Princess Calyin’s face blanched as the words fell heavily upon her. “What is this outrage?” she cried out. “I will not have it! There will be no test!”
Father Joshua put his hands gently on Calyin’s shoulders and attempted to calm her down. Calyin would not calm her tongue for anyone. She pushed Father Joshua aside and rose from her seat. Her face was now dark with anger. Calyin, with eyes cold and fixed, glared around the room, daring anyone to say anything further on the subject. No one with was willing to challenge her, so all remained quiet for a time.
King Jarom, heavily endowed with shrewdness but lacking the better graces of wisdom and good judgment, broke the silence, “Princess Calyin, know your place and calm your tongue!”
“Calm my tongue? I will hold my tongue when I am good and ready to do so; however, until then I will continue to speak my mind! It is you who needs to gain your bearing and remember your place. You are not in your tiny little kingdom any more! You are in my kingdom! In my palace! And furthermore, you are a guest! A guest should know his place!” screamed Calyin as she stalked across the room to confront Jarom face to face.
As she approached, King Jarom’s air of superiority modified to become a small, trembling ember, which Calyin devoured. “I demand a recount now! And by the same treatise that brought us here, I am allowed to call for a new count! If there is anyone who disagrees, let him speak!”
Calyin stormed back across the hall and sat down. King Jarom, with a shocked expression on his face, quietly retook his position. Lord Serant, controlling his desire to smile, quickly seated himself beside Calyin.
Chancellor Volnej quelled the growing disorder in the hall. Harshly, he cleared his throat and thumped his scepter several more times to silence the last few murmurs. “It is thus written. A recount is in order. We will pause for a turning of the glass, then begin.”
Lord Serant turned to Calyin and smiled with amazement. As their time together grew, he felt his love for her grow with each passing year. He needed her more than she would ever know.
All attention turned back to the rear of the hall where the counting would start. Talem stood and made a symbolic gesture with his hands. The other dark priests rose as one and together they intoned a definitive no. Keeper Q’yer smiled and intoned a triumphant yes. Father Joshua and Sister Midori each again affirmed a yes.
Calyin stood and turned to look into the tiers. Keeper Q’yer followed her move, also rising; the other keepers were quick to follow suit. Each individual counselor offered an unequivocal yes and with pride remained standing in salutation. Geoffrey, Lord Fantyu, Chancellor Van’te, and King William completed the movement. The other votes were of no consequence. The vote was clearly changed. Lord Serant would be magistrate for as long as he deemed necessary. Angrily, Chancellor de Vit penned his signature onto the new document Volnej gave him. The vote became fact as the scroll was passed to Chancellor Van’te for his confirmation; there would be no debate this time. The decision was no longer a draw.
“My dear, dear, Princess Calyin. These little games of state do bore me so,” haughtily stated King Jarom, “but I wish to thank you very much. You don’t know how much I am in your debt.”
Awed silence befell upon the hall. King Jarom’s crafty smirk widened as tension filled the air. Keeper Q’yer raised his hands to his temples. The intensity of his headache was unbearable. It was as he did this mechanically without thought that he realized something peculiar. The pain of the headache had been as a cloud over his thoughts, but until just now he hadn’t noticed it. However, in the back of his thoughts he knew he had been feeling ill since early morning.
His eyes nervously wandered about the chamber. He noted that Father Joshua also looked rather pale. His thoughts began to run wild; he could not concentrate. The pain within his mind was growing, becoming unbearable. He just wanted to rip it out and throw it away.
The keeper strained to clear his mind. Time seemed to be flowing so quickly. He shouted out, “Oh the pain, the pain, it will not go!” but the words never left his mind.
With a snap of his fingers, King Jarom ended the calm. The holy seal on the great doors splintered and fell to the floor. A faint battering noise resounded from somewhere beyond the chamber, followed momentarily by the stifling sound of the crash. The double doors of the room burst open and fell heavily.
A torrent of heavily armored soldiers shouted a gallant cheer and poured into the chamber. In that instant, Keeper Q’yer crumpled unconscious over the table in front of him. Thought returned to him momentarily as he fell; he knew without a doubt that the beginning of the end had begun.
Shock and disbelief paralyzed the gathered throng. The hall was in turmoil even before the enemy warriors stormed into the room. Father Joshua felt with bitterness the anguish in Keeper Q’yer’s spirit as it passed. The pain outside his consciousness allowed him to wrench his mind away from the enchantment of the agony within, and thought returned to him.
The dark priests released a mocking laugh as their energies revived. Their mental strength spent beyond their capacities, they could not withstand the impact. The priests had completed their task to perfection, so they gladly did the only thing they could do—they expired. Save one, who sought to flee the turmoil in the chamber.
Lord Serant sprang from his chair and readied for the coming battle. He cleared his mind and prepared for the fight. He would make the traitors pay dearly for this treachery. Once his thoughts were organized, his first duty was to try to get Calyin to safety. Rapidly he assessed the situation.
Jarom had been thorough in his planning; the hall was as an erupting volcano of melee. Lord Serant was grateful that he had foreseen something coming although the treachery had not come directly from Chancellor Volnej as he had expected. He scanned the hall rapidly, searching for Pyetr to signal him to send for reinforcements.
The sentries posted throughout the chamber were quick to react to the danger, and were making a valiant effort to contain the invading horde. Their high-quality light mail gave them a clear advantage over the intruders, who were outfitted in heavy mail beneath large cloaks. Many of the enemies were wasting valuable time removing their guise; although it only took moments to remove the heavy cloaks, it was sufficient to end many of their lives. Their numbers were in no way hindered by the losses.
Captain Brodst grabbed Lord Serant by the tunic and ushered him and Princess Calyin into a far corner of the hall. Lord Serant was offended by the action, but his pride was not damaged. He knew the captain was just looking out for his safety.
Lord Serant cast an angry glare at Chancellor Volnej, who stood nervously beside Chancellor Van’te. The keepers without the leadership of Keeper Q’yer were beset by confusion. The keeper’s demise had been sudden and unnerving. They still remained in the tiers along the side of the chamber.
Father Joshua quickly followed Talem, pursuing him into the mass of bodies set before the entryway without thought. He latched onto the dark priest’s robe, pulling him backwards, and when the opportunity arose, he pummeled him to the ground. Without hesitation, Father Joshua struck Talem in the face, once for Keeper Q’yer and once for himself.
Their bodyguards, who would at all cost protect the lives of the ones they served, quickly surrounded Geoffrey and the governors of Mir and Veter. As free men, they did not fear melee; it was part of their daily lives. They lived and would die by the sword.
The end came.