Lindsay squealed and Lucian turned to see blood flowing from a cut on her cheek. The slash didn’t appear to be deep, but tears streamed down her face.
Lucian’s rage almost strangled his words. “Don’t hurt her—”
“I’ll cut her pretty face to fucking ribbons if you don’t pay attention. Now do like you’re told.”
Lucian laced his fingers on top of his head. He couldn’t see either his cane or his sword in the dark. All that remained before his eyes was Lindsay’s frightened features.
“Think you’re so goddamned high and mighty. I’m getting you chained, then I’m taking a chunk out of your ass for every tooth you’ve cost me tonight. You’re going to crawl every fucking step of the way back to Hadra, you piece of shit!” Speight dragged Lindsay with him as he moved toward his downed mount. “We’re going over to my horse, sweetheart, and you’re going to get my manacles for me. Blink at me wrong, Lucian, and I’ll put her eyes out.”
Lucian said nothing and remained perfectly still; he had no doubt Speight would carry out his threat.
“Did you hear me, Lucian?”
“I heard you.”
“I don’t think you answered me properly.” Speight’s blade flashed in the moonlight, and Lindsay gasped when Speight pressed the tip to the sensitive skin beneath her left eye.
Lucian gritted his teeth; he knew what Speight wanted. “I heard you, my lord.”
“I’m sorry, Lucian, that didn’t sound quite penitent enough.” A drop of blood cascaded down Lindsay’s cheek and she went rigid in Speight’s arms. “Try again.”
“I’m begging you, my lord. Please. Don’t hurt her.” He hated the pleading whine he heard in his voice. Yet he kept his hands on his head and his gaze on the ground. Lucian didn’t have to fake his subservience. He would crawl through glass if it kept Lindsay safe. “Please. Don’t hurt her.”
The tension left Speight’s stance, and he seemed mollified. For now. “That’s better. I like that. Sounds like you mean it. See?” The knife went back to Lindsay’s throat. “A little respect goes a long way.” He pinched Lindsay and she whimpered. “You’ll do well to remember that, sweetheart.”
The knife at Lucian’s belt taunted him, but he could do nothing unless Speight came close. If Lindsay could break away from him, Lucian would put an end to Speight. Five seconds was all he needed. Lucian tried to catch her eye, but Lindsay was mesmerized by the horse.
Speight reached his mount and scanned the field. “I don’t know where that cunt went, but when I find her, I’m going to rip her tits off. That was a damn fine horse.” He held tight to Lindsay’s wrist and bent to cut the horse’s throat.
His blade severed the horse’s jugular and the animal’s screams stopped. A hand shot out of the weeds and grabbed Speight’s beard. Rachael rose like a spirit to drag his head down and plunge her knife into his throat. The captain tried to put Lindsay between them, but the girl jerked her arm free and ran to Lucian.
Speight slashed wildly at Rachael with his blade. She let go of his beard and caught his hand. Her lip curled and she twisted her knife in his windpipe.
Lucian almost fell backwards when Lindsay flung herself in his arms. He pushed her face against his shoulder and rocked her gently through Speight’s death.
Speight lurched to the left, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He grabbed his neck, his hands wet and black in the moonlight. Air whistled through his torn windpipe and he fell into the weeds.
Rachael wiped the blade of her knife off on her pants and limped toward them. She favored her left side, and Lucian saw her shirt clung to her skin. The wound from last night had reopened. “Are you all right?” Rachael asked.
Lucian was glad the darkness covered his humiliation, and he bent his head so he didn’t have to meet her gaze. “We’re fine.”
Rachael located his sword and cane, then she knelt beside them. She put her hand on Lindsay’s back. “Lindsay?”
The girl pulled away from Lucian and touched her torn cheek. “I’m okay, I think.” She shuddered and looked back toward the Barren.
Rachael followed her gaze. Lucian observed their profiles and thought of lionesses on the hunt.
A faint noise penetrated the night’s quiet.
Lindsay whispered, “Listen.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
whom shall i fear?
A low, steady hum penetrated the silence. Lucian released Lindsay and gripped his cane. Rachael was beside him, her hand around his arm to help him rise. Just as he gained his feet, the sound rose in pitch to become the whine of the Barren’s flies. Lucian felt Catarina’s tainted essence seep around him. “No more,” he whispered.
They turned to face the Hell Gate.
The gibbous moon illuminated two figures cresting the rise of the hillock. Catarina perched on Cerberus’ back, riding the hound like a steed. The demon sniffed the ground and picked his path around the lingering resonance of Rachael’s enchantment.
They must have come through the Hell Gate, or perhaps his twin’s power had grown and she’d ridden the moon. How she’d reached them didn’t matter. Lucian tried to staunch his rising despair. She was here.
Rachael switched her knife to her left hand and drew her sword. She moved in front of Lindsay. “Get behind me. Give me room to move.”
“Lucian?” Lindsay stepped away from Rachael.
“Do as she says.”
Lindsay nodded and ran back several paces then stopped.
Lucian drew his sword and glanced at Rachael. “Stay behind me.”
“No.”
“Rachael.”
“I will not leave you.”
His desperation receded. She had her blind side to him, and he couldn’t read her expression. Her words were enough. He wouldn’t have to face his sister and her demon alone. Perhaps this time, he stood a chance; he returned his attention to his twin.
Catarina’s clear, beautiful voice sang a wordless lullaby Lucian remembered from their youth. She had hummed the same tune when she closed the door to his cell. A song of sleep; a song of death.
The wind carried the earthy-sweet smell of the grave as she neared. Her gown barely covered her nakedness. She wore her long dark hair like a veil to obscure her features. The pendant with her emblem swung between her breasts; the ravens’ obsidian eyes reflected the moonlight. Cerberus halted, his head swinging back and forth to view Rachael and Lindsay. Less than ten feet separated them.
“Have you missed me, Lucian?” Catarina asked.
Lucian placed himself between his sister and Rachael. “Go home, Cate.”
Catarina tossed her wild mane out of her face. For one terrifying instant, Lucian saw a thousand eyes sparkle across her features. The flies whined in a maddening crescendo. Lucian blinked. It had to be an illusion. The multiple eyes disappeared, and the chorus of flies waned.
Catarina slithered off the demon’s back; her bare feet sank in the mud. “You’ve led me on a splendid chase.”
He hefted his blade and took a step forward. “You could have stayed home.”
She smiled, her eyes glittering like shards of glass. “I think I’ll make you my fool.”
His next step faltered, and while he tried to convince himself his bad knee betrayed him, he knew the truth. She meant what she said and her power to terrify him had not diminished. No corruption was beneath her. She would make him her fool, paint his face, and force him into the streets to beg if it pleased her. To keep Lindsay safe, he’d do whatever his twin wanted, and she knew it.
Catarina’s smile broadened.
Lucian swallowed past the dry click in his throat and whispered, “I’m not going back.”
“Of course you are.” She touched her pendant. “I will dress you in motley colors and you will perform your crippled dance for my guests.” She capered in a tight circle, lifting her right leg awkwardly to mimic him. Tottering to a silent rhythm, she hunched forward, mocking his lumbering gait.
His face burned with shame.
He resisted the urge to fling the despised cane aside. Unable to bear the thought of Rachael’s pity, he kept his gaze on his twin.
“Good God,” Rachael whispered, “she’s gone mad.”
Catarina stopped her dance and folded her hands demurely in front of her. “Rachael. Sister of my heart. Mastema sends his greetings.”
Rachael said nothing, but Lucian could see her face now, and her eye narrowed to grow frigid with hate. She wouldn’t trade taunts with Catarina. Rachael’s weapon was silence, so he didn’t wait for her to retort. “Go home, Cate,” he said.
“And the foundling.” Catarina looked at Lindsay, who shuddered beneath the older woman’s glare. “Little Lindsay Richardson, pale as glass. I shall break you.”
Ice plunged through his chest. “Leave her alone, Cate.”
Catarina pushed Cerberus away from her. “Disarm Rachael. I want the girl.”
Lucian tried to block Cerberus’ path, but the demon trotted around him, heading for Rachael. The hum of flies rose in the night. Rachael summoned her soul-light into her blade. The resonance of her magic stirred within Lucian’s soul as she whispered, “‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?’”
“Fear me,” Catarina said as she advanced, “you one-eyed whore.”
Cerberus circled Rachael, growling low, but he didn’t attack.
Rachael glared at Catarina and her voice grew stronger. “‘The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’”
The light in her sword grew to a blaze, and Cerberus backed away. It was a magnificent display, but Lucian knew she couldn’t keep it up. As quick as his thought, Rachael’s light dimmed to a bare glow. She was exhausted.
Catarina turned to Lucian. “You have forsworn yourself.” She pointed to his hand where he still wore his father’s ring.
Lucian clenched his jaw. Whenever she felt threatened, she began a trajectory of arguments that circled around him. She never changed her tactics, yet he wasn’t prepared for the strength of the recollection.
He recalled his mother pressing the bloodied ring to his lips, forcing him to swear an oath that would be impossible to keep. He’d been a terrified child, and his mother had been half-mad with grief. The memory was so strong he tasted his father’s blood on his tongue.
Catarina’s power had grown, and she charged his memories with her own. Lucian remembered the smell of the herbs burning in the fire to sweeten the winter rooms, the odor of fresh thrushes on the floor. He saw his mother’s dark eyes, red with tears; could almost feel her face next to his.
He shook his head to rid himself of the remembrance, struggling out of Catarina’s spell. God help me, please. He saw a light in his soul and ran from the past toward the truth. He’d thought himself noble for always watching over his sister. All his life he’d taken the blame for her crimes, eased her emotional pain, healed her wounds, but she was never satisfied. She was a bottomless pit of need and he had nothing left to give. He’d been a fool.
When he looked up again, she had moved closer to him. She held something dark in her hand. “You swore, Lucian. You swore to watch over me all of my days.”
“And you descended into madness despite my vigilance!” He flung his cane aside and yanked his father’s ring from his hand. He threw it at her. “I am forsworn.”
The ring smacked her shoulder and disappeared into the mud at her feet. He no longer cared.
“She’s turned you against me.” Catarina jabbed her finger in Rachael’s direction. “Like Mircea turned everyone against father!”
“Stop it, Cate.”
“She used you to drive us apart at the Citadel. You allowed it to happen. She was always jealous of us. This is your fault, Lucian. If you had left her alone, I never would have given myself to the Fallen!”
“No.” That wasn’t true. Catarina had been drawn to the Fallen’s allure of power from the beginning. All she’d ever needed was an excuse.
“She’s bewitched you!”
“No!” His roar stunned her to silence. “It is you, Cate. It is your selfishness, your hate, your incessant demands! If anyone bewitched and drove me away, it is you!”
Catarina’s head rocked as if he’d struck her. Lucian shut his mouth. He’d gone too far. He saw it in her eyes. Fear stole his breath.
Behind him, Rachael continued her chant, and he heard Lindsay too. He attempted to concentrate on their voices, to enfold them in his heart, but their prayers faded. His twin held him locked within her murderous gaze. She would not let him go.
A fly brushed against his face and he waved it aside. He felt the flush of the Fallen’s power wash over him, a red wave of Catarina’s fury sent terror into his soul. The sound of flies thrummed through the air. Lucian summoned his soul-light and channeled it into Matthew’s blade. He looked toward the Barren where a great, black cloud rose into the sky. The cloud began to move toward them.
“I warned you.” Catarina’s pallid features swam out of the blackness. “Remember that, Lucian. I warned you not to estrange yourself from me.” She raised her arms as the cloud surged overhead. A clap like thunder tore through the air. The flies descended.
†
Lindsay saw the cloud fall toward them. Lucian’s panic filtered into her mind, then he shut her out. She remembered to shield her mind as he taught her. Catarina wouldn’t find her such an easy target again.
Flies landed on Lindsay’s hands and face and pain shot across her skin, especially where Speight had cut her. The flies bit her like they were trying to eat her alive. Their bodies quickly grew heavy with her blood. The familiar panic washed over her, but this time, she pushed it down.
Lucian cried out, and by the light of his sword, she saw tears of blood streak his face. The insects engulfed him. He dropped his weapon and fell, trying to scrape the flies off his face. Horror seeped into her. The flies were in his nose, crawling into his mouth; he couldn’t breathe.
Catarina laughed and kicked him in the stomach.
Lindsay shouted, but Catarina ignored her. She waved more of the flies away and tried to think. Her knife was gone, but maybe she just needed to stay out of the way. Rachael was here now.
Rachael moved toward Lucian. Cerberus darted between them, driving her back. She swung her sword at the demon. Cerberus easily pranced out of reach. Rachael favored her left side, and in the moonlight, Lindsay saw the woman was bleeding again.
Her sword no longer glowed and by her weak resonance, Lindsay knew Rachael couldn’t summon even the faintest magic. Lucian said the Katharoi had to rest between enchantments. The Fallen’s disciples used amulets to channel their power and didn’t need to stop.
Catarina kicked Lucian again, her necklace swung between her breasts. Lindsay’s anger raced through her veins and she focused on the amulet. The pendant glowed now as it had when Catarina attacked her and Lucian in the woods. That had to be where Catarina got her power.
At a command from Catarina, the flies rose into the sky and hovered over them. She stroked Lucian’s hair and whispered to him. Lindsay didn’t need to hear the words. Lucian coughed and retched, then shook his head. He wasn’t going back. Catarina’s lips were tight with rage; she straightened and brought her hand down. The flies descended again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lindsay saw Cerberus’ pallid form flash by on her right; the demon was only a few feet away. Rachael doubled over and gasped for air. Cerberus whirled and charged her again. She straightened and barely deflected the demon’s attack. Lindsay stumbled away from the pair and returned her attention to Catarina and Lucian.
Catarina picked up Lucian’s cane and swung it hard into his side. The mantle absorbed some of the blow, but Lindsay heard his ribs crack. Oh, God, she’s going to kill him. The same terror and rage Lindsay felt at the Melasur Bridge rushed through her veins. She focused on Catarina’s necklace and edged around the pair until she was behind Catarina. She’d messed up with Speight by hesitating. She wouldn’t screw up again. Lindsay ran tow
ard the woman.
Catarina swung the cane for another blow, and Lindsay launched herself at Catarina’s back. She hooked one arm around Catarina’s throat, then reached around and twined her fingers into the pendant’s chain. It was like grabbing a chunk of ice. The cold was so intense, Lindsay almost released the links, but Lucian gagged, and she knew she couldn’t let go now. Catarina would kill them all. Lindsay held on. Overhead, the stars wheeled as Catarina howled and whirled, trying to throw Lindsay off her back.
They crashed to the ground together, and Lindsay felt her arm slip. The bandages tore through her blisters and she cried out. She kept her arm around Catarina’s throat and her fingers intertwined in the chain. Catarina reached backward and her fingernails found Lindsay’s face. She dragged her nails through the open wound on Lindsay’s cheek, and Lindsay didn’t recognize her own voice. The sound that poured through her lips lay somewhere between a shriek of rage and the cry of a wounded animal. Tears gushed from her eyes, but she didn’t lose her focus.
She ignored the burning cold that seared her hand and wound her fingers in the chain until she held the pendant. Two ravens locked together. The pendant seemed the weakest where the beaks joined. The amulet glowed, and Lindsay concentrated on the necklace. She visualized the pendant breaking. Nothing happened. Some kind of spell fused the metal tight. Lindsay reached into her rage; she poured her grief and hate into her spell. Sweat drenched her hair.
Catarina’s elbow jabbed Lindsay’s side and pain flooded her chest. Lindsay directed all of her fury into her magic and envisioned the pendant snapping in half. She felt the metal give and the glow seemed dimmer. Come on, God. If I never do anything right again, let me do this. Please.
Catarina’s next blow caught the side of Lindsay’s head. Blackness edged Lindsay’s vision. No! I’m not done! She struggled to hold on to consciousness. Catarina grabbed the pendant and tried to wrest it from Lindsay’s grasp. They both held a raven’s body, and Lindsay gripped her half until her knuckles were white. She pulled and felt the metal give. The obsidian eye from Catarina’s raven fell into the mud. Lindsay grunted and yanked with every ounce of her energy.
Miserere: An Autumn Tale Page 27
