Chapter 50: Chapter Fifty: Devil without horns.
Three days ago...
Cassian landed powerfully on the veranda of Xavriel’s bedroom. He barged into the bedroom fuming with unrestrained anger. He had been leaping and vanishing ever since he left the palace. Who was that old fool to embarrass him like that?.
"Xavriel!" he yelled out, walking all around the room in search of him.
"That’s your majesty to you, prince." Xavriel said calmly, emerging from the shadows of the same veranda Cassian had landed in. He was a demon and invisibility was one of the perks. Xavriel folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.
"How is the plan going." Cassian asked, going straight to the point.
"All’s well and good." Xavriel replied with a small nod.
"Are they ready?"
"Should be."
Cassian tilted his head, getting more and more annoyed. "I’m going to need more practical answers and less two-word sentences."
Xavriel sighed deeply, walking slowly towards where Cassian stood. He slung an arm over his shoulder and pulled him closer with his ear a few inches away from Cassian’s. "I also want this to happen as soon as possible, prince. Calm your horses."
"Get away from me!" Cassian yelled, shoving Xavriel away. "Just do what you’re supposed to do and nothing else, understood?"
Xavriel’s smile was quickly wiped off and a dark scowl took over. "Now that’s not a very good way to talk to a king. Especially one who’s helping you."
"Ugghhhh!" Cassian groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge between his nose. "Look. I’m in a really bad position now ok? I was literally rejected in front of my whole family. If my brother returns, then all this will be for nothing, do you understand that? I am desperate." he said, stressing the last sentence with all seriousness.
Xavriel raised a brow at him, clearly amused by his reaction. He knew he hated his brother but to the point of stealing his birthright? "Why do you hate your brother so much?" he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Don’t ask me that."
"But I want to know."
"That’s not important right now. Focus." Cassian stressed already bubbling with anger.
Xavriel sighed like a tired old man. "Alright then. I know what it’s like to have a brother so I’ll stop pushing. We’ll move soon."
"You have a brother?"
"Had."
"Is he dead?"
"No."
"Then..."
"He’s dead to me."
Cassian looked like he wanted to punch him right in the guts but he held back. There was no point trying to make sense of a madman. Then again, he had come to the same madman for help.
Sighing, Cassian changed the subject. "How soon are we talking about?" Cassian asked without waiting a second.
"I said I’ll be there. Now go, you give me a headache." Xavriel said, flicking his wrist at him to leave. Cassian looked at him with a hardened expression before walking towards the veranda that overlooked the kingdom.
"Remember. You only get the girl, when I have my throne."
"I’ll try." Xavriel said sheepishly, checking out his nails with a wide smile in his face.
Cassian didn’t even bother to look back. This man was all shades of crazy. He gripped the banister before jumping down and into the woods.
Xavriel watched as Cassian leapt onto the trees rapidly. Ever since he had come to him for help, he had felt quite intrigued with his petition. After he left that day, his mind flashed back to the time he and his brother were still together and he immediately got angry. He wanted to know more about what strife existed between the two but decided to leave things as-is.
What was the point anyways? All he wanted was the girl, nothing more.
After a while of standing there and reminiscing the past, a thought crept up in his head. Seraphine. If she knew about this, she would most likely inform him and ruin their plans.
His eyes darkened at the thought of his brother interfering in his affairs again. "I think it’s time I paid my dear brother a visit." Xavriel said, smirking.
.........
Isolde collapsed to the floor, visibly shaken.
"This can’t be." she muttered in disbelief to herself. "Why ..."
"What is the matter?!" Xypherion yelled but the queen was too stunned to utter another word. She just sat there,eyes wide opened and face down.
Xypherion, unable to take the suspense, rushes over to where the king laid perfectly still. He shakily puts a finger under his nose and pulls it back in terror.
The physician couldn’t believe it either."Oh no. Oh no,oh no, oh no,oh no, oh,no!"
"The king is...dead..." Isolde whispered weakly. Xypherion who heard her, rushed to where she sat and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Queen! You mustn’t let any soul hear of this!" he whispered harshly. The queen nodded as tears fell down her cheeks.
"We mustn’t let them know of the king’s passing. We must—"
A loud, painful coughed proceeded out of the man already proclaimed dead. Isolde scrambled to her feet and rushed to his side. The patches on the king’s skin were still ever so visible, covering even his face. His eyes, lifted their lids weakly that one couldn’t tell if they were open unless they moved really close to him.
"Your majesty!" Xy shouted pulling out another green vial from his leather bag.
"No, Xypherion. Don’t waste that priceless medicine on me." the king said in seized breath.
Isolde cupped his cheek in her palms despite the irritating patches on his face. "Oh... your majesty..."
"You *cough* mustn’t touch me *cough* my queen. It might be contagious."Alexandria said with a small, humorous smile that earned him a scoff from the queen.
"You have to stay awake your highness. You have to." Xypherion rushed with serious urgency in his voice.
Alexandria went quiet for a while then hummed slowly. "That is up to the gods to decide, Xy. You know that." Xypherion didn’t speak again. What was left to say? He was right, he could die any moment from now and the gods wouldn’t be blamed for their actions.
"How...how about the princes? A-an-any news on them yet?"
"No, your majesty. Not yet."
"Hmmm. This is truly bad."
"Don’t say that your highness. We still have hope." Xypherion rebuked him with a frown. Even if all odds were against them, hope was one thing they shouldn’t lose at a time like this.
Alexandria turned his head stiffly to look at the dragon scale that was still on the table.
"The destruction of my fathers have come to haunt me. They will come...they will come for their revenge." he said through his swollen lips.
Isolde burst into another round of tears. She knew he was right and with the crystal ball acting up, there was really no saying what the future held for them.
Alexandria’s voice became more and more strained. "I might be alive now, but there’s no telling when I will pass on. And if I do..."
"You must be strong your highness. The fate of everyone depends on you."
"The crown prince has no mark on his body. Not even any other body changes." Xypherion said, changing the subject. He had been extremely taken aback when he had seen his spotless body. Was he not the crown prince after all?
Another round of cough seized the king harshly. Blood, water, any liquid the body could have flowed out of his mouth and nose in rapid succession. It was truly a disheartening sight. The queen tried to calm him by rubbing his chest but nothing worked. If anything, it increased the troubles. His coughs kept getting worse and worse and more blood spilled effortlessly from his mouth.
As the two worked to keep the king still breathing, a loud trumpet was heard outside followed by the clashes of swords and marches of horseshoes. Isolde froze on the king’s bed, too startled to move.
Soon, a guard with a bleeding arm rushed through the door, panting heavily. "Your majesties! We must get you out of her—" Before he could finish, a slithering hand shot through his stomach with speed. The guard crumbled to the floor in a pool of his own blood. Behind him stood the ugliest, abominable creature they had ever seen.
Xypherion stumbled to the floor and so did the queen. The creature moved slowly towards them, then stopped in front of the king. It lifted a hand, about to strike down on the already almost dead man when a sword pierced its chest, bringing out a small blackish organ. The heart.
"I’ll deal with him." a voice echoed. Faint crunches of boots were heard through the hallway, followed by the appearence of one who would never have been thought of in that situation.
Xypherion almost passed out at the face that revealed itself.
A slow, demonic smile was plastered on his face when he f
inally revealed himself.
"I’m back." he stresses with a dark chuckle. "Did you miss me?"