Dark One Rising(46)

“Brogan, show yourself. You’ve got a visitor.”

The door to the galley opened just a slit. Brogan peeked out from below deck, only seeing the greasy man there. His deep voice yelled out, “What do you want, Cyrus? Can’t a man get some peace?”

“I bring a guest.”

“I don’t want to be bothered. Go away!”

He shut the door again. Dain decided to step in. “Brogan, don’t make me break down the door. I need to talk to you.”.

He opened the door again and peered at Dain. His eyes grew large then, and the door whipped open, him coming up the below deck stairs. “Your Majesty, why didn’t you say it was you?” He looked over at Cyrus. “Be gone!”

They watched as the greasy man scuffled away down the pier, his footsteps clip-clopping on the wooden planks. Brogan held out his hand. Dain took it and they shook. He motioned down the stairs. “More private down here.”

They went down to the galley, then Dain asked, “Where have you been, Brogan? Finding you lately is like trying to squeeze water from a stone.”

“My face is too familiar these days. I’m afraid I’ll stand out too much in the wrong circles.” He motioned Dain to sit down. The boat was shabby and in disrepair. There was a small leak; the walls were damp and hinted a smell of rotting wood. There was a hammock bed, a table with two chairs, where they now sat, and a small coal brazier for warmth. Brogan sat down and leaned over, poking the fire with a stick, sparks crackling.

“You shouldn’t be asking too many questions, Dain, it’s unwise.”

“This is my province, Brogan, I’m not afraid. Why are you?”

His eyes clouded over, and he shuddered. He was not a small man by any means. He stood so tall he had to bend over somewhat so that he didn’t hit his head on the ceiling of the boat. He had large arms and a wide chest. He was a sailor now but had been a solider in the army before that.

He had no station and no money, so he went into fishing to feed himself. Dain looked around again and felt pity. After all Brogan had done, all the battles he had risked his life in, the only person to believe in him had been himself. This is what he’d been reduced to. Dain felt guilty. Brogan caught him looking around and smiled.

“It’s not as bad as it looks. It’s small, not much cleaning is required.”

Dain smiled back but was not taken in by Brogan’s humility. He had tried many times to offer Brogan a spot in his guard, but each time he refused. He said that his life had gone another way for a reason, and this was it now, for better or worse.

“I’m sorry, Brogan, for what you’ve had to endure. I feel responsible.”

“You gave me my life.”

“This isn’t a life, Brogan. Alone, no family, no possessions.”

“This way is easier. You believed in me when no one else did. For that I’ll be eternally grateful.”

“You’d make me feel better if you’d take the commission I offered.”

Brogan shook his head. “I feel freer on the open sea. It refreshes my soul in a way that being a solider never could.” He leaned over and placed his large hand on Dain’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about me.You have bigger problems.”

“Fallon?”

He removed his hand and sat up straighter. “He’s a plague that is eating away at the land. He’s already acquired two more cities in his land, two in the neighboring one. His people starve and can barely eke out a living, but he doesn’t care. There are unexplainable things happening in his land, and his new “advisor” had evil pouring out of every pore. When he looks at you, it feels as if he’s looking right through you. One moment he’s a man, the next…” He shrugged.

“What?”

“I can’t explain it. He looks at you with red eyes that can reach all the way down into your soul. He’s not of this world, of that I’m sure.”

“Fallon is playing with dark magic?”

“Is? Has. He’s been growing more powerful every year, and I believe this man, or whatever he is, is part of that power. I don’t believe he’s human.”

“What would Fallon want with Princess Melenthia?”

He shrugged again. “Don’t know exactly, but rumor has it she’s linked to him somehow.”

“In what way?”

“A marriage to her is supposedly part of a pact he’s made with the Dark One, who’s rising from the depths. She has some divine purpose.”

“You’ve been out on the sea too long, Brogan. You’re beginning to believe too many fish tales.”

“Everyone knows that she was given the Elvin sword, a sword rumored to be called Tanith, a gift from the elders of Vallis when she was born. It’s no ordinary sword, Your Majesty. It’s a sword of legend, of deep magic. The sword was destined for a chosen one. I for one believe the Tanith Prophecy is true. No one receives a gift like that from the Elvin Elders for no purpose. They rarely even come into this part of the world. There was a reason she was given it. I would swear to it.”