by T. S. Ryder
“Hail! What purpose have you, Sir Knight?” the guard on the left called towards her as he crossed scythes with the right guard to bar her entrance to the castle grounds.
With the confrontation, a pang of longing for Tarron and Carmichael to be at her side rolled through her. But Karina pressed on. “Hail. I come seeking audience in the throne room with her majesty, Queen Danasi.”
“Under what order?” the left knight questioned.
“None but my own.”
“For what purpose have you to see her?”
“She is but a witch that has laid curse on my lover! I intend to force her into freeing my love.”
The left knight was silent as he looked over at his companion, who shook his head with a frown. “You are denied entrance.”
“Then you will perish under my blade,” Karina warned softly.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances with each other, but held their ground. “You wouldn’t dare!” shouted the guard on the right.
Karina pulled out her sword and pointed it toward them.
“You will let me see her or you will die,” she murmured once more, watching as the guards’ eyes widened as they realized she’d meant her words.
“You... You could be executed!” the man on the right sputtered, as he pushed her away with the head of his scythe. “You…” but before he finished the left knight sighed and dropped his scythe.
“Jerome, no blood needs be shed.”
“What sort of knights are you? So easily beaten?” Karina asked at this, though she sheathed her sword once more.
“We aren’t knights,” the right knight murmured. “She hasn’t a single true knight in her court, just peasants pretending. Peasants who are too poor to pay taxes! Please... Please don’t kill us, Lady Knight!” the left knight sighed, kneeling on the ground before her. “The Queen’s a witch, she is! She is powerful enough the castle doesn’t need actual guards! We just try to deter people from bothering her.”
His words fell heavily on Karina’s heart and slowly, she removed her helmet.
“What are your names, peasant men?” she asked, helping the kneeling left guard to stand. Eyes full of gratitude met hers and for a moment, she could almost imagine Carmichael’s golden eyes peering up at her. But these eyes were green, not gold and the peasant man’s face was far too large to be her lover.
“Jamison,” he said, bowing slightly. “I am grateful you spared my life. This is Jerome, my younger brother.”
Karina sighed and glanced towards Jamison and Jerome. “I am the Black Knight and I have a favor to ask, Jamison.”
Jamison nodded eagerly, more than ready to help. “Anything, Lady Knight.”
“I need you to get me into that throne room.”
Jamison stared at her for a brief moment before he turned to his brother. “Jerome, go home. This will take a long while.”
Chapter Nine
“Lady Knight, this is not a good idea. If she didn’t know you were here when we were outside, she’ll know you’re here now. She’ll feel it, feel you,” Jamison whispered as he led Karina through the serf passages. Her armor was bulky in form and brushed against the walls of the hallways as they twisted and turned.
“This is something I must do,” Karina stated, her tone blunt and determined. “Carmichael needs my help.”
“C-Carmichael? As in Caichmiorral the Dragon King?” Wonder had flooded through Jamison’s green eyes as he spoke. He paused their journey to turn and look at her.
“You’re the lover of the Dragon King? Of Caichmiorral? Caichmiorral hasn’t been seen for over two centuries because he was cast into his human form by a witch. By Danasi. That is the curse you wish to lift?” Jamison gasped.
“Yes. The Dragon King Caichmiorral is my lover and this is a task I need to complete for him.”
Jamison grinned and laughed, the sounds echoing around them and down the halls. A true happiness seemed to rise up from the depths of his heart as he all but danced in place.
“My lady, you’ve already won! Has he bedded you, yet? Has he lain with you? He was cursed to damnation as human, lest he finds true love. Tell me, this is the man you are trying to save?” he asked eagerly, though instead of waiting for an answer, he pressed a hand to her breast plated stomach. Another peel of laughter split his lips as he looked up at her.
“You can free them from her! You can free this land from her reign! You can bring back the dragons again,” Jamison gasped.
In the back of her mind, Karina recalled their conversations about mating and eggs and the curse. Determination burned in her chest as her resolve for lifting the curse settled over her twice as strong.
“He has bedded me, as you say, but the curse still remains,” she sighed softly.
“He has? But then…”
But before Jamison could finish his statement, the wall to their right was blown wide open and a sickly sweet, smiling face peered out at them.
“There you are.”
The Queen Danasi stared at them. Her lips were smeared with crimson as deep as blood, her skin was paler even than freshly fallen snow and her face was so angular it was a wonder the bone didn’t cut straight through her pale skin. The most disturbing were her eyes, clouded over with scar tissue to the point it was near impossible to see her pupils and irises.
As she raised a hand and yanked it backward as if pulling on something invisible, Karina felt invisible hands wrap around her armored waist. They were impossibly large and she suddenly found herself careening forward through the wall and into the throne room.
A wall of energy, purple and shimmering strangely separated Karina from Jamison, who stared at her, petrified. She stared at the Queen, a hand on her sword as the alien woman paced around her.
With blinding speed, a hand lashed out and struck Karina across the cheek, leaving her head spinning as she fell to a knee. Blood filled her mouth and a tooth, one of her back molars, rolled about across her tongue.
Karina didn’t respond. Instead, she immediately lunged with her sword and the Queenside stepped her blow. A flash of purple crackled past, just barely missing Karina’s head and she swung her sword again, lightly grazing the tip against Danasi’s thigh. The taste of the witch’s blood left the blade humming in her hands as if it were eager to taste more. Karina was happy to oblige.
They sparred together, locked in a deadly dance of sword and magic. Karina took a blast of purple electricity to the chest with the force sending her flying back a few feet. As soon as Danasi came close to strike again, Karina sprang forward and slashed a deep gouge across her shoulder.
Danasi was easily faster than Karina and her magic was more deadly than her sword could ever hope to be, but she was significantly stronger and had professional training with her chosen weapon. Their match was even and resulted in sweat rolling down Karina’s temple with Danasi gritting her teeth.
Another burst of purple flashed and Karina deflected it with her blade, sending it back in Danasi’s direction though the witch merely levitated up into the air with a grim smile.
“Your time has come, Witch Queen!” Karina called to her as they both bent over, panting heavily. “You can never hope to defeat me!”
Queen Danasi just smirked, opened her mouth wide and screamed so high pitched it left Karina spasming uncontrollably in pain on the floor. The sound cut straight to her bones and left her struggling to stand as she writhed.
“I’m just getting started, knight,” Danasi cackled. In Danasi’s arrogance, Karina recovered enough to slash across her breast. “I am but toying with you.”
With that, she blew Karina backwards once more with a chest full of purple magic. The light given off the beam coming from the Queen’s hands was bright enough to hurt the eyes.
Once more, Karina struggled to her feet and her sword felt heavier than lead in her hand. “Well, that’s good to know. I’d have thought I was too challenging for you,” she growled out, her breath coming and going in rough pants.
�
��Why don’t we sit down and relax a little. Tell me all about that coward of a man known as the Dragon King,” Danasi sniffed, disdain clear on her face. “What a pathetic excuse for a monarch. He was too weak to hold his throne.”
Karina lunged with the sword and stabbed it deep into Danasi’s shoulder and the witch screeched in pain as she backed away. Yet, with the movement and Karina’s fatigue, her sword was yanked from her grasp.
“You don’t care about Carmichael...” Karina said, defiant despite her defenselessness. “Why kill all the dragons? The elves? Why do this and cause so much hatred and destruction in this land?”
Danasi grinned and her lips split wide with a cackle that echoed sickeningly around the all-but-empty throne room. “Why?” she repeated. “You are about to meet your death and yet you wish for conversation and ask me why?”
“You seem narcissistic enough to want to talk about your so called success story. If I’m going to die either way, why not give you another opportunity to gloat?” Karina snapped. Her words rewarded her with a slap across the face, not nearly as hard as the first had been, yet equally as painful.
“Hold your tongue. I could have you tortured and imprisoned for your threatening presence,” Danasi said as she waved a hand. Karina very suddenly lifted up into the air until she was level with her, suspended in the middle of the room.
“You know,” Queen Danasi hummed. “I always hated the question why. The elves all asked why I killed them, the dragons asked why I imprisoned them and Caichmiorral asked why I poisoned his mate... It’s a very bland question.”
Karina struggled in the air. No matter how hard she fought, an invisible hand clenched around her chest that much tighter, until she was sure her plate armor would bend around her body.
“Put me down!” she snarled, flailing her arms and legs about, but Danasi just cackled and clenched the invisible hand that much tighter around her.
“I think the simplest answer is because I could,” Danasi continued, as though she wasn’t quite literally holding her audience captive. “Of course, Morrigana was personal,” she purred, floating high enough now to touch the ceiling with her fingertips. Her eyes stared, transfixed at Karina as she struggled and fought.
“You do want to hear, don’t you?”
“Not particularly! Put. Me. Down!”
Danasi huffed, but continued on, as if Karina’s answer didn’t matter one way or another.
“See. I had always loved Caichmiorral. He was strong, valiant, majestic and had the most attractive human form I had ever seen. He loved me!”
Karina’s attention snapped to the story as she listened. Carmichael? Her Carmichael? Loving this... creature?
“You liar!” she snapped, glaring territorially.
Danasi stared at her, as first a look of cruel victory crossed her lips before her eyes flickered down to Karina’s hidden stomach and terror flooded her gaze. Without warning, Karina was dropped and plummeted to the stone ground.
Her breath whooshed from her lungs painfully as she slammed against the ground and her vision swam from where her head had cracked violently against the ground. She could already feel blood rolling through her thick red hair and down both her temple and ear.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Chapter Ten
Before she regained her feet, Queen Danasi raised a hand and she suddenly lifted into the air. It was unnatural, dangling freely through thin air.
“Put me down, you witch!” Karina demanded.
“Or what, little jouster?” Queen Danasi cackled madly as she threw Karina through the air, up against a wall.
Pain exploded through Karina’s head as it cracked back against the wall, stars swimming before her vision. She was strong, stronger than some men, yet here she was, being tossed around like a rag doll. Warm trickles of blood ran down her neck and nausea curled in her stomach.
“Wee jouster coming to beat the baddest woman of the land? And here she’s in love with the King of the dragons, who’s stuck as little more than a human,” Queen Danasi cackled, as she blew out a breath. Immediately, the throne room filled with wind so strong, the straps of Karina’s armor broke apart and the plate armor fell to the floor.
“Shut up!” Karina shouted as she kicked and flailed in the air, desperate to get down, to get at the witch below her.
But Queen Danasi wasn’t listening. Instead, she stared up at her victim. Fury was clear in her clouded eyes, as they stared transfixed at the unnatural bulges in her stomach. They’d grown twice their size since she’d put her armor on that morning until they were the same length as her forearm and pressed outward a palm’s length.
“You,” she spat, very real fire burned in her eyes as she dropped Karina. “You’ve lain with him?!” “What have you done?!” she shouted, forcing Karina back onto her back to stare at the ovular, undamaged masses in her stomach.
Suddenly, magic all but singed through the air it was so intense. The thick, stone floor of the throne room cracked open wide and the windows all shattered outward. A burst of flame so bright it was near blinding, yet cool enough to touch, flooded through the room in the form of a massive dragon.
“This cannot be so! You! What have you done?! The Dragon King was never to recover from his broken heart!” Queen Danasi snarled as she watched the flame dragon swell larger and larger until it pressed against the high vaulted ceiling. As Karina watched, the Queen’s very form contorted and convulsed. Her arms bent impossibly backward and her eyes which were already disgusting and malformed, elongated up her face until they looked like those of a snake.
While all this happened, Karina lay on the ground, hand roaming slowly over the eggs in her stomach as she watched the flame dragon soar higher and grow larger still, until it winked from existence.
For a moment, all was silent. Danasi glared daggers at her while she slowly sat up and got to her feet. The Queen stared at Karina as she walked slowly across the cracked ground and retrieved her sword from where it had been ripped from her.
“Your curse is broken, witch,” Karina smirked. As if to accent her words, a monstrous thundering roar sounded from outside.
True terror crossed Queen Danasi’s face at the sound and she scrambled away from Karina as if the Lady Knight had stung her.
It gave Karina the chance to slash against her chest with her sword and blood as black as ink spilled across the floor. Her head ached and the entire throne room felt as though it had filled with a dense fog that slowed her movement and robbed her vision of its clarity. A sense of victory came over her.
“Karina!” a voice lower pitched than humanly possible, yet heart-wrenchingly familiar, called her name as the entire throne room shook violently, serving only to deepen the cracks on the stone floor all the more.
A massive head, bigger than anything Karina had ever seen, broke through the castle wall and straight into the throne room. Gold dazzled her eyes as the sun reflected off of scales the size of her head. With haste, she scrambled over to the golden creature, even blown up the size of a small pumpkin, she’d recognize the fierce gold eye that peered at her from anywhere. Carmichael had come to rescue her.
Before she had made it halfway across the room, she was struck with such a strong blast of magic, it felt nearly as though her skin was being cleaved from the bone, though no physical damage seemed to show.
“No! No, no, no!” Queen Danasi shrieked as she shot from the ground and exploded in a burst of purple light out of the ceiling of the throne room and into the dusky sky. “This is not how this is supposed to go! You can’t lay with a human!” she shrieked hysterically, bleeding magic as it swirled around her in a thick cloud. The magical purple energy crackled tangibly in the air, but Carmichael, golden eyes the same even in the face of his dragon form, stared her down.
“Danasi!” he boomed, wings spread wide and sun gleaming off his scales in a shower of flickering golds. “You have committed crimes against the kingdom of Grizlenzadi and her people. You h
ave exterminated an entire race, murdered my beloved and my brothers and stolen my throne.”
The Queen shuddered visibly and her purple magic faltered slightly with her fear. “You were weak!”
“You betrayed me, personally and destroyed my eggs!” Carmichael roared, flame flickering inside his nostrils and great plumes of smoke escaped past his mouth.
“I betrayed you?!” Danasi spat. “You betrayed me! You said you loved me! I wanted to be yours, Caichmiorral! I wanted to bare your eggs! I was willing to give myself completely to you!”
Carmichael snorted angrily and flames shot out from his nostrils. A low, booming growl rolled thunderously in his throat and his chest that quickly turned into an earsplitting roar of pure rage.
“You were a child! I had raised you! I loved you as a daughter, Danasi! I named you in my own tongue! You scorned that care and compassion and committed murder on a scale I had never seen before out of spite!”
Again, the purple magic faltered around Danasi, until it all but winked out of existence. She barely remained steady from where she hung, floating in the air, level with Carmichael’s great head.
“I wanted to belong to you!” she whined, tears in her scarred over eyes. “I wanted you to love me like I loved you! I... I could still be yours! Take me, right here and now! Claim me as your mate and we can be together!”
“Danasi,” Carmichael rumbled, plucking her from the air in a clawed hand and holding her up close to his eye. “I can never forgive you for what you have done. And the time has come for you to die.”
“Please... You could learn to love me...” Danasi begged, her eyes were wide in crazed terror. Carmichael tossed her up into the air and blew a great jet of blue-white flame high into the sky. The Queen sobbed audibly as she burned. It was so loud, even Karina could hear from where she still lay, dazed, in the destroyed throne room.
