“Sadly, we have another thing that bonds us.”
Stephen chuckles and spits blood at Dariana’s sand-encrusted shoes. “Immortality? Unique power? I’m at a loss in figuring out what you’re talking about. Now stand aside like daddy’s little girl and prepare to be put back to sleep.”
The moment he turns toward Luke and Kira, a crushing blow snaps his right arm. He grimaces in pain, which is agonizing due to Dariana enhancing his pain receptors. As he heals his flopping limb, she shatters his ribs with a kick and sends him to the floor. With a furious growl, Stephen reappears on his feet and punches his sister in the face. She stumbles back and spits out a tooth before leaping forward to drive her elbow into his chest, the blow sending her opponent skidding across the room. He charges forward, disappearing at the last instant to come at her from the side and deliver a shoulder-breaking strike. The siblings go hit for hit, the sound of snapping bone and dripping blood echoing throughout the manor.
“This is all you have?” Stephen gasps as he hurls a dagger at Dariana. Her false image disappears upon being hit and the real one knees him in the kidney. “Okay, that last trick was a good one. Still it’s nothing that can stop me from winning. You merely turned off your pain, which will catch up to you once you run out of energy. I only have to outlast you since I can heal all the damage you inflict.”
“All the physical damage,” Dariana points out with a cruel smile. She cracks her knuckles, which plunges the room into an eerie silence. “I hate to admit that I enjoy inflicting pain on people who anger me. It doesn’t happen often thanks to you and father. The easiest way to enrage someone is by threatening their friends and family, but you made sure I never had any of those. To be honest, big brother, I’ve always dreamed about defeating you. It’s only now that I feel the strength to do so.”
“Give me your best shot, little sister.”
Dariana holds out her palm and a dagger of pure white energy appears, the weapon blurred by its rapid spinning. “I never used this before because I’ve been saving it for you. I call it a mind scrambler. Not very catchy, but the name gets to the point.”
“And you expect me to stand here and let you strike me?”
“Yes.”
Dariana sprints at Stephen and he reappears behind her, driving his fist through the side of her head. The false image fades away and another Dariana rushes in from the side. He decapitates her with a slashing dagger, but the body disappears again. When another one appears in front of him, he whirls around to stab at a fourth behind him. He grins at the feeling of metal piercing flesh and blood flowing onto his fingers. It is a short-lived victory as that Dariana pops like a bubble and searing pain erupts from the back of his skull. Drool flowing from his mouth and pus seeping from his eyes, Stephen is unable to turn around and can only scream while his mind is torn apart at the seams. Mustering the last bit of focus he has, the shrieking madman kicks Dariana through the ceiling and disappears from Grasdon Manor.
*****
Delvin wakes to the sight of a blue sky and peacocks strutting around the top of the soft brown walls. There is no roof, which causes him a little confusion since he is sure he is in some type of room. It takes a few seconds for him to recognize the sensation of warm sheets on his skin. When he tries to sit up, he cannot move his legs and fears that he is paralyzed from the waist down. Pushing up on his hands, Delvin breathes a sigh of relief and wiggles his toes to drive his panic away. Nyx is sleeping across his legs, the gown-wearing caster gently snoring and mumbling incoherently.
“She finally fell asleep,” Sari whispers. She is carefully feeding Dariana some soup, the silver-haired woman resting on another simple cot. “You two, Kira, and Fizzle took the worst beatings. Fizzle is better and helping Timoran and Eileen get things under control. Kira has been locked in her room with Luke, which I entirely understand and accept. Nyx has been watching over both of you for the last twelve hours. By the way, Mr. Cunningham, you have a scar on the right side of your stomach and another on the back from the through and through. Nyx’s magic stopped your bleeding, but it ran too hot and made it impossible for the potions they have here to do a full heal.”
“They’re a matching set,” Dariana claims, chuckling to herself. She smiles when Sari giggles, but stops when she meets Delvin’s gaze. “I’m sorry. It’s a little inside joke. I promise not to make another.”
“Don’t worry about it. If you’re cracking a joke then you’re definitely one of us,” the warrior says while reaching out to touch Nyx’s cheek. The half-elf pushes his hand away with a three foot long scepter, the blue lotus and ruby on the top shimmering with magic. “Is that the scepter with the big monster inside of it? Why is she sleeping with it?”
“She used it as a backscratcher earlier,” the gypsy replies, walking over to the snoozing caster. She picks up a blanket and drapes it over her friend’s shoulders. “We found it behind a painting in Wayland’s room and it was buzzing. The thing calmed down once Nyx touched it, so we’re thinking she has to keep it on her. I should wake her up because we need to let the nomads and the city guard know the truth.”
“Do you have to wake her? She looks so peaceful and cute.”
“You can watch her sleep when we’re on the road,” Sari says, leaning over the caster. She puts her lips an inch from Nyx’s ear and stifles an impish laugh. “I think Delvin needs to be woken with a kiss. Since Nyx is asleep, I’ll have to do it.”
The mischievous girl yelps when the scepter is jabbed into her chest, pushing her back and tearing the collar of her blue dress. She grabs a cup of ice water out of Dariana’s hand and makes it even colder with a frigid breath. With no hesitation, Sari lifts the back of Nyx’s shirt and dumps the freezing water into the opening. The half-elf is on her feet immediately and jumping around to get the ice cubes out of her clothes.
“Dammit, Sari! No ice down my shirt!”
“No poking me in the boobs with the monster scepter!”
“Well you threatened to kiss Delvin.”
“You’re not with him, so what do you care?”
“Because you’re already involved and . . . it isn’t right.”
“Then you kiss him.”
“Maybe I will!”
Delvin clears his throat and waves to Nyx, whose face turns red. “I can pretend to be asleep if you want.”
“We . . . we have stuff to take care of,” the caster sheepishly mutters. “There’s still the chance that the Helgardians and the city guards will fight. We also need to discuss the tribe bringing us to Helgard, but that might be best saved for when we’re all there. They would want to see the Compass Key too. Rest up and I’ll . . . we’ll come back for you.”
Nyx gives Delvin a hug around his neck and hurries out of the room, startling a peacock as she nearly breaks into a sprint. Sari rolls her eyes and takes her time refilling Dariana’s drinking glass. She moves a squeaky food cart closer to Delvin, removing the cover from the pot of hot soup. Giving each of her friends a kiss on the cheek, the gypsy goes in search of Nyx. She abruptly stops in the doorway and begins quietly arguing with someone to her right. With a groan of exasperation, she shoves whoever is hiding from view and waves to the recovering patients.
“You’re aware that she’s in love with you, right?” Dariana asks, startling Delvin as he ladles himself some soup. “I’m sorry, but I’m confused on the relationships in our group. They seem to have changed since I was last with you.”
“I’m not surprised since you weren’t around when Kira came back into the fray,” the warrior states, sipping at the sweet broth. His stomach roars at the delicious taste, but the food is too hot to wolf down. “As for Nyx, I’ve been aware for a while now. I’m going to be patient and wait for her. Happy to see that I’ve made great progress with her in the last few months.”
“But she ran away in embarrassment.”
“Yes, but she didn’t hit me.”
“She did in the desert.”
“Not getting hit every ti
me I embarrass her is an improvement.”
Dariana scratches her head and swings her legs out of the bed, enjoying the feel of warm stone beneath her bare feet. Wearing a simple shift and underwear, the aching woman goes to her pile of folded clothes and carries them behind a curtain. Her hisses of pain can be heard as she puts her top on over the bandages, the enhanced sensation of bruised bones making her want to vomit and collapse. She knows the agony will die down when her body returns to normal, her pain receptors very sensitive from being numbed during her fight with Stephen.
“I’m guessing your brother is still alive!” Delvin calls out from his bed. “I was conscious enough to hear you mention a mind scrambler. That doesn’t sound like it would kill someone like Stephen.”
“Sadly, he is still alive and might be more dangerous,” Dariana explains as she steps out from behind the curtain in black pants and an emerald top. Returning to her bed, she lies down and reaches up to attract a peahen to her arm, the bird identical to the one embroidered on her shirt. “My attack hurt his mind and possibly destroyed some memories. I’ve never used it before since I was saving it for my brother. For all I know, I turned him into a powerful berserker that my father will use as a mindless weapon. There is the small possibility that Stephen will be too much of a liability and my father will destroy him. I’m sorry that I can’t tell you anything for certain, but it’s safest to assume he’ll return.”
Delvin nods and goes back to eating his soup, letting his other questions go unmentioned until he slays his hunger. He throws a chunk of bread to Dariana who blindly catches it and shares the food with the bird that has moved to her lap. With an experimental stretch of his tingling arms, the warrior scans the room for his clothes. Seeing them on a distant table, he rolls out of bed and pads over to grab them. He stops when he feels surprisingly cool and looks down to realize that, unlike Dariana, he has been stripped completely naked.
“I’m very sorry,” he declares, moving so that she can only see his backside. Grabbing his clothes, he awkwardly sidesteps across the room and behind the curtain Dariana had used. “Who strips somebody suffering from a stomach wound?”
“That would be Sari,” his chuckling companion answers as she places the peahen on the floor. “She thought it would be funny to have you naked under the covers when Nyx came back from using the bathroom. I don’t think Nyx noticed because she fell asleep on your legs pretty soon after arriving. So she never looked under the sheet . . . I think. To be honest, there was an hour between her arriving and me waking up.”
“Sari saw me naked too?”
“Luke was here to get some medicine for Kira at the time.”
“So nearly everyone saw me naked except for the one person I wouldn’t mind,” the warrior groans, stepping out in a white shirt and black slacks. “That didn’t sound right, so I hope you know what I mean. Can we change the topic?”
“I can make a confession if you wish to bring our conversation to my shortcomings and shames,” Dariana politely suggests. She briefly covers her mouth when she realizes what she has said. “Not that you have anything to be ashamed of, which doesn’t mean I’m impressed or interested. I simply don’t want you to think I was insulting you.”
Delvin returns to his bed and goes back to eating his soup while watching the flustered woman. “I should apologize to you, Dariana. I was cold and mean when I should have realized you’re new to all of this. Not being a champion, but having friends. I’m guessing our predecessors were like me and had issues with your lineage, so you’ve been alone for most of your life.”
“If it makes you feel better, the previous champions were a thousand times worse,” she says as she sits on the edge of her bed. With nimble toes, she hooks the wheeled cart to lazily push it back and forth. “One time I was put in a cage and pulled along like a beast. Another time I was handcuffed and kept at the head of the group. A few times the champions brought me to the nearest town and abandoned me, which were the nicer interactions. There was one group that tried to kill me, so Stephen destroyed them on the spot for not playing the game. I’m not saying all of your predecessors have been cruel people since I’ve only met a fraction of them. Many never found me or were destroyed before Gabriel was ready to have me join them. I guess my luck has simply been bad until now.”
“No wonder you stood by while they were killed,” Delvin states while he moves to sit next to her. He stares up at the peacocks that are watching them, an albino one dropping to the cart to steal a cracker. “I’m glad you stepped into the fight. I’m sure many of us would have been killed if you didn’t get angry and go after Stephen.”
Dariana hops off the bed and picks up the albino peacock to stroke the bird from the crest on its head to the tip of its tail. Like a child, she is fascinated by the creature and stares into its crimson eyes. The bird pecks at her nose when she attempts to speak to its mind, causing her to throw it into the air in surprise. The peacock glides out an open window and lands on a tree branch while Dariana falls to her hands and knees. Her body aches from the sudden movement and she wonders if she has broken more bones.
“Let’s get you back to the bed,” her friend says while he helps her up. He lays the silver-haired woman down and takes a seat near her feet. “You really did a number on yourself. I think we should discuss ways to prevent you from going too far. We won’t always be near a healer and I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself. No matter how angry you get.”
Dariana’s eyes begin to close as her energy drains, the champion reaching out to weakly grip her water glass. “I have a confession to make. It wasn’t my rage that I was channeling. I couldn’t block what the rest of you were feeling, which made me confused and unsure at first. Kira and Luke were exceptionally strong, but Nyx being upset about you drove me over the edge. Stephen has always pushed me around and I’ve always believed I was the weaker sibling. That’s why I never used my mind scrambler on him before today. When I felt all of your pain and anger, I didn’t even consider my failings and went for his jugular so to speak. I’m sorry that-”
“How about you only apologize when you’ve actually done something wrong?”
“I’m sor . . . I’ll try my best.”
Delvin squeezes her hand and draws the sheet up to her shoulders. He smiles and goes back to his bed where he rests with his hands behind his head. He watches the peacocks walk along the wall, the albino male back with its kin. Glancing to his side, he notices that Dariana has fallen asleep curled up in a ball beneath her sheets.
“You’re definitely going to be an interesting ally,” he whispers as he rolls onto his other side. “Though I hope you can bring yourself to fight your father. Is there any point in whispering around a telepath?”
“Not really,” she says in her sleep.
“Thought so. Sorry about that.”
“No problem. I’ll just wipe my memory of you saying it.”
The warrior can only stare at the silver-haired woman, her curious words hanging in the air.
*****
Luke flexes his shoulders and neck, his muscles stiff from being in the same position for so long. Holding his breath, he carefully slips out of Kira’s embrace and eases her head onto a couch pillow. Her bloodshot eyes open as he pours a glass of water and drops a yellow pill into the cool drink. The liquid bubbles and turns into a thin jelly that smells of tangerines. Without a word of complaint, Kira lets her fiancée prop her up and slowly pour the sweet medicine into her open mouth. The nourishing serum drips out of the corners of her lips and soaks the front of her heavily stained shirt.
“You really need to eat something,” Luke says as he kisses her oily forehead. He leans back to put the glass on a table, making sure not to let her flop to the floor. “That medicine is keeping you alive, but you need real food to recover your strength. Does your head still hurt from the chains?”
“No,” Kira numbly replies. With a vacant expression, she glances at her maid who is dusting a doll collection on the far side of t
he bedroom. “Can you get me a sandwich, Eileen? Just cheese and some bread. Nothing fancy because I’m only eating to shut Luke up.”
The calico bows and backs towards the door. “Yes, mistress. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Ringing silence fills the room after Eileen leaves and a warm breeze drifts through the open window. Kira curls against Luke and clings to him, her jagged nails cutting his skin through his thin shirt. The heiress barely notices the damage she is doing until the half-elf grunts and shifts beneath her touch, causing her to relax. Her body jumps at the sound of a trumpeting elephant, the beast passing beneath the balcony. She whimpers and cries, but she has run out of tears to shed, which makes her sorrow and grief even worse.
“I killed all of them,” Kira whispers in a meek voice. She puts her legs across the half-elf’s lap to pull herself even closer. “I . . . I snapped Asher’s neck and threw him off the wall. I broke my father to the point where he couldn’t defend himself. The rest died because of my connection to you. I’m the only Grasdon left and it’s all my fault.”
“It sounds more like it’s my fault,” Luke tells her, stroking his fiancée’s ebony hair and putting his other arm around her. “If I kept ignoring you at the academy or called it off when I graduated or ended things when I met Sari then this wouldn’t have happened. Stephen is a sadistic monster who did this to hurt me and he accomplished that. I’m not sure what to do about us.”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes.”
“More than Sari?”
Luke hesitates and looks away, cringing at the feel of her nails stabbing his chest again. He carries the young woman to the neatly made bed, concerned about how limp she feels in his arms. When he lays her down, he slips out of his shirt and escapes her grasp to examine the crescent-shaped marks all over his skin. Kira hugs the shirt to her chest, but holds it out when she feels it stick to her neck. She sees the bloody marks left by her piercing his flesh and throws the garment into the corner.
“I’m sorry about that,” she whispers while she watches Luke pace in front of the bed. “I shouldn’t have hurt you.”
Sleeper Of The Wildwood Fugue (Book 7) Page 30
