Part 17
A feeling of intense dread settled over Dylan. Even Tyr seemed to be disquieted by Trance's revelation.
After a moment of silence, Tyr spoke. "We have only three hours until sunset. Can you offer any suggestions as to how we are to stop this atrocity from occurring?"
"Well, there is one way. But it is extremely dangerous and may not work." Trance's voice answered.
"What do we have to do?" Dylan asked finally breaking his silence. His face was a blank mask, all of his emotions hidden from view.
"If they have kept up with their history and traditions then you may be able to challenge Tourk. If he accepts and you win, then by rights all that belongs to him will be yours, including his throne and Beka."
"And if I lose?" Dylan asked already knowing the answer before he did so.
"Then you will be dead." She answered.
"What if I were to challenge him?" Tyr asked.
Dylan looked at him stunned that he would even consider such an offer.
Trance, while not as shocked as Dylan, was still amazed that Tyr had asked.
"It will probably not make much difference." She answered honestly. "He will be hard to defeat even without his magic. And with it, even if it is only a portion of his power, he will be nearly impossible to defeat. He probably would not even consider your challenge Tyr. The only reason he might accept Dylan's is because of his status as leader."
"What types of magic do you believe this Tourk possesses and what can we do to protect ourselves from it?" Tyr asked Trance.
"I am not sure, but he will probably have some sort of magic charm to help focus the power since he had his personal magic taken away." She responded.
"What sort of charm?"
"I don't know but I am sure it will be very pretty. If you see any colored stones or jewels that is most likely the source of his power."
"Enough discussion." Dylan interrupted. "Let's just get to the palace and find Beka before sunset. I will deal with Tourk when the time comes."
Having said that, he once again began making his way toward the palace.
'Great, I am following one madman to a meeting with another madman. I truly wonder what that makes me.' Tyr thought before hurrying to catch up with Dylan and stop him from rushing in and getting them all killed.
Beka hid behind a huge stone statue as several guards passed by her. She had been looking for an exit for a quarter hour and was having no luck. Moving from behind the statue she continued down the corridor as quickly and quietly as possible, all the time fearing someone would hear the loud beating of her heart or her harsh breathing. Turning to the left she entered another long hallway. Suddenly there was a loud ringing of bells.
"Damn," she cursed aloud. "They must have discovered Neffa and the guards."
Increasing her pace as much as possible, Beka turned another corner, only to run straight into the back of another guard. The guard, caught unaware, turned a second too slow. Using the flat side of the sword she still carried, Beka hit him upside the head. He dropped to his knees and she once again hit him this time knocking him unconscious. Beka continued down the hallway, praying she would find an exit out of the palace.
It seemed as if her prayers were to be answered. Spying a door at the end of the hall, Beka could see daylight streaming in from the small round, window in its center. She approached cautiously but before she could reach it, a large group of guards appeared behind her. Having nothing to gain by using stealth now, Beka began running as hard as she could, hoping to reach the door and gain her freedom. After having taken only a few steps, Beka suddenly found herself frozen in place and surrounded by an eerie blue light.
Tyr easily caught up with Dylan and grabbing his arm, pulled him to a stop.
"What the hell are you doing?" Dylan demanded.
"I would ask you the same question Captain Hunt." Tyr replied angrily. "I thought we had already established the fact that getting ourselves captured or killed would in no way aid in the rescue of Captain Valentine."
Taking a deep breath Dylan fought the urge to go running into the palace and begin tearing it apart one piece at a time until he found her.
"You are right, it won't. But I can't just bide my time and let these people do those horrible things to her." Dylan replied.
"If what Trance has said is true, then they need her-Alive. She will be quite safe for the moment. Let's just make it to the wall and onto the palace grounds without being discovered and then we shall see what our options are." Tyr said quietly.
Before Dylan could reply, the loud sound of bells could be heard coming from the palace.
Beka strained against the blue light but was unable to break free.
"My dear Beka, I am really disappointed in you." Tourk said coming forward to stand in front of her. He was clutching the amulet in his hand and Beka could see the blue light streaming from between his fingers.
Tourk muttered a few words, which Beka could not understand. Suddenly the blue light vanished leaving her free to move again. Tourk placed the amulet inside his clothing.
"Yeah? Well get used to being disappointed Tourk, because I have no intention of just sitting by and letting you do this to me." Beka retorted.
"Actually, I was disappointed because I had expected you to at least make it as far as the grounds. Perhaps I underestimated your capabilities."
Beka only glared at him choosing to remain silent.
"Come now my dear, things aren't as bad as you are making them out to be. You will have everything you could ever wish for. You will be a queen and be worshipped as a Goddess." Tourk said.
"I will be a prisoner and treated as an object!" Beka yelled. "I will die before I allow you to use me like that." Pulling one of the knives she had taken from the guard in her room, Beka lunged at Tourk, taking him by surprise. Unfortunately the blade glanced off of something, so instead of striking him in the heart it merely left a gash across his chest.
The guards standing behind them quickly grabbed Beka pulling her arms painfully behind her. Tourk reached into his tunic and pulled out the amulet. There was a thin scratch running down the middle of the stone where the blade had struck it.
"Do you see Beka, even when I do not ask for it's help, the amulet protects me with its power. You can not fight against me." Raising his arm he backhanded her sharply across her face. Beka slumped forward and would have fallen if not for the guards holding onto her.
"Take her to her room and tell Reenia to have someone clean her up and dress her properly. Sunset is in less than three hours. Then send Reenia to me to patch this cut."
"Yes My God." One of the guards replied, picking Beka up and turning to leave.
"I will not allow you to stop me from reclaiming what is mine Beka. You will be the one to lift the curse."
The two men had reached the wall of the palace shortly after the alarm sounded. Scaling the wall they found themselves in a small wooded grove that led into a vast garden area behind the palace. In the middle of the gardens was a small courtyard. Dozens of men and women swarmed the courtyard setting up an altar and dozens of decorative statues. Several small, covered pavilions stood at the back by the woods. Sneaking up behind one of these pavilions they quickly ducked inside. Surrounding them were dozens of wine kegs.
"Must have one hell of party planned." Dylan remarked dryly. "And they didn't invite us. I am so hurt."
"Well, we shall have to bring their breach of good manners to their attention. I can't stand an ill mannered host." Tyr replied with a ghost of grin flitting across his handsome features.
Returning his grin Dylan replied, "And just what do you have in mind?"
A feeling of intense dread settled over Dylan. Even Tyr seemed to be disquieted by Trance's revelation.
After a moment of silence, Tyr spoke. "We have only three hours until sunset. Can you offer any suggestions as to how we are to stop this atrocity from occurring?"
"Well, there is one way. But it is extremely dangerous and may not work." Trance's voice answered.
"What do we have to do?" Dylan asked finally breaking his silence. His face was a blank mask, all of his emotions hidden from view.
"If they have kept up with their history and traditions then you may be able to challenge Tourk. If he accepts and you win, then by rights all that belongs to him will be yours, including his throne and Beka."
"And if I lose?" Dylan asked already knowing the answer before he did so.
"Then you will be dead." She answered.
"What if I were to challenge him?" Tyr asked.
Dylan looked at him stunned that he would even consider such an offer.
Trance, while not as shocked as Dylan, was still amazed that Tyr had asked.
"It will probably not make much difference." She answered honestly. "He will be hard to defeat even without his magic. And with it, even if it is only a portion of his power, he will be nearly impossible to defeat. He probably would not even consider your challenge Tyr. The only reason he might accept Dylan's is because of his status as leader."
"What types of magic do you believe this Tourk possesses and what can we do to protect ourselves from it?" Tyr asked Trance.
"I am not sure, but he will probably have some sort of magic charm to help focus the power since he had his personal magic taken away." She responded.
"What sort of charm?"
"I don't know but I am sure it will be very pretty. If you see any colored stones or jewels that is most likely the source of his power."
"Enough discussion." Dylan interrupted. "Let's just get to the palace and find Beka before sunset. I will deal with Tourk when the time comes."
Having said that, he once again began making his way toward the palace.
'Great, I am following one madman to a meeting with another madman. I truly wonder what that makes me.' Tyr thought before hurrying to catch up with Dylan and stop him from rushing in and getting them all killed.
Beka hid behind a huge stone statue as several guards passed by her. She had been looking for an exit for a quarter hour and was having no luck. Moving from behind the statue she continued down the corridor as quickly and quietly as possible, all the time fearing someone would hear the loud beating of her heart or her harsh breathing. Turning to the left she entered another long hallway. Suddenly there was a loud ringing of bells.
"Damn," she cursed aloud. "They must have discovered Neffa and the guards."
Increasing her pace as much as possible, Beka turned another corner, only to run straight into the back of another guard. The guard, caught unaware, turned a second too slow. Using the flat side of the sword she still carried, Beka hit him upside the head. He dropped to his knees and she once again hit him this time knocking him unconscious. Beka continued down the hallway, praying she would find an exit out of the palace.
It seemed as if her prayers were to be answered. Spying a door at the end of the hall, Beka could see daylight streaming in from the small round, window in its center. She approached cautiously but before she could reach it, a large group of guards appeared behind her. Having nothing to gain by using stealth now, Beka began running as hard as she could, hoping to reach the door and gain her freedom. After having taken only a few steps, Beka suddenly found herself frozen in place and surrounded by an eerie blue light.
Tyr easily caught up with Dylan and grabbing his arm, pulled him to a stop.
"What the hell are you doing?" Dylan demanded.
"I would ask you the same question Captain Hunt." Tyr replied angrily. "I thought we had already established the fact that getting ourselves captured or killed would in no way aid in the rescue of Captain Valentine."
Taking a deep breath Dylan fought the urge to go running into the palace and begin tearing it apart one piece at a time until he found her.
"You are right, it won't. But I can't just bide my time and let these people do those horrible things to her." Dylan replied.
"If what Trance has said is true, then they need her-Alive. She will be quite safe for the moment. Let's just make it to the wall and onto the palace grounds without being discovered and then we shall see what our options are." Tyr said quietly.
Before Dylan could reply, the loud sound of bells could be heard coming from the palace.
Beka strained against the blue light but was unable to break free.
"My dear Beka, I am really disappointed in you." Tourk said coming forward to stand in front of her. He was clutching the amulet in his hand and Beka could see the blue light streaming from between his fingers.
Tourk muttered a few words, which Beka could not understand. Suddenly the blue light vanished leaving her free to move again. Tourk placed the amulet inside his clothing.
"Yeah? Well get used to being disappointed Tourk, because I have no intention of just sitting by and letting you do this to me." Beka retorted.
"Actually, I was disappointed because I had expected you to at least make it as far as the grounds. Perhaps I underestimated your capabilities."
Beka only glared at him choosing to remain silent.
"Come now my dear, things aren't as bad as you are making them out to be. You will have everything you could ever wish for. You will be a queen and be worshipped as a Goddess." Tourk said.
"I will be a prisoner and treated as an object!" Beka yelled. "I will die before I allow you to use me like that." Pulling one of the knives she had taken from the guard in her room, Beka lunged at Tourk, taking him by surprise. Unfortunately the blade glanced off of something, so instead of striking him in the heart it merely left a gash across his chest.
The guards standing behind them quickly grabbed Beka pulling her arms painfully behind her. Tourk reached into his tunic and pulled out the amulet. There was a thin scratch running down the middle of the stone where the blade had struck it.
"Do you see Beka, even when I do not ask for it's help, the amulet protects me with its power. You can not fight against me." Raising his arm he backhanded her sharply across her face. Beka slumped forward and would have fallen if not for the guards holding onto her.
"Take her to her room and tell Reenia to have someone clean her up and dress her properly. Sunset is in less than three hours. Then send Reenia to me to patch this cut."
"Yes My God." One of the guards replied, picking Beka up and turning to leave.
"I will not allow you to stop me from reclaiming what is mine Beka. You will be the one to lift the curse."
The two men had reached the wall of the palace shortly after the alarm sounded. Scaling the wall they found themselves in a small wooded grove that led into a vast garden area behind the palace. In the middle of the gardens was a small courtyard. Dozens of men and women swarmed the courtyard setting up an altar and dozens of decorative statues. Several small, covered pavilions stood at the back by the woods. Sneaking up behind one of these pavilions they quickly ducked inside. Surrounding them were dozens of wine kegs.
"Must have one hell of party planned." Dylan remarked dryly. "And they didn't invite us. I am so hurt."
"Well, we shall have to bring their breach of good manners to their attention. I can't stand an ill mannered host." Tyr replied with a ghost of grin flitting across his handsome features.
Returning his grin Dylan replied, "And just what do you have in mind?"