Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 28

Kathryn remembered her conversation with Hal a short while ago before he joined Hook's squad to investigate Southker village. She'd been furious that Sir Lanclor had excluded her from yet another battle.

"Hal, I think Sir Lanclor is being a sexist pig, not allowing me to participate in the battle. It's probably just like the Middle Ages on Earth when men were stupid enough to think they were better than women," she had said this last thing with a grin. A part of her envied Hal's freedom to participate in the battles, while the other was glad to avoid the violence.

Lady Kathryn, prepare for battle and report to the main courtyard. Sir Lanclor's Communication brooked no argument as it interrupted her reverie.

Kathryn jumped from her desk chair and summoned her armor. Throwing open the door to the balcony, she jumped over the edge and spread her wings. Her heart pounded while she glided down to the courtyard and stood at attention until Derrek ordered her to the rear of his squad, among his Graywing section. Hal was among the Brownwings, but she didn't have time to Communicate to him before Derrek gave the verbal order to take flight.

As they flew south, Derrek Communicated the current situation with the village. Their squad would join Hook's in providing the village with safety until another squad moved the villagers. Hook would have full control over the Graywings and would issue the orders for the patrols of the area.

Derrek's squad was the size of two regular Brownwing squads because it contained a significant number of Graywings and healers. They would handle the patrols while Seri's mounted squad would handle the evacuation of the villagers. Seri's squad consisted of fifty mounted knights who could take flight if necessary. Her squad specialized in Daemon ground warfare.

They reached the village as the sun began to dip behind the mountains. It would be a full two hours before night fell. Hook's squad was in the process of putting the Daemon's in one pile and the slain villagers in another. If the bodies remained where they were, the orcs in the area would gather there and claim the village land as their own. Removing orcs from an area involved time and patience, neither of which anyone could afford right now.

The burning of bodies was common practice on Av'lor. Av'lorians believed a person's soul returned to the Goddess and left the body an empty shell in death. They mourned the death of a loved one, but celebrated their deeds in hopes the Goddess would forgive any sins. Kathryn wasn't sure if she could have stood to watch her Mom's body burn. Not that it was any easier watching them close the lid of the casket.

After they landed, Hook approached Derrek and clasped arms with him. Hook ordered Hal to return to his squad and he gave a small nod to Kathryn before he jogged over to Lesair. Derrek's task involved taking the majority of his squad, including all of the Graywings, to patrol the southern region around the village. The healers would remain with Hook to care for his wounded. Patrols rarely went beyond this village, so this would be new territory to cover. The knights would move the villagers within the hour, so their patrol would only cover a small area to ensure a Daemon patrol wasn't waiting to strike at their backs.

Derrek's squad departed, wary of any movement below or ahead of them. They flew in the basic patrol pattern, a gradually extending half-circle, and didn't encounter any Daemons. In their final round, they flew through a mountain pass and into a valley. The valley was familiar, yet Kathryn knew she had never flown over it before. As they completed their short flight of the valley and prepared to depart through the pass on its east side, she separated herself from the squad and hovered.

Derrek's squad had continued for a few seconds before they noticed she was no longer with them. Derrek flew back to find out what had caught her attention. She held her position above a swirling red river.