Princesses of the Ironbound Boxset: Books 1 - 3 (Barbarian Outcast, Barbarian Assassin, Barbarian Alchemist)

by Aaron Crash

  Tori and Lillee pulled Jenny away from the mess and laid her on the stones.

  Ymir, breathing hard, covered in the blood of the demon, gazed down. The Flow visions had come true.

  The awful truth dawned on him. It was after midnight. Officially, it was the Third Exam week. The assassins hadn’t been after Ymir after all. Auntie Jia had sent someone who could summon demons, and that creature had caught Jennybelle unawares.

  Then they were rushing Jenny up the Sea Stair, heading for the infirmary in the Imperial Palace. She was breathing, barely, but they only had minutes to repair the damage the demon had done to her.

  If she was dead, Ymir would finish his schooling, he’d go down to Josentown, and he’d murder every last one of Jennybelle’s relatives until the gutters ran bright with blood. He’d cut off this Jiabelle Josen’s head and sink it on a spike as a warning to all.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  THE DOCTOR GAVE LILLEE a disgusted look, similar to the one she’d given her months before after the incident with the former Moons professor.

  Old Ironbound’s doctor, Nuveehl Naymer, was a silver-haired elf woman who wore a silver cuff. She was still relatively young, or so the rumors said. With the Ohlyrra, it was hard to tell.

  Lillee couldn’t bear to see the broken body of her friend. The doctor said Jenny would survive, and that with enough magic, she would walk again. For now, Jenny was resting. Doctor Naymer had reached out to all the Studiae Duxi, to bring them in. The Princept was in her chambers, but Della had said she was going to cast a very powerful Flow spell and couldn’t be disturbed.

  Lillee thought it was about Ymir, and the assassin, but the Princept was too late. The killer had been after Jenny all along. Jenny should’ve been with Ymir in the shower for that first attack. The demon had come after her the first time on StormLight Island. Then, of course, there was the snake.

  They were all in the spacious infirmary, three beds in a row in front of rain-stained windows. Lillee, Ymir, and Tori stood back to watch Jenny’s life being saved by the faculty at Old Ironbound—Doctor Naymer, Professor Leel, Professor Bootblack, and even Gharam Ssornap cast the cura magic. Professor Slurp glared at Ymir and didn’t say a single word to him.

  The teachers as well as the doctor left to talk out in the hall.

  Ymir stood like he was made of stone, against the wall, arms crossed. The Black Ice Ring was visible. As for the other ring? Lillee didn’t know. She knew he was hating himself for not putting the new magic item on immediately. Yet, from what Lillee understood, the Akkir Akkor might be watching.

  Lillee knelt at Jenny’s head. Tori sat in a wooden chair next to the unconscious princess.

  They heard the professors muttering out in the hall. The word “Princept” was whispered over and over. They were discussing if they should bother Della Pennez in her chambers. There had been a demon attack, on campus, and it seemed like the right thing to do. However, the Princept might even now be in the Illuminates Spire, deep in the Flow magic. Disturbing her could be dangerous.

  Tori had her hand on Jenny’s body. The dwab shook her head sorrowfully. “We were going to become good friends. She made me feel good about myself. Here she was, this big girl, and there I was, as big or bigger. Now, to think we’ll lose her.”

  Lillee couldn’t talk. She felt choked—like Ymir and his shadow. On the boat ride, he’d told them what he’d seen. And he’d mentioned the Akkir Akkor had known Lillee’s name, and Tori’s as well.

  Anger flooded the elf girl, then sorrow, because even if Jenny survived this, she would only get a few more decades. At some point in her life, Lillee would have to mourn her human lovers, and she didn’t feel up to the task.

  Her tears came too fast to stop. She rushed from the room, out into the hall, and when Professor Leel got in her way, Lillee shoved her aside.

  Lillee was running when she left the Imperial Palace, sped over the bridge, and into the Librarium, which was as gloomy as it was empty—the Sunfire lanterns were turned low.

  She finally stopped, standing on the emblem of the school, a diamond-shaped mosaic showing the symbols of the four Studiae Magica.

  The elf girl couldn’t let go of her rage or her despair; they fought like beasts inside her.

  She heard the footsteps. By now, she knew exactly who they belonged to. Boot leather slapped the polished stone floor. When Ymir grew close, his scent, musky and sweet, filled her sense. He’d become as familiar to her as her own skin.

  The clansman didn’t speak.

  He didn’t need to. He knew that she needed to talk, and he’d only prompt her if he lost patience. She whirled on him. “Yes, I know! I know if I talk about what is troubling me, I’ll feel better. But I hate it. I hate every bit of it.”

  “Hate what?” Ymir stood in his leather shirt and pants and Gharam’s boots. He’d gone back to Jenny’s suite to wash off the demon blood and to change his shirt.

  Lillee was so tired, so worried, so wrung out. These other people lived their lives with such ease, but not her. Her feelings felt like cold water drowning her. Her thoughts moved like quicksilver. And always the fear, the awful fear, haunting her.

  “I hate myself,” she said in a strangled voice. “I hate myself for being weak and fragile.”

  He nodded. It was clear he didn’t agree. He didn’t argue.

  She hissed her next words. “I hate death. It will take you, and Jenny, and even Tori, and I’ll have to watch. I’ll live on, and before long, your memory will fade, and I’ll find other lovers, and I’ll forget you. It hurts me to think it. It makes me want to shriek and tear at my hair. It makes me want suicide. See? I’m weak. I’m fragile.”

  The two stood, and it was quiet for a minute. Until the rain started outside, pattering loudly on the Flow courtyard.

  Ymir heard it as well. “I didn’t think it would rain again so soon. We got our clear sky for the ritual. Now? It will probably rain for another month without ceasing. You probably knew that. You probably know who the secret assassin at the school is. You’re all-knowing, after all.”

  It was a cruel thing to say. She flung out a hand to slap him.

  He caught it. “You don’t know what minutes you have left. My grandmother would always tell me—worries over the future are lies that have no end. You could’ve died a dozen times in the past months. We only have this second, this moment.” He reached into his satchel and drew out the Veil Tear Ring. The metal was dull like lead. The runes on it were the same color as the black ink they’d made. It looked wet, but as she’d learn, it would always look wet and feel clammy. “If you want to see past the veil, you can put that on, and you can witness my death, or Jenny’s, or even your own.”

  She didn’t want that. This was her chance, though. They lived in a world where Flow magic could show you the future. She could see if her worst fears would come true. She could see herself as a widow before her lovers were taken from her.

  Yet, she realized, she didn’t want that. Ymir was correct—she was lying to herself. She didn’t know what would happen. And she didn’t want to know. She would enjoy the day she had, not the day when her heart would break.

  Too much emotion choked Lillee so she couldn’t talk. She stepped into Ymir’s arms, and he held her, quietly, the two standing there, two pieces of a much larger puzzle.

  The elf girl thought of her friends and how disturbed they were. Jenny had told Lillee about her nightmares, about how much murdering Siteev Ckins had bothered her. Lillee was terrified of losing her closest friends. And then there was Tori, a heartbroken girl who smiled through her pain, though she thought she was ugly and alone. In fact, she wasn’t. She’d become a part of their growing family.

  “We’re trouble,” Lillee whispered. “Your princesses are such trouble. Me, Jenny, Tori—why do you even bother with us?”

  Ymir leaned back and took her face in his big, strong hands. He brushed her tears away with his thumbs. “Because I’d rather be troubled by you princesses than be at
peace alone. I’d get tired of stroking my own uht. I prefer others to help me with that.”

  Lillee laughed despite the vulgarity. With her essess on, she had trouble appreciating a dirty joke.

  Ymir seemed so serious, yet there was a mischievous glint in his eye. “You’re not all princesses. For all we know, Tori might only be a well-connected serving girl in the Ruby Stonehold. Brodor told me she’s related to someone famous among the Morbuskor.”

  “She’s with us now, isn’t she?” Lillee loved the idea of Tori joining them.

  “I believe so,” Ymir answered. He then stepped back from her. “I’m going to put the ring on now. I’m going to see who tried to kill Jenny. Then I’m going to kill them.”

  Lillee saw the passion in him. That night, he was going to use both his determination and his rage to murder. The elf girl realized that she was glad. She wanted Jenny safe. And she wanted justice. She didn’t feel weak and fragile right then. She felt part of a powerful family that was going to conquer the world. She could write the songs and tell the stories of their rise.

  She could tell the story of Ymir, son of Ymok, of the Black Wolf Clan. She felt how monumental the task would be, and how lucky she was to be right in the middle of what could only be a tale for the ages.

  He held the ring. It was smaller than the Black Ice Ring. It would only fit on his pinky finger. “It’s wet, it always feels wet and cold, even when I know it’s dry.”

  He frowned and then took the Sapphire Fang from his belt. He gave the dagger to Lillee. “I’m going to put the ring on, Lillee. Then I’ll take it off. If I can’t take it off, I want you to cast a Flow cantrip, freeze me in place, and then cut off my finger.”

  “Because it might be cursed,” she said quietly.

  He nodded. “I don’t think it is, but I don’t know for sure. I didn’t want to put it on alone. I wanted to wait a bit, actually, to do more research, but this can’t wait. It’s only the start of the Third Exam week. I’m not sure Jenny will make it to the end.”

  Lillee led him to a table. “If you can’t take the ring off, put your hand down on that flat surface, and I’ll cut off your finger.”

  He grinned. “You’re not feeling weak and fragile now, I don’t think.”

  “No, actually.” She smiled as well. Her heart was beating. She was afraid. However, she felt the thrill of the moment and she respected Ymir’s iron will. She would rise to the occasion to match that will. “If I’m to be your lover, if we’re to conquer the world, I better get used to doing things like this.”

  Lillee didn’t feel like herself that moment. She wasn’t some frightened, shy artist. No, she felt like Jennybelle Josen, a bold woman, reckless even. She liked this side of herself. It was like when she took off her essess and let the lust take her. What a wonder it was, to have so many people inside of her.

  “Ready?” Ymir asked.

  “Ready,” she said.

  He slipped the Veil Tear Ring on his left pinky finger next to the other Akkiric Ring.

  Chapter Thirty

  THE HONORED PRINCEPT was awake at midnight, late Sunday night, the week of the Third Exam. The Examiners had cast their Form spells to create the exam rooms in the dungeons under the college towers. Della had been called to deal with a number of issues, and she’d addressed them all.

  Exhausted, she’d made herself kaif to get to her real work. She’d found a Flow devocho spell, one that helped her step into the stream of time and space and once again, try to see who was bringing violence and death to her school.

  Della sat in a power circle in the Illuminates Spire, above her private chambers. Around her were bookcases full of forbidden books and scrolls too dangerous to be held anywhere else. Magic items were scattered around on stone pedestals, some new, some ancient, all with the power to destroy the world. Her eyes went to a long staff, bound to the wall in iron bands. The Fractal Clock just might be the most dangerous item in this arsenal. If anything could change the world, it was that odd-looking stick with the clockwork at the top.

  Five Sunfire candles sputtered in the circle she’d chalked on the floor. She sat cross-legged in the middle, in her nightgown, with her hands resting on her knee. She reviewed the suspects. Who wanted either Ymir or Jennybelle dead?

  Of course, she immediately thought of the scholars from the Swamp Coast queendoms. Both Nellybelle Tucker and Darisbeau Cujan had motives to want the barbarian and the princess dead.

  Nelly would gain points with Auntie Jia, famous even on the northern Sorrow Coast.

  As for Daris, a swamp boy like that wouldn’t forgive Ymir for hitting him or forcing him to take over his work study program.

  They had the motives, but they didn’t have the skill to summon demons, or to ignite the showerheads in the sea alley showers.

  No, Della, thought it was one of the newcomers. Nan Honeysweet was new, and she had opened up her xocalati shop and then hired one of the Fayee scholars, Ziziva. The two seemed abnormally close, and that was strange, since fairies liked to keep their magic and their society secret. Rumor had it that Ymir was behind the aphrodisiac xocalati, though it was muddled who was doing the actual selling. Some said it was Jenny. Some said it was Toriah.

  Greed was always a good motive for murder.

  The Princept, though, didn’t take that idea very seriously. She also trusted the Examiners who were staying in the Imperial Palace during exam week. They were vetted, and again, she didn’t see any motive.

  What made more sense to Della were the three new professors: Haylee, Linnylynn, and the Ironcoats. Could they be Silent Scream assassins hired by Auntie Jia? Had the Midnight Guild sent other agents to kill Ymir?

  Ibeliah and Brandmunli were probably not viable suspects. Haylee and Linny were—the pair had done research in the Swamp Coast. Linny also had an interest in demonology. She certainly was the best suspect.

  The Princept had no proof, however.

  The candles flickered. She sat in her most comfortable gown, a bit of gossamer to cover herself, and thank the Tree, but it was finally getting warmer. That night the rains stopped, and the sky had cleared. She’d forgotten how much she’d missed the moons and stars.

  She was about to cast the spell when someone knocked at the door to her chamber far below. She had special magic to hear such clamor up in the Illuminates Spire.

  Della rose, knowing who it was, and the idea made her heart pound. She walked down the spiraling iron staircase to her chambers and then down wooden steps to the top floor of the Coruscation Shelves. She opened the door, praying she was wrong.

  She wasn’t. There stood Hayleesia Heenn, in her Moons robes and sandals. The neckline of the robes plunged, showing pale skin.

  The Princept had been waiting for this moment, and she’d sworn she’d steel herself against it. However, Haylee’s dark hair was back from her face. Her dark eyes seemed black, but Della knew they were purple. In them was fear and heat.

  “Can we speak, Princept?” she asked. “I’m afraid tonight. There are forces at work. There are dark forces. I would speak to you about them. Linny...Linny isn’t herself.”

  Della felt the fight within her. The appropriate thing would be to get dressed, go to her office, and talk with Haylee there. That wouldn’t be private. And she wouldn’t get a chance to see what this woman had on under her robes.

  The Princept simply couldn’t do that. She couldn’t let herself be seduced. Della’s left finger touched the mark of ash on her right hand. She had to quit smoking, if only to improve her hygiene. Words tumbled from Della’s mouth before she could stop them. “Yes, yes, come up. I have kaif.”

  She turned and moved upward, realizing that Haylee could see through the gauzy gown. She’d forgotten to put on her robes over it. Or anything. She wasn’t wearing pannee. She liked how it felt, knowing the half-elf might be gazing at her naked slit.

  Haylee wasn’t going to get the Studia Dux position. She’d be gone in June. And if she was summoning demons? Della would kill her
. The Consortium wouldn’t like two murders at the Majestrial in the same year, but it wouldn’t be the first time.

  Sleeping with Haylee then killing her would remove all evidence of the sex. And if the half-elf was innocent, then maybe Della could trust her to keep quiet.

  Back in her room, Della sat, pulling at the fabric of her gown so her nipples wouldn’t show. She had some decorum.

  Haylee’s eyes went to her chest, then found her face. “Linny has been acting strange lately. She has been harassing Jenny. Her ideas on the orishas are troubling. She’s obsessed with the idea that Aegel Akkridor was a demon king, and that he might rise again.”

  “A demon king like in Ethra?” Della laughed. “No, most likely, Aegel Akkridor was an elf who had his appearance changed. He wouldn’t be the first one.” She touched her ears. The motion opened her gown some, and this time she didn’t adjust it.

  Haylee swallowed. “I’m afraid for her. For myself. You can do Flow magic to find the truth, correct? Your magic is so powerful. You’re so beautiful.” The half-elf got down on her hands and knees in front of Della.

  The half-elf’s robes opened, and she wasn’t wearing anything under them. A few Sunfire candles flickered. Della’s eyes went to her swinging breasts and farther down to the hair between her legs. Her pubic hair was black—no, it would be that same dark crimson as the hair on her head. It would change color the longer you looked, and it would darken when she got wet. She wore perfume, but it had been a long day. The heat between Haylee’s legs had a stronger scent. Della couldn’t resist it.