Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

As Rawn strolled through Skelling Rise, he found it had an impressive irrigation system, paved roads, homes, crops, windmills, and fallow fields. It seemed the gold the mercenaries earned fighting other men’s wars was used on their town. He stopped at a hill, overlooking the land peppered with houses and farms. It had the semblance of peace, yet beyond the walls, death awaited the chance to barge in.

“What are you thinking?” Zev said next to him.

“Why settle here of all places?” Rawn replied thoughtfully, his breath clouding in the brisk air. “Any day the town could experience another Horde attack. The Bridge was abandoned because of the high mortality risk…unless that is the point.”

“You think they are hiding?”

“Lord Jophiel mentioned the Captain values his anonymity. The Azure Kingdom is not aware of their presence here.”

“Then who do they pay homage to?”

Rawn followed the horizon to the west where he heard a distant hum of gathered voices. “Perhaps to themselves.”

He followed the sound curiously and when they reached the edge of town, they came upon what seemed to be a training yard. The area was flat and paved with thirty foot tall wooden pillars. It wasn’t the mercenaries swinging across them that astonished Rawn, but the twenty or so younglings watching. They were all dressed in thick, dark blue tunics with the bird’s skull emblem on the left side of their chests, standing at attention. Boys and girls, ages ranging from about fifteen to eighteen. Among them was Tavin.

“Family isn’t determined by blood,” Eagon said to the gathering, walking along the line with his arms behind his back. “It’s determined by who you fight for and who fights for you.”

They released a hoot in unison.

“What is the one law we live by?”

“Protect Skelling and those too weak to protect themselves!” they chanted.

“That is the only thing we bleed for.” Eagon came to a stop as Klyde swung down from the pillars and landed in a graceful crouch behind him. The younglings watched with awe. “Now gear up. We’re using the grappling hooks today. Tavin will go first.”

The lad grinned. They rushed to the other senior mercenaries to be fitted with the gear.

“You train children?” Zev asked, his voice heavy with disapproval.

Eagon and Klyde glanced at them.

“They are all of age to swing a blade, mate,” the Captain said as they approached. “We learned from a young age death doesn’t care how old you are. Inexperience and hesitation are a quick passage through the Seven Gates out here. Even within our stone walls.”

“Every winter, everyone from the age of twelve and up receives basic training for their survival,” Eagon said. “Whether they choose to join our ranks is purely optional. The minimum age requirement for that is twenty, and they must train on the wall for two years before ever being allowed to cross Troll Bridge.”

“Why not simply exterminate all the trolls?” Zev asked.All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

“We don’t kill if we don’t need to,” Eagon said as they watched as Tavin shot a hook into a pillar and his body zipped into the air in a graceful arc. “At winter’s ends, only a handful of them per year decide to join us. To be a Skelling Mercenary means to live a short life. They are made to understand that very clearly.”

“What do you mean?” Rawn asked.

“The last step of their training is to slay a troll,” Klyde said. “We’re present when it happens. But that is the requirement to pass recruitment.”

“Knowing how dangerous the conditions are out there, I have to admit I’m surprised you are accepting of the idea of sending your son out there,” Rawn said.

Klyde’s gaze slid from Tavin to them. It had been a subjective guess since the boy was Gale’s nephew.

Zev glanced at him fleetingly. He had confirmed earlier the boy’s scent marked him as their kin, but not of Edith’s. If Klyde was his father, who was his real mother?

“He bears your resemblance,” Rawn added as the lad leaped off a pillar and swung for another with a skilled agility. “Even in his movements. Did you personally train him yourself?”

“I did,” Klyde said after a pause. “Though I would say it comes naturally to him. Tavin descends from soldiers, so he was born a fighter. But you assume wrong if you think I want him out there. We train children because when the day comes that they have to defend this town, I want them to have a chance.”

As a soldier, Rawn could see the logic behind their ways. “Elves are trained young as well, because there was no telling when Greenwood would find itself at war with Red Highland again. I have lost good men because others either lacked the preparation to survive battle or their fear in the middle of war.”

“What rank do you hold?” Klyde asked him.

“I am Greenwood’s General of the Armies.”

“Aye?” Klyde’s eyes widened. “What are you doing so far away from your King? Shouldn’t you be at his side?”

“I have been on a mission,” Rawn replied carefully.

“What mission?”

“I am not free to discuss it.”

Klyde’s expression became pensive. “It has to do with Dyna, doesn’t it? Who is she?”

Zev’s eyes flashed yellow. “My cousin.”

Eagon moved closer to Klyde defensively, but the Captain only smiled. He was baiting him.

“Dynalya is the Lady of Hermon Ridge,” Rawn said before Zev could reveal more than was already mentioned. “I should warn you Prince Cassiel is very protective of his mate. He would not take kindly to strangers asking questions about her.”

Klyde chuckled. “Aye, I noticed. Pardon me if I offend. I can’t help being curious about your story.”

“There is no story,” Zev said.

“Everyone has a story, mate. And I sense there is a good one behind you lot.”

“Then may we inquire about yours?” Rawn asked.

Klyde shrugged. “Ah, see, everyone in my story is dead.”

“Was that before or after you settled in the ruins of Azurite?” Zev asked.

So much for subtlety.

The Captain didn’t seem staggered by the question. His coat billowed in a gust of flurries; his expression indifferent. Eagon couldn’t quite disguise the tension entering his shoulders.

“Death dances in all our shadows,” Klyde said. “No matter where we are.”

An answer without an answer.

“How long have the townsfolk lived here, if I may ask?” Rawn said as he casually admired the town with false interest. “Skelling Rise is very well sustained. The taxes must be high.”

Klyde chuckled. There was a coldness to the sound and he was reminded of Lord Jophiel’s caution. “If you mean to discover who rules this land now, the answer is us. We bow to no king. And I intend to keep it that way.”

Rawn exchanged a look with Zev at the clear forewarning. He dipped his head. “You value your privacy, Captain. As we value ours.”

A silent acknowledgement passed between them, from leader to leader. They both had secrets to keep and would do well to maintain them.

The afternoon rays streamed through the clouds to shine on the training yard. It highlighted gold strands in Klyde’s dark, blond hair. The light caught on his irises, changing the color to nearly piercing white. There was something about the man that nagged Rawn since they arrived. He appeared affable for the most part, but there was something dark and familiar hidden behind his gaze.

It vanished behind another one of his grins. “Well, I’m off to my sister’s house to see what I can do to repair the back wall.”

“I will join you,” Rawn said.

“No need, mate.”

“I must insist. The spell went awry because of my oversight. Please allow me to recompense the damages. I have some building experience.”

“Very well.” Klyde clapped his shoulder and nodded for them to follow. “Come along. You’re welcome, too…Zev, was it?”

“Yes,” Zev answered gruffly.

“It’s a neat trick, shifting forms as you do. I wasn’t aware werewolves could do that.”

“I suppose you could say I’m not a normal werewolf.”

“Should I be concerned about that?” Klyde casually asked as they made their way down the hill. “I’m a reasonable man. I understand the necessity behind your stay and the nature we sometimes can’t control, but my priority will always be this town. There are over two hundred lives here. The reason why we have survived on the Bridge is because I don’t allow any risks within my walls.”

Their boots trudged through the snow in the brief pause. Was he telling them to leave?

“If you’re referring to the full moon next week, I will be outside of your walls by then,” Zev said. “And if you prefer I stay out there—”

“I assure you, we have the means to contain him,” Rawn cut in. “He will be far from Skelling Rise when the moon rises.”

“What means?”

Rawn hesitated to answer.

“Chains,” Zev said. “I use silver chains.”

“Hmm. Well, if you don’t mind, I will accompany you when the time comes, to see that reassurance in person.”

They both reluctantly nodded. It wasn’t as if they could deny him when they were at the mercy of his generosity.

“How is Lucenna?” the Captain asked as they continued. “Has she woken yet?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Klyde frowned thoughtfully. “But she is all right?”

“We expect she will wake soon.” Rawn hoped she would. He owed her his thanks for helping him reach Aerina once more.

Rawn was out in the barn, humming to Fair in soft Elvish as he brushed him down for the night when a knock came at entry.

Dyna stood against the moonlight, smiling at him. “Here you are, Lord Norrlen.”

“Were you searching for me, my lady?”

“Yes, I merely wanted to thank you for helping me with the rings.”

Rawn smiled back at her soft blush. He had enjoyed spending the other night helping her carve the silver bands. She now wore hers. “It was my pleasure.

Dyna picked up a mane brush and moved to Fair’s other side. “Were you able to learn anything about the Captain?”

“Only that he is skilled at evading questions and asking his own.”

“Hmm.” Dyna looked thoughtful. “Naturally, he would be curious about us as well. We must tread carefully.”

Rawn nodded. They had enough of surprises and enemies appearing from the Shadows. But he could see how much Lady Dyna had grown as she faced those obstacles. She was becoming a leader and fine warrior.

It made him think of his son, and Rawn wondered what kind of man he had grown to be. Did Raiden take after him? Or after his mother? How he wished, he had been there to see him grow.

“Lord Norrlen?”

He glanced up through his blurred vision.

Dyna looked at him worriedly. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, my lady, pardon.” He cleared his throat and blinked away the wetness in his eyes. “I have been feeling nostalgic as of late.”

“You miss your family,” she said, smiling sadly. “Would you…tell me about her? Your wife?”

Rawn couldn’t bring himself to answer at first. Images of her came to him, of their home, and her golden hair fluttering in the summer breeze passing over the rolling hills of Dynalya flowers outside of his estate. If he was still enough, he could imagine standing there with her. He could hear her laughter and her soft hand on his cheek.

In his youth, she had been only a wish.

One he never expected to receive.

“There is a moment where we reach a point in the path of life that deviates our entire existence. Fate brings another to join you on that path and suddenly they become as essential as the rise of tomorrow, they become the air in which we live.” He swallowed, fighting the thickness in his throat. “That is my Aerina.”

The emotion that crossed Dyna’s face told him she knew exactly how that felt.

“You will go back to her one day, Lord Norrlen,” she said fervently. “I will see that you do.”

And somehow, Rawn wholeheartedly believed her.