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  He thought for a moment about sending the ball of fire he held in the palm of his hand down into the darkness to see if there was someone there, but the feeling of being watched quickly passed and he turned towards the open chamber at the end of the corridor. He was not worried about more spies, but he was concerned about someone asking questions that he didn’t want to answer. Doing his best to refocus on the job at hand, he strode purposefully towards the castle’s dungeon.

  The castle’s dungeon was a man-made chamber that had been widened from a smaller natural cavern when the castle was initially constructed. Within the chamber were three individual square cells, each about twenty feet on a side. The vertical iron bars that made up each cell were solid, but rusty, which showed their age in the damp environment. A ring of torches had been lit around the cells giving plenty of light and little extra warmth. Two guards were sitting on small wooden crates and snapped to attention as Hargon approached. They were older men who were capable of using the swords hung at their sides. One had been a Royal Guard in South Karmon before the city had been destroyed. The other had once been a simple farmer who had taken up a sword in the attack on South Karmon and quickly figured out how to hold it and use it to kill.

  Both had tired eyes, something common among the castle’s occupants. Everyone was on edge, waiting for the battle that would soon come, but not knowing when it would happen. The anticipation was making the situation even worse. Eventually, the anxiety and anxiousness would turn into petty bickering and internal strife. He had seen it in Taran when differing political factions could no longer co-exist. No one wanted to fight among themselves, but they also didn’t know how not to fight. Queen Elissa and the Elven leadership were mired in their war councils, trying to figure out what to do and when to do it. He couldn’t blame them too much for not seeing the internal strife that was bubbling up around them, but that was what leaders did. They didn’t micromanage those they led, but they did need to make sure that they were aware of everything that was going on around them. What he saw from them was too much discussion and too little action. It was now time for action, which is why he was here.

  As soon as Hargon stepped into the small dungeon, he could not take his eyes off Marila, who was huddled against the back corner of the middle cell. She was back in her Human form, but all he could see was the skinless form that was her true self.

  “I will be interrogating the prisoner,” Hargon declared with a firm, monotone voice. They did not respond immediately, so he added, “You may leave, now.”

  Instead of leaving as commanded, the two guards glanced at one another. They had been instructed by Conner to not leave the dungeon.

  “We were instructed to stay here until relieved,” the former Royal Guard replied after another moment of uncomfortable silence.

  “Then consider yourself relieved!” Hargon snapped back angrily.

  Between Hargon’s anger and their desire to not be stuck in a creepy dungeon, they did not need to be further convinced. They took one of the torches and quickly left.

  Hargon waited patiently until he was sure that they were alone, and the two guards were out of earshot. Marila had looked up at him when he first arrived, but now she was staring at the ground with a blanket pulled around her shoulders. A small bucket was set in the opposite corner, and from the smell that came from it, it had been recently used. He curled his nose and lamented that he had not smelled it sooner and had the guards remove it.

  “Your body seems to function as a Human’s does,” Hargon said.

  Marila did not move. Her eyes remained focused on the ground.

  “We all know what you are,” Hargon said after a few moments. He was patient, allowing her to think about her answers, or to think about if she even wanted to talk. The silence was indeed awkward, which was what he wanted. “Why do you not show yourself as you truly are?”

  Marila continued to be still and silent.

  “This will go better if you talk,” Hargon said. He had softened his voice and stepped forward so that he was standing next to her cell door. “You know where the Deceiver’s army is.”

  She looked up at him with stunningly beautiful eyes, and he had to continue to remind himself that she was not Human, but a creature of the Deceiver.

  “I never saw the army. Only the Deceiver and the hairy beast that is always at his side.” She fell silent again but didn’t take her eyes off of him.

  “How far away were you when you saw them?”

  To his surprise, she responded right away. “Three days fast walk straight west.”

  “If they were only three days away, why have they not attacked?”

  She shook her head. “I was never privy to his plans. I only did as he commanded.”

  “And he commanded you to spy on us, to kill us? To kill me?”

  For a moment, the beauty of her eyes flashed away, and he saw fiery anger in them. “If I were sent to kill you, you would not be standing here. Your body would be cold and dead.”

  He reached up to his necklace and pulled it out for her to see. “Is this what you came for?”

  “Yes. Well, no.”

  “Yes? No? What is it?”

  She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No, I was not sent to take it. I was sent to find it, but the Deceiver knew I had touched it and must have believed that I betrayed him by not taking it from you.”

  “Why did you not take it?”

  “When I touched it, I felt power. It was a power I could not imagine, and it scared me. I’d never been scared before, even when standing in the presence of the Deceiver I had never felt fear. But when I touched the necklace, I felt fear.” Her gaze drifted down to the ground as she had talked.

  Hargon grabbed one of the wooden crates and set it next to her cell. He billowed out the back of his robe and sat down, elbows on his knees, and chin resting in his hands. “He wants this, does he not?”

  She nodded his head. “He is powerful, more powerful than you can imagine, but he is not nearly as powerful in this realm with only half the Ark of Life. If he were to ever have both pieces, he would not even need an army. He would be powerful enough to conquer this world by himself.”

  “Right,” Hargon said, trying to hold back his emotions and his smile. “And someone else who had both parts of the Ark of Life would be just as powerful and able to defend the world against the Deceiver.”

  It took a moment for Marila to comprehend what Hargon was saying. When she finally did understand, she was left speechless and could only shake her head.

  “I see fear in your eyes,” Hargon said. “I had seen many types of fear in the eyes of my people when I was emperor. Did you know that? I was once emperor of the greatest nation this world had ever known. Our borders spread from coast to coast, encompassing millions of Taran citizens. I saw fear in the eyes of politicians that betrayed me and had to be executed. I saw fear in the eyes of Centurions when they first marched out onto a battlefield. I saw fear in the eyes of little boys when I walked up to them on the street. So many types of fear, and yet, there is something about the fear that I see in your eyes. Tell me about the fear in your eyes.”

  Once again, she dropped her gaze to the ground. She could not reveal her true fear, for she could not let the words come out of her mouth. To reveal that she feared the Deceiver destroying this world that she had come to love would mean that she would genuinely be a traitor to her kind and to her realm. She knew she was a traitor, and she had no regrets, but to voice it was something that she could not do.

  Hargon smiled his charismatic smile. “You cannot tell me about the fear in your eyes because they are not your eyes. The eyes I see are not the eyes of Marila, but they are the eyes of who you think I want Marila to be. Or, are they the eyes of the one who you want to be? Show me. Show me your true eyes and show me the fear that is in them.”

  He blinked, and Marila, as he had seen her, was gone. The long flowing hair was gone. Her soft, white skin was gone. Her real eyes, dark
and strange, were large for her face. She parted her lips to show teeth that were sharp and dangerous.

  “See me as I am,” she said. “See me as the monster that you think me to be.”

  He stood and walked up to the cell gate. With a quick flip with his hands and the muttering of a simple spell, the cell lock was released, and he pulled the door open.

  “You can come out, now,” He said softly.

  She didn’t move.

  He smiled and stepped into the cell, then walked over to her. He kneeled down so that he was looking straight into her eyes. With slow movements, so he didn’t startle her, he reached out and touched the side of her face. Her skin was tender and warm, which surprised him. She felt no different than the hundreds of other women that he had touched in his life. This one, however, sent electricity through his body like none other. She started to shake.

  “You are truly afraid?”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded her head.

  “There is nothing to fear, anymore.” With his other hand, he lifted the necklace up and showed the open spot where the Ark of Life gem once was set. “As long as you help me retrieve the gem that fits into my necklace, there is nothing to fear. I will even let you live a comfortable life. Betray me, though, or refuse to do as I ask, and your life will end slowly and painfully. Is that clear?”

  She hesitated for just a moment and then gave a slow nod.

  Hargon stood up and backed his way out of the cell, a sly grin plastered onto his face. Once he was outside the cell, he pushed the door closed and mumbled some words to seal the locking mechanism so that it could only be opened by him.

  As he turned to leave, Hargon said, “When it is time, I will come for you.” He left quickly, with long, purposeful strides.

  ***

  Marila watched Hargon leave the dungeon, her sharp ears listening for his footfalls to disappear down the corridor. At the moment when there was complete silence, she buried her hands in her head and let tears fly. They were real tears from the large, dark eyes that she was born with. Until recently, she had not even known that she could cry, but now here she was, crying as she had seen Humans cry. The warm tears tickled her checks, and she wiped them clean, sniffling while she did so. An uncontrollable sob came out, and then she laughed. The idea of her having emotions swept through her and gave her a joyous feeling that made her cry even more. As she wept, more sobs came, and that made her laugh even harder.

  She knew that she could never be Human, but the idea of having emotions made her feel closer to them. It made her understand her feelings towards them. She did not hate any of them, even though she had been born and bred to hate everything from this realm. They were not the monsters that she had been told they were. In fact, she realized that her kind, and those like her, were more the monsters. The Humans of this realm were not devoted to death and killing, they were loving people who just wanted to live their lives and grow old. If only her kind could see this world for what it truly was, then maybe the realm of the Deceiver could be a place of joy instead of a place of hate.

  “That is a funny laugh.”

  Marila’s heart leaped at the voice. She had been distracted by her tears and laughter, so she had missed hearing someone approach. Immediately, her laughter and crying stopped. She stood up, still in her natural form.

  The large form of Lord Martin stepped through the opening into the chamber. His round face had a smile stretched on it. His eyes glittered in the light of the torches. For an instant, she thought she saw evil, but it was so fast and fleeting, she could not be sure.

  “Well, aren’t you just the sight!” Lord Martin said. He stopped in the doorway and crossed his arms. “You have a nice chat with Hargon? What did you two talk about?”

  Marila remained silent. She knew little about the man who stood in front of her but based on seeing how others interacted with him, he was not well respected. He had a title, which meant he was important, but no one seemed to show any respect towards him. Her impression of him was that he was not trustworthy, so she kept her mouth shut.

  He turned his body towards the corridor and gave a quick wave of his hand. “Did you know there is a little alcove hidden under the stairs? It’s hard to see and hard to find unless you are looking for it. It was a tight fit for me, but I made it. But, the problem with that location was that I couldn’t hear what you and Hargon were talking about. Would you like to share that with me? No?”

  Lord Martin stepped over to the crate that Hargon had sat on and lowered himself down to it. He let out a grunt and groan to get that low.

  “Come, sit next to me. Let’s talk.”

  Marila continued to stand still.

  “Let me lay it out for you, straight and true. This world is about to be conquered. I can see that, and I think you know that as well. This Deceiver guy has a pretty powerful army, certainly more powerful than the little army that we have here. Did you know that? Of course, you did! You’re one of his spies, so you certainly know how weak our forces are. I guess it’s a good thing that we have you here in a cage instead of telling the Deceiver all about our weaknesses. We don’t have to be enemies, though. Our kind and yours. We can share this world together, as it is a vast world. I have hardly been outside the borders of our little kingdom, but I do know that there is a world out there that is vast and empty. Your Deceiver can have the take of what is out there, but I think we can come to some arrangement that allows us to co-exist.”

  Marila was almost speechless. She could not believe that this man actually thought the Deceiver could be reasoned with. She shook her head and said, “You do not understand who you fight. You fight against a force that does not care about you or your world. He does not care that you can exist. He only cares that you do exist and that you are an enemy that should be destroyed. There is no bargaining or treaty that you can make with him. There is only death and destruction.”

  Lord Martin’s smile grew. He would not be deterred. “I have found in my life that there is a price for everyone and everything. I just don’t know what the price of the Deceiver is. What does he want? What will he take? I think we can come to some agreement. We just need to get together. He and I. And you can make that happen.”

  “There is no talking with the Deceiver.”

  “There is always talking. I will release you if you take me to him.”

  “If I take you to him, he will kill both of us.”

  Lord Martin laughed. “You are his spy, why would he kill you.”

  “Because I failed him! He already tried to kill me once, and if he saw that he failed, he would do so again, and this time it would be slow and sure! I will never get close to him again.”

  “I know lies. I can see them in your eyes. You want something else. Tell me what it is you want. Clearly, your freedom is not enough. Do you want your own kingdom? I am sure that we can make that arrangement. Gold? Gems? Jewels? Power? You name it, I can get it for you. Anything for peace.”

  Marila could only shake her head in surprise. “I don’t know what you see in me, but it is not lies. I am as much an enemy of the Deceiver as you are. Now let me be in peace.”

  With much effort, Lord Martin pushed himself to his feet. The smile on his face was gone and in its place was anger. “I gave you a chance to help us. If you are not going to help us, then you are of no worth to us. In fact, you are only going to be a hindrance. Rufus!”

  Marila let out a gasp as she saw another man come in from the darkness. He held a bow with an arrow nocked and ready to be fired. The man also had a smile on his face, a smile that could easily have been joy, as if what he was about to do was going to be the most enjoyable thing he did in his life. With one smooth movement, the bow was lifted, and the arrow released.

  The arrow struck Marila square in the center of the chest, sending her spinning to the ground. She lay on her side, unmoving.

  “You weren’t supposed to kill her!” Lord Martin screamed, shaking both fists at Rufus.

  R
ufus walked out of the shadows of the corridor, bow in hand. “I told you that the bow is not something I am very good at.”

  “The arm!” Lord Martin cried out. “Or the leg! Any place other than the center of the chest!”

  “I’m sorry,” Rufus replied in an unconvincing voice. “I had to shoot through the cell bars. I did my best.”

  Lord Martin turned around to look at the body. He scratched his head, his mind spinning trying to decide what they were going to do next. He planned to use Rufus to threaten her into helping him, but that was apparently out of the question. Now, he needed to be concerned with being associated with her death.

  With exasperation clearly in his voice, he waved at Marila’s body. “Well, get her out of there. We’ll have to dispose of the body somehow.”

  With a grunt, Rufus trudged forward and pulled out a key that he had taken from one of the guards. He tried to put it into the lock, but the key would not go in.

  “What is it?”

  “It won’t go in.”

  “Did you get the wrong key?” Lord Martin stepped to the cell and pushed Rufus out of the way and grabbed the key from his hands. He tried to shove it into the lock, but it wouldn’t go in. There was a hole there for the key, but it was as if the hole was filled in. He could see the hole, but the key would just not go in. “What is going on!”

  Rufus could only shrug. “That man Hargon was here. Maybe he did something to the lock.”

  Lord Martin wiped the sweat that was coming off his brow. He gripped the cell door and shook it as if he could break his way in.

  “The guards will return any moment,” Rufus said. “And they know we were the last ones to see her alive.”

  Lord Martin rubbed his chin for a few moments while he ran through various scenarios in his mind. There weren’t many options that would keep him from being accused of murder.