Realm of Monsters - Chapter 624: The Spider Queen
Chapter 624: The Spider Queen
Lily brushed her scarlet hair aside and stepped back from Stryg as the song ended. “It seems we are out of time.”
“Stryg Veres!” called out a vampire noblewoman. Behind her stood two other nobles.
“Who are you?” Stryg asked, reaching for Krikolm, only to remember he had left it behind.
“I am the mother of the man you murdered,” she growled.
Stryg looked at her, uncertain. “…I’ve killed a lot of men.”
She scowled, uncontrollable anger seeping into her voice, “I am Seraphine of the Great House of Blackvein, mother of Vern Blackvein, who served as a captain directly under General Harlen Gale in the Veres army, your army. He was a loyal soldier who fought for your family for decades. And what did his loyalty earn him? Nothing but a dog’s death!”
The minstrels had stopped playing the next song, and every dancer in the ballroom was staring at the confrontation. Stryg narrowed his eyes and his lips made a thin line as his mind raced to figure out a way to deal with the situation.
“Nothing to say?” Seraphine snapped. “Why don’t you tell them? All your loyal subjects. How you murdered my son and heir in cold blood. Tell them how you hid his murder and lied about how he supposedly died in battle!”
Jaspin Morvain and Tavian Nindralis shared a worried look with each other. This was not what they had rehearsed. Seraphine was taking things too far. “My lady,” Jaspin whispered weakly from behind her, “Should we not approach things more calmly—?”
Seraphine ignored him and laughed bitterly. She looked at the crowd before gesturing to Stryg, “Open your eyes! He’s not a noble. He’s not a vampire. He’s not one of us! He’s just a monster.”
“He is a Veres and you would do well to respect the name.” Elise Veres strode up from the crowd and placed a hand on Stryg’s shoulder. “Do not say a word, I’ll handle this,” she muttered under her breath. Her words were practically silent, yet Stryg caught them nonetheless.
He didn’t fully trust Elise, but he had no idea what the proper etiquette for such a situation was, so he relented and followed her lead.
“Lady Elise,” Seraphine spat the name as if it were poison. “I know you were the one who covered up the murder of my son. You’re no Veres either, just another monster who murdered her own siblings.”
Elise sighed and gave Seraphine a calm, unwavering stare. “If it were anyone else, I’d have your head for such a vile, perverse accusation. My sisters, brother, and father are all dead. You think I killed them all? My entire family, the people I loved most in this world?” Tears burned in Elise’s eyes as if on command and her voice grew tight. “You are not the only one in mourning; Look around you, Lady Seraphine. We are recovering from a siege from the largest army the realm has seen in centuries. Everyone here has lost someone to the actual monsters who attacked our home.”
Elise gestured to Seraphine with disgust. “Yet here you stand, accusing my cousin, the war hero, who rallied the Sylvan army and saved our city, of being a ‘monster’ and named me a kinslayer. Such vile accusations will not be tolerated. …But as it stands, you have always been a loyal subject to my family, and we are very aware, as you have made so abundantly clear tonight, that you are mourning the death of your son and are not well. So just this once, we will overlook this— ‘mental break’ of yours.”
“I am not crazy!” Seraphine screamed.
The crowd looked at her with pitiful sympathy. Their plan was falling apart and Jaspin and Tavian knew it. Tavian stepped forward and whispered, “Seraphine, we need to—”
But Seraphine shoved him aside and pointed an accusing finger at Stryg. “You murdered my son and you—” she pointed at Elise, “hid his murder!”
The crowd stared at Elise questioningly and whispered amongst themselves.
“I did not hide his murder,” Elise’s shoulders slumped dramatically. “I hid his execution.”
The crowd gasped and the whispers ramped up as the nobles began to exchange their theories.
Seraphine furrowed her brow, “No, you—”
“Captain Vern Blackvein murdered a child during the middle of peace negotiations. While we were trying to stop the fighting to spare our people more deaths, Vern could not let go of his hatred and murdered a little girl.”
Seraphine shook her head. “She was the daughter of a Cairn elder—”
“She was a child! She was innocent! And your son’s actions led to the deaths of countless more innocents and many of our soldiers. Our sons and daughters, DEAD, because of your son’s actions,” Elise accused.
“There is no peace with the Cairn, as you said, they are monsters,” Seraphine smiled in triumph. “What sort of lunatic would try and have peace negotiations with them?” She glanced at Stryg pointedly.
Before Stryg could respond, Elise spoke up and laughed. “You think we wanted peace? No, we wanted an armistice so that Hollow Shade has a chance to recuperate our strength before Undergrowth, Frost Rim, or Murkton decides to attack us. Hollow Shade is vulnerable and every man and woman with an ounce of power in the Ebon Realm knows it. The Valley Tribes will pay for what they did, but how can we ever make them pay if we are all dead? Did you ever think of that, Lady Blackvein? Or are you so blinded by your own pain that you could not see past it to see the needs of our people?”
Stryg didn’t agree with everything Elise had said; he had indeed planned to create an actual peace between the Valley Tribes and Hollow Shade, but unfortunately, that ship had sailed, so he didn’t speak up to correct her. Whatever Elise was doing, it was working.
Serpahine had strode into the ballroom with momentum that had only grown when she had accused him, rightly so, of Verns’ death. But like weaving a web, Elise had pulled apart Seraphine’s words and had even goaded her into a trap. Now, the general feelings in the room towards Seraphine were not empathy nor sympathy, but resentment.
“My son,” Seraphine licked her dry lips, “My son, he… He killed a girl, yes, but she had killed Captain Rissa first—”
“Is that what Vern told you?” Elise winced. “I suppose it makes sense, it was easier than admitting the truth. He killed that child out of anger because he refused to accept a potential peace. Captain Rissa died in the battle that ensued. Your son felt too guilty of his crimes to admit the truth to you.”
“That’s not true!”
“Oh, do you really think a little girl could have killed Captain Rissa, one of our most skilled soldiers, in front of the entire army? Just like that? Honestly, I am surprised you even bought such a ludicrous story. Then again, a mother’s love is blinding.” Elise clicked her tongue and shook her head in pity.
“That isn’t what happened.”
Elise continued on calmly as if she were reading a sentencing, “On return home, Vern Blackvein was executed for his abhorrent crimes that not only cost this city a potential armistice to recover our strength, but the lives of a hundred soldiers. For his crimes, he should have been stripped of all his honors and your House forced to pay various penalties to House Veres and the fallen soldiers’ families. However, due to your House’s past loyalty, Lord Stryg, in his mercy, asked me to cover the truth about your son’s execution and let him die a hero on the battlefield. As for the fallen soldiers’ families, my cousin decided to pay for all their losses out of House Veres’ own coffers.”
“You lie,” Seraphine’s voice trembled, but her glare was as sharp as ever.
“Feel free to ask the families or the soldiers who were there. They will all attest to the same story. Your son was a traitor and he deserved worse than what he got. Lord Stryg would have kept this all in the dark to save your House face, but you just had to keep pushing. Well, there it is. The truth you so desperately wanted out in the world.”
“You fucking, deceitful bitch!” Seraphine roared. “My son is innocent.”
Elise rubbed the sides of her brow. “I think we’ve had enough of this hysteria. Swordmasters, please escort Lady Blackvein and her colleagues away.”
At her word, a dozen Gales dressed in their iconic red cloaks emerged from the crowd and surrounded Seraphine, Jaspin, and Tavian.
“We’ve lost this round. We should retreat while we can,” Tavian cautioned.
Jaspin touched Seraphine’s forearm, “My lady, he’s right, we should—”
“Get off me,” Serahpine shrugged him away. She glared at Stryg, but Elise stepped in front of him protectively. “You both are snakes who hide behind your words and magic. Well, I will reveal you both for what you are, mark my words. I will not rest until—”
A dagger flew through the air and landed straight into Jaspin’s thigh. He screamed in pain and collapsed. “Aghh! What in the bloody abyss!?” Jaspin grabbed his rapidly bleeding thigh, panic rising in his voice, “I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding!!”
Everyone turned in unison to the double-door entrance. Aurelia Veres stood tall, hand still outstretched from her throw. Gian, Lady and Lord Katag, and Lady Isolde Ravelle were behind her, looking at her as confused and stunned as everyone else. All save for Stryg and Jahn, who didn’t seem all that particularly surprised.
“Which one of you three fuckers threatened my son?” Aurelia demanded.
“Gods dammit all,” Elise muttered and pinched her eyes shut.
“You dare attack a guest in your own home?” Seraphine strode forward, unafraid, new momentum picking up in her stride. “Are you so barbaric that you do not even know simple hospitality rights, goblin?”
“I have no hospitality for those who threaten my son.” Aurelia opened her palm expectantly.
Without a word, Jahn drew a dagger seemingly from nowhere and dropped it in her hand.
Serpahine stared at the weapon and her lips suddenly broke into a smirk. “You have all seen this woman attack Lord Jaspin Morvain unprovoked. As his liege, I invoke the right to defend him and challenge Aurelia Veres to a duel.”
“Gladly,” Aurelia bared her teeth.
“Accepting already? Very well.” Seraphine opened her arms wide, “We shall meet on the dueling grounds outside the manor. As the bereaved party, I have the right to choose which weapons we fight with. And I choose magic.”
Aurelia’s confidence faltered for a moment. Jahn gave her a worried look, he was aware of how much she valued the privacy of her talents. But then Aurelia met Stryg’s worried eyes and her resolve hardened. She would not let her son worry about her one more night, not again.
“Then magic it shall be.” Without looking, Aurelia tossed the dagger back in the air. Jahn caught it deftly before slipping it away in his sleeve. “Uncle, show us to the dueling grounds.”
“As you wish, my lady,” Gian bowed.
Aurelia turned on her heel and strode out of the ballroom, her every step filled with cold determination. The crowd of nobles had forgotten about the music and dance, and they pushed each other in an effort to follow after her.
“Please, tell me your mother is a high-master mage,” Elise said, standing back from the crowd. Lynette, Elise’s personal Shadow, stood behind her, shoving anyone away who got too close to her Ward.
Stryg wrinkled his brow. “What? My mother isn’t a high-master.”
“Then we have a problem. Seraphine Blackvein is a skilled dual high-master and a well-known duelist.”
Stryg looked at Elise and just smiled, before following the crowd. Elise gave him a curious look and hurried after him.
Soon enough, the crowd of nobles was standing around the Veres’ dueling grounds under the night sky, with more from the grand hall still pouring in. They had formed a ring around a particular dueling circle where Aurelia and Seraphine were preparing to fight.
Stryg stood at the front row of the onlookers next to Elise and their Shadows, Gale and Lynette.
“Who do you think will win?”
Stryg glanced at the young nobleman standing beside them. “Mort, where’s Lu—? You know who.”
“Oh, somewhere around here. I gave her one of my bottles of wine and suggested she share it with your sisters. They’re probably all drinking it right now. Tasty stuff, I tell you. Took me many years to get the flavor just right. You should try it sometime. So, who do you think will win?”
“My mother, of course.”
He nodded, an eager smile on his lips. “She looks strong.”
“She is.” Stryg crossed his arms as if daring Mort to say otherwise.
“Hm.” Mort beamed and mimicked Stryg’s posture, although he seemed relaxed, whereas Stryg seemed defensive. Mort then turned his eyes to the dueling grounds. “This should be fun.”
