Alutar: The Great Demon (44 page)

“Is this true?” asked King Harowin. “Why has Despair not informed me?”

“I find it hard to believe,” stated General Harford. “We were told that all of the portals were compromised. How then could Aertan soldiers return to Zara?”

“But why would the merchant lie?” asked Colonel Sepper. “I consider myself a rather good judge of the truth, and I think this Garth Shado believes it to be the truth. In any event, what would be the purpose of his lying?”

No one had an answer to that question and the conversation halted. Eventually, the king broke the silence.

“Have the prisoner brought here,” demanded King Harowin. “He knows far more than he is telling.”

“He is dangerous,” warned the colonel.

“Then have him bound,” snapped the king, “but get him up here.”

Colonel Sepper hurried out of the room to gather the prisoner.

“What if the merchant is trying to make sure that Prince Harold is crowned?” pondered the general. “By telling us that Montero is dead, he pushes Prince Harold’s claim forward.”

“I am not dead yet,” snapped the king. “No one is taking my throne for a good long time. By then the truth about Montero will be known.”

The room lapsed into silence again as they waited for the colonel to return with the prisoner. General Harford suddenly blinked as if a stray thought had just caught hold of him.

“Do you even want Montero back?” the general asked cautiously. “You did try to have him arrested in Alcea.”

King Harowin sighed loudly. “Montero should be beheaded,” he snarled, “but that would leave me with nothing but a sickly lad in his place. Were Harold capable of living even a dozen years, I would write Montero out of the line of succession, but that is not the case. My only option is to sire a new prince.”

The door to the study opened and Colonel Sepper marched in. Behind him, two soldiers escorted Garth Shado, who had his hands tied behind his back. The soldiers deposited the merchant in a chair and took up positions on each side of him.

“Leave us,” the king commanded the two soldiers.

The soldiers dutifully left the room, closing the door on their way out. King Harowin gazed at Garth Shado, his look one of stern disapproval.

“Are you aware that Prince Lyker and Prince Lindmyr were assassinated?” he asked Garth.

“I am,” Garth admitted.

“And you say that General Montero is dead?” asked the king.

“That is what I heard,” Garth nodded. “I offer my condolences for all of your losses. I know how the loss of a child can tear through your heart. It is one of the harshest punishments I have ever known.”

The king was not interested in hearing the merchant’s pity. He ignored Garth’s comments.

“That leaves only sickly Prince Harold to assume my throne when I die,” declared the king. “How then can you possibly think that I would endanger his life?”

Garth raised an eyebrow. “Prince Harold is no longer sickly, Sire. He is a fine young man of excellent health.”

The king’s eyes grew large as he stared at Garth. “That is impossible,” he stated. “All of the finest healers in the world tended to Harold. You are finally found out to be a liar, Garth Shado, and you will rue the day you decided to play your cruel jokes on me.”

“It is no joke, Your Highness,” Garth said quickly before the king could order the guards back into the room. “The healers that tended to Prince Harold were obviously not the finest in the land. Why would I be foolish enough to say that the heir is well if he is not? What would I gain?”

“I want to see him,” demanded the king.

“And he wants to see you,” replied Garth. “That was the purpose of my visit to the palace today. All I sought was your word that the prince would not be harmed.”

“Harmed?” snapped the king. “Who are you to think I would harm my own son?”

“I am a man pledged to your son’s safety,” answered Garth. “Would you have me be careless when it comes to his well-being?”

King Harowin calmed as he realized that the merchant appeared to be exactly what he professed. He sighed with relief.

“Untie him,” the king said softly.

Colonel Sepper frowned, but General Harford nodded in agreement. The colonel untied the prisoner’s hands and Garth rubbed his wrists.

“Bring him to me, merchant,” the king said calmly.

Garth stared the king in the eyes. “Do I have your word that no harm will come to Prince Harold?”

The king’s face turned red with anger, but he sighed deeply and calmed himself. “You have my word.”

“How will you find him if you do not know his location?” General Harford asked sternly.

“I will stand in front of the palace,” answered Garth. “While I was truthful that I do not know his location, the prince is with friends that I would trust with my life. They will see me and take me to the prince. I will in turn bring him here to speak with his father.”

“Your Highness,” Colonel Sepper said anxiously, “I do not think we can just turn the merchant loose. What if he decides not to return? Let me send some men with him.”

“My friends will see your soldiers as a threat to the prince,” warned Garth. “All it will accomplish is delaying the arrival of the prince. Trust in me, Colonel. I have told you nothing but the truth since I arrived in the palace.”

“Go, Garth Shado,” commanded the king. “Bring my son home to me.”

Garth bowed and exited the room.

“Seal the gates of the city,” the king ordered the general.

General Harford nodded to Colonel Sepper and the colonel hurried out of the room.

“You think he will try to flee the city?” asked the general.

“No,” answered the king, “but I do not like to take chances. If we tried to follow the merchant, Harold would see that with disfavor and suspicion. I do not want to scare him off, but I am not willing to let him escape, either. If the merchant does not perform as promised, at least we will know that Harold is still in the city.”

Prince Harold paced the floor of Bin-lu’s room, while Rut-ki stared out the window towards the Royal Palace.

“Why would they arrest him?” Prince Harold said out loud. “It makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” replied Bin-lu. “Your father was told that you were in the city with Garth Shado. The minute he showed up at the palace, they took him captive. The real question is what it will take to get him out again.”

“Get him out?” echoed Prince Harold. “If they have arrested him, he will not be released anytime soon.”

“I was not talking about your father releasing him,” retorted Bin-lu. “I was talking about how we would free him.”

“You would try to break him out of the dungeon?” asked Prince Samuel who sat on the couch. “I do not think you have any idea how secure the dungeons are in Zara.”

“We have a very good idea,” replied Bin-lu. “That is not to say that Garth’s escape would be without risk, but we will not let a Knight of Alcea languish in a prison. We will free him, no matter the risk.”

“All four of the elven reeducation centers were attacked at the same time,” Rut-ki interjected without turning to look at the prince. “We did not lose a single elven child.”

Prince Harold’s eyes widened upon hearing Rut-ki’s words. He knew about the elven reeducation centers, but he had not heard that they had been attacked.

“The elven children are free?” he asked. “Is that true?”

“They are free,” nodded Bin-lu, “and so are the elves of Elfwoods. They have all disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” echoed Prince Samuel. “How is that possible?”

“All things are possible,” Bin-lu said, not wanting to divulge anything about the elves or their whereabouts. “Now is not the time to be discussing the elves. There are two things that require our attention this day. One is the freedom of Garth Shado, and the two of you have no need to concern yourselves with that. The other item is Prince Harold’s eventual meeting with his father. Have you given thought to what you will say, Prince Harold?”

“You act as if it is certain that I will get to talk to him,” frowned the Ertakan prince.

“Oh, you will,” Bin-lu declared. “He arrested Garth because he wants to know where you are. I suspect that the king will begin a house-by-house search if you are not found by torturing Garth. Sooner or later, he will find you. Spend some time thinking about a way to appease him.”

“Appease him?” scowled Prince Harold. “I have no desire to appease him. He is an evil tyrant who has failed in his duty to care for the people.”

“That is true,” agreed Bin-lu, “but you need to appease him for two reasons. Your life and Garth’s life will hang in the balance of what you say to the king. It is one thing to dislike your father; it is another to anger him. You may state your disagreement with his policies, but do not attack him personally.”

“Remember,” added Rut-ki, “that your goal is to be the proclaimed heir. Although your blood makes you the likely choice to follow King Harowin, he can change that if you anger him sufficiently.”

“A good king is one who does what is necessary to serve his people,” stated Bin-lu. “That may include doing things that you personally find repulsive, but it is not yourself that you are seeking to serve. You must remember this. What manner of relationship must you have with your father to best serve the people of Ertak?”

“He is right,” interjected Prince Samuel. “You do not have to embrace his policies, but refrain from attacking your father because he has not measured up in your eyes. I made that mistake with my mother, and I now realize when I did that, I abandoned the people I was supposed to protect. I should have suffered under her rule as my people have. I might have been able to lessen their pain if I had not run away.”

Rut-ki stiffened as she stared out the window. “Garth has been released,” she announced. “I see no guards escorting him.”

The princes started to move towards the window to get a look at Garth, but Bin-lu signaled for them to sit down. They complied while Bin-lu walked to the window and peered out.

“He is just standing in front of the palace,” Rut-ki said.

Bin-lu slid out the door to the balcony and closed it behind him. His eyes scanned the palace and the street before he tapped his pocket. Shrimp poked his head out and looked around.

“Garth is standing in the middle of the street in front of the Royal Palace,” instructed Bin-lu. “Get to him unseen and find out what he has to say. Be careful. I am sure that there are people watching him closely.”

“Not closely enough,” chirped the fairy. “They will never detect me.”

Shrimp shot from Bin-lu’s pocket and dived over the balcony railing. The little green man soared downward to a merchant’s wagon that was making its way along the road. He flattened himself to the side of the wagon and waited. When the wagon passed between Garth and the palace, Shrimp shot straight to Garth’s shoulder and slid behind his hair.

“What does Garth Shado have to say?” asked Shrimp.

Garth smiled. “I have to say that fairies are marvelous creatures, but you already know that.”

“Indeed I do,” Shrimp replied proudly. “Is that all?”

“No,” Garth replied seriously. “King Harowin has demanded to speak with Prince Harold. He has given his word that Harold will not be harmed, but I am not entirely convinced of his sincerity. If Prince Harold still wants to go through with this, he is to come to me here. I will stay by his side and try to protect him if I can. If the prince has decided to forego a meeting with his father, Bin-lu and Rut-ki should make haste in getting him out of the city. If the prince is not coming to me, let me know so that I also can make plans to flee. Carry my words, Shrimp.”

Shrimp dallied for a few minutes until the proper diversion came along. When an army patrol turned into the gates of the Royal Palace, Shrimp shot skyward and returned to Bin-lu. He retold Garth’s words to Bin-lu and then slipped back into his pocket. Bin-lu returned to the sitting room and explained the options to Prince Harold. The Ertakan prince sat silently for several moments before speaking.

“I feel that I must speak with my father,” he declared, “but I am hesitant to include Garth now that I know the danger it places him in. I shall go in alone.”

“That was not one of the options Garth mentioned,” Bin-lu pointed out. “While you may not want to endanger Garth, he feels it is important for him to safeguard you. Allow him to do so, but do not let your words further endanger him.”

“But that is the point,” frowned Prince Harold. “It would be rather easy for me to let my true feelings show, and then I will get Garth killed.”

“With him at your side,” Rut-ki offered, “you will be constantly aware of the danger. Perhaps having Garth beside you will temper your thoughts and words. Go to him, but leave your cloak behind. It may still prove useful later to have a disguise.”

Prince Harold nodded and removed his hooded cloak. Not wanting to alert any watchers about where he was coming from, he took the back stairs down to the street level and then walked along the alley for a ways before heading for the street. Garth saw him the moment he stepped out of the alley, and the Knight of Alcea gave the signal for silence. Harold nodded in understanding and walked directly to Garth.

“Whatever you say to your father or others,” Garth whispered, “do not mention Alcea. To do so will cause great problems, not only for me, but also for you. If you wish to talk of the healer who cured you, merely mention that you were cured in the northlands, and do so in a vague way.”

“I understand,” Prince Harold replied. “Bin-lu said that you were not sure of my father’s sincerity. Do you expect problems?”

“I always expect problems,” Garth replied as the two men started walking towards the palace. “Not to expect them can get you killed. If trouble comes, listen to my words and do exactly as I say. I will strive to get you out of the palace alive.”

As they approached the palace gates, four soldiers stepped forward and flanked them. Garth was not surprised. He allowed the four guards to escort him and the prince to a large dining room. Already present in the room were King Harowin and General Harford. The table was set for a dinner for three, but there were other chairs around the table. When Prince Harold entered the room, King Harowin and General Harford stared at him as if trying to determine if he was truly the prince. Garth and the prince halted near one of the place settings.