I looked at where Kyle still lay motionless by the front door. “Do what you can for Kyle first.” I looked at the battle raging on across the room. “Then join us in the fight.”
“They can handle it. You have been through so much already. Will you please just sit this one out?”
I stared into her compassionate eyes. “No, this is still my fight, and I will not just stand aside. Please just tend to Kyle.” She hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then nodded in understanding.
I raised my sword and charged into battle, slashing my way through a few Boru before reaching my men. My sword swung fast and true, striking down several enemies at once.
Tremors shook the ground all around us, knocking me down. I tried to stand up but another shake floored me again. The ground simply would not hold still. These weren’t Clifton’s tremors. These were a combination of all the Boru in the room.
I felt a magical push from beneath me which raised me back up to a standing position. I knew who had done it and, sure enough, Violet was at my side. Though the earth still shook under me, I found it easier to maintain my balance.
“Thanks.” I struck down an approaching Boru. “How’s Kyle?”
“He will be alright. I told him to stay out of the fight.”
“Good.” I glanced up at the thundering clouds towering above us. They were covering the entire ceiling now. “Can you stop that spell?”
“No, I did try after healing you. It has no antidote.”
“AHHHH!”
My head jerked in the direction of the scream. Quino was down, a gaping hole in his chest billowed blood to the ground like a waterfall.
“No!” Violet screeched and raced to his side.
I quickly took care of the few remaining Boru in my area before joining them. He spat up blood while he tried to talk, but no words came out.
I felt a white hot rage burn through me. A bolt of lightning flew from my body, hitting Quino’s attacker square in the chest. He keeled over and hit the ground dead. I stared down at him in shock at what I had just done. My powers seemed to have doubled, if not tripled, in severity since the last time I had used them. A brilliant idea hit me as strong as my electricity was now. If it could work, I could take out the entire Boru race.
“Violet?” I needed her help if I was to be successful in my attempt.
She was busy healing Quino and didn’t answer.
“Violet! I need you now!”
“What?”
“Can you bind all the Boru together? You know, make them one?”
“Maybe.”
I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to me. I stared hard into her doubtful face. “Violet, you are the best witch that I have ever heard of but you doubt yourself far too often. I need you to believe in yourself as I believe in you. I know that you can do this. I have a plan, but I need them all bound together, even the Boru that are not present. Can you do this?”
“I can try,” she said sounding a little more confident in her abilities. “But what about Clifton?”
I looked past her to see Clifton. He was fighting beautifully, confidence looming with every stroke of his sword. “What about him?”
“His Boru blood, if we are able to do this, he might die.”
I pondered that thought for a moment. Would his Zolera blood be enough to protect him from what I was planning? I didn’t know, but I had to try. If I had to sacrifice my love, one of the best things that had happened to me in my entire life, to vanquish every last Boru and save my people from their future attacks, I would have to do it.
“Do it.” I answered, already saddened by my decision. I seemed to be giving him up already. “We have no choice.”
She nodded before bending down over a fallen enemy and coated her hands with his blood. “Casta un hurkes. Sesvuer calla e, Boru tu Esta.”
I watched as the entire Boru army began to glow with a bright green light, including Clifton. It only lasted for a fraction of a second, but I saw that Clifton was included in the spell.
“It is done.” She too seemed to have noticed the fact that the spell had put Clifton with the Boru. “You will need to hurry, the spell will not hold for long.”
My eyes were glued to Clifton when I called upon the charge once more. It seemed to singe my insides while I held it in to gaze at Clifton a little longer. A tear trickled down my cheek as I stared at him. “I am so sorry, my love”
A massive bolt of lightning jolted from my body. The room illuminated with its bright, golden light. It struck the nearest Boru first, going straight through him and exiting his back. He dropped to the floor, dead. I watched as the bolt made its way around the room, taking down every single enemy in sight. I watched in horror as it passed through Clifton last, exited him, and then passed through the wall and out into the world to take down the rest of the race.
I grabbed Violet’s hand and sprinted to Clifton’s side. I feared him dead like all the others, but I hoped it not to be true. He was unconscious, but taking short shallow breaths. The sight gave me a glimmer of hope. I sat on the ground and placed his head in my lap. His human mask was down, showing me the real man that I loved. “Can you help him?”
She glanced down at him, and then looked sympathetically at me. “No, I cannot heal something that is dead. If he is to live then his body must fight it. Though the Boru in him is dead, the Zolera in him might make it.”
I understood. I must give him a reason to live. I leaned over him, not quite touching my lips to his. “I need you to stay with me, Clifton,” I whispered sweetly, my breath kissing his lips. “Please stay. It was my desire to be with you that brought me back when I almost died. I know that now. I need you. I love you. I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.”
His breath stopped wafting into my face and his chest waivered before falling still.
“No, I won’t let you leave me. I promised I would never leave you and I am keeping it.” I placed my palms on his chest, calling forth a smaller dose of my power. The second it entered him his back arched steep and his throat wheezed as air flooded back into his lungs. The heart beneath my hand beat fast and steady. I pressed my lips against his and wept into him when he kissed me back.
His eyes fluttered open and focused on my face before speaking. “Tessa? Did we win?”
I just nodded, unable to speak. I had sacrificed him for the good of my people, but I had also brought him back.
“What is going on here?” an angry voice yelled from across the room.
Chapter Thirteen
My father was standing in the center of the room looking furious. My men and Violet went to kneel before him, leaving Clifton and me alone. Quino seemed to be fully healed. He walked like he hadn’t been injured at all. I was glad to see it.
“My King, the job is done. The princess is whole once more,” Kafkus announced. He looked back at me with a satisfied smile across his mouth, and then turned back to my father. “She single handedly took down the entire Boru race.”
“Quartessa?” my father asked sounding unsure. He seemed to want to hear it from me that what Kafkus had just told him was true.
I helped Clifton to his feet and put his arm around my shoulder so that I could support him as we walked over to join the rest of them. I was extremely grateful for my newly recovered strength, he would have toppled me otherwise. Violet and Kafkus moved aside so that we could stand in front of my father.
“The ring is off, father, and I am fine. I promise.”
“The Boru is dead I presume?”
I pointed to the heap of body parts lying on the ground. “Yes, Lynth is dead. His plan was to kill you, but I assume that Gader already told you that.”
He looked like he was about to say something that he didn’t want to say. “I knew of the plan before Gader told me.”
“That was the plan that you wouldn’t tell me about in Kortis. And the reason you wanted me to stay so badly.” I guess that I couldn’t be mad at him for not telling me about the
plan when it seemed as though he hadn’t told anyone.
“Yes, Quartessa, that was the plan I spoke of.”
“Have you informed Reyka about Loach?”
“Yes. You never should have trusted him, Quartessa. I thought that you knew better than that.”
Resentment filled me at his words. So I was just supposed to know that Loach would turn on me was I? I stared daggers at him, angry from what he had expected of me and angry with myself for being so trusting.
“Quartessa found a way to kill the entire Boru race,” Violet said, eagerly trying to change the subject.
“Yes, Kafkus did mention something along those lines. Did you manage to kill every last one?” I nodded. “Even the ones not in this building?” I nodded again. “How did you manage that?”
“I acquired a new power the night that I was attacked, an electric one.”
“Ah. You have acquired the gift of Foundres.” He seemed rather amused.
“The gift of what?”
“The gift of Foundres. It is a rare ability, one that I have not seen in many centuries. I am not surprised that you have not heard of it.” He placed a comforting hand on the shoulder in which Clifton wasn’t leaning. “It is a gift only given to those the heavens deem worthy. Though, I have never heard of it being strong enough to kill an entire species before.”
“Violet helped with that,” I said trying to give her some well-deserved praise. “She bound them together for me.”
He looked at Violet with delighted admiration. “I am impressed, but not surprised.”
“Thank you, my King.”
His eyes fell upon Clifton. I was still holding him up as he was too weak to stand on his own. “How are you feeling, my son?”
“Like I was hit by lightning. I think that I’ll be ok though.”
“His Boru half is dead,” Violet blurted out. “It will take his body a while to heal and adjust to the change.”
“Just what you always wanted father. He’s full-blooded Zolera now.”
My father gave an amused chuckle.
“Father?”
“Yes, daughter?”
“Pram is dead. He was killed, along with the other guards that you sent to keep an eye on me.”
“I am sorry to hear that. Pram was a good man, and I know that he really cared for you.”
A noise in the distance attracted my attention. It was Kyle. He stood alone in the doorway across the room. I motioned for him to come and stand by me and he cautiously walked over to us, standing at my other side.
“Father, this is Kyle. He courageously tried to fight alongside us. Kyle this is my father, King Dobbin, ruler of the Zolera.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness.” Kyle’s voice came out high and squeaky. He was obviously nervous at meeting my father, I’m sure it didn’t help that my father happened to be a King.
My father nodded at Kyle, acknowledging him. Then he looked back at me with an uncomfortable smile. “A human, Quartessa? You seem to find new ways to test my patience.”
I couldn’t help but grin. Then, my conscious caught up with me. It sounded remarkably like Gader’s voice. “Could we please talk in private, father?”
“Of course.”
He held out his arm, I wrapped mine around it, and together we walked outside.
As we stepped out into the night a cool and welcoming breeze swept across my face. Comprehension sank in: it was all over, and I was alive. It felt awesome to feel like myself again but the extra power that I could feel running through me was a little unnerving.
“What is it that you wish to speak to me about? It must be important for you to not want to talk about it in front of the others.” He sat down on the curb and patiently waited for me to speak.
I paced in front of him, not sure how to start. I knew that I must be the one to tell him. There was no way that this would stay a secret for long.
After contemplation, I stopped in front of him. “Father, do you remember when I told you the story about Drina being killed by a Boru?”
He looked shocked. Obviously, of all the things that I could have said, that wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “Yes?”
I began pacing again as I spoke. “Well, I want you to know that I never lied to you. I believed her dead, but…”
He stood up and grabbed me by the arm, stopping my pacing. He looked deep into me, understanding in his eyes. “She…is alive?”
“She faked her death to give Clifton a better life.”
He still looked unsure. “You, you have seen her?”
“Yes.”
He began pacing back and forth, as I had done before. The look in his face was unreadable. Was it despair, anger, need? I couldn’t tell. “I wish to see her,” he said finally.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Quartessa. I must see her one last time.”
I sighed. “Ok, I will go tell the others.”
********************
Since there were too many of us to fit in my car—and there was no sight of Bruce’s Explorer—I sent Quino, Violet and Kafkus back to my house in a cab that I had called from a somewhat nearby payphone. I cleaned myself up the best I could from a water faucet that I’d found outside. It didn’t help very much. My clothes were splattered with blood, as were Clifton’s, but I didn’t feel much like going home to change so they would have to do.
My father didn’t seem to care much for the drive, and by the time we got to the hotel he was looking a little green in the face.
Violet had left me with a concealment ring which I gave to my father. She’d taken the metal from a corpse who’d no longer need it. Though his skin appeared pale, and his hair and beard white. He still looked a little out of place here. His golden robes didn’t help that fact. But we could always pass him off as a foreigner if need be.
“Clifton, can you conceal your appearance?” I asked.
I saw him try. He scrunched his face in concentration, but his skin stayed the same. “No, I can’t.” It seemed that he had lost that ability when his Boru-half had died.
I didn’t feel much like seeing my father interacting with his lost love. “I think I will wait in the car.” I pulled off my own concealment and handed it to Clifton. “Go with him please.”
Clifton gave me a weird look. “What?”
“Are you wearing another concealment charm?”
I looked down at my body. Though I wore no items to hide my inhuman skin-tone, my skin still looked white, though a bit tanner than I remembered. I glanced up at my father as if expecting an answer.
“I think that there might be more to the Ring of Eccus than what we know, or that Reyka has told me about. Shifting your appearance like that is a Boru trait.”
“Violet can do it too. I couldn’t be part Boru now. I had killed them all. If my body had absorbed Lynth, then my spell would have came after me as well. Wouldn’t it?
He sighed with understanding. “You are not a witch, Quartessa, but I do not think that you have become Boru either. I think that you have merely absorbed some of Lynth’s capabilities, kind of a reversal of power caused by the ring.”
That didn’t make me feel any better. I didn’t like the fact that I may have taken a part of Lynth with me. I wanted to be free of him for good but it seemed that wasn’t what had happened. I was stuck with him, a constant reminder of what I’d been through.
I looked back at Clifton. With my ring on, he looked a little different than he normally did with his own mask. His skin was the pasty white color that mine used to be. His hair was slightly darker, more of a soft brown color. As I stared at him, I saw his mask begin to melt away, leaving behind his real self. I gasped. “Clifton, the charm isn’t working.”
Clifton looked bewildered. He glanced down at his skin and then back at me. Suddenly, a look of understanding came over him. “The charm is working fine. You are just able to look past it.”
Great, so this was just even more proof that Lynth was inside of me.
How could I get him out? I didn’t want his power. I wanted to be myself.
“Is this a common Boru thing?”
“No, Quartessa. The ability to see through concealment spells is not a skill that many Boru possess.”
“Great!”
Well, I looked human now. I guess I was going inside.
Clifton was limping, but at least he was walking on his own. My father led the way once we stepped into the hotel. He walked purposefully up the stairs and through the hallways. It was as though he could sense her, and he must have been able to because soon we stood, once again, in front of room 513.
“Dobbin? Is it really you?” a small voice asked from behind the door, before I could even knock.
“Yes, Drina, it is I.”
The door flung open. Drina stood behind it wearing a red, satin nightgown. She looked shocked, but not displeased at the late night visit.
“Please, come in.”
My father stepped through the doorway, as did Clifton, but I stayed where I was. I loved my mother, and I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing my father interacting with Drina. Though I knew that they weren’t going to do anything, the way that they looked at each other was enough to cause me distress.
“I think that Kyle and I will wait for you two downstairs.”
“Do you want me to come?”
“No, Clifton. I want someone to stay.” I looked past him and into the room. My father and Drina were sitting on the couch talking and looking very comfortable together. “Make sure that he doesn’t do anything he’ll regret please?”
Clifton nodded and then closed the door.
“Why don’t you want to go in?” Kyle asked.
“Personal reasons. Let’s go downstairs.”
Kyle looked like he wanted to ask something else but he held his tongue, and I was thankful for that. I didn’t feel much like answering any uncomfortable questions at the moment.
We made our way down to the lobby and stopped off in the lounge. I sat at the bar and ordered myself a glass of wine. The bartender eyed my bloody clothes, but he didn’t comment. I was about to order another one for Kyle when I stopped myself. “How old are you Kyle?”
Royal Affliction (The Anti-Princess Saga) Page 23
