The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight by Donald Allen Kirch Page A

Both he and Ka-Ron took chairs in front of Darnak's desk.
    "Kai is nothing if not complete."
    "She is evil," Ka-Ron added.
    "No, dear knight." Darnak assured. "Just grieving."
    "How can you call what she has done to my master innocent?" Jatel asked, his face starting to redden by the sheer anguish he projected. "She has taken away the only anchor of this man's&this woman's life."
    "And she has provided you with yours."
    Both Ka-Ron and Jatel paused.
    "Come again?" the squire asked.
    "Revenge must have been at the heart of what Kai demanded," the cleric paused, looking at Ka-Ron. "You were wrongly blamed for the death of Kai's daughter. In the order, we speak with the gods, and we know the truth. I was not involved in the meetings, but we tried to convince Kai otherwise. But there was no counsel strong enough for her pain."
    "Then, the temple was aware of&" Ka-Ron had started to say.
    Darnak held up a hand in interruption.
    "Oh, yes. A monk would have been sent to you in the morrow, as a warning to your safety. Sadly, Kai was swift in her actions."
    "And quite cruel." Ka-Ron added. "How am I to protect Idoshia should the Xows decide to attack us once more?
    Darnak gave the question some thought. In finding no answer, the cleric shook his head to the negative. "I do not know the answer to that, my child."
    "We need to find Kai," Jatel grumbled.
    "My son, Kai has done you a favor. While punishing Ka-Ron, here, she used her curse to serve you."
    "In what manner of perverseness is this?" Jatel raged.
    "She has provided you with a lifemate."
    Jatel reached for his hair, remembering the woman from the barn. Before his master's transformation, Kai had taken a strand of his hair. The squire remembered confessing his loneliness to the Wicca Master.
    "Oh, no!" Jatel whispered.
    "Yes, of course." Darnak responded, shaking his head with fatherly understanding. "Still, you should not blame yourself, so. A Wicca Master must, by her very nature, help in the course of her actions. When you confessed of things most private to her, you opened the doorway to her plans. It could have been done no other way."
    Jatel looked down at his master's gentle hand, still resting in his own. He found his gaze in Ka-Ron's direction soothing, happy, and everything he had ever wanted out of life. He found the strength to look up, expecting to see rage and blame glaring towards him, but all he saw was love.
    "I do love you, Ka-Ron." Jatel confessed. This time, he was the one whose body shook.
    "And I love you, Jatel." Ka-Ron caught herself in the middle of a schoolgirl's giggle. "I want you more and more."
    "And, so, is the nature of the spell." Darnak was pleased to see that both were starting to understand the arena they had entered. "Understanding the spell is half the battle, after all."
    "Where is Kai?" the squire inquired.
    "She is not in Idoshia."
    "That much is certain, or I and my master would have encountered her by now."
    Darnak let out a tired huff. "It is too bad that you do not see the honor Kai has bestowed upon you, Ka-Ron. I do not know where Kai has retreated. However, during this time of the year, she usually goes to The Fire Mountains, across the Seas of Tyme, on the other side of the Nown World."
    "The Fire Mountains?" Ka-Ron's voice sounded strained from fatigue.
    "That is the least of your worries, brave knight." the cleric explained. "You will be forced to do things you would not normally do. And, I am sure; Kai will intervene every now and then, contacting you and making your suffering greater by degrees."
    "Has she not done enough damage?" Jatel's voice matched that of his master's.
    Ka-Ron rose to her feet. She tightened her free hand, turning it into a fist.
    "We thank you for your information on this matter, Head Cleric."
    "I thank you for your&offering, dear child."
    Darnak rose to his feet, opening the door.
    Ka-Ron took Jatel's other free hand. She kissed the man on the cheek.
    "Master?"
    "I am sorry for your pain, Jatel."
    Jatel