章節 68: Chapter 68 Father Steven
The topmost floor of the tower had held boxes and furniture in storage. The next floor down was broken into three rooms, with a landing for where the stairs were. Judging the doors, the occupants of these rooms were not voluntarily staying. The big padlocks hung with a menace that piqued her interest, so Aella went over to peek into them through the small windows. With her height, she didn't have any problems seeing inside.
The first room was empty, but the second was not. A young boy sat on the bed, staring at his hands. Moving to the third room, Aella saw another boy, about the same age. This one was sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his face buried in them.
Alfred looked at her with deep sadness and shook his head, motioning for her to follow them down the stairs. Aella looked back at the boys, thinking about how she had sat in rooms like that, waiting for the guards to come get her for the next challenge or fight. Shaking her head, she turned away and followed them down the stairs. These boys were damaged, but not lost yet. She would come get them later.
The next landing was very small, with an ornate door leading into the room beyond. Judging by the guards on the floor, this was their destination. Alfred motioned for her to take them, as she had before, so she did, teleporting the bodies to the snakes, throwing a smile as they lit up in delight, and then jumped back. Everyone was ready.
Kicking the door open, Alfred led by jumping inside and cutting the inner guards down, before flashing across the room to the balcony where the man in the red robe still sat, smoking his pipe. Father Steven never even bothered to stand up, as they poured into the room, taking everything in with a glance.
The noises Aella had heard, from the ledge outside, where the noises a young boy makes when he is tied and gagged on a bed. Fury took hold of her, as she saw the boy struggling still, against the tools that had obviously been used on his fair skin. Blood soaked the mattress.
There was no chance for him to fight back. She cut the ropes, and pulled the gag from his mouth.
Fear and confusion covered his face, as he looked around at his rescuers, then he saw the Father, and he froze.
Aella took her black knife, and held it out to the boy. The knife didn't struggle, knowing she wasn't giving it away permanently.
"Cut him," she said, nodding at the Father. "Make him feel the pain you have."
"What?" exclaimed Josephine, reaching to grab the knife, but the boy snatched it first.
"Aella?" asked Alfred. "Are you sure…"
"This is the worst kind of monster. If the boy is to have any sanity after this kind of treatment, he needs to realize he has a choice."
They watched as the boy limped towards the Father, who was no longer looking as smug as he had when they first arrived. His pipe dangled from his fingers, forgotten as he watched the boy approach.
"What do you intend to do with that?" he asked, the condescending tone dripping from his lips, as Father Steven got control of himself, setting the pipe down on the table, as if he didn't have to worry about anything.
Alfred and Josephine's faces stiffened, and then hardened in anger.
The boy had paused when the man spoke, then glanced at the dagger in his hand. Taking a breath, he straightened up and glared at the man.
"You have hurt me enough. Never again!" Taking the knife, he stabbed the man in the crotch, the dagger getting longer all on itself, and the smug look disappeared from the man's face.
Before he could reach out to grab the boy, Alfred was there, cutting both his arms off, and jumping back with the boy before the blood began to spray everywhere. Josephine controlled the blood, like water, and prevented it from spraying down below, and alerting the guards.
The scream was stopped by Aella, as she grabbed his throat and picked him up.
"You will tell us where Josephine's daughter is, or I will skin you alive, human man of the church," she growled, showing him her demonic fangs.
The panic and fear on his face was satisfying to her, so she threw him at the already blood-soaked bed and held up the black dagger that had returned to her.
"She…she was taken to the northeast tower! She's there! I swear!" struggled the man, gasping and coughing from his damaged throat.
"Aella, just kill him," said Curt with a frown, looking at the pitiful sight of the man squirming on the bed.
"Are you sure he doesn't have other information we might need?" she asked, propping one leg up on the edge of the bed and leaning on her knee.
"Honestly, it would be best if he disappeared, like the guards," said Alfred, thoughtfully.
Aella grinned at the man, as his eyes widened in even more panic. She intentionally made her grin be as evil as she could muster, having seen enough of them. It kind of made her cheeks hurt, honestly.
Grabbing his foot, as he tried to jerk it away from her, she teleported to the snakes. They looked up from the pile of gear they had taken from the others she had brought them.
"This one still lives!" hissed Frank, blood dripping from his mouth as he smiled in glee.
"Take your time on this one. He deserves to feel every bite you take out of him," she said, giving the man a kick. He grunted in pain. The bloody stumps where his arms had been cut off, were healed enough by Josephine's water, that they barely leaked anymore.
"Will there be more? We love to eat!" hissed Louie.
"Of course! What better way to get rid of my enemies?" she said with a laugh.
"Long live the Demon King!" they both cheered as the realization flashed on the man's face and he started screaming.
Aella returned to the others long enough to take the guard bodies as well, then she turned to the boy.
"I can take you and the other two to a safe place, away from the church. Would you like that?"
"Will you feed us?" he asked, his throat obviously sore from the raspy tone.
"As much as you want," she promised, nodding.
"The boys are from the fire family. They don't have a prayer of ever being the hero, so they were given to Father Steven," said Curt, looking around the room.
"He has several interesting documents here, that I would like to read through," said Alfred, rummaging through some papers.
"I wish we could save all the other kids that are being shepherded around like animals," sighed Josephine, looking out the window at the lit field below.
"I need to go check in with my people, back at the Palace. Where do you guys want me to take you?" Aella asked.
"Take the three boys, first, if you really do have a safe place to take them. How long will it take for you to check in with your people?" asked Alfred.
"The problem I have, is that I'm pretty sure I have spies in my court. When I bring these boys to my regents to take care of, those spies will alert the church that we have taken out Father Steven."
"Then we shall have to improvise," said Curt, looking around. "What if one of these boys became the new Fire Hero, but couldn't handle the heat? We could set the tower on fire, after we're done, and leave."
"Like what happened 30 years ago?" asked Alfred, looking at the boy, then nodding. "I think that would work. Take the boys, and I should have everything gathered up for the fire by the time you get back."
"Come on, we're going to get your friends," said Aella, motioning for the boy to follow her. She didn't offer to take his hand, because she knew that he was traumatized from touch. He followed her hesitantly, glancing back at the others who smiled encouragingly at him. As they went up the stairs, he hesitated near the next floor.
"Are you a demon?" he asked softly.
"What makes you ask that?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you're really tall, and you called the Father a human. I think only a demon would say that."
She nodded thoughtfully, and finished climbing the stairs to stand in front of the locked doors. Taking out her sword, she easily cut the huge padlocks away and pushed the two doors open.
"Get your two friends, and I'll tell you," she said, motioning for him to go into the rooms. It would be easier for him, knowing what they'd gone through, to convince the two to come to her. They were small enough; she could probably teleport all three at the same time. It would be interesting to see the looks on the Advisors faces when she arrived.
As the three boys stood before her hesitantly, she hunched down to not seem so tall. "I'm going to take the three of you to a safe place, far from the church, but I need to explain something to you first."
They all nodded, one glancing at the stairs in fear.
"Are you scared of the guards returning?" she asked him.
He nodded.
"Then let's hurry," she said with a small smile. "I'm not a full demon, as I still have the same color skin as my mother. She was human."
"Then she must be dead!" said the boy she had brought up from the Father's room. His eyes went wide as he looked at her.
"Yes, she is. I never knew her to be sad at her death."
"Is your dad still alive?" asked another boy softly.
"Yes, he is a general in the demon army."
"What are you?" asked the other boy.
"I am the king," she whispered, glancing around to let them know it was a secret. Their little eyes widened so much, she was afraid their eyes would pop out. "But don't worry, I'm friends with the Hero of Light. He's downstairs, taking care of some things, while I take you guys somewhere safe. Do you want to go with me? I can leave you here, if you want?"
"Where are you taking us?" asked the first.
"To my palace. I have people I trust there, to keep you safe, but they are all demons. They have never seen humans before."
"Do you think we might scare them?" asked one of the boys.
"Maybe, but I don't want you to be scared of them. They can be kinda scary because of how big they are."
"Are they even bigger than you?"
"Yes, much bigger. And Frederick has wings."
"Can he fly with them?"
"I believe so," she said with a smile, remembering her fight with him in the arena.
"You must really like him, to smile when thinking about him," said one of the boys.
"He is one of my regents. I have two. They take care of things while I travel around doing things."
With the three more comfortable, and aware of what to expect, she grabbed them all up in a bear hug and teleported. Setting them down in the center of the throne room, everyone froze at the sight of the three human boys. She looked around smugly, taking note of the various looks that flashed over each person's face. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to figure out who was a spy after all.
創作者的想法 
Sdrawkcab
Sdrawkcab Who do you think are the spies? The Advisors are:
Varnin - Military
Jirga - Food
Xathtak - Sanitation
Ernun - Law
Rannaun - Water
Orolon - Random
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