Chapter Nine:
According to the Plan.
"Are you addled! How...how could you?!" Judy's voice filled the chamber with an ear-piercing rage.
Despite Buja's firm grip on her captain's shoulder, the bunny still managed to raise her sword towards the king. Behind her beautiful, serene eyes, raged a fiery flame. Gideon could see her pull against the strong grip that kept her from doing any more foolishness.
"Know your place, Captain! Or you and your lap dog will join him." Lionheart pointed at the crumpled corpse bleeding out on the crimson rug.
The Captain flinched from the spike in the lion's words. The fury in her eyes was only matched by the sleep deprived insanity in the King's. The mania radiated from his every fiber. His posture told a story of how unhinged he'd become. From the crooked crown on his brow, to the hunched shoulders. The way he turned to face her, the once noble king was gone, leaving only a demon wearing his skin. When his gaze left her, she let loose a visual sigh and fell back against the large Cape Buffalo, that once held her back, now kept her from falling.
Brother Benjamin pushed his way through, falling to his knees next to the crumpled body. Blood soaking the knees of his pants. He untied the ankh that hung at his hip and started uttering a soft prayer for the fallen rabbit. Lionheart glared at the fat cheetah, his lips pursed tightly around his fangs. There was no remorse in his face, just a well of darkness. When he could no long stand the utterance to the invisible goddess, he turned his gaze to the Bard.
"Step forward, fox." The king's voice rumbled in his throat.
Nicholas remained where he was, his fists clenched at his sides. Lionheart shot a glance to the two guards, that now stood slack-jawed. Torvin had discarded his sword next to Peter's body. His trembling gaze was trapped by the horror of what he'd done. Olivinder stood beside him, her fingers tracing comforting circles in his cheek fur. He didn't acknowledge she was even there. When the king's gaze fell on them, Olivinder clutched her friend, trying to help him stand at attention.
"Bring him to me!" Lionheart grunted.
Olivinder gave Torvin a soft pat on his cheek. She leaned close, whispering something in his ear. The warm breath on his face caused him to jolt but he finally looked at her. Olivinder gave him a comforting smile before following through with the King's orders. Like a soldier, she strode tall, head back, shoulders straight. Perfect in many ways but her eyes betrayed the torrent of emotions inside. Olivinder's resolve had been tested, maybe even broken, but she wasn't about to let it show.
Nicholas wasn't the fool he pretended to be. His mind had been constructing the elaborate plan the entire time. All he needed now was a catalyst. When he felt Olivinder grip his arm, it set things in motion.
In a quick snap, the fox turned on her, planting an open palm hard against her chest plate. The leopard gasped and fell back at the surprising motion. Her head in such a flurry, she'd not even noticed the fox's hand grip her sword. The motion of her falling back drew her sword for him. When she hit the floor, Finn gripped her around the throat with his strong claws.
"Don't move, Oli. I don't want to hurt you." Finn's voice was a soft rumble in her ear. She said nothing, simply nodding her understanding.
Everything happened so fast that the others couldn't react. A tiny voice in the back of the baker fox's head urged him to defend his companions. When the voice got too loud to ignore, it spurred him into action. Gideon jumped over Olivinder's prone body and scooped up Torvin's discarded sword. The cougar watched everything unfold before him, he remained lost in a haze making no attempt to rescue his friend. Now they were an armed opposition, Torvin deemed it wasn't worth trying. The pudgy fox looked down at the heavy sword in his hand. Armed as he was, he was still at a disadvantage. He didn't know how to use a sword and he wasn't about to pretend he did.
Nicholas turned to face the king with his sword in his hand. "Alright, now that the odds are a little more even. How about you and I have a talk, your lowness."
"I...Bellwether, do something!" Lionheart demanded.
Bellwether stood crouched next to the throne shaking her head. "N..no."
"You wanted to talk, so let's talk!" Nicholas urged the confrontation.
"Things have gotten out of hand!" Benjamin got to his feet, his ankh clenched in his hands.
"Stay out of this friar." The King descended the stairs planting a punch into the good Cleric's gut sending him to his knees.
Gideon could see that the king's sudden speed burst sent Nicholas on the defensive. The fox took several wide steps back managing to avoid tripping over the downed body of the snow leopard. Aza stepped forward, dodging a claw swipe from the king. She grabbed the chubby cheetah by the shoulders of his tunic, pulling him away from further danger. It took a few hard pulls but she managed to put some distance between them and the mad king. The king wheeled around to face the Bard once again.
"Where is my stone, you dirty little thief?" He asked.
"Not here!" Nicholas lowered his sword but kept it at the ready.
"Where is it!?"
The king took a step forward, the entire group took a step back. The entire group was of a hive mind that the king could no longer be trusted to be rational. He was capable of doing anything, even murder. Keeping any form of distance from the King was important. Nicholas took a sidestep as if he were circling the lion.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He chided.
"Listen to me, fox. I've had it up to here with this attitude." The king motioned a line above his head. "You will tell me what I want to know, or I will gut your despicable carcass right here and now!"
"Strong words from a filthy murderer." Nicholas spat on the floor.
Hearing the words caused Torvin to drop to his knees. Tears in his eyes. There was a deep desperation in his face that left Gideon feeling cold inside. The cougar fished a dagger from his boot. Olivinder tried to break the small fox's grip but it was all for nothing. Finn's small claw pierced her skin causing a pool of blood to soak into her fur on her throat. She grunted and stared at her companion.
"Stop him!" She screamed.
Gideon saw the small blade catch the firelight and lurched forward to grab the cougar's hand but he wasn't fast enough. The blade sunk easily between the chink in his armor, blood spilled out from under his rib plate. The cougar looked up at the ceiling and started muttering a prayer through a heavy breath. His voice was echoed by the sound of Brother Benjamin's voice. Aza pulled the cheetah to his feet. Gideon could see the ankh had broken when the King punched him. Broken as it may be, the Cleric's faith went beyond the wooden trinket. The baker fox's head was spinning as he watched the pool of blood spread around the cougar crawling across the tiled floor. The sight caused the edges of Gideon's vision to darken. The Cleric's sweet voice slowed down and became distorted in his ears.
"Gideon!" Aza yelled.
Too late, once again. He felt the massive hand close around his. The king tore the sword from him with little effort, hammering him in the side of the head with the pommel and brought the weapon back across his body. The force of the strike shuddered the entirety of the fox's world. Gideon was floating through the air for a second before coming down hard on the red rug. The air was forced from his lungs. A figure came in from the side of his blackening vision. It was a sweet face, strong enough to keep him from giving into the coming darkness. Warm hands gripped his cheeks.
"Mordith was not with you this battle." Aza gave him a ragged smile, he could sense her concern.
Lionheart turned his blade towards the Bard, who'd stepped between the lion, the captain and her mage as if he were protecting them from whatever he might do. Finn had since moved to stand next to his friend. Even unarmed, he was still dangerous. Free from the Fennec's clutches, Olivinder crawled across the floor to embraced Torvin's hunched body. Her sobs filled the hall as she fought to keep him from slipping into the beyond.
A cruel smile crept across the King's lips. "Kill him!" He ordered Captain Hopps to turn on the fox that had his back to her.
"No," The bunny responded through gritted teeth, her fire still alight.
"I guess I'll just have to do it myself." Lionheart took two wide steps towards them.
"Ah ah ah! You kill me, your murderousness, and you'll never find your trinket." The Bard teased.
"Far enough. Then I will just have to slow torture you and your friends until you tell me." Lionheart chuckled.
"Gotta catch us first." Nicholas took a step back bumping into the captain, she wrapped a hand around his waist to keep him from tripping. "Thanks, Carrots."
The bunny opened her mouth to speak but the King interrupted her. "I have thousands of guards at my disposal. There's no way you can kill them all. You will be mine." The King taunted.
"Darkness below! Who has the time for all of this "witty" banter? I'm running out of time here." Bellwether groaned.
Everyone paused amidst hearing the sheep's voice. They all turned to see her sitting on the throne, her fingers pressed together before her. There was an arrogant glow about her, something uneasy and menacing. Again, Nicholas cocked his head as he studied her.
"What did you say, witch?" The King turned his back to the group, glaring up at Bellwether. "What are you-"
"I said," Bellwether cut the king off. "I don't have time for all of this bravado, you pin-headed buffoon. If you're going to kill him, then do it. I don't have time for these 'will he, won't he' Gnoll droppings you keep spewing."
"How dare you?" The King was taken aback by this sudden change in the sheep's demeanor.
"How dare I!? You're so simple-minded. This," Bellwether gestured to everyone in the room. "all of this was orchestrated by me! Granted a few things went awry but they're so small it doesn't matter. The stars are aligned and it's my time to shine, with or without the Sunburst stone." The sheep gloated leaning against the arm of the throne.
"Uhm...sorry to interrupt you, Wools, but as far as villain speeches go, this is a pretty poor attempt. I mean you're giving us tons of information but it doesn't mean anything to us without some background exposition." Nicholas chimed in. "As a Bard, I could give you a few pointers on how to tell a good story."
"Ah, the Bard, yes. First of all, you failed your contract, so you're not getting the other half of your payment. The good news is, you're gonna die, so it doesn't matter where you hid the Sunburst Stone because no one will ever be able to stop me." Bellwether slipped down from the throne.
"I knew it! You're the 'mysterious' stranger from the tavern. I thought I smelled lamb chops all over the gold you gave me." A wide grin came to the fox's muzzle.
Finn chortled a high-pitched laugh. "Now's not the time, boy."
A red tint filled the sheep's face. "Silence!"
"What is he talking about, witch?" The King turned his sword on his adviser.
"Shut up, you worm."
Bellwether pulled her long Onyx staff from behind the throne pointing it at the lion. A familiar green glow engulfed the staff pulsing from foot of it to the head. A witch fire green bolt jumped from the tip, striking the King square in the chest. It sent him to the floor, leaving him a writhing mass. Lionheart clutched his chest, clawing at his clothes as if there were a heavy weight pressing down on him. His fur grew ashen in color. His face grew gaunt as if his very life force was being sucked out of him. A few gasps escaped his lips before his body fell slacked against the tile. The king's hands curled into claws at his chest. The gaping hollow of his eyes and mouth showed that he was nothing more than a desiccated husk now.
"Stop calling me a witch!" Bellwether chortled. "You...you think you can control me. I was controlling you this whole time. And this facade, much like your 'reign', has come to an end."
Again, like a hive mind, the group slowly backed towards the door of the chamber. Nicholas picked up the sword next to the king's dead body and held it out to whoever would take it. Aza the one, she took the blade and gave it a few practice swings. "Thank you, bard."
"I think it's time for us to leave." Nicholas looked at everyone as they started to regroup, each of them nodding and backing away from the door.
"Stay right where you are! I want to have a word with you." A sneer came to the sheep's face.
Bellwether clutched her staff with both hands and started to mumble something that Gideon couldn't understand. The look on Buja's face told him that whatever it was, it wasn't good. A look of confusion spread across the buffalo's face. It was definitely a spell but one she didn't even know the origin for.
All around them, the air grew cold and thick with a strange humidity. An acrid taste filled the baker's nose and mouth. Quickly, he held his breath as the room was filled with a strange green fog. It was the same color as the bolt she'd fired into the king.
"Cover your muzzles, don't breathe the fog," Nicholas demanded pulling his tunic collar up over his nose.
Everyone did as they were told, making sure to not take another breath until their faces were covered away from whatever the fog was. Buja wrapped an arm across Judy's shoulders pulling her into the center of the tightening group. She started muttering a spell under her breath. Her words were lost admits the rumble in her tone. When she finished, she tapped her staff against the tiled floor and a blue dome engulfed them. Gideon could see the green fog washing over the invisible walls that surrounded them.
"You can breathe safely now. The orb will protect us." Buja grunted trying to focus on keeping the spell intact.
When the room was filled with the strange green fog, Bellwether slammed her staff against the floor. It sent a green shockwave throughout the room. It was strong enough to shake the very foundation of the castle. If it hadn't been for Buja's protection spell, the shock wave may have torn them apart.
Bellwether leaned on her staff weakly. Her once white wool had turned gray. Her cheeks and eyes sunk into her skull. Her green eyes glowed with the same magic light that she used to poison the room. Beside her ragged panting and trembling body, the room was deathly still.
The fur on the back of Gideon's neck stood on end. "Y'all, I gotta bad feeling about this."
Right before their eyes, the king's emaciated body started to flinch. It's clawed hands gripped the rug, tugging and pulling at nothing in particular. His body rolled onto his side starting to get to his feet. Peter opened his unseeing eyes and stared up at the blackness of the ceiling. He started to get to his feet.
"Torvin?" Olivinder uttered, a smile coming to her face.
The cougar shuddered and turned to look at her. The smile on her lips started to slip. Her eyes growing wide with fear. Then, her once friend, lunged at her, sinking his sharp fangs into her throat. Ribbons of crimson coursed over his unfeeling face. There was no screams from the snow leopard's gaped mouth, only the sound of her own blood gurgling in her throat. Her eyes rolled back into her head as the cougar's body fell upon her, continuing to feast upon her remains.
"We gotta go!" Gideon urged them.
Torvin got to his feet, grouping with the king and the rabbit as they shambled forward. It wasn't long after that when Olivinder joined the parade of the undead. They were mere shells of their former selves and they were hungry to recruit more into their ranks.