“No one has ever asked this from me but I believe there is nothing that would prevent it, if that is your wish.”
“You should take my brother Randar with you and bring him back when I summon you the next time.”
“I can take him but the chances of survival will drastically decrease in proportion to the time he spends over there.”
“It would be only a couple of hours.”
“In this case it is feasible and the risks are rather low.”
“So my chances are fair? This is not too convincing, Mirror Dweller,” my brother said, clearly concerned.
“If you stay by my side, I can protect you from the dangers looming in my world that would seek your life.”
“What kind of dangers are you talking about?”
“The air is scarce and many deadly creatures prowl there, waiting to sate their ravenous appetites. But, you will stay safe so long as you stay by my side.”
“How would you take my brother to your world?”
It stroked its odd trunk while staring at the magical object of my race.
“I think I can penetrate the crystal ball,” it pointed its tiny clawed hands at the ball. “I will simply appear where he is then I will only need a mirror to get us into my world.”
“Is this certain?” I asked.
“Let’s try it now, shapeshifter, and we shall see.”
“Randar, are you ready? Is there a chance you might be disturbed?”
“I don’t think so, I have locked the door. We can try it now.”
“Then go, Gideur, let’s see if you can do it.”
The little hunched creature stood up on two feet and stepped to the crystal ball by placing both of its hands on it. Within a few seconds, its hand simply penetrated the surface of the ball, becoming ethereal. It pressed itself through and appeared on the other side, right next to my brother.
“Can you see this, End’horis? This thing is standing next to me. This is incredible!” Randar whooped of enthusiasm.
“Yes, I can see that. I knew you could do it, Gideur.”
Someone was knocking on the door of the room on the other side.
“Virlien, what are you doing? Come to the kitchen immediately! Hurry up!” a female voice yelled.
“I am coming, just a second, madame!” Randar shouted back, imitating the voice of a young woman. “Gideur, get back quickly!” he whispered to the creature.
It focused again and penetrated the crystal ball then it was standing on my desk again.
“Get a mirror and be prepared, I will call you in three days again, Randar.”
“I will do so. Be careful, may Andor protect you.”
“You too, brother.”
The image faded and I remained alone with Gideur who made itself comfortable on my desk.
“And what will be my payment, shapeshifter?”
“This is all yours,” I threw the pouch filled with precious stones to him.
Gideur stopped it in the air using only its will of power then it made the pouch float closer. It opened the bag and examined its content by routinely sniffing one up through its trunk and chewing on it.
“Well, how is it? Is it delicious?” I asked, hoping that the dwarf had given me real stones.
“It is rather delightful, better than the last time. So my only task will be what you have just told me?”
“This is a bit more complicated than that. When you take my brother with you to the mirror-world, I will summon you that day again. You will have to take him back safe and sound when you return. There will be one more tiny thing you should do then for me.”
“You have devised a shrewd plan, End’horis. For these delights, I will do what you ask me but I will take these now as advance payment.”
“I know that if you promise something, you will keep it, Gideur. So take them. Take your remuneration and appear when I summon you.”
“I will do so, shapeshifter! If you have nothing more to tell me, I will leave now.”
“Go, this is all I wanted to say.”
It crawled back to the mirror with the pouch of precious stones in its hands and it disappeared from my sight. I was within reach from my goals, just a few more days and a new chapter would begin in human history.
I had dealt with many races despite my young age – considered young by my race, of course – and I despised of humans the most of all races. I cannot tell why, I was just feeling it in my guts. That’s why I came up with this perilous mission, in order to cause the biggest harm to their world. These despicable maggots managed to found huge empires within a couple of thousands of years. The time had come for us, the first among the ancient races, to come out of the shadows and show these belligerent, disgusting pests how much power we still possessed. It took me a long time to convince the Council of Elders to act, before finally they agreed, putting their cautiousness aside. We devised a detailed and complex plan to achieve the greatest destruction possible to this disgraceful race that breeds like rabbits.
I leaned back in my chair and stretched, a pleasant buzz spread throughout my body. Finally, everything made sense, after the many months of tiresome planning and gruelling work. The chess pieces had lined up on the board and the major pieces were in our hands. I left the room with a smile on my face, and after locking it, I returned to the suite of Telron. The baroness was looking at herself in a human-sized mirror, wearing a beautiful, mahogany green ruffled dress. Servant girls were hustling around her to make it fit perfectly. Countless ball-dresses were laid on the bed.
“My husband, good that you are here. Tell me, do you like this one? Does it match my eyes?”
I stepped closer and observed her well. Given her age, her shape was still quite attractive for a man’s eyes. Ger waist narrowed by a corset could compete with that of a young girl.
“I quite like it, suits you well,” I gave a kiss on her cheek.
She smiled and began to wiggle in the mirror to see herself from each direction.
“Alright, I want to try those two over there. Help me get out of this, I still have a lot to do,” she said to the servants.
“Are you excited, darling? You can’t wait to leave, am I right?” I asked Kirona.
“You can imagine, I don’t meet the Duke more than once a year, he might even ask me to dance with him!”
“So, is this behind all the preparation?”
“Oh, Telron, this is a very important event! Don’t twist my words. An almost three-day long journey is ahead of us before we reach the capital. Everyone who matters within the noble circles will be there. We must show our best sides. The events of the last few weeks had left their marks on me, I suppose on you too. Tell me, do you miss Hrindel? He was serving us for many years, I can hardly believe that he is not with us anymore.”
“I do miss him, I have to get accustomed to him not being here, he was always around me,” I was playing my role. In fact, I didn’t miss that disgusting footlicking human bastard at all. The real baron would have probably been devastated but I was happy to be rid of him. But being a good shapeshifter, I only had to pretend to miss him.
“Tough weeks are behind us, we deserve some rest,” I responded while the servants’ hard-working hands managed to get Kirona out of the ruffled dress.
“We do, indeed. I don’t want to ever live through such life threatening adventures again, Telron!”
“I told you that the issue with Yuraj is taken care of. He will not cause us any more trouble ever again.”
“But how did you resolve it? You never told me what you agreed on in the Lakecastle. To this day, I can’t grasp how you could be so irresponsible. He could have killed you!”
“I took care of the necessary protective measures. I trusted that Father Delgron would inform you about my plan and if I were not to return, you would notify the Duke about what happened. Even Yuraj couldn’t risk murdering me openly, in his own home.”
“That was still very irresponsible, Telron.”
“It might
have been, however, it was successful,” I smiled.
“Let’s not delve in the past anymore, my dear husband, what had happened is over now, let us rather look toward the future. Like the ball that is fast approaching.”
“Great, I hope we will have fun. I want to take part in some entertainment finally.”
“Well, well, will you get out of your cave, you old bear?”
“I don’t think that I am so old, last night it didn’t seem to me that you were complaining,” I slapped on her buttocks.
“Telron, the servants are here!” She looked at me as she blushed.
“I don’t care at all,” I pressed myself against her butt, playing along with the role of the lustful husband.
“Now go and arrange your duties, don’t stare at me,” she said and gave a gentle stroke on my cheek.
“Fine, woman, we will get back to this old bear issue in the evening,” I replied and left Kirona with the servants.
I had plenty to take care of, the journey to the capital of the duchy took almost three days. I started my duties delightfully, knowing that everything was on track.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Harvest Ball
Those few days it took to arrive to Mocklonia, the center of the Duchy of Therwold, seemed like an eternity. It felt as if time had slowed down, like a sluggishly winding river that flowed through endless curves until it passed through the plain. The city was among the first ones to be erected by the humans who had defeated us more than a thousand years ago. It used to be our territory, but we lost it in the conquering skirmishes in the War of Races. We escaped and hid under the ground to avoid extinction, waiting for a better era to come. I was hoping that today, a new chapter would start in the historical chronicles of our race. If I am the monarch, I will show these rats what war and devastation means! The guards let our escort pass through the massive, pointed gate of the city where bronze dragon heads were looking proudly at us, giving testimony to the power of the duchy. There was no product on the famous market of the city that one couldn’t get a hold of in exchange for enough coin, may it be steel of Terwaldia, exotic fruits from Morwana, Kirson, unique fabrics, or other rarities from Bergold and Rakashara.
I successfully summoned Gideur this morning in one of the locked rooms of the inn. The demonic creature took Randar to its own world through a mirror. The next couple of hours would be critical for the success of my plan. My palms were sweating, not only because of the heat in the carriage, but because I was aware that everything would be decided now. I was just hoping that making use of the friendship between Telron and the Duke, I would manage to stay alone with him. If not, all the efforts taken would be futile. I had to take the risk, I had no other choice. One might ask why I didn’t settle in the castle of the Duke? Because his Eminence had no real friends there who he trusted enough, therefore it would have been impossible to arrange to be left alone with him in order to copy his body. Furthermore, I would still have had the problem of two people entering and only one leaving. Even I couldn’t be at two places at a time. It seemed much easier to approach him in the body of Telron, joined by one of my brothers who would disguise himself as a servant; we would simply copy his body and take each other’s place. I would become the Duke and him the Baron. The servants were coming and going all the time, no one would notice if one were gone.
Our escort was approaching the palace through the hustle and bustle of the vivid city resided by tens of thousands of people. The residents were indulging in the celebrations. We passed through busy streets and squares decorated by flowers everywhere. We needed a long time to reach the palace because of the celebrating crowd, and I was more and more nervous as we were approaching, drops of sweat appeared on my forehead. Kirona, who was sitting by my side, noticed my tension.
“What’s wrong, Telron? We have arrived, calm down, everything will turn out well.”
“I hope so, dear wife. Let us just get to the palace. I am bothered by this crowd!” I lied in frustration.
“Look how happy these people are, it is rare to see them so delighted,” the Baroness was peeking out of the window.
I was only cracking my fingers, waiting to finally arrive. The spiked towers and massive bastions of Duke Orlond Ewerald’s palace were easy to notice from far away as we were mounting upwards on the cobblestone streets. The city was constructed at the foot of the mountain but the palace was erected on the steep mountainside. No enemy had succeeded in conquering its proud walls so far. The dragonhead flags relentlessly hovered on the top of its towers. The capital was situated almost in the middle of the country and it served like a heart that transported blood to the most important organs. It functioned also as a commercial and cultural center. It was considered to be one of the most influential cities of the north.
Finally, our carriage crossed the massive gates. We stopped in the foreyard where only stables and storages were built; the ball was organized in the spacious yard behind. Dozens of carriages were lined up in the crowded yard with soldiers wearing all varying manners of coat of arms. Only nobility was allowed to enter the ball. We both stepped out of the carriage and we could stretch our fatigued limbs after such a long journey. The Baroness was dressed in a bordeaux train dress, she pinned her hair in a bun, and decorated her neck with an ocean blue pearl necklace. I put on one of my most elegant royal blue tunics and I covered my shoulders with a dark grey, silk cloak. The strict security didn’t allow anyone to enter with weapons. I was only carrying a small bag on my shoulder, containing the small, elaborate mirror, the little granite statue was hidden in my pocket. Kirona took my arms and kissed me on the cheek.
“Why are you carrying that bag, Telron?”
“It has a small present for the Duke inside.”
“And you haven’t even shown it to me? Take it out!”
I had to show it to her, the curious woman wouldn’t have left me alone if I hadn’t.
“This is but a simple table-mirror.” She took it in her hands.
“No, this is a particularly rare piece, but you wouldn’t know anything about it, woman,” I put it back to my bag.
“I might not, you have always been better at this than me. Can we go to have some fun, dear husband?”
“Yes, Kirona. Let’s join the ball!”
The soldiers escorted us to the door, we handed our invitations over to the court master. The pansy man with a handlebar moustache wearing a three-edged cap checked the paper, and clearing his throat, he loudly presented us.
“Ladies and gentlemen! The newly arrived guests are Baroness Kirona and Baron Telron, lord and lady of the Yandor province!” He politely bowed and let us go ahead.
We entered an enormous yard covered by pavestones, with three fountains in the middle. They formed long-necked dragons carved from marble, water was pouring from their mouths into the pools around them. On the left, a waist-high hedge garden extended with passages leading to each direction like it was a maze. The whole garden was beautifully decorated with colourful ribbons and freshly cut flowers; a huge banner greeted the guests with the following caption.
Welcome to the One Hundred and Fifty-Third Harvest Ball!
Inside, the guests were engaging in conversation in groups, there might have been over a hundred people, noblemen, counts, barons, Bishops; all the important people of the country had gathered here. Some of them came to greet us and to initiate a superficial small talk. They praised our dresses, how well we looked together, the usual politeness. Servants were hustling around us, offering strong, full-bodied wines, cakes and light desserts. The troubadours were entertaining the audience with joyful melodies they played on cittern, lyre and flute.
“I am so glad to be finally here, Telron, I have been looking forward to this day so much.”
“I am very happy too, believe me, Kirona.”
The woman didn’t have the vaguest idea that I couldn’t care less about the ceremonies and traditions of humans. I was only interested in approaching the Duke and taking hi
s place so that the last piece on the board could finally take its position for the endgame.
“Look who fate has made us cross paths with,” she said bitterly.
I instantly recognized our murderous neighbor from his bald head and projecting ears, he was approaching us holding a glass of wine.
“Baroness Kirona, you still look stunning!” he kissed my wife’s hand.
“My dear neighbor, Baron Telron,” he said as he shook my hand.
“Baron Yuraj,” I greeted the man who I was not pleased to see again.
“Thanks to the gods that you arrived home safe and sound from my castle.” I could sense some irony in his tone.
“That’s right, your son and soldiers escorted me to the border, and then my journey was eventless.”
“What a great celebration, don’t you think?”
“It is, indeed,” I replied briefly to signal that we didn’t want to continue this conversation.
“I can see you have already mingled with the guests.”
“Yes, we are trying to have a good time,” Kirona responded while she was stroking my arm.
“I am sorry to hear about what had happened in your silver mine, what a terrible tragedy!” the Baron was playing a part.
“Many have perished but the monsters were defeated. I hope nothing of the sort is going to happen again.” I gave the Yuraj a sharp look.
“I don’t think so, dear neighbor, but the ways of the gods are inscrutable,” he smiled maliciously. “How interesting it will be to return home after the ball and admire at what had become mine. Am I right, Telron?”
“I hope you will enjoy it,” I said, forcing a smile.
“But I will not take up your time any longer. Have a marvellous time,” he said goodbye and immediately vanished in the crowd.
“What did he mean by this, dear husband?” Kirona looked at me, frowning.
“It doesn’t matter, I will tell you after the ball, I promise. Now let’s enjoy ourselves and forget about him.” I kissed her hand.
“I hope we will not see him again tonight, I wouldn’t want him to ruin our evening.”
“He won’t, I can assure you.” I said and gave her a glass of wine.
Faceless: The Takeover (The Shapeshifters Book 1) Page 20
