Crystal Servants

By John M. Olsen

A Riland Throne Short Story:

Adrian, a spy for the King, sees a nobleman murder a servant. His desire for truth is pitted against the dangers of a high-stakes political game. When his friend Draken insists on pursuing the king's justice to punish the nobleman, Adrian must protect those he cares about as the political games of powerful men alter the lives of everyone around him.

When justice and friendship collide, there may be no winners.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John M. Olsen
• Release date: Oct 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370549610

John M. Olsen

John M Olsen reads and writes fantasy, science-fiction, steampunk, and horror as the mood strikes, and his short fiction is part of several anthologies. He devoured his father’s library in his teen years and has since inherited that formidable collection and merged it with his own growing library in order to pass a love of learning on to the next generation.He loves to create things, whether writing novels or short stories or working in his secret lair equipped with dangerous power tools. In either case, he applies engineering principles and processes to the task at hand, often in unpredictable ways.He lives near the Oquirrh Mountains in Utah with his lovely wife and a variable number of mostly grown children and a constantly changing subset of extended family.Strap on some goggles and see all his ramblings on his blog.

Book preview

Crystal Servants

A Riland Throne Short Story

John M. Olsen

Copyright © 2017-2023 by John M. Olsen

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

2nd edition.

Contents

1. Crystal Servants

Afterword

Other Works

About the Author

Crystal Servants

A Riland Throne Short Story

The rumors around the castle described Adrian Albin as a ghost. As one of the king’s spies, Adrian didn’t mind, since he’d spent years learning to be where people weren’t looking. Besides, it opened a whole world of pranks to him that others could never manage.

He sauntered along the cobblestone street beside Draken, the king’s newest weapons trainer. Neither of them fit the mold society expected as servants of the king, and they had become fast friends. The smell of recent rain hung in the evening air as Draken’s ebony complexion and cropped black hair made him all but invisible against the unlit street. His short leather cloak dyed to a dark mottled brown completed the effect.Adrian glanced forward to his trip line, tied off to a loose stone on the corner of the building they walked beside. The timing had to be perfect to spring the special trap on Draken.

From the alley between buildings came a yell of surprise that abruptly cut off, leaving the night quiet. Adrian held an arm out to stop Draken as they reached the corner, then held a finger to his lips. The shadows beckoned to him as he crept into the dark for a better look.

Adrian could take out a thug or a robber without breaking a sweat, but the scene within the alley stopped him cold.

There stood Kallen Lightmore, the nephew of a powerful baron, standing over a man sprawled on the ground. A thumb-sized crystal hung from Lightmore’s neck on a chain, a symbol of both his wealth and power. He was a dangerous man to cross. Only nobles and the army used such magic crystals to control war animals for the king.

Thank you for the information, but I no longer need your services. Lightmore drew a slim dagger and plunged it downward in a