Champion by Jon Kiln Page A

the Emperor’s bedchamber.
    Sure enough, as Ganry had hoped, the Emperor was in his bed. He did not look well, just a mere shadow of his former self. His face, a face that Ganry remembered as ruddy and kind, was a pallid gray with sunken features, not unlike the creatures they had seen earlier. Thankfully there was still some life left in the Emperor’s body. His thick red locks that had been his most striking feature were now gone. He was almost completely bald, with only a few wisps of white hair.
    Ganry was just about to move the mirror to one side when the door to the bedroom opened and in came a woman. She was dressed in a silver gown and appeared to shimmer as she moved. Ganry was not all that certain that it was entirely due to the clothing. There was something strange about her. She almost looked unsubstantial, her skin shimmering, just like her clothes.
    She moved to the side of the Emperor’s bed and bent down to speak quietly in his ear. Her voice was soft, yet husky and deep, carrying easily to where they hid in the passage.
    “Emperor Fontleroy, if you wish for things to return to normal, then you must tell me where I can find your son. He needs to be taken to a place of safety.”
    It looked for a moment that the Emperor was incapable of answering, but as he glanced at the mirror a thin smile came to his lips, and he finally found his voice.
    “You cannot have my Kingdom, witch, and you will never have my son. I foresee that a warrior will smite you and your General down, saving my son and my people from your witchcraft.” All the while he spoke, his eyes never left the mirror.
    There was no way anyone could see them. Ganry had hidden in this wall many times and never been discovered, but the Emperor definitely seemed to sense his presence.
    “Pah!” the silver witch woman cried out. “You are a fool. No one is coming to save you and we already have your Kingdom. It is only a matter of time before we have your offspring too.”
    Ganry made a hand gesture to Artas, indicating it was time to move out of the space and make their way back. He hated to leave the Emperor like this, but clearly, at least for now, he was worth more to them alive than dead. He would need to speak with Ludas and see how many he could rally to their cause. Ludas had agreed to muster some sympathetic supporters to their cause while Ganry was away. Maybe between them, they could come up with a plan to help the Emperor and find out where his son was.
    It took the rest of the evening and most of the early hours of the morning to escape the palace. They made their way through the barracks and back onto the merchant level. Before long, they were back in Ludas’s residence.
    His uncle was pleased to see them. He had expected them back sooner and had started to worry.
    “Thank the maker you are still alive. I feared you had been captured,” he said as he greeted them in the kitchen.
    Ganry told him of what they had discovered, but Ludas stopped him.
    “I have a few people who are loyal to the Emperor. Speak to them of what you have seen.”
    Ganry, Artas and Daphne followed Ludas, who led them down into one of his huge wine cellars beneath the house. There were a great number of people gathered, and Ganry wasted no time in giving them the grave news of what they had seen in the palace. There was an angry murmur in the room when he had finished speaking.
    “I knew those witches would be trouble for us one day,” a woman cried out.
    “We must save the Emperor,” a man shouted in response.
    “Everyone quieten down so we can make some headway.” Ludas stood forward to calm the group. He knew they were all in a state of shock at this dire news.
    “Instead of complaining about the witches and the state of our Emperor, we need to come up with ideas. We don’t have a lot of time, we must plan this very day how we are to take our city back. Once we have the Emperor, we should be able to rally the armies to our cause. I can only suspect