Free Champion by Jon Kiln Page A

old man,” Ganry said, laying his hand on the Emperor’s arms that lay across his chest.
    Nestor was tired, so very tired, but now he knew that his son would be in safe hands. He trusted Ganry and had finally shared the information that the treacherous General had wanted so very badly. Now he could truly rest.
    Riley covered the Emperor with the blanket. It would give little warmth but Ganry appreciated the gesture and nodded his approval.
    “Do you think he’ll survive?” Ludas asked, knowing Ganry could not give such an answer. It was more a rhetoric question.
    Ganry looked at his uncle sadly. He could not say, only time would tell. The Emperor had suffered much over the last few months, his body tormented with dark magic to force him to reveal the location of his son. Yet still, he was a strong man, he had not succumbed, and even now there was hope that he could survive.
    “I hope so, uncle. He comes from a strong bloodline, there is hope still. But I cannot stay to protect him. I have important matters to attend to in Palara.”
    “I understand, you have a new life now, new loyalties, and we must accept that. I am just grateful that I got to see you again.” Ludas looked at his nephew and wished he could change the events of the past.
    “My loyalties always lay with my family, uncle, even to my father,” Ganry tried to explain. “But, I have a new Queen, and she needs me.”
    “I know, and I do not hold it against you,” Ludas told him truthfully. “We all must go where our heart takes us, and yours lies in Palara now.”
    Ludas seated himself next to the sleeping Emperor, perhaps hoping that if he willed it, then the leader would live.
    Ganry looked at the two old men. His uncle was weary, and the Emperor hovered on death’s door. He wished he could do more, but he had to concentrate on the child. It was becoming clear to him now that this was much more than a simple coup. Not even a grab for power, by Jeon. Something else motivated him, but what?
    Maybe when he found the boy, the answer would be clearer. Jeon must have some idea that he was in Palara for him to be taking the steps to invade. He must make plans of escape, but he could not do that without help. He approached the mercenary, Riley, knowing that he would need his contacts if he was to escape Mirnee.
    “Riley, we must speak,” Ganry said to his new acquaintance, praying that he could trust this man.
    ***
    General Jeon sat in the throne room. He had never sat upon the throne and he had no desire to do so. His yearning for power was nothing to do with wealth or control. He needed the witches and their magic. Many years ago, he had agreed to help stop their persecution by the Emperor, and his reward was to be the day they raised his son, Porteus, from the dead. He would not be like those shuffling creatures that are part of the attack on Palara. His son would return as he remembered him. All he needed now, was the Emperor’s child, the royal albino. Only his blood could open the portal and free their Mistress, the witch Thalia. She had been banished from this world by another royal albino, over one thousand years ago. Royal albinos are very rare and it had been over a millennia since the last one. Now, at last, the means to bring back his son was at hand.
    When General Jeon had suffered the deep grief from the loss of his only son, the witches had approached him. They made promises that he could be with his son, once again, in this life. Overwrought with his sadness, he had agreed, and had no regrets.
    “Sire, he is here,” a voice broke his thoughts.
    “Bring him in, quickly,” the General ordered. “I don’t wish him to be seen by anyone.”
    The man was brought into the room, though he hid his face under the hood of his cloak.
    “I am going to make it easy for you to help Ganry escape from the prison. I must have the Emperor’s boy, and Ganry will lead me to him. The Emperor will have given him the information about the child. Ganry