CHAPTER 20: KING DARIUS

The King gathered himself and quickly rose to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak but the words refused to leave his mouth. He could feel fear from his head to the sole of his feet and as he stood his legs shook.

"The," he started to say but could not say more than that.

Staan was getting visibly annoyed that his red eyes became even redder that they glowed in the dark. "You know, you don't want me to actually force the words out of your throat because I can do that. The downside for you is if there will be any throat left for you to use." He grinned maliciously.

The view from the King's point of view was horrible. All he saw were horns, red eyes, and fangs grinning at him. He grabbed his head and screamed internally before yelling, "The boy has escaped!"

Silence.

More silence.

The silence expanded and the King thought he was going to explode from the sheer tension. His hands were gripping his ropes a little too tightly it hurt. His eye darted around as he braced himself for his reaction and the longer it took for the demon to react the more his soul got crushed.

The King did not even realize what was happening until he was inches away from the Archdemon's face. One second he was struggling as he waited for his fate, the next second he was zooming fast across the room.

"What did you say?" He yelled right in the King's face.

"The boy has escaped," he repeated, weakly this time.

He did not struggle as he was held up. Not by the Archdemon's hand this time but rather a force he could not see. The grip on his neck was tighter and breathing was a hassle.

The King braced himself as he prepared to be flung against the wall or worse out the window. The Archdemon's face was still directly in front of his face but his eyes were tightly closed.

"What do you mean escaped? Who helped him?" There was no way the vermin could have escaped by himself. Somebody helped him and Staan could not wait to kill him when he found out the culprit. He knew it was not the King. King Darius could not be so stupid, his daughter's life was on the line. 

"Choose your words carefully, oh King. Don't forget that I can easily bring back the affliction upon your daughter that I had taken away." This would be a piece of cake after all he was the reason she was sick in the first place. 

"We don't know but the guards say they saw a woman but how she got into his cell, they have no idea." King Darius coughed at the end of his sentence, with the grip around his neck, talking was difficult.

Staan frowned, the King's story did not make any sense. How did just one person manage to break the weak undead boy out of the prison? The holes in the King's story were giving him a headache.

He let the king go and he dropped to the ground with a soft thud. Coughs immediately followed, as impatient as he still needed to hear the full details and the only person that could tell him was the King.

"I am listening," he muttered darkly.

The King rushed to his feet and began to tell the story exactly as he had heard it. Felix has told his part but considering he was unconscious through the ordeal his input had not been very helpful. 

The other guards had given more details and a description of the woman in question. From the description, it was obvious she was not one of the people of Euthania. However, no one could tell him how she could have gotten into the cell without any guard seeing her.

"A guard fell off the cliff, along with the boy. The woman supposedly climbed down but we checked the area directly under but they were nowhere to be found even the guard who fell is still missing though there is confirmed evidence that he is dead."

Staan resisted the urge to say something sarcastic at this point. There was no way the guard would have survived, not to mention the forest below was not only filled with wild animals but lesser demons as well, he would know he was the reason they were there. 

It was another deal he had with the King. As long as the boy was continually tortured and in captivity, he would heal the princess and make the demons attacking the town stopped.

It was his fault they were attacking the town in the first place, that had been his order. Also, the reason they were on the island in the first place was that he had brought them with him on his first visit to the island.

He was surprisingly calmer than he thought but he knew making a scene won't get him anywhere. He could punish the King all he wanted but if somebody had the boy unless they were found, there was really nothing he could do.

"We saw two patches of blood and one of them had torn up armor around it and pieces of bones. The other is believed to be the boy but there are no footsteps or anything indicating he survived the fall."

Staan jerked his head in the King's direction and the poor man gasped in fear. If it was that easy to kill the boy he would not have needed any of them in the first place.

"We have tried to do a search of the place but the guards have come up with nothing. However, I have given the order that no ship should be allowed to set out without being thoroughly searched."

"When did this happen?"

"Last night."

There was still time, there was a very high chance the boy was still in the forest but whoever it was that had him knew their way around. He would have to check himself. If magic was involved, it would be harder for the guards to find them.

He could feel it in his guts that the woman was still alive. The boy was a wimpy kid with no strength. A night in the forest and he would be torn up by a wild animal but since his body was not found which was shocking since he would not die and would only supply the animals or demons an endless supply of meat.

"Oh King Darius, I do not need to tell you what would happen to your daughter and this island if you fail to find the boy." He grinned.

"We will find him." The King yelled out with conviction.

Staan grinned widely, he didn't think so. He was tempted to see how this would go but the idea that the boy would fall into the wrong hands and thwart his plans was something he could not allow.

He rose to his feet and transformed. His disguise was disgusting, not that the form he had chosen was but he considered all human forms to be disgusting. This time around, he had chosen the same thing he had used while coming to the island.

A young man in his mid-twenties. He was headed to the forest, he knew he was sure to find something if he checked himself.

"I expect good news before noon tomorrow." 

"Yes, My Lord!" King Darius cried.

Staan turned to look at the king before he walked out of the room.