Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

“I don’t want to believe it,” replied the colonel, “but I cannot escape the truth of her accusations. It is good to hear your reflections, Cherri. I wanted to make sure that I was not so taken by the spy that I alone had come to such conclusions. We need to get to the garden immediately.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Cherri.

“I am going to comply with the spy’s request,” decided the colonel. “I may hang for it, but the truth must be known about this Katana. Besides, I can see no way to stop the Sakovans from killing the Katana if they already have him. I will agree to take the Katana outside, but none of the Sakovans will be allowed to leave this palace. They will pay with their lives if anything happens to the Katana. Bang on the door and scream. Someone will hear us.”

* * *

HawkShadow slid behind the door in the Council Chamber as SkyDancer made the blindfolded and gagged Councilors form a line. Without warning, she pulled the door open. The Imperial Guards outside the door jumped in response.

“Put your weapons down,” ordered SkyDancer as she started leading the Councilors out of the room. “I have a knife at the throat of the First Minister and a magical garrote on each of the Councilors. If you harm me, they will all die.”

SkyDancer did not give the Monitors time to react. She herded the Councilors into the corridor and turned towards the front doors of the palace. The Monitors quickly followed along, one of them turning and running towards the office of the colonel.

“Stop,” shouted one of the Monitors. “You are not supposed to leave the room. Where are you taking them?”

“Outside,” SkyDancer said simply as she continued to move the men along the corridor.

After everyone had moved several dozen paces along the corridor, HawkShadow slipped out of the Council Chamber wearing the uniform of a Monitor. He checked the corridor and then ran towards SkyDancer. He pulled his sword as he slid to a stop next to SkyDancer and held the sword to her throat. Several of the Monitors gasped in fear of what the female Sakovan would do.

“You dare to harm me?” snapped SkyDancer.

“I have not harmed you,” replied HawkShadow. “I am stopping you. Colonel Zanta has agreed to have the Councilors taken outside to the plaza, but you are not allowed to leave. I am to take you to his office.”

“That is unacceptable,” retorted SkyDancer. “I don’t trust you to escort them outside.”

“You have no choice,” countered HawkShadow as the other Monitors looked on in confusion. “Either you agree to our generous terms or you die here and now. The choice is yours.”

“I will kill them all,” threatened SkyDancer.

“The choice is yours,” HawkShadow repeated. “Colonel Zanta said it was not negotiable.”

“The Councilors will be taken out just as they are?” asked SkyDancer.

“Exactly as they are now,” nodded HawkShadow. “Not a single Monitor will touch them other than to guide their steps.”

“Very well,” sighed SkyDancer as she took her knife away from the throat of the First Minister.

HawkShadow reached over and took the knife from SkyDancer’s hand. He turned to the group of Monitors and nodded at them.

“Carry out Colonel Zanta’s order,” HawkShadow commanded. “Move the Councilors into the plaza and guard them there. Do not try to remove their blindfolds or gags. Especially keep your hands away from the magical garrotes.”

“Some of us should accompany you to the colonel’s office,” one of the real Monitors said.

“This Sakovan will not cause me any troubles,” HawkShadow shook his head. “Carry out the Colonel’s orders and be quick about it.”

HawkShadow prodded SkyDancer with his sword and she obediently turned and walked away from the Councilors. The Monitors watched them disappear around a corner.

“That guys has a lot of guts,” said one of the Monitors. “Bet he gets a promotion out of this. Who is he?”

“Never saw him before,” shrugged another Monitor. “Probably from Zanta’s personal guard.”

* * *

The Monitor ran through the corridors of the Imperial Palace. He heard shouting and banging as he rounded a corner and slid to a halt outside of the colonel’s office. He shook his head in confusion when he saw the door key still in the lock. He reached down and turned the key. The door unlocked, and the colonel pulled it open immediately.

“Thank you,” nodded the colonel as he pushed past Cherri and into the corridor. “Come with me,” he ordered the Monitor. “We must get to the Katana.”

“But there is trouble at the Council Chamber,” responded the Monitor.

“That can wait,” Colonel Zack said as he started running. “Come on. There is not much time before the fighting begins.”

The colonel and the Monitor ran through the maze of corridors to the Katana’s private garden. They came to a halt as they entered the corridor leading to the garden and saw a dozen Monitors standing before a splintered door.

“What is going on?” demanded the colonel.

“Someone must be inside with the Katana,” reported one of the Monitors, “although we checked the garden before allowing the Katana to enter. We have attempted to break the door down, but something is stopping us from entering.”

The colonel pushed his way through the assembled Monitors and looked at the door. It was practically destroyed with large holes in it. The colonel stretched his arm through one of the holes and touched something solid. He pulled his arm out and crouched so he could peer through the hole.

“It is an invisible barrier,” he remarked. “It must be magical.”

Suddenly, the invisible barrier dropped and the wrecked door fell to the ground in splinters. The colonel shook his head and walked into the garden followed by the rest of the Monitors. At the far end of the garden, the colonel saw the Katana. He was frozen solid with a coating of blue and icicles hanging from his hands. Around the frozen Katana stood six hooded mages, each an identical replica of the others. When one mage spoke, they all did.

“Welcome, Colonel Zanta,” said the mages. “Do not even think of rescuing the Katana. To do so would result in his death, and most assuredly yours as well.”

“What do you want?” the colonel asked, although he already knew the answer.

“The Katana is to be moved outside to the plaza,” the mages said in unison. “If your men cooperate, no harm will come to them. If they attempt to interfere however, all will die.”

“And what will happen to the Katana once he is outside?” asked the colonel.

“He will be judged,” declared the mages.

“It would appear that you have already judged him,” retorted the colonel.

“We have,” agreed the mages, “but that is not what we meant. The citizens of Okata will judge him outside. They will decide his fate.”

The colonel’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He had expected the Sakovans to stage a mock trial and then execute the Katana.

“What would you have us do?” asked the colonel.

“Have your men carry the Katana to the plaza,” answered the hooded figures. “Place him upright in the plaza facing the Star of Sakova. Then you must control your Monitors, and the Imperial Guards, so that they do not interfere with the judgment of the citizens. Do this and order will be restored to Okata. Fail and your lives will be forfeit.”

The six mages instantly disappeared. The Monitors whirled in circles looking for any sign of the mages, but the room was empty except for the Omungans. The colonel ordered his men to carry the Katana out of the garden.

* * *

“That is the situation in what you have long called Omunga,” the Star of Sakova said to the assembled crowd. “Now you can appreciate what your leaders have done to you and your fellow citizens.”