Dragon Heartstone > Chapter 54–A New Threat

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As the sun slipped below the horizon, the coarse shouts and the clash of metal upon metal faded away. The fields west of the city grew quiet. With disgust, the last of the mercenaries trudged away, getting only a portion of what they hoped for. Britta didn’t care, however. The threat from Cazidor was gone, at least for the time being. But there was still Faline, and yet another fight. The thought sent a tremor of despair through her.

Shadows lengthened as the sky darkened, and the momentary tranquility passed. Lamentations of the living for the dead rose into the air, as did the grunts and shouts of those performing the odious but necessary job of cleanup. Soldiers built a massive funeral pyre outside the city and threw the bodies of attacker and defender upon it. The flames rose high above the damaged walls, and when the wind shifted, a putrid stench hung over the city.

Nauseated and tired, she wandered to the keep’s walls until she stood looking north into the darkness, a sizeable fur-lined cloak drawn around her small form. The wind tugged at her.

“You arrived just in time,” Gall said from behind her.

“Yes,” she said in a flat tone. She glanced down at groups of soldiers, some on guard duty, others sleeping wherever they could. Those who remained awake looked just as exhausted and bleary-eyed as she felt. “I’m not sure what good we will do against Faline in our present condition, but we are at least here.”

“You should get rest,” he said in a quiet tone.

“I cannot,” Britta said, her gaze drifting northward. “She comes for us. In a day or two, she will be here.”

Gall shifted on his feet. “All the more reason to rest so that you can be prepared … “

“I am prepared,” she said, her voice quavering slightly.

* * *

Gall knew, or at least thought he knew, what she was thinking.

“No,” he said. “You are not simply going to march out and die fighting her. That will serve no purpose. Is that what your father would have wanted?”

Whipping around, she jabbed a finger at him, “What do you know of my father? You used him to fight Faline and the Council, and it cost him his life. He was an honorable man, but also a fool. A fool to have trusted a snake in the grass like you.”

“I know enough about your father to say that he did nothing that he did not choose to do. He could have walked away and done nothing. I gave him options and explained the risks. At a time when most would walk away because of the consequences, he stood firm. He was no fool but rather a man of courage.” Gall seized the young woman’s shoulders. “So, tell me, Britta, what do you choose to do? Sacrifice yourself upon the altar of your pride for a memory you have concocted for yourself, or prepare yourself to be challenged in ways you can only imagine?”

Britta stared through him, mouth open until her eyes began to water, and her body began to shake. Great sobs came out of her, and she collapsed, clutching her face in her hands. Gall raced over to her side, took hold of her shoulders, and drew her into an embrace. Burrowing her face into his chest, her body erupted in wails and shuddering as if the floodgates of misery were pouring out of her. He held her firmly as all the days of accumulated grief and stress poured out of her.

When Britta was done, her body, like a candle left to burn all night, collapsed into him, and he caught her. He carried her to the nearest bed chamber, laid her on the bed, and called for her attendants to attend to her needs. She slept, and he walked back out into the night air, wondering where Larah might be, why she left, and how many of the emotional wounds she suffered were his fault. As he looked north, he could see on the horizon the faint line of light moving southward on the north road.

So, Faline has arrived.

* * *

Faline stared out of the Landrosian plain at the plumes of smoke rising from beyond the city. Several minutes passed before Banoch spoke up. “Mistress, what are your orders?”

She jerked back, shaken out of her thoughts, and fixed him a hard look. “See if the river can be crossed and what those fires are for.” Banoch nodded and left.

Parthos slid up next to her as Faline studied the outline of the city walls. “Did you feel his presence?” she asked.

He nodded. “He used his Mordblade yesterday.” Gall might have avoided death last time they met, but that was because she did not have the means to make it happen. But now … she looked at the seven Shatain standing with her. This time, she had the means and the opportunity to terminate his existence.