Halonar

Real Power

Jack stood outside the doors of the northern tower for several moments.

This is it. You kill the king, It's over, and you win, He told himself.

He kicked open the door. When he did, he saw many things. Paintings all over the walls, and sitting in piles on the ground, vases, and even statues of a majestic depiction of a tall, strong figure, probably one of the previous rulers of Keywark. All looked as if moved in a hurry.

But only focused on one: The king.

Lord Calvin Boneh sat on his throne. In his mind, Jack had imagined the king to be a sharp old man, ruthless, a product of a cutthroat capitalist environment, if you will. But that image of him shattered, upon seeing him in the flesh. Boneh was frail and thin. Perhaps still ruthless and intimidating, but his physical presence didn't instill much fear into Jack.

The king, upon seeing Jack, stiffened in his velvet throne. four people in the room scurryed into another. to the left.

The two guards approached Jack. They stopped some distance from him.

The King raised his chin. "Murderer, stand down at once, and I will spare you extensive torture before you shall be put to death."

Jack took a step forward, the guards stood their ground, they were afraid, Jack could tell, they did not move forward, for they were afraid of Jack, but they didn't back up either because they were afraid of the king.

"Funny, that's not what your general told me."

The guards relaxed their positions, realizing Jack was mentioning their military leader, Oberion.

"He is dead now." Jack said solemnly. He looked down at his bloody shovel-blade.

The guards ran past Jack, going through the door and leaving.

Jack took another step forward.

"Words of a murderer." The King snarled.

"I fed her body to the birds, as she fed her people poison."

The king looked like he wanted to spring from his seat and bite off Jack's face. "Once you are dead, your family will pay for your crimes."

Jack let out a laugh that seemed to have been building up inside of him for a long time. A retching sound that horrified even Jack himself when it exited his mouth. The king's face went pale.

"Family? I had one. But that's a long story." Jack shed a single tear. It wasn't even a story. They were killed, period.

He took another step towards the king, then another.

"I am afraid your time is up. Your people will bathe in your blood, and so will Dimetaru's children. I hope they take your body as a sacrifice."

The king shrunk into the back of his chair. He tried to make a fearless face, but failed. Suddenly, he seemed to be looking at something past Jack.

"You think that I would be defenseless? Ha! Child, you are mistaken."

Jack heard a sound behind him. A cracking sound.

Is that glass under boots? No, it is too low of a pitch to be.

Ice.

Jack ducked at he very last possible moment, allowing him to keep his head. A blast of dry, cold, crackling ice flew past his head.

"Kill him, Corvin! Kill him now!"

Jack whirled around, dazed. I gotta start paying more attention.