Stolen Warriors

by S. Dalambakis

  “Fuck,” Obsidian growls. “I was hoping that it was only going to take one song.”

  “We all did.”

  Finley turns and looks at us. I nod my head. She places the violin back under her chin and starts to play another song. This time she flits between the tables, making sure to hit Kellan’s table a few more times. This time when she’s done, everyone is entranced, including Kellan.

  “I need everyone to stay in this room,” Finley says loudly. She turns and rushes toward us. Part two of the plan complete. Now, it’s time for part three.

  “Let’s go and not waste any more time,” I state.

  All of us slip out into the hall. The guards that are nearby simply nod their head in my direction. They don’t realize that anything is amiss. Good. We need to keep it that way. As quickly as we can, without drawing suspicion, we make our way to Kellan’s wing. We stop just short of the hallway that leads to his bedroom. Obsidian moves forward then turns, facing all of us.

  “There are six guards around the corner. Finley, I want you to stay behind us at all times,” Obsidian says, his voice low.

  “But.” He cuts off Finley with a raise of his hand.

  “You’ve done enough already. There is no way any of us will risk your life.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I won’t budge on this.”

  “But it would be so much quicker,” Finley whispers.

  “Yes, but you just put an entire room under your spell. Let’s not over do it. We agreed to let you play for the king, but you were only to play for the guards if necessary. There’s only a handful here. We can take them. If more show up, then play your violin.”

  “You just want to hit someone.” Obsidian shrugs his shoulders. “Fine, but if I deem it necessary, I will step in.”

  “Great. Now that it’s settled, can we get on with this. We’re wasting time,” I say, between gritted teeth. “How do we want to go in? Once we start fighting the first two, the two guards who stand halfway down the hall will come and enter the fight. The two guards by Kellan’s door should stay there until we defeat the other four guards. If not, we’re going to have a six on three fight on our hands.”

  “I say we go balls to the wall. Take them down hard and fast,” Stolas interjects.

  “Works for me,” Obsidian agrees.

  “If they are wearing helms, easiest and fastest way to kill them or incapacitate, is just under the helm. Their throats are exposed, and so are their sides. Hit hard and hit fast.”

  “Let’s do this.” Stolas hops from foot to foot.

  Obsidian turns, leading us around the corner. No words are spoken as I watch Obsidian punch the first fae guard. He goes down like a bag of rocks.

  “TKO, ladies and gentlemen,” Stolas chuckles.

  The two guards that stand midway down, coming rushing toward us. Obsidian is already fighting the other guard. I pull a dagger from the waistband of my slacks, making sure I’m ready. It’s very simple silver blade, but it’s iron tipped. My wings burst from my back. The guard pulls a sword from the scabbard on his side and charges at me. I wait until the last second before stepping aside. I run my dagger along the exposed strip of skin on his side. The guard hisses. Iron is harmful to the fae. Every cut I make with this blade will burn and cause poison to enter his blood. I spin, using the guards own momentum against him, kicking him in the back. He falls forward onto his hands and knees. My earlier statement about having better guards was wrong. They need better training. This is pathetic. I shouldn’t be able to get the upper hand this soon. I move around to the side of him. Using the side of my shoe, I kick him in the temple, knocking him out. I glance behind me and see that Stolas has knocked out his opponent, and Obsidian took out the other.

  “The last two should be more skilled than these.”

  Stolas laughs. “I doubt it. Besides what kind of guards are these. There’s no way they could protect their king.”

  “Come on, let’s get this over with,” Obsidian grumbles.

  We walk down the hall, and the two guards that were guarding the King’s doors, have each pulled a lance from the straps on their backs. I watch as they twirl the lances above their heads. They stop with the tip pointed in our direction. I glance over at Obsidian and he has a smile on his face. He reaches over to his side. I see him take a piece of meat from his bag and eat it.

  “Oh, a challenge,” Stolas says from my other side. In the next second, I have a hellhound and a minotaur at my side.

  “Holy shit,” Finley says from behind me. Her voice pitched slightly higher.

  The minotaur, or Obsidian, snorts and paws the ground. He lowers his head, and charges. That’s all it takes for Stolas, the hellhound, to go leaping into action with him. I run right after them.

  Finley

  I have no words to describe what I’m seeing. There’s a fucking minotaur in front of me. I had no idea those were real. I mean, it shouldn’t surprise me because Obsidian turned in a chimera before as well. I wonder where you find them to get the meat? A loud growl interrupts my thoughts, bringing my attention back to the fight. Obsidian has a guard pinned to the wall with his horns. It was Stolas that growled. He’s wounded on his side, and I want to run to him, but I know better than to get in the middle of this fight. I could use my violin, but I promised I won't unless I deem it necessary. If one of them gets hurt again, I’m using it. The sound of swords clanging, draws me back to the fight. Verkor has the lance that the guard Obsidian has pinned dropped. He’s currently in a lance fight with the other guard.

  The guard swings his lance; it looks like his aiming for Verkor’s. I suck in a breath, but Verkor counters, and I release my breath. Verkor goes on the offensive, taking swings at the guard left and right. The guard stumbles back a few steps. Stolas takes the opportunity to pounce. He jumps up, using his weight to knock to the guard down. He pins him to the ground. Verkor twirls the lance, pointing the tip at the guard’s throat. I move closer.

  “What do we do now?” I question. As Verkor starts to question the guard, I remember the next part of the poem. To get the treasure that you seek, you must show that you are not weak. Maybe Obsidian’s refusal to let play my violin stems from there. Maybe they had to fight the guards to prove themselves.

  “I have a few questions then we knock them out. I’d rather not kill them if we don’t have to,” Verkor responds.

  “Or, I can play my violin and put them in a trance.” Verkor nods in agreement.

  “Why does Kellan have so many guards down this hall?”

  “I’m not telling you anything,” the guard spits. Verkor pushes the tip of the lance into the guard’s neck.

  “Need I remind you that these lances are tipped with iron. Do you think you’ll survive? All it will take is a small cut to do it.”

  The guard growls. “Fine.”

  “Why are there so many guards down this hall?” Verkor asks again.

  “We guarding it to make sure no one enters the King’s quarters without his expressed permission.”

  “Why?” The guard looks away. “Why?” Verkor ask more forcefully.

  “I saw a hidden room in there, where he’s keeping his brother tied up. Someone was requesting an audience with him, I walked in just as he was exiting a room. I glanced inside and saw Prince Cirro chained to the wall. King Kellan asked me what I saw, I tried to lie and say nothing, but he didn’t believe me. He took my mate to make sure I kept my mouth shut. There is something different about the King, he never used to be this way. We have no idea what caused the change. He’s killed fae outright just for disobeying him. Any wrong move and you either die or end up in the dungeon. We all do what he says, even if we don’t want to, because the consequences aren’t worth it.”

  “Where is your mate, and where is this hidden room?”

  “My mate is being kept in the dungeon. There’s a hidden room behind the bookcase.”

  “How cliché,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

  “Thank you.” Verkor moves his head
in my direction. “Finley, if you would be so kind.” I nod. I place my violin on my shoulder and play. Once the song is over, I tell the guards to stay where they are and to not interrupt us. Stolas and Obsidian change back. We enter the King’s chambers.

  Chapter 21

  Stolas

  I lift my shirt, looking at my side. That guard got me good. Luckily, since I’m a shifter I heal fast, and the worst of the wound is already closing. I drop my shirt, and focus on the task in front of me. I head over to Verkor, who is standing by the fireplace. Obsidian and Finley stand on the other side of him. We watch as he counts the stones, stopping at the seventh one, pushing it in. The portrait above the fireplace swings open, just like it did the other night. Verkor looks over at me.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Push each button one at a time. Make sure there are a few seconds between each button,” I reply. He nods, turning back to the safe. He pushes each button, giving me the time to hear each button’s distinctive sound. When he reaches the last button, he turns his head back toward me. “I got it. Three, five, nine, zero.”

  A green light flashes, and I hear the lock disengage. Verkor opens the safe door. We’re all on edge, waiting to see if the piece of the map is in there. Finley moves a few steps closer, trying to peer around Verkor.

  “Well?” she questions.

  Verkor reaches in the safe, pulling out the loose papers on top. He leafs through them, and I see his face fall. I know before he even says the words, it’s not there. He quickly goes through the rest of the safe but still comes up empty handed. He glances over at me, and I know he doesn’t want to tell Finley. He doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong. Verkor turns and faces her.

  “I’m sorry, Finley. I saw it in here the other night, but it’s no longer here.”

  Finley takes a few steps back. “Oh. Um, that’s okay. I mean, it was a long shot anyways.” Her shoulders slump, and I know she’s disappointed. She clears her throat and looks Verkor right in his eyes. “We still need to find your other cousin. Let’s do that, so something good comes out of this plan and this night.”

  “Finley,” Verkor starts. She cuts him off before he can continue.

  “It’s fine. We tried. The guard said he saw a room behind the bookcase. Let’s focus on that.”

  Without another word, she turns, walking over to the right side of the room. Obsidian follows her. I hang back, looking at Verkor. He looks completely broken. I think it has more to do with disappointing his mate. I know none of us wanted her to go on this journey, but we did agree to help her. It must be devastating to both of them. To be so close, only to come up empty handed. I turn back toward Finley; she’s pulling books off the shelves as Obsidian looks to be pushing along the tops of the bookcases. A clapping sound interrupts us. Finley and Obsidian stop what they’re doing and face the doorway. I turn, as well as Verkor. Standing in the doorway is King Kellan with a handful of guards.

  “Well, well, well, cousin.” Kellan walks into his room. “I’m not surprised to find you here. In fact, I was actually expecting you.” He took off his crown and robe. He came ready to fight.

  “What do you mean?” Verkor questions.

  “Did you think I didn’t know why you are here? I knew from the very beginning. It was only a matter of waiting for you to strike.” He pulls something from the pocket of his slacks. “I do believe this is what you came for.” In between his fingers is a tan piece of paper.

  “Is that what I think that is?” Finley asks.

  “Oh yes, dear. It’s a piece of the map.”

  “How did you know we were looking for it?” Verkor inquires. King Kellan laughs.

  “You’re not as quiet as you think. I do have eyes and ears everywhere, or did you think that attack in the forest was random?”

  What the fuck? That was him?

  “You tried to have us killed,” Verkor states.

  “Of course I did. I couldn’t let you get your hands on this map. I was hoping that the attack would deter you from coming.” It’s all starting to make sense.

  “The fae that got away, he came here didn’t he? I wasn’t seeing things when I saw him leaving that inn,” I say.

  “No. He was coming here to let me know you were still on your way. Every time you thought you were alone, you weren’t. I knew of your plan the whole time. Though, I didn’t really factor in the strength of that spell you played, Finley. The witch who enchanted that violin must be powerful, or is it you that makes that spell more potent?” He cocks his head to the side. “Either way, you failed, and tonight you will die.”

  “Like hell we will,” Verkor states, right before he attacks the king.

  The guards that accompanied Kellan retaliate as Verkor attacks. These guards are better fighters than the ones we just faced. I duck and just narrowly miss the punch coming at my face. His other hand comes up and he uppercuts me, snapping my head back. I growl, throwing a punch of my own, followed quickly by a jab. The fae stumbles back a few steps. I kick out, my foot landing right in his stomach. He doubles over. I bring up my knee, nailing him right in the face. The fae goes down hard. I straddle him, landing blow after blow to his face. There is blood everywhere, his face, my knuckles. He struggles against me at first. Then, his arms drop to his sides, and I know he’s out cold. I lean back, my head falls back as well. I take a few deep breaths, before standing.

  I look around the room, Obsidian is fighting a guard, but holding his own. Verkor is doing alright against Kellan. My gaze falls on Finley. She ducks as a fae tries to punch her, and I see red. Smoke plumes from my nose as I stalk in her direction. What I didn’t expect was the throwing stars that left her hands in quick succession. Where the hell did she get those? They land true, hitting the fae in the eye and in the throat. I watch as the fae struggles to breath, his hand grasping at his neck. It doesn’t take long for him to die. Finley looks my way, smiles, and winks. I shake my head but smile back. She’s okay.

  Verkor

  My wings burst from my back, as does Kellan’s. I call upon the shadows and use the magic, sending a blast toward him. He stumbles back a couple of steps and laughs.

  “Your shadow magic has no effect on me.” Kellan sends a blast of his own. I’m thrown against the bookcases, falling on top of the books Finley tossed there earlier. I groan. “You’re weak now and were weak then.”

  Weak. I almost spat at the word. I am not weak. Weak...why does that sound like I’ve heard that recently. Then it hits me. To get the treasure that you seek, you must show all that you are not weak. For you may take a life, but do it with strife, and save more than just your pride.

  The last part of the poem sings through my mind. It was never meant for Finley to kill the king. I know what I have to do, even if I don’t like it.

  I stand, ruffling my feathers. Kellan moves around the table in the middle of the room. I lunge forward, gripping him around the neck with my hand. I use my forward momentum to drive him up in the air then down on the table. It breaks beneath us. I punch Kellan, catching him in the jaw. He rolls his hips, changing our positions. Kellan gets in a good punch to my eye. I shove him off me, quickly getting to my feet. I shove my wings away, not wanting them to break.

  “You know, I almost thought you would have given up on the plan, once I gave you your mother’s necklace. Still hanging onto to things you had no hope of ever understanding, but I do. I know what happened that day. I saw it.” He can’t mean my mother’s death.

  “No one knows what really happened that day. Not even her in journal did she state if she thought about killing herself. In fact, her journal stops weeks before her death.”

  “Of course it did. Did you think that my father would let any of them live? He tortured my mother and your father for weeks before finally ending their lives. The only one left was your mother. He tried to play on her depression, giving her witch enhanced drugs to feed on her dark thoughts. But somehow, she was breaking through those when she shouldn’t have been.�
�

  I gather more of the shadow magic, keeping it pooled in my fist. I take a step toward Kellan, putting everything I have into the punch. His hand goes to his nose, coming away with blood. He glares at me, with a bloody smile on his face.

  “Is that all you got?”

  Kellan pulls a dagger from behind him. Mine was forgotten about. I have no weapon. Once again, I call upon the shadow magic, willing it to form into a weapon. Thankfully, it does. Kellan attacks, and I barely move out of the way, bringing my elbow up, hitting him in the back of his head. He whirls, swiping out with the dagger. It cuts through my jacket, nicking my back. Shit, it’s iron tipped. I can feel the burn from the iron. I spin, facing him. He swipes out again, but I duck. I crouch low, sweeping his legs out from underneath him. He falls, letting go of his dagger. I quickly grab it and straddle him. I place both my shadow dagger and his iron tipped one at his throat. Kellan’s hands go to my wrist. He starts laughing.

  “Don’t you want to know why there was no note? Why your mother didn’t say why she was taking her own life?” I press the blades into his neck.

  “Tell me,” I growl.

  “My father killed your mother and covered it up. He made it look like she hung herself, when in reality, he did it.”

  “Why?” I yell.

  “Because he blamed her for the reason your father cheated. She couldn’t keep her own husband happy, so he had to look elsewhere. This wouldn’t have happened if he would have kept his hands off my mother.”

  “Bullshit. Your mother and father are just as much to blame. She could have chosen not to go with his advances. What does that say about your father? He clearly couldn’t keep the Queen happy if she chose to step out on him. Don’t you dare place all the blame on my mother and father, when yours is just as much at fault.” I remove the blades from his neck. Kellan laughs.

  “You can’t do it, can you? You can’t kill me. You’re pathetic.”

  It's when he shifts his weight to buck me off that I see the transparent veil surrounding his head. I see what Finley saw, and it’s too late for Kellan. Someone only gets that transparent veil when they give the ultimate sacrifice to shadow magic. Their soul.