Prologue #2
“My father seems to think he wants a larger castle, like Pelinom,” Julian said. “It would be a trophy. What a boast it would be for John to tell all of England that he captured The Dark Lord’s castle.”
Ashton grinned, suggesting such a thing was not possible.
“I do not think he would like The Dark Lord’s reaction to having his castle taken,” he said.
“He and his mercenaries might very well find themselves speared on poles and propped up like Christians at a crucifixion. In fact, here comes that terrifying man in the flesh.”
He was looking over Julian’s shoulder, nodding his head in that direction.
Julian turned to see his father approaching from the stables, an enormous knight with a head of shoulder-length dark hair that was dusted heavily with gray these days.
He was in full protection, the same protection he’d worn all of these years – heavy mail coat, hauberk, steel braces on his forearms and shins, and the de Velt boar tunic.
When he caught sight of Julian and Ashton, he headed in their direction.
“I’ve had the thatching from the stables’ roof removed,” he said, fussing with the fasten of a glove that had come loose.
“In fact, I’ve had all of the thatching and hay put into the niches in the outer wall to protect them in case we have any more flaming projectiles or men tossed over the wall at us. ”
Julian couldn’t quite see the stables from where he stood, but he craned his neck to get a peek at what his father was talking about. “I could have done that,” he said. “You should not have to bother.”
“It was no bother.”
Julian cocked a dark blond eyebrow. “This is how the chain of command works, Papa,” he said seriously. “You command and I obey. Give me an order and I shall do it. You do not need to handle menial tasks like that. This is why you have a thousand men at your disposal.”
Jax chuckled as he looked at his middle son. Julian had his handsome features, but his blond coloring was purely his mother’s. “Is that why I have you?” he quipped. “Truly, Julian, I had no idea.”
Julian’s grin returned, now at his father. “At least let us earn our pay, Papa,” he said. “Otherwise, we will all grow fat and lazy like John and his mercenaries.”
Jax snorted, eyeing the battlements where the men were stationed.
“I would not discount John and his mercenaries too easily,” he said.
“You are speaking of a Plantagenet, a man who fought against his father and brothers, at any given time, from a very young age. John may be many things but, in battle, he is no fool. Do not underestimate him.”
Julian found himself looking at the battlements also. “He has had two days to breach our walls,” he said. “Two days of attempts. The best he could do was try to sling men over the walls. I think that is a sign of his desperation.”
“Or his genius,” Jax said, looking at him. “The worst thing you can do in battle is underestimate any opponent, Julian. Do not let your confidence be your downfall.”
Julian smiled weakly, averting his gaze. “No one could ever accuse me of that,” he said. “I do not profess to have your experience, but I am not a novice.”
“Nay, you are not, but you must listen to me when I tell you not to misjudge the king.”
“My lord!” Men were shouting at Jax from the battlements. “A party approaches the drawbridge!”
That was a distinct surprise. Curiously, Jax and Julian and Ashton made their way to the enormous gatehouse of Pelinom, the one structure that was truly standing between them and annihilation.
The gatehouse had two iron portcullises, which utterly demoralized any army attempting to breach it.
Not only did they have to get through one, but they had to get through a second one to make headway into the bailey.
In fact, Jax acquired Pelinom in a siege thirty years earlier and there had only been one portcullis at the time, one he had been able to destroy.
He was the one who added the second portcullis for just that reason.
As he stood there with his son and knight, watching through both grates as the sun began to rise, they could see a small party of riders approaching.
Tension was immediately in the air.
The drawbridge had been burned away the first day of the siege because the mechanism raising it had jammed and they’d been unable to lift it.
Therefore, Jax had ordered it doused with oil and burned, and it had mostly burned away.
Chunks of it still smoldered, filling his vision, as he watched the party approach the moat but stop just shy of it.
He found it interesting that they were in the range of his archers, making him doubly curious about their purpose.
“I come on behalf of the king!” someone shouted in a heavy accent. “We seek Ajax de Velt!”
Jax’s eyes narrowed as he realized it wasn’t a native Englishman speaking. Undoubtedly, it was a mercenary.
“I have no need to hear anything from you or the king,” he said.
“However, you will listen to me and listen well. I have over a thousand men in this castle who are begging to rush forth and put your entire army on poles and leave you to die. You know my reputation and you know this is not an idle threat, so I suggest you depart today or face my wrath.”
The men on horseback weren’t quite sure what to say to that until one of them, shoved back behind the group, suddenly dismounted and stepped forward.
Dressed in expensive protection, he was also dressed quite finely.
Too finely for a knight. He removed his helm, revealing dark, dirty hair and a droopy eye.
It took Jax a moment to recognize the man.
He was looking at John, King of England.
“De Velt,” John said, sounding hoarse and weary. “Surely our engagement will not come to such bloodshed. It does not need to.”
Jax wasn’t about to show any measure of respect to a man he deeply resented. There were years of hatred there, stoked by none other than John himself.
“Your father and I had an agreement,” he said. “You and I also had an agreement early in your reign. What has happened to this bargain, John? Why attack Pelinom? You know this will not end well for you.”
John, seeing Jax through the big iron fangs, grinned.
“Jax, my old friend,” he said affectionately.
At least, it sounded like affection. “I always thought William Marshal and his Executioner Knights were the most necessary evil in my kingdom but I think you surpass even them. You are the most fearsome warlord in all of England, but you are not an unreasonable man. Surely we can come to an agreement. We have always been able to talk, you and I.”
Jax wasn’t falling for his mild-sounding words. “If you had anything to say, you would have done it prior to attacking my home,” he said. “After two days of being unable to breach the walls of Pelinom, now you wish to converse? Truly, I have nothing to say to you.”
John wasn’t going to back down. “Join me and I shall gift you Berwick permanently,” he said, moving directly to the point. “I will also gift you with Carlisle. You shall become the Earl of Carlisle and rule the north. Is this not appealing to you?”
Jax didn’t even hesitate; he shook his head. “It means nothing,” he said. “I have my home and my holdings. I do not want an earldom.”
“But I need your help.”
“You have the help of about fifteen hundred mercenaries. You do not need me.”
“You are not being fair.”
Jax sighed heavily. “We danced a similar dance a few years ago when you tried to take Berwick with the help of the Princes of the Isles,” he said.
“You tried to bring the Northmen into northern England to control your warlords and it did not work. We chased you out then and we shall chase you out now. You cannot have Pelinom and you cannot have me, so take your army and leave before I grow annoyed enough to open these gates and charge your army. I will not fight them – I will destroy them the way I have always destroyed armies. I have never put a king to the pole before but for you, I will make an exception.”
John tried not to let his apprehension show because he knew the man was serious. Jax de Velt never said anything he didn’t mean.
“I think The Marshal will have something to say about that,” he said after a moment. “He may not love me, but he is sworn to me. For now.”
“It does not matter.”
“You would go against your ally?”
“I will defend what is mine and eliminate the threat. You are the threat.”
The king could see that Jax would not be swayed. Not that he had expected he would be, but he had been hoping to intimidate or coerce de Velt enough for the man to want to compromise. He knew now that it had been a stupid hope because Jax de Velt had never compromised in his life.
They were at an impasse.
“Very well,” John said, turning for his horse. “You only have yourself to blame for what happens next.”
“The same could be said for you.”
Annoyed, John was finished being polite. He leapt onto his horse and roughly turned the animal around, galloping back towards his encampment with his entourage.
Jax watched him fade from view.
“Reinforce the walls,” he muttered to Julian and Ashton. “Inform Tristan of what has happened and reinforce the postern gate. That’s the only…”
“Attack!”
The shout came from the kitchens, where the postern gate was. Men started to rush in that direction but Julian and Ashton stopped them, ordering them to hold their posts. Jax began to run towards the kitchen yard with Julian and Ashton on his heels.
“Damn,” he hissed. “A ruse. That whole conversation was a ruse while they made their way to the postern gate. Get the men to their posts – everyone on the walls. Go!”