and hadn’t heard Eben coming down the stairs.

As Eben
approached Red turned and looked up. ‘Eben, you’re awake. I thought
you were never going to get up. You’ve been out for two days.’

‘
Thanks for looking after me.’

‘
You should thank Stella. She’s the one who cleaned you up.
You must have lost a lot of blood. You have a mighty gash on the
back of your head and a bruise on your leg bigger than any I’ve
ever seen. Take a seat before you fall over again.’

Eben took the
seat across from Red. He looked at the blazing fireplace and felt
its calming warmth.

‘
Where’s Stella?’

‘
She’s gone out to visit a friend,’ replied Red as he looked
back over his shoulder toward the front door. ‘So, what happened to
you the other night? How did you end up all beaten up like
that?’

‘
I went to that meeting I told you and Stella about. It was
about the evil in Ancora...’

At that moment
the front door opened and Stella stepped in carrying a leather bag.
She locked the door and approached them. ‘You’re up,’ she said,
surprised. ‘Are you feeling better?’

‘
Much better,’ replied Eben. ‘Thanks for taking care of
me.’

‘
You’re lucky you made it back here. If you had fallen over in
the streets it would have been the end of you,’ she said as she
walked by them and placed the leather bag on the bar.

‘
At least you managed to gain us an extra two nights here at
The Sea Dragon,’ said Red, slightly chuckling. Stella glared across
at Red and then walked into the kitchen without saying another
word. Red didn’t seem at all troubled by her and smiled as he
looked back over his shoulder toward the kitchen. Turning his head
he glanced back at the fire. ‘That reminds me. Remember you said
you had some silver.’ Eben nodded. ‘We probably should give some to
Stella. I think she’ll let us stay a little while longer; at least
until you’re completely well, but we definitely have to pay her
something, and you’re the only one of us who has any
money.’

‘
Sure, I will pay, but I don’t want to be a burden on her.
Maybe we should leave sooner rather than later.’

‘
Oh, don’t worry,’ replied Red. ‘She likes having us around.’
Red put his feet back up to warm them again.

‘
She doesn’t seem to like you much at all.’

Red’s threw
his head back and laughed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Of course she
likes me.’

‘
Are you sure?’ asked Eben, not convinced.

Red didn’t
answer. He watched the flames of the fire for a few seconds. ‘So,
you were saying about your meeting,’ he said, changing the topic.
Eben thought he probably shouldn’t ask about Red and Stella’s
relationship.

‘
Yes, the meeting was brought to an end when the house was
attacked by a sorcerer.’

‘
A what?’ cried Red, his eyes widening in shock.

‘
They were discussing some very serious matters and the house
was attacked. I made it to the roof in an attempt to escape. I fell
when the house collapsed, and that was when I was injured, but I
managed to escape through the back alleys and made my way back
here.’

‘
We did warn you. Getting involved in anything that questions
the King is dangerous,’ said Red, taking an unfamiliar serious
tone.

‘
Red’s right,’ said Stella as she came back into the room from
the kitchen. ‘He may be a bad king, but King Ignis is our
king...’

‘
He’s your king, Stella. Remember I’m Silvorian,’ said Red,
lifting his chin proudly.

‘
Actually he’s not a king at all. He’s an imposter,’ said
Eben. Stella and Red froze.

‘
An imposter!’ shouted Red, almost slipping from his
chair

‘
That’s what the meeting was called to discuss. The real King
Ignis is imprisoned in a dungeon on the island of Zyran. An
imposter sits on the throne of Ortaria. It’s all an evil plot put
together by a group of Zyranian wizards,’ said Eben. There was a
stunned silence. Only the crackle of the fire made any
sound.

‘
Surely this can’t be true,’ said Red. ‘How can they be sure?’
Stella looked to Red and then her eyes darted back to
Eben.

‘
They believed it enough to put their lives at risk,’ said
Eben. ‘And look what happened to me. I was lucky to escape. The
authorities didn’t want anyone to get out. They want to make sure
no one knows what I just told you.’

Stella looked
to be deep in thought. A moment later there was a thudding knock at
the door. Stella took a quick breath and anxiously stared across at
Eben.

‘
They don’t know where you are staying do they?’ asked Stella,
whispering fearfully.

‘
I don’t think so,’ whispered Eben.

They all stood
up and walked toward the door. Again the heavy knock rang out.

‘
Who is it?’ asked Stella.

‘
I’m looking for Eben. Is he staying here?’ asked a man’s
voice from outside. Stella backed away, and she looked back at Red
and Eben. Red signalled for her to reveal nothing.

‘
There’s no one by that name here,’ she answered.

There was
silence for a few moments. Suddenly the locked bolt of the door
started moving and opening by itself.

‘
Bloody magic!’ gasped Red, clenching his fists. Stella
stepped back behind the young men. A moment later the door opened.
Cassiel stood in the doorway.

‘
Die Zyranian!’ shouted Red, instantly leaping forward.
Cassiel lifted his hand and stopped Red in his tracks; an invisible
wall barred his way. Red pushed forward but couldn’t
move.

‘
Red, he’s not against us,’ shouted Eben. Red stopped trying
to press against the barrier and moved back a little. Cassiel
walked into the room and gently closed the door.

‘
That’s the kind of bravery we need,’ said Cassiel with a
slight smile. ‘I’m sorry to surprise you like this.’

‘
Who is he?’ asked Stella nervously, glancing across at
Eben.

‘
This is Cassiel,’ said Eben. ‘He was at the meeting. He’s a
wizard. Cassiel, I would like you to meet my friends, Red and
Stella’

Red and Stella
stared at Cassiel. It was extremely rare to meet a wizard in
Ortaria.

‘
You seem far too young to be a wizard,’ said Red, still upset
that he had been restrained by Cassiel’s spell.

‘
I’m an outcast. I never finished my training,’ said Cassiel,
unperturbed.

‘
That explains it then; you’re a dropout,’ said Red. Stella
gave Red a disapproving look.

‘
Yes, that’s true, but under the circumstances I’m happy to be
a dropout,’ said Cassiel with a confident smile.

‘
Would you like a drink?’ asked Stella politely.

‘
Indeed I would,’ replied Cassiel as he casually took off his
coat and hung it on a hook beside the door. They all walked back
over to the warmth of the fire.

‘
I was worried about you, Eben. I thought that you were killed
in the battle,’ said Cassiel. Stella pulled up a seat for the young
wizard.

‘
He arrived back here in a terrible state two nights ago,’
said Stella as she went to grab a pitcher of ale from the
bar.

‘
What happened to the others?’ asked Eben.

‘
Everyone who escaped through the back door was captured by
waiting guardsmen. It was a trap. Torg and the others were taken to
the palace dungeons. I expect that they all met a terrible
fate.’

‘
And Torela?’

‘
I’m not sure if she made it out or not before the building
collapsed. I managed to escape along the rooftops. I returned the
next day to have a look around. The city guard were still searching
the area, so I had to move on. I spent all yesterday and today
looking for Torela to no avail.’

‘
How did you know where I was staying?’ asked Eben.

‘
I had spoken about you at length with Torela earlier on the
day of the meeting. She held you in high regard. She thought that
you could help us in our struggle against the Zyranian Order. I
think she thought you were special in some way.’

Red laughed
and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his
chair. ‘You should be careful, Eben. It looks like he wants you to
join his rebel army.’

Cassiel
frowned and took a sip of his ale. ‘There is no army, just me,’ he
said coolly. ‘Everyone in Ancora who wanted to help was captured
two nights ago. So if something is going to be done it is up to me
to do it.’

‘
So you’re going to free King Ignis yourself?’ asked
Red.

Cassiel stared
at Red for a long moment. He then glanced across at Stella. ‘I
assume you and Stella both know what’s going on with King Ignis?’
Red nodded curtly. ‘Good. Eben trusts you. The enemy would kill you
if they knew you were aware of the King’s imprisonment.’ Red was
taken aback and scratched his chin nervously. ‘You are right, Red.
I do need help. I’m working on a plan to free King Ignis, and I
can’t do it alone. The enemy may have had an infiltrator at our
meeting. They may also know some of my plan. If we’re going to free
King Ignis then we should do it as soon as possible.’

‘
We! Don’t include me in your plan,’ said Red
sharply.

‘
I’ll help,’ said Stella.

‘
Stella! Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t get involved; it’s too
risky,’ protested Red.

‘
King Ignis is my king, Red. You’re Silvorian, so it doesn’t
matter all that much to you. I want Ortaria to return to how it was
years ago.’

‘
I’m definitely in too,’ said Eben.

‘
Good,’ said Cassiel. ‘I’m very grateful for any
assistance.’

Red stood up
and heavily sighed. ‘If Stella goes I’ll have to go too.’ Cassiel
smiled at hearing Red’s words.

**

Later that
evening they were all sitting around a table in the kitchen.
Cassiel placed a large piece of parchment on the table top. A few
candles were lit and provided a soft light. It was a map of the
Citadel of Zyran, which included details of the main gate, diagrams
of the academy, and the location of the Dungeons of Zyran.

‘
The Citadel is surrounded by an outer wall and has three main
gates; it is about a thousand yards in diameter. Only Zyranian
Wizards and students at the academy are allowed inside, and the
gates are well guarded by a fierce band of guardsmen. Outside the
Citadel there is a village beside the docks; it exists mainly to
serve the Citadel itself and...’

‘
I’ve been there and...,’ said Red.

Cassiel stared
across at him. ‘Good, Red, but Stella and Eben haven’t, so let me
continue. The Citadel is quite impressive and consists of over one
hundred stone towers that rise high into the sky above. Many
bridges make a network of pathways between the towers. In the past
each wizard was given their own tower to live in; now some of the
towers are used for other purposes because there are less than a
hundred Zyranian wizards. Trebax, the Gatekeeper of Zyran, lives in
a tower near the main front gate. He holds the key to the prison
which looks like this.’ He took from his pocket another small piece
of paper and unfolded it, showing a picture of an octagonal
crystal.