4 Mysterious and wicked

The old augur's words had sparked something in Alastair and since then he had started to search for the angel. His men had traveled far and wide in search of her. But the problem was nobody knew how she looked or what her distinguishing characteristics were, not even Osiris. Fifteen years had passed and the angel was sixteen by now. But Alastair and Osiris were yet to find her. They did not know where she was, but Osiris was sure that she was alive and this information had kept them going on in their search.

In the last sixteen years, many things had changed. The kingdom had prospered significantly and its glory had reached far and wide, even to the kingdom of Esmond that was farthest to Oryn in distance. And Alastair had become the most powerful king the people had ever seen, just as Osiris had predicted.

Even Osiris had aged in the last sixteen years and his grey beard had gradually turned white. Now his legs needed support and he used a shillelagh to walk, though everything else in his body seemed fine. Many people who had seen the young king's coronation had died, some due to old age and others after falling sick. But the king remained as young and handsome as ever. He had not aged even a day and Osiris felt that it was just yesterday when he had met Alastair to discuss the bizarre dream he had seen.

Nothing had changed in Alastair. His face, his hair, eyes and him, everything was the same. What had truly changed was the way he behaved now. He was more reserved, wicked and a great strategist. He was a devil to the people but only a few people knew that it was not true. He had disguised his kindness with his cruelty. Alastair was a cruel man who mercilessly slew those who went against him. But he was also a man who did great things to his people in secret. He never harmed any innocent and, instilling fear in them so that they did not start revolting against the throne was not hurting, in his eyes at least.

Alastair believed that as long as he was on the throne and his people were safe, everything he did was worth it. It was his orders to spread about his brutal and evil doings in the kingdom to warn all those fools who were trying to conspire against him. Alastair was not blind, he knew who truly supported him and who was a venomous snake waiting for the right time to bite him.

He trusted no one, not even his right man, Kenneth who had been with him even before he was declared the king. People could be swayed easily and their minds could be controlled like the reins of a horse. Greed and lust were one of the many weaknesses of all creatures, including Alastair. He was greedy too for power and he was selfish, arrogant even but he was not immoral. He never did things that went against his conscience even if it meant he was at loss.

Alastair glanced at Osiris before his eyes went back to the lantern on the table that kept flickering every now and then whenever the wind blew through the broken window. The man had become silent all of a sudden and his eyes were transfixed on the king who could not help but sigh loudly. "Bless my handsome face. Now, not only women, even old men like Osiris are getting attracted to me. How troublesome!"

Osiris did not come out of his stupor until he heard his name. He gave one confused look as he had not heard a thing the king had said and Alastair did not repeat his words on seeing his questioning gaze.

"Did you find out about the angel?" Alastair asked when the wind blew again, this time much stronger than before making the lantern flicker loudly before the house was plunged into absolute darkness.

"What a broken house we have here!" Alastair commented. He had seen the small hole in the lantern that could not protect the fire within it and he shook his head in helplessness. The old man was too stubborn to take any help from him. He would rather die than spread his arms before anybody, including the king.

Osiris was momentarily stunned due to the sudden darkness. However, before he could take another step the room lit up. What Osiris saw almost made him faint. The light was coming from Alastair's hand, more specifically from his right index finger. It was stronger than the light within the lantern and even the wind could not kill it.

Osiris stared at Alastair's hands in shock as the fire burned, illuminating the small house. He had never seen anything like this before and he was sure he never would too. His eyes darted towards Kenneth but all he saw was a calm face that told everything he was seeing was a daily occurrence to him. He was not perplexed at all in any way and even if he was, it was not showing on his face.

"How?" The word slipped out his mouth before he could control himself and Alastair gave a deadly smirk that made the old man furrow his eyebrows. Osiris's earlier deduction about Alastair was proved to be right at this moment. He wondered what the king was, a vampire, a werewolf, perhaps a dragon, or a witch. But he could not point out the exact. The man before him was a mystery and it was best if the mystery remained a secret. From Alastair's behavior, it was sure that those who tried to cross him would end up no good and Osiris did not even want to risk trying it.

"Magic," was all Alastair said before he resumed his interrogation. "Answer my question."

It was only after the king diverted the topic did Osiris remember what they were initially talking about.

"I apologize for my inability, my Lord."

"Sigh, and here I was thinking that Osiris could do everything. How naive was I!"

Osiris did not say anything to the king's taunt as he had long accustomed to it by now. Since the time he had first met the young king, the man had been nothing but sarcastic with him and Osiris had seen that he was the same with others. His words were not hurtful but they sure seemed mocking.

Alastair had a skilled tongue that could switch based on the situation and he was an expert in it. Osiris had experienced his poisonous tongue as well as had seen him say sweet words whenever he was surrounded by ladies. The man was eloquent, and persuasive even when needed. Nobody could win against him talks, nor did he allow them to. He was a master when it came to twisting his opponents' words, rendering them tongue-tied. Alastair had inherited this ability from his father and now he was even better than the former king.

Alastair stood up suddenly, the light on his finger diminished and the room fell into absolute darkness again. "Let me know if you find out anything about the angel."

"Yes, my Lord," Osiris answered with a bow and stood in his place until he was all alone in the room. Only after the king's departure did a question pop up in his mind that had him thinking for a while. 'Why did the king make a trip to meet me personally? He could have called for me or even asked his men to get the details? Why did he have to bring a large cavalcade and attract everybody's attention?'

What he did not know was that the king had a reason for everything he did. Nobody, not even his closest aid could guess what he had in mind and that was what made him all the more mysterious and wicked.