The War of Six Crowns: The Vanished Knight

The Oracle Stone

Darrion paced in front of his desk, scowling at his bow and arrows every time he passed them. Shooting at deer while in the five families' company. Now there was a murder waiting to happen. But that wasn't his main concern.

Where was the Knight?

The question swirled around his mind endlessly. It hollowed out his chest more and more with every passing second.

Lorcan and his company of guards had vanished a week ago.

Darrion pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefingers to clear his thoughts. A knock brought him to a halt. He looked at the door and lowered his hands, squaring his shoulders.

"Enter."

Gawain came in, expression oddly devoid of mirth.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing," he grumbled, heading straight for the drinks table at the opposite end of the living area.

Darrion lifted an eyebrow and followed. "Thirsty?"

Gawain just grunted and threw back a shot of mulnich.

Okay...this was serious. "You know it's not past eight yet, right?"

"Yeah." Gawain poured himself another. "Didn't sleep."

"I don't think that will keep you awake."

"Don't care."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

Darrion waited.

Gawain slammed his glass down, sloshing out some really damn expensive mulnich. "I can't believe I read her so wrong. Rakaln." He downed the drink.

Ah. The Fury. That would go a long way to explaining things. "Why don't you forget about her? Find a nice girl—"

Gawain let out a soft, dry laugh. "You think I didn't try that already?"

Oh... Not good. Darrion frowned at his friend. "Try harder."

"And do what? Find another Callan?"

Shit.

Gawain turned back to the drinks table, reaching for the bottle. "She wants to leave."

Thank God. Darrion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It would be easier for all concerned if that was true. "I see. Well...she's not worthy of you."

His heart sank when Gawain snorted.

"She's worth ten of me." He downed his drink and faced Darrion with a sad smile. "She knows it too. I asked her to stay and she said there's nothing here for her."

Darrion winced. That must have lashed Gawain to the core. They'd grown up together and Darrion had never seen him lose his heart to a girl. Not like this.

Why did it have to be her, though? And so fast...

Although even without Gawain's ability to read people, Darrion could see exactly what had snagged his best friend, even if he couldn't admit it.

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it. "But I have to ask you to stop drinking. We need to think."

Gawain hung his head, but set the glass aside. "What?"

"Have you heard anything from the Knight?"

His expression turned bleaker. "Nothing."

"Me neither."

Silence stretched between them. Gawain struggled off the mulnich's effect.

"We need to find him," he said at last.

Darrion nodded, hesitantly letting Gawain see his worry and fear for the Knight. Any other emotion or secret would be too messy.

"But how?" Gawain asked.

Ah. It always came to this point. "I don't know."

Another silence stretched while they thought. Then Darrion hit on something.

"The Oracle Stone."

Gawain's eyes bugged. "You're insane. Who's going to touch the stone on the off chance of seeing what we want to see?"

"I will."

The decision made, he stormed out.

Gawain hurried after him. "It could kill you."

"Do you have a better solution?"

"No." Gawain frowned. "He could arrive at any moment."

Darrion glanced at him. "You really think that?"

"No."

They went down the long spiral staircase into the depths of the castle. The stone was unguarded as always. Few people were crazy enough to touch it more than they absolutely had to. Although the stone's magic allowed the viewer to see something important, it had a price. It caused so much physical pain immediately afterward that the random glimpse of life the stone offered just wasn't worth it.

Any Nordian knew of the Oracle Stone's Ordeal. That was how the best of the best of the best were chosen to the ruling class. Many failed to remain standing for most of it. Those who did were destined for greatness. It was how the candidates to inherit Nordaine's throne had been chosen.

The Oracle Stone glowed the moment Darrion and Gawain entered the testing room.

Gawain sent Darrion a hesitant look. "That can't be good."

"Or maybe it is." He walked up to the stone, took a deep breath, and laid his hands on its surface.

Almost immediately, a fog enveloped his mind, clearing it. The images started. Some of Darrion's past, others of his future. No, he kept thinking, show me the Knight. Please...

The images changed. Maybe the stone would grant him his request for once. An image of the Knight's bruised face flashed before Darrion's eyes, but before anything else appeared, his vision went black.

And then the second stage of the Ordeal began. The first of many lashes of magic whipped across his back. Within minutes, his whole being was enveloped in pain.

Ouch. That can't be fun. 

Speaking of not fun, this section is pretty short, so I posted another one today. 

Before you go: Any guesses on why the Stone stopped showing images? 

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