Page 62 of Shadow Throne King

“Yes.” Inor shook his head violently and raised a hand as though batting away an irritating insect. He slouched back into his throne, still lit from behind. Somehow, he looked smaller in it. “I—you—I have your brother.”

He repeated the last, as though it was the one thing he could hold on to, the one truth he knew for certain.

Frowning at him, I looked around again, wishing I could approach and see any evidence of the insects sent to the Mountainside Palace.

“We are done,” Tallu said, his voice echoing in the room despite the fact that he had not shouted. Compared to King Inor’s disintegration in front of our eyes, it was clear who the ruler was. “By law of hospitality, we are grateful for your generosity and take our leave.”

The shadows shifted again, and Asahi pushed in front of me, Sagam darting in front of Tallu just as General Maki walked out from behind King Inor’s throne. His face glowed, and he smiled jovially.

“Will you, Emperor Tallu?” Maki laughed, the sound setting his body into jerky motion. He placed his hand on his stomach,the stump of his other hanging loosely at his side. “I would not recommend leaving just now.”

I squinted at the throne again, trying to see where Maki had come from. It glowed translucently, but was that just an optical illusion? Had he been hiding behind it?

Or had some unseen stone mage raised him from the floor beneath?

Seated, the Shadow King sat tall, his face turning placid. He raised a hand, gesturing to General Maki. “I believe you know General Maki? He has recently joined the Badger Guild, and we have found him very useful.”

“Traitor,” Sagam hissed. He moved forward but kept his hands free of weapons.

“The laws of hospitality still apply,” Maki said contemptuously. His smile turned to a sneer before he shook his head. “No matter what the old man has told you, Saxu has no idea what he will face if he brings his forces against ours.”

“It was not very long ago that you considered the Imperium’s forces ‘ours,’” Tallu said mildly. “How quickly your alliance changes. It is almost as though you are untrustworthy.”

Maki maintained his smile, shaking his head. “You mock me and the Shadow King, but it is only because you have no idea what Krustau is now capable of.”

“Is it the blasphemous act of raising men from the dead?” Tallu said disdainfully.

The corners of Maki’s eyes tightened, but his lips maintained their curve upward even as they thinned.

“We saw what you were doing. We saw the corpses you left behind at the Lakeshore Palace.” I shook my head. “Wires in their ears, going straight into their brains? That is a far cry from raising them from the dead. None of them appeared living. None of them appeared able to move.”

“That was only the beginning. They were failures. I am a scientist. And a failure is only one step upon the path to success.” Maki turned, bowing respectfully to King Inor, his fingers forming a triangle. “And now I have found a true path to success, a true way to make my vision real.”

I frowned at the king, thinking again of the voices in the dark. Had Inor’s astounding abilities—his magic beyond anything I had ever heard—allowed him to control the insect creatures? Was he the one holding their reins?

“Maki.” Tallu shook his head, his lips pulled to the side. “I pity you. You would cleave to the strongest power you can find. Have all the other generals forsaken you so you waste yourself here?”

Tallu’s words were provoking, and I recognized them as something I would say when trying to get more information. Asahi and Sagam still stood tense in front of us, a human shield for whatever was coming next.

“Youpityme?” Maki laughed, his voice turning ugly. “You pity me? I am about to oversee the end of the Imperium. With these weapons—with these creatures?—”

Maki froze, his mouth open, his eyes wide and unmoving. His neck twitched, cracking uncomfortably. He closed his mouth, blinking rapidly.

“You will see. It is foolish to try and explain when you will not be escaping here without seeing the true power of Krustau.” When he pulled his lips back from his teeth, there were too many of them, too sharp for a human. “Yes, you will see.”

The room began to rattle and hum, the rocks above us sending sparkles of rainbow colors across the room. One by one, the lights went out, starting in the back of the room and flickering forward, snuffed out. Soon, we would be left in darkness.

Sagam put his hand backward, his fingers flicking in a motion I didn’t understand. Tallu grabbed my hand tightly and backed up, sliding his foot along the ground before putting his weight on it. Frozen in place, Asahi stood with his body unmoving, but I could hear whispers coming from behind his mask.

“Asahi,” Sagam hissed. “What are you saying?”

Finally, finally, someone could hear what I did, but Asahi shook his head sharply, turning to look at us, the whites of his eyes consuming his pupils. He took several steps back, guarding me, as we barely outpaced the coming darkness.

The lights nearest the throne vanished into it. King Inor and General Maki evaporated into shadows. When we got to the room’s entrance, what then?

Only a stone mage had been able to open the doors. They were heavy, too heavy for us alone.

We were getting close, and I could hear footsteps in the dark. The normal sound of a man’s feet coming toward us, but also the clicks of a dozen sharp, pointed talons on stone floor. Tallu’s hand was tight on mine.