by Wells, L. G.
“Evander?”
The voice was so soft that it ought not to be heard at all beneath the sounds of the dead's moans, but somehow it was the loudest of all. Evander turned his head to the side and saw, to his shock and delight, his mother.
She was chained not too far from Arthfael in the clothes that she had died in. Unlike the others, she was only slightly worn rather than starved and destroyed, and the only sign of deterioration on her was the mark on her neck from where Anguis had strangled her.
“Mata?” Evander said, and the hand holding the key dropped to his side as he gazed at her.
“Evander, no … my son, you were supposed to live …”
“No, it's alright,” he said, caught in disbelief that she was able to speak to him now. “I made a deal with The Strangler. This is just part of a task I'm completing so that I can get Arthfael out –”
He stopped short, suddenly realizing what he was saying. He had come to get his brother out, but now that his mother was there, he had to get her, too. He turned to The Strangler.
“I'm bringing them both back,” he said.
“You will do no such thing,” The Strangler replied. “Our deal was for your brother, and your brother alone.”
“But that was before my mother had died! If I'd have known, I would have made the deal for the two of them!”
“And I would have given you tasks twice as hard,” The Strangler cut in. “You may take your brother. Your mother is mine.”
“No, that's not fair!”
“Not fair?” The Strangler said. “No mortal is ever given the chance to come down to my prison and unlock one of my captives, but I allowed you to for a small price. You should be thanking me, boy, and instead you're ungrateful.”
Evander took a deep breath and looked between his mother and brother. Then, turning back to The Strangler, he said as calmly as he could, “I'm not leaving without both my mother and my brother.”
The Strangler blew icy air from his nostrils.
“Then you shan't leave at all.”
Evander's hands balled into fists. He gritted his teeth, prepared to fight The Strangler if he needed to, when –
“Evander.”
He turned at his brother's voice and wrapped his fingers around the bars, yearning to be closer to him. Arthfael still stared at the ground even as he spoke.
“Evander, take Mata,” he said.
“No! I'm not going without you, too!” Evander exclaimed. “You have to come back to Selvyn, Arthfael. You have to restore the kingdom to what it was – there will be nothing left of it soon!”
“You're an heir to the throne just as much as I ever was. You take Mata, and take back Father's throne.”
Evander opened his mouth to argue, ready to tell Arthfael that he had never been as brave or as righteous or as capable as he had been – and still could be, if he left this place – when his voice caught in his throat. A much separate idea had come to his mind, and though he would have liked to walk out of there with both his mother and his brother, it was clear that The Strangler was only going to allow two of them to do so.
He turned to The Strangler.
“Let my mother and my brother leave,” he said. “I'll stay behind in your prison.”
“Arthfael, no!” Aeliana cried, grabbing him from behind the bars. “Leave me here. I never wanted to outlive my children.”
“It's a noble choice,” The Strangler said. “Though, I wonder, is it the correct one?”
“Evander, don't be ridiculous,” Arthfael said. “You take Mata and go back.”
“No, Selvyn needs you!” Evander said angrily, not understanding how Arthfael could so selfishly overlook that fact. “They need a king: a real king! And you're the only one who can rule!”
“Evander,” Arthfael said, “look what you've done for me. Look what you've accomplished, coming down here to get me … That's bravery, and that's capability. You're what the kingdom needs.”
“But I'm not!” Evander argued, feeling more and more certain as each moment wore on. “I'm not a king – I was never meant to be. You are!”
“Maybe at one time I was,” Arthfael said. “Maybe before Father let Anguis take over his throne, and before his men sent me down here with three arrows from their bows. But I've been in the darkness too long, and I can't return to the light. Not like this.”
And with that, he lifted his head to face Evander properly, only there wasn't much of a face to peer from. His eyes had been eaten away into blank, dark holes, and his skin was chewed and torn from the bones. His mouth hung open widely to reveal rotted teeth, and if Evander had not heard his voice coming from it a moment before, he wouldn't have believed it was his brother at all.
Evander hurriedly turned to The Strangler.
“Won't – won't he be fixed when he gets back to ground?” he asked.
The Strangler shook his head.
“He wouldn't have been quite so bad if it hadn't take you so long to get here.”
“But …”
Evander looked between Arthfael and his mother. It was true that Aeliana was still mostly in tact, as she had barely been imprisoned for a day. Yet he still couldn't help but think that they both ought to have returned to Selvyn with him, not just one.
“Fine,” he said, hating the words as they dropped from his mouth. “Fine. I'll take my mother back.”
He looked at The Strangler expectantly, but the goat only shrugged.
“You may choose her, but the choice is not truly yours.”
Evander took out the ornate key and opened her cell. Going inside, he wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders and began to hoist her up.
“Evander,” she whispered. “No.”
He halted.
“What's wrong? Are you in pain?”
She shook her head.
“No, my son. It's not really pain anymore …”
“Just walk slowly. We'll be up to the ground in no time –”
“Evander, you don't understand,” Aeliana said. “I know that you want to bring me back, but I don't want to go.”
Evander was so shocked that he nearly lost his grip and dropped her.
“But – but you're just saying that,” he said. “You can't mean it. This is – you don't want to stay here and – and suffer for all eternity –”
“This place reflects the world above,” Aeliana said. “As soon as glory is returned to Selvyn, it will be returned here. And I do want to stay, my son. It's my time.”
She reached up a hand and caressed his cheek.
“Return to Selvyn, Evander. You've proven yourself worthy. Now you must act on who you've become.”
“What do you mean?”
“You must overthrow Anguis, Evander,” she said, “and take your place as the true King of Selvyn.”
Book 2 coming soon
