Vashti Valant: Slave of the Goblin

Laya supposed Lathaniel must be there because he had served as First Witness against Akraz during the trial. She had also been called as a Witness, but later on, and she had not been permitted to attend the entire proceedings, as Hunter had.

Finally, the guards arrived with the prisoner. Laya hissed in an angry breath. Why had they felt it necessary to degrade him by making him walk through a room filled with his enemies blindfolded, bound and almost entirely naked?

At the same time, if their intent had been to make the Goblin General look weak and powerless, it had the opposite effect. He stood taller and broader than any elf male in the room. The magnificence of his physique put every other male in the room to shame. His muscles bunched and bulged in his biceps and thighs. He took confident steps although he could not see the path before him. The square jaw of his handsome face lifted with a pride uncowed.

The guards shoved Akraz to his knees when he reached the floor just in front of the podium.

“That won’t be necessary,” said the king. “You may let him stand. And remove his blindfold.”

The guards untied the cloth binding his eyes. Just as they did so, the last rays of sunset slanted to shadow in the windows outside. Akraz’s face seemed to melt and bloat. His snout elongated, then broadened. His teeth grew into fangs. His eyes bulged, then retreated under the shade of thick brows.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

“So it is true,” the King of the Elves said thoughtfully. “But which is his true face, and more importantly, which is his true nature? For what is beautiful is not always good, and what is good does not always look as we expect it to. Seeress? Can you tell us?”

The winged maid in the veil stepped forward. She had a breathy, harmonious voice, which nonetheless carried to all in the large room with ringing clarity.

“His true face is as fair as his heart. The Deep Fire created by the Dark God ensorcells him with a spell that makes him look like a monster. That spell is half broken, but only half. He must still remain the monster either by day or by night.”

“But how came the spell to be half broken to begin with? For you told us it was not by your magic, nor by any charm or potion.”

“I may not say,” the Seeress replied in a low voice. “Else, all chance for the rest of the spell to break would be lost.”

The king inclined his head. “In that case, I will not press you. His face, fair or foul, makes no difference to what I have to say. The council has rendered its judgment, on many matters. First—”

“No!” The cry wrenched from Laya’s throat without any forethought. She could simply bear no more. She shoved past the guards surrounding Akraz and entwined her arms around his body. He growled at her with his animalistic face.

“Laya, what are you doing?”

“Whatever they do to you, they must do to me as well,” she said. “I love you, Akraz. I will not be parted from you.”

“Don’t be a fool.” He tried to shake her off. He bowed to the king. “Your Majesty, I appeal directly to you. Do not let this young woman throw away her life.”

“My niece has seldom listened to my good advice, I fear,” the King of the Elves said. His eyes twinkled in amusement. “But I do not intend to kill you. I have a much worse fate in store for you. It will please me greatly to watch you suffer it, I think. Alas, before I deal with you, I must deal with a matter that pains me far more. You see, General Akraz, the Seeress has already shown us through a vision who truly betrayed Sylvindell. We know it was not you. Prince Lathaniel, step forward and kneel.”

Laya blinked. Lathaniel had been watching her with his blue eyes hooded by some dark emotion. Now he kneeled before the king.

“This is the last time I will ask you these questions, Lathaniel,” said the king. Laya had never seen the king so grave. “Did you give the dark wizard, Zathstragomal the Malicious, the location of our city and the magic words to breach our defenses?”

“Yes, Father,” said Lathaniel, his face cold as stone.

“Did you do this willingly, of your own free will, not under the threat of coercion?”

“Yes, Father,” said Lathaniel.

“Did you then lie about what you had done and try to cast the blame onto the goblin beside you, Akraz by name?”

Lathaniel shot Akraz a look laced with hate. “Yes, Father.”

“Call me father no more,” said the king. “For as surely as I lost my daughter, Taniya, I have now lost my son. I wish that you too had been raped and murdered by the goblins rather than learn that you dishonored yourself willingly. I will be the first in Sylvindell to pronounce the highest punishment upon you. You are now anathema. No one from Sylvindell will acknowledge you as kin or friend or ally. You must leave us forever. If you return, any elf who takes your life will not be held guilty of murder.”

The king stepped down from his throne and held out his hand. “Give me your bow and your arrows.”

Lathaniel dragged his bow and quiver from his back. He gave these over to the king. The king broke the bow across one knee. Then he returned to the other thrones and passed the quiver to each of the others seated on the podium. Each of the council members picked out one arrow and snapped it in two. The queen cradled her arrow the longest, weeping silently. At last she broke it and buried her face in her hands, racked with sobs.

“Go now, traitor,” ordered the king. “Never return to Sylvindell.”

Lathaniel hung his head. He turned around and walked back down the aisle, alone. As he went, each of the assembled elves took up an arrow, or just a stick, and broke it in two. Many tossed the pieces at him, so that he had to put his arms before his face to protect himself from the shower of sticks. Outside, the crowds lining the boulevards all the way to the edge of the citadel would do the same. Lathaniel would leave his home with the entire citizenry throwing debris at him and cursing his name.

Laya had been prepared to face that fate with Akraz, but it shocked her to see the anathema inflicted on Lathaniel. She wanted to protest on his behalf. At the same time, just before he had turned to leave, he had thrown a look of such hate at her, even more poisoned than the way he had glared at Akraz, that Laya wondered if she still knew him at all.

The King of the Elves had aged visibly in the time it took Lathaniel to leave the Palace of Justice. He shook himself and straightened with an effort.

“That had to be done. Now we may proceed to less bitter matters. General Akraz, you requested sanctuary on behalf of your soldiers who surrendered with you, and also for their womenfolk and children. However, it is not our policy here in Sylvindell to admit strangers.”

Akraz bared a tusked smile in his warty face. “Especially not goblins, I imagine.”

“Our seraph Seeress and the human known as Hunter are the only non-elves who live in Sylvindell. These are special cases. We might allow a third such special case. But we cannot accommodate hundreds. Therefore, I propose that we settle your people in an area in the far reach of Sylvina Forest, a place where there are many caves. You did say that your people felt more comfortable underground.”

“Your Majesty.” Akraz seemed overwhelmed. “You would really do this for us?”

“As long as you are good neighbors, we bear you no ill will. We are grateful that you changed sides during the battle.”

“Then all I can do is thank you, Your Majesty.” Akraz bowed deeply.

“You yourself are no ordinary goblin, however,” said the king. “You have been cleared of the accusation that you gave our secret magic words to Zathstragomal the Malicious. But still, you know them. This makes it too dangerous for us to let you loose without binding you to our city. Furthermore, you were high in the service of the Dark God, and his taint is still on you. For all these reasons, you must undergo a ceremony, a kind of sacrifice, in the temple of one of the gods of Light.”