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Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: A Vow for Vengeance

Chapter 24: A Vow for Vengeance

Alain knelt down next to the girl. He placed his hand cautiously on her back. He did not know what to say. He did not have the words for this. And yet, he knew he must. He knew it was his responsibility. So why was it so hard to speak?

"Rethi," he whispered.

She could not hear him. The girl was wailing, clutching the body of a boy who had been bludgeoned so horrifically that it had stung all of them. It was an act that shocked the conscience. He had been a child. And now, Rethi was inconsolable in her grief.

Not twenty minutes ago, she'd woken up happy, the earliest rays of sun just appearing on the horizon. But right away, she had soured, as it became clear to all of them that Dal was missing. And that someone else was missing, too.

"Jonaaaaa!" she cried. "Wake up, Jona. Please. Please! Please!"

"Rethi," Garrick whispered. "He is gone. You must accept this."

She screamed, and the sheer pain in her voice ripped at Alain. Her eyes were soaked, and her sobbing intensified. She was shocked—they all were. They had so many questions. One thing was for certain, however: Dal did not murder the boy. Whatever had happened, it had been caused by an outside party. But as far as why the two had left the camp together and exactly who they had met—these were the answers Alain needed.

"My Jona," she said, sobbing. "He was a child!"

Master Churbud's eyes were dry, and he spoke little in the way of words. But Alain knew that his pain was even greater than Rethi's. His pain must have struck so deeply that it felt like fire racing through every vein in his body. And yet, somehow, he did not cry. He merely frowned. And that was enough for Alain to know that, should Master Churbud find those responsible for this horrific, brutal act of murder, he would show them no mercy.

"I need to inspect the body," Garrick said. "I know it's difficult, but you must let go and let me work."

"Noooooo!" she cried, hugging the boy's corpse and dripping tears down on top of him. "Leave us alone!"

Alain, with the help of Denin, had no choice but to pry her off the boy and pull her back. With both hands, she reached out, grabbing for him. They were all hurting, but for the moment, they needed answers. They needed to know what had happened. His friends, Billee and Raval, deserved that much at least; for the moment, Master Churbud had ordered them to remain at the campsite, not wishing them to see what they had found. It was truly an awful start to the morning. Somehow, it felt even worse than yesterday morning, when the demon had manifested in Bradford. Perhaps this was due to how unexpected a thing it was.

This was truly off-putting.

With Rethi having been pulled away, Garrick approached the corpse and knelt down onto the grass. He then spun the boy over, leaned forward, and narrowed his eyes. "Cause of death is blunt-force trauma to the head," he said. "From the impact, I'd say either an axe or flail. But there are multiple small puncture wounds, making a flail more likely." He gently placed the boy down, then reached into a pack he'd brought along. From within, he removed a piece of gauze and wrapped it around the boy's head and his eye sockets in order to spare his dignity.

Having done so, he settled the boy onto his back and then began to inspect the nearby grass. "There was no struggle," he announced. "Whatever had happened had happened quickly. I know it's not gonna console you much, Rethi, but Jona died very quickly. I doubt he felt it or knew what happened."

She whimpered, then sobbed, then began to bawl. "My little Jona," she said. "Tell me who did this. I'll kill them myself. I will burn them alive. I will burn their families!"

"Stop talking like that," Garrick said. "Those words might just be spoken in grief, but they're words people make good on far too often."

"I will make good on them!" Rethi shouted. Despite this, Alain knew her well enough to know that she did not mean them. But Garrick, understandably, felt compelled to take them seriously. Alain couldn't blame him. He'd personally seen such acts of revenge fantasy play out in reality.

"No," he stated forcefully. "Rethi, we'll kill the pieces of shit who did this to Jona, but that's where our justice ends."

Either due to his confrontational tone or the situation in general, Rethi directed her misery upon Garrick. "Why did you let them go?" she yelled at him. "You were"—her voice broke—"you were supposed to be watching them."

"That is curious," Denin whispered. "Lord Ashmere, it's not like you to fall asleep at your post."

He grunted in acknowledgment. "You're right. And that's what I've been thinking about ever since I woke up this morning. The fact that I shouldn't have fallen asleep." He looked around him in all directions, and then he lowered his head to the blood stains on the grass both near and beneath the boy's body.

"I think I know what happened."

"Tell me!" Rethi demanded.

"This might be hard for you to hear."

"Tell me now!"

Garrick nodded. "Jona probably put something in my tea. Nothing poisonous, but a sedative from Master Churbud's supplies."

Alain gasped. "Why? Do you think he was in league with whoever—"

"Of course not, my prince," Garrick fired in. "He was a fifteen-year-old boy. There's only one reason he'd do that."

Alain felt his eyes widening. "To help Dal escape."

"Exactly."

"Because he was jealous."

"Yeah."

Rethi began to weep. "That can't be why. It can't be my fault."

"It's not your fault!" Master Churbud shouted, finally chiming in. Now, he stepped forward, knelt down, and scooped up Jona, placing him over his shoulder, but not before kissing the boy's forehead. "It's the fault of the marauders who killed him."

"Marauders?" Alain, Denin, and even Rethi asked. But Garrick simply nodded.

"Lord Ashmere has likely already figured it out," he said as he placed his alternate arm over the boy's body on his shoulder, securing him in place. "I think it's obvious to the both of us that, whatever shenanigans Dal and Jona were up to, it was not correlated to what happened to them. Dal's only crime here is attempting to escape, and Jona's only crime is assisting him. Both were not involved in any way with the perpetrators. This, I believe strongly."

"Where is Dal?" Rethi asked. "I don't…I don't think he would just abandon Jona and run away. I might not know him that well, but when we were fighting the demon, he risked his life to help us, so I don't think…I don't think he'd do that."

"I don't think so either," Denin said. "But there was only one body here. This means they either killed him elsewhere or he's still alive and has been taken captive." Denin's voice filled with resolve. "If he's alive, we must rescue him."

"That's right!" Rethi said. "And kill the marauders who took him."

The pain in her voice stung Alain personally, because he couldn't help but feel responsible. Not because of his own actions, though, but because of those of his father. The foolish king had devoted so much time and attention towards war and greed that he had neglected to safeguard the common people, and as a result, marauder bands were operating with something near impunity. As his son, Alain felt the weight of his father's decisions upon his own back.

"Rethi," Alain said, bracing himself for her reaction. "We cannot pursue Dal."

She whipped her head in his direction, her eyes bulging with rage and red from crying. "What?"

"We have a responsibility to the realm. We must continue home and report to my father on the demon manifestation."

"Fuck the demon! They killed Jona and took Dal, and now we need to—"

"I will not abandon him!" Alain snapped right back at her. He turned his eyes to Garrick. "You'll go. Alone."

He stood back up to his feet, met Alain's eyes, and nodded. "I'll find him. And I'll find who did this."

"W-wait a second," Denin said, holding out his hands. "You're sending Lord Ashmere by himself."

"I am."

"But won't he—"

"Die?" Alain asked, finishing the sentence for him.

"Well, yeah."

"No, Denin. If anything, it might even be overkill. Garrick acting alone is more than enough, I am sure."

"It will be," Garrick said. "The rest of you continue on to Freewind. I will find Dal. I give you my word. If he is still alive, I will bring him back to the capital with me."

Master Churbud approached Garrick and bowed his head. "Every fiber of my being wishes to go with you, Lord Ashmere."

"I know. But you're on a mission from the king to bring the prince home."

"That's why I beg of you: slaughter every one of them. Do it for Jona."

"I will. I swear in the name of Esreus, the God above, that I will."

And with that, there was nothing for them to do but part ways with Garrick and continue on back to the capital. Alain had to hold Rethi, however, as she was clearly having trouble walking. The grief was like a thousand-pound weight weighing her down.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I'm just so sorry."

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