Chapter 18. Crossroads I

Chapter 18. Crossroads I

Maya bolted at the first sight of them, heading towards the children. A ranger burst out of the woods and tackled her. She yelped as she fell. The man must have outweighed her by more than a hundred pounds.

"Hey Karyk, I think I found our rampaging infernal." He laughed as she struggled. "Someone help me get the manacles on before she sets me on fire."

I stood, intent to run towards her before another ranger caught me by the back of my robe. "Easy lad." I twisted to try and free myself, but experience was on his side. He easily moved with me and tripped me to the ground, placing his knee on my back. He lowered his face so he could speak to me. "Whatever she told you, that one theres part demon."

"Let me go," I commanded.

"Thats a big tone for such a little shrimp."

Maya scratched at them, angry and feral. The only thing that explained her reaction was that she must have recognized the sigil. One of the rangers backhanded her, hard. She spit blood onto the ground.

"Might be more trouble than shes worth, this one." The one the other had called Karyk remarked to an old balding ranger with white hair who shook his head.

"Fuckin demis."

The amulet fell out from beneath Mayas robe.

It was then, with horrifying clarity, that I saw it.

I understood.

How the compassionate person I knew changed into the person I met that awful night that changed everything.

This had all happened before. It happened a few years later, but I had no doubt it happened the same way. Maya spent years fighting a Cold War with Barion, protecting and losing children she considered her responsibility. Maybe she found a way to beat him, maybe she didnt. Either way, Barions time eventually ran out and the rangers closed in. Maya spent years of her life trying to protect humans, and when help finally came, she was treated exactly the way she was treated now. As a monster.

Who wouldnt be bitter?

And then the right person came along with a cause and a weapon. A person with a reptilian eye and a hell of a grudge. Thoth went to the infernals and healed the divisionhow, I didnt know, but that didnt matterand brought back the fighters that had been sealed on the other side of the divide. And then they fought under her banner. Whatever the means, Maya acquired the flame.

And became every bit the monster they thought she was.

Fuck this.

"Cairn, dont!" Maya must have seen it in my eyes. My fathers men looked around, confused, recognizing the name.

I reached back with my spark and set the ranger on top of me on fire. He screamed, falling backwards as the fire ran up his chest. With what felt like a massive exertion of self-control, I recalled the flame, holding it in my hand. That overstrained feeling in my gut returned. Two archers drew their bows, arrows pointed at my head along with a half dozen swords.

I stood slowly, nursing the anger deep in my heart, and spoke.

"My name is Cairn of House Valen. Son of Gil. Prince of Siladon. And you will unhand my companion."

The guard I set on fire moaned in the dirt.

To their credit, they let her go almost immediately. Maya slumped to the ground, her hands still bound together in the manacles. She stared at me in horror and disbelief. Then her face scrunched up in rage. Far angrier than I had ever seen her.

A hooded ranger walked past the bowman and signaled. They lowered their weapons. He stood before me and removed his hood. He was white of hair, his eyes a cool familiar blue. I recognized him. His name was Cephur, a captain in the rangers. When I was youngerolder than I am now, but still youngI would follow him into bars and pester him for stories of the Everwood.

He had the folksy sort of accent youd expect from a farmer, not an experienced soldier. "Well, your majesty" He eyed my fire, the woods, and the bound infernal. "What we have here is one massive, honest to Elphion, gods damned mess of a misunderstanding."

I told Cephur the whole story from beginning to present. Nothing about my previous life, but everything from the Caravan forwards. Several rangers were speaking with the children. Lucius was particularly animated, pointing towards Maya and the man who had struck her, letting loose an impressive string of profanity that managed to drift as far as the table. Of course, none of them bothered speaking to Maya herself.

Cephurs brow steadily lowered as I told my tale, and by the time I got to the battle with Barion and the Demon he was outright scowling.

"Id have to look at the body to be sure, but that sounds like a dead ringer for a hells blasted revenant." Cephur said. He tugged at his ear. "Last one was sighted more than two decades ago. You sure youre not spinning me a yarn there, your majesty?"

I sighed, spent. "Just go look. Count the arms if you dont believe me."

"Naw, plenty of time for that later. Plus, its not the sort of thing you brag about, fighting a revenant. Supposed to be bad luck."

An unexpected laugh erupted from my chest. It was hard to imagine having worse luck. Maya glared in my direction, crushing the moment of levity.

"What about this demon you mentioned?" Cephur asked. I bit down on my lip. I hadnt thought that far ahead.

"It caught on fire and sunk into the ground," I said lamely.

"I have no evidence that theyre even involved. All I know for sure is that they may be linked to someone who is."

"Look, it all sounds a little unbelievable," Lucius said. I started to speak, but he stopped me. "But I owe you. You and Maya both, big time. Once I get home, maybe Ill stick my nose in, see what I can find."

"Anything would help at this point." I held my hands out to either side. "Not much to go on. Yet."

"Defusing a plot to overthrow the throne. Thats gotta be worth an appointment in the big city, right?" Lucien grinned. Unlike my friends before the coronation, his words held a hint of irony.

"I rather think it would," I said.

We shook hands and Lucien wandered off.

I looked out Barions window. Maya still held herself tightly, eyes directed downward as the rangers milled around. I cared for her, but she represented a much larger problem. The infernals. They were a huge boon of power to the enemy. If there was a chance to take a single arrow out of Thoths quiver, I needed to take it.

The solution came to me slowly. If I could get the infernals to take me as a ward, that would be the first step. The enclave was widely known for its magical prowess. I could learn from them. Maya told me that they needed dantalion flame to reopen the dimension gate. If I did that myself, perhaps I could beat Thoth to the punch and acquire loyal allies in the process. They knew as well as anyone that King Gil would not be king forever. The biggest limiting factor was the timeline. I drummed my fingers on the desk violently.

I was twelve years old, about to be thirteen. My mother would die a few days after my eighteenth birthday. Giving myself a year buffer, that gave me approximately four years to spend with the infernals, ingratiating myself to them. That had to be enough.

When I opened the gate, I would cash in the rest of my residual goodwill to get Maya or another life mage to come back with me and heal my mother. I would meet Lillian again and do things right this time. Then four to five years before the coronation and the attack. It was tight, but doable.

But all of that would be for naught if my father waged war against the enclave to get me back.

With that in mind, I took a piece of paper from the desk, dipped a pin in Barions inkwell, and began to write.

Father,

It is with a heavy heart that I greet you. For years I have slept poorly, dreaming of a woman that would bring our kingdom to ruin. Within my dream, I saw her unite all the Demi-human races against us and burn the capital on the night of my coronation. I disregarded them as mere nightmares and did not speak of it, thinking my dreams were nothing more than childish foolishness.

This was a luxury lost when the woman who haunted my nightmares attacked the caravan returning from Inharion. Im sure youve heard her description by now. It is not a face that one forgets. I assume that you will also have heard the rangers reports of what happened within the Everwood. You will be delighted to know I have developed an affinity for an element of magic, making me the second wielder of the arcane within our family. It is both fortunate, and unfortunate, that the element I have acquireddemon-fireis exceptionally rare. Thus, I am in need of tutoring in my new talent in order to better aid the kingdom.

It is with this in mind that I head to the enclave voluntarily and of my own free will. I have no doubt that your first instinct will be to rally the banners and set siege against the demon-kin in an attempt to retrieve me. I would beg you to stay your hand.

You once told me a story of your time as a prince: Conquering of the mountain folk of the Elgan; How no one thought their mountainous strongholds could be captured. So, you rebelled against your fathers wishes and went to them as a man without a banner and learned their ways. Studied their strengths and weaknesses. And using that knowledge you were able to accomplish what no one else could.

There is a war coming, father.

I know it in my bones, as surely as the sun rises in the sky and the snow melts at my touch. Allow me to attempt to bring the infernals to our side as allies.

By now, you must think me a foolish child, driven mad by nightmares and putting himself in peril for no reason. So, I will give you another reason to stay your hand. A series of predictions, based on my visions.

Immediately, there is a scribe within the treasury embezzling funds. His name is Osiris of House Ren. Hes the sloppy sort of thief and should be easy enough to snare once you know where to look.

Within the next three months, there will be an uprising in Topside. It will be led by a merchant named Rian, and if left unchecked it will result in a massive loss of commoner lives. He is a charismatic leader, inciting dissent at will, so if he were to meet with an unfortunate accident, I doubt the rebellion would proceed the same way. How to handle it is entirely up to you.

Of more import, there is a certain plant that grows near graveyards. A golden flower. I would advise bringing it to the Royal Chemist and putting him in charge of putting it into mass production with help of the court alchemists and gardeners. When combined with zale root, it can be used to form a cure for advanced respiratory infections. This will be vital come the end of next year, when there will be an outbreak of gray plague all throughout Whitefall that results in a massive body count if left unchecked.

There is more, but hopefully this will suffice for now. Please verify my claims, and if you find them accurate, allow me to work to bring the infernals to my side.

I wish you the best of luck father.

May the frost wane at your waking,

Cairn.

I placed the pen down, wringing out my hand. My young self was not in the habit of writing letters, so my hand had begun to cramp almost immediately. It would have to do. If anything would hold my father back from a fight, it was the promise of a bigger fight down the line.

There was a knock on the open door. Cephur shifted comfortably, having donned his cloak and travel sack.

"Ready to go?" He asked. "Ill leave some men behind to inspect the site, but I want to get these kiddos to the nearest town as soon as possible. From there, its you, me, and a couple others, straight back to Whitefall." He offered me a cheery smile. "Bet youre ready to get home, huh?"

If only.

I sealed the envelope and turned to him.

"About that."