by P D Atkerson
"I'm going to kill you," Shon said, through gritted teeth, yanking on the ropes with all his strength.
The guards behind him instantly drew their swords and pointed them towards Shon. But strangely, Shon smiled.
Then, quicker than either of the guards could react, Shon jumped back. He quickly yanked his ropes down against the guard’s sword, cutting easily through Shon's bonds.
He spun around, grabbed the guard's arm, bending it backward. With the other hand he grabbed the guard's sword, pulled the guard's other arm up and in a second, he held the sword against the guard's neck, with his own arm.
"Let me out of here, Munay, or I'll kill him," Shon said, his face emotionless as he looked at Munay.
The royals gasped and took a step back from him, their heads turned towards Munay.
"Have your guards move out of my way, now," Shon said, pushing his sword harder against the guard's throat. The guard gagged and a small trickle of blood ran down his neck. The guard looked at Munay with pleading eyes but was unable to say a word with the sword against his throat.
Munay rolled his eyes and looked away from the guard and up at the roof.
"Go ahead, Shon. I don't care," Munay said dryly, as he looked down at his finger nails and picked at them. "If he's slow enough to be taken off guard by you, then I don't want him working for me anyways. So, you see, killing him won't do you any good, unless you still like killing just for the fun of it," Munay mocked. "So, go ahead, kill him!"
Shon glared at Munay, it was clear, if he killed the guard, it wouldn't do him any good. He released the man and shoved him forward towards Munay's feet.
"I won't, for the mere fact you wanted me to, Munay," Shon said, then he spat at Munay.
Munay sighed. He stepped towards the guard and looked at him. "That's too bad," Munay whispered, then, before the guard could react, Munay yanked his sword out and plunged it into the guard's heart.
"It would have saved me the trouble of doing it myself," Munay said, yanking his sword out. The guard fell back against the ground, still and lifeless. His eyes stared out blankly at the world.
Munay signaled to the guards next to the doorway, they drew their swords and moved behind Shon, placing their blades against Shon's back, as one cut into his skin. Shon flinched, but he didn't move or drop his sword.
Munay flipped the handle of his sword around and held it out to one of the guards. The guard covered his mouth with one hand, as he slowly reached for the sword with the other.
The guard turned green at the sight of blood dripping down the blade. Most likely he'd known the man and might have even been friends.
But he said nothing. In this life you were not allowed to mourn for the fallen, unless you were told to. The guard held the blade out and quickly left the room, his face whiter than the snow falling on the frosty peak. Another guard came forward and dragged the body out a side door.
Aroron had to turn away from the trail of blood that followed them out. He'd seen a lot of blood in the years he'd lived in the dark castle, but it hadn't gotten easier for him to see.
"I'm just about to tell Kant he can do as he pleases with you, Shon," King Munay spoke menacingly. "Tell me where the sword is."
Sword, what sword? Aroron wondered, then it hit him.
The sword Shon had given him! The one in the strange box, with the silver scabbard. Why would Munay do all of this just to get it back?
Munay eyed Shon, who knelt before him in silence. "You're still not going to tell me? After I've threatened you like a friend?" He asked, clenching his fists, his nostrils flared. "Fine!" He hissed, turning to Kant, he nodded. "Go ahead."
Kant smiled at King Munay and bowed, his eyes glittered in the torchlight. "Thank you, my king," Kant said, moving towards the two of them. "It will be a pleasure, I promise you that," Kant said, he smiled and looked down at Shon. Kant placed his hand onto his sword and started to slowly draw it out, scraping against the metal scabbard.
"You coward!" Shon hissed. "You can't even kill me yourself!"
King Munay's face went tight and he glared at Shon. "You're right, I should kill you myself. Move!" He hissed at Kant and shoved past.
King Munay moved slowly, as if he was enjoying it, and wrapped his hand around Shon's thin neck.
"I have had all I can take from you," he hissed. "Where is the sword?!" He screamed, as he lifted Shon a foot off the ground. Shon didn't say a word. Munay smirked and threw him down. "My royal court, leave us," he called out to them. None of them moved. King Munay's face hardened. "I order you to leave, right now!" He screamed, glaring at them.
The royals looked at each other, none of them knew what was going on. One by one, they all stood up and left the throne room. Kant and Dasety looked at each other as they stood behind King Munay, wondering what King Munay didn't want the rest of the people to see.
As soon as the door closed, King Munay turned back to Shon and smiled. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you," he said, as he sat on his throne. "I hope you didn't mind the little act I did just now."
"Acting? Is that what you call killing one of your men?" Shon asked, as he rubbed his wrists.
"You've been here long enough to know the answer to that. If the people don't fear me, then why think twice about rebelling? I'm not saying that what I did was right, but he did die for the greater good and I'm sure he will be rewarded in the afterlife for his sacrifice."
"If that's true, then what do you want from me? What can I do for the greater good? Oh, great king," Shon asked, laughing.
"Laugh if you want, but one day you will see the truth. You know nothing about what really happens in this world," Munay said. "Do this for me and I will let you keep the sword and go on your way."
Aroron could see the struggle on his face. He sighed and lowered his head. "What is it you want me to do?" He whispered.
"I want you to kill my nephew."
For a second Shon just sat there with his mouth open, then it snapped shut. "What does that have to do with the greater good?" He asked.
"My nephew is Prince Baylet, dear King Recony's son," Munay said, leaning forward. "Recony is my half-brother. We share a mother and that is all!"
"Are you sure that you're all there?" Shon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Queen Usbell and King Clifton adopted you, you aren't even their son."
"That is where you're wrong. My mother was married to my father Lord Galmor before Clifton, but he was killed not long after they were married," Munay said. "After his death they couldn't prove that I was a legitimate child, so what did they do? Sent me to live with a servant's family until she remarried. Then they 'adopted' me, as if I was just a poor boy living on the streets! They gave the crown that should have been mine, to Recony, and my mother didn't even have the guts to tell me until she was on her death bed and Recony had already taken the throne, at sixteen! I was the eldest, I should have had the throne!"
Shon looked at the ground and said nothing.
"You didn't know, did you?" Munay asked. "Not surprising, my dear mother knew how to keep a secret, not many people were told, the nobles thought it would be best." He turned to Shon. "That's why he still has the crown that rightfully belongs to me!" He screamed slamming his fist down on his leg. "But with Baylet out of the way, I will finally be able to take it back!"
"Besides the fact that that their kingdom is already under your control, what good will it do to kill the boy? What does he have to do with it? Even if we kill him, King Recony still lives and will keep the throne."
Munay smiled. "You don't know him as well as I do. If his son dies, then he will be thrown into so deep of a sorrow he won't be able to rule. (It's worked for me before.) Kill the boy and I will finally get the crown that's been ripped from me!"
"You're crazy!" Shon said, stepping back.
"Fine, if that's how it is," Munay said, his eyes flashed red as he stood and moved towards Shon. "I may be crazy, but you will tell me where the sword is, even if you die in the mean time!" He sa
id.
Then something happened Aroron had never seen before. Like a trickle of water, the flames in the fireplace slid out and began to move towards Shon and King Munay.
"There is something you do not know about my kin, Shon," Munay said. "My family was one of the mortal men given power over the earth. That power runs through my blood, and I have the power over Fire!" He said, as flames licked at Shon's boots. "And if it was not for my ancestors, the whole of Aleanare would be nothing but dust! We freed you from the tyranny that would have been, if Jelson had become High King. Then you betrayed and killed us for things we didn't do." His grip tightened around Shon's neck. "Tell me now, where is the sword? Or I will let the flames devour you!" He hissed, as the fire moved up Shon's boots and started to burn against his legs.
Shon squirmed in King Munay's grasp. "You're not an Aleanarien?" Shon squeaked out. King Munay smiled and tightened his grip around his neck. Shon screamed out in pain, as the fire burned into his skin and slithered up his legs.
"No, I am an Oddity!"
Aroron couldn't watch this any longer! He couldn't watch King Munay torture Shon for the sword he held at his side.
Aroron jumped up and ran over to the railing, he dug his nails into it and gulped in a mouthful of the smoky air.
"Wait!" He yelled.
"What now?" King Munay asked, looking around. The figure of Aroron on the balcony, caught his eye. His eyes grew wide and he smiled. "Well... well... well... Aroron," he whispered. "Why don't you come down here with us?" Munay yelled up to Aroron, a smile on his face as he rubbed his hands together.
Aroron shook his head. "I know you, King Munay. I will not come down, not till you let my father go," Aroron said, his voice much steadier than he really was inside. If you were standing near him, you would have seen his hands shaking. "If you let my father go, I will give you this," he said holding up the sword.
King Munay's face grew wide and he turned to Shon. "You stupid man!" He hissed. "You gave him the sword? Why would you do that?"
Shon smiled, even though King Munay still held him in midair. "Because, I know what the sword means for your future, and I wanted to make sure it was your end." Shon gagged, as King Munay tightened his grip.
"It will not be my end, I will see to it, but it will be yours!" He hissed. King Munay smiled and looked up towards Aroron. "You want me to let your father go? Fine," King Munay said, then the fire which had licked at Shon's feet, turned to ash. With more strength than anyone imagined King Munay still had, he threw Shon like a rag doll towards the wall.
Shon slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. He groaned but managed to push himself to his feet. "Is that all you've got?" He asked, through a smile filled with pain. "After everything I've done to bring you down, you'd think you'd have more than that."
King Munay looked at Shon with confusion. His jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered, turning back toward Shon, his face filled with anger.
"Why you little son of a rat king!" King Munay hissed, raising a hand to strike him again. But at that moment, Aroron ran down the stairs leading from the balcony to the throne room, stepped in between Shon and King Munay.
"You want the sword, King Munay?" Aroron asked. "Then you let my father and I leave this place in safety and you won't send anyone after us."
King Munay laughed, shaking his head at Aroron. "And why would I do that?" He asked, smiling. "When I can just take the sword from you?"
Aroron squinted at him. What...?
Before he could finish his thought, King Munay smiled, the fire behind him doubled in size, engulfing the fireplace in flames.
Aroron turned back towards King Munay, just as snakes of fire leapt out of the ground and wrapped around Aroron's ankles and wrists. He could hear the sound of leather sizzling, but it did not burn through. The leather around his wrists, however, began to burn and he fell to his knees, as he tried in vain to hold the sword.
The sword fell from his grasp and clattered to the floor.
Aroron gasped and tried to grab the sword back, but he was rooted to the spot. The snakes did not burn him anymore but held him tight. He gasped for air, he could not move. His legs and arms were numb.
Chapter 9
Run!
Aroron watched with a sinking feeling, as King Munay retrieved the sword off the ground. He smiled and cradled it, as if it was the most valuable thing in the world to him. What was so important about the sword? Sure, it was beautiful, but he didn't think it was worth someone's life. But to Munay it was worth many lives.
A mere twelve inches separated Aroron from Munay, yet there was nothing he could do to stop this monster of a man.
Without meaning to, he'd given up the only thing that could have saved his father and himself from King Munay’s fury.
Aroron looked down at his hands. They felt strange. They were tingling. He closed his eyes and gulped in air. When he tried to move, the fire burned his arms again and he had to fight back a scream.
Munay stood up and spun the sword around in the air in front of him, smiling like a child with a new toy. "Don't play with fire, Shon," King Munay whispered. "Unless you're willing to get burned." He chuckled to himself and turned away. "Now, kill him," Munay told Kant. "He is of no further use to me."
Aroron's heart dropped and for a second, he wasn’t sure what to do. No! Munay couldn't kill his father! He screamed inside his head, but deep down he knew there would be no stopping King Munay.
"With pleasure," Kant said, bowing, then he turned towards Shon. "I'm going to enjoy this so much. I can’t even express it in words," he whispered to Shon, laughing as he stood over him. His eyes glowed with eager anticipation, as he ran his finger across the side of the blade. "This is going to hurt!"
As Kant lifted his sword above Shon's chest, time moved in slow motion. Aroron watched in horror, as the sword plunged deep into Shon's chest.
Shon gasped for air, as blood began to stain his shirt. He stared down at the blade. Then he gagged and looked towards King Munay again. His eyes filled with a hate Aroron had never seen before, sending a shiver down his back. He didn't want to watch, but Aroron couldn’t look away.
With the little strength he had, Shon lifted, his head up. "You forget, you weren't the only family given gifts, Munay. Even though you tried to wipe them out, they live on! There's nothing you can do to stop what is coming after you, nothing..." He fell back, and Kant's sword slid from his chest, his body still and lifeless.
An eerie silence filled the room.
Aroron stared at Shon's dead body, not wanting to believe what he saw. He didn't want to believe that blood stained body was his father! Not after they’d finally started to connect.
Aroron turned and glared at Munay, his eyes flashing a bright white. He didn’t care anymore about his own pain. He hated King Munay. He knew he shouldn’t, but he did, with all his heart.
"You're a killer!" Aroron screamed, pulling against the chains of fire around his wrist. They began to burn into his flesh, just as the glass windows above the throne room shattered.
All around him, glass began to rain down.
“I hate you! I will not stop until I kill you, King Munay!” Aroron screamed.
Munay stumbled back and the flames released their grip on Aroron.
The wind continued to pound against the castle walls, shaking the throne room. The walls began to creak and groan, the castle had never been through a storm this strong before.
With a loud 'snap!' a crack shot down the wall and pieces of the old stone crumbled to the ground next to Aroron. More followed all around the room.
Aroron pushed himself to his feet.
He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he had to get out, but he stood rooted to the spot. Soon the glass stopped falling from the sky. Slowly the wind died down and the throne room grew quiet once again. Aroron stood there, staring at the ground. All of a sudden, Aroron was tired. Unsure if he could even keep his eyes open any longer. He looked up and saw King Munay cro
uching behind his throne, staring at Aroron.
"Burn it!" King Munay hissed at Aroron, shaking his head. "You're the one! I should have known it was you!" He said, slamming his fist on the throne.
Aroron just continued to stare back at him. A minute later, someone grabbed his arm and shook him. "You have to get out of here!" The person hissed in his ear.
It was Lord Trot.
Aroron just stared at his uncle. Lord Trot pulled Aroron towards one of the doors leading out of the throne room.
The second they stepped out into the hallway, the torches on the walls went out and it was completely dark. Aroron cried out and grabbed Trot's arm. Even through his shirt, he could feel his uncle shaking.
Lord Trot stopped for a second, looking out into the darkness. He took in a deep breath and plunged into the darkness, pulling Aroron along after him.
The two of them hurried through the inky blackness of the hallway, their hands extended as they walked. After a minute they came to a hallway that still had lit torches along the walls.
Aroron let go of his uncle's arm and walked beside him. For some reason he didn't feel right, he wasn't sure why, it was like his body was twisting up inside him.
"I don't feel so good, uncle," Aroron mumbled, stumbling ahead of him as he grabbed the wall. His stomach turned and his vision blurred.
At the same time a guard stepped out of the shadows in front of them, before either Aroron or his uncle could react. Aroron froze and stared at him.
He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, but he couldn’t move!
Lord Trot shoved Aroron out of the way and blocked the guard's sword with his own.