Septimity and The Blood Brotherhood: The Third Hilarious Glothic Tale (The Glothic Tales Book 3) by Derek Haines

Potentate and take your place as April the First, Supreme Potentate of the Twelve Sun Systems of Gloth.’
    ‘Do I have to?’ April asked January.
    ‘Yes April. Now raise your right hand like we practiced and make the salute.’
    ‘But I can’t mummy.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘Because I’ll drop this big heavy stick.’
    ‘That’s all right. I’ll hold one end of it for you,’ January said and as she held one end, April raised his right hand high, then tried to fold his middle fingers onto his palm as the salute required. He tried again. And again. But his two thumbs and six fingers on his right hand just wouldn’t cooperate. The best he could manage was a fist.
    Sensing the problem, Kaybob Krizzle intervened.
    ‘That will be fine,’ he told April as he checked the Dodecahedron again. Still black. He looked at the Royal Orb in April and January’s hands. It was not pulsating in hues of blue as it should in the hands of a true Gregorian. It was time.
    ‘My dear ambassadors, councillors, ministers, delegates and members of the Gregorian Royal Family,’ Kaybob Krizzle said in a very serious tone of voice that gave the hint of some bad news. ‘I cannot continue with this investiture,’ he said and was met with gasps.
    ‘Ichor at last,’ Sep muttered to himself.
    ‘Now September?’ Sep asked.
    ‘Not just yet. Wait.’
    ‘The Dodecahedron does not recognise the boy standing in front of me as a true Gregorian,’ Kaybob Krizzle solemnly announced, and the audience hushed in shock.
    ‘No, this is not true. I protest!’ January started to scream.
    ‘Quiet!’ Krizzle ordered in the best booming and authoritative voice he could muster. ‘You my good women have brought an imposter before us. This boy is not the rightful Gregorian heir to the throne of the Supreme Potentate of the Twelve Sun Systems of Gloth.’
    The assembled ambassadors, councillors, ministers, delegates and members of the Gregorian Royal Family sat in shocked silence.
    ‘Ichor!’ September shouted into the silence as he stood from his seat at the rear of the Grand Hall. ‘Ichor!’ he shouted again as he stepped forward and began to walk slowly down the red carpeted centre aisle. ‘Ichor!’ As he walked he could see from the look on Kaybob Krizzle’s face that he knew what came next. If September was in any doubt, Krizzle removed it instantly by raising his right hand, making a firm Glothic salute and shouted, ‘Ichor!’
    From within the audience, at first one, then two, then twenty rose to their feet and made the Glothic salute and responded. ‘Ichor!’
    With shouts of ‘Ichor!’ resonating around the Grand Hall, High Commander Huphnic Grundlestick gave an order to his deputy sitting beside him on his left. ‘Order the Gregorian Guard to advance immediately from their positions around the Grand Hall perimeter and secure all exit points from the Grand Hall. There are two squads of Lacertilian Guards out there and they are allies. Understand? No one is permitted to leave the Grand Hall.’
    ‘Yes sir. Understood.’
    Grundlestick turned to the officer on his right. ‘Take the officer’s on your right and secure all exits from the Grand Hall.’
    ‘Yes sir,’ he replied, stood up and quietly passed the order down the row of officers. As he turned he noticed the ring of Lacertilian Guards at the rear of the hall. ‘There are Lacertilian Guards to the rear sir.’
    ‘Yes, I know. They are under my command. Now get moving!’
    ‘Yes sir.’
    Sep stood quietly at the rear as he proudly watched September make his way slowly towards the front of the hall. He was now convinced that September was wrong about his brothers as Heptad and Heptahedra had obviously completed their tasks and disabled the Dodecahedron on Erde and the repeater on Terranova Two. He stood, then counted more than fifty hands raised in the air in salute. The Blood Brotherhood could at long last recognise each other. When the shouts of ‘Ichor’ subsided, Sep