Evil Beyond the Mists

As soon as the last word had passed Anna's lips, Rorke and Knightshade ran with great speed toward the castle. Anna trailed, a short distance behind them. When they arrived at the gates they found them closed. Rorke knocked on one of the doors with such force that splintered shards of wood fell loosely to the ground. A moment later the guards began opening the gates slowly, but Knightshade and Rorke pushed the door strongly, knocking the guards off balance. Through the courtyard and past the guards, the two men briskly made their way to the council room, where LadyKris sat alone at the table.

Startled by the noise of their arrival, LadyKris gripped the arms of her chair firmly, as if to brace herself. "Rorke," she said breathlessly, as she stood quickly and rushed to her brother. "Ye have returned safely. Both of you!" The siblings embraced for what seemed a long time. "Your breathing is short, please sit and tell me of your journey."

Knightshade noticed immediately that the dazzling sapphire was no longer on the lady's hand. As they sat at the table and spoke, she kept her hands hidden on her lap. "I have a scroll for thee from Lord Daemon, Milady," Knightshade said gravely as he removed it from his tunic and held it before her.

LadyKris's expression changed to one of fear as she stared at the scroll. She glanced quickly at Rorke, then at Knightshade. Her hesitancy was obvious. Slowly she reached for the scroll with her left hand. Like a bolt of lightning, Rorke thrust his hand forward and strongly clamped onto her delicate wrist.

Anger was brimming inside of him as he looked at where the ring was normally found. "It is true! The ring of thy beloved is gone," he said, harshly.

LadyKris cast her eyes downward in shame. "I did not remove it myself, brother. It was stolen from me," she said, a note of desperation in her voice. "That ring is all I have left of my true love, and it symbolized my hopes and his promise of returning to me. I would have gladly died rather than removing that ring, but I was under a spell that left me helpless."

The fire in Rorke's eyes burned strongly. "Did he touch you?"

Knightshade stood, ready to hold Rorke back, if necessary. "My friend, please..."

LadyKris trembled.

Again, louder, Rorke demanded to know. "Did he touch you?"

LadyKris swallowed and looked directly into her brother's eyes. "His hand touched my cheek and hair in a most tender way. And, he kissed my lips before he left." she said "But he did not advance any further, Brother Rorke. My virtue is still intact." LadyKris touched Rorke's hand. "I love only my fiance, and I will be his when he returns. Nothing will ever change what fate hath set my beloved and me."

Rorke released his grip on her wrist and fell back into his chair. He seemed to relax slightly, and forced a smile at his sister. "What says the scroll?"

Knightshade returned to his seat and sighed with relief. "I would caution you against any words contained in that scroll, milady," he said, earnestly. "But I too would know what the father of lies has to say."

"No," LadyKris said firmly. "Report to me what ye have seen on your journey first." She placed the scroll on the table before her.

Rorke began to tell of their travel into the mists with much animation. He described the giant wasps to LadyKris, and she listened with much excitement. Again, she seemed like a young girl, listening to her older brother's story with full attention and wonderment. She asked many questions and begged for more details, as if to take her mind completely away from the scroll that lay before her.

What was in the scroll, Knightshade did not know, but he feared that Lord Daemon had taken more than a passing interest in the new leader of the Council of Light. And, it seemed, Lord Daemon knew who he was, too.

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Thank you for reading Evil Beyond the Mists. If you enjoyed this story, or even if you didn't, please feel free to send me your comments.

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