Three Deadly Trials (Battle for The Dark King Book 1)

by VS Winters

  Instinct took over my body amidst Scott's next attack. With one swift movement, I sliced my hand through the air and watched his ice splinter, fracturing down the middle as it flew toward me. With another sweep of my hand, the two halves split apart and pushed aside, both of them whizzing past my ears.

  The blue haze was more intense than ever as my eyes locked onto Scott. My fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they began to wind through the air. A breeze elevated the curls from my shoulders. The faster I moved my hands, the more intense the gusts became. I didn't stop until the pressure was roaring in my eardrums, and I could feel my hair lashing against my face, leaving it stinging. The floor fell out from under me as I relaxed into the element surrounding me.

  Closing my eyes, I leaned into the storm. Scott’s shouts were barely audible over the raging whirlwind around me. I reopened my sights to locate my target. Scott's face had gone calmer, his eyes were staring directly into mine as I opened my arms like wings. My heart thundered inside of me as I slammed my palms together, sending the force of my spell into Scott. It hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.

  My feet slammed back to the ground as the rustling of pages calmed and all I could hear was the sound of Scott panting. He was on his ass, staring at me in disbelief as his chest heaved. Releasing the power, I felt its influence leave me.

  "Very...good," he managed between gasps.

  "You okay?" I asked, lending him a hand. He allowed me to help him up. While dusting off his pants I couldn't help but notice the shit-eating grin on his face. Pride, I could sense it.

  "I'm fine. Or I will be, once I walk off the beating I just took."

  "You asked for it, remember?" I smiled.

  "I did, but I've never seen anything like that. I'm willing to bet, with the right training, you can elevate your power even further. But that...what you just did, it was something incredible."

  "What do you mean? It's just another power. You can shoot freaking icicles out of your hands!"

  "You don't even realize what you've done," He said in awe, a smile on his lips.

  With the way he was watching me now, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

  Chapter Fourteen

  "Eden, you fed off of my emotions and manifested them into yourself. Empaths are unheard of in our world anymore, but it sounds like you may be one."

  I shrugged, smoothing my hands over my hair, which was filled with static. Scott shook his head and lifted his eyebrows at me, expecting some sort of response.

  "Cut me some slack, Scott, I didn't even know I had any powers at all a week ago. Forgive me for not being as excited as you clearly are. Can we talk about something else, like, why you were mad at me earlier?" Scott didn't say anything, leaving it open for me.

  "Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I'm sorry for what I felt. Forgive me?"

  He sighed and looked at the table to his far left.

  "Help me get our lessons for the day picked up and organized, then I will forgive you."

  With a glance at the disordered table, I groaned but nodded in agreement. We began to clean the tipped bottles and, thankfully, they appeared to have remained intact for the most part. Scott started naming off ingredients that sounded like they had come from a storybook. The list went on and on, over hundreds of tiny bottles, each containing odd bits and pieces of things.

  "Today we will be focusing on two very different potions. You will be in the wilds, which can be dangerous."

  "The wilds, like, the enchanted forest outside of the castle?" I asked with a horrified stare.

  "I'm sorry, Eden, I can't tell you anything more about your location for tonight or what you will be doing there. The best I can do is show you how to protect yourself with alchemy. You will be able to bring two potions with you. I'm going to teach you to make one for illumination and another for clairvoyance."

  "How long will the Trial last?" I asked as he set up a mortar and pestle along with various bottles of ingredients.

  "As long as it takes you to figure it out." He said simply and started to pour things into the bowl. "Illumination requires very little, it's a fairly simple potion. You will need a touch of Silver Mist, two ounces of Sap of Enchanted Tree, a drop of Water of the Hidden Spring, and twelve crushed diamonds."

  "Simple," I muttered under my breath with an eye-roll for good measure. Observing as he mixed the ingredients, I noticed the smell of fresh rain as he poured them into an empty bottle. After corking the bottle filled with a light blue liquid, he handed it off to me.

  "When you need some light, pour this potion onto a thick, fallen branch. Make sure it is one that you can take with you as it is a one-use potion."

  "Got it," I said and shoved the bottle into my pocket. "Next?"

  "Next is clairvoyance. This potion is to be consumed and will allow your mind to think in ways that it wouldn't normally. Technically, this potion can be so potent as to show you the future. However, Blaive's council deemed it too strong and a potential cheat, so I had to dull it down enough so that it works like a brain booster."

  "So, I won't be seeing my future tonight?" I feigned a pout. Scott laughed and cleaned the bowl before beginning to pour the ingredients for the second potion into it.

  "No, you won't become a seer, not tonight anyway. Now, this potion is a bit more complicated, even the simplified version. For this one, you will need precisely four teaspoons of gold dust, three Dragon Leaves, a pinch of Trollie Buds, a fistful of crushed Leaves of the Clover, and a slosh of Liquified Ashes."

  "Sounds ridiculous," I spoke aloud, baring my teeth in regret as Scott shot me a glare.

  "As absurd as it sounds, these are centuries of recipes that have been passed down after years and decades of trial and error. Consider your ancestors and praise them for it."

  "Right, sorry."

  He moved onto mixing and dumping the newly-formed potion into another bottle. I took the silvery liquid from him and stuck the bottle in the same pocket as the other. Assisting in the cleanup, I tried to remember all the steps that he had taught me. Surely if these were the two things that he selected for me to bring, they had to be important, and I didn't want to be stuck in a situation without them.

  "That concludes the lessons for today," Scott said, wiping his hands clean and tossing the dirty rag onto the table. "We have been here for hours, and it's nearing nightfall, which means it's almost time for you to take your place in front of the throne for the first Trial. I'll be able to accompany you inside of the throne room, but once you are moved, you are on your own."

  "Scott?" I gulped against the lump rising in my throat. I didn't like the sound of being 'moved.'

  "Yes?"

  "I'm scared," I said with more meaning than anything I had said in my life. It showed on my face, plain as day. I could see it reflecting in Scott's tender gaze.

  "You will be fine, alright? You may be at a slight disadvantage, having not grown up in our realm like the other competitors, but you are smart and strong. You can do this. I will not allow you to lose your place in the Coven, and neither will any of the others on your council."

  I nodded, blinking back the hot tears in my eyes. With terror roaring in my veins, I followed Scott from the room and to our final stop for the day, which was the Throne room. Even with knots in my stomach, I was still taken by the beauty of the enormous room. The first three-quarters of the room resembled the rest of the castle, built with immaculate masonry. Beneath my feet was a five-foot-wide midnight blue carpet that stretched from the doors to the other side of the room, resting at the base of three stone steps.

  Two thrones perched atop the platform the steps led to. They stood glistening with gold arms and dark blue velvet cushions. Rowan, tall and proud, stood beside them, his hands folded in front of him as he waited for me to take my place alongside the other women. All of them were dressed in clothing that mimicked my own.

  Nija scoffed something under her breath as I stepped beside her, not that I cared. I was far too nervous to play
her mind games.

  "Welcome," Rowan commenced, just as soon as my feet had fallen into place. His voice was robust and loud like it had been at the Greeting. "I hope that all of your training has been sufficient as we enter the beginning of the Devotion Trials."

  He was speaking as though he were trying to impress someone. I spared another look around the room, not able to shake the feeling that we were being watched. Four women sat in each corner, their faces covered by crisp white hoods. In front of them hovered crystal balls that were emitting surges of light. Rowan cleared his throat before continuing.

  "Tonight, our competitors will perform in the Trial of Heart, in which each participant must use the morality inside of themselves to accomplish their goal. This Trial exists to prove an individual worthy of ruling a kingdom alongside her king. But it is more than that, the women must be wise in their task, for a Queen must be kind, and she must also know when it is wise to follow her head over her heart. Love, honor, and protection will see you through. May the Gods be with each of you and remember: There are no rules in these Trials, besides that, you may not kill one another."

  I gave Scott a nervous glance, feeling my palms dampen with sweat as Rowan began to nod at the women in the corners of the room. Everyone besides us seven, and the four magical crystal ball users, was made to exit the room, including the prince. Just as soon as the doors closed behind us, I was hit with a wave of magic that nearly knocked me on my ass. I struggled to steady myself as another wave slammed into me.

  "Pathetic," Nija laughed, holding her ground firmly.

  I watched as her face began to spin, or was it my face that was spinning? I turned my head and saw that the entire room was starting to shift. The high windows that sat along the walls shattered, and from the shards trees began to grow at an alarming rate. The midnight blue carpet sprouted twigs and underbrush while the walls ballooned and crumbled open. Stumbling backward, I shoved my hands over my ears to protect them from the cracking stone that thundered in each direction.

  I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the world to stop shaking before I opened them again. When I did, the others understood it was over as well. We spared each other a look before most of them retreated into the woods that now surrounded us. Pimea looked apologetic as she, too, took off in a sprint. Not knowing what else to do, I picked a direction to start running, letting my feet carry me as fast as they could manage.

  The woods were dark, making it nearly impossible to see where the hell I was going. The chiming of the two glass bottles reached my ears, reminding me that I had a potion to aid me in this. Falling to my hands and knees, I began to feel through the brush for a fallen branch. My hand wrapped around one that was just the right size, I stood and pulled it up with me. A scream ripped through my throat as I realized that what I held wasn't a branch, but the severed leg of some type of deer.

  Gagging, I threw the still-warm leg as far as I could as prickles on the back of my neck settled in. An odd sound was coming from just beyond my line of sight, like a gust of wind that would pick up and then stop suddenly. I tried to follow the sound, but it ceased, making me freeze in place.

  "Dangerous, aren't they? The woods, I mean." The voice was familiar. Straining my eyes, I could just make out the silhouette of a woman before she dissolved into the darkness. A hand grabbed my shoulder, but instead of ripping me to pieces like I thought it would, the grip loosened and vanished. The sound of laughter erupted behind me, like nails on a chalkboard. I knew that laugh.

  "Lavinia?" I called softly.

  Sure enough, the Vampire stepped in front of me with a whooshing noise, her eyes glowing like a wild animal. Scarlet blood, fresh, dripped from her chin just below a wicked smile that exposed her razor-sharp fangs.

  Chapter Fifteen

  "Frightened, little Witch?" She leaned in. The coppery smell of blood flooded into my senses, making it even harder not to throw up. Shaking in my boots scared, I knew she could see it, hear it, smell it on me. "Don't be afraid, not of me anyway. Nija has already claimed the right to best you."

  Another set of feet sounded from behind. They weren't tactless either, they were steps of a skilled navigator. Lavinia's eye gleamed even brighter as she looked past my shoulder, seeing something that I couldn't. She looked like a baby about to be handed a lollipop.

  "Looks like there is another little pawn to play with if you'll excuse me."

  My hair toppled back and over my shoulders as Lavinia used her superhuman speed to push beyond me. I didn't stay there to find out what she was talking about. Seeing an actual branch in a rare beam of moonlight, I picked it up and dug into my pocket for the bottle with the blue liquid inside. Once I had located it, I drew the cork from it with my teeth and dumped it onto the branch with a glance behind me. There was nobody following my tracks, at least not for now.

  A burst of blinding light radiated from the wood, making it so that the forest was no longer dark. At least, not within a twenty-foot radius of me. We must have been deep in the forest, as not even the glowing mushrooms grew around the trees as they had near the keep. I ran through the dense forest, hard and as fast as my feet could carry me. My body was slick with sweat by the time I could make out a faint flicker of light ahead. It looked to be a torch. Trying to recall what little information Rowan had given, I made my way to the light.

  A small clearing, just big enough to house a tiny cottage, lay in the middle of the trees. I made my way over the fallen branches and into the clearing. A twig snapped to my right, and I looked over to find Pimea and Shael making their way to the cottage as well. After seeing Lavinia, I was slightly shaken up and on edge. But I gave Pimea a wave, nonetheless.

  "Approach!" Yapped a crackling voice from in front of the cottage. All three of us stood in place, attempting to locate the owner. It didn't take long. The porch contained a twisted little wooden chair that held a wrinkly old man. He hunched forward, pulling in long drags from a wooden pipe that was puffing out smoke that stank of herbs. Peering at the other two women, who shrugged, I walked to the man and bowed.

  "Hello sir, we are here for Lord Blaive's Trials. Do you have any information that could assist us?"

  The man's milky eyes were halfway concealed by his shaggy gray eyebrows as he looked at me with a lopsided, gummy grin.

  "Lord Blaive," He rasped, tapping a twisted finger against his balding head that was covered in liver spots. Before I could say anything else his voice changed, becoming hushed and rich.

  "Have you the land and sea,

  To bring forth the ingredients, three.

  Yet, a word to the wise.

  The ingredients you seek are tied in a knot.

  And you shall not find them where there is rot.

  One shall fail, be it by might.

  Bring the ingredients to me,

  We shall see if an image of royalty is fitting for thee."

  When he had completed the verse, his eyes creased with a smile as he took another long pull from his pipe. I turned to the other two with my hands up in confusion.

  "What do the two of you make of it?"

  Shae looked deep in thought while Pimea shrugged. I turned back to the old man.

  "What are the ingredients, sir?"

  The little old man just continued to smile and smoke his pipe without another word.

  "It's a riddle," rung in the voice of the Elven woman. She looked at me with glinting doe eyes. The snow-white outfit she wore had been left untouched by the forest and it almost glowed even in the dim light coming from my potion and the torch above the old man. "Ingredients three, what could that mean?"

  "And ingredients for what?" I thought aloud. "What kind of recipe requires three ingredients?"

  A sparkle caught my eye as I stared at the ground trying to search my brain. The source of the shine was the hundreds of little Celtic knots on my tunic that Ellie had sown for the Trial. I smiled at the thought, that she had taken such care to make me feel at home. As I gazed at the tiny symbols, a thought
struck me.

  "Pimea," I asked, walking closer to her. "What do the three points of the Celtic knot represent?"

  Pimea's eyebrows drew together in consternation. Shael stepped forward and laid a perfectly shaped nail onto my tunic, tracing one of the knots as her eyes grew even wider. Her face pulled up to look at me.

  "Each point has meaning. Love, honor, and protection." She used her other hand to count them up as she said each one.

  "Didn't Lord Blaive say those things before we were sent here?" I asked.

  "He did," She smiled and nodded at the old man. I turned and re-approached him. He sat in the chair, still smiling, his old eyes looking at me without much consideration.

  "We have your ingredients. Love, Honor, and Protection."

  Following the words, I let my body stiffen, expecting a gust of magic to blow us back into the castle. It never came. Slumping my shoulders with disappointment, I turned to question the others but was cut off by a high-pitched scream coming from somewhere close by. A burning in my wrist forced my eyes to look and watch as a single point of the Faerie star branded into my skin.

  A gasp from Shael made me look back at her. The same thing was happening to both her, and Pimea.

  "That scream belonged to Kariye, she's been bested. We must hurry, Lady Eden." Shael said with a glance over her shoulder, as though monsters were about to breach the tree line. A fleeting thought of Lavinia and her glowing white eyes passed through my mind. They had been burning brighter than Scott's illumination potion...

  With a palm slap to the forehead, I remembered I still had one that might be perfect for the occasion. I withdrew my second potion and uncorked it with my teeth before swallowing the whole thing, working hard not to gag at the rotten taste of it. The effect was instantaneous and unlike anything I had ever felt before. Ideas and thoughts raced through my mind at lightning speed.