Sisera's Gift (Dragonblood Sagas Book 2) Read online

  SISERA’S GIFT

  DRAGONBLOOD SAGAS:

  BOOK TWO

  Copyright

  Copyright© Robyn Wideman

  Published: May, 2016

  Publisher: Robyn Wideman

  www.robynwideman.com

  1

  KAI NERVOUSLY STARED AT THE TARGET. The tournament was down to these last two arrows. Win and he had enough coin for his coming marriage. Lose and he would need another year to fill the dower her family had insisted on when they agreed to the marriage. Kai watched as his opponent, Jaime fired his arrow. Kai watched the arrow strike the target right in the middle ... bullseye! Kai would need an almost impossible shot to win.

  The crowd roared its approval as Jaime threw his hands in the air celebrating his shot. “Beat that! Victory is mine. Your luck has run out, Kai Woods,” shouted Jaime. Jaime had not forgotten it was Kai who won the previous year’s tournament ending Jaime’s win streak at two years in a row.

  Kai ignored the boisterous crowd and the taunts of his opponent. He focused solely on the arrow lodged in the middle of the bullseye. Kai could feel the western wind on his face, knowing it would push his arrow a fraction of an inch to the right as it flew. He mentally adjusted his aim to account for the breeze and then took a deep breath. Slowly he exhaled and let the arrow fly.

  The arrow flew true, slicing through the clean, clear mid-morning air until the steel tip carved its way into Jaime’s arrow, splitting it in half! The arrow vibrated as it plunged into the red-painted bull’s-eye.

  The crowd roared in approval, they enjoyed Kai’s display of supreme skills even more than Jaime’s showmanship.

  The competition judge, a stern-looking man with a perpetual frown, slowly walked over to the target and compared the arrows. After great deliberation, he pulled one of the arrows and raised it in the air. Its shaft and fletching were marked with black dye. It was Kai’s arrow.

  Kai smiled as he watched the judge pull his arrow out. He finally had raised enough coin for his dower.

  “Kai Woods, of Dragon’s Tail Brigade, is this year’s archery champion,” declared the herald.

  Jaime shook his head. He then slapped the Kai on the back. “Damn you, Kai, you should have let me win! Did you not hear the crowd? They wanted me to win!”

  Kai Woods, youngest lieutenant of the fabled Dragon’s Tail Brigade, smiled at his opponent and best friend, Jaime. “Sorry, Jaime, but I need the prize money for the wedding. Next year I’ll let you win.”

  Jaime laughed at his young friend. “No, next year I won’t even bother with archery. I’ll stick with the sword competition. I concede. You are the best archer on the Isles, unless we consider old Camdyn. But I suspect your skills may have surpassed his.”

  Camdyn Porter, leader of Dragon’s Tail, was a legendary warrior. His prowess as a swordsman was only exceeded by his skills with a bow. Camdyn had won the tournament ten years in a row before declaring himself ineligible. He wanted his men to have an opportunity to show that they, too, were worthy of being considered the king’s finest warriors.

  Kai shook his head. He knew well the ability that Camdyn Porter possessed. Camdyn’s body might be showing the signs of aging, but his eye and hands were as deft as ever.

  “No, Jaime, Camdyn would still embarrass us all. He can still split an arrow at fifty paces any time he wants. That is the first time I’ve ever accomplished the feat. Don’t let his walk fool you. I think he fakes being old.”

  “Perhaps, but I think your skills are closer to besting his than you are willing to admit, Kai Woods,” said Jaime to his friend. “Now, you need to get your ass to the swords arena. Your fight is next on the list.”

  Kai turned to look at the banners flying over the swords arena. The top two banners were the blue wolf of the king’s knights and the red bear claw of the castle guards. Below those two banners flew another set of banners: a white one with a black dragon’s tail and another red bear claw banner. The top banners represented the match in progress. The second, lower set were for the following match.

  “I wish they timed things a little better,” Kai said to Jaime as they made their way from the archery platform to the swords arena.

  Jaime snorted. “There are over five hundred warriors competing in this year’s tournament. It’s only jackasses like you, doing two events, who have issues with the timing. Everyone else has to wait forever.”

  “If I were any good on a horse, I would have entered three contests, but I’m terrible with a lance. Never could get the hang out it.”

  Kai had needed to win at least one purse this tournament, the archery win was enough coin to fill the dower. If he could manage to place in the top three of the sword, he would have enough to buy the widow Burris’s cottage. Kai was much better with the ax than the sword, but the larger purse had been too tempting to turn down.

  The swords competition was a much larger field than the archery competition. The swords were only now in the quarter-finals. Kai would need two more bouts before he’d be guaranteed a purse.

  “I still want to know who you bribed to get castle guard opponents for your first three matches. They’re not nearly as dangerous as the knights,” said Jamie.

  “Actually, I heard that one of the city guard captains made the tournament schedule this year. He wanted to give his guards an advantage, so he scheduled fights against the Dragon’s Tails. I guess he thinks we’re less dangerous than the king’s knights.”

  “What? That’s crazy. Everyone knows the Dragon’s Tails are the best-looking, smartest and most talented group of fighters in the kingdom. You’d better kick some bear ass, Kai.”

  Kai smiled. His friend’s boast wasn’t entirely true, but it was closer to the truth than some would admit. Outside of the lance competitions, a knight’s specialty skill, it was not unheard of for Dragon’s Tail Brigade to win in every category. Archery was traditionally the Dragon’s Tail’s best event, but they all trained with other weapons. The Dragon’s Tail Brigade were an elite group of rangers. No finer scouts or trackers could be found. “Well, for the most part, what you say is true. I think it has more to do with the fact that we train separately from the king’s men. They don’t know how often we train. I still don’t understand how an ugly mutt like yourself got into Dragon’s Tail.”

  Jaime frowned and shook his finger at his friend. “Ugly? Me? That’s jealousy speaking, Kai.”

  “Jealousy? Do tell.”

  “While you, love-stricken fool that you are, give yourself to only one woman, I’ll be doing my best to make sure all the women get a chance to have a Dragon’s Tail between their legs. I’ll be bringing pleasure to the multitudes while you suffer from that disease they call love. Soon, you’ll be jealous of all the attention I receive.”

  Kai laughed, shaking his head. There was no winning a verbal battle with Jaime. The man had no modesty and no filter. His tongue was acid or sweet, depending on his desired goal. Kai refused to be baited into an argument now. He needed to prepare for his next opponent.

  Jaime laughed and slapped Kai on the back. “Good luck friend, you’re up. Go show the bear how to fear a dragon.”

  While they traded barbs, they had made it all the way to the sword arena. Kai hadn’t even noticed that the previous match had ended and he was up. “Dammit, Jaime, how am I to concentrate with you jabbering?”

  “Oh, shut it. I’m giving that poor guard a chance. Now, go kick his ass,” replied Jamie.

  The herald had already announced Kai, and the guard before Kai had even made it to the arena. Kai stepped into the arena with barely enough time to plant his feet before the flag was lowered and the contest began.

  The
guard, trying to take advantage of Kai’s late arrival, tried to rush in, attacking quickly. His sword flashed, striking down repeatedly against Kai’s. The sound of metal on metal filled the air as his momentum pushed Kai backwards. The guard’s comrades cheered louder.

  Kai could see what the guard was attempting to do. The man wanted to push Kai back, forcing Kai close to the rails around the edge of the arena. Kai let the guard push the pace, giving ground as he blocked all of the guard’s attacks.

  When the guard had pushed Kai all the way back to the rails, Kai changed tactics. Instead of blocking the guard’s next downward swing, Kai pivoted, turned sideways and let the guard’s blade swing down past his shoulder. The unexpected lack of resistance momentarily threw the guard off-balance. The guard’s fans groaned in unison.

  Kai finished turning so that he was facing the arena fence instead of the guard. Then he jumped up and sprung from rail to rail until he was standing on top of the arena fence. He then did a back flip over the shocked guard, bringing his sword down to tap the guard’s helmet while he somersaulted over him. When he landed, Kai again tapped his sword against the guard’s head, scoring another point from the judges. The two clean taps to the head won Kai the fight.

  “You cheated!” declared the guard in anger. His nostrils flared and his face turned red with rage.

  Kai turned to the arena judge. “What rule prohibits jumping over an opponent?”

  The judge shook his head. “Only a fool would try such a maneuver, but it certainly is not illegal. Kai Woods, of Dragon’s Tail, wins this match.”

  Kai nodded, the judge had not misspoken, it had been a dangerous maneuver, but an effective one. He had taken a risk and was now one step closer to securing another purse. Today was going to be an excellent day!

  Kai returned to Jaime, who stood there grinning as several men walked away from him.

  “Why are you so happy?” asked Kai.

  “I bet six of the Red Bears that you wouldn’t let him score a point. I won a good chunk of coin from that crazy maneuver,” replied Jaime, lifting a heavy purse of gold and letting it jingle.

  “You’re buying the mead tonight,” declared Kai.

  “That’s fair, but you’re buying your own dinner.”

  Besides being a notorious flirt, Jaime was also famous for being cheap. Kai was willing to bet Jaime’s offer to buy mead would likely be forgotten before they had made their way to the tavern. “I’ll believe that when I see it,” said Kai. “When is my next fight?”

  “Hold on, I’ll go check with the judges. They haven’t updated the banners yet.”

  While Jamie went to check the schedule, Kai checked his armor. The hardened leather was sufficient to stop a blade in these contests, but it wasn’t foolproof body-blow protection. Kai’s earlier fights had not been as easy as this one. He had suffered several sizable bruises and they were starting to become an issue. He’d been lucky to face an exuberant and foolhardy opponent who had been tricked by the jump onto the fence.

  Jamie returned. “Your next opponent had to withdraw. He suffered a cut to his leg during the last fight. You don’t fight again for an hour now. Should we go get a drink?” he asked with a wicked smile.

  Drinking and swordplay wouldn’t be a good combination, especially as Kai went further into the competition and started fighting the more skilled knights. He wanted the prize for winning too much to risk letting his abilities be hampered by drink. “I’ll pass. I’m going to go back to my tent and put some salve on these bruises.”

  “You’re no fun,” protested Jaime, looking hopeful., then resigned. “Give Rosalie a kiss for me.”

  Kai wouldn’t rise to the bait again. “I’ll give her two. See you back here in an hour.”

  …

  Kai went to open the flap of his tent, expecting it to be empty. To his surprise, he could hear moaning inside. He opened the tent door and stepped inside. It took a second for his eyes to adjust from the bright midday sun to the dimmer light of the tent. There on his bedding was a stranger rutting with Rosalie like a dog. The man was holding her shoulder with one hand while he enthusiastically thrust away at her from behind.

  Rosalie moaned. Kai recognized the sound. They weren’t moans of fear or pain—they were the sound of desire. Rosalie was a willing participant in this betrayal.

  Kai felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He was stunned. He had never imagined such a possibility. He’d been so sure Rosalie loved him as much as he loved her, but the scene before his eyes told a different story. Kai’s shock turned to anger, rage fueled adrenaline surged through his veins as he walked up behind the pair, who were so consumed in their own actions that they hadn’t heard him enter the tent.

  With a hard right hook, Kai struck the man in the ribs. The man groaned in agony and tried to remove himself from Rosalie before Kai could strike again, but he wasn’t fast enough. Kai struck him with another right, this time to the temple.

  The man fell off the bedding, hitting the floor of the tent. Kai jumped on top of the half-naked stranger and struck him again. The man tried to defend himself against Kai’s onslaught, but was powerless against the fury of Kai’s fists.

  Rosalie screamed, “Stop, Kai! You don’t know what you’re doing. Stop, before you hurt him!”

  Kai could barely hear her. His anger consumed him, and his focus was totally on the man below him. Kai kept striking him in the face. He was going to beat this bastard to death!

  He didn’t get the chance. Before he could deliver another blow, a pair of knights pulled him off the beaten and bloody man. Then they hauled Kai to the stockades.

  2

  ASIDE FROM THE HARDWOOD THRONE, which tended to give her a sore back, the most painful part of holding court for Queen Amelia was listening to her new husband Robert Byrne drone on as he tried to establish himself as the leader of the Kingdom of Prozia. It was a crying shame the Council of Prozia and the ancient laws of the land still frowned on a woman ruler. I should have chosen a different husband, one with interests other than whoring and hunting, thought Queen Amelia as she listened to King Robert berate a man for being a day late with his tax payment. I wonder which of his new cronies told him that late taxes were a punishable offense? I shall have to speak to the captain of the guards later to make sure he forgets about this incident, being a day late due to a pregnant wife was not a crime, nor was it worthy of a royal summons yet here the poor bastard stands wasting a good sunny day listening to my idiot husband instead of working his fields. More and more, Queen Isabella was finding herself in disagreement with Robert's ideas. She’d hoped he would’ve been a more sensible man, of her options at the time of her late husband’s death he had seemed to be the best of her available options, but so far he was proving to be rather dim. Even worse, he seemed to be relying on his new council more and more every day. A council that was made of men imported from outside the walls of Castle Prozia who didn’t understand the day to day workings of the kingdom.

  When a royal herald arrived from the neighboring kingdom of Kosal, Queen Amelia raised an eyebrow. The kingdom of Kosal was the only other major kingdom of note on the Isle of Seran. Throughout the majority of the history between the two kingdoms was war and strife. Under her previous husband, King Medina, the two kingdoms had come to find peace, but Queen Amelia didn’t trust King Ramsey of Kosal, and she certainly didn’t trust Prince Erik Ramsey, the heir to the throne in the kingdom of Kosal. The question was why was their messenger in Prozia?

  Queen Amelia leaned forward in suspicion. The herald had arrived early in the morning and was now being given a royal audience in front of the entire court. Amelia did not know why the herald was here, but the fact that her husband King Robert seemed to have been expecting him was troubling. It was not often her new husband bothered to interfere with the running of the kingdom, but when he did it often led to disaster. The kingdom was much better served when he was off hunting or screwing his harlots.

  “King Robert Byrne,” said
the herald, “I bring news from my liege, King Ramsey. He has accepted your most gracious proposal. His son, Prince Erik, will marry the queen’s child on the day of the double eclipse.”

  Queen Amelia sat back in shock. Robert had gone behind her back and arranged a royal marriage between the rival kingdoms. Amelia tried to hold her emotions back while they sat in the royal court, but anyone watching carefully could see, by the furrow of her brow and the way she clenched the arm rest of her throne, that she was not pleased. In fact, she was furious. How in the seven hells did Robert think marrying Isabella to the son of their most dangerous enemy was an intelligent idea?

  “Thank you, herald,” said King Robert. “Please tell your king that we are happy and we look forward to this grand and sensible union. It will make for stronger ties between our two kingdoms.”

  The herald nodded, turned and left the court. The next messenger took his place and stated his business.

  Amelia heard the farmer discussing the raids on his lands, but her thoughts were elsewhere. The sudden news of a future wedding was distressing. Isabella was too young for marriage and her future held more important things that Robert was not privy to. She would have little time to figure this mess out. The harvest moons, was only three weeks away.

  “What say you, my queen?” asked Robert, interrupting Amelia’s thoughts.

  “Pardon me?”

  “This farmer has been raided three times in the last two months. He swears that a dragon has been eating his cattle. He claims to have lost twenty head of cattle. What do you suggest we do?” asked King Robert.

  Idiot, thought Amelia. You can’t even figure out how to deal with bandits, yet you meddle with my daughter’s life. Amelia turned to General Hamza, “Have a troop patrol the area around his farms. Find out what has happened to the cattle.” She then turned to the farmer. “The missing cattle will be considered your taxes for the year.” Amelia wanted to discount the talk of dragons as the scared ramblings of a farmer, for she had a secret, one she dared not share with her new husband.