The Prince of Manhattan Read online

  There were two more Picts by his uncles sides, both of them with tattoos sticking out even under their winter gear. They were both armed with swords and the ease with which they held them suggested that they knew how to use them. It was the other figure by his uncles side that took Leofric’s attention though. A woman, wrapped in furs and with piercing blue eyes and hair as dark as a raven store back at him. She was beautiful and Leofric guessed that she was older than him but not by much. The way she carried herself suggested that there were more years in her than she let on. This must be his new queen, well I can’t say he isn’t a man of taste. Doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to gut him right here and now. It’ll be a shame if I get his blood on his concubines pretty outfit. Like all free men the prince carried a sword around his waist most of the year round. Besides when a man went to bed or when he took a bath, a sword would rarely come off a respectable man’s belt. Even then many men went to bed with their swords in hand, cradling the weapon while their wives played with their other sword. In that moment Leofric unsheathed his sword and oriented his stance for combat. He was going to get his vengeance in a dirty, run down dungeon.

  The Pictish warriors raised their swords and stepped forward to block Leofric from his uncle. There was also the sound of the guard behind him unsheathing his sword. He was surrounded and outnumbered three to one with zero chance of reaching his uncle and a 100% chance of being killed right then and there without achieving his vengeance. “Put your sword down” his uncle commanded in his hoarse voice.

  Leofric was burning with rage and every inch of his body was screaming at him to lunge at his uncle but sense prevailed. He lowered his sword and sheathed it, he could do nothing else. “I have come to make an offer to you” his uncle continued.

  “I spit on your offer” Leofric snapped back.

  Aethelred gestured for the Picts to stand back so he could face his nephew clearly. The Picts hesitated before standing back, not too far though so they couldn’t block the prince if he made another attempt to attack. “Your father has passed-” Aethelred began.

  “You killed him” Leofric interrupted. He had never felt more hate than he did in that moment looking at the viper in front of him.

  “Your father is gone” Aethelred continued in the same cold tone as before. “The nobles have elected to choose me as king and I have accepted”.

  Leofric felt his blood run cold. How could that be?

  “There were some dissenting voices but they have been taken care of” his uncle added.

  “The Picts” Leofric whispered.

  “The whom?” Aethelred inquired, his face betraying nothing but pitiless resolve.

  “You used the Picts to seize control” Leofric accused his scheming relative.

  “I have an agreement with the king of Dalriada” Aethelred claimed. “He was most upset by your father’s victory over his forces, one of his favourite sons died that day”.

  Leofric was fully aware of that, he had been the one to kill the king’s son.

  “He sent me several hundred of his men for my rightful claim for the throne and in return I give him raiding rights in the north” Aethelred continued. “It was an easy bargain, there is nothing that matters in the north anyway”.

  “You sacrificed our lands, our people so you could have the men to help you kill your own brother and take control?” Leofric spat out. He was shocked by the temerity of his uncle, even by his own standards it was low.

  “The lives of the common folk are irrelevant” Aethelred snorted. “Your father never understood that, he always thought that the king should be a servant to his people. Not as a ruler in his own right, under me the people will bow and pay homage as they should”.

  “I always knew you were scum” Leofric asserted.

  “And you were always too clever for your own good” Aethelred replied. “Far more clever than your father, not that that’s much of an accomplishment. He was a fool in our youth and he become even more of a fool as the years went by. Killing him was a mercy”.

  Leofric struggled to resist the urge to unsheathe his sword again, he could only think of skewering the man in front of him into a hundred different pieces. “You killed Offa too” Leofric grunted.

  “I’ve killed several noblemen this night” his uncle stated. “And I will likely kill many more, your father never understood how to keep them in line. He thought he could do it through friendship and love, in order to keep men in line you need fear”.

  “His men loved him and were willing to die for him” Leofric said. “Something you will never know”.

  “And then there’s the matter of you” Aethelred claimed. “Framing you was hard enough but now I have to decide on what to do with you”.

  “You could let me go” Leofric intoned.

  “That’s what I intend on” Aethelred replied.

  That was the last thing Leofric had expected his uncle to say.

  “I’m going to send you far away from here” Aethelred continued.

  “No matter where you send me, I’ll come back to kill you” Leofric declared. It wasn’t the smartest thing to say but he was too angry to think straight. That and his intentions were fairly predictable, his uncle knew better than anyone that exile was not the solution. So why is he toying with me?

  “Don’t think that this is an act of mercy on my part” Aethelred stated.

  “I would never dream of accusing you of that” Leofric acerbically replied.

  “If you were to perish then it would imperil the legitimacy of my claim to the throne” his uncle explained. “You must go into exile so that the kingdom understands that you have forsaken your stake in the crown and to besmirch your honour. No man cares about the claims of a coward”.

  “You just forgot one part” Leofric mentioned. “The part where I go willingly”.

  “I haven’t forgotten” Aethelred said. He looked over to the woman at his side and she stepped forward towards the prince. She strolled in front of him, her face indifferent and measured. Her very poise suggested that she was somewhere between being a queen and a sorceress. Whatever she was she was more elegant and refined in her movements than almost any woman Leofric had ever seen. The prince could have unsheathed his sword and stabbed her as she came close to him but he did not. Part of it was because his grudge was against his uncle and part of it was because he was enraptured by the pale black haired beauty. The woman stopped in front of Leofric and took one of his hands in hers. She was icy cold to the touch and Leofric stared into her blue eyes as she felt his palm. “He is dangerous” the woman declared in an accent.

  “I know that” his uncle replied. “Can he be sent through?”. The woman craned her neck and Leofric could swear that he saw a faint smile purse her lips. “He is marked by destiny” she said. “It will take all of my powers to send him through”. Leofric had absolutely no idea what the two were talking about. He figured that the woman was a sorceress but what exactly her purpose was, was beyond him. Perhaps she’s here to convince me to go into exile? Maybe my uncle is making me an offer, if I go into exile he’ll give me this seductress to make my banishment more comfortable. I can’t say I’m not a little tempted, or at least I would be if I wasn’t being offered something by my father’s murderer. This can only end with one of us dead. “I can feel it in you” the sorceress said, a mild smile breaking out on her porcelain features. “Fate is strong with you”.

  “I’m not leaving my kingdom” Leofric uttered.

  The sorceress simply walked back to Aethelred’s side. “He is strong but I can send him through right now if you please”.

  “How far can you send him?” Aethelred inquired.

  “Far enough” the woman responded. “Far enough that he never returns”.

  “Well I’ll be making sure of that” Aethelred mentioned. He gestured to one of the Picts who walked off down the corridor. “Siana here is going to be helping you with your exile”. The sorceress smiled faintly at Aethelred’s words.
/>   “As pretty as she may be she’s not going to convince me to leave my home” Leofric uttered. I tire of this farce, if they’re going to kill me then they should just do it already. I’m not budging an inch from my soil.

  “Siana is a weaver of reality as you may have guessed” Aethelred said. “She came to me during one of my visits to my Hibernian subjects up north. The whole region feared her and placated her with offerings”.

  “I merely showed them what they desired” Siana added.

  “I took her for my own and since then she has been a useful addition to my ambitions” Aethelred stated. “She will be my queen and with her magic my reign will be absolute. None will dare oppose me and those who resist will be no more than ants fighting a lion”. Aethelred’s eyes were staring at Siana, Leofric could clearly see the lust in them, it was almost sick with how heavy it was.

  “Well you sure know how to pick the crazy ones” Leofric remarked.

  “Siana will see to your permanent exile” his uncle replied sharply. “As soon as the brute has returned with something special, a parting gift from me to you”.

  “Is it a cake?” Leofric jibed.

  “It will open your eyes” Aethelred responded.

  Almost as if on cue the Pict returned carrying a red hot poker. Leofric had a really bad feeling about what was coming next. “Siana prepare the portal for my nephew” Aethelred ordered the sorceress. The lithe beauty bowed her head and started chanting in an unrecognisable tongue while her eyes rolled back in their sockets. It was if she was having a fit. The Pict with the poker saddled up next to Aethelred, Leofric watched apprehensively when he felt an arm tackle his neck. The Pict from behind caught him a headlock and he was powerless to resist. He struggled vainly but the man was strong and he only tightened his grip as a result. There was a howl and Leofric realised that it was the sorceress, her voice erupting in unnatural screams. Then the screams ended and the chanting resumed while the Pict pulled Leofric forward towards his uncle. “Where I’m sending you, there is no escape” his uncle claimed. “Once you are there, there will be no chance of return, your banishment will be final. However as you know I’m not a man to gamble and so I’ve decided to leave you with a little mark to render you incapable so that any dreams you may have of taking my throne will be extinguished. Of course it’s a fine line to walk between invalidating someone and outright killing them but I think I’ve found a reasonable compromise”.

  Leofric had no idea what was going on but he struggled again against the Pict. It was no use, he was too strong, meanwhile the chanting continued and the wind started to rush through the corridor. The ground shook slightly and Leofric wondered if there was indeed magic in the air. That the sorceress did in fact had access to ancient powers and forces too terrible for men to speak aloud. “I first considered cutting off your hands” Aethelred narrated. “You have always been a fine swordsman and without hands you would be defenceless but I ultimately disregarded that. A man can still rally men behind him with hands, he can still thrive with the aid of servants”. The candles flickered and then lit up as though powered by an eldritch energy. Leofric was about to pull his sword out when the Pict let go and grabbed him by the shoulder. The other remaining Pict grabbed him by his other shoulder and they held him. His uncle and the man with the poker came up next to him. Behind them Siana was chanting fervently, the room was alive with magic and Leofric felt terror in a way he never had before. “So I next considered cutting out your tongue” Aethelred continued. “But ultimately you never had anything worth saying to begin with so there’s no need to bother with that. That’s when I struck upon the right idea”. Leofric’s eyes darted around, looking for something, anything that could help him. His ears were filled by the chanting and the howling of the wind and his mind dreaded his uncle’s next words.

  “Blinding you is the ideal solution” his uncle stated. “By taking your vision from you, you become as useless and invalid as an elderly monk. It isn’t hard either, a simple poker could do the job”. Leofric looked at the red hot poker with fresh fear, at any moment it would be plunged into his eye sockets and he would be rendered blind for the rest of his life. It was a fate worse than death. “Hold him still” Aethelred commanded the Picts. There was a howl from Siana and then a screeching, unearthly noise and Leofric saw a flash of light by his side. Inside an empty cell, on the wall a whirling mass of hypnotic lights had formed. Around the size of a man, the vortex swirled and danced, orange and red lights mingling in the display. It was unlike anything Leofric had ever seen. It’s real by the heavens, the magic is real. He was transfixed by the sight of the shimmering portal by his side until his uncle interrupted him. “There’s your path to exile” Aethelred declared. “You just need a small adjustment and then you’ll be ready to go”. The Pict with the poker moved towards him, the stick glowing menacingly. “Goodbye Leofric son of Cedric” Aethelred said. “You will be remembered as the last of your father’s legacy”. Leofric struggled but the two Picts held him in place. They bent him down and he could see the poker coming closer to his face, he had only seconds left. That’s when he had one last final, desperate idea. He snapped to his left with all of his might and bit down on one of the hands pushing against his shoulder.

  He was almost out of range of the target but luck was with him and he bit down into the hand, tasting blood. The Pict cried out in pain and let go of him to get his hand free. Leofric scrambled up but the other Pict held onto his arm and punched the prince in the face. Leofric was nearly incapacitated by that single blow, so strong his opponent was. The man with the poker was holding back, waiting for him to be restrained before approaching him again. “Hold him down!” Aethelred shouted at the Pict who had been bitten. Leofric reached down with his free hand and pulled out his sword, before he could even wave it at the Pict the arm was off him. He was totally free now. In front of him was the man with the poker and his uncle and on either side of him were the two Picts, both of them pulling their swords out. Siana was in the same spot she had been in when she had started chanting, her voice was a crazed wail, calling upon all kinds of ruinous powers. The men on either side of him rushed him with their swords and Leofric ducked back into the cell to avoid them. Any plans of rushing his uncle were now dashed, there were three well armed Picts between him and the treacherous scoundrel. Behind him the portal cackled and hummed, the noise distorted and twisted. “Wound him!” Aethelred yelled out over the hullabaloo. The Picts crept towards the prince in response, they outnumbered him and they knew it. He was powerless to resist.

  All three Picts faced him, the one with the poker had discarded it to draw his sword. They were edging towards him, forcing him to back towards the portal. “Wound him! I want him alive!” Aethelred called out, his voice hoarse and impatient. Leofric came close to the portal, he could feel its heat dancing across his back. The Picts were so close, in moments they would be in striking range and they would be able to wound him and bring him back to be blinded. All it would take was a slash across the leg to cripple Leofric and make him compliant. Doom behind me and doom in front of me, what’s a man to do. One of the Picts made a slash with his sword and nearly grazed Leofric’s calf. Behind him the portal’s presence was overwhelming, it’s hum and energetic power was almost suffocating him. Wherever that thing leads to it can’t be good.

  A Pict slashed with his sword and Leofric deflected the attack with his blade only just in time. I can jump in the portal now or I can jump in after I’ve been blinded. The thought disturbed Leofric but he knew that he had no other options. One of the Picts swung his sword out and this time it almost came close to brushing the prince’s thigh, only an inch closer and it would have drawn blood. Well I guess that settles that. Leofric tensed himself and cleared his mind as best he could. He took several steps back and felt the vortex lick at his body, hungry to embrace him. The chanting was continuing and the wind was howling and it felt like the whole world had been consumed by dark powers. The Picts eyes opened wide as th
ey realised what he was going to do. “What is he doing? Stop him!” came Aethelred’s voice. Leofric stepped back and his limbs become encased with tongues of orange and red light. His instincts screamed at him to run from the bright tendrils of the vortex but he knew he had no other choice. The Picts rushed at him as he fell backwards into the portal. Orange light consumed his vision and his whole body became suspended in mid air. Then there was chaos as his vision was filled with blurred lights and terrible sights, things that no imagination could come up with on its own. His body was thrown about like a doll and he felt his conscious mind stretch to limits he never even thought possible. All sentient thought left his mind as he travelled through worlds never even conceived of before. The journey could have taken a lifetime or it could have taken mere seconds, it was beyond Leofric’s comprehension. Then there was darkness and his mind went still.