Of Gods and Warriors ✓

Chapter 66

At the end of the passage there stood two cells facing each other, one with usual, barred doors, the other, a solid door of iron with a thin slit near the top that could only be slid open from the outside.

Behind the bars sat a harried-looking woman, clutching a sleeping young girl to her chest. There was no way of telling who was on the opposite, iron-clad cell. Upon seeing the king, she began to sob and plead, voice cracked from hours of endless crying. He couldn't care less. He turned to the general instead.

"Well?" urged Krugmann, "you are killing me with all this silence."

I'm killing you either way.

"In order to have my troops march through the Midaelian frontiers unimpeded,” said Emric, “I must know all about the locations of the guard posts and how they're manned. While they do not stand a chance against the undead, I cannot afford to lose the cadre mages who I plan to bring with me to raise more corpses. Garrisons of Kinallen and Brittlerock in particular will prove a challenge to wade through."

Understanding dawned on King Krugmann's face. "I see. And you aim to get that information from-?"

"A Midaelian officer, of course," said General Reylan, shuffling to the iron door and sliding the panel aside.

"Hah!" The king did not bother to peer inside. "Good luck with that. Real stuck up whoresons, these Midaelians, rambling about honor until you snip their tongues right off. No offense to you, General."

Emric let out a chilling laugh. "Oh, you'll see how easy it is, once you look at the pair of them. A heartwarming tale they have, much-needed in these cold lands." He motioned to a guard to unlock the iron door.

By now the young girl in her mother's arms had stirred awake. Before any of them could speak, she scrambled out of her mother's reach and ran to grip the bars of her cell-door, her eyes on the general.

"Ma, look, It's General Reylan!" she cried.

He turned, lone eye peering down with a cold gaze.

Her mother was not the least bit reassured. But the child went on in a hushed voice now, trying to calm her down. "We're going to be okay now, Ma. He's the kind general Perth told us about, remember? He helped Perth so I could go to school."

Emric crouched to her height, smiling at her. "Hello, Eryna."

Eryna Durinford looked at him with her big, bright eyes.

"How'd you know it's me?" he asked.

"Oh, I didn't. Not at first," she said. "Perth only told me your name, you see. Me and my friend saw all these soldiers marching through the city gates this morning, so I wonder, who's that pirate leading them? Then my friend tells me it's you."

"Pirate?" Then his hand went to his eyepatch. Eryna gave him a gap-toothed smile.

"All was well, you see. We were watching the march. Then these bad men--" she gestured to the dungeon guards, "--caught me and my Ma, and locked us in here. You'll let us out and give them a good scolding, won't you? We didn't do anything wrong!" Behind Eryna, her mother sat frozen.

Emric sighed, reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. "No, kid. You did nothing wrong. But someone else did."

"Oh, then there's been an in--in--" she struggled with the word. "Inaccuracy. They caught us by mistake, didn't they?"

"There is no mistake." His smile darkened. "Let me see what you have yet learned in school. Tell me, what is the punishment if we betray our good King?"

"Death by hanging!" yelled Eryna almost immediately. "Easy. Everyone knows that."

"Your big brother has done that, Eryna. He's betrayed the Drisian Crown."