Chapter 175: The Traitor
Jacob had already written a letter and formed a bird that would send it back to the Wutherhorn dynasty at lightning speed. Light would receive the letter in no time. Still Jacob worried.
Jacob still racked his brain, knowledge of the future meant he had leverage.
He remembered the Angel he saw in his dream who was an obvious traitor to the Elder Covenant. He thought briefly about a way they could gain an upper hand in this war without the Demon King or his cronies finding out.
He would have to inform the Elder Covenant about the mole in their midst.
Since he had not seen the hiding place of the Elder Covenant yet, he couldn’t just teleport to their meeting place.
However, he could project into Alaric’s subconsciousness again and inform him of the plan to use the sap to free the Demon King.
He only had to wait for nightfall, so he could do it, and look as though he were asleep at the same time.
Luckily, the sun had already dipped below the horizon and the carriage was coming to a stop on the edge of a long road surrounded by thick trees with large green leaves.
The horses were tired at this point and had reached their limit. Jacob understood the need for a rest.
He opened the door of the carriage and stepped out, the breeze swept his robe up and his hair to the side. The terrain was completely blocked by trees so the heavy wind was understandable.
"We make camp here for the night, tomorrow we double our speed." Jacob said, receiving a nod from each of Xenia and Leon.
He had always wanted to try camping outside. Even in his past life, it wasn’t something he had ever done.
***
Nightfall came quickly. Jacob used his powers to create a small hole in the ground, he dumped a bunch of small wooden logs in it and set it on fire immediately, creating a large fire for them to stay warm.
The road wasn’t busy. A merchant or two passed by every now and then but that was it. It was a crossing between two different cities, they were just a couple leagues away from the Treant Village so they could afford to take a rest, for now.
When Jacob was sure that Leon and Xenia had gone to sleep, he decided to do what he needed to do.
He lay down and closed his eyes, he found himself walking in a completely dark space. Water pooled under his feet, but they did not feel wet, it looked as though he was walking in a flooded space.
He walked for about twenty seconds before another figure, the same height as him, possessing long white hair, and a long white beard materialized from smoke before him.
It was his grandfather..
The man was looking stressed, he looked way older than Jacob had ever seen him.
"Jacob! My boy! You’ve come to visit me again."
Jacob hugged the man tight, fortunately, he could touch him, or a semblance of him.
The memories from the future vision still played in his mind. In that moment, his felt like a curse.
"Whoa! what’s wrong boy? Even your grandmother hasn’t hugged me like that in a while." The old man chuckled.
"Grandpa, theres a problem.." Jacob said, causing the man to change his expression to a more serious one. "There is a matter we have to discuss."
***
"So Joe Joe is most likely dead." The old man’s knees buckled and he fell backwards, but a chair materialized under him. He held his head in his hands and closed his eyes tight, forcing his tears back.
"If we don’t stop the Demon king, then the world is doomed, I can not lose you and grandma." Jacob said, a crestfallen croak appeared in his voice.
Alaric looked at the boy with loving eyes. "You will not lose us, I promise you this."
"There is also another issue grandpa."
"What is it boy?"
"There is a mole on the Elder Covenant."
As he heard those words, Alaric sat up in his seat. These words Jacob had just spoken confirmed every suspicion that Alaric had the whole time, he could not believe he was right. His eyes widened as he remained partly flabbergasted.
"Someone who has been feeding information to be the demon king and aiding him in his quest to break free from Helmand." Jacob continued.
"I knew it! That snake Banqui. He was always a slithery serpent. Why would he do something like this?" Alaric exclaimed, his gaze fixed on the ground below and his face stuck in perpetual confusion.
"Grandpa, in my vision, I saw Banqui get killed by the Demon King as well." Jacob added. The man looked at him from his position, his eyes uncertain now.
"Are you saying the traitor is not Banqui? It must be that slithery bat Armand! He has always been against the opinions of the rest of the elders!" Alaric growled, Jacob could hear the anger welling up deep inside the man’s voice.
Alaric, on the other hand was completely stupefied. He could not believe that someone on the sacred Elder Covenant would stoop as low as to be in cahoots with the ultimate enemy. What could they possibly gain from an alliance from someone who has been known throughout history to be unconventionally cruel?
"He’s just a pawn, doesn’t he know that? The moment that evildoer gets his wish, he will be killed. I cannot believe that I am in an alliance with people this stupid." Alaric complained.
"No grandpa, it’s not Armand." Jacob said, correcting the man once again.
"Then who is it boy?!" Alaric demanded with a loud voice. He was tired of the suspense, he wanted to grab whoever the traitor was by the neck and rip their head from their bodies in that exact moment.
Jacob took a deep breath, the answer he was about to provide would hit deeper than whatever Alaric could imagine possible.
It defied the laws of physics, it defied the laws of the world.
"Grandpa, I believe his name... was Lucien."