The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3

by Tim McFarlane

  The guest room I had been imprisoned in was hardly something to get upset about. It was in no way comparable to Lady Middleton’s room, but it was still nicer than any room in the Tower; including the Masters’ personal bedrooms. The bed was draped with fancy silk sheets, I could run back and forth in the room and receive a decent workout and the windows were large enough to crawl through. We must have been crazy to try and escape the castle, but duty always calls.

  After dinner, before I was escorted out of Lady Middleton’s room, Cathy handed me the key to my shackles and I slipped it into my pocket. Our plan was for me to break out and make it to Cathy so we could slip out the front door together under my Illusion spell. A simple yet risky plan, but we didn’t know of any other exits and now wasn’t the time for a scouting mission.

  I fished the key out of my pocket and freed myself from the damned shackles. I tossed them onto the bed and wiped the honey off with some water from a pitcher and dried my hands on the sheets. After taking a moment to enjoy a much anticipated wrist scratch, I tested my magic by levitating a few items. I was shaky at first, but soon lifted everything with ease.

  I approached the door slowly and stretched out with my mind. I was bombarded with the energy of a hundred minds and focused on those closest to me; something that was easier to do with the honey off of me. When I had tried earlier, the itching and sapped feeling made it too hard to focus on searching or casting Illusions.

  There was a guard patrolling the hallway to my room and a couple at the end of the hall to the stairs. I was one level up from the main floor and Cathy was up one further. I had been worried that they would stick us at opposite ends of the castle, but they had made it easy for us this time.

  I waited for the patrolling guard to have his back to my door before opening it slowly. I reached out with my mind and slipped into his easily. I tricked his mind so it would ignore me, wherever I moved. I repeated the process for the two guards at the end of the hall and slipped into the hallway and shut the door carefully.

  Despite them ignoring me, I still had to move quietly. The trick only worked for sight. If I were to make too much noise or bump into one of them, the whole Illusion would collapse. One unfortunate incident also taught me that I should be careful not to be too fragrant as people will still be able to detect me, or as in the case of my stinky friend, with one sniff.

  Walking slowly and keeping my armpits covered, I slipped past the guards and worked my way slowly up the stairs searching for more minds. Two more guards covered the exit from the stairway and I planted the Illusion in them, removing it from the other guards.

  Just like on the previous floor, there was a guard patrolling the hallway. I waited for his back to be turned before slipping through. As I drew closer, I planted the Illusion spell in his mind and approached Cathy’s door. I slid a scrap of parchment under her door as the signal and turned back to the guards. I adjusted my Illusion spell so they would ignore Cathy too as she slowly opened the door.

  I turned to her and noticed she was still in her dress from dinner. It was a smart move for getting out of the castle, but it meant she would be unprotected and unarmed. Depending on what Lord Cook had in mind for us, we could be screwed later on.

  She smiled at me in relief and closed the door carefully behind her. The guards continued about their business as I led Cathy down the hall, then slowly down the stairs, dropping the spell from the previous guards as I planted it in the next ones.

  At the main floor I made sure the Illusion spell was secure in the staircase guards before peeking out. The floor curved around to the main hall where it split into a junction with corridors leading to the front door and throne room. I picked up two patrolling guards, another two stationary at a staircase on the opposite side of the building and two more protecting the front door from the outside. Tie that in with the two patrolling the courtyard outside and it was pretty easy to determine Lord Michaels’ favourite number.

  I waited for the patrolling guard to turn around before planting the Illusion and slowly walking out into the hallway. I followed the guard to the main hall, searching for the other patrol. When he came into focus in my mind, I planted the spell and checked to see if I would have to trick the other two guards by the staircase. They were far enough away to not be able to see the front door.

  Cathy and I let the patrolling guards head back down their respective hallways before crossing to the front door. The two guards I had tricked at the first staircase were out of range now and my Illusion was dropped. I focused the freed energy on the guards outside.

  We waited for the patrolling guards to come back to the main hall and leave again before I planted the spell on the four guards outside and opened the door. The door was heavy and required both of us to push it open slowly so it wouldn’t squeak. When it was open enough, we slipped through and shut the door. The guards continued to stare ahead like nothing was wrong.

  I released the spell on the two inside guards and did a quick check to make sure there weren’t any guards in the watchtowers. I found one not facing the courtyard, but put the spell on him just in case.

  Cathy and I crept out through the courtyard and down the Stairway of Kings. When we were out of sight of the castle I dropped the spell and my head immediately felt heavy. I grabbed it with one hand and chuckled softly. “I’m getting better,” I whispered to Cathy. “It wasn’t until after we got out that it affected me.”

  “I understand your desire to dance in front of people when doing that now,” Cathy smiled. “It’s so weird to just walk in front of people and be completely ignored.”

  I laughed softly. “Maybe next time I’ll let you dance then.”

  “Only if you dance with me,” she smirked.

  “Deal,” I said, matching her smile.

  At the bottom of the stairs, the market was deathly quiet. The merchants and guards that were serving supplies had packed up for the night and the citizens had moved on to whatever shelter they could find. It didn’t stop the market from giving off very creepy vibes.

  Cathy pushed on through and I followed her from behind. The feeling that we were being watched made me wary. If it was just hungry civilians, that wouldn’t be a problem, but I had a feeling that the devastation gave rise to more aggressive gang activities.

  “Can you feel it?” I whispered to Cathy.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Us being watched,” I answered.

  “We’ll be fine,” she assured me. “I have some hand to hand training and you are good with your hands too.” Her eyes widened and she looked a little embarrassed. “When they’re covered in ice,” she added quickly.

  I chuckled, unsure what that whole scene was, and followed her out of the market towards the residential districts. We had only been to The Sewer Rats once, but Cathy moved as if she had walked the way a thousand times. I was completely lost as every landmark had suffered from the attack.

  The sounds of laughter and gruff conversation slowly rose over the quiet night. When The Sewer Rats came into view it was hard to tell if it had been damaged or it had always looked like that. Either way, it didn’t prevent it being open for business.

  Looking at Cathy’s dress I realised it was a worse idea than we had previously thought. The colours, the way it clung to her body, how it brought out the colour of her eyes, it was too much. She would stand out in any crowd no matter how good it looked on her… and she was looking mighty good.

  Cathy turned to face me and I looked up at her face quickly. I chuckled awkwardly. “What’s up?” I asked.

  She laughed and looked straight ahead again, moving faster to get to the door first. She pushed her way through and I followed sheepishly behind her.

  The patrons of the bar turned in our direction briefly before returning to their mugs. Even a brightly dressed woman couldn’t keep their attention. These were dark times indeed.

  Cathy strolled confidently in the direction of the seating areas. It had taken me a moment to realise
that she had recognised Ser Cook, dressed in his plate mail, sitting nervously at a table in the corner.

  This threw up red flags for me immediately. Why would the Lord need to send his heavily armoured, more able-bodied son? I immediately started scanning the minds of the patrons as we sat down at the table.

  “Thank you for coming,” Ser Cook said.

  “I was expecting your father,” Cathy replied.

  Ser Cook scanned the bar. “He would have liked to come, but there is a bit of a problem.”

  “Judging by his letter, there might be more than one,” Cathy pointed out.

  “Indeed, my Lady, you have been gone a long time,” Ser Cook started. “Lord Michaels is going to usurp the throne. He has always been power hungry and with no royal family, he is doing everything he can to take control. As you already know, my Lady, the Lords would just vote on the next royal family and Lord Michaels would be campaigning for himself, but my father had discovered that Lord Michaels is blackmailing Lord Kent to secure the majority vote.”

  “And then I show up and ruin the vote count,” Cathy said thoughtfully.

  I diverted my full attention to this conversation. The thoughts of drunks were nothing but the usual and if there was danger nearby, we needed all the information Ser Cook could give us as quickly as possible.

  “Exactly,” Ser Cook said. “My father hired an expert to poke around in Lord Michaels’ affairs and before he was arrested, my father received the gravest of news. A member of the royal family is still alive and Lord Michaels plans to assassinate him.”

  “Who survived?” I asked.

  “Markus Paul, the king’s nephew,” Ser Cook answered and turned to Cathy. “Do you remember him, my Lady?”

  “Yes, but it has been a long time,” she lied smoothly.

  “He’s a squire under Ser Scott now,” Ser Cook answered. “Only 16 cycles old and the king in waiting.” He shook his head, “And what a mess to start off in.”

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “If we knew, we would already have him under protection,” Ser Cook answered, watching the door. “We have company.”

  I turned my head to the door. Four men in bright yellow with masks as black as night stood at the entrance scanning the bar. I scanned their minds and confirmed my suspicion. They were hunting for us.

  “The Yellow Jackets,” Ser Cook answered our unasked question. “A ruthless group of mercenaries we suspect are on Lord Michaels’ payroll.”

  The mercenaries spotted us and drew their swords. Panic erupted as the bar patrons rose to their feet to get out of the way. The chaos prevented the mercenaries from crossing the bar too quickly.

  Ser Cook was already out of his seat. “I’ve secured us passage out the back. Quickly.”

  Cathy and I jumped out of our seats and followed Ser Cook behind the bar. The bartender motioned to the door to the kitchen and we hurried through the building and out the back. A mercenary was waiting for us and whistled loudly as we emerged from the building. Ser Cook charged and delivered a great left hook that left the merc spinning like a top before dropping to the ground.

  Shouts filled the night from every direction and Cathy scooped up the merc’s shield and sword. She used the sword to cut the side of her dress so her legs had more room for running. “Thankfully I skipped the corset this time,” she joked, breaking into a run behind Ser Cook.

  I chuckled and followed closely behind. It was too dark to devote my attention to search for minds. The back alleys behind the houses were too narrow and the risk of tripping or running into the side of a house was too real. Whenever I could get a moment to stop and quickly scan, I did. I wanted to know how many mercenaries we were facing at least. I confirmed four, not including the four behind us from the bar and the one Ser Cook had taken care of, but I wasn’t convinced that was all of them.

  Two mercs rounded the corner and Ser Cook raised his shield and charged directly into them. They stood their ground and Cathy ran up to assist him. I heard the four others approaching us from behind and summoned my power through my body. When they came into view, I unleashed a wave of lightning that struck their metal armour and jumped from one assailant to the next. All four stopped dead in their tracks and screamed out in pain. As they dropped, I couldn’t tell if it had killed them or simply stunned them and I wasn’t in a hurry to find out.

  “Come on,” I called out to Cathy and Ser Cook.

  I backtracked past the fallen guards and slipped between the burnt houses towards the main walkway. I heard the others following behind me as a mercenary archer stepped into view. I raised a Ward as he released the arrow and felt it bounce off my shield. I dropped the Ward and launched an Ice Bolt from each hand. The archer took both bolts to the chest and fell backwards as I stepped out onto the main walkway. Three more mercenaries were running up from The Sewer Rats as Cathy and Ser Cook joined me on the walkway.

  “They just keep coming,” I groaned.

  “Follow me,” Ser Cook said, taking off towards the far end of the level.

  I summoned some power and launched a Pulse towards the two remaining mercs from the alley before following Ser Cook. He led us up some stairs to the next residential level. As he and Cathy climbed, I paused at the bottom and set up a Fire Wall along the base of the stairway. It wasn’t enough to stop the Mercenaries, but it would delay them enough for an idea I had.

  I ran up the stairs and heard the cries of shock at the fire. When I reached the top, I looked back and saw the mercs jumping through the wall and climbing the stairs. I ran forward and motioned for Cathy and Ser Cook to run to the nearest abandoned house. We found cover behind some remaining household items and I closed my ears as I stretched out with my mind.

  I found the three mercs and planted a different Illusion spell. It was a complex one I hadn’t used in a while. They would see us running ahead of them, no matter what direction they took. We would always just be ahead of them until the spell wore off and they realised they had been duped.

  I opened my eyes as I heard them run past the house. The spell worked perfectly and I waited until I couldn’t hear them anymore before standing up and letting out a sigh of relief.

  “Nice one,” Cathy said, breathing heavily.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “We are running out of time,” Ser Cook said, also breathing heavily. “My Lady, you need to get out of the city. I have to get back to my father. If they report that I was helping you then he will be in danger. Get to the dungeon and free Nathan, the expert. He will help you find the evidence you need and locate Markus.”

  “Where’s the dungeon?” Cathy asked.

  “Past The Sewer Rats, one level down, in the mines around the back of the mountain,” he answered. “Be careful, my Lady.”

  “You too,” Cathy replied. “There must be more of them around here.”

  “Yes, but they are not after me,” he said. “You are the vote that can stop him from taking power. He won’t stop coming for you.”

  “Thanks for everything,” I said.

  “Bring Markus back here quickly,” Ser Cook stated. “Time is of the essence.”

  “Time wasn’t exactly a luxury to begin with,” I replied.

  Chapter 13

  We followed Ser Cook back down the stairs and he departed towards the market, leaving us to follow the bodies back to The Sewer Rats. We decided to walk behind the houses on the opposite side of the street while Cathy guided me as I focused on searching with my mind. I could feel the mental activity of the unconscious mercs close to the pub, but I couldn’t detect any new threats. My Illusion had the rest of the group preoccupied. We hurried past the tavern and found the long stairs down to the lower level.

  The Thurlborn Mines ran along the opposite bank of the river to the residential levels. Once a forced labour camp for slaves, they decided to upgrade it into a forced labour camp for criminals. All of the worst lawbreakers were put into the mines in hopes of making them disappear. It made sense that Lord
Michaels would throw Lord Cook’s expert in there; especially if he knew something.

  “We have to be on our toes for this,” I said to Cathy.

  “I have a sword now,” Cathy smiled. “We’ll be fine.”

  At the last step, we entered a small courtyard outside the guards’ barracks. High, smooth walls loomed over the building and continued around the base of the mountain covering each of the mine entrances. The place was a heavily fortified nightmare where the only way out was in a shallow grave. Ser Cook must have had a few drinks too many at the bar if he thought we could walk out of here with a prisoner.

  Unless he had set something up.

  “You’re getting a weird look on your face,” Cathy said, breaking my train of thought.

  “I’m trying to figure out why Ser Cook thought we could just walk in and out of here with a prisoner,” I explained.

  “I assumed through some sort of epic battle,” Cathy replied. “But I think I know where you are going. The Cooks are definitely cooking up something.”

  I looked at Cathy silently.

  “I haven’t gotten much sleep today,” she said in a huff.

  “Okay and you are correct,” I said. “We haven’t spotted a guard yet. Let’s enter the building quietly. It shouldn’t be deserted, just conveniently empty in the right areas.”

  “Maybe it’s deserted in the armoury,” Cathy said excitedly. “A couple of guard uniforms left lying around too.”

  “A good place to check either way,” I replied. “You’ll have to leave the shield though. You can’t walk around with the Yellow Jacket emblem.”

  “I won’t miss it,” Cathy said, placing it on the ground and out of the way.

  I approached the door and turned the handle. It stopped with a click as the lock held it in place. I placed my hand on the lock and the door opened a crack before I could cast a spell. I stepped back and prepared for anything, but only a nervous looking man peeked out.

  “Lady Middleton,” he said, relieved. “I was getting worried.”