Chapter 2: Alkan - Fated to the Night King

I saw it then, a column of smoke, gray against the deepening sky as day slipped toward night. I knew exactly what that sign meant. What location it marked. Had been there myself not that long ago. The victims of the spreading plague had been found. The third village to be left with nothing but its ghosts, their souls drifting like ashes on the wind.

Danvers fidgeted beside me, biting his lip as he waited for my acknowledgement.

"Might as well tell me what you have to say. It won't get any better the longer you wait."

"There's been little change, sir. Most are no worse, but also no better." He hunched, tapping his chin with a finger, eyes focused on the blood red rug that covered the chilly floor. This was the highest watchtower in my castle. It caught the brunt of the chilly winds that blew down the mountain pass to swirl around the stone edifice. Sometimes, if I closed my eyes, I could feel it sway in time with the wind.

It always held, though.

We may bend, but we will not break.

The code of every Istakarran.

All who answered to me.

The smoke was close enough to the border between my kingdom and that of the shifters that I imagined I could almost smell death on the air. How many died this time? How many more to come?

"Have you tried increasing the dosage of the last batch you made? Perhaps that would provide greater results."

Danvers hummed and I waited, knowing it was useless to rush him. "I could do, sir, but the stores of it are rapidly dwindling. We'll need a fresh draw to replenish what is needed if you'd like me to test your theory."

I nodded, my eyes still following the fingers of smoke as they curled up and up, gradually fading away until they disappeared. "Do it."

"Are you sure?" The healer took a step back, his small, icy pale eyes meeting mine. Rarely was the smaller man confrontational, unless it was over matters of medicine. Then he'd argue to the death. "It is a taxing process, such a donation."

"I'm sure." There was no hesitation in my answer.

"I'll say it again, sir, that this is all quite experimental. I cannot guarantee that we'll be able to do as you hope."

"I'm aware. I take no issue with that. Prepare for the draw. It should be done before your next rounds."

He bowed to me, just slightly, a tip of the head only because he'd known me for too long to be truly formal in my presence. "As you wish, my King."

I kept my eyes on the horizon, watching the sparks erupt as true night fell and the pyres of my enemy's dead collapsed down. His footsteps were loud as he moved to the door, leaving the soft carpet behind.

"And Danvers," I said, not looking his way, but feeling his gaze on me as he stopped. "Keep them locked up. And bring me the key when you're done."

Silence hung between us, tense and unsure, before he finally answered again.

"As you wish, my King."