Maylin's Gate (Book 3) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  CHAPTER ONE Between a Rock and a Hard Place

  CHAPTER TWO The Last Heartwood

  CHAPTER THREE A King’s Decision

  CHAPTER FOUR A Sleeping Giant

  CHAPTER FIVE War Council

  CHAPTER SIX Tara’s March

  CHAPTER SEVEN World Breaker

  CHAPTER EIGHT Arber’s Key

  CHAPTER NINE Nightmare

  CHAPTER TEN Ronan’s Curse

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Arber Reborn

  CHAPTER TWELVE The General and the Beast

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN Trace’s Hovel

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN Broken Council

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN The General’s Offer

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN Around the Forge

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Betrayed

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Missing

  CHAPTER NINETEEN Portal

  CHAPTER TWENTY Ransacked

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Stowaway

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Ancient Mystery

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Maltha River Basin

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Ghost Town

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Jo

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Visited

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Death Bed

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Unlikely Savior

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Stairway of the Gods

  CHAPTER THIRTY Ritual

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Onward

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO The King’s Lady

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE The Brotherhood

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR Swamp

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Harlech

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX Sanctuary

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN Tree of Life

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT A Shaman Convinced

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE Tarbin’s Goodbye

  CHAPTER FORTY Ceremony

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE Alone on the Savanna

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO A Lady About Town

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE Wild Savanna

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR Confession

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE A New Path

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX The Sansan

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN Heartwood Found

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT Mistros

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE Elan’s Great Library

  CHAPTER FIFTY Inner Glow

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE The Taint

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO A Fresh Perspective

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE Condemned

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR Soul Burn

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE Black Soul

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX Church Fathers

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN Catalin’s Letter

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT Cured

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE Maylin’s Gate

  CHAPTER SIXTY Prynesse

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE Ronan’s Gift

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO Doorway

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE Epilogue

  Maylin’s Gate

  Echoes Across Time

  Book Three

  By Matthew Ballard

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2015 Matthew Ballard

  No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author. You must not circulate this book in any format. Thank you for respecting the rights of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  For my mother, Donna Spangler. I love you mom.

  Acknowledgments:

  A big thanks goes to Jodi Caron for helping me make this the best book possible.

  Echoes Across Time Series

  Book One: Shard Knight

  Book Two: King of Souls

  Book Three: Maylin’s Gate

  Cover by Ronnell D. Porter

  CHAPTER ONE

  Between a Rock and a Hard Place

  Across the bedroom, the door latch clicked. Rusty hinges groaned and a bead of light cut a thin patch across worn floorboards.

  Ronan shot upright and sharpened his vision with a burst of enhancement magic. A dull ache throbbed at the base of his skull. He winced.

  “Your Majesty,” a man’s voice said above a bare whisper. “Are you awake?”

  He rubbed his temples and the headache’s raw edge faded. “What’s wrong Manfred?”

  “Your father is waiting outside,” Manfred said. “He wants to speak with you right away. I told him you were sleeping, but he’s insistent.”

  His stomach fluttered. “Thank you Manfred. Tell him I’ll be right there.” He sat upright letting the quilt fall away. With palm raised, a ball of white spirit drifted across the bedroom and settled a few feet overhead.

  Soft light cut through the blackness casting a dim glow above his and Rika’s bed.

  “Very good, Your Majesty,” Manfred said.

  The door clicked shut.

  He rubbed at the ache spreading into his shoulders.

  Supple fingers wrapped around his neck and squeezed loosening a knot. “Is it the headaches again?” Rika said, voice groggy with sleep.

  He dropped his head and paused savoring the massage. “It’s nothing.”

  Beside him, the bed shifted. Rika reached for his bare chest and pulled him into her naked body. “I told you to speak with Sir Alcott about those headaches. Come back to bed and I’ll rub your neck some more.”

  He leaned over and kissed the tip of Rika’s nose. “I have to see what my father wants. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Sleep my love.” He untangled his legs from Rika’s and stood, leaving behind the warmth of their bed. He slid back the quilt careful to leave Rika covered.

  Beneath ash piled in the hearth, orange coals glowed, but did little to cut through the bitter cold.

  He tossed a couple of logs into the hearth and prodded the coals.

  Hot flames leaped inside the hearth, and the frigid air retreated.

  He slipped on pants, boots, and tunic then grabbed a fur cloak hanging from the bed pole. With a last glance toward Rika, he slipped through the bedroom door.

  Connal stood before the common room’s hearth with palms out toward the fire.

  He eased over the inn’s creaking floorboards and stopped beside his father.

  “We’ve found Devery,” Connal said without turning to face him.

  His pulse accelerated. “Where? Is he alive?”

  “Put on your cloak,” Connal said and strode toward the inn’s double doors. “I’ll take you.”

  ***

  On an icy flat, a campfire spit embers into the frigid night air, and a dozen mud-stained tents stood limp and wary. Glassy-eyed knights and guardians huddled around the fire. Their squires tended bits of blackened meat roasting in the flames.

  Through enhanced vision Ronan scanned the camp. He leaned forward and spoke above the rushing wind. “I don’t see Devery.”

  Connal’s wings beat back the early-morning air. Their descent slowed before coming in for a neat landing near the camp’s perimeter.

  Silence fell over the camp while heads snapped up and tracked the war hawk’s landing.

  Stiff sea air pricked his nostrils and the sound of crashing waves set him on edge. “We’ve reached the coastline?”

  Connal didn't respond.

  Had Devery reached Ripool? He leaned forward and strained to catch a glimpse of Bawold Stronghold. But, the cliff's edge and the moonless night conspired against him.

  Connal’s talons clattered against the tundra. The prime guardian came to a stop a dozen feet from the campfire.

  He dropped from Connal’s saddle and met the gaze of an approaching squire.

  The squire stopped before him and stood at attention.
/>   He loosened the straps on Connal’s saddle and turned to face Devery Tyrell's squire.

  The teenager saluted. "Welcome to lead camp Your Majesty."

  He offered the boy a short crisp nod before returning the salute. "Be at ease Alec. Where's Commander Tyrell?"

  Connal shifted into human form and stepped in beside him.

  Alec gestured toward the shadows beyond the campfire. "He's with the watchmen near the bluff Your Majesty. I’m to take you there straightaway."

  He nodded. "All right then. Lead the way."

  Alec turned and strode ahead passing a line of mud-stained tents and the campfire beyond.

  Bleary eyes and dirty faces tracked his progress through camp. An awe-struck expression lit the face of a novice guardian perched on a flat rock. Two wide-eyed squires adjusting a tent pole stared at him with jaws agape.

  He shifted his gaze downward and felt roaming eyes press down like an iron weight. He loathed the fame that followed him. At times like this, he missed his mother most.

  A veteran knight with an ice-crusted beard gazed on him through haunted eyes. Beside the knight, steam rose from an untouched meal of pheasant and winter potatoes.

  He squinted across the fire trying to place the battle knight. “Alec,” he said whispering over his shoulder.

  The squire leaned in close. “Yes Your Majesty?”

  “Is that Knight Harold Grieves?”

  The squire glanced between him and the knight beside the fire. “Yes sir. Would you like to speak with him?”

  Harold’s gaunt face and sunken eyes belonged to a stranger.

  What happened to the affable instructor he remembered? What horrors had these men seen?

  Over his shoulder Connal whispered. “Who is he?”

  “Harold trained me in hand-to-hand combat at the citadel,” he said. “He was one of my favorite instructors.”

  Knight Harold’s gaze locked on his.

  He stepped forward and Knight Harold stood.

  Harold’s mouth opened as if to speak then stopped. The knight’s gaze shifted to the campfire.

  He stepped ahead offering his hand to his former instructor.

  Knight Harold stepped backward and leaned away.

  He dropped his hand and stared at the knight unsure of what to say next. "What’s it been Harry? Three years? I’m glad to find you well."

  Knight Harold bowed low before answering. "Thank you Your Majesty."

  His gaze swept over the silent camp.

  The soldiers around the campfire gawked in his direction. A long moment of awkward silence passed without anyone speaking.

  Connal touched his shoulder and leaned forward. "Maybe we should go find Devery."

  He glanced over his shoulder and back again. He tipped his head to the soldiers seated around the campfire. "Thank you." One by one, he scanned their dirt-stained faces. "All of you." He turned from the campfire.

  "Your Majesty," Harry said from behind.

  He paused then turned to face Knight Harold.

  A nervous smile fluttered across Harry’s face. "The men." Harry gestured toward the gathered knights and guardians. "We've all heard about Freehold Your Majesty. I'm sorry if we've offended you. It's just…." The knight held still for several long moments.

  "It's just what Harry?" He said.

  "What you did with that shield. No man can do that. It's impossible."

  "I'm the same man Harry. I haven't changed,” he said.

  "That may be," Harry said. "But some men, and not just us mind you. Some men are comparing you to Elan."

  "Harry, that's crazy." He let go a short nervous laugh. "I'm not Elan. You've known me since my first year at the citadel."

  "Crazy or not, it's all anyone can talk about." Harry nodded toward Ripool. "What with those…creatures swarming the city, I can't say I blame them."

  A pencil-thin squire clad in leather armor stood on the campfire's far side. "By Elan's mercy, He's sent you among us. You can save us from those monsters, Your Majesty. Just like you did at Freehold with the dragons." The squire rounded the campfire and dropped to a knee before him. "I give my life in your name." The boy’s forehead touched the ground.

  He stared at the boy's disheveled hair, and his face went numb. A slow fog rolled over his thoughts. He wasn’t Elan or any other god, but if his presence gave these men hope, he wouldn’t dissuade them.

  One by one, each soldier stood and rounded the campfire. In turn, they dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads into the icy mud.

  His mouth hung open, and his gaze tracked upward before settling on Knight Harold.

  Harry dropped to a knee and the knight’s forehead touched the ground.

  He gazed over the prostrate men. A year ago every one of these men thought him dead. Now they worshiped him? He never wanted this.

  "Ronan." Connal's voice prodded from the shadows.

  He turned his back on the knights and guardians. Men and women he once held on a pedestal. Untouchable. Those memories came from another man's life. He could no longer afford them.

  Alec turned from the camp and continued forward slipping into the shadows.

  He followed the squire across the frozen landscape.

  Connal walked beside him holding silent.

  The distant crash of the pounding surf and the sea’s briny air served notice that they'd reached the bluff. Far below, pinpoints of fire dotted Ripool's streets.

  He heightened his vision and gazed past the city to the harbor.

  Ships of every size and shape stretched from the dock to the harbor's open mouth.

  The dull ache in his head returned.

  "Staggering isn’t it?"

  He jumped startled by the familiar voice.

  Emerging from the shadows, Devery Tyrell paused beside him. Devery nodded toward Connal. "Mister Prime Guardian."

  Connal offered a slight nod. "Commander Tyrell."

  "How many?" His voice came out hollow and strained.

  Devery handed him a pair of field glasses. "See for yourself."

  He took the glasses and held them to his eyes.

  Ripool's city streets crystallized as if he stood atop Bawold's outer wall.

  Armored baerinese soldiers lined the dock. Each soldier held a six-foot longbow. Baerinese workers unloaded crates from a transport moored at the dock. With tails swaying, the workers moved along the pier pulling wagons designed for a team of horses.

  A slight shudder rolled over him. Would he ever grow used to these scaled creatures? He adjusted the field glasses settling them on Bawold Stronghold.

  Unnatural shadows spread across the courtyard and outer walls.

  He heightened his vision and couldn’t penetrate the fort’s gloom. He nudged the glasses northward and settled them on a well-lit street corner.

  A baerinese man bundled in a heavy woolen cloak strolled beside a second, shorter figure. The man held a child wrapped in layers of furs and blankets. The second figure clung to a baerinese child’s hand.

  He tightened his grip on the field glasses and kept his attention locked on the tight-knit family.

  The man pushed away the blankets. A baby girl’s head rested on the man’s shoulder. The man kissed the child’s forehead then adjusted the blankets.

  The baerinese woman scooped up the child beside her and held the boy tight. The woman peered into the man's face and tipped her head back in laughter.

  His head swam. He'd watched the same scene play out a hundred times in any one of a hundred Meranthian villages. He lowered the field glasses and faced Devery. "I see children among them. How am I supposed to slaughter women and children?" His voice trembled. "They've done nothing."

  Devery gazed on Ripool grim-faced.

  A silent whoosh sounded in the air above him before a low throaty roar raised the short hair on his neck.

  He pitched his head skyward and tracked the sound.

  A cluster of leather-skinned birds glided high over camp. Baerinese soldiers sat at
op each beast guiding them toward the fort below.

  Pinpricks of dread rolled along his spine. His gaze shifted to those seated behind the baerinese soldiers.

  Human soldiers, wrists bound and shackled, sat strapped to the saddles. The birds descended in a slow arc across the foothills.

  He tracked the bird's progress until they disappeared inside the fort.

  A woman's desperate scream echoed from the darkness below. A human scream.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Last Heartwood

  Sunshine blazed through the royal solarium's glass rooftop. Floor to ceiling flowers and shrubs packed every inch of available space. The exotic scents of lemon grass, ginger, and an array of faraway spices laced the room's moist air.

  Flowers, in a rainbow of colors, sprouted from lush moss and leafy ground cover. Intoxicating scents drifted from orchids, roses, and tulips. The carpet spread across the gravel floor.

  At the room's center, Danielle huddled over a workbench.

  Beside her, Kelwin Finn chopped a mint plant into fine bits and pieces. A tangle of vines crept up the table legs and threatened to overtake its smooth wooden surface. Copper scales, glass beakers, and ceramic jars filled the workspace.

  Resting beneath her fingertips, Ronan's heartwood bow hummed. Red light tripped across the bow's surface casting a fevered glow across the solarium.

  She drew on her nature magic and green light passed through her hand into a clump of hawkweed gathered in her fist. The hawkweed glowed and blue energy rose from the plant's thin leaves. Green and blue energy mingled and swirled around the bow's shaft.

  Her mind stretched outward and clung to the living heartwood. She worked the hawkweed’s blue weaves into the heartwood. She opened her eyes and scanned the bow's surface searching for any sign that might lead her to its host.

  No marked change appeared on the bow's surface or inside the heartwood.

  She tossed aside a handful of hawkweed and pressed her hands against her lower back rubbing away the ache. She let go a heavy sigh and shook her head. "I'm not sure what's left to try." She peered around the solarium searching for a flower or herb she hadn't tried.

  "Maybe there's nothing left to try," Kelwin said.