“He is, my lord,” the soldier said. “And he has one of the sons of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester with him. A de Lohr.”
That doubly surprised Creston. He set the board down and went to the door. “Where are they?” he asked.
“I kept them at the gatehouse,” the soldier said. “Will you come?”
“Absolutely,” Creston said. Then he called back to Ophelia, “Sweetheart, I have been summoned to the gatehouse. I’ll return shortly.”
She acknowledged him, muffled, and he stepped through the door with Cruz behind him. As the panel shut, they headed toward the gatehouse, following the old soldier. Night had descended, and the evening was crisp. Not exactly cold, but damp and chilly with a full moon overhead. Torches lit the trainers’ village, and as they passed through it, there were also torches along the path that led from the village to the gatehouse. There was an entire watch at Blackchurch that was responsible for keeping the torches lit and keeping an eye on the village overnight. Creston and Cruz passed two of the watchmen on their way to the gatehouse, which was lit up in the distance.
They closed the distance in short order.
Just as the soldier had said, Brenton de Royans was waiting for Creston in the guard room of the gatehouse. Creston took one look at his cousin and greeted him joyfully.
“My God,” he said, giving his cousin a warm hug. “It has been ages since I last saw you, Brenton. What in the hell are you doing here?”
Brenton patted Creston on the face, but it was more like a slap. He beamed at him. “Traveling home from some business and I thought I would see to my favorite cousin,” he said. Then he stepped back and indicated the big blond man behind him. “My good friend and associate, Myles de Lohr. His father is Hereford.”
Creston greeted Myles cordially. “Welcome to Blackchurch,” he said. “I’m not entirely sure a de Lohr has ever set food on these grounds, so this is quite an occasion.”
Myles smiled politely. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to visit, so when Brenton said he was coming, I came along. I hope that is not too bold.”
“Not at all,” Creston said. He indicated Cruz, next to him. “This is Cruz Mediana de Aragón. He is a prince of his people, so you must show him due respect or all of Aragon will come down on us all.”
He was grinning as he said it, indicating a joke, and Brenton and Myles smiled as well. They greeted Cruz amiably with nods.
“You are a trainer like my cousin?” Brenton asked.
Cruz nodded. “I have been here nearly as long as Cres,” he said. “We often train recruits together.”
“Remarkable,” Brenton said, looking between Creston and Cruz. “It is impressive enough to see one Blackchurch trainer, but now I have met two. I am truly honored.”
Creston began heading out of the guard room. “Come,” he said. “Let us return to my cottage, and you can meet my wife. We have much to catch up on. How is Uncle Juston?”
They followed Creston out into the crisp night, beginning their walk down the path of torches toward the village.
“He is well, considering his age,” Brenton said.
“How old is he now?”
“Papa has seen seventy years and six,” Brenton said. “Truly astonishing.”
“And he’s still healthy?”
“Still,” Brenton said. “He can take me down in a sword fight should he so choose.”
Creston grinned. “He is the consummate knight,” he said. “My father was a good knight, but he never managed to achieve Uncle Juston’s level of talent.”
Brenton shrugged. “We all have our own levels of talent.”
“You and I have done fairly well for ourselves.”
Brenton snorted. “That may be true, but I do not have the skill to teach at Blackchurch,” he said. “However, I have the skill to make an excellent agent.”
“Agent?” Cruz said. He was walking behind the cousins with Myles. “What kind of agent?”
“Marshal agents,” Brenton said, glancing at Cruz. “At least, William Marshal formed the group many years ago with the help of Christopher de Lohr, so they are formally known as Marshal agents. Spies, killers, assassins… we do it all. Most people call us the Executioner Knights.”
Cruz’s eyebrows lifted in astonishment. “Cres, you never told me that you had an Executioner Knight for a cousin,” he said, but his focus returned to Brenton. “That is an astonishing accomplishment.”
