Threads of Vengeance

Part 2 Chapter 5

Rizal's castle, Syral

Proahn stared the raven that soared outside the castle, it’s dark form barely visible in the evening shadows. He pushed the windows open and let out a whistle, the tune somehow cheery and haunting at the same time. The raven circled in a large arc and swooped in through the window, barely missing Proahn’s head.

It flew around the room and after circling once, it perched comfortably upon the window sill. Proahn reached out for the small container tied to it’s back. Inside the container was a small note. He tossed it into the fire without glancing at it. It was simply a decoy, the real message being the box itself. He inspected the engravings of the box and carefully twisted the box till they formed letters and numbers.

Proahn wrote down the alphabets and numbers down on a piece of paper. This was the message, though in code. He sat down and quickly deciphered it.

Meeting soon. Return at once with the full report -Banshi

Proahn groaned deeply. He had hoped for a little more time to fully complete his assignment. He sat for a while, staring into the fire and considering all his options. Then it hit him, the solution had been in front of his eyes all the while. Perhaps a brutal, but he had no time to do it the way he liked.

He twisted the puzzle box into a message of his own and threw in a parchment with words randomly scribbled upon it. Then he tied the container back on the raven, which stared back at him with beady, intelligent eyes. Once he was done, he lifted the raven and let it out outside, watching as it flew off into the approaching darkness.

He had one more letter to send. He climbed up the to the aviary, two steps at a time and grabbed a messenger pigeon and tied the letter he had earlier written to Icanan and the advisors bearing the false news of Maya’s demise. He would have liked to see their reactions, but he preferred the hard coin and the new life that he was going to get at the end of the assignment far better.

***

Proahn stood in front of the army, all assembled into neat rows and columns. They stared at him curiously, but not with the rapt attention they had payed when Maya was speaking earlier. He took a deep breath.

“The Empress has been killed in battle with Rizal!” he shouted.

The reaction was astounding. Some gasped, some whispered and others, shocked into silence.

“I have received word from the Capitol that we are to return at once.” Seeing the surprise and disapproval on their faces at the unexpected and out of normal order, he threw in a small lie.

“The Union has attacked, every man is needed at the borders.”

Considering that his current position was temporary, he did not really care about the consequences. He would probably long gone before they figured out his lie. He did feel a bit bad for the next person to take his office though. It would be in more than a little mess.

“Pack up your belongings and march out by nightfall!”

“It’s almost nightfall!” someone called back. “You expect us to be out in such a short time?”

“I thought you were a soldier, not a princess dressing up. Move it, now!” He felt thankful that Maya wasn't around to hear that. It would not have gone very prettily.

As the soldiers all marched out, Proahn went to Rizal’s office and put his hand on the crystal that was embedded on the pommel of his sword. A deep breath later,the crystal glowed a deep amber and  power rushed through his veins. He focused it all on one hand and a small blue orb of light formed. He placed in the room and went to each part of the castle, doing the same thing.

After tossing a final orb amidst the nervous horses in the stable, he mounted his mare and headed toward the gates. Nearly the entire army had already assembled outside. The gates of Syral closed behind him as he rode left the city behind. He approached the army and halted to a stop.

“Men!” he barked. “This city betrayed the empire and fecking got our Empress killed. Don’t you all think it needs to be punished?”

They soldiers looked at one another and slowly voices of approval went through the ranks.

“What do you say?!” he shouted.

The soldiers roared back with enthusiasm. Blood for blood, that was their way. That was something they understood very well. He grinned to himself inwardly. So far, so good. He had them split into three parts and stationed each one in front of a gate of the great city. The order given was simple. Kill anyone that flees the city.

Proahn put his hand on the crystal and breathed in the power. He extended his will to the orbs of light he had placed earlier. Each orb of light burst into flames and started devouring anything that was flammable. Within minutes, the whole castle was aflame and soon, it would spread into the city. Even with the snow, it would be near impossible to stop a fire of that size. At least before the city was down.

As he stared at golden flames that rose into the night sky, entranced, words drilled into him over and over again escaped from his mouth as they did after every mission completed. As though repeating the words over and over made his deeds any less terrible. They didn’t, but he said them anyway.

“To protect the empire, from itself.”