Carrion Crow

by Talis Jones

  So I sacrificed what little magic Titus had left me out of pity to forge the blood spell to curse the Crown until I’d returned to the throne. As Sarai Morrigan, Oneiroi was practically shoving me onto the throne the moment they found their precious lost princess. And I was only too happy to oblige.”

  “And the real princess?” he asked already knowing the answer.

  “Sarai was a foolish girl,” Cassandra laughed. “She was pathetically easy to copy and embellish for my own needs. I studied her, befriended her, and then disposed of her.”

  Jack made a sound of distinct disgust.

  “I assure you these past years have been slow and painful for me. Abstaining from magic is like locking a junkie in a sweatbox. Those first moments you itch, you panic, you try and barter your way out. Those first few hours and days you burn and scream and writhe in agony with the physical need for magic. But eventually the pain passes, your blood cools, your mind stabilizes, and you’re back in control. I had to be very careful, of course. Just being around magic could have ruined me but I refused to let anything risk destroying my plans.”

  “You were affected so strongly because you were never in control of your magic. You unleashed it on everything and everyone. Never before were you a person of control but of passion. I see that you have changed, Cassandra. And I’m not sure what to make of it.”

  She remained silent, holding his scrutinizing gaze with cold confidence.

  “With Dismas gone and the throne secured, I assume you’ve retrieved your scraps of magic from the curse?” Cassandra flicked her hand and a round silver mirror appeared hovering before them. He watched her as if scrutinizing a predator tensed to pounce. “Why are you telling me all of this? Why reveal yourself to me? I must admit your big reveal was rather ho-hum. Lots of talking, little suspense.”

  With a snarl Cassandra snatched at the air and for several lengthy seconds Jack’s face purpled torturously as the air was drawn from his lungs.

  “I am sick of being Sarai Morrigan. I miss being me. I chafe at this playacting!” With this she unclenched her fist and Jack bent over gasping for breath. “I also found it necessary for you to know because, well, you’ve been naughty, Jack.”

  The mirror’s surface rippled before stilling. In it Jack saw Sa bound to a chair in the dungeons screaming. Tears streamed down her face mingling with the blood dribbling out of her mouth and smeared across her teeth. Rage filled him at once but he forced his temper down cautious not to cause Cassandra to worsen Sa’s fate. His face remained impassive and cold.

  “You really think you can plot against me without my finding out? This is my kingdom. I wasn’t about to let her run off and ruin everything. Not again. So, I’m going to keep her down there until she tells me where the Whispers have gone into hiding. I was willing to let our differences be buried but I suppose you just couldn’t let it lie.”

  “You would never have let the Whispers go. You know they would be working against you the moment you set your eyes on the throne,” growled Jack.

  “You’re right, I just didn’t think the time would be so soon.”

  “You will be crushed beneath our boot,” he spat angrily.

  The mirror vanished as Cassandra moved around her desk to stand behind him. Jack remained motionless as she whispered in his ear. “Try to free Medusa, try to turn Adrianna against me, spill my secrets to anyone and I will destroy you. Refuse to obey my every command and I will ruin the one person your black heart loves.”

  White-hot fury burned through his veins and his fists began to shake as he fought for control. “She still believes there is good in you. You would hurt the one person left on this earth who cares about you?”

  “With pleasure,” she purred. Jack whirled around roaring and unsheathing his sword slicing it through her very middle only for her to shatter into a burst of glass shards. Crouching down to shield himself from being pierced his mind pounded with angry blood coursing through it full of fury and blanketed by the sounds of splintering ice and a cold feminine laugh.

  * * *

  Adrianna jolted from her reverie struck by a powerful burst of rage. Shaking out of her shock she leapt from her perch on the windowsill, threw on a robe and ran to her bedroom door. Just as she grabbed the handle to open it the door slammed into her head causing her to cry out in a mixture of surprise and sharp pain. Jack’s eyes widened at his actions. “Adri!”

  “I’m alright, sort of. What the bloody swears was that?” she demanded wincing as her fingers delicately prodded the soft forming bump on her forehead.

  “I’m sorry. I was rushing back here and I guess our timing was too perfect.” He walked over to her bathroom and wrung a cloth under cold water before returning and handing it to Adrianna to press against her head. “Here. I’m very sorry.” His eyes watched her carefully full of concern but the injury wasn’t serious. Mostly he felt her embarrassment and he fought to hide his amusement. “Where were you going in such a rush?”

  “To you, you idiot. I felt your anger and I panicked.” Adrianna gave him an annoyed look.

  “Ah, of course,” he smirked just to ruffle her feathers. “That’s actually what I ran here to talk to you about.” He took a deep breath, eyes sharp to gauge her reaction. “She took Sa. The Crown has her down in the dungeons being tortured for information on the Whispers. I saw her, Adri. Whispers can’t be killed but that only means they can be tortured longer.”

  Adrianna’s jaw dropped open and horror threatened to consume her. “Sarai? But why? How?”

  “She's not who she pretends to be.” He proceeded to tell her about his meeting with the Crown and dread filled her face with every word.

  “Cassandra Böcklin? I was told she was the first ruler of Quidel. Shouldn’t she be dead by now?” Her nerves prickled with instinctual dread.

  “First she was a Whisper. She was blessed with magic and Titus trained her freely. Cassandra was always a passionate person and she took to her new life with all the force of her passion until one day she discovered a prophecy. She overheard the Whisper Council discussing it one night and flew to all sorts of assumptions and accusations. As I said, she was very passionate, too passionate perhaps for it left her little room for calm or reason. Convinced the Council planned to take away her magic to negate the prophecy she turned against them, turned against Oneiroi, and turned Oneiroi against itself. She grew cruelly possessive of her life here.”

  His worry danced with loathing and she sobered up like a slap in the face. “How could she betray her friends so easily?” Adrianna asked torn between disgust and sorrow.

  “She thought they had already turned on her,” he shrugged. “Abel, the leader of the Council, has a gift that binds the Whispers’ loyalty to each other but he didn’t make his mark mandatory until after the disaster with Cassandra. Now when a new Whisper arrives they are quickly put through an oath and ceremony that concludes with Abel’s binding mark to keep a betrayal amongst the Whispers from happening again.” He sighed regretfully. “I’m very sorry Adrianna, I know you were determined to see good in her but she is not the person you thought she was.”

  Adrianna looked at him sternly and her eyes flickered back and forth between his slightly bewildered ones. “You're wrong, Fenwick. I remain determined. I believe there is good in everyone. Perhaps we are born with darkness or perhaps it is but a deal we make, but that does not mean that we must be consumed by it.”

  Jack shook his head disbelieving. “You do not know the amount of blood that coats her hands. You do not understand the deep betrayals she has committed. She’s torturing Sa at this very moment! She threatened your life, Adrianna, if I dared try and act against her!” A frustrated breath huffed out of his chest. “The prophecy itself damns her.”

  “I know she’s a villain,” Adrianna spat. “Maybe I don’t know all the wrongs she has done but I do know that it was I who saw goodness in you, Fenwick. It was my silly belief in goodness and hope that brought me to you. And perhaps the prophecy and yo
u and all the other Whispers damn her. Perhaps Cassandra even damns herself. But it will not be I who damns her, Fenwick. No one has that power except their own self. Maybe Cassandra is indisputably cold-hearted and evil but I will not stop trying to find hope until the day I die.” Adrianna’s breathing fell heavy. She was never much of a shouter but her heart demanded a voice.

  Jack stared at her quietly. They had bickered, teased, annoyed, and even disagreed on many an occasion but she had never scolded him so. And she was right. He knew better of Cassandra’s evils and he did not have the strength to see any goodness in that woman but he was in awe of Adri’s spirit. Her anger stunned him, humbled him.

  Pulling her into his arms he breathed, “You do not understand Cassandra as I do but I will not stop you from grasping onto hope. Never stop walking in that peculiar light, Adri. Please.”

  Adrianna tried to let her stubborn anger drain from her veins as she hugged him back. “I’ll always be there for you, Fenwick. And if she even tries to make good on her threats against us…”

  He chuckled softly before sobering up. “What are we to do? You must continue being her confidant. She threatened your life to keep me in line but I believe somewhere inside her she is drawn to you. Even monsters don’t always wish to be alone. You can’t risk that advantage.”

  “If she wishes to be my friend then I will accept, but if she hurts you I’ll rip out her heart myself.” The ferocity in her gaze trembled. “What will we do about Sa? We can’t leave her there.”

  “I know but escape would be almost impossible on our own and your life is too high a price to risk. But I can’t abandon her to the dungeons and Cassandra’s torture either. Even if I couldn’t feel our Whisper loyalty tugging at my heart I wouldn’t leave her there.”

  “I don’t believe she would really kill me although I’m not stupid enough to believe her threats to be entirely empty. I’m tough. I’ll handle what she throws at me. You need to get Sa out. Visit her tonight. Talk to her, check out the different possible escape routes from her cell. We’re going to save her, and that’s not a request.”

  Adrianna smiled as some of that cocky danger returned to Jack’s eyes. His sharp jaw was set and determination radiated from him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Morrigan dominated her gilded throne, the fingers on her right hand tapping impatiently upon the chair’s arm. At last the throne room doors were dragged open and in came two guards supporting between them a young man with butter blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. Despite his weak and filthy state he managed to enter her presence with an air of confidence, or perhaps swagger. The guards thrust him forwards releasing him to fall painfully upon his knees.

  “Christophe Ammon,” she purred. Standing she descended the steps from her throne and walked slowly around the deliciously handsome man before her.

  “Mi suverenya,” he whispered in a slightly hoarse voice.

  Seating herself back upon her royal perch she smiled seductively at him. “Thank you, dear Christophe, for clearing the necessary halls of soldiers. You played a truly valuable part in our attack and as you can see,” she lifted her arms gesturing at the grandeur around her, “it was a success.”

  “Congratulations, mi suverenya,” he offered in a voice quivering between mockery and genuine pride.

  “Mm, yes. I am sorry for the less than ideal boarding arrangements but appearances had to be kept up.”

  Christophe raised an eyebrow. “For six months?” he inquired testily.

  Morrigan merely smiled. “Well, if you are ready for a change then I believe now is your chance. Our agreement stands if you’re not too upset to accept it.”

  “I swear my life to you, Crown Morrigan. I will serve you gladly through battle and peace.”

  “Good. Then Christophe Ammon, you shall be escorted to your new chambers where I require you to bathe and change your filthy clothes before standing beside me as my official Royal Advisor.”

  “I assume my room will be located near yours in case you require my assistance for some urgent matter in the middle of the night?” he inquired thinking back to all the times Crown Dismas had roused him from sleep just to rattle on and on about silly complaints in the kingdom.

  “Mm, I never let a little nighttime convenience go to waste,” she teased tightly with a predatory glance over Christophe.

  “Indeed, mi suverenya,” he smiled with a knowing bow of his head. He had not planned on going in this direction but he was not raised to waste an opportunity or miss an advantage.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Boots clacked against the cold stone floor and shadows danced along the walls as the guards rotated posts in the dungeons. Tired laughter rumbled along the damp airways as they made their way down the hall ready for sleep and completely ignorant of the copper eyes watching them from a recess in the stone. As they passed Jack crept out of his hiding place with silent footsteps. The dungeons in the belly of the castle relied on torchlight but the gusty winds that infiltrated from above threatened the glowing flames and Jack’s sight flickered between light and darkness as he quickly crept his way out of sight.

  Rounding another corner he descended a tight twist of stairs. Checking for any lingering guards and finding none he slid to the heavy door at the end of the short hall prying it open and slipping inside. In the dim light he could make out a slumped form chained to a chair. No sound rose from her.

  “Sa,” he whispered. Kneeling down before her limp form he gently patted her cheek. “Sa, please wake up. Please, Sa.”

  A slight moan croaked from her parched lips cracked with blood. Quickly Jack removed a small flask of water from his belt and gently held it to her lips helping to tip her head back and drink. After a few swallows he removed the flask careful not to make her sick. Sa’s eyes fluttered half-open as he gently poured more water down her throat. The liquid sang through her ragged body and her wounds began to heal more quickly. One eye was swollen shut while blood coated her torn fingernails, matted her already dark wavy hair, and painted her small acrobat’s body. She hissed as a particularly nasty gash along her arm stretched shut.

  “How are you?” Jack asked her gravely.

  “Takes more than a few slaps to keep me down,” she laughed hoarsely. Turning her head she spat out a wad of bloody saliva. “Thank you, the water will help.”

  Jack’s eyes assessed her injuries and his frown deepened. Sa, once a shining and beautiful aerialist who could enchant any audience, looked chewed up and spat out. She looked dreadful and he told her so. “You look awful, Sa.”

  “What every lady wants to hear,” she rasped teasingly. Jack’s smile faded and from his somber look she knew what was coming.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew all this time and you never told me who she really was.” His jaw was tight and his eyes shone in the dim light with hurt.

  “I didn’t need you getting distracted. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

  “Damn right you shouldn’t have kept it from me! Even she thought you would have told me!” He stood up sharply and began to pace attempting to diffuse the angry frustration welling up inside of him.

  “You would have tried to stop her taking the throne,” Sa insisted coolly. “You know you would’ve.”

  “And who would have suffered for that?” he demanded before scoffing, “Oh, that’s right. The bloody prophecy. Wouldn’t want to screw it up for you lot, now would I? But what about afterwards? What about all these months after she was safely crowned? You just kept lying to my face, Sa!”

  “I know—”

  “And you don’t know what I would have done. Everyone is skulking about the island with all their private little schemes. Well you know what? Maybe saving the world would be a hell of a lot easier if everyone just got together and bloody communicated instead of playing all these foolish games with each other,” he spat angrily.

  “Well sorry that the Whispers like sticking to prophecies! Sorry that Titus likes playing games! Sorr
y an evil little witch can’t learn to stay the hell out of our way and keeps returning to screw everything up for us! I’m sorry, Jack, but get over it!” Sa wheezed slightly as her chest pounded heavily with exertion. After she had managed to collect her breath she asked, “So I suppose you know everything now?”

  “She couldn’t wait to throw it in my face,” he growled.

  “Does Adrianna know?”

  “Yes. She didn’t react quite as I had expected though,” he admitted letting out a slow breath. “I think she always saw Cassandra’s darkness in Sarai even if she didn’t know it, but having it confirmed…” he let out a soft shaky laugh. “She’s still holding onto hope though.”

  Sa grinned. “I don’t know if that’s admirable or completely stupid.”

  “Probably both. But it’s more than I could ever offer the traitor.”

  “You and me both. Devious but clever are we indeed,” she nodded. “Well, I suppose not anymore. I did get caught after all.”

  His eyes softened as he watched her wounds shrinking away. “I’m sorry she did this to you,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, rather you than me,” she joked weakly. “You’d think being a Whisper with our ability to heal more quickly would be an advantage in a torture situation but it just makes them more relentless. They like admiring their handiwork and it grates them to come back and find it erased.” Sa fidgeted in her seat hissing at the metal cuffs biting into her wrists as she moved. “So, are you here to get me out or did you just come to yell at me?”

  “Cassandra threatened to hurt Adrianna if I dare step out of line but Adri told me we had to get you out at any cost. Demanded it, actually.”

  “Of course she did,” smiled Sa to herself. “She’s definitely stupid then.”

  Jack rolled his eyes giving her only a small chuff of laughter. “I do warn you to quit teasing the best person in my life.”

  Sa’s eyes went round in mock hurt. “The best? You mean I’ve been knocked down to second place, Fenwick?”