Secrets and Guardians: Devious Intentions by H. Chambers (hot novels to read txt) 📕

When Gadolin got up after the explosion, he looked out into the valley, not knowing what else to do, he ran back to Rona and Igmy. Rona let him sit quietly for a while.

'Do you blame Kerdred for all this?' she asked gently.

'Yes,' replied Gadolin, not looking at her.

Rona sighed, what she was about to say, Gadolin may misunderstand, but if he could see things as she did, it may help him cope.

'You’re wrong, all of this is not just Kerdred's fault,' emphasising the 'all'. 'I am to blame, as is Shade, Kerdred's father and many others.'

Gadolin looked over at Rona, he knew better than to protest at her suggestion, before she had explained what she meant.

'Once upon a time,' Rona started, putting on her best story teller voice. 'There was a father, possessed with greed and ambition for his children. All through their young lives he taught them the meaning of power and fear. To please him they had to be like him, to be like him they would never learn love or compassion. The oldest grew into a handsome young man, whose burden was great. His father had tasked him to conquer two great lands. One day when raiding a small village, one of his soldiers killed a woman, she had been a brave fighter. The tragedy was that it was the mother of the most enchanting girl he had ever met. Taking her to his castle, he tried everything he could to win her heart. Sadly he knew so little of love, he was always going to fail,' Rona stopped and looked over at Igmy. 'Are you crying?'

Igmy's forlorn face looked back at Rona, biting his bottom lip he shook his head.

'I'm talking about Kerdred.'

'Oh!' said Igmy, surprised.

'Now this is where I come in,' she continued. 'I chose to torment him, for years, trying to drive him slowly mad. I could have talked to Shade instead, helped her understand Kerdred; well at least showed her how to manipulate him. Shade, for her part in all this, could have been slightly less bull headed. Her hatred of him, even now, eats deep into his heart.'

'Then none of this would have happened?' questioned Gadolin.

'Possibly,' replied Rona.

'If you could go back, would you do it differently?' asked Gadolin.

'Not a chance,' laughed Rona. 'Even if it means I have to spend my next twenty lives working on my 'vengeance' issues.'

Gadolin shook his head, Rona's 'words of wisdom' sometimes didn't feel that enlightening.

'What I am trying to say, is no one person can be blamed for all the bad things in the world, just as no one person can be accredited with all the good. We all play our parts.'

'I still blame Kerdred,' said Gadolin.

Gadolin was still staring down at the ground when Rona spoke, she had been sitting with her eyes closed for some time.

'I need you to save someone for me,' she said quietly.

'You said I wasn't to intervene in this battle,' said Gadolin surprised.

'I know, but in the future he will do something very important, if he lives,' said Rona. 'Kerdred is on his way, sooner than even I thought.'

Gadolin hared through the forest, why Breaker? The man was massive, there's no way he could just pick him up and run back with him. Igmy followed more slowly, thinking he might be of some help.

Gadolin saw Ebblin and Ghale first, running. Breaker was a good way behind and behind him a Nefkin. The two dogs snapping at its sides were not slowing it down. Swinging through the branches Gadolin was nearly on top of the Nefkin in seconds. The last branch he reached for one-handed and swung himself round and down onto the Nefkin's neck. The speed and weight of the impact sent the Nefkin staggering sideways. Ghale and Ebblin started running back towards the Nefkin. Daggers whizzed through the air, finding their mark on the now exposed belly. The dogs seized their chance, biting deep into the Nefkin’s back legs. Gadolin looked up to see Breaker raise his spiked club, bringing it down hard on the Nefkin’s armoured head. Again and again the spiked club came down, even after it had ceased moving. Breaker dropped to his knees, pouring with sweat. He was not built for running. His two remaining dogs stood next to him, their muzzles covered in blood and fur.

Gadolin pulled his trapped leg away from under the Nefkin, Breaker wasn't looking at him, but Ebblin and Ghale were. They said nothing, just inclined their heads once towards him. With one leap Gadolin was in the trees, heading back to Rona.

Igmy arrived just in time to see Gadolin heading back. Breaker and the dogs were heading straight for him. Dropping to the ground he lay still, Breaker walked straight past. One of the dogs stopped, inches away from his head and began sniffing around, raising one of its back legs, it peed on Igmy.

Kerdred rode Darius's prized horse, a chestnut stallion, he had named Mace. He was the result of years of selective breeding, big, powerful, fast and headstrong. Over the last few weeks it had become Kerdred’s, no one else had been allowed near. The stallion became his obsession and it soon learned who was in charge. Stopping at the edge of the valley Kerdred watched as the last of Hylaw's men were killed, watched as his own dead were piled over to one side. He watched a kestrel flying overhead and remembered the eagle from so long ago, he had an archer shoot the kestrel, just in case. When he approached the 'tree' he looked at it with curiosity rather than fear. It bore no resemblance to the creature some of his men had described, just a mass of dead wood. He felt unnaturally calm, dispassionate and indifferent. Soon he would have Hylaw’s head on a long spike and the old witch slowly burning on a pyre. He had not yet decided what to do with Shade and her child, but when the time came he knew he would think of something, interesting. Kerdred had different plans for Princess Ami. Back in Thantos he had two sons by his second wife, Andrass and Rogue. Now that Tremlin was dead, Andrass would have Daranel. He would marry Princess Ami.

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