Palace of the Twelve Pillars
Christina Weigand
Excerpt
The High Wisdom
raised the crown from its golden case. A loud scream tore the silence in the
tent. Joachim turned to look at the entrance. A soldier fell through the
opening, blood spurting from a slit stretched across his throat.
As he bounded off
the dais, Waldrom screamed, “What’s going on here?”
A wild rush of
wind ripped the tent flaps open, and a horse and rider burst through. Joachim
gaped at the body of the dead soldier. His heart raced and leapt to his throat.
His gaze traveled up the horse’s legs. A man’s black boots. A scream caught in
his throat, and tears filled his eyes. He stared into blue eyes.
The horse pawed
the ground and snorted. The rider dismounted and stood next to the dead guard.
Wriggling free of
Waldrom, Lilia ran to the rider. She threw her arms around him. “Brandan,
you’re here. You’ve come to free us.”
The prince pushed
her aside. “Brother, I see you are trying to usurp me
again. It appears I got here just in time.”
“No, you’re wrong. I have no desire to take anything
rightfully belonging to you.” Joachim stepped toward his brother and reached
out a hand to him. “I want to help you and see what we can accomplish
together.”
Swatting his hand away, Brandan laughed. “Help me? You’re
the one who needs help. Anything you have to offer is worthless to me. Now out
of my way. The king and I have business.”
“No, listen to me. You can’t do this.” Joachim spun him
around.
He clouted Joachim,
knocking him down. “King Waldrom, we need to talk. He’s deceiving you.” He spat
at Joachim then turned and bowed to Waldrom. “I’m at your service, My King.”
Regaining his feet, Joachim pushed Brandan into the guard
standing behind him. The guard wrapped his muscular arms around Brandan. “What
should I do with him, Sire?”
Brandan flipped the soldier to the ground and put his black
booted foot on the man’s chest. “The one you should be detaining is standing
there, you fool.” He pointed at Joachim.
“What are you doing?” Lilia grabbed Brandan by the arm.
“Stop this, or Waldrom will imprison us all. Why are you jeopardizing our
lives?”
He looked at his mother. “Don’t worry, Mother. The only one
in any danger here is the traitor you see standing before of you. First, he
betrays me, next he kills Father, and now he would betray you and Waldrom.
Guards, seize him!”
The king stepped forward and raised his hands to stop the
guards. “What do you mean a traitor, and how do you know this?”
“Because I know my brother, and that’s the way he thinks.
He’ll lie, cheat, and kill to achieve his own ends, and his goal is to have
both countries under his to rule at any cost.”
“Why should I trust you over him?”
“Because I’m just like you,” Brandan responded.
Walking around the twins, Waldrom rubbed his goatee
thoughtfully. “My boy, you present an interesting dilemma. How do I choose one
over the other? How do I know which one to believe? Guards seize both of them.”
Two guards stepped forward, and each grabbed a twin.
“You’re wrong.”
Joachim struggled to break free. “This is wrong. I’m not a liar. I only want
what’s best, and that’s for us to be together.”
“You’re the one
who’s wrong.” Brandan pulled his arm free. “I’ve no use for you.” He turned to
Waldrom. “Get him out of here, so we can finish.”
Joachim broke loose, stepped across the gap and grasped his
brother by the tunic. Brandan jerked around and punched him. He rubbed his jaw
and shoved Brandan, who fell to the ground “What happened to you? You’re not
the brother I know.”
Standing up, the black prince pulled his sword. “Nothing is
wrong with me. I just realized who I am and who truly cares about me...and it’s
not you.” He rested the point of the sword on the cut Waldrom had given
Joachim. As Brandan pushed the tip in the scratch, he re-opened the partially
scabbed wound. Joa laid his hand on the side of the sword and pushed it away.
Guards grabbed Joachim’s arms.
“Enough! I can see you two will not make this easy. I put
before you a challenge, which will determine my choice. You will travel to the
Cave of Njori and extinguish the flame of Asha. Melvane will accompany you and
testify to its completion.”
Brandan replaced his sword and walked over to his horse. “I
don’t see the need for this. It’s obvious I am the one, but I’ll go along if
that is what you want.” He remounted his horse and reined it around to exit.
Still in the grasp of the soldier, Joachim yelled, “No,
Brandan, stop! You can’t do this. We can’t. It’s the light of Asha, never to be
extinguished. If you do this, you’ll destroy all hope and any chance we have of
defeating this evil.”
Brandan laughed and kicked his horse. “All the more reason
to get this done quickly. Guards, find a mount for my brother.”
“No, I won’t go. I can’t do it.”
The king raised his hand. “The choice is made. Guards, take
Joachim to the prison tent. Brandan, we will deal with this inconsequential flame
later. Right now, we have more important business to attend to.”
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