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out by a force he could not see.
    It happened so quickly that Duncan thought there must be a whole team of men orchestrating his bizarre rescue attempt. He cleared the eave and was set quietly onto the wooden shakes beside a man who seemed as large as a mountain. The rope attached to the chimney was wrapped tightly around one of his muscular arms, and his strong hand held tightly to the portion of rope Duncan was clinging to.
    Once Duncan had his balance, the man raised one finger to his lips, and they waited. Duncan heard Casimir at the window below them. After a few moments, he heard footsteps back into the room and the sound of a sword being sheathed.
    Duncan took a deep breath and looked up at his rescuer. The man’s arms were as big as Duncan’s thighs. His jaw was square, his blue eyes penetrating. He said nothing, just gestured with his head toward the place where Duncan had first climbed up.
    They moved quietly off the roof and back to the ground. The large fellow strode down the alley away from the Crown Inn. Duncan followed him until the man stopped.
    “Thank you,” Duncan said, not sure what to expect from this unusual ally. The man was a tower of muscle, and Duncan felt small next to him in more ways than one.
    “You know who Casimir is, then?” the man asked in a deep voice.
    “Yes,” Duncan said. “Who are you?”
    The man glared at him. “Tell Sir Kendrick that the battle to come is at Bel Lione.” Then he turned to leave.
    “What is your name, sir?” Duncan risked the question but expected no answer, and the man offered none. He just turned and disappeared into the night.
    Duncan took a few moments to recover from the intensity of the night’s events and then made his way back to their inn.
    “Bel Lione,” he whispered to himself.
    How was he going to explain any of this to his mentor?

A NEW DESTINY
    “You did what?” Kendrick stood paralyzed by anger, his horse half saddled, completely at a loss as to how to deal with the irrational, impetuous actions of his protégé.
    “What are you trying to do, Duncan?” He clenched his jaw, trying to stay calm. “Compromise our mission
and
get yourself killed?”
    Duncan lifted his chin. “I only did what was necessary to discover the truth about Sir Casimir. And I was successful. How is that being foolish?”
    “It was foolish because you did it alone!” Kendrick spoke more loudly than he’d intended. His horse danced away nervously, picking up on the tension, and Kendrick put out a calming hand. “Easy, there, Thunder.”
    Duncan’s countenance dropped, and Kendrick knew his words had hit their mark.
    “Duncan, our mission is the same and our efforts must be unified. If you want me to trust and rely on you, then you must not act on your own. Why didn’t you talk to me about your plan?”
    “I … I guess I thought you would object,” Duncan replied.
    “Your suspicions of my intent are not enough to risk your lifefor!” Kendrick took a deep breath. “Next time talk to me before you act.”
    Duncan looked down to the ground for a moment and then back to Kendrick. “I will. I give you my word.”
    Kendrick allowed his countenance to soften slightly. “Now … tell me what you learned.”
    “We were correct. Sir Casimir is indeed a Vincero Knight, for I held his medallion in my hand.” Duncan lifted his hand and gazed at the palm as though the silver disk still rested there. “I saw something else. On the back of the medallion was a word I didn’t recognize.
RA …
Do you know what it means?”
    Kendrick lifted his right hand to his chin. “No, I don’t. Perhaps it has something to do with the location where the man was trained.”
    “Maybe,” Duncan said. “But I don’t think so.”
    They both stood in silence as they contemplated Duncan’s discovery. Then Kendrick returned to saddling Thunder. “Are you certain Casimir doesn’t know you’ve discovered who he is?”
    Duncan didn’t reply. Kendrick turned slowly