The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

Your—Majesty.” Her use of thesovereign’s honorific reinforced her words.

Ariadne started to object to her useof ‘Majesty’, but she stopped herself. “Very well, though you havegiven me sad news, I must finally accept this fate. I will nolonger argue the use of that title, even though ceremony and custommust wait before I fully claim it as mine.”

Though, if she lived, the historianswould later claim the date of her coronation as the day Ariadnebecame Queen, those who were there knew that that was when ithappened. That was the moment a young girl accepted the change, andwent from princess to Queen of Lothion, or as the people hadalready begun to call her, the ‘Iron Queen’.

Silence stretched out for a longmoment, as everyone considered whether they should offer obeisance,until at last Ariadne broke the spell. “Not now,” she said, “I knowwhere your hearts lie. We can worry about deference and oaths offealty later. Elaine, please finish relaying your news.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” offered thewizard. “In Arundel we received no word of the black doings inLancaster, but that same night we received an attack by strangebeings that defy simple description. Having heard the news of yourescape through the World Road, I feel certain that these were moreof the same fallen gods. They attacked us, along with a lessernumber of ordinary humans, the Shaddoth Krys. Father sent word toGeorge in Cameron to come and assist us, but it was to noavail.”

“While we could have protectedourselves, in the end we were unable to protect our people. For aslong as we remained in an easily located place, our attackers wereable to overwhelm our defenses. After less than a day, Fatherordered us to abandon Arundel. Taking everyone still with us, wefled into the forests and used our magic to hide them,” finishedElaine.

“And what of Castle Cameron?” askedAriadne.

“It fell in our absence,” admittedElaine. “While we were struggling to fend off the attackers inArundel, Castle Cameron came under attack of its own. The remainingknights worked for its defense, but in the end they were forced todo as we had.”

“How many of my brothers remain?”asked Cyhan, referring to the other Knights of Stone.

“Three are with us now, Sir William,Sir Thomas, and Sir Harold,” said Elaine. “We met the refugees inthe forest between Arundel and Cameron. They are in hiding with therest of our survivors now.”

“And what of Sir Edward?” questionedCyhan, referring to the last knight unaccounted for.

“Dead,” answered Elaine. “Sir Williamtold me he died bravely defending their retreat.”

“Give us an accounting of how manyremain,” ordered Ariadne calmly, “that we can number ourresources.”

“Seven hundred men women and children,Your Majesty,” said Elaine promptly. “They are from various partsof the valley—few from Lancaster, some from Arundel, and some fromCameron. There are many others, scattered and hiding on their own,but I have no count of them for you. Among those I have alreadynamed, there are two hundred men-at-arms, three wizards, and thethree Knights of Stone I mentioned.”

“It seems a small number, compared towhat we have lost,” said the Queen sadly.

Elaine spoke quickly to reassure her,“Do not let the number cause you despair. The bulk of the peoplesurvive. That is only what we have managed to gather and shelterpersonally.”

“Our course shall be to meet with yourfather and the others,” said Ariadne. “After we have taken counselwith him and seen for ourselves the situation, then we can plot ourfuture course.” The choice was obvious, but as Ariadne was theirleader, it was important that she make it clear.

Penny found herselfwatching Stephen Balistair, to gauge his reaction, and when helooked back at her she was pleased at what she saw.Determination and the will to follow our newQueen. Perhaps I have judged him too harshly, thought Penny.

Of them all, only Rose Thornbearseemed disinterested in the outcome of the discussion. She remainedsilent, focusing on her daughter, Carissa. She seemed to havecompletely withdrawn from the present, and Penny could only wonderhow long it would be before her friend recovered herspirit.

Chapter 34

It was one of the best nights I couldremember. I had spent hours walking from place to place in the citythat was now frozen in time. By my own reckoning it was probablyalready morning again in the outside world, but the sun’s lightcouldn’t touch the eternal night that now cloakedAlbamarl.

That was the nature of stasis fields:nothing enters and nothing leaves. Even I could not exit until Icanceled the enchantment, but for now I was content to move withinit, the one active agent in a timeless moment. I had spent a lot oftime scouring the city, searching out every guard, soldier andwatchman, anyone who served the usurper. Thankfully, Tremont hadmade my job easier by having them replace their colors with hisown. That saved me the tough moral choice of whether to killsomeone in Hightower’s livery.

I knew intellectually, that most ofhis men were simple mercenaries, or in some cases even loyalservants of the rightful king, seeking to preserve their lives andprotect their families, but I didn’t care. Anyone wearing Tremont’scolors of burgundy and black—I slew. I passed through the walls,the towers and every gate house and bailey. Everywhere I went, Ichose and killed, leaving a trail of dead men behind me. My powerswelled as I drained them by the hundreds, but the euphoria wasjust as potent each time.

Humans were a drug for me now. Thepleasure was so great that at times I erred on the side of‘caution’ rather than let someone questionable live. It was aglorious night.

I wondered what the people whoremained alive would think. In many places I killed ten or twentypeople while leaving one or two alive who were obviously not inTremont’s service. When the enchantment was eventually dispelled,they would find themselves surrounded by dead men, who, to them,had just been breathing a moment before. The overall effect wouldbe, that it would seem as though every single person servingTremont had died within a single instant.

I found myself giggling whenever Ithought about it.

The city jail in particular would beinteresting. I slew the jailors and left the keys in one of thecells. What would they think when time resumed? How long would theyhide within