Page 65 of Happily Ever Witch
The knights began whispering amongst themselves, panic on their faces. The barracks suddenly smelled of fear. There were legions of men stuffed into the huge room, so it was overpowering. Barracks weren’t the cleanest places anyway, soadding evenmoreodors over top of the unwashed socks and sweaty bodies was just disgusting.
Florian made a fastidious face, vaguely repulsed by the stench. Other people tended to baffle and annoy him, but never more so than when they lacked proper hygiene.
Beside him on the stage, Haigha snorted in grim amusement, enjoying the knights’ overwhelming terror. Misery always brought a smile to his face.
Haigha was Florian’s cousin. Also his nephew. And also maybe his cousin, again. The family tree of Blue Dragons didn’t have a lot of branches. They distrusted outsiders and tended to mate within their own group, which led to complicated relationships. Everyone was related to everyone. Repeatedly.
The other Blue Dragons had pressured Florian into giving Haigha a job as his assistant, after the other man had nearly died from some stupid stunt or other. Their working relationship wasn’t exactly meant to be. The two of them looked similar with golden hair and vivid aqua eyes, but their resemblance was only skin deep. Where Florian was stoic and scholarly, Haigha was a violent idiot who craved conflict.
The idea of crusading against Trevelyan invigorated Haigha. He wanted to make a name for himself. To be feared and admired. No matter what the Club Queen commanded, Haigha had no intention of bringing Trevelyan back alive. He planned to ride into the Heart Kingdom and kill the mightiest dragon in the world.
Regardless of the outcome, that wasn’t going to be great for Florian’s business.
“Trevelyan’s magic will be low, because he was in a coma.” There was nothing Florian could do to stop Haigha’sidiocy. Instead, he’d do his best to prepare him and the Club Kingdom’s soldiers for the coming battle. “And he’ll be facing four thousand, two-hundred and seven of you. The situation isn’t hopeless. But Trevelyan’s literally been designated as ‘A Scourge of All Lands,’ by three international bodies, two of which he’s since wiped out of existence. So, I want you to understandexactlywho you’re up against.”
He clicked to the next slide, which showed an attractive dark-haired couple, dramatically posed in stylish clothing and expensive jewels.
“Trevelyan’s parents. You’ve possibly heard of the Seven Cities of Gold? There wereEighteenCities of Gold before the Green Dragons got it into their heads to begin claiming them.” He flipped to a new picture, which showed an endless battlefield filled with towering flames and piles of corpses.
Haigha grunted in appreciation of the brutality.
“The knights of every neighboring kingdom were sent to stop their reign of destruction.” Florian went on. “The Green Dragons eventually fell. Fifteen knights survived. Total. They stumbled towards their homes, spirits broken, but grateful to be alive. …They would have been better off dying with the others.”
The audience exchanged worried glances at that news.
Florian advanced to the next slide, because there was no use sugarcoating the truth. “Thisis what became of those unlucky bastards, after Trevelyan found out what happened to his family and tracked their killers down.”
Soldiers gasped at the graphic images on the screen. Their hands came up to shield their eyes, even as the ungodly pictures burned into their brains forever. A few vomited.
Haigha lost his smirk, as he took in Trevelyan’s wrath. “Is that a head sticking out of there?” He whispered, his lips barely moving. “Or part of the intestine?”
“I have no ideawhatthat is.” Florian told him honestly. Anatomy had never been his best subject. Neither had art. And the grisly mass of flesh was some disquieting mix of the two. It was almost beautiful in its grotesque creativity.
“Holy shit.” Haigha crossed his arms over his chest to hide his shudder of revulsion. “Trevelyan’s always been a psycho.”
Florian moved on with his presentation and everybody heaved a sigh of relief. “After the death of his parents, Trevelyan embarked on a life of rootless, conscienceless crime.” He gestured towards the object on screen. “This is the ever-playing harp from the Enchanted Realm of Melody. Everyone who hears its perfect music is compelled to dance. It was destined to only be strummed by a pure-hearted champion, who would use its gentle music to bring peace to all the world.”
The assembled knights relaxed slightly, looking up at the picture of the lovely, silver instrument. The graceful curve of its body and the magical shimmer of its strings calmed the eye.
Next slide.
People cringed at the ghastly new image on the screen.
“Then, Trevelyan killed the pure-hearted champion and used the sacred harp to murder a pack of fire imps.” Florian announced. “As you can see, he made them all dance until they died of starvation. It took days. Their corpses arestilldancing. The harp plays on and on and on. Instead of bringing peace, its perfect music accompanies the endless gyrations of the fire imps’ exposed bones, as they clank together. Forever.”
“Why?” A knight in the front row whispered brokenly.
Florian adjusted his glasses. “Why did Trevelyan ruin the world’s best chance at eternal peace?” He shrugged. “The imps claimed their fire was better than a dragon’s. Trevelyan took it as an insult.”
“Everybody’s got something to say against dragons.” Haigha muttered, not feeling sorry for the fire imps. “It’s bigotry.”
None of the assembled knights seemed to see things that way. Their faces were haunted.
“Misuse of magic is where Trevelyan really excels.” Florian continued. “His powers will be weakened on Monday, but don’t underestimate him. The malevolent spells he casts are unusually inventive. Notable highlights include,” he changed slides, “that time he made everybody on Sarras two-dimensional.”
Soldiers screamed at the soul-scarring picture.
Next slide. “When he did away with gravity in Bisnagar and suffocated forty people in the low atmosphere.” Next slide. “Rabid tadpoles in the drinking water.” Next slide. “Stealing the moon.” Next slide. “Vanishing the entire town of Paititi.” Next slide. “Somehow erasing a week from everyone’s memory.”
