She entered her sitting room; the doors as they closed drowned out the screams of those that just found the boy’s broken body. She did not care. She would not need to explain herself to any. She was Lady Red of the great House of Red, affairs to protect the Realm where hers alone. Yet at the moment, Saledii was more concerned with the stranger that stood near the window who was cloaked in a beautiful slate robe. Immensely tall, the hooded stranger stared out the window.
“Have you found what was needed?” Saledii asked.
“A poison so rare, no known cure exists?” The voice that called from the stranger was deep and rough, “Yes.”
Saledii approached with quickness to her step. The individual removed a crystal vile from an inner pocket with gloved hand. The vial with its cork glistened in the sun, but the poison it held was putrid green. So thick, that no light passed through. Purple bubbles could be seen moving about within the poisonous liquid. Saledii reached for it, but the hooded stranger pulled away playfully, “Payment, Lady Red.”
“I have paid your price already,” Saledii reached again, but the hooded figure vanished before reappearing behind her.
“Another payment is required if the intended target is to be subdued.”
“Always one thing or another with you, isn’t it?” Saledii turned and let out a huff.
The stranger she could tell smiled at her, “I did not make the rules, Rose Red.”
“And what payment do you require for the death of Lord White?”
“Lord White? Why in this great realm do you wish him harm?” The cloaked figure asked. The voice that called from under the darkness of the hood was no longer deep, but high. The voice ran through Saledii as nails upon stone. A deep chill, but she tried not to shake. She did not want the creature before her to know its voice was unnerving.
“My reasons are my own, Fairy,” Saledii hissed.
The Fairy began to put the crystal vial away, “No reasons are our own, Lady Red. All is done at the whim of destiny and fate.”
With another huff, Saledii continued, “to make Snow and I equal once more. So she can understand the choices one must make for her people. To bear the hardship and weight of those decisions upon her shoulders!”
The cloaked Fairy, she could tell smiled from under the hood, “Then all I require are the missing pages from the spell book.”
Saledii inhaled sharply, “But my Magic Men need those pages to—”
“Not all of them,” the Fairy threw a finger into the air, “Merely the one to Call upon the Moon. You stole other pages because you thought them needed. Such as the Binding Spell, which you have placed upon this very room.”
The Fairy with a flick of the wrist was able to dispel all the magical incantations that Saledii had placed upon the room. Every last rune, and magical symbol the pages described glowed as bright as the sun. Saledii squinted as they shattered, and snowed down gently. The magic numbed Saledii’s skin softly. Soon the sparks disappeared as embers do, into nothingness. Saledii’s lips were pursed as she stared deep into the Fairy,
“Clever, Fairy.”
“I would say the same, were I not already bound,” the Fairy spoke, and Saledii’s ears perked up, “but I digress from my tale, the pages stolen for the poison? Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” Saledii’s words echoed like thunder.
In a flash brighter than lightening the Fairy was gone. Saledii fell to the closest chair and cried. Cried for her choices she had made. For the destiny she placed upon herself and Marguerite.
Their fates their own, but destiny’s bound.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Months have passed since the death of Lord White. A ceremony Saledii refused to attend, for her own guilt prevented her from leaving her own quarters. Though it was in that darkened chamber she mourned the passing of Lord White, and her actions.
Months have passed, and Saledii and Marguerite were once more equal in all regards, each a ruler of their own, fair city. Though communication became less and less between them. Trade maintained for tradition alone, and Zhan’ding’s war to exterminate the Wolves grew more intense and desperate with each encounter.
It was during this time, within a windowless tower that Saledii stood silent as a statue. Deep amethyst gown flowed down and ended in sparkling sequins of emerald. Silver trims twirled like stars fallen to the world below. Her fire red hair was pulled back and wrapped in a copper claw that looked of frozen fire, though the way it naturally curled, it looked like a bush on fire. Arms folded before her chest. A relatively large emerald hung just below her collarbones. Nine torches hung upon the wall, giving as much light as they could spare to the room.
Before her, engraved within the grey stone floor was a white pentagram within a double circle. Saledii’s pumpkin eyes stared at the pentagram with great intent, but not the intent of learning. Within the double circle, the most ancient of magical runes, the language long forgotten by Human tongue. The air in the tower, while stuffy, had a strange electric feel to it. It tingled the base of Saledii’s skull. The energy made her fidget uncomfortably. Her lip twitched lightly, and she constantly moved her head around. Saledii had felt this air before. Long ago, when she was but a child, in the cave with Snow White. She ignored the sensation then, even lying to her once close friend, and she ignored it now in the tower.
Her Magic Men stood silent around the encased star. All dressed in thick black robes, tufts of grey fur were delicately sewn to the trims of both sleeve and hoods. Silver was strewn throughout causing the black to look mist lit by the full moon. They, who have had some luck deciphering a most ancient text. A page ripped from the Queen’s spell book by Saledii’s hand herself.
It was illustrated with a silver moon, whose ancient paint chipped and cracked slightly. Bright rays shone downward from the cloudless star-filled sky. The page taught how to create artificial moonlight. Runes were crafted and drawn along the floor.
The House of Red has looked for a weakness in the Wolves for centuries, and found it, in the light of the full moon, which shines but once a month. This ancient page to Rose Red seemed designed specifically to deal with the Wolves. As if the creator of the book, had first hand knowledge of how the Wolves developed. She herself did not look too far into it. She didn’t care. She only knew it was a way to deal a crippling blow to the Wolves, that’s all she wanted. She wanted to remove the realm of the scourge that was those wretched beasts.
Saledii had looked over the page herself dozens of times. Though they have since disappeared, much to the disappointment and confusion of her Magic Men.
“What is the progress?” Saledii grew impatient and demanded of the closest Magic Man. Her head never looked directly at him.
“We have become quite adept at Calling the Moon,” the oldest of the Magic Men bowed to Saledii as he spoke. His grey hair ragged, but kept mostly hidden under a hood. Hands folded before his stomach.
“How successful?”
“Well, we have not tested it on an, actual Wolf,” another spoke. “But in theory.”
“Shall we change that?” Saledii stated coldly and snapped her slender fingers. A guard approached.
“What do you mean?”
She ignored the Magic Man that spoke. She leaned her head back slightly, but never removed her gaze from the circle before her.
“Bring the mongrel,” Saledii demanded.
The soldier bowed and obeyed. Armor clanked as he disappeared. The Magic Men chattered amongst themselves as they waiting patiently in the lingering silence that pervaded the tower. Saledii paid their words no mind. Her pumpkin eyes merely stared coldly and blankly at the double circled star. She stared at this for sometime while the Magic Men whispered amongst themselves before a prisoner from the dungeons was brought forth. A Wolf.
He was worn and tired.
Saledii barely moved to the side. She pointed sharply at the circle before her, “In the middle!”
The guard trudged along with the creature behi
nd him. Saledii snapped her finger thrice more, “Faster, fool!”
The Wolf was drug by a thick silver collar and heavy linked chains. He huffed and whimpered. The beast slid across the floor. The guard placed him in the center as ordered by Lady Red. The metal links dropped to the floor. The noise they made, deafening in everyone’s ears. Saledii rubbed her temples before staring deep into the Wolf. The beast could barely stand, or move. Starved, and stabbed, the creature was broken.
“How?” A Magic Man asked stepping forward cautiously. Extended hand shook horribly.
“We captured this beast days ago. It was spying. Having snuck in during the last full moon. Isn’t that right gorgeous?” Saledii pet the air around the tortured Wolf. He tried to growl and show his teeth, and snap of his jaw. With sharp ring upon her finger flicked her hand across the creature’s snout. The creature stumbled and fell sharply upon his side. Ribs shown through its sagging skin, patches of fur were missing. Breaths heavy. Blood stained his fur. The beast was missing a back paw. It had recently been cut off, for the wound was still fresh, even though it no longer bled.
“It is clear now,” a third interjected as he shuffled forward. “No wonder Wolves have increased their attacks upon the city recently!”
“No!” Saledii grabbed the Wolves jaw and held it tight in her grip. Bright ruby nails deeply dug into the creature’s tender skin. Blood trickled down her slender fingers. It dripped and pooled at her feet. The beast whimpered terribly, but had no energy to fight. “You are incorrect,”
“If they choose to invade my city, and are caught, it is only fair that their spy is done with as I see fit!” Saledii barked. She barely looked at the Magic Men that circled around the outer ring. She dropped the tired, broken Wolf.
A guard approached and wiped her hand clean, “Now proceed!”
“P-proceed?” A Magic Men stumbled forward, “My Lady?”
“That is what I said,” Saledii bellowed to the Magic Men, “Show to me, that the valuable resources I have invested were allocated properly. Produce that which will render the Wolves vulnerable. Call the Moon.”
They cowered, but obeyed their ruler.
The nine black-cloaked men surrounded and circled the Wolf whose heavy chain kept him upon the ground. The beast tried to move. They chanted, hummed, and murmured. Saledii did not know the words, nor did she care to learn.
The magic was beyond her. She only prayed to Abadius it worked as her Magic Men promised it would.
Hands moved and swam in the air. Silver particles that glow of moonlight and behave as mists appeared. They came from their fingers, their robes and the fires that lit the uncomfortably stuffy room. The particles followed the Magic Men’s movements before hanging still in the air. Ripples and currents undulated throughout the air. The sparkling silver dust swirled and danced around the Magic Men. It all glowed beautifully soft. Torches diminished away to mere embers.
One after another the Magic Men twirled. Silver dust formed and flew from their black robes. As the chants, songs, and murmurs peaked, they each rolled their hands rapidly before them. The mist that hung gathered in a bright sphere near the ceiling. It pulsed and glowed brilliantly. A bright blast of light caused Saledii to shield her eyes.
Then at once, the nine stopped their chant and their movement. Arms lowered. Their heads bowed. Before all, the magic worked.
The Magic Men had called the moon. It shone in all its pearl white beauty. A great halo extended outwards, illuminating ancient runic writing carved throughout all the stone of the tower. The signs and symbols all glowed a dull aqua.
The moon’s light shone down upon the tired, tortured Wolf. Copper eyes grew wide. Black iris overtook all the color. The creature convulsed and shook. Foam formed and dripped at this mouth. Great strings of drool glistened in the moonlight.
Saledii through squinted eyes possessed a smile that encompassed the entirety of her face. With folded arms she watched the Wolf lose what was left of its fur. The strands melted away before they touched the cold stone floor. The creature’s joints reformed. Twisted about. A great howl left its jaw before it turned into a scream, which chilled the very blood of the Magic Men. When all was done, before Saledii sat a naked man, his brown hair curly, and damp, with genitalia that hung low and caressed the cold stone floor. It sickened Saledii how much the sight of his cock aroused her. The man’s eyes were green. Ribs visible. Long fresh scars opened and bled across his back, stomach and legs. His left foot was missing, the bone still visible through the stub just above the ankle. He was hunched due to the heavy collar still attached to his neck. The beast breathed heavily, his voice horse and croaked from hours of torture,
“What magic is this?”
Saledii applauded the Magic Men as she walked swiftly towards the creature still chained to the floor, “Very impressive. It seems not all the magic in that spell book was useless.”
“None was useless, Lady Red,” a Magic Man stated, “merely difficult to translate, and decipher.”
“I do not care,” Saledii dismissed with a wave of her hand the Magic Man who bowed and scuttled back. She herself bent down before the naked man. The creatures copper hair curly and damp. Skin raw and pink. Blood ran in small trails.
“What magic is this?” The creature asked again.
“Ancient magic. The creator of which seemed to have intimate knowledge of you vermin,” Saledii pet the air around the creature. The stench of rotting blood stung her nostrils. Her stomach ran in circles. She wanted to vomit, “Now tell me Wolf, what I want to know.”
The Wolf, with green eyes and heavy breathes spat at the young ruler. He grinned, “I will tell you no more than that which you already know.”
Saledii clutched his sharp chin tightly between her fingernails and dug. He winced in pain from both sharp nails and raw skin. He tried to fight, but she held his head in place, very close to hers. Eyes locked upon each other, “very well.”
From near her ankle, Saledii removed a silver knife and with one swift motion sliced. Eyes wide as the cold steel slid from ear to ear. Crimson blood poured as he gasped for air. Spatters hit her face. She did not move, or flinch. She held tight to the man’s face. The beast regained fur. Snout grew long in her grip. His body contorted and joints reformed as he died. His copper eyes became dull.
Saledii released the Wolf, stood and stared at her Magic Men, “Burn this beast to cinders. Dispel that blasted moon, and prepare to cast it again. Captain!”
An older man, with salt and peppered hair appeared from the shadows. His crimson armor clanked as he approached, “Lady Red?”
“Prepare as many soldiers as possible, without compromising security. Find the caves where the Wolves dwell in those blasted woods, and destroy them. Magic Men, prepare yourselves!” Saledii looked at no one in particular as she barked orders. Her Captain bowed low.
“Us? Go to the Wolves?” One of the Magic Men stated stumbling forward. The fireball he conjured to burn the beast fizzled away in a puff of dark sulfuric smoke that stung his sinuses.
“Did I stutter?” Saledii glared at all nine men. Each cowered at her.
“No, of course not, but,” the same began to speak again.
Saledii’s lip pursed and eye almost twitched, “But what?”
“You need all Nine of us alive to have such illumination of the artificial moonlight,” the eldest Magic Man crossed his arms before Lady Red.
“For it to truly be effective in what you wish to accomplish,” another chimed in.
“I do not wish,” Saledii watched the moon fade away. The torches burst to life. “ I want!”
“Then you need all Nine of us alive, for what you want to accomplish,” the old man said, conjuring another fireball that he lobbed gently to the dead Wolf. The beast burst into flames.
“How many does it take for the spell to work?” Saledii questioned, taking a step forward through the blood of the Wolf. Her gown greedily drank in the blood.
“Three, but Nine is best, acc
ording to the book,” another sheepishly spoke. He cowered back when Saledii eyed him down.
A fourth stepped forward. His hands folded before his stomach, “Technically, any derivative of three will also work, my Lady. Any number past nine works best, but there have not been that many Magic users in the world for centuries, so with what we have—”
“Are you done babbling on?” Saledii rubbed her temples, stepping away from the pooling blood of the dead Wolf. The beast on fire made her skin wet with sweat, “There are nine of you total, yes?”
The nine Magic Men nodded their heads, to which Saledii continued to speak, “then do not babble on about derivatives if there are not more!”
“For-forgive me,” the Magic Man shrunk back into formation.
“Captain, make sure at least three remain alive to complete the task,” Saledii walked away. The bottom of her gown painted the grey stone red.
“As you wish,” The Captain bowed low.
“You cannot do this, Rose Red! Your father—”
“My father, does not rule the House of Red, I do,” Saledii spun, finger sharp, and point straight into the Magic Man who dare spoke, “And you will address me as such, Lady Saledii Pastalia Red. Your grossly familiar tone is unwanted and unwarranted. I have invested precious resources into all nine of you! You will do as I say, or hang for treason. We will deal a crippling blow to the Wolves and I will ensure that I am never seen as a coward before any Peasant!”
She turned again but stopped at her Captain,
“It is time to destroy the scourge that has become the Wolves. As my Father would have wanted.”
She left the tower her amethyst gown like a dark midnight clung to the floor drenched in blood. The Captain rounded up the Magic Men and prepared them for their journey. The body of the Wolf continued to burn for hours.
Bound by Roses (The Bound Series Book 1) Page 13
