The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 53

Every man inside the throne room had many questions to know from the second commander of the knights. Each of them had problems that seemed almost difficult for Balvu to answer, but he could not answer five different questions at the same time. Harald stood in front of his throne and saw a few men ready to tackle the commander to make him talk about their future. The earl was prepared to put a stop to all the arguments as Julius and Erica were walking down the stairs leading to the throne room. Harald had all kinds of problems with his head, as he had to deal with many things concerning himself and Julius.

"Enough! Silence! I have told you all that Balvu will lead you! I just said I'll take care of all of your concerns! You will cease this infertile squabbling!" Harald shouted. But none of the knights listened to a word that the earl said as the day is slowly ending.

They all demanded answers from the one who Harald gave the right to lead; they all had no patience with the dark elf as he kept his distance.

"I said... I said, CEASE!!" Harald shouted. Before any of them could say or do anything else, a dozen of them saw Julius and Erica walk down the stairs.

Everyone remained silent as they saw those two walk towards them, and some of them were ready to pull out their swords. They were already dealing with a threat that's bigger than them, but they were more afraid of Julius. They were more fearful of a man who had dark powers and a dark ambition to achieve. Some of them had the belief that they could take him on, but Julius knew they would all be unsuccessful against him. Harald had no idea what else to say because of how speechless he was by seeing the mighty knight again.

"Well met, Harald. I thought I might have a few words with you before it's too late. You all act like you've seen an evil spirit," Julius said.

"Welcome back, Julius. But you have a lot of explaining to do with all of us. And you better have a damn good reason to be here with my wife," Harald said. He was already displeased with him not killing the demon king, but he was already about to duel against him for bringing his wife to this argument.

"Harald! I have a message from Julius. I have proof that you've all been misled!" Erica said.

"Erica, what vile magic has Julius put in your head? What has he been telling you since he won't tell me or anyone else?" Harald asked.

"Your wife is not bewitched, Harald. I've only told her the truth, nothing more. But I also have a few things to say that you and I will share in private," Julius said.

"Always the same, aren't you? You're always bringing up excuses for yourself. Must I be ready for more treachery?"

"I am no traitor! I did what I have done to save your people. I'm the reason these men are still breathing."

Then, Julius looked at Balvu and saw that he had fear in his eyes and guilt in his soul as he stood in front of the knights.

"And you... who gave you the order to take the knights back to Loftain? Who gave you the right to disown my command I gave to you and these men? You think of me as a miserable betrayer?" He asked. Balvu had nothing to say and nothing to make sense of as he stood before the dark knight.

As he talked, Julius began walking much closer to Balvu's face to make him be explained and convinced.

"I know it was you who opened that door. Who else could? Who else would walk in and witness me?" Julius asked.

"I wouldn't have done it otherwise I wouldn't have heard so much possession happening in there. I wouldn't even be alive if not for the sake of these knights," Balvu said.

"You are alive because of me! It was I who made sure that the demon king did not harm the rest of you! You are all alive because of what I did! I may not have killed Stonethorn, but I wish I had the chance to do it! These kings of the underworld being dominated cannot send their servants to kill us! The hearts of noble men will not be turned!"

"You don't get it, do you? Do you realize the danger you will bring to us all? What happens when the man who has slaughtered more night creatures will fall into darkness and sit on the throne of evil?"

"No! That will never happen! If I fall into darkness, then I have abandoned my humanity. If I bow down to the king of Hell, then I have forsaken the kings and queens whom I have fought for. I'd rather fall down the highest bridge and be impaled by the sharpest spear than give my life to those wretched beings! I'll make sure that you know that above anything."

The knights of Midland seemed to have forgotten their major reasons for being in the throne room as they watched Julius and Balvu argue with each other. Then Harald looked up at the ceiling and looked at the one painting which covered the ceiling as he tried calming himself. Erica had the feeling that she knew something like this would happen between the two commanders during such a hard time. Then Harald walked closer towards Julius and had every reason to break up the argument since the night is coming. None of the men had any kind of idea what would happen to them since they were getting shocked and confused at the same time.

"Spare me your madness. Julius, I will speak to you alone. Attend me," Harald said. He then walked out of the throne room through the curtain and waited for the mighty knight to join him.

Erica took a few steps away from Balvu because she knew she could not put her faith in him. The second commander was not willing to listen to anything the earl's wife will say to him. Julius followed Harald down to his basement, where he saw paintings of kings and queens who once ruled Midland. Sometimes, Harald's basement was his hiding place and his place to study and discuss things with himself. Then Julius opens the door, which leads to Harald's secretive room, where he can keep himself away from everyone else.

Harald was sitting down on a chair and looked up at a portrait of King Lancelot; it was the last portrait of the king before he died. There was no other chair for Julius to sit on, and he had no reason to be sitting down. Then Julius strolled towards Harald and looked up at the painting as he was getting ready to answer questions from the earl.

"It's been so long ever since I've seen a portrait of the king. Time passes by. I've almost forgotten what it feels like," Julius said.

"My father has always been a mighty king. He always knew when to act according to his word. He gave his life so that his kingdom can thrive," Harald said.

"I gave my life to this kingdom. I have fought to keep it strong. It's nearly impossible to believe this is all that's left."

"Tell me why you have come back. Tell me why my wife seems so keen on putting her trust in you."

"You knew? You saw our conversation?"

"Ha, you cannot take my wife away from me. You can't just act like I'm wrong one second and tell me I'm right the next. It never worked that way. You may think you can persuade my wife to leave Loftain, but she is still committed to me. Midland has always been her home and our home. And you expect me to believe you can convince her otherwise?"

Harald was beyond displeased just by hearing Julius's voice as he was with him during this time. Balvu's persuasion was more apparent than ever, and he believed that Julius would genuinely do something unthinkable.

"Tell me now. Why did you come back to me? What reasons do you have for wanting to speak to me in private?" Harald asked.

"I know the truth now, Harald. We're not brothers. We have never been," Julius said. Harald looks at Julius and feels afraid of himself that he has never shared the reason for their younger selves.

"Yeah, it's true. It seems I have kept this secret for far too long. I am a fool for not being there to tell you everything," he said.

"I never came out of the queen. I was born to some other woman. What have they done to leave me with the king?" Julius asked.