Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

couldn't look away. She was awesome and terrible, and wonderful beyond words. She stopped a few yards away, and held out her hands to Geordie, and in her smiling face there was all the love in the world.
    Geordie ran forward to join his mother at long last, and the bloodhound went with him. It looked back once for Jordan's approval, and he nodded quickly. The boy and the mother fell into each other's arms.
    The dog sat beside them, his head held proudly high. The silvery light faded away, and took the dead with it. Jordan raised a hand in farewell, ignoring the tears that trickled down his cheeks.
    'Goodbye, Geordie,' he said hoarsely. 'Goodbye hound. Rest easy, my friends.'
    He turned and made his way back down the hall, heading back into the light, where he belonged.
    When he emerged from the forgotten door, Gawaine and the Steward were there waiting for him. He nodded silently to the question in their eyes, and they both bowed their heads for a moment. Jordan put the torch back in its wall holder, and used the move to take out a handkerchief and mop the drying tears from his face. He turned round quickly as he heard approaching footsteps, and stuffed the handkerchief back in his sleeve. Count Roderik appeared round the corner, accompanied by a dozen of his personal guard. They were all hard professional fighting men, and Jordan knew without having to be told that their loyalty lay exclusively with Roderik, and not with Prince Viktor. Gawaine unobtrusively moved a step closer to Jordan, and let his hand rest casually on the axe at his side. Roderik stamped to a halt before them, glanced at the watching Steward, and bowed curtly to Jordan.
    'Pardon me for this intrusion, your highness, but it's impera-tive that you return to your quarters and consult with your advisors. A special meeting has been called at Court, and your presence there was specifically requested. We need to discuss this, Sire. If you will excuse us, Steward ..."
    Taggert bowed formally, and turned to the Prince. It was clear something was up between him and Roderik, but their quarrels were none of her business. Besides . . . Viktor could take care of himself. She bowed respectfully to the Prince. 'I'll see you at Court, your highness. And . . . thanks again.'
    Roderik watched silently until she'd disappeared round the corner, and then whirled angrily on Jordan. 'I don't know what you've been up to, Sire, and right now I don't care. Either you return with me immediately, or so help me I'll slap a geas on you and compel you to follow me!'
    'Temper, temper, Roderik,' murmured Jordan in the most infuriatingly polite voice he could manage. 'Not in front of the
    children. If you're in trouble of course I'll come back with you. Now what's this about my presence being required at Court?'
    Roderik glared at him, and Jordan could tell the Count had been hoping Jordan would give him an excuse to use the compulsion spell. Apparently being dragged backwards down a corridor by Jordan's guards hadn't gone down too well with Roderik. Jordan carefully kept the grin off his face. Roderik finally stepped to one side, and indicated the way he'd come with an angry gesture. Jordan smiled languidly, and strolled off that way as though he'd been intending to do so all along. Roderik walked stiffly at Jordan's side. Sir Gawaine followed close behind, and Roderik's personal guards brought up the rear.
    'A Testing is to take place at Court in an hour,' said Roderik eventually. 'A young noble has reached adult age, and by law and tradition he is required to prove his claim to Blood. He does "this by spilling some of his blood on the Stone, in front of witnesses. If his claim is genuine, the Stone will awaken the elemental magic within him, and he will be admitted into High Society.'
    'What if something goes wrong, and it turns out he doesn't have Blood after all?' said Jordan.
    'The Stone will kill him,' said Sir Gawaine.
    Roderik nodded. 'Our problem is that one, if not both, of your brothers believes you to be an imposter.
    They plan to demand you prove your identity by undergoing the Testing yourself. Failure to do so would of course be an admission that you are not really Prince Viktor.'
    'Tricky,' said Jordan.
    'We have just under an hour to come up with an answer,' said Count Roderik. 'For all our sakes.'
    They walked the rest of the way in silence, each busy with his own thoughts. Of them all, only Jordan wasn't thinking about the Testing. He'd already worked out a way