Chapter 17

To my surprise, Prince Valark began to narrate the events. I was even more surprised when he told the king of his own attempt at mutiny. However, when he got to the fight in the small town, the boy could barely speak. I took over the narration and when I was done the Council room fell silent. It was as if the  king and queen were too stunned to say anything.

“I apologise for my foolish behavior, my king,” Valark said.

The king moved close to his son and laid a hand on his shoulder. “We live and learn from our mistakes, my son. I hope you’ve learnt from yours.”

Turning to me, he said, “Tomorrow we set out with our best and put an end to this shrieking infestation. Send a letter to the Human Queen, The Fairy Queen and The Vampire Count, tell them what has happened and what we will be doing about it.”

“Why are we informing the humans and vampires?” I asked.

“Deven uncovered a lot while you were away. He sent a letter, once he arrived at the fairy’s capital, informing us of the origin of the blood treaty. I will give you the specifics another time but for now, know that the Shriekers, as they are called, originated from humans who were sired by a group of strange vampires.”

I guess the half-blood is good for something after all. “I take it the prince had a safe journey?”

“Actually, he didn’t, commander,” said the queen. “His letter said that they ran into a group of shriekers in the forest and that a group of humans calling themselves Vikings came to their aid.”

First Shriekers and now Vikings, I have a bad feeling about all of this. “Shriekers in the forest up north?”

“Yes, commander. Either they have split up or they are spreading quickly.”

I rose from my seat and said, “I’ll have the army ready for departure by tonight, my king.”

“Thank you. You’re dismissed general.”

“Father, I’d like to join you tomorrow.”

“I’d rather you stay behind and help your mother watch over the castle. Get the capital ready in case we have to fall back and endure a siege.”

“As you wish, father.”

The young prince didn’t seem pleased but I agreed with his father’s decision. If the King and I were to die in battle, and the half-blood was still dancing away with his future bride, someone might have to help the queen. There is a good reason why we always have an Alpha and Luna leading our kind and in any case, two are better than one.

I left the council room and headed straight home; a quite house near the city wall. Once inside I tore open the letter. 

Dear Commander,

I hope this letter finds you alive and well. By the time you are reading this I believe I’ll be having the best day of my life. My fairy girl will become queen today and after all the years I’ve spent with her, I feel like today will be the cherry on top of a cake. Speaking of a cake, perhaps there wont be a wedding cake any time soon. As you know, that half-blood will be in attendance for the coronation. I intend to use this opportunity to get rid of him. Yes, you’re welcome. Let me know how you wish to thank me for this kind act and let us hope that the Ancient ones choose a more suitable candidate next time. 

From yours truly,

A Fellow Pure-Breed Believer.

********** 

My friend’s and I arrived in the fairy’s capital the night before. We were shown to our rooms and although Leon was a skeptical about Monica sharing a room with the Viking Chief he had no ground to argue. I’m sure his father, Count Pavel von Duke, would be interested in knowing about these vikings and their ways, more so Rurik, his little brother. Leon thought of sending them a letter but figured it would be best to tell them in person. I for one couldn’t wait another minute and as soon as we were alone I sent word back home about the origin of the Shriekers.

The day before the coronation, I explored the ‘City on a Mountain’ as it’s famously called among their kind. If you were to see the mountain from a distance, you wouldn’t realise that the peak was actually the city itself. It had no walls like the other cities in Kelor but was instead crafted into the mountain, so that its foundation was the mountain itself. The only way to get that high was to either fly or use the strange metal box that went up and down within the mountain. 

During our exploration, Leon and Monica snack away, leaving me with Sif who had a lot of personal questions. 

“Prince Deven!” 

“Yes, Sif.”

“How is it that your kind are able to change their appearance?”

“Some call it a gift and others call it a curse.”

“This gift. You do not like it?”

“I didn’t say that.”

We found ourselves near the city’s edge and sat on stony bench that overlooked hills and valleys as far as the eye could see. 

“Then why do you hide it?”

“I hide it because it’s better that way.”

“You hide a part of yourself because you think it’s better? How about in the forest? Why didn’t you use it to protect yourself and your friends?” Perhaps she had thought it unkind to ask when the others were around, but whatever the reason I found myself opening up to her.

“Sif, have you ever thought that the gift you were given was a mistake? That the Ancient One or the Great Chief as you call him, made a mistake choosing you?”

Sif looked at me with a sense of understanding, like she herself had a gift that she couldn’t burden.

“Yes, I do. For the past few days I’ve felt like the gift of leadership wasn’t meant for me. That somehow, even though I won the trial, I wasn’t meant to be Chief.”

“There was a trial? Why not pick the previous Chief’s eldest child?”

“Of course their was a trial. Did I not tell you? We believe that our Chief is chosen by the Great Chief. The trial is his way of showing us who will become our leader.”

“I see. But why do you think you were chosen by mistake? Its not like you failed to lead, did you?”

“I don’t think it was me leadership but me luck. Everything went wrong after I became the leader. We were invaded by monsters you couldn’t imagine existed. My family remained behind so that I could escape. Many that fled with me are lost at sea. The first night we spent on your lands, we were attacked by shriekers and many died. I barely have enough people to get things done in order to survive a harsh winter.” A tear fell from her eye and I was overcome by an urge to embrace her and comfort her, to tell her everything will be alright despite the tragic things she’d been through. A brief pause was all I needed to get my head straight. Embracing one who is the equivalent of a queen would surely get me to the grave a lot quicker than I would like. Either by her kind or those of my fiancee. 

Sif quickly wiped it away as she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”

My hand mysteriously laid itself on her shoulder as I said, “There’s no need to apologize.”

She regained her composure and asked, “So what about you? Why do you think your Ancient One made a mistake?”

“In my case, the Ancient One gave me the mark of all the other kings that have come before me.”

“If you have the mark then surely no one can go against the Ancient One.”

“Trust me. There are many who are trying to force him to pick another Beta by killing me.”

“And why would they do that?”

“Well, I’m not a pure-blood.”

“And what is a pure-blood?”

“Someone whose parents aren’t of the same kind, or tribe, as you would put it.”

“And what is wrong with that?”

I had to admit, her innocence was a beautiful thing; a breathe of fresh air. “The people that want to kill me have a deep sense of pride for their kind. They don’t want to see their blood mixed with others.”

“I don’t see what their problem is. If the Ancient One saw it wise to pick you, then killing you would only be  a loss for them.”

“You think so?”

“I believe so. There is no guarantee that the Ancient One will pick another Beta. He might be silent for a thousand years or for however long he wishes. I see a long and difficult path ahead of you, Prince Deven. Uniting a divided people will not be easy.”

“Well, when you figure out how to unite your people please teach me how to do the same for mine.”

“Unite me people! Why do you say that?”

“I have noticed one man in your ranks who openly defies you. When all the others follow he is either purposefully slow to follow your orders or he doesn’t do it at all.”

“Tumak has become that obvious?”

“You know about it?”

“Of course I know about it. What kind of leader would I be if I didn’t.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Sif looked off into the distance as she said, “For now, I’ll leave him be. The tribe needs his strength.” 

All of a sudden, I hated Tumak and I was about to tell Sif about how much I would love to make him fall in line but the familiar sound of a fairy’s wings forces my mouth shut. Naisha, Ae’l’s handmaiden soared above us and as she came down she said, “Greetings Chief Sif, Prince Deven. I hope you are fully rested for tonight’s event.”

“Greetings to you too, Naisha,” Sif said. “Yes we are. I don’t know about, Prince Deven but I’m eager to see Ae’l before the event, if that’s possible?”

Naisha landed next to us and gracefully tucked her wings behind. “Yes you may. She sent me to get you all but I haven’t been able to find Leon and Monica.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I know how we can find Leon.”