by E. Molloy
The man took a deep breath and turned, finally, his discerning eyes looking at Daveth as if wondering what to do with him. "You don't have much time to live, son, so I suggest you make whatever words you use in that time worth it."
The worn young man shook his head. He wasn't defeated yet, but he certainly was close. "Someone here in the castle wants the princess dead," he admitted finally, relaying what Ragen had told them. "There's a witch, some girl who is always with the king, you can't miss her."
Seeming unconvinced, the man shook his head, "I have seen nobody but a shoddy wizard and the princess since I got here."
"Then she's a fake," Daveth said, surprised even by his own words. "She has to be."
The man considered his words. "What proof do you have?"
"Think about it. Everything I've told you so far, there's no way that the real Lillian has been here for two whole days. The witch that the princess herself told me exists is nowhere to be found, and the white knights mysteriously show up with the princess regaling stories of killing a dragon that just showed up in the city not six hours ago? I mean, you don't have to believe anything I'm telling you to at least admit that last part makes no sense, unless we've got time travellers messing with our heads or something."
"As a criminal inside of a cell, nothing you say holds weight as evidence. The only part of any of this that seems strange to me is the dragon, and there is no way to know if your dragon is the same that took the princess. As of yet, you still have not made your words count for anything, and I am running out of time and patience to play this game with you."
Daveth sighed, wracking his brain for any way to prove that it was the same beast. If he could prove that the knight was lying, it would at least bring some credit to his story. That would be a start. "Where's the dragon that brought me here?"
The man raised a brow. "You don't know?"
"I've been a little preoccupied to be flying-lizard watching."
"It's dead. Still lying in the city where you crashed it. The soldiers weren't convinced that it was dead when it got here, so they ensured its demise. I can assure you, you won't be leaving the way you came in."
"Yeah, well, you have no idea what a relief that is. Okay, so...if the dragon is dead, that means something else will be sent after the princess. The -real- princess, so..."
"Your time is up, boy. I'm sorry for your fate, but I've much to do before the day is done. Thank you for your cooperation," he said before heading out the door.
Before the door could close, Daveth shouted, "Wait!" The man, much to his surprise, stopped, but Daveth didn't know what else to say. There was no proof, nothing he had that could convince this man except for words that he knew to be true. Instead, he sighed. "Just...just don't stop looking, okay? The real princess isn't here, and she needs to get back and somehow set things straight. I know you don't believe me, but...if it turns out I'm right and you didn't do everything you could to save her..." He had no threats, but his voice made clear that he was no longer begging, but warning.
He could hear a smile in the man's voice, "I will see what I can do."
Moments after the man left the room, Daveth sat back down. The pain in his head slowly subsided, and he leaned his head against the wall, staring up at the ceiling and trying to piece it all together. He waited for the guard to return, but the man never did. After a few minutes, he heard a loud crash outside the door, and moments later it opened.
Chapter 24
Daveth watched as the door opened and closed, but saw nobody come through at first. As his eyes lowered, though, he saw Glop standing there, waving excitedly at him.
"Glop? How did you get here?"
The swamp rat smiled victoriously, "We paid passage."
Daveth tried to make sense of his words. "You mean you've been in the city this whole time?"
The creature nodded excitedly.
Daveth laughed a little, shaking his head. "How did you even get in here? How did you get past the guards?"
Glop produced a handful of small feathered darts that Daveth hadn't seen since they'd been used on him. "Whole city under a city. No peoples to see us. We came through the hole, made guards sleep," Glop replied proudly, echoing a gurgling sound as he tucked the darts back into the pouch at his waist. He moved to the bars, trying to fit between them. His head was bigger than the gap, but when he turned it his slick slime-covered body slipped between them with ease.
"No, don't come in here. They'll kill you, too. Just get yourself somewhere safe."
"Kill us?" he asked, confused, as he took a seat next to Daveth and looked up at him with his beady yellow eyes.
"Yes. Kill."
Glop pondered this for a moment, looking at the cell door, then back at Daveth. "Escape?" he asked.
Daveth initially thought to decline. Escape would be pointless, since he had nowhere to go from here. Something still wasn't sitting right with him, though. Aside from how nothing was adding up, the lies from the knights or the reasons why any of this happened in the first place, Daveth still had that feeling that he still couldn't place. Much like with Ragen when they'd first met, he didn't trust the man that now seemed to hold Lillian's fate, and possibly more, in his hands.
"You have a plan?" he asked the rat, who replied with a horrifying toothy grin. The creature rushed to his feet, slipped between the bars more quickly this time, and scurried out of the room. Daveth stood, watching the door anxiously. He'd never done anything illegal before. Ironic, really, that he'd ended up behind bars in the first place, but this would be the first thing he'd done that was inherently wrong.
He felt like it was right, though, and held on to that feeling. It was the only thought that set his nerves at ease.
Glop was only gone for a minute before coming through the door again, a large ring of keys in his tiny hands. Daveth laughed excitedly, and in disbelief at how easy this would be if those were the keys to the cell. "But how did you..."
"Guards," Glop replied, handing the keys through the bars and moving back to the door. He opened it a crack, checking outside, and then turned around to Daveth who was sitting on the floor trying each key on his shackles. "Hurry," Glop beckoned, which Daveth was already doing without his urging.
After trying about ten of the thirty keys on the large ring, Daveth found the one that worked. He then stood and moved to do the same on the cell door until he turned one and heard a loud clank. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he used both arms and his body weight to push the large metal gate aside, and hurried out of the cell. Glop pushed the door to the small room open, and the two rushed down the hallway. Just outside the door, in the center of the hall, was the guard who had been in the room with him earlier. He had likely been headed back to check on his charge when Glop had gotten to him. The pair stepped over him and rushed down the hall, opening the door at the end which led to another room with a table and four chairs, a small book shelf, a wooden crate filled with items that appeared to have been confiscated, and three armored men passed out on the floor.
Daveth didn't have time to be impressed for long, adrenaline pushing him along as he knew that they could wake up at any moment, or someone could walk in. He rushed to the crate of confiscated items, found the belt that had his weapons sheathed on it, and returned it to its rightful place at his waist. He hoped he wouldn't have to use them, but unbuckled the clasps that held the hilts just in case.
Glop led the way, out of the dungeons and into the lowest level of a spiraling staircase. Up they climbed, passing every door on their way. Daveth had no idea where they were going, and he wondered if Glop did either, but he followed regardless. The creature sniffed at the air excitedly, stopping for a second every time they passed a door before continuing his climb.
They must have passed nearly a dozen doors before the stairs stopped, and they were faced with the option to go back, or walk through the door at the top. Glop pointed at the door with one hand, covering his nostrils with the entire stretch of his other arm. In a qu
iet hiss, he whispered, "Magics." Glop shook his head as if that would somehow alleviate whatever discomfort it was putting him in.
As Daveth moved up the stairs, Glop climbed down a few steps to get behind him, still rubbing his nostrils as his eyes started to leak a thick yellow liquid. Daveth leaned on the door gently, pushing it open a crack to peek inside. There, he saw an older man, dressed in a long blue robe with gaudy sequins and stars all over it. A matching hat lay on the floor, seemingly tossed. The man was stuffing potions and reagents and small books into a burlap sack, but he didn't seem to have any weapons. Daveth opened the door, and the man pointed a thin wand at him, his eyes wide with fear.
"Where do you think you're going?" the younger man asked, hoping against hope that this was one of the bad guys. He would hate to make such a bold move only to dig deeper into trouble.
Niko had gotten all that he needed from the boy, but not all that he'd wanted. His tools hadn't worked how he'd intended, the boy somehow being able to resist the urge to spill all he knew just from a few simple questions. Normally, by the third or fourth question, information poured out of people like a river, their minds unable to stay closed once the strings of magic had their hold. It had been a long time since he'd had to use real conversation to coerce the truth.
Pretending that he believed nothing the young man had said had proved very effective in getting more out of him. There had not and would not be time to question him thoroughly in that method, and regrettably he'd probably be dead by morning. There was nothing anyone could do to relieve him of his fate. He had done a good job of destroying a chunk of the town, and in any circumstances that was considered an assault on the capital. It was a shame to waste the gift the boy had, but there were more pressing matters. The girl would have to suffice.
The only thing to do now was to expose what he'd uncovered. Between the testimony of the people of the Undercity, and the information he'd gathered from the boy, Niko was fairly certain he had an idea of what was going on, and he knew just how to stop it.
From a pocket, he retrieved a black cloth glove with thin lines of metal that made up a symbol in the palm. He put this on his right hand as he hurried down the halls. The man's footsteps carried him swiftly to the throne room, where once again he entered without permission. The King's face grew red immediately, and he opened his mouth to presumably start shouting. Before sound could leave lips, though, Niko pointed to the princess standing beside her father. "By the power invested in me by the Collective to ensure peace in all the kingdoms, you are under arrest."
The girl looked with terrified eyes to the King, who stood instantly. "What is this about?"
Niko's eyes shot to the king. "You have one chance, your highness, to admit your involvement in this atrocity. If you choose to deny it, any evidence collected to the contrary will be used to remove you from your throne. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The king glared hard at Niko, his red face growing angrier by the moment. "Explain yourself, Kainite!"
"After you," he said courteously.
"Restrain him," the King commanded. The guards did not move. Instead, the girl stepped forward, eyes boring into the pale-haired man's. He tried to speak, but words were trapped in his throat. His body would not move as he commanded it to step away, and his lungs would not breathe as he stood staring helplessly into the girl's eyes.
Harold laughed a bellowing sound that echoed through the hall as he strode confidently toward the Kainite. "Your meddling really has gotten you into trouble, Collector. I was going to let you leave here and give this time to all blow over, but you just had to press the issue. Two days. Just -two- more days and there would be nothing you could do to stop it."
A door behind the throne opened, and the wiry old man dressed in ridiculous wizard clothes emerged. He seemed in good spirits, until he saw what was going on and froze in place. "What have you done?" he asked the princess, and then the weight of the situation seemed to register. His eyes went wide. "Oh, my," he said quietly to himself and quickly weaseled back through the door he'd come through.
Harold went back to his speech. "You want your answers, well here they are. There is the prize you sought so diligently, practically pressed against your nose waiting for you to sniff her out. I told you, didn't I, that her power was greater than yours."
The king laughed. "What greater successor to have for this country than one so easily controlled, with the power to change minds and make kings bow. The peace that this world thinks it knows is nothing compared to the peace it will have under my rule with a tool so strong." He leaned in close to the Kainite, scratching his own beard as he seemed to ponder.
"Let him speak," he commanded the girl. "I long for his futile protests."
Niko breathed as air rushed into his lungs suddenly, the red in his face fading slowly as he gasped for air.
"So, tell me, Collector, what do you think? Am I winning?" the King teased.
The Kainite laughed condescendingly, labored by his newfound oxygen. "For a country that treats magic with such high regard, you certainly know nothing about it."
The king, ever-confident in his approach, continued stroking his beard. "Enlighten me, then, how much more you know than the one who controls you, now."
Niko tried to shrug nonchalantly, but instead his mouth just twitched. "There are limitations to everything. I'm sure you've noticed. Only the Eluri had the power of true control, and your pet here is dwarfed by their might."
Harold yawned, making sure to get his face as close to the Collector's as possible as he did. "The Elves are dead, and so are their pets."
"Yes, so I've heard. So when old age takes you and you die, who leads your kingdom and rules your mage then, hm?"
"That is the beauty of it all," the king howled loudly, throwing his hands in the air as if this were all a celebration. "With her power, I will be able to find the secrets to the Elven immortality. And I will rule everything, for the rest of eternity."
Niko lowered his brow, "I don't think they'd appreciate you talking like that."
"I don't really care," the king snapped back, then glared at the man. "Why are you asking so many questions, anyway? You should be begging me not to take your life."
Niko smiled. "Because, as usual, I am one step ahead, and you are too busy talking to notice." As the king looked at him in utter confusion, Niko glanced down at his hand. Still frozen in place, the King had pressed himself against the man so tightly in his attempts to intimidate that he’d put himself up against the man’s glove. The king went flying back into a wall, suddenly, and every guard surrounding the room took up arms immediately.
"Stop!" the young woman's voice called out, echoing through the room.
Chapter 25
The wizard pointed his useless wand at Daveth, a tool clearly used to intimidate, but it did nothing against the man who had ridden a dragon into town. "I- I don't know anything," the old man whined, desperately going through all of the lies he could think of to get himself out of his situation, and finding nothing. "I-I was just going on vacation. A friend of mine fell ill and I was on my way out to- to-"
"Where is the witch?" Daveth asked, sternly, quite fed up with lies and tricks and how confusing everything was proving to be. He was done looking for answers in all of the madness, and just wanted to make sure that Lillian got home safely. That was his task, his only task, and he would be damned if anything else was going to stand in his way.
"Witch?" the man laughed nervously, "Witch? What witch? I haven't seen any-"
"Where IS SHE?!" Daveth demanded, pulling his sword out impatiently.
"Oh! Ahaha, yes, -that- witch, well," the man stammered, dropping his wand and twirling his fingers in front of him. "She's down there," he pointed finally, his nimble hands still pressed close to his chest.
Daveth didn't turn to look. "Take me to her," he demanded, stepping out of the way of the door so the man could get in front of him.
"That...might not be such a good idea
," the man laughed nervously, but by the young man's expression, it was obvious that didn't matter. "However," the man added, as if it had been his plan all along to continue, "I live to serve, so, by all means, follow me."
He pranced down the stairs quickly as Daveth followed behind, noting that Glop had gone missing again. The older man led him down several flights and to the door to the throne room where a laugh boomed from behind it. The wizard chuckled nervously. "Well at least he's in a good mood," he chimed as he swung the door open and walked into the room.
Daveth peered inside, but what little he could glimpse was only of the princess, standing and facing the rest of the room. "What have you done?" he heard the spindly wizard ask, followed soon after by an "Oh, my." The wizard quickly exited the way he'd come, pressing his back to the door as he stared at Daveth.
"Well, then, there she is, I guess I'll leave you to it," he rambled quickly then tried to squeeze past the younger man in his way to climb back up the stairs.
Daveth used his free hand to grip the back of the wizard's neck just at the base, and then wheeled him around to face the door.
"What am I walking into?" he demanded.
"The Collector and the King are having a talk. The Princess is-"
"The Princess is not here, stop lying," Daveth interrupted.
"Oh, yes, right, well, the witch, of course, the witch is um...well she's..."
Daveth rested his blade casually on the cowards shoulder, tapping it a few times impatiently.
"Oh! She's holding the Collector captive. Yes. Quite sad, really. Treason, in fact, one that neither of us will want to be around to-"
Daveth let go of the man and moved to the door, pressing against it slightly to peek through. His eyes confirmed what the wizard had told him. A shuffling sound behind him caused him to look back, and he grabbed the wizard's cloak just as he was about to skitter up the stairs like the coward that he was. "No, you're going to help," Daveth said, and the old man nodded silently.
