Chapter 40: Treason

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Jasi Kupele had reserved his easy demeanor and the laughter for Bealz's sake. What he had to tell Askauri, however, was no amusing matter.

Nothing was as it seemed. The Throne was in danger and there had been a warrant issued for Askauri's life and all those loyal to him. Bealz and Monique were listed on the warrant.

“Who would do such a thing?” Askauri needs to know.

“It's not who or what you'd think, my man,” Jasi cautions.

“And I'll get to that. But first, I have to tell you just what I've been doing. And you must understand, old friend, that my loyalty to you, to our friendship, has never faltered, and that won't change. What I know, what I'm about to tell you, is between us and I'll keep it that way.”

Kupele went on to explain how he had found an angle. How he had followed a lead into the heart of corporate America. “...and if you thought the Royal Courts were bad, man, that place is a real snakepit!”

“How did you manage that, Jasi?”

“Oh, you know me, I somehow found myself in possession of an MBA, along with a stellar recommendation, from Harvard Business School. Why, you want one, too?”

Jasi, it seemed, had insinuated himself into the world of the Merchant Kings, into the very midst of the corporate mind. He worked for one of the world's leading Fortune 500 companies and although he was no more than a junior level executive, he was well placed to ferret out that which was thought well hidden.

In doing so, he had discovered a disturbing set of coincidences while maintaining his cover, stumbling across several different threads that were beginning to cross, to intersect and weave themselves into a recognizable pattern.

The shape of it was distressing, to say the least. The most shocking of Jasi's discoveries, though, were in the details, the shocking departures from once rock solid traditions and beliefs and the damnable alliances forged through greed and desperation.

There had been an attempt on the King's life. Askauri's brother, however, wasn't quite dead. Mysteries and rumors abound, but the truth is, the King lay hidden away in the Queen Mother's chambers. He was in a magically induced coma, attempting to suspend the advance of the effects of a virus, likely applied through contact with a professional agent, an unknown and highly placed assassin within the Royal Courts.

The virus was of Earth origin, something genetically engineered by the Esoterian Scientists in the employ of the Merchant Kings.

The virus had been capable of resisting all forms of magical enchantment, healing stone and amulet, so far. The Queen Mother had, in fact, burned through a good portion of House Askai's personal store of precious, magical gemstones, including some which had been passed down through the family for thousands of years, in an effort to keep him alive.

This has so far been to no avail. The King was still slowly dying, and not just dying, the virus was unmaking him. He was unraveling from the inside out, the very fabric of his form burning away as if attacked by some ravenous form of cancer. Only this cancer didn't leave behind tumorous tissue, but a black void that spread, inexorably.

The Merchant Kings had long been fostering their influence within the Royal Houses of the Incata, making preparation, it had always been assumed, by covert sources, for a hostile takeover. The Queen Mother, faced with the prospect of not just losing both of her sons, but possibly overseeing the complete dismantling of their once mighty family heritage, was contemplating the terms of treaty offered by the Earth's Ambassadors, representatives of many of the world's biggest corporate brands.

She was on the verge of making a devil's bargain, Jasi had learned. And although she only wanted to save her family, her people, her lands, they simply had plunder in mind.

Peppin, for whatever reason, in the midst of his deception, had truthfully warned Askauri of the Queen Mother's involvement, but what Jasi now told him was much worse than he could have imagined.

It was in fact, no less than treasonous.

And could very likely lead to war.