by Jamie Davis
“I’m sure those imprisoned for no reason would not consider it an inconvenience. They might call it oppression.”
“Mr. Dix,” Decimus cautioned. “I would recommend you not engage in such talk while in the palace, especially in front of the Emperor. He does not take disagreement lightly.”
“I’ve heard about his disposition towards those who disagree with him. His reputation precedes him.”
“Again, Mr. Dix, you would do to remedy your defiant tone. I don’t think it would sit well with his Majesty and since so much you hold dear depends on his benevolence, you should watch your words and tone in his presence.”
Hal closed his mouth before another sharp comment popped out. He had to keep the purpose of his surrender firmly in his mind. He was here to free Mona and Cari. Deposing the Emperor could wait.
The carriages passed through another set of gates guarding a second wall halfway to the center of the vast Imperial capital. Based on how Kay described the city to him, this must be the entrance to the imperial compound.
They stopped moving soon after passing through the gates and the footman opened the door. Decimus exited followed by the two hunters. They caught Hal as he half hopped, half fell out of the carriage.
Holding him upright, they started him shuffling after Decimus towards a massive building with ornate, tiled mosaics across the high walls. The scenes depicted great battles and acts of heroism with a central, golden armored figure at their center. Hal had an idea who that was supposed to be.
Entering a pair of golden doors, Hal’s chains stopped rattling against the paved ground as they now dragged across carpeted floors while he shuffled down a long hallway with many doors down either side.
One door opened and a clerk in purple imperial robes exited with a pile of scrolls and papers in his hands. He nearly dropped them all after running into the leading hunter bracketing Hal’s progress down the hallway.
As he passed the room, Hal saw a row of desks inside. Busy clerks hunched over their work without looking up at the prisoner outside.
“Please endeavor to keep up, Mr. Dix,” Decimus called over his shoulder. “It is not advisable to keep the Emperor waiting.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Sorry if my chains are holding up your progress.”
“Tone, Mr. Dix. Remember to watch your tone in the presence of his Majesty. I’d hate for anything untoward to happen to those you love.”
Hal started to answer but bit his tongue, swallowing the words he wanted to say. His opportunity to have the last word would come soon enough.
The hallway ended in a set of double doors guarded by a quartet of armored knights. One of them pulled the righthand door open and held it as they approached and passed through. Hal paid attention to the details of the palace and its defenses and staff. It might impact his plans to escape with Mona and Cari.
Soft music played on the far side of the doors as Hal entered a colossal audience chamber with a large dais at the far end. The source of the music was a small, sixteen-piece chamber orchestra situated off to one side.
Every ten feet along the walls, another armored knight stood at attention. They followed Hal’s progress with their eyes as if they expected him to attack at any moment. Hal smiled. None of the guards had any idea how right they were.
He’d learned in his management training program the cultural tone of an organization started with its leadership. In this case, it meant the Emperor feared him and what he could do. That could be used to work in his favor.
Hal got his first glimpse of the Emperor in person when they approached the dais. The circular stone platform sat on two stone steps extending all the way around the throne at the center. There were numerous male and female attendants standing around Kang, seated on the throne at the center.
The man seated on the throne didn’t seem as fat as he had in Hal’s visions through the crystal. He looked up and met Hal’s gaze and he saw a cruel smile creep across the Emperor’s face. He waved off one attendant with a pile of papers in his arms and leaned forward to watch Hal’s shuffling progress across the carpets arrayed across the floor of the chamber.
Decimus stopped at the base of the stairs up to the dais. Hal shuffled up to stand next to the chief mage.
Decimus offered deep bow, bending until his nose approached his knee. Hal decided to offer a similar show of respect. It was time to use a little flattery and compliments to show he wasn’t the threat they all thought he was.
Rising from his bow to the Emperor, Hal stifled a gasp. He saw Mona in person for the first time. The reaction was not missed by his Majesty. A smirk crossed the Emperor’s face. It irked Hal and he almost said something, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Mona.
She dressed as the other imperial female attendants did, in diaphanous silk robes and a veil covering the lower half of her face. There was no mistaking those deep blue eyes. Hal knew them within the depths of his soul and the way they looked at him drove a spike into that soul.
Mona was angry with him. He’d seen that look before but never with the intensity he saw now.
He was here. Didn’t she know what he’d done to find her?
“Greetings, Hal Dix. I have longed to meet you since you first graced our world with your annoying presence. In the end, I was forced to find other ways to learn more about you.”
The Emperor gestured to Mona and she stepped up to stand next to the throne. Kang reached out and placed his hand on the small of her back. The move enraged Hal even though he knew it was a calculated ploy to get his goat.
“Your Majesty,” Hal said, struggling to choose the correct words to say in this situation. His plan of swooping in and rescuing a grateful wife and daughter dashed by the reaction Mona gave him on arrival. “I surrendered willingly after I heard from your servant here you wished to converse with me and would grant me safe passage. I offer myself to that conversation at your convenience.”
Hal added a small bow, unsure of the protocol when addressing the Emperor directly.
“You led my mage hunters on quite the chase these last few months. I hoped when I retrieved dear Mona and your daughter; you’d come directly to me to win their freedom. I told Mona as much, didn’t I, my dear?”
“You did, your Majesty. I was as surprised as you were when he didn’t present himself here to retrieve us as soon as he arrived.” Mona’s voice was icy calm, which Hal knew belied the hot fury beneath.
What had happened to her since she’d been here in the palace? Had some spell been placed on her?
“I was detained by other matters that kept me from journeying here as quickly as I wanted. My apologies to you both.”
Hal tried to catch Mona’s eyes to convey how sorry he truly was, but she looked away, indifferent to his feelings.
“No doubt it was more interference from that infernal witch, Tildi that put you on a different path to my door than the direct one. It is unfortunate you chose to heed her flawed council. I know it pained your family that your priorities shifted from what they expected. I spent long hours attempting to console dear Mona. She was quite distraught each time we heard of your further delays and adventures, weren’t you, my dear.”
“I was shocked, to say the least, your Majesty.”
Kang pulled his hand away from Mona’s back and returned it to the arm of his chair.
“I assure you, Hal…I hope it’s alright if I call you Hal. I feel as if I know you well after all the hours I spent talking with Mona about you. Anyway, I want to offer assurances, I have been nothing but a true gentleman with regard to your wife and daughter. I hope that my more than generous treatment of your family demonstrates I’m not the monster others portray me to be, despite the rebellion you raised against me.”
Kang paused, as if expecting an answer from Hal. The silence hung heavy in the massive room for longer than comfortable.
Hal wasn’t sure what to say. His mind still swam with confusion over how Mona turned against him. He struggled for the right words
to say that might appease a man in Kang’s position.
“I am, uh, I guess, pleasantly surprised to see they are well cared for, your Majesty. Your reputation for ruthlessness is well documented in other parts of the Empire. I’m glad others' representations of you and your lack of benevolence were mistaken.”
“Quite true, Hal. They are mistaken. Of course, some things happened when I took over rulership of a failed empire. Some expediencies had to occur, no matter how regretful they were. Since then, I’ve tried to change the existing cruel system from within. It is unfortunate the changes have not trickled down to the distant, provincial parts of the realm where things are more barbaric in general.”
“Perhaps, then, your majesty, we could reset our bad start try to build on this new beginning we have here.”
“I would like to believe we can do that, Hal, but your actions leading up to and including your capture do not engender confidence in me. I don't believe you are trustworthy in any way.”
Kang’s hand returned to the small of Mona’s back.
“You have much to prove to me and to others you have wronged before I’m willing to forget all you have done in the past. We will talk again after I have considered what I will do in this matter.”
The Emperor turned away from Hal and waved a hand in the air. Guards grabbed Hal by his elbows and dragged him back from the dais towards a nearby door. Mona’s eyes followed him out. For an instant, as the guards dragged him through the doorway and out of sight, Hal caught a hint of concern in her eyes. He wasn’t sure he saw it or dreamed it and replayed the tilt of her head, the set of her eyes, and the stony expression on her face over and over in his mind. The only answer he came up with gave him a bare glimmer of hope that she wasn’t as set against him as it first appeared. That brought a smile to his face, despite the way the guards manhandled him down the long flight of stairs to the dungeon cells below.
36
Hal shielded his eyes from the glaring lamplight shining into his eyes when the cell’s door creaked open. To go from two days in total darkness with no light to even the dim light of an oil lantern in an instant nearly blinded him.
Hal squinted as his eyes adjusted to the new light. He made out the silhouettes of two figures in the doorway, backed by the flickering torchlight in the dudgeon beyond them. The gruff voice of the guard broke the silence.
“You have ten minutes. No more. The orders from his majesty were specific on that count. Make the best of it. The condemned do not get visitors once sentence is passed.”
“Thank you. Please leave us so I may speak to my husband alone.”
Hal shifted his still adjusting eyes to the slender figure on the right, realizing it was Mona. Somehow, she’d convinced the Emperor to allow her to come and see him.
Hal knew in the back of his mind it might be a trap. She could have been turned against him and he replayed her imperceptible glance from the dais over again for the thousandth time since he was thrown in the cell two days before.
He had to be sure. The time had come to play his hand and his wife had to be a willing participant or the rescue would never work.
“Mona.” Hal’s voice cracked from disuse, and he tried to clear his parched throat before continuing. “I wasn’t sure you ever wanted to see me again.”
“I heard the Emperor planned to pass down his decision on what to do with you soon. I asked for the opportunity to speak with you and bring you over to our side.”
Hal winced at the words “our side.” He wondered again if he was wrong about what he remembered seeing. He needed to have a frank and private conversation with his wife and there was no doubt this discussion had eavesdroppers. It was time to test a theory about the magical shackles binding his wrists and ankles. The runes inscribed on the metal were meant to inhibit the casting of magic.
By default, that included all four traditional schools of magic: Ice, Earth, Fire, and Wind.
Did it also include the mysterious school of spirit magic? He was about to find out.
“Please come in and sit.” Hal lifted his shackled hands where they were chained to the wall. “Forgive me if I don’t stand.”
Mona moved closer and Hal’s eyes adjusted to the light from the lantern she carried. She set the lantern down on the floor and sat on a stone bench jutting out from the wall. Hal closed his eyes and focused his on the room and the doorway to the dungeon where the guard stood with his back to the door. Instead of drawing on one of the four basic magical elements, Hal instead reached out for the previously untapped spirit magic. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he had to try something.
The magical energy met resistance, but Hal persisted and pushed at the tenuous barrier. An instant later, he was rewarded for his efforts as the barrier melted away, dispelled by his spirit magic. Hal’s magic flowed outward without impediment, sealing the room in a bubble of silence. With the success of his spell, he saw several notifications flash across his vision.
New Spell Learned: Dispel Magic
All five Elemental Schools have been mastered
Thief and Warrior Skills reactivated
Not only could He and Mona now speak in peace without being overheard, but now that his other abilities returned to him, he was almost ready to set the rest of his plan in motion.
Mona noticed the sudden lack of sound coming from outside the cell. The bubble worked in both directions and she looked at Hal, tilting her head in a quizzical expression.
“We can’t hear anything outside this room and no one can hear us from out there. I figure we only have a limited time before someone checks on why they can’t hear us talking. Come over here and sit next to me. We have to make it look like we weren’t talking on purpose.”
“This is the first time we’ve been able to talk for months and you want me to cuddle you?”
“There’s no time to argue and I have to fill you in on the plan to get you and Cari out of here. Come here and make it look like we’re embracing. That’ll alleviate suspicion, at least for a little while.”
Mona’s eyes flashed with anger, but she got up and came over, sitting on the bench next to where Hal was bound to the wall. She slipped a hand around his shoulders and leaned against him.
The fragrance of her hair and touch of her skin were too much for him. It was a moment of bliss in the midst of a horrible situation and the flood of emotions caught Hal unprepared. Tears flowed down his face as he struggled to hold back sobs.
“How’s Cari? I was able to scry into the palace twice and see you on two occasions, but I never saw her.”
“She’s well. The Emperor assigned me a nanny who keeps Cari away from me most of the time. I only get to see her in the evenings when I return to our bedchambers. It is his way of controlling me.”
“So, you’re not taking his side?” Hal blurted. “Thank God.”
“Of course not. He's a monster. The things I’ve seen him do or ordered done are horrifying. But what else am I to do? He brought us here, tearing us out of our home and into this strange, distant land. Then he tells me you’ve been coming here for some time and never told me.”
“It's a long story, Mona. I wasn’t sure it was real at first and the second time I came was on my trip to the leadership retreat. There was no time to tell you about it until I came home, and they'd kidnapped you before I came home. Time works differently here, so weeks and months pass in Fantasma when only hours or days pass at home. I came after you as soon as I found out you were missing.”
“But the Emperor said you’ve been here for over two months. Why has it taken you so long to come for us?”
“I had to level up before I was strong enough to confront him.”
“Level up? Like in a game?” Mona's voice raised in anger. “This is real life, Hal, not one of your stupid computer games.”
“Maybe it’s sort of both. Have you noticed anything strange since you’ve been here? Seen or heard things or words that weren’t there?”
Mona tilted her he
ad to one side and nodded.
“I thought it had something to do with the magic they use here. It made me think I was going crazy at first. Now, I just ignore the notes and messages.”
“The reason people from our world, Earth, can see and hear those things is because the interface between the two places is built upon the Fantasma game back home. A magic user named Tildi created it in hopes someone like me would come here and be some sort of mythical hero. You, and I suppose Cari, too, have the same abilities.”
“This is crazy, Hal. You know that?”
“I know it took me a while to realize I wasn’t inside my game and going insane. Once I realized this was all real, though, it began to make sense, sort of.”
The guard at the door glanced over his shoulder and leered at the two of them. They didn’t have much time.
“Mona, you have to listen to me. They’re going to come and make you leave soon and I have to tell you my plan to get us all out of here.”
“How are you going to do that, Hal? You’re shackled to the wall with iron chains.”
“The same way I made the room silent. The same way I dispelled the magic on these shackles. I have abilities no one else has. I suspect you do as well if you start paying attention to the messages you’ve been ignoring. Now listen. The anniversary of the Emperor’s coronation is in two days. The plan to rescue you hinges on that event. Knowing what I do about him, I suspect he’s going to make a spectacle of my execution at that time and then keep you and Cari here to learn how to level up like I did. You need to be ready to get Cari and escape with my friends even if I don’t survive.”
“You’re planning to die now, Hal? How is that going to help Cari and I get away.”
“Shhh. I’m not planning on dying but I also don’t know if I can do everything fast enough to avoid getting killed before help arrives. All I do know is when that help comes, find a woman named Kay. She’ll be leading the charge. Find her. She’ll protect you, take you both away from here and try and get you home.”
