And I'm back again with chapter 21 guys. This is one of my better written chapters I believe. Lots of plot and lots of other stuff. Keeps everything rolling. Really hope you guys enjoy.
Chapter 21
It was silent. A slight draft drifted in through the doors that had just been shoved open. Gregor shivered, but he couldn't tell if it was from the sudden draft or the person that had caused it. The man wasn't large, but he wasn't small. He was as pale as any other underlander, but he had some color on his face that seemed to not belong. The strangest thing to Gregor was the way he seemed to almost be engulfed in the black cloak. The cloak covered the man from head to toe except for the face. The hood that he had kept his face hidden in had been dropped back and now he stood facing everyone. Gregor shivered again and this time he knew it was because of the stranger.
The stranger's eyes had turned to Gregor and for once he was certain of the color. The man's eyes were black through and through. Well, one of them was. The other was a milky white. Blind. The more Gregor looked the more he saw the man had seen many long years and many a battle. There were scars that ran along his face ranging in size. The smallest just crossed over his blind eye, but the largest ran from his right ear, across his mouth and down and across his neck. The scar stood out white from the pale skin.
While, Gregor studied the man the rest of the room was holding a collective breath. The council knew who the man was, as did Luxa and Perdita. Or at least what he was. Perdita was the only one who seemed happy to see him and she had reason. She was the lone person who actually knew the man. To everyone's surprise she took a step back from Gregor's dais and walked slowly over to the newcomer. His head slowly turned to put her clearly in his good eye. And his scarred mouth smiled.
Perdita stopped in front of the man. They were of nearly equal height, but the man still seemed to be somehow bigger than her. It was the cloak and how it seemed to shroud him and hide his body. Perdita looked the man in his eyes and she herself smiled. The man posted a salute and Perdita saluted him back. The onlookers now knew something about the man. He was military at the least and he knew Perdita.
Speaking of Perdita, she had turned and started to walk back towards the center of the room. The stranger walked a pace behind her in perfect unison with her strides. His steps made no noise on the stone floor and his tread seemed to make him float over the ground like a shadow. Perdita stopped at the dais where the witnesses had given their testimony. She paused for a second and the stranger stepped up next to her.
Gregor saw Perdita whisper something to her companion. He listened and watched as hard as he could for the strangers answer, but he never saw the man's mouth move even though Perdita was nodding her head as if in agreement with something. The man that had come in proclaiming the not so speedy end to this trial seemed stranger and stranger to Gregor by the second.
Perdita stopped nodding and stepped up on the podium. Gregor joined all the eyes that were looking at her, but he felt one that wasn't. The stranger was staring at him; his one good black eye looking right into both of Gregor's. For a third time Gregor shivered. That man had something very eerie about him. The sound of Perdita's voice brought Gregor back to reality and he focused his attention on his friend.
"You all are very likely wondering who are friend behind me is. Or if he is even a friend. He is in fact a friend and his name is Glaze. At least that is what he has gone by for the last decade thanks to his eye. Glaze, for those that do not know, is a very important piece of our military. A very secret piece. I have to ask all those that are not part of the military or a politician to please leave at once." The groan of disapproval from the majority of people there was loud and long, but one flash from Glaze's eye told everyone there that it was a very serious matter. Every mouth that was making noise shut and a not so orderly stream of people left the council room. Gregor watched his sister and Hazard escorted out by several guards. His sister cast him a weak smile and Gregor returned it before she disappeared. The room was now empty except for those of importance; the stone doors shut and the room was quiet again.
"Many of you here know who Glaze is," Perdita continued. "You know what his cloak means. For the few here who do not know, Glaze is a Regalian spy. A master of stealth and hiding he is able to blend in in almost any territory of the underland. I myself thought Glaze had lost his light a long time ago. Three years to be specific. But here he is and he tells me that he has grave knowledge to tell us all." Perdita dismounted the dais and returned to behind Gregor. Her hand found Gregor's arm and he felt a reassuring squeeze. He could feel his heart start to race in anticipation of what he was going to hear. His breathing grew shallower and he could feel himself start to lose himself to nerves and anxiety. Quietly he cursed himself and mentally reigned in his body. In a few moments his breathing returned to normal, but his heart kept beating at an exaggerated rate. Glaze had stepped up onto the dais and was looking Heracles in the eyes. Suddenly Glaze's gaze shifted to his left and he stared at the one man Gregor had seemed to forget. Roderick was standing not far from Glaze, forgotten due to Glaze's entrance. Glaze returned the focus of his eye to the council and he started to speak.
Gregor was surprised by the man's voice. It was quiet and he would normally consider it a weak voice. It was both mousy and raspy at the same time, but it had such an air of confidence and command to it that it didn't matter. The voice was not booming, but it was certainly clear who was in charge when he spoke. The words he spoke definitely backed it up.
"As our fare Perdita said, I am Glaze. I have been a spy for Regalia for as long as I can remember. I have seen things that no one here has seen. Well, except for our overland friend. I have been top side and I have been to parts of the underland unmapped yet. Those are stories for another day though. Today I have grave news for your ears to hear. News that many will disapprove of. Many will believe me to be a perjurer. Many will not believe what I say. But it is proper. The truth.
"Perdita, told you all true. I have been gone for three long years. Except I was not gone. I was away following something that I believed to be possible. Something I sadly found to be true. I left when I felt there was a traitor in the ranks. Someone important that was trying to harm our people. Our way of life. They are in this room at the moment." Those words sent every person looking around. Anyone could be who he was talking about. Many a pair fell on Gregor.
"No, I was not following the Overlander," Glaze spoke. "He was long gone off to another part of the overland by the time I first had any feelings of this. No, I was following someone much more important. I first noticed it when they were routinely leaving the city, but each time to the same place and every time on a different flier. It seemed strange to take a different flier out of the city when they had one they were bonded to. I asked several of the fliers where they took him, and they all said they took him to a cavern where he met his bond before he had them leave. It was strange but possibly nothing uncommon.
"I was more concerned when he returned. He was often covered in ash which could only come from the firelands. Why would our friend be traveling to such a far off place so routinely? It was a question I needed answered and I took to find it out. I hid away and it took years to learn all the information I will tell you all. I discovered the person in question was meeting with someone that I had never seen before, but the man held power over our traitorous friend. I was able to eavesdrop on several of their conferences and learned quite a bit about their plans. Plans for dominance and a new underland."
Gregor's mind was racing now at a speed that surpassed his heart. This was the plot from some crazy movie at home he was certain. There was no way any of this was real. He reflexively pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His nails drew blood and he knew it was no dream. All he was hearing was real. There was a traitor in the room and he was hard pressed to find out who. His eyes scanned the seats and he saw only one person who seemed to be doing unwell. Eisen was seated with his head in his hands and his knees shaking. That seemed odd for someone as important as Eisen. This should have been the things he needed to be paying attention too. The things he needs to know as Perdita's number two. Gregor shrugged and then remembered the man that wasn't seated. Roderick was standing straight as an arrow but he was a jittery arrow. His hands kept moving and he could see his feet bouncing occasionally. Very odd. Gregor brought his attention back to Glaze.
"The plan was moving quite well and soon there was another party introduced into this. A stinger started to be in attendance at these meetings and our traitors friend was able to communicate with the beast. I was amazed at the ability at first, but it quickly wore off as I saw what it was leading to. The stingers had become the army these two conspiring minds needed. They were the foot soldiers that would do the fighting. I knew then it was time for me to return to Regalia and report on this, but it took me much longer than I believed it would to return. I often had issues evading the increasing number of stingers in the area, as I had never had the opportunity to learn their movement patterns or match their smell. It was most difficult to do. I eventually arrived back at the city not a few weeks ago. I laid low in case there was something running amuck." Several strange looks graced his new term. "I learned that in the overland. It means if things were going bad.
"I learned that the overlander had returned recently and was relevant around the capitol again." Glaze's gaze quickly drifted to Gregor and then darted to Luxa before many would even notice. "He was making his presence known in training and I learned of his and our friend Eisen's unfortunate spar. It was on the day that I returned that our stinger friends arrived offering aid. I did not know about the attack on the Fount until then and then I knew my information was wrong. The fount was never meant to be attacked. The conspirators plan was for our queen to die in a training accident the day Eisen arrived. That had been planned for months and it was our traitor who helped to bring him here."
At that several people shifted in their seats. Many people were fundamental in getting Eisen to the capitol and his new military role. And many of those people were in the room. Gregor now had a new set of people that looked fidgety. Eisen had become attentive now that he was involved in the conversation. Even Luxa had broken from her trance and was looking stunned at the man that had just told everyone she was set to die..
"I knew then that the information I had was old and things had changed. The only reason I could think they would change so quickly and so drastically was one. The overlander. He is a variable nobody would imagine showing up in the equation. He could change things very drastically. I started to follow the overlander and I was there for many of the things he did. I watched him leave the capitol to go after our queen. I watched him come back injured. I saw him tell our dear Stellovet that he did not love her. I followed him to the city every time he went. I followed him into stores. But on the day in question I stayed back. I wanted to see what was going to happen when he went into Ivan's. It was something different because I knew Ivan. And I knew how stubborn he was. When i heard yelling I knew the overlander lost to Ivan's stubbornness. Instead of following the overlander I slipped into the store and stayed to talk to Ivan.
"Someone else though came into the store not but a few seconds after me. That man is our traitor. I hid in the shadows when he entered and heard him ask for a sword he had inquired about early in the week. And he left without it. I never revealed my presence to Ivan but I stayed in the shadows of his store. I knew though that Ivan knew i was there. I stayed shrouded in the shadows for some time before a man ran into the store dressed in all black and butchered my friend like an animal. He spoke to Ivan beforehand and told him this: ' I need that sword' and the proceeded to attack him ruthlessly. The results weren't pretty.
"I returned to the palace to report to Perdita, but I never had a chance. I watched from the shadows as the overlander was arrested and the man that had killed my friend was part of it. I waited for the trial and I came here today to tell my story and prove the overlander free of guilt." Glaze paused and looked down from the crowd. Gregor could tell his voice was tired and that the story was hard for him to tell. The quick respite was gone and everything Gregor had seen was gone. Glaze was a hardened man and he was going to stay that way. Gregor knew what that felt like. For the longest time when he returned topside he kept his emotions to himself. It was safer that way. Now though he tried to let them out because he could. Glaze didn't have that option.
"Many of you may ask why I haven't named our traitor. You may think you are sitting next to him or he may be the man you had a drink with before coming here. Or it could be the person you had a some free time with last night. Of course, I have my reasons for not revealing the name. One I like to see you all cringe and squirm and two I like to make you think. Does anyone know who our traitor is?" Glaze stopped and looked at all the faces. Gregor had an idea. A very good idea on who it was, but it wasn't him Glaze was talking to. Glaze was addressing the council. None of them even spoke.
"It is a shame. I made it pretty clear based off the testimony you all heard on who it was. And no it was not the overlander," Glaze added the second half when several eyes looked over at Gregor. "The man who is a traitor to us all is none other than Roderick, your top sword." A collective gasp left everyone's lips. Everyone except Gregor's, Rocerick's and Glaze's. Gregor had known from the time Glaze had started talking about following him and that Roderick had to be the one. He had seen the man too many times around him for it to not be him. The council was dumbstruck, Luxa was sitting with her mouth agape, Eisen was inching closer to the edge of the raised stands they were sitting on his hand on his word hilt. Gregor heard the whisper of steel on leather as Mareth and Perdita drew their swords.
Roderick however was smiling. He was calm and his features had seemed to change. His smile wasn't a friendly one, instead replaced with one that was sardonic and evil. The smile would fit satan perfectly Gregor thought as he glared at the man that had set him up and tried to have him killed. It was not something Gregor would forget ever. Not until he got his chance at revenge. Then it hit Gregor that Roderick would be smiling at all. He was about to be arrested and most likely executed for being a traitor. Something wasn't right.
"Roderick!" a stern, powerful voice said from the assembled people. Luxa was standing and looking right at the man. "You are beyond terrible. You are not worth the breath I am using to say these words." Luxa turned her attention to the guards. " Guards arrest him and send him to the smallest cell we have."
The guards didn't move. They stood where they were and their weapons were still on their belts. A cackle erupted from Roderick's mouth. It rose into a spurt of maniacal laughter and Gregor was uncertain if Roderick had lost his mind.
"Why do you laugh?" Luxa questioned.
"Oh, I have my reasons," Roderick replied snarkily.
"What are those?" Perdita cut in as she slowly walked around the dais, Mareth at her side.
"Those guards you called for don't take your commands. They are my men and have been since they joined the palace guard. It was I who saved them from the lives they were living as simple folk in the city. Now they do what I say. They are loyal to me." Roderick had a grin that stretched ear to ear. Gregor was scared. It was very possible this could turn into a bloodbath. It was time for Gregor to jump into the fray.
"Why?" Gregor shouted to Roderick.
"Why, what?" Roderick sneered back.
"Why cause all of this? What do you get out of this? What does killing Luxa get you? What does killing me get you?" Gregor fired back.
"There is much to gain Overlander. Without a queen this city is nothing. That council can not run this city. They could not even run this trial. The city would be weak without our favorite queen. And a weak city is one for the taking. One to be shaped into what I want. What we want! And you just got in the way. Collateral damage you could say." Roderick was ranting. His grand plan starting to come out in the open. As he talked Perdita had inched even closer to Roderick, Mareth not far behind. His prosthetic leg was holding him back from rushing right at Roderick, Gregor could see it in his friend's actions. Eisen had joined them on the floor of the council chambers and was also slowly advancing towards Roderick.
Roderick saw them and shook his head. " I don't want to hurt any of you. I consider you all my friends. The only ones that must die are the overlander and the queen."
"You are crazy, Roderick," Mareth growled as he took quicker steps towards the traitor.
"I am sorry then," Roderick said drawing his sword. Gregor was amazed at the beauty of the blade. The metal had a hint of blue in it and the hilt was a shimmering green. Several jewels encrusted the crossguard that protected Roderick's hand. The impressive part was the length of the blade, It was longer than most one handed swords Gregor had seen in the underland, but it was also thinner than most as well. Not as thin as Luxa's, but not nearly as thick as the ones he normally used. The sword was special and he knew it.
Quick as lightning, Roderik sweeped out. Mareth fell before anyone saw what happened. Gregor imagined the worse, but was relieved to see that Roderick had only cut Mareth's prosthetic in half. Perita raised her sword, but Roderick flashed his down and drover perdita back and to the ground. Perdita's sword went spinning away from her. Roderick lashed out with his boot and caught Perdita square in the head. She slumped to the ground unconscious. There was nobody between roderick and Gregor.
"Overlander, it is your time to die," Roderick said, as he rushed towards Gregor his sword at the ready. Ready to take Gregor's head and remove it from his body. The time to fight was gone for Gregor and he accepted the fate that was coming for him. He was weak and defenseless. He looked at Luxa and saw fear in her eyes, a silent no leaving her lips. It was time to accept his fate and he looked Roderick in the eye as he came closer. The sword streaked down and Gregor closed his eyes ready to feel the cold steel pierce his flesh.
It never came.
Instead a resounding clash of steel on steel filled Gregor's ears. He opened his eyes in time to see what happened. Eisen had reached out his sword and caught Roderick's on his blade. It was just in time to save Gregor's head. There was fury etched in Roderick's eyes. He pulled his sword back and swung it at Eisen. Gregor watched as the sword's collided and Roderick's sheared through the crossguard of Eisen's sword. A flash of red and a howl of pain filled the air. Gregor saw part of Eisen's hand laying on the floor and he moved. He vaulted the railing of the dais and he ran. Adrenaline pushed him away from what happened. He looked back and saw Roderick running the other way and he signaled for his guards to run. They ran out of the council chambers and away down the hall.
Gregor turned and ran back to Eisen. He was on his knees clutching his bleeding hand. The sword had gone between his ring and middle finger and cleaved through his hand taking all but two fingers with it. Most of the hand was gone and was laying on the floor in a pool of blood. Howard shouldered Gregor aside as he looked at Eisen. He screamed some words that Gregor hardly noticed. His mind was set on one thing and one thing only. Revenge. Revenge against Roderick for the pain he had put so many people through. The damage he had caused could be irreparable.
That when it started to sink in. He was free from this… this chaos. There was no more worrying, no more sitting in a cell basing time on meals. But most of all he was able to move. Freedom to go out and do things again. Train and be ready for when Roderick would inevitably be back. Freedom to fix the broken things. Talk to Luxa and fix their relationship if it even needed to be fixed. He was obviously not guilty and that was what was pushing Luxa away. At least that's what he hoped.
His head felt a little woozy and he slowly sat down on the floor. There was tim to think about that later. No reason to get all nervous about that now, he thought. He watched Eisen be escorted from the chamber as a servant cleaned the blood soaked floor. Another person was tending to Perdita with a wet towel as she laid sprawled out on the floor. Mareth sat a look of melancholy on his face. Gregor knew his friend felt useless. He was dispatched without even raising his sword. It wasn't fair for him, Gregor knew, but Mareth was strong and he would get through it.
Gregor caught a glimpse of movement and he turned to see Heracles standing.
"The council find the Overlander not-guilty of the charges presented. All parties are dismissed." Heracles proclaimed for austerity. Everyone already knew it. Gregor watched Luxa climb down and with Vikus the two left the chamber. Vikus gave Gregor a big smile as they passed, but Luxa didn't even look at him. Gregor would talk to her and sort it all out. York left next, the big man stopping to slap Gregor on the back as he passed. Council member after council member filed out leaving Gregor alone on the floor. Eventually Gregor looked around and he was alone except for a lone servant who was cleaning the seats.
He pushed himself to his feet figuring it was time to go. There was plenty he needed to do and none of it was getting done sitting there. Margaret needed to know he was okay and he needed to go see how Eisen was faring and thank him for saving his life. He needed to see Luxa and he had to talk with Perdita about whatever it was she would need him for. In his thoughts Gregor didn't notice the man that materialized out of the shadows. That is until he ran into him.
"Glaze I didn't see you there," Gregor said in apology. He looked closely at the man and realized just how small he was. The cloak made him look much bigger, but he was really small beneath it. Slight frame and little to no fat.
"It is okay Gregor," Glaze replied.
"I really need to say thank you for you know saving my life," Gregor told the man sheepishly avoiding his eyes. He just wasn't in the mood.
"Do not thank me. It was for the betterment of all what I did. It certainly helped that I like you, kid. Very much a warrior and very much a diplomat. You have a good future. I also wanted to tell you to look harder. You will never believe the number of times you could have seen me," Glaze was smiling when he finished talking. A very scary smile.
"I thought it was your job to stay hidden," Gregor retorted a smile creeping across his face.
"It is, but isn't yours to find the hidden things and kill them," Glaze said. Before Gregor could reply the strange man had disappeared and was gone. With a shake of his head Gregor forced his hands into his pocket and he wandered out of the room. There was so much to do and there was nobody around to help him. Nobody that seemed to be in any hurry to fix what needed to be fixed and solve his problems. Problems they had caused. His friends were all somewhere else due to too many numerous circumstances for Gregor to count.
Gregor was free, but at that moment, he felt more alone than he had in a long time.
This came out exactly as I wanted it to. Perfect ending. Perfect plot points. Oh I love it. I hope you guys did too. Leave a review telling me if you did.