Chapter
34
Prince Kelvris lifted the small
parchment scroll off the trail and smiled.
His confederate had come through for him once again. The prince was well pleased with him. He had never much cared for the fellow when
he was staunchly in Tolian’s fold, but Kelvris had to admit he was proving to
be damn useful. He was deserving of the
position and rewards Kelvris promised him.
Now that Tolian was out of the way, it only remained to capture the
druidess for Dowbreth’s plan to come to fruition. If, of course, the infant Relinder returned
to Lorm, he would be dealt with. There
was already enough doubt about the child in the minds of the noble houses, that
he shouldn’t be an issue. They feared
that the baby was far too tied to the druids to become King. Once the old man, Tolris, was removed, the
combined armies of Lorm and Faerie would wipe the order of the nature priests
and priestesses off the face of the planet and make certain that any vague
threat Relinder posed to Kelvris’ rule was eliminated.
Such thoughts churned almost
constantly in the prince’s head. He was
amazed at how well Dowbreth’s elaborate scheme was working. Of course, the failed capture of the
nature-witch and her companions the day before was the first thing not to work
as planned, but the note he was even then unfolding would reverse that setback.
The penmanship was hurried,
obviously written hastily and furtively, but it contained all the information
he required. So, he thought, they are
headed to the legendary Blue Hole of the Lormian pinelands. Dowbreth had assured him that Brythia would
be unable to follow the warlord and the captive princess into Faerie. They would be trapped there like fish in a
bowl. His smile broadened. He slipped the note into his belt and
remounted his horse.
“Follow me, men,” he commanded. “Our prisoners await us.”
The last lines of the note secured
his confidence. They read: “The witch does not have the power to
transform anyone. It takes an elaborate
and time-consuming ritual. She was
bluffing.”
Soon, Kelvris would be King of Lorm.
Copyright 2004, 2015 Diana Hignutt
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