The Phantoms

Astaz

The general strides towards the throne room,his pace brisk. His meticulously polished boots click noisily on the equally polished marble floor. In his hand,a bag swings in rythm to his steps, filled with the heads of two phantom boys. A cruel smile twists his lips as he remembers how easily he had brought them down,despite their lethal abilities. But then,unlike the abominations,he had the will of the gods on his side.
The large oak doors,engraved with the royal crest, a carving of the endemic Astazian bird in flight,opened at his approach. The guards on each side bowed their heads as he passed,not out of deference, he knew,but out of fear.
On their respective thrones sat the king and the prince,and on the prince's left,his wife,Savia,on a chair of pure gold,with velvet linings on the places her back and ass rested. The youngest prince's throne is empty. The coward was probably hiding away in his precious gardens, unwilling to do a real man's work.
Savia's eyes,dark and heavily lined with golden powder that matches her long,translucent gown,meets his. He sees the hatred burning in them. He smirks at her then falls into a bow before the ruling family of Astaz.
"Rise General Sati," King Hattias, commands. He obeys,in one fluid motion. The prince,his long time friend by obligation,and a fellow hunter,smiles cockily at him. Sathi returns the smile,though in his head, rolling his eyes.
"The scribe claims you bring news of the phantoms."
Sathi looks in the direction of Savia,knowing she would not like what he had to say next.
"These are not matters to be discussed in front of a woman."
Prince Veca turns to his wife,his eyes hard. "Leave,Savia."
Sati can almost see the frantic workings of the princess's mind. She's too cunning to miss how important his report was,how well it would serve her in this life of power.
"My love," she says,lowering her eyes coyly so her long lashes brush her cheek. "Are you certain you want me to leave?"
The prince hesitates. "Yes." He decides.
She leans over to whisper something into his ear,her sandaled foot trailing suggestively on his leg. Sati could see the prince's composure slipping. Irritation claws at him. How was this fool supposed to inherit an entire kingdom when he kept falling at every woman's touch? A triumphant smile struggles to break out on Savia's painted lips,as she resettles herself into her chair.
It was time to interfere.
"Princess," Sati says,keeping his tone respectful . "Why don't you do as the prince commands? This report will not take long. Besides,we all know you have many hobbies to fill your spare time with." He adds the last few words slowly so she can hear the veiled threat in his voice.
If you don't leave, I will tell.
Her face darkening with understanding,she stands to leave. As she brushes past him,he relishes in the power he has over her. That little secret that would have her executed before the dawn came if he were to utter it.
"What is in that?" The king nods to Sati's bag.
Sati loosens the strings that hold the contents in place,and tosses the bag onto the space between them. The heads roll out,their eyes rolling along with them. Veca snickers. He had always been one for war trophies.
The king nods. "Good job. I will have them mounted on the outer wall. How many do you estimate are left?"
"Drawing upon the data we have on the ones who have slipped our fingers before,around sixty,spread around their world's continents."
The king smiles his approval. "That is much less than a year ago. Our hunters have done well under your command."
Sati bows at the compliment,as is expected of him.
"That is still too much," Veca says,his voice disgusted. "Imagine sixty of those defilements loose out there at the moment."
Sati forces a tight smile.
Hatred pulses in his blood for the phantoms. They deserved much less than the quick deaths that they are granted,only because their magic makes it too dangerous to draw out a fight with them. Magic that wasn't didn't belong to them by birthright,that had leaked out of his world into theirs,a world where men lived like pigs,with no honor or dignity. Magic that should have belonged to them,to his world.
"We will destroy them this time. Once and for all." He did't realize he had spoken out loud until Veca and Hattias nod in agreement.
"Yes. Who knew our trackers would have gotten us so far? They have led us to more victories than we can count this past month,haven't they? With their enhanced abilities, I believe no phantom you have hunted has escaped your grasp,is that correct?"
Sati feels the scorching burn of his wounded pride against his throat as he clears it.
"Actually,there have been some defeats around a town called Ebony in the state of Virginia. We lost two of our mutants around there. We are keeping close tabs on the place." There had also been a third one,suspiciously close to one of their portals,but he wasn't going to tell the king that,as he valued his life.
The king sits stunned on his throne. Two mutants were nothing on the horde they had bred over a year,but none had been killed before this.
Sati mentally sighs. Here comes the hardest part.
"Your Majesty,there is more. The inspection of our surgeons had proven that the mutants had been killed by several different factors at once. In addition to being buried alive,one's eyeballs had been partially melted. Another one-the Danite-had been killed by a stab in the belly,which is nearly impossible because it is a Danite's natural instinct to keep all of it's front organs covered despite any sort of threat. We believe these attacks are coming from,not one,but multiple phantoms who are working together."
Sati lets the king process this nightmare for a few moments.
A team of phantoms.
"Kill them." The king's tone is sharp,but he can hear the fear in it. "Sniff them out of their little town, I don't care how you do it. One phantom is dangerous enough,we cannot afford to have a group running around free. The latest mutant, send it after them. If it cannot get the job done, may the gods help us,because then we definitely can't."
Sati nods in acquisence though he shared none of the king's doubts about their latest mutant. A creature of Raeya,the demon goddess,herself,it will no doubt annihilate this threat before it has fully flourished.
As he bows one last time and takes his leave of the room,a satisfied smile curves his mouth.
Those pretentious thieves don't know what is waiting ahead for them.