Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 38

"Sir Lanclor, I'm worried. He's been gone for some time," Lady Kathryn said in a concerned voice.

Lanclor had to agree with her. "I'll alert the guards at the gates to keep an eye out for him. He'll probably show up eventually having eaten in town or maybe—"

A knock sounded upon the open door and he saw Drewton and Mikael standing in the doorway with Mikael's dog close behind.

"Sir Lanclor? Lady Kathryn? I think you may want to hear about our interesting night," the mercenary said in a steady voice.

"Drewton, Mikael, welcome. Please, come in. Close the door and share your news with us." He rose from his chair and motioned for them to enter.

"Thank you, Sir Lanclor. We received a tip a short while ago about some odd activities going on in the Southern district. It appears another mercenary's old squad had taken it upon themselves to kidnap a knight."

"Hal! Is he okay?" Lady Kathryn burst out, unable to contain herself after hours of worrying.

"They tortured him, but we were able to reach him in time. We killed the squad and brought Hal to the castle. Master Vetera finished healing him a little while ago. He's going to be fine, except for mental scarring for quite a while. Torture has a way of changing a man," Drewton spoke as if from experience.

"Do you have any idea why they kidnapped him?" Lanclor asked, trying to figure out a motive, but without success.

"No, sir, we have no idea. We know they're desperate to fulfill their contracts. Maybe they were using him to get to you. There was one thing. They mentioned an orb, as if they believed Hal might know where it was, whatever it is."

"An orb? That doesn't make any sense." Why would they think Hal had the Orb?

"I don't know, Sir Lanclor. We couldn't make much sense of it either." Drewton shook his head.

"Did the men use magic at all?" Lady Kathryn asked in a calm voice.

"No, but I believe a Death spell was used on their leader this morning. His men mentioned something about someone warning them not to talk." Mikael responded.

"Where was Hal being held? Mikael, you should alert the Royal Guard about the incident," Sir Lanclor explained. "We'll send them over to clean the place up and search for any clues about their employer. You should mention you both were responsible for the deaths of the mercenaries during a successful attempt to rescue a knight. Your squad won't receive a bad reputation from this incident, Drewton."

"Thank you, sir. I will not forget your assistance. The Royal Guard doesn't always look upon us mercenaries with understanding." Drewton eyed Mikael with a smile.

The dog inched forward between Mikael and Lady Kathryn.

"I have a feeling that will change in the near future," Lanclor responded.

"Oh my God." Kathryn's hand went to her chest.

Lanclor rose with his hand upon the pommel of his sword. He saw her looking at the dog and was about to comfort her fears when the dog suddenly bounded toward her, knocking her off her feet. He rushed forward to wrestle the dog off her, but stopped when he heard her giggling.

Kathryn wrapped her arms around the dog's neck. He licked her neck and face with an excited whine while his tail wagged in circles. His rear legs teetered with the momentum of his tail.

"All right, Dargo, enough. Sit!" Lady Kathryn croaked in English, pulling her face away from the onslaught. The dog's rump immediately sank to the floor.

Mikael looked shocked. "How did you get him to do that? I've been trying to get him to do that since I got him."

"His name's Dargo." Kathryn suddenly glared at Mikael. "He's my dog!"

Lanclor knew that look and interceded before Mikael got hurt.

"Relax you two. Lady Kathryn, I was there when Mikael found the dog in a cave about six months ago. Are you sure this is your 'Dargo?'"

"Well, he's definitely bigger and doesn't seem like a complete coward, but yes, this is my dog...he was a present for my mother. I'd know him anywhere." Lanclor saw the sad look upon her face before she looked away, frowning.

Mikael grimaced. "He has gained a lot of weight and very few people knew how much of a coward he was when I got him. I hate to say it, but given his response to Lady Kathryn, I don't have a claim on him. Jenna will be devastated." Mikael ran his hands through his hair then rubbed the back of his neck.

Kathryn rubbed his ears while Dargo leaned his head against her. "Who's Jenna?"

"My daughter. She was actually the one who trained him and gave him the self-confidence to become a great guard dog. I've never seen anything like it. In less than a day, she had him sleeping next to her bed and growling at anyone who opened her door."

"Oh." Kathryn's hand just rested upon Dargo's head, no longer rubbing his ears.

"Well, Drewton and I will take our leave now. It was a pleasure to see you Lady Kathryn. Please take care of him." Mikael gestured to Dargo and started to leave the room.

"Wait." Kathryn rose to her feet. "Take him home, so Jenna can say goodbye."

Mikael gave her a thankful smile and Kathryn nodded in understanding.