The Flame Inside Him

The Leader

Vencutio was dragged for a long while, and all that while, a lock of hair kept dangling in front of his eyes, like the pendulum of a giant clock, and Vencutio counted its swings. He reached two hundred and fifty, and then stopped, assuming by the amount of swings that they were being kept prisoners in the third level of the Hole, and that would mean, since they had gone down two levels of stairs, that they were going down the throneroom, which made sense, of course.

"Eyeless. Is he mad?" Vencutio asked his two escorters.

"No one knows." The one with the white eyes said. "Eyeless shows no emotions. He only speaks out commands, nowadays. He's not the man you knew."

"The boy I knew, you mean." Vencutio corrected him. "You are rather interesting, the two of you. One is silent and mysterious, the other oddly creepy and venenous. At least so I assume."

The one with the white eyes smirked. "We're almost there."

And so they were, for Vencutio had kept his head down for the whole trip, and now he gazed upon the tiles with the eyes on them, tiles that were only found inside and in front of the throneroom.

The man clad in black moved forward and pushed the door open, and Vencutio stood up straight, cracking his neck by moving his head to the side.

They walked inside the room and Vencutio looked at the room where he had played in as a boy, while his father had ruled.

He walked between the two men, his hands still tied.

Step by step he neared the throne, but he couldn't see anyone there, for the lighting in the room was bad and the shadows tall and dark, the only light being the giant candles on both sides of the door, giving only but a weak orange glow in the room.

"Eyeless, we bring you the Lion." The man in black said.

Silence reigned, longer than Vencutio could endure.

"Very good, Ranner." A voice finally answered, easing Vencutio's mind but a small bit. "You and Bannett can go back to your stations now. Guard my door, from the outside. We have queer visitors today."

The two men bowed, and left, closing the door behind them.

Again, silence took place.

"So," Vencutio began when he concluded that his younger brother was not going to speak. "Here we are, brothers meeting once more."

Vencutio heard the shifting of feet, and but a couple of seconds later, Eyeless came to stand in the light.

At first it shocked Vencutio to see his brother, and then it saddened him.

Eyeless was bald but for a couple of hairs on the side of his head. He had deep wrinkles on his face, and his nose drooped down, like that of an old man.

He was dressed in green robes, almost faded to white, and he wore brown sandals on his skinny feet.

His eyes were closed shut, and that made Vencutio's heart fill with the sorrow of a million people, the sorrow of a hundred women who had lost their child, and the misery of a thousands boys seeing their families butchered in front of their infant eyes.

"Eyeless, it is nice to see you." Vencutio said. He didn't call his brother by his birthname, because he knew that his brother didn't want that. "You look well."

"I can't look at all." Was Eyeless' answer. "I know how I look. I feel the age on me, although I have just turned twenty and nine."

He raised his hand. "Vencutio, my brother, tell me. What does the world look like? Tell me of its wonders, of its rich colours. Tell me!"

Vencutio cleared his throat. "The colours are the same, my dear brother. You haven't missed anything. I see them the same, you would too. You haven't lost much."

"But you can see them, so you'll never know what it is to lose them." Eyeless said. " I've missed you, brother."

"And I you." Vencutio said.

"When you left, I was heartbroken."

"I'm sorry I put this fate in your hands."

"No, it wasn't this that saddened me." Eyeless shook his head. "It was that I'd never see you again."

Vencutio smiled sadly. "I'm here now. I'm here."

"Yes, and you must leave again." Eyeless grinned. "You have quite the task on your hands."

"The boy, yes. Noah."

"No boy, brother. He is more beast than man, although he himself may not know it yet. He is soon to befall his fate. It may be close to late already. He needs help quickly."

"Which is why I'm here to help him. I didn't decide to travel with him because of the Cathedral, but because I need to stop this. Icarion and I both see it this way."

"Icarion's here as well. I had almost forgotten. And here I didn't command the women to save themselves and hide." Eyeless said.

Vencutio laughed, as did his little brother.

"Well." Eyeless said. "You must be on your way then, if we have any hope of ridding ourselves of the Belthorn, instead of letting the birth of another monster take place." Eyeless smiled. "But first, a feast to the return of a warrior."

"That isn't needed." Vencutio said.

"But wanted, so it shall be done." Eyeless sat back down. "Ranner, Bannett!"

The door was opened, and the two guards walked back inside.

"Yes, your Excellence?" Bannett asked.

"Loosen the ropes off our prisoners, and grant them safe passage around the Hole. Also, give them their possessions back and tell the cooks and all the rest of the people to prepare a feast for tonight. We shall dance in the moonlight."

"In the moonlight?" Vencutio asked, as Bannett loosened the special rope off his wrists. "Is that safe?"

"Ah, risks must be taken once in a while. I want to enjoy life a bit, for once." Eyeless said. "And Ranner, find Viper. Tell him he must show himself tonight, lest he wants to be executed at the come of dawn."

Ranner and Bannett nodded, and bowed. "Yes sir."

And they left, closing the door once more.

"Viper?" Vencutio asked.

"I haven't seen him for a while, almost months. He doesn't like to stay in one place, and often travels the Desert in search of, well, I'm not sure what. Him and his bloody snakes. When he caught the four of you, he sent Ranner to tell me of this and ran off. Last time I knew of his location, he was in the Shadowlands, which of course caught my attention. Noah was born there."

"Indeed he was. His mother is from there."

"She is." Eyeless nodded. "You must find Elfheart. He may be of help."

"Exactly what we are going to Pratos for." Vencutio said.

"Pratos is dangerous, Vencutio. Especially with the boy. Garland will want him."

"The whole world is dangerous with that boy close. But before I go to Pratos, I must ask. Is Velora still here? I would wish to see her before leaving."

Velora was Vencutio's friend and lover before he had fled the Hole.

"She is." Eyeless answered, which made Vencutio smile. "But you should know, she is incredibly mad at you for leaving."

Vencutio nodded pointlessly. "Then, with your leave, I would go look for her."

"Be my guest. Be at the feast, brother.

"Yes, your Excellence." Vencutio said, and left the throneroom.