They eliminated every mask man in their path, combing the palace and streets while herding the innocent to safety. Reaching the town circle, they met the Commander who confirmed the others have been relocated to the underground shelter.
"Is my wife and family safe?" Rei's countenance turned frightfully troubled.
Kyou grimaced. "Unfortunately, we saw not a trace of the noble families or the councilmen. We've only searched the main areas of the palace. They could be hiding anywhere." He turned to Ito. "Vice-Captain, did you see the Kamikaze family prior to the attack?"
"I did. As a matter of fact, Captain Shamon had a meeting with Lord Kamikaze before our evening patrol. Lady Sarai was seen accompanying them."
The Emperor and Commander exchanged grim looks. Spurring his horse forward, Rei exclaimed. "Let's go!"
Kyou instructed the Vice-Captain to search the palace grounds for clues of the missing councilmen. Turning to Rei, he said, "We should start with the basement. It was untouched by the fire."
Making their way below, the bodies of unconscious guards greeted them. Even the soldiers in the break room were slumped over the table in the midst of a card game — their ale jugs empty.
"To think Akio had planned to this extent...," Kyou grated furiously. "I want this traitor found immediately, and when you do, I want to personally interrogate him or her."
They descended a flight of steps into the dungeon. "Something feels off," Rei muttered, halting in his tracks. "I smell a trap."
"Your wife and her family might be there. We have no choice." Kyou unsheathed his sword. "Stand guard until I call for you."
"But —," Rei opened his mouth to protest. What kind of Commander would he be to allow his Emperor to endanger his life? He should be the one to go first.
"You insult me if you think I cannot handle this alone," Kyou quipped, easily reading his Commander's mind. Rei knew he hated being shielded. Regardless of status, all men were equal on the field — be it a simple fist fight or war. If a man chose to risk his life, then he should be prepared for death.
Rei nodded grimly. "Alright but, if you are gone too long then I'm coming after you."
Opening the lower gates, Kyou paced deeper into the basement's belly, picking out indistinctive soft sobs. Cautiously, he approached the sound and found Rei's pregnant wife and her mother tied to a chair behind bars. Silent tears tracked down their faces. On the grime covered floor was an unconscious Lord Kamikaze. A dark, wet patch on his temple suggested a blow from an early struggle.
In the cell next door, were his restrained council members, their faces constipated with fear and indignation — fear for their lives and anger at being treated with humiliation and disrespect.
Kyou's breath seized when he saw Jin, stripped from the waist down and strung up like a puppet. There were angry, bloody welts marring his chest. Possessed by rage, he marched over and discovered it was locked. Gritting his teeth, he kicked the iron bars hoping the rusted chains would give way. "Damn this!"
Sarai lifted her head at the noise, tears of joy and relief pooling in her eyes. "Your Majesty!"
He twisted to face her. "My lady, are you unharmed?"
She sniffled. "We are fine, but you have to help my father! He's badly hurt."
"I'll get everyone out," he promised, positioning his sword to break the locks.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that, Your Majesty." A voice drawled from the darkness.
"Your Majesty, watch out!" Sarai cried, struggling in her bonds.
Kyou felt a slight pinch in his arm before his muscles turned lax. His legs gave out as the drug entered his bloodstream, his sword clanging to the ground. Vision swimming, he fought the weight of his lids as he grappled the iron bars. The last thing he heard were the muffled, distorted cries of Lady Sarai.
--------------------------------
Inka's relief at seeing the lights of Beihai died an instant death when they rode into town. Wisps of curling smoke and debris from the fire blanketed their vision and choked their lungs. There was not a single soul in sight save for the dead who told no tales.
"Who did this?" Her youngest cousin, Dene gasped in horror. "This is awful." The tragically charred corpses on the streets chilled her from the inside out.
Sihu wrapped a cloth around her nose to filter the harsh air. Dry as a bone, it burned with each inhale. "I hope we aren't too late. There has to be a survivor we can talk to."
A burning roof collapsed, sending a rush of hot, dust-ridden air over them and spooking the horses. Inka coughed wildly, bending over to calm her mare.
"Either the town has been evacuated or they are being kept hostage." Her cousin Mona frowned
Inka straightened in her saddle, the tight, worried knot she had been carrying in her gut persisted. "We ride for the palace. It's where our answers lie."
Arriving in the empty courtyard, the women dismounted and secured their weapons.
"Let us spread out. If you encounter any masked figures don't hesitate to kill," Inka relegated. Her eyes lifted to the glowing sky, indicating that the crack of dawn was near. "The sun is almost up. We need to hurry before it's too late."
Dividing into groups of four, Inka paired up with Dene and Mona. First, they searched the halls and chambers, encountering two sets of boot marks leading to the basement.
"These are fresh with mud. Someone must have gone down this way," Mona deduced, following the trail to an ajar iron gate, down a winding stone staircase and deeper still into a dimly lit passage.
"Dene, you stand guard in case something happens," Inka bid her cousin. "Mona and I will do a quick check."
"Be careful and shout if you need help."
Inka went first, putting one wary foot in front of the other. She could barely see past the shadows of the dying torches carved into the walls. Halfway down the steps, an unknown figure appeared and wrestled them, cutting off their air supply.
Tamping down her panic, Inka exchanged a split-second glance with her cousin before hooking their left and right arms together. Kicking off the ground in a perfunctory backflip, they allowed gravity to re-anchor their weights, forcing their attacker to release them.
Mona turned the tables and strangled their attacker until he turned a shocking blue in the dark. It was then Inka noticed his uniform and pulled her cousin off him.
"Inka, what are you doing!" Mona cried.
"He's not the enemy! This is the Commander Rei!" she declared, appalled for almost killing him.
Rei coughed the moment the pressure around his throat was gone. He bent over, dragging in lungfuls of air.
"I am so sorry, Commander! Are you alright?"
He held up a finger, asking for a minute to regulate his breathing.
"Kyou isn't with you?" Her questioned was underlined with worry.
He jabbed a finger downwards.
"What is he doing down there?"
He coughed again. "He went to check if my wife and the missing councilmen are down below."
"Why did you let him go alone?" she demanded, brows scrunched. "How long has it been?"
"Too long." He massaged his sore throat. "I was about to go down when I heard voices. It turned out to be you."
"Again, we're sorry," she apologized, gesturing to her cousin. "This is my cousin, Mona."
"A pleasure to meet you," he remarked, "But this isn't the time or place for pleasantries. Something must have happened to Kyou. He should have returned minutes ago."
"Lead the way, Commander."
--------------------------------
Kyou awoke to a blistering fire racing down his back — over and over again. Eyes shooting open, he realized he was half-naked and cuffed in chains, hanging upside down beside Jin who was cursing violently. Struggling like a worm on a hook, he demanded brusquely. "Show yourself, you coward!"
"It's not wise to antagonize your captor, Your Majesty." That same voice mocked.
"I have no need to ingratiate myself to a coward who resorts to underhanded tactics. Release the prisoners and we can talk."
His captor's dry laughter echoed. "You don't seem to understand the position you are in. I am not the one being whipped like some cattle for slaughter, and you are powerless to bargain with me. These prisoners shall bear witness to your death and immediate abdication from the throne." A royal decree was shoved in his face. "Agree to sign this and I shall gladly release them."
Kyou ignored the paper and sneered. "Did my brother sent you to do his dirty bidding?"
"You don't need to know because you'll be dead soon."
"Your refusal to answer confirms my suspicion."
The man sighed dramatically. "It will be easier if you acquiesce, Your Majesty. Perhaps this will help you to make up your mind."
Kyou heard more than he saw the flogger, but the pain never came. Instead, a horrendous cry left Jin's lips as the skin on his back split wide open from the force.
Crack! Crack!
"Stop it!" Kyou roared savagely, twisting violently until the ropes cut into his flesh. "Cease right now! Whip me. Whip me instead!"
"To think I would see the day when the Crimson King is brought so low." His captor chuckled with undisguised malice. "I guess the rumour about you having a stone for a heart isn't true. You obviously care about the lives of your little subordinates. Well," the man said airily, "How can I refuse when you're begging so shamelessly."
Kyou gritted his teeth at the first lash — the sound like a gunfire in the night. Sweat dripped into his eyes and blood ran from the welts on his back. His body was bruised and abused but, it was nothing compared to the lives at stake. "What have you ─," he broke off on the end of another lash, "─ done with my men? Did you poison them?"
"They were sedated." His captor's voice turned calculative. "But not by any simple sedative. This drug works in a specific timeframe and it requires an antidote. Without it, Beihai's military force will become nothing but a sleeping army. Or perhaps an army of the dead will be a more apt description." He gave a wicked laugh. "Might as well kill them now, Your Majesty. They will be nothing more but bags of flesh. Completely useless."
"H-how ─ long?" Kyou bit out.
"Twenty-four hours but you can save everyone by signing this decree."
"The antidote isn't even here, is it?" Kyou outright ignored him.
"Well, that depends on your answer."
Frustration gnawed him to the bone. "Why go through all this trouble? Killing me would suffice if the throne is what my brother desires."
"My master believes that if you wilfully abdicate the throne, the chances of an insurgency would be low. In other words, he wouldn't have to kill everyone. There isn't a point of being the Emperor when you have no subjects to rule over."
Kyou saw red. He would sooner gut his own brother before he allowed Akio to slaughter human lives. "You're a dead man when I get out of these chains!"
"You would have to break them first," the man taunted. "Whip him!"