(Skeleton Key) Princess of the Damned

by Wendy Knight

  Ice poured through Landon's veins. "Cassie, what. Did. You. Do?"

  "And then tonight, they called. Her—her friend called and asked where you are and she said they just wanted to talk and I thought how bad could that be, they just want to talk? So I told them I'd find out, and then they told me to make sure you were alone—so—so no one would get hurt—"

  "You sold me out?" Landon bellowed. "Do you know what she is?"

  "She said—"

  "She's one of the most evil women in history, Cassie!" He shoved past her, heading for the kitchen. "You need to get out of here. If she doesn't kill you, I might." Turning to Eiress's mother, he said, "How do I fight her?"

  She spoke, which he could tell used precious energy, but Cassie was suddenly yelling behind him. He missed everything the ghost tried to say.

  "This isn't my fault! You dumped me, and then rather than face me, you snuck out and left me at your house in the middle of the night! I waited for you! You ran out to see some other girl, and you left me here, Landon! This is your fault."

  Slowly, Landon turned. "The woman on her way here is a murderer, Cassie. She attacked my mom, she's killed dozens of people in the last two days, and she's killed thousands more throughout history. She is bringing with her some of the most evil souls of our time. I doubt very much that I'm going to survive, and I doubt even more that you will unless you get out of here right now."

  Cassie sobbed once. "She told me to keep you here until she came."

  Landon stumbled backward like he'd been sucker punched. "You're doing all this to keep me here? You—you hate me that much?"

  "She said no one would get hurt!"

  "She lied!" Landon bellowed.

  Behind him, the doorknob rattled and the back door creaked.

  Too late to get to the kitchen. He had no weapons. He had no defense. He whirled around, took Cassie by the arm and dragged her to the front door. He couldn't run, but she could. He jerked the door open, shoved her through and slammed it in her face, locking it behind her.

  Gathering what courage he had, he turned.

  In his kitchen, Mary stood, surrounded by four men—men who, when Landon saw them in the bright kitchen lights, did not look whole. Like they were dead on the inside, and it was slowly rotting them away.

  "Guns and knives cannot kill them," his ghost whispered.

  Landon blinked. Between him and Mary, between the front door and the back, there arose a mist. "Guns and knives cannot kill the dead. The dead kill the dead, Landon."

  Forming from the mist were figures. Women. Girls. Boys. Men. Their souls were light, like Eiress's mother.

  The dead kill the dead.

  She had her own army.

  SOMETHING WAS VERY, VERY WRONG.

  Eiress had never felt such horror. Landon was in trouble, and her mother, and there was nothing Eiress could do. She could throw fireballs and cause explosions all she wanted, but in the end, she was stuck in the mirror.

  Just another girl who needed saving.

  She really, really didn't want to be that girl.

  Given nothing else to do, she prowled the gates of hell and blew up anything that showed its face. When that got old, she left the castle and went after the nightmares. Kittens, zombies, spiders, monsters. She didn't care. She took her frustrations out on everything she could find, circling farther and farther away from the castle. The moon hung shattered in the air, seeming to share her terror. If it were at all possible, she'd attack that, too. But she couldn't reach the moon. She couldn't reach the moon and she couldn't reach Landon and no matter how strong she was, she was helpless.

  She'd been helpless her whole life. It had never felt as awful as it did now.

  She was out of sight of the castle when her heart seized and spasmed. Gasping, she clutched at her chest and fell to her knees.

  The castle. She had to get back to the castle.

  She struggled to her feet, turning in a circle. It was so dark. She had no idea where she was. She'd never been this far away before. Even with Landon, they'd stayed within sight. The cave was just…

  She had no idea where the cave was.

  Again, her heart clenched and she gasped and stumbled, falling into the undergrowth. The pain intensified and she screamed, trying to claw her heart out through her chest.

  Landon.

  Landon was in trouble.

  Her mother was in trouble.

  They were together and they were both hurting, and her heart felt every blow they took.

  She didn't know what she would do, or how she could possibly help. She did know, though, that she had to get back on her feet, and she had to make it back to the castle.

  Sobbing, she pushed herself up. Her vision blurred, and she couldn't draw a breath, but somehow, she put one foot in front of the other. She fell more times than she could count—felt the thorns tear her skin and dress and hair. But she got up. When she could no longer see, she held her hands in front of her and listened hard for nightmares.

  Her heart.

  It was breaking.

  "Landon."

  "HELLO, PRETTY BOY. I'VE missed you. Did you miss me?" Mary jutted her rotting lower lip. "What's the matter? You only respond to the young and the beautiful?" She trailed a hand around the kitchen table as she made her way toward him, her claws making deep gouges in the wood. "Elizabeth would have loved you. And Eiress, well…" she tipped her head and studied him while everyone else in the room stood silent, poised and tense. "We all know how Eiress feels." And she laughed.

  Landon swallowed hard. "You're only here to hurt Eiress. But you can't. You can't get to her."

  "Hurting you hurts Eiress." Mary smiled. "Hurting her mother hurts Eiress. Hello, Jasmine."

  Jasmine. Eiress's mother shimmered angrily.

  "Why?" he asked, his voice harder and braver than he felt. "Why did you keep her when you knew what she could do?"

  Mary froze, her eyes narrowing. "I don't answer your questions, peasant."

  "Elizabeth wanted to kill her. But you'd never let her."

  Mary scoffed. "The difference between Elizabeth and me is that she lives for beauty. She kills for youth. I kill because—" Mary smiled, licking her teeth. "—I live for the pain of others."

  "So you kept Eiress because you fed off her pain? That was pretty stupid. Now she's going to blow up your entire world."

  Mary hissed, her eyes flashing red. "This is my kingdom now."

  Landon shrugged and hid his trembling hands. "Eventually, you'll have to go back. And she's waiting for you. Pretty stupid of you to keep her around. You're supposed to be this all-wise ruler and everything."

  "I couldn't kill her, you idiot! If Eiress dies, the whole kingdom falls."

  "My ancestors protect her." Jasmine spoke for the first time. "They make her strong. Stronger than Mary."

  Mary's head snapped toward Jasmine and she hissed again, her eyes snake-like in the bright light as she left the kitchen for the hallway. "This is your fault."

  Jasmine flashed a bright gold, shooting forward so quickly Landon's eyes couldn't follow. When his gaze finally caught up, she had her ghostly hand wrapped around Mary's throat. Translucent fire sparked from her fingers, charring Mary's white skin.

  And then all hell broke loose.

  Mary's minions leaped to her defense. Jasmine was throne backward into her ghosts and Mary lunged through the hall toward Landon, the court in her wake. Immediately, they were swarmed by golden ghosts, Jasmine shouting orders, leading the charge. They were able to entangle the men, but Mary fought her way through.

  To Landon.

  She dove at him, claw-like nails glinting in the darkness. As if from a world away, Landon noticed they were still caked in dried blood around the edges, and varnish from the table. "Landon!" Jasmine's scream jarred him from his trance, and he spun away just in time, grabbing up his mother's umbrella holding vase. He swung it as he came back around and hit Mary square in the face. The entire left cheekbone caved in and she screamed
. One hand to her cheek, she reached for him again, and somehow she moved so quickly he barely had time to react. Her claws grazed his throat and he felt blood well to the surface.

  Jasmine shot to his side and then straight through him. Her ghostly hand plunged into Mary's chest. "Run, Landon."

  He stumbled backward, up two steps. The entire lower floor of his house was in chaos. The ghostly army was holding their own, but barely. He seemed unable to touch them, but Mary's court could. Three steps away from him, one ghost fell, headless, and slowly faded away. The light from within died.

  And Mary had Jasmine now, claws moving lightning fast as she slashed at Eiress's mother. Jasmine cried out, her countenance fading.

  Like he was running a football play, Landon leaped down the stairs, hurdling a man being strangled by two ghosts at once. He dove, hitting Mary square in the chest, and they both went flying. He landed hard on top of her, watching in satisfaction as her neck snapped back and her skull crushed into the tile. He drew his fist back, only hesitating for a nanosecond because he'd always been taught not to hit a girl.

  That nanosecond was his undoing.

  With freakish strength, Mary hurled him away from her. He tumbled backward and slammed into the wall. He saw stars as the room blurred. Instantly, Mary was upon him, her claws tearing at his chest. It burned, like her nails were on fire as they ripped gashes through his skin.

  "Landon!"

  Mary froze and spun. The chaos in the room froze with her. Landon fought to see clearly, but failed. "Dad?"

  "Get away from my son!"

  Landon shoved Mary away from him, catching her in the face with his foot. Black blood sprayed him, the wall, the tile. "Dad, run!"

  But his dad was a parent, and a good one. He would never leave his son in the midst of a battle, no matter how unearthly it was. The ghosts held off Mary's court, and his dad made it to Landon's side. "We've got to get you out of here!"

  "I can't—"

  Mary screeched. It was ear splitting. Glass shattered and sprayed the room. Landon ducked, covering his head. His dad threw his body over Landon. Protecting him.

  But Mary didn't want him to be protected. Screaming, she stabbed her claws into Landon's dad's back and lifted him, tossing him across the room like he weighed nothing.

  "Dad!" Landon screamed and lunged to his feet.

  Mary rose to her full height, laughing. Her court surrounded her, advancing on Landon.

  Jasmine and her army rose out of the floor between them. "You will not touch him."

  Landon's dad lay, unmoving, across the room. Landon couldn't tell if he was even breathing. And Mary stood between them.

  As one mind, the ghosts advanced, blurringly fast, and attacked. Mary screamed as Jasmine again reached for Mary's heart.

  But she didn't have one.

  She shrieked, but her shrieks turned to laughter, and then she was ripping her claws through Jasmine's face over and over, holding Jasmine fast.

  Landon grabbed a kitchen chair and swung it at Mary's face. It was an antique from his mother's shop, and heavy. His arms shook, but followed through, and it hit Mary hard enough to shatter the arm that held Jasmine. Screeching, she dropped Eiress's mother and grabbed her broken arm.

  Landon darted around her, but she followed, spinning with him. Two of her minions were being torn to pieces, the other two were losing their personal fights. But Mary seemed unconcerned as she shot across the floor and hit Landon in the back.

  For the umpteenth time, they both went down, but this time it was Landon who cracked his head on the tile. Splotches through his vision and through blinks of clarity, he saw Jasmine fading in and out, her soul torn. Most of her army had fallen around her. Landon knew if he lost consciousness, that was it. He would die. Jasmine would lose. Eiress would lose. His dad would lose. In an instant, he heard his mom, cheering him on at every hard moment of his life. He heard his dad saying he believed him. "Take my strength, Landon."

  He heard Eiress, in his head, and somehow he found the strength to open his eyes. He pushed himself to his hands and knees and threw Mary off. He reached for the lamp, swung hard, and connected with her face. As she screamed, he surged to his feet and raced for the stairs.

  "Stop him!" Mary snarled. They were right behind him, their feet faster than his, laughing as they chased him, the same laugh he'd heard in the subway. But he'd been chased by defensive linemen his entire life, and when Mary lunged at him, he sidestepped. She flew past him and fell up the stairs.

  It would have been funny if it hadn't been so, so horrible.

  He made it to the landing and turned a hard right, running for his room. Safe inside, he slammed the door and twisted the lock, then backed away.

  "Bloody Mary."

  The doorknob shook. "Do you really think something so small could keep me out, Landon?" Again, with evil laughter. She punched the door, her claws shattering the soft wood, and she reached through, stained hand slowly turning the lock. "Did you really think you could save them, Landon? Against me?"

  "Bloody Mary," he gasped again.

  The door swung open, hanging awkwardly on its hinges. He could barely see her through the darkness—her pale skin seemed to absorb the shadows. The last of her court, one single torn up murderer, stood behind her. "No one in your world can kill me, Landon. Especially not someone so…insignificant as yourself. You should have sent Eiress back and stayed in her place. No one needs you here or there. Although," she shrugged, smirking at the man beside her, "Elizabeth would have enjoyed it."

  "Elizabeth is gone. Eiress blew her to hell. Vlad, too."

  Mary froze. He couldn't see her face, but he could smell the rot of her, could hear the drip drip drip of her black blood. "What?"

  "Your kingdom is empty." Blood kept running into his eyes, and he roughly scrubbed it away with his casted hand.

  "You lie!" Mary screamed and she lunged for him.

  He saw the flash of her claws just before he felt the pain of them, and he sagged back against the mirror, his knees giving out under the attack. "Bloody Mary."

  And she laughed. "Should I be flattered? You know my name."

  "So…does...she..." his words were slurring.

  "He's lost his little mind," she giggled girlishly over her shoulder to her henchman.

  "No. He hasn't."

  Through his pain, Landon saw Eiress reach through the mirror, her own hands shaped into claws. They dug into Mary's skull and jerked her back, away from Landon. With strength he hadn't known she possessed, she wrapped an arm around Mary's throat and pulled. Gasping and choking, Mary was dragged through the mirror. The chains slithered across the elaborate tile and clamped around this newest princess. "Nooooooo!" Mary shrieked. The mirror split, shattered pieces falling to the floor.

  "Eiress! Get out of there!" Landon yelled.

  He never saw the knife coming.

  He barely even felt the pain; it just seemed to melt into the rest of his wounds. He raised his head and stared into the eyes of Mary's last member of her court. They were black and dead, and his teeth, when he smiled, were rotted and curling with maggot-like sins.

  Eiress screamed. Her white, white hands shot through the cracked mirror and grabbed the man, claws tearing straight through him.

  He gasped, black blood spraying from his mouth, dead eyes widening in horror. Eiress jerked him back, into the mirror. Chains that didn't recognize Eiress because she'd never left, now clamped tight around this half of a man, claiming him as their own.

  On his knees, through a haze of blood, Landon raised his arms. "Eiress."

  She turned her back on him, disappeared, and then reappeared with Kaida on her shoulder. "Goodbye, Mary. I hope you enjoy hell."

  "This isn't hell, you stupid little girl. And I'll find another way out."

  Eiress shook her head, red streaks running through the black of her hair. "No. You won't." She backed through the mirror, first one foot, then the other, until all of her stood on Landon's side of the glass ex
cept her hands. The light that exploded from them was like an atomic blast in the darkness. Fire ripped through the ballroom, igniting everything in its path, and as Eiress pulled completely free, she closed her fist.

  The Isle of the Damned imploded.

  EIRESS WATCHED AS HER PRISON WAS engulfed in an everlasting inferno. The pain in her chest lessened with each new explosion, and it was replaced by a shocked numbness.

  Until she heard Landon slump to the floor behind her.

  It shook her from her trance and she whirled around, dropping to her knees. "Kaida, cauterize his wounds."

  "Landon!"

  Eiress looked up, momentarily blinded by the light.

  She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen light so bright.

  A man, a man she knew had to be Landon's father, rushed in, cradling his left arm. "The police are on their way. Where is she?"

  Eiress only blinked at him. Did he not see the little dragon breathing fire at his son?

  "She's…she's gone, Dad," Landon gasped around the pain. "Eiress saved us. All."

  For the first time, his dad seemed to see her. She had no idea how she must look—torn and dirty and half blind from her race back to the castle, a race she'd made just in time. Had she fallen just once more, or waited even one more moment to rise after a fall, she would have been too late. Mary would have killed him.

  "You—you're his imaginary friend?"

  Kaida squeaked, blew a spark, and Landon yelped in pain. His dad turned to Kaida, eyes wide.

  "Landon? Mr. Heritage?" a voice yelled from beyond the doorway.

  "Up here! We need an ambulance!"

  Loud steps pounded up what Eiress could only assume to be stairs, and suddenly the small room was full of uniformed men and women. There was much yelling and many questions. Kaida scurried under the bed and Landon was pulled away from her as they fought to save his life. Men came in and carried Landon away on a wheeled thing, and another man tried to get Landon's father to come with him, as well.

  "Eiress," Landon gasped. "Eiress, stay with me."

  Suddenly, all the eyes in the room were on her. "Who are you?" The man who had come in first asked.