Eternal Conflict - Book 7 (The Ruby Ring Saga)

by Chrissy Peebles

  Tears started to well in her eyes.

  “You’re only seeing horrible visions because I’m locked up in here, just like you are, but you can change the course of events by letting us go. Please help us to change the timeline. Let us do what we were meant to come back and do, kick Ethano’s ass.”

  “It is too late, Highness.”

  “It’s never too late!” Liz fumed. “You just have to have faith. We can’t let Ethano murder all those innocent people, and I swear that we will protect you and your family. Our word is far better than his. He’s already proven that he is a bloodthirsty, self-serving, murdering tyrant. You have to do what you feel is right, in your heart.”

  “I acknowledge that I’m guilty of a horrible crime,” she said, “and that was listening to Ethano.”

  I held my hand out. “If you know that, then it’s time for a change. Come join the winning team. Change the future by letting us go, Helena.”

  She pondered my words for a moment and sniffled.

  I gently touched her. “Would you like to talk to Victor? He can tell you the detailed battle plans and strategies he hopes to implement to win our world back.”

  “That is not necessary,” she said.

  I smiled. “You can trust us,” I said. “Give us the second chance we desperately need.” The snow silently fell around us as I waited for an answer.

  She peered at me intently.

  “You know something you’re not telling me,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  “Please tell us.”

  “I cannot.”

  Liz sighed.

  She looked at me. “I wish I could tell you, my dear. I do, but I must let fate play out and not interfere.”

  “Are you helping Ethano?” Liz asked.

  “No. But Sarah plays a huge part in how this war ends. It’s why I must let you go, even if Ethano kills me for doing so.”

  “So it must be good?” Liz asked.

  “I see death and destruction. But you must fulfill your destiny.”

  “Is it my destiny to die?” I asked. “Are you freeing me to send me to my death?”

  “Would you do it if it meant getting your world back and destroying Ethano?”

  I bit my lip hard. “I would if I absolutely had too.”

  “But it’s not going to come down to that,” Liz said, patting her hand. “Right?”

  Helena shot me a blank stare that I couldn’t read.

  Finally, she smiled and reached for my hand. “As you said, let’s go kick his ass.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Liz said.

  Helena shot us a pleading look. “You are our last hope. I beg you to get our world back, to change the heinous future I’ve seen.”

  “I will,” I said. “I’ll fight with everything I have, for my baby, my king, and for this world.”

  Suddenly, in a flash, I felt myself falling, and I hit the ground hard. I sucked in a deep breath and sat up. When I returned to my senses, I looked around and realized we had all been abruptly evicted from the portal.

  A knight scrambled to his feet and hurried over to help me up. “Highness, are you hurt?” he asked.

  I smiled. “I’m great.”

  “Sarah!” Victor yelled.

  “Victor!” I shouted.

  I ran into his arms, and he spun me around as I kissed his lips.

  “It’s so warm!” Liz squealed, holding her arms out and looking up at the sky.

  Charles wrapped his arms around her, and they embraced tightly.

  Della stepped out from under the tree, into the open field. “The sunshine feels wonderful on my face.”

  “Yeah, this is nice. We fan finally unthaw,” I agreed.

  “Why did the witch set us free?” William asked.

  Victor glanced around at his knights, then back at me. “How did you do it?”

  “Well, let’s just say the witch and I had a little heart-to-heart talk, some quality girl time.”

  “You talked your way out of there? With a witch?” Della asked, suddenly appearing next to me.

  “I told her she’d be joining the winning team.”

  “Helena has a good heart,” Victor said. “I’m glad she did what is right. It also means she believes in us and that we have her support.”

  “We most certainly do. I want to help her get back home once this is all said and done.”

  “Of course, and she will be well rewarded for her service to the king and his beautiful queen,” Victor said, moving a piece of stray hair from my face.

  Chapter 8

  Liz and I had to retrieve the book, then join Victor in battle, so we trotted off on our horses toward Ethano’s castle. Our moles and spies assured us that Ethano was in battle and would not be there.

  When we saw the castle in the distance, my stomach knotted. The sight of it reminded me of all the nightmarish things Ethano had put me through. I remembered the terror I felt when I was about to be beheaded, and Ethano made me promise to spend the night with him to save Liz’s life. I shuddered at the thought, for that was something I never would have gone through with.

  “So? How do we get in?” I asked.

  “Hmm. Dress up as concubines?”

  I shook my head. “Not this time.”

  When we got closer, we cloaked ourselves so we wouldn’t be spotted. We tied up the horses and walked in the direction of the castle. We made our way right past a small group of guards, entirely invisible, though I doubt they wouldn’t have seen us anyway, because they were not paying much attention while their boss was away. Liz waved her hand right in front of one soldier’s scruffy face, and he didn’t even flinch. I motioned her to quit messing around and keep going.

  At the back of the castle, we easily climbed the towering wall. I spotted a woman there, and I instantly recognized her as the one who’d helped Victor when he was a prisoner here.

  “Look!” I said.

  “Hey! I recognize her!”

  “I think she’ll help us.”

  Before we even had time to come up with a plan, Liz had uncloaked herself and suddenly appeared. “Hello,” she said, startling the woman.

  The woman jumped up, but I uncloaked myself and tried to smooth everything out. “Don’t be alarmed,” I said. “I’m Victor’s wife. My name is Sarah.”

  She immediately ordered her guards to leave.

  “I am Gwendolyn,” she said. “I grew up with Victor.”

  “This is my sister, Liz.”

  We greeted each other, and she seemed to warm up. I knew she was quite fond of Victor, a very good friend of his. I knew that from my visions, if nothing else.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, darting her eyes around, as if she feared for her life. “Ethano will kill you. Most guards will inform him of everything, but those few I sent away are very loyal to me. I’ll call for them if you need any kind of help.”

  I stepped closer. “We won’t stay long. We just need to ask a favor of you.”

  “I would do anything for Victor. What does he want?”

  Liz went on to explain that Victor owed a favor to a man named Jackson, who came from our world.

  Gwendolyn didn’t seem to know much about Jackson or that he was fighting against her husband, so we made sure to leave all that out. “Ethano couldn’t care less about that old, dusty book,” she said. “He has no interest in sentimental things and heirlooms, and it only hurts him, reminding him of his precious mother.”

  It hurts him? So he has some shred of a heart after all, I thought. How could such a nice woman bed down with such a monster anyway? Talk about sleeping with the damn enemy. I took a calming breath, knowing I had to play nice, and smiled at her, hoping to camouflage my thoughts.

  “So he won’t miss the book?” Liz asked.

  “Not at all. In fact, he almost burned it last year. He asked me to dispose of it, but I just couldn’t. If it will help Victor, it’s all yours. I am loyal to him until the end.”

  “But you’re in the
middle,” Liz said.

  She cocked a brow. “Excuse me?”

  “I only mean…your loyalties are torn between two,” Liz explained.

  “Oh.”

  I smiled. “It’s just a phrase from our world.”

  “Well, it hurts being in the middle of Victor and Ethano,” she said. “We all grew up together, and I love them both.”

  “I imagine it is very difficult,” I said, trying to console her.

  “Victor can be stubborn like a mule.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, sister,” Liz said.

  Again, Gwendolyn cocked a brow at her. “Another set of your words?”

  Liz smiled. “Yeah. Sorry.”

  We talked for thirty minutes, and I was sure we had her trust. She led us to the place where ancient weapons and other artifacts were stored, but when we looked around, we saw no sign of the book.

  “It’s not here,” I said.

  She sighed. “Thieves broke in not too long ago. Perhaps they took it.”

  “Why would they want a book?” Liz asked.

  “They must have thought they could barter it for gold,” she said. “Do not fret. It could be elsewhere. Maybe Ethano moved it. But first, let’s check to see what was taken.” She left and returned a short time later with an ancient scroll. She rolled it out on the table and asked us to come over and examine it as she smoothed out the wrinkles. “This is a list of missing items.”

  My finger rolled down over the list until I saw a specific word. “What about this?” I asked, pointing at it.

  Gwendolyn’s eyes lit up. “Heirloom? Yes, that must have been the ancient book.”

  “Ethano’s mother stole it from her world when she was running from the immortals who wanted to kill her,” Liz said.

  Gwendolyn nodded. “Yes, I know. She said she was saving the book from dangerous immortals there, immortals who were killing and torturing people.”

  I sighed. “She probably was.”

  A man walked in and whispered something in Gwendolyn’s ear, then smiled politely and nodded at us.

  “Excuse me,” Gwendolyn said. “I will be right back.

  After Gwendolyn and the man left, I looked at Liz. “I think Ethano’s mother brought the book over knowing she was keeping it safe from evil. Can you imagine what those blue-ringed immortals would’ve done? I think she started out with good intentions.”

  “Well, you know what they say about the road to Hell,” Liz said.

  “Yes, but in her case, I think she got involved with a dangerous individual.”

  “Victor’s father?” Liz said.

  I bit my lip hard. “Yep, and she fell hard. I kind of understand, because I did the same thing myself.”

  “She had a child with him. I’m sure she never suspected her son would go down the wrong path and turn to evil.”

  “Of course not. No mother wants to think that. She thought Ethano would keep the book safe, but little did she know that she was leaving that precious book with a madman who would destroy cities and bring this world to its knees.”

  “She was trying to help, and it all backfired on her.”

  I let out a long, trembling breath.

  “What is it?” Liz asked.

  “I believe she was a good woman. She just fell in love with the wrong man, a tyrant, and her son followed in his nasty father’s footsteps. Did the same thing happen to me? Did I fall in love with a tyrant too? Will my son take a dark path? He comes from the same bloodline as Victor and Ethano, and both have terrifying pasts. The very blood that Ethano carries runs in my son.”

  Liz rubbed my back to comfort me. “No way. Alexander is not going to be evil.”

  “I’m sure Ethano’s mother thought the same thing about her little boy. She thought she could raise him with love and compassion, but it didn’t work. The tyrant blood was too strong in him, like a poison. Look what it did to Victor for all those years.”

  “But Victor overcame it. Look who he is now. He’s a loving husband and father, fighting to give his son a real future. Alexander will be nothing like his grandfather and uncle. There’s hope for him. As long as Ethano doesn’t raise him as his own, we’ll be fine.”

  “That will never, ever happen. As long as I have breath in my body, Ethano will not go near my son!”

  “Right, and if he tries, Victor will tread on him like the snake he is.”

  “I just want to raise a good boy,” I said, “an honorable man.”

  “And you will.”

  “I can’t let my son be like Ethano.”

  She smiled sincerely. “He won’t be. He’s gonna be the champion of the people. After all, he has your genes.”

  A group walked in and bowed deeply to us, which I found odd, since I didn’t think we had our royal status anymore.

  Gwendolyn looked at me. “I have discovered more about the theft. It seems the thief was after the glowstone.”

  I cocked a brow. “Glowstone?”

  “Perhaps you should talk to one of my knights. He can explain much better.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  A man stepped forward, and his eyes widened in fear as he told us about the account. “Whatever fought us, it was invisible. It sometimes appeared in the shadows, and when it did, we saw its glowing eyes and a hideous face. Somehow, it spoke to my mind and asked where the glowstone was. I was not aware of any such thing as a glowstone, but when I could offer the foul thing no answer, it threw me into the wall, and I saw nothing but darkness. My knights began to close in on it. I suppose it assumed the stone was locked in the chest, because it took that.”

  “And the book was in there,” I said, putting two and two together.

  “If it doesn’t care about the book and only wants this glowstone, maybe we can make an exchange.”

  Gwendolyn stepped forward, wearing a worried expression on her face. “We will not hand over the glowstone for a book that does nothing more than collect dust. The demon can keep the book, but we cannot hand over that stone!”

  Liz looked at me, and I sighed. Gwendolyn didn’t know the power of the book, and I wasn’t so sure we could tell her.

  “Where does the demon live?” I asked.

  “I cannot be certain,” she said.

  I sensed that she was lying. Clearly, she didn’t want me to get hurt because she loved Victor and knew if I died, he would also succumb. “We need the book, Gwendolyn,” I said. “It comes from my world, and it’s a treasured piece of history. I want to give it back to my people as a peace offering.”

  “I realize that, but I lost many knights obtaining the glowstone. It’s a rare find, and we have no idea what the demon wants it for.”

  “Then I will go find the creature myself,” I said.

  Liz grabbed my arm. “That’s a lousy idea! That thing could kill us, and the second it rips your head off, Victor will die on the battlefield. Is that what you want?”

  “No. I won’t let it kill me.”

  She shook her head. “You’re toying with his life as well as your own. Do you want to make your son an orphan? How could you do that to poor Alexander? Plus, if I go with you, Charles’s life will be at stake too.”

  “I know the risks, Liz, but it’s a chance we have to take.”

  “It’s insane. If this creature really has the book, Ethano will never get it back. I would say it’s in safe hands, and we should just leave it be.”

  I understood her logic, but I also feared leaving that book out there in the open. Any enemy could come at us with it and the amazing powers it contained, and we would have no way to fend them off.

  “I assure you Ethano couldn’t care less about that tome,” Gwendolyn said. “He will not even make an attempt to find it, for he has more important things to worry about. I have already told you that you may have it. If you will wait six months, until everything settles down, I will personally gather a team to retrieve it for you.”

  “We can wait,” Liz pleaded. “Six months isn’t that long. By t
hen, maybe Victor and Ethano will come to a peaceful resolution.”

  “Right, Liz. You know that isn’t going to happen. We have to get the book back now. It’s our only option. If it lands in the wrong hands—”

  She cut me off, giving me a look that let me know she was up to something. “Just let it be, sis. Patience is a virtue.”

  “Fine. I suppose it can wait,” I conceded, wondering what she had in mind.

  She nodded, then motioned over to the blond man. “Please tell her what you know so she will know to stay away,” she said.

  The man shook his head. “From the stories I heard about the theft, I believe it involves an immortal being who was cursed by a witch long ago.”

  “Cursed?” Liz asked.

  “Only one being I know of would want the precious stone, Armand Domontoes. He is cursed to drink blood, is bound to an ancient castle, and can only come out at night.”

  I swallowed hard. “A vampire?”

  “No. Rather, he is immortal, like you and I. He was an honorable man until the day he was cursed. Now he is a bloodthirsty monster, devouring the flesh of humans.”

  “Why does he need the glowstone?” I asked.

  “It’ll break the curse.”

  “So it would make for the perfect trade, one glowstone for one book,” I said.

  “He won’t trade with you. Instead, he will devour you and add your bones to the floor he walks on. Rumors have it, that the floors are littered with the bones of countless men.”

  “That’s enough,” Gwendolyn snapped. “I won’t risk Victor’s life like this. I must protect his wife, the woman he loves, at all costs, and I know Victor would agree with me. He will thank me for keeping you out of harm’s way.”

  “Then I will wait for help in a few months.”

  “It would be a great honor to help you and Victor,” she said. “I hope you know what a monster this creature is and truly stay away. I implore you to go back to your child and stay there until Victor reclaims his kingdom.”

  Liz looked stumped. “What about Ethano? If Victor wins, aren’t you worried he’ll kill your husband?”