Crowned

by Christina Bauer

  “The Rushwa were your enemy too?”

  Mrefu pounded his chest with his fist. The growling became plaintive. He turned his palm to face me. His furry palm glowed with purple brightness. The words of the Sire and Lady reverberated through me. “Hybrid magick always corrupts.”

  I tilted my head, thinking. “You and your people wield hybrid magick.”

  Mrefu nodded.

  An image of the Rushwa appeared in my mind. Those creatures were tall and lanky, just like Mrefu. The Rushwa also had oversized heads, but that could easily be an illusion caused by the tar-like corruption covering their horns.

  “I think I understand now,” I said. “You wield hybrid magick but some of you became corrupted. The Rushwa.”

  Mrefu nodded again.

  “So I did you a favor when I killed them. And now, will you do me a favor in return?”

  Mrefu spoke once more. This time, his voice took on a happy and almost musical air. With a graceful motion, he crossed his arms over his chest and bowed his head.

  I grinned. “I’m going to interpret that as a yes.”

  Mrefu raised his head to meet my gaze. Determination shone in his eyes and he called out something in a loud voice.

  In reply, a new voice echoed through the jungle. “Mrefu, don’t you dare!”

  The hair on my neck stood on end. That voice sounded familiar.

  Was it Nan?

  “Draw your weapons. Now!”

  Oh, that was Nan all right.

  But how did she come to know Mrefu and his people? And why would she order them to threaten me?

  In response Nan’s cry, things happened so quickly that I barely saw the blur of motion erupting around me. One moment, I was asking Mrefu to confirm his name. The next second, a dozen figures had stepped out from the jungle. All of them looked like Mrefu, only their gray fur had a purple sheen. Unlike Mrefu, each one carried a bow and arrow. Unfortunately, their weapons were drawn and pointed at a single target.

  My throat.

  Every muscle in my body tightened. This was not a good development. Sure, I knew a little fighting. Rowan’s brother Kade had taught me a nerve pinch that I could use on someone at close range. That said, I knew nothing about how to defeat so many without magick.

  Jicho waved his arms. “Leave her alone! She’s my brother’s mate!”

  I forced my manner into the perfect image of Necromancer serenity. “It’s fine, Jicho. I have it under control.”

  In truth, I had no idea what would happen next. But my words seemed to calm Jicho, so there was that.

  “Why don’t you check on things below ship?” I asked. With so many drawn arrows, I wanted Jicho out of harm’s way.

  Jicho screwed his mouth up for a moment. “Oh, sure. Of course.” His face brightened with a huge smile. “I’ll stay below deck.” He shot me an exaggerated wink. “There’s plenty to do.” The boy spoke in rapid-fire style, which meant that he was hatching some kind of plan.

  “Jicho, just stay hidden and don’t make anything—” Before I got the chance to say the word explode, Jicho had already disappeared below deck.

  The moment Jicho was gone, Nan stepped out from behind the wall of green. She looked just as I remembered: a girl in her late teens with ebony dark skin and long braids. She wore a loose leather jerkin and cotton pants. I exhaled. My mind hadn’t been playing tricks on me, after all.

  Nan was really here. Huzzah!

  Surely, she had mistaken me for someone else before. Once Nan realized I was her Elea, things would move forward quickly. I could almost imagine myself grasping the Sword of Theodora…Healing the gateways with ease…And doing it all before the Martyr’s Comet disappeared from the sky.

  As Nan stepped closer, Mrefu gave her an approving nod. My heart soared. The two of them were allies. That settled it. Nan would somehow intervene on my behalf. Although it wasn’t very Necromancer-like of me to show such emotion, I couldn’t help it. I grinned. “I can’t believe you’re alive!”

  Nan merely stared at me, an unreadable look on her face. I decided to keep talking. Nan was a total chatterbox. If I spoke enough, she would definitely join in. For their part, the warriors kept their weapons aimed at my throat. I did my best to ignore them and press forward. It seemed that no one was giving them the order to shoot, which I took as a good sign.

  “What happened to you?” I asked. “How did you come back from the dead?”

  Even though I asked the question, I already knew one possible explanation. Recently, I’d raised thousands of Necromancers from the dead during a battle with Viktor. But all those mages had skull markings on their faces. I carefully inspected Nan’s skin. Perfect ebony. It was almost too ideal, actually.

  I worried my lower lip with my teeth. Perhaps someone else had raised her from the dead, removing any imperfections along the way. That wasn’t an easy spell to cast—and there were few Necromancers left around who could even attempt it—but the magick certainly wasn’t impossible.

  Nan raised her arm. “Shoot!”

  I still had some magick left in my body after the battle with the Rushwa. I now focused that power into my arms, ready to deflect any arrows.

  Leaping to stand, Mrefu stood before me, blocking the attack. With a series of roars, he out a set of counter-orders. The warriors didn’t release an arrow.

  Mrefu was my new favorite person.

  Still ignoring me, Nan rounded Mrefu. “You heard my order. They must shoot this intruder.”

  I returned my focus to Nan. When I spoke again, I hated the quiver that had crept into my tone. “Please. You are my friend, aren’t you?”

  Nan kept her gaze locked with Mrefu. “I saved your life from the Rushwa. You owe me. Do it. Order them to kill her.”

  Mrefu let out a low growl; Nan replied with a similar set of noises. I had the sinking feeling they were discussing whether or not to skewer me. Did I think that things were not going well before? The situation had just gotten a lot worse.

  “Nan, it’s me. Elea. Don’t you recognize me?”

  “I know who you are,” said Nan slowly. “You’re a spy for Viktor and Petra.”

  My eyes widened with surprise. “You’re wrong. I came here because I need to find the Sword of Theodora so I can kill Viktor when he attacks. I was told you knew where this weapon was hidden, or at least where I could find part of it.”

  Nan tilted her head. “So, you’re against Viktor.”

  “Of course. Viktor is raising an army. We must stop him.”

  “And what about Petra?”

  Even hearing the name of my old Mother Superior made me flinch. “Petra and I are enemies now. She wanted me to rule the Necromancers. I refused.”

  Nan stared at me for a long minute. “I don’t believe you. Petra tried to force me to learn Necromancy.”

  “Yet you didn’t want to learn.” Nan always had some raw Necromancer power, but zero desire to develop it.

  “How can you say that? Of course, I didn’t want to learn. Who wants to be a death mage? And because I refused, you ordered Petra to murder me.”

  “That never happened. I didn’t rule the Necromancers. Never have. I’m not your Tsarina.” I set my hand on my throat. “And if I did accept the throne, they’d kill me. In fact, they have a plan to end my life when the Martyr’s Comet vanishes.”

  “Like I’d believe that.” Nan folded her arms over her chest. “Petra cast spells. She showed me that she was only acting on your orders. You’re the secret Tsarina of our people and you ordered me dead.” She turned to Mrefu once more. “Kill her.”

  All the air sped from my lungs. It was as if someone had punched me in the stomach. Nan was my friend—we’d been imprisoned together at the Midnight Cloister. I’d never have survived without Nan’s sharp mind and sunny outlook. And now she wanted me dead?

  “You can’t mean that,” I blurted.

  However, Nan wasn’t paying any attention to me. Instead, she was locked in a growling match with Mrefu. I thought back
to my encounter with Mlinzi and Walinzi. They’d talked about Nan and the exiles. Had she been banished out here with other Necromancers and then somehow became allied with Mrefu and his people? That would explain how she spoke their language and had a blazing hatred of Petra.

  Nan let out a louder growl than usual, and Mrefu quieted. At last, she returned her attention on me.

  Pure rage gleamed in her eyes. “I’ll be kind, which is more than you did for me.” She turned to the warriors. “Mrefu is right. While I rescued you from the Rushwa, Elea murdered the last of their kind.”

  The warriors all lowered their weapons. Hope sparked in my chest. Maybe I could turn this around after all.

  I took a half-step closer to Nan. “I appreciate your kindness.”

  Nan flashed me her palm. “Go from this place. And when you see Petra, give her new orders. Tell her to leave us alone. Mrefu and the Zaidi have enough to do without fighting all your assassins.”

  “Petra is not my ally. If she’s sending people here to kill you, I’ve had no hand in it. It’s the truth, Nan. I’m not Tsarina.”

  “So leave anyway.”

  “I can’t. Not without the Sword.”

  Nan eyed me for a long moment. “I still don’t believe you. Petra warned us that eventually, you’d come to kill us.” She gestured toward my left hand. “How long before you cast a spell and murder us all? The Zaidi help us, they don’t deserve to be brought into our mage squabbles.”

  “If I wanted you dead, I’d have cast already.” It was a lie, but it was the best I could do.

  Nan sighed. “I’m part of a group of exiles now. This isn’t just about my life. I have responsibilities to the other exiles and to the Zaidi.”

  “And I have responsibilities to every soul in our world. Please. Jicho and I came a long way to talk to you. I need the Sword of Theodora to fight Viktor. That’s the entire truth. If you’ve any trained Necromancers in your group, they can even cast an honesty spell on me.”

  Nan narrowed her eyes. “We all refuse to get trained in that dark magick. That’s our problem. Petra must have told you.”

  “Petra has told me nothing. And whatever she told you about me? Lies. In fact, the woman tried to lock me up and force me to rule.”

  “She tried to lock you up?” With that question, some of the tension seeped out of the air. A wisp of a smile curled Nan’s mouth.

  “She tried,” I answered. “It didn’t work for long.” I answered her grin with one of my own. The weight of worry on my shoulders seemed to melt away a little bit. This was good. Nan and I were sharing smiles. That had to mean something.

  Mrefu let out more growls. Nan listened and nodded. This time, I felt certain that things were going in a better direction. “Mrefu says there is one in his tribe who is strong with hybrid magick. Kila Kitu. He’ll determine if you’re worthy to live.”

  The connections formed quickly. First, there was the bubbling tar-like skin of the Rushwa. After that, I pictured Mrefu’s hybrid magick. Finally, I remembered the words of the Sire and lady once more. “Hybrid power always corrupts.”

  Words tumbled from my mouth without my meaning to speak. “Do all the Zaidi wield hybrid magick?”

  Nan shrugged. “To some extent. They don’t use it often, though.”

  “Why? Is it because it turns them into corrupted monsters, like the Rushwa?”

  “They don’t cast spells like you do. They merely use the power to enhance what they do anyway, like using the bows and arrows.”

  “So they can’t get corrupted because they don’t cast spells.”

  “It’s not that. Becoming corrupted has to do with intention, not the magick itself. If you use it for evil, it corrupts.” Nan’s features gentled. “I’m guessing you’re nervous about meeting Kila Kitu, don’t. He’s been in control over his power ever since it was gifted to him two thousand years ago.”

  Despite the jungle heat, my blood chilled over. “And who was that?”

  “You don’t know?”

  When I spoke, my voice was a hoarse croak. “Was it another Tsarina named Elea?”

  Nan nodded slowly. “She came to these lands two thousand years ago, at the time of the last Martyr’s Comet. Before she made her sacrifice, the Tsarina created the Zaidi.”

  “She taught them Necromancer runes.”

  “The runes are from the Zaidi.” Nan chuckled. “It was the Zaidi who taught their language to your people.” Nan stepped closer and gripped my upper arm. “You really don’t know any of this?”

  “I’m learning and for the record, I’ve no plans to be a sacrifice.”

  “Don’t you won’t be Tsarina?”

  “So I can die to heal some gateways? No thank you. There has to be another way. I think I can use hybrid magick to accomplish the same goals. Would the Rushwa know anything about it? Any kind of hybrid spell could help.”

  “No, as I said, they don’t cast like you do. But if you really want to avoid the prophecy of the Martyr’s Comet, then you should hide. If you don’t sacrifice yourself before the end of the Blood Comet, then they’ll take someone else. And there’s another super-power Necromancer out there. Until you take the reins of power, the job of dying is technically his.”

  “You mean Viktor.”

  “The man is evil and deserves murder anyway.”

  “I’ve looked into it, believe me. But that would mean setting Viktor loose from the realm where we imprisoned him, getting the Sword, and killing him at the right moment…Assuming he attacks first, since I won’t kill in cold blood.”

  Nan smacked her lips. “I can see that plan has limits.”

  “Also, Viktor is in league with the Sire and Lady. They all want me to be the sacrifice.”

  Nan scrubbed her hands over her face. “That settles it. You cannot stay here, and you must never get your hands on the Sword of Theodora. It’s for your own protection, Elea. That Sword is hidden for a reason. You simply must go. Maybe catch a gateway to another world.”

  Mrefu replied with another low grunt.

  “Really?” Nan lifted her brows. “You still think we should take her to Kila Kitu?”

  Mrefu nodded.

  I rested my hand atop Nan’s grip. “Please. Take me to Kila Kitu. Can he show me where to find part of the Sword?”

  “If he decides that you’re worthy, then he’ll give you the Sword’s hilt.”

  I scanned the night sky. The Martyr’s Comet was starting its slow arc toward the horizon once more. I had perhaps a day and a half left. “If I find the Sword, I’ll know how to heal the gateways. Let’s go.”

  “You don’t understand. Kila Kitu is a mage like no other. It won’t be pleasant.” Nan lowered her voice to a plaintive tone. “Just leave and hide.”

  “No. Take me to Kila Kitu, only...” I gestured toward the MAJE. “I want Jicho to go with me.” It wasn’t a great idea to take a young boy to see a strange mage, but leaving him alone in the jungle wasn’t ideal, either.

  Mrefu grunted again and Nan translated. “Mrefu says that the boy must not join us. Kila Kitu won’t like it.” She tilted her head, sending her long braids swinging. “Mrefu’s role in the community is to act as liaison to Kila Kitu. If Mrefu says to leave the boy behind, then it’s for the best.”

  I sighed. “I don’t like the idea of leaving Jicho alone.”

  “The Zaidi will keep the boy safe.” Nan straightened her stance. “You can cast a truth spell on me, if you like.”

  That settled it. If Nan was willing to subject herself to a spell, then I felt confident Jicho would be fine. “A truth spell won’t be necessary. I trust you.”

  “Good.” Nan scanned the river. “We must move quickly. We need to return before anyone else arrives.”

  The muscles of my back tightened with worry. “Who else is coming?”

  “Someone.” Nan shrugged again. “We don’t know who is on your trail, though. They’re rather stealthy.”

  Stealthy in the jungle? No doubt, Rowan and his Caster
army were behind us. Not that I would share that theory with Nan. It had been hard enough to get her to take me to Kila Kitu. I didn’t need any distractions.

  That said, my list of worries was growing quickly. Right now, I had a mysterious new mage to confront, a missing Sword to find, a Caster army to worry about, and my own neck to save. And I’d only get the Sword hilt if this Kila Kitu said I was worthy.

  Whatever that meant.

  “Follow us,” said Nan.

  I cast a longing glance at the MAJE. Normally, I’d chat with Jicho before leaving. He was definitely hatching a plan when he scurried below deck. Sadly, there wasn’t time for any discussion right now. I needed to follow a hybrid man and my ex-friend deep into the jungle in order to meet a mysterious mage. And just to prove how risky my life had become, I thought this was a positive shift in my circumstances.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Leaving Jicho and the MAJE behind, I followed Mrefu and Nan past the dozen or so Zaidi who were standing outside the jungle proper. After that, the three of us stepped past the sheet of vines that marked the border into the deeper jungle. Once inside, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lower light. Only a few beams of silver brightness cut through the heavy cover of trees, casting odd shadows on the muddy ground.

  There were Zaidi everywhere.

  If I’d been surprised to see Mrefu, I was outright shocked to discover that there were literally hundreds of his people waiting nearby. I spied men and women, tall and short, and all of them covered in varying shades of gray fur with heavy forms atop their heads. Every last one of them stared at me as I walked past.

  Mrefu, Nan, and I soon passed the larger group of Zaidi. Around us, the jungle trees grew heavier with fern-like leaves. Within a few minutes, we reached a small clearing that centered around a raised stone disc. At one point, this circular rock had once been covered in Necromancer runes, but that pattern had long ago been worn away.

  Crouching down, Mrefu gripped the huge disc and shoved it aside to reveal a stone walkway that led underground. He lifted his chin and made another growling sound.