Rune Stealer

The Advisors

As we turned down the hall to the dining hall I could make out the silver tunics and green robes of the royal guard. I did a check to make sure I had everything under control. Lord Plianne plodded silently behind Kian, Cress, and I. Behind Plianne I could feel the comforting presence of Zyn, but as we reached the doors, I could feel Zyn slip away as he activated his stealth rune; even though I couldn't sense him, I still new he was behind me. We stopped in front of the doors and the royal guard quickly moved to open them. One guard slipped ahead and I heard his voice boom, "Your sons, Your Highness." Then we ushered into the dining hall which was loud with chatter. As soon as I entered, however, the chatted ceased and the air became tense.

At the table sat King Saar and four other people, which I assumed were the advisors. Saar sat at the head of the table, the advisors all sat at one side of the table, and we all sat at the other side of the table with Plianne and I in between Kian and Cress. Zyn assumed his usual position in the corner.

For the first time in my life, my quick tongue was dry and I had no idea what to say. I began to panic, but I quickly calmed myself by doing a quick scan through their minds of the advisors in front of me.

The woman with dark hair and dressed in a flowing purple gown that clasped on one shoulder and fell beautifully across her body. She had the softest look on her face, but her mind was hard. She had a charisma rune painted on her neck. The man adored in blue robes had a very rigid mind, but I can see he was very intelligent for he wore the spectacles of a scholar paired with a rune I can only describe as knowledge. Another woman was wearing a modest yellow dress and had no emotion on her face and it reminded me of Zyn. I took note of her dark hair, pale skin, and Icy eyes and I knew then that she was from Leipolah also; an accounting rune stood out on her pale skin. The final man was large built and wore a red soldiers' uniform with a thick red cape attached to his shoulders. Unsurprisingly, he had a war strategy rune poking out of his collar. He glared at me dangerously as Kian does, but his mind was darker; this man had a lust for blood.

I contemplated which advisor had the weakest mind, but before I could finish scanning, Saar cleared his throat.

"As you all know, we are here to discuss the future of Lord Plianne." In that instant, I felt a forceful tug in my mind and I knew it was Plianne panicking. This time, instead of dropping my influence, I forced his body to stiffen and quieted his voice and made him think that he was covered in angry wasps. I let the imaginary wasps attack Plianne for a while before I let him go; Plianne sagged and I could see his eyes begin to water out of the corner of my eye.

"Plianne has caused a lot of harm to my country," continued the King. "He has stolen land from villages that were on the outskirts of the Schiff forest and he corrupted people in my Kingdom to go against me. Those people are being dealt with as we speak by a group of troops, but I have come to think that Plianne, seeing as he is the creator of this misfortune, deserves for than what the troops are giving to those treasonous heathens." All the advisors nodded in agreement; all of their attention was on Lord Plianne now instead of me.

"I will start by introducing the Lady Laika to my advisors. This," he said gesturing to the angry man in red, "is General Ardor Morthan, my military advisor." Morthan, still glaring at me, grunted a greeting. "Lady Ozai Elian, the economic advisor." The Leipolan woman in the yellow dress nodded her head slowly, continuing to not show any emotion. "Lady Saya Min, my foreign relations advisor." The woman in the purple turned to me and smiled sweetly, but I made sure to remind myself that she had activated her charisma rune. "And finally, my scientific knowledge advisor, Lord Aaryn Imari." The man in the blue nodded, looking at me over his thin spectacles. "All of you this is the Lady Laika and Lord Plianne."

"I'd like to start with hearing about the Lady Laika," Lady Min piped up in a soft, sweet voice. She leaned forward, setting her chin on her hands.

"All right," said Saar, looking at me with his eyes wide. The corner of my mouth twitched when I saw Kian glare at me, daring me to step out of line.

"Well, my Lady Min, I was born in Desert City when it was part of Hama. I was immediately shunned by my village for the rune on my face. I accidentally murdered my parents when I was young and lived in isolation, assassinating people for money until just a few months ago." I smiled brightly at the lady in purple, mocking how she rested her head on her chin.

"Lovely," voiced Lady Min, sitting up straight, her smile more sinister than before.

"I thought we were here to discuss the Lord Plianne," growled General Morthan.

"Ah yes, we were," I chimed just as King Saar opened his mouth.

"Well he has an amplifier rune and that means he can increase or decrease the power of any rune. I have control over his mind so he can't use his rune although he keeps trying to escape, which he won't because I keep torturing him whenever I feel a tug!" I heard Plianne groan a little bit and the General raised his eyebrow at me.

"How do you torture him?" asked Morthan, slightly intrigued.

"That," I exclaimed, pointing at the blood-loving man, "is not important." Morthan blinked, stunned that I refused to answer him, which I'm sure had never happened before. "What is important is that the King," I said turning my pointed finger towards Saar, "wants me to take out Plianne's rune, killing Plianne, which I wouldn't mind, but the King want me to put the rune into the King."

"I don't see how-" started Lord Imari.

"Which is a bad idea because," I said, cutting off Imari, "King Saar's soul is too weak to take the strength of Plianne's rune and it very well will kill him. Also, the rune soul may backfire even more and could kill me along with your King. So the best thing to do with this bastard is to kill him." Silence rang as I finished my last sentence. All the advisors, including the King, stared at me, their minds quivering in annoyance.

The first to speak was the stern Leipolan woman. "What's the value of... Taking Plianne's rune?"

I met the empty eyes of Lady Elian and wondered if she knew of Zyn at all. I held her gaze as I searched her mind, wondering if it was just as open and empty as Zyn's. To my disappointment, it wasn't; a thick wall stood between me and her memories. I sighed and answered her, "Nothing."

"How so?" Sang Lady Min.

"A rune is useless without a human soul," I informed them, "that is powerful enough to control it. Give it to someone who can, they can become corrupt. And I doubt there is anyone enough to control it; it is exhausting just to keep it out of Plianne's reach."

"If I may add-" started Plianne, but his voice cut off as I stole it from him. He put his hand to his throat and turned to glare at me. I looked at him and smiled widely

"No one asked you to speak, My Lord," I cooed. I watched the color slip from his face and his mind became overwhelmed with fear. Plianne shut his mouth and looked down at his lap.

"Can you," said General Morthan waving his huge hand at Plianne and I, "steal his rune now?"

"Sure," I exclaimed. I kept my eyes locked on Morthan as I pressed two fingers to Plianne's rune and pulled hard. The small black soul floated out of Plianne and into my hand, the familiar misty aura of the soul developed my hand. Plianne slumped and his head fell forward, his heart stopping. Gasps from the advisors sound and there was a bang as serving trays were being ushered out into the hall.