5. Chapter Five #2
"You could let her confront you now. There is no point in making her climb the mountain, so let's get this over with instead."
"But there are many points. It's the rules, and you must follow them if you want to keep the madness from yourself and those in your castle."
The king cackles and rolls his eyes. "Like the madness could have any effect on me."
"Even if your arrogance proves correct, it would affect you when your subjects storm the castle and rip you apart."
The king kills the mouse and restores its life again before straightening himself in his chair and letting it scurry away. "Step forward, woman." He waits for me to stand next to Lazzus. "Has the wraith explained what must happen for your carelessness?"
My gaze snaps to Lazzus. "You're a wraith?"
"It's what his majesty loves to call me, but no, it's not exactly what I am. A monster or beast is more appropriate."
The king clears his throat. "If you could focus, I may not want to execute you more than I already do.
Lazzus is an apparition of his true self.
The real him is in the mountains. You are to journey there and bring a necklace back to the haggard crone in the well of your village.
That will restore all as it once was, and I can get on with my life. "
I step around Lazzus to give the king a clear view of my face. "You mean you can continue starving your kingdom and allowing disease to fester everywhere, so that your citizens can't afford the medicines they need to live?"
He holds out his hand and closes his fist, and it feels as though all the air is trapped in my chest. "I would much rather kill you, so I would watch your speech."
I claw at my throat while Lazzus releases what might be a warning growl. Whatever the noise is, it shifts Zyon's attention to him, and the king releases me.
Zyon drops his hands to his side. "Fortunately, I do not have to deal with you for much longer, but if you fail Lazzus's tests, I will kill you."
"Until then, you will keep her alive, or I will unfreeze time and let your mindless subjects do what they will with you." Lazzus disappears, leaving me alone with the horrid king.
"You may sleep here tonight, and in the morning, you will travel up the mountain path to confront the true Lazzus.
If the journey doesn't kill you, meeting the monster at the end may.
If you die, I will revive you and make you start again as a half-living creature and let you suffer that way until you recover the necklace and fix my kingdom that you have broken. "
"How did I break your kingdom?"
"Were you not told not to cross over the red line?"
"How would I have known the damage a simple step would cause?"
He glowers and picks up the sword leaning against his throne. "My question did not truly require a response. All the villages are told, and it is emphasized in every aspect of the societies housed in my kingdom. When you crossed the forbidden line, you awoke a monster long bound."
"Lazzus?"
"Yeees." He draws out the word like he has to speak slowly for my comprehension.
"You awakened a creature who loves games, and his favorite is to make everyone insane until the king sends the person who disturbed him.
What happens there, I don't entirely know.
But I've rehearsed this for a long time, as you should have been rehearsing not to step over the red line.
You have brought great folly to my door, and I'd much rather kill you, but the pesky rules. "
"Does this happen often?"
"Once a generation for over a thousand years, and I thought I'd fixed it. Placed my best guardian to prevent anyone from getting to the rose this time, but he failed."
I crinkle my nose. "Old man Albion? He's your best guardian?"
"Yes, his magic should have overwhelmed you so much, you would have wished death over crossing the warning line.
But let's move on. You will rest here tonight.
Only because I do need you to get up the mountain.
Then I will equip you with the things you need, and you will journey up the mountain.
I would send you with escorts, but you've turned them all mad or frozen. "
"That wasn't me."
"You acted as the catalyst to Lazzus's rising, so yes, it was." He snaps his fingers, and Maximo runs into the room. "Take her to the south wing, where the draft may bring annoyance."
I smirk as I think about the endless drafts in my cabin and follow Maximo away from the man as icy as expected. "The king is a necromancer?"
"Yes, it's how any of us in this castle live," Maximo says.
I look at the servants who walk by wearing blue dresses. Their skulls are shorter and rounder than Maximo's, and two small fangs hang over each of their lower jaws. Cats are the best guess I can make. "Are you all people with different animal skulls?"
"The staff. Yes."
"There are others here besides the staff?"
"Yes."
The farther we walk through the castle, the drearier it becomes as the paintings fade to grey stone walls. There isn't even a variation in color, which is something unusual for me not to detect.
Maximo pushes a round wooden door open. "I apologize for the accommodations. The king..."
"Is a brute. Selfish and cruel." I finish his sentence for him when his voice trails off.
"His soul is not entirely corrupted, not that he gives anyone the chance to know that." He grabs a brass lantern on the floor next to the stone staircase and turns it on.
The orange flames lead us up the many steps that wrap around the turret in sharp turns. We pass several doors until the stairs stop in front of a green one. Inside is a bed with a patchwork quilt and a single thin pillow.
Maximo opens the other door in the room.
"This is the washroom. Start the water a long while before a bath and let it drain.
It takes a great deal of time to get warm.
You'll want to watch it because it grows cold again quickly.
Meals will be delivered to your door, and you may make use of anything in the closet. "
He leaves, and I search the room, finding a few dresses and sleep outfits in the closet.
I choose a blue shirt and matching pants and turn on the tub to wait for it to heat.
A cream bar of soap smells of mint and vanilla.
It's nicer than anything I've ever used.
When the water warms enough to tolerate, I climb in and scrub myself clean, using the bar in my hair as well.
The clothes are soft, and I don't even mind the hole in the left knee.
I squeak and jump back at the sight of Lazzus standing in my room. "You startled me. Were you watching me bathe?"
"No, but you might shut the door if you wish that not to happen by me or anyone else." He points to a small desk in the corner. "A notebook and writing utensil, so you may pass the time with writing or drawing."
"Not that it seems I will have much time here. The king expects me to leave in the morning. How will I have time to find any of the objects you said I need? Are they easy to find?"
"No, you will need time, and that is something I will take care of by morning." He nods toward the small window.
Snow falls to the ground in a rush, and it's difficult to make out even the trees through the wintry vortex.
"You're snowing us in?"
"Yes, it will not be lifted for some time. Enjoy getting to know the king."
I cough as I nearly gag. "The objects will only be my focus, but since you're here. You could finish the story, so I get a second chance at guessing."
"Only a little for tonight."
I grab the notebook and inky feather to climb into bed with. "I'll take notes this time."
A claw peeks out from his robe as he flicks it, and a heavy white fur blanket plops over me. "To keep you warm against the king's idiocy."
"Thank you. Now story." I realize then how anxious I am to know what happened to Evelia after he stole her from their wedding, and I settle in as everything fades into a room in a different castle.