The Library

The Half-Man King

When Allina and Alejandra walked into the great hall, all the courtiers were rooted to their positions and the king was seated on his throne. Allina had wrapped the white crow's wing around her body to cover herself. In one hand, she held her wand; in the other, she held the stake.

The king saw them the moment they came in. He called for his guards to remove them, but all his guards were still in the dungeon. He called on his servants, but they'd all run and hid. He called on his courtiers, none of them moved, too afraid of Allina's stake. So Allina and Alejandra advanced, unhindered, to the king's throne.

"Stop killing witches," demanded Alejandra, looking directly at the half-man king.

"Why should I obey such foul creatures? Why should I leave them be?" the king said, reclining on his throne. He gestured at Allina. "Look! This one is covered in filth and wears a piece of flesh instead of clothing. And you, old witch, are a disgraced coward who would rather abandon her home than face justice."

"Justice for what?" As Alejandra spoke, Allina looked at the courtiers nervously out of the corner of her eye.

"For using dark magics! For harnessing powers beyond your control!" The king's panther face contorted into a snarl. "The witch's magic goes against all that is good and righteous. You do not deserve to have such magics; only noble creatures such as ourselves should wield power like this. And yet you have stolen it."

"Who are you to decide what is just?" Alejandra's voice boomed. "And witches steal nothing. A witch's power comes from herself. Your power, however, is drawn from the natural world."

"I am the King! My word is law. Witches violate fundamental natural laws by using power never meant to be theirs. If a witch does not willingly give up her power, she must be executed so the natural balance may be restored. Do you have no sense, woman?"
"Do not speak to me like—"

"You do not! Look, you have challenged a king—a king!—with the help of only this senseless girl and demonic magics. Look, she does not even have the intelligence to speak!" He pointed at Allina.

Allina gritted her teeth and threw the stake straight at the half-man king. His courtiers gasped, and some began removing their heaviest robes so they might run to protect the king. But each of them stopped a good five paces from him; they were too afraid of the enchanted metal. It didn't matter, anyways. The stake buried itself in the king's robes, but didn't hurt him.

"You see this, old witch? Your apprentice is bloodthirsty and insane." The king ripped the stake from his robes and threw it so far that it sailed straight over Alejandra and Allina's heads, landing a good ways away near the ivory doors.

"Me, bloodthirsty?" Allina yelled. "You kill people! We just want to live."

"Your men killed Juana. You were going to kill her, a child! Who knows how many more you've slaughtered?" Alejandra gripped her wand tighter.

The half-man king drew himself up to his full height. "I'm sick of this nonsense." He took off his decadent robes so he wore only a shirt and trousers, but his crown remained. The courtiers gasped, and a few ran to the king's side.

He laughed at his courtiers. "Stay back and watch! This should be a good display of my strength, since some of you seem to have forgotten."

With that, he lunged toward Alejandra and bit down on her prosthetic leg. She cried out and kicked him in the neck until he let go, chipping a tooth in the process. Alejandra managed to pluck a bit of fur from his head, as well as pick up the broken-off piece of tooth.

The half-man king leapt up and ran toward Allina. Thinking quickly, she pulled another bone out of the crow's wing and swung it at his legs like a baseball bat. The hollow bone snapped in half across his knees, and he yelped. She stabbed his bare feet with her broken half of the bone until he stepped back and punched her in the gut.