by Nyssa Renay
“It’s worked well for my father, and the longer I stay here, the angrier he’ll get. Death will be the only suitable punishment in his eyes, but I can help you, Eeliyah,” the prince coaxed. “I’m the only one who can save you from my father. He’ll kill all of you without a second thought, I promise you, unless I say something about it.”
“And what would you say?” Eeliyah asked with sarcasm in her voice.
“I’ll tell him you freed me from this place. I’ll tell him you were the only one with any sense through this whole ordeal, and you chose to save me for the sake of the Church and the Crown.”
“What a load of shit!” she laughed. “You’re only saying that so I’ll free you. Then you’ll run off to Daddy and have me killed anyway.”
“Why are you laughing?” Raxis asked.
“I’m laughing because you don’t know anything about me. I’m willing to die for our cause, but you wouldn’t understand something like that because your father does absolutely everything for you. You’re just a spoiled rich kid who knows nothing of the world around him.”
“You’re right…I am spoiled, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned from all of this. I didn’t even know these kinds of problems existed until now. My father has kept me sheltered my whole life, but I get it now,” Raxis urged. “I don’t want to be like him. I want my reign to matter to those who serve me. I want to make a real difference! But I can’t do any of that unless you help me get out of here.” The prince’s face was sober, stern, and serious. “I’m fourteen now. I’m finally eligible to be king, and my father has to listen to me. Do you really think he’s going to listen to a word any of you have to say? Trust me, he’s not. I’m the only option you guys have right now!”
“Keep it down over there!” Belsek barked.
“Sorry,” Eeliyah said quietly, and watched as the men returned to their cards.
“You know I’m right,” Raxis whispered.
“Raxis, I can’t free you. It just isn’t possible. It’s too late. I’ve made my choice, and I intend to see it through to the end…whatever that might mean for me.”
“What about Abellie?” he proposed. “What if I offered you her freedom instead? She belongs to the Kindell sect, right? She’ll have to go directly to the frontlines, but I can save her from that fate, Eeliyah.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Stop it! I…I just can’t!” she shouted.
“Hey!” Geltis growled. “We told you to be quiet!”
“Guess the little princess needs to be taught a lesson!” Belsek’s tone was patronizing and malicious as he threw his cards down on the table.
They got up from their card game and walked quickly toward Eeliyah. Geltis grabbed her by her wrists and threw her against the wall and Belsek pressed his body into her side, smelling her hair. Pentiff stood back, laughing heartily at Eeliyah’s discomfort, and pulled out his knife, readying himself for his turn.
In a move of gallantry, Goticko rose from the table and charged toward Eeliyah’s assailants and was quickly met with a knife to his stomach as Geltis let go of her hands and turned to face the boy.
With Geltis and Belsek distracted by Goticko’s advance, Eeliyah quickly shouted, “Io’condes arancha!” A surge of yellow electricity shot from her hands and knocked them both to the ground, their bodies twitching and spasming.
“Get these chains off me and I can help you!” the prince shouted. “The keys are on the table! Hurry!”
Eeliyah moved to grab the keys from the table, but Pentiff beat her to them. “Come to Daddy!” he taunted as he jingled the keys in front of her face with one hand while waving his knife back and forth with the other.
“Ma’yento centalthia!” she commanded as she summoned a blast of frigid mist. It covered Pentiff’s body, instantly freezing him in a coating of ice where he stood. Eeliyah ripped the key ring out of Pentiff’s hand, dislocating several of his fingers in the process.
Just as Eeliyah made it back to Raxis, Geltis got to his feet and lunged at her. “You little bitch!” he roared as he grabbed her from behind, quickly putting a knife to her throat.
Suddenly, a large explosion shook the entire house. There were shouts and cries of agony coming from somewhere upstairs as the shepherds began their assault on the building.
Belsek quickly grabbed Geltis and pulled him along as they ran up the steps, but before they could reach the top of the staircase, two shepherds burst through the door.
“Puenestra e’statcha!” one of the shepherds shouted, blasting them backward down the stairs with a violent and concussive wave of energy.
“Tomarisus de’tanche,” the other shepherd chanted as Geltis threw his hands up to his face and began to thrash around wildly. Thick, thorny vines emerged and wrapped themselves around his head, puncturing his eyes, climbing into his nose, and then spreading down his throat so quickly and forcefully that he didn’t even have time to scream before they choked him to death.
Belsek got up and lunged at the nearest shepherd as they reached the bottom of the stairs. He was stopped dead in his tracks when the shepherd called out in Wraith, summoning a large stone to break free from a nearby wall and hurtle across the room. It collided with Belsek’s head, crushing his skull.
“Raxis, help me!” Eeliyah shouted as the door leading to the outside bulkhead behind her exploded, shattering into pieces. While another pair of shepherds charged their way through the smoldering doorway, Eeliyah tried to use Wraith against the advancing shepherds, but they were too quick for her inferior skills. One of the shepherds cried out a loud incantation, casting a ball of reddish-white energy that struck Eeliyah in the chest and knocked her back against the wall. She hit hard and fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
One of the two shepherds from the staircase came over and grabbed the prince, quickly leading him away from the house to safety while the other shepherd stayed behind to finish off Pentiff.
When Eeliyah finally woke, she met the eyes of Shepherd Machoji, who was clamping her wrists into blackbrass chains. “I’m so sorry, Eeliyah,” he offered before Talmari walked over and grabber her chains, dragging her out of the basement.
-84-
I listened to Nolmen and Begriff explain everything to King Lexani—their stances on the war, society in Telshakra, the Shepherd Academy; everything. All the while, as I stood there silently, I felt as if the king was biting his tongue and trying not to laugh at the traitors standing there before him.
“…and those are our demands, Sire,” Nolmen finished.
“So, let me get this straight,” the king said mockingly to Begriff. “You want me to excuse all shepherds from being sent to the war unless they want to fight?”
“Yes, Sire,” he replied.
“And you, Mr. Naverstadus, want me to free the people of Telshakra from the rule of the Church and the Crown so you can consider yourselves to be an independent society? One where you’ll no longer rely upon the Church, the gods, our protection, or any of our traditions? Am I understanding you correctly?” Lexani inquired in patronizing tones.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Nolmen replied. “What’s your answer?”
“My answer? My answer?” The king laughed. “My answer to you all is this: How dare you? How dare you come here and ask me for these things! You have no idea what I’ve done for the people of Telshakra in my time as king! Do you have any idea how many loyal shepherds I’ve had to send to their deaths just to keep you people alive? To keep things from the very creations of hell from coming here and killing every single one of you? You stupid, selfish morons…you all repulse me! You have no concept of the sacrifices others have made for you…that others are making for you right now, at this very moment! You spit on their integrity by asking me to meet your self-centered demands!”
“But, Your Majesty—” Begriff tried to interject, but was quickly cut off.
“And you!” Lexani howled. “You defiants were shepherd potentials before you
betrayed everything about our world. You were called on by Ein Himself! You were given your gifts by His children! You were blessed with Ein’s favor…and what do you do with His generosity? You piss on it! You choose to give in to your fear and hoard your divine abilities for yourselves when you could be trying to save others, just as I have! You don’t deserve the blessings laid upon you! None of you deserve to be potentials!”
A loud explosion outside shook the ground beneath our feet. It was quickly followed by a flash of dark red light that blazed through the windows of the chapel, casting a momentary dismal glow on everything and everyone inside. It was the signal King Lexani had been waiting for, and he laughed maniacally.
“This was all a trap?” Nolmen growled. The deceit was more than he could stand. Nolmen pulled a dagger from inside his vest and charged at the king, but Lexani was prepared. The king swiftly revealed the sword he’d been hiding just under his cloak and pierced Nolmen through his neck with one quick thrust.
“Yes, it was.” The king grinned victoriously as Nolmen’s lifeless body fell to the floor. Upon seeing this, the rest of his group began to run, looking for any chance to escape, but every exit was guarded.
The insurgents who chose to fight didn’t last very long. Begriff managed to help some of them escape by striking down a few of the royal guards in his way, but his Wraith skills were no match for the experienced shepherds. One of them cast him into a solid block of ice as another one swung his staff, shattering Begriff’s body into a thousand pieces, which scattered across the floor. The royal guards and shepherds chased after the traitors, but I ran to the king’s side out of instinct to ensure his safety.
“Capture every last one of them and bring them to me!” the king shouted, brandishing his bloodied sword as he charged after one of the radicals who was still trying to escape. Lexani slashed the back of the boy’s legs and then stabbed his chest as he rolled over onto his back in agony.
I was stunned as I neared the fevered king. “What happened, Sire? What was that explosion?”
“It means they’ve found my boy!” the king cheered. “I just had to keep the bastards talking until Talmari rescued him.”
“You already knew where we were?” I asked, feeling used. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.”
“You did exactly what I needed you to do,” he offered. “Now then, let’s go see my boy!” The king walked out of the chapel, and my heart sank.
With Raxis rescued, it meant Eeliyah was probably already dead.
***
King Lexani wasted no time. Within ten minutes of his video screen announcement declaring the public execution of the surviving members of the prince's captors, the center of Quelstren was packed with hundreds of gawking faces, both eager and terrified to see what was going to happen. I stood next to the king, scanning the crowd, and hoping my father hadn’t come to see this.
The crowd parted as a procession of royal guards and shepherds approached. In the center of the men walked Raxis, dirty and exhausted. They were followed by Shepherd Talmari and Shepherd Machoji, who led a small chain gang of the survivors from the prince’s abduction.
While I was relieved to see Eeliyah still alive, I was sick to know the angry king would soon be ordering her death.
“My son!” the king happily exclaimed, throwing his arms around the prince as Raxis moved to stand near his father. “Praise be to Ein that you’re all right!”
“I’m fine, Dad…really, but you can’t do this,” Raxis said calmly in the king’s ear as they held their embrace. “You can’t kill them.”
“What?” Lexani pulled away, staring in confusion at Raxis.
“You can’t go through with these executions, Dad. It isn’t right.”
“Don’t be foolish,” the king grumbled dismissively. “It’s perfectly justified to kill traitors to the Church and the Crown. You’ll come to learn that in time, Raxis. For now, let me handle this, okay?” Lexani looked around to see his subject’s faces staring back at him. The people were curious about the royal family’s interaction, and the king didn’t want to be embarrassed by what he considered poor judgment on behalf of his son.
“No, Dad. Don’t do this,” Raxis pleaded one last time, but Lexani didn’t listen.
The royal guards led the prisoners before Lexani. He glared at every traitor in his midst.
“Loyal subjects of the Church!” the king shouted to the crowd. “You see before you prisoners charged with treason and disobedience to Ein and His children! These are crimes punishable by death! I give my verdict onto each one of these criminals…guilty!”
I think he expected the crowd to cheer, but they didn’t. They were perfectly quiet as they watched their monarch rejoicing in his own sense of justice. With no reaction from the crowd, King Lexani carried on. He nodded to one of the cloaked men who stood with the royal guards and shepherds. The man removed his hood, revealing himself to be Father Brach, personal physician to the royal family. He had gone along as part of the raid to ensure the prince’s health upon rescue, but the man who had dedicated himself to saving people’s lives would now serve as their executioner.
Father Brach stepped forward with his medical bag in hand and placed it on the ground. He then removed a syringe and a glass bottle filled with brown liquid, pierced the wax top of the bottle with the needle, and drew the brown liquid into the syringe. Brach held up the needle and tapped the side, making sure it was functional. “I’m ready, Your Majesty,” he said solemnly to the king.
“Death to those who oppose the Church!” the king shouted as he pointed to the first prisoner in the line. Father Brach stepped up behind the man and pierced his neck with the needle. I watched anxiously as the brown liquid was slowly injected.
The prisoner’s lips curled hard against his teeth as his nose began to bleed and his eyes grew wide and strained. I could tell by the look on the poor man’s face that he wanted to cry out in agony as the poison spread through his veins, but his pride kept him from giving Lexani the satisfaction. The prisoner grunted a couple of times, shaking violently as sweat poured from his hair, face, and neck. He let out one final loud, gurgling scream and collapsed on the ground, dying in front of us all.
The crowd looked mortified.
“Again!” the king shouted as Brach pushed the syringe into the glass bottle and withdrew another dose of the lethal brown liquid. My heart was in my throat as I saw Brach slowly raise the needle to the back of the neck of the next prisoner in line—Eeliyah.
-85-
“This is insane,” I muttered aloud, taking a step forward. I immediately felt a tight grip on my arm holding me back.
“You can’t stop this, Vigil,” Shepherd Machoji said coldly. “Don’t get in the way of what needs to be done.”
I had no idea he was behind me, but his grasp was so forceful, almost to the point of cutting off my circulation. I knew he’d never let me get involved in the events that were about to unfold.
The needle was less than a foot away from Eeliyah’s neck. Her dirty red hair was pulled across her shoulder, exposing her skin. I couldn’t bear to watch. I didn’t want to witness the death of another person I loved right in front of me. Not again.
I shut my eyes, bracing myself to hear her final screams.
“Stop!” Prince Raxis shouted, authority clear in his voice. “I will not allow this execution to continue!”
I opened my eyes to see the prince standing near Eeliyah, moving his hand to block the needle from piercing her neck. Father Brach quickly withdrew the instrument for fear of accidentally stabbing Raxis with it.
“Get out of the way!” Lexani growled.
The prince stared resolutely at the king. “As I am now fourteen years of age and an heir to the throne, I am invoking my right as Prince of Telshakra to address both you and my future subjects!”
“This is not the time or the place—”
“This is exactly the time and the place, Dad!”
Raxis interrupted. “You can’t keep pushing me aside. These people are my responsibility, too.”
“You have no idea what it takes to rule an entire planet!” The king seemed furious at Raxis for putting him in such an awkward position.
“And you have no idea about the people you rule! I refuse to turn my back on them like you have!”
The king looked uncomfortable, as if every eye in the square was burning into him. He was obligated to let Raxis speak—that was the right of the prince. And now that an entire town had witnessed the prince invoke his rite of eligibility to the throne, Lexani had no choice but to listen.
Shepherd Machoji quickly joined the king where he stood. He leaned over and whispered to Lexani, “Sire, the prince is clearly utilizing his blessed ability of strategy from his Palpit training. It might be sensible to listen to him.”
The king flashed an angry glare at Machoji before turning back to his son. “Speak your piece, Raxis,” the king said impatiently.
The prince looked surprised that his father had actually agreed. His eyes were wide, and he began to sweat nervously. But when Raxis turned and met my gaze, I nodded and gave him a reassuring look, indicating that everything would be all right. As he repositioned himself to face the crowd and the king, he cleared his throat and began to speak to his future subjects.
“I know I’m not experienced yet. I know I still have a lot to learn about our world and its people. But I do know it’s wrong to execute people who don’t truly deserve to die!”
The crowd erupted in cheers that shocked the prince. Raxis paused for a moment, surprised by the reaction. When they quieted, he continued.
“Nobody wants a war. I don’t want one. The shepherds don’t want one…and I’m pretty sure none of you wants one, either. But here we are. Our enemies have evolved, and so should we. If war is what it takes to keep Telshakra safe, then we must defend her…and that means everyone!”
