Nadine's Journey

Chapter Eleven

Abbadon

A knock on my door awakens me. "Sire," a guard says. "Your brother asked me to wake you for breakfast."

"Of course," I grumble. Oh, why must I face my repulsive brother this early in the morning? "I will be in the dining hall in a few minutes." I quickly rise, get out of my nightwear, and put on suitable clothing. I pick dark colors, resisting the urge to put on my festive wear. After all, it is supposed to be my missing niece's birthday. Hopefully my wraiths will reach her by tomorrow-- if not tonight-- and succeed in driving her to her death by the hands of the dragons... or any of the other deadly creatures in Scorcia. I'm not picky as long as the girl dies. Perhaps I can even arrange for her body to be discovered and brought here. Oh what a delight it would be to see my brother's and his wife's faces as they gaze upon their child's corpse.

I adopt a sorrowful look in my eye, false of course, but I cannot afford for anyone to think that I am happy when the heir is missing and most likely dead. The entire castle has a morose air to it. I sit down at the table, right beside my brother. "Raven, how are you?" I try to make my tone as sympathetic as I can.

"I don't know," he chokes out, tears forming. It's revolting, how weak he is. "She would have been sixteen today."

"Was? Are you really giving up on our daughter?" Helen strains out. Tears are already streaming down her face.

"Of course not, Helen. I would never give up on her. I'm just being realistic. She has been missing for a long time, and I have not had any visions of her since then. Who knows if she is dead or alive?"

Great, I want to roll my eyes. Now he's crying. Oh how I despise the both of them. Once he sees his daughter's dead body, I might allow him to wallow in guilt and remorse for a while before ending both of their suffering. Perhaps the dark Lord will even grant me permission to rule over this island as a small part of his empire afterwards.

"We must have hope," I say, putting a heavy overlay of weariness in my tone. Oh, why must I contend with such idiots and be forced to assume this identity? What I want to say is, 'Go ahead, I will enjoy every second of your horror when you finally realize that it was I that orchestrated the death of your beloved daughter.' Alas, I cannot quite yet. My Lord has asked that I stay in their good graces... for now. However, I am so delighted that I can go ahead and kill my niece. The time is almost near, I can feel it. The darkness shall rise once more and conquer the light for good. Giddiness rushes through my body, but I show no sign of it.

"I wonder what powers she might have." My brother's pupil widens as a vision takes over.

"Raven?" Helen reaches towards him, but quickly withdraws as soon as she sees his eyes. "What do you see?"

"I see fire... dragons... sand. I see... oh, Sacred Earth! I see a young woman with your eyes and my hair, accompanied by a young man. She has a greater purpose, but she does not realize it yet. She will face many troubles and even a few betrayals on this journey, but her spirit will not allow her to be conquered by them. As the darkness rises and converges on her, she will be a beacon of light." Shit.

I mutter a quick spell, connecting to Foxglove's mind. "I thought that you had blocked Raven's visions."

"Yes, I did." Her mind-voice is pissed. "I am in the middle of teaching my new apprentice. Why have you interrupted me?"

"Well, I do believe that it must come as a surprise to you when I say that my brother just had a vision. He knows the girl is alive. He has foreseen her victory, and my brother's predictions are rarely wrong."

"Crap! Can your brother be swayed to believe something else?"

"I will try, Foxglove. I will try."

"I will be listening."

"Brother? Can you be sure that these visions are true predictions? They could be false, brought forth by your unceasing yearning for the young Princess to be found. As a father of a daughter that is missing, it would only be natural to seek out a sign that she is alive and safe. Could it be that this want has triggered the visions?"

"Nice, Abbadon. Make him doubt his own credibility. The fool King has no idea he has been deceived-- no idea that his powers are being choked into nothingness." I can hear the smirk in her voice.

"That may be true, but I do not want to take any chances. I will send my army to Scorcia just in case."

"Brother, I must insist that you do not do this. If you must send some knights, then send a small group. You know as well as I that the darkness has spies, perhaps even in this castle. By sending your entire army, you would be leaving not only yourself vulnerable, but your entire kingdom. I must strongly advise against that."

"Abbadon, if my daughter is out there in danger after all of these years," He chokes out. Great, now here come the waterworks. He is so pathetic. "I have to send some help. If I could, I would go myself, but the best that I can do is send my army."

"If you must send men to Scorcia, then send a small group. Do not risk yourself or your kingdom. The darkness will exploit any weakness it can find."

"Then what do you suggest, brother? You always seem to know what to do in order to help with any situation."

"Oh, this is so ironic."

"Foxglove," I warn, "you are going to make me laugh or chuckle. Do you really want to ruin this?"

"Well, it is. I cannot wait until the day that the darkness takes over. When your brother realizes that you committed the ultimate betrayal, oh, I cannot wait to see his face. The mighty King Raven's brother will be the one to bring him to his knees."

"Foxglove," I growl.

"Fine, fine. I will leave you be... for now." The connection snaps off, and I feel the brief backlash of the magick.

"Well," I begin. "You can send a group of fifteen men to Scorcia."

"Only fifteen? I guess that I can send my best knights."

"No. You mustn't. After all, you do not know if this vision is a passing fancy. It could even be the dark ones are trying to take advantage of your loss. You do not want to risk your kingdom. Don't send your weakest knights, but you definitely should not send your best. If they do indeed find your daughter and she is in danger, I do not doubt that she could defend herself. She is your daughter, and she has finally reached her sixteenth year today... if she does live."
My brother mulls it over, carefully weighing his options. Finally, I see his answer as he comes to the exact realization that I want him to.

"Brother, I thank you for this advice. I must gather the group and send them off."

"Oh, Raven, you do not have to. I will find them for you and send them off. Spend time with your wife. You deserve it."

"Thank you again, Abbadon. I do not know what I did to deserve such a great brother." Ugh, I have had enough of this mushiness.

I leave the dining hall, sending word for fifteen knights to join me outside. Raven will surely check to make sure that I followed through, but I will certainly not send them to aid the girl.

"Prince Abbadon, you sent for us?"

"Indeed, I did. Follow me," I say, moving away from the castle. What I am about to say cannot be heard by anyone other than the knights.

"Prince, what is this about?"

["Sleep,"] I whisper, letting my magick wrap around each of their heads. ["You will proceed to someplace hidden and not known to any other. There, you will sleep, and dream of a journey to and from Scorcia. In your dream, you do not encounter anyone except a dragon that you just barely killed. Four of your group died facing the beast, and you have been dragging the bodies of your comrades home. You will inflict injuries that mimic a dragon's attack upon the four strongest of your group. After the same amount of time that it would usually take for you to complete this journey, you will awaken and believe that the dream was real. Then you may return and remember not of this conversation."] A smirk creeps up on my face as their expressions turn blank, and they storm off like zombies. My niece will receive no help.