“My king,” Lord Taboon said. “Those two are extremely notorious. Siem studied in the School of Magic here for five decades and had to be expelled because she dabbled into forbidden magic, without express authorization from the council. Hermon is a berserker. One of the strongest in his clan. Surely, you can understand our difficulty in obtaining the girl. Plus last time we ambushed her, she displayed powers even beyond what a being of Balance and Chaos is capable of.”
“She tried to infiltrate my palace, Lord Taboon,” Henok said. “And it is all because of your incapacity to do what needs to be done. Must I do everything myself? You have seen more time on earth than that girl, you have had a lot more worth of exposure to magic than she does. If you cannot handle her, one who has not even completed her training yet. Then I do not know what you can do.”
“You can count on me, my…” Lord Taboon began to say when the king cut him off.
“Count on you?” Henok questioned. “For Camin’s sake, I am not counting on you, Lord Taboon. You are not the only one charged with bringing the girl back and letting the necessary sacrifice be made. The whole of Toas is going up in flames. Do you know the toll it takes trying to prime the city for battle? I received news from our underground intelligence network in Technocon, that the Technocons sold some of their technology to Tonar. I can only imagine what they are planning. Now, we have to arrange a parley with the Technocons, which, trust me, is going to be very expensive! All this would not be necessary if you had done your job!”
Lord Taboon stood silently as Henok fumed.
“My king, if I may.” The man standing next to Lord Taboon said. “I trained Eldana personally. And even amid this debacle, I am sure that part of her that once shared a connection to this place, and to what was required of her as a being of Balance and Chaos is still alive. I can bring her around.”
“Apologies, my King,” Lord Taboon interrupted, “but Sinto’s soft spot for the girl is what got us into this mess in the first place. He cannot be trusted to do what needs to be done.”
“Do not get ahead of yourself, Lord Taboon,” Sinto cautioned. “If I remember correctly, a little bird told me that her less powerful friend, Siem, infiltrated your School and you could not stop her! I know my duty, as do you. Do not presume to say what I can and cannot be trusted to do.”
Lord Taboon grew quiet.
“You were saying something,” Henok said, indicating for Sinto to go on.
“Yes, my king. If I can get to her, in body, or through an intermediary source, I can try to talk her into coming back.”
Lord Taboon scoffed.
Sinto ignored him and continued.
“Since we are so desperate to have her back, every means is on the table. We cannot forgo one for the other. A little niceness as tactics would not be a bad thing. I could try that out, and see how it goes.”
Henok contemplated what Sinto said for a while. Lord Taboon and Sinto stood obediently before him, awaiting his decision.
“Do any of you know her current location?” the King asked.
“Unfortunately not, my king, ”Lord Taboon answered. “The last we had seen of her was when she tried to infiltrate the palace.”
“Both of you do not even know where she currently is, how are you going to talk to her?” He said, more to himself than to the men standing before him. “Do what you have to do.” Henok finally said. “Both of you. I would very much like to reign over the Middle Kingdom in a world that is not spiralling out of control, please.”
Having said this, Henok dismissed them from his presence.
Outside the throne room, Lord Taboon turned to Sinto, “Your liking for that girl may very well be the death of us.”
“I know my duty, Lord Taboon.” Sinto told him. “I do not need you chanting that in my ears every chance you get.”
Lord Taboon smiled. “Well, I am off to find her. My way. The soldiers are not giving me what I want.”
“Do not do anything foolish, Lord Taboon.” Sinto warned.
He knew Lord Taboon was very tricky. He was one of the few who were permitted to dabble in forbidden magic because he had whispered a lot into the King’s ears. And he used that with impunity. Most times it was during training sessions with magicians and soldiers. Sinto found the act despicable every time, but there was nothing he could do. Nothing anybody could do. He had the favor of the king. Something he got from training the king since he was a child. Somehow, Sinto did not want Lord Taboon to catch Eldana. He feared the kind of things and experiences would subject her to if he caught her.
Lord Taboon walked closer to within inches of Sinto.
“And you say you are doing your job.” He told Sinto, staring him in the face.
Sinto stared back, his face a mask of indifference.
Lord Taboon turned and walked out into the soldier-filled streets, and towards his quarters.
Sinto came into his chambers and plunked himself into an armchair. He sighed and closed his eyes.
It was only the night before that Camin and Lowus themselves had visited him in a vision.
“We had a deal.” They had told him. “And you have failed us.”
The gods, though man and woman, spoke at once, as though they were of one mind. Sinto had listened quietly.
“You were to raise the being of Balance and Chaos and prepare them for the sacrifice. That is your life goal, your only path. Keep them servile, and when we get their life force,
