Chaos Lives in Everything - 43. Chapter 43

The two limousines passed through the city of Berlin, heading deeper into the country. The roads were rough was piled snow and ice so the limousines were going at a cautious pace. Skold’s group had been split between the limousines. Skold, Rebecca, and Dom sat in the first; Candestine and Maeglin were in the second. The drivers’ clearly worked for King Yaldon. Skold’s driver’s face was as impassive as a stone statue-he hadn’t said a word since they’d left the airport.

He could sense Dom and Rebecca’s anxiety. Skold was not sure why he felt so calm, so confident. Maybe it was because of the fact that he knew he was not the culprit for the troll attack or the outbreak with the abominations that had broke out in the middle of Roc City. He knew that he was only being called to trial because the pathetic King Yaldon had a grudge against him that was powered by his fear of Skold, of what Skold was capable of.

And yet as we waste time with this foolish business Samhein is going on with his plans, he thought. It’s time that we had a new king, someone who knows what they are doing instead of shutting themselves in a dark room for centuries on end.

In the distance he could see the gawdy exterior of King Yaldon’s war-fort-recently-turned-into-a-manson, the black wrought iron gate that surrounded the property, the golden glow that seeped from the windows. It had been six hundred years since the last time he had stood trial. He remembered the trial but nothing else that had taken place before it. The last memory he had before that was of King Yaldon summoning him to take his father’s place as commander of the king’s army. In that moment, in that other life, Skold wondered if King Yaldon had any inkling of what Skold would become. Did he know that he would later sell his soul to Bane to learn Death Magic? And what had been Skold’s motivation to go to such extremes, to pay such a price? Had it been as valient of an intention as ending the Paladin Wars once and for all or had it been something much more selfish such as overthrowing the king and seizing power as Paladin had attempted to do? Skold did not know, could not remember. If he was being honest with himself he would have leaned towards the latter. Skold was no savior. It wasn’t like him to put himself at risk for anyone else’s well being.

At least not until recently, he thought.

The iron gate slid open and the elf standing in the guard house waved the two limousines through. The limousines pulled to a stop in front of the house and the driver got out. He came to the back of the car and opened the door. Dom, Rebecca, and Skold climbed out of the car just as Candestine and Maeglin were doing the same.

The double doors of the mansion hung open. Two elves stood on either side of the front entrance, armed with assault rifles; they were seemingly oblivious to the unmerciful wind that wailed nastily at them. Already Skold could sense the powerful wards that had been placed around the mansion. They would make it impossible for Dom, Maeglin, Candestine, or he to cast any spells while inside.

Skold handed one of the guards his luggage. “Take good care of that please,” he said. “What’s inside is very important to me.”

He spread his legs and arms and let one of the guards pat him down. “What’s this?” the guard asked suspicously when he pulled the crystal vial with the plague inside of it out of Skold’s pocket.

Skold snatched it from him with a grin. “That’s the evidence that I brought with me for the trial. Careful. It’s extremely potent.”

“Who are they?” the guard asked, nodding at the rest of Skold’s group.

“They’re with me. They’re here to testify for me should that be nessicary.”

“You brought a human with you,” the guard said, glancing at Rebecca in disgust.

“She’s a witness who can vouch for me,” Skold retorted, his voice growing cold. “Therefore she has every right to be here. So are we going to get this party started or what?”

The guard scowled and led the group to the left, through a pair of double doors, into a massive stone chamber. The chamber was ovalure with a high marble ceiling. There were several windows that showed a view of the property with blue satin curtains that hung from a golden rod. Three elves sat at a long table in high backed chairs that were made of stone. Intricate patterns had been carved into the stone. There were two males and a female. Judging from the satin robes they wore they were considered royalty. All three of them looked eerily familiar but Skold could not place their faces. He frowned. Had they been at the last trial six hundred years ago?

The elf sitting at the end of the table had bright red hair and bright green eyes. Since he was sitting at the center Skold could only assume that he had the most authority of the three. Though he looked as a human would look if they were in their thirties, Skold could sense a wisdom about him that could not be measured by age for it was inmeasurable.

The female had long blonde hair that went down to her bosom, violet eyes, and high cheek bones, with an attractive slightly upturned nose. Her lips were soft and pink. Skold could smell the perfume she wore; it was an elegent smell but even with his strong sense of smell he could not guess what abstracts were in the perfume. Her face was composed but Skold could see a strong glint of curosity in her eyes that was impossible to miss. She was sitting in the seat on the right. Her perfectly smoothe hand rested on her knuckles.

The elf sitting on the left had hair as black as the feather on a raven. His eyes were a dark orange. The moment Skold looked into his eyes he could tell that this elf did not like him. His jaw was clenched and there was a certain set of his lips that only spoke of disapproval. That was okay, the feeling was perfectly mutual. Skold didn’t like him much either.

He scanned the three of them from left to right, making sure to show them that he was not afraid, to exert the confidence he felt. “Where is King Yaldon?” His voice echoed around the spacey chamber.

“I’m afraid he is not feeling well, as you probably very well know,” said the elf at the center of the table. “So we are ruling in his stead for the trial.”

“I see.” Skold couldn’t keep the sneer from spreading across his face from ear to ear. “So the pathetic queen is too scared to come down from his room and face me is he?”

“How dare you talk about your king that way!” the raven haired elf snapped/

“He is not my king!” Skold snapped. “He hasn’t been my king since the day he exiled me! I do not answer to him nor to either of you! You three were at my trial, were you not?” Yes, he thought. That is where I recognize them, he thought. “I’m only here to end this foolishness once and for all!”

“There is no need to get into a fight,” the red haired elf said calmly. “We only want answer. Tell me Skold, do you remember us?”

“Vaguely. My memory isn’t what it used to be,” Skold said sarcastically.

“I am Bevlin,” said the red haired elf. He waved at the blonde haired elf. “This is Aurora. And this is Sebastian. Now that we have that out of the way, tell me, who are these group of people that you brought with you? Are they here to testify on your behalf?”

“They are.”

“You brought some very interesting choices with you,” Sebastian said sarcastically. “Your sister, incapable of obeying the king’s orders, once one of his greatest interrogator and warrior, now an exile just as you are. A human. What is she even doing here? And I have no idea who that big lug is standing next to you. He looks like a cross between a dwarf and an orc, hardly an elf.”

Candestine opened her mouth to protest but Lane silenced her with a dangerous look. Don’t you dare, that look said.

“Candestine, my sister and I, don’t always see eye to eye,” Skold said to the three judges. “Your king sent her to kill me because of his paranoid delusions. In the end I almost killed her but she was saved and given a second chance. I’m glad that she did. She is my flesh and blood. Rebecca, this human girl that you see is standing before you, is the bravest human being that I ever met. She single handedly killed Bajork and three of his hell hounds. She has been a crucial part of my investigation into the events that have taken place in Roc City recently.” He turned long enough to smile at Rebecca. She smiled back. “She has taught me so much, changed how I view things.”

“That is all very touching,” Sebastian said haughtily. “But...”

Bevlin spoke over him. He was looking at Dom, eyebrows creased in recognition. “You’re Dominyc aren’t you? You served under King Yaldon’s prodecessor, didn’t you?”

“Yes, your honor,” Dom said with a nod. “I served under King Lance for many centuries. It was an honor to serve under him. He was an honorable king. I was grievened when he was killed in battle.”

Bevlin nodded in approval. He turned back to Skold. “You know why you are here, do you not?”

“I do. Because of your king’s paranoid accusations.”

“It is because of your history that you have these accusations pinned on you,” Sebastian said.

Skold glanced briefly at Aurora. She had not said a single word. She was still studying him very intently. He looked at Sebastian. “My history, I see. Seeing as certain memories have beeen purged from my concious I can only go by your word. If that’s the case then my actions speak for themselves. I did what needed to be done. I went further than anyone has gone before. It is because of me that the war ended and that we have known six centuries of peace. It is because of me that the human race is not extinct, that their race as replenished. And for my actions what did I get? My memories erased, exiled by your crack pot king. And here I stand again six centuries later.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to say something but Skold showed him the palm of his hand. “I am not finished yet. You dragged me all the way here to the countryside of Berlin, I will say what I need to say.”

Sebastian said nothing.

“Roc City is my home,” Skold said. “I have taken root there and I don’t think I will be leaving anytime soon. That city is my city. I work as a bounty hunter and consult with the Roc City Police Department quite often. You can speak to Sergeant Bryan Reynolds if you don’t believe me. He can tell you in what ways I have worked with his department.

“Almost a month ago he called me in the middle of the night to help kill a troll that had somehow gotten into the subway system. A lot casualties were killed: men, women, and children, and quite a few of Reynolds’ squad members will killed. That very evening he asked me to investigate the troll attack for we were both thinking that it was not by coincidence that the troll attacked the people in the subway station. We all know that trolls very rarely leave the mountains in which they reside unless they are coerced. Prior to the incident in Roc City a troll attack has not been seen in such a populated area since the days of Paladin. Other than investigating these events I have no further involvement. I am not the culprit. I do not want to overthrow the king. I want nothing to do with him. Or any other beaurocratic bullshit, But I know who the culprit is.”

“Tell us who you think it is,” Aurora said, speaking for the first time since Skold and his group had stepped into the chambers.

“Not what I think, what I know. It was Sebastian, Paladin’s advisor and lover. He owns a club called The Harbinger in Roc City under the name Marius. And he was not working alone. He was partnered with Bane.”

“The necromancer?” Sebastian scoffed. “That is peposterous. No one has seen or heard of him in over a millenium.”

“If that’s true then who do you think taught me Death Magic?” Skold asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was his apprentice and his lover. I made a deal with him. And I broke that deal when I went away to end the war.”

“It’s true,” Rebecca spoke up. Her voice was shakey but she continued on all the same. “We’ve all seen him, we fought him. Everything that Skold has said is true.”

“I vouch that it is the truth,” Dom boomed, stepping forward.

“As do I,” Candestine said, doing the same.

“As do I,” Maeglin said. “I wasn’t there for the troll attack and did not take witness of this Bane. But I did see the monstrosities that attacked Roc City just the other night. I’ve never seen anything like them. Not even silver would completely kill them, only full decapitation.”

Bevlin looked at him pointedly. “Do you speak the truth, Maeglin?”

Maeglin laid a hand over his breast where his heart was and nodded valiantly. “I do,” he said serenely.

“How were these monstrosities that you speak of created?” Aurora asked.

“He recreated Paladin’s plague, but made a different strain so that it somehow mutates the infected into something else,” Skold replied. “Something that is half human, half fae.”

“Your story just becomes more ludicrous the more you talk,” Sebastian said.

Skold grinned. “I can prove it.” He reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out the crystal vial. He rolled it down the table to Bevlin.

He looked at it with a frown, turned it over a few times and handed it to Aurora. “What is it?”

“The original plague. Not the one that Paladin or Samhein made. It a sample of blood extracted from the daemon Peesctnial. Now before you try to contradict me Sebastian and lie to my face I can prove it.” Skold pulled out a tape recorder and wiggled it at him. “I made sure to record our conversation for the benefit of your ears.” He pressed the play button, set the recorder on the table so that everyone could hear it, and listened to the tape roll.