The ball of nightfire floated ahead of us, illuminating dust and cobwebs and the once-gleaming armor of the dead knights. There were more dark streaks on the floor, and rusty-looking splatters on the wall.
None of us spoke. I didn’t know about the others but I was too tense to talk. The air seemed full of menace, and the sensation was not unlike the feeling I had when I entered the Maze. I wondered briefly if Amarantha was dead, and if so, could the horror that lived in the Maze break free?
We passed through the hallway and all of us turned instinctively toward the throne room. No faeries bustled to and fro; no one stood at the door to announce our presence. There was only a set of carved double doors, lit by nightfire and covered in blood.
J.B. pushed open the doors. I felt a little tremor of anticipation. We entered the throne room like four gunslingers looking for a fight. But again, there was no one to greet us.
Gabriel sent the nightfire dancing left and right, revealing smashed furniture and more splatters of dark red.
“Where are the bodies? What happened to everyone?” Beezle asked. He was still tucked inside my coat, his clawed hands gripping the lapel.
“A fair question, gargoyle,” rasped a harsh voice. “What has become of the court of Amarantha the Fair, she who has ruled over this place for hundreds of years?”
We all spun in the direction of the voice, and Gabriel sent the nightfire higher, made it brighter so that it illuminated the room. The ceilings were so high that even Gabriel’s light could not reach them, so we remained under an oppressive cloud of shadow.
A figure sat upon Amarantha’s throne, face covered by the hood of a dark cloak. Behind the throne, a shadow shifted, as if hiding from the light. There was a whiff of sulfur in the air.
“How dare you show your face here so boldly, spawn of Lucifer?” asked the figure.
“Why do I have to keep telling everyone I’m not the spawn of Lucifer? It’s becoming a bad running joke,” I muttered. Then, to the figure on the throne: “Who are you? Do you know what’s happened here?”
“Lucifer’s justice,” the person spat.
I looked around the room in horror. Had Lucifer punished Amarantha by slaughtering the whole court?
“He descended on this court like the god that he wishes to be, promising benevolence to those who would willingly give up the Queen.”
I glanced at Gabriel and knew that we were thinking the same thing. There had probably been a stampede for the doors when Lucifer had shown up offering mercy.
“Did…a lot of people stay?” I asked tentatively.
“They fled like rats,” the person said angrily. The voice was so strange, so harsh and low, it was difficult to tell if it was a man or a woman.
“Did anyone support the Queen?” J.B. asked.
“Prince Jonquil,” the person said. “Why were you not in court to defend the integrity of your house, to demand that Lucifer respect the sanctity of Amarantha’s kingdom?”
“The Queen sent me from her sight and bade me not return,” J.B. said tightly.
“And if she had not, would you have stood before Lucifer and defied him? You, who have allied yourself with Lucifer’s most beloved child? You, who have displayed contempt for your house and your family name?”
“What happened?” J.B. demanded.
The figure was still for a moment, and in the darkness and the quiet, I heard something shift. Something large.
“Gabriel,” I whispered, sidling closer to him. “There’s something…”
The figure stood abruptly, and again I smelled sulfur. “What happened? All those who swore loyalty to the Queen were marked for their fealty to Amarantha. They did only as they should have by staying loyal to their Queen. They should not have been punished for this. Lucifer has no dominion over these lands, whatever he may believe. He violated long-standing accords by treating another head of state as a subject of his will. The world is not his to carve up as he pleases.”
“But there were no accords between the house of Lucifer and the house of Amarantha,” I said. “The agreements between them had been broken. Amarantha invited his retribution by plotting treason against him with Focalor, and by trying to use his grandchild as a stud. And she tried to have me killed by proxy.”
“And for that, Lucifer has claimed this court of faerie, has made it an outpost of his kingdom and rendered its inhabitants…”
The person under the cloak stopped speaking. The shadow behind the throne moved a little closer to the light, and I thought I saw a glint of green and scaly skin.
“What did he do?” I asked.
There was a sudden movement, a flurry of cloth, and the figure was revealed to us.
The creature was unspeakably ugly. It was humanoid, but it was impossible to tell if it was male or female. Its skin was green and armored like an alligator’s. One large black horn protruded from the left side of its head. The right side of its face was covered in gigantic pustules that oozed slimy-looking fluid. A long, heavy, lizardlike tail dragged behind it.
And shining from that hideous face were the blazing blue eyes of Queen Amarantha the Fair.
“This is what Lucifer did to me, to those who swore loyalty to me. He stole our beauty and our magic, and made us hideous to look upon, so that anyone who dared contemplate defying Lord Lucifer would see my court as a cautionary tale, and reconsider.”
“Mother?” J.B. said. He seemed to be in a trance, approaching the thing that no longer looked like Amarantha.
“Mother,” she said, and there was a wealth of contempt in her voice. “You have never been a child of mine. You belonged to your father, always. Always duty, always Death.”
“I could not abandon the souls that needed me because you would have preferred that I played the role of a courtier,” J.B. said angrily.
“Souls!” Amarantha said with a sweep of her hand. The beautifully manicured nails had been replaced by long and ragged claws. “What are humans to faeries? Lesser beings, beings to be used when needed and then discarded.”
“Like my father,” J.B. said.
“Yes,” Amarantha replied.
“You know,” I said thoughtfully. “I think this new look suits you. It reflects what’s on the inside a whole lot better.”
“And you, Madeline Black,” Amarantha said. “Do not think that I have forgotten that this occurred because of you, Lucifer’s best beloved.”
“Why should I get blamed for this mess you’re in? Because I’m the one that caught you at it? I called you a child once, and that’s exactly what you’re acting like—a child. When are you going to grow up and take responsibility for your own actions?”
“You dare—” Amarantha began.
I moved my hand to look like lips flapping.“To defy me, to disrespect me, blah-de-blah blah. I swear, you immortals need to get a new script. You haven’t learned a thing, have you? Lucifer took your power and your court from you, and you’re still plotting against him. You’re asking to get squashed like a bug.”
Amarantha drew herself back, gave me a crafty look. “I do not know of what you speak.”
“The spiders,” J.B. said. “We found the warehouse protected by spiders.”
“What warehouse?” Amarantha asked.
“Gods above and below,” I said, losing my temper. I pulled the sword from its sheath and stalked toward Amarantha. “Do you think I’m going to stand here all day and let you play dumb with us? You’re the only one who breeds spiders like that.”
I swung the sword toward her neck, intending to threaten her. I wouldn’t actually cut her head off, no matter how much I would like to.
Someone cried, “No!” and a creature leapt from behind the throne. It looked like a mad scientist had welded the head of a snake on the body of a human and then covered it in snakeskin. I stepped back, swung the sword up to meet the new threat, but Samiel had already flown to the rescue. He crashed into the creature and they fell to the ground behind Amarantha, rolling over as Samiel punch
ed and the creature slashed out with its claws.
A moment later Samiel had the snake-thing pinned under him. I’d yet to meet any creature that was stronger than Samiel except for Metatrion. It occurred to me that I had accidentally gathered quite a powerful collection of beings around me, and I wondered if that had added to the general perception that I was a threat.
Samiel looked up at me, questioning. I swung the sword back so that the tip was at Amarantha’s neck. She looked terrified, but it wasn’t for herself. Her eyes were pinned on Samiel and the snake-thing.
“Do not let him hurt her,” she said, and there was a pleading in her voice that I had never heard before.
The snake-thing snapped its fangs at Samiel and he punched it in the jaw. I heard something break, and the snake let out a hideous cry.
“Don’t let him hurt her!” Amarantha screamed. “She’s all I have left.”
“Who is it?” I asked, although I had a strong suspicion already.
“Violet,” the Queen said, and a tear burned down her misshapen cheek. “She would not leave me.”
I dropped my sword to the ground. She seemed so broken, so pathetic, but we still needed information.
“I want to know where Wade is,” I said. “And what you’re doing with the souls.”
“Why should I tell you?” Amarantha said.
“If you don’t, you can stand there and watch Samiel beat Violet to death,” I said, and held the tip of the sword near her face. “And then I’ll see if I can improve upon Lucifer’s handiwork.”
J.B. and Gabriel didn’t speak behind me. I hoped that they knew I’d never follow through on the threat. It made me feel a little sick just to say it aloud. I did not have the stomach or the will for torture, but it’s the kind of thing that Amarantha would have done. Monsters are always willing to believe in the monstrosity of others.
Amarantha narrowed her eyes at me, like she was taking my measure. I raised my eyebrow at her, and nodded at Samiel, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary to do too much to convince her.
He seemed to understand what I wanted. He grabbed one of Violet’s hands and broke two of her fingers. I winced, but Amarantha didn’t see it. She had taken a step toward Samiel and Violet, eyes wide. The snake screamed and thrashed, and Amarantha fell to her knees, held her hands up in front of her.
“Stop,” she pleaded. “Please, stop.”
It gave me no pleasure to see such a once-proud creature submit in humiliation. It didn’t matter that Amarantha had tried to destroy Lucifer’s kingdom, that she had cast a spell to have me raped by Nathaniel, that she’d sent me into the Maze with every intention of me coming out in a body bag. I was sorry to be the one who had to lay her lower than she already was, and that I’d had to act like a monster to do it.
“Where is Wade?” I asked.
“The wolf is hidden in the castle,” she said in a whisper.
“Where?” I nudged her with my boot.
“In the south tower,” she said, looking at J.B.
“J.B., you and Samiel go,” I said. “You’ll be able to get there fastest.”
“Umm, I don’t think splitting up is a good idea,” Beezle said. “That usually leads to certain death.”
“You watch too many horror movies,” I said. “Besides, someone needs to watch these two, and I’m not leading a parade to the tower.”
“What’s guarding it?” J.B. asked.
Amarantha looked annoyed that we’d asked. “Charcarion demons.”
“How many?” I said.
“Why should I tell you?” Amarantha snapped.
I looked at Samiel and he broke another one of Violet’s fingers. She screamed in pain and Amarantha cried out, stepping toward them. I held the sword to her throat to stop her, and tried to remember that there was a greater good here, and I was supposed to be a part of it.
“Fifty,” Amarantha said through gritted teeth.
“Fine. The two of you can easily handle fifty demons,” I said to Samiel. “Gabriel, you take over the watch on Lady Violet.”
Gabriel walked forward and put his hand on Samiel’s shoulder, and his half brother rose. Gabriel offered a hand to Violet and she accepted, her face confused. When she stood Gabriel nodded to her respectfully and then conjured another ball of nightfire. It hovered over his palm, the threat clear. Violet looked at the nightfire, then at Gabriel’s face, her expression resigned.
I backed up a little from Amarantha, confident that she wouldn’t risk Violet’s life by doing anything stupid. I pulled J.B. close to me so I could whisper to him.
“Do you think she’s lying?” I asked.
“There are probably twice that number of demons up there, but I think we can manage them,” he replied.
“Don’t worry about killing all of them,” I said. “The priority is to get Wade and get out of here. Do it as quickly and as safely as you can, and don’t bring him back into the throne room. Go right out to the portal.”
“Yeah, before something else horrible happens,” Beezle muttered. “I still think this is a bad idea.”
“Duly noted,” I said.
“How will we let you know we have Wade?” J.B. said.
“I’m going to move Amarantha and Violet into the courtyard,” I said. “We’ll see you when you come out.”
“And then we’ll all run like hell,” Beezle said.
“Some of us will. Others will allow themselves to be carried,” I replied.
“Hey, you’re the one who wants to lose thirty pounds. I’m helping you out by adding extra resistance,” he said.
“Okay, going to get Wade now,” J.B. said loudly.
“Be careful,” I said.
“I’m well aware of my mother’s ability to set traps and spring them,” he said. “I will be.”
I waved Samiel over and signed to him. Watch out for a sneak attack. We don’t know if any other faeries loyal to Amarantha are still in the castle.
He nodded. Beezle told me about the secret passages.
The two of them left the room. I hoped that there was nothing between here and the south tower except the charcarion demons. Samiel had managed to hold off hundreds of them in the cave where we’d found the cubs, so I was confident that he could take care of them. If that was all there was.
“All right,” I said to Amarantha. “We’re taking this outside.”
She smiled, and I did not like the look of that smile.
“And why should I obey you, Lucifer’s child?”
I dropped my shoulders in annoyance. “Do I really have to repeat this again? I am not Lucifer’s…”
That was when the spider landed on top of me.
13
I FELL TO THE GROUND, LANDED ON MY FACE, FELT THE horrible weight of its furred body above me. Beezle cried out as he was squashed by both the spider’s weight and mine. I rolled to my side, saw its fangs descending toward me, and plunged my sword into its abdomen.
A gush of dark fluid poured from the wound, and I scrambled out from beneath the giant arachnid as it collapsed to the ground.
I pushed to my feet, wiping goo from my eyes, and saw Gabriel holding off two larger spiders with nightfire. There was no sign of Amarantha or Violet.
“That was disgusting,” Beezle said from inside my jacket. “We are not doing that again.”
I knew from experience that nightfire was useless against spiders, so I shot the one on the left with electricity. It screeched and reared up as little arcs danced over its body. Gabriel got the message pretty quickly and conjured up the white nephilim fire to take out the other one. The air was filled with the smell of cinnamon and sulfur and rotting blood.
Gabriel flew over the twitching, burning corpses of the other two spiders to my side.
“You are unhurt?” he asked, taking my hand.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’d kiss you, but I have spider goo in my hair.”
“Again,” Beezle said.
“Did you see where Amarantha and Violet went?” I asked
.
He shook his head. “They disappeared into the wall passages. They are likely far from here by now.”
“I told you we shouldn’t split up,” Beezle said. “They were just waiting for us to divide our forces before they let the spiders attack.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “You can have a doughnut if we get out of this alive.”
“We must locate Samiel and J.B. Have you any notion of where the south tower is?”
I thought of how often I’d gotten lost in the couple of days I’d stayed in Amarantha’s castle the month before. I shook my head.
Beezle sighed. “Can’t either of you tell which way is north?”
“I know Lake Michigan is to the east,” I said.
“That doesn’t help you if you’re nowhere near Chicago,” Beezle said. “You’re not on the grid system here.”
“Well, do you know which way is north, smarty-pants?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he said. “It’s that way.”
He pointed toward the doors we’d entered.
“Are you sure about that?”
“I’m sure about everything,” Beezle said.
“Confidence does not necessarily equal accuracy.”
“It does for me.”
Gabriel shared a look with me. “Do we have a better option?”
“No,” I said. “If you’re wrong, you’re out that doughnut.”
“I’m not wrong,” Beezle said.
We crept quietly into the hall. I was in front and Gabriel walked behind me with his back pressed against mine. We weren’t sure if more spiders were lurking on the ceiling or if Amarantha and Violet might leap from the walls and try to take us out from behind.
The hallway was still eerily silent. We walked slowly, listening for threats, all three of us strung tight with tension.
I hoped that I hadn’t sent J.B. and Samiel to their doom because I’d foolishly trusted Amarantha’s word. Over and over again Gabriel and Beezle had warned me against taking immortals at face value. It seemed that I had trouble learning that lesson.
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