I shrugged again.. “I don’t care.”

  Everyone looked at me in disbelief. I didn’t get it. So what if Grek could read my thoughts. He needed to do that to read my thoughts to be a good mouth. He could as long as he saved me from all this talking thing. And if he did the talking against me, I would just crack his neck and turn his head the other way around.

  Father looked at Grisslow. “Punisher, what is my son thinking.”

  Grek paled and gulped. “Your majesty, his highness doesn’t think like us. He doesn’t put words together. He pictures things. Right now he just pictured his hands turning my head one hundred and eighty degrees.”

  Father chuckled. “I think that should serve as warning enough, Grisslow. Lloyd, I am raising Grisslow here to the rank of punisher captain. Assign him a squad. He will protect my son and his favorite, when he is not translating for Voss.”

  Grek dropped to one knee and bowed his head reverently.

  “Yes, your majesty.” The gray haired general sighed and bowed.

  “Now, Voss. Tell me about these damned.” Father demanded.

  “They were small.” I replied.

  Grek cleared his throat. “You majesty, when the highness thinks of the damned, he thinks of them as snakes. These ones were small.”

  I nodded. “Most of them. Some were bigger. Somethings making them.”

  Grek looked at me for a long moment. “Your majesty, when his highness said something is making them he pictured a well in murky waters.”

  “A nest.” I corrected.

  Father leaned in. “Son, are you telling me that something can make the damned?”

  I shook my head and sighed. “No, father. Souls can’t be made by the damned. They choose to be damned.”

  Grek’s eyes widened and he gasped. “Oh by the divine emperor.”

  The emperor looked at Grek and in an annoyed huff said,. “I am right here. Translate punisher captain.”

  “Your divine majesty. Once again, the way his highness pictures souls is like eggs. Souls living and dead are traveling to the other side. In between, some get tempted by greed, lust, and power. They hatch as the damned.”

  I nodded. “They go to the nest. They damn themselves there.”

  Grek kept looking at me. “They do terrible things to other souls to damn themselves. Violent things. Until, they get a taste of doing those things. That’s how they damn themselves.”

  “And you are telling me that there is a nest like this in the cradle city?” Father asked.

  “More. Two, maybe three.”

  Grek opened his mouth but stopped when he realized that he did not need to translate this new information.

  The emperor meanwhile put his head on his fists and thought. Finally in a cold voice he began. “Voss, you are telling me that there are close to forty damned in the upper nobility of the mountain range. And there are three nests in the Voss mountains making more damned every day. So tell me if it wouldn’t be simpler to drown the whole range with magma.”

  Everyone stopped at the emperor’s words. The emperor worlds were followed by the room heating up by a few degrees. Through the portal, the drapes behind the emperor started catching fire and people scattered. The emperor ignored the commotion and kept considering his options with a distant look. Father was seriously considering purging everything in the mountain ranges including a city full of people. The problem was that I couldn’t really disagree. Predators were disgusting creatures that went against the order of things. They needed to be eliminated. And if our father could burn them alive in one fell sweep then wasn’t that good? But there was the other side of the coin. Souls needed to live lives. That is how they gathered enough essence to reach the other side. If they couldn’t they would be lost forever. What was worse? Waters full of predators or lost souls?

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Ilya suddenly shuffled ahead. “Father, Voss killed three damned with one strike each. Maybe there is still hope?”

  The emperor looked at Ilya with a tight jaw.

  “Father we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people.” Ilya pressed.

  “These are not the Ilyan Isles. These are not your people.” Father responded.

  Ilya straightened and stated,. “All of the empires people are my people.”

  The emperor let out a heavy breath and the room breathed. Father smiled painfully. “See, that is the problem with being the emperor. I need to think of the whole. And it inevitably comes down to numbers. That is how you lose your humanity.”

  “Everyone, here are my orders.” Father looked at me. “Voss. You will go to the Voss Keep and take control of the control crystal there. You will ask it to categorize all threats to the cradle and corresponding areas. Next you will link it to the imperial throne. The Voss range’s autonomy can not be tolerated after this crisis.” The emperor looked at me “After that, you will help the general and his men find these damned, so that we can burn down their nests and purge them out of existence.”

  I nodded. “I can do that myself.”

  The emperor slammed his hand on his armrest and thunder rocked the fortress. “Listen boy! You are not a reaper anymore. You don’t need to do everything yourself and get killed doing it. You have friends, family, and followers. Am I understood, Voss Truechild?”

  I nodded. “Yes, father.”

  Father closed his eyes and breathed out. “I am sorry my son. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

  “It’s okay father. You don’t like predators.”

  Father chuckled mirthlessly. “No, I don’t. They are a plague upon my people.”

  I shrugged and in calm voice stated,. “Don’t worry father. I will kill all of them.”

  Father looked at me and shook his head. With a tired sigh he said,. “Your are not going to listen to me are you?”

  I didn’t respond.

  Father tuned to Grek. “What is he thinking?”

  Grek’s eyes widened and he gave me an apologetic look. “Your divine majesty… His highness is picturing slicing snakes head to tail.”

  The emperor looked at me and the air around me stilled. I didn’t look away. I faced him eye to eye. It didn’t matter that I was not in the dark waters. It didn’t matter that they had given me a new name in the world. It didn’t matter that I was facing my father. The only thing that mattered was that predators were here. Spreading malice and disorder all around. They needed to be killed. And order restored. That was my duty. It was in the previous one. It would have to be in this one too.

  “Ilya.” Father didn’t look away from me and continued,. “If ask you to knock Voss out and throw him through this portal, could you do it?”

  Ilya lips twitched. “Yes father. But will I do it? No.”

  Father looked at Ilya with exaggerated hurt on his face. He smiled. “Traitor.”

  Father exhaled. “Very well. Lloyd. Give my son an inquisitors device and an executioners medallion. Let’s see if he can sort out the Voss mountains. But don’t attack these nest alone, boy. And don’t get yourself killed.”

  “Yes father.” I nodded.

  “Ilya, I was thinking about sending you back to the Isles but they asked me not to. They haven’t recovered from the thrashing you gave to the smugglers and pirates. So, protect your youngest brother. Get to know him and don’t get distracted by hunky mountain men.”

  Ilya winced. “Yes father.”

  “Now Sage.” Father gave Sage a look. “What were you thinking boy?”

  Sage opened his mouth and gave a side eyed look to Grek. He scratched his head. “father don’t you think it is unfair that you are questioning us in the presence of an inquisitor?”

  Father turned to Grek. “Grisslow, what was Sage thinking?”

  Grek winced and in halting words he responded. “Elves... are hot. That is... what his grace was thinking, your majesty.”

  Father just looked at Sage.

  Sage hung his head.

  “Lloyd, you still have the mana shackles?” The emperor asked his general.

  “Yes, your majesty.” The general responded

  “Father.” Ilya protested.

  Sage went pale.

  “Oh quite, Ilya. I am not going to throw him in the dungeons. A Truechild is resource far more valuable than that. I am going to put Sage to work.” Father smiled dangerously.

  Sage took a small step back. “Ahh…”

  “Lloyd shackle Sage to the imperial throne. He will charge it with mana until its fully filled.” The emperor grinned.

  Sage looked at father in horror. “Father that will take a month.”

  Father snorted. “No, Sage. It will take two. But don’t worry. I will allow you to rest. Take one day off a week, and give you time enough to keep your favorites happy.”

  Sage looked on at father in shock. “But, I won’t be able to leave the fortress.”

  Father smiled. “Exactly.”

  “Father this is not fair. Voss disobeyed your orders too.” Sage whined.

  “He had a valid reason.” Father smiled.

  “What about Ilya?” Sage continued

  “Her decision didn’t almost start a war.”

  “Why me?” Sage threw up his hands.

  “You got caught.”

  Sage slid down to the floor. “That’s it. My life is over. I will die in that chair. Tied to it, all alone.”

  Father rolled his eyes and turned to his general. “Lloyd, let’s start quarantining the Voss portals. Say it is for the protection of my children for now. After the attack, it will seem normal. But, make sure your soldiers take control of all outgoing portals. Even those that are in noble lands.”

  “They won’t like that you majesty.” The General said.”

  “I don’t care.” The emperor replied with a snarl.

  “Understood, your majesty.”

  The emperor waved to us. “Now go away children. I need to talk to Lloyd alone.”