Asgoleth the Warrior - By Bill Kirkwood Page 0,13

leaving our hill forts fully garrisoned behind us. To go against them unprepared would be to invite disaster.’

A grumble arose from the king’s nobles but he raised a hand and silence fell.

‘For one so young you display great wisdom Asgoleth. I fear that my nobles and I spoke in outrage at the insult done to Torr this night. I shall heed your words Warrior. We will bide our time and build up our forces as you have suggested and then, when the time is right, we shall march against Akon and put an end to the menace they pose once and for all. Again, Asgoleth, you have my thanks.’

Asgoleth nodded then turned and strode out of the throne room with the princess and her ladies following him.

Aractus watched him go and there was a shrewd smile on his face. He had seen the way Amira had looked at the young barbarian as she had told the tale of her adventure. He was realistic enough to know that if Amira decided to reward the warrior in her own way then she would be very discrete about it. She had ever been a strong willed and intelligent girl and one day those gifts would help her become a fine queen. She would marry a man he chose for her and she would live a life of duty to the throne. In the meantime though she would not be the first royal lady to take a secret lover and nor would she be the last. He watched them go and silently wished them well. Oh to be young again, he thought. Then he sighed and turned to face his nobles.

‘Come my lords, we have much to discuss.’

Later that night Asgoleth leapt swiftly to his feet, sword in hand, as a panel in the wall of his chamber slid quietly aside. A smiling girl looked boldly in at him and motioned him to follow her. She led him through hidden passages to another luxurious chamber then vanished as silently as she had come.

A soft rustle of silk behind him made him turn and there he saw Amira and he grinned in appreciation. Candlelight shone through the thin silken gown she wore, displaying the glorious feminine outline of her body. His eyes burned with desire and she hesitated as she saw what she had aroused in him.

He went to her and, with a gentleness that surprised and pleased her; he picked her up and carried her to the bed. She sought his lips with her own, whispering,

‘Show me then how a warrior of the north treats a woman, Asgoleth.’

Their bodies merged and the soft velvet darkness of the Torran night enfolded them, blotting out the sights and sounds of a great nation preparing for the death struggle with its ancient enemy.

CHAPTER FOUR

A cold wind, moaning like the spirits of the damned, blew down from the Agar Mountains and swirled around the ancient and solid walls of Fort Kronos. A young sentry pacing the ramparts felt that icy blast and shivered with something more than just the cold. He felt uneasy and restless but why, he did not know. Perhaps it was just fatigue that bore so heavily upon him.

He yawned and rubbed tired eyes, it had been a long, tedious watch but now the sun was rising. In less than an hour the guard would be changed and he would be able to crawl into his warm bunk in the barrack room. He drew his heavy military cloak closer about him and watched the sun rise over the plains.

Suddenly he stiffened, his weariness forgotten, as he spied a distant flash of light. He rushed forward and leaned on the stone battlements, his eyes searching the distance. There it was again, a brief, flickering flash of light and another and yet another. The rising sun was being reflected from the helmets and spear points of a host of soldiers as they approached the fort.

He could see them more clearly now as the light strengthened and his face went white. There were thousands of them. This was no mere feint to test the Torran defences as had been tried before, this was a full scale attack. He raised his horn to his lips and blew hard. Three long, brazen notes rang out in the morning air warning his comrades that the hated and feared Akonites were on the march once more.

Within moments of the call to arms, the defences were being manned. Warriors poured from the barracks