A March of Kings - By Morgan Rice Page 0,29

for this blade in my hands.”

Kendrick took a step forward, and Alton suddenly turned and ran out the door.

Kendrick, smiling, re-sheathed his sword and turned to Thor.

Thor was overwhelmed with gratitude, and he felt indebted to Kendrick, once again.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Thor said.

Kendrick took a step forward and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“You already have. Just seeing the look on that pip’s face actually made my day.”

Kendrick laughed and Thor laughed, too. Then Kendrick looked at him with all seriousness.

“My father did not take people under his wing lightly. He saw something great in you. I see it, too. You will make us proud. Go to The Hundred and excel. Go and become the warrior that I know you will be.”

*

Thor walked in the summer fields outside the Legion’s compound, Krohn beside him, late in the day, the second sun dropping, filling the sky with spectacular pinks and oranges and purples. Krohn whined in delight as Thor led him deeper and deeper into the fields, giving him a chance to run, to play, to chase animals and to catch his dinner. Krohn carried an Ursutuay in his mouth now, a strange creature about the size of a rabbit, with purple fur and three heads, which he had proudly caught but minutes before.

Krohn was getting bigger and bigger before his eyes, now nearly twice the size from when he’d found him, and he was getting more of a desire to run and move about. Krohn was also becoming more playful, and he demanded that Thor take him farther and farther, and run with him. If Thor didn’t run with him as much as he wanted, Krohn would nip playfully at Thor’s ankles, and not let him alone until Thor chased him. Then, Krohn would take off with a delighted squeal, until Thor got tired of chasing him.

As the day had grown long, Thor had wanted a break from the barracks, from all the frantic preparations. He was all packed now, as was everybody else, and it felt as if they were counting down the hours until they left the Ring. Thor didn’t know exactly when they were leaving, but he was told it would be within the next day or two. The mood in the barracks was tense and edgy, filled with anxiety for the trip to come and mourning for the king. It was like a time of great change had swept through them suddenly.

Thor wanted one last chance to be alone before the trip, to clear his head, still swimming with the death of the king, and with his encounter with Gwendolyn. His mind drifted to thoughts of Erec, of where he must be now. Would he ever return? He thought of how temporary life could be: everything seemed so permanent, but it rarely was. It made him feel more alive, and less alive, at the same time.

“Nothing is as it seems,” came a voice.

Thor wheeled, and was shocked to see Argon, standing there, dressed in his scarlet robe, holding a staff and looking out to the distant horizon, into the vast expanse of the open sky. Thor, as always, wondered how Argon had appeared here so suddenly. Thor looked at him, and felt both a sense of dread and excitement.

“I was searching for you, after the funeral,” Thor said. “There are so many questions I have for you. Even before the death. But I could not find you.”

“I do not always wish to be found,” Argon said. His eyes were shining, a light blue.

Thor stared at him, wondering how much Argon was seeing right now. Did he see the future? Would he tell him if he did?

“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Thor said, “for The Hundred.”

“I know,” Argon answered.

“Will I return?” Thor asked, dying to know.

Argon looked away.

“Will I still be in the Legion? Will I pass the test? Become a great warrior?”

Argon stared back, expressionless.

“Many questions,” he said, and turned and looked away. Thor realized he was not going to respond to any of them.

“If I told you your future, it might affect it,” Argon added. “Every choice you make, that is what creates it.”

“But I saw MacGil’s future,” Thor said. “In that dream. I saw that he was going to die. And yet I tried to help and it did no good. What was the point of my seeing it? What was the point of all that? I wish I’d never known.”

“Don’t you?” Argon asked. “But your knowing affected destiny. He was meant