Everflame (4 page)

Eveneye’s words echoed through the chamber like thunder. No one moved. No one spoke. Irontooth’s eyes had gone bloodshot with rage. His claws had dug deep into his throne
, and his jaw shook as he spoke, “So be it.”

Chapter 3:
Blood and Fire

“What’s done is done, Whiteclaw. You can’t be mad at me forever.”

Eveneye and Whiteclaw sat in a prison cell below the courtroom with their backs turned to each other. The King’s guard had arrested both of them directly after Eveneye had challenged the King. They did not know where the boy had been taken, but they knew he wo
uld not be harmed until after the ritual had been completed.

“You should have told me what you meant to do if the King refused you. I had the right to know.”

“You would have tried to stop me, Whiteclaw.”

“You’re damn right
, I would have tried to stop you!” Whiteclaw turned around to face Eveneye, furious. “Challenge the King? You are a fool, Eveneye! I should have reported that child myself! You have ruined me, you have ruined your wife, and you have sentenced yourself to death!”

Eveneye did not turn to face Whiteclaw, but he spoke calmly and clearly.

“I will complete my challenges. I will not fail.”

Whiteclaw huffed and spun himself back away from Eveneye, preferring the view of the wall.

Eveneye had spoken the words of fate and challenged the King, and law said that Eveneye was now subject to challenges of his own. The reward for completing all three challenges was possession of the Kingdom, but the penalty for failure was death. Long ago, the elder bears had written this law into existence in the case of a king who was a tyrant. It was in place so that the bears of the Kingdom could choose a champion among them to challenge and dethrone a tyrant. Yet the challenges were created to be very difficult in order to deter those who would seek the throne for unjust reasons. In the history of the bears, only one new king had been crowned by this method and that was the warrior king, Blackmaw. Blackmaw was a champion of the people and they begged him to challenge the tyrant, Bloodpaw. It had happened a long time ago and was honored as one of the events shown on the ceiling of the main tunnel. No bear that lived today had been alive to witness it.

The ritual consisted of three challenges. The
first challenge was of the mind, the second challenge would be physical and the third, if one should make it that far, was a duel against the king. The duel would be fought to the death.

The bears sat in their cell for what seemed like ages. There was very little light where their cell was located and they could hear nothing of what was going on in the castle around them. Eveneye worried about Goldenheart. Undoubtedly, the King had sent for her by now. She must be terrified. Eveneye cursed himself for n
ot having protected her better.

Suddenly, the one torch that dimly lit the chamber went out. The bears could hear shuffling and clinking
and then the cell door opened.

“Move and you die.”

Both Eveneye and Whiteclaw could sense other bears around them and then felt the cold tips of spears. The King’s guard held Eveneye and Whiteclaw at spear point, and as they did, they fit them with shackles and blindfolds.

“Consider this your funeral march,” uttered one of the
guards. The rest of the King’s guard laughed as they ushered Eveneye and Whiteclaw out of the cell.

Eveneye and Whiteclaw were
not aware of where the King’s guard was taking them. Eveneye thought he had a pretty good guess though. Tales of Blackmaw’s challenges were told to all bears from a very young age, and there was only one place in the entire kingdom that could host such a thing: the Mountain Arena. The King would want the entire Kingdom to witness, what he would expect to be, the death of someone seeking the throne.

Eveneye and Whiteclaw could see nothing, but
continued to walk the downward-sloping path leading to their fate. Eveneye reasoned that they must be in a tunnel leading away from the castle. He could hear nothing except for the pounding of their feet. After roughly twenty minutes, the lead guard called for a halt, and Eveneye could hear a door open. The tip of a spear prodded him through the door. His shackles were removed and he heard the door close behind him. They had left Eveneye alone. The bear reached up and removed his blindfold to find himself in a large room, bisected by steel bars.
Just another cell
, he thought. But as he turned, looking around the cell, he found himself staring out at King Irontooth.

“Why have you done this to yourself, Eveneye?”

“You gave me no choice. No good bear would have sent that child back into hands that wished to harm it. I did it to save the boy’s life.”

“You lie. No bear can care that much for a human. I am no idiot. You have organized this whole charade as a reason to take the crown
for yourself. You and your friend, Whiteclaw, seek power and that is all. Your motives are base, Eveneye, I shall enjoy watching your death.”

“What do you know of my motives? I have lived my life watching the Kingdom of Bears hide from the world. That isolation ha
s poisoned our minds and it has clouded your judgment. Our antisocial behavior has made us enemies that are more powerful than we give credit. I walked into that courtroom today in your service, with the hope of saving a life, a life of no less value than yours or of mine. That child has done no injustice in this world, yet you condemn him. Why? Fear? Apathy? Neither is an acceptable reason. As I said, you have given me no choice.”

“You insult your own kind, Eveneye. I think you forget what it is that you are.”

“What I am has no bearing on what is right.”

“It has everything to do with what is right. There is no escaping that. Your confused logic has damned you, Ev
eneye. Damned you and your wife and your friend.”

“What have you done with them?” Eveneye gripped the ba
rs of his cell in sudden panic.

“I’ve done nothing, and I will do nothing with them. Of course, Whiteclaw will be removed from his position, but oth
er than that, I will do nothing. Your decisions will be punishment enough for them. After your death, who will be there for your wife? Hmm? What bear would marry her and take on that shame? The same for Whiteclaw, I imagine. Who knows? Maybe they will find comfort in each other’s arms when you are gone.” King Irontooth chuckled and turned to leave. “Oh, and as for the boy. His body shall burn upon the pyre of the Everflame, for your disobedience.”

King Irontooth left the room
, and left Eveneye seething with anger.
I shall not fail
, thought Eveneye.
Nothing shall stop me. Nothing.

• • •

After a short time in the cell, a guard came and escorted Eveneye to the gate of the Mountain Arena. He motioned Eveneye through the gate and closed it behind him. As Eveneye walked out onto the floor of the arena, he felt as though he had walked onto the surface of a place he had never been. He looked up, all around him, and saw that the arena was filled with the citizens of the Kingdom. What made the situation so surreal was that every single bear in the audience was silent. It was so silent, he could hear his own heartbeat. Thousands of bears, in one awkward silence. The truth of the situation was that there wasn’t a single bear that dare make a sound. Who would dare to cheer a bear that would defy a King, and who would dare to jeer a bear whose defiance may gain him the crown? This was history. Today would be sacred. The bears knew how to give the moment the reverence it deserved.

The silence angered the King. He wanted the crowd to jeer Eveneye. Bu
t he did not let his anger show as he stood to address the crowd.

“My Kingdom, one of you has chosen to challenge the authority of my rule. One of you has spoken the words of fate. That bear is Eveneye, who stands before you now.”

Eveneye looked up to the King’s box that sat fifty feet above the floor. Hatred welled inside of him and his claws scraped at the rock floor of the arena. As his furious gaze shot up at the King, he noticed two bears sitting just behind Irontooth. He looked a bit more intently at them and saw the sullen features of his wife, Goldenheart, and his best friend, Whiteclaw. Just behind them, he saw guards with spears, holding them where they were, forcing them to watch the ritual. Eveneye’s blood boiled in his veins and he ground his teeth.

Irontooth turned his gaze from the crowd to Eveneye.

“Does the challenger have anything to say before the ritual begins?”

Eveneye stood up on his hind legs and shouted up at Irontooth.

“Tell my wife that I have given her my heart, and before the day is done, I shall also give her the Kingdom.”

Irontooth curled his lips as he looked down upon Even
eye. His eyes were full of rage but he didn’t dare to allow Eveneye’s words to bait him into response. He must show his Kingdom which bear holds the steady hand.

“Raise the gate,” h
e shouted and horns were sounded all around the arena.

A gate opened at the edge of the arena and fourteen large bears dragged a massive
, wooden structure out onto the arena floor. The structure was shaped like a pyramid, with the exception of a platform at the top, and stairs at one side, leading up to the platform. It stood at least thirty feet into the air and Eveneye could not see around it.  The bears dragged the structure over to a large, square board on the arena floor. They then removed the board from where it was, and replaced it with the pyramid. Eveneye looked at the structure and wondered what might lie beneath it. Once in place, the fourteen bears stood around the pyramid and waited.

The King rose from his chair and again spoke to Eveneye.

“At the top of this structure are four holes, each will drop you down through the structure to whatever lies below. Each hole will lead you to a different fate. There is also a scroll at the top of the structure with a riddle. The riddle will give you a clue as to which hole to drop through to complete the challenge. You will have a limited time to make your decision. A poor decision will result in death. Let the ritual begin now.”

Eveneye looked at the pyramid and wondered why Irontooth had not told him how long he had to accomplish the task. He guessed that the riddle would explain his timeframe, so he moved over to the pyramid. He looked at the bears surrounding the pyramid as he approached. They did not return his gaze; they simply stood without moving
, like statues, staring at the structure. Eveneye climbed the stairs and as he reached the top, he looked out over the crowd and noticed that some of the bears began to gasp. Some brought their paws to their mouths and seemed shocked. He also noticed, that of the bears whose eyes he could see, they were looking toward the base of the pyramid. Eveneye looked down and saw that the fourteen bears were lighting the pyramid on fire. He now understood his time limit. If he did not make his choice in time, he would be standing upon his own funeral pyre. He quickly moved over to the scroll and opened it. The riddle read thusly:

Choices four lie before

He who would seek the crown

To the right, a line of sight

May direct your decision down

Your other side, should you decide

To hear the Kingdom call

Place your fate in what you say

And allow yourself to fall

Eveneye looked to his right and saw two holes in the top of the pyramid,
and to his left, another two holes. The holes were large enough for him to fit down, but not by much. He looked down into each of the holes and saw blackness. He could hear the fire crackle on the sides of the pyramid.
Calm yourself
, Eveneye said to himself.
You can do this.
Eveneye went back and read the scroll another time.

To the right, a line of sight may direct your decision down.
Eveneye decided to start with the holes to the right of the scroll. He looked down into each hole and could only see blackness. He stood between the two holes and looked around the crowd. Eveneye let the words repeat in his head.
Line of sight. Direct your decision down.
Eveneye was sure that he should be looking for some visual evidence of what to do; he just didn’t know how to interpret what he was seeing. Eveneye noticed that along the wall of the arena, hung the banners of the professional johnball teams that played in the kingdom.
Maybe the clue is in the banners,
he thought. His line of sight moved from different team banners as he moved around the holes. There was no clue as to where his line of sight should start from. Then an idea popped into Eveneye’s head. He should stand where the scroll was and look out at the banners. He walked to the spot and looked out over the first hole. The team banner of the Flames lined up perfectly.
That has to be a bad sign,
he thought.  Then he looked out over the other hole and saw the banner of the Fighting Fish. This was a more positive sign, but more confusing.
I must have been wrong.

Eveneye decided to try the holes on the other side. He was beginning to feel the temperature go up and he could see and smell smoke. He read the second part of the scroll again.
Should you decide to hear the Kingdom call, place your fate in what you say and allow yourself to fall.
Once again, Eveneye allowed the words to play around in his mind. The other side seemed to be dealing with sight and this side seemed to be dealing with hearing. He decided to see if he could hear anything down the holes. He bent low, hung his head over one of the holes and listened. He could hear nothing, nor could he see anything. He tried the other and came up with the same result. He recited the scroll in his mind again, and ‘place your fate in what you say’ stood out.
Maybe I need to say something into the right hole. Maybe when I call out, something will present itself that is of some help.
He figured it was worth a shot and shouted down the first hole.