Zane slowly made his way to his father's officeZane didn't know why he was called here, all his guard told him was that 'Lord Garte needs you in his office'
Zane went to knock on the door just for his father to open it before he could bring his hand to the door
"What do you need, father?"
Zane cringed under his mask, he hated calling Garte 'father'
"A change of tone I see, come in"
Zane rolled his eye, following his father inside his office
Zane's face dropped when he saw his only friend with his wrists bound behind him and thrown on the floor, beaten and covered in bloodZane was about to run over to him but Garte grabbed him by his hair
"He is hindering your work, Zane. You've gotten too close to him."
Zane pried his father's hand out of his hair and backed awayHe glanced between his 'father' and his only friend
"What are you going to do to him, Gar- father?"
Zane's voice was stern just like when he was preaching to the people in the O'khasis church
every Sunday morning and afternoon
"You haven't been studying as you need to Zane. Tell me, can you even read this?"
Garte handed Zane a piece of paper, with ancient writing of the divine on it, pointing at the first few sentences
Zane was meant to be able to read and speak this just as well as he did English but he could only make out a few words
"Irene banished the ,,, to the ,,, where he now dwells ,,, where his ,,,"
That's all Zane could read out of the paragraphGarte gave him a harsh slap across the face
"It says 'Irene banished The Shadowlord, Shad the Destroyer, to the Nether, or what is sometimes referred to as hell, where he now dwells. Shad stays here where his Shadow knights serve him' You should be able to read that! How can I allow you to be the High Priest if you can't even read part of a simple paragraph!?"
"It's not his fault! I chose not to study it!"
"So you can spend time with him, Zane. Your mother convinced me to not go after him simply for your 'relationship' with him, but now you won't even study because you would rather take him to your bedroom and do Irene knows what!"
Zane stared at his father stone-facedHe didn't care for anything he had to say, he just needed to get the most important person in his life away from here
Zane was about to move over to his friend when Garte recited a bounding spell under his breath, making it impossible for Zane to move or speak
Zane watched as Garte walked over to the beaten and bloody boy, picking him up without a care for his injuries.
Garte held the struggling boy easily as he walked behind his desk, where a gazelle head hung on the wall
Zane heard his lover's blood-curdling scream as Garte impaled his body on the gazelle's head horns
Zane stood in place, not able to help the person he vowed to keep safe.
He watched him slowly bleed out, making gurgling sounds as blood dripped out of his mouth, ears, and nose
It took about 30 painful minutes until his lover took his last breath, being awake until the very end
