The King of the Vile by David Dalglish Page B

it’ll do some good for the people to see him out and about.” She turned while still in the process of putting in a long, dangling gold earring. “It might do some good for them to see you enjoying yourself as well. There’s far too much fear in the populace, even if they don’t know what they’re afraid of.”
    “They know exactly what they’re afraid of,” Harruq said as he opened the door to his room. “And it’s flying above them with big white wings.”
    Harruq shut the door, breathed in, breathed out. You can do this, he thought. You defeated waves of demons. You killed a god. This? This is nothing.
    He traversed the halls to the large throne room. Only a few soldiers were inside. He heard the commotion of the people waiting to see him beyond the doors. The sound took his breath away, made his head feel light. Harruq recognized the signs of panic, but what could he do? This wasn’t a battle where he could clang his swords together and drive his doubt away.
    Sir Wess, captain of the guard and the man responsible for helping Harruq keep the peace, waited patiently beside the throne, his armor shining, his tabard clean and white. His role had been created upon Antonil’s departure, with no intention of it being permanent, but with Antonil’s death, Sir Wess had stepped up admirably.
    “You look well today,” Sir Wess said. He was an older man, his mustache sprinkled with gray and his eyes surrounded by wrinkles. A surly man by any definition, but he’d steadily warmed to Harruq over time.
    Harruq forced a grin and plopped down on the throne.
    “That’s a lie and we both know it,” he said. “How many are waiting for me out there?”
    The knight’s face twitched.
    “Over one hundred,” the knight said. “Most have come to plead for mercy for those currently awaiting execution in our dungeons.”
    Harruq winced.
    “Thieves caught trying to steal from Avlimar’s ruins?” he guessed.
    “Or from Devlimar,” Sir Wess added. “The angels complain to me daily about the difficulty of building their earthbound city. I’ve grown quite good at ignoring them, but given the new law demanding punishment for such crimes, keeping a deaf ear has become rather difficult.”
    Harruq slumped in the throne, rubbing his eyes. Damn it, must it start already? Why could no one leave the angels be as they used the remnants of their former home to build a new one in the fields outside Mordeina?
    “If that’s it, send them on their way,” Harruq said. “I won’t listen to their pleadings. They all knew the law. It’s their own damn fault for ignoring it.”
    The knight glanced to the floor, and he cleared his throat before speaking.
    “Steward, I am not certain that is wise,” he said.
    “It is very wise,” said a familiar voice from up above. Harruq turned to see Azariah flying in from one of the enormous windows by the ceiling. His robe fluttered as he landed, wings shaking a brief moment before folding in around his shoulders.
    “The people are ready to riot,” Sir Wess argued. “If we carry out these executions, I can make no guarantee to Devlimar’s safety.”
    “The people will learn to accept our place in this world,” Azariah said. “Stealing from us and pretending it is no crime only shows we are viewed as less than human in their eyes. This cannot be allowed. Until the greater population understands this, then we all must suffer growing pains.”
    Harruq rolled his eyes. Deep in the pit of his stomach he knew Azariah was wrong, but damned if he knew any way to articulate it, especially compared to the angel’s convincing argument.
    “Increase the amount of guards surrounding Devlimar,” Harruq told Sir Wess. “I don’t want a riot, so make sure we don’t have one. We’ve all more important things to deal with.”
    “Speaking of...” Azariah pulled out a scroll from within his robe and held it out to Harruq. “New laws and regulations. Our kind have voted upon them and now seek your