Asgoleth the Warrior - By Bill Kirkwood Page 0,47

each one of them was worried about the reports that had been received from their homeland. The undermanned garrisons which had been left behind in Akon were coming under ever more daring attack by warriors of the lands that bordered Akon.

In the south lay the mysterious, unexplored lands of the Black Kingdoms’. Their bloodthirsty warriors had long been eager to surge across the Akonite border to loot and burn and kill and now that the bulk of the Akonite army was engaged in Torr, they were becoming more savage in their attacks. It could only be a matter of time before they succeeded in breaking through the weakened Akonite defences with dreadful consequences.

To the east and west too lay lands whose warriors bore no love for the Akonites. Under the combined assaults of so many enemies Akon must eventually fall. Each of the Akonite generals present in the throne room knew this to be true but not one of them spoke up to oppose their tyrant king. They feared that to do so would be to invite a hideous death at the hands of Demos’ sorcery and none were willing to risk that.

Demos sneered at them in open contempt and waved a hand in dismissal. One by one, carefully avoiding each other’s eyes, they turned to go to their appointed tasks.

Suddenly an old man, clad in the robes of a royal chancellor, stepped forward and spoke in a voice that cracked with age and fear,

‘Lord King, I beg you to reconsider your commands.’

A deathly silence filled the throne room as all eyes turned towards the old man. His name was Krytos and he had grown old in service to the Akonite throne. He had watched with growing dismay as Demos had taken over and now at last, he had found the courage to speak out against this cruel, arrogant, upstart who seemed intent on bringing ruin and destruction to Akon.

His eyes met those of Demos and in his masters eyes he saw a barely suppressed fury. He blanched under that diabolical gaze and instantly regretted his decision to speak out but it was too late to back out now. Demos raised an enquiring, mocking eyebrow, inviting him to speak. Krytos straightened his shoulders and said,

‘My lord, I beg you to be cautious. Our forces, both here and in Akon are thinly stretched and hard pressed by enemies. Unless we reinforce our borders Akon will be invaded by our foes. If that happens our lines of supply will be cut off and our army here in Torr will be completely surrounded and must eventually be destroyed. Our first loyalty must be to our homeland and our people. Please my lord, do not go on with your plans of conquest until our land is safe behind us.’

Slowly Demos rose to his feet and stood poised, like a venomous serpent about to strike. His eyes burned with rage and his voice was a hiss of fury.

‘You dare to question my orders fool? You dare?’

Krytos, shaking with terror now, fell to his knees and opened his mouth to speak but before he could do so demos snarled,

‘Hear me now, all of you and heed well my words. This fool dares to tell you where your loyalty lies. Know then that your loyalty does not lie with Akon but with me. I am your master and I hold the power of life and death over all of you. You belong to me and to nothing and no one else. The army will be made ready to march. We will invade Drask. Any who object to this may speak now.’

Only a terrified silence greeted his words and everyone there fell to their knees before him. He glared at his cowering subjects and satisfied that his mastery of them was complete he turned his attention back to the unfortunate Krytos.

‘Have you anything else to say, fool?’

Krytos, began to plead for his life in a quavering voice.

‘Dread lord forgive me I beg you, I meant no disrespect. I feared only for my country and her people. My only wish is to serve you to the best of my humble ability. My life, my heart, belongs to you.’

He looked up and saw that he would receive no mercy. Demos was grinning down at him and that dreadful ring upon his long thin finger started to pulse. Menace filled the throne room with a palpable aura that chilled the hearts of those who knelt upon the floor in fear.

Demos continued