by Riley Storm
“Amber!” the Magi said, turning away from the obviously enthralled Queen, leaving one bony hand on top of her wrist. “You’re alive. And unharmed. It’s so good to see. I was afraid you might have been killed.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “What, you mean when you tried to send me as a robotic killing machine to deal with Kasperi?”
“Ah, well, you know. Nothing personal about that, my dear. Simply a necessary decision.” Korred was agitated. She needed to calm him. Get him thinking again.
“You could have just asked,” she said plainly. “It’s far easier to slip a blade into his side when he’s sleeping. There are a million ways. While we’re fucking. In the shower. When he’s changing. Eating. Just sending me in like that, without any control, was the stupidest way to go about it. If I’d known, I could have helped.”
Korred sat back in the stone Throne, rubbing his index finger against the tip of his thumb, thinking furiously. “You…would have done so willingly?”
She snorted, acting as derisive as she could at the thought, trying to pretend that killing Kasperi would have been a boon to her. “Surely, you’re joking, right? I’m a prisoner here. He and the others are forcing me to stay. Why would I give them anything?”
“You’re sleeping with him.”
“How much of a prude are you?” she snapped, walking closer to the stairs that led up to the dais upon which he sat. “Girls get horny too, you know. I can appreciate his physical aspects without liking him. Trust me, women do that all the time.”
Korred was blinking rapidly, obviously having a hard time reconciling what he was hearing and hopefully seeing with the assumptions he’d made about her. The more confused she could keep him, the better.
“I assume by taking over, you control everything now, right?”
“Just about,” he said. “There are a few holdouts, and of course, the outposts not here in Plymouth Falls may take some time to fall into line. But if I hold the Manor and the Throne, there is little they can do about it.”
“Great. So you can pay me then.”
“Pay you?”
“I don’t work for free,” she drawled. “I’m not some shifter with crazy loyalty and shit. You want me to do shit for you, pay up.”
“Ahhh.” Korred relaxed, bringing his right foot up on top of his left knee. “You’re a mercenary.”
“I am now. I like money. Haven’t had much of it lately. This place, you guys, have tons of it. I just want enough to live comfortably. I doubt that would be enough to inconvenience you.” Amber reached the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him, wishing she had a low-cut top to further distract him. The sweater really wasn’t doing anything for her feminine wiles, such as they were.
The Magi cackled. “Of course. That will be no problem.”
She nodded. “We have a deal then.”
“Do we?” Korred asked carefully. “You haven’t even been told what I require.”
“Death. Destruction. Chaos. Something like that, right? As long as you pay well enough, just point me in the right direction and I’ll unleash the chaos inside me. I’ve certainly got experience doing that.”
“Maybe,” Korred said, with perhaps just a bit more caution in his voice as he studied her again.
Shit. Was he onto her act? Was it too over the top? Amber paused, waiting for him to speak.
“I notice you aren’t wearing your collar.”
“No. They tried to put it on me. I said no. The big idiot listened to me.” She flashed her best gloating smile, putting her right foot up onto the first step as she did, but moving no further, trying to act like she was just resting it there.
“I’m sure he did. I’m sure he did.”
Amber wasn’t sure Korred believed her any longer. Her nerves were already frayed and broken, but she held onto something, trying one last time to get him to come closer. To trust her enough to approach.
“So what do you want me to do? Kneel and swear an oath or something?” she asked, breaking up the silence, trying to sound uncaring about it all.
“No. I would like to see the collar though. May I?” Korred asked, extending his hand.
Amber grabbed hold of it and went to step up, but Korred used his hand to stop her, holding the palm upward. “No, that is close enough, I think. I’ll take it from there.”
Magic drifted out and toward her pocket. Amber gestured with her own hand, using magic to lift it out of her pocket and toward him.
“Thank yo—ack!” Korred’s voice choked off as the open collar surged forward toward him like a missile as she pumped more energy into her spell. “Traitor!” he bellowed as it impacted upon a shield three feet in front of him and fell to the ground.
Green magic lashed out at her. Amber had a split second to react. Her plan had failed, her deception not strong enough to fool Korred. That left plan B.
Closing her eyes, she reached inside her mind, finding the magic and the cage she’d learned to construct around it. If she could set it free, she might have a chance. The wild magic, the darkness, it was strong. Perhaps stronger than the Magi.
The Magi’s spell reached her, but instead of blasting her across the room, it grabbed her up and with a crook of his fingers, whipped her up the stairs until she was hovering right in front of him. Her long hair slapped down against her back at the abrupt stop with enough force to be felt even through the thick sweatshirt.
“I believe you forgot something,” the Magi chortled, placing the collar around her neck.
38
Kasperi shook awake, ripping himself from the dream with a twitch of his body that rocked the entire couch.
“Whasat?” he mumbled blearily. “Who’s there? What’s going on?”
Nobody responded. Prying his eyes open as dried sleep cracked and crumbled, he looked around his quarters for signs of life. There were none. The hole in the wall made by his helpless body was still there, as were the cold magical manacles around his wrists—twin lengths of metal perhaps two inches wide, half an inch thick, reinforced with magical spells that would prevent him from casting any sort of magic.
They wouldn’t stop him from using his blades, though. He still had that skill. He could still use them to kill Korred.
Korred.
Everything was rushing back. Memories of fighting with him. The Queen enslaved, the other Title Holders in the dungeon. House Ursa a mess. And Amber had been sent to kill him.
“Amber!” he called, looking around frantically. How long had he been out? Where was she? “Khorve?”
The guard who had brought him back was gone as well. Getting up from the couch, the world spun around him as blood rushed to his head. He stumbled sideways several times, then reached out to steady himself on the wall.
Kasperi promptly fell into the hallway through the hole Amber had made with his body as the wrecking ball.
“Ow,” he groaned, pushing himself up, looking around. Thankfully, nobody had seen him take a fall. Small miracle.
Gathering his knees under his body, Kasperi considered his options, trying to come up with a plan. Any plan. Everything came up short because of the manacles on either wrist. Without his magic, he had no hope of defeating the Magi.
And where was Amber? Kasperi had a bad feeling about that, but there was no point rushing to her rescue if he couldn’t win her free. He needed help, someone who could help him take on Korred. Someone who could help fight off the magical creatures the usurper had summoned to help him secure the Manor.
There was only one person he could think of who had the skills for such a plan to succeed.
The issue was, not only did they hate each other, but Kasperi wasn’t even sure of the other’s loyalty. Still, what choice did he have? The other Title Holders were in prison, the Queen was under the influence of a mind control spell, and by this point, Amber probably was as well. Kasperi refused to think about what else could have happened to her.
He hated himself for letting her go, for not finding a way to have her st
ay while he recovered, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Nothing except make amends with a man he’d once respected but now despised. The two of them would have to work together to save the House. To save Amber.
Glancing down the corridor to the left, he eyed the intersection in the distance, where the décor became more grandiose, more expensive. That way lay the Grand Hallway and the Throne Room. That way lay Korred the Usurper, his mate, and his Queen.
With a snarl, Kasperi stood up at long last, and turned his back on it all. Long legs powered him forward, deeper into the Manor, into the depths as he descended several levels, sticking to back passages and side hallways where possible. Everything was calm. Too calm. Even the normal amount of foot traffic was absent, little as it was.
Where the hell is everyone?
Had Korred tossed everyone in the dungeons? It seemed unlikely, but the House seemed abandoned. Empty. No signs of life, not until he arrived in the Asp training area. Little more than twenty-four hours earlier, he’d been in here, under very different auspices.
The lights were out, the entire area darkened and windowless. Kasperi approached slowly, eyes adjusting to the dark, picking out details. A battle had been fought here, he saw. Wreckage was everywhere, walls crumbling in spots where the stone had been hit with a massive impact.
Then he came across his first corpse. It was a bear. He didn’t recognize the owner, but it didn’t move, and something sticky covered the floor. Blood. Kasperi tasted the metallic iron in the air, opening his senses, trying to figure out if anyone else was there. His hearing grew sharper, picking out the various rattles of the ventilation system, the drip of something liquid nearby. Probably more blood.
No footsteps. No heartbeats or muffled movements.
Creeping forward, making as little noise as possible, he made his way toward Kvoss’ chambers. The Assassin was his only hope to fix the damage being done to the House, and Kasperi desperately hoped the man was alive.
Moving through the hallway, he passed two more corpses, including that of Kopper, one of the Asps from his team that had found Amber, the one who wanted her dead the most. Kasperi didn’t mourn that one’s passing.
The doors to the Assassin’s private rooms were closed. Another body, this one human, littered the floor. Kasperi recognized another of the Asps. He was naked this time, meaning he must have shifted back. Perhaps trying to escape?
A flickering light nearby cast the barest of light on it, but it revealed something startling. The blood splashed across his torso wasn’t red. It was purple.
What creatures have you summoned here, Korred? What have you done?
There was only one type of creature that bled purple that Kasperi knew of. And if they were somehow loose in the world, the situation had just gotten a hell of a lot worse.
“Let’s just hope I’m wrong,” he muttered, turning his attention back to the sealed doors.
Without his magic, he refused to touch them. If Kvoss was alive, he would be behind wards designed to kill. Whatever had happened here, it hadn’t been pleasant. Anyone on this side of the door would automatically be considered an enemy.
“Kvoss!” he shouted, hoping his voice would carry through. “It’s Kasperi. Are you in there?”
His voice echoed down the hallway and he stayed crouched near the dead Asp, in case any of the creatures came back. Nobody answered him. Looking around, he spied a chunk of rock fallen loose from the wall. Picking it up, he chucked it at the door.
“Kvoss!” he called over the deep gong as the rock clanged on the metal and fell to the ground, breaking in two.
No wards on the door lashed out, but they could be sensitive to body heat, to prevent them from being discharged at just such an event.
“The wards will kill you if you try to open this door,” came a muffled voice through the metal. “Your kin have already tried.”
“Kvoss,” he growled. “It’s Kasperi.”
Pause.
“Kasperi? What are you doing here?”
He rolled his eyes. “What the fuck do you think? We’re going to save the world. Our world.”
“How do I know this isn’t some sort of trick? How do I know it’s actually you?”
Kasperi smiled. “You’re a dick.”
Another pause. Then the door cracked open. “Good enough. Come in.”
He slipped inside quickly, and Kvoss sealed it behind him.
“Look,” Kasperi said as they faced each other uneasily. “I don’t want to be here. You don’t want me here. Let’s just get that out of the way. But the truth is, we need each other. You’re the only one who can help me, and I’m the only other magic user in here who can help you take on this asshole.”
Kvoss shook his head. “I can’t fight him. You saw what he did out there. He did that while I was there with you. While you fought him, his minions killed my men.”
“I’m sorry,” Kasperi said heavily, meaning it. He didn’t like the Asps, but they were a team, and Kvoss had cared for them like family. The man must be devastated. “How many of you are left?”
The huge Assassin’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “None,” he whispered. “They’re all dead.”
“Shit.” Kasperi paced the length of the room and back, then stopped in front of Kvoss. “It’s just you and me then. We’re the only ones who can take him on, Kvoss. The only ones with the strength and the training. I can’t do it alone though. I need your help.”
The Assassin looked pained. “You don’t know what you ask of me. If I do this…if we don’t succeed…he’ll…” Kvoss turned away, taking a shuddering breath.
Kasperi frowned, trying to understand what was going on. What was holding him back? “If we don’t do this, then our House will die.”
“If we try it and fail, then she dies,” Kvoss snarled, still facing away.
She dies? Who dies? “Who?”
“Kaelyn. Our Queen. My Queen.”
Kasperi rocked backward in stunned shock. “You’re in love with her,” he whispered silently.
The Assassin spun and crossed the distance between them in a blur, until his face was nose to nose with Kasperi. “If you say another word, I will slice you open where you stand, do you understand?” he rasped. “You will not tell a soul.”
Kasperi nodded jerkily. “You have my word.”
The angry Assassin looked back and forth into his eyes, and then backed away, sheathing the knife that had appeared from nowhere to rest against Kasperi’s ribs just below his heart.
The man loved his Queen. He wasn’t just loyal…he was infatuated. No wonder he’d looked so sick in the Throne Room, with the Magi running his creepy fingers up and down her arm possessively. Had the Magi known as well? It seemed unlikely.
“Does she know?” he asked quietly as the other man stared at the wall.
“Of course not. The woman just lost her mate four months ago.”
Kasperi nodded, in understanding and appreciation of how hard keeping such a secret must be for Kvoss. The Assassin was the only position in the House that was filled by a non-mated shifter. The life-span of those who ruled was considerably shorter than any other, and because of the darker nature of their job, in the early days it had led to many women leaving their partners. Only the rare female shifters appointed to the position had managed to keep mates.
To be in that position, and in love with his Queen… Kasperi couldn’t imagine the pain the other man must be feeling.
“We’ve got to get her back,” he said softly. “We can’t let her stay under his control. You know that, Kvoss. We have to free her. We have to fight! Forget all this shit between us. This is bigger than that.”
“You would have us put all this aside?”
“Damn straight. If we don’t work together, then we won’t have anything left to fight over afterward. We may never be friends, Kvoss, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be allies.” Kasperi stuck out his hand, holding it there.
Kvoss studied it, and him, for sever
al seconds. Then he reached out, took the hand, and shook it. “What’s your plan?”
Kasperi’s face slowly twisted up into a grin. “First, I need you to get me out of these restraints.”
“The two of us are not enough to go against Korred on our own. He’s summoned an army of F—”
“Don’t say their name,” Kasperi hissed. “I know what they are as much as you. But let’s not summon their attention.”
Kvoss came walking back over, a pink object in his hand, little blonde hairs flowing from the top of it.
“I can’t believe that’s a magical artifact,” Kasperi muttered.
“Do you want me to free you or not? I didn’t make it, someone else did. I just use it,” Kvoss said, taking one of Kasperi’s wrists and getting to work on the manacle. “Now tell me, what is the plan?”
“Well if he has an army, I suppose we shouldn’t come alone to the party, now should we?”
Kvoss smiled. “No, I suppose we shouldn’t.”
The first manacle dropped to the floor with a clang.
39
She was sitting on the top step of the dais upon which the Throne and other seats rested. Korred sat in the ruler’s seat, while the Queen sat to his left. The only other person in the room was Khove, and he stayed to the Queen’s left, hidden in the shadows, looking queasy and unhappy about the entire situation.
Without warning, the double doors burst inward with a flash of green. Two shifters walked forward, arms dropping to their sides. One of them was Kasperi, his wrists exposed. The other, to her astonishment, was Kvoss. Were the two of them working together now? Had they made amends?
Behind them came a veritable mass of huge, angry men. Some were already shifting into bear form, but she recognized the Captain, the Champion and others. The soldiers of the House marched together, their black uniforms with singular red stripe standing out. Behind them came others. They poured into the Throne Room, fanning out behind their leaders.
“Korred the Usurper! You are charged with high-treason. The punishment is death. How do you plead?” Kasperi’s voice rang out like a clarion call, the room’s acoustics carrying it to every corner.
