Havermouth, Present TimeThe stairs groaned beneath Jules and Harry’s footsteps as they headed to the second level with Aaron. Toby hung back, waiting for Aislen’s attention. “I have to go to the MegaStore,” he told her. “Tyler and Izeikiel have been waiting for me and if we’re expecting trouble here… I need the things from there.”“Okay,” she agreed, distracted by her own mission.“Aislen,” he reached out for her arm, but stopped himself from touching her. “You should stay here. Don’t go to wherever it is that you are going. What you can do to people’s heads… It’s scary and dangerous and if the wrong people find out what you can do, they will use it to do worse things than you can even imagine.”She paused. She had known that he was disturbed after watching her search August’s head for details of the war and that she should have spoken to him, offered some reassurance. “I don’t use it that much, Toby,” she said, feeling guilty. She should have sent him from the room, she thought, rat
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen watched as the party approaching from Concordia neared the wall, riding through the ruins of the encampment and under the torchlight shed from the walkway above, his palms resting on the stone. Alyra, Hod, Magnus, and about twenty soldiers. Too few to be the reinforcements that he had requested.Dread sat heavy in his stomach.“Thaelen?” Harithen looked at him in concern. “Perhaps the army follows behind?”“There is no army coming,” Thaelen said darkly. “This is an intervention.”“An intervention?”“Hmm, an interference by officials in the will of the king,” Thaelen considered the implications that Sigrid was not amongst them. “They have come to tell me that they are refusing this war.”“But… You are a king! How can they refuse your command?”Harry seemed to think that the position of king was the same as that of a God, Thaelen thought dryly. Perhaps it was amongst humans. He did not know. “Amongst the Concordia, there is the king,” he sai
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeBehind Harithen there was a scream as one of Thaelen’s soldiers sprouted an arrow in the forehead, dropping to the ground. Thaelen rushed out, pushing Harithen against the curve of the tower wall. The roof tops of the houses bristled with archers and gunners, and he could see the gleam of armour moving through the narrow streets of the city beyond. Far too many.“F-k!” He gripped Harithen by the gambeson, pushing him towards the crenelations as from below there was the harsh bark of gun fire. “We cannot hold this side of the wall against so many,” he told the golden-haired prince. “We have no choice but to retreat.”Stone sparked near their heads as a bullet struck against it, the metal ball shattering under the impact.Haethnir held up a shield as Alyra, Hod and Magnus followed them out onto the wall, the thunk of arrows impacting on the outward facing side rapid, the wood splintering as the points pierced it. He swore as a bullet grazed his thig
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen became aware of the meeting between the Captain of the Guard and Magnus and Hod when the redistribution of men caused a flurry of activity in the courtyard.He stood on the balcony overlooking the activities with a sour taste in his mouth and an uneasiness in his stomach. His teeth ground against each other as the fury rose within him. “Hmm,” he huffed as he watched Magnus and Hod walk out with the Captain to oversee the movement of the troops.“Thaelen,” Alyra said softly from behind him.He cast a glance over his shoulder. “I am not sure that I wish to hear what it is that you think you have to say to me,” he told her. “Or what could be said between us. Harithen is right. If you had sent the army, the city would be ours right now and we would be planning our next move into Greibron as conquerors. Instead, we cower in our towers, watching their wall for any sign that they may, emboldened by our defeat, attack us.”“That is certainly one i
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen walked the path in front of the tower and was relieved when his men saluted and greeted him as normal, though he could see their concerns in their eyes. He distracted himself by watching the wall and ocean. It was not long until the horizon was spotted with ships.“F-k,” he said through his teeth.“You should not be out here, Thaelen,” Magnus said coming to stand beside him.Thaelen sent him a glare. “Just precisely where should I be, Magnus?” He demanded. “There are ships on the horizon and activity at the wall. They are preparing to attack.”“We have the mountains and the higher ground. They may have the greater numbers, but we have the advantage. I have resupplied the towers, and we are prepared to hold a siege for however long it takes them to exhaust themselves,” Magnus replied. “You and your Griebron prince are liabilities Thaelen. You need to return to Concordia with Hod, Alyra and I, and leave the siege to the Captain and his soldi
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen stood for a long moment looking down at her, fighting with his sense of betrayal, his anger, and his grief. Could he still call it home? He thought bitterly. However, he did not give voice to that ache within his chest, and instead drew in a deep breath and released it.“Thank you, Sigrid. It has been a very busy couple of days. I need to feed, and rest. Can you please arrange accommodations for Harithen?”“Thaelen,” Harithen started and then caught himself, color rising in his cheeks as he realized that protesting about being given separate accommodation to Thaelen in front of Hod, Magnus and Alyra would only put emphasis that it had been requested. “Thank you,” Harithen finished, his tone only slightly resentful. “I had hoped that we might… talk this evening?”“Tomorrow Harithen. You must also be weary,” Thaelen replied. “Sigrid will see to it that you are sent our finest blood slaves to help you settle into your accommodation,” and hope
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeIn the morning, Thaelen slaked his hangover by drinking from Aleris as his attendants tidied the room from the night before, the clink of bottles reminding him of how much wine he had consumed trying to drown out his grief.He bathed and dressed and went down to the bowels of the castle with his attendants, opening the vault which had always existed below, going through room by room of treasures, and having his attendants fill trunks with that which he would take with him.It was a raw and painful experience, and his confused attendants worked in tense silence, picking up on his mood.“Thaelen,” Meguitte entered the treasure chamber as he contemplated jewellery of past queens. “What are you doing?” She wondered watching as a pair of attendants carried a trunk past her, out of the chamber.“I am trying to decide,” he said without looking at her. “What here belongs to Concordia, and what belongs to me.”“It all belongs to you,” she said, puzzled. “D
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeHe spent much of the remaining week going through his possessions and having them sent to the dock, to where Sigrid had arranged a ship for him. He was pleased with the ship, a mighty vessel made in the modern way, with generous holds, and passenger cabins to make travelling more pleasant. The captain insisted that he take the captain’s cabin, but Thaelen refused.“It would be a waste of effort for you to vacate the cabin, it is a one-way trip for me,” he told the captain, and saw that the man had suspected as such from the expression of sadness on his face. “But I thank you for the offer.”There had been no sign of Harithen in Concordia, and no report of him from the towers on the mountains. Thaelen considered travelling into Greibron in search of the prince, but he did not know where Harithen would have gone, where his allies were located, and the search would have been fruitless and dangerous as Thaelen was too recognizable.Hope was all that h