The False King: The Cerith Kingdom Chronicles: Book III (The Cerith Kingdom Chronicles 3)

by Jude Marquez

  "Come," the little boy said and led Paige back to the bed where Margrave helped them both into the monstrosity while servants filed in with food. Emelina prepared them a plate to share and the little boy was almost lost in the stack of pillows that Alik arranged for him.

  "What is your name?" Paige asked.

  "I am Lambin, Lady Sexton's brother. Who are you?" He asked.

  "Paige. I am King Alyx's ward."

  Lambin nodded and opened the book in his lap. In the background, Alik pulled up a chair by Josette.

  "I can promise you that I have nothing to do with Evander's disappearance. And if I find that any of my family did, they will meet a hasty end," Alik looked over at Margrave who returned the look with a withering one of his own, "I only have the greatest affection for that lovely family. I know that I only have my words but I truly mean it."

  Josette still did not look like she believed him but she nodded anyway.

  "Is there anything I can do to help you find him?" Alik asked.

  "I don't know. I don't even know where to begin, myself," Josette muttered.

  "First, you eat. Get better. Then we will figure something out," Emelina said.

  ∞∞∞

  "What was that all about?" Alyx asked, later on that day, when he entered Eamon's quarters. All the siblings were present and Lord Ethan was trailing Alyx as always.

  "Valentine has someone valuable in his possession, someone that could give us important information," Eamon said. He looked troubled.

  "Is there a problem?" Alyx asked.

  "There is," Eamon said.

  "What is it?"

  Eamon paced. Edmond watched his older brother. Lissandra pressed her lips together.

  "He wishes to speak to you," Avelina said.

  "He will speak to no one else," Lissandra added.

  Eamon paced still.

  "Why do you not want me to speak to him?" Alyx asked.

  "I think he seeks to cause you and your family pain. Valentine believes that we might send for the northern Prince's cousin. He might be able to get the truth out of him, but it's not a certain thing," Eamon said.

  "Sending for Lord Margrave would take time. Time that Evander does not have. I will speak with him," Alyx said.

  "Alyx-" Lissandra said.

  He shook his head. "I know what the court thinks of me, what you think of me. In many aspects you are correct. But I would ask that you believe me when I say, if my stepmother prepared me for anything, it is this."

  Eamon studied Alyx and he felt like an insect under a magnifying glass. He wanted to squirm but held Eamon's gaze.

  "Valentine assured me that he can get the truth from this man, in time."

  "Evander doesn't have time, if he lives at all," Alyx said and wanted to take his words back. Up to this point he had never admitted out loud that Evander might actually be gone. It crowded all other thoughts out of his mind at night but he refused to acknowledge it until right now. He didn't want to think that after all they had been through that Evander could actually be gone.

  The silence in the room told him that his words did not go unnoticed.

  Alyx nodded, more to himself than anyone present with him. "I will see this man. Have Valentine present. I would wish, with all of my heart, that none of the rest of the royal family is there."

  "Is that an order, Your Highness?" Edmond asked.

  Alyx closed his eyes, knew that they would feel nothing but the sting of betrayal but nodded. "It is."

  They would have to understand.

  Chapter 11

  Valentine had his rooms in the castle with the rest of them but his work was kept below the castle, apart from even the cells in the dungeon. Alyx had only been down here once and even then he did not cross the doors to the inner room.

  "Are you sure?" Eamon asked in a low voice.

  "If you ask me that one more time, I will leave you down here," Alyx threatened.

  He understood the concern. He truly did. But he was not as fragile as they would like to think. His entire life was spent in the company of a wretched woman who took pride in pointing out his flaws, took more than a little pleasure mocking him and his weak points.

  It had taken Evander for Alyx to see past that.

  So here he was, in the dankest, darkest dungeon, ready to face up to a man who thought he could do worse with his words when Elewisa had years to sharpen her claws on the softest parts of him.

  Eamon and Edmond were with him and Valentine was waiting for them.

  Edmond opened the door and went in first. Alyx followed. Edmond closed the door behind them.

  The floor was cracked stone and there were a few torches in the sconces in the wall. In the center of the room was a man, his hands raised above his head, stripped down to his small clothes. The room was cool, not enough to bother someone with clothes and a heavy cloak, as everyone else wore in the room, but it would be bothersome to someone wearing next to nothing. Valentine stood next to a table with instruments that Alyx had never seen before in his life.

  "Your Majesty," Valentine murmured.

  "Thank you for the invite," Alyx said.

  "My door is always open to you, sire," Valentine said.

  "Would you like to tell me what this is about?" Alyx said. So far he had not looked at the man, other than to register there was a body in the middle of the room. That was all he was to Alyx. Just a body.

  "I'm over here!" The man shouted.

  Alyx did not so much as turn around, instead ran his fingers over the knives and chisels and other things that he could not name.

  Edmond crossed the room quickly and he heard him strike the man.

  Alyx still did not look at the man. He picked up a knife, particularly sharp, with a beautiful handle. "Is this pearl?" He asked Valentine.

  "Yes. From the seas near our friend's home, if I'm not mistaken," Valentine said.

  Alyx turned to Eamon and handed it to him. He nodded. "I used to collect these as a boy."

  "Fine taste, Your Majesty," Valentine said.

  Eamon gave him a tight smile and placed the knife back down.

  "What would you like to tell me?" Alyx asked Valentine.

  "I have information that our King lives yet, Your Highness."

  "If this information proves to be true, you will be most handsomely rewarded. What is it?" Alyx asked.

  "That's my information! Mine! You said you would bring the king-" The man shouted and once again, Edmond walked over to him and there was the sound of something hard striking flesh.

  "It seems as though the man named Thomas was behind Evander's disappearance," Valentine said.

  "Yes, we knew that," Alyx said and drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.

  "And this man worked closely with Thomas, knew many of his plans, and claims to know several spots that our men have yet to venture out to investigate. But he insisted on delivering the news to you personally."

  Alyx hummed and picked up a brand. He raised it at Valentine who only shrugged.

  "To what end? What does he want in exchange for the information?" Alyx asked.

  "His freedom, I imagine."

  Alyx paused and put the brand down.

  For the first time, he turned to the man standing in the middle of the room. His arms were undoubtedly numb from being wrenched above his head.

  "Freedom it will be, in that case," Alyx said.

  Even Valentine looked startled at his words.

  Alyx turned to the man and regarded him silently. He thought of how Evander would look down on his enemies; haughty, completely sure of himself, with a barely leashed rage simmering in his eyes. Alyx emulated that look and approached the man.

  "But be warned, now is not the time to try my patience. I have so little left and no reason to show you any mercy," Alyx told him in a low voice.

  There was fear in the man's eyes but just like any coward, he lashed out before he gave Alyx what he wanted.

  "A poor king you make. Walking around like
you know what you are doing. Just wait until Thomas gets here and frees his men. He will make you pay!"

  Alyx looked up at the chains that held the man up and the ones around his ankles, bolted to the ground. There was enough play for the man to walk around, but the chains above his head kept him in place.

  "Did you know, Valentine, that if you were to hoist this man up by his arms, it makes breathing impossible?" Alyx asked.

  "No, Your Highness."

  "The arms force the rib cage up, restricts breathing, and it becomes like one long inhalation. They suffocate, slowly," Alyx said. Elewisa used to do it to him for sport when he was a child.

  "Unfortunately, I do not have a pulley system in place for such things. I will request it though, should you like," Valentine said.

  "You need no such request for the time being," Eamon muttered. Both he and Edmond went around the man and grasped the chain that was dangling above their heads.

  They pulled him up and the man gave Alyx a mad grin, like this was all for sport.

  Just as his toes were about to leave the ground, Alyx held up a hand and stopped the two princes from pulling him up any further. He remembered how awful it was, knowing that the ground was just there, and that if he could just plant his feet on the ground, just a few bare inches, then he could breathe again.

  "It's slow and rather awful. Right now it just feels like a stretch, doesn't it? Soon it will burn. If your arms pull from your sockets, then the suffocation will actually go slower. Pray that does not happen."

  Alyx stepped back, out of the way of the man's legs that would soon start thrashing for release.

  "How long does this take, sire?" Valentine whispered.

  Alyx glanced over at him.

  "I only ask for notes," Valentine held up a beaten notebook to show him. "Please, take all the time you desire."

  "To kill him, it might take fifteen minutes. For him to pass out? Not nearly so long. Five minutes. Maybe seven."

  Just as Alyx predicted, the man's legs started kicking a moment later and a few minutes after that, his eyes rolled back in his head.

  "Let him down."

  Eamon and Edmond let go of the chains and the man fell to the heap on the damp floor.

  Alyx stepped over to him and knelt by the man's barely conscious body. "I promise you freedom for your information and you waste my time. I can leave you here with Valentine and his tools and the rats that live in the walls. You are less than nothing to me. I will find my husband, I promise you that. The only question now is, would you like to ever see the sunshine again? Or would you like to be buried in pieces in the walls to be a feast for the rats?"

  The man gasped and rolled over.

  Then he was wrapping both his chained hands around Alyx's legs.

  It was a split second decision. He heard the cry of the others in the room but no matter. Alyx had his blade in his hand a second later and then it was buried in the man's forearm. The man's screams joined the others and then Edmond was pulling Alyx away as Eamon pinned the man to the ground underneath his knees and one hand, while the other held a wickedly sharp blade from Valentine’s table.

  "I'm fine," Alyx said, though he sounded much calmer than he felt.

  "He's not. Impeccable aim," Valentine said fondly.

  Edmond and Alyx exchanged a glance.

  "Shall I kill him?" Eamon asked.

  "No. I would like to hear what he has to say. And if his information has value, I gave him my word. He will have his freedom."

  Eamon let out a huff and Alyx could feel his exasperation.

  "Hold him and I will question him," Alyx suggested, looking for a compromise.

  Eamon nodded.

  Alyx grabbed the brand, the pearl handled knife and a few other things before he joined Eamon.

  "Will you tell me what you know or will we have to cut it from you?" Alyx asked.

  The man spat.

  "The knife it is," Valentine said.

  ∞∞∞

  Hours later, when Alyx emerged from the cell, he had a small parchment in his hand, his clothes and cloak were caked in blood, and he felt the exhaustion of what he had just done wearing him down.

  Gael was leaning against the opposite wall.

  Alyx paused at the doorway and looked up at him. "I wish you were not part of this."

  "He's my brother," Gael replied.

  "I know and he kept you from as much ugly work as he could. Let me do the same."

  Alyx gestured for Edmond to go before him. He carried the man in his arms, delirious with pain and moaning.

  "And who keeps you from it?" Gael asked.

  Alyx ground his teeth together. He wanted to strangle all that lived in the castle and make them understand that his entire life up until he met Evander was filled with ugly works. That he had never once in his life had a moment of peace or rest.

  "I wish with all my heart that someone could, but this is part of who I am. While you were learning horseback riding, my stepmother taught me how to strangle a person without ever using your hands. I was raised in a place like this," Alyx said and looked over his shoulder at the the cell.

  Instead of letting Gael fumble with a reply, he followed Eamon up the stairs and through the long hallway that would take them to the front foyer. Nobility stopped and watched them pass and Alyx knew they would take note that he was the one covered in the most blood and that he carried that pearl handled knife in his hand still.

  "Where are you taking him?" Gael asked.

  "I told him that if he gave us his information, he could have his freedom. He gave us what I wanted and now he will get what he wanted."

  Outside, the wind whipped around them and the clouds above them were an angry gray. The man wore only his small clothes and was bleeding from many wounds. One of his arms hung at an awkward angle.

  "He will never survive," Gael muttered.

  "He never asked for survival. He only asked for freedom. If he cannot survive what I did as a child, then the ownership of that lies with him," Alyx said.

  They watched Edmond march to the gatehouse and dump him just off the castle's lands.

  Alyx watched the man on the ground for a moment before turning back inside.

  "He will not survive," Gael muttered.

  "No. Nor does he deserve to," Auelina said from the front door.

  Servants and guards and nobility gathered around, wondering what caused the stir at the front gates.

  "I would like you all to witness what our King will do when seeking revenge for my brother!" Auelina called out and their eyes turned to her. She scarcely resembled the young girl Gael thought he knew. She was more like a vengeful mother, seeking retribution for her child. "Should you have any knowledge, tell us now or you can see what happens. There will be no mercy shown and if you try to keep secrets or spread lies, I pray for you. There will be nothing left of you when our King is done."

  She spun on her heel, headed straight for her quarters.

  The people gathered round looked to Gael.

  He had no words. He did not know what was happening to his family before his very eyes.

  Chapter 12

  They spent more time in Alik's castle than Josette wanted. She appreciated the effort, was glad that Paige was safe and warm for the first time in weeks, but she was desperate to move on.

  Finally, the day came when she could use her arm without fear of passing out, Paige was more than well, and Eros was kicking at her stable doors.

  "We will resume our search tomorrow," Josette said to Paige one evening.

  She expected a fight or even a sour look but Paige only nodded and began to eat in earnest.

  "No fight? No sharp words?" Josette asked.

  "We set out with the intention of looking for Evander. This is not a state visit or holiday," Paige said.

  She sounded so much older than her years. Josette hated that. She wished that Paige could have had a chance at being just a child, even for a moment.

  "If you wanted
to stay here, I could send for you," Josette said. She didn't know what possessed her to say that and the look Paige gave her said it sounded as crazy as it felt to say.

  "No thank you. I would much rather go with you. Someone has to drag your dying and unconscious body to safety."

  Josette winced, though Paige didn't mean it to sound as sharp as it came out. Josette had to accept the fact that were it not for Paige, she would have died in those woods, or more likely, in that village.

  "And it's cold here," Paige muttered.

  Josette knew what she meant. It was more than the oppressive gray skies and the snow on the ground. The fires that burned in nearly every room would have kept them warm but it was more than that. The people, the customs, everything about this place was cold. It didn't matter how high the fires burned or how many blankets they piled on, the chill went deeper than that.

  Even Alik's family, what Josette saw of them, were more likely to snap at each other than they were to be kind to one another. It seemed like the only person that these people showed affection or any kind of softness towards was Lambin.

  Another curious thing that Josette couldn't help but note; Paige and Lambin were the only children in the entire castle.

  "I will tell Alik. I will pack Eros tonight."

  Paige nodded.

  The sooner they got away from this place, the better.

  ∞∞∞

  Josette and Paige left their rooms before dawn the next morning. The sky was barely beginning to lighten as they approached the stables, only to see Alik leading Eros out, already saddled and packed.

  They both stopped abruptly and stared up at the prince. He was dressed much like they were; thick, lined britches, high boots, a tunic with a long sleeves, no doubt over a lighter shirt and a dark cloak. His gloves looked well worn and the bow and arrows over his shoulder looked like they could belong to any commoner. The only thing that hinted at his position was his horse.

  But even Eros was the better horse than Alik's.

  "Your Highness-" Josette began.

  "Can we cut the silly back and forth? You will say that this mission is not my responsibility, that it is far too dangerous, that you apologize that you thought I had anything to do with Evander's disappearance, so on and so forth. Then it will come down to threats. You will threaten to call Issat or tie me up and leave me here. I will threaten to send you to my dungeons and do this on my own. In the end, we will glare at each other but begrudgingly accept one another's company on this journey," Alik said.