"You can't do this! I'm innocent!"
"Mercy! I beg you show Mercy!"
"I didn't have a choice!"
Emerick shook his head at the throng of pleas from the incarcerated men and women he'd collected. It had been a trying few days, and he hadn't slept at all in that time. Needless to say, he was irritable and unsympathetic, though that was partially due to the fact he'd seen firsthand the gravity of these people's sins. As it was, their incessant begging was giving him a headache.
With the last addition he'd just finished locking up, he was nearly done collecting all of the guilty parties involved in the Honey Pot institute. A few of the targets had been delegated to some of his father's agents, but from the current capacity of the dungeon it looked like most of those criminals had already been incarcerated. There were only a few left, including a slaving group that wasn't currently within the kingdom's borders and the possible handful of uncompleted arrests. It was doubtful they'd get their hands on the slavers, but it was equally doubtful the group would be foolish enough to step foot into Arnwald's territory ever again.
"Was that the last of them?" He asked Orval as they exited the dungeon. The knight captain had been traveling back and forth between Emerick and the estate, ensuring all parties were relatively safe.
"Indeed," Orval nodded. "And just in time. I doubt the tyrant will wait even a moment longer. The nobles have already been gathered, and the first batch of condemned are awaiting their fates on the platforms… The ones that he hasn't already strewn across the throne room that is."
"I thought he intended to execute them all at once?" Emerick questioned.
"He did," Orval sighed, "but he's in such a rage over the evidence…"
"I see. How soon will the rest be carried out?"
"Now that we have all the names on the list, with the exception of those pesky slavers, their sentences will be carried out within the hour."
"Did anyone ever find that demon?" Emerick questioned.
He knew one had to be involved, especially with the presence of the death hounds and how effectively they'd been tamed and bound to the yard. The poor creatures hadn't even attempted to flee before him when he'd dispatched them. Theirs' where the only death's he'd lament to any degree. The creatures were undeniably dangerous and there was no question of letting them live—since they'd been let into the city the protective barriers wouldn't bar passage unless the missing demon controlling them was destroyed—but they were still animals and weren't responsible for the actions of their masters.
"No," Orval frowned, "Though we found some letters that suggested the headmaster had been wielding it. He used the demon to threaten a few parties when things weren't going his way it seemed."
"That's odd," Emerick frowned.
He had been surprised to find the headmaster dead at the top of the pile of bodies out in the yard. Based on the condition of his body and the wetness of the blood he'd been covered in at the time Emerick had discovered him, the man had been killed recently, but it wasn't clear who had killed him or why. Additionally, there was nothing on him, in his office, or in any of his numerous residences that could've been a demonic relic. While it was true a demon could mask their presence, if it had died with him the taint would've lingered, easy enough to detect without the creature's conscious effort to suppress it. This meant someone else had to have forged a contract with it at the time the headmaster was killed.
"I know," Orval agreed. "None of the people we have in custody is in possession of it, or they likely would've used the damned thing by now."
"And they were all thoroughly inspected," Emerick added. Not even the most skilled demon could hide themselves from revealing runes and the other sophisticated wards and devices employed for magical detection and nullification within the prisons.
"It just doesn't add up," Orval frowned.
Emerick was inclined to agree. He had been thorough, and they'd caught every one of the targets by surprise. Not one of them had any forewarning about the forces moving against them until it was too late, yet clearly someone had intervened. Someone with the skill and knowledge to take a contracted demon from its master.
"No sense in worrying over it now," Emerick shook his head, though he certainly found the situation quite worrisome. "We'll just have to deal with the thing whenever it finally turns up."
"Hopefully, it doesn't turn up with a pile of bodies," Orval replied.
The fell into an uneasy silence as they navigated the stone corridors upwards to the main palace. As they surfaced, Emerick was momentarily blinded by the flood of sunlight, which was something of a blessing. He was careful to avert his eyes from the graphic scene that was his father's throne room as they walked past the open doors and out to the courtyard-turned amphitheater in front of the palace where a crowd of nobles waited, muttering nervously amongst themselves.
In the center where the highest ranked targets, a number of nobles who were inspectors, overseers, or benefactors of the honey pot. Each of the condemned nobles were bound and gagged, so any noise or struggle they fought to put up was drowned out in the apprehension of the growing audience. Emerick knew each of the individuals, even though they had bags over their heads to mask their identities. He had known a number of them personally, some were even distant relatives. Never-the-less, he felt they deserved every ounce of hell they were about to face.
"Prince Emerick!" a young nobleman approached him breathlessly. It took him a moment to remember the name, but he recognized the gentleman as one of his cousins from Liliana's family.
"Hey there Ace! It's been ages," Emerick greeted him with a tired smile.
"Duke Archebald," Orval offered a polite bow, which Ace regarded with a tense smile. The young duke hated his name—inherited from his cruel, late father—and was all too happy to adopt the nickname Emerick had given him.
"Indeed, but unfortunately, we don't have the time for small talk…" He sighed. "I have some business with you, if you'll give me a few moments of your time."
"Of course," Emerick nodded, "Though, as you pointed out, we are on a bit of a time table."
"Right. I'll be fast. First thing's first, if you have some time after the execution, I wanted to talk with you about any additional aid I could provide to the orphans that were displaced with the fall of that abysmal institute. Secondly…" he took a steadying breath, as though hesitant to bring up his next topic. Emerick waited patiently as Ace collected himself. "I haven't been able to find my fiancé, she disappeared a few days ago and I haven't heard of or from her since…"
"Who was your fiancé again?" Emerick questioned. Not for the first time, he lamented the fact that he was terrible with names unless he took interest in the individual.
"Lady Scarlet, daughter of Count Cardinal," Ace reminded politely. "Normally I wouldn't assume… I knew her to be such a sweet and refined lady… but the timing…"
Emerick watched emotionlessly as Ace's expression twisted with concern, doubt, and eventually dread. Unfortunately, he realized he did know the name, though he hadn't realized the abominable woman's relationship to Ace. It was a tragedy that such a generous and sincere gentleman would unwittingly fall in love with such a cruel and calculating witch of a woman.
Beside him, Orval shifted uncomfortably. Clearly he also recognized the name from their list of perpetrators. Worst of all was the fact that not only had Lady Scarlet been one of the largest benefactors of the embezzled funds from the institute, she had also been one of the cruelest, most abusive aggressors the orphan's had faced.
"Is that her?" Ace pointed a shaking finger to one of the hooded perpetrators.
"How well did you know your fiancé?" Emerick asked, dodging the question. His friend would hear the extent of the awful truth soon enough and Emerick didn't have the heart to break it to him personally.
"It was going to be a marriage of convenience…" Ace replied slowly. "We didn't spend much time together… but… I am fond of her... or at least I fancied myself in love with the person I believed her to be…. Dammit Emerick stop staring at me like that and give me a straight answer!"
"I think you already know the answer," Emerick replied softly. Ace nodded numbly, then followed him to a seat. Arnwald was standing at his box, the air around him and the sky above him crackling with an intense energy. The dark storm clouds gathered overhead weren't natural, and so Emerick knew his father's magic was at work, reacting to his rage. He had just began to speak when Emerick and his companions found their places.
"I'm truly sorry, but this is going to be hard to hear," Emerick whispered to the young Duke. "Just know, that my father is well aware of your innocence and your ignorance in all of this. That is why you are here, and not down there."
"Just how severe was her role in all of this?" Ace questioned with alarm.
"You'll soon find out," Emerick sighed. He placed a hand on his shoulder as Arnwald addressed the nobles in a booming voice. Ace was going to need all the support he could offer.