“Defiance will not be tolerated,” she snapped.
“I. Will. Not. Comply.” With her fists clenched at her side, Samantha forced out each word with an effort.
“No matter. There’s more than one way to flay a demon.” Aurora beckoned to her guardsmen, who closed in on Samantha from all directions. “Take her to the dungeon.”
Nick’s breath blew out in a white gust. “I hate to admit it, but it’s growing more frigid in here. Aurora must be trying to kill us faster.”
“Not good.” Wills jumped up and down to improve the circulation in his numb feet. “I nearly froze to death on the Stairs of Tears, and I didn’t enjoy it at all.”
A glance of admiration. “You and Samantha climbed the Stairs? Your legs are stronger than mine.”
“Did you take the long way ’round?”
“No, I transformed myself into a rather large horse. When it comes to stairs, four legs are better than two.”
“You’re a wizard. Can’t you use some sort of magic to get us out of here?”
“Sadly, I’m impotent to do anything magical while I’m within the walls of Queen Aurora’s castle.”
The sheet of ice penning them in shifted to one side and Samantha was shoved inside the cell. Wills caught her before she could fall to the floor. As the ice wall slid back into place, he caught a glimpse of the eerily white guardsmen in the corridor.
“Are you all right?” Wills asked.
“Much better now that I know you’re alive.”
Nick peered at her. “Samantha, is that you?”
Samantha peered at him. “Nicholas?”
“Ha! Dressed like that I thought you were a lad! What an admirable disguise. I must say, those trousers are quite flattering.” Nick bowed gallantly and kissed her hand.
What a preening popinjay! Wills expected to find a look of disgust on Samantha’s face, but her lips were curved in a smile instead.
“Wills…er, I mean Joe, this is my cousin, Lord Nicholas,” she said.
“Distant cousins, actually,” Nick said. “Our nearest relation is our great-grandfather, so we’re hardly related at all.”
“There’s no need to dissemble, Samantha,” Wills said. “Your distant cousin and I are on a first name basis.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “Why are you locked up, Nicholas? I thought you and Julian were on friendly terms.”
“Nobody is on friendly terms with Queen Aurora, I’m afraid, and Julian is possessed,” Nick replied.
Samantha shuddered. “She has a knack for imposing her will on people.”
“I apologize for my part in this nasty scheme to bring you here. I can assure you it was unwitting…albeit naive.”
“That’s unimportant right now.” She stared at him, clearly taken aback. “Ice crystals have formed in your hair and eyebrows. We must escape before we freeze to death.”
Nick and Wills exchanged a helpless glance.
“If you have any ideas that don’t involve brute force, I’d be glad to hear them,” Wills said.
“My magic won’t work here, either.” Nick spread his arms wide in a shrug. “Once outside the castle, however, I’m at your service.”
Paper and pen in hand, Julian joined Aurora in the throne room. He glanced around, but Samantha was gone. “Did I miss something?”
“Your sister is defiant. As punishment, my guardsmen have taken her to the dungeon. We’ll see how long she can withstand the chill of my wrath.”
“I detected a bit of sentiment between her and her manservant.”
Aurora laughed. “Excellent. Perhaps Samantha will cooperate to save the man’s skin. It won’t be too long now before he begins to turn blue.”
The steward appeared. “Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty, but visitors have come. It’s Maggot and his men.”
Aurora’s even white teeth gleamed. “Excellent! They are bringing me the prince and everything is falling into place.”
Guardsmen escorted four ragged men into the throne room. Aurora’s blue eyes narrowed. “Where is Prince Wills?”
Maggot immediately sank to his knees. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but we don’t rightly know. We tracked him as far as Elturon, but he had a demon traveling with ’em.”
“A demon?” Julian scoffed. “Demons don’t travel with humans.”
“As you say, sir. But if we hadn’t run, the demon would’ve burnt the four of us to a crisp.” He held up his bare hands to show his red, oozing palms.
“A fire demon?” Aurora raised a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s absurd.”
The snaggle-toothed bandit cleared his throat. “Maybe so, but he looked like an innocent lad.”
The third bandit nodded. “Aye. He was old enough to be shaving, but his face was smooth like a girl.”
Aurora’s eyes narrowed. “What else can you tell us about this demon?”
“He was dressed as a huntsman and had an enchanted sling.” Maggot pointed at Julian. “His hair was reddish brown…like His Highness.”
“No,” Julian muttered.
“And he was willing to have his throat cut to protect the prince,” the snaggletoothed man said. “Odd thing was, the demon came with him all the way from Paloran.”
“It seems we already have Prince Wills in our dungeon.” Aurora laughed. “As easy as that.”
“How is it possible for my sister to possess the powers of a fire demon? I don’t understand.”
“All the elemental demons stem from a common source. She’s a throwback—a abominable freak of nature. If I could bend her will to mine, she would be a formidable weapon. As it is, Samantha poses a danger.”
With a rapid movement of her hands, Aurora shaped a long icy stiletto from thin air and proffered it to Julian. He gave it a wary glance. “What’s that for?”
“Kill Nicholas, Samantha, and Wills.”
Julian blanched.
“We’ll send their bodies back to their kingdoms with an appropriate story to match. The war we need will soon follow.”
Julian stared at the glistening stiletto and slowly shook his head. “But it’s Sam…”
Aurora fixed him with a stare. “You will obey me.”
Confused, his eyes glazed over. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Samantha cast a critical eye around the dungeon cell. Melting the cell door was easiest, but would likely result in alerting the guardsmen—and Aurora—to their escape. She focused on the narrow block of ice near the ceiling, which was crystal clear like a window.
“That block of ice is at ground level. If I can burn through it, we can get out.”
“You can’t burn through it,” Nick said. “I’m telling you, magic won’t work here. And since when are you a wizard?”
“I don’t work magic, exactly, but I can’t explain more fully right now.” She was loath to disclose her intimate connection with Aurora to Wills. Being part demon is worse than anything I can imagine. He’ll never look at me the same way again. “I can get us out of the castle, but I’m not leaving without my brother.”
“Julian isn’t the same man you and I once knew,” Nick said. “He’s been possessed by a demon. His soul is gone.”
“You can’t be certain of that!”
“Only one thing is certain at this point,” Wills said through gritted teeth. “Unless we get out of here now, we’re all going to freeze.”
“If we can reach the kingdom of the Fae, we’ll be safe from Aurora,” Nick said. “We’ll sort out what’s best to be done about Julian then.”
“It’s not too late to save my brother, Nick.”
“I truly wish I could believe you. He was a good friend to me before Aurora came along.”
The temperature was dropping rapidly. Wills and Nick were both in danger from frostbite, and her own fingertips were getting numb. “Let’s go. But I won’t give up on Julian. Not ever.”
Chapter Seven
The Fae
MINDFUL OF ACCIDENTALLY SETTING the whole dungeon on fire, Samantha caref
ully visualized a shaft of sunlight hitting the window. As she concentrated on melting the ice, beads of moisture began form and trickle down the wall. Not fast enough! What I need is a blast of fire—like a coal forge. Almost instantly the glass block vaporized, taking a large chuck of the wall with it.
Huddled on the far side of the cell, Nick gasped. “What sort of magic do you wield?”
“Never mind that now,” Samantha said. “Let’s go while we can.”
Wills positioned himself underneath the window. “I’ll boost you up first, Samantha, and then Nick. Pull me out last.”
“Let me go first so I can help Samantha,” Nick said.
“Just hurry,” Wills replied.
He laced his fingers together, but the opening was so high, Nick expended considerable effort to drag himself through. Wills was obliged to duck several times to avoid Nick’s flailing boots. Wills lifted Samantha up next. Although Nick got a good grasp of her arms, Wills had to shove her through with his hands on her behind. Wills’ escape was more problematic, since he weighed more than Nick. Outside the castle walls, Nick conjured a magic rope which assisted in the task. When they were free, Nick beckoned for Samantha and Wills to follow him.
“Let’s put some distance between us and the castle, and then we’ll make our way to the Fae kingdom.”
No sooner had they walked across the frozen moat, however, they were surrounded by bayonet-wielding guardsmen. Samantha groaned. “Why can’t anything ever be easy?”
With a sweep of her hand, she melted several of the enchanted guards. As their bayonets clattered to the ground, Nick reduced the remaining guards to crushed ice with magical force. Almost as soon as the guards were vanquished, however, a greater number formed from the mounds of snow. Wills picked up one of the bayonets to use as a weapon, parrying the guardsmen’s attacks with grace and skill.
Gray clouds roiled overhead in an unnatural fashion, and suddenly the three fugitives were enmeshed in a blizzard. Hail rained down from the sky, but there was no shelter to be had.
“We’ve got to get out of this snow if we’re to have half a chance,” Wills shouted.
“Easier said than done!” Samantha said. “The castle has its own defenses.”
“If you can clear a path, cousin, I’ll carry you and Wills to safety,” Nick said.
Before she could ask how, he transformed himself into a glossy black stallion at least twenty hands tall, and kneeled on his foreleg to allow Wills to mount. The prince in turn pulled Samantha up behind him. Her tongue of demon fire melted an open corridor. When Nick surged forward, she and Wills were nearly unseated.
Aurora’s unnatural army was a formidable obstacle to their escape. Wills made use of his bayonet and Samantha melted as many guards as she could, but as long as they were in the snow, it was a losing battle. Nick stumbled when bayonets found their mark, but recovered enough strength to leap over a squad of guardsmen and streak toward the woods. Minutes later, the three fugitives cleared the blizzard and plunged into the forest.
Although Nick valiantly carried his riders out of danger, at last he could go no further. He stopped in a sunny clearing and transformed into human shape as soon as Samantha and Wills dismounted. Nick’s face was white and drawn, and he was covered with blood.
“Nick, you’re hurt!” Samantha exclaimed. “Sit down before you faint.”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine…” With a soft groan, he lost consciousness, but Wills managed to break his fall.
Samantha was shocked at the extent of her cousin’s injuries. He’d suffered a gaping laceration to his ribs, several deep scratches, and other smaller puncture wounds to his thighs.
“He’s losing a lot of blood, Wills!”
“Help me get his shirt off. We’ll use it to make bandages.”
Her gaze flickered to the bloodstains on Will’s clothes. “And you? How are you faring?”
“My wounds are nothing.”
Wills’ lower legs had been largely protected by his tall boots, but he’d suffered a nasty gash just above the knee, and another long angry scrape on his right forearm. Nevertheless, he brushed off Samantha’s concerns as he helped her stanch Nick’s bleeding.
After the last bandage was tied, she stood. “There’s little more we can do for him, I suppose, until he wakes.” She scanned the forest for movement. “Aurora will send guardsmen in pursuit.”
“Maybe not,” Wills said. “Perhaps her powers are limited to the perimeter of the castle grounds.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” Samantha paused. “Which way is it back to the tunnel? I don’t suppose you have the map?”
“No. They took everything from me.”
“Never mind. I’m just glad you’re alive.”
“When Nick told me Aurora’s plans, I was out of my mind with worry. I’m so relieved you’re safe.”
He drew her into an embrace. Guilt pricked her conscience as she clung to him. If Wills knew what I really was, he wouldn’t want to see or touch me at all.
“Oh, I like that!” Nick sounded aggrieved. “I’m the one bleeding down here. Don’t I get a hug?”
Samantha and Wills sprang apart. Embarrassment brought a flush to her face as she knelt next to her cousin.
“You were amazing, Nicholas. How are you feeling?”
“Like a piece of skewered meat. I won’t be transforming for a while.” Nick glanced down at the improvised bandages around his bare torso. “I look rather like a trussed turkey, too, but I thank you quite sincerely for your ministrations.”
“How do we reach the Kingdom of the Fae?” Samantha asked. “Surely they can heal you.”
“We’ll have to go through the tunnel leading to the Stairs of Tears, and take the easternmost passage.”
“Even if we could figure out how to get back there, I suspect the tunnel will be guarded,” Wills said. “Can we reach the Fae kingdom another way?”
“That would be difficult. They don’t call it the Uncharted Region for no reason.”
“What do you mean?” Samantha asked.
“The tunnels outside the Stairs of Tears and through the Baltair Passage are enchanted to bring you to the right place. If you don’t know which route to take, you’d wander around the Uncharted Region for years and never get anywhere.”
“So if the tunnel is indeed guarded, we must fight our way through,” Samantha said.
“Even if I were at my full strength, I don’t think we can defeat an entire army of snowmen,” Nick said.
“We’ve got to try something.” Frustration edged Samantha’s words. “If your wounds become infected, you’ll die!”
A sudden sharp chill in the air made Samantha shiver. Fingers of frost were creeping toward them through the forest, icing leaves and branches along the way.
“Oh, no,” Samantha exclaimed.
“I don’t know how, but Aurora’s found us,” Wills said.
Samantha looked up to discover a raven circling overhead, like a vulture. Julian! A unpleasantly familiar voice rang out. “Kill the demon first!”
Maggot and his men surrounded them, crossbows at the ready. Arrows were let loose, and Wills crumpled to the ground. Samantha staggered backward, as if some invisible force had shoved her in the shoulder. Baffled, she glanced down at a spreading circle of red on her tunic. An arrow had passed through her body just underneath the collarbone and pinned her to a tree. Her visceral scream split the air, causing the creeping layer of ice to retreat. Samantha reacted like a caged animal. Burn, all of you! The four highwaymen burst into flames and vaporized before any of them had the chance to cry out.
The raven landed several yards away and transformed into her brother. His expression was menacing as he brandished a long ice dagger.
“Julian!” she cried.
Samantha grasped the shaft of the arrow protruding from her body, but she hadn’t the strength to break it. Unable to flee, she was helpless to do anything except watch him approach. His arm raised up with the dagger in hand, pois
ed to end her life.
“Don’t do this, Julian,” she gasped. “I love you.”
Torment contorted his features, and his arm began to shake. With her last bit of strength, Samantha melted the dagger. Rivulets of water streamed down Julian’s upraised arm, splashing onto his face and moistening his tunic. The sensation seemed to wake him from his trance.
“Sam?”
Her hope was rekindled until Julian reached for the knife hanging from his belt. Her lips tried to form her brother’s name one last time, but dizziness overcame her. As she finally began to lose consciousness, she felt a sense of relief. It’s just as well. I’d rather not watch as my brother kills me.
Wills lay writhing in agony with an arrow in his lower back. Samantha’s pleas to Julian lent panic to his misery. I must help her! Despite the pain, he forced himself to stand. Nick was dragging himself toward his cousin in a desperate attempt to come to her aid, but Julian had already cleared a steel blade from its leather scabbard. With a roar, Wills launched himself toward Samantha’s brother and brought him to the ground. The blade flew from his hand and landed in the brush. As Wills raised his fist, Julian grabbed his arm.
“Stop! We have to cut Samantha down. She’s stuck to the tree.”
“It’s true, Wills. We must cut the shaft.” Nick was holding an unconscious Samantha up as best he could, but he was swaying with fatigue. “Hurry.”
Wills stumbled as he looked for the knife. Julian attempted to help, but Wills shoved him away. “Stand back, wizard. I don’t trust you.”
“It’s there.” Julian pointed to a metallic glint in the moss. “I won’t interfere, I promise.”
“Your promise means nothing.”
As Wills’ fingers closed around the knife’s haft, his knees gave way. With gritted teeth, he tossed the knife to Nick.
“Or for pity’s sake, let me help!” Julian exclaimed.
Clash of Wills Page 7
