- RYON'S POV -
Gallahein's army came out of nowhere. They struck hard and fast, leaving destruction in their path. Our men fought valiantly, but many were felled. Metal rang as blades collided. Blood splattered the ground. Tents were being searched, raided, then burned down. Sindri. I pushed through the crowd toward tent 302.
I burst through the enterance flap. Three dead bodies lay strewn around the inside. Kian was standing over Sindri, watching her. I edged closer. Sindri's wrists and ankles were chained to each short post at every corner. Her eyes were clouded, the amber irises milky. She seemed to be in a trance of some sort. Her body lay limp under several thick quilts, of which were stained with fresh blood. Sindri's blood. I had to get her out of there.
Unable to free my friend, I lifted the entire cot onto Kian's back. I hastily tied it to her, making sure the knots were tight and secure. I swung myself onto the wolf, trying my hardest to keep Princess Sindri from falling off. I grabbed on to the fur on the back of Kian's neck. As soon as the creature was sure I was steady, she took off.
We bolted through the battle, heading in a westward direction. The three of us made incredible time, running faster than was possible for even the swiftest horse. When night came, a cold, drenching rain poured upon us all. The hood of my cloak was drawn tightly around my face. We could hardly see. Finally, without even the moon for light, we could smell the salty air of a storm-tossed sea. We were getting close.
Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the scene. Not far ahead, high stone walls towered over us. The abbey was sitting on the edge of a cliff that had monsterous waves crashing beneath it, slowly wearing away the stone. I rode to the large cluster of buildings without stopping. Thunder rumbled overhead as I charged through the open gates.
I slowed us to a trot, and finally to a walk, as I rode Kian into the courtyard. I slid off and opened one of the heavy wooden doors and led the wolf and her precious cargo inside. A man rushed toward us from the shadows. "Who are you, stranger, to be coming in such late an hour as this?" he demanded. I grinned and pulled back my hood.
"It's good to see you too, Brother Damon." I laughed.
"Ryon!" my old friend exclaimed. "How've you been, my boy? I haven't seen you in the better part of seven years!"
"I'm here on urgent business. My camp has been attacked. I need to see Brother Stephen." I told him.
"Of course, of course." he began rambling on and on about how Brother Treth's cooking had never gotten any better. He seemed to ignore the fact that there was a live wolf in the halls. Kian walked proudly by my side. Every now and then, I would look up to check on Sindri. We followed Brother Damon up a winding ramp to the top of one of our shorter inner towers. There, he opened a thick wooden door.
The room beyond it was uncannily warm for an abbey of stone. An elderly man sat in the corner reading a scroll of some sort. Upon our arrival he stood and did a half-bow. Damon and I returned the gesture. "Greetings. May Maldein bless you." he said. I laughed, for Brother Stephen was never one for formalities. My friend smiled back through his long gray beard.
"A friend has been injured." I told him. "Something is wrong with her. I couldn't figure out anywhere better to go to." The old man raised a bushy eyebrow at the word 'her'. I shrugged and began untying the cot. I slid it off of Kian and gently placed it on the floor.
Brother Stephen knelt at Sindri's side. He immediatley recognized her. "The Lost Princess." he muttered, shaking his head. I ushered Brother Damon out of the room and locked the door behind him. He shouldn't know more than necessary. Kian lay down on the floor as my elder took a ring of keys and tried each one on a lock until the shackle clicked open. One by one, the iron restraints clattered to the stone.
The old man pulled the blankets off of her, and lifted her limp body from the cot with surprising stregnth. He lay her on a table in the center of the room. Placing an ear to her chest, he checked for a heartbeat. He nodded in approval. He placed the back of his wrinkled hand on her forehead. A frown followed. I watched as my friend got to work. He snapped a finger by each of her ears and waved a hand in front of her eyes. Nothing.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Ryon. We are not to be disturbed until Princess Sindri is well enough to leave the tower. She will remain under my care until the moment the three of you venture out again. Am I understood?" he asked. I nodded. Kian, figuring that her welcome was also spent, followed me out. As the door closed behind us, several clicks could be heard as multiple locks were slid into place.
I knew that I had made the right choice in leaving Sindri with Brother Stephen. He was experienced, wise, and trustworthy. He would let her heal the way she was supposed to, with a little help along the way. The two of us traveled downward to the main floor. I thought back to my childhood spent within the walls of the abbey and turned to look at the wolf.
"Well, Kian." I said. "Let's get to work."
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The Blood in Our Veins
Фэнтези(Book One in the Storm Trilogy) Sindri Willow is next in line to become High Queen of Arkenon. She accepted this responsibility with a heavy heart, though she may need to rule sooner than she wanted. Her uncle, Lord Gallahein, plans to take the thro...
