Valory breathed heavily. The slow trip down wasn’t easy on her having to bear my weight. Lev followed just behind and to the left of us. His eyes kept darting over, watchful, like a hawk. I wasn’t sure who was guarding whom.
I felt sure the lightning bolts were coming from the far right corner of the room. Blasts of magic collided with my barrier constantly. Each blow seemed to ripple through the barrier straight into my veins. Lev watched me with growing concern.
“You should go no further,” he said when we were almost down to the floor.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I said. “You can’t dodge all of this! Let me down. I’m fine!”
Valory obliged, letting my feet touch the floor. I got my bearings while the Slaugh landed behind me.
Our presence went unnoticed. The magical attacks appeared to be concentrated around Bazzlejet. I started moving that direction through the smoke and flying debris.
There was nothing left of the marble throne. It was smashed to bits, along with the statue that used to flank it. The floor was cracked and charred.
A robed figure stumbled into sight. It was a priest from the cathedral. He paused in confusion when he spotted us. Like the Seelie Court judges, his eyes glowed white.
He didn’t hesitate for long. He raised his hand at us. A burst of red light splayed from his fingertips.
Whatever the spell was, it was frightening. It sizzled the air. When it collided with my barrier it felt like a fountain of molten lava. My focus wavered, causing the barrier to flicker.
A Slaugh dodged through the flickering barrier and took out the priest before he could cast another spell. I stumbled to my knees, breathing hard.
Lev and Valory were at my side in an instant.
“Are you hurt?” Valory asked.
“No,” I said. “I don’t think so. It’s just that their magic is so strong I can feel it through my barrier.”
Lev’s lips drew tight. “Can you stand?”
I took a deep breath to steady myself and got back to my feet. “Yes. Yes, I can.”
A rogue lightning bolt flew towards us. I held up both hands and willed a small barrier to stop it. Knowing it came from Bazzlejet didn’t soften the blow any. His power was just as potent as the priest’s.
Lev swore. “We’ve got to hurry. Come on.”
We began to move forward again but there came a peel of cackling laughter behind us. The Slaugh all turned around to look. I was behind them now, so it took much more of my energy to extend my protective magic in front of them.
A pair of white eyes gleamed from under a green hood. “Look who else has come to call. The bird has returned to the nest.”
I stiffened. “High Priestess Grimmoix?”
The woman lowered her hood. “Yes, my pupil.” She sneered at the Slaugh. “I see that you’re fouling up the place as usual. Who let in these soulless heathens?”
Lev shook a dagger at her. “We let ourselves in! Where is the duke?”
The priestess’s eyes narrowed maliciously. “Ah, so it is you. Her brat. I had hoped you were dead by now.”
“Sorry, to disappoint you, Auntie,” Lev said.
Some of the Slaugh made sounds of surprise. They did not know that High Priestess Grimmoix was the aunt of Lev’s mother, Linaeve. Even though I had been aware of the connection for a while, I still had a hard time accepting that they were related to each other.
There was something dangerously similar in the way Lev and High Priestess Grimmoix squared each other up. Their animosity for each other was equal and it filled the space between them with a strength all its own.
“Hell spawn,” the priestess said with a sneer. “You play a dangerous game with fate. You cannot keep twisting its will.”
“Watch me,” Lev said with an unsavory sneer of his own.
More robed shapes began to emerge out of the smoke. Spears, daggers and scythes were slid from sheaths as the Slaugh anticipated an attack. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t shield all of them against a dozen different powerful spells. The thought of trying made my gut clench.
Valory was the closest to me. She gulped. “We’re outnumbered.”
That was all she said, but I heard the plea in it. Do something. What could I do? I was only as strong as my barrier magic, and my confidence in that was fading.
Without warning the whole castle lurched to a halt and switched direction. Everyone stumbled and fell to the floor.
“What the heck?” Valory exclaimed as she scrambled to her feet. “Do you think Chloe and Garland did that?”
“Maybe!” I said with a swell of hope.
The Slaugh were faster to recover than the clergy. Seeing their opportunity, they rushed at the nearest priests and priestesses.
High Priestess Grimmoix backed away, all the while using her magic to hurl debris at the Slaugh. She targeted Lev in particular, sending huge chunks of the old throne his way.
Lev broke through one of the debris chunks with his fist.
“Coward!” he shouted after her as she vanished into the smoke.
So many battles raged around me that I couldn’t keep track of them all. The Slaugh were scattered. My only objective was to get to Kiros and Bazzlejet.
“Follow me!” I shouted to Valory.
Valory fell in behind me as I made my way blindly to the corner of the room. Lev flapped his wings and swooped in above us.
“To your right!” he shouted.
Without hesitation I flung up a barrier on my right side. I saw a priestess there, readying a spell. Thanks to Lev’s warning, the spell missed us. I pressed forward and let Lev deal with the attacker. I heard a muffled thud and then Lev was airborne again, keeping watch from above.
A red cape stumbled groggily out of the smoke. He looked as though he’d taken the brunt of a lightning bolt. His clothes were blackened and what was left of his hair stood on end. He was in no shape to fight, but when he saw Valory and me he let out a roar and charged towards us.
A lightning bolt whizzed through the air and finished off the red cape.
“Bazzlejet!” I cried.
I saw his source crystal shining through the gloom. He was making his stand with Kiros Rubedo huddled behind him. There were burns on his hands. The burns might have been from his own magic or from someone else; I couldn’t tell. All that mattered was that he was in one piece and so was Kiros.
“Couldn’t you have gotten here sooner?” Bazzlejet asked. “I mean, it’s been fun and all, but I’m starting to get bored.”
A priest made a lunge for him. He zapped the man with a lightning bolt.
“Looks like you’ve got things under control,” I said.
“Bazzlejet Larue, Electromage Extraordinaire,” he said. “I always aim to please.”
It was good to hear him joke, but he was clearly fatigued. His voice was hoarse.
“Hey, big guy,” Bazzlejet said as he spied Lev. “Nice of you to show up. And I thought you didn’t like me.”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Lev said. “Can you fly?”
“Of course I can fly!” Bazzlejet said, sounding offended. “I just didn’t want to put this nice lady behind me in jeopardy.”
Kiros Rubedo peeked over his shoulder. Even through the lines of middle-age I saw that she had the same bright eyes and finely-formed features as Tobin. She might have passed for a human were it not for the strange tattoos on her forearms and the pointed ears that had escaped her lopsided head scarf.
“Are they gone?” Kiros asked in a voice that was raspy with exhaustion.
No more clergy came at us through the smoke.
“It looks clear for now,” I said.
“What about the duke?” Kiros asked.
I glanced around. “We haven’t seen him.”
“I maimed him pretty good,” Bazzlejet said. “I haven’t seen him since. I’ve just been zapping red capes and clergy. They don’t know when to quit.”
“Let’s get out before they start up again,” Val
ory said. “I reckon I can help you carry Miss Rubedo.”
Figures came out of the smoke. I gasped, but then I realized that it was all Slaugh. Some were badly injured.
Lev took them all in with a glance. “Victory?”
“For now,” replied one of the men.
Valory and Bazzlejet grabbed Kiros. Bazzlejet’s orange wings and Valory’s fleshy, bat-like ones lifted her up. Lev gave the order and the other Slaugh followed after them. They flew up to the shattered spire.
Lev and I were the last to leave. Ever vigilant, I listened for the approach of any red cape or clergy member who hadn’t been immobilized.
“I guess you get to borrow my wings, after all,” Lev said, offering me a hand.
I took one last look around before settling into his arms. The throne room was completely destroyed. I tried to remember what it looked like before, but I couldn’t. It didn’t matter. I was Ivywild’s servant no longer. I was free now to make a future all my own.
Lev’s arms closed around me. His wings beat, strong as always, lifting us both from the floor. As a king, he had known victory on this day. I wondered if he felt the same way I did—if he was eager to return to a life alongside others, not above them.
What about a life alongside me? The thought made me feel lighter as we spiraled up and out of the smoke. Maybe we could start over. No more secrets, no more battles, just two people who cared about each other very much. Friends. That would be a good start.
Bazzlejet, Valory and Kiros cleared the top of the spire. Six Slaugh flew out after them. Three more flew behind, supporting two injured Slaugh between them. I looked to see if Chloe and Garland were waiting outside, but I didn’t see them. I wondered if they had found a way to control the tower crystals. If not, we’d have to evacuate all the citizens somehow.
Lev laughed softly in my ear. “You think so loudly. You’re the loudest thinker I know.”
“If it’s so loud then tell me what I was thinking.”
“Mmmm…a nice, long rest. Then food.”
I grinned. “Basic needs, huh? I have to admit, my thoughts weren’t quite that primal.”
“Mine were.”
Friends. Yes, that would be a perfectly good place to start. It would give me something to look forward to. There was so much to be done. We had to rebuild a nation, after all. It would be interesting having two queens and a king in the mix.
We were nearly out of the tower. Daylight gleamed bright overhead. The fresh air was a welcome change after the smoky throne room. It filled my lungs, making me feel even lighter. It was over. We’d paid a heavy price but we’d won this round.
From out of nowhere came a crackling ball of light. It crashed into the tower crystal overhead. The rod that supported the crystal broke in two and the purple gem crashed through the remnants of the spire.
Lev dodged out of the way as glass and stone rained down. The whole tower rumbled. The spire disintegrated inward, bringing the top of the tower with it.
With the ceiling caving in, we had no choice but to fly down to shelter. We huddled near the tower base where the wall was still intact. Daylight vanished above as debris piled up on the ceiling support beams.
The rumbling stopped. Dust swirled around in the smoke. Our way out was blocked.
Coughing, I peered around the gloom. “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Lev whispered.
His voice had an edge. The fear was back in it. I felt his pulse quicken. Mine did the same.
“Let’s find another way out,” I whispered. “The main door is blocked, but Chloe mentioned once that there’s a trap door somewhere to her room.”
“Shhhh.”
He was being absolutely still. Instinctively I looked in the direction he was facing, though I didn’t expect to see anything. The ceiling collapse had sealed off all light.
But I did see something. Not far away, there was a blue glow.
“I told you,” said the spiteful voice of High Priestess Grimmoix. “I told you that you couldn’t escape your fate!”
Her triumphant laughter sent chills down my back.
“What do you want?” Lev shouted. “Give up! You’ve lost. This world belongs to us again.”
“No, it doesn’t,” said a different voice.
My breath caught in my throat.
Lev gasped. “You!”
“Who else but me?” said the duke in his silky, self-indulgent purr. “Who else but me is fit to rule this place? I am on the brink of delivering the Fay a bright new future and here you’ve tried to stop me. History will paint you as a villain, boy.”
“History will sing your praises, Master,” the priestess cooed to the duke.
“You can see that?” the duke asked.
“Yes, Master. And so much more. Death. Death for all the rebels. Death for all the heathens. Death for all those who don’t recognize your absolute power.”
“What about you?” the duke asked.
Lev and I looked at each other nervously.
“Yes, I’m talking to you,” the duke said. “Do you recognize my absolute power? Or can you even see me? Here, let me help.”
A gust blew through the smoke, chasing it away to the edges of the room. A clear path opened between us and the duke.
I saw him and shuddered.
One of his hands was missing. There were wounds and gouges and burns all over him. His red cape hung in tatters. One eye was swollen shut. Despite all that, he struck fear deep into me.
He was bathed in an eerie blue glow. It came from the same sort of alchemic stone that Commander Larue had brought from Helm Bogvogny. There was much more of it than one tiny little lump. A giant pillar of it had shattered. The duke stood before the pile of blue shards. Over a dozen of the stone fragments were stuck into his body, along his arms, shoulders and his back.
He showed no sign of being in pain. There was no telling how much power was seeping from the shards directly into his body. After seeing what one tiny piece had done to Commander Larue, the sight made me sick with terror.
“Lev,” I whispered fearfully. I wanted to pull him back, far, far away from the duke.
High Priestess Grimmoix bowed at the duke’s feet. “If only you could see what I see,” she said with childish delight. “A prosperous future, a reign like no other!”
The duke looked down at her. “Perhaps I can see what you see.”
She trembled in excitement. “Would you like to? I could show you.”
“Lev!” I tried again. I tugged his arm but it didn’t work. He was in one of his prophetic trances. I wondered if he was seeing the same things as the high priestess.
“Give yourself up to me, faithful servant,” the duke said. He placed the palm of his remaining hand on High Priestess Grimmoix’s forehead.
Her eyes rolled back. The veins stood out on her forehead where the duke touched her. Then her skin began to shrivel and dry up. Her hair turned brittle and fell out. The duke’s arm shook as he drew out her life force.
He lifted his hand. The priestess’s body collapsed to the floor like a wooden dummy.
The duke flexed his fingers and closed his eyes. Then he began to laugh. It started as a chuckle, but then grew to fill the room. It was one of the worst sounds I had ever heard. I felt it blasting through me like an icy wind, freezing anything it touched.
“Yes!” the duke shouted. “It is true! I will rule these lands as a supreme being! Nobody will ever be able to usurp me! I shall be the ruler and judge of all things that live and breathe in Faylinn!”
Lev dropped out of his trance. Oddly enough, a little smile curled his lips.
“It’s all lies.”
The duke’s laughter stopped. “What did you say?”
“She was a pawn,” Lev said, pointing at the dried-up corpse of High Priestess Grimmoix. “You are, too. The future you see isn’t real. Somebody just wants you to believe that it is.”
The blue shards in the duke’s body flickered ominously. “You’re
lying! I can see it all unfolding before my eyes. Nothing can stop me. Not you.” He sneered at me. “Not her. You’ll both be dead soon. I can see that, too.”
Lev scoffed. “You’re a fool. You’re playing somebody else’s game and you don’t even realize it. You can stop it if you want.”
The duke laughed again. “Stop it? Why would I stop? These visions! These miraculous things I see!” His voice reached a hysterical pitch. “I AM THE SAVIOR OF THIS WORLD! It will be a perfect place!” Then he snarled. “I’ll start by removing you from it!”
An orb of white energy erupted from his hand. It shot towards us like a bullet fired from a gun.
I created a barrier, but the duke’s spell was so strong that it shoved me, barrier and all, into the wall.
I slid to the floor. My limbs felt like gelatin. All the breath was knocked out of me.
Lev had managed to beat his wings and create enough counter-force to keep himself from slamming into the wall. He landed beside me. His face was tight with worry.
“Emma!” he said. “Emma! Answer me!”
I blinked slowly. “I’m okay.” I gazed past him and saw that the duke was no longer standing next to the shattered pillar. “Where did he go?”
Lev spun around. The duke was nowhere to be seen.
We heard laughter from somewhere above, accompanied by a flash of blue. Then it happened again on the other side of the room. The duke appeared in one place and then disappeared, only to appear in another.
Lev flapped his wings in agitation. “How?” he hissed.
The duke laughed. “Wings. So primitive. I don’t need wings when I can do this!” He appeared right next to Lev.
Lev took a swing. By the time his fist was in the air, the duke was already gone.
Another bolt of magic shot out of the sky. It was no use bothering with a barrier. Lev grabbed me and we rolled out of the way just as the spell crashed into the floor. It cracked the tile. The shockwave hit me like a punch.
I struggled to my knees. We couldn’t fight the duke. He was too strong.
I began feeling around on the floor.
“What are you doing?” Lev asked.
“There’s a trapdoor here somewhere,” I said. “I know there is!”
“How can you deny this power?” the duke shouted. “I am a divine creature and you are nothing but insects!”
The Flute Keeper's Promise (The Flute Keeper Saga) Page 44
