8. The Flame of Revenge

Around midnight, led by a chorus of cackling chickens, four spies crept into the palace. Their first destination was the dungeons. If they freed all the animals, and made them part of the mission, they’d have a much better chance.

They’d hoped to walk in easily like last time, but that was naïve.

All barbarians, and shepherds, had experienced fights before. They were always in danger, from the day they were born, so you learned to defend yourself. Solong knew what she had to do and would not hesitate upon seeing the king.

Still she walked just a little more slowly. She had actually experienced the original Asha tribes, had believed in their idea of peacefulness and freedom, which made it hard to join in killing the six dungeon guards.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Is there no other way?”

“Like what?” Bar-Bar grunted. “Sing a sung? Ask nicely? Create a diversion? We have no time for cute plans.”

She let them storm the dungeons and take care of it. She remained outside.

But how was that better? Then she’d just be like the Amori. Letting others do the dirty jobs, so she could say she had clean paws. Talk about her great wisdom and moral might, which she could only keep because she was surrounded by Barbarians who did the actual work.

It was as Ardex said: No civilization without lack of civilization.

She yelled and joined the attack.

Their clothes were their disadvantage, again. They wore solid metal plates as protection, like a turtle harness, but this also made them move like a turtle. One even refused to fight “naked enemies”, as that was apparently “not honorable”.

Well, their mistake.

The four goat guards were down in an instant. The two wolves were a bigger problem. Apparently it also wasn’t “honorable” to attack two wolves with four spies, which allowed you to attack them at their back while they were busy with someone else.

It was effective, though.

“Where is your honor!?” the final wolf cried.

“As deep under the ground as yours,” Bar-Bar replied. He caught a wolf attack in his gigantic ball of wool. As the wolf was briefly stuck, the Tattlerat knocked him unconscious with the end of his own spear.

They ran to the cells. Bar-Bar used his strength to ram the weapon against the lock, until it bent, turned, groaned, and eventually fell before his paws.

A hundred sheep flooded the hallways. They destroyed all the other locks with coordinated ease and gave the locked-up Council members, and some poor Amori, their freedom.

“Where is Ginsea? Where is Himnib?” Solong asked, panicked.

An old female sheep, who Solong recognized as Barina, hobbled to them. “They were already taken to the Flame!”

The spies ran from the dungeons, over the spiral staircase, and entered an empty hallway where only a single candle burned. Tattlerat tried to remember the palace layout. They were now on the other side of the library … and he was clueless. Go up. That would surely be the right direction.

All freed animals followed them and filled the palace with a cacophony of bleating, cries for help, and bar bar bar bar. This drew the attention of all soldiers nearby.

The spies took the next staircase to a higher floor. Not every animal could walk the stairs, so the walls also contained holes and wooden blocks for the better climbers, as well as a smooth slope for a quicker path downward.

This floor contained more soldiers than the previous, but they hadn’t been spotted yet. The spies pressed themselves against the cold wall, in the shadow of barrels and baskets.

Three wolves ran past.

“The Hens are too good,” one said. “They brought all Barbarians to Amor too soon!”

“But they stick to the agreement and aren’t attacking the city itself. Thank the gods for that.”

“So far, so far.”

Were they going to the king? Or would the king be present at the Flame Ceremony?

Tattlerat pointed the other way, and they trusted him the most. Stomachs dropped to the floor, they crawled through the shadows.

Two more wolves appeared out of nowhere.

They froze where they were. No noise. Eyes closed.

One paw landed right next to Bar-Bar’s ear, but the wolves continued their path unknowingly.

“Ask Regiment C to come,” a low voice said. “Wolfar has demanded all possible protection for the king.”

“Impossible,” said the other. “Regiment C guards the Flame. Barely. All of Amor protests and tries to stop Ginsea and Himnib from getting punished.”

So, king and Flame are not in the same place.

The spies pulled themselves from the floor, as if they were born out of the carpet. They split up: Bar-Bar and Tattlerat after the wolf going to guard the king, Solong and Wolzam after the one going to the Flame.

Solong immediately knew it was a mistake. Wolzam was too injured for this, and she was too hesitant to fight and didn’t trust herself to win one at all costs. Her mother seemed right about a lot of things, basically everything. It was hard to be kind, it was even harder to know when to kill or hurt another being because of self-protection.

And thus she steered them to a deserted hallway. There, watching through a window, they saw the Flame Ceremony. The Flame itself seemed frozen, larger and brighter than any fire she’d seen before. It sent magical waves through the air at the rhythm of a beating heart. They’d even built a nice plaza around it, with nice seats for spectators.

They punished their prisoners in the worst way imaginable. But of course, the Amori should be able to sit on a nice chair and wear nice clothes.

The anger made Solong less uncertain. She found the quickest path to the plaza and explained it to Wolzam.

And maybe this would have been enough to run there, perform some magic, and stop Himnib and Ginsea before they touched the Flame. Maybe this was the moment Solong discovered more of her demigod powers and used them.

They’d never know, for she and Wolzam were ruthlessly taken away by wolf guards that appeared behind them.

They quickly decided to take Wolzam outside and have him touch the flame too. Better to remove him, with all his knowledge of the royal family and their crimes. Wolfar would find, or bend, some law that said this punishment was fair.

Solong wished for Ginsea to appear, as he did before, with a law on his own—something that commanded the guards to let them go immediately. The first time in her life she would have been incredibly happy with laws and rules.

But of course he didn’t come, for he stood on the plaza below. And he had learned that, when it truly mattered, that precious civilization with its laws could crumble as easily as a house of cards.

What were a wounded wolf and a semi-magical bear going to do against these big beasts? No matter how smart animals became, no matter how much civilization they built, you simply couldn’t win against someone physically stronger than you.

Himnib was already pushed against the Flame.

The palace bells rang.