Master of Chains

Chapter 2

Kharl groaned as his weight settled against a large tree. He was bleeding from a jagged cut down the right side of his ribcage and a puncture wound in his thigh.

Liam peered out around the tree, watching for Lord Purdun's guardsmen, but the only things behind them were more trees and the memories of what had just happened.

"Who else?"

Liam looked down at Kharl. "What?"

"Who else escaped?"

Liam shook his head. "Just us."

Kharl lowered his head, his chin touching his chest, and sobbed. "I knew it. I knew this was a bad idea."

Liam shook his head. "Someone set us up. They knew about our plans."

Kharl ignored him. "What were we thinking? How can we ever beat Purdun? All this revolution, all this freedom for the people of Duhlnarim, is just going to get us killed." Kharl slid down the tree to the ground, his chest quivering and his sobs cutting off his words. "Damn… Purdun… Damn… Ryder… Damn… you Liam…"

Liam dropped into a crouch, grabbing Kharl by the shoulders and looking him in the eyes. "Pull yourself together." He shook the young man. "I know you're scared, but pull yourself together. Ryder is dead, all right. Do you hear me? Dead!" He let go of Kharl. "And I won't have you damning him now."

Kharl lowered his eyes, covering his face with his hands as he continued to cry. "I don't want to do this anymore. I just want this to be over."

Liam wanted to comfort the young man, but the image of his brother collapsing under the falling guardsman played over in his mind. The heavy pang of guilt that he felt over not being able to save him pushed to the surface. The pain inside welled up and began to boil, a deep ache that grew from the very center of his chest and spread out to squeeze his stomach, arms, and throat. It threatened to strangle him, and for a moment, Liam wished it would.

He stood up, shouting at Kharl. "You knew what you were getting into. You knew the consequences."

The young man looked shocked. He stopped crying, stunned at Liam's quick turn.

"Ryder knew it too. He knew this could happen, and he chose to go through with it anyway."

Kharl looked to the ground, remaining quiet.

Liam stared down at the young man for a long time, not saying a word. Then, finally, "What you do with the rest of your life is up to you. But I'll continue to fight Purdun until they pry my sword from my cold, dead hand." He turned away from Kharl and headed through Furrowsrich village toward his brother's house. "I will not let Ryder's sacrifice be in vain."

Liam knocked on the heavy wooden door. He didn't know what he was going to say. He didn't know how to make the news any easier. Hells, he was in shock himself. Not long ago he'd left his brother's dead body lying under a dying guardsman.

Samira opened the door. She smiled, looking relieved. "Liam." She wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. "Thank the gods you made it back safely."

Liam felt his heart sink into his belly. Nothing could have made what he had to say any harder.

Except that.

He tried to raise his arms to return the embrace, but they rebelled against him. Nothing would work the way it was supposed to. He stood motionless, stiff as a board, with his brother's wife's arms around him.

Samira must have felt it because she pushed herself away in a hurry. "Where's Ryder?"

Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Liam," she said, the high pitch of desperation entering her voice, "where is Ryder?"

"He's gone." Liam began to sob just like Kharl had sitting under the tree. "He fell trying to give me a chance to escape."

"No." Her voice pleaded with him. "No. No. No. He's not gone. He can't be gone." She gripped his arms and shook him. "Tell me where he is. Tell me he's coming back."

Liam stared at the dirt in front of the doorway. He couldn't look Samira in the eye. Instead, he watched his tears as they fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said. He gathered the courage to look up at his brother's widow. She was trying to hold herself together, but her face was dark, streaked with the lines of pain that he felt deep inside. "Ryder is dead."

Liam watched as her last bit of strength fled. Samira's anguish overtook her entire face, and her knees went weak. Liam caught her before she hit the ground, and she collapsed into him, her head falling to his shoulder.

Liam held her up, squeezing her sobbing body against his. She was so soft, so clean, and so without fault. He felt dirty and ruined, as if the events of the day had somehow changed him, made him less of an honest man and more of an evil one. Her pain only served to amplify his own. It was his fault his brother had been killed. It was his fault Samira was now alone.

He stood there in the doorway for a moment longer, trying to let the wave of sorrow and guilt wash over and pass.

It never did.

Liam took Samira inside, closing the door behind him.

"What happened?"

Liam looked up from his load. "Mother? What are you doing here?"

The gray-haired woman stood up from the kitchen table where she had been sitting. "I came to talk to Samira about Ryder's birthday," she said in a huff, crossing the room to lay her hand on Samira's forehead. "What happened? And where's Ryder?"

Liam carried Samira across the room and placed her on the bed. She clung to his neck, continuing to sob.

His mother grabbed him by the arm. "Liam, answer me. What happened?"

Liam disentangled himself from his brother's widow and turned to look down on his aging mother. He remembered what she had looked like when he was a child. Her curly locks had been a beautiful auburn. Her skin had been smooth and tan. Now, though, her bushel of hair was a salt-and-pepper gray, and her skin had bunched up in folds and wrinkles, transforming into a soft, pale whiteness.

"Liam." She shook him. "Liam. What's wrong with you?"

Liam looked her in the eyes. The same sadness that had consumed him upon seeing Samira at the door welled up again.

"Ryder's gone."

"I know that," she said, miffed. "But when is he going to be back?"

Liam put his arms around her. "He's not coming back, mother. Ryder is dead."

"What? Dead?" His mother shook her head. "What are you talking about? He can't be dead. Where is he?" She squeezed his arm tighter. "Stop fooling around and tell me what's going on here."

Liam took a deep breath. "Ryder and I ambushed a carriage today

… a carriage from Zerith Hold." Liam stuttered a bit, not really wanting to recount the story. He already knew his mother's reaction. "It was… it was one of Lord Purdun's carriages. We were only after a letter, a treaty that was to be signed by High Watcher Laxaella Bronshield, the Baroness of Tanistan. But the carriage was a setup. We were attacked by more than a dozen of Purdun's elite guards."

"But why?" His mother held her hands to her face.

"Ryder and I are… were part of the local resistance."

His mother let go of his arms. "The Crimson Awl? All those stories about bandits robbing Lord Purdun's coaches and mercenaries roaming around attacking his guardsmen… that was you? Liam, why?"

"Because we had to," said Liam. "Lord Purdun is an evil, evil man. He takes our crops, taxes our livelihoods, and imposes unfair laws." Liam had endured arguments with his mother on the topic before. They had never seen eye to eye. "But more importantly, he was in the process of putting together a treaty that could have ruined everything we've worked for, perhaps irrevocably." Liam took a breath, holding up his hand to keep his place, making sure his mother didn't butt in, as she was wont to do.

"The Awl is not a large organization," he continued. "We are all farmers or craftsmen. We don't have the means to fight a large-scale war. We've made progress against Baron Purdun and his guardsmen. Their numbers dwindle, and they have trouble recruiting new members. The people of Ahlarkham believe in what we are fighting for, and they refuse to help Purdun keep us down. But if Tanistan sent men as well, all of the work we have done would be lost. All our sacrifices would have been in vain."

"And what about Ryder's sacrifice? Did he know about all of this?" his mother demanded.

Liam nodded. "Ryder was our leader. The organizer. He planned most of the raids, and I helped him."

His mother suddenly got angry. "What has Lord Purdun ever done to you?" She hit him across the chest. "You and your foolish notions of right and wrong. How many times has your father told you to keep your nose out of the baron's business? Now look at what you've gone and done. You've gotten your brother killed, haven't you? And we'll never get him back." She began to cry. "This is all your fault, Liam. All your fault."

"No it's not, Angeline."

Liam turned around to see Samira sitting up on the bed. Her eyes were wet with tears, but some of the color had returned to her cheeks.

"Ryder knew what he was getting himself into." Samira stood up and placed her hand on Liam's shoulder, standing beside him in defense. "He knew the risks just as well as Liam did."

"How can you say that, Samira?" said the matriarch through her sobs. "Your husband is dead."

"I know that, Angeline."

"Do you not grieve?"

Samira wiped the tears from her eyes, the pain on her face turning visibly to anger. "How dare you say that to me. Of course I do. And so does Liam."

Liam felt a calmness wash through him. Somehow, Samira could forgive him for what he could not forgive himself. How could she do that? Samira was an angel. That must be it. No other creature on the plane could have such love in her heart. No other creature would be able to see through her grief and not condemn the brother who lived for the death of the one who did not.

Angeline stared at Samira for a long moment, seemingly piecing together the words she had just heard. Then she turned to her youngest son, now her only son.

"And what of the rest of us?" she asked, glaring at Liam. "Samira may forgive you for Ryder's death, but your foolish little game has now put us all at risk."

Liam shook his head. "How?"

"Do you think those guards are blind? Do you think Purdun is stupid?" Angeline threw her hands in the air. "As soon as he realizes even one of you got away, he'll send his men out looking." She stepped up right into Liam's face. "And when they come looking, they will be looking for you. And when they find you, we will all be in jeopardy."

Liam put his hands to his head, rubbing his temples. He hadn't thought of that. "What do you want me to do? You want me to march to Zerith Hold and turn myself in?"

Angeline opened her mouth, but Samira cut her off.

"No. Absolutely not." She stared at Angeline until the older woman looked away, then she turned to gaze at Liam. "We've lost enough of our family for one day, I think."

A tense silence filled the house, broken only by the crackling of the fire.

Liam watched his mother, not knowing what to say to her.

She watched him back, a stern look of disapproval on her face. Then the anger in her eyes faded, replaced by sadness, and she wrapped her arms around him. "You're right," she said, sobbing again. "I'm sorry, Liam. I'm sorry."