Chapter 5
Broc got his week long rest as promised. But his call from Arnath still came too soon. He had been enjoying his rest, his time spent praying to Sol, and learning from him. But that was to come to a stop for now. He had to continue in his undercover work now.
When Broc entered the Throne Room, Arnath was once again pacing back and forth. Broc approached humbly with his hands crossed behind his back and waited, ten paces from the throne.
"You called for me, sire?" Broc said with a slight bow to Arnath.
Arnath looked at him with a glare and said, "Yes, Broc, thank you for coming. I hope you have recovered from last week's events."
"I have, sire, thank you for the prescribed rest."
Arnath waved it off as if it were nothing and continued to pace in front of his throne.
Does he ever sleep? Broc thought.
"What is troubling you, sire?" He asked, concerned.
Arnath looked at him and said, desperately, "I need those twins brought here. From the soldiers' reports they seem to be very much like Seth and Serina."
Broc looked at the floor and then back at Arnath. They'd already talked about this. Had he forgotten already?
"They are very much like your niece and nephew," Broc agreed.
"Tell me all you saw."
Broc studied Arnath. His long stringy brown hair fell over the corners of his bloodshot eyes. He believed his suspicions to be correct; Arnath hadn't slept much lately.
Clearing his throat, he began to tell Arnath everything about the twins.
"Mark is very much like Seth, strong and fast. Seth, of course, is much more advanced in the use of his powers and abilities than Mark is, but Seth was training Mark personally. Mark proved himself useful with the sword in the battle our men brought. I don't know how many he took down before we escaped, but when Arland, the Elf, brought him his sword, I was able to see him test it out with Seth. Seth came at him quicker than any of our men can move, aside from the Forsaken, but Mark was able to hold his own."
Arnath let the information sink in, then asked, "What about the girl?"
Broc waited a few seconds and then said, "She was much more advanced in her powers than Mark. She had already been aware of her abilities before they were brought into our world. She openly admitted that to them. It was her demonstration that convinced Seth to fight. Without much effort at all she had used her mind to throw a cup at Seth and it hit him square in the head. Garandol taught her other skills no doubt, most likely how to communicate with her mind."
"It seems they are exactly like Seth and Serina," Arnath's voice broke as he spoke.
A moment of silence passed. Broc wasn't sure how to respond. Arnath was troubled by the news.
"It would appear so, sire,” he said finally.
Arnath continued in his pacing. A couple of minutes passed before he stopped, stared right at Broc and said, "I want you to take men I have picked out to retrieve the twins and bring them here. You will have ten Forsaken and forty soldiers. Bring the twins here, alive. Kill whoever else is with them."
Broc bowed slightly and said, "As you wish, your majesty."
Arnath waved him off and Broc walked out of the Throne Room and returned to his room. He could feel Arnath watching him as he left, and as he turned the corner, he thought he had seen someone step out of the shadows from somewhere behind the throne.
When he returned to Seth's room, he whistled for Arrow and wrote a message of warning to Garandol. Then he watched the hawk fly high into the clouds and disappear from sight.
Who was the mysterious man from the shadows? Is Arnath on to me? Does he know I've been turned?
Broc knelt and prayed to Sol for strength and protection. If Arnath was having him watched, it would be by one of his secret assassins. Broc knew he didn't stand much of a chance against one of them. They were typically cloaked by darkness. Some dark power kept them from being detected. Broc knew that Engard had something to do with it. Engard had to be destroyed if they were to defeat Arnath. Engard was the strength behind the king. Possibly even the puppet master who has organized this evil scheme from the start. Who knows how long he's been alive? How many generations has he attempted to deceive?
Broc made a vow right then and there to kill Engard, even if it took his own life.
No comments:
Post a Comment