Keep of Fire and Blood (Chronicles of Qynn - Book Two)

Chapter 3

The corridors deep inside the Keep were dark and lonely at this time of the morning. Normally only populated by servants scuttling back and forth, they now lay silent as the work day had not yet begun, and all were still retired to their homes down in the town, where they had been all night. The only scuttling that could still be heard came from the scampering paws of a lone rat or two as their day was ending and their nightly scavenging ceased.

Zarac took no notice as he stormed down the corridor, an angry storm cloud brewing about him as he moved. Of course, there wasn't actually a cloud, but anyone who had the misfortune to stumble into the path of the Crown's Military Adviser on this day may have told a different story.

With eyes ablaze his mind reeled over the implications of the news that had just been brought to him. Still asleep in his bed, the cold light of dawn had not even registered in the sky yet when the servant had come. The Prince had taken council without him, early enough in the day to ensure that he would not be present. And Zarac was livid.

Not that it was strange or out of place that the Prince would take council without him present. There were plenty of situations, almost daily in fact, that did not preclude the need for the Military Adviser to be there. But this time, in THIS situation, it had been vital for him to be in attendance.

Zarac's feet slowed as his mind attempted to wrap itself around the thinking of the Prince. A traitor to the crown, a man that had been sent into exile, had returned to the city and arrested on sight. He had done so in forfeit of his own life, and had known the full implications of his actions. This in itself made him dangerous. A man who was willing to give up his life would do so for only one reason. He had given up hope. And a man without hope was a man without consequences or reason. He was a man who would not give thought to his own actions, and therefore was a dangerous man. This man would not stop and think before he struck out at whoever he saw as responsible for placing him in this position in the first place. In this case, the Prince of Qynn.

And now? Now the Prince takes the man into his council? Alone? What was he thinking? Of course, Zarac knew exactly what Qynn was thinking. Kalius was his old comrade in arms, and he most likely felt like he was safe within his company. That he could trust him.

Zarac shook his head. The fool! Kalius had been living in the wild for many years, living off the land and making a living doing lowly work for the desperate. He was not the same man that had served in the Prince's army all those years ago. That sort of life would change anyone. Zarac only hoped he was not too late, and that Kalius had not been able to cause any damage to the crown whilst he was absent.

Kalius. Zarac snorted at just the thought of the name. The man had always believed himself above everyone else in the army. Sure, even Zarac had to admit that the man was without peer. But he was not THAT good, and still the younger men followed him without question. They had fawned over him and hung off his every word. Around the campfire they had even made songs about him, and his name had been revered along with the great Bremorius, Jarah and even Allize. Legends of Ractur and Qynn were not good company for a traitor.

And then there was Zarac's personal issues with the man. Of course that had nothing to do with the problem at hand here. Zarac constantly assured himself of that, even if he did admit to himself that he had flown to rage slightly faster simply at the name of his old foe.

Kalius, by all rights, should have been the Military Adviser. For all intents and purposes the job had been his, and he had been practically unopposed. Zarac had applied, of course. He had even met in private audience with the Prince himself, but that meeting had been in vain. The Prince, at that time, had been a lonely and lost young man. His grandfather had died only a month after the great Allize himself had passed. Some had said that he had relied on the man's council to such a degree that his passing had taken away whatever will to live that was left in the Prince himself. Then, opposition had arisen from the nearby city of Ractur, long their ally, as they had attempted to take advantage of the power vacuum. Allize himself had been the only one holding that alliance together, after all.