Sohar gave him a grateful smile and Garth eased him down to the sand. The monk coughed once, then was still.
His head bowed, Garth said, “Percival. Can you tell if the king yet lives?”
The dragon nodded. “He is still alive,” he confirmed. “I would sense it if he were … not.”
Garth nodded. “That’s good, at least. Even so, the dark Empress has both defeated us and stolen our king. Her city is broken and her people panicked now, but she will regroup. And when she does, she will send the full force of the darkness after us.” He eyed Ben and Kalin. “We cannot permit her to find us.”
“Wait, what?” Ben said, trying to get to his feet. Shalia eased him back down. “Are you suggesting we just turn tail and leave him?”
“Garth is correct,” Percival said. “If the Empress laid a trap to capture the king, it is highly unlikely she wishes him dead.”
“But she could torture him—torment him—give him over to the darkness!” Ben sputtered.
“Ben,” Kalin said in her calm, quiet voice, “I too agree with Garth. We are the ones at risk here. We are the last hope of defeating the Empress and the darkness. That was the king’s desire. If we try to mount a rescue now, we could doom all of Albion. Is that what you wish?”
Ben looked from Garth to Percival to Kalin. His blue eyes held a world of anguish.
“We are not going to abandon him,” said Garth. “But we must survive. Regroup. Have a strategy.”
“I for one literally cannot abandon him,” Percy said. “I know you understand, Ben.”
“I do,” Ben said, his voice cracking slightly. “Damn your eyes, I do.”
Theresa stood before him.
The king had not seen her in years, but the blind Seer seemed exactly the same to him. She wore her usual garb of ivory and maroon. Her eyes glowed white, gazing down at him from her cowled face.
He moved himself stiffly into a seated position, but was unable to stand. “Theresa?”
She smiled but remained silent, and lifted both arms out beside her. Suddenly a bird appeared on each arm. On her right was a dove. It cooed, content, and fluffed its snowy white feathers. On her left arm perched a raven, cocking its head impudently at the king and peering at him with yellow eyes. It opened its mouth, cawing harshly.
Now, at last, Theresa spoke. “Born a Hero you were, and a Hero you are. Darkness has indeed come to Albion, and few there are and will yet be who can stand against it. But do not despair, King of Albion. The world has changed. The time approaches swiftly when Heroes are not born … they are made.”
Theresa flung her arms upward. The birds took flight, then vanished.
“Theresa—”
The king awoke sitting upright, one hand reaching out to the empty cell. Despair knifed through him. Just a dream, then. A ridiculous, foolish dream. He cursed his sleeping mind for the false hope it had given him. Sighing, he pressed down a hand to help himself rise.
A feather—no, two of them. One white … and one black.
His chest swelled with joy. Not a dream—a vision! He picked up the feathers with hands that trembled, gazing down at the promise in his palms.
The Empress was wrong! More than wrong, tragically, fatally mistaken. She would fall, as all darkness must fall to the light. Maybe he would not be the one to engineer her destruction, but others would come, to take up the torch, to save their land. To save their world.
Theresa had shown him.
There were still Heroes in Albion!
Epilogue
The fires had been extinguished, and Gabriel walked slowly back to his caravan. Maybe Katlan was right. Heroes hadn’t been seen in Albion for a long, long time. Decades. Maybe they did exist in history once, but not now.
Still … the stories …
Time to grow up. Time to get some sleep. He climbed into the caravan and pulled the blankets over him.
Gabriel closed his eyes and dreamed of Heroes.
… To be continued
This book is dedicated to
the memory of James R. Golden
1920–2011
You were and are my Hero, Dad. I love you.
BY CHRISTIE GOLDEN
Fable: Edge of the World
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Allies
Ravenloft: Vampire of the Mists
Ravenloft: The Enemy Within
Star Trek Voyager: The Murdered Sun
Instrument of Fate
King’s Man and Thief
Star Trek Voyager: Marooned
Invasion: America
Star Trek Voyager: Seven of Nine
Invasion America: On the Run
Star Trek the Next Generation: The First Virtue (with Michael Jan Friedman)
A.D. 999 (as Jadrien Bell)
Star Trek Voyager: The Dark Matters Trilogy, Book 1: Cloak and Dagger
Star Trek Voyager: The Dark Matters Trilogy, Book 2: Ghost Dance
Star Trek Voyager: The Dark Matters Trilogy, Book 3: Shadow of Heaven
Star Trek Voyager: Endgame (with Diane Carey)
Warcraft: Lord of the Clans
Star Trek Voyager: No Man’s Land
Star Trek: The Last Roundup
Star Trek Voyager: Homecoming
On Fire’s Wings
Star Trek Voyager: Spirit Walk, Book 1: Old Wounds
Star Trek Voyager: Spirit Walk, Book 2: Enemy of My Enemy
In Stone’s Clasp
Warcraft: Rise of the Horde
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Series, Book 1: Firstborn
StarCraft: The Dark Templar Series, Book 2: Shadow Hunters
Under Sea’s Shadow (eBook format only)
Warcraft: Beyond the Dark Portal (with Aaron Rosenberg)
World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King
World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm
StarCraft: Devil’s Due
World of Warcraft: Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects
About the Author
CHRISTIE GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension, and several short stories in the fields of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Her media tie-in works include Vampire of the Mists, which launched the Ravenloft line in 1991, more than a dozen Star Trek novels, and multiple Warcraft and StarCraft novels, including World of Warcraft: Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects and StarCraft II: Devil’s Due.