Alutar: The Great Demon (75 page)

“Would you?” retorted Clint. “To know if my words were treasonous, you would have to know the truth of whatever matter we spoke about. The problem, General, is that I am trying to bring certain truths to your attention precisely because you are not familiar with them. You can close your mind to those truths and label my actions as treasonous, but you would be wrong because you cannot see the truth.”

General Hartz sighed again and waved Clint towards the chair. Clint sat back down.

“You obviously believe that someone above me is not acting in the best interests of the empire,” General Hartz declared. “As only Grand General Kyrga and Emperor Jaar are above me, your words will threaten one of them. If you could make me believe your accusations, what in the world do you expect me to do about it? I am not going to attack either one of them based solely on your words. Do you have any proof of your allegations?”

“I can offer you proof,” Clint stated, “but not here and not now. What I want from you, General Hartz, is to know that you will protect the heir.”

General Hartz inhaled sharply. With Clint stating that he desired protection for the heir, he was also stating that there would be a need for the heir to step forward and declare himself. That was needed only when the emperor died.

“If the emperor’s life is in danger,” scowled General Hartz, “You will tell me right now, or I will drag you before the emperor and gain his permission to force the truth out of you.”

“He would not give you the permission,” Clint stated calmly as he drew the knife from his belt and shoved it across the desk towards General Hartz. “If that is truly what your reaction would be, you might as well just kill me now yourself.”

General Hartz stared at the knife and then at Clint. His brow creased in confusion.

“What exactly are you saying, Forshire,” he asked. “Why wouldn’t the emperor want the truth disclosed?”

Clint sighed as he realized that he was already too deep into the discussion to leave unscathed. All that was left was to trust that his opinion of General Hartz was accurate.

“The person you see as Emperor Jaar is not the true emperor,” Clint stated. “He is a black-cloak holding an illusion of the real emperor. If you were to bring me to his office and tell him what I said, he would not want me tortured by you because my words would not change. Instead, he would order my immediate execution.”

General Hartz’s eyes widened in wonder. “How do you know this to be true?” he asked.

“There are clues that can be seen by anyone,” answered Clint. “Emperor Jaar was right-handed, but the black-cloak often starts to sign a document with his left hand. Emperor Jaar was an early riser, but the mage sleeps in until the sun is high in the sky. If you have enough discussions with Emperor Jaar, you will discover that he has forgotten people and events that you would not think him capable of forgetting.”

“That is hardly enough to support your theory,” groused the general.

“I agree,” Clint replied, “but I have much keener knowledge of Emperor Jaar than most people. I have worked closely with him on several missions. That is why I carry the title that I do.”

“I have wondered about that,” admitted the general. “Why would Emperor Jaar favor a Tyronian with such a title?”

“Do you remember the unauthorized attack on Elfwoods?” asked Clint.

“I recall hearing about it,” nodded General Hartz, “but mention of it died quickly. Why do you ask?”

“That was my first mission for the emperor,” declared Clint. “I was chosen to investigate that incident. The reason I was chosen is precisely because I was an outsider. He did not know who to trust, but he knew that I would have had no opportunity to authorize such an attack. He tasked me to find who authorized the mission, and I did. I guess that gave him a certain level of trust in my loyalty to him.”

“Understandable,” agreed General Hartz. “Who did authorize it?”

“Let me answer that later,” Clint responded. “There are more important items to dwell upon. Do you remember how the emperor acted during the celebration?”

General Hartz frowned and shook his head. “I do not recall much about his involvement in the celebration other than Grand General Kyrga getting great praise from Jaar. Is that supposed to be odd?”

“Considering that Grand General Kyrga was the person who authorized the Elfwoods attack,” Clint smiled thinly, “I would say yes. I reported my results to the emperor on the first day of the celebration. He was livid, and he offered me Kyrga’s position. I turned it down as it would not have allowed me to keep the A Corps. Within hours of finding out that Kyrga had betrayed him, access to Emperor Jaar was cut off. Everyone was told to schedule visits through Kyrga.”

“I do remember complaints about that,” frowned General Hartz, “but still, that is not proof.”

Clint ignored the remarks and continued, “During the celebration, the emperor was brought into one of the meetings to calm the generals. On his way out of the room, he made eye contact with me and then dropped a piece of paper on the floor near my feet. This is the note he dropped.”

Clint reached into his pouch and pulled out the note. He passed it across the desk. General Hartz frowned as he read the note. He passed it back to Clint. Clint took another piece of paper out of the pouch and passed it to the general.

“I was able to sneak into the emperor’s bedroom one night,” Clint resumed. “He gave me those directions to his secret estate. I took some of my men out of the city and proceeded to the secret estate. I found one hundred bodies there, but the emperor’s family was gone.”

“That makes no sense,” interrupted General Hartz. “If they had the emperor and his family, they would have killed them all.”

“Unless the heir was not at the secret estate,” smiled Clint. “He was not there, and they have been unable to find him since.”

General Hartz rubbed his chin and fell silent for a moment. “Why would they then kill Jaar?” he eventually asked.

“They found out that he had someone helping him,” answered Clint. “They sent K’san to steal his memories so that they could discover who was helping and also the location of the heir.”

“K’san?” General Hartz asked in confusion. “What does the priest have to do with this?”

“The priests are demonkin,” declared Clint. “There was not just one K’san. There were many of them. I was in the emperor’s bedroom one night discussing what I had found out west. The demonkin entered, and I hid on the balcony. When K’san began pulling the emperor’s memories from his mind, I killed the priest. We could not afford for the usurpers to learn the identity of the heir. Once that priest was dead, the emperor knew that we had to move quickly. He proclaimed me to be the Imperial General so that I would not be under Kyrga’s command. He then ordered me to bring my army to Despair to free him from captivity.”

“But you are not doing so,” frowned the general. “Why not?”

“Kyrga had kept the emperor confined to his quarters,” answered Clint. “The very next morning as I was setting out to gather my army, the emperor appeared out on the grounds of the palace. He was not accompanied by anyone, not even his guards. He spoke to me casually and asked where I was going. I kept waiting for him to say something covertly to me, but he never did. General, he truly had no idea where I was going, and this was just hours after conspiring with me. Since that very day, the emperor has suddenly been given free reign again. What would you surmise from that?”

“That he was truly not Jaar,” sighed General Hartz, “but that is still not enough to act on.”

“I understand,” replied Clint, “and I am not asking you to act. My purpose in coming to you is to make you aware of the situation so that you can properly protect the heir. You need to be aware that the 3
^rd
Corps and the A Corps are the only soldiers you can trust, and I am not sure how many of the 3
^rd
Corps might see their allegiance to Grand General Kyrga as more loyal to the throne than allegiance to you.”

“You seem pretty sure of the A Corps,” retorted General Hartz. “Aren’t most of those men former prisoners?”

“Almost all of them,” replied Clint, “but I am sure of each and every one of them. They are fiercely loyal to me because I have treated them as soldiers. That is something that none of them received from their previous officers. If I ask them to protect the heir, they will place their lives on the line to do so. I have no doubts about that.”

“Then I wish they were here,” sighed General Hartz. “The truth is, many of the men of the 3
^rd
Corps would quickly follow Kyrga’s orders, and why shouldn’t they? The Grand General is the highest ranking member of the army.”

“The A Corps is on the grounds,” smiled Clint.

“I have not seen them,” frowned General Hartz.

“They have been told to stay out of the way,” replied Clint. “Most of the other soldiers look upon them as misfits, and I guess in a way they are, but they are a well-trained force, General. There may only be two thousand of them, but not a one of them will allow harm to come to the heir should it come to fighting.”

“I am sorry to say this, Forshire,” frowned the general, “but I would not let your men near the heir. Your story is believable, but you have offered no proof. I will have to determine who among my men will remain loyal to me. I will only involve those that I am sure of.”

“I have a plan to offer you proof,” declared Clint, “but you need to be ready to act at that time.”

“What possible proof can you offer?” scoffed the general.

“The spell that the mage is using has a fault,” answered Clint. “If the black-cloak can be tricked into casting another spell, the façade will fail, and you will have a chance to see his real face. The problem that I see is that at that time, everyone will know that the fraud has been exposed. There will be a battle within the Imperial Palace for control of the empire. Kyrga, K’san, General Brennus, and every black-cloak will stand against you.”

“Brennus, too?” asked the general.

“And the entire 36
^th
Corps,” nodded Clint. “If a sizeable portion of the 3
^rd
Corps betrays you, the empire will be lost.”

“This is something that we do not need right now,” sighed the general. “We have external enemies to deal with and you seek to foment a rebellion. Let it rest, Forshire.”

“I can’t,” Clint replied. “The Alceans have enough strength to crush Despair and destroy the empire. That is something that the heir does not want to happen.”

“You know who the heir is?” gasped General Hartz.

“I do,” declared Clint, “but do not even ask for his name. I have sworn not to reveal it.”

“If your words are true,” offered General Hartz, “I would be a fool to refuse the help of the A Corps. Get me proof, Forshire. Without it, I will not act. In the meantime, I need to decide who in the 3
^rd
Corps can be depended on to remain loyal to me.”

Garth Shado drove the elegant carriage through the gates of the Imperial Palace in Despair. Inside the carriage were Lord Kimner, Lord Zachary, and Lady Zachary. When the carriage reached the bottom of the steps leading to the main entrance of the palace, Garth brought the team of horses to a halt. He hopped off of the driver’s seat and opened the door to the passenger compartment. Lord and Lady Zachary stepped out and looked around. Garth then ran to the rear of the carriage and unstrapped a special chair with wheels. He carried it to the top of the steps and set it down. He then returned to the carriage and lifted Lord Kimner out of the passenger compartment. He carried the old man up the steps and gently set him down in the chair. By the time the visitors were assembled before the doors of the Imperial Palace, Colonel Taerin had appeared.

“Lord Kimner, you honor us with your presence,” the colonel said sincerely. “How may I serve you?”

“I wish to speak with Emperor Jaar,” Lord Kimner stated. “It would also be advisable for all four of your generals to be present, as what I have to say may affect the current situation in Despair. Please arrange the throne room for this meeting.”

Colonel Taerin raised an eyebrow at the mention of four generals. He did not think anyone was aware of General Forshire’s presence on the grounds, but the colonel nodded at the old noble.

“May I tell the emperor the names of your guests?” Colonel Taerin asked.

“Lord and Lady Zachary,” answered Lord Kimner. “I do not think the name of my attendant will matter to the emperor. Will you have someone show us inside?”

Colonel Taerin blushed with embarrassment as he realized that Lord Kimner was waiting to be admitted to the Imperial Palace. He nodded exaggeratedly and signaled for one of the sentries to escort the old noble and his guests.

“Show them to the throne room,” the colonel said. “I will inform the emperor of their arrival.”

Colonel Taerin let the visitors move through the doorway before entering the palace and heading for the emperor’s office. When he arrived at the office, the door was closed, and he had one of the guards announce him. He was admitted immediately and found Grand General Kyrga in the room with the emperor.

“What is it, Colonel?” asked the emperor.

“Lord Kimner wishes an audience,” Colonel Taerin stated. “He has brought Lord and Lady Zachary with him. I had him taken to the throne room.”

“Throne room?” echoed the emperor. “Whatever for?”

“Lord Kimner is an invalid,” stated Colonel Taerin. “He cannot manage the stairs. Besides, he wished for all of the generals to be in attendance.”

“In the middle of a siege?” Kyrga asked with surprise. “His timing couldn’t be less convenient.”

Emperor Jaar raised his hand and started waving dismissively. Before he could utter the words of dismissal, Colonel Taerin spoke.

“Lord Kimner was Emperor Forkuna’s closest advisor. He is also the architect of the Federation, and he thinks he may have a solution to our current situation. I think it would be a mistake to dismiss him.”

Emperor Jaar and Grand General Kyrga looked at one another. Eventually, the emperor sighed and nodded.

“Tell Lord Kimner that Emperor Jaar and I will be down as soon as we finish this meeting,” stated Kyrga. “Notify General Brennus and General Hartz.”