Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

you offering me this sword, and not Rupert?'
    'He didn't want it,' said Harald.
    'Why not?'
    Harald smiled slightly. 'Perhaps he was afraid of its power.'
    'Perhaps,' said Julia, 'he had reason to be.'
    The King shifted uncomfortably as Julia turned her searching gaze on him. 'We did offer him the blade, Julia, but he refused to take it. He said ... he said he didn't trust magic swords any more. Do you understand what he meant by that?'
    Julia frowned, and worried her lower lip between her teeth. 'No,' she said finally. 'I don't.' She hefted Wolfsbane in her hand, and made as though to draw it. Harald and the King both sucked in a breath, and stepped back a pace.
    'I wouldn't,' said King John quickly. 'You might unleash the sword's attribute.'
    Julia studied the sheathed sword, and frowned thoughtfully. 'Three Infernal Devices, each with a different attribute. I remember the stories my father told me, when I was very young. Of three magic swords, and the evil and destruction they caused before they could be brought under control. Rockbreaker.
    Flarebright. Wolfsbane. I never thought I'd hold a legend in my hand. What is Wolfsbane's attribute ?
    What does it do?'
    'We're not actually sure,' said the King. 'It's been so long since anyone dared draw any of the blades ...'
    'Great,' said Julia. 'Just great. All right, what do you know about the Infernal Devices?'
    'They like blood,' said Harald quietly. 'And they love to kill.'
    Julia looked at him sharply. There had been something in Harald's voice . . . something that might have been fear, or loathing ...
    'But why me?' she said suddenly. 'All right, Rupert wouldn't take the sword, but why does it have to be me? Why not the Champion, or the Astrologer, or . . .'
    'You're of Royal blood,' said the King.
    Julia smiled wryly. 'Of course. A sword like this could make any man a King, and there's no one else you can trust with that kind of power.'
    'That's right,' said the King. 'No one, but you.'
    'And I'll bet that sticks in your craw something fierce,' said Julia. 'A woman with a sword, what is the world coming to? All right, I'll use Wolfsbane. But only if I have to. I don't trust magic swords either.'
    She slung the scabbarded sword over her left shoulder, and buckled it securely into place. Harald moved forward as though to help, but stopped short when Julia fixed him with a scornful eye.
    'Has either of you seen Rupert around?' she asked, her voice carefully casual.
    'I've no doubt he's here somewhere,' said the King. 'But I haven't seen him since Darius died.'
    'Yeah, right,' said Julia. 'I heard about that. Good to know Darius finally got what was coming to him.'
    'Quite,' said Harald. 'I haven't seen Rupert at all, but then, he hasn't had much to say to me since I told him he was still going to be best man at your wedding to me.'
    Julia looked at him, and then at the King. 'You can't leave him alone, can you? Even now, you can't leave him any peace, or hope of peace. You're beneath contempt, both of you. Get out of my sight.'
    'Julia ...' said the King.
    'Get away from me, damn your eyes!'
    King John bowed stiffly to her, and turned and walked away. Harald opened his mouth to say something. Julia rested her hand on the pommel of her sword. Harald smiled politely, and followed his father into the crowd. Julia watched him go, and was surprised to find herself shaking with the strength of her emotions. She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the freezing courtyard air, and slowly some of her calm came back to her. Rupert, my dear. . . what are we going to do? She shook her head slowly, and then started as a long, leather-wrapped swordhilt suddenly appeared at the corner of her eye. Julia scowled, and looked away. Wolfsbane was a solid, uncomfortable presence at her back, for all its lightness, and she wasn't at all sure she'd done the right thing in accepting it. She felt happier with the blade she knew, hanging in its usual place at her left hip; the sword Rupert had given her, long ago, in a Darkwood clearing when all had seemed lost . . .
    Julia looked around the packed, milling courtyard. Wherever you are, Rupert, watch your back . She sighed tiredly, once, and then strode off into the crowd, heading for where her troop of women were waiting for her. And the Infernal Device on her back seemed to grow a little heavier with every step.

    Rupert stood in the shadows of the stable doors, watching Julia drill her troop of women. Swords and spears and hand-axes