The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (20 page)

The
men shouted their approval and quickly divided up into small groups to clean up
the bloody battlefield.
 
The troops would
spend the remainder of the day cleaning, and by the next morning, they would be
on the move to head off the high elves.
 
They would not leave anyone behind in the city because of the importance
of stopping the high elves before they reached the canyons.
 
It was also imperative to not leave any clues
behind that would reveal what had happened and where the entire host of Yukio’s
army was heading.
 
They needed secrecy
now more than ever to catch the high elves off guard.
 
The men were tense while they finished their
cleaning because of the task that lay ahead of them.
 
They did not fully understand how they had
been found out.
 
They would make the
remaining high elves pay for the deaths of their comrades.

Lord Dükker watched as a massive body of
high elves approach the city’s outer wall.
 
They were coming from Alanderas in quite a hurry, which led him to
believe that something had gone terribly wrong.
 
Queen Kishi had received a message from one of General Yukio’s
messengers about the suspicious nature of Kira’s death and the chairman of the high
council just days before this event.
 
The
funeral was not for a few more days, so the sorcerer thought that this
appearance of so many of their brethren was not a good sign.
 
He decided to make for the outer wall to
command the guards to give the people admittance into the city.
 
He felt sure that once the people were inside
that this mystery would be quickly solved.

As
he approached the front gate, the clear star-filled sky overhead clouded up
immediately with black clouds.
 
A loud
echoing boom was heard after a brilliant flash of lightning that lit the
darkened sky.
 
In an instant, everyone
and everything was soaked through as the heavens dumped heaps of rain on
them.
 
Furious winds howled down the
mountainside sending everyone not on guard running to their homes or
barracks.
 
Dükker had to get much closer
to the guards in order to be heard over the tumultuous noises of the sudden
storm.

“Captain,
you must allow those high elves in when they reach the gate.
 
I sense that something has gone horribly
wrong in Alanderas, which means that these people will need our assistance,” he
said with great intensity.

“Yes,
my lord,” replied the captain.
 
He turned
about and began to bellow out orders to his men.
 
The gate began to open, and archers scurried
up the stairs to the tops of the wall to give covering fire if need be to the
refugees.

Dükker
called a guard over to him that was not positioned on the wall.
 
He instructed him to go and tell Commander
Tenanden to prepare the defenses of the city right away.
 
Then he was to take a different message to
General Thrarias.
 
He was to inform the
general of what was happening and to prepare the army for departure at a
moment’s notice.
 
Finally the messenger
was to go to Queen Kishi, Chairman Rinelyn, and the druid Krysánal.
 
He was to inform them of what was happening at
the gate, what Commander Harley was doing, what General Jaali was preparing
for, and what they must do.
 
Lord Dükker
knew that an emergency session of the high council was needed in order to act
swiftly.

***

A
knock came on the door of the council chamber’s front door.
 
Kishi looked at Elgin and Nita with a look of
surprise.
 
Who knew that we were here?
 
She stood up slowly from the table where they had been discussing plans
for unifying the high elves by force.
 
She walked slowly to the door, bewildered at this sudden
disruption.
 
A ball of fire burst into
life in her hand as she prepared to defend against what lay behind the doors.
 
She used her other hand to open the door
magically.
 
At the sight of the soaked
messenger, she extinguished the fire in her hand and rushed to usher the
ragged-looking guard into the hall.
 
She
directed him to the fire that was lit in the middle of the council room.
 
The fire was burning bright blue and had
obviously been created by magic.

“Guard,
what are you doing here and why in the name of all that is holy were you out in
this storm?” asked the queen genuinely.
 
She was concerned for his welfare, something that she had not felt in
hundreds of years.
 
Ever since she became
queen, she had had these feelings and felt more complete and whole now that she
cared for others.
 
Her responsibilities
of leading a nation had helped her rise to the occasion and become a better
person.
 
Her people loved her all the
more because of it.
 
Still, there were
many who feared her powerful magic.

“Milady,
Lord Aellenas commanded me to deliver several messages at once to various
people.
 
First, I was instructed to find
Commander Harley and tell him to prepare to defend the city.
 
Second, I was told to find General Jaali and
inform him that he needed to prepare the entire army for departure.
 
They would need to be ready to leave at a
moment’s notice.
 
Finally, I was told to
come find you all here in the council chambers and relay what I had told the
others,” said the guard, shaking violently from the cold that he had been
exposed to outside.

“You
have done well in your errands.
 
Let me
help you warm up a bit,” said Kishi kindly.
 
She reached for his hands and took them in hers.
 
She sent warmth and some cleansing magic
through his hands into his body.
 
He
immediately stopped shaking and looked at the queen with gratitude in his eyes.

“Thank
you, my mistress,” he said breathlessly.
 
“You are too kind.”

“Nonsense,
it is the least I can do.
 
Now, continue
with the rest of your message,” she said soothingly.

“Yes…I
was instructed to tell all of you that a massive number of high elves are
heading toward our front gate and are coming from the direction of
Alanderas.
 
Lord Dükker is allowing them
entrance into the city.
 
He has is under
the impression that something has gone awry and that the people approaching are
actually refugees.
 
He also said that
this storm was magically created by a power far greater than any one person
could manage with their own strength.
 
He
wants you, Chairman Rinelyn, to call an emergency session of the high council.
 
Queen Kishi, he asks that you meet him at the
outer wall as soon as we are done here.
 
Finally, he asked that I accompany you and the druid Nita,” reported the
guard.

“You
have done well.
 
Elgin, call for the
council members to meet in the hall within the hour.
 
Prepare extra seats for our guests.
 
I believe that some of the council from
Alanderas will be joining us,” she instructed quickly.
 
“Nita, please join us as we go to the outer
wall to find out more about these strange events.
 
Your healing ability may be needed, I fear.”

“As
you command,” replied Nita dryly.
 
She
did not fully trust the queen because of her immense power and her willingness
to use it.
 
She believed that Kishi
wanted to unify the high elves for her own reasons and not for the greater
good.
 
She thought it laughable that this
sorceress cared for other people, let alone their welfare.
 
She had the feeling that something was amiss
and that she needed to keep an eye on things or they would quickly spiral out
of control.

Kishi
looked sideways at the druid but did not say anything more.
 
She knew that Nita did not approve of uniting
the high elves through force.
 
She also
knew that the only reason the healer left the woodland elves was because of
Kira.
 
With her sister gone, Nita did not
see why she should remain with Queen Kishi and her people.
 
There were other healers in Kishi’s army, but
none were as skilled as the shape-shifting druid.
 
They were going to need her, and it was up to
the queen to give her a reason to stay.
 
That would not prove to be an easy task.

The
threesome walked quietly toward the front gate as the rain pounded on them
relentlessly.
 
Kishi used her magic to
keep them dry as they walked, but she could not soften the blow of the enormous
raindrops as she needed to conserve some energy in order to be prepared for the
unknown.
 
No one spoke as they came
around the final bend and saw a massive body of people huddled together just
inside the gate.
 
It appeared that they
had arrived just in time.
 
Queen Kishi
looked around to try and find Lord Dükker, and she finally caught sight of him
listening intently to a small group of people by the main gate.
 
She ran up to him so that she could join in the
conversation right away.

“Excuse
me, Lord Dükker.
 
I apologize for being
late.
 
What has happened here?” queried
the queen.
 
She was shocked to see that
the small group of people was in fact members of the high council of
Alanderas.
 
What in the name of the gods are they doing here?
 
This cannot be good.

“Kishi,
I am glad you are here.
 
These good
people have been telling me a rather distressing tale that I think you should
hear,” he said in welcome.
 
“Please, tell
Queen Kishi what you have told me.”

“Of
course, we will begin with the treachery of General Yukio then,” one of the
council members stated.
 
He then related
their escape and the surprise attack by the army of General Yukio.
 
He also explained how Yukio blamed the
council for the murders of Chairman Merindiel and Queen Kira.
 
He then described how the general tried to
wipe out the entire council all at once.

“This
is outrageous!” exclaimed Kishi, now full of rage.
 
“My worst fears have been confirmed.
 
I knew that if Yukio tried something like this
that I would then know for sure that he was the one responsible for my sister’s
death.
 
Kana warned me of such treachery,
and she was right.
 
He must be stopped at
all costs!”

“You
are right of course.
 
I would suggest a
different strategy than what you are thinking,” said Dükker knowingly to
Kishi.
 
She is so easy to manipulate.

“What
did you have in mind?” asked Kishi earnestly.
 
Hopefully he has a plan already.

“I
believe the best way to put an end to this madness of General Yukio’s is to
destroy his homeland.
 
That way we will
outnumber him ten to one.
 
If we only
have to face Yukio’s small numbers, then we will be successful in ending his
bloody campaign and shield ourselves against retaliation,” explained Dükker
darkly.

“So,
you are suggesting that we lay siege to the Nairi Canyons and cut off any
reinforcements?
 
I like that plan every
much.
 
We must prepare right away.
 
We will leave some forces here to defend the
city while the remainder of the army will head straight for the canyons,” said
the queen decisively.

“I
will oversee the defense of the city and while our good General Jaali gets
retribution against those vile men.
 
”
said Lord Aellenas, full of rage.
 
He had
a wicked gleam in his eyes as he stood there, anger coursing through his body.

“I
share your feelings in this matter, Dükker.
 
I will deal with our guests while you shore up the defenses,” Kishi said
confidently.

As
they both sprang into action, the rain ceased and the clouds dispersed in an
unnatural fashion.
 
Kishi sensed a higher
power at work and knew immediately that it was Mistress Kana helping them
during their time of need.
 
She knew that
the elemental had been angered by Yukio’s lies and murders.
 
This gave her the courage and inspiration she
needed as she climbed the outer wall to make a speech to the huddled mass.
 
As she turned to face the refugees, she saw
that they were shivering from the penetrating rain and harsh winds that had
accosted them.
 
She smiled warmly as she
raised both of her hands, sending out a hot, dry wind that eased the peoples’
discomfort instantly.
 
Though this
gesture drained her energy considerably, it was worth it.
 
A cheer of gratitude sprang up immediately
and was quickly drowned out by a louder call for Kishi to be their queen.

“People
of Alanderas, I bid you welcome.
 
I know
that a tragedy has befallen you, and I would like to assist you.
 
Who will speak for you?” she asked
kindly.
 
Warmth was still radiating from
her as she spoke.
 
Immediately a small
group approached the wall and bowed themselves before the queen.

“Oh
powerful Queen Kishi Tiranidrol, we will speak for the masses,” one of the
council members said humbly.

“Please
stand, noble council members.
 
Why are
there only eight of you?
 
What happened
to the other three?” she queried.