The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (22 page)

“
What?” the man
asked.

“
Horses,” Natalie
repeated. “You know, to pull the wagon.”

“
They uh, ran off
during the attack,” the man said.

“
You’re terrible and
you should feel bad,” Natalie said, drawing her blade.

She rammed the blade through the man’s
chest and I spotted the archers rising to their feet. I stretched
my arms to each group and released a massive Pulse. The arrows were
knocked out of the air and the archers were tossed onto their
backs. I immediately started covering my skin in scales and turned
to my left.

“
I’ve got the left,”
I called out.

“
Same,” Cathy chimed
in after.

“
Come on, Marky, we
got the right,” Natalie said.

The mercs were climbing back to their
feet and I threw two Ice Bolts to knock a couple back down. The
other three cocked their bows and fired. I waved my hand and
knocked two out of the air before the third one hit me in the
shoulder. I hissed in pain and ripped the arrow out of the scales.
I enchanted the arrow and sent it back to the archer.

He dodged the arrow and Cathy was after
him before he could get a proper footing. The two remaining bandits
dropped their bows and grabbed a sword and shield from the ground.
They split up and the closest merc charged towards me like he
believed he could actually defeat me.

The scales on my hands and forearms
were replaced by ice and I waited for the merc to strike. His sword
swung from the side and I blocked it with my left, using my right
to uppercut him. He staggered back and I advanced towards him,
aiming another at his head. He deflected the blow with his shield
and we traded strikes and blocks until I connected with another
strike to his head.

He was bleeding heavily from his nose
but remained on his feet. He stubbornly fought on and after
deflecting a few more swings of his sword, I seized his sword arm
and started to cover him in ice. He yelped in surprise and after
being frozen solid, I swung my fist and shattered him in a thousand
pieces.

I turned to Cathy to see how she was
doing and saw her watching me. She started clapping and I bowed
slightly. We turned our attention to our friends who were finishing
up with their lot.

“
You know what’s
funny,” I said to Cathy. “I felt guilty yesterday about killing,
but that didn’t stop me from shattering a man into a thousand
pieces.”

“
Kill or be killed
out here,” Cathy responded. “Nothing wrong with being artistic with
it.”

Markus and Natalie approached us and
Markus pointed at me and laughed. “Demon. I get it now.”

I nodded and the scales turned back
into skin. “It makes a great costume for masquerade parties,” I
said.

“
You’ll get the first
invite to my first masquerade party then,” Markus said.

“
We better hurry if
we’re going to catch that ferry,” Natalie said.

“
Ready to see how
comfortable the throne is?” I asked Markus.

“
No, but I’ve got a
long ferry ride to prepare for it,” he replied.

Chapter
19

To ensure an easy
trip through Riverside, Markus borrowed Natalie’s head wrap. It
felt unnecessary as the citizens bustled about their business
without a second glance, but we couldn’t risk any more trouble. At
the docks, the guards watched us suspiciously but never made a
move. We boarded the ferry and were on our way back to Thurlborn
Peak before anyone changed their mind.

The ferry was a
little busier than our last trip to the capital. It seemed as if
trade was starting to pick up again as Thurlborn showed signs of
coming back from the dead. Markus chose a quiet spot and requested
the ledger and some time to prepare. He studied without saying a
word the entire trip.

I had to hand it to
the future king. At 17 and with the tasks ahead of him, he was
taking everything well. No matter what doubts had crept into his
head he knew he had a duty and responsibility to uphold. He
reminded me of myself when I first left the Tower. Just becoming an
adult, but still mature beyond his years. Of course, if Cathy had
heard me calling myself mature, she wouldn’t have been able to stop
laughing.

When the ferry docked, Markus was
already on his feet and heading for the door. We filed in behind
him and stepped off the boat. I heard Markus breathe in suddenly as
he took in the devastation to the city for the first time.

“
It’ll get better,” I
said to him.

“
It’s one thing to
hear it, it’s another to see it,” he said sadly. “Not the ‘welcome
home’ I was looking for.”

We stepped out into
the market and were recognised by a couple of soldiers. They
pressed through the crowd heading straight towards
Cathy.

“
Lady Middleton, you
are under arrest by order of Lord Michaels of Riverside,” the clean
shaven soldier said.

“
Yeah, about that,”
Markus said, removing the head wrap.

“
Squire Paul?” the
moustached soldier asked in disbelief. “You’re alive?”

“
Last I checked,”
Markus replied.

“
The rumours were
true,” the clean shaven soldier breathed.

“
If we’re done with
this little exchange, I need to get to the castle,” Markus said.
“Lord Michaels and I need to have a word.”

“
Of course, right
this way,” Clean Shaven said.

The guardsmen led us through the crowd
towards the Stairway of Kings. The refugees and soldiers moved out
of the way and whispered amongst themselves about Markus and what
it meant for the city.

“
We’re finally
getting the treatment we deserve,” Cathy said quietly to
me.

“
This coming from a
Lady of the Court,” I replied.

“
Not a very popular
one if you remember,” she smiled.

“
At least we’ve never
had to worry about screwing up your reputation.”

“
I could run through
the streets in my underwear screaming about how the pumpkins were
after me and I think my reputation would be safe,” Cathy
replied.

“
Sure would be a
sight to see though,” Natalie said behind us.

It was a thought I
couldn’t get out of my head. The walk up the stairs had been quick
and the White Castle called to us for judgement. Lord Michaels had
either prepared for our arrival or we would walk through this
easily and Markus would be crowned. Either way, I was happy my head
was filled with the thoughts of Cathy in her underwear. It made me
feel less anxious.

Cathy looked at me
and studied my face. Worried that she could somehow read my
thoughts I tried to switch them to something else, but I couldn’t
think of anything. I ended up thinking about a bowl of fruit
falling out of a tree. Cathy just smiled and shook her
head.

We entered the White
Castle and were led to the war room where Lord Michaels and Lord
Kent were in deep discussion. I scanned the room for Lord Cook or
his son, but there wasn’t a trace of them. I feared that Lord
Michaels had caught them and eliminated them before we could
return. Never before had I hoped to be so wrong.

“
What is the meaning
of this?” Lord Michaels fumed.

“
Just thought I’d
come home and see how everyone is doing,” Markus said. “Things
appear to be getting a little out of hand.” Lord Michaels looked at
Markus in shock. Lord Kent rose to his feet and muttered something
quietly. “Where’s Lord Cook? Or his son?”

Lord Michaels
straightened himself out. “The traitor has been dealt with. His
son, however, remains a wanted criminal to the kingdom.”

“
What do you mean,
‘dealt with’?” Cathy asked.

“
The Cooks had been
responsible for starting fights on the streets and releasing
prisoners,” Lord Michaels started. “For treason and trying to put
the kingdom into anarchy, Peter Cook was stripped of his title and
sentenced to death with a 2-0 vote. I and Lord Kent voted in
favour, Peter Cook couldn’t vote and Sandra Middleton was
absent.”

“
You can’t do that,”
Cathy said.

“
It is our law,” Lord
Michaels said. “In the absence of the royal family, the Lords and
Ladies of the Court must govern in place until a new royal family
is crowned.”

“
But the last member
of the royal family has returned,” Cathy said. “The court has been
relieved of our duties and must crown our new king.”

“
The boy is too
late,” Lord Michaels informed. “We have already voted in a new
royal family. I will be crowned king tomorrow.”

“
But you haven’t been
crowned yet,” Lord Kent added. “Under these new circumstances, we
should hold another vote.”

“
Silence!” Lord
Michaels snapped.

“
I second that,”
Cathy stated. “And I believe Markus inherits his family’s position
in the court and is entitled to a vote.”

“
So the vote is 3-1
in favour of a revote,” Markus pointed out.

Lord Michaels laughed. “Are we actually
considering putting this child on the throne? We need someone with
experience to lead us. Not some knight in training.”

“
I’ll admit that I
have a lot to learn. Luckily I picked up this nifty book to help
me,” Markus said, raising Lord Michaels’ ledger. “It’s full
of...experience.”

Lord Michaels
clenched his jaw and drew his sword. The guardsmen in the room drew
their swords as well. A quick head count revealed a one to one
ratio of Michaels’ troops and our own. It would be the easiest
fight we had all week. But you can’t expect a brilliant fighting
strategy from a career politician who’s never been in a fight, no
matter how much ‘experience’ he has in ‘leading’.

“
You dare break into
another man’s house and take his things?” Lord Michaels
asked.

“
Funny, that was on
page three,” Markus said, opening the book.

“
Guards!” Lord
Michaels called out. “The man that brings me the boy’s head will be
made Lord of Malkia.”

The guards began advancing towards us
and I noticed one walking up behind Lord Michaels. With his sword
drawn, the guard attacked Lord Michaels from behind, piercing him
through the back. Lord Michaels cried out in agony as his guards
attacked our group.

I diverted my attention to the closest
guard and launched a Pulse at him. The guard was lifted off his
feet and crashed against the wall hard. He lay motionless on the
ground and I waited to see if he would rise again so this fight
could be extended. Through loss of will, or actually being knocked
out, the guard didn’t move and I felt a little disappointed.

The fight was over as quickly as it had
started and all attention was directed to the mysterious guard who
had betrayed Lord Michaels. He drew his blade out of Lord Michaels
slowly like he was savouring the moment before turning his
attention to us. He removed the helmet and smiled.

“
It’s good to see you
again, Markus,” Ser Cook said.

Markus smiled and closed the ledger.
“Right back at you, Kyle.” He went serious. “I’m sorry about your
father.”

“
His sacrifice wasn’t
in vain,” Ser Cook answered. “We got you here.” He turned to Cathy.
“Good to see you back too, my Lady.”

“
Same,” Cathy said.
“I knew you’d have to show up sooner or later. My condolences on
the loss of your father.”

“
Thank you, my Lady,”
he said.

Markus broke away from the group to
approach Lord Kent. The last Lord of the old court had retreated to
a corner to hide from the fight. He approached Markus glumly and
muttered an apology for not being able to do more.

Markus handed him the ledger. “I don’t
know what Michaels was holding over you and I don’t want to know.
You and your men will be granted a chance to enter his castle in
Riverside and retrieve whatever was taken from you. The ledger will
be all that remains of your secret. Take it and destroy it. We
never had this talk.”

Lord Kent whispered a
thank you and hurried out of the war room to make preparations. I
didn’t get a good look but I thought I had seen tears running down
his face as he left the room. I was curious about his secret
before, but now my curiosity had exploded out of
control.

“
We have a lot of
work to do,” Markus said, snapping my attention back to him. “If
Michaels’ coronation was tomorrow then we can just use the set up
for me. Save some time so we can focus on the Evenawk
problem.”

“
Michaels had been
feeding everyone false reports, but I’ve managed to get a hold of
the real ones,” Ser Cook said. “I’ve already circulated them around
the groups loyal to my father.”

“
So we have
confirmation that they will be attacking after all?” Markus
asked.

“
What? You didn’t
believe us?” Cathy asked playfully.

Markus smiled. “Could
anybody have truly believed your story?” He turned to Ser Cook.
“Bring me that information and we’ll plan our next course of action
over dinner. Emily, you and your brother are welcome to join
us.”

“
I...don’t think I
can get a hold of him in such short time,” Natalie pointed
out.