The Monster War: A Tale of the Kings' Blades Read Free Page B

detected something suspicious in the royal laundry. We burned the whole lot of it. Another smelled sorcery in the stables and tracked it to the King’s favorite saddle. So you see that the evil extends right inside Greymere Palace.”
    For a moment, Bandit looked old and worried. Then he smiled and was young again. “Don’t worry—Ambrose knows how you use a sword and he does want you in his Guard. Of course in normal times you’d have a dozen seniors still ahead of you, so you may not be quite as blazing good as you think you are. No matter, you are very good. The trouble is this absurd rule about taking men in order of seniority. There are good men coming along behind you, men like Badger and Marlon. I need those men. Forgive me, but I just can’t see you in a Guard uniform yet.”
    Sigh ! again. “I’d look about fourteen, wouldn’t I?” Courtiers would make jokes about make-believe and children’s pageants.
    Bandit shrugged.
    “Twelve?”
    The Commander laughed, but not unkindly. “Not quite that bad! I’m glad you understand. Six months ought to do it. In the meantime I’ve got another job that you can do for the King, an important job. A risky job. He’s given me authority to swear you into the Guard without binding you. Are you willing to serve?”
    But the rules said…Stalwart realized that he was standing there like a lummox with his mouth open. “ Yes, sir !”
    “Are you certain?” Bandit asked quietly. “This is where I need that brave-and-reliable Stalwart. It will be dangerous. A Blade never needs to worry about courage, because his binding makes him brave.” His eyes seemed to go out of focus. “On the Night of Dogs…some of those monsters were big as horses. They climbed three stories up the outside of the palace and came in the windows at us. They chewed through steel bars. They fought until they were hacked to pieces— and so did the Blades ! I saw men with an arm bitten off pick up their swords in their other hand and go on fighting. A Blade defending his ward is more than human.” He blinked and came back to the present. “I hope you won’t have to face anything so bad, but you won’t have that motivation.”
    Stalwart had been shown some of the gigantic teeth that Blades had kept as souvenirs. He shivered. “No, sir.”
    “And here’s another secret. Some of the knights…well, let’s just say they did not live up to the traditions of the Order. Not being bound any longer, they had to rely on raw human courage, and one or two of them didn’t quite measure up.”
    Blades running away ? Stalwart was speechless.
    “That night was just the start of it,” Bandit said. “There have been other horrors since. Twenty-four Blades have died so far—eight knights and sixteen companions. A score have been badly injured, and I’ve lost count of civilian casualties. We’re not calling this the Monster War for nothing. Are you stalwart enough, Candidate Stalwart? Can you take on a dangerous job without being bound?”
    He hadn’t yet said what the job was. Apparently the planning had been going on for months and the King himself had authorized it. It must be important. Stalwart’s heart thundered in his throat.
    “I’ll try my best, sir.”
    “I can’t ask for more. Come with me.”

Coward
     
    B ANDIT LED THE WAY DOWNSTAIRS, UPSTAIRS, through the maze of corridors. First House was the oldest building in Ironhall, much of it dating back centuries. Now Stalwart had time to have some second thoughts—and a few third thoughts, too. What exactly had he been flattered into accepting? Was it necessarily better than being assigned to guard the Lord High Admiral or the Master of the King’s Chicken Farms? That was what happened to the dregs; only the best were allowed into the Guard.
    So he looked too young to appear in Blade livery—why did that stop his being bound with the others? They could take him to court and dress him like a page if they wanted. What he was being offered