McCloud studied him, rubbing his beard.
“But if I gain all the spoils and can rule it as I wish, what do you gain?”
Andronicus smiled.
“The Ring is the only kingdom on this planet that I do not control. And I do not like things that I cannot control.” Suddenly, his smiled turned into a grimace, and McCloud had a glimpse of his fierceness. “It sets a bad example for the other kingdoms.”
As the waves crashed all around them and the sun dipped lower, McCloud stood there, thinking. It was the answer he had expected. But he still didn’t have the answer to the question burning most in his mind.
“And how do I know I can trust you?” McCloud asked.
Andronicus smiled wide.
“You don’t,” he answered.
The honesty of his answer surprised McCloud, and, ironically, made him trust him even more.
“But we, too, don’t know if we can trust you,” he added. “After all, our armies will be vulnerable inside the Ring. You could seal off the Canyon once we were inside. You could ambush our men. We must trust each other.”
“But you have far more men than we do,” McCloud answered.
“But every life is precious,” Andronicus said.
Now McCloud knew that he was lying. Did he really expect him to believe that? Andronicus had millions of soldiers at his disposal, and McCloud had heard stories of his sacrificing entire armies, millions of men, to gain a small piece of ground, just to make a point. Would he do the same to betray McCloud? Would he let McCloud control the Ring, and then, one day, when he wasn’t expecting it, kill him, too?
McCloud thought it over. Before today, it had been a chance he’d be willing to take: after all, it would enable him to control the entire Ring, to oust the MacGils, and the way McCloud saw it, he could betray the Empire first, use their men to conquer the Ring, then re-activate the shield, and kill the Empire men stuck inside.
But after today, after hearing that MacGil was dead, that Gareth was the new king, McCloud felt differently. He might not need the Empire after all. If only he had received this message sooner, before he’d agreed to this meeting. But McCloud didn’t want to completely alienate the Empire either; they might come in useful, at some later date. He had to stall them, to buy time while he tried his new strategy.
He reached up and stroked his beard, pretending to consider the offer, as the waves crashed all around him and the sky turned purple.
“I am grateful for your offer, and I will consider it thoroughly.”
Andronicus suddenly stepped forward, so close that McCloud could smell his awful breath, as he scowled down. He wondered if he had offended him, and had an impulse to reach down for his sword. But he was too nervous to do so. He felt this man could tear him in two if he chose.
“Don’t think too long,” he seethed, all his humor gone. “I don’t like a man who needs time to think. And my offer will not stand long. If you do not let us in, we will find a way in. And if we find a way in our own, we will crush you. Keep that in mind as you consider the possibilities.”
McCloud glowered, reddening. No one ever spoke to him this way.
“Is that a threat?” McCloud asked. He wanted to sound confident, but despite himself, he found his voice shaking.
A deep, throaty sound rippled through Andronicus’ chest, then up through his throat. At first McCloud thought it was a cough—but then he realized it was a laugh.
“I never threaten,” he said down to McCloud. “You will come to learn that about me very, very well.”
CHAPTER TEN
Thor walked with his head down, downcast, kicking pebbles on the road. Krohn walked at his side and Ephistopheles circled somewhere high above, as he made his way slowly to the Legion barracks. Since the funeral, his encounter with Gwen, he felt deflated. The pain of watching MacGil being lowered into the earth took something out of him—as if a part of him sank into the earth with him. The king had taken him under his wing, had shown him kindness, had given him Ephistopheles, had been the only father figure he’d ever had. He felt as if he owed him something, that it had been his responsibility to save him, and somehow, he had failed. As the bells had tolled, Thor felt as if they tolled the announcement of his failure.
Then there was his encounter with Gwen. She hated him now, that much was obvious. Nothing he could say would change her mind. Even worse, her true thoughts came out today: she felt he was beneath her. A commoner. It seemed Alton had been right all the while. The thought of it crushed him. First he had lost the king; then he had lost the girl he had grown to love.
As he walked back towards the Legion, he realized it was the one thing left that he could cling to here. He cared not for his village, or his father, or his brothers. Without the Legion and Reese—and Krohn—he did not know what he would have left.
Krohn yelped and Thor looked up and saw the barracks before him. The king’s banner flew at half mast, and he could already see dozens of boys sulking, and could tell the mood was somber. It was a day of mourning here. The king, their leader, had been murdered, and worse, no one knew who did it, or why. There also seemed to be an air of expectancy. Would the armies be disbanded? The Legion with it?
Thor saw the wary looks of the boys as he walked through the large, arched stone gate. They were stopping and staring at him. He wondered what they thought of him. Just the night before he’d been thrown into the dungeon, and Thor was sure that the rumor had spread that he had something to do with poisoning the king. Did these boys know that he was vindicated? Did they still suspect him? Or did they think he was a hero for trying to save him?
From their looks, he could not tell. But he did know that the tension in the air was thick, and he could tell that he clearly had been a subject of conversation.
As Thor entered the large wooden structure of the barracks, he noticed dozens of boys stuffing their clothes and various objects into canvas sacks. It looked, oddly, as if the Legion were packing up. Was it disbanding? he wondered, in a sudden panic.
“There you are,” came a voice he recognized.
He turned to see O’Connor standing there, smiling in his typical good-natured way, his bright red hair and freckles framing his face. He reached out and clasped Thor’s forearm.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in days. Are you okay? I heard you were thrown in the clink. What happened?”
“Hey look, it’s Thor!” yelled a voice.