Child of the Knight Read online

  Child of the Knight

  Matt Heppe

  Published by Matt Heppe

  2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Matt Heppe

  No part of this book may be reproduced

  or transmitted in any form or by any means without

  permission in writing from the publisher.

  Contact:

  [email protected]

  Cover by Dallas Williams

  Map by Steve Sandford

  For my mother, Carol

  Reader’s Note

  Child of the Knight is the sequel to Eternal Knight. I dreaded the idea of weaving a synopsis of the first novel into the first few chapters of this novel. I don’t like it in the novels I read, so I didn’t put it into this one. You will have a much-improved reading experience if you read Eternal Knight first.

  For those of you who have already read Eternal Knight, but might have forgotten some of the elements of the story, I’ve included a list of important characters, places, and events from Eternal Knight that are relevant to Child of the Knight.

  All my best,

  Matt

  Important characters and events from Eternal Knight

  Akinos: Slain by Hadde at the Battle of King’s Crossing, Akinos held the Orb of Creation for over five hundred years. Akinos’s attempts to prolong his own life and to perfect the human race led to the Wasting. His name is also used as a curse.

  Belor: Hadde’s best friend and sometimes lover. He was slain by Saladoran brigands during their journey to Sal-Oras.

  Boradin, King: Younger brother to Prince Morin. Having never recovered from wounds taken at the Battle of King’s Crossing, Boradin has been tended by his wife and surgeons in seclusion for over a year.

  Capcaun: Huge, powerful humans modified by Akinos and the Orb of Creation. Their children are the misshapen, brutish urias.

  Dromost, God of Night: One of the Three Gods. Also uttered as a curse.

  Elementar: A person able to manipulate the four elements. There are only three known elementars in the world: King Boradin, Prince Morin, and Prince Handrin. There are rumors of more elementars. The ability is only passed through the bloodline of the House of Handrin.

  Eternal: Akinos’s crowning achievement in his efforts to perfect the human race. Their lives are entirely sustained by the Orb of Creation. The skin of an eternal appears as liquid silver.

  Forsvar, God of Storms: One of the Three Gods. Also the name of the shield Forsvar gave to his followers before the gods were banished from the world. The Godshield protects its possessor from all magical harm.

  Hadde: A huntress from the Landomeri village of Long Meadow. Hadde’s slaying of Akinos ended the Wasting.

  Handrin, Prince: Son of King Boradin and Queen Ilana. An elementar. Only twelve years old, he has not grown into his power.

  Helna, the Creator: One of the Three Gods. She secretly created the world. When her brothers, Forsvar and Dromost, discovered her creation, they demanded a hand in its workings. Dismayed at the destruction they caused, Helna banished all three gods from the world.

  Ilana, Queen: She rules Salador while her husband, King Boradin, recovers from wounds taken at the Battle of King’s Crossing.

  Landomere: One of the Greater Spirits, Landomere nourishes and protects her namesake forest. The massacre of the spiridus five centuries ago gravely weakened her. She was nearly destroyed by the Wasting. The end of the Wasting and the return of Orlos have started Landomere on the path of recovery.

  Maret: Formerly a Maiden in Waiting in Sal-Oras, Maret now lives in the village of Long Meadow in Landomere. Raped and viciously mutilated by Earl Waltas, she was only saved by the intervention of Orlos the Spiridus.

  Orb of Creation: The goddess Helna’s gift to the world, the Orb was meant to heal the world from the damage done by her brothers, the gods Dromost and Forsvar. The Orb was stolen by Akinos and twisted to his own purposes.

  Orlos: Maret’s son. He is named after Orlos the Spiridus, who gave his life to save Maret on her deathbed. Orlos the Spiridus transferred his immortal spirit into Maret’s unborn child during her healing.

  Spiridus: A magical human-like race created by Helna. The entire race, with the exception of Orlos, was massacred by the veden.

  Varcolac: Strong, tough, silver-eyed humans modified by Akinos and the Orb of Creation. They are extremely loyal, but prone to berserk rages.

  Veden: A magical, winged race created by Dromost. Destroyed by Handrin the Great in retaliation for the massacre of the spiridus.

  Waltas, Earl: A powerful South Teren earl, Waltas raped and mutilated the maiden Maret. Maret gave birth to his son, but she claims his spirit is that of Orlos the Spiridus.

  Wasting: Caused by Akinos’s efforts to prolong his own life, and then made much worse by the creation of the eternals, the Wasting saw a dramatic decrease in the fertility of the world. The Wasting would have soon destroyed all life if Hadde had not slain Akinos.

  Chapter One

  Hadde and Calen’s horses cantered along the eastern Kiremi plains. Tall, green late summer grass rippled under a hot west wind. Hadde had no doubt another storm would roll in, but it wouldn’t bring any relief from the brutal heat. None of the summer storms had.

  The low ridge they rode along gave a wide view to the west. There were no Kiremi nomads to be seen, to Hadde’s relief. She had no desire to run into them. You couldn’t tell a friendly Kiremi from one with ill intent until it was too late.

  Only a week ago a large raiding party had been seen near the edge of the forest. They posed a great threat to any Landomeri village near the edge of the forest. But in two days, it wouldn’t matter any more. Hadde, her family, all of Long Meadow would be gone, departed their village for their new home in the ancient spiridus city of Belavil. Long Meadow would disappear. Hadde frowned at the thought. The village had been her home for so long now.

  To their east, three arrowflights away, the Arewe River sparkled in the sunlight. Just beyond stood the mighty oaks of Landomere. More than anything at that moment, Hadde wanted to be under the shade of those great trees. But they couldn’t see the open plains, or the Kiremi, from there.

  “Look, Hadde, an aurochs by that gully!”

  Hadde’s gaze followed Calen’s finger. He was right. A bull had emerged from the fold in the earth, its horns gleaming black in the sunlight. Just as quickly as it appeared, the beast turned and disappeared from view.

  “Good eyes,” Hadde said.

  “Let’s take it—think of the feast!”

  Hadde shook her head. “No. We aren’t hunting. Let’s finish this scout and get back to Long Meadow. I want to see Enna.”

  “You’ll have little Enna with you the rest of your life. When will you see the plains again? When will you ever hunt aurochs again?”

  Hadde imagined her daughter’s smiling face. Everyone said Enna looked just like Hadde, except for her eyes. Enna had her father’s brown eyes. Hadde had only lain with Morin once, on the journey to take the Orb of Creation from Akinos. It had been enough.

  No, not enough. Akinos healed me with the Orb. He saved me. He made Enna possible.

  Hadde took a deep breath, smelling the grass and wildflowers. A long time ago, this had been her home. The plains seemed strange to her now. Too open. A place where enemies could see you from the horizon if you weren’t careful. She would never feel at ease with her daughter living so close to the Kiremi.

  “Hunting aurochs is no great feat, Calen. It’s finding and tracking a herd that’s the challenge. Even you could hit a bull—it’s that easy.”

  “Hey!”

  “And how will we get it back?” she asked, smiling at her young apprentice.

  “We’re only a day from Long M
eadow. We’ll bring back help.” There was an excited gleam in his eyes, but it was the last thing Hadde wanted to do at that moment. “I can’t believe you are passing on an opportunity to take an aurochs,” he said.

  “The Wasting is over,” Hadde said. “We aren’t starving any more.”

  “But… but… the trader. The Saladoran trader said he would be back just after midsummer. He said he would trade well for an aurochs’s hide. Think of poor Maret, and how much she would love to have some fine Saladoran linen to work with.” His grin widened with the strength of his argument.

  Hadde sighed. “We’ll take a look, but that’s it.”

  With a whoop of joy Calen put his heels to his horse’s flanks and raced off toward the gully. His horse left a dark path in the tall grass.

  “Go, Quickstep!” Hadde urged her own horse after Calen’s.

  Calen drew his bow from its saddle case as he approached the gully. Hadde hoped he was just being cautious. His headlong approach slowed and his horse’s path curved to the right. Hadde smiled. It was not what Belor would have done. He would have charged right to the edge and loosed a furious hail of arrows at his quarry. She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of him.

  They were a half arrowflight from the gully when a furious bellow sounded from the hollow. A terrifying animal scream followed it. Not a scream of fear, but one of anger. Calen pulled his horse up short. Hadde joined him.

  A cloud of dust rose from the gully as another bellow pealed. And then, not a scream, but a roar.

  “What is it?” Calen asked.

  “More than one aurochs,” Hadde said.

  “And the other sound? A great cat?”

  “I think so.” Hadde spun Quickstep in a tight circle, scanning their immediate surroundings. The gully ran twisting off to the west, but otherwise the plains were clear. She drew her own bow from its case. “They don’t usually hunt alone.”

  “It sounds more like a battle to me,” Calen said. “Not a hunt.”

  Hadde nodded. More dust and noise arose from the hollow. “We’ll take a look. Be wary.”

  The two riders approached the gully, now with arrows nocked. The din rose as they neared. At first Hadde couldn’t make out what was happening through the dust and chaos.

  Four bull aurochs roared and bellowed as they circled at the base of the gully. They had something trapped.

  One charged. Hadde’s skin crawled at the scream of rage that greeted the attack.

  The aurochs pulled up short and retreated.

  “It’s a great cat,” Calen said.

  He was right, Hadde saw. The circling giants had trapped the big cat. Normally the cat was the hunter, but this one had somehow become isolated and the aurochs had turned against the predator.

  “The cat killed one,” Hadde said. A small bull lay dead, blood turning the dust into mud in a pool around its head.

  “Why doesn’t it run?” Calen asked. “It could break free.”

  Again, Hadde scanned the vicinity for any sign of the cat’s sisters. Fifty strides to her left the gully turned. A pack of great cats could emerge in moments, and she didn’t want to be there if they did.

  “I don’t like this gully, Calen. The fight will attract the pack.”

  “There! A cub,” Calen said.

  Hadde looked to the cat. A terrified cub stood mewing under his mother. “That’s why she won’t leave,” she said.

  “The mother will be killed,” Calen said. “Look, they’ve already gored her. She should run or they’ll have her.”

  “She can’t run. They’ll kill the cub in a few heartbeats.” She’d heard her father tell of it long ago. A bull would never leave a cat alive.

  “They’ll both die if she stays,” Calen said. “She should run and live to have another litter.”

  Hadde glared at Calen. “What in Helna’s name do you know about it?”

  He flinched at her words. “What are you so mad about? She’s just a stupid beast and she and her cub will die.”

  “She’s a mother, you akinos. She won’t run.”

  The plains cat screamed in fury as an aurochs charged home. The cat leapt forward to meet the attack, only to be crushed to the ground by the weight of the aurochs’s massive horned head.

  Still the cat fought on, all four clawed paws tearing at the aurochs’s neck and shoulders. Sabre toothed jaws clamped down on the great beast’s face, but the bull did not relent.

  Hadde pulled some tension into her bow. She would kill the bull and save the cub. Calen doesn’t understand. He can’t.

  The aurochs bled from a score of wounds, but it made no attempt to retreat from the cat’s death embrace. The cat writhed, bound to the bull’s head. She was weakening. She would die. Her cub would die.

  And then an arrow appeared in the great cat’s flank. She writhed in pain, partially losing her grip on the bull’s head. Anger filled Hadde and she filled her lungs to shout at Calen, but when she turned she saw his bow across his saddle. He stared into the gully, a quizzical look on his face. And then two more arrows struck the ground at their horses’ hooves.

  A dozen Kiremi galloped from the gully a hundred strides distant. “Ride!” Hadde shouted. “Kiremi!” In a heartbeat she and Calen wheeled their horses and raced for the Arewe River and the safety of the Great Forest. The Kiremi wouldn’t go there, not without greater numbers.

  Hadde and Calen galloped across the plains. As she rode she twisted in her saddle, looking for the Kiremi. They were almost an arrowflight behind. A few of the younger warriors loosed arrows high into the air. Long shots with flight arrows. There was nothing she could do. At that range it would just be ill fate if one struck her.

  When the arrows missed their mark, all but two of the Kiremi slowed. Those two, young men on fast horses, raced headlong after Hadde and Calen.

  The river was only forty strides across, but it would slow them. Maybe enough for the Kiremi to approach for closer shots. “Turn! Turn and fight!” Hadde shouted to Calen. He was just ahead of her and his head turned as if he had heard her. If they killed the two fastest Kiremi, she and Calen would be clear to cross the Arawe in safety.

  Hadde turned Quickstep hard to the left so that she could shoot across her body. She drew a flight arrow and loosed it at the nearest pursuer. He was closing at a full gallop. When her arrow struck his horse, both horse and rider fell tumbling into the tall grass.

  The second pursuer turned to give chase, but Hadde halted Quickstep and charged. The Kiremi fumbled with an arrow as he attempted to nock it. He was young. Hadde knew as she raced toward him that she would see no warrior tattoos on his face.

  Another boy. Not another boy. Just for an instant she saw the anguished face of the half-starved Kiremi boy she had shot almost two years ago.

  Hadde nocked a heavy broadhead as she raced toward the Kiremi, her thumb ring securely locked on the string. His eyes were round with fear as he fumbled with his arrow, but still he came on.

  If he flees he’ll never become a warrior. He knows it.

  Hadde rose in her saddle as they closed on each other. At twenty strides she drew and took aim. His face was wreathed in fear and expected pain.

  For just an instant, she thought she’d let him live. She couldn’t take the risk. Enna needed her. Hadde loosed the arrow. It flew true, striking him in the chest. In a blur she was past him and riding for the river.

  For a few heartbeats she didn’t dare look back. When she did, the Kiremi horse galloped on riderless. The boy had disappeared into the sea of grass.

  Another boy dead.

  Calen was almost across the river. He had never turned back to help her. He watched her now, his horse motionless in the shallows. Hadde rode towards him.

  Behind her the Kiremi had gathered near the gully. Maybe a score of them. They were in arrow range, but none loosed at her. A few shot arrows into the gully behind them. The mother cat, for all her bravery was surely dead. And so was her cub. Hadde grimaced at the thought. She only wanted
her cub to live.

  Six Kiremi sat on horseback facing Hadde. They held their bows by the lower limb, raising them high above their heads saluting her.

  Saluting me for killing one of their boys.

  Quickstep splashed into the river. Hadde slowed the horse to a walk as they crossed. It would not be very deep. She kept half an eye over her shoulder, watching for the raiders.

  “You killed them both,” Calen said. It was the last thing Hadde wanted to hear. “How do you do it?”

  “What do you mean? I shot them. Did I have a choice?”

  “Your arrow went right through him. I don’t know if I could do it.”

  Hadde closed her eyes against the image. She’d seen arrows pass through large game before, but couldn’t bear the thought of her arrow doing that to a boy. Even a Kiremi. She couldn’t put it out of her head.

  “Why didn’t you help?” She didn’t try to take the edge from her voice. “I saw you turn your head when I shouted.” The water lapped around her knees, but that was as deep as it got. She halted Quickstep closer to the Landomeri bank and let him drink.

  “I didn’t know what you wanted. And when I looked back again it was too late.”