The King's Gate

by K T Munson

  Malthael’s face was a mask of horror and contempt. “You do not know what she is capable of. She is the sister of our enemy.”

  Ki’s hair stood on end and he looked back to Atlanteia, sister of the Lord of the Hunt. Ki hadn’t known that Arawn had any family.

  Her black translucent wings flittered a moment before resting. “Half-sister,” Atlanteia replied, sounding offended.

  “Atlanteia has lived among the Dusky Woods since her betrayal,” Ethandirill interjected. “She may share blood with Arawn, but her undoing is as much Arawn’s fault as her own.”

  “Arawn is little concern of mine,” Atlanteia confirmed with a shrug.

  Elisabeth turned to Babayaga. “Do you guarantee our safe arrival to the Divine Court?”

  Babayaga’s face strained for a moment before she answered, “I do” between gritted teeth.

  That seemed to settle the matter, although Malthael didn’t appear pleased with the outcome. He continued to treat Atlanteia with unwavering hatred. Ki wondered what the woman had done for Malthael to feel such wrath toward her. Every movement she made seemed irksome to Malthael, who continued to watch her like a hawk. It was clear that their history was deep and most likely interesting. Normally Elisabeth would have been fascinated, but all she seemed to be today was distracted.

  “I’ll leave you to your meddling sister.” Yubaba sauntered off. Ki could feel the disinterest emanating off her.

  “Atlanteia,” Babayaga said, her voice cutting through everyone’s thoughts, “take them to The Divine Court. You know your fate should you fail me.”

  Atlanteia smirked at the old Det Morian. “Remember what waits for me if I do.” Ki wondered what deal had been struck between them. Atlanteia began walking toward the edge of the woods. Everyone hesitated to follow her until she looked back and crooked a finger. “Come along my pretties, we have Elementals to catch.”

  Chapter 39: Tym Resh

  Clara curled herself into the smallest ball that she could. It was dark under her bed, and she was sick from fear. First she’d been attacked in Loveday and then in Jules Harbor. The demon birds in Loveday had paled next to the spider monsters in the second attack. If that warrior woman hadn’t shown up to save them, the creatures would have eaten her and everyone in the smithy.

  She had thought she’d escaped safely home back to Loveday. That was until Clara had woken to the same dim fog as she’d seen during those episodes, she’d bolted the lone window and door of her shack.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks now. The inhuman scream from outside caused her to whimper. Why her?

  No matter where she went, they followed her. Creatures from the Netherworld were rising up and coming for her. She felt like she was being hunted. What she had done to deserve such horrors?

  She heard something huff outside her door, and her heart beat loudly in her ears. The fog rolled into her shack. It was little more than a room and a kitchen area, the size of a food stall. It didn’t make her feel the least bit safe. Something sniffed at the door, and she covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Silence followed, and for an instant she thought it had moved on. Straining her ears, Clara listened for even the barest of sounds.

  Something rammed into her door and the long thick piece of wood that kept it barred splintered, though it held. The whole house shook from the impact, and Clara screamed before she could stop herself. She scrambled as far against the wall under the bed as she could and covered her mouth with both hands.

  She realized she might die. She felt separated, disconnected from herself, her body. When the beast charged again, the bar groaned and snapped. Wood splintered across the floor as the door crumbled inward. She watched from under the bed, her eyes glued to the four furry feet with coven hooves that she could see walk into her home.

  Deep inhalations from the creature told her it was sniffing her out. Clara felt her chest constrict. It was going to find her!

  Screams came from outside as the fog continued to roll in. Suddenly, the creature peered under the bed. It had a foxlike face and horns. She screamed and pushed herself back, but it didn’t lunge at her. A hand reached down an instant later, followed by the face of a man.

  “Clara?” the man asked as Clara tried to stop sobbing. “Are you Clara?”

  She nodded her head as she sniffled. The man had brown hair and dots around his hairline. He leaned back and called out, “I have her.”

  Just as the words left his mouth, something rammed into the building. The hooved dog creature jumped to its feet as something outside hissed. A yell came from outside, but Clara couldn’t make it the words. Shifting away from the back of the bed, she kept a wary eye on the seemly tamed monster still lying on the floor of her room.

  “Maris, get her to the wagon!” the voice called.

  The man was back again. He reached under the bed for her, and she flinched. “Let’s go.”

  Clara hesitated a second but then reached out for his hand. He hauled her out from her hiding spot and hurried her from the house and out into the street, where a larger man was wrestling with some sort of giant scaly bird. It swung its head one way and then the other. When it saw her, it chomped in her general direction until the man punched it.

  She squinted at it. It wasn’t a bird, actually. It was some sort of lizard with wings. She’d never seen anything like it. As the strange man hurried her along, the creature threw his head at the other man and knocked him back. He skidded in the dirt. His head wrapping fell away, and she saw that the other man’s skin was red. He had horns where his hair should have been. He was like the monsters her father had told in stories about her grandfather—the monsters that had come to Tym Resh all those years ago. She’d never believed the tales until very recently. She squeaked in surprise and tried to pull away from the other man to run back to the safety of her house.

  The winged lizard ran toward her, and the demon rushed back toward it. She fell back in the dirt when she tried to jerk back from the charging monster. The flesh around the creature’s head extended like a fan, and the creature exhaled fire. The large demon man muscled the creature’s head away from her, and the fire struck the building instead.

  “My house!” she called as the wood caught and lit up the fog.

  The first man picked her up and carried her. Clara was so horrified that she didn’t fight it. Her limbs felt numb as he helped her into the back of a wagon. Firelight cast shadows against the wagon’s canvas, and she could see a figure wrapped under a pile of blankets. When she leaned toward him, his eyes snapped open.

  Gasping, Clara leaned back as the boy, who was younger than her, sat up. His eyes focused on her. “I can sense it wanting to leave.” She was utterly confused by his words. Then the boy reached out for her. “Take my hand.”

  “Maris!” a voice called, drawing the older man away.

  Despite her shock and the fear, Clara felt something tug just below her breastbone as she stared at the boy. As though a secret she’d always known but never actually knew was being revealed to her. She reached her left hand out slowly before setting it within the boy’s palm Clara saw the old man, Jinq, die and the boy in front of her, Troy, take the mantle of Keeper. She knew this as though she had been there and lived it. Her grasp tightened as she tipped her head backwards and she arched her spine.

  She jerked away violently to stop the stream of images. They frightened her but somehow were also familiar. Breathing hard, Clara watched Troy shake as though he had seen the same thing. She realized how haggard and pale he was, like he was barely clinging to life.

  “Will you take?” he asked, panting.

  Just beyond the wagon, the demon still fought the creature. She glanced over her shoulder to look for the other man, but he was gone. She heard shouting, the inhuman cry of the flying lizard, and the crackle of the fire as it consumed her home. All of it faded into a dull roar as she gazed at the boy in front of her and the question he had asked.

  “Why me?” Clara asked, desperately trying to u
nderstand.

  “Your blood,” Troy replied. Even speaking seemed to drain him more.

  She didn’t know how to accept whatever he was offering. Troy’s eyes rolled in the back of his head, and she reached out and caught his still-extended hand before it dropped. Light shown off Troy, and a long spirit shaped like an eel flowed out of him. When it entered her, she inhaled on a gasp but exhaled in contentment—it was like being hugged by an old friend.

  More spirits burst forth from Troy, casting the slivery light all around the inside of the wagon and beyond. Clara felt them sweep around her, brushing against her as they took turns entering her. It felt like coming home and being filled with an important piece she’d never known was missing. When the last light faded, she sagged, supporting herself on one arm. Troy fell back when she let him go, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

  Feeling lightheaded and disoriented, she staggered out of the back of wagon, mindlessly craving air. She tottered around the corner of the wagon, leaning heavily on it. The fog was thinning. She lifted a hand palm up toward her face and tried to focus on it, but it felt separated from her. Her breathing and the thumping of her heart were all she could hear. She slid down onto the ground.

  Leaning against the wheel, she could see the demon fighting the creature. With a sudden realization she knew what it was—a dragon. Clara glanced at the demon, and she knew with a newfound certainty that he was a high ranking demon from his horns. The world seemed to whisper to her, laying all its secrets bare.

  The dragon turned and fled toward the crack of reality, a gaping tear she could feel further down the road. She sensed when the dragon entered it and felt it slowly begin to close. Her hand went to her chest as the sliver of a rift closed. It was like the planet had connected with her, and she was the planet.

  “Clara?” a voice said.

  The older man who’d extracted her from the house was beside her, a hawk on his shoulder. Maris—she remembered his name—was saying something to her. She put a hand on his arm and tried to focus. The world was spinning as she tried to stay within the confines of her body. Her spirit sung to the planet, and the planet returned her song in kind.

  The hands on her shoulders shook her and broke the spell. “What is it?”

  “I feel everything,” Clara whispered, her head lolling against the wheel.

  The demon’s shadow cast across them. “She has taken the mantle. She is the new Keeper.”

  Her body felt warm, affirming the demon’s words. With a contented sigh, she slumped forward, and fell into a glowing balminess of oblivion.

  Chapter 40: Morhaven

  Elisabeth held tightly to the Elemental’s hand as it carried them in the direction of The Divine Court. She could see the towers in the distance as the giant creature lumbered toward it. Her heart rose and sank all at once. She was going to come to the end of her long journey, and it terrified her. The last time they had faced Arawn, they had lost, and she had endured almost more than her mind could take. It had nearly broken her. If it happened again, her very soul might be lost.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned, expecting Ki, but it was Ethandirill’s grim expression that met her gaze. Ki had scurried up the arm and was keeping watch from the Elemental’s shoulder. Elisabeth hadn’t even noticed that he’d left the safety of the hand.

  “Nanette’s resting?” Elisabeth asked softly.

  “Yes.” His answer was brief and was followed by a strained silence.

  “Don’t worry,” Ethandirill said so softly that it was nearly lost to the wind. “We will do what we must, and we shall know victory.”

  Her gaze wandered over to Malthael, who stood next to Ki. They were discussing something, though she couldn’t hear their words. Atlanteia sat on the Elemental’s other shoulder. Her dark skin was nearly lost to the darkness of the Netherworld. The dim that always seemed to descend on Morhaven once night fell in the Netherworld surrounded them. It made Elisabeth miss the stars.

  She finally bowed her head and responded just as quietly, “I’m afraid.”

  “So am I,” Ethandirill said. “For you and her.” He looked back to Nanette, who shifted in her fitful rest. “I know you are not ready. I feel your fear whenever his name is spoken, but it is he who should feel fear.”

  “Why?” Elisabeth asked, confused.

  “He has wronged you. Now is your chance to end his reign of terror. I may not like my brother, but he is far better than the Lord of the Hunt,” Ethandirill had darkness in his eyes.

  “I need you to promise me something,” Elisabeth said softly. “If there is any chance we are losing and Arawn has me, I need you to kill me. He cannot take the shard from my dead body since the shard will immediately return to my father. I had to be sure and Babayaga confirmed that is how it works. Without Ki’s Soul Eater sword I must relinquish what Arawn wants willingly.”

  “He cannot harm you,” Ethandirill reminded her.

  “Arawn nearly killed you,” Elisabeth said. “He finds way to make the impossible possible. We should not underestimate him. He operated against your brother for decades with your brother none the wiser.”

  Ethandirill studied her face until she was uncomfortable.

  “What?”

  “I was just realizing that you are a better Det Morian than I am,” Ethandirill said with a shake of his head. “Even if Nauberon was influenced to court you, I see why it would not have been hard to convince him to do so. You are a formidable opponent.”

  Elisabeth gaped at him a moment. Ethandirill was her friend. He had saved her, and she trusted him. That made his comment bear even more weight. She couldn’t bring herself to formulate a response, so instead she closed her mouth slowly. He chuckled at her reaction before patting her on the back.

  His amusement faded and his eyes turned solemn. “I believe we will see Arawn into his grave, but if we do not, I shall do what you ask. In return, I know you will care for Nanette in my absence.”

  Emotion choked the words in her throat. She nodded, blinking away tears as she turned back to the beauty of Morhaven. Behind them the Dusky Woods lay like a shadow, to her right the poppy fields promised a beautiful death, and to the south lay The Divine Court. Her very bones recognized this place of contradictions as home. Just as she was two parts of a whole, Morhaven and the Netherworld were joined together. The inky blackness beyond the protective dome gave little away, but within her mind she could see the rust desert with its ruins and ash storms.

  Carefully she reached a hand out and touched the Elemental’s treelike finger, her hand perfectly covering the tip. Almost instantly she felt its life-force. It burned as brightly as any planet.

  “What is an Elemental?” Elisabeth asked.

  “They are the souls of nature itself, the very beings of life. Elementals are impossible to describe. They existed before our time, and their age is so great that time stands still for them,” Ethandirill replied. “Honestly?” he asked and waited for her to nod. “We have no idea what they are. We care for them and protect them, but beyond our knowing they matter, they hold their secrets.”

  “Has one…” Elisabeth began before dropping her voice to a whisper, “ever died?”

  Ethandirill’s jaw tightened. “Once in all our history.” He swallowed, and Elisabeth felt her hair stand on end. “It led to the fall of Haven, the ruins now known as Old Haven.”

  “How?” Elisabeth asked, worried for the creature they rode.

  “When Croatoan fell to Aryan the Black, he did something to an Elemental that created an explosion like we have never seen. Instead of exploding out and causing damage, it inverted and imploded. It consumed matter and even light. There is a reason many of the Divine Court fear Old Haven,” Ethandirill said. “It is where one of the mightiest among us fell.”

  Behind them Atlanteia called down in a sing-song voice. Elisabeth didn’t recognize the words, but Ethandirill seemed to. The Elemental stopped. It held up its other hand for Malthael, Ki, and Atlanteia. O
nce they were all safely resting on its palm, the Elemental lowered them to the ground. Elisabeth kept a hand on the Elemental to steady herself during their descent as Ethandirill went to wake Nanette.

  Elisabeth stepped down first and faced The Divine Court. She could see it now through the edge of the tree line. Atlanteia had told them the Elemental could only take them so far. From there they would go on foot. Elisabeth eyed the flowers closely and gave them all a wide berth.

  A shadow passed over her, and she looked up to see a dragon fly by. Elisabeth glanced back and saw Nanette pull on the invisibility cloak and disappear. Atlanteia stayed with the Elemental as Ethandirill prepared to lead them. Atlanteia waved on two more dragons to follow the first in descending upon The Divine Court. They were the distraction. Elisabeth turned to follow Ethandirill to the pale stone fortress.

  A thin layer of cold sweat broke out all over her body as she narrowed the distance between her and Arawn. She felt faint and her hands shook, but she closed them into fists to hide the tremor. Memories of other lifetimes played in her mind as she rushed toward danger’s embrace. Somewhere in the back her mind she felt her other half revel in the chance at vengeance. She focused on it, let it take her over, securing it like a second armor. She would focus on the hatred and retribution. The tremble in her hands ceased, though the sick feeling within her gut would not.

  The dragon roared a moment before green fire licked the air around the Divine Court. The rocks were seared black from the heat of the flames. The Divine Court rose above her like a mountain, and she rushed toward it. Guards in triangle helmets appeared before them, but the dragons saw to them. Fire and talons swept down and ended the first group. Arawn was nowhere to be seen.

  When the second group appeared, they were more cautious. Ethandirill opened his mouth, and Elisabeth could see the tattoos on his body shudder. Elisabeth put a hand on his arm to stop him as the creatures charged. She could sense them, and her demonic half was hungry.