In the Royal Palace, Banes stood on the balcony, flanked by the new steward Garland and a shackled Hert. The former said nothing as Banes taunted Hert with his swaggering boasting and jeers. With every bomb lobbed, Banes chuckled sinisterly.
"Are you nervous, Hert?," said Banes oilily, "A bit apprehensive, perhaps? Fearful of what possible execution method I have in mind? Now, you are too young to remember a certain Benutian girl named Brielle. She had the audacity not only to steal from her master but to injure him grievously. She suffered terribly for her crime. See, I, personally, with King Vlaric's blessing, devised a special method to dispatch the ungrateful, brazen Brielle. She harbored a fear of rats, so I imported many huge Kororian Slimerock rodents. Kept them in a crate until the time. Brielle was locked in a glass cage, suspended above the street but in full view of the people below. When those rats were loosened, they raced to the girl, chewing and gnawing her to death. Imagine, dozens of gargantuan, voracious rats eating that poor girl alive. And the people applauded and cheered. Now, I could do the same to you, but I have no knowledge of your greatest fears. Tell me, Hert, what frightens you most?"
Hert said nothing as he watched the bombardment. He smiled slightly, knowing Starfield House was perfectly safe. There was no damage, not the slightest broken window or shattered brick. Nothing but a shower of purple sparkles providing a protective shield against the real assault to come. Hert knew this, and so did Garland, only Hert held another, more profound secret. This he would reveal to Banes in due time; but for now, he silently revelled in the imminent ouster of the Eldonian regime. Let Banes have his day in the sun; he, in full bombast, still foolishly believes Starfield House will be levelled to the ground.
Look at him, all his swaggering, in deep confidence his ill-gotten schemes have paid off handsomely.
Well, it cost him Princess Jolende; she faced the same sticky end as the rest of Koror Province. The other partner in crime, Sadius, is dead, but not before fingering his co-conspirators, Banes the chief among them. It was Banes who devised the assassination of King Vlaric, and Banes ordered his soldiers to kill Sadius. One nasty deed was definitely achieved, the other not so well. Now Banes is sure he has the upper hand, but he does not. Once he realizes those bombs are useless...
++++++
Around the perimeter of Starfield House, the catapults worked overtime, lobbing bomb after bomb. Something isn't quite right, the lieutenant thought as his men loaded the remaining bombs into the catapult spoons.
"Sir," addressed the solider on duty, "we've loaded the last of them. Shall we continue firing?"
The officer didn't answer right away as he curiously watched the shower of purple sparks enshroud Starfield House. No smoke, no shattered glass, no falling walls. The building stood as straight and tall as always, nary a scratch on it.
"I don't understand," he muttered.
"Sir?," asked the soldier, "I said shall we launch the last of the bombs?"
The lieutenant thought it over. Why not? If the previous bombardment hadn't as much put a dent in the intended target, perhaps the last will do it.
"Go ahead, private," replied a worried lieutenant, stroking his chin then rubbing his sweaty palms. Isn't it obvious?, he wondered as he examined the crate and remaining explosives. Ah ha! These bombs are dummies, completely worthless. The crates have been mislabelled, and no doubt those rebels are responsible. Banes must be told of this treachery at once.
"When we are done here," he said to the soldier, "come with me to the palace. Regent Banes expects a complete report."
"But sir," protested the soldier just before launching the last load, "there is no damage. Look! The building hasn't one charred stone or broken window. Nothing but those purple sparkles floating about it."
"So I noticed," replied the officer, "but His Majesty still wants a full report. Leave out one of those bombs. Banes will obviously want it analyzed. I still believe they're dummies, and the rebels did a switch on us."
Against the dusky sky, in the fading light of the setting sun, Starfield House took on an eerie glow. The entire building, made of magical lavenderstone, and enshrouded in a sparkly purple fog, now darkened to an awful, forbidding black. Too bad the skimpy Eldonian army did not notice the change, or what it portended.
++++++
"Aughir," said Enos after returning from the surface, "the bombing has stopped. Banes' men launched the last of them. Shall we set off the ignition packs?"
Aughir, his hand on the wire to start the chain reaction explosions, replied, "Not yet. Did you see anything unusual? Any reaction from the soldiers who did the bombing?"
Enos nodded. "They seemed bewildered as to why the building didn't suffer any damage. Just a shower of purple sparkles. No shattered glass or broken stone. Starfield House is well protected."
"Then," said Aughir, "we begin now. No doubt Sergeant McMasters has reported to Banes, and Banes will order the building surrounded. With such a scanty army concentrated in one place, that will leave the rest of the city – the entire country for that matter – unprotected. Just the situation for Mitra's friends to unleash their firepower. Come on, let's get these packs started."
Aughir and Enos then proceeded to activate the ignition packs. Tiny charges enveloped with putty, plastered here and there, each within a few inches of the actual phérium spikes. The packs worked on fifteen minute delay so whoever is in the tunnels have time to get well out of the way before the initial explosions. The first of those packs will go off immediately under the Golden Tiara tavern. Subsequent packs will detonate under the University, the Plain of Anarona, and so on. Before dawn, the entire city of Tyq will be reduced to ashes and rubble. No one or nothing will be left standing – or alive, save those safely inside Starfield House.
"What about," asked Enos as he activated the last of the packs, "the Royal Palace? Some of our people are still inside. Garland and Hert, a handful of servants loyal to the Alliance."
"That," replied Aughir as he gathered his belonging and prepared to return to Starfield House, "will be the last to go. But not before those loyal to us escape and Banes gets the shock of his life. Enos, and I'm only telling you this in strictest confidence, there has been the most astounding developments. Let no one else know this, not until after–"
"After?," inquired a curious Enos, his eyebrows raised.
"After Banes receives a well deserved punishment for his crimes. Oh, how I wish to be there when he learns the truth. After all these years, after all his painstaking scheming and plotting...Enos, she's alive...She's alive..."
"She? Who is she?"
Aughir whispered into Enos' ear who in turn nearly shouted out his joy, and his outright astonishment.
"Does Chenek know? What about Asen? And what does that have to do with Banes?"
"Everything, Enos. Everything...Come on, let us leave this place. The end of Eldonia is at hand."
Copyright©2006, 2007 by P.R. Parker. All rights reserved.