“Teshi, thank goodness!” Jade ran to the cell door to catch the young Comic Relief as the lizard guards tossed him inside. She had been truly afraid when the red-haired man with the badly scarred face had dragged Teshi away after a night in the dungeon. From what she had gathered, both the so-called Lord Monthau and his scarred dog had separately brought herself and Teshi from Drákon to serve as a human power source for some weapon they had built. Teshi had barely begun to recover from a heavy blow to his head dealt back at Ordarnis’ fortress when the man called Hordr had taken him away. Jade had spent an anxious two hours desperately trying to come up with a way to escape their cell and rescue the Comic Relief with no success.

The door slammed, making the white-faced Teshi wince. Jade glared at the door as the key scraped in the lock. “Are you all right?”

“Can we sit?” Teshi begged.

“Of course.” Jade half-carried him over to one of the stone walls, where she propped him up. “How’s your head?”

Teshi closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. “It still hurts a lot. But not so bad as it did earlier. And I’m not dizzy anymore.”

“Oh, good. It sounds like you just need some time. I’m no healer, and I doubt we’d get much medical attention in this place.”

“I miss the Overlord’s fortress already,” Teshi grumbled, bringing a small smile out of Jade. Duchess Elanor was right: Teshi was a true Comic Relief, even if he himself was still figuring out what that meant.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The man with the burns took me to a big room with a cage hanging in the middle of it surrounded by crystals and purple gems. When we got there, the man with greasy hair—Lord Monthau, I think—was yelling at an old man. I didn’t catch much of what he was saying, since the sounds hurt my head, but the gist of it was “gold and amethysts aren’t evil enough.””

Jade snorted. “Monthau always did do things by the book. It would stand to reason he wouldn’t change even after becoming an Evil Overlord.”

“What? You know him?” Teshi opened his eyes. “‘Evil Overlord?’”

“You didn’t think my fiancé was the only one in the world, did you?” Jade smiled. “There are others, though for the most part their kingdoms are smaller than Drákon and they don’t have the reputation Ordarnis has built for himself. I met Monthau years ago, when he was the ambassador to Danesea for his tiny kingdom, Rosamar. He was a rising star in his court back then and had somehow been given the very cushy appointment as ambassador. Danesea is—or was—one of the Rosamar’s most important trading partners.”

Teshi opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Oh.”

“‘Oh?’” Jade repeated.

“‘Oh’ as in, I think I understand why Danesea wouldn’t trade with Rosamar now. Monthau came home and took over, right?”

“Six years ago,” Jade replied. Teshi really did remind her of Ordarnis sometimes with his way of pulling correct conclusions almost out of thin air. No wonder Ordarnis had taken to Teshi right away when even Torsten had had initial misgivings.

“And we’re in Rosamar now,” Teshi added.

“Unless Monthau has chosen to rename the country something more suitably evil-sounding since last I heard,” Jade agreed. “But I doubt it. From what I saw of him when he was in Danesea, he’s too self-absorbed to really sit down and think of anything but himself for more than thirty seconds or so. His Trusted Lieutenant, however, is a man to be reckoned with.”

“I know. He broke up the argument between Monthau and the old man about the materials in the machine in about a minute, all while still keeping the façade that Monthau was in charge. I feel like he’s the real power here.”

“No doubt he’s the reason Monthau has lasted as long as he has. What happened next?” asked Jade.

“They put me in the cage. Monthau and his lieutenant went and stood by the door. The old man pulled some switches on the main body of the device—it’s enormous and made all of gold—and the crystals around the room lit up. All the while I was trying to escape the cage and yelling my head off. I thought that was it for me.” He shuddered and closed his eyes again. A tear leaked out of one.

“You poor thing.” Jade slid an arm around his shoulders and drew him into a hug. No one so young should have to face his own death so closely. Not that Jade was that much older than him, but she would not have wanted to go through what he just had at fifteen. She did not prod him to speak again; he continued of his own accord after a few minutes.

“It broke,” he said into her shoulder.

“What?”

He pulled back to lean against the wall again. “The machine broke before it did whatever it was supposed to do. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because as a Comic Relief I break everything I come in contact with.”

This startled a small chuckle out of Jade. “I doubt that’s the reason, but I can’t believe you’re joking about this.”

“What else can I do?” Teshi wanted to know, though Jade noticed he was still somewhat pale and his eyes were red. “Anyway, I heard something snap and the glow in the crystals sort of faded away. The old man went and examined the broken part, which was hissing steam that smelled like roses, and said he had no idea how long it would take to fix. They called in a few more people from another room to look at the machine, too. The lieutenant ordered one of those lizard-men to take me back here. Everyone was still arguing when I left.”

Jade sighed and leaned against the stone wall herself. “Well, it looks like we’ve got time to figure a way out of here. If we can just make it into Danesea, we’ll be safe.”

“Danesea? How far is that?”

“Probably less than two days, depending on where we are within Rosamar. If we’re in the capital, which I suspect we are, it would be closer to a day. Rosamar’s not large, and right on Danesea’s southern border.” Jade’s mind was already spinning with possible plans. Unfortunately, most of them did not guarantee she and Teshi would escape together, and she could not leave him here, especially since he was obviously the chosen victim to power whatever infernal device Monthau’s wizards had concocted. It must be enormously powerful or it would not require human life in order to work.

“Do you have any idea what the weapon they were using was for?” she asked. “They mentioned yesterday while you were unconscious they needed someone pure of heart as power.”

“They obviously picked the wrong people. Neither of us fits that bill,” Teshi said with a small smile. “You’re willingly betrothed to an Evil Overlord and I work for him.”

Jade smiled back. “We could still be pure of heart. Ordarnis seems to inspire crossing barriers. If we don’t count, Baldor certainly does.” Something about that tickled at her mind like the tip of a feather, but she couldn’t catch hold of the idea that danced just out of reach. She set it aside before it drove her crazy, trying instead to recall what else had happened after they unexpectedly traveled to Rosamar. “They also had pieces of the Throne they’d stolen.”

“The Throne?”

“The Throne of Drákon. It was in the coronation portraits of Ordarnis and Daros we were looking at yesterday before the attack.”

“You mean with the giant black snake?”

“That’s it. It’s belonged to the Overlords of Drákon since the first Overlord took over. It has the power to make anyone in the room with it feel weak and helpless, except for the crowned Overlord.”

“What does it do to him?” Teshi asked.

“You’re too quick,” Jade said. She hadn’t planned on telling him that, preferring to pretend Ordarnis was merely exempt from the fear the Throne caused. “The reigning Overlord feels invincible in its presence.”

“Wow.” Teshi considered this. “I bet Ordarnis spends as little time around it as possible.”

“True. But what do they want with parts of the Throne, or someone pure of heart? What does that weapon do?”

“I have no idea. Its purpose wasn’t written on the side,” Teshi said. He added, somewhat bitterly, “I wish it had been. Then I’d have known what cause I was dying for.”

“It probably has something to do with Ordarnis, or Drákon. They wouldn’t have dared attack us otherwise, and I got the distinct impression the whole thing wasn’t coordinated very well. Monthau and his scarred lieutenant—Hordr was his name, I think—both seemed to have grabbed us on a whim, as if we were secondary. It makes me think the Throne, or Ordarnis himself, may have been the real target.”

“Ordarnis isn’t pure of heart,” Teshi pointed out.

“He might surprise you with how nice he can be, but I agree with you. Not much about this makes sense. But anything we can glean now about what Monthau is up to may be helpful later once we get out of here.”

“If they wanted someone guaranteed to be pure of heart, they should have grabbed Clark,” Teshi grumbled.

“I’m surprised they didn’t,” Jade admitted. “He got knocked out pretty early in the fight. But Monthau didn’t even look twice at him, even after his lizard-creatures had incapacitated all our guards.” She sighed. “I almost wish Clark were here. Escaping sticky situations intact is his area of expertise. Baldor’s nickname for him is very apt.”

“Farmboy hero?”

“I meant ‘Luck Magnet,’ but that, too. His luck seems to have served him well in this case—he managed not to get captured.”

“‘Luck Magnet,’” Teshi repeated. “I’ll have to store that one away for next time I see him.” A thought occurred to him, and he tilted his head, which sent his curls bouncing a little. “Do you think anyone from Drákon will try to come rescue us?”

Jade considered. Ordarnis might mount a rescue, especially if he found pieces of the Throne were missing. That, and she knew the thought of her in captivity to another Evil Overlord would drive him crazy. However, he never did anything that would jeopardize his personal safety unless there was some extremely large mitigating reason that demanded his presence. Their last adventure with Clark Tenek had been such a time. Ordarnis might also send other people, such as Baldor, or even the Legions of Terror, to do the rescuing. That was more likely, but even so…

“Probably, but we shouldn’t count on it,” she finally admitted. “Even if Ordarnis does organize a rescue, it will take awhile. The fortress just experienced a major surprise attack, and he will make sure every little detail there is taken care of before worrying about anything else. That, and the fact that it’s at least a two-week trip through Drákon and Danesea to get here. We should focus on getting ourselves out of here and into Danesea. My parents will take care of getting us back to Drákon safely from there.”

She hit the stone wall behind her with one fist. “Drat! Ordarnis couldn’t have planned this better himself. We were so close to the wedding, and now…”

“You don’t think Ordarnis actually—”

“Oh, no. He’d never do anything that would involve harming his security system and I’m willing to bet a good amount of the guards have been incapacitated in this attack. They’re good, but Monthau had surprise on his side.”

“Probably due more to his Trusted Lieutenant than to him,” Teshi commented.

“Probably,” Jade agreed. “Have you noticed anything…odd about him?”

“Odd? Other than his entire forehead is covered in burn scars, he’s got a scaly arm, and seems to have the conscience of a snake? No, not really.” Teshi rolled his eyes.

“Strange placement for burn scars, isn’t it?”

Teshi’s brow wrinkled. “I guess. I didn’t really think about it while he was dragging me around. It looks like he put his face in a campfire.”

“Unless Hordr’s stupider than he seems, I doubt it,” chuckled Jade. “I’m willing to bet he’s had a run-in with Ordarnis before, and not a pleasant encounter. Which is what I find odd, since he’s still alive.”

“What does Ordarnis have to do with oddly placed burn scars?”

“Every member of the Overlord line of Drákon receives a magical power at birth, balanced by a weakness of some kind. Ordarnis can throw fireballs from his hands,” Jade explained. “You were bound to find this out eventually, so I see no harm in telling you now. It may help you later.”

“Clark—”

“Invisibility at will. And he gets burned when he contacts gemstones. Don’t ask what Ordarnis’ weakness is.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Teshi replied. “So you think Hordr got hit in the face with one of Ordarnis’ fireballs. And lived to tell the tale.”

“That’s what I find strange. Ordarnis tends not to leave enemies alive. Certainly not those around whom he feels threatened enough to throw fireballs.”

“The burn scars are old,” Teshi pointed out. “Whatever happened between him and Ordarnis, it happened a long time ago.”

“Wonderful.” Jade sighed and sank down a little lower on the wall. “Then heaven only knows how long he’s had to nurse his plans for revenge. That’s the worst type of hero there is, at least according to Ordarnis. They’re the ones who get so focused on vengeance they don’t even care about being heroic anymore as long as they get the job done. I get the feeling we may be dealing with one here.”

“Then—”

There was a light tap on the door, interrupting Teshi in midsentence. Comic Relief and princess exchanged glances. The lizard guards weren’t the type to knock.

“Come in?” Jade finally called.

The door opened and a woman a few years younger than Jade entered. She had long, fiery red hair that was twisted into two practical braids on either side of her head, and direct grayish-green eyes. She wore a simple ankle-length black robe, which should have set off her natural coloring very nicely but instead highlighted her hollow cheeks, the dark circles under her eyes, and the slightly sick yellowish cast to her pale skin. Were she healthy, Jade concluded, this woman would probably be quite pretty, even borderline stunning. As it was, she was still attractive enough to make Teshi swallow, which Jade caught out of the corner of her eye as the two of them rose to their feet.

The woman set the sack she carried on the floor and curtsied with graceful ease. “Princess Jade?”

Jade nodded in return. “Yes? And who are you?”

“Corinne, princess. Apprentice to Aulion, Overlord Monthau’s head wizard.”

“I see. Corinne, this is Teshi, resident Comic Relief to the Overlord of Drákon.” Corinne nodded to Teshi, who gave her the barest head-bob and a glare in return. Obviously he’d worked out that she had a hand in creating the machine that had nearly taken his life energy earlier. Jade suppressed a sigh. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I brought this.” Corinne picked up the sack and held it out. “Lord Monthau would never think of feeding his prisoners, and I doubt Lieutenant Hordr would remind him. So I snuck to the kitchens and got them to find you a few things.”

“Thank you.” Jade went forward and took the sack, glancing through its contents. A loaf of bread, a large wedge of cheese, and something wrapped in another cloth she assumed to be meat. There was also a very dull knife, which was clearly not good for anything but sawing through the food, and even that would take a few minutes of work. The food would last them for at least two days, however. “You shouldn’t have put yourself at risk.”

“Oh, no one would dare stop me except for Lieutenant Hordr or Lord Monthau,” Corinne assured her almost brightly. “The Overlord would throw a fit if he knew, of course, but none of the servants will tell him if they value their own lives. And Master Aulion says Lieutenant Hordr would probably be indifferent even if he did find out I was giving you food. So you’ll see me every few days at least.”

“Thank you again.” Jade passed the sack to Teshi, hoping it would soften him towards Corinne. Already her mind was working on plans to see how far Corinne’s generosity would extend. It would take some investigating in the next few days.

“I also bear a summons for you, Princess Jade, from Lord Monthau. He wishes you to attend him.”

She looked surprised when a smile spread over Jade’s face. “He does, does he? Then our last encounter was far too long ago.”

Teshi also smiled, catching the tone in Jade’s voice and realizing it boded no good for Monthau. Corinne, however, still looked confused. “Why do you say that, princess?”

“He’d remember how it ended.” Jade’s smile widened. “I believe there was a great deal of blushing involved, and it wasn’t on my part.”

Teshi snorted softly. Corinne, for her part, looked awed. Jade took a few bites of bread and cheese from the sack Teshi still held, since she didn’t know when she would be back. While she chewed, she did a few mental stretches. It was time to play a game or two with Monthau, and see what she could learn that would be useful later.

She swallowed and headed for the door. “What are we waiting for?” she asked Corinne, who was still staring at her as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. “We must answer the Overlord’s summons.”

“I’ll…stay here,” Teshi said. Jade could hear the slight catch of amusement in his voice. “I’ve still got my pack of cards in my pocket. This is as good a time as any to practice some of those tricks Baldor showed me. I promise I won’t eat all the food, Princess Jade.”

“Thank you, Teshi.” She nodded to him, and he bowed back, very formally. Jade was impressed. Somehow Baldor had found the time in between arranging the wedding to teach the Comic Relief a thing or two. She was glad. They would need all their skills if they were to escape from this place alive.

Jade raised her eyebrows at Corinne, in a “shall we?” expression. Corinne blinked, set her shoulders, and led Jade from the dungeon. Jade even managed a polite nod to the two lizard guards flanking the door. They, of course, did not acknowledge her, but it put Jade even more in the mood for her upcoming reintroduction to Lord Monthau. Likely he would not understand much of what was about to happen, either.

***

Ordarnis watched Torsten through narrow eyes as the Lieutenant and the guards with him back up into a tight half circle. Their enemy, the lizard creatures, had just disappeared. Ordarnis was inclined to believe that they had been transported out of the castle the same way they had been transported in, but he applauded Torsten’s caution. After what had just transpired, they couldn’t be too sure about anything.

“Do you think they’re gone?” one of the guards asked.

Torsten carefully lowered his sword and the guards did the same. When they weren’t attacked, Torsten sheathed his sword and turned to the guards. “See to the wounded. I’ll—”

“Show me Jade,” Ordarnis ordered before Torsten could finish. The image of Torsten displayed up on the far wall of his inner sanctum shimmered and then went black. Ordarnis cursed. The black glass wall in the sanctum allowed him to see anyone within Drákon as long as he knew their name. If the glass couldn’t find her, it meant that she either wasn’t in Drákon anymore or…

“Show me Baldor,” Ordarnis said, unwilling to dwell too long on that. When several lizard creatures had appeared suddenly in the Public Advisors’ office, Ordarnis had retreated immediately to his sanctum. It was his preferred strategy during assaults on the castle. Using the glass wall, he could keep track of what was going on wherever a guard was stationed in the fortress. Certain guards and messengers also had standing orders to report to the alcove outside the sanctum so Ordarnis could give them orders to pass on.

Normally he didn’t need to give out very many orders. The guards knew what to do if the castle was attacked, as did this division of the Legions of Terror if they were called in to assist. The only orders Ordarnis had sent out during this attack had been a vain attempt to help the guards find Jade, who had been kidnapped early in the attack.

The glass shimmered and an image of Baldor appeared. He was rushing through a crowded workroom, trying to keep up with a man dressed in rough work clothes. That was Urhy, the chief magical engineer. Baldor had been ordered up to the magic engineers’ workshop right after the battle began, to see if there was any way to keep the lizard creatures from exiting the same way they had entered. Obviously that plan had failed.

“… but the good news is that the magic sensors probably captured the signature of the spell and we can use that information to make sure that specific transportation spell can never be used again.”

“Why is that useful?” Baldor asked.

“Well, just like I just said, we’ll be able to keep that spell from being used in the castle again.”

“Right, I got that,” Baldor said. “But I still don’t see how this is useful. It’s not like other invaders are going to use the exact same spell. And if the same group tries again, when that transportation spell doesn’t work they’ll try a different one.”

“Well, no, see, you’re oversimplifying something that is really quite complicated—”

“No, not at all,” Baldor said. “I’m just worried that you may be focusing too heavily on this transportation spell when there were lots of other magical anomalies in this attack.”

“Really?”

“I already explained the lizard creatures to you in great detail.”

Urhy snorted and waved his hands. “Orsula’ll take care of that. It’s her specialty. She likes mucking about in that dark magic stuff.”

“Wait,” Baldor said, coming to a quick stop. That allowed Urhy to get way ahead of him. “Wait, Urhy! You’re not going to make me talk to Orsula, are you? You know she likes to scare me!”

“Teige,” Ordarnis told the glass. The image shifted to show Teige and Linwood standing in the entranceway, surrounded by members of the Legions of Terror. Ordarnis had sent them to call on the Legions of Terror stationed in the capital for help. The two men were standing next to each other and Linwood was examining Teige’s right hand.

“Broken,” Linwood declared with a snort.

“You’re welcome for saving your life,” Teige grumbled.

“Next time you feel the need to ‘save my life’, use a weapon.”

“I acted on instinct. This, or so I’ve been told many-a-time, is what you’re supposed to do in a fight.”

“And why haven’t you learned to instinctually grab a weapon? You’ve broken that hand so many times you should know better by now.”

“Casse,” Ordarnis said. Now that he knew his advisors who had been in the middle of things were safe, it was time to check on those who had avoided the fighting. The glass shimmered and Casse appeared. She was sitting at her desk tallying something- probably the damage the fortress had taken and how much it would cost to fix everything. Ordarnis already knew that he wouldn’t be pleased with the number she came up with, especially if too many of the wedding decorations had been damaged.

Ordarnis smirked. Likely they would have to postpone the wedding. Well, at least one good thing had come from this mess.

“Elanor.” The glass showed him the Duchess of Darkkon, still locked in the weapons closet. Ordarnis started towards the door to his sanctum so he could sent a messenger free Elanor. He could already see that her prolonged captivity was causing a strain on her back.

“Teshi,” he said absently. He didn’t glance back until his hand was on the door, and what he saw caused him to pause. The wall had gone black. “Teshi,” he said again, this time focusing on the Comic Relief. The glass remained black.

Ordarnis closed his eyes and leaned against the door. The last time he had checked on Teshi, the young Comic Relief had been unconscious. Ordarnis had assumed he had been alright, but there was no way to know how severe Teshi’s wound had been. He should have sent someone to check, but too many of the guards had been dealt severe wounds and he had assumed…

Ordarnis struck the door. What a waste of such a promising young life, and at such a crucial moment too. Teshi had just been coming into his own after a life of being unappreciated and under estimated. He would have gone far as a member of the Public Advisors.

“Sir?” Torsten called, knocking on the door.

Ordarnis straightened up, mentally going over everything he knew about what had just happened. Now was not the time to grieve. Now was the time to plan his next move, and in order to do that he needed information.

Ordarnis opened the door and stepped out into the alcove. Waiting for him were Torsten, Linwood and handful of soldiers from the Legions of Terror. “I want a full assessment of the fortress. Help Fredrick set up an infirmary for the wounded in one of the fake sanctums. We’re going to need more room than Fredrick’s got. Move the deceased down to the regular infirmary. We’ll see to them once the wounded have been taken care of. The soldiers who aren’t seeing to the causalities are to go over every inch of this fortress. I want to know which hallways those creatures walked down, what rooms they went in, what they touched and if they took anything.”

“You heard him,” Linwood barked to the soldiers. They saluted and left the alcove to see to their orders.

“Where’s Teige?” Ordarnis asked Linwood as they followed the soldiers at a distance through the Public Advisor’s office into the hallway. That was where Ordarnis broke apart from them, instead making his way to the weapons closet where Elanor was locked up.

“I sent him to Fredrick,” Linwood said. “He’d—”

“Broken his hand,” Ordarnis finished. “Again.”

“Sounds like an old grievance,” Torsten said.

“Sixth time,” Linwood growled. “And he rarely fights. Give it a few more weeks and he’ll make the Comic Relief look graceful.”

“We’ll have to pass that compliment along to Teshi,” Torsten said. Ordarnis gritted his teeth together, unwilling to tell them until the Legions of Terror had retrieved Teshi’s body.

Linwood snorted. “That wasn’t a compliment to the boy. It was a dire insult against Teige.”

“You admitted that Teshi has the potential to improve. I’d call that a compliment,” Torsten said. Linwood snorted again.

“Torsten,” Ordarnis said as he caught sight of Clark Tenek lying unconscious on the floor, along with Ampharis and Jocelyn, one of the Duchess’ guards. Candor was sitting up against the wall.

Torsten rushed forward, with Ordarnis and Linwood following more slowly. The lieutenant knelt down next to Candor and checked the guard over. “Broken leg,” Torsten said, looking back at Ordarnis and Linwood. He turned back to Candor. “You’ll be fine.”

“Where are the rest of the guards?” Ordarnis asked, making his way around Clark, Ampharis and Jocelyn to the weapons closet.

“They went after Jade,” Candor gasped. “She was captured by those lizard creatures and their leader.”

“Sir?” Torsten asked sharply.

“I couldn’t find her,” Ordarnis said. “Likely she was caught in their transportation spell.” He opened the door to the weapons closet. Linwood’s eyes bulged out as he realized who was in the closet.

“What are you doing in there!” he roared.

“Oh, stop,” Elanor snapped as she stepped out of the closet, leaning heavily on her cane. “I am uninjured. That should be enough for you.” Linwood grabbed her other arm, allowing her to lean on both him and her cane.

Ordarnis knelt on the group to check over Ampharis, Jocelyn and Clark. All three had received head injuries but were otherwise unharmed. They could wait until the Legions of Terror came through looking for wounded.

“Why didn’t you let her out?” Linwood snapped at Candor.

“His leg is broken,” Torsten snapped back. “He can barely move, let alone stand up.”

“I tried, your grace,” Candor said with a tight smile.

“I know, my dear,” Elanor said. “Don’t let him bother you. He’s just doing what he does best.”

“Griping,” Torsten muttered as he finished looking over Candor’s wound. “We should get Candor to the infirmary. The sooner this wound is tended to, the better.”

“Does that mean I’m not fine?” Candor gasped.

“You’re fine,” Torsten said, lifting Candor off the ground as easily he would a child. “We’ll get you to Fredrick and he’ll patch you up good as new.”

“What should we do about them?” Linwood asked, motioning to the unconscious guards and Clark.

“Leave them,” Ordarnis said. “The Legions of Terror will be around soon enough. Torsten?” The Lieutenant nodded and started down a passage. Since they didn’t know which sanctum Fredrick had chosen to set up a temporary infirmary, they would just have to wander until they found someone who could direct them to the make-shift infirmary.

“Here, Elanor,” Ordarnis said, opening the door of the first room they came to. “I see no reason for you to join us in the infirmary. Make yourself comfortable in here.”

“Thank you, my dear,” Elanor said, limping into the room.

“I’m staying with her,” Linwood said.

“Don’t you dare,” Elanor snapped. “Do your job.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ordarnis said. “We won’t need you until the Legions have completed their sweep of the fortress. Report to me within the hour.”

“Of course,” Linwood said with a curt nod.

“Candor,” Ordarnis said, leaving Linwood and Elanor to the room and starting down the hallway again. “What happened to Jade?”

“I wish I knew,” Candor said. “I blacked out right after receiving my injury. I came to in time to see Jade being marched away by those lizard creatures and man.”

“There were people involved in the attack?” Torsten asked.

“I only saw the one man who took Jade,” Ordarnis said. “He was middle aged, short and greasy.”

“Not a hero attack, then,” Torsten said.

“No,” Ordarnis agreed, motioning to lizard creatures. “But then heroes don’t usually rally the assistance of monsters.”

“What about the rebels?”

“Their numbers are so decimated that we know the name of every single rebel in Drákon and none of them were in the fortress,” Ordarnis said. He looked at Candor. “Aria and the rest of the guards went after Jade?”

“They had all been knocked out,” Candor said. “I was able to revive Aria and she woke Gail, Troy and Aubri. They went after Jade, but I don’t know if they were able to catch up. Those creatures had a pretty good head start.”

“If this wasn’t an attack by a hero, why take Jade?” Torsten asked.

“I don’t know, yet,” Ordarnis said. He stopped a passing soldier and asked the man where Fredrick had set up the new infirmary. They were directed to one of the fake throne rooms, which they were fortunately close to.

Upon arriving in the room, Torsten took Candor right to Fredrick and the medics from the Legions of Terror. Ordarnis hung back near the entrance, thinking. Why had those lizard creatures taken Jade? What use could she possibly be to them? Was she all they had been after or had they taken her as an afterthought? A hostage to prevent retaliation, perhaps?

“You hurt?”

“No, Teige, I didn’t fight,” Ordarnis sighed, looking back to see his tutor resting an armful of medical supplies on the ground. “How’s your hand?”

“I’ll be fine,” Teige said, getting to his feet and joining Ordarnis near the door.

“Do you remember how to write with your left hand?”

Teige pressed his lips together. “So I’ll need a little help for the first few weeks.” Ordarnis smirked. “Something wrong, fledgling?”

Ordarnis sighed. He had gotten so used to living around people who couldn’t read him that he had forgotten how good Teige was at seeing through his masks. “No, of course not. My castle was just attacked by a horde of lizard creatures who managed to magically transport in and out. At least half of my guards have been incapacitated and the fortress is now under the protection of the Legions of Terror, who really should be protecting the capital. Jade has been kidnapped and I think Teshi’s dead.”

“Ah,” Teige said.

“You don’t need to worry,” Ordarnis continued. “I’m not going to rush off to rescue her. I won’t even send a rescue team until we know what hap—”

“You’re not upset about what happened to Jade,” Teige interrupted. “You’re upset because you think you go the boy killed.”

Ordarnis snorted. “What’s one more death?”

“Don’t lie to me,” Teige said. “You saw a lot of yourself in the boy. He was as smart as you, he thought like you and like you he grew up with people who didn’t appreciate the gift they had been given.” Teige rested a hand on his shoulder. “You gave him the chance of a lifetime, fledgling.”

“Of course I did. I led him right to his death, after all.”

“Yes, well, a moment of respect is worth far more than a lifetime of being looked down upon,” Teige said. “You gave Teshi a few weeks of happiness where he was valued and trusted. What happened is a tragedy, but you can’t blame yourself for what happened. You did right by that boy.”

“My lord?”

Ordarnis turned and stepped away from Teige as Eugene, one of his personal servants came forward. “What is it?”

“Lord Baldor requests your presence immediately,” Eugene said.

“Is he with the magic engineers?”

“No, he’s in his room.”

“Torsten!” Ordarnis called, going through the door.

“Be careful,” Teige said. Ordarnis nodded, but once his back was turned he rolled his eyes. Teige worried about everything.

“News?” Torsten asked, joining Ordarnis in the hallway.

“Baldor wants to see us,” Ordarnis said.

“He’s with the magic engineers?”

“No, he’s in his room. I’m not sure what he wants.”

“Maybe something’s missing.”

“You think they broke into the castle to steal from Baldor?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“So we have a man who is not a hero and not a part of the rebellion magically transport himself into the fortress with a horde of creatures to kidnap Jade and steal something from the castle steward?”

“Alright, so that’s the strangest thing that’s happened during my year here.”

“It’s like looking at half a picture,” Ordarnis muttered. He straightened as he caught sight of the Legions of Terror helping two guards to their feet. It was Danaë and Mick, Teshi’s guards. But Teshi wasn’t in sight. His body should have been near them.

“Sir?” Torsten asked.

“Find Teshi,” Ordarnis ordered. “I’ll check with Baldor.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ordarnis made his way around the guards and quickly walked down the hallway to Baldor’s room. “Baldor?” he called, stepping through the open door. Ordarnis jerked to a halt as he took in the room. The desk and cabinets had been overturned, the chairs had been turned into firewood and the portraits and cutlery had been destroyed.

“There you are,” Baldor said. He was kneeling near the door with a picture frame in his hand. As he stood, he quickly wiped his knuckle over his eyes. “I think the mess speaks for itself.”

“Did they take anything?” Ordarnis asked.

“Not that I can tell,” Baldor said. “I mean, it’ll take a while to sort through the mess, but there isn’t anything in here worth stealing. All the good stuff is in my office.”

“Well, nothing about this attack has made sense so far, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they stole some worthless trinket,” Ordarnis muttered. “Do you know if they did this to any other rooms?”

“Not in this wing,” Baldor said. “I checked Teshi and Torsten's rooms. The servants are working with the Legions of Terror to check the rest of the rooms.”

Ordarnis looked down at the frame in Baldor’s hand. It was a portrait of Nenna, Baldor’s childhood friend and sweetheart who had been killed ten years ago. “I’ll make sure that’s replaced.”

“Oh, thanks,” Baldor said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Um, what do you know so far?”

“Sir,” Torsten called, rushing into the room. He came to a quick halt and his eyes widened as he took in the mess.

“What is it?” Ordarnis asked.

“Teshi’s missing,” Torsten said. “Danaë says Teshi should have been near them, he was knocked out first when they were attacked.”

“He could have come to earlier than them and gone for help,” Baldor said.

“No, they took him,” Ordarnis said, realizing why the glass in his sanctum had gone dark when he had tried to find Teshi. Like Jade, the boy wasn’t in Drákon.

“Why would they take Jade and Teshi?” Baldor asked. He motioned to his room. “And do this?”

“I don’t know,” Ordarnis growled. “Everything we learn about this attack makes it seem more random and disconnected.”

“Sir, you’re also needed back in the infirmary,” Torsten said. “One of the servants has information about the attack.”

“Maybe now things will start to make sense,” Baldor said.

“Or we’ll end up even more confused,” Ordarnis muttered. “Come on, both of you.”

The servant turned out to be a water carrier. Ordarnis motioned for Baldor to go speak with the man. He preferred to have as little to do with the lower level servants as possible. It was safer that way.

“Tomas, right?” Baldor asked, settling down next to the man’s pallet. He had already been tended to by the medics, with his broken arm already tied in a splint.

“Lord Baldor!” the man gasped, taking Baldor’s hand in his uninjured one. “You’re alright!”

“Should I not be?”

“Those creatures were looking for you,” Tomas said. “They went to your room.”

“Did they take anything?”

Tomas shook his head. “Not from your room. But then their leader ordered me to take him to the Throne. The creatures weren’t affected by its magic. They stole the eyes. They kidnapped the Comic Relief too.” Baldor started and looked back at Ordarnis.

“What did the leader look like?” Ordarnis asked.

“A monster,” Tomas whispered. “Half man, half creature. Fates preserve me if I ever come across that beast again.”

“Jade, Teshi and the Throne eyes?” Torsten murmured to Ordarnis.

“And they were after Baldor.” Ordarnis closed his eyes, trying to connect these seemingly random events. There had to be a goal behind this attack, he just couldn’t fathom how Jade, Teshi, Baldor and the Throne eyes fit into that goal.

“Sir.”

Ordarnis opened his eyes to find Aria standing in front of him. “Report?”

“I was the last guard with Jade to get knocked out,” Aria said. “It was the two of us against maybe three of those creatures. We would have had them, but more showed up along with a man.”

“What did he look like?” Ordarnis asked.

“Small, greasy,” Aria said. “Sir, Jade knew him and he her. They called each other by name.” Ordarnis motioned for the guard to continue. “Monthau, sir.”

Next to him, Baldor choked. Ordarnis glanced at his steward, then motioned for Torsten to take hold of Baldor. He didn’t need the steward sneaking off. “Anything else?” he asked Aria.

“I made a break for him,” Aria said. “I figured he was the leader and those creatures would stop if he was incapacitated. I didn’t make it.”

“Thank you, Aria. Dismissed.” Aria nodded and left to check on her partner. Ordarnis turned slowly to face Baldor. “Can you think of any reason why the Evil Overlord of Rosamar would attack my fortress?”

“Don’t get mad,” Baldor said.

“I get mad when you say that,” Ordarnis seethed.

“I just want to point out that this wasn’t my fault,” Baldor continued. “I wanted to tell you. It was Linwood, Casse and Edwin. They’re the ones who decided to keep it a secret.”

“Keep what a secret?”

“Monthau made a threat against you,” Baldor said. Ordarnis stared at him in disbelief. Baldor pushed on in a hurry. “It was right after you had the last of your half-relatives executed for treason. This whole fortress was just starting to relax and feel comfortable with the work we were doing. Edwin didn’t want you to spend all of your time fretting about something we couldn’t do anything about. Or worse, for you to consider a preemptive strike against Rosamar, especially with the way relations with Danesea stood at that point. The spies were monitoring the situation to the best of the abilities.”

“Obviously not if they missed this!” Ordarnis snapped.

“They couldn’t get into the castle,” Baldor said. “Monthau’s even more paranoid than you are. He depends completely on those lizard creatures.”

“Oh, so you know about the lizard creatures.”

“Well, of course. We know almost everything about them.”

“Like what they’re called?”

“Oh, that’s a toughie.”

“You don’t know,” Ordarnis said.

“I know!” Baldor said indigently. “I just don’t know how to say it. The word has no vowels.”

Ordarnis waved his hand. This could be sorted out later. “What was the threat?”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Baldor cried. “That was six years ago!”

“And I should have been told six years ago!” Ordarnis snapped. “Do you still have the original message?”

“No. Edwin had it and you know how he was. Lieutenant Infallible Memory. I’m sure he destroyed it within days of receiving it.”

“Baldor, I need to know what threat Monthau made,” Ordarnis said. “It might explain why he took Jade, Teshi and a part of the Throne.”

“Right. A note sent six years ago would explain why two people who have been here barely a year were kidnapped,” Baldor muttered.

“He wants to be the most powerful Overlord in the realm,” Linwood growled, stepping up to join them. “That was the threat he made. That the Overlords of Rosamar would one day eclipse the Overlords of Drákon.”

“Now I remember,” Baldor said. “There was something else that was strangely worded. Like, that some sort of gift would soon be his.”

“‘The gifts that preserved the House of Drákon,’” Linwood said.

And just like that, everything Monthau had done suddenly made sense. “Torsten,” Ordarnis said, turning to leave the infirmary.

“What! No!” Baldor yelled, jogging after them. “What logic could you have possibly pulled out of that nonsense?”

“That Monthau wants to be the most powerful Overlord in the land,” Ordarnis said, unable to believe that Baldor was still having trouble putting the pieces together.

“No, really? And here I thought he wanted to turn into a nymph and lavish in—”

“Sir, where are we going?” Torsten interrupted before Baldor really get going.

“To see the magic engineers. I need Urhy to confirm this.”

Urhy was still running around the workshops of the magic engineers when they arrived. It took him four passes with Baldor jumping at his heels to notice that Ordarnis had actually deigned to visit his workshop. “Oh, hi,” he greeted. “You’ll be happy to know that no one will be able to use that transportation spell ever again.”

Ordarnis nodded. “Urhy, is it possible to use the Throne to transport the spell on the House of Drákon to another bloodline?”

“You mean the spell that gives you your gift and weakness, makes you feel invincible when in the presence of the Throne, makes—”

“Yes,” Ordarnis interrupted, impatient.

“Well, no. The Throne has a spell woven into the original spell that makes it impossible to cast spells that change the nature of the original.” Ordarnis frowned. He couldn’t be wrong, which meant he was missing something. “See, we figured it out when we were trying to suppress the effect the Throne has on Public Advisors and trusted members of your staff. When we determined that we couldn’t use charms or talismans to protect them, we tried to change the spell on the Throne so it wouldn’t affect those the Overlord had deemed trustworthy. It didn’t take us long to discover the spell that protected the original spell from other spells.”

“But you didn’t know about this extra spell until you tried to change the original?” Ordarnis asked, remembering why he always sent Baldor to speak to the magic engineers. He didn’t have the patience for their technical babble.

“No, of course not. If we had, we wouldn’t have tried to change the nature of the Throne.”

“So it’s safe to assume this isn’t common knowledge?”

Urhy nodded. “No one outside a select group of engineers.”

“And if someone who didn’t know about this was trying to use the Throne to shift the spell from one bloodline to another, what else would they need?” Ordarnis asked.

“An assortment of tools which are easy enough for someone with magic to get,” Urhy said. “The power source would be the tricky part. Something like this would require someone pure of heart.”

“One someone or two someones?” Baldor asked.

“Just one someone,” Urhy said.

“Why did they take both Jade and Teshi then?” Torsten asked Ordarnis.

“Accident,” Ordarnis said. “Monthau grabbed Jade and this half-lizard, probably a lieutenant, grabbed Teshi. He meant to grab you,” Ordarnis added, looking at Baldor.

“It’s common knowledge that I’m pure of heart?” Baldor asked.

“Not surprising,” Torsten said. “The servants know that you’re a fair individual and many of them cycle through the fortress quickly enough. And from there, the rumors spread.”

“If this how being nice to the servants is rewarded, I’m glad Jade is taking over,” Baldor muttered.

“Sir, what do we do now?” Torsten asked.

“Urhy, are all aspects of the spell under the same protection as the Throne?” Ordarnis asked. “Or is there still a way to transfer the spell?”

“Well, it’s likely that the other items tied to the spell, such as the Overlord-killing talisman and the inner sanctum, have the same protection as the Throne. You don’t.” Torsten and Baldor looked at Ordarnis. “Those kinds of protection spells can’t be cast on living beings. You see, there’s this loophole in all spells cast on living creatures that makes it so spells can be altered or removed. Nobody really knows why--”

Ordarnis waved his hand, silencing Urhy. “So if Monthau wants to transfer the spell on the Overlord Line, he’ll need a member of the line to do it.”

“He’ll need you,” Urhy said, frowning. “Unless Princess Jade is…”

Baldor brightened. “That would explain why she was kidnapped.”

“Quiet,” Ordarnis ordered. He started going through his options, mentally plotting out each until he came to a point where he couldn’t safely predict the outcome of each of his actions. When he had finished going over each scenario, he found himself faced with only one course of action. Unfortunately, it was also the most idiotic.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Baldor said slowly. “And I don’t like it.”

“I can’t stay here,” Ordarnis said. “Sooner or later, Monthau and his magic engineers are going to figure out they can’t use the Throne eyes to transfer the spell. They’ll make another attempt, and I want to be as far away from this fortress as possible when that happens.”

“But they won’t be able to get in,” Urhy said. “We blocked their transportation spell.”

“Yes, but as Baldor pointed out earlier, as soon as they figure out that the transportation spell they used earlier is blocked, they’ll try a different one,” Ordarnis said.

“No, see, it’s a lot more complicated than that,” Urhy said. Ordarnis waved for him to be silent.

“Sir, what are you planning?” Torsten asked.

“We’re going to get those throne eyes back,” Ordarnis said.

“Not rescue Jade and Teshi?” Baldor asked.

Ordarnis snorted. “Jade will have gotten them out long before we get there. It’s doubtful she’ll be able to get to the eyes, though, which is why the three of us are going to get them back.”

“Three of us?” Baldor repeated. “Um, who’s going to take care of the fortress?”

“Teige and Casse can handle it,” Ordarnis said. “Torsten, go help Linwood organize the Legions of Terror. I want them at our back in case anything goes wrong.”

“Through Danesea, sir?”

“Since their daughter has just been kidnapped by the Evil Overlord of Rosamar, I assume Jade’s parents will be more than happy to help us,” Ordarnis said. “Baldor, go talk to our farmboy. He’ll join us on the journey to Danesea and see to the negotiations with the King and Queen. Draw up a treaty with him giving the Legions of Terror free passage through Danesea into Rosamar.”

“Consider it done,” Baldor said. “But, ah, who’s telling Teige?”

“I’ll talk to Teige,” Ordarnis said with a scowl. “After I talk to Orsula about these lizard creatures, so I know what we’re up against. Baldor, I also want to see those spy reports on Rosamar.”

“This is going to wreck havoc on my list,” Baldor muttered as he left.

“Sir,” Torsten said.

“I don’t like it either,” Ordarnis said. “Unfortunately, the alternative is worse.”

“Yes sir,” Torsten said. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Ordarnis nodded and his Trusted Lieutenant turned and followed Baldor out of the workshop. Ordarnis looked at Urhy. “Where’s Orsula?”

Authors' Note: Yes, we've taken almost the summer to post this. We've been editing Chronicles of an Evil Overlord in preparation for publication rather than writing new stuff for Comic Relief. Other than that, we don't have an excuse. Long chapter in an attempt to make it up to you.

SamoaPhoenix and Storyteller Knight