Disgrace
Page 20
He fell silent, and I shoved him ahead of me through the village and back to Nell’s temple. I paused at the doorway, feeling eyes on me, but there was no one around. I brushed it off as simple paranoia, shoved Alric inside. At the mirror, I placed my hand on the surface and thought of my temple. Once we were back in Channon, I picked up our pace, eager to get back to Mother and see all she had in store for Alric’s demise. He lagged until I shoved him so hard that he tripped and landed hard on his face. Blood gushed from his nose, and I laughed as I yanked him back to his feet.
“Keep walking, or I’ll make you bleed even more.”
His steps didn’t falter then until he saw the torches creating a circle where the cabin used to stand. It was completely gone now and, in its place, stood a tall pole stuck in the ground. In between the torches were mirrors, all turned inward toward the center, leaving one place open for us to enter the circle.
“Mother, I’ve brought you a present,” I announced and shoved Alric to his knees.
He trembled as Tori turned around, her long hair blowing softly as her magic rolled off her in powerful waves. Her eyes flared white as she approached him and took the gag from his mouth.
“Tori, please, whatever you’re doing, you must stop this! You can’t kill me!”
“Can’t I?” she challenged. “Look around. There is no one here to save you.”
“What did I do to you aside from giving you a child!”
“You tricked me!” she screamed in his face. “You used me. Now you will pay for ever touching me.” She held her arms out to her sides, spinning slowly around. “You remember when I thought you were human, I spoke of a means to humble the gods.”
“I thought you jested,” he whispered, but his eyes widened in panic at the sight of the mirrors.
“I was serious about all my plans. Before, I had my doubts this ritual would never work, but now… now that I’ve pushed Gabriella hard enough, her true potential has opened my eyes. Dark and light, a balance, that’s all I need.”
“Gabriella, please,” he mumbled, turning to me and falling over in his haste. “I’m your father!”
I drew back my hand and punched him. “You were never my father. I have no father.”
Josef dragged him toward the post.
“You can’t do this! The gods are too powerful! They’ll destroy you both!”
“Not if I have what they have,” Tori whispered.
An infuriated scream reverberated in my mind and I gave my head a shake. My instinct screamed at me that this was wrong. I had to warn them, warn someone… what was I even doing here? There was someone who needed me. Somewhere I had to be…
“Gabriella,” Tori snapped, and the thoughts vanished. “I need you to imbue the mirrors with your magic.”
“I don’t know how,” I stated.
“Don’t worry, I will show you. Come.” She held out her hand for mine.
The hair on the back of my neck rose, and my feet refused to move at first.
“I said, come,” Tori insisted.
Suddenly, I was at her side.
“Now then, do as I tell you, and all will be well. First, we will have our revenge against your father. Then the witches’ war against the gods will finally begin.”
I heard whispers through the trees, but could have sworn we were alone. Then she was taking my hand and placing it on the first mirror. The moment my fingers touched it, I felt a terrible and strange tugging, as if the mirror was trying to take something from me. I wanted to pull my hand away, but mother was watching, and I was here to serve her. Whatever she needed from me, I would give.
“That’s it, my daughter,” she whispered from behind me. “Give me your magic. Give it to me.”
My fingers pressed harder to the first mirror, hoping I had enough to give to finally make her happy.
16
Holden
I studied the maps of all the worlds, looking up at the sound of a throat clearing.
“She’s nowhere in the Underworld,” Maclin reported.
“Then we move to Channon next. It’s the only logical place for them to be.”
“And if they’re not there?” Maclin asked.
“Then we will move through every single human kingdom until we find a trace of Gabriella. I will not leave her to face her mother alone. Understood? Get the hounds and your men ready. We leave when the bells toll at the top of the next hour.”
Maclin exited the hall, the rest of the guards trailing behind him.
Hattie ran inside. “King Jaspen is here, sire,” she announced.
The next moment, the god himself marched into the hall.
“Out! Everyone out! I need a word with my son. Alone,” he snapped.
I nodded to Hattie, and the room cleared out quickly, the doors shutting. I was now alone with Jaspen.
“I have a bit of a problem, so I hope this is important,” I said as calmly as I could as he stalked around the table.
“How has it been with Gabriella these past few weeks?”
“We are getting along, though I’ll admit we’ve had our bumps. Why?” Did he know she was missing and came to help? But if that was the case, then why did he appear so furious. “Jaspen?”
“And how many times as she been to Channon lately?”
“Quite a few. A sickness spread throughout my kingdom, and she needed the aid of the elders in her village. Why are you here asking these questions?”
“And has she ever mentioned going to Prestigen?”
I paused. “Not once, why?” He was wasting my time. Gabby needed me, and the longer I stood here speaking about nonsense with him, the less time I was out there saving her from whatever torment Tori was putting her through. “What are you even doing here, if not to help me find Gabby?”
“So, she is missing,” he snarled, slamming his fist on the table. “I knew it! I knew one of them would try this, I just prayed I was wrong.”
“Do what?” I roared, not caring when he glared at me. “Gabby has been taken by her mother.”
“The witch? That is what you think is happening.”
“That is what’s happening. I saw it,” I shot back. “I have to go find her.”
“Yes, you must find her and then you must bring her to me to be punished.”
“For what?” I ranted, standing toe to toe with him now. “Gabby has done nothing wrong! She’s been nothing, but kind to me and those here.”
“Lies, all of it,” he bellowed. “She was spotted with Alric!”
I flinched back at his words. “What? No, no that’s not possible. She hates that god.”
“Then why was she seen with him? Taking him from his home in Prestigen, only moments ago? You answer me that, Holden, and it had better be the truth.”
My mouth worked, but no words came out. None of this made sense. Gabby wanted nothing to do with him so why would she be seen with him? I shook my head, refusing to believe what he was saying, but he was already moving away from me.
“It’s started. Alric has convinced one of his daughters to pick up where he left off.”
“No,” I argued hotly. “She would never do that.”
“You’ve only been wed a short while. How well do you truly know your bride?”
“I know the hell she went through at the hands of Tori and Alric,” I said quietly. “I know she would never do anything to harm mortals or our kind. She is not a monster, not after what was done to her.”
Jaspen sighed heavily. “She has deceived you, my son, and it is time you learn the truth.”
“I refuse to believe any of this,” I snapped. “If Gabby is with Alric, then it’s not by her choice. Tori is using her. She’s done something to twist her mind.”
“Or they are plotting to start the war again.”
“No, you don’t know Gabby as I do. She would never do that!”
“I know it’s hard to hear you’ve been betrayed, son, but—”
I kicked the nearest chair to me in rage, shouting, “I
am not your son! And you are wrong. Do you hear me? You are wrong. Not everything is about that damned war! Whatever is happening has nothing to do with you. Gabriella is in trouble, and I am going to go save her. You can help, or you cannot, but do not stand there and speak to me as if I know nothing of betrayal! Not after how I grew up, how I was tortured for what I am!” My chest heaved as I waited for him to lash out at me, attack me, do something.
Instead, he stood there and just stared, studying me as if he was seeing me for the first time.
“You are wasting my time,” I concluded. “I need to find Gabriella now before it’s too late.”
“You have one day to find her and prove me wrong,” he said as I neared the doors. “One day, Holden, or I will take my entire army, track her down, and kill her and Alric so we can be finished with this mess, once and for all.”
“And here I thought you were a merciful god,” I shot back over my shoulder.
“The time for mercy has long since passed if he is plotting to rebel again.”
I pushed through the doors, leaving him in the hall, not trusting myself to speak to him again without losing what little control I had over my anger. “Maclin!”
“Yes, sire!” he yelled, rushing toward me.
“Get your men together. We’re leaving.”
“Now?”
“Yes, we’ve just run out of time,” I informed him as the doors opened and Jaspen stormed out. He said nothing to me, but continued toward the armory and the mirror, so he could return to his home. One day. I had one day to find Gabriella and prove she was not trying to restart the war. “Hurry, Maclin, I dread what will happen if we don’t find her in time.”
I raced back to my chambers to grab my daggers and give myself a brief moment to collect myself. I had no way to know what I was going to be walking into, or what Gabriella would be like. If Tori was involved, there was a chance she would not be herself, might not know who I was. I stared intently at my reflection in the mirror, glancing at the braids and beads Gabby had redone for me I guessed while I slept. If she attacked me, could I fight back against her? If she was lost, would I be able to do what had to be done to save us all?
I growled, forcing the idea out of my head. We would get to her in time. We would save her.
Otherwise, I’d have to kill her. And then destroy myself in the process.
I exited the temple first, Maclin and the rest of my guard behind him. “I want you to stay here in the village.”
“What? No, sire. I can’t do that.”
“You are going to because it’s an order. If I can’t stop Tori, she may take her rage out on the villagers. You will keep them safe for Gabriella and me. Yes?”
“I need to go with you, at least.”
“No, you will remain here and see to their safety.”
He frowned, but finally yielded. “If that is your will, sire, then that is what I will do.”
“Good. I also need you here in case Jaspen and his army show up before I have a chance to save Gabriella.” I’d told him about Jaspen’s accusations right before we left. None of the demons believed the god’s words, but there was no other way to convince him of the truth, unless I presented Tori’s dead body to him and Gabriella was found not working with Alric. “If they arrive, you find a way to send me a sign. I will not let him kill her.”
His jaw clenched, mirroring my own I was certain, knowing what I would have to do if I could not save Gabriella from whatever horror Tori may have caused her. “Gods’ speed, sire. Return to us with our princess.”
“I shall do my best.” I took off into the trees.
Just as the time I was here with Ezra, the air was heavy with power. It pressed down on me, making it hard to keep pushing forward. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and I spotted several pairs of yellow eyes before two shadows broke free of the rest.
“Hela,” I whispered as the wolf shook out her furry neck. “Is she here?”
She whimpered, staring up the hill to where the cabin used to stand. Grell shot out of the trees beside her, snarling and growling, but not at me. They exchanged a few more sharp growls and yips before taking back off into the trees, running the opposite direction of the cabin.
But I could not run. Not if Gabby was up there with Tori. Gritting my teeth, I climbed higher and higher until torchlight illuminated the darkness, forming a circle around where the cabin used to stand. I crouched low, keeping myself out of sight the best I could. Josef was there, standing outside the circle, adjusting something… mirrors? There were so many now, many more than he took with him from Disgrace. I shifted around another tree and spotted long brown hair that did not belong to Gabby.
“Do you feel it?” the woman—I assumed Tori—said loudly, throwing her arms up over her head. “So much power! Our union was good for one thing only, Alric. One thing only.”
“This will kill her!” Alric shouted.
I heard the sound of flesh smacking flesh.
“Silence! You no longer hold any sway in this world. You will be the first to die, and then the rest shall follow. There will be a war like none the worlds have ever seen. The witches will rise, and your kind, all of your despicable kind, will be slaughtered by the hundreds!”
I cursed quietly. So there was a war being plotted, just not the one Jaspen assumed. Alric’s only part in it would be to die.
“You will fail. The gods are more powerful than witches.”
“Ah, yes, they would be if not for this little trick I’ve perfected. Once Gabriella’s magic is absorbed by these mirrors, I will have me access to the wealth of power you beings leave behind each time you pass through one.” Tori circled Alric again, cackling with delight. “Your power will be our power.”
Alric glared past Tori and across the circle. “Gabriella please, you must wake up! Do not let her do this to you! She will destroy you! Please!”
“How dare you speak to her?” Tori ranted, and smacked him again.
I ignored their bickering and set my sights on the edge of the circle where Alric had been looking. There, with her hand pressed to one of the mirrors, was Gabby. Her eyes were a dark violet, matching the light emanating from her hands. Her face was blank. She lifted her hands from one mirror, stumbled, and then pressed them to the next one. Tori was stealing her daughter’s magic to fuel whatever her plot. Stealing magic from the gods. I almost couldn’t believe it, but after what I’d seen these last few weeks, I was going to assume it would work. I had to get to Gabby, pull her away from those mirrors before—
A pair of strong arms closed around me from behind.
“Josef! Get off me!” I yelled
“Sorry, sire,” he whispered in my ear even as he dragged me out from my hiding place. “I can’t… control myself… she’s in my head.”
I kicked and punched, but the dark power flowing through Josef made him too strong for me. He tossed me over the mirrors and right into the circle, at Tori’s feet. She kicked me in the face, sent me sprawling in the dirt.
“I understand it’s you I have to thank for destroying my home,” she snapped.
“You’re welcome,” I muttered, pushing to my knees.
Her hand shot out, and without touching me, her hand closed around my throat. I was lifted off my feet and hovered in the air as she closed the distance between us. “Yes, I can see why Gabriella was pulled to you, but I’m afraid you are too late. She is mine, not yours. As I warned you so many nights ago.”
“She was never yours,” I gasped, and the grip on my throat tightened.
“Was she not? I gave her life!”
“But I showed her how to live that life,” I argued, forcing the words out, managing to get just enough air. “I showed her love, something you never did.”
Her eyes narrowed in rage. “You do not love her.”
“Yes… I do. What bothers you more? The fact… your daughter loves… a demi or that it was not your pushing her that brought out her magic, but rather, her love for me?”
“You know nothing of how magic works,” she seethed.
“Maybe not, but I know her better than even you do. She’ll beat you.”
Tori sneered. “She has tried, it is true, but I’ve remedied our little problem. Would you care to see your precious Gabriella now?” She snapped her fingers, and I held my breath as Gabriella pulled her hands from the mirrors to face me instead. “Shame you showed up now. She’s already been weakened by the mirrors. They’ve taken her magic, but she has just enough left to finish you off and complete the ritual.”
“Gabriella,” I said firmly, willing her to blink, her lips to twitch, for her to do something. Anything! “Gabriella, look at me, please. You have to stop this. You have to fight her!”
She said nothing, only stared straight ahead, almost as if I wasn’t even there at all.
“What did you do to her?” I snarled, pushing against Tori’s power that held me back, and kept me trapped. “Let her go!”
“Oh, I will, once she’s served her purpose and is nothing more than a corpse. Gabriella, look at me, daughter.”
She turned her head as if she was Tori’s pupped to control.
Tori’s smile was sickly fake. “Do you remember your husband? Dear, sweet Prince Holden.”
Gabriella blinked, and the violet darkened as her hands curled into fists. “Holden.”
“Yes, my child. He has come for you. To take you back and away from me!”
Gabriella’s eyes shot to me, and I was no longer looking at the woman I loved, but someone who despised me. Her lip lifted in a snarl that was more animalistic than human, and she stalked toward me as Tori finally released her hold on my body.