Valerian, The Legendary

227 Coup De’tat.

Ameer and Jamal started to go at each other with bare swords and hatred in their hearts. Morgana was standing outside the open door and she heard everything the two were talking about prior to their fight.

It would be a lie to say that her heart was calm, however, the ripples did not last for long. Her heart was long drowned in the fire of vengeance. Ameer Centurion took away her mother, and never cared to show any love for her, even in secret. His eyes never reflected any remorse either, in the past six years, her life was a living hell and here he was, claiming how much he loved her and her mother. Too easy for him.

She was not going to let any of them get away with it. She took out the soul communication bead from a magic pouch tied to her waist and contacted Valerian.

‘Val, they have started.’, said Morgana after the connection was established.

Valerian replied quickly, ‘I am off to do my thing now, you be careful. Do not interfere until they are spent.’

Morgana could sense some concern in his voice and she calmed down even more. Then she replied, ‘Yes, I will be careful.’

The communication ended and Morgana walked away from the place, Silk told her that Zeenat and Akhlakh were approaching the place.

...

Among the four children of Jamal Centurion, only Ayat was a commoner, Akhlakh was a mage and so was Zeenat. They were both twins. While Akhlakh mastered the wind, Zeenat was proficient in Earth element. The siblings were walking slowly and talking to each other.

.....

Zeenat said, “I doubt he will go down this easily.”

Akhlakh nodded and said, “His shadow protectors must be there to watch the battle and once he is in danger, they will act, or worse, if Ameer gets hurt or reinforcements, then the shadow protectors will intercept them.”

Zeenat nodded and said, “Is this why you asked me to come over and help?”

Akhlakh was holding her hand and nodded. He took a deep breath, “Ayat was the most loving person among us four. She held us together no matter how strained she was. I remember when you were hurt, she would come to stay by your side after her training finished, she would look after you despite having her body covered in bruises. I think we ought to do this much for her.”

Zeenat smiled and said, “Just this much? She would always ask for more food, but her diet was controlled. Although she was well-fed, she still wanted to eat more for the taste. I know, you would smuggle sweets and candies for her from your visits outside.”

Akhlakh smiled and said, “She would sneak into my room and sleep in my bed as a child, saying she was having nightmares. I always wondered how she was able to stay so innocent while the rest of us were so cold.”

Zeenat sighed, “Maybe that was her blessing.”

The brother nodded as they approached Jamal’s room. The sounds of battle were echoing loudly throughout the corridor but none of the guards approached the place. This was odd, but still in line with the plausible arrangements of the two sides. Ameer must have asked his people to stand back while Jamal would have done the same.

They did not want outsiders to witness the shit show of the family. If Jamal died fighting, then it will be claimed that he regressed in old age, if Ameer died, they will state him to have passed away in the shock of his sister or assassinated by his brother-in-law, Ayat’s husband.

Jamal Centurion loved his face, his image, and his ambition a lot. So much that his family meant nothing to him compared to them. He was a cynical sociopath who did not think about anything or anyone else.

Akhlakh took a step forward with Zeenat beside him when suddenly two shadows appeared in front of them. The two people were draped in black cloaks. Zeenat said, “Shadow Protectors.”

One of the two people said, “Your Highnesses, this is not an opportune time to visit His Excellency, we seek your understanding, please.”

Akhlakh nodded and said, “I know what is going inside there, we do not wish to interfere in this matter. You can stand with us, as Archmages, you will be able to kill us instantly. We only wish to see, who will emerge victorious. Please do not push us into a fight.”

This was clever wordplay. He stated his intentions loudly to make the people think that he was really going to sit on the sidelines, however, his hand was already tightened around the wand in his trouser pocket.

This wand was made with magical material and it could decrease the time it takes for a spell to trigger when cast by a normal mage. Akhlakh was in grade seven but had yet to break through the Archmage level.

The situation was tense and all of a sudden, a set of footsteps rushed over. The shadow protectors appeared on the other side of the corridors followed by an official. The protectors yelled, “Stop, what are you doing here?”

The soldier was scared silly but he still replied, “Sire, there is a tide of beasts at the city wall, and there are many flying beasts as well. We do not know how to handle them. Please advise.”

Akhlakh and Zeenat were shocked, but so were the shadow protectors. They looked at each other before a vigorous voice sounded, “Go, deal with it, I have things under control here.”

The voice belonged to Jamal. Zeenat and Akhlakh were surprised, but they calmed down soon. Ameer’s voice sounded, “Don’t let the city suffer.”

...

Morgana was able to hear each and every word from Silk, as Snare began to feed her the information. She stood on a balcony, looking at the fireworks in the distance. The fireworks were mages fighting off the beasts. Valerian had triggered this beast tide, but how did he do it? She had a rough idea.

A smile emerged on her face when she thought of the meeting with him in the room. Suddenly, silk’s voice sounded, “Mistress, there is only Akhlakh and Jamal in the room. They are still fighting. The shadow protector beside Jamal is Snare, and Ameer has Ryadi beside him.”

Morgana nodded and said, “Tell Snare to release the poison.”

Silk replied, “Yes, mistress.”

...

Inside the big room of the old Emperor, Jamal and Ameer stood facing each other as their swords clashed and they pushed each other away. The old man was breathing raggedly, while Ameer’s body was covered in sweat. None of them had been critically injured. However, the old age of the man was catching up to him.

Ameer smirked when he looked at Jamal and asked, “I wonder, for how long can you take this.”

Jamal took a deep breath and said, “Long enough to send you on your way.”

The two were about to go at it again when they heard a shattering sound. Looking toward the source of the sound, they found Snare staring in front of the room door with a vial in his hand. Jamal narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you doing?”

Ameer smiled and said, “That vial must be carrying the antidote to the poison he just dropped here.”

Jamal followed the sight of his son and found a shattered vial between them. His eyes caught sight of a vermillion wisp of smoke emerging from a black sand-like substance. The man wanted to ask what was going on when he saw a black figure flickering through the room and snatching the vail from Snare.

This figure was the shadow protector, Ryadi. The next moment the person retreated back and then gave the vial to Ameer. The prince did not hesitate and consumed the contents of the glass vial. Jamal watched all this from the side and his eyes turned red from rage. He forgot about his battle with Ameer and dashed at Snare. The next thing was him being pushed back.

The Shadow protectors all were devoted to their masters, and would not even flinch if their lives were on the line. However, today a shadow protector punched back at his master. Snare was wearing gauntlets made up of material.

Ryadi yelled, “How dare you defile the commandment of the Shadow Protectors?”

Snare did not answer and kept his vigil. He was acting at the orders of Silk. Jamal was astonished, and then he began to attack the Shadow Protector quickly. Snare was overwhelmed for a bit but then something happened that shocked Ryadi even more.

Ameer and Jamal had slowed down considerably. At first, he thought it was because they had been fighting prior to this and thus they slowed down but right now, the two people were in a state where they could not even stand properly.

Ryadi gave up on Snare and rushed to check on Ameer. He was shocked and looking back at Snare he asked, “You dared to poison the master?”

The complexion of the prince was pale, and his lips were turning blue. Jamal on the other hand was trying to rub his chest. His was flushed. At this moment, when everyone was thinking why would a Shadow Protector would betray his masters, a voice sounded, “It’s not him. It is me. I poisoned your masters.”

Snare took a step to the side, and Morgana walked in, with a sly smile on her face. This shocked the three people to their core. Another voice sounded, “Umm, I am not late, am I?”

The people looked at the source of the sound and found a young man walking in from the balcony.