Forever Wicked (Castle of Dark Dreams)

by Nina Bangs

  “Or I’ll huff and I’ll puff and all that crap,” Ganymede muttered.

  Nazari frowned. “There wasn’t enough time for him to mobilize his forces into any kind of military formation. My God, is he just going to fling his fighters at the Castle like a mob of barbarians?” The general didn’t try to hide how offended he was by the enemy’s lack of tactical planning.

  “My guess is he thinks he has such superior power he doesn’t have to mess with formal regimentation.” That kind of overconfidence was scary, but it could also be a plus for the troublemakers. Underestimating the enemy was a time-honored path to defeat. Ganymede hoped Zendig’s arrogance would be his downfall.

  The general nodded at Edge. Sparkle clasped Ganymede’s hand in a tight grip. Edge strode to the great hall door and flung it open.

  “We welcome you, Zendig. We have Bourne caged and waiting for you.”

  Ganymede thought Edge did a great job of sounding servile but with a touch of defiance.

  Zendig flung his arms wide. “Ah, one of my creations. Sorry if I don’t remember your name. There’ve been so many.” He shrugged. “Before I enter your castle, I’ll send in someone to make sure you haven’t lied to me.”

  Nazari stepped out of the alcove to check that everyone was where they should be and that those who were invisible were still that way. He gave the go-ahead signal to Edge before stepping out of sight again. Edge stood aside to allow Ganymede’s father to pass him.

  Ganymede leaned from concealment so his father could see him, and his dad nodded his acknowledgement as he walked toward the cage.

  Edge closed the door and then caught up with him. “Stand in front of the cage. I’ll take your picture with Bourne in it. Then you can show it to Zendig.”

  In seconds it was done, and Ganymede’s dad left with Edge’s phone in hand. They waited.

  Then without warning, a large section of the great hall wall simply disappeared. Whoa! Ganymede tensed. This was it.

  Zendig stood in the opening. No, posed in the opening—legs spread, hands on hips. Arrogant ass.

  Ganymede touched Sparkle’s mind. “I bet he doesn’t have a clue how our powers have grown since he dumped us here. I’m mad enough to blow him into the next galaxy.” He shook with his need to destroy.

  She squeezed his hand and mouthed, “No.”

  Right. If he let loose, he’d probably sink half of the island. This was their home. You didn’t trash your home. But remembering Zendig’s temper when Ganymede hadn’t done what his maker wanted him to do, he figured Zendig wouldn’t worry about damage control if he thought he might lose. Worst case scenario: his creator could level everything between Galveston and Houston. Ganymede had to make sure he didn’t get to the mass destruction stage.

  “I’m so sorry about the wall, but I wanted to shed a little light on the situation.” Zendig’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He wasn’t sorry. “Not that it matters. Once I get what I want, I’ll destroy the place. Just for fun. I’ll be gone by the time the humans show up.”

  I’ll rip him into small pieces and then stomp the pieces into mush. Ganymede breathed hard, trying to keep from launching himself from his hiding spot.

  The octopus creatures scuttled into the room. They tipped back their heads and sniffed the air. Ganymede hoped they couldn’t smell pissed-off troublemakers. Right behind them shuffled the freaking-big, muscled monsters Holgarth had mentioned. Then came the wall-climbing assassins. Finally, Zendig strode into the great hall surrounded by the hooded figures. Silent, they skimmed the floor. Trailing Zendig was a mix-and-match mob of nonhumans of all sizes and shapes. Zendig’s human spies hovered in the doorway. Smart. They’d be able to escape fast if things went south for their side.

  The octopus things didn’t seem to be picking up on the troublemakers scattered around the hall. Zane’s work. He supposed having a goddess for a mother and wizard for a father gave you some serious magical skills. If they all survived, he’d owe the sorcerer some favors.

  Zendig glanced at the troublemakers guarding the cage. “Names?”

  Edge again spoke for them. “I’m Edge.” He pointed to the others. “Orion, Blue, Jill, and Jerry.”

  “Death bringer, earth mover, creature caller, nightmare giver, and…” Zendig frowned as he gazed at Jerry. “You seem to be a bit more than I intended you to be.”

  Ganymede figured Jerry should be worried. Zendig wouldn’t want any of his creations to be “more” than he intended.

  Zendig finally looked away to focus his attention on the cage. “Well, well, if it isn’t my old friend. What do you call yourself now? Bourne?”

  “Looks as though you’re still a useless piece of shit, Zendig. Someone else has to catch your prey for you.”

  Ganymede winced. Ouch. Amaya needed to keep her mouth shut. Nothing good would come from driving Zendig into a rage.

  Zendig narrowed his eyes. Ganymede saw bloodlust in them. He glanced at Nazari. The general nodded.

  Tension crackled and sparked. Sparkle felt as though she’d stuck her finger into a light socket. Her heart pounded so hard she almost clapped her hand to her chest to keep it inside. Here it was, the moment she’d dreaded, the battle that could take Mede from her. His loss would break her. Not even all the king’s men could glue her pieces together again. Don’t you dare die. You owe me a picket fence.

  Mede glanced at her and grinned. She stored the memory of that smile to give her strength for what would come.

  “I’m going to rip your head from your body. Then I’ll take it home to show our people. I’ll tell them at the end you were weak. Only the weak allow themselves to be locked in a cage.” Zendig strode toward Amaya.

  The general stepped from hiding and boomed, “Attack!”

  Wow, what a voice. Somewhere miles away, a guy lazing on the beach would be looking around for someone to attack. But she didn’t get a chance to think too hard about Nazari’s voice as the troublemakers scattered around the great hall popped into view, and those who had hidden themselves charged into the open. She allowed herself to get caught up in the fervor as she followed Mede into battle.

  Over screams and curses, the general shouted his rallying cry of “Vengeance!”

  Sparkle gasped and staggered under the sudden relentless force of a need to kill, to pulverize, to exact revenge on Zendig for what he’d done to all of them. She fought her way toward him, her only goal to get to him first, to kick him in the balls and twist his cock into a pretzel. Stop. Breathe. Think. A blind rush wasn’t going to bring Zendig down.

  She looked around, frantic to locate Mede, to make sure he was okay. Yes, there he was, flinging a bolt of power at their maker. Her mouth gaped open as the bolt hit an invisible something right before it reached its target and then blinked out. The same was happening with everything aimed at Zendig. They had a problem.

  Zendig sneered as he continued his relentless march toward the cage. “Fools. Did you think I’d face you without a shield? Oh, and just so you don’t feel too safe, I’ve gifted my followers with a bit of me. If they kill you, you’ll stay dead.”

  The octopus creatures cleared a path for him, ripping and tearing their way through the Castle’s defenders. And what they didn’t destroy with their teeth they dismembered with their tentacles. Sparkle took a deep breath. Don’t throw up. She wasn’t in battle shape. It had been centuries since she’d gone to war. Time to morph into Warrior Woman. Sparkle straightened, smoothed her skirt, and looked around to see what damage she could cause.

  She chose a pocket of humanoid beings who were busy wrapping two troublemakers in cocoons. The fibers seemed to be coming from their fingertips. No modern weapons. Good. But what was wrong with these people? They needed to get beyond swords, knives, and spider webs. Sparkle took out her gun and shot all of them. Perhaps not fair, but who gave a shit.

  A roar of triumph from Zendig swung her focus back to him. Just in time to watch him take that final step to the cage. He reached for it…and was flung backwa
rds in a flash of white as Holgarth and Zane’s ward zapped him.

  Zendig recovered, his expression fixed in a rictus of hate and rage. He raised his hands. The ward sizzled and then disappeared.

  She saw the intent in his eyes. He was about to destroy the cage. Mistral. Her heart dropped into her stomach. No. In one horrifying moment, Sparkle forgot every ugly thought she’d ever had about her brother. She had to save him. Too far away. She’d never get there in time. Still, she had to try. She slipped in a puddle of blood, regained her balance, and fought her way toward the cage.

  She needn’t have worried. Just as Zendig started to wind up for his big pitch, Mistral changed. Instead of a cage, a giant snake wrapped around the chair with Amaya still seated in it. With a hiss like escaping steam, the snake struck at Zendig.

  Caught by surprise, Zendig—shield and all—tumbled to the floor. One of his minions picked him up and dragged him a safe distance from the snake. But the snake was gone, and in its place was a towering pillar of fire. Sparkle sighed her relief. Tough to destroy fire without a hose or fire extinguisher.

  Sparkle took a moment to glance around the hall. At first all she saw was chaos, battles everywhere. But then she realized the general actually did have a plan. Sort of. The most powerful troublemakers were ranged around Zendig, closer to him than the others. Those with lesser powers worked the edges of the room, harrying and engaging Zendig’s forces.

  She tried to push aside incipient despair. Nothing the most powerful threw at Zendig had managed to shatter his blasted shield. They couldn’t destroy what they couldn’t reach. Sparkle stopped wondering about the shield as she heard a guttural snarl behind her. Spinning, she slipped under the reaching hands of what looked like a blob of fat with arms, and then drove her spiked toe into what she hoped was his groin. All male creatures seemed to have that one thing in common. With a squeal of pain, the creature doubled over, clutching itself.

  Sparkle shifted her attention away from her victim in time to see the strange creatures in cowls slowly ascend toward the ceiling. Around her, others looked up.

  High above the floor of the great hall, the figures formed a circle. Then they danced on air. As they danced, they chanted. Sparkle shook her head to clear it. The sounds had a mesmerizing quality, like a demonic Gregorian chant—deep, rising and falling in tones she felt touch her. And the touching hurt. She glanced at the tip of her finger where she was sure a needle had jabbed her. She blinked. Not possible. The tip of her finger had hardened into what looked like stone. Fear clutched her. She shook her hand, but nothing changed.

  Screams broke the momentary silence. Sparkle looked around her. In different parts of the room, troublemakers had turned to stone, their faces frozen in expressions of horror. She frantically searched for Mede. Sparkle found him, but he was engaged with Zendig. Their creator had decided to switch his attention from Bourne for the moment in favor of getting rid of a more immediate danger. Mede couldn’t save them.

  Help came from an unexpected source. As the general shouted for everyone to retreat, Jerry rushed to the now empty floor beneath the creepy dancers. Sparkle shouted a silent, “No! Run!” at him.

  Jerry raised his gaze to the circle and simply stared at them. For a moment, it looked as though nothing was happening. Then the dancing stopped, the chanting stopped. Finally, one at a time, they fell and lay still. Sparkle didn’t know what he’d done, but she’d raise a statue to him when this was over. The room seemed to release a collective breath.

  Sparkle looked at her finger. The stone quickly receded, and her fingertip was pink and healthy again. Those who had completely turned to stone weren’t so lucky. She watched them shatter and become dust before she glanced away. Tendra, the troublemaker in charge of beautiful clothes was one of those. She blinked away tears. Sparkle would mourn later. Meanwhile, she intended to honor those who had died today by making sure Zendig followed them into death.

  She fought her way to Mede, leaving a bunch of losers with toe-sized holes in them in her wake. Sparkle reached him in time to watch as a wave of power that crackled and hummed flowed from him. It hit Zendig. A boom echoed around the room, and Zendig’s shield disintegrated in smoke and flame. Yes!

  Suddenly, the fighting stopped. Everyone seemed to realize the moment had arrived. No one who looked at Mede could doubt they were watching the most powerful troublemaker in the hall. He shone, almost blinding with a white light that had heat and texture. His hair lifted in a nonexistent wind, the ends tipped in flame. His eyes glowed amber. Sparkle saw death in those eyes. At this moment, he wasn’t her Mede anymore. He was the chaos bringer.

  Zendig stared at him, and then recognition darkened his gaze. “My first. My most powerful. You were a mistake. I gave too much of myself.” His smile was slow with a slide of anticipation behind it. “Today I take that part back.”

  31

  Thousands of years and a million traveled roads would all end at the Castle of Dark Dreams. At least for one of them. Ganymede didn’t want to be that one. He had something to live for, and his “something” was standing staring at him with those big eyes that said, “If you die, I’ll hunt your ass down and kill you again. Without breaking a nail.”

  Ganymede thought about raising a shield, but decided against it. Nothing he could construct quickly would stop Zendig. Besides, Zendig had his own worries. Ganymede doubted his enemy could pull up protection as strong as what he’d just lost. Ganymede crouched, ready to deliver a planet-crushing blow. No talking for him. But before he could gather his power, someone in the back of the hall shouted out.

  “You called that Edge person who opened the Castle door your creation. And this one is your first what?”

  Zendig looked startled. Ganymede almost smiled. Almost. This is what happened when you talked too much. Eventually you’d say the wrong thing.

  Ganymede searched for the speaker. A woman—one of the spies—stood among Zendig’s humans. He prepared to answer her even though he knew Zendig probably wouldn’t allow him to finish. Zendig couldn’t afford to let his people know what he’d done so long ago. If they found out, then he’d have to hunt them down—assuming he came out of this fight on top—and eliminate them before they returned home to tell others. Ganymede opened his mouth to speak.

  His father beat him to it. He raised his voice so all could hear. “Zendig has lied to us all these years. Bourne didn’t kidnap our children. Zendig did. He took their memories, their wills, and gave them new purposes—to kill and spread chaos in hopes they would destroy Bourne.”

  Ganymede glanced at Sparkle as angry murmurs rose from the humans. She gave him a thumbs-up. But his father wasn’t done.

  “He told me to close the last portal his mercenaries came through. I didn’t. It remains open. Go. Now. Spread the word to everyone you know.”

  The humans didn’t waste any time. They ran from the room. Ganymede’s father didn’t go with them. He melted into the crowd. Damn. His father wasn’t powerful enough to survive with this bunch. He hoped Dad had the sense to hide until this was all over.

  For a moment, Zendig seemed too shocked to act. Then he shouted to his fighters closest to the rear, “Catch them. Kill them.”

  Ganymede worried until he heard the muted roar of an engine. One of Zendig’s mercenaries returned to shout, “They took a bus. They’re gone. Should we follow?”

  Ganymede smiled. Zendig had a dilemma. If he sent his people after the bus, he’d be short fighters in the hall.

  Zendig made his decision. “Get back in here and fight. We’ll catch that bus later.”

  Not if Ganymede could help it. Time to make Zendig pay for all those lost years. He stalked the bastard. Did Zendig know he could bring down mountains, raise a tsunami, or trigger a volcano? Probably not. He was too focused on his own amazing self. Well, Ganymede would give him a demonstration, only on a smaller, more compressed scale. Didn’t want to bring the Castle down around them.

  It was almost as though Ganymede’s though
t jump-started the rest of the hall because the battle exploded with renewed force. He blocked out the shouts and fighting around him to concentrate on his target.

  Ganymede sensed the moment Zendig was about to launch his next attack. Bring it. He bared his teeth in a grin that was all, “Yeah, gonna love killing your ass.” A sudden wind whipped around him, buffeting him with what felt like dozens of knife jabs. Agony spiraled through him. He couldn’t let it take him down, though. Couldn’t allow Zendig to get past him to slaughter the others. This was all on him. He ignored the blood trickling down his body, never breaking eye contact with Zendig.

  Ganymede raised his arms, holding back the wind while he thrust twisting ropes of fire toward his maker. Before Zendig could repel them, they’d wound around him, binding him in sizzling sparks.

  With a roar, Zendig freed himself. And so the fighting continued, attack after attack after attack. And still Ganymede couldn’t find a weapon to stop Zendig. Exhaustion tugged at him. Impossible. He never tired. No enemy ever lasted long enough to tire you. Doubt played in his mind. If he fell, what would happen to Sparkle, to all the others who had put their trust in him?

  He dared a quick glance around. Were they winning? Looked like it. At least he could see more of the enemy on the floor than the good guys.

  Ganymede blinked and swiped blood from his eyes. Okay, he was seeing things. A second Zendig raced past him yelling to his followers. Something about not letting Bourne escape. A pack of the octopus guys obeyed, scuttling after him as he chased a fake Bourne out the door. Ganymede spotted more of the duplicates spreading confusion among Zendig’s fighters. His enemy should’ve hired smarter mercenaries.

  Ganymede dared to hope. The doubles had to be Amaya’s kitsune friends. When had they arrived? He’d lost track of time. Then he looked for Sparkle. She had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. Bodies sprawled around her. His woman. If they’d had more time to prepare, he would’ve armed everyone. Not that it would’ve done any good. Troublemakers depended on their own powers. Always. They were stubborn that way.