Chapter 67: Chapter 67

The fetters of anticipation and dread grappled Calix as soon as he was confronted with the question which he had been avoiding for the past two days. His mouth turned dry and he felt as if he almost lost his voice. The menacing look in Zachary’s eyes was daring him not to lie but does he have the courage to tell him the truth?

‘How come he met Zagan in the first place when he is in Moonland? And even if he did, how come Zac was able to invade the portals which were closed by Theodore?’

Random thoughts corrupted his mind but still, Calix kept calm and didn’t reveal the uneasiness on his face.

Maybe Zagan was in Binnazun Dynasty or he really met him in Moonland because Calix himself doesn’t know about Zagan’s whereabouts. But again, that’s preposterous according to their master plan because if Zagan did that then he wouldn’t have been alive by now.

Suddenly it struck him. What if Zachary was testing him? To get his reaction. After all, they both were like brothers and knew each other very well. The way he had been avoiding Zachary like a plague, Calix knew that he had himself given him a reason to doubt him.

A wave of relief washed over his tensed muscles. For now, the situation was still at the helm and he could easily mold it according to his benefit.

Calix internally smirked when an idea popped into his mind. Squaring his shoulders, he looked at Zachary and let out a chuckle, “Is that so? Then would you tell me the exact location where you met Zagan?” He said and again snorted.

Calix tried to suppress this issue with his laughter but Zachary didn’t show any emotion. He was stiff as a rock and continued watching him.

His laughter eventually died down when he found no response from the Demon King.

“What happened Zac? Why aren’t you answering?” Calix spoke nervously. He had no idea that a storm was on the horizon and was about to swallow him alive.

“Because the question was directed to you, not me.” Zachary instantly retorted.

Calix was taken aback but this time Zachary didn’t let him steady himself and shot back, “And let me tell you, you have failed Cal.”

Zachary spoke and threw him a glare. Calix was flabbergasted, “W-What do you mean by ‘fail’, Zac? What are you trying to imply?”

“Oh, I will clear your doubts very soon but before that, I want to show you something?” the raven-haired guy said and pulled something from his pocket. Calix furrowed his brows but his soul left his body when he found the shining flask in his hand.

Zachary swayed the bottle in front of his face and inquired him, “I found three bottles of deadly poison in your room. You didn’t tell me that you are planning to poison Kiora and Zagan, Cal? So silly of me. I had been whacking my brain unnecessarily to plot dangerous schemes when my commander is going to eliminate my rivals using poison.” He mocked him.

Calix was too numb to reply. To expedite her plan, Delphyne had later given him three bottles of poison as she didn’t want a miss. She was hellbent on killing Diana so she gave him extra to liquidate the ones who tried to save her or become an obstruction in his way. The helpless warrior had to accept them and unfortunately became a part of her complicity. But what he didn’t know was that supporting a crime is equal to committing it.

Zachary advanced toward him while maintaining his glare on the shivering guy, “Skirting around, avoiding me, keeping secrets, and stashing lethal weapons, what are you really up to Cal?” He spoke in his deep voice. The playfulness in his tone had vanished and his expressions turned back to austere. Calix continued watching him with sealed lips.

His heart skipped a beat when Zachary stood an arm’s length from him. Running away was not an option now. He has to face his biggest fear.

Mustering some courage, Calix finally decided to be honest with him. Zachary looked in his sapphire hues that were brimmed with guilt, pain, and sheer impuissance.

“I-I am sorry, Zac but I had no other choice. My hands were tied and I-I just wanted to s-save you-” Calix abruptly stopped as he couldn’t find the right words to absolve his guilty conscience. After much difficulty, he finally spilled everything to him.

Calix was well aware that Zachary would be devastated once he comes to know about his mother’s doings. Moreover, the truth about Jasmine, the fact that he wasn’t the rightful King, the fact that Diana was innocent, and how his family was scheming to snatch the love of his life would tear him apart.

Calix was feeling disgusted with himself. He knew that once Zachary will come to know the truth, he would never forgive him and would break their years of friendship but still, he abetted his obsessed mother and was even the first one who proposed this evil idea.

“I-I don’t know what to say anymore. All I can say is that please don’t h-hate me. I got lost Zac, got blinded by my love for you, and was frustrated with Rose’s betrayal. I was finding a person on whom I can unleash my wrath. Unfortunately, that came out to be that innocent soul and I consented to it without realizing to what extent my stupid plan would damage the lives of my loved ones. I did a mistake; Zac and you have every right to punish me the way you want to.”

Calix spoke ruefully and peeked at Zachary. To his dismay, the Demon King didn’t even bat an eyelid after hearing the truth from his mouth. This broke his heart but also turned him uptight.

Calix was startled when suddenly the room resonated with his dark chuckle. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he watched Zachary laughing his heart out.

Zachary slowly tilted his neck and looked at him. He shot him a cynical smile which broke him into cold sweats.

“Alright so, what should I go with first? Face or bones?”, he said while cracking his knuckles.

Calix was helpless. All he could do was accept his defeat. Sighing, he lowered his head in shame and whispered, “I-I am sorry Zac”

“You should be.”

With that, Zachary swung a punch in the air and struck him right across his jaw. The impact was so strong that Calix went flying across backward and collided with the wall. All the air got knocked off his lungs and he slumped on the floor. But before his body could hit the floor, Zachary caught him in mid-air and rained down punches on him.

“YOU WERE TRYING TO KILL MY PRINCESS, THE GIRL WHO HAD ALWAYS RESPECTED YOU!! WHAT HAVE YOU THOUGHT? THAT YOU ALL WOULD TRY TO BACKSTAB ME AND I WOULDN’T EVEN COME TO KNOW ABOUT IT?? I KNEW EVERYTHING FROM THE START BUT I DELIBERATELY KEPT QUIET AS I WAS WAITING FOR YOU TO REALIZE YOUR FAULT!! I AM VERY WELL AWARE OF MY MOTHER’S HATRED FOR DIANA BUT YOU?? HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF BETRAYING ME??”

Zachary raged and kicked his stomach. Calix coughed blood but his eyes widened when his words registered in his mind.

“Y-You knew e-everything?”

He couldn’t believe his ears. Then that means they all got played by Zachary and not the other way around.

Zachary smirked at his paled face. Grabbing his collars, he brought him closer to his face and sneered, “You perhaps forgot Cal. Indeed, you are my right hand and the minister of the Binnazun Dynasty but I am the King of Hell. The sovereign prince of the Demon World. Nothing can hide from my eyes. I have my ears and eyes everywhere, even at the places where your spies can’t even reach. You can be deceived but no one has the power to defy my orders. They have to tell me the truth and for your information, your father was the one who told me about your secret mission.”

Calix stared at him horrified, “T-Then why you didn’t try to save Diana? Why did you keep quiet for so long?” He asked him but his voice held a tinge of rage.

Zachary pushed him to the floor, “Because I was waiting for someone whom I can use as bait.”

Raking his fingers through his unruly hair, he inhaled sharply before speaking in his sonorous voice, “That day when you came into my room to console me, I knew something was bothering you. You looked more distressed than me. Sadness was dripping from your face but your eyes were teeming with guilt and pain. Bogged with despair, when I handed you the dream catcher and cried on your shoulder, the way you looked at it with so much fondness made me delighted that you were also missing Diana but suddenly your expression changed to a fearful one.” He said and looked at Calix who dropped his gaze to the floor.

“You looked hesitant and scared. That gave me a reason to doubt you because it was evident that you wanted to tell me but something was stopping you. That’s when I began my research with my spies.”

Calix clenched his jaw. He was adept in cloak-and-dagger activities then how come he got tricked?

Zachary smirked as he read his mind. “Because he was amongst you. The one who helped Delphyne in drugging me and gave her the poison to kill my wife.”

Calix agape at his words, “WHAT? BARBAS?”

“There you go.” Zachary cheered and showed him a thumbs-up.

“But that’s impossible. He hates Diana.” Calix screamed as still couldn’t overcome his shock.

“But he loves his life,” Zachary spoke stunning him to silence.

“How many times do you want me to remind you that I am the King of Hell? Their souls are wrapped around my fingers. Unlike you, they couldn’t even dream of trifling with me. Well, coming back to your question, why do I keep quiet even after knowing everything? You yourself know the answer to it Cal. I can’t go to Moonland. I need a mediator who would help me go to my wife who is currently locked by that fucker. Zagan was betrayed by Kiora who tried to kill him and now he would serve as my key to save my Princess.”

Calix looked at him puzzled, “Kiora tried to kill Zagan? But why?”

Zachary cocked a brow at him, “Why do you seem so surprised? What more can you expect that from that selfish bitch? Or perhaps you had a heart change after making her a part of your ‘saving Jasmine agenda’?” he said while air quoting the last part.

Now that agitated Calix. The way they both were going back and forth without understanding the gravity of the situation pissed him off.

Calix stood up on his wobbly legs and glared at him with red eyes, “Isn’t this supposed to be done, Zac? I can understand your anger but you do know that Jasmine’s life is in danger. She is your sister and-“

“And she is my responsibility.” Zachary harshly cut him in between.

Calix huffed, “Of course she is. I know you hate me right now but that’s what all I could think of at that moment. My decision is unfair to Diana but fruitful to Jasmine. She is the daughter of the royal family and the Princess of Hell.”

“BUT DIANA IS THE QUEEN OF HELL!!!” Zachary roared which made him flinch.

“Jasmine isn’t aware of the truth. She is safe for now but Diana is on the brink of death. That poor girl is trapped between those heinous monsters because of my stupid jealousy and now she is carrying my child. Do you fucking think Theodore will ever keep this child? He hates me Cal and to get back at me, he would try to harm my child. The lives of the two most important persons in my life are in danger now and you want me to save Jasmine and leave them to die? I wouldn’t let Mom sacrifice my wife for the girl whom she had hidden for years.”

Calix hollered at him, “ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE? SHE IS YOUR SISTER, DAMNIT!! YES, QUEEN DID WRONG BUT SHE WAS HELPLESS!! SHE ONLY WANTED TO SAVE HER LIFE.”

He spat but he was surprised when Zachary chuckled at his words.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, Cal. This is the half-truth or I should say the sob story of my cunning mother who tried to manipulate your soft heart by covering up her HIDDEN AGENDA.”

Zachary stipulated and walked closer to him, “Do you remember the Golden Vault, Cal?”

Calix nodded, “Yeah, the place where the lethal and powerful weapons are stored by the Theo Family.”

“Then you definitely remember about the Prophecy. That my heir can only tolerate the power of those weapons. Here’s the twist Cal. Those weapons can only be touched by Jasmine, not by my child. Mom kept her identity hidden because she was waiting for the moment when Jasmine would steal those weapons from the Theo Dynasty and bring it to her.”

His words baffled Calix, “Why would she steal them?”

“I would have made her do that. You see that old hag is too clever. She knew about our clandestine meeting. She knew about my plan of using Jasmine to get a hold of those weapons. Once I would have made her steal those weapons, she would have got them destroyed to save Jasmine because they are a threat to her. Delphyne had been preparing the potions of destroying those weapons for centuries. She was very cleverly executing her plan by keeping all of us in dark. But her plan flopped when Diana left and Jasmine was kicked off Theo Dynasty by Theodore. And the icing on the cake was you exposing her so she started her manipulating game. She knew everything from start but deliberately kept quiet and fooled you who also came in her words.”

Zachary told him. Calix was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that he was tricked by Delphyne.

“Then why is she trying to kill your child?”

“Because he or she will head on to become the ultimate ruler of the Universe and she doesn’t want that. She wants to give that title to Jasmine. Neither my child will kill her nor me nor Theodore. The prophecy is a boon, not a curse. Binnazun had declared that the ultimate ruler of Heaven would be my child and Elijah had declared that the future leader would take birth from Diana’s womb, Princess of Moonland. That’s the actual truth but some people twisted it to gain supremacy and the upper hand. Like the Theo Family wants the heir to get control of demons and Delphyne wants to erase his or her existence so that she can give the throne to Jasmine who would establish the dominance of demons in both the worlds.” Zachary said.

Zachary was also shocked after knowing the whole truth. His conscience was burdened with the boulders of guilt and self-loathing. Just to continue their rivalries, the two biggest families of both worlds distorted the Prophecy.

Silence fell between them. Calix was feeling awful. How quickly he came upon a conclusion and took a hasty decision of killing the love of his best friend. Zachary was also deeply regretting his idea of using Diana for his vendetta.

His heart turned heavy, “I am too feeling like shit Cal. But now I think that whatever happened was necessary. Diana’s absence though made me restless and berserk; it also compelled me to dig in the past and find the root cause of the problem. To keep the hatred and fire alive in ourselves, the manuscripts had also been morphed. And the same had happened with the Angels too. Yes, Elijah hated Binnazun but after getting the throne, he changed. He started to work for the welfare of his people and so was Binnazun. Every leader dream that the future leader should be someone from his kingdom that’s why they made such a prophecy. To turn it into a reality, the Almighty had to consider both wishes and came up with a decision. That’s why a demon married an angel so that our child would head to take the throne.” Zachary explained to him.

Calix also nodded in approval, “You’re right Zac. I apologize for taking a rash decision but I promise you, that I would help you save Diana. Forgive me.”

Zachary looked into his teary eyes. He can’t shift the entire blame to Calix as he was also equally at fault.

His lips twisted in a smile as he accepted his apology which made Calix smile too. The brunettes then hugged each other.

Breaking the hug, Zachary studied his friend’s battered face. Calix waited for him to heal his wounds but Zachary did nothing which made him lose his temper.

“Won’t you heal me?” He asked him anxiously only to earn a chilly glare.

“You deserved that.”

With that, Zachary turned back and exited the room leaving him stunned.

*****