Bab 16: The Council of Kings

The meeting began exactly two hours after midnight, beside the crecent-shaped lake in the middle of the island.

A long table had been lined up on a hill overlooking the glowing surface. Six chairs were set around the table, with five kings seated already. Behind the Kings stood one of their attendants. Sol placed his hand on Helios' shoulder reassuringly, doing his best to calm him down.

Helios had his eyes firmly fixed on Averys, his eyes burning with hatred. When he had first seen the white-haired traitor, Helios had literally burst into flames, but Yam had restrained him. Now, the Dragon King sat beside Helios, watching him to make sure he didn't do anything extreme.

"Welcome brothers," Averys grinned, spreading his arms out wide. "Yet another council of kings. Might you inform us of your reason for summoning us here, Helios?"

Helios shot him a dirty look but kept his cool. "Before I go into that matter, I would like us to take a moment for Raijin. He was one of us, and his death is truly a pity. Whoever killed him will receive their dues eventually." The statement was directed at Averys, who only smiled in response.

"Yes," Averys agreed. "His killer will die a horrible death."

Helios was about to make a disgusted comment when Yam stepped in. "Silence for the dead, Crow."

Putting his hand up in surrender, Averys remained silent. After a minute passed, Helios continued talking.

"I gathered you all here to address a discovery Averys here tried to keep from us."

"And what would that be?" Yam asked, leaning forward.

"Just the discovery of a new realm," Averys interrupted. "It's really nothing to worry about. I was going to inform everyone sooner or later."

"Before or after you butchered everyone on the other side?"

Averys rolled his eyes. "Please, Helios. As I said before, they attacked us first."

"Another realm?" Louis looked amused as he heard the news for the first time. "We always suspected there were other worlds. To hear that our theory was correct..."

"Sounds like good news to me," Typhon added, scratching his bald head.

"Good news that your friend here killed whoever came through." Helios was starting to feel enraged. "I'm sure he informed you of this. And you kept it a secret from the rest of us."

"That's a bold accusation, Phoenix," Typhon growled.

"Whoa, whoa, let's calm down, shall we?" Averys interceded. "We're all brothers here."

Helios shot to his feet, his fist bursting into flames immediately. "You are no brother of mine."

"Helios-" Yam warned, but Helios was sick and tired of looking at Averys' smug face.

"You lied to us. Then you killed Raijin so you could tip the balance of the council."

"I have done nothing of the sort," Averys said, infuriating Helios even more.

Helios took in a deep breath, drawing in his anger. Clenching his teeth, he put out the fire and sat down.

"Alright. Let's vote."

"You don't have an outburst like that and-" Typhon started, but Helios was done listening to them.

"It's simple. We vote. Either we leave the other realm be or we invade it like the Eeries did to us."

Averys looked confused. "Wouldn't it be better if we tried talking to them instead?"

"Clearly, that's not going to be possible without hostility. They killed your men, you killed theirs. Best course of action now would be to leave them be until we're ready."

Typhon and Averys shared a look, one that confirmed Helios' suspicions. His idea for a vote was to restrict Averys' actions, marking him as a target if he went behind their backs. They would definitely vote otherwise.

"So? What do you say?" Helios grinned.

"I think we shouldn't let such an opportunity pass us by. We should invade them," Averys said immediately. "Well, not invade per say, but I believe we can broker peace."

"I agree with him," Typhon said, crossing his arms.

Like a dog to its master, Helios thought.

"I vote otherwise," Yam said. "It'd be better if we exercised patience."

"And I agree with him," Helios added. "We're tied, so it seems."

"It's down to Louis," Averys shrugged.

Helios looked over at Louis, wondering why he was silent. He seemed to be calculating, muttering under his breath as he tried to think about what to do.

Helios frowned, turning to Yam immediately. If they knew anything about Louis, it was that he always knew the right thing to do. He would never waste a breath on a decision as simple as this.

"Louis?" Helios asked, a feeling of uneasiness building up in his chest. "What's your decision?"

Louis looked up, an apologetic look plastered all over his face. "I agree with Averys and Typhon," he muttered, looking away as he said the words.

Helios felt like he was stabbed in the heart all of a sudden. He suspected Louis would side with Averys but he didn't want to believe it.

"You what?" Helios burst into flames, incinerating the chair behind him at once. Sol stumbled back, surprised by the sudden outburst, while Yam stood up, readying himself in case Helios did anything stupid.

"You heard him, Phoenix," Typhon grunted, unrattled. "It's three to two. We'll proceed with Averys."

"Like you proceeded to kill Raijin, our own brother? Like you killed my men?" Helios snarled. Facing Louis, he felt the fire all over his body grow larger. "And you. I thought you were smarter than this."

Louis said nothing, doing his best to evade Helios' glare.

"Calm down, Helios," Yam warned. "Don't forget what we discussed."

"Goddamnit!" Helios roared, flames shooting up into the sky, illuminating the night sky.

Breathing slowly, he steadied his powers, easing the flames off. Turning sharply, he began walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Typhon demanded. "You accuse us with no apology and think you can just leave?"

"I have nothing more to say to you."

Typhon got to his feet and growled. "Apologize, Phoenix."

Helios sighed and turned back, a look of absolute resentment and anger distorting his face.

"There's no apology, warthog," he snapped. "I declare war on you three."

Yam looked alarmed. "Helios, war will tear us apart."

"They will pay," Helios replied, grabbing Sol and rocketing into the sky immediately.

He had done his best to keep his rage in check. Now, he'd either go down as the one who killed three Kings or the man that died fighting.

Yam would assist him. Helios felt confident in their ability to win, as long as they were together. So what was the feeling of impending doom that kept tormenting him?

War was upon Garnedal.