Traitor to the King: A Tale of the Benaga Sisters

by Clare SM Keating

  The mages looked panicked and there was the mention of an Arch-Demon and Damara could not believe it as she galloped after them to the roof. The glass dome at the top of the tower would not only show off the situation outside, but there was also the likelihood that the king would be there and if Damara was not there before the rest of the mages, she would be closed off and unable to save the king. She also knew it was the one place in the whole of the kingdom where Leridan would ever have seen the king and had the chance to get in!

  Damara was rushing to get up the stairs after the mages, barging through their cowls and robes to get to the front of them, tripping them up or knocking them over just so she could make it to the top. They were all confused, all startled and some wanted to grab her and throw her straight down the stairs for her impudence, but the world continued to tremble and then they all heard a roar. The sound was from the orcs, the battle cry that the defences were down, and it was time to charge! Damara knew that this was the point of distraction, where the magic would be fuelling the stones and not the king!

  Damara managed to skim past the last few robed figures at the head of the stairs and up out the wide opening to the great crystal and glass dome that twinkled in the remnant of light to break through the spores. The moment she reached the top her eyes were drawn to the west where the monster was, and she collapsed on the floor in a shuddering heap. To her surprise, it was Lord Zehna that was there to hoist her up, grip her shoulders and notice the panic written upon her face as he pulled her towards the great stone slab where the king was laid out with the stones, feeling their energy combine to form the shield. He was at his most vulnerable and Damara gripped Zehna tightly by the arms.

  “It’s Leridan… he attacked me because I saw that thing coming and… and it’s just a distraction, Leridan’s coming here to kill the king and knock out the wall!” Damara blurted and there was such panic in her brilliant eyes that the mages standing nearby began to make gestures towards the sun that just peeked through the cloud of black spores above. But the majority ignored her words, she was a woman… she could not understand anything and they all turned to face the window and a deep throaty chant began as the stones first line of magic protection created by the Mage Circle started to form. Zehna should have just dropped her and gone to the line too, but he noticed the king lift a weakened finger and urged her to sit beside him.

  “Damara… you can sit on the stone and protect the king. You won’t be touched by the magic, if anything you’ll just help encourage the king to see the people he needs to protect. Keep your sword up and if you see anything you feel is suspicious, just attack.” Zehna stated, patting her shoulder but looking mournfully out toward the Arch-demon. The king must believe Damara at least, but she was quite sure that no one else would consider the Archdemon’s attack on the dam wall just a distraction… not when there was a great scream from the southern Rice Wall and the enemies looked to be piercing through.

  “By Nabuto… they’re going to collapse onto the prison… my sister’s going to die!”

  A good third of the Core beneath were now employed at the prison in preparation for a break in and this was where Droy was already discussing the options with Skabrat as the roofing echoed above them with the thuds of angry beasts. They had felt the rumble and guessed that something very bad had happened up above and they were due to be attacked. Everyone in the Core was gathering around Droy and Skabrat as they tried to figure out what to do. There was only a bad vibe coming down from the surface and the pair of them were feeling all too fearful as Skabrat sighed.

  “If they breach we’ll be drowned most likely… the water from the rice fields will drop straight down here and kill the majority. It should also swallow up most of the beings coming in and aside from that there’s no point gathering here and hoping to stay. The rules say we leave the prisoners to drown or float… assume them all cleansed and if they remerge afterwards then it’s an automatic favour thanks to Nabuto’s will. But I don’t like the idea… especially considering the Rice Wall’s never been a target before.” Skabrat growled as she poured through her folders and the details within the prison office. She had to remove the evidence folders and the list of prisoners so that she knew who was to be assumed dead. As she fiddled through her eyes locked firmly upon the piece of paper that held Anouk’s name and then she froze, tapping her fingers together.

  Droy was sitting in the office too, trembling and grabbing the wall for security every time it shook and when a massive chunk of stone dropped down into the mud puddle with a massive splosh, he grimaced. Droy growled as he hopped to the desk and grasped Skabrat’s shoulder firmly despite her wish for him not to touch her. But it was clear he did not feel safe with what was going on and Skabrat knew it was time to throw the book out the window and take immediate action. She had not recalled what had happened the last time an Arch-Demon was around, but she certainly felt it trembling within the world. Skabrat gave a groan of dismay and with a soft grunt of irritation, she put the files in a box, in a leather satchel and hung it around her body before wiping her robes down and making sure her hair was up.

  “Alright, I’ve got a plan and you’ve got to gather everyone up and leave the area, let it seal up and then we can all stand in the passages and slaughter everything that escapes. You send the Core out there along with the guards, the prisoners have been quiet ever since the Karayan turned up so if I get my men to shuffle around, open the gates and tell them all the Karayan wishes them to fight for him… well, we’ll see what happens.” Skabrat grunted gently and Droy’s eyes widened in surprise to hear her suggest such a thing until suddenly she produced a soft sigh. As she put the satchel upon her body and then stretched to grip his shoulder tightly, she almost looked depressive and he was curiously worried for her. “I did not enjoy putting Anouk in here… I know your master judged me for seemingly betraying my friend, but I did not vote against her and now I will release her. As the rules state – if she survives she’s cleared of her guilt by Nabuto’s will. Now I’ll go to her and you can release Loteg.”

  Droy nodded his head, although he had the feeling that no matter if he opened the cage or not, that being might never emerge and leave his papers alone. All the same he scampered off down the corridor, barking orders for the members of the Core present and even to the prison officers. Some were not pleased to hear this figure giving them instructions, but when the woman following him gave the same they all nodded their heads. As the Core departed up to the mud pools the prison wardens released their charges with the message about the Karayan and those prisoners sane enough to understand followed and grabbed weapons. They seemed eager to defend their homeland, their families, even if they had been abandoned by them the loyalty for their king was so deeply ingrained that they saw this opportunity to fight as their last to clear their names. Even the most insane of the criminals and inmates seemed to realise that there was something terrifying going on and shuffled out with the eagerness of rats leaving a sewer. Droy watched in disgust as he scuttled to Loteg’s prison, only to see the figure standing out with a few boxes filled with papers.

  “Criminal Loteg… what are you doing? We haven’t got the time to fiddle with papers!” Droy began, only to have a long sharp finger prod him straight in the nose and scowl at him for being in a panic. Loteg quickly hammered the box lids down and then shuffled them towards the elevator, making Droy itch his head in confusion. Loteg just continued to ignore him as he hurried on with his attempt to hide his documents and make ready for war. Droy could not understand the need to keep the documents, but Loteg suddenly spun around to look at him and pushed his journal straight into Droy’s chest with a thump. Droy fell onto his backside in surprise, looked at the journal and almost screeched to see that it was written by a Benaga and therefore must have been stolen! “What are you doing with this?”

  “It was a gift – you’re more likely to survive this than I am… when we get through this mess and whatever that is up there is gone, I want you to gi
ve it to the Karayan. It’s not to go to the Benaga girls, they’re not ready for it. The Karayan is an outsider, he will see it as what it is.” Loteg scowled as he then shifted to find some kind of weapon nearby and lead the other prisoners out, but Droy just grasped the book in utter confusion and concern as he looked to the writing. He could read quite plainly that this was a private journal, one kept by the previous Lord Benaga and probably unknown to any of his children… it had value and he was scared to hold such a thing. But, in guessing what Loteg intended to safe-guard the other items he’d taken out, Droy took off his outer robe and wrapped it about the object as tightly as possible before putting a casing of stone around with his own magic. He then shifted it into his remaining clothing and then followed the route back to the outskirts of the prison, ready to run for it or fight, whatever came first.

  He ran past the form of Skabrat still unlocking the cells on her way down to the Red Corridors where Anouk would be sitting in her cell. Whatever the Karayan had done earlier this day, it had not only healed Anouk’s legs but had given her a new lease of energy and a new school of thought to keep her from slipping into madness. Indeed, when her old master reached the cell and fiddled to unlock it, Anouk was already pulling herself up onto her feet and growling over everything that had been going on. No sooner had she wobbled out of the cell than there was a thunderous rumble throughout the cavern and a hefty slab of stone fell straight down into the mud pools beneath, urging a scream from all that witnessed it. Skabrat threw Anouk’s arm over her shoulder and hissed gently.

  “Anouk… the Rice Wall’s been breached… I know protocol says to abandon the prisoners, but we’ve released them to fight instead. Something about the fear of the Karayan seems to have changed them all. I’ll get you to the Second Dam though, something is going on up there and my body is tingling with terror – I don’t know what it is on the surface, but I can only imagine that your line’s had more experience with it than any other here.” Skabrat growled softly as she remained clasped about Anouk’s waist, urging her friend onward as Anouk slithered about on feet that seemed unfamiliar with standing straight. It was not unusual for Skabrat to see prisoners like that who were being transferred about the cells after severe leg injuries, but it made her chest tremble with fear.

  Right now, there was one thing that the whole kingdom needed above the Karayan or the king or any of the stones… they needed a Benaga!

  “Anouk… you’ve got to tell me you can fight! If I know you can fight, then I know I’m not going to die here in vain. Call me unfair, but I doubt Damara is of any use in this kind of situation.” The words were meant not only to bolster Anouk’s confidence in herself, but Skabrat knew that any insult or disbelief placed upon little Damara would gain a rise within Anouk. Indeed, the thought that this horrendous thing was happening and that this time there was no Loteg around to help snatch Damara away made Anouk growl audibly and Skabrat’s heart flutter. She recognised the growl for the power it brought with it, the determination and the pride – Anouk was soon straightening herself up, walking more easily and straining to grab the walls rather than her friend for support. It irked a grin to form upon Skabrat’s face until they heard a sound from up above like creaking. “Uh… you know my speed magic… I’m going to use it to get us to the tunnel… but I can’t get you any further and I’ll have to face the enemy with my men….”

  “I can do this… whether I can walk or not, I will rip the traitor and these villains to pieces!”

  Fear had already seized Damara’s form as she trembled on the stone beside the king, her eyes shifting from the robed forms she could not identify to the scenario beyond. Her body was sweating heavily with the terror that such a reality caused, her heart thundering and howling for the help of her sister. Damara was not strong enough to cope with this situation, yes, she thought she could take on Leridan… but an Arch-Demon was just something else! Tears were already dribbling down her cheeks as she watched the First Dam finally buckle completely under the weight of the now flesh-coated Arch-Demon. The grinding sound it created alongside the now familiar sound of breaking and falling rock filled their sharp ears and made everyone present grind their teeth in disgust. Then the beast had started to straighten itself up onto hind legs that were starting to buckle… new demons were attaching to it to make it stronger and yet the orcs and hobgoblins and other beasts were spilling in. It looked like everything was going to come at the Second Dam and the soldiers were advancing to meet the weaker enemies.

  However, as Damara gripped at her hands, nibbling her knuckles and whimpering softly, she spotted the trembling motions of the king’s weakened hands and she quickly stuffed her hands into her sleeves and tried to look more covered. There was nothing more shameful than being exposed or rude in the king’s presence and though soft little tears were sitting neatly at the edges of her brilliant large eyes, the king stretched up a hand to her and gently touched her knee. She turned to face him with an anxious expression, but as she looked towards him his eyes shone with a deep affection that made Damara smile fondly to see. She’d never known the grandfather that Anouk had, never really experienced the same kind of wish to impress such a noble being save for what she felt towards her king. Otzell hailed himself as a grandfather to all the children of Virenheim and to her he had shown tenderness in the past and a gentility unknown by many other children to have waddled diapered into his halls and fall asleep at his feet.

  There was a connection between them perhaps, something special that had made Damara’s acquisition of a stone even more profound though its presence was lacking on this slab. As Otzell continued to hold her knee, she almost let her trembling mouth open to say thank you when it was clear the feeling was understood. Damara could only just contain the appreciation that would have her leap on him in a hug, when there came a sudden rocking of the earth and she slid off the slab onto the marbled floor with a grunt. Suddenly the king raised a hand to question, the wizards about him floundered and skid around in surprise at the reaction, but a cloud of grey dust and steam was stealing its way upward amongst the dark spores. The jet of material wafted the black spores aside to let some much-needed light shine straight onto the goliath floundering forward, making its body turn as rock hard as the Virenheim walls as it froze in Nabuto’s glare. The action caused some of the orcs and hobgoblins to bolt off in retreat, but the Hive demons had arrived to bolster their master and it would not be long before it recovered. But with a cry of dismay one of the other mages of the circle Damara knew to be Master Highgate gave her cause for greater alarm.

  “The Rice Wall! They’ve punctured through and straight down to the prison – the paddy water is flooding in… they’ll all drown in there! The… the citadel has been breached!” Highgate was not known for being one to panic, he had been a lucky elf to have ‘human’ blood in his ancestry but to be so powerful it had not spurned him from the Circle position. He looked out to the images of the city beyond their protected Second Dam in total dismay, his hands disconnecting from the circle and reducing the shield. The moment this action was done the other mages snatched at him desperately, shaking him to get his focus back as the Arch-demon sensed the change and advanced forward.

  “Anouk… she’s… she’s…” Damara whimpered in terror at the thought of her sister being drowned amongst the muck of the fields, but the king grasped at her for attention. Damara turned to look at him, tears trickling down her face and his clawed old hand stretched out to hook her chin and try to urge her to stop crying. His eyes were stern, they spoke of a rich understanding and a reassurance that her elder sister was safe, but Damara was still petrified. As Highgate continued to wail and wrestle with his companions there was a shifting amongst the wizardly figures and one of them stepped straight out of the circle and towards Damara. She did not notice it at first, not until Lord Zehna lunged from nowhere to land upon the figure. “Zehna!”

  Damara leapt upward but the lord mage was flung into her and the pair of them crashed heavily
onto the hard stone as the robed figure advanced towards the king. Otzell remained lying upon the ground but his eyes narrowed, and he stared straight toward the advancing figure with a look of sheer fury though he was quite helpless. The figure pulled two familiar looking demonic daggers from the sleeves of his great cloak and Damara knew exactly who it was and what was going on. She scrabbled to get herself out from under Zehna’s seemingly prone form, desperate for him to wake and help keep the Circle going. The other wizards turned as if they should help, but the groaning noises of the advancing Arch-Demon took their focus back to the circle and even Highgate seemed suddenly eager to take his master’s place. With the Mage Circle united to save the citadel it was clearly left for Damara to take out Leridan as the magic sphere prevented the guards from clambering up the stairs to get in and aid her. She was alone and had to save the king… just like any other Benaga would.

  Brutally throwing Zehna off her body so he gave a grunt which pulled Leridan’s attention, Damara yanked herself up onto her feet and ran at him. With a roar of rage, she swung herself about his waist, bowling him to the floor before he had a chance to stab or counter. Rage ate into her, a fierce flame of fury that consumed her very soul at the idea that someone might dare to hurt the only man in the whole of Virenheim to ever see her through gentle eyes and a kind heart. He was like the grandfather she had never known, and Anouk had sworn to protect the king with her life so why shouldn’t Damara? The rage made her body glow lavender, little crackles of ice white lightning skimming out of her shoulders each time Leridan tried to stab her with his blades but was countered. Something like a freezing forcefield was forming around her, shielding her from the brutality he’d already shown and distract her mind from any form of pain. Her eyes became black pools, terrifying and soulless as Leridan scrabbled to get himself free as she punched into his face and chest, snarling and spitting at him like some rabid beast.