Free In The Shadow Of The Beast by Harlan H Howard Page B

madness.
    Sigourd had always thought such tales to be
utter nonsense, the superstitious ramblings of some stupefied
village shaman, superstitions that had been given far too much
credence through the passage of time.
    ‘ Why would a guardsman in
the house of my uncle find himself wandering so far afield?’ asked
Sigourd.
    The old maid shrugged, ‘I cannot say lord.
It was never my place to learn such things.’
    Something about this whole scenario tugged
at Sigourd in a most insistent way. He couldn’t help but feel that
conspiracies drawn up before he’d even been conceived were now
resurfacing. Their great import as yet to be revealed, but their
looming presence felt nonetheless, like darkened storm clouds
pregnant with the threat of a torrential downpour.
    Sigourd could not understand why he’d never
heard these tales from his mother nor anyone else for that matter,
a fact which troubled him more deeply than he would have cared to
admit.
    The maid pulled her wool shawl about her as
if to ward off a chill, despite the ample warmth coming from an
open fireplace near the center of the room, ‘I have nothing more I
can tell you, lord. I must go now.’
    She stood and made to leave, but stopped
short at the doorway. Hesitating there for a few moments she turned
back to Sigourd, that fear still in her eyes.
    ‘ It always seemed to me
Beth was more afraid of what might happen if she ever spoke of what
she saw that night than any creature that might have entered The
Baron’s residence. And then she died so suddenly...’ the maid
didn’t finish the sentence, instead turning quickly and
disappearing from the chamber as fear overcame her.
    Sigourd’s mind raced, his thoughts churning
with confusion at the import of what the old maid had told him.
There suddenly seemed to be much that had been kept secret from
him, and he wondered just exactly who was keeping these secrets,
and how much of it was tied to Isolde’s kidnapping.
    He was torn between the loyalty he felt for
his father and his realm in a time of crisis, and the love he had
for a woman whose life could very well depend on his actions.
    There was so much to consider, he felt that
the pressure of these events might crush him like an insect. His
body ached, his head throbbed unrelentingly and he lay back on his
bed to allow himself a moments ease while he considered his
options. Before long exhaustion claimed Sigourd once more, and he
fell into a deep sleep.
    Hours later, he rose from his bed, swinging
his feet over the side he sat there for a few moments contemplating
the cold tiles on his bare feet, the simplicity of the
sensation.
    Oh to be filled with innocent wonder once
more. To be troubled with only the trivial concerns of a young man
free of the cares of the world at large. But he was no longer
innocent. Sigourd had experienced a brutal lesson in the matters of
life beyond the safety of his sheltered upbringing.
    Such thoughts Sigourd was having when a
twinkling caught his attention.
    Lying there on the tabletop where he had
left it before the explosion had razed part of the castle to the
ground, the ornate vambrace that Cal had gifted him.
    Sigourd crossed the room and took up the
artifact, turning it over in his hands it was as if a shadow passed
over him, darkening his mood still further.
    Cal had been Sigourd’s mentor since the time
he could walk, guiding him toward a nobler path with a reassuring
twinkle in his eye. But more than a mentor, Cal had been a true and
trusted friend, someone that Sigourd had ever relied upon in times
of need.
    Cal’s words came to him now, as he looked
down at the vambrace; ‘Responsibility is a funny thing. Although it
may seem a tall task it has the possibility to develop the best in
us all’.
    None knew better than Cal how Sigourd had
railed against his formal obligations to the state. Oh the young
lord was dedicated enough to the people of Atos in his own way, but
the reality of one day taking leadership had always