by Ian Haywood
As Gereziac made his way towards where his friend was recovering, he could pick up the feint smell of wood burning as his men lit the torches ready to light the pyre that would be the site of Alana’s demise.
Zephal was definitely going to see Alana’s execution, even if it meant that Gereziac had to personally order some of his men to carry him out onto the square.
But Gereziac was incredibly surprised when he did finally reach Zephal to discover how much his friend had recovered since he had last seen him.
As soon as Zephal saw Gereziac, he nodded his head and managed to sit up on the bed, but the expression on his face couldn’t mask the pain that he felt when he did so.
Gereziac noticed, but knew that his old friend didn’t like any kind of sympathy, so he carried on as if nothing had happened and his first words to his friend were positive as he sat on a chair that was at the side of the bed.
“I bring good news, Zephal!”
“Have you managed to find Naomi?” Zephal asked, his voice full of excitement.
Gereziac shook his head.
“Not yet, old friend – but Alana is being prepared for execution as we speak!”
Zephal gave out a smile, unaware of the attack on the Elders earlier.
“That is indeed great news, Gereziac! But we should be turning our attention to finding Naomi as soon as possible. I am fit enough to return to my position immediately and assemble a great number of our men to search for her.”
Gereziac interrupted Zephal.
“Unfortunately, most of our men are pre-occupied doing other duties right now.”
Zephal immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“What is it?” Zephal enquired.
Gereziac couldn’t lie anymore to his friend.
“It seems that Alana had infiltrated the Great Council and those loyal to her managed to attack us in the midst of Alana’s trial.”
“How did they manage to do that? Were there any casualties?” Zephal asked.
Gereziac nodded his head sadly.
“All of the Elders apart from Dormus and Kitus were killed along with one of our soldiers.”
Zephal punched the bed in anger.
“The bitch! I hope the treacherous bastards are all dead!”
“I can assure you they most definitely are.” Gereziac reassured him.
“But how did they managed to cause such damage?” Zephal asked, “Surely, we have enough men at hand ready to defend us at any time.”
Gereziac knew that he had made a mistake and had to admit it to Zephal.
“I sent the men back to their barracks and had four of our men to watch over Alana during the trial. I really thought that was enough as they were bound to Alana by ropes around their wrists. You know as well as I do that the Elders do not carry weapons within the Great Chambers, but Alana’s allies were secretly armed so there was no defence. By the time the attack had started, our men struggled to break free of the ropes and it gave the attackers enough time to cause as much harm as possible. By the time our men joined in, most of the damage had been done. Kitus had managed to sneak out of the Great Chambers and get help – and in doing so, scores of men turned up and brought the massacre to an end.”
Zephal started to shuffle across the bed and lowered his legs over the side.
“It seems like we have to up our game, Gereziac! We may be seeing the end of Alana very soon, but there is another enemy out there who has something far more important. It seems there is treachery everywhere you turn and it’s incredibly difficult to differentiate between friend or enemy.”
“You do not have to worry about me on that score, Zephal!” Gereziac replied.
Zephal looked directly at Gereziac and attempted to get to his feet, his face full of determination.
“I know that, Gereziac – and that is the sole reason why I am never giving up until we bring your daughter back where she belongs!”
And as he finished his sentence, he managed to stand upright and move a couple of steps.
Gereziac was well aware how stubborn Zephal was and he also knew that his friend wouldn’t get to his feet unless he was heading off somewhere – so he let Zephal lead the way.
As he got up to follow, Zephal suddenly turned around and spoke to Gereziac.
“Besides, if you ever double-cross me, no matter how powerful you are, our friendship will end at that very moment and you will die at my hands!”
Gereziac caught up with Zephal and put a friendly hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.
“I know you will! Now, let’s witness some true justice before we prepare some of our men to join us on our mission to bring my girl back, old friend.”
And the two men made their way out of the barracks to join the baying crowd that was growing bigger by the second outside.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
The sound that came from outside was deafening as Gereziac opened the door and both he and Zephal paused for a moment in awe at the amount of people who had gathered at the bottom of the steps to awaiting Alana’s arrival to be executed.
As soon as the crowd realized that Gereziac had suddenly appeared outside the Great Chambers, they all began to cheer.
Gereziac responded by waving back at the people as a show of appreciation and as he surveyed the crowd, he suddenly caught sight of the massive pyre that had been erected for Alana’s impending death.
But there was no sign of Alana yet and the crowd was beginning to grow a little impatient at the delay – but Gereziac’s sudden appearance had managed to lighten the mood a little.
And the guards who had been given the duty of keeping the crowd in order were incredibly thankful, but they knew that if proceedings didn’t start soon, then they may not be able to control the mass of people.
There had already been a great amount of pushing amongst the crowd as everyone tried to make their way towards the best vantage points possible therefore causing quite a large number of surges as they did so, but luckily nobody had got hurt so far.
Gereziac could see how dense the crowd was from his high vantage point and he immediately ordered the soldiers directly below him to move a little further up the steps in order to create a bit of space to relieve the crushing in the crowd.
And as they did so, Zephal sensed something moving behind him and he turned around to catch sight of a very forlorn Alana being escorted by at least a dozen guards.
The crowd went wild as they spotted Alana and the soldiers suddenly coming from the Great Chambers and the soldiers at the bottom of the steps had to use all their strength to hold the baying people back from attacking Alana.
In an attempt to stop an impending disaster from unfolding in front of him, Gereziac shouted out towards the fast approaching bloodthirsty crowd.
“Will you all get back?” he shouted, “If you truly want justice to be served, then we will need some sort of order right now!”
Some of the crowd immediately stopped their pushing as they heard Gereziac’s voice, but others towards the middle and back didn’t hear him and continued pushing.
So Gereziac shouted even louder to make sure that everyone could hear him.
“This woman has already caused many deaths amongst innocent people, so let us not taint this great moment by causing harm amongst ourselves!”
It seemed like Gereziac’s sudden intervention had worked and slowly, but surely his men were beginning to regain control as the majority of the crowd began to calm.
“I fully understand the hatred that you feel towards this woman,” Gereziac called out, “but we must behave in a respectable manner to ensure that she faces her fate!”
Even Zephal was amazed at how positive the people had responded to Gereziac’s requests, clearly displaying how much respect they held for their King.
Zephal was also well known throughout the lands, but the people knew him because of his tough reputation which meant that many chose to steer clear of him in fear of what he might do to them if they ju
st as much as looked at him in the wrong way.
But Zephal only dished out punishment to those who deserved it – and deep down he wished that Lucius was here right now so he could serve justice on him.
So where was Lucius?
Gereziac had told him of Alana’s capture, but there had been no mention whatsoever of Lucius being brought to the Great Chambers when Zephal knew that Lucius had been with Alana when Gereziac and his soldiers suddenly appeared to help Zephal.
At least the right person to ask was standing by his side right now.
“Where’s Lucius?” he asked Gereziac.
Gereziac was heavily concentrating on the crowd right now and he took a couple of seconds to respond.
“He has been dealt with, Zephal. I’m sorry that it wasn’t by your hand, but I made sure that he went in the most horrific way possible in front of Alana. She wouldn’t have hesitated in disposing of you if we hadn’t have arrived when we did - so I made sure that her best soldier was eliminated to show her that we were not to be trifled with!”
Zephal knew that what Gereziac did was for the best, but it did take away the chance of inner satisfaction that he would have felt if he had killed Lucius himself.
But whereas Zephal would not have hesitated in killing Lucius, surely if Gereziac had given Alana the chance to be brought to the Great Chambers to be sentenced, why was she so different?
Surely the two of them should have been tried for their crimes together?
That way, they would have been witnessing two enemies being escorted towards their ultimate demise.
In a bold move, Gereziac started to walk down the steps towards the crowd and as he got nearer, the people moved aside in order for him to pass.
Gereziac instantly knew that this would give them their best opportunity to move Alana towards her place of execution as soon as possible.
He called for the guards surrounding Alana to follow him and they made their way towards their leader, making sure that they didn’t venture too far away from him.
There were a small number in the crowd who tried to hit out at Alana as the procession passed, but miraculously they all managed to make their way through the crowd virtually unscathed.
And as they reached the hastily built pyre, Gereziac was surprised to see Dormus and Kitus standing in front of it – each of them holding a flaming torch in their hands.
Alana tripped and fell to the ground, but not one person around her offered any help towards her.
It was now obvious to Alana that she was about to face her death completely alone.
All of the soldiers present were eagerly watching the crowd to make sure that there were no more of Alana’s supporters amongst them ready to interrupt the execution at any moment.
The crowd was cheering and getting more and more excited at the prospect of Alana’s death being moments away – but just like all the other executions that had taken place before, Dormus started the proceedings off.
Everyone fell silent as he stepped forward and addressed the attentive crowd.
“People of Sumaria,” he started, “it has been declared by the Elders of the Great Council that the prisoner you see before you has been found guilty for crimes of treason and murder – the sentence for which is death.”
While he addressed the crowd, Alana was being tied to the large wooden beams behind Dormus.
Normally, Dormus would speak to the prisoner before giving permission for the execution to begin, but on this occasion he stayed silent.
But he and Kitus did not hesitate in placing their flaming torches into the wood set at the bottom of the pyre and held them still until the first flames began to appear.
Alana could not hold back her silence a second longer and the air echoed to the sound of her voice.
“If you all thought that I was going to go to my death silently, then you are all entirely wrong for thinking so. It has been my sole mission in life never to stay quiet when it comes to standing up for what I consider to be right and I have done everything I can to make sure that it is only a matter of time before your kind is eradicated forever! Your King that you seem to love so much sits upon a throne of deceit and the day when his judgement is served is getting nearer just as I served justice upon the Great Council – but unfortunately, it will not be at my hand, but it will come from someone who has earned the right to take Gereziac’s life from him! I go to my death with no regrets whatsoever and I know that there are many others who have been persecuted by Gereziac who will gladly take my place when I have gone. If you continue to believe the lies that he feeds you, then you all deserve the same fate!”
Everyone cheered as the flames started to engulf Alana’s lower half of her body and the expression on her face showed how much agony she was in right now.
But the crowd were celebrating more and more as the flames got higher and higher until Alana had completely disappeared from their view.
With all the might that she could muster, Alana called out from behind the flames.
“Gereziac, your daughter is dead!”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Zephal was not standing too far away from Gereziac and he clearly heard what Alana had just said, but he still turned to his friend to clarify what he had heard.
“What does she mean?” he asked Gereziac, “Did those bastards who took Naomi from me harm her in any way?”
Gereziac shook his head.
“I know as much as you do, Zephal!” came the answer, “But we will find my daughter and those who took her from you will be sorry for doing so!”
“The men who attacked me certainly didn’t wear a uniform of any kind to show who they were fighting for – but I can tell you that when our paths cross again, by the time I’ve finished with them, their faces will be unrecognizable to anyone!”
“Well, according to Alana, they were the Disciples of Draig.” Gereziac informed Zephal.
“They couldn’t have been!” Zephal exclaimed, “You know as well as I do that they’re banished to the mortal world.”
Gereziac grabbed hold of Zephal’s wrist in an attempt to catch his attention.
“Keep your voice down, Zephal!” he whispered forcefully, “We don’t want everyone to hear otherwise you will cause mass panic amongst the crowd. Some still have memories of what they did to us all those years ago and many have never recovered.”
Dormus had noticed Gereziac’s reaction and he walked across to the two men.
“Is everything okay here, gentlemen?” he asked, concerned at why Gereziac would suddenly behave in such a way in full view of his people.
“Everything is fine, isn’t that right, Zephal?” Gereziac replied.
Zephal nodded his head reluctantly and added to Gereziac’s lie.
“We were just discussing military matters, Dormus.”
Dormus backed off a little.
“I take it that you’re planning to retrieve the princess and bring her back to safety as soon as possible?” he asked.
“That is correct.” Gereziac replied. “I have waited many years to see Alana pay, but I do have to say that now that time has come, it seemed almost like an anti-climax.”
“But evil has finally been eradicated, Gereziac.” Dormus replied.
But Gereziac just turned and looked at the burning pile of wood that had a burning body amongst it and spoke.
“Evil will never be eradicated whatever we do to fight it.”
Kitus joined the men and he took no time in joining in the conversation.
“It seems that our prisoner had quite a lot to say before her death.”
Dormus nodded his head in agreement.
“Well, she’s not exactly in the best position to speak out of turn ever again.”
Gereziac piped up.
“It’s a good job that I have thick skin! And if I listened to what she said then I will have to watch my back from now on!”
“Well, you have the full loyalty of Kitus and myself.” Dormus added.
“It’s good to know that I am standing in front of my most loyal people right now because we will have to do everything within our powers to rebuild the Great Council to what it was before Alana destroyed it.” Gereziac said to the three men.
“We are extremely lucky that the people still hold Dormus and Kitus with the same respect even though they know they’re the only two Elders left!” Zephal pointed out.
Everyone agreed with him except for Gereziac, who seemed to be in a world of his own – his gaze completely transfixed upon the burning pyre.
Zephal immediately noticed Gereziac’s non-reaction and tapped his shoulder to attract his attention.
Gereziac apologized for his momentary lapse in concentration.
“I am sorry for that moment of ignorance towards you all, but it is hard to concentrate when something as important as this is happening extremely close by. It just seems so sad that many innocents have needlessly died on the road to bringing our enemies to justice. What seemed so trivial to us all those years ago obviously meant a lot more to those who have become our enemies ever since and it is sad when you realise that the only way we can bring an end to our battle with them is in this manner.”