"She gave those to me as well."
He nodded. "Rare potions. It's what Moira's known for. Use them when you get to the mirror. Once inside, they will help to separate truth from illusion. The demon has a lot of safeguards in place from what I'm told. The drops should help you with that."
"Then I guess we better move along and get this done."
"You have eight hours to find the demon and destroy him. The Queen's Ball is tonight. There's a ritual of sorts the queen follows when she rids herself of one consort and acquires a new one. Tonight will be her last night with Ashon. He'll be the centerpiece at her ball, then he'll be forced to fight in the rink against her champion warrior. We have to get him out before that occurs. But first things first. Unless the demon is dead, it will all be for naught."
Poppy, Will, and Gray followed Simon along the darkened corridor, up more than a few flights of narrow steps until he stopped in front of a door. "This leads right into the queen's apartments. Good luck."
He slid a section of wall open. Poppy stepped forward.
"No," Will said. "I'll go first. You don't know what's waiting on the other side."
"This is getting to be a habit of yours, Will. I can take care of myself."
He just looked at her and then forged ahead. Damned man.
Chapter 9
* * *
Poppy breathed a deep sigh of relief once she was out of the cloying atmosphere of the hidden passage. The queen's apartments were, of course, spacious and luxurious. But what was surprising was the warm crimson and gold-toned decorations. It seemed a total contradiction to the cold nature of the queen and her court.
"Odd, don't you think? I wouldn't expect this exactly represents her personality."
"Perhaps it's wishful thinking?" Will said.
"Or a ruse to lull unsuspecting lovers," Gray said.
"Come on, we need to find that mirror," Poppy said as she headed toward one of the doors near the fireplace.
"Poppy, I would say now's the time to use those drops Moira gave you. From here on out we need to know what's real and what isn't. Something about this room isn't right," Will said.
Poppy removed the bottle from the leather pouch attached to her belt and pinched one droplet into each eye. "Damn, it stings," she said as she blinked and tried to focus, wiping at her streaming eyes. Everything looked blurry for a time. Poppy wiped away more tears and blinked rapidly. Finally the room settled back into focus.
"Good heavens. You're right, Will. This room is nothing like we think we see it. It actually looks more like the inside of an iceberg." She looked up at the high ceiling. "It looks like there are icicles hanging from the ceiling--all luminescent. It's beautiful, but very chilling. Not exactly a place I'd want to call home.
Then she looked at Gray and gasped. He didn't look human at all, but exactly as he should, more or less. The term "wolfman" fit his appearance exactly. A large wolf with silver fur and long fangs standing on two legs. Far too reminiscent of his deceased relatives. She looked at Will. Everything about Will was just as it should be. But then she'd always known that about him. He was honest right to the core.
"Wow."
"What do you see?" Will asked.
"You look just the way you should. But Gray--to us he's got the human form of a man, but what I'm seeing with these drops is that he's every bit a wolf. In human disguise. Wow." Such an eerie feeling, so reminiscent of the Big Bads when she was a child. She tried to shake off the feeling. Gray was nothing like the Big Bads. And that was something she felt to her very core. And that seemed an instinct she could bank on.
Gray shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin that didn't quite meet his eyes. He fingered the chain around his neck and brushed his thumb across the face of the medallion. "But we knew that all along, didn't we?" There was something in his expression, a bit of sadness or regret maybe?
"It's all right, Gray," Poppy found herself trying to soothe him. "Maybe we can come up with something when this is all over with. Maybe if we ask Moira, she can help."
"I have no problem with what I am, Poppy," Gray said. He looked at Will. "There are just some things I wish that were different. It's not so bad." Then he looked at her and smiled crookedly. "Let's find that mirror."
"Right." She looked around the room. There were several doors. She chose the one to the left of--well, it wasn't a fireplace like she'd first thought. It looked more like a transparent cone of some sort with a fierce wind swirling inside. She didn't even want to think what the temperature of that frigid air might be. She walked to the door and opened it.
"Yeah, this must be it. That bed is huge. And it's hung with icicles like what's on the ceiling. It does not look like a safe place for a human to inhabit."
Will came up behind her and peered over her shoulder. "Doesn't look any different than a normal bedroom to me, except the walls are covered in mirrors. She must like looking at herself a lot."
"Vain, that's for sure," Poppy said as she stepped inside. She studied the multitude of mirrors in all shapes and sizes hanging on the curved walls of the royal boudoir. And then her attention was caught by one very ornate mirror. Freestanding and full length. There was a different look to it--smoky obsidian glass, not silver like the others. Almost a black marbled appearance with delicate gold veins running over the reflective surface.
Poppy walked over to it. She saw her own reflection. At least she thought it was her own reflection--it was that of a young girl with big green eyes and long red hair wearing a red velvet cloak. She tried to ignore the little girl image reflected back and refocused. One thing she didn't want to delve into were her own inner fears. But something else flared in the back of her mind. A mirror that her stepmother had owned. It was oval and she had kept it on a table in her sitting room. Poppy had often seen her staring into it with an intensity that had frightened her.
"A scrying mirror," Poppy murmured.
"What?" asked Will as he walked up beside her and rested his big hands on her shoulders. His warmth emanated into her, making her feel safe and protected. "What kind of mirror is this? It looks old. What's so special about it?"
"You may not be able to see it, but it's obsidian glass," Poppy said. "My stepmother has something similar, but on a much smaller scale. Not nearly as impressive. I think it's a scrying mirror. It's used for divining the future and finding things and the like. Who knows what else this one can do?" Will's fingers tightened just a fraction on her shoulders.
"She can't hurt you, Red. Not anymore." He brushed a kiss against her temple.
"You're a good man, Will Hunter, you know that? I mean really good, inside and out."
"So you're just finding that out?"
She couldn't help smiling. "No, I'm not. I've always known that. You've never been the problem." She again looked at her reflection in the mirror. "No, you're not the problem," she whispered softly.
He squeezed her shoulders and then dropped his hands away. She missed his touch. Truth be told, she missed him when he was away more than she had ever admitted to herself. And she'd tried to fill that well of loneliness with so many other things. Yeah, they were going to have to talk about this later.
Gray came up to stand beside them. She glanced at him and it was kind of eerie how she now saw him without the veneer of humanness. She realized it wasn't just the look of the wolf one should be concerned about, but the nature inside. Just as someone as beautiful as Franceska could contain a heart of ice. She turned to look at the mirror again.
Poppy concentrated, narrowed her focus, blocking out her own image, trying to look beyond the surface. A flicker of a face other than her own wavered in front of her eyes. "Narcissa." She invoked the name of the guardian of the mirror. The image sharpened. "Narcissa, we've come from Moira, the Good Witch of the North. Allow us entry."
"Enter," a strongly resonated female voice said. The glass of the mirror seemed to liquefy and waver.
"Okay, boys, I think this is it. Ready or not." Poppy stepped through the
glass. She moved forward into the darkness, allowing room for the others to follow. Damn, what was it about these small, dark places? Was someone trying to tell her something? She was not going to let it get the best of her. Once they were all inside, a sound echoed, like the squeak of a door firmly closed.
A silvery spotlight from above shown into the blackness and Narcissa's face was revealed. Poppy thought she'd never seen such beauty--it was almost otherworldly. And then the light brightened and slowly the rest of her body was revealed.
"Wow," Gray said. "Talk about gorgeous.
But that's not what Poppy saw. Yes, her face was stunning, but her naked body was covered with horrible scars, disfigurement, fingers gnarled, feet misshapen. "My God," she said. "What happened to you?"
"You see me as I truly am. Delal does not touch my face, but the rest of my body--there is no end to his inhuman sadistic pleasures."
"And you can't leave?"
"He feeds off my pain. I am bound to him for eternity through a blood bargain enacted with my father. Unless you truly are successful in your quest to kill him. Only then may I be freed."
"What do you see, Poppy?" Will asked softly.
"She's horribly disfigured. Not her face, but the rest of her body. You have to kill him, Will. No one should ever be mistreated the way he's obviously done to her." She turned to Narcissa. "Can you show us the way?"
"If you're certain you wish to continue."
"Yes," said Will in a firm voice. "Looks to me like we've got two lives to save."
"You believe what she sees is true?" Narcissa asked.
Will put an arm around Poppy and hugged her close. "I trust her with my life."
Narcissa nodded. "Then perhaps you will succeed. You will need to depend on her sight in order to defeat Delal. He exists in illusion. And in order to succeed the truth must be separated from illusion or you shall not triumph."
"Lead on," Will said.
Narcissa turned. She raised her hand and unfurled her fingers. A small orb of light appeared in her palm.
"So be it then. Follow me."
Chapter 10
* * *
"I wouldn't have thought this place was so big," remarked Gray as it seemed they'd been walking for an eternity.
"It is as big, or as small, as one desires," Narcissa said. "But Delal's lair is very deeply entrenched within the labyrinth of the mirror.
They came to what looked like a hall of mirrors, quite similar to that in the queen's bedroom.
"What are all these?" Poppy asked.
"They are portals into many worlds."
"Couldn't you just get out through one of them? Just disappear?"
She offered them a sad smile. "I can see you've never dealt with a demon before. It's not that easy to escape his control. One must be very clever. And I will admit, I doubt I am clever enough to elude him--even if he would deign to bargain with me for my freedom."
"Let's get going," Will said.
"No, wait," Narcissa said. "One moment." She moved closer to one of the mirrors. She reached out to touch it.
"What do you see?" asked Poppy.
"It is him," Narcissa said softly.
Poppy looked closer. "Isn't that the queen's bedroom?" She saw the queen walk in accompanied by Ashon. He was shirtless and she saw a jagged silver scar, almost in the shape of a lightning bolt emblazoned on his chest--right over his heart. She saw the queen direct him to the bed.
He divested himself of the rest of his clothing and stretched out upon the covers, staring up at the canopy of icicles hanging above it.
The queen opened a case and took out a needle and a vial of liquid.
"What's she doing?" asked Poppy.
"She's giving him an injection of izilene. One way or the other tonight it will be his last."
"You mean because of the ceremony?" Gray asked.
"Yes. Whether he turns warrior or frozen statue he will no longer need it. And he will be lost."
After giving him the injection, the queen set aside the case. She turned back to Ashon. A cold smile crossed the blue lips of the queen. She waved a hand and white ice cuffs appeared around Ashon's wrists. Unseen hands dragged his arms above his head and ice chains bound him to the headboard. The same was done with his legs, attaching them to the bedposts of thick ice at the four corners of the bed.
"She will arouse him and fuck him now," Narcissa said. "He deserves warmth, not her icy salaciousness. She gives him no passion, no emotion--only lust. She uses him like any of the animals in her stable. She has enchanted him and he will die soon if he stays with her."
"Yes, well, we're here to free him, too. But we have to get rid of Delal first."
"I know. But I cannot leave yet. Give me a moment."
As they watched the scene, the queen mounted Ashon's rigid prick. She eased down, taking him inside her.
"She keeps him hard, her magic forces his lust."
It was true. She rode him for what seemed a very long time, experienced climax after climax from the look of her expressions and body language. Ashon's expression turned fixed as he stared at the ceiling, his eyes glassy, and yet his hips moved in answer to the queen's commands.
"Eventually he will lose consciousness," Narcissa said. "Then it will stop and she will leave him." Poppy saw a tear slide down Narcissa's cheek.
"You love him," Poppy said.
Narcissa nodded and she wiped the tear away. "I have loved him from the first moment she brought him here."
As they watched, the queen rose from the bed, donned an ice blue, fur-trimmed robe, and walked to the door. Almost as an afterthought she waved a hand and the cuffs binding him disappeared. They watched Ashon crawl from the bed and stagger over to the mirror. Narcissa pressed her fingers to her lips and then touched the glass right at the level of his mouth. The blue-tinged lips turned rosy red and it was as though a breath of warmth had touched him.
"It is all I shall ever have of him." Narcissa stroked the back of her hand over the mirror and Ashon closed his eyes and tilted his head into the invisible caress. "It is the only warmth I can offer that he may ever know. She has nothing to give him."
"I know how hard it is when you can't be with the one you love," said Gray softly. "But we need to find the demon or none of this can change."
Ashon stepped away from the mirror and it was as though Narcissa awoke from a trance. She shook herself and then turned away. "Yes. As you wish." She disappeared into the darkness and then returned a moment later carrying a small brown burlap bag, a determined expression on her face. She held the bag out to Will, who took it from her.
"What's this for?"
"You will need this if you do indeed succeed. It is not enough to simply kill him. You must cut out his heart, then place it into the bag. It will need to be burned in order to destroy the spell completely. Now come. It's not much farther." Again she cupped her hand and held it up. The lighted sphere reappeared and settled into her palm. "Follow me."
They went perhaps another five hundred yards and then something came flying toward them from the darkness.
"Duck!" Will shouted. Gray grabbed Poppy and hit the ground.
Narcissa screamed as she was fused to the wall hand and foot with four large spikes. Blood dripped from the wounds. The light orb glowed as it bobbed in the air in front of her. Will, Gray, and Poppy jumped up and rushed forward to try and free her. There was a terrible look of anguish on her face, in the tightness of her writhing body.
"You think to betray me, you willful slut?"
A disembodied male voice shook the whole corridor. "You shall pay once I'm finished with these insects of the witch. You shall pay dearly."
"Follow the light orb," Narcissa said in a tight, pain-drenched voice. "Follow it and it will take you to his lair."
"We can't leave you like this," Gray protested.
"You must. If you come back for me, then I'll know you succeeded. When he is dead, the spikes will no longer have the force of his magic. You cannot r
elease me unless he is dead. Now go!"
The orb started floating down the darkened tunnel. They had no choice but to follow. They raced around a bend intent on following the light.
"Hey, look out," Will yelled.
Poppy saw nothing but the disappearing light. "What do you see?" she yelled back.
"Water, a lot of it. Flooding the tunnel. It's rising fast."
"No, wait," Poppy called. "I don't see anything. It's an illusion. We have to keep going."
Will stopped and swung her around to face him. "You're certain?"
"Totally."
"All right then. Let's go." And they raced forward.
"It's gone!" Will yelled. "Just as I thought it was going to overtake us, it disappeared."
Poppy would have breathed a sigh of relief if she could catch her breath. Instead they kept moving. The light orb advanced faster and Poppy increased her pace. She ignored the hitch in her side.
"Fire," Gray called.
"Not real," Poppy said breathlessly. "Keep going."
Around another bend.
"A fucking dragon? Are you kidding me?" Gray said.
"Keep going. Delal's obviously getting desperate." Poppy just managed to get the words out.
And then suddenly they slid to a stop as they came to a chamber lit by torches. The light orb disappeared.
"Will, be careful," Poppy said.
As she watched, Will removed the magical dagger from the scabbard on his belt. "You just make sure I know what's real and what's not." He gave her a quick kiss. Then he leaned over to Gray and kissed him. "Keep her safe." Dagger gripped in his hand, he stepped into Delal's lair.
The minute he stepped to the center of the room it filled with demons. Every way he turned they surrounded him. With the dagger, he jabbed forward. The demon evaporated. He jabbed at another--it vanished like smoke.
"Which one?" he yelled.
Poppy concentrated, trying to find the right one. She had to hurry because they were closing in on Will. And Will was tiring. She saw the glow of red on a hairy black chest--the glowing crimson image of a beating heart.
Fantasmic Tales: Poppy Rider And The Glass Shards Page 9
