by Zel Spasov
Although they were safe inside the dark tunnels dug by the badgers, this was no time to relax. They headed for the main hall, where they would speak to the leader of the Resistance—the oldest badger among them.
Jean thought about Zacharie. His fate was intertwined with that of the brothers Gèroux, it seemed. He knew Zacharie back from the time when he had worked with his brother, Bernard. They had worked together as a very successful bounty hunter duo. The wolf was an excellent fighter and tracker, while the Frog could sneak undetected almost anywhere.
The appearance of the Red Evil had driven them apart. While Bernard wanted to continue on his path as a bounty hunter, the Frog no longer felt this was the right course. There was a new threat to the whole of Agapea, and it was residing in the palace. Jean had joined the Resistance and concentrated his efforts on thwarting the Evil’s plans. He had asked Bernard to join the cause as well and fight with them against the Presence, but the wolf had turned his back on him. Although the monsieur had decided not to report Jean to the guards, he had told him that if they put a bounty on his head, he would come after him. And so it happened. As soon as the reward for capturing Jean was announced, Monsieur Gèroux had gone after him. The Frog had been sure that the wolf would eventually find him, so he hadn’t made an effort to hide. He’d just hoped he would be able to steal the ruby before the bounty hunter descended on him. Stumbling upon Cayden had been incredible luck and an opportunity to try to sneak into the palace.
Not that Jean trusted the former King of Agapea any more than he trusted the wolf brothers. He was willing to work with him as long as the human was useful for the cause. As far as the Frog was concerned, destroying the Evil was the most important goal. After that, he could forget all about those traitors and live peacefully somewhere, a long way away from everyone who had stabbed him in the back.
Although Jean and the badgers had lost the ex-captain, it would be just a matter of time before he found their hideout—his tracking skills rivalled those of his brother. They were going to set up a trap for him. Allowing him to escape and report the location of their base to the palace would spell the end of the Resistance. They had to dispatch him. As long as he continued to breathe, he would be a threat to the cause.
Jean and the badgers entered the dimly lit main chamber, where a very old badger was sitting in a wooden chair. The badger sniffed the air and said, “Ah, I see our brave heroes have returned. Good, good. The Resistance needs all the fighters it can get.”
“We were followed by Zacharie Gèroux,” said Jean. “Although we lost him, the captain will eventually find us. We’re going to set up a trap and off him.”
“The Resistance needs all the fighters it can get,” repeated the old badger. “Have you considered turning the captain to our side?”
“What?!” yelled the Frog. Peter, Gregor and Theodor shifted nervously. The idea of the wolf joining them didn’t seem to sit well with them, either, but they had too much respect for their leader to contradict him. Jean, on the other hand, had too much distrust toward the Gèroux family. “He is the enemy! You can’t possibly suggest that we trust him after we’ve fought for so long and sacrificed so much. We’ve come too close to risk it.”
“He could be an invaluable addition to our cause,” said the old badger. “With his inside knowledge of the castle and its guards, the Resistance would have a fighting chance against the Presence. Besides, he is the brother of Monsieur Gèroux, is he not?” Hearing the name made Jean nervous. “If he is even half as proficient as his brother, he would make a great ally.”
“Yes, that is true,” agreed the three other badgers.
“Oh, shut up,” said Jean to them, annoyed by their spinelessness. “Bernard is a traitor. He had the chance to join the cause and fight with us, but he denied us and started hunting us instead. His brother also decided to work for our enemy. The brothers Gèroux can’t be trusted, and that’s it.”
“You used to work with Bernard, did you not?” asked the old badger.
“Yes, I did,” answered Jean. “And that’s exactly why I know he and his brother can’t be trusted. They will stab us in the back the first opportunity they get.”
“Zacharie Gèroux is not his brother. He shouldn’t be judged for his brother’s actions. We will give him a chance to join us.”
“And if he denies us?” asked Jean.
“Then we shall see,” said the old badger with a sly smile.
“Even if we manage to capture the captain alive, the challenge standing before us is to bring him out of the influence of the Evil,” said Jean.
“Bring him to me,” said the leader of the Resistance. “I will take care of it. Once he has seen the truth, he will join our cause.”
The Frog didn’t understand how the old badger could be so sure, especially after knowing what Monsieur Gèroux had done. Jean saw the same lack of principles in Zacharie that he had seen in Bernard: the wolf was loyal to the Evil and would serve It, even after being shown the truth. All of this didn’t sit well with Jean. However, even he had to admit that the possibility of the captain joining in their ranks was tempting. The advantage he would give them over the Evil was great. In the end, the cause was more important than his personal feelings against the monsieur, Jean decided.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll set up the ambush and capture the captain. But if this fails, promise me you will cut him down.”
“So much doubt,” said the old badger, laughing. “Don’t worry, Jean Dieudonnè. The past won’t repeat itself.”
The Frog wished he could believe that. Nevertheless, after seeing the conviction of the old badger, Jean found a surprising sliver of hope inside of himself. It seemed his heart wasn’t completely closed off—he still believed that the brothers Gèroux weren’t absolutely evil.
As he exited the main chamber and headed for the tunnels together with the three badgers, he felt tense—more tense than ever before. The next few hours would decide the fate of their cause.
***
A few minutes before, the guards had brought Cayden and his companions to the palace. The Sloth, accompanying Cayden, was a very dangerous opponent. Mira knew about him, and she’d prepared a special cloth that negated his stretching ability. In this way, the queen had captured the entire group and locked them up.
The rumor of Cayden Starosta’s arrest had spread inside the fortress. In the hallways, soldiers whispered words like “traitor” and “deserter.” Others weren’t so convinced of the past king's guilt. They wanted to hear him out, to understand what had happened the day their world had collapsed. General Venari was in this group.
When she heard Cayden had been caught alive, Varvara breathed a sigh of relief. Not everything was lost, she thought. While he lived, there was still hope of saving Mira and stopping the attack on Agapea. Varvara urgently needed to talk to the queen before she did something irreversible. The weight of saving her friend lay on General Venari’s shoulders. Mira would’ve done the same for her.
She found the queen at the landing grounds. She stood at the edge, looking in direction of Agapea.
“Mira...”
Varvara's choked when the queen turned to her, staring at her with a mad gaze. The circles beneath her bloodshot eyes had darkened because of her habitual lack of sleep. The hairs on General Venari’s neck stood on edge. There wasn’t a trace of the Mira she knew in this woman's eyes. Her face was as pale as that of a corpse.
“We caught him,” she said in a quiet, sinister voice. “His accomplices too.”
“We have to proceed carefully,” Varvara said. “If we act recklessly, this could have an adverse effect on the troops.”
“Carefully?! We can finally punish him for his crimes, and you want to wait?!”
“Mira, we don’t know if he—”
“He betrayed us, Varvara. Because of him, we lost Agapea.” The queen's eyes filled with tears as she clenched her jaw and fists. “I loved him. And he took advantage of me and of everyone who trust
ed him. The price we paid was too high. I kept wondering what I would do if I saw him again. At first, I didn’t understand why he abandoned us, but I know now. It’s because his soul is dark and his heart cold. He doesn’t care about any of us, Varvara.”
General Venari had been by Mira’s side through it all, but the queen had never told her how she felt. She had always met the trials of fate stoically and without complaining. It seemed that, underneath it all, the queen had been more devastated than Varvara had ever imagined.
“Why did he come to Windhaven?” the general asked. “If he really betrayed us, why did he come back?”
“I don’t know,” Mira said. For the first time, there was a hint of hesitation in her voice. “I don’t know, he... When I got to the tavern, he didn’t seem to recognize me at first. He looked surprised.”
“Something's wrong,” Varvara said. “We need to give him the opportunity to speak for himself. At the very least, he can give us useful information about how to defeat the Evil.”
Their conversation was interrupted by soldiers landing their wyverns. They greeted the queen and the general, then entered the palace. Mira fell silent. Cracks started appearing in the wall she had built around her. Now was the time for Varvara to break through the barrier.
“If there's even a small chance that it's not his fault, then it's our duty to find out,” she said.
Tears streamed down Mira’s face. It seemed she couldn’t suppress the pain anymore. Varvara put a hand on her shoulder. The Mira she remembered was coming to the surface. Her walls were collapsing.
“Listen to your heart, Mira,” Varvara told her. “I know it's hard, but we have to believe that this time, things can be different. Not everything has to end in tragedy and death. We still have hope for a better morning.”
“I…” The queen's voice shook; her lips trembled. “He broke my heart when he left, Varvara. How can I forgive him?”
“If you don’t, everything’s lost. You are the bravest, strongest, and most compassionate person I’ve ever met. I know you have the power to forgive him. Save us all.”
“I want to...” Mira said. “I want to forgive him. This hatred is too heavy. I can’t carry it anymore. I want to take it off. The anger is eating me alive from the inside, I... It's too strong, Varvara. Every time I want to leave it, something deep inside me pulls me back. Something that's so alien to me, it's doesn’t feel as if it's a part of me, like it's coming from somewhere outside...”
The queen's eyes cleared. Her body relaxed, as if an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Color returned to her face and filled it with life again. She gave General Venari a confused look. “Varvara, what happened? I can’t remember anything since we left Agapea. Where have I been?”
“You're safe, Mira,” said Varvara. “You’re surrounded by friends.”
“Varvara, I... It’s as if I just woke up from a deep sleep. I lay surrounded by darkness; I didn’t feel and didn’t think, but only observed through the haze. I was dreaming everything that happened to me.” She furrowed her brow, wrinkles appearing on her forehead. “The attack on Agapea...? Did I really give the order to kill civilians?”
Optimism kindled in Varvara’s heart. Somehow, Mira had freed herself.
“Yes,” said Varvara in a grim tone. “But nothing is lost. There is still hope that we can change the course of events.”
A cold wind blew from Agapea. At first weak, it quickly grew stronger. The blood drained from Mira’s face, and her eyes sank once more. Varvara’s friend disappeared, and the invisible Presence controlling her body came back. The walls came up again. Horrified, Varvara took her hand off the queen's shoulder and stepped back.
“Mira, you—”
“Cayden's betrayal deserves to be punished by death,” said the new Mira. “This is the only way he can pay for his sins. Make sure that the army is ready to march tomorrow morning, General Venari. There will be no delays.”
With these words, the queen left the landing grounds.
Varvara had been hopeful Mira would see her mistake and spare Cayden. Now, her faith that she could save the queen was crushed. She’d failed her best friend when she’d most needed her.
Varvara’s eyes started welling up. The general was certain that, for a moment, the true Mira had surfaced. Something stronger than the queen, however, had pulled her back behind a wall. If she’d had more time, Varvara would’ve tried to reach her again.
Whatever happened from now on, one thing was certain: she’d lost her friend, and who knew how long it would be before Mira broke through the Red Evil’s influence again? General Venari had a single option left. She pulled herself back together. She would need every ounce of determination and strength she had to accomplish the task before her.
The setting sun cast its last rays before it disappeared behind the horizon. Varvara let its soft touch warm her face before she headed back into the castle.
***
The sunlight in Cayden's cell had disappeared, replaced by the dim torchlight in the corridor. Cayden had spent the last hour unsuccessfully attempting to break his chains. All that was left for him was to await his sentence. Was there going to be a trial, like in Agapea? He hoped that, this time, his court-appointed lawyer wouldn’t be a chicken.
He heard footsteps coming from the hallway and stopping in front of his door, followed by silence. Maybe they had already passed his sentence and were coming to execute him. He wanted to talk to Mira before that—find out what had happened, what had made her hate him so much.
The door lock clicked. Cayden's heart stopped beating. Instinctively, his muscles contracted as if expecting a hit. He curled up against the wall, trying to protect himself by making his body look smaller.
The door opened, revealing a silhouetted human figure standing at its threshold. It was a woman in silver armor, with fiery red hair tied in a braid, her eyes as blue as the sea.
Cayden's blood froze and boiled, all at the same time. Joy and pain poured into him; fear and excitement battled for dominance over his body. He wanted to hug her and to escape simultaneously; to run to somewhere far away, where even his memories couldn’t reach him. He wished he could shut off reality.
It was Mira. The woman he loved. The woman he’d abandoned and who wanted to kill him.
She approached him, her eyes flickering in the shadows. The glare of her silver armor blinded him. Cayden tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. As Mira moved closer, he noticed that she was trembling. Her jaw was clenched tight; her fingers were clamped into white-knuckled vise grips; her gaze pierced him with freezing cold. She spoke, but Cayden didn’t hear anything, for his heart was pounding in his ears. Gradually, the throbbing subsided.
“Why? Why?” Mira was asking.
Why what? When she didn’t respond, Cayden remembered he had to make a sound with his vocal cords first. When he tried, nothing came out. He only opened and closed his mouth like a fish.
“Tell me why,” Mira said. It wasn’t a question, but a command. “Tell me why you came back.”
Cayden would’ve gladly answered her, but when he tried to remember, his mind replied with emptiness.
“Tell me why you left us.”
He pushed himself even harder, but those memories were still inaccessible to him.
“Tell me why you betrayed us.”
Mira's voice was dangerously hot and cold. Like lava flowing under a sheet of ice, ready to erupt at any moment.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
Cayden pressed himself even harder against the wall. His mind was working at full speed to fill in the gaps in his memory. Why couldn’t he remember? Mira stared into his eyes, holding him in a lethal grip from which there was no escape. His heart was pounding so fast it was as if it wanted to open up his chest, jump out, and run away to a remote beach somewhere, where it could start a new life, maybe get into jazz, write a book, find a soulmate, and live out the rest of its days peacefully, lying in a hammock while
sipping a mojito. Cold sweat broke out on Cayden’s forehead.
Finally, he opened his mouth and said, “I...” He was surprised to find that his ability to speak had returned. “I...” He wanted to say he was sorry and that he didn’t know what had happened. That he was ready to do anything to fix it. That everything would be fine. That he still loved her. But out of all this, he only managed to say, “I don’t know. I'm sorry.”
“You’re sorry?!” said Mira in a trembling voice. “Your ‘sorry’ won’t bring back the thousands of people that died. It won’t help those controlled by the Red Evil. It won’t restore the destroyed futures of countless innocents. It won’t...”
Mira paused, her eyes tearing up.
“You left us,” she said. “You left me. You betrayed me.”
“I didn’t!” Finally, the words came out of Cayden’s mouth. “I don’t remember; you have to believe me! Whatever happened before, I can fix it. I will make it right, Mira. Please, you have to forgive me.”
“I will never forgive you,” she said.
The spark in her eyes went out. The blood drained from her face. As the anger continued to burn through her, her hesitation vanished. An alien Presence took over her body and mind.
“You deceived us all,” she said in a quiet, cold voice. “There is no forgiveness for your sins. You are guilty.”
The words “Guilty! Guilty!” echoed in his head.
“Please, no,” said Cayden. “Don’t do this. There has to be another way.”
“You will pay the highest price. Cayden Starosta, for your crimes against the people of Agapea, I condemn you to death.”
Her words felt like someone putting a knife through his heart and then twisting it.
“You will be executed at dawn. May the gods have mercy on your soul.”
He pushed away from the wall and rushed toward her, pulling his chains. “Wait!” he said. “Let's talk. I can explain! Please don’t leave. Tell me what you want, and I'll do it. You don’t have to do this!”
