Legends Lost: Galdin

Legends Lost: Galdin (Prologue)

“Go.”  Captain Dylan shoved Kylana and her baby through first.  Next, went the two guards.  “Come on,” he said holding his hand out to Nylana.  The girl stared at him with saucer sized eyes.  She was terrified.  Can’t blame her, he thought, her entire world had just been ripped away.  Marching footsteps echoed through the passageway. 

“Come,” urged Captain Dylan once more.  Nylana pulled away from him as he snatched her and shoved her through the hole.

Once on the other side, Captain Dylan plugged the opening.  He pushed the queen onward.  He did not like being rough with her, but their survival was imperative.  A sliver of light lay ahead.  They were close to the tunnel’s end.  Air brushed their flushed cheeks as they finally escaped the dark underground and greeted the sun’s rays.  Celebrations would have to wait, however, as they were still far from safety.

Captain Dylan commandeered a hay wagon.  He put the queen and her children onto the cart covering them with hay.  One guard secured the driver’s seat while the other rounded up horses. 

“We must cross the river,” he yelled.  He leaped on his horse and charged for the bridge.  It wasn’t far.  Once across, they could escape in the woods beyond.

A horn sounded in the distance alerting others of their escape.  Soldiers lined the castle wall.  Others on horseback raced out of the gates chasing after them.  Arrows rained down on them.  Captain Dylan watched powerlessly as they pierced the hay in the wagon.  He turned back pulling out a dagger.  He flung it at the approaching soldiers striking one of them in the chest.  More followed.

He chased the wagon.  His heart lurched as he watched it bounce a foot into the air upon reaching the threshold of the bridge.  Such a wagon was not meant to be driven so hard, or so fast.  He hoped it held together long enough to get them to safety.  He would not falter now.  The wagon lurched again as one of the wheels broke off.  A woman’s scream pierced his ears.  Kylana sat bolt upright as the wagon swerved from side to side before coming to a screeching halt. 

“My baby!” she screamed. 

Captain Dylan stared in disbelief as the river’s current carried the baby away.  There was nothing he could do.  Vasagius’ soldiers approached and the baby had reached the waterfall.  As Kylana ran to the edge of the bridge, he kicked his horse and rushed to his queen before she could jump in after the child.  He grabbed her arm and yanked her onto his horse.  She struggled to break free.  He punched her in the jaw rendering her unconscious. 

“Let’s move,” he yelled as one of his men grabbed Nylana.

As he reached the rivers’ edge and rode to the safety of the trees sorrow swept over him.  He choked it down.  The child was lost.  Only the queen and her daughter remained.  I have failed you, my king, he wept inside. 

“Captain,” yelled one of his soldiers, yanking him from his self-pity. 

He steeled his heart for the moment.  Grief and second thoughts had to wait.  For now, they remained in the vast emptiness of the unknown.

Farther down the river, in the northern reaches of Sym’Dul, a woman lay by a fresh mound of dirt.  Tears streaked her soiled face as she wept for the child she would never know.  Her sorrow blocked the chill seeping from the wet earth.  A flutter of wings sounded overhead.  She looked up and stared at the grave next to the one she laid upon, the one of her husband.  Two losses within five months weighed heavily upon her.

Cold steel pricked her fingers.  She pulled out the dagger she always carried with her.  She turned it in her hands.  It glinted slightly in the dimming twilight.  My salvation, she thought.  Not wanting to bear the pain within her broken heart, she lifted the dagger.  The sharp point settled on her left breast.  Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip and—

CAW!

The harsh screech of a bird stayed her hand.  The woman glared into the sad eyes of a strange bird on the edge of the river. Its brilliant feathers glowed brightly despite the oncoming of night.  “Who are you that disturbs me in my grief?” said the woman.

The bird glanced down at a bundle before it.  For the first time, the woman noticed it and the tiny hand that stuck out.  An infant’s cry filled the air.  Forgetting her grief, the woman dropped her dagger and rushed to the child.  He’s beautiful.  Gently, she lifted the baby cradling him in her arms.  Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes.  A small smile crossed her face.

An inscription on the infant’s cloth diverted her attention.  Galdin, it read.  “Well, Galdin, let’s go home,” she said soothingly to the child.

The woman sang to the infant as she carried him to her home.  Her previous sadness remained buried with the fresh mound of dirt.  Now, she had a son to care for.

The Next Chapter will be released on Friday February 7! If you want to read the whole book NOW, go to:

http://www.amazon.com/Galdin-Legends-Lost-Nova-Rose-ebook/dp/B00C6ND40M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391101615&sr=8-1&keywords=galdin