Free The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen by LR Manley Page A

the Prime
Guardian shouted, his calm finally cracking. “Our Lady granted this
assembly temporary power in her absence, she did not give us the
right to torture her subjects…regardless of the
reason .” 
    Lighvoor sat down, still fuming
and the old man addressed the whole table. 
    “ We have, unfortunately let our guard down. Our
rulers are immensely powerful and for that we never envisaged a
time when they would be anything else. Our predecessors never, ever
believed a moment would come when the power so carefully guarded
would be trapped and impote nt. He turned to Lighvoor. “When were your men last in
battle?” 
    Lighvoor said nothing . The old man continured. “Have they ever seen battle? The
answer is no. They are loyal men but they are no match for
Anghofio’s soldiers. Again I tell you, their elite battalion alone
numbers half our entire army. We have become complacent. None of
us, in a thousand years ever believed we would lose the power of
our rulers. Anghofio will not move upon us if there is the
slightest possibility that the Emerald Queen could return. However
they will try anything they can to find our secrets and to end her
life.”
      Lighvoor
look ed away, his anger
deflated and his cheeks flushed red.
     “ There is a traitor in Alegria,
someone who knows our innermost, most precious secrets and we need
to be vigilant until such a time as Our Lady returns or...” and he
paused at this time and loo ked around before saying slowly, “..or she dies and we need
to re-elect.”
      There
were murmurs around the table. Everyone seemed to be in
agreement.
      Lighvoor sat back in his seat, tight lipped and looked at
Jared. “So what about him? Where is he supposed to go?”
      The Council turned to them.
“Takoba you are to take the boy and present him to the Brotherhood
Orphanage in Arkale village. He will be safe
there .”
      Jared spoke up. “I need to get
home. My parents will be worried. That mess at the airport will
have everyone looking for me .”
      The Prime Guardian shook his
head sadly and added . “The
magic to bring you here is ancient, precious and very, very rare.
All the portals are closed now, bar Our Lady’s pathway. You cannot
go home.”
      Jared’s
mouth opened in shock and he looked around, almost in
tears.
      The old man said kindly “You
will not be missed as much as you think. Takoba Mordalayn will
explain all this to you. Now, I believe we have covered everything.
This meeting is over .”
      Without
any further discussion the old man closed his eyes and from around
his chest it appeared as if someone had dropped a stone in water.
It was similar to when he’d arrived but in reverse. The air rippled
in circular rings around him and as the ripples expanded he started
to fade. Within a few seconds he was gone. One by one the other
members of the meeting followed until only the rat faced figure was
left at the table. He stood and addressed Mordalayn directly,
ignoring Jared.
     “ Takoba, be cautious. While this council appreciates what you
have done and what you will do, you will be forever in danger
now.”
     “ Thank
you Degrezen” Mordalayn said stiffly.
      Degrezen looked at Jared. “Boy, what city are you
from?”
     “ Warwick…sir” Jared stammered slightly, realising he was
speaking to a rat faced man, who was speaking to a cat faced
man.
      Degrezen widened its eyes in
surprise. “Hmmm…that gives some explanation to….well, never mind
for now .”
      He
nodded to them both and then vanished, the air rippling around
him.
      Jared
turned to Mordalayn. “Where are you taking me now then?”
     “ I promised you a full
explanation and one you shall have .”
     “ What
did he mean I won’t be missed as much as I think?” Jared said
impatiently, tired of all this waiting.
     “ Time here is slower than in
your world” Mordalayn replied . “Three days for us is a day on your
side.”
     “ But I’ll still be
missed ,” Jared said