The Kingdom of Noitcif

Chapter Thirty-Four - Fire and Water

  The portal dumped Espen and Engres right inside of the all-too familiar Meadow Brook library. The dusty shelves stood in all their glory in the rays of the full moon, bearing hundreds of books. Countless others sat in various places around the room – on distant shelves, on the librarian's desk, and in neat little piles on the floor. A single florescence bulb illuminated the aisles and contents, but other than that, the dark still had the upper hand in the dusky morning light.

  Espen's eyes hadn't even had the time to adjust to this new setting before his uncle had locked swords with him, and he was forced to stuff the Stone of Potenza deep inside his pocket. The two swords interlocked, and the king found himself needing to retreat a few steps before dodging to the right and advancing once again. Fleet had taught him how to fence when he had first become king, and Tarquin had worked with him too, so he was fairly skilled; but even though Engres wasn't a professional sword fighter either, he had the advantage of long legs, a slightly taller frame, and experience, enabling him to move quicker and with more thrust than Espen. But the king stood his ground and was able to force his uncle a ways back before Engres unsheathed another weapon from his hilt: A gun.

  As soon as Espen realized what the weapon was, he ducked and raced behind his uncle, forcing Engres to turn around. As soon as he did, Espen's sword was waiting for him, and with a powerful swipe, the gun was flung clean out of his hands. Unfortunately, that movement caused Espen's tunic to swish violently, and the pocket containing the stone's pendant was flung out into the air.

  Espen watched in horror as Engres' hand lurched forward and grasping the valuable jewelry as one would grab a fly escaping from a newspaper. Espen attempted to stab him in the process, but his strike missed its mark, and in no time, Engres' sword was pointed at his throat - the light from the Stone of Potenza striking right onto Espen's face.

  "You know you deserve this," Engres stated, the same pleasant grin upon his face that was there the day Espen first saw him, but this time, it looked positively maniacal.

  His robotic eye focused itself upon his nephew, and Espen looked up at him in fear. He suddenly realized that he had never been afraid of his uncle before. Scornful, yes. Leery, yes. But never afraid. Until now.

  "You, Espen, will come back with me to Ytilaer," Engres told him with a smile.

  "What?!" Espen exclaimed, the point of his sword dropping slightly. "Not in a million years. I never want to see that empire again."

  But as soon as those words escaped his mouth, doubts overwhelmed his mind.

  "Noitcif is going to fall to ruins," they said. "Ytilaer will last forever. I will take care of you. Join Ytilaer, Espen. Come with me. Come with me. Come with me."

  And the same way one would awake from a bad dream, the debilitating thoughts stopped, and the king was able to look back up at his enemy once again.

  "Espen, there's no reason why you shouldn't come. You are the leader of a crumbling nation." Engres said, his words dripping with honey. "Your people will be well taken care of in Ytilaer. In fact, they are already a part of it."

  "My people aren't a part of your stupid empire!" Espen roared, but as soon as those words left his mouth, the thoughts started back up again, this time with a ferocity that seemed to split his mind in two.