The Desert Ghosts Ch 11 14

Thank you to Oldbroad76 for editing.

CHAPTER XI

Kael VI

Kael stood perfectly still with his back to the mountain, the rough, yellow rocks pressed against him as he held his breath. Erik stood knee deep in the river, his large structure making it easier for him to remain still.

His right hand was above his head, grasping at a long branch that they had found the night before. The end pointed towards the ground they had managed to carve into a point with a rock. It was not sharp enough to be a proper weapon, but Erik believed it was good enough to catch a fish.

They had gone two days without eating, and both were feeling the weakness ravage their insides.

The walk along the river hadn't been an easy one. On many occasions they walked through the cold water that did its best to trip them over. Mixed with Kael's injuries, they were moving at a greatly slowed pace.

At this rate we will never meet with the team.

There was a swift movement in front of him as the air blew around Erik, and his fist plunged towards the water and the pointed end of his stick crashed into the ground.

"Fuck!" Erik grunted, pulling the stick with no fish on the end.

Kael sighed and moved away from the mountain wall that supported him.

"It's a waste of time," Kael told him. "We should keep moving."

"We won't be moving for long if we don't eat." Erik barked back.

Kael limped to the edge of the water, seeing it blow against Erik's tree trunk legs. Even in the day the air in this little valley was cold, never being heated by sunrays. The cold, the hunger, and the pain formed one long annoyance for Kael.

Erik plunged the stick into the ground once more, only to pull it up empty.

"Enough," Kael grunted. "You're wasting time."

Once again the brute stabbed into the water to no luck. Kael grunted and rolled his eyes.

If I didn't need him to help me walk, then I'd leave his big ass here!

Erik's strikes into the water became sporadic, aimless... pointless.

"You're not catching anything!" Kael shouted at him.

Finally Erik turned to glare at Kael with anger, his big black beard that was already unruly was now well and truly wild.

"I've done this a million times back home." Erik growled at him.

"Well, you're fucking useless at it now!" Kael shouted.

The two men's fists clenched, although Kael didn't know why. Even in peak physical condition, he wouldn't be able to take Erik in a fist fight, but he clenched his fists anyway.

"I should have left you to fall and die on your own." Erik shouted at him.

"At least I wouldn't have to die with a moron!" Kael roared back at him, his rage bubbling on his surface. "It's no wonder Adaram didn't care when you joined the Holy War. If you were in my land, I would want rid of you too."

Erik's teeth clamped together like two boulders smashing as his eyes tightened. He strode towards Kael, each foot forcing the water to spread around him.

"You're lucky I'm not as petty as you." Erik whispered.

Kael hated that he was dependant on Erik. He felt powerless, similar to when his mother died. Fortunately, after the fight Erik had given up on catching a fish, resulting in Kael getting his way as they continued to walk down the river.

It was a silent, painful walk. Kael could move without Erik having to practically carry him, but he couldn't move fast and had the occasional stumble.

--

Night had fallen, leaving the duo in complete darkness. Kael was sat upon the ground with his back against the mountain wall. His bruising may have gone down, but his breathing was still painful. Each breath was like shards of glass were stabbing at his lungs.

Erik was lying on the ground, neither of them having said a word since their argument. However Kael couldn't stop thinking about it.

I shouldn't have said what I said,

he thought,

without him I would be dead. I'm just so... helpless. Why did I get so close to the edge to put myself in risk of falling. My own mistakes dragged Erik down here with me. If not, he would be safe and sound up there rather than taking shit from me.

He fell against the mountain wall and let out a quiet wince of pain.

I hope they're okay. Connah, I can see the darkness in his eyes, he needs someone that understands him. And Exi, there's something about her, I hope I get the chance to apologise.

--

Another two days of no food. Their walking had slowed to a snail's pace, and both men were feeling the hunger more than ever. Kael's leather armour felt heavy against his weak body, and it was constantly wet and unable to dry without any sunlight.

Kael was hanging onto Erik as he limped. Neither had said a word to each other. Kael wanted to apologise, but he didn't know how. When their limping turned into dragging, Erik gently rested Kael onto the hard ground.

"I'm going to try and catch a fish." He grunted without looking into Kael's direction.

Kael didn't argue. He knew that they needed food or they would die soon. After everything, all the travelling, to die of starvation next to a river would be ridiculous.

He watched the larger man step into the river and noticed where they had reached the water was moving faster. It battered against Erik and even had him standing on uneasy feet.

Watching with heavy, blood shot eyes, Kael didn't speak as Erik plunged the makeshift spear into the water. He had all the finesse you would expect from a brute. Kael had no doubt that if he were able to hold the spear then he could catch a fish with ease, nevertheless, he wasn't able to.

For half an hour Erik stabbed into the water with no results. The last strike made Erik lose his footing and his entire body was submerged into the water.

"Urhg!" Kael grunted as he sat up in a panic, worried that his fellow traveller would be washed away in the river.

Erik's giant body erupted from the water, his long black hair and beard dripping and sticking together.

"Fuck!" Erik shouted.

Kael was too weak to help or even give words of confidence. His right forearm rested against his stomach as Erik walked over to him, cold water dripping onto the hard ground. He threw the spear onto the floor and sunk down.

"You, urgh," Kael grunted and coughed, "You should go on without me."

Erik slowly raised his head so his eyes met Kael's, straight faced and unhappy.

"You have a better chance," Kael moaned as he moved slightly. "I'm slowing you down. You go."

Kael was submitting himself to death by cold, starvation or his injuries. It didn't really matter at this point. Kael knew that death was coming for him. It was only a matter of time.

At least like this I won't have to worry about returning home when my family believes that I'm dead. That would save a lot of trouble.

"No." Erik whispered, moving his eyes back onto the ground to watch the water drip from his beard.

At least Kael knew he wouldn't be dying from dehydration. It was the one thing keeping him alive in this hellhole.

"Erik..." Kael whispered as he went to argue his case.

"No!" Erik shouted back.

He could see in the Northerner's face that he wasn't leaving without him. It was settled then. The two of them were going to die here. Erik didn't appear to be as worried about it as Kael, most likely due to his Northern culture. They embraced death like no other. To them, death after a good life was rewarded with boundless gifts from the gods. Dying while trying to protect someone would surely give Erik a glorious afterlife.

Kael on the other hand, he had given up on the gods years ago. They never answered prayers, they never helped, so if they existed, then they were of no use.

Especially here, in the heathen's land.

The weakness took over Kael's body and mind as his heavy eyes closed.

--

He woke up in the dark of night. The cold air was blowing through their valley like a gust of ice hitting their cold, battered bodies. Kael was shivering, and he could feel his lips turning blue, his stomach begging him for nourishment that would not come.

This could be it,

Kael thought,

after everything, this is how I go.

"Erik?" Kael whispered.

He heard a shuffling close to him until Erik's large body pressed next to Kael's and a thick arm wrapped around him. Erik was as cold as Kael, colder even as the water around his body and armour felt frozen.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," Erik whispered, "I thought I could... I thought, I could bring some honour back to my people."

Kael's teeth chattered against each other.

"You are not your people," Kael told him, "And I know you have honour."

"My people are reavers," Erik replied, "murderers. I had hoped to help change that view, but I have failed."

Kael didn't know what to say. His mind wasn't working as normal while this defeated. Waiting for death to take him, Kael could not hide his secrets at a time like this.

"My people think they're so high and mighty," Kael stuttered. "King of Kings, to Kingdoms that want their own freedom, but holding them in place with threat of war and death."

"The empire keeps the peace," Erik admitted, something no other Northerner would do, "Without Leo Thine, then Adaram Taylor would have free reign to burn the continent to the ground. Leo Thine is a necessary evil."

Kael paused. In the sight of death he saw no reason to keep his secret hidden. At least now, at the end, he could be honest.

"Leo Thine," Kael stuttered, preparing himself to be rid of the lie that had taken over his life since joining the Holy War so many years ago, "He's my father."

In that moment it felt as though the mountain which surrounded them was lifted from his shoulders. He had been hiding from that fact for so long.

Erik tensed next to him.

"What?" Erik asked, his voice regaining some life.

Now that the dam had broken Kael felt no reason to hold back.

"When my mother killed herself," He whispered, his body shaking in the cold, "my father turned distant, like the mere sight of me reminded him of her. Then he married Charlotte."

He paused. Although he could not see Erik, he could sense the Northerner coming to terms with this reveal.

"They had my brother and sister, Harry and Fleor," Kael continued, "And I was... forgotten. I had no place, with no family to care for me. I went years without as much as a word from my father."

Erik was still tense, but his arm remained around Kael.

"The Kings eldest son... his name was..." Erik spoke but Kael interrupted him.

"Theo," Kael told him, "My name is Theo Kael Thine."

"Theo." Erik whispered.

The wind seemed to die down as Kael heard his real name spoken to him for the first time in years.

"When I joined the Holy War," Kael told him, having started his truth he couldn't stop. "I simply wrote my name as Kael, and no one seemed to think twice about it."

"You are the heir." Erik whispered, as if asking himself the question.

Kael felt himself twitch. He had been hiding that for so long it felt strange to hear someone else say it.

"Not anymore," Kael told him. "We're all dead, remember. Someone will have figured out the truth about me, someone high born, then news will reach my father, and Harry with be named heir."

"Kael," Erik spoke as he shifted to look at Kael even in the darkness. "You left the greatest power in the world. You gave it all up?"

"I didn't give up the power," Kael replied. "I gave up on my father's love. I didn't have it all planned out, whether I would return, whether I would be wanted to return. But weeks away turned into months which turned into years, and I stopped thinking about it."

"So, they believe that your brother, Harry Thine, is going to be King of Kings?" Erik questioned.

Kael sighed. He couldn't believe how much lighter he felt after letting go of this.

"Harry is a good kid," Kael told him. "He loved me, as much as he could anyway. He'll be a good King of Kings."

There was another pause of speaking as the wind blew between their two huddled up bodies.

"You know," Erik finally spoke, "My people hate your family."

A tear formed into Kael's eye and ran down his face.

"I'm sorry, Erik," Kael whispered, "For what I said. I know you're only trying to save me."

Erik's body began to relax around Kael as his headed rested next to his friend. Although the wind was crashing around them, for a moment Kael felt serenity, at peace. If this was the end of his tale, he was happy to leave this world with honesty.

End of Part I

INTERLUDES

CHAPTER XII

Leo Thine I

The room which held the golden throne of Oswin was large beyond what would be called necessary. With eight columns holding the tall ceiling, the James-Mere castle was made of the yellow brick brought from the Kingdom of Denil. It was built once King Theora officially conquered Denil, the final Kingdom to fall under the Oswin empire and finalising peace across the land.

Leo stood in front of the gold-plated throne which was, again, larger than necessary. He was dressed in his royal robes of red and white, choosing not to wear a crown as usual. At his age, his hair had turned white, along with his beard.

Mattheon, Captain of the Royal Elite Guard approached the bottom of the thirty steps towards the throne. He was in full steel armour dyed the Thine red and white.

"He's here." Mattheon told the King of Kings.

Leo nodded, waiting for Mattheon to turn before letting out his sigh.

Forty years of peace,

Leo thought,

all of which could come crumbling down around me.

Ever since the news of Bradleigh Boarman, Heir to the Cairne Kingdom, being killed in the town of Wigston, he had been fighting political battles to stop the realm from breaking into war.

The sound of feet smashing into the stone ground, almost made the room shake, indicating that Adaram Taylor had entered the room. He approached the bottom of the stairway and glared up at his King of Kings.

He was a monster of a man, towering over anyone else alive with shoulders the length of his body. He had a gigantic black beard that was not kept, the same with his long black hair, all of which made this man look like a wild animal. He was wearing a white bear pelt coat,

Northern culture is strange.

Each Northern high born, at the age of eighteen, went on what they called the "Palshum", where they ventured to the mountains in the north to survive for three months. If successful they would return with the pelt of an animal that they had killed. Adaram had returned with a large white bear, which was rare to be seen. By wearing it at all times, he solidified his fame.

"Leo." Adaram growled, not addressing his King of Kings properly.

"Adaram," Leo replied and began his descent down the steps, ensuring to stop so he kept the height advantage over Adaram, "this needs fixing."

Leo knew that Adaram could easily kill him with his bare hands, however he thought having his own guards in the room would breed tension.

"I have told you already," Adaram grunted, "Me, or my family, had nothing to do with Bradleigh's death."

Leo stared at the beast of a man, holding his ground against someone so much bigger.

"I," Leo replied, "I believe you."

Adaram's body stayed still but his eyes shifted, surprised by Leo's words.

The King of Kings took a step down to make him eye level with his vassal.

"I have had reports of an assassin across the continent," Leo explained, "Wielding a sword forged in Rakhai Iron."

Rakhai Iron was the strongest metal on the planet. Once forged into a shape it could not be remade. The iron was clear to spot due to its blackened exterior, and it somehow illuminated a white light around its edge.

Adaram didn't speak but kept his teeth clenched together. Leo held his arms by his sides.

"Someone is playing a much larger game," Leo told him, "putting Kingdom against Kingdom. They are hoping on our hatred, but what for, I do not know."

Adaram's body seemed to loosen.

"What of Cean Boarman?" Adaram asked. Cean was the current ruler of the Cairne Kingdom and Bradleigh's father. "He is still vowing to take mine and my families heads."

"I have sent word to Cean," Leo told him, "We are going to organise a meeting on the Bellhouse Island, on mutual land where we can work this out with words rather than death."

"You brought me here, hundreds of miles," Adaram grunted, "to tell me this?"

Leo sighed again. Adaram's annoyance had been a hindrance on the empire since Leo ascended to the throne.

"There is... something else that has happened," Leo continued. "Your son, Ivan, he has attacked the Cairne Kingdom."

Since ordering Adaram to come to James-Mere Leo had received this news. He had brought Adaram to sort out this meet on Bellhouse, however this was another topic that needed sorting.

Adaram's eyes opened wider, and his giant fists clenched. Leo had a skill for detecting lies, which Adaram was currently not doing.

"He did what?" Adaram asked.

"From accounts," Leo explained, "he gathered an army of two thousand and marched through the Skelm Valley and has been raiding towns in Cairne."

Adaram turned to look away, seemingly embarrassed by his son's actions, which surprised Leo. He had heard of the Taylor sons and given an opportunity to attack Cairne should not have been such a shock.

"I will speak to him." Adaram whispered.

"Thank you," Leo replied. "Someone is turning us against each other, spreading chaos, and hoping that we will kill each other. The only reason I can see is to weaken us."

"I said, I will speak to Ivan," Adaram repeated. "Send a messenger on when to meet at Bellhouse."

He marched off before letting Leo reply. For any other in the continent, it was an act that could bring death, however Leo saw no reason to escalate the issue.

As Adaram left, Mattheon returned.

"Send a messenger to Cairne that Ivan is being dealt with and that Cean is not to react. We are going to meet in Bellhouse in three months. That should give each of them time to organise themselves." Leo told him.

Mattheon nodded and pressed a fist to his chest as a sign of respect before leaving.

The long, slow walk to the golden throne felt heavy for Leo. So many years of keeping his Empire going had worn him down, all of which was potentially being destroyed by an unknown entity,

I will not allow it.

--

That night Leo was in bed with his wife, Charlotte. She was dressed in her sleeping gown, her head resting back, ready to rest as Leo was wide awake.

"Do you have to go to Bellhouse?" Charlotte asked. "How do you know Adaram won't take the opportunity to kill you both?"

Leo looked at her as the candle light flickered against her face.

"Killing me would gain him nothing other than turning the rest of the continent against him." Leo explained.

"But killing Cean," Charlotte replied. "With Bradleigh's death he has no heir. His kingdom will split into individual duchies, weakening them to Northern attacks."

Leo loved that his wife was so intelligent that she got involved and helped when he needed her. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times.

"He can't kill Cean without turning everyone against him," Leo told her with a heavy breath. "It would be pointless, and I need to be there. I can't let someone else organise this discussion."

"And us?" Charlotte asked, "Will you take Harry with you?"

"No," Leo replied, "Just in case Adaram

does

attempt anything, then Harry needs to stay here, as he will take the crown."