Lord of the Wicked [✔ COMPLETE]

CHAPTER 2: Homecoming of the Lord

     The force sucked him through the dark hole so rough and rapid that Valek's cheeks were blown aside, it felt like his skin was about to come undone. As he was pulled into the black hole, Valek wondered if his mother could hear his screams.

A dim light appeared, followed by shapes. A little after Valek figured out that the shapes were roofs and it was a town he looked at, his head hit the cold, hard dirt, and from there on it was a serene sleep.

Valek's head felt heavy when he returned to the world of the woke. An ache knocked in the back of his head and his sight was blurry, no matter how often he blinked it did not become more clear. There was a faint light shining above him along with two silhouettes, and all of that twisted and turned in and out of sight.

"Are you sure this is him?" a male voice asked.

"It has to be," another similar voice answered, "there is no one else here."

There was a silence, then the first voice spoke again. "Quite underwhelming, isn't he?"

"Tell me about it."

Valek blinked, but the two faces hovering above him were blurry and floating and multiplied. He could not make out their features, they both looked the same. Valek closed his eyes once more and drifted off. When he opened his eyes again the faces looked sharper, and he noticed they didn't only look both the same but in fact were both the same.

Twin boys with flowing blond hair, probably near their twenties, staring down at him with dark eyes. One wore a dark green mantle, the other a dark blue one, and the latter raised two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding?"

Valek swallowed and frowned, and focused on the fingers. "Two."

The twins looked at one another, shrugged, then grabbed him by his shoulders and hauled him to his feet. A sharp pain stabbed his brain and the world turned black for a moment, but he quickly gained his balance. As he walked in the middle of the twins, Valek looked around and studied his surroundings.

The land was a mass of grey and darkness, black mud and weeping trees. Unlike his own town, where it was always hot and sunny, here it was so wet and cold that Valek could've sworn he didn't only feel the humid cold but could also smell it.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" Valek asked. When no answer came, he continued, "Where am I? Who are you? Is this a dream? Am I..."

"Shut up and keep your head down," the twin in blue hissed.

The twin in green gave his brother an angry look. "You shut up. That's no way to talk to His Majesty," he whispered, and locked eyes with Valek. "You have to excuse my brother. He lacks manners... among other things." Then, he laid his hand on the back of Valek's head and gave it a heave. "Do keep your head down, though."

Valek frowned. Did the young man just call me His Majesty? By this time, Valek was rather sure he was either dreaming or dead, yet he did as he was told and kept his head down. For a long time, he saw no more than the twins' brown boots splashing in the mud with his own sneakers stumbling along. They directed him left and right through alleys and across bridges.

In a way, Valek was amused by all of this, as he'd never had such a vivid dream before. Not to mention that it was absolutely more entertaining than being awake. The mud made place for cobbled streets. Voices rose up and turned louder as they went.

When he peeked up, he saw pale clouds of fog drifting and people walking about. Something was off about these people, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Perhaps it was the robotic way they walked, a fast pace without acknowledging one another, or maybe it was the expression on their faces; cold and miserable like the weather, but he was certain that something was not right here.

They reached a tall gate adorned with curling iron, and as it shrieked open he felt something sharp poke in his shoulder. Valek frowned and looked beside him. A crow had perched on his shoulder and was watching him with little beady black eyes. Slowly, he reached for the crow as to scare it away, but it remained firmly on his shoulder. Then he gently poked it, when the crow didn't move Valek decided to give it a stroke. The crow seemed to enjoy this and rubbed its head against his hand. So far, he had just gone along with everything and he decided that with the crow he'd do the very same thing.

This is not real so just go along with it, Valek told himself.

They led him over a narrow cobbled path. On his sides was grass and trees, and there, far ahead of him rose the tallest towers he'd ever seen, made of grey stone some were topped with lack flags and others with spikes.

A crowd of men and women stood at below the steps of the entrance, huddled together and watching them approach. When they stopped walking, Valek noticed statues of gargoyles along the castle, and near the wide entrance. The crow flew above them for a few seconds and landed back on Valek's shoulder. The crowd gave him slight, sullen bows.

An old man stepped forward, the wrinkles on his face sagged and his head was bald aside from a few strands of black hair. He took Valek's hand and kissed it. "Welcome home, Your Majesty."