Page 2 of Immortal Sentry

Methus? Barely more than a village. “What if they’re unlucky?”

Hentri didn’t reply. Somehow, he worked his way through the throng, past burning buildings, behind the gardens, through an open gate, and into the woods, holding the horse’s lead in a tight grip. The stench of burning singed Eron’s nose. The old horse plodded along, seemingly unperturbed by the chaos.

Eron's attendants never allowed him to venture deep into the woods. Father promised to take him hunting one day when he was older.

Once deep among the trees, Hentri turned the horse off the path, the first rays of dawn providing light. Eron saw fewer and fewer fleeing people the farther they traveled. “Where are wegoing?” He was cold, hungry, and tired. Surely, they’d missed breaking their fast. He wanted food, a warm bath, and his soft bed. The stocky beast he rode upon trudged heavy-footed over the ground. “Why couldn’t we have taken Beauty?” The horse Father had gifted him for his eighth birthday had a much smoother gait.

“She couldn’t take the distance with a rider and pack, and she’d draw too much attention. Old Rafe here is a plodder, but he can go for days. Besides, no one who sees him will think we have wealth.”

“But my father is wealthy.” Everyone said so.

Master Hentri stopped the horse, peering up into Eron’s face with a worried frown. “Child, if you want to live, you must be Edry, my nephew. You must never mention your family, or your enemies will kill you. The people attacking the castle now want all of your family dead. Do you understand? We are a poor woodcutter and his nephew, with nothing valuable worth stealing. We are of no importance.”

Kill me?Something wild in Master Hentri’s eyes said he spoke the truth. A lump formed in Eron’s throat. He whispered, “What about Father?”

Hentri stared at the ground. “I’m sorry, Your High…” He glanced from side to side, then lowered his voice. “King Selin’s forces invaded the castle. Your father, King Lothan, is… lost.”

“Lost? Lost how? Can’t we find him?” Eron understood the answer the moment he uttered the words. Hentri’s brimming eyes confirmed his worst fears. “He’s dead,” Eron said, voice flat. Something hollow formed in his heart.

“Yes, child. But I have sworn an oath that no harm will come to you.”

Eron didn’t ask about the queen. Father’s new bride didn’t like Eron, his brother, or his sister. She wanted children of her own,the gossiping maids said, and for those children to be father’s heirs.

Father dead, though. Nothing more than a headstone in the family plot, like Grandfather. Eron wouldn’t ask about his brother or sister. Hearing they, too, were gone might be too much to bear.

Blinking hard a few times didn’t clear Eron’s vision. The back of his throat burned. No, he wouldn’t cry. Not here, not now. He must be strong. Crying might give them away. If the enemy, whoever they were, found them, they might just kill Hentri, too. Kings and princes took care of their people. Father had said so.

Eron held back any sound though his heart hammered painfully in his chest They ambled from the sparse woods into the thick forest, Eron holding fast to the horse’s mane, folding himself over to ease the emptiness in his belly. He occasionally glanced back at the castle perched high above them. Where once he called the fortress home, now it appeared forbidding.

A man stepped into the path well ahead of them. Hentri drew a sword far less gracefully than Father’s guards. “Mage you may be, but you’ll not harm this child.”

“I have no intention of harming the prince.” The grizzled head of the royal mage came into view as he approached. Eron shook. He’d always been somewhat in awe and maybe a little afraid of Miisov, with his bushy eyebrows and long white hair and beard. Sadness filled the mage’s eyes. “Prince Eron, I have failed you and your family. But I promise to do everything I can to atone for my failings. Please forgive me.”

What was Eron supposed to say? Forgive him for what?

Miisov stared deeply into Eron’s eyes. “For your own good, I will weaken the link between you and your kin, dulling the horror, if I may. When the time is right, your memories will return. Until then, they’ll remain murky to ease the pain and tokeep you hidden from view.” He turned his attention to Hentri. “Guard this child with your life.”

Hentri straightened to his full, massive height, staring down his nose at the mage. “I swore an oath to my king. For his sake and this child’s, I’ll lay down my life if needed.”

The mage clapped Hentri on the shoulder. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He raised a hand toward Eron.

Chills raced over Eron’s body, gone in an instant. Was that what magic felt like?

A white-haired old man turned and ambled down the path.

Eron blinked, his mind clouding. Sleepy. So sleepy.

He slumped in the saddle, closing his eyes.

Eron woke covered by a musty blanket. Who put a horse blanket on his bed? Must be Dafron playing a joke. But if Eron was in his room, why was he so cold? He opened his eyes, jolting upright with a surprised yelp. The screams. Fleeing by horse. A fragment of a dream of Dafron, with his cold, dead eyes.Goodbye, little brother.

Father.

Wait! Who was Dafron? And Father? The images in Eron’s mind, so clear a moment ago, dissipated.

Master Hentri hurried into the room. “What is it, lad? Are you all right?”

“I… I don’t know. Where are we?”

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