Percepliquis

CHAPTER 1

Miranda had been certain that the end of the world would begin like this-without warning, but with fire. Behind them, the sky glowed red as flames and plumes of sparks rose into the night sky. The university at Sheridan was burning.

Holding Mercy’s little hand, Miranda was terrified she might lose the girl in the dark. They had been running for hours, dashing blindly through the pine forest, pushing their way past unseen branches. Beneath the laden boughs, the snow was deep. Miranda fought through drifts higher than her knees, breaking a path for the little girl and the old professor.

Struggling somewhere behind, Arcadius called out, “Go on, go on, don’t wait for me.”

Hauling the heavy pack and dragging the little girl, Miranda was moving as fast as she could. Every time she heard a sound or thought a shadow moved, Miranda fought back a scream. Panic hovered just below the surface, threatening to break free. Death was on their heels and her feet were anchors.

Miranda felt sorry for the child and worried that hauling her forward was hurting her arm. Once, Miranda had pulled too hard and dragged Mercy across the surface of the snow. The girl had cried when her face skimmed the powder, but her whimpering was short-lived. Mercy had stopped asking questions, stopped complaining about being tired. She had given up talking altogether and trudged behind Miranda as best she could. She was a brave girl.

They reached the road and Miranda knelt down to inspect the child. Her nose ran. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes. Her cheeks were red, and her black hair lay matted with sweat to her forehead. Miranda took a moment to brush several loose strands behind her ears while Mr. Rings kept a close eye on her. As if he were a fur stole, the raccoon curled around the girl’s neck. Mercy had insisted on freeing the animals from their cages before leaving. Once released, the raccoon had run up Mercy’s arm and held tight. Apparently, Mr. Rings also sensed something bad was coming.

“How are you doing?” Miranda asked, pulling the girl’s hood up and tightening the broach holding her cloak.

“My feet are cold,” she said. The child’s voice was little more than a whisper as she stared down at the snow.

“So are mine,” Miranda replied in the brightest tone she could muster.

“Ah, well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” the old professor said while climbing the slope to join them. He puffed large clouds and shifted the satchel over his shoulder, his beard and eyebrows thick with snow and ice.

“And how are you doing?” Miranda asked.

“Oh, I’m fine, fine. An old man needs a bit of exercise now and again, but we need to keep moving.”

“Where are we going?” Mercy asked.

“Aquesta,” Arcadius replied. “You know what Aquesta is, don’t you, dear? That’s where the empress rules from a big palace. You’d like to meet her, wouldn’t you?”

“Will she be able to stop them?”

Miranda noticed the little girl’s gaze had shifted over the old man’s shoulder to the burning university. Miranda looked as well, watching the brilliant glow rising above the treetops. They were many miles away now, and yet the light still filled the horizon. Dark shadows flew above the fire’s light. They swooped and circled over the burning university, and from their mouths spewed torrents of flame.

“We can hope, my dear. We can hope,” Arcadius said. “Now let’s keep moving. I know you’re tired. I know you’re cold. So am I, but we have to go as fast as we can. We have to get farther away.”

Mercy nodded or shivered. It was difficult to discern which.

Miranda dusted the snow from the child’s back and legs in an attempt to keep her from getting wetter than she already was. This drew a cautious glare from Mr. Rings.

“Do you think the other animals got away?” Mercy asked.

“I’m certain they did,” Arcadius assured her. “They are smart, aren’t they? Maybe not as smart as Mr. Rings here-after all, he managed to get a ride.”

Mercy nodded again and added in a hopeful voice, “I’m sure Teacup got away. She can fly.”

Miranda checked the girl’s pack and then her own to ensure they were still closed and cinched tight. She looked down the dark road before them.

“This will take us through Colnora and right into Aquesta,” the old wizard explained.

“How long will it take to get there?” Mercy asked.

“Several days-a week, perhaps. Longer if the weather stays bad.”

Miranda saw the disappointment in Mercy’s eyes. “Don’t worry, once we are farther away, we will stop, rest, and eat. I’ll make something hot and then we’ll sleep for a bit. But for now, we have to keep going. Now that we are on the road, it will be easier.”

Miranda took the little girl’s hand and they set off again. She was pleased to discover that what she had told the child turned out to be true. Trenches left by wagons made for easy going, even more so due to the downhill slope. They kept a brisk pace, and soon the forest rose to blot out the fiery glow behind them. The world became dark and quiet, with only the sound of the cold wind to keep them company.

Miranda glanced at the old professor as he trudged along, holding his cloak tight to his neck. The skin of his face was red and blotchy, and he labored to breathe. “Are you sure you are all right?”

Arcadius did not respond at first. He drew near, forced a smile, and whispered softly in Miranda’s ear, “I fear you may need to finish this journey without me.”

“What?” Miranda said too loudly, and glanced down at the little girl. Mercy did not look up. “We’ll stop soon. We’ll rest and take our time tomorrow. We’ve gone a good distance today. Here, let me take your satchel.” She reached out.

“No. I’ll hang on to it. It’s very fragile, as you know-and dangerous. If anyone dies carrying it, I want it to be me. As for resting, I don’t think it will make a difference. I’m not strong enough for this sort of travel. We both know that.”

“You can’t give up.”

“I’m not. I’m handing off the charge to you. You’ll manage.”

“But I don’t know what to do. You’ve never told me the plan.”

Arcadius chuckled. “That’s because it changes frequently. I had hoped the regents would have accepted Mercy as Modina’s heir, but they refused.”

“So now what?”

“Modina is on the throne now, so we have a second chance. The best you can do is get to Aquesta and seek an audience with her.”

“But I don’t know how-”

“You’ll figure it out. Introduce Mercy to the empress. That will be a start in the right direction. Soon you will be the only one who knows the truth. I hate placing this burden on you, but I have no choice.”

Miranda shook her head. “No, it was my mother who placed the burden on me. Not you.”

“A deathbed confession is a weighty thing.” The old man nodded. “But doing so allowed her to die in peace.”

“Do you think so? Or is her spirit still lingering? Sometimes I feel as if she is watching-haunting me. I’m paying the price for her weakness, her cowardice.”

“Your mother was young, poor, and ignorant. She witnessed the death of dozens of men, the butchery of a mother and child, and narrowly escaped. She lived in constant fear that someday, someone would discover there were twins and she rescued one of them.”

“But,” Miranda said bitterly, “what she did was wrong and unconscionable. And the worst part is she couldn’t let the sin die with her. She had to tell me. Make it my responsibility to correct her mistakes. She should-”

Mercy came to an abrupt halt, tugging on Miranda’s arm.

“Honey, we need to…” She stopped upon seeing the girl’s face. The faint light of an early dawn revealed fear as Mercy stared ahead to where the road dipped toward a large stone bridge.

“There’s a light up ahead,” Arcadius said.

“Is it…?” Miranda asked.

The old teacher shook his head. “It’s a campfire-several, it looks like. More refugees, I suspect. We can join with them and the going will be easier. If I’m not mistaken, they are camped on the far bank of the Galewyr. I had no idea we’d come so far. No wonder I’m puffing.”

“There now,” Miranda said to the girl as they once more started forward. “See? Our troubles are already over. Maybe they will even have a wagon that an old man can ride in.”

Arcadius gave her a smirk but allowed himself a smile. “Things may be looking up at that.”

“We’ll be-”

The girl squeezed Miranda’s hand and stopped once more. Up the road, figures on horseback trotted toward them. The animals snorted white fog as their hooves drove through the iced tracks. The riders sat enveloped in dark cloaks. With hoods drawn up and scarves wrapped, it was difficult to determine much, but one thing was certain-they were just men. Miranda counted three. They came from the south but not from the direction of the campfires. These were not refugees.

“Who do you think?” Miranda asked. “Highwaymen?”

The professor shook his head.

“What do we do?”

“Hopefully nothing. With luck they are just good men coming to our aid. If not…” He patted his satchel grimly. “Get to those campfires and ask for shelter and protection. Then see to it that Mercy reaches Aquesta. Avoid the regents and try to tell the empress Mercy’s story. Tell her the truth.”

“But what if-”

The horses approached and slowed.

“What do we have here?” one rider asked.

Miranda could not tell who spoke, but guessed it was the foremost. He studied them while they stood still, listening to the deep throaty pant of the horses.

“Isn’t this convenient?” he said, and dismounted. “Of all the people in the world-I was just coming to see you, old man.”

The leader was tall and held his side gingerly, moving stiffly. His piercing eyes glared out from under his hood, his nose and mouth shrouded by a crimson scarf.

“Out for an early stroll in a snowstorm?” he asked, closing the distance between them.

“Hardly,” Arcadius replied. “We’re in flight.”

“I’m sure you are. Clearly if I had waited even a day, I would have missed you, and you might have slipped away. Coming to the palace was a foolish mistake. You exposed too much. And for what? You should have known better. But age must bring with it a degree of desperation.” He looked at Mercy. “Is this the girl?”

“Guy,” Arcadius said, “Sheridan is burning. The elves have crossed the Nidwalden. The elves have attacked!”

Guy! Miranda knew him, or at least his reputation. Arcadius had taught her the names of all the church sentinels. From the professor’s viewpoint, Luis Guy was the most dangerous. All sentinels were obsessed, all chosen for their rabid orthodoxy, but Guy had a legacy. His mother’s maiden name was Evone. She had been a pious girl who had married Lord Jarred Seret, a direct descendant of the original Lord Darius Seret, who had been charged by Patriarch Venlin to find the heir of the Old Empire. In the realm of heir hunters, Luis Guy was a fanatic among fanatics.

“Don’t play me for a fool. This is the girl-child you spoke to Saldur and Ethelred about, isn’t it? The one you wanted to groom as the next empress. Why would you do that, old man? Why pick this girl? Is this another ruse? Or were you actually trying to slip her past us? To atone for your mistake.” Guy crouched down to get a better look at Mercy’s face. “Come here, child.”

“No!” Miranda snapped, pulling Mercy close.

Guy stood up slowly. “Let go of the child,” he ordered.

“No.”

“Sentinel Guy!” Arcadius shouted. “She’s just a peasant girl. An orphan I took in.”

“Is she?” He drew his sword.

“Be reasonable. You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Oh, I think I do. Everyone was so focused on Esrahaddon that you went by unnoticed. Who could have imagined that you would point the way to the heir not just once, but twice?”

“The heir? The Heir of Novron? Are you insane? Is that why you think I spoke to the regents?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No.” He shook his head, an amused smile on his face. “I came because I suspected they hadn’t thought about the question of succession, and I wanted to help educate the next imperial leader.”

“But you insisted on this girl-only this girl. Why would you do that unless she really is the heir?”

“That makes no sense. How could I know who the heir is? Or even if an heir still lives?”

“How indeed. That was the missing piece. You are actually the only one who could know. Tell me, Arcadius Latimer, what did your father do for a living?”

“He was a weaver, but I fail to see-”

“Yes, so how did the poor son of a weaver from a small village become the master of lore at Sheridan University? I doubt your father even knew how to read, and yet his son is one of the most renowned scholars in the world? How does that happen?”

“Really, Guy, I would not think I would need to explain the merits of ambition and hard work to someone such as you.”

Guy sneered back. “You disappeared for ten years, and when you came back, you knew a lot more than when you left.”

“You’re just making things up.”

Guy smirked. “The church doesn’t let just anyone teach at their university. Did you think they didn’t keep records?”

“Of course not. I just didn’t think you’d see them.” The old man smiled.

“I’m a sentinel, you idiot! I have access to every archive in the church.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think my scholastic examination would be of any interest. I was a rebel in my youth-handsome too. Did the records indicate that?”

“It said you found the tomb of Yolric. Who was Yolric?”

“And here I thought you knew everything.”

“I didn’t have time to linger in libraries. I was in a hurry to catch you.”

“But why? Why are you after me? Why is your sword out?”

“Because the Heir of Novron must die.”

“She’s not the heir. Why do you think she is? How could I even know who the heir was?”

“Because that is one of the secrets you brought back. You discovered how to locate the heir.”

“Bah! Really, Guy, you have quite an imagination.”

“There were other records. The church called you in for questioning. They thought you might have gone to Percepliquis like that Edmund Hall fellow. And then, only days after that meeting, there was a fight in the city of Ratibor. A pregnant mother and her husband were killed. Identified as Linitha and Naron Brown, they and their child were executed by Seret Knights. After centuries of looking, I find it interesting that my predecessor managed to locate the Heir of Novron just days after the church interrogated you.” Guy glared at the professor. “Did you make a deal with the church? Did you trade information in exchange for freedom? I’m sure they told you they wanted to find the heir so they could make him king again. When you discovered what they really did, I imagine you felt used-the guilt must be awful.”

Guy paused for Arcadius to respond but the professor said nothing.

“After that everyone thought the bloodline had ended, didn’t they? Even the Patriarch had no idea another heir still lived. Then Esrahaddon escapes and he goes straight to Degan Gaunt. Only Degan isn’t the heir. I was fooled for a long time too, but imagine my shock when he failed the blood test that he previously passed. No doubt the result of the same potion Esrahaddon used on King Amrath and Arista that made Braga suspect the Essendons. I suppose, looking back on it, we should have guessed a wizard of the Old Empire wasn’t a fool and would never lead us to the real heir.

“But there was another, wasn’t there? And you performed whatever trick you did the first time to find her.” Guy peered at Mercy. “What is she? A bastard child? A niece?” He advanced toward Miranda. “Hand her over.”

“No!” the old professor shouted.

One of the soldiers grabbed Miranda, and the other pulled the girl from her.

“But let’s be certain, shall we? I will not make the same mistake twice.” With a deft sweep of his wrist, Guy slashed Mercy across her hand. She screamed and Mr. Rings hissed.

“That’s uncalled for!” Arcadius said.

“Watch them,” Guy ordered his men while he moved to his horse.

“Hush now, be a brave girl for me,” Miranda told Mercy.

Guy carefully laid his sword on the ground, then withdrew a small leather case from his saddlebag. From it, he pulled forth a set of three vials. He uncorked the first, tilted it slightly, and tapped on it with his finger until a bit of powder sprinkled onto the bloodstained end of his sword.

“I want to leave now,” Mercy whimpered as the guard held her fast. “Please can we go?”

“Interesting,” Guy muttered to himself, then applied the contents of the next vial. This one held a liquid that hissed and fizzled when it landed on the blade.

“Guy!” Arcadius shouted at him as he stepped forward.

“ Very interesting,” Guy continued. He uncorked the last vial.

“Guy, don’t!” the old man yelled.

He poured a single drop on the tip of the sword.

Pop!

The sound was like a wine bottle cork coming free and the flash was as brilliant as lightning.

The sentinel stood up, staring at the end of his sword, and began to laugh. It was a strange and eerie sound, like the song of a madman. “At last. At long last, I have found the Heir of Novron. The quest of my ancestors will be achieved through me.”

“Miranda,” Arcadius whispered, “you can do nothing more by yourself.” The old man’s eyes glanced toward the refugee camp.

As the morning light rose, Miranda could see several columns of smoke. Possible help was tantalizingly close. Only a few hundred yards at most.

“I’ve devoted my life to correcting my mistake. But now it is up to you to do what must be done,” Arcadius said.

Luis Guy took the girl and hoisted her onto his horse. “We’ll take her to the Patriarch.”

“What about these two, sir?” one of the hooded men asked.

“Take the old man. Kill the woman.”

Miranda’s heart skipped as the soldier reached for his sword.

“Wait!” Arcadius said. “What about the horn?” The old professor was backing away, clutching his satchel. “The Patriarch will want the horn too, won’t he?”

Guy’s eyes flashed at the bag Arcadius held.

“You have it?” the sentinel asked.

Arcadius shot a desperate look toward Miranda, then turned and fled back down the road.

“Watch the child,” Guy ordered one of his men. Turning to the other, he waved, and together they chased after Arcadius, who ran faster than Miranda would have ever imagined possible.

She watched him-her closest friend-racing back the way they had come, his cloak flying behind him. She might have thought the sight comical except she knew what Arcadius actually had in his satchel. She knew why he was running away, what that meant, and what he wanted her to do.

Miranda reached for the dagger under her cloak. She had never killed anyone before, but what choice did she have? The man standing between her and Mercy was a soldier, and likely a Seret Knight. He turned his back on her to get a better grip on Guy’s horse, focusing his attention on Mercy and the hissing raccoon that snapped at him.

Miranda had only seconds before Guy and the other man caught up to Arcadius. Knowing what would happen made her want to cry. They had come so far together, sacrificed so much, and just when it seemed like they were finally close to their goal… to be stopped like this… to be murdered on a roadside… Tragic was too weak a word to frame the injustice. There would be time for tears later. The professor was counting on her and she would not let him down. That one look had told her everything. This was the final gamble. If they could get Mercy to Modina, everything might be made right again.

She drew the dagger and rushed forward. With all her strength, Miranda stabbed the soldier in the back. He was not wearing mail or leather and the sharp blade bit deep, passing through clothes, skin, and muscle.

He spun and swatted her away. The back of his fist connected with her cheek and left her reeling from the blow. She fell to the snow, still holding the dagger, the handle slick with blood.

On the horse, Mercy held tight to the saddle and screamed. The raccoon chattered, its fur up.

Miranda got back to her feet as the soldier drew his sword. He was badly hurt. Blood soaked his pant leg and he staggered toward her. She tried to get away, reaching for Mercy and the horse, but the seret was faster. His sword pierced her side somewhere near her waist. She felt it go in. The pain burned, but then she suddenly felt cold. Her knees buckled. She managed to hold fast to the saddle as the horse, frightened by the violence and Mercy’s screaming, moved away, dragging her with it.

Behind them, the soldier fell to his knees, blood bubbling from his lips.

Miranda tried to pull herself up, but her legs were useless. They hung limp and she felt the strength draining from her arms. “Take the reins, Mercy, and hang on tight.”

Down the road, Guy and the other man had caught up to Arcadius. Guy, who had stopped at the sound of the girl’s screams, lagged behind, but the other soldier tackled the old professor to the snow.

“Mercy,” Miranda said, “you need to ride. Ride over there-ride to the campfires. Beg for help. Go.”

With her last bit of strength, she struck the horse’s flank. The animal bolted forward. The saddle ripped from Miranda’s hands and she fell once more into the snow. Lying on her back, she listened to the sound of the horse as it raced away.

“Get on your-” she heard Guy shout, but it was too late. Arcadius had opened the satchel.

Even from hundreds of feet away Miranda felt the earth shake from the explosion. An instant later, a gust of wind threw stinging snow against her face as a cloud billowed into the morning sky. Arcadius, and the man who wrestled with him, died instantly. Guy was blown off his feet. The remaining horses scattered.

As the snowy cloud settled, Miranda stared up at the brightening sky, at the rising dawn. She was not cold anymore. The pain in her side was going away, growing numb along with her legs and hands. She felt a breeze cross her cheek and noticed her legs and waist were wet, her dress soaked through. She could taste iron on her tongue. Breathing became difficult-as if she were drowning.

Guy was still alive. She heard him cursing the old man and calling to the horses as if they were disobedient dogs. The crunch of snow, the rub of leather, then the sound of hooves galloping away.

She was alone in the silence of the cold winter’s dawn.

It was quiet. Peaceful.

“Dear Maribor, hear me,” she prayed aloud to the brightening sky. “Oh Father of Novron, creator of men.” She took her last breath and with it said, “Take care of your only daughter.”

Alenda Lanaklin crept out of her tent into the brisk morning air. She wore her thickest wool dress and two layers of fur, but still she shivered. The sun was just rising-a cold milky haze in the soup of a heavy winter sky. The clouds had lingered for more than a week and she wondered if she would ever see the sun’s bright face again.

Alenda stood on the packed snow, looking around at the dozens of tents pitched among the pine forest’s eaves. Campfires burned in blackened snow pits, creating gray tails of smoke that wagged with the wind. Among them wandered figures, hooded and bundled such that it should have been difficult to identify male from female. Yet there was no such dilemma-they were all women. The camp was filled with them as well as children and the elderly. People walked with bowed heads, picking their way carefully through the trampled snow.

Everything appeared so different in the light, so quiet, so still. The previous night had been a terror of fire, screams, and a flight along the Westfield road. They had paused only briefly to take a head count before pushing on. Alenda had been so exhausted that she barely recalled the camp being set.

“Good morning, my lady,” Emily greeted her from beneath a blanket, which was wrapped over her cloak. Her words lacked their normal cheerfulness. Alenda’s maid had always been bright and playful in the morning. Now she stood with somber diligence, her reddened hands quivering, her jaw shaking with the chill.

“Is it, Emmy?” Alenda cast another look around. “How can you tell?”

“Let’s find you some breakfast. Something warm will make you feel better.”

“My father and brothers are dead,” Alenda replied. “The world is ending. How can breakfast possibly help?”

“I don’t know, my lady, but we must try. It’s what your father wanted-for you to survive, I mean. It’s why he stayed behind, isn’t it?”

A loud boom, like a crack of thunder, echoed from the north. Every head turned to look out across the snowy fields. Every face terrified that the end had arrived at last.

Reaching the center of the camp, Alenda found Belinda Pickering; her daughter, Lenare; old Julian, Melengar’s lord high chamberlain; and Lord Valin, the party’s sole protector. The elderly knight had led them through the chaos the night before. Among them, they composed the last vestiges of the royal court, at least those still in Melengar. King Alric was in Aquesta lending a hand in the brief civil war and saving his sister, Arista, from execution. It was to him they now fled.

“We have no idea, but it is foolish to stay any longer,” Lord Valin was saying.

“Yes, I agree,” Belinda replied.

Lord Valin turned to a young boy. “Send word to rouse everyone. We will break camp immediately.”

“Emmy,” Alenda said, turning to her maid. “Run back and pack our things.”

“Of course, my lady.” Emily curtsied and headed toward their tent.

“What was that sound?” Alenda asked Lenare, who only shrugged, her face frightened.

Lenare Pickering was lovely, as always. Despite the horrors, the flight, and the primitive condition of the camp, she was radiant. Even disheveled in a hastily grabbed cloak, with her blonde hair spilling out of her hood, she remained stunning, just as a sleeping baby is always precious. She had gotten this blessing from her mother. Just as the Pickering men were renowned for their swordsmanship, so too were the Pickering women celebrated for their beauty. Lenare’s mother, Belinda, was famous for it.

All that was over now. What had been constants only the day before were now lost beyond a gulf too wide to clearly see across, although at times it appeared that Lenare tried. Alenda often had seen her staring north at the horizon with a look somewhere between desperation and remorse, searching for ghosts.

In her arms, Lenare still held her father’s legendary sword. The count had handed it to her, begging that she deliver it safely to her brother Mauvin. Then he had kissed each member of his family before returning to the line where Alenda’s own father and brothers waited with the rest of the army. Since then, Lenare had never set the burden down. She had wrapped it in a dark wool blanket and bound it with a silk ribbon. Throughout the harrowing escape, she had hugged the long bundle to her breast, at times using it to wipe away tears.

“If we push hard today, we might make Colnora by sunset,” Lord Valin told them. “Assuming the weather improves.” The old knight glared up at the sky as if it alone were their adversary.

“Lord Julian,” Belinda said. “The relics… the scepter and seal-”

“They are all safe, my lady,” the ancient chamberlain replied. “Loaded in the wagons. The kingdom is intact, save for the land itself.” The old man looked back in the direction of the strange sound, toward the banks of the Galewyr River and the bridge they had crossed the night before.

“Will they help us in Colnora?” Belinda asked. “We haven’t much food.”

“If news has reached them of King Alric’s part in freeing the empress, they should be willing,” Lord Valin said. “Even if it has not, Colnora is a merchant city, and merchants thrive on profit, not chivalry.”

“I have some jewelry,” Belinda informed him. “If needs be, you can sell what I have for…” The countess paused as she noticed Julian still staring back at the bridge.

Others soon lifted their gazes, and finally Alenda looked up to see the approach of a rider.

“Is it…?” Lenare began.

“It’s a child,” Belinda said.

Alenda quickly realized she was right. A little girl raced at them, clutching to the back of the sweat-soaked horse. Her hood had blown back, revealing long dark hair and rosy cheeks. She was about six years old, and just as she clutched the horse, a raccoon held fast to her. They were an odd pair to be alone on the road, but Alenda reminded herself that “normal” no longer existed. If she should see a bear in a feather cap riding a chicken, that too might be normal now.

The horse entered the camp and Lord Valin grabbed the bit, forcing the animal and rider to a stop.

“Are you all right, honey?” Belinda asked.

“There’s blood on the saddle,” Lord Valin noted.

“Are you hurt?” the countess asked the child. “Where are your parents?”

The girl shivered and blinked but said nothing. Her little fists still clutched the horse’s reins.

“She’s cold as ice,” Belinda said, touching the child’s cheek. “Help me get her down.”

“What’s your name?” Alenda asked.

The girl remained mute. Deprived of her horse, she turned to hugging the raccoon.

“Another rider,” Lord Valin announced.

Alenda looked up to see a man crossing the bridge and wheeling toward them.

The rider charged into the camp and threw back his hood, revealing long black hair, pale skin, and intense eyes. He bore a narrow mustache and a short beard trimmed to a fine point. He glared at them until he spotted the girl.

“There!” he said, pointing. “Give her to me at once.”

The child cried out in fear, shaking her head.

“No!” Belinda shouted, and pressed the girl into Alenda’s hands.

“My lady,” Lord Valin said. “If the child is his-”

“This child does not belong to him,” the countess declared, her tone hateful.

“I am a Sentinel of Nyphron,” the man shouted so all could hear. “This child is claimed for the church. You will hand her over now. Any who oppose me will die.”

“I know very well who you are, Luis Guy,” Belinda said, seething. “I will not provide you with any more children to murder.”

The sentinel peered at her. “Countess Pickering?” He studied the camp with renewed interest. “Where is your husband? Where is your fugitive son?”

“I am no fugitive,” Denek said as he came forward. Belinda’s youngest had recently turned thirteen and was growing tall and lanky. He was well on his way to imitating his older brothers.

“He means Mauvin,” Belinda explained. “This is the man who murdered Fanen.”

“Again I ask you,” Guy pressed. “Where is your husband?”

“He is dead and Mauvin is well beyond your reach.”

The sentinel looked out over the crowd and then down at Lord Valin. “And he has left you poor protection. Now, hand over the child.”

“I will not,” Belinda said.

Guy dismounted and stepped forward to face Lord Valin. “Hand over the child or I will be forced to take her.”

The old knight looked to Belinda, whose face remained hateful. “My lady does not wish it, and I shall defend her decision.” The old man drew his sword. “You will leave now.”

Alenda jumped at the sound of steel as Guy drew his own sword and lunged. In less than an instant, Lord Valin was clutching his bleeding side, his sword arm wavering. With a shake of his head, the sentinel slapped the old man’s blade away and stabbed him through the neck.

Guy advanced toward the girl with a terrifying fire in his eyes. Before he could cross the distance, Belinda stepped between them.

“I do not make a habit of killing women,” Guy told her. “But nothing will keep me from this prize.”

“What do you want her for?”

“As you said, to kill her. I will take the child to the Patriarch and then she must die, by my hands.”

“Never.”

“You cannot stop me. Look around. You have only women and children. You have no one to fight for you. Give me the child!”

“Mother?” Lenare said softly. “He is right. There is no one else. Please.”

“Mother, let me,” Denek pleaded.

“No. You are still too young. Your sister is right. There is no one else.” The countess nodded toward her daughter.

“I am pleased to see someone who-” Guy stopped as Lenare stepped forward. She slipped off her cloak and untied the bundle, revealing the sword of her father, which she drew forth and held before her. The blade caught the hazy winter light, pulling it in and casting it back in a sharp brilliance.

Puzzled, Guy looked at her for a moment. “What is this?”

“You killed my brother,” Lenare said.

Guy looked to Belinda. “You’re not serious.”

“Just this once, Lenare,” Belinda told her daughter.

“You would have your daughter die for this child? If I must kill all your children, I will.”

Alenda watched, terrified, as everyone backed away, leaving a circle around Sentinel Guy and Lenare. A ripping wind shuddered the canvas of the tents and threw Lenare’s golden hair back. Standing alone in the snow, dressed in her white traveling clothes and holding the rapier, she appeared as a mythical creature, a fairy queen or goddess-beautiful in her elegance.

With a scowl, Luis Guy lunged, and with surprising speed and grace, Lenare slapped the attack away. Her father’s sword sang with the contact.

“You’ve handled a blade before,” Guy said, surprised.

“I am a Pickering.”

He swung at her. She blocked. He swiped. She parried. Then Lenare slashed and cut Guy across the cheek.

“ Lenare,” her mother said with a stern tone. “Don’t play games.”

Guy paused, holding a hand to his bleeding face.

“He killed Fanen, Mother,” Lenare said coldly. “He should be made to suffer. He should be made an example.”

“No,” Belinda said. “It’s not our way. Your father wouldn’t approve. You know that. Just finish it.”

“What is this?” Guy demanded, but there was a hesitation in his voice. “You’re a woman.”

“I told you-I am a Pickering and you killed my brother.”

Guy began to raise his sword.

Lenare stepped and lunged. The thin rapier pierced the man’s heart and was withdrawn before he finished his stroke.

Luis Guy fell dead, facedown in the blood-soaked snow.