Chapter 235

Chapter 316: The Inquisitors

The General had been considering on making a move and arming himself in defence when the sound of rushing hoofs from afar alerted his senses.

Instantly, he was on his feet, picking up his fallen sword and gun. He sheathed the sword into the hilt at his belt and readied his rifle for firing.

It was certain to be his archenemy for he had sensed the eeriness a while ago and, besides, it was a very unusual time for people to go horse-riding for innocent fun.

Next moment, he stilled on sighting the approach of a chestnut horse and on it a rider, whose silhouette seemed edgily familiar.

The rider was certainly heading some other way, perhaps towards the Inn even, but his sighting of the General in the middle of clearing, standing poised with the gun, made the rider change course and charge in his direction.

The General had a relaxed hold on the gun, sensing no danger, but he didn't lower it in case his intuition proved wrong and he wasn't equipped to defend himself.

No sooner had the oncoming visitor neared his keen vision than the General was stunned to recognize the man on the horseback.

His hold on the gun relaxed further as he confusedly wondered at the rider, "Akash?"

Lord Akash had been heading for the Inn, on the exigent commission of his wife's to find a messenger in that late hour in the night. But when he noticed the faint profile of the white mare against the nocturnal backdrop, he frowned and steered his horse in its direction, raging for revenge.

No sooner had he neared the clump of bushes than he saw the familiar figure of the General step out from behind the underbrush, a vicious rifle held leisurely in his hand, glinting dangerously in the moonlight.

The General blinked in wonderment, his rifle hanging at his side unwanted, "Akash? What are you doing here?"

All of a sudden, Lord Akash had alighted from his horseback, his spurred boots clinking in urgency, and his face a contortion of emotions.

The General tightened his grip on his rifle, determined to use it if attack was imminent though he didn't assume Lord Akash to ever be the combating sort.

"Where are they? What have you done with them?!" Lord Akash's words volleyed at the General as he approached treacherously closer to the estranged.

Threatened, the General suddenly dropped his rifle and retracted his sword from his sheath, halting Lord Akash in his steps.

"What are you talking about?" the General stated furiously.

Fortunately, Lord Akash had not come unarmed. As soon as he'd seen the flash of the sword in the General's hold, the Second Lord unsheathed his own and held it dextrally before him, "You know very well what I speak of."

"Frankly," the General spat irritatedly, "I have not a clue."

Lord Akash's grip on his sword tightened with rising anger, "You traitorous sneak! I demand to know where they are!"

"Where who are?!" the General grimaced, annoyed by the riddles that made up their conversation so far.

"Don't play at me-" warned the Second Lord, readying his footing for a fight, his sword held defensively before him, but the General swished his in the vacant air furiously, "You idiot! If I knew what you were talking of, maybe I could convey a better answer to your query!"

Lord Akash gritted his teeth, "I speak of Kushiji and the children."

The General felt the wind knocked out of him at the mention of his cure.

He blinked concernedly, "What about Kushiji?"

Lord Akash was not easily to believe his ignorance to be truthful, "Where have you taken her?"

Feeling falsely accused, the General's sudden fury made him throw his sword to the ground, "I have taken nor hid any one that you should accuse me in this manner! If I had stolen her, what would I be lazing out here in the open for, where I can be found my mindless freaks like you!"

Lord Akash was stumped, his hold on the sword loosening. Was the General speaking the truth? He was a man proven by experience to not be trusted, but there was sense in his reasoning. If he had certainly been behind the kidnappings, would he expose himself in this manner to be easily hunted?

Lord Akash frowned thoughtfully. Unless he was a prodigious villain, indeed, and this was his cunning way to make one think otherwise!

"You can't fool me!" claimed the Second Lord indignantly, holding his sword firmly again, "You must know what happened to them! It is you who helped those strangers harbour their ship on our land!"

"What nonsense!" The General's nostrils flared with resentment and he stood his ground, with his arms crossed before his chest, to prove his point, "I am unarmed and you may strike me if you will. But I speak the truth when I say I know not what you are talking about."

Lord Akash scowled distrustfully and then, realizing his minutes were turning futile, asserted, "Truth or not, I know you can never be trusted. I have to get to the root of this matter and wish not to waste time in languid parley with you. But mind you," he stepped forward and whispered the warning, "I am watching you."

And with a cold glare, Lord Akash sheathed his sword and turned to his horse.

The General watched bitterly as the Second Lord mounted on his horse and galloped in the direction of the Inn.

His mind was in a storm. Miss Kushi, his cure, was not to be found. He was utterly confused. Had she gone off herself? Why would anyone kidnap her?

HE had motives, certainly, but he had not stolen her. At least, not yet. So who would have stolen her and for what purpose?

He began picking up his discarded weapons as his thoughts spiralled into more assumptions.

It was possibly a ransom that the kidnappers were after, having conveniently stolen the First Lady of Arhasia. That foul-breathed, meat-brained tiger would sell the whole of Arhasia for the release of his wife! The General snorted. No wonder! It is a monetary vendetta. He must be already on his way to rescue his wifey dear!

Well, I have no interest to involve in his personal strife but I cannot let pass this opportune gap for me to get Miss Kushi!

"Come on, Lightning," called out the General, "We have a cure to catch!"

As Lightning trotted towards him, the General busied in placing his weaponry into the various scabbards on the saddle, which he straddled onto Lightning, tucking and buckling the straps.

I will NEVER let anyone harm my cure! Determined, he pulled himself up and got on Lightning's back, settling himself and picking up the reins.

But he hesitated a moment, refusing to pull at the reins. Didn't Akash mention children? He must have meant Ram and...

The General grunted. That cursed one is with Miss Kushi!!

The General frowned in thought. He didn't want to cross paths with his nemesis again but the thought of his cure trapped with her discomforted him.

His mind conjured the varied images of the child when she had been held in the arms of her mother...

Anjali. The General perked up, his mind thrown into a strange anxiety as it hazily imagined what state the mother of the child would be, having lost both husband and daughter.

Confused for a distracting moment, he ran his fingers through his hair, unwilling to proceed in the direction of his curse but desperate to rescue his cure.

He had nearly determined himself to not go when, suddenly, something toppled him off the horseback and landed him on the ground with a loud thump.