Chapter 44 King
Humans seldom bother us, although….sniff, sniff…they are well-fed…sniff, sniff… plump and juicy. Their dogs and cats are, also, but they lead to too much trouble so we avoid them. It’s been years since we devoured a prince. Have you heard the Legend of Prince Eater #3? She’s a hero for the ages. She ate an actual Holy King. — Prince Eater, undocumented — Prince Eater, undocumented
Gil had walked only a few meters before he realized that there were no longer the sounds of feasting and killing from the far cells. As he neared Reggie’s cell, Minotaur Tiernan called out in alarm, “Ainsley! You stopped answering my shouts or coming to see us. What happened? I smelled death. Are you all right? Talk to me.”
“She left us to die,” Minotaur Ainsley explained weakly. “And the other part of me did.”
Gil set her down so that she leaned against the bars of Reggie’s cell. Minotaur Tiernan knelt near her, reached through the bars, rubbed her arms, and caressed her forehead with his fingers as he murmured gently, “It’s okay, my love. Gil will help us. We’ll all be safe.”
“I saved our baby,” Minotaur Ainsley murmured softly as she cupped her abdomen. “I had to force it to me during the process, but I have it. I hope it’s going to be all right.”
“Hurry,” Minotaur Reggie urged. “Hurry and unlock the cell so that he can help her.”
Gil inspected the minotaur and asked, “Where’s my —”
“We have it right here,” Reggie said from the stone cot where he lay with the crossbow resting on his chest. “We had to shoot it together because of our missing arm, but the job is done, and we have it for you right here. Please hurry, Uncle Gil. Please.”
“I’ll be right there, Reggie, Son,” Gil said as he stepped forward and fumbled with the keys. Finally, the right one turned the tumblers, and he swung the door wide. Minotaur Tiernan rushed to Minotaur Ainsley and knelt beside her again.
Minotaur Reggie stepped back and stood aside so Gil could get to Prince Reginald. Gil fastened the crossbow to his back and made sure his bludgeon was hooked on his belt. As he knelt to lift Reggie in his arms, Minotaur Reggie stepped beside him, winked one large blue eye, and lifted Prince Reginald himself.
“Riding will be faster,” Gil suggested. “Are horses afraid of you?”
“Some are,” Minotaur Reggie answered. “But not all of them. Reggie’s white horse is fine, and there’s a black horse that doesn’t mind either. Follow me, I know a path that will avoid the fighting in the Courtyard.”
“I have one more thing to do before I leave,” Gil said, holding up a hand to slow them. “Can you get to Braeford Estates without me?”
“We don’t know where it is, Uncle Gil,” Reggie said. “We were never there when we were a child, and it didn’t exist when Minotaur Tiernan was whole.”
“Okay,” Gil responded. “I am going to the roof to disable the power supply. You can hide somewhere or come with me.”
“We should stick together,” Minotaur Tiernan said. “May I use your bludgeon, Gil? I would like to use it on the…things in the office.”
Gil unhooked the weapon from his belt and leaned it against the wall. When Minotaur Tiernan handed him Ainsley, he took her gently and stood beside the two Reggies as Minotaur Tiernan’s hooves clacked on the stone floor. Shortly after he disappeared into the office, banging, thudding, and crashing echoed through the dungeons. He came back sweaty and smiling, hooked the bludgeon on Gil’s belt for him, and took Ainsley back in his arms.
The four of them started toward the corridor to climb the stairs. When they passed the cell of dead beasts, Ainsley whispered something in Tiernan’s ear. Gil diverted his eyes when the minotaur grasped a chunk of one of the beasts, wiggled it through the cell bars, and handed it to Ainsley to munch.
When they had ascended as far as Ava Most Revered’s private chambers, Gil paused, stared at the door, then kicked it in. Gesturing to the others to wait, Gil’s eyes searched the chamber until he saw the jewelry box that held the second set of bracelets. Retrieving the box, he said, “Once we’re on the roof, these bracelets are being tossed into the moat. I don’t want to leave them for someone else to use on other people.” Minotaur Reggie’s lips spread in a grimace which Gil wasn’t certain was a smile.
As Gil started to leave, he noticed the prince’s eyes locked onto the cage on the balcony.
“The Chosen,” Gil laughed. “The one chosen to die, eh Reggie? That’s the real reason they’re called that.”
“We wish we had died,” Prince Reginald mumbled.
Gil set the box on the foot of the bed, strode over to the cage, and surveyed it thoroughly. He braced his feet, tried to lift it by the iron bars, and said, “It’s bolted to the floor.”
The Minotaurs gently rested Prince Reggie and Ainsley on the bed and positioned themselves on each side of Gil.
“Count of three,” Minotaur Reggie said.
The others nodded.
“Figg’t,” Minotaur Tiernan said.
“You,” Minotaur Reggie said.
“Ava,” Gil said.
Their combined strength ripped the bolts out of the floor. They heaved the cage over the balcony railing and watched it break against the marble floor.
Gil snatched up the bracelet box and then stepped to one side as the others gathered their patients. Together they continued up the stairs.
When they reached the top of the final flight of stairs, none of the keys on the ring would unlock the access door to the roof. Gil backed up to get a good vantage point to slam his shoulder into the door, but Minotaur Reggie stopped him. He handed Prince Reginald to Gil, and then lowered his beastly shoulders and plowed into the door. It trembled without opening so Minotaur Reggie plunged his horns into it and ripped it from the doorframe.
The roof was empty except for a semi-circle of suns panels and the shimmering pyramid shape in the center. Gil set down the jewelry box, and then paced the circumference of the roof, making mental notes about the Glow Nest, determining what choices they had for exiting the roof, and formulating a plan. He stopped at a set of panels facing the afternoon suns and explained to the others, “Earth Scientists developed the Glow Nests to channel the power of the suns when Earth first colonized Terra Saint Edmunds. The Magi have used it for nefarious reasons, while SnakeIn powers their defense system with it.”
“Doesn’t anything ever go wrong with them?” Minotaur Tiernan asked.
“Once in a while, but somehow they can fix themselves,” Gil replied. “When I studied with the master in SnakeIn, he said that in his entire life he had seen them stop working only one time. It happened when he was an apprentice, and his master simply unfastened the cord that ran from the suns panels to the Nest and then fastened it again.”
“Can you unfasten it deliberately?” Minotaur Tiernan asked.
Gil shrugged, walked around the Glow Nest again, and stopped to inspect the solar panels once more. He left the roof and walked down the stairs to the next floor, searching the sleeping cells of the novitiates until he found two of the large, hooded capes they wear. As he turned to leave he saw several pairs of the simple trousers and tunics the novitiates wore, so he grabbed a set of those and took it back to the roof. He handed the trousers and tunic to Minotaur Ainsley and left her to discover that the long tunic would fit nicely but the trousers never would. He ripped the two capes into sections using Grace’s boning knife and covered the suns panels with the cloth.
As he waited for the darkness to turn off the suns panels, he brought the others to the roof parapet and indicated where on the horizon Braeford Estates stood, explaining, “There are open roads we could travel. But there is also a more discreet path marked by purple-leafed moth trees. Are you familiar with them?”
Prince Reggie and Minotaur Ainsley shook their heads while Minotaur Reggie and Minotaur Tiernan nodded. Tiernan said, “We’ve traveled that path. The tree branches form a wide canopy overhead.”
“That’s right. If anything happens to me, stay together, and head for Braeford Estates on your own,” Gil suggested. “If possible, use the path through the moth trees. It will be safer.”
“Are we going to free the children?” Minotaur Ainsley asked.
Minotaur Tiernan looked at her and asked, “What children? Everyone else was fed to the Prince Eaters or those deplorable animals in the other cells. In time, I suppose we eventually would have been, too.”
“They are mostly human,” Ainsley explained. “She kept them at the far end of the cells, down the other corridor so no one could hear them crying. You have the key to their cell on that ring.”
Gil kicked at the stones along the floor of the roof, scrunched his lips to one side, and then nodded and said, “Okay. We have to wait until this has cooled, so let’s go down and see. How many are there?”
“Five,” Ainsley said. “The last time I saw them they were all okay. I don’t know if they’ve had enough food since she stopped going down to the dungeons, but they should all be able to walk on their own. Except for the baby, but I can carry him.”
“I’ll go with you, Gil,” Minotaur Tiernan offered. “Ainsley, you should stay up here. You’re still weak and taking the stairs again will wear you out.”
“Reggie, would you mind staying up here with Ainsley to help guard Prince Reginald?” Gil asked. “I can’t risk his life no matter how many children are down there. But you and Ainsley both watching over him will ease my mind.”
Gil and Minotaur Tiernan descended the stairway in half the time it had taken them to ascend. At the base of the stairwell, Gil and Minotaur Tiernan checked the corridor both ways before taking the passageway headed away from where the minotaurs had been imprisoned. When they were close enough to hear talking, crying, and generalized shuffling, Minotaur Tiernan held out his hand.
“Let me go first,” the minotaur said. “I’m less vulnerable than you are, and if they are minotaurs, too, they will be less likely to attack me.”
With that, they turned the final corner and stopped, shocked at what they found.
The five children were not minotaurs, but humans with various animal features. The oldest little girl and the baby had two bull-like legs but were otherwise human. The smaller girl’s face was angelically human but from the neck down she was divided: her left side animal, her right side human. The little boy had four bull legs and no arms, but a human head and torso. The oldest, a boy who seemed to be almost a teenager, was human with the blue eyes and blond hair characteristic of the royal family, although his skin was the thick hide of a bull’s. He shooed the others behind him, fisted his hands, and said defiantly, “Who are you? Where’s Aunt Ava? We’re hungry.”
“This is Gil and I’m Tiernan,” Minotaur Tiernan said gesturing. “Gil is going to take us to his home where all of us can live safely. Stand back while he unlocks the door.”
“We’re hungry,” the boy repeated.
“Yeah, we’re hungry,” the girl with the bull’s legs agreed.
“I’ll run get them some meat from….from, you know, okay?” Minotaur Tiernan asked Gil who nodded. “You children listen to Gil while I’m gone. Don’t give him trouble.”
“Where’s Aunt Ava?” the boy asked as Minotaur Tiernan dashed down the passageway.
“She isn’t going to come here anymore,” Gil said as he began trying the keys in the lock. “I don’t think anyone is going to live in the Citadel anymore. When Ainsley told us you were here, we came right away. There’s no one else around Braeford Estates. You’ll be safe there.”
“We thought we heard Ainsley screaming,” the boy said.
“Ava put her in that contraption,” Gil paused, considering how he would explain it. “And tried to turn her into a minotaur like Tiernan.”
“So Ainsley is two now?” the boy asked.
“No, I’m afraid only Minotaur Ainsley survived. I’m sorry,” Gil said kindly. When all the children dropped their heads sadly, he added, “She is well, though. She remembers all of you and will be happy to see you.”
“The rest of us didn’t survive either,” the boy said. “We aren’t two like the minotaurs are. Is that the key?”
“Yes, yes this is the key,” Gil said as he turned it all the way over in the lock, and then swung the door wide open. “Come on out. Everyone stay together. Here, I’ll carry the baby. All of you look tired. What are your names”
“Aunt Ava called me Asterion,” the oldest boy replied as the children wandered out of the cell and looked around curiously. “She always laughed when she said it. None of the others have a name.”
“We’ll discuss names when we reach our home,” Gil said gently. When the girl with the legs of a bull and the boy with four animal legs wandered ahead of the rest of them, he called out, “Stay together and stay behind me. If there’s trouble, I want you where I can protect you.”
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They reached the bottom of the stairs as Minotaur Tiernan returned with several chunks of meat. Gil didn’t ask what kind of meat. Nor did he watch the children eat. He tried to help the baby as best he could, and tried not to stare as the oldest boy hand-fed the boy without hands.
“Let me help him so that you can eat,” Minotaur Tiernan said, taking the meat from Asterion. Mealtime was over quickly, and the children responded to the nourishment almost immediately, bounding up the stairs, laughing happily, and peppering Minotaur Tiernan and Gil with dozens of questions.
Rescuing them took enough time that when Gil and Minotaur Tiernan and the children returned, the suns panels had stopped functioning. He laid his silver staff on the Glow Nest, double-checked that the leather insulation under his armor was properly in place, and then used Grace’s boning knife to slice through the wires leading from the panels to the Glow Nest. Nothing seemed to happen, so he lifted the silver staff gingerly and repositioned it so that it ran from his armor into a small depression in the stone floor of the Citadel roof. Hefting his heavy bludgeon, he crushed the thick pyramid shell of the Glow Nest. Again, nothing seemed to happen beyond the scattering of the opaque glass.
He studied the interior wires of the Glow Nest and noted how they connected and where the sparks originated. Once satisfied he turned to the others and said, “Take the children and the prince into the hallway. This is the dangerous part. I’m not sure how strong the electrical arcs will be.”
“Wait!” Minotaur Tiernan called out as the others retreated. He picked up the bludgeon from where Gil had leaned it against the parapet and smashed the jewelry box. Pulling out the bracelets, he walked along the parapet and tossed each individual bracelet into the moat separately. Once the last one sunk into the water, he hurried into the hall to help Ainsley with the children but positioned himself in the doorway so that Prince Reginald could watch the destruction of their tormentor’s power.
Gil double-checked his gauntlet and the position of the silver staff. He looked up to be certain that the others were in places of safety. He clutched Grace’s boning knife and with an expert flick of his wrist, he stabbed the knife into the heart of the Glow Nest. Arcs of electricity spit from the Glow Nest, some hitting Gil’s armor, ringing around it, and traveling down the silver staff into the stone roof. Other arcs harmlessly spewed into the air high enough that Gil was certain that everyone in the Courtyard saw the display.
When the sparks stopped, Gil took hold of the center of the Glow Nest, rocked the conglomeration of wires and connectors back and forth until they came free in his hands, and then carried them to the parapet and tossed them into the gorefish moat after the bracelets. Gil smiled at Minotaur Tiernan with satisfaction as he retrieved his silver staff and bludgeon.
The group descended the winding staircase that led to the Great Hall. Prince Reginald carried the baby in his arms and Minotaur Reggie carried them both. Ainsley carried the toddler so Minotaur Tiernan carried them while the oldest girl rode on his shoulders holding onto his horns. Gil carried the boy with four legs and Asterion walked beside them. Their descent was slower than Gil had anticipated, but they did not encounter anyone else, so he was satisfied.
Instead of returning to the battle, Gil led them through the Citadel kitchens and out a back door. They followed the path that Minotaur Reggie suggested circling to the stables where armed grooms were stationed to protect the horses. The grooms turned when the stable door slid open. One fainted at the sight of the minotaurs. A second ran. The third groom held his ground and stammered, “Sir? Commander Braeford?”
“I need fast sturdy horses and I need them now,” Gil snapped.
“Your own horse has not returned since you rode out on him, sir,” the groom said reluctantly. “But… Lord and Survivor! That’s Prince Reginald! Everyone saw him die!”
“What you saw wasn’t real,” Gil explained as he hid a smile at the New East Anglia exclamation. “The person torn apart by those beasts wasn’t Prince Reginald. The whole thing was a ploy to gain control of the Crown. I don’t have time to explain. I need those sturdy horses immediately so I can get Prince Reginald to safety.”
“Yes, sir,” the groom responded. As he backed away, he dipped his head to Prince Reginald and said, “I apologize for my awkwardness, Your Royal Highness.” He added to the minotaurs, “And also to you, Gentlemen and Lady. I have seen your people from a distance at night, but never up close. If I stared, I meant no offense.”
He started to hurry off, and then turned back and said, “Can the children ride?”
“We’ll help them if they can’t,” Gil reassured him.
Without saying more, the groom ran off. He soon returned with Prince Reginald’s white stallion saddled and ready, as well as a black horse, and a smaller bay mare. The horses shied at the sight and smell of the minotaurs but calmed immediately at the sound of Prince Reginald’s voice. The groom and Gil Braeford stroked the horses’ necks and noses, also whispering gently.
After Gil had lifted three of the children onto the bay mare, he said to the little boy, “I’m sorry. Because you cannot hold on, I will have to tie you to the horse. I am so very sorry. Please don’t be upset. I will keep a close eye on you and get you free the moment we arrive.”
The little boy nodded and said, “That always happens to me. I can never do what other people can. Do you promise to watch over me?”
“I promise,” Gil replied.
“Okay,” the boy agreed, forcing himself to sound cheerful. “We need to get home somehow.”
As Gil secured him to the horse, Minotaur Ainsley said sadly, “I don’t know how to ride. I can run alongside the rest of you.”
“Just hold on,” Gil advised. “I’ll lead your horse beside mine.”
“We can keep up with the horses, my love,” Minotaur Tiernan said, lifting her into the saddle of the black horse. “You’re too weak right now. This way is better. Here’s the baby for you to carry.”
“I can ride behind her and help her stay on,” Asterion offered. “I was allowed to ride whenever I wanted. Aunt Ava used to call me her son before I looked like this. Afterward, she wouldn’t even speak to me and kept me locked up.”
The groom turned at the boy’s voice and asked, “Master Asterion?” When the boy stepped forward and nodded, the groom continued, “So you did. You’re an accomplished horseman, Master Asterion. I wondered why you stopped coming around. That Old Hag. Here, I’ll help you up.”
Gil paused and surveyed his group. All of the children and Ainsley were mounted. Minotaurs Reggie and Tiernan would run beside them, keeping up with the horses easily. That left Prince Reginald. Gil swung into the saddle of Prince Reginald’s white stallion, settled himself, and then gently accepted the prince from Minotaur Reggie so the prince could ride in front of him.
Prince Reginald turned to the groom and said, “Thank you for your help. Would you be able to let my brothers know that I’m with Uncle Gil, please? They probably think that I’m dead.”
“Of course, sir,” the groom replied respectfully.
“You act well under pressure,” Gil said, complimenting the groom. “Prince Reginald can use someone like you at his side while he recovers. If you want to work for him, come to Braeford Estates after you’ve delivered the message. Do you know where to find it?”
“I do, Commander, thank you. I’ll be there,” the groom sputtered. He bowed deeply to Prince Reginald and then dashed off to find whichever princes were still battling in the Courtyard.
Gil ordered the stallion forward, and the group headed for Braeford Estates.
The fighting paused again when the Glow Nest’s lightning exploded from the Tara Citadel. When it calmed, movement in the Courtyard brought Jon’s and Alec’s attention back to the battlefield. They watched in panic as Grace flitted around bodies, pieces of bodies, and riotous beasts, toward the king. Both men looked at each other, raced to the stonewall surrounding the Courtyard, and climbed onto the coping stones. Craig Docherty and Holdingfree Fighters gathered at their feet, reloading crossbows and passing them to the two sharpshooters who placed bolt after bolt into the panicked animals, quickly culling their numbers.
Jon accepted a white and blue bolt from one of the students as Alec loaded an identical one. They released their bolts at the same time. Reloaded and released again.
Grace reached the king, took up one of Holy King Harrison’s hands, and then ducked as a Prince Eater horn swung over her head, missing her. Harrison forced open his eyelids to stare at the girl until she stood, met his eyes, and rested one hand on the side of his face.
“Seán and I love you, Your Majesty,” she said, speaking directly to his eyes so she could be sure that he heard and understood.
His eyes moved all the way to the right and one finger of his hand pointed weakly toward the ground. Without letting go of his hand, Grace stepped back and searched the ground at her feet. When she saw Jon’s sword, she scooped it up and showed it to Holy King Harrison. The dying man moved his finger again to point behind Grace.
“Please,” Ava Most Revered begged as she weakly reached out one hand toward Grace’s ankle. “Help me.”
The king blinked his eyes several times and tapped the palm of Grace’s hand with one finger. The child warrior studied the king’s face and then showed him that Jon’s sword had been ruined when the metal bracelets and the blade melted together. He moved his eyes sideways toward where the Most Revered was struggling to grasp Grace’s leg.
Grace reached behind her back and brought out the flintlock pistol the groom had lent to Rory. She carefully aimed the barrel at Ava O’Connor. The king blinked his eyes several times, and with great effort gestured for the weapon with his finger. When she balanced one of her hips against him so she could wrap his hand around the butt of the pistol underneath hers, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. Grace squeezed the trigger.
The kickback drove Harrison sideways uprooting some of his horns, but the sturdy quarterstaffs prevented him from falling sideways to the ground. Grace was flung backward away from the risk of the horns. She landed on her rear and as she shook her head to recover her equilibrium, the ground next to her trembled. Twisting to learn why, she saw the body of a Prince Eater, only an arm’s reach away, with multiple white and blue crossbow bolts sticking out of its head, neck, and back. She climbed to her feet, stuffed the flintlock into the holster at her back, and bent to check on Holy King Harrison. He had died with the smile still on his face.
Captain Brady, Barry, the Royal Archers, Padraig, Armed Watcher Lynch, several other Watchers, and numerous soldiers joined Jon and Alec in destroying the remaining beasts. Even First Contingent Annie Jarek climbed onto the wall to assist, making her first widely-seen appearance in the battle.
When the final Prince Eater fell, Alec turned to Jon and commented, “Archery Master Quinn was right. Slaying a penned animal sometimes does need to be done.”
As Jon pulled Alec into an embrace, over his husband’s shoulder he saw Annie Jarek’s crossbow aimed their way. He jerked Alec sideways screaming, “Get down.”
Instinctively, Alec jerked back, intent on protecting Jon at all costs.
The bolt hammered into Alec’s lower back and pitched him from the wall. As Jon leaped to the ground, Craig Docherty immediately put his arms up so that Jon could use them for balance. Both men dropped to their knees at Alec’s side. Jon’s keening was loud and immediate. Royal Archers, Armed Watchers, and Kings Soldiers along the wall circled in place, surveying the Courtyard and surrounding area for some sign of the enemy who shot the bolt.
“Yes!” Annie Jarek shouted jubilantly, fisting the air with her wrapped arm, and resting her crossbow on the other shoulder. “Yes! You will be my king, Jon! You will be my —”
A loud report and a burst of flames interrupted her victory celebration. Blood burbled from her mouth as she fell from the top of the wall with a ragged wound blasted through her. As she died one hand groped at a silk ribbon around her neck and she whispered, “Tom.”
Seeing King Seán approach the spot where she fell, Rory and Liam hoisted themselves onto the wall and ran along the top to get to him. They paused mid-step when they saw two beautiful men with wings and feather-covered faces lift King Seán by his arms and fly him to the coping stones. Once the king’s footing was secure, the winged men bowed in mid-air and withdrew. Seán placed his feet solidly a shoulder’s width apart and raised a still visibly hot flintlock pistol over his head.
Rory and Liam raced the rest of the way to King Seán while Captain Reid and a dozen of his soldiers leaped effortlessly to a spot beside them. Together they shouted over the crowds, “Quiet for the king. All quiet for Holy King Seán.”
When the crowd stilled, Holy King Seán shouted majestically, “This weapon was a gift to the House of Raedwald from my cousin Edward, King of New East Anglia. I have a cargo ship full of them and I vow, here and now, all traitors will meet the same end.”
Most of the spectators had already escaped from the Courtyard, but those that were left gasped. Rory jerked his head slightly toward Liam and the two of them began shouting, “Long Live King Seán!”
Hesitantly at first, and then more strongly, all of the Armed Watchers, all of Annie’s Rebels, the Kings Soldiers, Holdingfree Fighters, and everyone in the crowd, wherever they were in the Courtyard or on the wall or behind it, joined in. “Long live King Seán!”
“Hear me, United Forces of the Crown’s Military: Soldiers, guards, archers, Watchers, and former rebels now loyal to the Crown. Take all Magi and Magi Soldiers prisoners, immediately,” King Seán shouted across the kneeling citizens and soldiers. “They are traitors. The Ritual is banned from being enacted anywhere in the Kingdom of Midhe Nuae. I am dispatching messengers to my cousins reining across Terra Saint Edmunds so that the Ritual will be forbidden anywhere on the planet. No one will die in the jaws of those beasts ever again. Today we begin healing. Tomorrow morning the citizens will tear down the Tara Citadel stone by stone.”
King Seán raised his eyes to the two winged men who bowed and began to fly at the crowd signaling them to move aside. The king waved the fingers of his left hand toward nearby soldiers and rebels to assist. As they cleared a wide path, teams of massive horses, the renowned St. Edmunds Warriors, appeared hauling cannons and caissons.
The crowd rippled with curiosity and stunned amazement.
When the cannons were loaded and pointed over the Courtyard, the artillery commander saluted King Seán. The king raised his right hand and then dropped it sharply. The operators touched fire to the fuses, and detonations shook the ground at the crowd’s feet. The balls arced over the Courtyard and pummeled into the Tara Citadel, destroying chunks of wall and several merlons. The cannon operators loaded the weapons a second time, adjusted the aim, and crashed cannonballs through the center of the Mothership Window.
Horrified Magi shrieked as the sacred window shattered. Many fainted. Many collapsed and refused to move, forcing the Kings Soldiers to brutally drag them. When all of the Magi and their soldiers were corralled in front of King Seán, he spoke over them to the crowd, “There is no need for relics of the past in Midhe Nuae. From this moment on we no longer have a throne room – we have the parliamentary hall in the castle where my closest advisers and I will meet to form the foundation of an elected Peoples Council that will be a permanent branch of our government.”
As Seán finished his address, he noticed Grace McCreesh hurrying through the crowd; one small hand firmly gripping the arm of a healer. The healer had stopped, overwhelmed by all the death and pain surrounding them, and was ignoring Grace’s urgent tug. He turned to Captain Reid and instructed, “Keep the Magi here on their knees until I return.”
King Seán jumped from the wall, took the healer’s other arm, and coerced him to focus on Alec. Rory and Liam jumped down after him, and in the absence of any surviving Kings Guards, the two friends fulfilled that service. When Padraig MacGavin saw their actions, he waved at members of the Armed Watch standing nearby, and as King Seán reached them, they immediately fell in step to form a protective barrier around the new ruler.
King Seán found Jon on his knees beside his husband, clinging to one of Alec’s hands. Holdingfree Fighters, bold youths who had held their own against the seasoned military during the Courtyard battles, leaned on each other and wiped tears away from their faces. The healer immediately dropped beside Alec to examine his wound. Grace moved closer to King Seán, took his hand, and together they watched him work.
The groom appeared from the stables, running toward King Seán. He paused a short distance away to show that he carried no weapons and then bowed deeply as he approached the monarch. He spoke softly to Seán whose eyes flew open.
“Prince Reginald is alive! How can that be? Are you certain?” King Seán asked in disbelief
“Reggie,” Jon muttered absently as he rubbed his eyes and forehead with his arm. “The bull had his eyes.”
“Yes, the minotaur does, yes,” the groom agreed. Padraig looked at King Seán and opened his mouth with a question, but closed it when the groom continued. “Sir, Prince Reginald is very ill and so weak that he may not recover, but I assure you, I spoke with him myself. Commander Braeford requested that I follow His Royal Highness so that I could help with whatever he needs.”
“Will you do that?”
“Yes, sir. I’m going as soon as I have your leave to do so.”
“Thank you,” King Seán replied. Turning to Padraig he added, “Would you assemble a party to escort this gentleman safely and to bring me back more details about my brother and the minotaur.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Padraig replied, signaling Watchers to follow through with the command.
King Seán let go of Grace’s hand, rose to his feet, and asked two of the Watchers to assist him to the top of the Courtyard wall again. When Captain Reid and his sailors turned their gaze to him, Seán jerked his right hand sharply in anger. Captain Reid shouted to the United Forces, “Soldiers.” He paused for one moment and then called out, “Present arms.” Reid’s sailors and King Seán’s military raised their weapons. “Fire!”
Without exception or mercy, the kneeling prisoners from the most senior mage to the youngest novitiate died in a maelstrom of bullets and crossbow bolts. Kings Soldiers walked among the prisoners completing the execution of any who survived the initial onslaught.
King Seán silently watched the massacre until the last mage stopped moving, and then he jumped off the wall to return to Alec and Jon.
Grace reached out one hand to him, but withdrew it and smiled at Seán as he moved past her to sit on the ground beside Alec where he enclosed one of Alec’s unresponsive hands in both of his own. Grace stepped closer to Jon and wrapped her strong child warrior’s arms around Jon tightly as he sat stony and disbelieving, keening lost in his throat and tears unable to fall.
One of Alec’s fingers twitched, and then another, and slowly, in slight increments, Alec’s hand curled around Jon’s and squeezed it tightly.
©2022 Vera S. Scott