Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Chapter Forty Three: TRUTH AND GENERALS

While I sat amazed at my own destiny and how far I had come since that fateful night I had met Azure, the rest of group was busy catching up on missed events.

“Krâl,” Kabir said, “last time you came – you left this.”

He took out something wrapped in a brownish coarsely woven cloth from one of the drawers of a table standing next to his chair. He uncovered a small toy sword, carved out of wood, bearing Demon’s insignia in the form of a charred mark. Demon took it and stared at the weapon.

“Did she ever play with it?” he asked.

“Always,” Kabir said. “This was so special to her. She kept it under her pillow at night. Said it scared the monster under her bed.”

Demon laughed softly but I couldn’t help noticing his sad tone.

“Shukra Aman,” Demon said, “but I won’t take it. I made it for her.” He placed the toy back on the table. Kabir nodded and sank back in his chair with his head bent somberly. Suddenly the chatter had died down and the room felt stuffy.

“Let me get some more tea.” Ina sprang to her feet and headed for the kitchen.

I didn’t know what had just happened. What story did the toy sword have to tell and who was the she whose mention had left Kabir slumped in a chair and Demon so solemn. Azure sat quietly in his chair for a minute and then he too stood up and went outside. I looked back at Demon. He was still staring at the crackling fire. I decided to not disturb the two men and went after Ina.

When I came into the kitchen, I found her vomiting. Her body shook with strong convulsions and tears streamed down her cheeks as she leaned over the kitchen sink, barely being able to stand. I rushed to her side and held back her hair.

“Ina! What’s wrong?” I rubbed her back. Then I turned on the water tap in the sink and scanned the counters for a glass or a mug or something. But Ina didn’t wait. She splashed some water on her face and rinsed her mouth. Then, she filled her palm with fresh clear running tap water and drank from it.

“Nothing.” She gasped for breath as she straightened up and looked pale. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I hadn’t understood a thing that had gone on in this house since dinnertime.

She looked up to say something but more tears spilled out instead of words.

“Who did that toy belong to, Ina?” I asked her gently.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. “My daughter,” she said, “Shehrzad.” Oh, God!

“You’re – her mom.” It was more a statement than a question. Shimmers. The hunter’s trap! “I’m so sorry.” What else could I say? “Demon told me about her.”

Ina nodded quietly and sat down on a low stool. “He adored her. And she just loved the forest so much!” Then she fell silent for a second and when she spoke again, it was as if she was talking to herself. “If only she hadn’t gone into the woods that day – if only I’d known about the Ducimas.”

“The Ducimas?” My ears pricked. “What about the Ducimas?”

“That they were –” she stopped, suddenly realizing what she was saying. “Krâl doesn’t know about this. Please, don’t tell him!” But she had given away too much to me without even saying it out loud.

“She didn’t die in a hunter’s trap?” I couldn’t believe it. “You lied to him?”

“The Ducimas aren’t allowed here! This is his part of Enth and if I told him he’d go to war against them and – it will destroy this peace we’ve achieved after so long.”

“Peace?” I felt hot. “There is another war brewing up, Ina! What peace are you –” I stopped and took a deep breath. “How long ago was this?”

“Last year,” she said softly. “About this time.”

“What happened?”

“She was playing in the woods when a few Ducimas hunted her down. We never found out how many there were but –two arrows pierced –” she gasped softly, “through her heart.”

I clamped a tight hand over my mouth. My heart stopped and for a second the world faded away in a blur of dark shadows. Arrows! Two arrows! She was a child! “And you didn’t tell him this?” I whispered hoarsely as I fought back tears. Ina didn’t need my tears. She had plenty of her own! “Why didn’t you tell him? He would’ve ripped them limb from limb!”

“That’s exactly why!” Ina looked at me sharply. Her tears had dried and her eyes sparkled with resolve. “That would give Ducimus the excuse to retaliate with force. Just because I lost my little girl doesn’t mean every other mother should prepare to lose her child in battle!”

“What makes you think they’d stop or did stop with just your little girl? Maybe they went on to kill kids in other places too!”

“No,” she said softly. “They killed Shehrzad with purpose. They knew hurting her would hurt Krâl. It was no secret how he felt for her.”

Those witches! How vile of Arela and her – witches!

“Lord!” I felt stifled. “But what about now? Just now at the dinner table you guys were planning a diversion – a war I suppose? What about that?” Ina smiled. “That’s not war. That’s freedom.” “From Krâl?” I was confused.

“From Arela! All of Enth except Cold Woods is occupied by the Ducimus. But now that you’re here, we can fight and win back our land. As for Krâl, he’d let us go in a heartbeat if we asked even if he wasn’t turning human. He only holds onto us because we don’t have our own monarch.”

“You people don’t believe in democracy at all, do you?” I said. “There just has to be a monarch.”

“Democracy. Monarchy. What difference does it make when the people are happy? This is our choice.” She spoke wisely. “You will unite Enth and return its glory. This is the day we’ve been waiting for.”

“Then I need to do this before Demon turns human. I can’t do this without him.” I didn’t realize I was thinking out loud. When Ina abruptly stared at me and said nothing, I

understood how odd it must’ve sounded coming from a Demon-slayer. I smiled. “I’m still learning the ropes, Ina.”

She nodded. “But I know Krâl. His only interest will be to break the curse. Not war and victory.”

I was afraid of that too. He was powerful but didn’t like to exercise it. I knew just then I needed to come up with a plan or at least pray for a situation that would force him into battle so that we could vanquish Ducimus while he was still Demon. I needed his power to return glory days to Enth and – goodness, some lousy Demon-slayer I was!

“We’ll see.” I smiled at her. “Do you feel better now?” Dumb question, Aoife. You know she never will.

“Yes. Thank you!” She smiled gratefully.

All that crying had left her complexion very rosy and she looked beautiful in that moment. I should’ve felt sad for her but I didn’t. Well, not entirely. The admiration I felt for her superseded the sadness I felt. I knew what it was to lose a loved one but to lose a child – no pain could be harsher and yet there she was – a delicate woman with a strong heart and pure intent. Yes, I would love to be part of this land. Yes, I wanted to earn the love of such brave people – the way Demon had!

“Ina,” Kabir called from the parlor and that ended our private conversation.

Ina sprang up and quickly wiped her face with a napkin. Then she dashed off into the parlor with me close on her heels. Demon and Kabir looked much recovered from their somber conversation of previous moments. Azure hadn’t returned yet.

“Where’s the tea?” Kabir looked up at Ina. If he noticed any traces of emotion on her face, he didn’t mention it.

“Oh, I forgot.” She turned. “I’ll get it right away.”

“None for me, Ina,” Demon said. “I think I’ll go see what my Phromaz is up to.”

“He’s probably gone into the annex in the back,” Ina said. “That’s where you’ll be staying too, Krâl.”

“What? What about my room?”

“Sorry.” She smiled. “Since the Princess is staying with us I had to kick you boys out.”

“What? Everyone likes the Princess now? What am I? Chopped liver?” Demon winked at her and stood up.

Ina laughed. As for me, I simply smiled. The bond he had with these people was something I had only begun to understand and could hardly bring about any shift in loyalties.

“Demon!” Just then the cottage door flew open and Azure burst through, panting and excited. “Salaar is here!”

Demon took in a moment to absorb the information before he asked, “He is?”

“Yes!” Azure exploded with glee. “And he’s not alone. Baruk and Cy are with him and so is Ogaz!”

“Ogaz!” Demon seemed to have come to his senses. “Why didn’t you say so?” And with that he rushed out. Kabir and Azure followed him as did Ina and I.

Outside, we found Ogaz standing in the red courtyard with three other men standing obediently behind him. I noticed two of them looked Human whereas one was unmistakably a Phromaz.

Kabir stepped forward before anybody else and greeted Ogaz. “Welcome dear

Shaman! You grace my humble abode!”

“Oh, thank you Kabir. You’re too kind.” Ogaz smiled at the man. “But the occasion does call for celebration. Look who I found!”

“About time!” Demon said staring at one of the Human-men. “General, I don’t appreciate a run-around!”

“Krâl.” The man in question bowed his head slightly, not the traditional Realmic courtesy to Krâl I’d seen, before. “Had I but known you were looking for me, I’d have come instantly! Please accept my apology, Krâl.”

Demon smiled. “You need to meet someone.” Then, he looked at me and the man who was presumably Salaar followed his gaze.

I focused on the man too. And was pleasantly surprised at the feast it presented for my eyes. He had thick, white curls, smooth skin, and an immense charm that wouldn’t let me look away from his face. His muscular frame betrayed the effects of tough days and toil, and he wore an engaging expression on his face and in his eyes as he stared back at me.

And he stared at me for a few good minutes. It seemed as if he’d even forgotten to breathe.

“I hear the resemblance to her mother is uncanny.” Demon’s voice broke Salaar’s concentration and he bowed to me.

“Princess of Enth. You have my allegiance and my sword at your command.” Unlike almost everyone in the Realm, he spoke with very little accent.

“Salaar of Sepharvim, khastum!” Ogaz spoke this time. “And dear Princess, may I present Cy and Baruk. The two heroic generals of Volttian armies before Demon

Antinoos set them both free. They are here today once more to serve their Krâl.”

As he said their names, they bowed their heads respectfully and respectively. Cy was a Phromaz and Baruk the other Human. So it was this Phromaz that Demon had been in contact with all this time. I also didn’t fail to notice that they did not honor me with the traditional Realmic bow. The reasoning behind it was plain. I wasn’t their Princess. They only served Krâl. Salaar had made that same point when he slightly bowed his head to Demon but went down on his knee in the traditional way when he bowed to me. I was his Queen. He served only me. But my people had been protected by Volttus and had made an emotional connection with its King. They respected him with their hearts – and I had much to learn and earn.