The Guardians

Chapter 9

Faeren was looking for the First Knight's office. It had been many years since he'd set foot in Paladin's Keep, First Knight Palini telling him that he needed his Paladins in his ranks more than Faeren needed them. At the time, the Paladins were as sparsely numbered as the Guardians were now. He'd been told by a Commander that Mathros had died a year earlier and that he needed to speak with his successor, Kalmin Orana. He could hear raised voices coming from behind the closed door. The two guards looked uncomfortable, as if they didn't want to listen to the argument.

"I gave you strict orders not to engage them. And what do you do? You engage them!" a man, whom Faeren assumed was Kalmin cried, his voice full of heat and anger.

"And had I not someone would be explaining to a lot of mothers and wives why their sons and husbands were killed, including yours," a woman answered, her voice full of the same heat.

Faeren hadn't been aware that women even joined the Paladins. He was instantly intrigued by her.

"By all rights, I should demote you for this."

"For preventing a massacre?"

"And that is my dilemma." There was a pause. "You threw yourself between me and a death spell and took another spell that badly injured you and could have seriously wounded or killed me. My wife will thank you once she hears about it. And I thank you for the chance to be able to live to see my child's birth." There was another pause and Faeren found himself curious about what had happened and why she would disobey a direct order. "If I demoted you, I would have a mutiny on my hands. Just from the men in the patrols. But you will be punished. I am not going to reward you for insubordination. You will be confined to the Keep and you are being placed on prison duty until I see fit."

"Until you see fit. Of course."

"By all rights, you shouldn't even have been allowed to join our ranks considering you refused to tell us who --"

She cut his words off. "You cannot judge me for that! I had no bloody control over that! If I told you many more men would have been killed for my sake."

"So you keep insisting."

"Your fishing isn't going to make me tell you."

"I should place you in prison after that little display. Cut your contact with your magic. You're too powerful for your own good. For anyone's good. If you weren't so well respected by the men you would be in that damned prison now, just because of that."

"So prison duty is the next best thing then?"

"Get out of my office, Captain, before I do place you in a cell and consider relieving you of your rank and title." There was a pause. "Now!"

The door flew open, nearly hitting one of the guards, who scrambled out of the way, and a fuming young woman marched out, emerald eyes dark with anger and her neck beginning to flush from the same anger. Her red-brown hair was coming loose from her bun and a thick strand of it hung down her back. He wondered if the incident they'd been arguing about had happened that day, as she looked like she'd just returned from a battlefield. He didn't stop to wonder long. Faeren quickly sidestepped out of her way. She never looked up at him and he wondered if she'd even seen him. As angry as she looked, he was sure she would have lashed out at him had she run into him before she even realized who he was. If she would even know who he was. The Guardian was intrigued by the young Paladin as he watched her storm away. He was sure he had his recruit. Now if he could convince Kalmin to allow the recruitment.

Kalmin sighed. "Commander Faeren, I'm not in the mood right now to even discuss you taking any of my men to recruit into the Guardians."

"I actually don't want any of your men. From what I overheard just now, a certain Captain seems to be my first choice."

Kalmin slammed his hand onto his desk and glared at him. "Of all the pains in my ass, you had to choose Lyra!"

"If she's such a pain in your ass, I'd think you'd be glad to be rid of her."

"She doesn't belong here. Mathros should have thrown her into prison instead of training her to be a Paladin. She's dangerous to everyone around her."

"Did I hear correctly that she just saved several lives, including yours?"

"Were you standing outside with your ear to the door?"

"You two were screaming loud enough that a deaf mouse could have heard it."

Kalmin glared at Faeren. "She disobeyed a direct order from me. You wish for her to be rewarded for that?!"

"Reward? No. She could do some good with the Guardians of Veloce. If she's as powerful and dangerous as you claim she is, her gifts will be better used under me. If you resent her and them so much, that is."

Kalmin rubbed his forehead. His silence dragged on for several minutes as he deliberated on whether or not he would allow her to join Faeren. The Guardian waited patiently.

"Fine," he finally said. "Get her out of my Keep. I never want to see her face again. But she is the only one I am allowing you to take." Faeren was hoping to have more than one. "The Paladins need their men to fight the spellcasters that are deciding to turn to blood magic. Arlan and Sari have Veloce torn apart. We will do our part to aid you in keeping the peace but we are stretched thin as well with the attacks on our patrols."

"Thank you, First Knight. I shall collect my recruit and be on my way."

Kalmin scoffed. "Don't thank me. You don't know the trouble you are taking on. Just get her out of my Keep today."