Dark Throne, The (8 page)

So much for dealing with revelations calmly and
rationally
.

The thought accompanied her next bout of
retches
.

Chapter
Four

Council Chambers, Haden,
Mearth

"The only way we'll allow you to take the
Dark Throne is on a temporary basis.
Until a more deserving heir can be found to take your
stead.”

Calder scowled at the head
councilor. He hoped that his hatred wasn't entirely
visible, but truthfully, Merrick always had been and always would
be a supercilious bastard. Because of this and Merrick's royal
zealotry, Calder knew he had to tread carefully. For two
reasons.

One, Merrick couldn't suspect that he was the next man on
Calder's eventual hit list
.
And two, the King's death was fresh in most of the councilor’s
minds, suspicion was bound to be directed his way as the next
person to take the throne- be it on a temporary or a permanent
basis.

That being said, there was no way on Mearth that he was
relinquishing his rightful place on the
Dark Throne.

The last great King of Haden had been his
father
. While his mother's
blood might hold the taint of a commoner, his

father more than made up for that
. Why should a minor royal perch his arse upon the
Dark Throne, when they had he, Calder, son of Bruce and
half-brother to Charek.

Charek certainly hadn't continued the line in a very
honorable fashion. Producing a freak
of a son -a throwback, with wings of all things.- and then causing
the slaughter of millions of his people.

His blood might not be wholly royal, but he was more
deserving of the
Dark Throne
than his atavistic nephew.

"A more deserving
heir? Are you insane? The King ignited a dozen wars in a
vain attempt to procure another, viable heir. Where in inferno do
you think you're going to find one? I'm all you've got and the
council should start treating me with respect.”

"Until Fade returns, you are all the council
has
,” Merrick quickly
tempered.

"Fade will never return
.” As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Calder regretted
them. He could actually see Merrick's ears prick up and Calder knew
he was about to be on the receiving end of a line of questions he
didn't want to answer.

"How do you know that
?
We've questioned thousands of men. Hundreds of thousands of men.
Not a one of them knows where Fade disappeared to and the hoonans
haven't leapt upon the bait and declared that they have him in
their keep. We would have received a huge ransom demand, were that
the case. So, how can you state with such fire and certainty that
Fade won't return?"

"I was the Court shaman, Merrick
. There are many things that I'm privy to, things I
can not divulge and never shall.”

"If it concerns the true
heir to the throne, Calder, then you are required by law to
share this information.”

"He isn't the true
heir, Merrick. My brother's fight for a viable heir does
need to be discussed.”

"Just because he has wings on his back, does not mean he is
not suitable for the throne
.”

Merrick's argument caused Calder to jump up and bash his
fists against the table
. All
five of the councilors jolted backwards in surprise. The council
table was triangular in shape. He, Merrick and the vice councilor,
Beren, sat at the three points and the remaining three men sat in
between them. The room was bland, no decoration save the chair
Calder sat upon, a smaller version of the Dark Throne, which
glistened with jet and sparkled with diamonds.

When he'd first taken his seat upon the chair, his blood
had literally fizzled through his veins
.

This was his proper place
.

His rightful place
.

And no upstart
councilor was going to take this from him.

"Of course, it means that
. Fade was a throwback. He had no place on this throne and
we all know that.”

"We know no such thing
. There is nothing in royal law that states a King cannot
bear wings upon his back. King Charek was incorrect in his
supposition that Fade was not deserving of his future place upon
the throne. As you are not the rightful heir and are aware of
Fade's location, then I have no choice but to act.”

"What do you mean, Merrick
? Act? How?"

"Firstly, you will be placed in the King's rooms, but you
are under house arrest
. You
will act as King in only a superficial manner until Fade returns.
The council will deal with any legalities and any important issues
until the rightful heir is found.”

Calder's chest began to burn
. Fury ravaged him, but it was no use. The council had to
declare him King before the kingdom's highest born subjects-
without that declaration, he was nothing more than a pretender to
the throne.

His back teeth ground down so fiercely that pain arrowed
along the length of his jaw
.
"You have no right to do this,” he retorted, even though he knew
his words were false.

Merrick merely smiled, a smug smile which made Calder want
to punch him
. "You are aware
that without the Council's acceptance, no new King can be declared.
Enjoy your house arrest. . . . Either that or enable us to locate
the true heir to the throne.”

"I can't do that
.”

"Of course, you can
.
Don't be foolish. At least tell us where you saw him, in a
vision?"

Calder glared at him
.
"It goes against my sacred bond to the shaman
brotherhood.”

"What matters more
?
Your shaman brotherhood? Or your desire to sit upon the throne,
pretender?"

Calder slowly sank back down from the standing position
he'd taken earlier
.

For a moment, he simply sat there
. The uncarved and knobbed stones and gems dug into
his spine and while it ought to have been the most uncomfortable
seat Calder could ever have perched his arse upon, it was the most
glorious. And worth fighting for.

Ought he to lie
? Or
should he utter the truth?

For a moment, he weighed his options and settled upon the
truth, for even with the truth, there was little Merrick could
do
.

"They are frequently of little use to the shaman, as such,
the layman is often unaware of the crystal orbs'
existence
. Are they in your
ken, Merrick?"

"Yes
. I'm aware of
them. They're supposed to display visions, are they
not?"

Calder couldn't help but smile at the facile
answer
. "They are so much more
than that. They show visions of other dimensions.”

"Other dimensions?" Beren squawked
.

"You lie, Calder
.”
Merrick spat out and sank back into his seat with a
glare.

"I do not lie, Merrick
.” Eyes flashing, Calder bashed his fist upon the table's
surface once more. "I speak the truth. The crystal orbs show
visions of other dimensions when one of our own has visited
them.”

"Are you trying to tell me that Fade, the rightful
heir to the Dark Throne, is in
another dimension?" Merrick stood, his movement so abrupt that his
chair jerked backwards, teetered for a moment on its tipping point
and then crashed into the floor.

"That is what I'm trying to tell you, yes,
Merrick
.” Calder took pleasure
in Merrick's disconcertion.

When Charek had died, the entire castle had been thrown
into disarray
. No one had
suspected that Calder had added a potion to Charek's evening tipple
of Bormonsey ferment. The drink was a revolting mixture of berries,
fermented to produce an alcohol so strong that it knocked most men
out. Its flavor was strong enough to hide even the most noxious of
poisons, something Calder had taken great pleasure in adding to the
King's drink. Hubbin's dew. A perfect toxin as it simulated the
symptoms of an attack of the heart and left no residue within the
body for any pesky healer to find. . . . And where the king was
concerned, ten healers were brought in to determine and decide upon
the cause of death.

Almost that very night, when Calder had been celebrating
his brother's death, he'd been removing all traces of Hubbin's dew
from his quarters and had noticed some action within the usually
transparent crystal orbs
. Fade
had entered another realm and was being attacked by a woman wearing
very little. A strange covering over her quim and a thin slip over
her torso and tits. The room itself had been peculiar too, but
then, it would be. Parallel dimensions were similar in certain
ways, then completely diverse in others.

It was nigh on impossible to return to one's own dimension
after having travelled to another, as such, Fade was as good as
dead
. But since Charek's
death, nothing had been as easy as he'd first imagined. At the
time, he'd thought that Fade was in no way a contender for the
throne- those wings of his made him detested by almost every single
member of the kingdom. Even so, a portion of Hubbin's dew had been
winging its way to him, until Calder had seen that
vision.

Dammit all, it would have been better if he had murdered
Fade
. Now, they would simply
wait for the man's return, because he still existed. And Calder
would not be presented with the throne, he would merely sit upon it
and act as for that bastard throwback.

Glumness assailed him
.
A life's work was in the drains and the only way he could think of
changing that was to murder Merrick and blackmail the rest of the
council. Something that was possible, but not for a good while yet.
If another prominent member of the upper echelons were to die of an
attack of the heart, then perhaps questions would arise. It was an
innocuous method of death, the cause for many a person to die, but
still.. suspicions could not arise. Merrick had only just inherited
this council seat. His father had died two years ago, but even
before that, he'd been nosing about the castle. Always asking
questions and seeking answers. For a man of forty-three to die of
an attack of the heart. . . . it was nigh on unheard of. He was a
man in his prime, only just risen to adulthood.
Thinking of Merrick's age prodded a reminder out of Calder. . . .
he and Fade were contemporaries. Obviously, they were friends and
Merrick was protecting his chum.

God, there was no hope at all, now
.

Merrick would strangle and stretch each and every rule
until he could shape them into his own set
.

"Well, Fade still lives
. You will no longer live under house arrest, but you will
not travel out of this castle without the full attendance of the
council. You will still remain as acting leader, but all decisions
will be made and enforced by the council. What say you,
Calder?"

There was another smug smile on the head
councilor’s face. Calder would have
loved to cast a spell on the bastard. Chop his ear points down into
stubs, have black and blue spots dot all about his face. . . . but
if he were to do that, then it would be quite evidently a shaman's
work and one with a grudge against Merrick. Only one shaman would
be under suspicion. Calder.

Mearth be damned
.

"I have little choice but to agree to your terms,
Merrick
. But be aware of this,
you will wait a long time for your friend to return. It is unheard
of for travelers to other dimensions to return to their
homes.”

Merrick nodded slowly, his eyes narrowed in a study of
Calder and his words
. "I would
imagine that to be the case. We shall review the situation in a
year's time. Until then, council is convened until the next
session.”

Calder stood, the remaining five men also took to
t
heir feet and the councilors
bowed as he walked from the head of the table and towards a door
which magically opened.

T
heir supplication
thrilled him and he could only hope that next year, the situation
would remain the same. That way, no one would have to die and
Calder would be King.

It wasn't that he minded having blood on his
hands
. It was the consequences
he feared. And not those of the human variety. He did not even
think of the dungeons. He dreaded the consequences Mother Mearth
would lay at his door.

She did not take kindly to one of her own being taken and
by a shaman- an Elven who was in direct contact with
her
.

Any more deaths and it would be Calder who
suffered
.