*****
His Queen cursed, screamed, and raged.
The agony in Melshek’s chest mimicked her rage, rising and falling with each breath. Yet, he sat calmly on his makeshift throne. The people, smiles of gratitude on their faces, surrounded him at the highest room in the town hall. Eight of the most devoted subjects kneeled in pairs at his feet. This was what he’d wanted, right? He was king here. Wasn’t that all that mattered?
Something is wrong, he realized, staring at the smiling subjects before him. No king would have a coronation like this. Four pairs of two surrounding my table. Why does this seem so familiar?
In his mind he felt an odd connection. Over a dozen other minds were linked with his, sharing information and orders with the Queen, but he couldn’t quite reach them. It was like awakening in the night and trying to remember the details of previous dreams.
So familiar, he thought. Then it hit him.
Like the vault.
The vision before him snapped back into reality. Eight corpses sat before him, impaled in an upright, fetal position with spears. Their faces were full of terror, pain, and confusion. Something moved further off in the dim light, catching Melshek’s eye. It stood a head taller than a normal person, but his veins were black and pulsing in the candle light, as if a thousand small snakes writhed beneath his skin.
Melshek opened his mouth to scream.
His Queen struck fiercely, the pain so intense that he plummeted from the table, unable to move or think. "If you could have just behaved yourself," she snarled, her voice cold and malicious. "Now you’ll have to watch it all. I’m tired of playing with you."
Her will rushed into his body, filling his chest, arms, and legs. He tried to scream, run, blink, but all his efforts did nothing. Of its own volition, his body started to walk around the corpses on the floor and down the hallway, the Queen’s power taking its full hold, leaving Melshek a prisoner within his own mind.
By the Gods! he swore in his mind. What have I set loose?!
Chapter 21
Decoy Page 25
