“What?” Drake could barely believe she had said the words. The number didn’t seem real. “That’s impossible.”
“When you ruptured the vex chambers, most of my people were on the second level. So yes. It was very possible. Only a handful escaped alive.”
He glanced over to Lenora, who by now was staring down at the floor, clearly already aware of this. The girl, Teri, must have told her.
“I didn’t know,” was all he could think to say.
“And if you did? What would have changed?”
“I…I’m not sure.”
Bane leapt to his defense. “What would you have the man do? Call in the royal guard instead? At least Drake did what he did unintentionally. But the royal guard...they would have simply slaughtered every last one of you without mercy.”
“Ah, yes,” she sneered. “Bane. Outcast mage and hawker. How is it you are still alive? Is there anyone in Vale who doesn’t want to see you dead? I take it you know that Fisk has put out a bounty of fifty thousand notes on your head. And to be honest, we could use the money.”
“Samuel is my cousin,” said Lenora. “And whatever you might think, he is a good man.”
“And then there’s you,” said Zara. “Princess Lenora. What is it exactly you are running from? Oh, yes. Your brother wants you dead. Or at least, he did. It seems that the illustrious captain...actually, it’s Lord Xavier now... has found a way for you to make amends. Are you aware of this yet?”
“Teri told me about it only a few minutes ago.”
Drake’s eyes shifted rapidly in her direction. “Told you about what?”
Zara spoke first. “It seems that her brother has given his permission for Xavier to wed the princess,” she told him. “He claims you kidnapped her, and has offered a fortune for her safe return.”
“So is that it?” said Bane. “You captured us for bounty money?”
“There’s no doubt it would help our cause,” she replied, leaning back in her chair. “And it would be ironic that the very man who wants to destroy us would be funding his adversaries.”
Drake noticed Bane’s hands glowing faintly.
“But no. I have no intention of turning you over. You are far too valuable to us for that.”
“Then what do you want from us?” asked Lenora. She reached over and touched Bane’s leg. Gradually, he released his mana.
“It is my understanding that you want to know what we learned from your brother while he was in our custody.” Rising from her chair, she crossed over to the door and dimmed the lights. “The fact is, we learned quite a lot. We already knew about the high mages’ corruption of the mana streams. But what we learned from the prince…”
She eyed Lenora with clear suspicion. “It makes me wonder exactly how much you know, and if you are a part of his plan as well.”
“I learned of my brother’s mad schemes some time ago,” she admitted. “But I am not a part of it all. Quite the opposite – I hope to prevent it from happening.”
“The old mage from the college says that you need to know how he intends to carry out his plan. Is that right?”
Lenora nodded. “None of us have any idea how he might be able to accomplish such a seemingly impossible task. I’m sure he must have a way. But if we don’t know what it is, how are we to stop him?”
Zara resumed her seat, her gaze still fixed upon the princess. There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Tell me, what do you know about hellspawn?”
Lenora knitted her brow. “Hellspawn? Nothing at all, really. Only that they’re monsters from the outer world.”
“You’ve never heard your father or brother speak of them?”
“Only once or twice. When they found a way into Vale.”
“What does this have to do with us?” demanded Drake.
Zara’s eyes shifted across to bore into him. “Absolutely everything,” she replied.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The holoprojector came to life, and the image of a hellspawn appeared on the wall to their left. As it moved closer, its black soulless eyes seemed to be staring directly at them. The creature’s pale green flesh was literally covered in blood, much of it likely from the horrifically mutilated corpse it was dragging along with one of its taloned claws.
“This was taken a week ago,” Zara told them. “It killed twelve people before the royal guard was able to take it down.” She looked to Drake. “You were a royal guard. Did you ever find out how they were getting into Vale?”
“No,” he replied. “We looked for weeks, but we were never able to find a point of entry.”
“That’s because you were looking in the wrong places.”
Drake stiffened. “Are you saying that you know how they got in?”
“What if I told you they didn’t come from beyond the barrier at all? That they were here in Vale the whole time?”
Drake coughed a laugh. “Then I’d say you’ve lost your mind.”
She made no immediate reply, choosing instead to merely push the mana pad in her hand. In response, a massive steel building came up on the screen. It bore no markings, though the exterior was well maintained, and the entrance was being watched by two royal guards.
“Do you recognize this place?” she asked.
“Yes, of course I do,” Drake said. “It’s a research facility. We kept men there around the clock. But we were never given access to the interior. Only the people who worked there were allowed beyond the door.”
She regarded him for a moment. “Were you never curious as to what they were doing?”
He spread his hands. “It was none of my affair. The royal guard was charged with security, that’s all. You don’t question orders from the king. You just obey.”
“So would it surprise you to learn that this is where the hellspawn come from? Or at least, those that you have seen.”
Drake didn’t like where this was going. “Are you suggesting…?”
“That hellspawn are not from the outer world. They are created right here in Vale.”
“That’s not possible,” Lenora blurted out. “My father would have never allowed such a thing.”
A flash of annoyance at her outburst showed on Zara’s face. “Your father, your grandfather before him – in fact, every king and queen for as long as we have records of hellspawn have known about them. Your brother knows as well. How do you think we found out?”
“I don’t believe you,” Lenora insisted, her face taut.
“Why not? The high mages allow people to starve. The king was complicit in that. Would this be worse than the crimes they already have committed?”
“But it makes no sense,” Drake said. “What’s the point?”
“What is the point to anything the ruling class does? To maintain control, of course.” Her eyes fell on Lenora. “If it makes you feel any better, we don’t believe that it was the king who ordered these beasts to be set loose. According to your brother, it’s the high mages who do this. They use them to instill fear in the people and keep them from becoming curious.”
“Curious about what?” asked Drake.
“You’ll find out in due course.”
Zara touched the mana pad again, this time bringing up the image of a large glass tank. Though the picture was blurry, there could be no denying that the creature inside was a hellspawn. A woman in a white coat was standing beside the tank, giving it a sense of scale. The creature wasn’t anywhere near as large as the one he and Bane had fought. If anything, it was closer to the size of those he had seen in the secret room at the nightclub in Narsil.
“This picture was taken at great personal risk by one of our people,” she continued. “As you can see, the hellspawn isn’t yet fully grown.”
Drake hesitated before telling her about his own experience.
“So you believe her?” asked Lenora, mortified.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I still don’t see what this has to do with Salazar.”
“We think he inten
ds to use hellspawn to wipe out the population.”
Drake blew out a derisive breath. “That’s just stupid. Say you’re right. Say that hellspawn are grown in Vale. Do you realize how many of them it would take to do the job? And even if they had enough, what good would releasing them do? These creatures wouldn’t stop at the provinces. They would destroy all of Vale. Even Troi.”
Zara turned up the lights and then returned to her desk. “Unfortunately, you came along and interfered before we could learn the entire plan.”
“I have to ask,” Bane interjected. “How are they made?”
Zara’s face darkened. “We don’t know the process. But we do know what they are.” Her gaze fixed on Lenora. “I should say, what they used to be. They were people: just ordinary people.”
The dawning implications of this could easily be read in Lenora’s expression. How could her father have known and done nothing to stop it? Within seconds, her bearing began to crumble.
Bane touched her arm. “Even if it’s true, it’s not your fault.”
Tears were spilling down her cheeks. “It’s true. I just know it. This is what my brother was hiding. This is how he intends to slaughter the people.”
Drake felt helpless. To learn that your entire family was guilty of murdering innocent people so as to create monsters out of them…it was unimaginable. He wanted to comfort her, but no words would salve this kind of wound.
Zara’s features softened. “I am sorry, Your Highness. I can see quite clearly now that you were not a part of this. But I need to know…will you help us stop it?”
It was as if something inside Lenora suddenly switched off her tears. Her face became hard as steel and her eyes narrowed. “What can I do?”
A thin smile crept up from the corners of Zara’s mouth. “Quite a bit. I’ll explain more shortly.”
“Are you planning to attack this place?” Drake asked her.
“I could,” she replied. “But it wouldn’t do any good. That particular facility is much too small to house the kind of numbers Salazar would need. And if we attack now, we’ll be exposing our intentions prematurely. When we strike, everything has to be in place. Which means the power station has to be destroyed.”
“Destroy the power station!” This was the craziest thing Drake had heard yet. “You’ll never get close enough,” he stated. “Not with a thousand men. Not even with five thousand. The magistrate’s men and the royal guard, not to mention the mages, would cut you down before you made it to lower Troi.”
Zara smirked. “You think so?”
“I know so. Have you ever seen what five guards armed with P37s can do? Well, imagine a thousand of them. Then imagine the hell the high mages would unleash. And that’s always assuming you could get past the hundreds of magistrate officers.” He shook his head. “No, it’s impossible.”
“Perhaps we could sneak in,” suggested Bane.
“Into the city, yes,” Drake agreed. “But you’d never make it to the power station. The royal guard runs drills three times a year trying to break in. No one has ever succeeded.”
“There has to be a way,” Bane said, stubbornly.
“No, Drake is right,” Lenora told him. “Unless you’re already in the palace, it’s impossible. And even then, you’d need a special code. One wrong step and you’d be incinerated.”
She folded her hands and closed her eyes for a second. “However, I think I might know a way around this.” She looked up at Zara. “That’s what you meant by me helping you, right?”
Realization struck Drake like a hammer. It was too awful a thing to even think about. “Not a chance!” he shouted. “I won’t let you do it.”
“There is no other way,” she said, weakly.
“What are you talking about?” asked Bane.
“She intends to return to Troi and marry Xavier.”
Bane’s eyes shot wide. “Are you crazy? I’m with Drake on this one. No chance. More likely than not, he’ll just kill you.”
Zara began laughing softly. “You are indeed a brave woman, Your Highness. More so than I would have thought possible. And in spite of my feelings about your choice in companions, I can see that they’re loyal to you. But set your mind at ease. I’m not asking you to suffer such a fate.”
Lenora looked confused. “Then what do you need me to do?”
“Salazar isn’t ready to initiate his plan just yet. We have time. Our spies tell us that he has engaged Fisk, along with a few others scattered throughout the provinces, to aid him. Though what they’re getting them to do, we’re still trying to find out.”
“I could help you with that,” said Bane.
“That was our intention,” she told him.
“What about me?” asked Drake.
Zara let out a long breath. “You, I’m afraid, are a difficult matter. You killed a large number of our people, and nothing I can say will change that. If you remain here, sooner or later someone will try to take revenge.”
“If Drake goes, I go too,” Lenora said flatly.
“As it happens, that’s truer than you think.”
She rose from her seat. “I need you both to come with me. I have something to show you. Then you can decide if you really do want to help us.” When Bane stood as well, she held up her hand. “You should stay here. Someone will be along in a minute to go over with you in detail everything that we’ve learned so far.”
Bane’s objections to this were quickly quelled by Lenora. She took his hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Stay here and gather all the information you can. That would be most useful.”
With Bane seated once more, Zara led the other two out. After a few turns, they entered a large room with a number of evenly spaced round tables. Two holovid players were in the far corner, and several game boards and books were scattered about. A door was situated on the left wall, through which music could be heard drifting out.
Once they were seated, Zara folded her hands on the table and regarded them both closely. “What you are about to see is known only to a very few of us. I have to ask that you do not tell your cousin about it.”
“I will not hide anything from him,” Lenora responded quickly.
“You must. At least for now. I promise that it’s nothing he needs to know.”
Lenora looked to Drake, who gestured that it should be her decision. After several seconds of thought, she slowly nodded her acceptance.
Zara smiled. “That’s good. But before I reveal our secret, tell me what you know about the world beyond the barrier?”
“It’s a wasteland,” Lenora replied. “Nothing grows there, and it is filled with ravenous, twisted beasts. They say it was once a garden, devastated by the war of the ancients.”
“Yes,” said Zara. “That’s what we’re all told. But what if that was a lie?”
“I’ve seen beyond the barrier,” Drake said. “It’s not.”
“Have you? Have you really? How far in did you go?”
Drake shrugged. “Not far. Just to the other side. All new recruits of the royal guard are taken there so they can see for themselves what they’re protecting the people from.”
“So you didn’t venture out at all?”
“No. Why would I wish to? There was nothing there but black earth and dust as far as the eye could see.”
“And you, Your Highness?”
“I’ve never been. But I’ve seen the images.”
Zara nodded while digesting their answers for a moment, then called out: “Maliel! Can you come in here, please?”
The door to their left opened almost at once, and a tall thin figure emerged. At first, Drake was confused as to what he was seeing. Clad in a tan cloth robe and leather shoes, the new arrival had long silver hair that fell to the middle of his back. His deep bronze skin seemed to shimmer in the mana light, while his eyes were widely spaced and tilted slightly upward, giving him a striking appearance. But it was the newcomer’s ears that had Drake jumping to his feet. Long, thin, and pointed at t
he tip, they were clearly not those of any human.
“What the hell is that?” he demanded, placing his body directly in front of Lenora. “Some sort of hellspawn?”
The figure halted, eyes fixed on Drake.
“He is not a hellspawn,” Zara insisted firmly.
“He?” Drake repeated. “That’s a he?”
“Yes, I am most certainly male.” His voice was surprisingly deep, yet in a way light and musical. “If indeed, that is your question.”
His accent was unlike anything Drake had heard before, with rolling r’s and elongated vowels.
“This is Maliel,” said Zara. “And he is how we will defeat Salazar and save the people of Vale.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maliel sat next to Zara, across from Drake and Lenora. His movements were fluid and graceful, and his emerald green eyes darted between the pair of them repeatedly.
“What…what are you?” Lenora’s voice was a mere whisper.
He glanced over to Zara, who nodded her approval.
“We call ourselves Nelwyn. Beyond that description, I can tell you nothing more.”
“We found him two years ago,” Zara added. “Just beyond the barrier, severely injured and unconscious. He’s been living here ever since.”
“You are actually from beyond the barrier?” asked Lenora.
“I am.”
“How is that possible?” she pressed.
“Life outside your world is not what it seems,” he explained. “There is tall land…” He paused to give an embarrassed smile. “Forgive me. I sometimes confuse your words. There is much you do not see. The world outside is vast and green. Not like here.” He looked as if he had tasted something disgusting. “Here, the solas tastes foul. It makes people ill.”
“Solas is what they call mana,” Zara explained. “He can feel the taint of the high mages.”
“Then why have you stayed?” asked Drake.
“Outside is dangerous for my kind. The Bomar have cut me off from my people. They hunt us down whenever they can find us. Here I am sick, but at least I am alive.”
The Vale: Behind The Vale Page 26
