“Are you suggesting that perhaps the child actually died?” The Keeper nodded. “Then who exactly is the professor? There is no way he concealed information from us during the interrogation.”
“Perhaps the professor is the same as the dead child.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Do you remember the spiritual man several years ago that you brought in for questioning?”
“The man who was attempting to start a rebellion against us in the Outerlands?
“The same. Do you remember that you killed him twice but yet he lived?”
“I do remember that. Our analysis was that he must have been on the Outerland hallucinogen that they call Butter. We ended up cutting off his head to keep him dead. Why do you bring him up?”
“Is it possible, among the many abilities that people of this world have, that there are those who can actually be dead, yet return?”
The Cancellarrii considered the comment. If it had not been for the spiritual leader, he would have said that he had seen no indication that something of that sort was possible. But since he had witnessed the return from death firsthand, he knew that there were abilities that the people possessed that they did not yet know of or understand. “It is possible.”
“It is also possible that this professor is such a person?”
“Yes, it is possible. That would certainly explain how he disappeared from the Erőd.”
“Yes it would. And if he is still alive, I would almost bet that he found his way to the Chokka. He has no one else left.”
The Cancellarrii grinned. “The professor told me of the small village where he was raised after being sent away. If he is alive, this is where he would go.”
The Keeper agreed. “That is where the Chokka is.”
The Cancellarrii stood and waited for the Keeper’s final commands before exiting the office. “Find and kill them.” were the simple commands. The Cancellarrii nodded and departed. He smiled himself as he envisioned the Chokka’s blood spilling onto the ground of the village.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
The Minister of Science knocked on the door of the Császár. “Enter.” a gentle voice replied from within.
The Minster entered and observed the Császár sitting solemnly at his desk. The Császár’s eyes told the story. The Minister understood. They had mutually agreed the best option to ensure their future was to send their sons away. The Minister had been without his son for a week. The Császár sent his son away only the day prior.
They had used Bejárat to transport the Császár’s son to the other world and there was not a moment that followed that the Császár was not filled with regret. At the same time, he possessed a sense of relief that his son would live on.
“What news?” the Császár asked.
The Minster’s primary focus was on the development of science and technology to better the world; but recently, with the murder of the Minister of Information, he had also been asked to use that technology to monitor the rebellion near the Barren Lands. A man there had risen to power among the people that lived far from the city. His influence had become infectious among the people of the eastern and northern Outerlands. There were rumors that he had begun assembling an army and that army now numbered in the thousands. “Imagine one man bringing that many people together.” This new army had assumed the traditional name of the Klopph.
“More news, none of it good. The Keeper has advanced, nearing the area once occupied by the Návratu. Our forces were not able to stop them. The Minister of Security was gravely injured.”
The Minister could hear the stress in the Császár’s voice as he spoke. “The Minister of Security? Will he live? And what of the people of that area?”
“The Minister is not expected to survive. And the people there join the Keeper’s army. Who can refuse him in the face of so many?”
The Császár lowered his head under the weight of the moment. “So he marches here? How long do we have until he reaches the city? A few days at the most?”
The Minister nodded his head in reluctant agreement. “There is little we can do. We have increased the size of our army, conscripting every capable man, but it will not be enough. These men are not trained soldiers, not yet. It is only a matter of time before the Klopph enter the city and reach the Palātium.”
“So we will be the captives. At least our sons will be safe.”
“Our sons will be safe.” The minister echoed. “I am sorry it has come to this.”
The Császár smiled weakly. “I keep hoping that you have one last trick in your bag.”
“I have been working on some items but cannot guarantee they will work. In any case, they will be our last line of defense for the Palātium.”
“Very well. Keep me informed.”
The Minister nodded and left the office of the Császár.
Three days later, the Chokka government was overthrown and the Keeper was placed into power. His first order of business was to round up all of the Ministers still alive and their families. The Császár could have chosen to use the portal for his wife and him to escape alongside their son but he would not abandon his responsibilities to the people. Dutifully, they were taken by the Klopph with their rest of the officials.
The interrogations began with the wives of the Minsters being tortured in front of the assembly. This went on for hours before the first question was asked. Next, the children of the Ministers who had not been sent off were brought in
