Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

but he had to wait for the Monk's report, and as usual the Monk was late. Lewis scowled. He had to know what was happening in Viktor's camp. There was a polite knock at the door, and Lewis growled for whoever it was to enter. The door swung open and a young serving maid came in, bearing a cold meal on a tray. Lewis remembered ordering the meal earlier, but he wasn't hungry any more. He started to wave the maid and meal away, and then stopped and took a second look at the maid as a different hunger awoke in him.
    'Come here, girl. Let me look at you.'
    She moved reluctantly forward, holding the tray out before her as though it could protect her from him.
    Lewis gestured for her to put the tray down on a nearby table. She did so, her hands trembling visibly, and turned slowly back to face him. She was good-looking in a simple, healthy way, with wavy shoulder-length hair and a firm, supple figure. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, but her pale face and wide eyes made her seem much younger. Lewis smiled at her easily, but she didn't return the smile.
    'They've been telling stories about me again, haven't they?' said Lewis. 'You don't want to believe everything you hear, my dear. My enemies tell lies about me, and try to make me out a monster, and I tell the same kind of lies about them. It's all part of the game we play. It's called politics. Now stop shivering and shaking, and relax. Do I look like a monster to you?'
    The maid blushed slightly, and shook her head. Lewis nodded surreptitiously to Ironheart, and his mailed hands shot out and grasped the maid's arms above the elbows. She shrieked, and tried to break free, but couldn't. Lewis rose slowly out of his chair, and walked over to stand before her. He reached out a hand to caress her face, and she shrank away from him. Lewis smiled slightly.
    'The one thing you should know by now about Castle Midnight,' he said softly, 'is that nothing is necessarily what it seems.'
    His hands tore at her clothing. Shortly afterwards, she started to scream. She screamed for a long time, but nobody heard her.
    An hour or so later, the air rippled in Lewis's quarters as the Monk appeared. His empty cowl turned slightly to observe the still, bloody form lying limply on the floor. Her wide staring eyes saw nothing at all, and her face wasn't pretty any more.
    'Get rid of that,' said Lewis, gesturing vaguely in the body's direction.
    The Monk bowed, and the body disappeared. Air rushed in to fill the gap where it had been. 'The body will not be found, Sire.'
    'You're late!' snapped Lewis.
    'My apologies,' said the Monk. 'There is much of interest happening in the Castle at present, and I like to keep you well informed. For example, I was right in my suspicions about your brother Viktor. He's using a double for his public appearances. The man you saw in Court this evening was merely an actor under a glamour.'
    Lewis frowned. 'I would have sworn it was Viktor. It looked like him, it was his voice . . . dammit, he had fire magic! I saw it!'
    'A conjuring trick, your highness; sleight of hand. Nothing more.'
    'Dominic already knew about this,' said Lewis suddenly. 'That's what he was hinting at earlier on.'
    'Exactly,' said the Monk. 'It appears he's known about this for some time. He's already set in motion a plan to discredit the imposter. There is to be a Testing before the Stone tomorrow morning. Dominic will challenge the double to spill his blood on the Stone, and when he can't, thus proving himself an imposter, Dominic will demand to know what has happened to the real Viktor. His people will then be forced to reveal how ill and helpless your brother really is.'
    'Not a bad idea,' said Lewis, 'and one we can take advantage of. My friends, we are going to attend this Testing. Once the imposter has been revealed, I'll raise a clamour about who else is pretending to be what they're not. In the confusion, my men will attack Dominic's, and you, Monk, will kill my brother. I'd prefer to do it myself, but you're the only one of us strong enough to stand up against his sorcery.
    Afterwards, we'll claim he was an Unreal double that had managed to replace the real Dominic, and there'll be no one left who can prove otherwise. Yes. I like that. Make the arrangements, Monk.'
    He turned away, chuckling happily, and disappeared into his bedchamber. Ironheart and the Monk watched in silence as the door slammed shut behind him. There was a faint rasp of metal on metal as Ironheart's steel