know how to get you there. What I am suggesting is a simple exchange,” he offered with a flick of his hand.
“Exchange?” I said wanting things clarifying.
“It is simple, for I will have your bodyguards escorted to the Dark Fae realm, and from there they can use the portal that can access that particular part of Hell’s realm in which you speak.”
“And you know this for sure, do you?” Trice bit out again, now leaning forward with his hands on his knees.
“I do, for it is the very same one that my brother used when he was banished from this place,” King Auberon admitted.
“Wait a second, so your brother was banished to Lucius' Kingdom?” I asked, now thinking that this may not be as dire as I feared as it meant that his brother might not be one of Lucius' captives at all… big phew moment for me there.
“My brother is under the protection of your King, this much I know, and now the time has come that I want him back. Now, for this to happen I need leverage and you, unfortunately my dear, will do nicely.”
“Figures,” I muttered making Trice give me a look that said it all… pain in his ass once again.
“So, I propose that your protectors get escorted to this portal, so that they may announce to your King of my intentions and be told that if he wants you back, then he must send my brother in exchange, for this is the only way that you will return to him.” I swallowed hard once he had finished, knowing that this was pretty much the bargain in a nutshell. However, unsurprisingly there was one member of our group that was not happy with this arrangement.
“The hell we wull, I am nay leaving th' lass 'ere alone!”
“Trice… please, we can’t…” I started to say when the King conceded quickly,
“Very well, that seems reasonable enough to me, after all, there are three of you,” the King announced making Trice visibly relax for a moment, that was before the King added,
“He will stay and no one else.” This was directed at Vern, making his eyes widen in surprise.
“Why th' bugger wid ye pick him!” Trice argued.
“Now, I say, brother, that was rather uncalled for wouldn't you agree?” Vern said making me try and hold in a giggle at his posh outrage. The King’s lips twitched as a grin also played there and in that moment it was a bit like watching a cat playing with a mouse. Especially when he said,
“Well, he is after all the polite one and will fit in nicely within my Kingdom… besides, he is trustworthy is he not, for he is your brother?” At this you could see Trice gritting his teeth before he ground out the word as if it had been chewed and spat on the floor,
“Fine!” At this the King clapped his hands together in his victory,
“Excellent.” It was in this moment that I definitely refrained from comparing him to Mr Burns from The Simpsons, as not only was it quite insulting but he wouldn't understand the reference either, so what was the point.
Now after this little detail was out of the way, there was only one thing left to discover before the two McBain brothers were to leave the Kingdom and onward to a journey back to their own King. A King who I knew Trice loathed even more than this one.
“We wull be needing th' name o' this brother o' yours?” Trice asked in his usual brutish way. But this was when the surprises just kept on coming from King Auberon, as he told us…
“My brother is Carn’reau…”
“King of the Dark Fae Realm.”
12
A Devil of a Reason
Shortly after this, we found ourselves back in the throne room and near the doors at the end. It was time for our goodbyes. The terms had all been settled as Gryph and Trice were to travel to the Dark Fae Realm. A place I’d just discovered was to be ruled by none other than Carn’reau himself.
The plan was for the brothers to bring him back and in return they would get me… or at least, Lucius would. And in my heart, this plan meant not only my freedom from this place, but also achieving what was and had been my main concern all this time. The fact that the moment the McBain brothers reached Lucius' kingdom, they could finally have a chance at stopping the execution of his brother. This above