The King with Six Friends

Feathers and Knives

"Zar?" Kindle whispered into the gloom. He hesitantly pulled the sheet off the birdcage. A red hawk inside screeched and made Kindle's heart jump out of his throat. It beat its wings against the cage and screamed. Too loud! Kindle quickly replaced the cover, but the bird kept screeching. Kindle ripped off the cover. "Shut up!" he snapped at the hawk. It stilled and silenced itself immediately.

That was strange.

Kindle cautiously peeked under the sheet. The hawk cocked its head and squeaked at him. It pulled at the cage door with its talons. It wanted out. A red ribbon was cinched around its leg so tightly blood seeped through the seams. Kindle might've thought it was a messenger hawk, but it seemed uncannily intelligent.

Kindle stared into its yellow eyes. "Are you a morph?" he asked.

The hawk bobbed its head and then shook it as if it couldn't make up its mind. Kindle opened the latch and released it. It flitted out of the cage and landed gracefully on top of the door.

"Do you know where I could find my friend? Red hair, 'bout yea tall, looks like a king?" Kindle asked. The hawk nodded and swooped down to the cage, clicking the bars with its beak.

"Yes, I know, you're free. Could you show me where my friend is, though?" The bird gripped the cage with its talons and aggressively tapped the bars.

"You know what, nevermind. I'll find him on my own. Talking to a bird, what am I doing?" Kindle started back down the tunnel, but the hawk flew in front of him and screeched in his face. It landed on the stone floor and screeched again.

Kindle shooed it away. "What'd you think you're trying to-!"

Then it clicked.

"Oh no," Kindle gasped. "Zar?" The hawk nodded. "But you're not supposed to be a bird!" That much was apparent.

The hawk shook its head. "Son of a- the Viscount must've done this." Kindle paced down the hallway as Zar perched on his shoulder. "There's gotta be some way to undo it. It must be some kind of spell on you. I've heard of morph witches. I wanna bet that ribbon-"

Out of the darkness, a silver knife whistled past his head and stuck into the stone wall behind him. Kindle flinched out of the way and ducked behind a column. Blood dripped from where the blade nicked his ear. Ingrid drew another knife from her coat and wound up to throw.

Eryx, as a serpent, struck Ingrid to the ground before she could throw the knife. He coiled around her, tighter and tighter until her face turned color.

"Give me one good reassson why I shouldn't break you now," Eryx hissed.

She managed to choke out, "I- had no- no choice." The blood vessels on her temple throbbed from asphyxiation. Eryx loosened just enough for her to breathe.

"What do you mean, 'no choice'?" the snake interrogated.

"Erik has leverage over me," Ingrid gasped, "I want to help you so I can be rid of him."

Zar flew over and landed on one of Eryx's coils. Eryx cocked his head, confused. Zar screeched at the assassin, beating his wings aggressively.

"I wasn't aiming at you- this time," Ingrid snapped back at the hawk, "You did more damage to me that day than I did to you." Zar screeched again. "I can't turn you back, but I do know how."

"Why isss there a bird down here?" asked Eryx.

"That's your prince with a witch's charm on him," Ingrid grumbled. If a snake had eyebrows to raise, Eryx would have raised them.

"Why are you helping us? You were the one who tried to kill Zar in the first place," Kindle accused, rubbing his ear where the knife cut him.

"I'm not loyal to Erik. In fact, I'd be willing to die first if I can see him burn in hell," Ingrid growled.

She glared back at Zar. "Tell your friend to let me go. I know how to save your girlfriend and turn you back into a human." This time, Zar screeched at Kindle and Eryx. Zar didn't know Kiera was here at the castle.

Kindle raised his hands in defense. "Kiera had the idea first! Don't blame us!"

Zar swooped down the tunnel and up the stairs to the surface. Kindle ran after him while Eryx turned back into a person, releasing Ingrid from his coils.

"Don't try anything funny," Eryx said coldly.

"I won't." She ran up the stairs after the other two.

They reached the door above ground to find the dungeon's door swinging in the wind. A guard laid collapsed on the icy ground, presumably knocked out by Ingrid.

There was a strange absence of guards around the courtyard. Ingrid had cleared the soldiers out by telling them the Viscount was letting them retire to bed early.

The dark halls of the castle echoed with every step they took. Black and scarlet tapestries depicted Brackhill's bloody history in striking detail. The wind whistled through the castle's rickety turrets.

Ingrid led the group through the winding corridors, effortlessly navigating the labyrinth. She suddenly stopped and pressed herself against the stone wall to spy around the corner. Edge and Björn stood sentry outside the closed library doors. Erik and Kiera were inside the library. Ingrid motioned for the three to stay hidden and then calmly walked out into the torchlight.

"How long did Erik say he was going to be?" Ingrid asked Björn.

She walked toward the two men and casually leaned against the doorframe next to them. Edge recognized her clothes as the assassin's but kept still.

"Weren't you supposed to be-" Björn side-glanced at Edge- "Somewhere else?"

"Probably, but I finished the job. They didn't put up much of a fight," Ingrid casually held up the maroon-stained knife from Kindle's ear. Edge clenched his jaw when he saw the blood. "I need to speak to Erik. Now."

"He's busy with the princess," Björn said, crossing his arms, "You should leave if you know what's good for you."

At that moment, a high scream came from within the library. The fading sound echoed off the stone walls.

Zar took flight from around the corner and screeched furiously. It only took a moment for Björn to realize the situation and take out Ingrid with a single backhand. She slid across the floor, unconscious on impact.

Edge tried to take out Björn's legs, but took a massive fist to the face instead. Right as Björn hit him, Edge turned his head into an axe head and cut the vigil's fist.

Eryx leapt into the air and transformed mid-air. He coiled Björn as tight as he could, buckling the large man to his knees.

Then, Björn began to grow and change. Thick, brown fur sprouted and claws grew from his hands.

Björn was a bear morph.

He roared and bit down on Eryx's tail. Eryx hissed in pain as the sharp canines crunched the bones in his tail. Björn threw off the snake and hurled it into the stone wall. Eryx hissed and defensively bunched up his coils.

Zar attacked the bear from the air and clawed him in the snout. Björn swatted at him, narrowly missing several times.

Kindle ran into the fight with his hands blazing hot. The bear roared and charged at him. Just before Björn attacked, Kindle erupted into a blistering tower of fire. Portraits on the walls burned away from their frames, curling into ash. Candles vaporized from the roiling heat.

Björn's fur singed off his face and upper body from the blast. He sprinted away, cupping his burned face in his paws.  Kindle stood dazed for a moment before he tipped to the floor. His hair still smoked.

Edge thrust open the doors to the library, and Zar swooped in just after. The first thing Edge saw was Erik holding Kiera hostage with a flintlock pistol at her temple. Erik pulled the trigger and fired.