EMERALD

M L Hamilton

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A Wild Wolf Publication

Published by Wild Wolf Publishing in 2010

Copyright © 2009 M L Hamilton

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any

means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except

by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be

printed by a newspaper, magazine or journal.

First print

All Characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any

resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-0-9563733-2-8

www.wildwolfpublishing.com

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To my dad (Vern) for being the science to my fiction;

To my mom (Sharon) for knowing the characters as well as I did and psychically guessing where I wanted to go with them;

To my brother (Scott) who brought Kai and his quest to life for all to see;

To my dear friend (Eileen), whose support and editing have never failed me;

And finally, to my three sons (Kyler, Nicholas, & Jared) who read the book and allowed me to grill them as only an English

teacher can… You have all been a part of making this dream a reality.

Thank you!

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One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing;

that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.

~ Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976)

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Prologue Mentor felt the labored breathing of the horse beneath him. The ground was uneven, the trees closing around him, branches snatching at his clothes, tearing at exposed skin. His hands tightened into fists on the reins and he tried to suck in a breath of air. Fear made his heart pound violently. He caught the motion of the Stravad warriors through the dense undergrowth, flanking him and his wife. He squinted and searched for Zela. Racing ahead of him, her hair streaming behind her, she rode hunched over to protect the baby in her arms.

Water glinted through the trees and the roar of it finally reached him. Just a little farther, just a little more.

They came upon the banks of the Rovarn, hauling back on their horses' reins. The warriors leapt to the ground and drew their swords, fanning out to guard Zela's back. He pulled his own lathered mount to a halt and vaulted out of the saddle, letting the reins trail behind him.

He surveyed their formation and felt a start as he saw the proof of their numbers. Seven. Only seven left. Shaking aside the numbing reality, he crossed to his wife's side and lifted his arms for the baby. The look in her eyes was feral. She clutched him closer to her breast.

"Just for a moment," he whispered. She handed the baby to him and swung down from the horse.

He pressed the solid weight close, then tried to give him back, but she took a step away, shaking her head, her eyes shifting to the forest.

Eldon strode up to them, his hair wild, his eyes haunted. At his throat blazed the emerald, a beacon of green light in the shadows beneath the trees. "They're coming. I can feel them."

Mentor shivered and turned, searching along the bank for a way down, his heart pounding in his throat. The visible bank was steep, rocky, choked with brambles. He couldn't see a path to the water.

"We have to risk it," said Eldon. Suddenly Zela was at Mentor's elbow. She gripped his arm and

pulled him away from the edge. He looked into her eyes and the color drained from his face. He knew what she was about to say.

"Take the babe," she said. Her eyes shifted to Eldon in the gloom. "Go with him until I can follow."

Eldon started to protest, but she held up a hand. "There's no other way. I will follow as soon as you're across. I

can delay them."

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"You can't stop them! You can't fight these monsters!" Her eyes glowed and her face, in all of its terrible beauty,

looked like porcelain, hard and brittle. "He needs you. He needs you to train him. Like you did for me. Like you did for Eldon."

He shook his head, struggling to find his voice. "I can't. I can't leave you here."

"We don't have any choice," she snapped. "We talked about this, we discussed this possibility. The babe is the only thing that matters. Eldon must go with you. He is our last line of defense." Her expression softened and she covered his hand where he clutched the baby. "The babe needs you. Our people need you."

"Please..." he whispered, but her expression hardened again. "We all swore to this plan, we all agreed." Her eyes cut to

Eldon. "We cannot go back on what we swore!" Eldon looked away. "They're coming!" shouted one of the warriors. He saw movement behind her. The warriors raised their bows

and took aim. Arrows whistled through the air and struck something metallic, the hollow ping echoing through the trees. The warriors' shots had found their mark, and yet, the Gaviston came on, unflinching, unfaltering.

He felt his heart miss a beat. His wife turned to him. "You have a duty! Nothing else matters!”

"I can't leave you here!" "If you stay, you kill us both. You kill our people!"

Eldon moved then, grabbing two of the horses and shoving the reins into Mentor’s hands as he mounted his own. "Come on! It's decided."

Mentor stared at his wife, but the look in her eyes chilled him. "Go," she whispered. He turned and struggled into the saddle, holding the baby

close. A scream rent the air and his attention was yanked to the line of warriors. Silver bodies swarmed through the trees, falling on the Stravad, tearing into them.

Panic overwhelmed him, froze him in his seat, but Eldon’s hands closed over the reins and turned the horse's head. Mentor had to grab frantically for the saddle horn to keep himself from being pitched off the animal's back as they careened over the edge of the bank, slipping and sliding toward the water.

Wresting the reins away from Eldon, he pulled the horse's head up and redistributed his weight as the animal plunged into the swiftly moving current. The shock of cold water against his body

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sucked the breath from his lungs and he lifted the baby above it, holding him against his shoulder.

A whimper escaped the baby, but it was lost in the roar of water and the screams from above. Closing his eyes and trying to block out the sound, he allowed the horse to carry them into the current, its muscles straining.

Waves battered over him, soaking both him and the baby, making his teeth chatter and his hands tighten into frozen claws on the reins. He squinted through the water streaming off his face, searching for the opposite bank, but all he saw was the cresting waves between him and the shore. He didn't dare glance back.

A branch slammed into the side of the horse, tearing into both man and beast, and he looked down to see red spread across the white foam of the waves, but whether it was his own blood or the horse's, he wasn't sure.

The baby squirmed in his arms, a wail rising from the sodden blankets and he had to tighten his hold. Another wave crested over them, sucking the breath from his lungs and choking off the child's cry. He wanted to lower the baby and see if he was all right, but he didn't dare chance it, not yet. After all they'd risked, to lose the baby now would be more than he could accept.

Then he caught sight of the opposite bank and a moment later, the horse found purchase in the gravel on the river's bottom. Scrambling up onto the shore, the beast tried to shake water from its mane, but Eldon was there, grabbing the reins and hauling them toward the bank.

"Keep moving!" he shouted. "No!" Tearing the reins from Eldon's hands, Mentor whipped

the horse's head around and looked at the opposite bank. A moan escaped him and he started to ride back toward the

river's edge, but Eldon blocked him with his own mount. "It's too late! Remember your promise!" He sank back in the saddle, his chest heaving, water flowing

down his face, clutching the baby tightly in his arms. On the opposite bank lay his wife. Lining the shore, glinting in the sunlight, was a line of Gaviston.

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Chapter 1

Kai narrowed grey eyes and focused his attention on the glass. It wobbled on the table, wobbled then stood still. Grimacing, he drew in his will and focused on it again. Water sloshed around the inside and gradually settled. Frustration rose inside of him, heating his face and making him clench his fists. He felt the power respond, felt it slip his control. The glass went sailing through the air, until it collided with the wall and shattered. Glass shards rained onto the floor and the water beaded along the grains of wood on the wall.

"Tafoya..." The old man opened his faded blue eyes and raised one white

brow. "When you were younger, you could do this without thinking about it. You’ve suppressed your power for too long. Control by giving up control." He glanced at his own glass. It rose from the side table and glided through the air, hovering in front of Kai.

Kai shivered. Even though the power was a part of him, he couldn't get used to the idea that Tafoya also had it. That is Tafoya and no other in all of DiNolfol. He reached up and curled his fingers around the stem.

"I can't do it." Tafoya's other brow arched. "Can't isn't a word in my

vocabulary." "I know. You've told me over and over again." "Then why do you use it?" Kai knew better than to answer. This sort of conversation

could go on and on, an endless circle of frustration. "Try again." Kai shook his head, then ran a hand through his black hair.

"Not today, please." The old man curled his long fingers over the arms of his chair.

Kai's eyes were drawn to those hands, hands that had seen many years, many events. "Then when?"

Kai drew a deep breath and rolled to his feet in a smooth, youthful motion. He paced the length of Tafoya's parlor, stopping before the many rows of books. Reaching out he fingered a gold lettered spine, wishing he could read the foreign words. So many things he didn't know, but he hungered for the knowledge just the same. His father would laugh at him for wanting something he thought was foolish; Tafoya, on the other hand, would demand to know why he couldn't obtain it if he wanted it badly enough.

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"Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?" "Lifting the glass without smashing it on my wall?" Kai turned his back to the books and gave the old man an

aggravated look. He hated it when Tafoya feigned ignorance. Kai knew no one else who had as sharp an intellect.

"No, I meant the way you and my father pull me in two different directions."

Tafoya's face gave nothing away. In fact, Kai wouldn't have known he'd struck a nerve if he hadn't caught the minute tightening of the old man's hands on his chair. "I see."

Kai felt some of his frustration drain away. He couldn't stay angry at Tafoya for very long, although he found himself angry at him more often than he liked to admit.

"That's the problem. You don't see, or you don't understand, but at least you listen. My father doesn't even do that much."

Pale blue eyes studied him intently and Kai resisted the impulse to squirm. "In which direction do you find yourself leaning?"

"Neither." "Which do you want more?" Kai swallowed against the lump lodged in his throat. "I don't

know, but I know I don't want to be king." "Why not?" Kai narrowed his eyes in renewed frustration. "Because there

are few things that could be so bad. How can I rule anyone when I don't even know what I want?"

Tafoya frowned. "And you think the king knows this?" Kai shrugged. "He seems to. He seems to have no doubts." Again a white brow arched. "Only stupid men have no doubts

and although I am not overly fond of Ferenc, I have never mistaken him for a stupid man."

Kai took his seat on the rug again, folding his hands over his crossed knees. "This is pointless. There's only one direction for me, so we might as well drop it. I am the heir to the throne of DiNolfol, and with talk of war, my father isn't going to entertain any other thoughts. He's having a difficult enough time raising an army amongst farmers."

"This war isn't going to be won by armies." Tafoya's eyes lowered and took on a far-off look. "They will be mowed down like harvest wheat."

Kai gave a bark of laughter. "Armies and war sort of go together, Tafoya. Can't have one without the other."

The old man's eyes lifted and fixed on Kai. He leaned forward in his chair. "You mark my words, Kiameron. This is not like any war

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Humans have ever fought. This one can't be won by brute force. It'll take something more -- the legacy of Eldon reborn."

Kai smiled sarcastically. "A myth -- that's what's going to fight this war?"

Tafoya leaned back in his chair. "Scoff as you will, but tell me your dream last night."

Kai started and a chill raced down his spine. Swallowing hard, he searched the older man's face, yet he wasn't actually surprised. It wasn't the first time Tafoya had known too much. He opened his mouth to tell him he'd dreamed nothing, but Tafoya's servant interrupted them.

Theron cleared his throat at the entrance to the parlor. "The castle guards have been and gone, looking for the young lord, and the Daman, Niron, is waiting by the kitchen door for him."

Tafoya nodded without turning around, his eyes still locked on Kai's. Kai glanced at the servant. "Thank you, Theron."

The servant bowed and backed from the room, closing the door behind him. Kai looked back at the old man. "I have to go."

Tafoya merely nodded. Kai rose to his feet and stared down into the weathered face

that was nearly as familiar as his own. "You expect too much, Tafoya." "Do I?" He lifted a gnarled hand and curled it over his bearded

chin. "I wonder sometimes, Kiameron, if I expect enough." Kai exhaled in frustration. "You also talk in riddles." He

headed for the door. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow." Kai halted and glanced back. "Don't count on it. I probably

won't be able to get away." He received no response. He waited a moment more, then

opened the door and stepped into the hallway beyond. Closing the door behind him, he leaned on it and closed his eyes. For some reason he felt like he'd dodged something significant by avoiding the old man's question about his dream. He would have been lying to say he hadn't been having disturbing dreams lately, but Tafoya already asked for too much from him.

* * * The Audience Chamber was in chaos when Kai arrived back at

the castle. The prince peered through a crack in the enormous paneled doors that opened on the chamber, trying to count the number of people rushing back and forth across the length of it. Kai always felt

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intimidated by his father's Audience Chamber. In the first place, the entire room did not have a single window. Natural light filtered through a beveled skylight recessed into the ceiling. The ceiling itself was domed, causing sound to echo off the stone walls and ricochet out of the corners, creating a disturbing cacophony that only added to the chaos.

The floor of the chamber was paved in polished white marble, which gave off a regal, yet unwelcoming feeling, and besides his parents' two thrones, which sat on a raised dais, there was no other furniture in the room. The thrones themselves were luxurious, befitting royalty, but they were also stiff, formal, upholstered in bleached white leather with silver buttons.

Along the back wall, where the double doors interrupted the flow of stone, hung tapestries that symbolized the various protectorates in the region of Loden: Zenoradel -- shades of amber with a ram dominating the central panel; Trendaria -- blue with a running horse woven in white thread; Voltarian -- mustard yellow with a book in the center; Yonartison -- twin rivers in purple; and Denortosal -- an enormous bear rearing up on its hind-legs, mouth agape, claws outstretched on a midnight blue backdrop.

DiNolfol was the only kingdom that did not share the walls beside the doors. The banner for DiNolfol hung behind the king's throne -- a forest green tapestry with a tree, its boughs stretching out to touch all four edges. This tapestry had been a gift from the king of Zenoradel when Ferenc had taken the throne thirty-three years before.

Drawing a bracing breath, Kai slipped into the vast room, his eyes scanning the interior. His father sat on his throne, his mother beside him. Before them was a man in livery Kai didn't immediately recognize.

He couldn't hear what the messenger was saying, but he could tell it wasn't being received well at all. Kai edged closer to one of the guards, Niron on his heels.

"Who is that, Grondi?" The guard glanced at him, drawing a relieved breath. "It's a

good thing you're back. Whatever you do, don't tell your father you were with that old Stravad."

Kai and Grondi had grown up together. When Grondi had come of age, he'd trained beside Kai, but for an entirely different reason. While Kai had been training to lead men into battle, Grondi had trained to be led. He'd sworn to die protecting the royal family, and yet their disparate backgrounds had never hurt their friendship.

"Was he asking for me?"

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Grondi gave him a pained look and Kai grimaced. It was always a risk stealing away to Tafoya's cottage, but it was a risk Kai had to take. Tafoya was the only person who understood the strange power radiating inside of him.

Kai nodded at the back of the visitor. "Who is that?" "A messenger from Zenoradel. He's been here for awhile. I

think the king wanted you in on the discussion." Kai rocked on his heels and exchanged a look with Niron. His

father didn't simply want Kai by his side, he demanded it. Kai didn't often rebel, but sometimes he had no choice.

"It doesn't look like it's going well." "I've only caught a little of the talk, but it appears some of the

outlying settlements around Zenoradel and Trendaria have been sacked, the occupants either murdered or taken."

Kai exhaled slowly. "Gaviston." Grondi grunted in agreement. "And Orahim." "This isn't good. It's getting a little too close." Their eyes met and held. The same fear passed between them. The messenger answered a few more of the king's questions,

then bowed deeply and turned to go. Kai watched him as he strolled down the length of the Audience Chamber. The memory of his dream the previous night came to him and he shivered. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear this same man was in it, but it couldn't be possible. Kai had never seen this man before.

Kai's father and mother were rising to their feet, while attendants flanked them. Kai could feel his father's eyes on him clear across the room. He gave Grondi a tight smile and motioned Niron to follow him.

They crossed the Audience Chamber, their footsteps echoing on the white marble, and came to a halt below the dais. Kai's mother was the first to step down, placing her hand against his cheek.

"Please behave," she said softly. "The news was bad." "I'm sorry I wasn't here, Mother. I..." The queen held up a hand. A wry smile touched her lips.

"Don't make excuses. We both know where you were." She glanced over her shoulder at the king, then back into her son's eyes. "Leave it alone right now."

Kai inclined his head in agreement and let her move beyond him, headed for the private wing of the castle. Her attendants trailed her, a wave of rustling silks and laces that always followed in her wake. Although Kai knew it was the proper deportment of royalty, he often wondered if she didn't wish for just a little more time by herself.

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"Well, I see you managed to elude the castle guard once again."

Kai drew a deep breath and raised his eyes to his father's face. Ferenc was a large man, impressively built, and one look from him made anyone tremble.

"Niron found me." He nodded at the little man who was crowding closer to his master under the king's hostile stare. "I didn't know we'd have a visitor today."

The king's black eyes narrowed and he waved his own attendants away. They retreated a respectable distance. "Walk with me," commanded Ferenc and Kai fell into step, knowing by his father's tone that he was unhappy.

"He wasn't a visitor." "Sorry, messenger." Ferenc halted in the doorway to the private halls of the castle.

"There's a vast difference, you know?" "I do and I'm sorry for taking the audience lightly. Obviously,

the news wasn't good." Ferenc continued walking. Behind them strolled Niron and the

king's personal attendants. Kai tried to ignore the veritable crowd trailing them, but it was difficult. And it was another reason why he thought he'd never make much of a king.

"There have been attacks on outlying settlements around Zenoradel and Trendaria. The raiders come out of nowhere, burn everything to the ground, kill some people and abduct others, but no one's sure why or where they take them. They're impossible to trail because they move so swiftly -- besides that they leave no one behind to follow anyway."

Kai exhaled. "So what does the king of each protectorate think?"

Ferenc shrugged his enormous shoulders and motioned Kai before him into a hallway. "They each think we are headed for war, and they believe the true culprit is Gava."

The king stopped before his own private parlor and waved an eager attendant off when the man would have opened the door for him. Kai followed his father into the room. Niron entered behind him, but the other attendants hovered at the door, waiting on the king's pleasure.

Ferenc ignored them and strolled to the cabinet in the corner, which housed a collection of bottles and glasses. He pulled the cork from one amber-colored bottle and poured a small amount of liquid

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into the bottom of two glasses. While he was occupied, Kai walked back to the door and shut it in the attendants’ faces.

Placing his back against the door, he watched his father lift one glass and smell the contents. "They believe the attacks are ordered by Gava because someone has seen Gaviston?"

Ferenc took his time sipping the amber fluid. He turned slowly and regarded his son. "No, they leave no one alive to see anything. Attacks by Orahim are always a problem in Zenoradel and Trendaria. The damn protectorates lay right outside the Orahim Forest. Why they haven't gone in and flushed the lizards out is beyond me, but they claim confrontations with them are rare."

"Or have been until now?" Ferenc held up his glass in agreement, then lifted the second

glass and brought it to his son. He strolled to a couch and lowered his heavy bulk onto the seat. In the royal family's private parlor, the furnishing was overstuffed and designed for comfort. Leaning back with a sigh, Ferenc draped one arm over the back of the couch and lifted his glass to his lips again.

Licking the residual away, he shook his head. "At any rate, Orahim don't cause the mass destruction that the messenger was telling me about. They might loot, they might steal some livestock, and once in a great while they kill someone, but they don't abduct Humans."

Kai moved to the seat across from his father and sat down, bracing his forearms on his thighs. He looked into the glass, swirling the amber liquid around. "But Gaviston do."

"Yes, they do." "If they've come this far south, we really are on the verge of

war, aren't we?" "Why do you think it's so important to me that you sit in on

the councils, train with the army?" Kai ignored the pointed jab. "What do the kings want you to

do?" Ferenc snorted out a bark of laughter. "Align my kingdom

with theirs." Kai sat up, his fingers tightening around the glass. "Really?" Ferenc downed the rest of his drink and motioned to Niron

for a refill. The little man immediately moved to obey. "Ridiculous notion," said Ferenc, gazing out the window

across from him. "Why? I've been wondering why the protectorates don't band

together. There are six of us, and at least three haven't been as badly hit as yet. Surely all six kingdoms could stand up against one lunatic."

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Ferenc's face darkened, but when he spoke, his voice was low and carefully controlled. "This is why I ask that you focus your attention on being king, not a wizard's plaything."

Kai narrowed his eyes, but wisely chose not to respond. "You have no understanding of our system of government, do

you? I rule an independent kingdom. It is my sovereign nation and I am its sovereign ruler. I answer to no one and no one has any say over the way I rule my people. To accept an alliance would be to suggest that I am not capable of protecting my people and it would mean giving up my rule."

Giving up your power, thought Kai, but he held his tongue. Ferenc downed the second glass and settled it on the table

before him. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he shifted his attention to the windows again. Beyond them the tops of the trees that marked the Karhartadon forest were just visible. "At any rate, we're the farthest south of all the protectorates. Should Gava come this far, he'll have stretched his power mighty thin and I'll be waiting."

Kai frowned. "What if Zenoradel or Trendaria fall? They're larger than we are and have a better trained army. We're a bunch of farmers."

Ferenc's eyes snapped back to his son's face and Kai remembered Tafoya's words. The king wasn't a stupid man, nor was he as nonchalant about the threat of war as he seemed. The younger man could see the fear that shimmered in the depths of his father's eyes and he realized what a weight the king carried on his shoulders. It didn't make him any more inclined to shoulder that weight himself.

Kai knew the thought of alliance was almost as abhorrent to his father as the thought of losing his kingdom to Gava. It was a feeling bred into the rulers throughout the whole of Loden. That the kings of Trendaria and Zenoradel had dared suggest it only proved they were more than desperate themselves, but Kai had never shared such isolationist philosophies.

It only made sense to band together. Gava was merrily dancing throughout the whole of Loden, toppling kingdoms without repercussion because no two kingdoms would stand together. It was a weakness a brilliant villain would easily exploit, that much was obvious, but what was also obvious was that the kings of the six protectorates would allow it to happen simply to save themselves from losing power.

This war isn't going to be won by armies. This is not like any war Humans have ever fought. This one can't be won by brute force. It'll take something more. Tafoya's words came back to him. Kai's dream from the previous night tugged at him, but he shoved it away.

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Ferenc leaned forward. "Those farmers will someday be under your command. Their protection will be your duty, not Zenoradel's, not Trendaria's. Yours. This is why I ask you to focus on your training, instead of your silly wizard's games."

Kai flinched inwardly at the slight, but he gave no sign of the hurt on the outside. He and his father talked about his strange power only in such a round-about way and it was usually only his father doing the talking. That Kai felt tormented by things he couldn't explain, Ferenc had no knowledge. Therefore, Ferenc would never understand that Tafoya was essential to him. Without Tafoya, Kai was sure he would have gone insane. The power demanded attention and it was a demand that could be daunting if not controlled. Only Tafoya understood it enough to help the young man control it. And in DiNolfol, only Tafoya had such power besides himself. In truth, he would have given almost anything to be as the rest of his peers because to be different in such an unexplainable way held its own field of torments.

Kai didn't know how to answer his father. He never did, so he bowed his head and looked into the glass and the moment passed without either of them understanding the other. With a grunt of disgust, Ferenc put his glass on the table and turned toward the door. Kai watched him go, feeling as if he'd failed him yet again.