Chapter 34 - The General (2/2)
The room grew tense. ”You have changed.” Epoch and Carolinus both seemed shocked by this. Carolinus quickly recovered, bringing back a lighthearted atmosphere. ”Well, straight to the point. I want you to come back to the army. Epoch has already agreed to serve again.”
”I was blackmailed into it. Blackmailed, I say,” Epoch muttered dejectedly.
Carolinus continued. ”I managed to get permission to create a new force. There have been some foreboding rumors and I fear demons. You two are the only two in the country that can deal with them.”
”Can I join?” I leaned in, staring intently at Carolinus. This was my chance to achieve my dreams.
He was taken aback by this. ”This one is eager,” he stated amusedly. ”Are you willing to command men once more?” He once again returned his pointed gaze at Xavier.
”Never. Again.” The words were like dagger, stabbing into the ears of everyone present. He slammed his hands against the table, and the wood cracked under his palms. He glared at them with hateful yellow eyes. I was shocked, fear rooting me to the ground.
Carolinus rose to the challenge, slamming against the table with equal force. ”WHY THE HELL NOT?! Stop wallowing in grief. It's pathetic! You were the best commander in the kingdom. IT IS YOUR DUTY, DAMNIT! What would Bloody First want you to do? They trusted you.”
My head spun. Was Xavier a survivor from the Bloody First? Was he their commander? I didn't believe what I was hearing.
”AND I LEAD THEM TO THEIR DEATHS! ALL OF THEM.”
”WHERE IS THE CONFIDENT XAVIER I ONCE KNEW?”
”DEAD! With the rest of them,” Xavier spat out. An emotion I had never heard from him before colored his voice, making it tremble with what seemed like rage mixed with sorrow.
The room went silent, tension crackling in the air. I wanted to retreat out of the room, hiding away from the two colliding iron walls of will. Both were gripped their weapons tightly. The guards outside, shocked from the sudden explosion of voices, were unsure on what to do. They stood at the threshold of the doorway, hands on their weapons, staring blankly at the current situation.
At this point, Epoch stood up, his tome glowing. ”Calm down,” he demanded, his voice firm and resolute.
The tension in the room was suċkėd out as I felt a wave of tranquility wash over me. Hands fell back to their sides limply, and everyone sat down.
”What exactly happened all those years ago?”
Xavier looked downcast, memories clouding his vision. He was no longer with us, but in some distant memory. ”I don't what to talk about.”
Carolinus was slightly irritated. ”Why?”
”Because I just don't want to talk about it.”
”That is not a reason,” Carolinus snorted. He crossed his arms over ċhėst and began tapping his finger against his arm. He stopped and abruptly stood up again. Walking to the wall of books, he pulled out a old tome. It was small, red book with golden writing across the top. Carefully setting it down, he began flipping through the pages. He stopped at one page. He slid the book across the table, coming to stop in front of us. The book was old, the page yellowed and ink faded. Torn slightly at the edges, it described a thing. The king of the shadows. The king of nightmares. The torturer of the night. Kalakrath.