"Have you lost your mind? Threatening the Clan Leader after everything I've done for you. I am merely applying the rules here. Do you think it pleases me to kill two children? I'll start with the girl first if you prefer," replied Klutz with his usual stoic voice.
The second Klutz started taking his first step toward Malena, Zora conjured her element. Her hands moved so fast that Alex thought he was dreaming. He had never seen his mother seriously cast a spell. He always thought that she could only use magic for basic daily life chores.
An ice spike materialized in front of her and bolted towards Klutz's head. It barely missed him and hit the wall behind him, shattering into a million pieces and leaving a melon-sized hole in the wall.
The three guards present took out their ink and assumed a combat-ready stance. Even though they had the numerical advantage, fear was written all over their faces.
"The next one is going to land between your eyes." Shouted Zora, without a blink of hesitation in her voice.
"I see you've still got some of your past strength left in you, Zora!" mockingly spurred Klutz while Elder Herald's shield magic was still wearing off his skin.
"Zora, let me handle this." Herald stepped closer to Klutz and put a hand on his shoulder. Klutz grinned, which hinted at how strongly he was gripping him. "To carry out an execution without a trial, there must be undeniable proof of entering the archives by infraction, stealing, or deliberate damage. Since the door was open when they got there, and the guards haven't found any stolen books or items, a trial must be held before the sentence."
"You know damn well that the trial is just for show and that they'll be sentenced to death anyway." Klutz's face tensed; he understood that the situation was getting out of his hands.
"Well, if you want to carry out the sentence right now, go ahead, but that would be like murdering two innocent children in the eyes of the Supreme Court. I don't think they will sentence a mother who killed her tyrannical Clan Leader to protect her child?" Alex's father smiled during his speech, but nobody in the room was fooled; those words were threats, and they sent chills down Klutz's spine.
Finally, to top it off, Elder Herald added, "By the way, my core is getting empty from all the effort I put in today to gather Xander's money, I'm not sure I'll be able to conjure another barrier to help you out if things get ugly."
"He's good... You should take notes from your father." The voice continued inside Alex's head.
"Thank you for reminding me, Elder Herald. However, we still haven't heard about Malena's version of the story. Let's hear what she has to say before going back to my office to set up the details about the trial," Klutz started walking confidently towards Malena's cell. He knew there was something fishy about the story and hoped Malena would slip up. Her cell was just far enough that she and her mother couldn't hear the conversation they had just had.
"Hmmmmm... seems that you're done for, kid... maybe in another life." Those words were cold, like how a reader would react to a side character they didn't care about dying in a novel.
Shut up...
"Child. Tell me what happened. What were you doing in the forbidden archive?" While Klutz was speaking, Celia dropped to her knees.
"Please! Don't do this! She's so young! Don't take her away from me, she's all I have..." her cries echoing through the prison.
Alex buried his face in his shirt. This was all his fault. His life was already over, and he even took Malena down with him. That second thought was what pained him.
"Please! I'll do anything you want, just let them off the hook just this once... they didn't know what they were doing. They were just trying to help." The mother continued begging as much as she could; she knew that it wouldn't change anything, but she could only try.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.
"Clan Leader Klutz and Elder Herald!! Xander is here; he's demanding to see you two at once. He's already started destroying the garden." A small guard passed through the door. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were scanning the room desperately to find the two men.
"Hmmm... he's two hours early and has already started a ruckus? He's getting bolder by the second. We'll continue this discussion later. One guard stays behind. Everybody out." Even if it didn't seem possible, Klutz's mood tanked even more.
The mothers said their last goodbyes, and Elder Herald took one last glance at his son. It was only for a second, but the message was clear: There is still hope.
As they left the prison, Elder Herald told Celia to go get some rest and that they would come see her tonight after everything had calmed down. The rest of the group headed straight up the hill to meet their tormentor.
The scene they found was devastating. The main fountain was shattered into pieces, and there were several disciples surrounded by Xander's goons. The air felt heavy, a smell of fire and ozone that usually persists after spells are cast.
"Look who finally decided to show up? You know that I hate waiting," said Xander, looking at them with disgust
"Greetings, Xander, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. However, if I recall correctly,our meeting was supposed to be at midnight. You're a couple of hours early." Elder Herald put on his typical fake smile, which Xander had grown accustomed to.
"I changed my mind. I need that payment right now! No time for all this small talk," Xander seemed pressed; he wasn't totally in control of the situation here. That's when Herald understood what was bugging him from the beginning. The fact that Xander came here early for payment wasn't that out of the ordinary. However, bringing his guards with him meant he was still looking for a fight.
"Right! I thought that that might be the case. I've prepared your payment right here." He took out a pouch and walked over to Xander. "Twelve silver coins. See you next month." Elder Herald turned around and started walking back towards his wife.
"Your rent is short." His terrifying smile was crossing his whole face.
"I've counted it multiple times. All twelve coins are there," replied Herald, starting to get annoyed.
"Ohhh... have you forgotten to tell him, Clan Leader Klutz?" Klutz was already looking at the ground, too embarrassed to look at Herald.
"Exactly... the rent is now twenty silver coins," Klutz added, not even convinced of his own answer.
"You little... Not to worry, I surely have something that would be worth eight silver coins." Alex's father knew that his answer wouldn't suffice, but he didn't quite know where Xander was headed with his plan.
"So you mean to tell me that you don't have the money? After all I've done, protecting the land at the cost of my men's lives? Do they mean nothing to you? I will not tolerate any more of this. The only thing I will accept as payment is your whole library." Barked Xander, riling up his men while he spoke.
"I understand your frustration, but I cannot give you the library; it is my only possession." Elder Herald knew that he was being taken advantage of, but he didn't have a choice but to try to calm things down for now.
"Do not bore me with these futilities. You will either give me this library willingly, or I will take it from your cold, dead bod..." As he was talking, two ice spikes flew towards him. He barely managed to block the first spike with his cane. The second one missed him completely.
In reality, it wasn't aimed at him; it hit the ground in front of the disciples. Thanks to the commotion it caused, the students were able to run and hide behind Zora, who was already starting to conjure her second spell.
"Honey... I told you not to resort to violence this easily, please. But you're right, if we lose the library, we won't have any weight in Alex and Malena's trial. There is no going back now. Let's do this like the good old days," Elder heard, took out his ink, and locked eyes with Xander.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting to kill you two? If it weren't for the Supreme Court, you would be dead by now. Let's do this." As he was finishing his phase, he launched a fireball that was deflected by Herald and hit the ground.