FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (102 page)

     “Books _ of these, which are the interesting ones, Your Highness
?
” asked Clover, attempting to change the subject.

     “Storybooks and war manuals make good reading, Minvian Genox. On the other hand, the books on Reception are boring, especially the book of the Receivers of Light. Truth is a bitter thing, and this book is full of bitter things. Why would anybody ever want to read such a book
!?
I could never figure it out. I can give you this copy if you want,” said the prince as he handed Clover the book.

     Clover shook her head politely. Prince Patrum offered it to Serene, who also refused it politely. He then offered it to Ray, but amazingly enough, Ray pulled out his own copy from one of his uniform pockets.

     “Copies _ I have one of these, and I brought this one for Rod, actually; in the hopes that it would comfort him,” he said as he handed his book to Rod, who took it graciously.

     Prince Patrum was surprised. But then again, he realised that he did not know much about Elementhars.

     “Does this book comfort you, Minvian Iddell
?
” he asked.

     “Comfort _ it does of this, Your Highness; but more so there is much wisdom in the bitterness and the guidance that it offers is invaluable,” answered Ray.

     “If that is the case, I shall need to reconsider my opinion on this book, or even the whole subject, for that matter,” expressed the prince.

     Ray pulled out a sheathed dagger from a pouch on his belt and handed it to Prince Patrum.

     “Souvenir,” he said.

     “This was hers, was it not
?
The assassin who almost killed me. Dawn Breven. This was her dagger,” asked the prince.

     Ray nodded his head. Prince Patrum pulled out the blade from its sheath. It was a straight blade that had a long oval shape, with sharpened edges on both sides, which made it well balanced for throwing. The prince wondered how many humans had died by the tip of this blade.

     Rod scratched Spirit behind the ears. Spirit seemed to enjoy it. He wagged his tail wildly.

     “School _ how was it of this, Lance
?
” asked Rod.

     “Boring. Irritating. Consolation _ of this, the only one I have is that Spirit accompanies me sometimes,” answered Lance.

     “Attention _ pay of this to your lessons, Lance, for the knowledge will be of great use to you someday,” Rod advised.

     “Understand _ I do of this, but it is still
boring!
” expressed Lance, and Rod and the others laughed lightly.

     The following evening Ray, Clover and Serene got back to handling the various issues at hand. Serene had ridden out of the palace to check on the various observation posts that she had set up. Ray and Clover were in the dungeons, interrogating a very sly suspect.

     “Reason _ what is yours of this for trying to kill Prince Patrum
?
” asked Ray.

     “What are you talking about
?
I am not a killer. Why would I want to kill Prince Patrum
?
Do I look like a killer to you, darling
?
” answered Verbena Romar as she batted her eye-lids at Ray.

     “Deny _ do not do of this, for we know you are involved, so why do you want him dead
?
” insisted Clover.

     “I do not know what she is talking about. Please release me
!
These questions are awful, and it is cold and scary down here. Please, Minvian Iddell
!
Is it right for a lady like me to be kept here
?
” Secretary Romar pleaded.

     “Identity _ whom of this are you working for and whom are you working with
?
” Ray demanded, but with somewhat less of a resolve.

     “I work for Prime Minister Trex
!
I am his assistant, for goodness sake
!
You have seen me working here day in and day out
!
Who else do you think I was working for
?
” Secretary Romar pleaded her innocence.

     Clover slammed her fist on the table. Secretary Romar jumped in her seat. Clover had wanted to put fear into her.

     “Identity _ who is it of him who is the culprit who wants the prince dead and who are you working with in this plan
?
” she asked.

     “How dare you threaten me
?
How dare you arrest a royal secretary
?
I shall see to it that you are fired, the both of you. Now, release me
!
” demanded Secretary Romar.

     “Information _ of this, what have you given to the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan and to the one whom you work for
?
” asked Ray.

     “Shadow Deathmerchant Clan
?
Who I work for
?
I have no idea what you two are talking about
!
Release me now
!
” demanded Secretary Romar.

     Both Ray and Clover sat down. They stared at the attractive but dangerous woman in front of them. There she was, the perfect ‘Venus Fly Trap’. She had used her beauty and charms to seduce men, high-ranking soldiers, for information that had indirectly led to the death of hundreds, yet she sat there pleading innocence and ignorance. The Royal Guards had, since her arrest, received quite a number of ‘confessions’ from soldiers whose tongues were loosened by her. Minvian Beufall was the worst of them. So bad was his breach of operational secrecy that he was to be tried for treason.

     “Protect _ of this, who are you doing of
?
” asked Clover.

     Clover’s question caught Verbena Romar by surprise and broke her soft, pretty smile. Clover saw the change and so did Ray. This meant that the mastermind of the assassination plot was not just her employer, but he meant more to her than that.

     “Help _ we can do of this for you, perhaps a lighter sentence or even a full pardon and relocation, but you must cooperate with us,” Clover offered.

     “Protect _ we can do of this for you, but you must tell us all you that know,” Ray added, hoping for a breakthrough.

     “Protection
?
Why would
I
need protection
?
You do not have the slightest idea of who he is or the extent of his influence. He is
mine
and when he comes for me, I shall make sure you two suffer for what you are doing to me,” sneered Secretary Romar.

     Both Ray and Clover sat silent. They knew it was pointless to question her further. Clearly, Secretary Romar had been delusional all along. She was so blindly loyal to whomever the mastermind was that no amount of persuasion or threats could ever change her mind. Another month or even another year of interrogation would not yield any result, but they would be going ahead with it anyway, as it was their duty.

     They had also wondered who was going to be the prosecutor in this case. He needed to be slick and more importantly, mentally strong; or else he would fall prey to this ‘Venus Fly Trap’ just like so many others did. It would probably be better if the prosecutor was a woman. Then came the next question. What about the judges
?
Would they be females as well, or if they were males, could they switch off their ‘maleness’ and stay focussed on the subject, and not on ‘other things’. Ray decided that he would send in a recommendation to the king to appoint a team of female prosecutors and as many female judges as possible for this case. Meanwhile, he and Clover would have to go through the whole list of questions again.

     The evening crawled into early dawn as Ray and Clover interrogated their impossible subject. The sun’s rays broke through the horizon and the birds chirped away while the rooster called on all to rise from their beds. Another team of interrogators took over from Ray and Clover and the cycle of questioning began yet again.

     Lance stood at one end of the open air training area at the Elementhars’ camp. This section of the palace had been officially named Sollenthar Section. The hot mid-day sun was drawing sweat from all the pores in his skin. Spirit sat by the side, his eyes scanning left and right as he was wagging his tail. This was always the fun part for Spirit, watching wooden targets burst into flames. It had been quite a while since Lance practised his Elemental Sorcery skills, so he figured it was time to get it going again. Focusing his mind and energy, he let forth a Heat Burst Spell that slammed into a wooden target and smashed it into several broken, burning pieces. Next he tried the Advanced Heat Spear Spell. The condensed, almost solid shaft of pure, intense fire bore through the first wooden target and exploded upon impact onto the second target which was behind the first.

     Lance shook his head. He was not satisfied with his execution of the spell. The Advanced Heat Spear that he had conjured up was not dense and solid enough. He decided to try again. Out flew a second Advanced Heat Spear, burning through its first target to detonate the second one. This time around, the spell was far more condensed and solid.

     “Wow, I did not know you could do that
!
” shouted a voice from behind.

     Lance turned around to see his new friend and classmate Iron Genox walking up towards him.

     “Reason _ what is it of this that you are here
?
” asked Lance, surprised.

     “Looking for my sister Serene. My mother wanted me to ask her if she was coming home for dinner tonight. I am supposed to ask cousin Clover as well,” answered Iron.

     “Mission _ Serene is out on one of this and Clover is sleeping in her quarters after doing the night shift last night,” informed Lance.

     “Well in that case, I should probably call on her later. So show me what else you can do
?
” Iron said.

     “Skills _ not much as that was just about the limit of mine of these at the moment,” Lance confessed.

     “Come on Lance; show me some of that Elementhar stuff
!
Serene never shows me anything and Clover, well, she is too brainy and whatever she does show me gives me a headache. Come on, show me what you can do,” requested Iron.

     Lance shrugged his shoulders and finally nodded his head. Turning back to the target, he executed another intermediate level spell, but this one of the earth element. A long, thin shaft of solid stone materialised from Lance’s fingers and flew towards a wooden target when he threw it, shattering the target to pieces and smashing the one behind it as well.

     “Wow
!
That was great. What is the name of this spell
?
” asked an excited Iron Genox.

     “Stone Spear Spell
!
Version _ it is the earth element of this of the Heat Spear and Frozen Trident, and is used to destroy two enemies with one execution if they stood in tandem,” answered Lance.

     “Fantastic
!
Can I learn
?
” asked Iron.

     Lance was shocked by Iron’s question. But perhaps he should not have been. Lance had thought that Iron would not be interested in Elemental Sorcery, seeing that he came from a background steeped in military history and traditions and would normally
look down
on the
‘unpatriotic’
mentality of the Elementhars. But he also had an elder sister and a cousin who were Elementhars, so apparently the normal mentality of the military tradition did not apply to him anymore.

     “Ask _ of this, you need to do to Master Iddell, but are you sure; really, really sure
?
” Lance said.

     “Yes, I think so. My dad will be furious, of course. So will my uncles. But what the hell do I care
!
Cousin Clover is right. We should not be blinded by family traditions. Besides, I can impress the girls if I have some Elemental Sorcery skills, can I not
?
” said Iron cheekily.

     Lance shook his head. He did not think Ray would approve of Iron’s motive for learning Elemental Sorcery.

     “Careful _ just be of this that you do not accidentally burn your date, Iron. Girls _ they of them will not be impressed with you if their hair is set on fire. Tongue _ but if you want to learn Elemental Sorcery, you must start speaking in the olden of this,” he said.

     “What
!?
Speak funny like you, Lance
?
Must I speak the olden tongue in order to learn Elemental Sorcery
?
” asked Iron.