“Put these boots on,” Alex said as he handed the king’s boots to the prince.
Prince Oscar looked confused, but he trusted the people in the room. Without question he sat and removed his boots. He pulled the king’s boots on and then stood.
“Am I to take the king’s place now?” he asked humorously. “I do not think that I will fool anyone.”
No one responded to the prince’s quip. Within moments, the prince’s face turned dark and he fidgeted nervously.
“Just what game are we playing here?” he snapped. “I have much to do without wasting time on parlor tricks.”
“Take the boots off then,” Alex said with a smile. “Perhaps your help is not needed.”
Prince Oscar sat down and pulled the boots off. He reached for his own boots, but Alex’s voice stayed his hand.
“Put the king’s boots back on.”
Prince Oscar nodded dutifully and put the king’s boots back on. Alex waited for the darkness to reclaim the prince before speaking.
“Those boots are tainted,” announced Alex. “They are what is causing the king’s irritability. Take them off.”
Prince Oscar’s eyes opened wide in fear. “And you made me put them on?” he scowled. “What treachery is this?”
“Take them off, Oscar,” commanded the king.
The prince made no move to remove the boots. Instead he glared at everyone in the room. King Arik slid down off the desk and walked around the prince. When Oscar turned to follow the king’s progress, Alex grabbed Oscar from behind and lifted him off the ground. King Arik grabbed one boot and Balamor grabbed the other. Together they pulled the boots off of the prince. When Alex released Oscar, the prince shook his head as if just awakening from a dream.
“Why didn’t you remove the boots?” asked Queen Tanya.
“I couldn’t,” frowned Prince Oscar. “What evil are they?”
“A very good question,” remarked Balamor. “Where did they come from?”
“A very popular shoemaker,” answered the prince. “He is relatively new to the city, but he already sells more boots than all of the other shoemakers combined. His prices are inexpensive and his work is outstanding. He also does excellent repairs and he does them quickly. Your boots can be dropped off at night and picked up the following morning. Everyone is going to him now.”
“He must have a lot of helpers to handle such a thriving business,” remarked the king.
“He works alone,” frowned Prince Oscar. “I can’t imagine when he sleeps.”
Alex and Tanya glanced at one another.
“Demonkin never sleep,” hissed Alex.
“I think we may have found the last Claw of Alutar,” agreed the queen. “The question now is what his plan might be.”
“Can the plague also be tied to the boots?” asked the king. “If they are, why didn’t I get sick?”
“I believe the boots are tied to the plague,” answered the queen. “Now I understand what is going on in the infirmary. When patients are brought in, we immediately remove their boots when we put them abed. That is why they steadily regain their health, and it is also why I see the same patients over and over again. When we release them from the infirmary, they put their boots back on.”
“And the sickness returns.” Balamor nodded in agreement. “I suspect that the plague is a secondary effect of the boots. One probably has to wear them for some time before developing the sickness. How long did the king wear these boots?”
“Only for a couple of hours,” answered King Arik as he glanced at Prince Midge and Alex. “I am thankful that I have friends who care enough about me to risk my wrath.”
“I am willing to wager that the demonkin seeks to have the king address the citizens,” stated Alex. “That would explain the queasy feeling in my stomach every time the king speaks about going out in public.”
“He could strike down the king without exposing himself,” nodded Tanya. “That would allow him to still strike at the rest of us.”
“I concur,” stated Alex. “At least we now understand the nature of the threat. There is still time to issue new boots to the soldiers of the army and get them on the road towards Miram. The Rangers and the Red Swords desperately need their help.”
“No, Alex,” Prince Oscar said softly, a queer expression on his face. “That is exactly what we must not do. The boots must be replaced without causing a public disturbance. If the men find out that the boots are tainted, they will not be able to remove them. Worse, we will alert the demonkin that we are on to him.”
“You propose to do nothing?” balked Alex. “If it is the demonkin you are worried about, I will go to his shop and slay him.”
“You cannot, my friend,” replied the prince.
“But I can,” Alex said stubbornly. “My sword was blessed by the Mage. It is quite capable of killing a demonkin, Claw of Alutar or otherwise.”
“That may be so,” retorted Prince Oscar, “but you are one of the Mage’s heroes. You are on the demonkin’s list. He will kill you on sight, and your sword will never reach its objective. Let’s not rush into anything here. This is a game that must be played carefully. It is a challenge of deceit and cunning, and that is something that comes naturally to me.”
Chapter 28
Traps
Colonel Rotti opened his eyes and stared up at the canvas roof above him. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but the unicorn flight from the previous night had been an unforgettable experience. He pulled his boots on and rose to his feet. Out of habit, he grabbed his sword sheath and pulled it on before exiting the tent. The sun was just rising above the horizon, and the colonel wiped the sleep from his eyes. It had been dark when they had arrived, and his first sight of the enemy camp caused his eyes to widen in curiosity. The Lanoirian camp was far larger than the one by the Chi River. In fact, it was almost as large as a Federation camp, but that was not what intrigued the colonel. Massive vats sat at the edge of the camp at varying heights above the ground. A series of bamboo pipes connected the vats to one another, and the pipe out of the lowest and largest vat disappeared over the edge of the cliff. Standing alongside that vat were General Somma, Bin-lu, and Rut-ki. The colonel strode towards them to find out what was going to happen.
Bin-lu smiled and turned towards the colonel when he saw him approaching. “Good morning, Colonel Rotti.”
The Federation colonel’s eyebrows rose at the friendly greeting, but he smiled and nodded in return. “We meet again, Bin-lu, although this time you are not a young fisherman with your blushing bride. I understand that you are a Knight of Alcea.”
“Rut-ki truly is my bride,” smiled Bin-lu, “and she is also a Knight of Alcea. As for being a poor fisherman from the city of Barouk, the story is true, although I always thought that I was ill-suited to fishing. Are you trying to point out the disingenuousness of our last meeting, Colonel?”
The emphasis of Bin-lu’s words were centered on the rank of the Federation officer, and Rotti actually blushed with embarrassment. He and Colonel Kerk had portrayed themselves as Cordonians on their spying mission the previous fall.
“Fair point, Bin-lu,” conceded the colonel. “What are all of these vats for?”
“I will let General Somma explain it to you,” Bin-lu replied. “I need to check on the progress of Team Elmor.”
Colonel Rotti watched as the young Lanoirian leaped onto the back of beautiful unicorn which immediately took to the air. He shook his head in wonder as he watched the magnificent creature fly away. He chuckled inwardly at the stark contrast between Bin-lu and the unicorn and the young fisherman and the nag of a horse he had met in the fall.
“It is odd to hear Bin-lu speak so casually about checking on Team Elmor,” commented General Somma. “We Zarans thought we were being so clever with our secrecy, but you Alceans knew about this invasion even before the Federation generals did. Someday I would like to hear the whole story about how this all came to pass.”