CHAPTER 25 A DAUNTING DEBRIEFING
Sitting in the king’s office, feeling rather cramped were Finlay, Katarina, Brendan, Faucher, Alina, Eric, Mr. Kraft, Mage Sebastian, and last but far from least … Kraken.
The fluffy feline perched in the middle of the circle of people, blinking slowly as he fought off the urge to sleep. He knew he had to share the important information he had gathered from the Forest of the Afterlife, but he also needed his royal nap.
“We left the mushroom Kraken retrieved with Lady Elena to run tests, but that isn’t all. Kraken says the first witch has never been seen in the Forest of the Afterlife any of the times he has been there, and he is wondering if perhaps she may be the woman that the devil is searching for,” Fin explained, breaking the silence once everyone had situated themselves.
Kraken’s tail swished. He had conveniently left out the detail that Finlay’s mother and the former queen of Daxaria were the ones to help him form such a theory. He had long ago been warned by his old mentor, James Paws, to never mention that he was capable of speaking with the deceased souls who roamed the next realm. Apparently, it would be distressing to the humans …
“The first witch opening portals?!” Mr. Kraft spluttered. Kraken hadn’t relayed any of what he had learned until that very moment, and so everyone found themselves in similar states of astonishment.
“Possibly … Kraken doesn’t seem fully convinced of this. He’s saying he just found it strange that no one had ever seen or heard anything of the first witch in the other realm,” Fin clarified, though he was frowning as he, too, tried to wade through the heft of information they had received from his familiar.
“Couldn’t it simply be a woman who has a familiar like Kraken that is retrieving the mushrooms, and the mushrooms themselves are responsible for the portals?” Mage Sebastian countered reasonably.
Everyone looked to Fin, who tilted his head, his eyes fixed on the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s entirely possible. At the very least, I’m hoping that we get more information after we test the mushroom we acquired.”
“If it is the first witch, then it is possible that the devil asked me whether Kat could kill a deity because he wants Kat to kill her, and he isn’t worried about himself at all,” Eric speculated, his hazel eyes filled with ominous shadows.
“Wouldn’t it make sense if it was the first witch to approach Kat and offer to team up? They are both witches, and technically wouldn’t Lady Katarina be a distant relative?” Mage Sebastian mused while glancing at Mr. Kraft and then the Troivackian king.
“The devil did, however, also hint that the woman he is searching for is not a witch. Though it could be he is just trying to persuade us to join him, as the first witch would be the more obvious choice to help …” Alina added.
“Is it obvious?” Eric interrupted. “She has killed people, been drugging people, attempted to bind Kat’s magic, destroyed Faucher’s keep, and those are only the things we know about.”
“Didn’t the devil say he’d be in touch with you so that you could give him information?” Kat turned to her husband.
“That’s true, but I have no way to contact him myself,” the prince confirmed, his gaze moving to Brendan. “Will I have your permission, Your Majesty, to share all this information with him?”
The king’s dark eyes didn’t betray his thoughts as he listened to the conversation without questioning or adding anything.
Everyone waited in silence for his input.
“The devil says the woman is in my castle. I want to know what will happen if they meet,” Brendan responded slowly. “Furthermore, how can we best keep my people safe? Thus far, there has been little interaction between the beasts and the Troivackian civilians, however, with Lady Katarina’s presence, things have been escalating. If keeping the peace means sending her back to Daxaria, I will.” Brendan locked eyes with Eric and stared levelly.
The prince didn’t react and instead turned to Kat, who was already gripping her hand into a fist at her side.
“We don’t know that they will stay harmless if I leave. Couldn’t it just be that I’m the biggest threat … ?” Kat trailed off, her golden eyes falling to her father’s familiar. “Besides, they acted significantly more afraid of Kraken than me. I seemed more like an annoyance to the two beings that came to bind my magic at Faucher’s keep.”
Kraken had crouched closer to the floor, his eyes barely open, though he did let out a short chirp.
“They have excellent reason to fear me.”
No one but Fin understood him, and the house witch didn’t see a need to translate that particular declaration.
“I understand it is remarkable that Kraken can walk across ethereal borders and has superior intelligence,” Mage Sebastian started to say.
“For a mage you aren’t all bad.” Kraken purred quietly.
“Though is there something other than crossing borders and communicating with different beasts and people that would make him fearsome?”
“You should get your spectacles adjusted. Your nearsightedness is making you seem foolish.”
“You speak as though that isn’t something to be terrified of. Information is valuable, and Kraken has an endless source of it. In a day, he has discovered things that we never would have been able to in decades without his help,” Mr. Kraft pointed out, a note of awe mixed with severity. Both men were unaware that the familiar was getting annoyed with the mage.
Brendan nodded in agreement with the coven leader’s input.
He agreed wholeheartedly.
“Are we not going to discuss the matter of the tunnels beneath Lady Elena’s keep?” Kraken sniffed tiredly.
“Right … Mr. Kraft, I did not have a chance to ask further about this, but … What are the tunnels underneath Lady Elena’s estate being used for? Kraken says they run far enough to sprawl well into Vessa.”
The coven leader stiffened and straightened his shoulders as the Troivackian king’s gaze snapped to him and hardened.
“What is the duke referring to?” Brendan growled and stood.
The air in the study became uneasy. Brendan had become significantly less threatening on a daily basis since his marriage to Alina, however, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be extraordinarily terrifying should he need to be.
“Y-Your Majesty, I did say that taking Mage Sebastian to Lady Elena’s keep needed to be kept secret and as few questions as possible should be asked.”
“Tunnels beneath Vessa isn’t a small matter.” Brendan drew closer to Mr. Kraft, who grew pale as he bowed instinctively before the king.
“Your Majesty, I vow to you, on my honor, we have never used the tunnels for anything that would be deemed harmful or duplicitous to your rule and the law. It was only a means of protecting the surviving coven members.”
“You reported to me that only five members still lived.” Brendan bore down on Mr. Kraft, who, despite being more than two decades the king’s senior, slipped off his chair onto his knees as though he were about to be sick.
“I-I only lied to protect them.”
“Mr. Kraft, for deceiving me, I may have you charged, and I will be negotiating your removal as the leader of the Coven of Aguas in the near future,” Brendan’s voice rumbled. “Consider yourself lucky that I am not removing your head from your neck this instant.”
Mr. Kraft trembled, and most people in the room couldn’t help but pity the normally proud man.
“Your Majesty,” Mage Sebastian’s voice rasped, and when the king’s eyes moved to him, the mage realized he had made a grave error in speaking at all.
“You were an accomplice to his deceit. Your petition to join the court as Royal Mage is hereby terminated. I will be nominating Lady Kezia in your place.”
Sebastian turned pale.
Finlay interrupted somberly, rising and stepping forward which summoned Brendan’s attention to him. “Your Majesty, while this is not my kingdom, it’s notorious that the courtiers closest to you brutally slaughtered countless witches in the past few decades. You yourself have avoided contact with the coven and offered no support. Mr. Kraft, like yourself, was charged with protecting his people.”
“Is this the Coven of Wittica officially intervening on Mr. Kraft’s behalf?” Brendan’s tone was dangerous, and his eyes sharpened.
Fin sighed but straightened himself with visible effort. It was times like this that it really was obvious how much he hated political work …
“Erm, pardon me saying this, but in the words of Faucher … an enemy can exploit any crack in our ranks if given the opportunity,” Kat interjected while she, too, came to her feet and sidled closer to the king. “This may not be the time to start dropping heavy-handed sentences amongst the few of us who know everything that is going on.”
Brendan looked at her, then he looked at Eric, who stared back in silent support of his wife.
Faucher was watching the king stoically, though there was a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth that hinted at a smile he may or may not have been hiding.
The king raised an eyebrow, then once again addressed the coven leader. “You will be punished. However, Lady Katarina, or rather … Leader Faucher’s wisdom is not out of place.” Brendan let out an agitated huff and stepped back beside Alina, who looked a mite fearsome herself as she regarded the coven leader and mage.
“You had months to realize His Majesty was trustworthy. While I can respect your desire to protect the witches of Troivack, we would have had no choice but to condemn you should anyone else have discovered the existence of these tunnels,” Alina chastised seriously.
Mage Sebastian joined Mr. Kraft on his knees.
“We apologize for this deception, Your Majesties,” the two men spoke in perfect unison.
Brendan regarded the mage and witch unemotionally and allowed the only sound in the room to be the crackle of the fire that warmed the space behind him. It was clear he wanted to ensure the gravity of their choices weighed appropriately on both Mr. Kraft and Mage Sebastian.
“I will be interrogating Lady Elena. You do realize that it is possible this witch who is threatening my kingdom could be in these tunnels, and perhaps the reason she is so close is because she has been hidden underneath my city?” Brendan rumbled, though he didn’t appear as close to instigating violence as he had been moments before.
“I know every witch in those tunnels. None of them has the ability to open a portal.” Mr. Kraft’s voice turned steady when discussion of exposing the members of his coven surfaced.
“How many of them have familiars?” Kat asked while crossing her arms.
Her gently implied point gradually sank in for everyone present.
If all cats could cross realms, that meant that a regular witch could’ve gotten their hands on the mystical mushroom from the Forest of the Afterlife.
Mr. Kraft opened his mouth to defend his coven yet again but found he couldn’t think of one reason that would guarantee everyone’s innocence.
He closed his mouth, the dark lines under his eyes suddenly appearing darker than they had before in the dancing shadows of the room.
“I will take Your Majesty down into the tunnels at your earliest convenience.”
Brendan raised an eyebrow. “If it weren’t so late and the state of Sir Herra’s unresolved trail, I would demand to be taken there this evening. However, I believe most of us must return to the council room. I only issued a rest for the dining hour.”
Mr. Kraft and Mage Sebastian remained kneeling on the floor.
“The trial started without my presence?” Fin rounded on the king angrily.
“It was only the character witnesses you missed,” Kat informed her father glumly. “Gods, his friends can prattle on …”
“While Sir Herra has committed a grave crime, he has saved many lives during his career as a knight, and prior to this incident has served his kingdom well,” Brendan countered at Katarina seriously before addressing her father.
The duke didn’t look away from the king, but Brendan remained guiltless in his response. “I held the trial off for as long as possible, but my court has been in chaos, as they are frightened of poisonings, and many of them are of the belief that Sir Herra was possessed by a witch. We will need to have an overwhelming amount of evidence to reaffirm that witches are incapable of controlling others.”
Fin closed his eyes and rubbed his face. The old misunderstanding was terribly annoying … He hadn’t missed having to battle others about it back in Daxaria.
“Shall we all return to the council room?” Alina volunteered imperially, hoping to move things along.
Brendan’s exhausted gaze rested on his wife for a moment before he gave a small bow to his queen and offered her his arm to escort her back to the council room.
“By the way, Da, you’ll get to meet His Majesty’s mother today,” Kat informed her father. The king and queen swept past the group toward the door while Mr. Kraft and Sebastian remained on their knees, waiting until everyone had left.
Fin looked at his daughter with a frown. “The woman who bullied you in the castle is back?”
Kat nodded while stretching her mouth to one side and raising her eyebrows.
The duke let out an irritable breath.
“They brought her back to help Mum be comfortable. Lady Rebecca Devark apparently knew Mum back when she lived here in Troivack.”
Fin stilled, and Kat found herself taken aback by the abrupt hesitancy.
However, she didn’t get the chance to ask about the odd reaction, as the house witch overcame the brief spell of surprise and strode from the room purposefully as though he intended to speak with Brendan Devark about the matter …
Puzzled, Kat stared after him as her husband rejoined her side, though the prince was eyeing Kraken, who had at last dozed off peacefully, still in the center of the room.
“I’m starting to see what you mean about my da not being forthcoming.”
Eric cast an apologetic side-glance at his wife. “We’ll confront him another time. Are you certain you’re alright being around the former queen again?”
Kat cracked her neck and permitted herself to grin, as no one but the mage and coven leader remained behind with them.
“I’m not worried … especially now that Kraken is here. You see, I imagine he might be able to charm Lady Rebecca in the same way he did your father.”
Eric’s face turned blank, and Mr. Kraft and Mage Sebastian looked at each other in equal bafflement.
Then … the Daxarian prince broke out in laughter, further perplexing the Troivackian men.
However, as he chortled, and even Kat gave the occasional cackle, a quiet purr began to rumble from the fluffy familiar on the floor who had heard the entire thing.
Lady Rebecca Devark, former queen of Troivack, had no idea the vengeance that was about to descend upon her life … Her shoes were already looking mighty appealing in Kraken’s mind as the best spot to relieve his late-night bowel movements.
Ah, the things he did for his dear witch’s kitten.