The Destroyer Book 3

by Michael-Scott Earle

  "Did you love the O'Baarni man who called himself Kaiyer?"

  "Yes," I said softly, remembering his lips on mine, his scent, his smile, everything came crashing into me like a wave against the beach.

  "He is dead. You saw him die?" Her words were an arrow through my heart. The world spun and dove. I slowed my walk and tried to concentrate on not crying. I thought I was past this, but this strange woman pried loose the memory of Kaiyer's head rolling on the ground.

  "Yes." My eyes watered and I didn't say the word as much as choke it out. I wanted to go back to my room now. I wanted to be alone and mourn until my body left this world and joined his. But I needed to focus on Vernine and the walk to the kitchen. I didn't want her to think I was some stupid love struck girl.

  Then again, perhaps it would be better if they underestimated me.

  "Perhaps he is here watching over you." The woman put a hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. Her eyes seemed to glow evilly in the torch light while her mouth displayed perfectly white teeth, but the smile was friendly and her expression sympathetic and sincere instead of malicious.

  "I hope so." I sniffed and patted the edge of my dress sleeve against the corner of my eye.

  "He was an interesting one, your Kaiyer."

  "You knew him?" I turned to the woman and tried not to seem surprised. I knew that Kaiyer was held captive by the empress, but I didn't know how much contact he had with her people.

  "Yes. I knew him better than most of my people know his kind." She smiled cryptically. "My kin have a saying in our ancient language: ‘The most certain determines the outcome.’"

  "The most certain," I repeated and tried to wrap my mind around the concept without her explaining it further. After half a minute I gave up and asked her to explain what she meant.

  “If there are two warriors facing each other in a duel, the one who is most certain of victory will triumph. If two groups are engaged in a political debate, the one that is most certain they are right will win. This is why one must be extensively trained in any discipline they practice. You must have confidence in your ability and enough knowledge to achieve success.”

  "I think I understand. When I first learned to dance, I felt clumsy and could not perform the movements correctly. After enough practice, I had more confidence and I was certain I would do well at balls." I winced inside at my words. It was a reply I would have given a year ago perhaps, but I had changed. I didn't care about dancing anymore, or Vernine's philosophy, but I needed her to think that I did. I wanted her to think of me as a vapid princess with nothing on her mind but love, dancing, and parties.

  "Did you dance well because of the practice, or because the practice made you confident?" Vernine smiled a bit at her question.

  "The practice made me certain I would do well. I had repeated the movements hundreds, maybe thousands of times. I couldn't have been successful without the practice."

  "Perhaps you are correct. But one day you will have to do something you have never done, and you will be so certain of your success that your mind shall create the outcome you wish for."

  "Maybe."

  "No maybes. Only certainty." She smiled at me again. I laughed at her point and shook my head.

  "I like you, Vernine," I said sincerely. The Elven was emotionless, but she didn't seem dangerous, just mildly bored with babysitting me.

  "I like you too, Princess. I liked your friend as well. I bring up the certainty because he was the prime essence of that saying. He seemed to have no doubt in his mind that he was the actual Kaiyer. Even when we had him detained in our camp, completely at our mercy, he treated the situation as if he could crush us at any time. It was annoying, yet charming." She smirked and I realized that the woman did have facial expressions. They were just very slight.

  "He frustrated my brother as well. Once Kaiyer and I were having lunch and Nanos interrupted us. Kaiyer didn't appreciate the way my brother spoke to me and threw him in the creek." The memory made me want to giggle and cry at the same time.

  "That sounds like something he would do," Vernine said. "Here." We had reached the set of stairs that led down into the main kitchen. I had been here a few times in my life, mostly when I was a young girl and spent my days chasing Nadea, Nanos, and Runir around the castle. They would duck into the kitchen to steal treats or food and I would often get caught attempting to mirror their capers.

  The sound of thunder suddenly rang through the halls as if a storm cloud found itself inside of the castle. Vernine and I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up to the ceiling. It was hard to tell where the noise had come from, but it had definitely not originated in the kitchen.

  "What was that?" I tried not to sound afraid, but I probably failed.

  "Nothing that can't wait until after we eat." She shrugged nonchalantly and pushed open one side of the double swinging doors. I followed her into the kitchen and was surprised to see only Elvens in the room. They were wearing servant clothes, but in the empress's shade of green instead of traditional Nia purple.

  “Where are the human servants?" I asked.

  "They are in the West Wing's kitchen. The empress wanted her staff in the main kitchen until she had a chance to work out responsibilities with you and your family." The atmosphere in the room seemed tense and the gathered Elvens looked very relieved to see my escort.

  "Can you put together a meal for us?" Vernine addressed a black-haired woman with eyes that looked like an animal's.

  "Of course, Vernine. Do you or your human have a preference?" There was another loud sound of thunder and a few of the Elvens in the room gasped in complete surprise. The cook's face went a few shades whiter.

  "Whatever is fresh." The woman with ruby eyes completely ignored the sound and the obvious fear around her. I had to admit that her indifference to the noise made me wonder why the cooks and servants were so skittish. Elvens were so much stronger than humans, what could they have to fear?

  "I gave the other two humans some fish and vegetables. I can prepare the same for you and yours." The cook's big eyes darted back and forth between the two of us.

  "There were two humans in this kitchen?" Vernine asked.

  "Males. About three quarters of an hour ago. Just some servants delivering food to the duchess, or princess, or someone like that."

  "What did they look like?" Vernine seemed interested. Or at least, one of her gray eyebrows rose slightly.

  "Don't they all look the same?" The woman laughed and then cut short when she realized that Vernine either didn't get her joke or seem to care. "One had a dash of hair in between his nose and mouth. The other was much thinner."

  "The thin human; what color were his eyes and hair?"

  "His hair was dark brown. I don't recall his eye color." She turned over her shoulder and yelled something unintelligible to the men behind her, who promptly buttered an iron pan and began rummaging through cabinets.

  "We'll be done in a quarter--" Another boom, more like a series of rumbles, sounded distantly in the castle. This time the plates on the shelves rattled and the chandelier on the ceiling swung slightly.

  "What is going on?" All pretense of calm vanished amongst the cooks and they joined the woman at the table to beg Vernine for answers.

  "Probably nothing, you should go about your duties until instructed otherwise."

  Almost as soon as Vernine finished her words, the castle alarm bell rang. It was a horribly loud device, connecting almost two hundred flat gongs, large chimes, and cup shaped bronze bells to ring all at once across the massive castle. I was somewhat used to the noise as it was tradition to use it on the turn of the new year to test the device. But I had only ever heard it rang once before as an actual alarm, just a few minutes before I was kidnapped. The alarm I remembered was almost ear-splitting, but someone must have damped a few of the more aggressive bells. I could still hear the ring, and it was still loud, but it was less painful now.

  "Apparently it is far from nothing." Vernine
smiled. "You should all exit through the servants' doors and stay in your rooms until the alarm stops." The Elvens gathered in the kitchen seemed relieved to be given orders. I turned to watch their swift retreat and marveled at how quick and graceful their movements were. When they left I turned back to the gray woman.

  "What about us?" I tried not to let my nervousness show. My red-eyed escort still seemed completely at ease with the situation. I wondered who could attack the Elvens in our castle. Another group of Kannath's clansmen? Maybe they had come to our world looking for him and were extracting revenge.

  "I'm still hungry." Vernine flowed around the table and opened a salt chest. She pulled a few fish from the container, checked to see that they had been prepped and cleaned, and threw them on the heated iron pan with little ceremony. Then she grabbed a stack of green leafy vegetables and diced them.

  "Grab a bottle of white from the cellar, please." She pointed off to her right with the knife.

  I was thankful for the task. It would keep my mind off of the thought of hundreds of tattooed O'Baarni warriors running through the halls of my castle, killing everything in their path. I opened the door to the kitchen's massive pantry, descended the long stairs to the ample wine cellar and combed the shelves for a suitable bottle. It took me a few minutes to find one. It came from the hills just above Relliat, ironically; the grapes would pair well with the fish.

  I was only in the cellar for a few minutes at the most, just long enough for the alarm to sound again, but when I returned to the kitchen Vernine was gone. The fish still sizzled in the pans and she had added the cut greens to another skillet; covering the vegetables with butter and salt. I thought she might have walked to the other side of the kitchen, but a quick glance around the room revealed that I was alone.

  Then I saw the blood.

  It pooled beneath the double doors like a shiny rug. It was shaped so perfectly, with crisp clean borders, that I almost didn't recognize it for what it was.

  "Vernine?" I called out. The sound of my voice seemed to echo off the empty walls. The thought of walking across all the blood brought my terrorized heart to a stampede. But the idea of just staying here, waiting for the raiders to come and kill me made me even more afraid. Where would I even go? I couldn't return to my room. I couldn't stay here.

  I turned to the stove and flipped the cuts of fish in the pan. There was a jar of salt and I took a few pinches and sprinkled it over the food. One side had been seared black, it was still edible, but probably had lost most of its taste. I flipped the greens in the other pan; they had turned bright jade and only needed another minute or so. My hands were shaking, but I still managed to get the cork out of the wine and poured two glasses.

  Vernine would return shortly. I took a few sips of the wine while the alarm smashed into my ear drums again. I leaned my head back to gulp the remainder of my glass. It was sour and needed time to air. But the warm burn of alcohol on my throat calmed me a bit, so I immediately poured myself another glass and turned my attention back to the food. Vernine would still be hungry when she came back.

  I found two plates on the shelves above the stove and dished out the fish and greens. Then I cut up a few slices of bread from a freshly baked loaf and found some flatware. Vernine would be back any minute, but to keep her plate warm, I covered it with an iron lid from one of the pans.

  I ate a careful bite of the fish and tried to ignore my trembling hands. Then I took a bite of the cooked vegetables and a sip of wine. I wasn't hungry, the food tasted like ash in my mouth, but it was something to do until Vernine returned.

  I stopped with my fork in the air when screams ripped through the hall outside the door. A few seconds after the initial screech of pain I heard shouting and the clash of steel on steel. There was a battle close to the entrance of the kitchen. Maybe just right outside of the doors. I ducked behind the counter, wrapped my arms around myself, and tried to decide what I should do.

  Vernine wasn't here. She was probably dead by now and I was a fool to depend on her for protection. I couldn't leave by the main door. I could run through the servants' door, but if the castle was really under attack, there would be O'Baarni waiting for me there. They would kill me.

  I stopped and smiled. The O’Baarni would not kill me. I was a human, not an Elven. Though I told the empress I would work with her, this was simply to facilitate my eventual revenge. I was not siding with the Elvens. Kaiyer would have told me not to. I wanted and needed the O’Baarni to wipe my country clean of the Elven scourge. I wanted them all to die for the murder of my father, Kaiyer, and my countrymen. I steeled myself in determination and prepared to stand and walk through the door like I owned the castle.

  This was my castle, after all.

  These alarm bells were mine.

  I heard the door open after the bells chimed again and all confident thoughts and bravado fled from my mind. Wet sounding footsteps echoed in the large room, causing my stomach to flip and my breathing to come out like a horse’s. I prayed to Grandmother that whoever was in the kitchen wouldn't bother to look past the counter; I prayed to my father that they would turn around and walk back out through the doors.

  "Jess?" a voice from the grave said. My breath froze and my mind twisted with shock. I had never believed I would hear that voice again, but I would recognize it forever. It was impossible that Kaiyer was here. I didn't want to look over the counter. I feared seeing his Spirit as much as I feared seeing an empty room. Either way, it meant I had gone insane.

  "It's me. You have to get out of the castle." The footsteps grew closer and I shivered uncontrollably. I thought about his head rolling on the ground. I remembered how much I had screamed and how much my heart ached. It was too soon to see his Spirit, even if it was here to help keep me safe.

  "No. Leave me alone," I hardly whispered.

  Go to him.

  Another voice urged me. It was a voice more familiar than Kaiyer's and it made me move without question off of my knees. I pulled myself up to look at the man who had spoken to me.

  He was covered in blood, almost as if he had been swimming in it. He had swords in each of his hands, but the one in his right was cracked and broken off halfway.

  It looked like he had been through demon's teeth and spit out again.

  But he looked alive.

  "How do you get to the dungeons from here?" His voice was urgent. My mind wouldn't give me the answers to his question. I wanted to ask him how he was standing here, covered in blood, when I had seen his head cut from his shoulders a few days ago.

  "Jess?" He was suddenly standing behind the counter and shaking me. His hand on my shoulder felt real, but I still couldn't believe he was alive. The broken sword lay on the counter next to me. The blade was not only severed, but the edge was so abused it looked more like a saw than a sword.

  "How are you here?" I managed to gasp. I felt that even saying those words took all of my strength.

  "Danor and I came through the sewers and dungeon. Nadea, Runir, Beltor, and Greykin are waiting for us, we have to leave now." He tugged on my arm and I followed him out from behind the counter. "Can we get there through these doors?" He pointed to the smaller set of doors that the servants used and I nodded.

  Then we were running through the servants' quarters, cutting through rooms, dashing through hallways, and pausing every so often so that Kaiyer could listen for our pursuers. My legs and lungs burned. I wanted to ask him again how he was still alive, but I couldn't mouth the words and put life to them.

  Or maybe I was afraid that if I asked him again he would disappear and I would wake from this dream.

  "Wait here." He pulled me into an empty room and whispered softly in my ear. I felt the warmth of his lips and smelled the pleasant scent of his breath. I crouched as well as I could in my dress and he darted out the door. The alarm bells rang as soon as he left my sight, but he returned before they were done ringing and pulled me into the corridor.

  The hallway was decorated with dozens
of beheaded Elven servants. I tripped over one and Kaiyer prevented me from falling, but then I slipped on the pooled blood the corpses had left and he had to steady me again. The air reeked of blood, feces, and death. I gagged and forced my free hand to my mouth to stifle the reaction. We finally reached a door that led out of the castle.

  "I can hear the guards behind us. Hurry!" He pushed open the door to the courtyard and pulled me with him.

  It was a good distance across the courtyard to the door of the dungeon. Alta hung full and illuminated the empty field with a grayish light, but Yaha was at half wane and added a slight yellow tint. If the rest of my family really waited in the dungeon, they were agonizingly close.

  Was this a dream?

  "Let's go." Kaiyer closed the thick oak door and led me across the courtyard. I tried my best to follow him, but he moved so fast and my body just couldn't seem to get enough air.

  Then he slowed his run and walked a few steps before stopping.

  "Fuck." He reached his right arm out and circled it around my waist, pulling me to his back. I peered out from behind him. Dozens of Elvens rose from the bushes on the far side of the courtyard.

  "I knew you would come for the princess," a voice called out from behind us. I turned to see more Elven archers. The voice came from Vernine and she walked next to the empress and a feminine looking man with long silver hair. He wore a blue and gold silk robe that had various moons and stars embroidered into the fine fabric.

  "Fuck," Kaiyer whispered with seething anger.

  "Cast aside your sword, please," the man said with a mocking smile.

  "No," my lover grunted and the alarm bells rang again, like the castle was punctuating his statement.