Deragan Sword Prophecy: Book 01 - Kainan Read online

  “Help him escape? I don’t know what you mean uncle. This is not Gareion. Why would I help Gareion escape, escape from what?” She turned back to Kainan.

  “This is my uncle Lord Detaine.” Kainan gave a slight nervous smile and a small dip of his head.

  “Not Gareion? Don’t be ridiculous.” Turning he raised a questioning eyebrow. “Prince Gareion what is going on?” Kainan just stood and stared back blankly, he had no idea what to say to this tall demanding man.

  “Uncle please can we sit down? There is something of great importance that I must tell you.” Her uncle looking suspiciously at Kainan rolled his eyes at her and huffed, but nonetheless he did as she asked and sat himself down in his armchair by the fire. Pointing to the fireside she whispered.

  “Kainan please sit over there by the fire.” Looking to where she was pointing he nodded and did as she asked seating himself down on the small chair placed by the other side of the fire. Pulling his cloak over his lap he scratched nervously on his now almost fully grown beard. As the light from the fire flickered across his face Lord Detaine stared hard at him.

  “Kainan?” he muttered under his breath as he drummed his fingers on his chair trying to mask his annoyance. Kainan shivered. There was something in the look and the voice of her uncle that made him feel incredibly uneasy. Looking up at Arweyn he watched her as she stood clenching her dress with both fists twisting the fabric nervously. He could see she was really unsure how her uncle would take the news she was about to tell him.

  “Arweyn an explanation now please,” her uncle demanded. His gaze was still fixed hard upon Kainan and his brow was now creasing into an angry frown. Summoning up all her nerve she took a deep breath, and began to explain.

  “Uncle I know he looks like Gareion but believe me he is not.” She ran her hands down the folds in her dress.

  “What do you mean he’s not Gareion? That makes no sense child; I am growing tired of these games. Where have you been all night?” he demanded sharply, looking directly at her and then his face scowling he turned to Kainan distrustfully.

  “Uncle please you must listen. I know what I am about to tell you sounds completely crazy but you have got to believe me when I tell you it is the truth.” Pausing she took another breath trying to summon her courage. “I am sure by now you know the Ardor Crystal has been taken from the Dome.”

  “Yes I do know, the entire Kingdom is in turmoil looking for it,” he replied agitated, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

  She began to pace. Kainan watched her. She was really scared, fearful of this man, this he could see but why? He was her uncle but she had not mentioned to him that she was afraid of him. Rubbing his hand on his chin he watched as she continued pacing. He really wanted to help her to hold her hand and tell her it would be all right but he didn’t know if he dared.

  Taking another deep and cautious breath she looked across at Kainan his eyes widening at her he smiled encouragingly. She smiled back as warmly as she could muster but he could see in her eyes she was still terribly scared. Then she turned back to her uncle.

  “I followed him through the portal to Zyon. I assure you he is not Gareion.” Warily looking at her uncle’s face she bit on her lower lip. She could see by the redness that flushed through his cheeks he was getting angrier. Any moment she knew he was going to explode, cautiously she took a step back from him. He had never struck her before but there was always a first time. Especially when she had committed such a crime, a crime she knew could send her to the tower for a very long time.

  “You went to Zyon!” her uncle yelled in disbelief. Jumping up from his chair he waggled his finger at her; his voice had become harder more forceful. “Arweyn you know you are forbidden to leave Malgar and to use the portal is a serious crime. You could be sent to the tower for endangering the city. What on earth possessed you?”

  “I know and I am sorry but just look at him please,” she implored. “He looks just like Gareion.” Surely her uncle could see she was right.

  “Why did you follow him?” he demanded, his eyes glaring at her angrily.

  She shrugged her shoulders; he made her feel like a frightened child.

  “I don’t know. I just had too.” Looking down to the floor she shivered. She could not bear her uncle’s stare any longer. Kainan sat on the edge of his seat, he did not like the way her uncle stood threatening her. Unsure whether or not to step in he began edging forward on his seat, but before he could make that decision, it was made for him.

  “You who are you?” Lord Detaine demanded, taking two steps towards him. His brows drew together in a scowl as he placed his clenched fists upon his hips.

  “Uncle please let me explain what happened. It’s all very complicated. His name is Kainan, he was the one that took the Ardor Crystal from the Dome. He gave it to…” she hesitated, shooting a fleeting glance down at Kainan. She could see her uncle’s face getting redder with anger.

  “WELL?” her uncle bellowed.

  “Gorzars.”

  “Gorzars! Arweyn are you mad?”

  She shook her head. “No uncle I know what I saw. Tell him Kainan.”

  Lord Detaine sat back down in his chair with a thud gripping the arms tightly. Kainan could see the man’s knuckles turning white as he gripped the arms of his chair tighter with obvious anger.

  “I am sorry but what she has said is true, they were Gorzars.” Kainan confirmed, shifting uncomfortably on his chair. This was not going well. In fact, scratching his head he concluded, it was going extremely badly.

  “You stole the Ardor Crystal from us and gave it to Gorzars, is that what you are telling me?” His voice was one step above a whisper, but deadly. Nodding the young man shifted his body around; he was feeling more and more uneasy with this man, every moment he was feeling more threatened.

  “But it was not Kainan’s fault uncle,” Arweyn interrupted. She shot him a desperate glance. She could see Kainan was getting agitated and she gave him a look telling him not to do anything stupid.

  “Was not his fault! You just do not waltz in and take the Ardor Crystal Arweyn. He must have had help. Was it Gareion?” her uncle shouted, jumping back up from his chair.

  “No uncle. Gareion has nothing to do with this,” she cried, shaking her head in dismay.

  “And whose blood is that you have all over your dress?” he yelled, pointing angrily at her clothes. She looked down at herself.

  “It is Kainan’s uncle. He, he was badly injured when I got to him,” she stuttered, looking desperately at Kainan. She had to make her uncle understand.

  “Ahh! This just gets worse!” He glared at him. “I have no choice but to call the guards and send this impersonator to the tower until we sort this out.” Turning to Kainan he pointed aggressively at him. “Are you a changeling?”

  “NO! Of course he is not,” she cried, before Kainan had a chance to speak. He stood up sharply. No-one was sending him to the tower. What was a changeling? What was the man talking about?

  “Sir, I am not a changeling, whatever that is,” Kainan shouted back at him defensively. Her uncle moved in closer. He was a tall man, taller than Kainan. And as he stared down hard at him with his piercing black eyes, Kainan’s mind immediately flashed back to the portrait hanging outside on the wall. It had not been the artist at fault at all; this man really did have cold, hard eyes.

  “Did you touch her?” he demanded aggressively, pointing his finger menacingly at him.

  “NO!” Kainan retorted indignantly, shaking his head.

  “Uncle!” Arweyn cried, shocked at the accusation her uncle was throwing at him. Kainan looked at her, and then back at her uncle.

  “No I didn’t, I would never hurt her,” he said, standing firm.

  “Kainan stop. Uncle, please stop this. Kainan has not laid a finger upon me. Please you must let me finish,” she urged, holding her arms up between the two men.

  “All right! You have a moment to explain before I call the guards; you
boy, SIT DOWN!” Kainan hesitated. Arweyn raised her eyebrow at him.

  “Please,” she whispered quietly, her eyes shifting from one to the other. Looking at her uncle, Kainan waited for him to make the first move, and as he backed away slowly and sat back down in his chair, he did the same.

  “Explain child, quickly,” her uncle ordered, his gaze still locked onto Kainan. His breath was fast and furious as he tried to control his temper.

  “Uncle I know how this sounds but just hear me out. When the Queen had Gareion did she have twins?”

  He frowned in thought. Hesitating for a moment he then nodded.

  “Yes I believe she did, but one died at birth,” he clarified reluctantly.

  Looking at Kainan she nodded slightly, she knew she had been right.

  “Well I do not think he did, die I mean. I think he was stolen from the Queen at birth and then another baby who was dead was put in his place. I think that the baby stolen was Kainan.” She nodded her head towards him.

  “Arweyn what are you saying? That this upstart is the Queen’s son? Don’t be ridiculous. Just listen to what you are saying child. You do realise that the baby that died was the Queen’s first born son. That would make him first in line for the throne and not Gareion.” He waved his hand in disgust at Kainan. She shrugged her shoulders at him.

  “That may be uncle, but it does not take away the fact that Kainan is here, alive. If he is the first born twin then it is his rightful place to be heir to the throne. It is not his fault that he was taken. Everything he has told me fits. Just look at him!” she pleaded, “Who else he could be?”

  Her uncle stood up. His brow creased in an agitated frown as he looked the young man up and down. There was a dead silence for a moment, before her uncle finally spoke.

  “What other proof do you have? It is not enough just to look like someone.” He directed his question at Kainan. Arweyn gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

  “Kainan, show my uncle your markings.” He looked up, his eyes catching hers and she smiled.

  “Well go on then boy.” Lord Detaine ordered, rubbing the back of his knuckles on his chin. Standing up and raising his arm, Kainan moved towards the light of the fire, rolling his sleeve up. Lord Detaine leaned in for a closer look; he could not hide the surprise that came across his face.

  “So you have the Dermock mark,” he acknowledged grudgingly, scratching his head. Kainan nodding then turned over the palm of his left hand.

  “And the gate symbol,” he inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a moment, and then folding his arms across his chest, his fingers tapped the side of his arms as he thought.

  “Okay, I accept that maybe what you have said is possible. Perhaps I have not given you the chance to explain yourself.” He turned to Arweyn. “It was still wrong of you. You should never have left Malgar. You should have come to me first.” Staring back at Kainan his eyes studied him further. “I will need to speak to the King and Queen first about all of this. You will have to undergo some tests, are you willing?”

  Nodding, Kainan half smiled. He was relieved that the interrogation was over and that finally he seemed to believe what they were saying.

  “Yes Sir. Whatever it takes to find out the truth, I am willing.”

  Gritting his teeth, Lord Detaine scratched the back of his neck. Quite clearly he was not happy about any of this.

  “Does anyone else know about him?” he asked, addressing his niece. She shook her head.

  “No uncle. I thought it best to come straight to you first.”

  “Good. Then of course you will not have heard about Gareion?”

  “What about Gareion?” she questioned, turning her face towards him.

  “Well, while you were gone last night, Gareion disappeared.”

  Shaking her head she frowned at him. “What do you mean he disappeared?”

  “Gareion was seen leaving the Dome with the Crystal and was imprisoned in the tower for treason. Gareion denied taking the Ardor Crystal of course, but he was also seen in the market carry a large sack with something heavy in it. Somehow he has managed to escape; this is why I was shocked to see you here. I thought you were Gareion,” he said, addressing Kainan.

  “But it was not him uncle. Surely the King would know that Gareion would not be capable of such a thing,” she protested, full of concern. Distressed she began biting at her nails.

  “Of course the King does not believe his son to be a traitor, but he had no choice in the matter. He was seen by at least three witnesses.”

  Kainan felt his heart sink at the news, he stepped forward.

  “Do you not see? The people saw me and they thought I was Gareion. It is all my fault,” his voice grew pained and as he removed her hands from her face, he saw tears fall from her eyes. His eyes met hers and gently, using the cuff of his sleeve, he wiped her tears away. “I am so sorry.”

  Lord Detaine frowned, clenching his hands into fists as he watched Kainan touch her.

  “Who accused him?” Arweyn questioned, breaking his gaze.

  Her uncle hesitated for a moment. Then taking a breath he answered her. “Lothar.”

  “Lothar!” she screamed angrily. “I should have known. How could he! Surely he would know Gareion would never do such a thing.”

  “Mind your tongue young lady. He was seen leaving the Dome and as you have said yourself, Kainan looks like Gareion. How was Lothar to know that there are two of them? He has to think of the City and its safety.”

  “It was the child in the market, the one whose ball I threw, and his mother, they saw me too. That is why they bowed at me, they thought I was Gareion.” He flashed a look at Lord Detaine, who nodded his agreement.

  Kainan ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, muttering under his breath. “How could I have been so stupid?” He took a deep breath and almost begging he questioned. “Tell me please, what do I need to do to put all this right?”

  “I’m not sure. First I must go and see the King and Queen. It has to be proven that you are who you say. This is going to take some explaining and it is going to be a big shock for everyone,” he paused. “Especially for the Queen. Arweyn pull yourself together for goodness sake, this is no time for tears,” said her uncle, unsympathetically at her sobbing.

  “I’m sorry,” she sniffed, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. He was right, there was no time for tears, what good would that do Gareion? They had far too much to sort out; she needed to be strong for both of them. She glanced up at Kainan, but his face was distraught. She could not imagine for one moment what he must be feeling right now. She knew he had been hoping to meet Gareion today, and he had been so excited, so desperate to meet his brother and now? Placing her hand on his arm firmly she turned to him.

  “Are you all right?”

  He shook his head at her but did not reply; he was unable too. The last week had been torturous for him. His family and friends had all been murdered. He himself had nearly been beaten to death by those vile creatures called Gorzars. Then on top of that, finding out that he could possibly be the son of a King from a completely different world to the one he had always known and that he had a twin brother who was now missing because of something he alone had done. What else could happen to him? How much more could he possibly take? His head throbbed with overwhelming pain as he tried to make sense of it all. At the moment just confusion and turmoil was all that pounded his mind.

  “I will go and see the King and Queen myself first, and try to explain everything that has happened. I want you and Kainan to wait here, do you understand? When they are ready I will send for you both. You will go to the great room and we will all meet there.” Arweyn nodded. Her uncle started to walk towards the door, then stopping he turned back and shot a look to Kainan.

  “And you, don’t touch her!” he warned, pointing his finger at him.

  Raising his hand submissively, Kainan shook his head. This man was obsessed; what did he think he was going to do to her?


  “Uncle!” Arweyn exclaimed in shock as she watched him walk out of the room. What was wrong with him? Un-clipping her cloak she threw it onto a chair. Shaking her head she walked over to a large cupboard at the back of the room and opened it. Inside were some glass decanters full of different kinds of drinks. Lifting down two silver goblets she poured them both a drink.

  “Here. It is Cenwyck,” she said offering him a goblet. Kainan took the goblet from her.

  “Thanks,” he replied, nodding gratefully. He didn’t know what Cenwyck was, but neither did he really care and proceeded to knock it back in one go.

  Coughing vigorously he threw his hand to his mouth.

  “That is strong stuff!” His eyes smarted as he looked at her.

  She laughed at him. “Yes I thought you might need it. Do you want another one?”

  “Mmm, please,” he replied gratefully, and watched as she poured him another drink.

  “I’m sorry Kainan for the way my uncle treated you. I do not know what is wrong with him; he is not usually so abrupt and so suspicious.”

  “It’s okay, I’m sure he is just worried about you and the city. After all I have not exactly made the right first impression have I?” he said, leaning forward and taking her hand in his. His voice was soft but intense.

  “I’m so sorry about Gareion. I have totally messed up your life and his.” She squeezed his hand, wishing she could just give him a comforting hug, but she was not sure how he would react.

  “Kainan I have told you it is not your fault. You could not have known about us, about the Ardor Crystal. They tricked you, they all did.” She handed him his goblet.

  “I just cannot believe my whole life has been one big lie.” Letting go of her hand he knocked back another drink. Coughing again as the liquor hit the back of his throat he took a deep sigh. Rubbing his hand down his face and around his eyes, he tried to make sense of it all. Looking at her beautiful face as she drank from her goblet, he thought, maybe it would have been better if she had just left him to die. Putting his goblet down he sighed out loud, and stared into nothingness.