Chapter 35: A Spy in the Shadows

The door creaked open behind him, and Kael stepped inside, closing it softly. "Alpha, I've instructed the guards to maintain strict patrols tonight. No one comes in or out without my say." "Good." Ileus's voice was flat, his gaze never leaving the map. "Did Lira finalize the false intelligence plan?" "She's working on it," Kael said, coming to stand beside him. "But there's more. On patrol this morning, I saw one of the younger guards acting suspiciously-too nervous to meet my eyes. He is a young warrior, but." "But everyone's a suspect now," Ileus concluded grimly. "Bring him to me. I'll question him myself." Kael hesitated. "It might be better to observe him for a while longer, Alpha. If he's not the spy but knows something, we risk spooking him." Before Ileus could reply, the door burst open and Lira strode in, her usual calm replaced by urgency. "Alpha, there's been an incident in the northern wing." Both men turned sharply. "What kind of incident?" Ileus demanded. "A skirmish," Lira said, her tone clipped. "Two guards fought near the armory. One accused the other of tampering with the weapons cache." Kael frowned. "Tampering how?" "Sabotage," Lira replied, her sharp eyes narrowing. "The locks on the weapons chests were altered. If we were attacked, our warriors would struggle to arm themselves." "Take me there," Ileus ordered, already moving. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The northern wing was alive with scurrying people. Guards were rigid, eyes darting this way and that as if waiting for the traitor to confess at any moment. Two warriors stood constrained by their comrades-to Arms still dagger eyed. "Alpha!" a voice cried-one of the constrained guards, a wide-shouldered man named Dagon who stood up as Ileus entered. "It's him! I caught him fiddling with the locks -he's the traitor!" "That's a lie!" the other guard, a wiry man named Aedric, shouted back. "I was securing the locks! Dagon's the one acting suspicious!" "Silence!" Ileus barked, his voice commanding. The room fell into an uneasy hush. He approached the two guards, his gaze like a blade slicing through their bravado. "Dagon," Ileus said, his tone icy. "What exactly did you see?" Dagon straightened, the chains on him clanking. "I was patrolling the armory when I found Aedric crouching beside the chest of weapons. He sprang to his feet and tried to run when he saw me. That's when I grabbed him." "Because you attacked me!" Aedric shot back, his voice thick with indignation. Ileus turned to Aedric. "Your side of the story?" "I was tightening the locks, Alpha," Aedric said, his voice trembling slightly. "After the council meeting, Kael's orders were clear-secure all sensitive areas. I didn't run. Dagon attacked me before I could explain." Lira stepped forward. "I inspected the locks myself. They were tampered with, but not recently. If Aedric was the spy, why would he return to the scene of his crime?" "Perhaps to cover his tracks," Kael suggested, crossing his arms over his chest. Or perhaps he's being framed, Lira shot back; her eyes, as sharp as whetted knives, cut toward Dagon. Enough, Ileus interrupted, his tone slicing the air. Kael, take both of them to the holding cells. I want every detail of their movements in the last week. If either of them lies, I'll know. Kael nodded, his head gesturing for the guards to take the two men away. As the room emptied, Ileus turned to Lira. "What do you make of this?" he asked. Lira's lips thinned. "It feels. orchestrated. A staged distraction, perhaps, to draw our attention away from the real threat." "I agree," Ileus muttered. "Kael's suspicions about the young guard may not be coincidental. Where is he now?" "Patrolling the southern wall," Lira replied. "Bring him to me," Ileus ordered. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The young guard, a nervous boy barely out of his teens, stood before Ileus in the council chamber. His name was Toren, and his wide eyes darted around the room, as if seeking an avenue for escape. "Toren," Ileus began, his tone deceptively calm. "Kael says you've been acting strangely. Care to explain?" "I. I wasn't." Toren stammered, his face pale. "Speak clearly," Lira said sharply. "I wasn't doing anything wrong, Alpha!" Toren stammered. "I swear it!" "Then why the nervous behavior?" Kael said, pushing. "I. I overheard something," Toren huffed, barely above a whisper. Ileus leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "What did you overhear?" Toren hung his head low, hands visibly shaking. "Two voices in the storage room last night. Whispering about. about someone being 'too close to the truth.' I didn't recognize voices, but." "But what?" Ileus asked directly. "But one of them mentioned the armory," Toren finished, his voice cracking. The room fell into a heavy silence. "Why didn't you report this sooner?" Kael asked sharply. "I was scared!" Toren exclaimed. "What if they found out I heard them? What if they came after me?" Ileus's jaw clamped tighter. "Did you see anyone leaving the storage room?" Toren shook his head. "No, Alpha. I left as soon as I heard them. I didn't want to be caught." Kael exchanged a glance with Lira. "This corroborates with the sabotage. If someone did plant the evidence to incriminate Aedric, that person might have been the voice Toren heard. Ileus rose to his feet, towering. "Toren, you've done well to tell us this. But if you ever withhold information again, I won't be so forgiving." "Y-yes, Alpha," Toren stammered. "Dismissed," Ileus said, and the boy fled the chamber. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Later that evening, as the council reconvened, a sense of unease hung heavy in the air. The false intelligence plan was underway, but the traitor remained elusive. "Ileus," Lira began, breaking the silence. "If Toren's information is accurate, the spy isn't just feeding Kieran information. They're actively working to sabotage us from within." "I'm aware," Ileus said grimly. "And that makes them even more dangerous." Kael, standing by the door, suddenly stiffened. "Alpha, someone's approaching." The door swung open, revealing a hooded figure. Gasps rippled through the council as the figure stepped inside and lowered their hood, revealing a familiar face. "Dagon?" Lira exclaimed. But something was wrong. His eyes glowed an unnatural red, and his voice, when he spoke, was not his own. "Alpha Ileus," the figure said, a sinister smile twisting his lips. "You've been playing a dangerous game." Kael drew his sword, but the possessed Dagon laughed, his voice booming uncomfortably. "You actually think your weapons are going to save you?" Before anyone could make a move, the room flickered into darkness, and through that darkness, a chillingly soft voice whispered: "The time of the Alpha is coming to an end."