The furniture in the room seemed to twist, the ground to soften and the air to become thin in the attempt to reject the unnatural power coming from the Cursed Flames sealed inside the Voidfeather Dragon’s red scales.
Two sets of black feathered wings came out of Lith’s back and several small horns formed a crown upon his head that reminded the Royals of those of Leegaain. The Voidfeather Dragon lacked the long, curved horns of the Tiamat but its body had grown taller as well.
“Do you have Dragon Eyes?” The Queen asked, hoping for a negative and an affirmative answer in equal measure.
Such a powerful skill would make Lith an incredible asset but also an unprecedented threat to the throne.
“I wish, but believe me when I say that my seven eyes are not for decoration. In this form my mastery over all kinds of flames is further enhanced and so is my ability to conjure Dragon Fear. Last, but not least…”
Lith shapeshifted again and the Royals expected him to take a Phoenix-like form. Instead, his body shrunk and compressed until it was just a bit taller than Orion.
“I don’t go around telling people I’m part Abomination, but this is also who I am.” In that form, Lith still resembled Derek McCoy but the changes in his Abomination side were much greater than those that his other forms had undergone.
Long straight horns came out of his forehead while curved horns came out of the back of his skull, covering his neck. A set of membranous wings rested on his shoulders and seven white-colored eyes were open on his face along with a lipless white maw.
Lith’s darkness body was now packed with so much energy that it was almost tangible and the way it drained the light in the room made his black claws and talons glisten.
“Are you an Eldritch?” The King asked, recognizing from the many distinctive features something more than a simple Empowered Abomination.
The Void didn’t reply, looking at the Royals with a mix of mockery and joy.
“Gods, you are so cute. It makes me want to eat you.” It spoke with a voice that didn’t belong to Lith, stretching its limbs like a predator ready to pounce on its prey. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to meet you.”
‘Down, boy.’ Lith needed sheer willpower to rein in his most violent urges. ‘We are Grandma’s guest and so are the Royals. No matter how pissed off we are at them, we can’t offend Grandma by violating her hospitality.’
Derek/Lith held a grudge against the Royals for what had happened to his family from the moment the late General Morn had issued the capture order and, in his Abomination form, his negative emotions were cranked up to eleven.
The Void snarled in annoyance but crawled back among the other life forces, leaving Lith the wheel again.
“I’m sorry for my rudeness.” Derek’s voice turned into Lith’s “This form is very violent, that’s why I try to use it as little as possible. About your question, no, I’m not an Eldritch nor am I a full Abomination.
“I’m fully alive, just like you. This is but a part of my life force, just like Lith Verhen and the Voidfeather Dragon.” Hearing him using the last name that the Kingdom had bestowed upon him, reassured Meron.
“How is it possible for a living being to also be an undead?” The Queen asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“I have no idea, but I suspect it’s related to the fact that I was stillborn.” Lith told them the details about Nana “bringing him back to life”, glossing over the part about his previous lives.
“I’m sharing this with you because you already know of my ability to control the dead and to clear the allegations about my use of Forbidden Magic. What you’ve witnessed me using in the Hogum Household was just one of my bloodline abilities.
“I’m tired of hiding in the shadows and pretending to be someone I’m not. The cat is already out of the bag so I want things to be crystal clear before we start the negotiations.
“I’m telling you everything right now so that if anything of this becomes public knowledge, you can’t go back on your word by claiming that I hid my real nature from you.”
“I appreciate your sincerity but not your lack of trust.” Meron said after pondering the revelation for a while.
Knowing that Lith wasn’t a Necromancer like Balkor reassured the King because it meant he didn’t have a secret army of undead stashed somewhere. On the other hand, it was much worse.
It meant that Lith had no need to collect corpses, to prepare and feed them for battle. The power came naturally to him like the shadows of the dead which made it necessary for the Royals to understand the boundaries of his bloodline abilities.
“After Meln blew your cover, we took care of your interests.” The Queen said. “Your house and your Mansion have been kept exactly as you left them. The Verhen Mansion still belongs to you and your house has been sealed to the public.”
Sylpha handed Lith a holographic map of the farm, showing him a new set of arrays surrounding the Verhen household in Lutia.
“We feared that during your absence someone might attempt to study your arrays and later break into your home so we had our Master Wardens lay several alarms and barriers.
“No one entered your property, no one studied your spells, and the DoLorean is kept safe even from the Royal Forgemasters.” She said. “The silver mines you own and the silver it produces have been left untouched in your partner’s hands.
“I want you to know that we didn’t move against him even after we learned about his nature as a Lich.”
Lith’s eyes went wide at those words, but then he remembered Urgamakka and how Inxialot and Zolgrish seemed to have some kind of relationship.
“How did you find out about his true nature and didn’t the Council cover for him?” Lith asked.
“Zolgrish objected to the seize order for the mines and during the lawsuit, he once forgot to change his appearance and entered the court with his real face.” The King said with a deep sigh at the memory of the panic that had ensued.
“Also, yes. The Council interceded for him but we also covered it up to avoid you more trouble.”
“And I thank you for that.” Lith said.
‘As long as the Undead Courts are part of the War of the Griffons, being a known associate of a Lich would make things even harder for my family.’ He inwardly added.
“You can easily return the favor by allowing us to meet Captain Locrias and Lieutenant Valia.” The Queen replied. “Everyone knows that they are now in your service and their families have petitioned us countless times to save them.”
“There’s nothing they need to be saved from. They are with me of their own will.” Lith didn’t like that turn of events.
“We believe you, but we need to check it with our own eyes. Can you please summon them for us?”
