As the door opened, Blackjack quickly placed her hands on Friedrich’s face and pulled him towards her. She planted her soft, warm lips upon his and kissed him deeply. There was a sudden yelp of surprise from the man who had walked in and seen pair together.
“Goodness gracious,” said the man, who was wearing servant’s attire. “Have you no shame? Do you know where you are?”
Blackjack released Friedrich. “I am sorry? No, I do not. We simply wanted somewhere private to express our affection.”
“Shoo! The pair of you,” said the man, marching up to Friedrich and Blackjack while waving his hands.
“We’re sorry,” muttered Friedrich, taking Blackjack by the hand and rushing from the room. Once they were out of earshot of the servant, he let go of the high elf’s hand and turned to her. “What was that?” he asked, still shocked to his core.
“If he thought we were snooping around the lord’s study, the guards would have been alerted and we would have been thrown out. That would not make our hunt for the baron easier.”
“That…makes sense…alright. Did you have to take such drastic measures?”
Blackjack’s face was flushed with embarrassment. “I would prefer if we never speak of this again. It was an act of desperation and I derived no pleasure from it whatsoever.”
“Agreed,” said Friedrich, avoiding eye contact. “Let’s get back to the ballroom before we’re too late.”
The two hurried through the corridors and back through the door that led them into the ballroom. Much to their relief, Lord Buckstone was back at his table. Marina spied the two emerging from the door and hurried over to them.
“Where were you?” she demanded.
“Nowhere,” said Friedrich, awkwardly.
“Looking for the lord,” said Blackjack, shooting him a dirty look.
Marina shook her head. “He left through the front door to greet someone and returned straight away. You didn’t need to panic and run off.”
“Who did the lord greet?”
“That man,” said Marina, pointing to a man with slick black hair and a beard that was starting to turn grey.
“That is him,” said Blackjack. “That man is Baron Pelagius.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” asked Friedrich.
Marina shook her head. “What, are we supposed to assassinate him in front of a crowd of some of the most influential people in the city and beyond? We need something a little more solid than that, Friedrich.”
Just then, Lord Buckstone stood up and held up a hand for the orchestra to fade out. Once there was silence, he tapped a spoon to his glass and the chattering of the people fell to silence. The lord cleared his throat and began.
“Greetings to you all, my esteemed guests. I thank you all for taking the time to be here for our annual ball. I trust that everyone is enjoying themselves so far and has quite the appetite for the banquet that is being so carefully constructed by my team of the highest quality chefs that Mercia has to offer. If the king were here today, he would say the same. It is—”
“The baron’s hand is twitching,” muttered Blackjack as the lord continued his speech. “Surely he would not commit the murder in front of all these people?”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” said Friedrich, crouching low so as not to be noticed as he slipped on the fox mask.
“Be careful!” warned Marina as Friedrich slinked around the edge of the room.
The crowd were so focused on Lord Buckstone that nobody noticed the small, golden fox slipping under the tablecloth of the high table. Friedrich headed straight for the centre and poked his nose and eyes out from underneath, keeping a careful eye on Baron Pelagius.
Blackjack was right, his hand was twitching, but that was not all. There was a curved blade in his hand, black as obsidian and sharp enough to cut through bone like butter. The corner of the baron’s mouth twitched into a small smile that he forced back to neutrality. He was almost giddy at the thought of his plan coming to fruition.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“—and now, I would like to invite my good friend, Baron Pelagius to say a few words.”
The baron stood up, moving his hand underneath his cloak to conceal the knife as the crowd applauded the lord. “Thank you, my most gracious Lord Buckstone. It is truly an honour to be invited to speak in front of so many highly recognised faces. What a glorious night it will be, for so many reasons, but before I get to that, I would like to invite a few more friends to join us.”
The baron’s voice turned dark. “Tokresh dogak tethrus,” he uttered, his voice rippling as he spoke the incantation.
In a flash of swirling red and black lights, appeared two dozen demons on the ballroom floor. Before the guests even had time to react, the baron pulled out his knife and lunged at a horrified Lord Buckstone, but Friedrich was ready. The second the baron’s arm moved, he leapt and sank his teeth into the twisted nobleman’s wrist, making him release the dagger. It fell to the floor and Friedrich unclenched his jaw and retrieved the blade, carrying it away in his mouth as he ran from under the table.
Blackjack and Marina were among the few guests who dared fight against the demonic invaders, Blackjack using a concealed dagger she had smuggled in and Marina utilising her latest spell, Shock Touch, which she did not have to rely on her staff for.
Friedrich ran, careful to not accidentally cut himself with the sharp, demonic blade. As he approached his companions, Blackjack noticed him. He jumped to her and she took the dagger from his mouth. Friedrich wished he could turn back into a human right now, feeling incredibly vulnerable as a fox, but he had to stall for at least another minute.
An armoured demon approached him, raising its Warhammer high and bringing it down in a heavy swing. Friedrich scurried out of the way and leapt onto the demon’s arms as its weapon broke the floor. He ran up its arms and scratched across its eyes, making the hellspawn recoil and drop its weapon. He sank his teeth into its neck, biting the demon’s throat as hard as he could. It was not enough to kill it, but it was enough to distract it. Marina seized the opportunity and grabbed onto the demon’s face, releasing as much electrical energy as she could. The demon felt her spell course through it and it fell to the ground, unconscious.
“The baron!” called Marina as guards rushed into the ballroom to aid in the fight against the demons.
Baron Pelagius was fleeing through the side door that Friedrich and Blackjack had returned from mere minutes ago. Friedrich, Marina and Blackjack ran through the door after them, unwilling to let him escape. For all they knew, he already had a cover story in place for if his plan failed. No, they would not let him find a way to weasel his way out of the consequences of his actions.
As they ran down through the corridors of the castle, the baron looked over his shoulder and saw the party gaining on him quickly. He cursed and then uttered another incantation, summoning a trio of demons into the hall to deal with each of his pursuers.
At that moment, the power of Friedrich’s transformation finally ran out and he returned to his human form, more able-bodied, but weaponless. He had only one option and it was hanging around his neck, tempting him, but he knew he had to hold back on using the minotaur mask, so bloodthirsty as the spirit within was.
“He’s getting away!” called Marina upon seeing the baron vanish around a corner. She tried to get a grip of the demon attacking her and was in no position to chase down the fleeing Butcher.
“Friedrich, go!” ordered Blackjack, stabbing one demon in the temple and then throwing it into the one encroaching upon Friedrich.
Holding his breath and pushing aside his reluctance, Friedrich reached underneath his cravat and pulled out the minotaur mask. He set the black mask with the golden horns upon his face and transformed once again. He sprinted through the corridors, determined not to let the baron get away; the baron would die by his hand.
There. A cloak swished around a corner and Friedrich bolted after, seething with rage. He would tear the baron apart limb from limb. He made no effort to be quiet as he thundered down the hall. Upon another call from the now-terrified baron, a demon spawned, but Friedrich remained undeterred. In a single swing of his thick fist, the demon’s horned head was splattered against the corridor wall.
“No!” yelled Baron Pelagius. “Stay away!”
But Friedrich would not stay away, he was focused on his prey. The fear in the baron’s voice made the chase that much more delectable.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” called the baron. “I…I was framed!”
The baron stopped abruptly, realising that there was only a window before him; he was at a dead end. With a brief look of panic on his face as the minotaur charged towards him, he closed his eyes as the full force of the brute tackled him through the window.
Friedrich and the baron fell from the castle window and into the courtyard below as the moonlight twinkled on the falling shards of glass. The baron yelled as Friedrich snorted, then both hit the ground. The Butcher of the Bay broke upon the stone, no longer a threat to the people of Akatfall, and Friedrich lay on top of him.
Not satisfied with the baron’s death, Friedrich stood up, grabbed the baron’s left arm and placed a hoof on Pelagius’s unmoving chest. With a mighty tug, he ripped the baron’s arm from his body and sank his teeth into it. He tore a chunk of flesh from it and began chewing.
Upon trying to swallow, he found that he could not. He did not want to swallow human flesh, the taste in his mouth was already so foul that it made him want to spit it out. The human soul wrestled with the minotaur soul, each fighting for dominance. The minotaur wanted to eat the baron, but the human wanted anything but. Trembling, the minotaur spat out the chunk of the baron’s flesh onto the grass and fell to his knees.
Friedrich had won the battle of wills; he had won the battle against The Butcher of the Bay, but he was more scared than he had ever been.