Willow the mole
Chapter 69: Talon’s POV
“Talon, the team came back empty-handed,” Greg said as he stood by the throne room entrance where I was standing with Jared.
My anger was already building and his response only intensified it.
“Then let them go back again until they have something!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“I want every soldier out there until you find a fucking sign, damn it!” I roared, shaking the room.
Greg brought his head up only slightly and turned to leave.
“Shit!” I cursed, kicking the table in front of me. I started pacing.
Where could they be? Where could have Desmond kept them? What did he want in return?
If he wanted them dead, he would have done that by now. He would have sent me their heads a long time ago, but this meant, he wanted something else -or he wanted me to watch when he killed them.
“Talon, please calm down. Do not lose faith. We will find them-” Jared started to say but I spurned suddenly in his direction and he swallowed his tongue at once.
“How? We have been searching for close to twenty hours now! You all keep saying we will find them but the more the hour passes the more difficult it is to pick up their scents! Now tell me how are we supposed to fucking find them?” I roared.
Aaliyah stepped forward. She pulled the table I kicked back to its position then she placed a large map on the table.
“We have searched the entire forest in the last fifteen hours…” she said drawing a circle around the dotted green on the map.
“Just like Beta Greg said, we didn’t leave a stone unturned-”
I left Jared’s side and joined her at the table. “Are you saying she isn’t in the forest?” I asked, knowing at the back of my mind that it was only Avalyn I referred to.
“All I am trying to say, my king is that we have searched everywhere except here,” she said pointing to a patch of land behind a body of water, “And here,” she pointed to another piece of land at the edge of the map.
“Where is that?” I asked suddenly, feeling hopeful again.
“This is the human town around here. But I doubt Desmond has them in the human town,” she said.
She was making a point. Desmond wouldn’t waste his time going to the humans or could he?
“I think we should consider both locations. If I were a foolish rogue leader, I would keep my victims in a town where no one would think of-” Jared didn’t finish his statement when the door burst open and Greg stepped in with Montgomery standing behind him.
My eyes narrowed and my fist pulled ready to destroy. “Why the hell is he here?” I growled.
“He claims to have information on Emily and Avalyn’s whereabouts,” Greg said and the fool raised his hands in mock surrounder.
“Then go ahead and speak!” I growled.
“No, Talon. I need you to promise that you won’t hurt me after I am done speaking… Give me your word as king!” The boy said and I felt my anger rise to my throat.
I moved to him at a speed that none of the men in the room noticed until I was already at him. I grabbed him by the neck and his feet lifted off the ground.
“Do you think this is a joke? Do you think we are joking here?!” I roared, squeezing his windpipes.
“Shit! Talon, let him go! Come on, whatever information he might have may be useful!” Jared yelled as he ran towards us.
Greg was also by his side and both of them tried to pull my hands away from the boy.
“Montgomery is just a child Talon, do not do this! I promise to throw him in the dungeon myself if he is trying to prank us!” Greg stated.
“Think about it, what if he truly has the information and you kill him now…” Jared said and my hands went limp on their own accord.
“I will not hurt you if you tell the truth but if this is a silly prank, I swear on my dead father, you will be dead before dawn,” I hissed as I dropped him to the ground.
He crash-landed on the floor and started panting as he tried to make his windpipes function again.
“Avalyn is pregnant and Desmond is going to kill the child!” Montgomery winced out.
“How do you know this?” I hissed as my lower abdomen contracted.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
Avalyn was pregnant yet she was in the hands of my enemies.
“Damn it!” I cursed, fisting my hands so tight the skin popped open.
No, Montgomery was playing with my pain. He knew how much I wanted a child and he thought the perfect way to get at me was to make up stupid stories.
My eyes flashed in his direction again and I got overwhelmed with the desire to finish him.
I started coming at him but Greg stood between me and the boy while Jared picked him up and brought him to the table where the map was still waiting.
“Point out where they are!” Jared commanded.
Montgomery looked at me and then back to the paper. His bottom lip was shaking and Jared understood.
“You have my word. I, Alpha Jared, promise to give you immunity for the information you are giving.”
“Thank you,” he whispered.
He had suddenly gone pale and his shoulders shuddered every minute.
Good. He should be scared because I would vaporize him if he led us to the wrong place.
His shaky fingers left his side and he pointed to the map. “Here, they are here.”
I checked the spot he was pointing to and noticed that it was one of the places Aaliyah had pointed out as well.
Maybe there was some truth in it.
“There is a cottage a few yards after the river and a small camp around it. That’s where he and his men stay. Avalyn and Emily are in the cottage,” Montgomery explained.
I came forward and took a marker. I drew what he had just explained and looked at him. “How many men does he have?”
His eyes flashed with panic because he knew why I was asking that question and at the end of the day, whatever reply he gave was going to bite him in the ass.
First, if he gave me a negative answer, he risked losing his head.
Secondly, if his answer was positive, he also risked losing his head because how did he know so much? How did he even know where Avalyn was?
“I know you are a traitor Montgomery. Isn’t that the reason why you asked for immunity before speaking?” I growled at him.
“Ta-talon… You promised!” He shrieked, taking a fearful step backward, but his chest met that of Jared and he jumped back to his position.
“He didn’t promise you anything, boy, I did.”
I grabbed his collar and pulled him back to the map. “How many men?”
His eyes became wet and he struggled to maintain his composure. He sniffled and then closed his eyes.
“A thousand at most but they shouldn’t be up to that… I-I am just guessing. It’s a small camp- the men… Maybe seven hundred…” He stuttered looking into my eyes.
I could see the sincerity in them. He didn’t know the exact number.
“Fine.” I pushed him back to Jared and turned to Greg. “Throw him in the dungeon. He will be released when we return with Avalyn alive,” I said, “And Emily too,” I added.
“I swear I am telling the truth! I am not lying okay!” He tried to plead but Greg did his job. He passed him on to Walter who was more than happy to give him a blow that would silence him.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Jared asked after the door closed behind Montgomery and Walter.
“May I?” Aaliyah said, raising her hand.
I beckoned for her to step forward and take over the map.
“The best attack mode we can deliver is to move around the river,” she said, drawing an arrow around the place.
“If they have the numbers of men, Montgomery mentioned, it will be safe if we counter around the land as well,” Greg pointed out.
We all nodded. The plan made sense but there was a setback I was seeing.
“They will expect an attack from the land because the river route will be too steep. The counter team might be ambushed,” I told them.
“You are right my king, that’s why we should have another team coming from this end,” Aaliyah said pointing at the open land space.
“But they will be exposed and it will take longer to reach,” Jared retorted.
But I saw the idea behind it. An evil smile sat on my face. “This is brilliant. The third team will leave first. That should give them enough time to reach and support the attacks,” I explained.
We continued planning until we all came to a perfect conclusion. There were no loopholes and the goddess was with us, we were going to be victorious.
“Prepare the men, we leave at Dawn!” I said to Walter and Aaliyah -who controlled Jared’s army.
“Yes, My King,” they chorused.
Greg, Jared, and I, left the room last as customary and we walked Jared to his room. As we got to the door, he stopped walking and looked at me.
“Talon, do not worry. We will find them,” he said, patting my shoulder
“I am not worried about finding them. I am worried about the state we will find them in,” I stated with a fire burning in my eyes.
“The goddess will keep them safe till we get there,” Jared mumbled and I nodded, appreciating his help and support.
“See you by dawn,” he said before going into his room.
“You should get some rest as well. It is going to be a long day,” I told Greg but he shook his head.
“I need to assist Walter with the boys besides, I never sleep before a battle,” he said and I patted his back as well.
Greg was more than a friend. His loyalty was one of the things that kept me going even in my lowest.
“Thank you,” I whispered and he nodded without question. He understood the weight of the words.
“Where are you going?” Greg asked as he noticed I wasn’t taking the direction of my chamber.
“I need to question Trevor’s boy about Avalyn’s pregnancy. I need to know if that was a joke or not,” I said.
Ever since he mentioned it, I wasn’t myself anymore. I needed to know if it was true that Avalyn was carrying my child.
“I will come with you,” Greg said.
I agreed and we made our way down to the dungeons. Since he was on probationary arrest, Walter kept him in a room away from other criminals.
But as soon as we got to the corridor, I felt the change in the air. The smell wasn’t the usual damp, greasy odor that was usually here, there was a strong metallic smell of blood.
“Shit!” I cursed as I realized what it was.
I ran to the room and pushed the door open but I was too late. Montgomery was lying in a pool of his blood.
There was a silver dagger beside him. A half-moon silver dagger with a velvet hilt.
My heart shattered as I realized who did this. All the signs have been pointing to her but I was too stubborn to believe it.
“Who could have done this?” Greg whispered beside me.
“Willow.”