Shadow of the Crown

by Amber Morant

  "What are you talking about? Symptoms? I feel—" Foam began to form and spill out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head and his body shook violently.

  Anjuu grasped Azrael's body to try and stop the convulsions. She pulled him down to the ground, examining his body as quickly as she could. There was a fever. His veins didn't seem to pop out. His heart was racing. She recognized the poison, but the cure wasn't nearby. If she was back in the city, she could get ahold of the cure. Horseradish. If she was near a drow family, most would certainly have some available in their homes. If not the horseradish, then they’d undoubtedly have a container of wasabi, which would have done the trick. But if she left, there was no telling who the assassin was and if they would come back to finish the job. Thankfully the poison wouldn't kill him unless he choked on the foam spewing from his mouth.

  "Interesting reaction,” Mestre said as she stepped from between the bushes. This is the first time I've tested this on a cait shidhe. Glad to know it behaves the same as other races."

  There were bugs crawling over her hands. Mestre smiled, giving her a frog-like appearance. Anjuu had only seen Mestre from above all these years working with Kalio and knew what she was capable of. Now seeing the woman in front of her, it sent shivers down her spine. A being so cruel to use anyone and everyone as experiments. Even the drow refused to be so inhumane.

  "What do you want?"

  Mestre's face warped and her skin turned a dark gray until Anjuu was now facing a mirror image of herself. "Oh, whatever shall I do? I'm such an innocent shadow. I have no power. But if I give Mestre this gift then he could live for a bit longer." The Anjuu-disguised Mestre began to mock cry. "If only I just gave myself up to the queen. Gave her my head. But Mestre won’t take me to her. So, I guess I will just have to give Azrael away so I can at least save him since I am so helpless."

  Anjuu looked down at Azrael. Despite the retorts that Mestre had said, she had one point, Azrael could live if Mestre provided the antidote. "Cure him first, then we'll talk."

  Mestre transformed herself back into her old appearance. "Hand him over first. I don't intend on killing him yet. Not my place. I already have the ultimate poison to kill anyone in the country. Either you give him to me now so he lives or let him die here and now."

  His body continued to twitch and convulse but had gone weaker as his muscles began to fail. It was only a matter of time before he would choke on the foam, or his muscle died, and he would become immobilized from the neck down.

  "How do we know you won’t just use that supposed poison on him?"

  "His sister." Anjuu's head perked up. "We have his sister and I'd rather watch them both die a slow death. Watch them die slowly from one of my poisons. Unable to help one another." She held up a small vial. "Or whatever the queen has in store for him. But right now, I think her focus is on killing you before him. He betrayed her trust just as much, so a plaything for torture is more up his life. Better that than icing in the middle of the woods because you couldn't feed him wasabi, no?"

  Anjuu closed her eyes. She embraced Azrael and whispered a small prayer. "Spirits of Ombramoor. Devata. Someone please keep him safe. I promise, Azrael, I will find you. I will kill her and get your sister and you free from there. I will avenge you. Just be safe."

  Anjuu laid Azrael down on the ground. "Give him the antidote then you can have him. Promise me you won’t kill him."

  Mestre held her hand up and crossed her heart. "I am the queen of poisons, not lies. Kalio wouldn't have chosen me if I was known to deceive people. Unlike you and this one here. Shame you both couldn't keep up your end of the bargain. You'll just die like the rest of the rebels." Mestre knelt next to Azrael and poured the liquid into the cait shidhe's mouth. "That should do it."

  Anjuu watched as the foam dissipated and the twitches became more sporadic and less violent. She was thankful to see she cured him. For once, she was glad Mestre was around. Though what came next, she wasn't as thankful for.

  "You know you could always fight me and get your precious cat to safety." Mestre smiled, mocking Anjuu. Mestre placed a hand on her cheek as if remembering something. "You know, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to fight me though. After all," she put her fingers up to her mouth and let out a loud whistle, "I have a dragon of my own now."

  A roar filled the air and Anjuu immediately recognized it as Azrael's dragon. The beast launched into the sky just yards beyond them. He had been so still and silent that neither of them had realized the dragon was there. Anjuu thought the dragon would help her and protect its guardian but realized something was wrong. It's eyes that glowed with an internal fire were now a milk white and she could see a green goo drooling out of its mouth.

  "Special concoction I built for dragons. Will do great on the market to make guardians obsolete. Handy, no? Rid ourselves of shadows and guardians. A perfect world where Kalio can control everyone without interference."

  Mestre let out another whistle and lifted Azrael off the ground and tossed him over her shoulders. “You see, shadow, when you have the power of a dragon at your back, it's a gift, and I'm sure you don't want to kill your friend’s beast. Don't worry, we’ll make sure he goes back in his cave where he belongs. Maybe even become a play thing for Ream."

  The dragon dropped its hind foot down so Mestre could step onto it and wrapped her arm around the beast's leg. It took off into the air and launched forward. Within seconds she was out of sight and Anjuu was left alone to decide what to do next.

  Her body felt numb. She had given Azrael to the enemy after he had escaped and came to her to help stop Kalio. Now she had given him back to them on a silver platter and he had no idea. Anjuu bit her bottom lip, holding back the tears that welled up in her eyes. Everything she had seen, every misdeed the queen had done. Every lie that she was told. Betrayal had hurt when she was the new assassination target, but now things were going too far.

  I will save you, Azrael. I'll make sure the egg hatches and I will burn that entire castle to save everyone from her.

  The walk back was silent. She grabbed the backpack and towels that were left by Azrael. She could still smell him on his towel and held it close to her. Kalio would see the wrong in her ways on letting a woman like Mestre exist. She had killed so many for the guild, but she did it to bring peace to Narishma and Ombramoor. Mestre just tortured and killed for her own demented pleasure. A ren zhe that had no concept of tribalism and a love for poison, a creature not suited to exist.

  The bag felt heavier than Anjuu had imagined and looked inside. Underneath the extra clothes and towels was the moon dragon egg Azrael had brought with him. Another reminder of her own failure and new mission. She shoved the towels around it so the egg wouldn't move and slung the bag onto her back.

  After a few minutes of walking, Massika appeared around one of the trees. Her fur was still wet from a bath. Her eyes grew wide as soon as she realized Anjuu was by herself and carrying Azrael's bag.

  "What happened? You were just out training in the fields." Massika's eyes narrowed. "Did he betray us? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

  Anjuu shook her head. "No, I betrayed him. We need to get the rebellion together. We will collect everyone and storm the castle. I don't give a damn about the queen or any of them anymore. I will kill every soldier inside of that castle and we will get Azrael and his sister out of there by the fortnight."

  Twenty-Five

  "That should do it." Tosh cringed as pain shot through his arm again.

  "You know, if you just went to a medic, we wouldn't need to do this, right?" Hartiel asked, tugging at the vines now wrapped around Tosh's arm.

  "No, this will suffice. Gives me some more support on my arm and if someone tries to break it again then they will have to get through a lot of vines first. Not to mention," he picked up a rock and chucked it, "my strength is a little better now too."

  He pulled his sleeves back down to hide the vines. Each one twisted and curled, constantly moving to allow him full mobi
lity of his arm. It was like a snake strangling its next meal to devour it whole. It took a lot of energy out of him to maintain the constant pressure from the vines, but it was well worth it to avoid any attention to himself.

  He pulled out a small ticket in his pocket. It was for the capital, but the train would drive near Devata first before going south. He would just get off earlier than the ticket advised. He looked down at the name on the ticket: Giles Goranus. He felt bad for the kid, but Tosh had to take advantage of the kid. He had been looking at some spider web and Hartiel took off with the ticket before the kid noticed.

  The train hadn't pulled up into the station yet, leaving Tosh alone at a bench waiting. If he got on the train before the kid showed his face, he would be safe. Just in case, Tosh pulled his hood up over his face and sat quietly on the bench. At least another hour before the train arrived.

  Hartiel sat next to Tosh on the bench. He was now in the form of the boy they had stolen from. "You know, we could have just bought a ticket."

  "And chance someone else coming after us? No thanks, rather be off the grid for a while."

  "And once you get to Devata, then what?" Hartiel turned back into a solid light and flew in front of Tosh's face. "We just going to sit there and wait until Kalio dies of old age?"

  "I don't know yet, Hartiel. Look I'm sure Devata wants me to do something else and I'll probably be forced to do it. But for now, I just want to get to the island and relax without someone trying to kill me around every corner."

  Tosh and Hartiel grew silent. They’d had this argument so many times within the past few days there was no hope of either side winning. Tosh could hear the different cars driving beyond the station gate. There was only a thin wall that just blocked the view of those who would be boarding the train to see the streets beyond. It stretched out a few yards in both directions so at least a dozen or more people could stand in the gate. "I do wonder what happened to that egg, though. Think Azrael figured out who to give it to or did he just bring it back to Kalio?"

  Hartiel didn't get a chance to answer. A loud engine noise filled the air alongside a song filled with yelling and heavy guitar sounds mixed in. The wall blocked his view of who had pulled up, but he could tell it was some sort of motorcycle that had stopped in the parking lot, judging by the sound it made. Tosh tensed up, wondering who the new person was. It was possible it was someone looking for him and had caught on to his trail. Or he was simply going to be joined by someone else waiting for the train. He prayed it was the latter and could just ignore the existence of the newcomer.

  The engine cut off. He could hear the footsteps from the rider get closer now. He waited and watched the entrance, pulling the hood farther down in case they could see his mark on his cheek. He didn’t need more attention. Hartiel, in response, also flew into Tosh's pocket so no one could see him either.

  The person that had parked outside stepped into the station and looked around. Tosh immediately recognized the drow. Even with the white mask that hid her features, he knew it as Anjuu. The drow looked around then sat down on the opposite side of the station, ignoring Tosh completely. His mouth twitched, wondering what she was doing back here after leaving him to almost die the last time.

  "So, this is how you react after abandoning me, is it?" He called across the station, not wanting to get up. The shadow jumped in her seat and turned to look over at Tosh. She still didn't talk. "You really have some nerve, you know? I mean, I get it you got depressed when the queen wanted you dead but damn you had some bad timing there."

  The shadow lifted her mask enough so Tosh could see her mouth underneath. "You're the scholar?"

  "Figures you don’t even recognize me. Has it been that long that you can't remember a guy you saved and then put right back into the line of danger?"

  The drow smiled. "It has been some time. Glad I found you." She stood up and pulled a pistol out from her side. "They said finding you would be good money. More money if you're alive, but I think they'll understand if you're missing a limb."

  Tosh stood up and took a step back. "You're not Anjuu are you?"

  "Quick to learn. Good, maybe you will give me a challenge."

  The shadow pulled the mask back down and Tosh realized the mask had different markings from Anjuu's. They were close, but this shadow's markings were far longer. He cursed under his breath, now hoping Devata had ignored his last request and someone would show up.

  The shadow pulled out a small threading needle coated in a clear liquid. She took another step forward. Tosh wanted to run, but there was no way he could escape from a trained assassin. It was either die where he stood and hope someone got there to help him before it happened or die while running. Neither sounded appealing.

  Tosh closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. Before the shadow stepped closer, a crash was heard outside of the station. The shadow turned her head and Tosh took the opportunity to focus his energy on Hartiel’s. Together, they commanded the wind to rotate around them. He focused on the air around him, creating a small dense pocket. It rotated faster in front of him. As the ball grew more dense and bigger, he could feel the energy inside of him grow weaker. He couldn't pull any more energy from Hartiel and the vines were growing weak on supporting his arm.

  He blasted the air bubble forward, at the shadow. She hadn't noticed it during her inspection of anyone outside bothering her motorcycle and was pushed back against the wall. The shadow let out a soft groan and went silent. Tosh fell to the ground and stared at the shadow, waiting for her to move once more. He held his breath for what felt like an eon, but she never moved.

  "Figures I would find my bike out here." A voice grumbled outside the station. There was another thud followed by some loud cursing. "Whatever. Now to find this piece of shit who decided it would be a good idea to steal my bike."

  The person walked up the steps into the station and Tosh let out a small gasp. There was no denying this time that it was Anjuu. Her tousled white hair and look of constant annoyance was all too familiar. She had her mask attached to her belt. Anjuu looked over at the shadow knocked unconscious on the ground and grumbled something under her breath before turning to look at Tosh. She reached back for a small backpack behind her then stopped.

  "Whatever, she'll wake up eventually. Lower rank preferring to play in disguises. You're Tosh, right?" Tosh nodded. "Good, then I don't need to chase you down."

  "No, I'm not going with you. I'm going back to—"

  Anjuu walked over to Tosh and grabbed his shoulder, ignoring his protests. "You're a scholar. You hate Kalio as much as the next person and I'm building an army." She squeezed his arm. "So, you'll come with me today or I'm sure another shadow will just come knock you down before you get wherever you think you were going."

  Tosh cringed from the pain, realizing there was no hope in arguing. His arms were still sore from using his magic, and eventually the vines would give out if he wasn't careful, He let out a small sigh. "Fine, whatever. Devata probably dragged you here anyways so I doubt I can get back to him any time soon." He looked behind Anjuu at the shadow on the ground. "You sure it's safe to let her free like that?"

  Anjuu shrugged. "By the time we get out of here, she won't be able to track us with how hard you hit her. That kind of embarrassment either makes us want to hunt you down more or choose a less complex target. Judging by the fact that she disguised herself as me to get close to you, I'd say her tricks ran out and it will be the latter."

  The two walked out of the station and toward the motorbike still flat on the ground. She grabbed the helmet off the ground and examined it, wiping dirt from the visor. "At least she wore a helmet. That's something I can say about her. Here," she shoved the helmet into Tosh's hands. "You can wear it."

  Tosh put the helmet on and once Anjuu had pulled the bike back up and found herself comfortable, he climbed up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Her body felt warm close against his own. He could feel a few of her weapons underneath his arms and the cur
ve of her body she hid underneath it all. He froze, realizing this was the closest he had ever been to a woman in a long time and it was one that could kill him before he realized what happened.

  "Sorry, don't mean to be too close," Tosh muttered. He could hear Hartiel giggling in his pocket, but kept his mouth shut.

  Anjuu let out a small grunt and started the bike. He could feel it rumble underneath him and in an instant, they were driving down the road. He no longer regretted holding onto her body so tightly and was thankful she even gave him the helmet. After a few miles on the highway, Tosh felt comfortable sitting behind Anjuu and adjusted himself. Anjuu did the same, pushing the backpack between herself and Tosh.

  The bag was slightly open, and he could see the milk white stone that he had spent so much time getting before. He leaned toward it and could feel a warmth emanating from it. A smile reached his face, realizing how dumb he was before. The person who needed the egg was the one who had saved him, and he was too dumb not to see it.

  ***

  It took the rest of the day to reach a large city. Judging from the multitude of signs they drove past, he assumed it was called Ravenport. He could smell the ocean in the distance and realized they had gone to an actual port town. Anjuu didn't stop for a while, speeding through the multiple streets until she reached downtown. The buildings towered over them like mountains and Tosh watched as she swerved between cars and down side streets. Eventually she slowed down and stopped in front of one of the smaller buildings.

  "Higher end, should attract less attention." Anjuu turned the bike off and put her glasses away, blinking to allow her eyes to adjust back to normal vision. "You have money, right?"

  "Err..." He wanted to say he did, but with someplace as nice as this, he doubted they wouldn't notify everyone as soon as he tried to pay.

  Anjuu waved her hand in the air. "No matter, I should still have enough. Queen doesn't exactly have access to my private bank account, and I happened to have taken off with some of the countries funds before she closed me off." She smirked and walked up to the hotel.