“We found out that there was truth to their claim about the two Sages. But they are not who we thought. When the ether was dispelled, it released the evil souls as well as the good. Thorn had claimed that the Dark One had been subdued, but we had no evidence that was true. We now know that although most of those evil souls had become one with Oblivion, not all have. By a process that the court has not yet concluded on, Lakrymos, and a Sage named Orchid, has returned.
The murmurs increased in volume at the mention of Lakrymos’ name. There was not one person in Allay who didn’t know the story of his heroics, and his great sacrifice for the people.
“He is not who we think,” Catherine said quickly. “He has killed seven young Sages, and he has made a demand. He wants to rule Allay—in order to transform this Kingdom into a military. To combat an enemy that we don’t even know exists. He claims—“
“You make him sound like a villain!” someone shouted from the crowd. Catherine put another hand up in the air, but the crowd was already wanting more.
“How do we know what really happened?” Val shouted. “He could have killed those Sages because James attacked first!”
“Or worse,” Seeker replied from the side. The crowd hushed upon the shout of his voice. “It could be a cover up. Even now, there is a Sage among you. A boy. He attacked the Order Master’s son and nearly killed him. He destroyed Mason’s eidolon, and the Queen pardoned him.” The villagers talked excitedly among each other, searching for the boy Seeker spoke of. Bastion grit his teeth and made no move to draw attention to himself. Seeker turned to address the Queen.
“You are standing there, telling us that the great Lakrymos has returned. He has come not for personal glory or gain, but to train us to become stronger, and you are in disagreement? If this enemy he speaks of is real, and we cast him from our presence, what happens when we are attacked? Do we just rely on the strength of your battered James, and the rest of his young and unexperienced students? Do we trust in the strength of a potential murderer? What exactly is your problem with Lakrymos’ message?”
“He was one of the evil souls that—“
“—and there is not even proof of that!” Seeker exclaimed. “We have many eye witnesses who saw their loved ones before they headed to Paradise. Is it so far-fetched that the powerful Lakrymos stayed behind to save the people he loved, instead of watching us be slaughtered like we almost were with Thorn? And that was just one man!”
“Even if he is good,” Catherine said, clenching her fists. Her face began to turn red. “He wants to take the Kingdom. He wants to turn it into something that it’s not.”
“Who are you to say what Allay should be? Your vision is that of peace, which I respect, as long as our enemies and neighbors believe in the same. But if what our esteemed Sage says is true, then we are about to enter a time of war, and I for one, do not want to cower in fear again, while I watch my beloved Kingdom get slaughtered. We should all have the opportunity to defend ourselves!” The crowd began nodding and a few claps from the audience hit their ears. “You just don’t want to lose the throne, and while that is understandable, it isn’t right! You are here to let the people decide, aren’t you? Well, let them decide!”
Another round of applause reverberated throughout the room. Catherine fell silent as she watched the crowd, and James jumped up on the table.
“Our Queen just wants what’s best for you,” James said to them all. “And all she’s asking is for a chance to investigate the claims that Lakrymos made. You know that Catherine loves you. She’s shown it on many occasions, and she’s been nothing but your servant for the last five years. Now she asks you to trust her once more. We shouldn’t give the Kingdom to anyone, even if it’s Lakrymos, just because he says we should. We shouldn’t trust the word of anyone just off of word alone. What if we give Lakrymos the throne, and we find out we’re wrong? That there is no enemy? We only ask for time to look into the matter. “
“Lakrymos was deemed wiser than all of the Sages,” Seeker replied. “He could have asked for the throne years ago and the people would have given it to him, but he didn’t ask, because it wasn’t necessary at the time. Tell me, Master James, how long did he say it would be until the enemy arrives?”
“One year,” James said. The villagers fell silent.
“That proves my point,” Seeker said with a smirk. “He is acting out of urgency, not greed. In order to prepare, we need a worthy leader. I move that we vote Lakrymos in as our King, but if no enemy surfaces, or if he proves to be deceptive in any way to the people, we will then have another vote in one year’s time!”
Based on the villagers’ unanimous chorus of handclaps, head nods and shouts of excitement, it was apparent they agreed. Catherine looked at their faces, searching for someone that disagreed. Someone that she could ask to speak further on her behalf, but all she found was Bastion, and she couldn’t call on him. Not after what Seeker had said about what happened to Mason. It would only hurt them both.
“I call for a vote!” Seeker shouted, pumping a fist into the air. “VOTE! VOTE” The village began chanting with him, jumping up and down in excitement, riding the waves from the Order members. Catherine reached up, took her crown with both hands and then stooped down to place it at her feet. Once it was at her feet, she stood back up. The noise died down.
“I think it’s clear what you want,” Catherine said, with a tear in her eye. “And I will respect your wishes.” She looked over to Seeker who was grinning from ear to ear, waiting for her to reach the end of her speech. “Whatever happens, I will always love each and every one of you. From this moment on, I will resign as Queen of Allay, and you may vote in whomever you desire. Thank you for the honor of serving you.” She blew them a kiss, and the villagers blew a kiss back, in awe over her kind and considerate gesture.
But as soon as she stepped down from the table, Seeker and the other Order members hyped the village back up with shouts of Lakrymos’ name. For the next five minutes, they voted over and over, with the chant of their voices, unbeknownst to them, bringing in a new era that no one had expected…
Bastion glanced at Daisy and Kent. They were both contemplating their futures now, as their family, friends and neighbors jumped up and down around them. Once Daisy and Kent noticed that Bastion was looking at them, they nodded, as if they were speaking telepathically, and they slowly made their way through the mob, and out of the castle. The cool air hit their faces as music began to play from the inside. It was already strange, to think that Catherine would no longer be a part of the castle. Did that mean he once again had no home?
“Well, that was fun,” Daisy said, wiping her brow with her forearm as they walked through the meadow. “I thought I was going to have a heat stroke in there.” She lifted her face to the sky, trying to take in as much of the cool, night air as possible.
“How do you think I feel?” Kent said, flicking his hands at the grass. Droplets of sweat flew off his fingers. “So…what happens now?” They stopped walking to face one another. “I mean, my parents are in Languor, so it doesn’t affect me much, but Daisy, your folks were in there. They seemed pretty excited about Lakrymos being King.”
“We haven’t even seen him yet,” Daisy said, shaking her head. A chill brushed by them. “We don’t even know if it’s an imposter. The people in there, they’re all excited like the Kingdom just got a new pet, but they don’t know what he’ll do. What he declares is going to be law. I don’t know…what do you think, Bastion?”
“I’m going to find out what Catherine and the other Master Sages are doing first. I guess I’ll make a decision then. I doubt Catherine will stay here.”
“You don’t think she will?” Daisy said with surprise.
“No. Especially since Lakrymos killed our classmates. It means he’ll do whatever is necessary to achieve his goal. That means that some of us could get in the way.”
“Hey there,” James said, appearing behind them. None of them had noticed him approaching
. “How are you all doing?”
“Trying to decide what to do,” Kent said, in awe over James’ presence. Bastion wasn’t sure what Kent felt, but he was still happy to see him show up. He had questions that needed answering.
“Whatever we decide,” Daisy said. “It sounds like we have to do it before those 24 hours are up.”
“It’s true,” James sighed. “Lakrymos won’t just let you leave so casually once he’s in power. But, no need to make too hasty of a decision. Catherine and I have a proposition for you and the other students at the Academy. Can you all meet us there? We want to address everyone.”
“What are you going to say?” Bastion asked. James looked at him wearily.
“Things I don’t want to,” he replied, before walking off, and leaving them to speculate. The three of them watched him for a moment, and then they followed right behind.
Chapter 21 – Under the Moonlight, We Fight
It didn’t take much for the students to gather outside under the moonlight. Many of them had attended Catherine’s speech, and none of them could sleep. Tomorrow afternoon, Allay would have a new King, and no one was sure what to do. They weren’t even sure what their options were. So when they received word that Catherine and James were going to talk to them, they were more than eager to hear what they had to say.
The former Queen and her husband stood with their backs facing the entrance to the courtyard, as the students poured out of the Academy. None of them expected their first night there to be so nerve racking.
“Hi,” James said with sunken eyes. “Thank you for meeting us here. I just didn’t think it was proper for me to just leave without saying good-bye first.” The students’ eyes widened and jaws dropped at James’ opening words. Before he could continue, Zhou, Talia, Arimus, and Ashalynn came out from the shadows behind the couple, carrying large sacks over their shoulders. Ashalynn was crying, and her husband was holding her tight against his chest, trying to console her.
“We have to leave,” Catherine said, wiping her eyes, “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry again. This is just so sudden.”
“I’m not asking you to come with us,” James said to them. “But I hope you will. I might sound bias, and you might not even trust what I have to say, but it needs to be said regardless. The man that the villagers are thinking of crowning—killed your classmates. He only left Shanelle alive because he played a sick game with me, telling me that I had to choose which one I could save. I believe that he will play sick games like that again, but not just with you. He’ll do it with your family and your friends, your houses, your freedom.
“He says that an enemy is coming called the Yama. I don’t know if it’s true or not. But even if it is, I’m sure we’ll have to sacrifice far too much to prepare. I know there has to be another way. Thorn, an enemy that we all know very well, used deception to coerce our Kingdoms into falling in line with his plan. We thought he was invincible. We were wrong, and that taught me the value of options. There’s always a better way and a right way—a way that you can live with. If those Yama are coming, I will face them with all the strength I can muster, but it won’t be on his terms. I won’t turn into a drone just so I can continue breathing. That’s not living. That’s just surviving.” James stopped to scan their faces.
“We’re leaving,” Catherine said to them. “We’ll try to find asylum in one of the other Kingdoms for now, but I don’t expect that to last long. Lakrymos will expect us to attack him at some point, and we will do so if we have to. We’re more than willing to let the people live with the King they elected, but if they are mistreated, we will be back.”
“We wouldn’t want to stay in the other Kingdoms long anyways,” James continued for her. “They have their own decisions to make, and they may work with Lakrymos. That’s up to them. But we can’t stay here. So we’d like to extend the same offer to you. We know that you have family in the village, but more than likely, you won’t get to leave once Lakrymos takes the throne. It’s up to you what you want to do, but you have to decide quickly.”
“Is there any way we can work with the new King?” someone asked.
“There is a possibility, but I just know that I don’t want to,” James replied. “Not after seeing what he’s like. If I stayed, I would have to obey his orders, even if I disagreed, or else face punishment. And I don’t know what kind of punishment he would dish out. Again, I don’t want to be a mindless soldier. I want a life too.”
“No one will blame you if you stay,” Catherine replied. The students began talking among their friends, asking each other what they thought, but eventually, a few began to step forward. Shanelle was the first, and for good reason. A couple of her friends followed. With a nod, James smiled at them, and told them to quickly gather their things. Bastion looked at Daisy and Kent.
“What do you think?” he asked them. Kent shrugged his shoulders.
“I think I’ll go. My home isn’t even here anyways.”
“Daisy?” Bastion asked. He couldn’t leave her behind. Though his mind was already made up—that he wanted to go beyond the castle walls, and see what else life had to offer, he wouldn’t feel right going on without her.
“I’ll go if you two are,” she said, nodding her head slowly, like she was still deep in thought. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were pursed together. Bastion could tell she was thinking of her parents. Was it right to just leave them behind? To not even mention her departure?
“We’ll come back for them,” Bastion said, reaching out and embracing her. She accepted the hug gladly. “We’ll just wait for the right time.”
“But what if the Queen doesn’t let us?” she said into his chest.
“She’s not the Queen anymore, and after today, we have no allegiances. Just to each other. We’re a team, and that’s all. Allay is fractured.”
“Is there anyone else?” James called out. From the pained expression on his face, Bastion could tell he had expected a lot more. Taking Daisy’s hand, and with Kent following close behind, they stepped forward. Daisy kept her head down, trying to hide the tears that were flowing freely down the side of her face, but Bastion and Kent looked James in the eyes and nodded firmly.
“Thank you. Now go get your things quickly.” James said to them. Then he turned to the rest of the students who would remain behind. “I hope to see you all again someday.”
“I’m disappointed,” a voice said, riding the breeze, and going through the pores of every person there. It had such a haunting feel to it that it made most of the students shuddered. James spun around and saw their enemy, strolling casually through the courtyard doors.
“We’re too late,” James whispered to no one in particular. Catherine and the rest of the student body examined the intruder in depth. It was the first time they had seen the mighty Lakrymos in the flesh.
“I was hoping we were going to fight for the right to Allay,” Lakrymos said, folding his hands behind his back as he walked. “Are you going to relinquish the throne so easily?”
“The people voted,” Catherine said. Behind Lakrymos, she could see another shadow leaning against the far wall. She assumed it was Orchid. She turned her attention back to Lakrymos. “They chose you.”
“It appears my subjects are smarter than I perceived. But why are you leaving? You don’t want to embrace your King? Learn what he has in store for his people?”
“Not after what you did to our students,” Catherine continued, noticing that the legendary Sage was getting dangerously close to them. James didn’t take any more chances. A beam of light shot down from the sky and immediately transformed him into a Sage. He held his two eidolons tightly as he frowned at his enemy, his white robe flapping in the wind. Arimus wasted no time in following James’ lead, transforming his body as well. Lakrymos stopped walking and glared at them both.
“I thought we were talking, Princess,” he said, his eyes averting slowly back to Catherine. “That’s what we’re doing, right?”
“As long as it stays at talking,” she said. “I don’t want any trouble. Just let us leave, and we’ll be out of your way. You can rule Allay as you wish.”
“I would,” he said. “But we both know that’s not true. Your heart belongs here,” he waved his arms all around him. “Within these walls. You can’t survive without such a vital organ. I have no doubts that you will return, and with a plan in place that will jeopardize everything that I have worked for up to that point. I can’t have any distractions.”
“We won’t distract you,” she said, blinking rapidly.
“Ah, Catherine, you’re not used to lying, are you? It’s a shame. You might not even be in this predicament if you had. Why did you tell the people everything about our arrangement? That was a mistake. You should have known that my name alone would carry much weight.”
“I told them everything because they had a right to know.”
“Having a right to know doesn’t mean they should know. Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Why are you here? It hasn’t been 24 hours.”
“I’m here to secure my future,” he said, looking at the students in front of the Academy. “You cannot have these young minds. They will be the soul of my army.”
“Against the Yama,” she said flatly.
“Right. I see the look in your eyes. You’re wondering if they even exist.”
“I am.”
“Wait a year and find out.”
“I don’t focus all my efforts on the word of one man with questionable motives.”
“That’s unfortunate, Catherine, I want to extend you the opportunity to rule beside me. Is that something that would have interested you?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” she said, her eyes steady on his. Her lips were pursed tight.
“Then I guess we begin,” he said, taking a step back. “Make no mistake. I am not Thorn. I do not pretend to have power. I have it. Your former students will now be able to see how futile fighting against me will be. At least you can find comfort in the notion that upon your passing, you will find yourself in Paradise. Think of me as a guide to your new haven.”
Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) Page 22