The Dead and the Dusk (The Nightmare Court Book 2)

by Val Saintcrowe

  Revel stroked her hair and soothed her, murmuring soft words of reassurance to her.

  Finally, Xenia stopped. She extracted herself and went to the bed, trying to get herself back under control.

  “I’m so sorry that you’re upset like this,” said Revel. “What is it? Can I help?”

  “I have a daughter,” said Xenia. “A little girl I left behind. And when I saw that boy in the crystal, and I heard how Ciaska treats her own son, I…” She was going to start crying again, Aitho take her.

  Revel had gone very still. “What?” she said in a funny voice.

  Xenia got up from the bed. She went to Revel and took both of her hands. “Listen, you remember when Nicce came to my door? Her blood is liquid sunlight. She is bringing me some in a jar. We can use it after we cross the portal, and it will change us. It will make us able to walk in the sun again. The only thing we have to figure out is how to get out of this palace.”

  Revel pulled her hands out of Xenia’s. “Stop. Don’t tell me anymore. I don’t want to know this.”

  “What?” said Xenia.

  “I don’t…” Revel’s face twisted. “Oh, gods, I have to go.” She turned, sucking in a trembling breath and hurled herself at the door. She was gone before Xenia could say another word.

  Xenia went to the door and watched as Revel hurried away down the hallway.

  Well.

  That hadn’t gone well.

  Obviously, Revel didn’t want to go. Maybe she liked it at court more than she claimed. She had said what she’d said about her family being older, hadn’t she?

  Still, Xenia had thought they would be together, but…

  Well, it was better this way. Revel only complicated things.

  * * *

  “I don’t understand,” said Nicce, who was sitting in the corner of the vast orange room. The room had whips and chains hanging on all of the walls, a fact that was even more obvious because numerous glowing lamps had been brought into the space to illuminate the area.

  Nicce was there for play auditions, but she was spending her time watching Lian and Philo play together with one of the glowing lamps. Lian seemed to be enjoying bouncing it around with Philo, and they had developed some sort of complicated set of hoops made out of the whips to attempt to throw the lamps through. She was enjoying being close to Eithan, too, because Ciaska wasn’t there.

  Eithan wasn’t touching her. He wasn’t especially close either, because the members of the court who were auditioning shouldn’t see them together. However, the court members were brought in one at a time, and they went to the other side of the room where they read from the script for Jonas and Absalom. Their attention was likely diverted. And anyway, Septimus was with them, leaning against the wall and watching Lian and Philo as well.

  Septimus sat on the floor next to Nicce.

  Eithan leaned against the wall a few feet from them both. Whenever Nicce looked at him, he had an expression his face that she liked. He almost looked content.

  “What don’t you understand?” said Eithan.

  “Well… why aren’t there more children?” said Nicce. “It seems to me that everyone in this court spends roughly eighty percent of their time in each other’s beds, and yet no one else gets pregnant?”

  “It’s in the wine,” said Septimus.

  “What is?” said Nicce.

  “It’s temporary and harmless, but it sterilizes everyone in the court,” said Septimus.

  “Oh,” said Nicce, furrowing her brow. “I’ve been drinking the wine.”

  “Septimus is right, it’s harmless,” said Eithan. “And quite quickly reversible, as you can see by the existence of Lian.”

  “So… you weren’t drinking the wine when, um, when—”

  “No,” said Septimus. “It was all very deliberate. She did it on purpose.” He turned his gaze on the little boy, and Nicce still found herself surprised to see Septimus’s adoration for the child written all over him. He seemed so brutal and ruthless otherwise.

  “I don’t understand how it is that you can even have children at all when you don’t age,” she said. “It’s confusing to me. It’s as though you’re dead.”

  “But we’re not,” said Eithan.

  “Well, it’s all very confusing,” said Nicce.

  “We don’t understand it either,” said Septimus.

  “Don’t understand what?” came Absalom’s voice.

  Nicce looked up to see that Absalom and Jonas were coming over to them.

  “Nicce is puzzling over the problems of our existence,” said Septimus, looking up at them. “Taking a break, then?”

  “No, we’re finished,” said Jonas. “We’ve done all the auditions, and now we have some time to be alone and deliberate over who it is we’re going to cast in the play.”

  Eithan smiled. “And to talk of other things.”

  “Yes,” said Absalom, smiling as well. He settled down on the floor next to Nicce.

  Eithan pushed off from the wall, giving Absalom a look.

  Absalom laughed, but he scooted over. “By all means, you sit near her, then.”

  Eithan did.

  Nicce’s heart picked up speed at his proximity. She glanced at him. Blushed. Looked away.

  “Should we get Philo?” said Septimus.

  “No, it’s best he doesn’t hear it,” said Eithan. “We don’t want to put him in the position of having to keep a secret.”

  Jonas settled down on the floor, and now they were all sitting in a circle. “You know, we have chairs and a table on the other side of the room.”

  “Uncomfortable on the floor?” said Eithan.

  “Just get on with it,” said Septimus. “What’s the plan?”

  “Well, I thought about giving everyone Nicce’s blood,” said Eithan.

  “Can she do it?” said Jonas. “Can she change it over?”

  “You didn’t tell him?” said Nicce.

  “Sorry,” said Absalom. “I suppose I should have. Everything’s been a bit of a whirlwind.” He turned to Jonas. “I assumed you would realize since we were going forward with the play.”

  Jonas shook his head. “Why aren’t we getting it, then?”

  “Well, if you remember,” said Eithan, “after I drank it, I was debilitated.”

  “Right,” said Septimus. “You couldn’t get out of bed.”

  “Yes, and it wasn’t until I stepped into the sun that I healed,” said Eithan. “I don’t think the ability to walk in the sun gives us any advantage here in the Nightmare Realm, so I thought that we might wait until we get across the portal for that.”

  All of the knights looked at her in curiosity, and she felt warm all over, getting a sudden image in her head of all them around her, each of them with their teeth in her—Eithan at her neck, Absalom on the other side, Septimus and Jonas at her wrists, and Philo—

  She shook herself.

  She wouldn’t have it that way. And anyway, she was sure Eithan wouldn’t allow it, wouldn’t… share her like that. She looked at him again.

  He wasn’t looking at her, but out at the other knights, and she studied his face in profile. She drank him in eagerly. She never got to do this, to look at him. Had he always been this handsome? Kissing him could not have improved his looks, could it? She smiled to herself, looking away.

  “We need to try something, though,” said Eithan. He turned to Nicce. “Can you give us a bit of blood? Sunlight blood?”

  “Right now?” she said.

  He nodded. He turned to Septimus. “And we’ll need wine.”

  “Why are you looking at me?” said Septimus. “I’ll wager Absalom drinks far more wine than I do.”

  “There’s some at the table. We were giving it to women who wanted a bit of loosening before saying their lines,” said Jonas, getting to his feet. “I’ll bring it.”

  “Is there a goblet there?” Eithan called.

  “A few,” Jonas said. “Bring one?”

  “Please,” said Eithan. He tur
ned to Nicce. “Can you manage it?”

  “Of course,” she said. She looked at the others. “You might want to close your eyes and back up.” She took a deep breath, and she again pictured a knob inside herself. She turned it, like the spigots at the sinks in the rooms here, and the sunlight flowed through her, pulsing heat through her limbs.

  There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room.

  From across the room, Philo cried out, and Lian called, “What is it?”

  “Just a fun game,” Absalom called out. “Nothing to worry about.”

  Eithan hesitantly took her hand and brought it to his mouth.

  She tightened in anticipation, ashamed at how eager she was for him to drink her.

  He didn’t drink, though, only made a wound, and when Jonas came back, he filled the goblet halfway with the liquid light.

  “You can turn it off now,” he told Nicce softly, and she did.

  Now, the goblet shone out brightly, the light spilling out of it, like a torch.

  Eithan reached out a hand. “The wine?”

  Jonas gave it to him, and Eithan poured wine into the goblet, gently shaking the glass to mix the two. Moments later, the light went out, extinguished by the wine.

  Eithan let out a breath. “I was hoping that would happen. I was afraid we wouldn’t be able to disguise it.” He brought the goblet to his mouth and drank. “The taste is different. I don’t know if she’ll drink an entire glassful.”

  “Maybe we could use the spiced wine?” said Jonas. “It’s got a stronger flavor.”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Eithan.

  “When are we giving it to her?” said Nicce.

  “During the play,” said Eithan. “There’s a scene in the fourth act, when the disguised prince is singing for the king and the king calls for a goblet of wine.”

  “I thought Ciaska would enjoy being part of the play,” said Absalom. “The king doesn’t have any lines, and so I thought we would just make him a queen, and then someone could bring the wine to her.”

  “She’ll drink it,” said Eithan, “and we’ll have all the guards engaged in the play at the time.”

  “And we’ll have weapons strategically placed as part of the scenery,” said Absalom.

  “Hopefully, she goes down immediately,” said Eithan. “We pick up weapons and rush her. She’ll be weakened, and we try to get her head off her shoulders.”

  “It’s not a complicated plan, but hopefully it’ll be effective,” said Absalom.

  Septimus and Jonas nodded.

  Nicce spoke up. “Is there a reason we’re waiting?”

  Eithan turned to look at her.

  “It’s only that the performance of the play is weeks off, and what if something happens between now and then? We have my blood. We have Lian. Isn’t there another way to get her to drink wine?”

  “And to have the guards occupied and all of the knights present?” said Eithan.

  “Nicce’s right,” said Septimus, leaning forward. “Ciaska is delighted by the idea of all of us at the same time. If we volunteered to come to her chambers, all of the Knights of Midian—”

  “Not Philo,” said Jonas.

  “Philo’s not going to be any worse off if he participates,” said Septimus.

  “Come now, Septimus,” Eithan said. “We’re not going to bring Philo into it.” He looked at Nicce. “It might work, though, if I were to… participate.”

  “No,” said Nicce. “No, never mind, I don’t want any of you to have to do that. The play is fine.”

  Septimus snorted. “Oh, so you wouldn’t want the goddess’s leftovers, Nicce?”

  “That’s not what I—” She broke off.

  “We’d all rather not be with her,” said Jonas in a low voice.

  “Well, some of us are regularly rotated in to her bed,” said Septimus darkly. “What do you say, Absalom, would you like it to be sooner, favorite that you are?”

  Absalom shook his head. “It’s best to wait for the play. A few weeks is not so long, and we’ll want everything to be in place. We might need the time.”

  Nicce studied her fingernails.

  It was quiet.

  “All right,” said Jonas. “Well, we need to get our hands on some spiced wine and a bit more of Nicce’s blood, then? So, Eithan can see if the taste is masked?”

  “Indeed,” said Eithan.

  Lian ran over to the circle. “Hello,” he said, smiling. “Are you playing Duck, Duck, Goose?”

  Eithan turned to the boy affectionately. “We were waiting for you to be the goose, little man.”

  Lian stood up straight. “I’m very good at being goose. You’ll see.”

  “I’m sure none of us will catch you,” said Jonas, smiling fondly at Lian.

  “Especially not Nicce,” said Lian, grinning at her.

  “Oh, I don’t think you should tell who will be the goose,” said Absalom.

  “It’s all right,” said Nicce. “I’m ready.” She grinned back at Lian.

  * * *

  Revel stood in the doorway to Ciaska’s chambers, her head bowed.

  Ciaska was lying on the bed, covers pulled to her waist. There were three naked guards in the bed with her, but they were all exhausted or wounded or something of that nature. None of them were moving, at any rate. “Finally,” the goddess said.

  Revel had ignored the first two summons from the goddess, but the third time, Revel had been dragged to the goddess’s chambers by two burly guards.

  I won’t say anything, Revel thought firmly. I won’t do that to Xenia. Truly, if she’d known there was a child involved, she would never have signed on for this bit of espionage, no matter how the goddess had threatened.

  All Ciaska could do was kill her, and that might happen at any time. Revel saw how little respect the goddess had for life. She killed out of boredom most of the time. It didn’t even amuse her. Revel was frightened, but she mustn’t allow herself to believe that she had any chance of saving herself. Likely, even if she did spill the information to Ciaska, the goddess would kill her anyway.

  “Why didn’t you come when I called?” said Ciaska.

  “I did,” said Revel. “Those two guards were the first I’d heard that you wanted to see me. I wonder if your messages are getting lost somehow.”

  “Oh, don’t try that with me,” said Ciaska, pulling the covers up over her breasts. “You’ve found something out, and now you’ve gone soft and you don’t want to tell me about it.”

  “I haven’t found anything out,” said Revel. “She’s boring, and you’re wrong, anyway. I don’t think she really is attracted to women.”

  “I saw the two of you holding hands.”

  “She was experimenting,” said Revel. “I tried to kiss her and she was disgusted, and now we are not friends anymore.”

  Ciaska sat up straight, the covers falling away from her body. “Aren’t you frightened of me?”

  Revel swallowed. “Of course, Exalted One.”

  “Well, then act frightened, and stop lying to me, you bitch.”

  Revel stared at the floor. “I’m not lying. I swear it.”

  “You are lying through your teeth,” said Ciaska. “And now I’m going to have to hurt you, and I’m not even in the mood for it right now.”

  “I’m not lying,” Revel insisted.

  Ciaska threw aside the covers of the bed and climbed over one of the motionless bodies on her bed.

  Revel squinted. Those men weren’t dead, were they?

  Ciaska pulled on a flowing robe, cinching it at her waist. “Last chance to do this the easy way.”

  “I’m not lying to you,” said Revel. “Why would I do that? For some girl I barely know? I wouldn’t. It would be stupid.”

  “She knows something about Nicce,” said Ciaska, “and if Eithan thinks I didn’t see him standing close to her when I let Lian out of the crystal, he’s an idiot. Furthermore, he was kind to me afterwards, and he’s never kind to me, not unless he’s play
ing some sort of game with me. So, that’s what’s going on. There’s a game, but I don’t know what it is. Now, tell me what you know about Nicce.”

  “I don’t know anything,” said Revel.

  Ciaska crossed the room and picked up a pair of mens’ breeches. There was a belt attached, and there were knives strapped to the belt. She selected one and strode across the room to stand in front of Revel. She raised her eyebrows. “Well?”

  “I don’t know anything,” said Revel, and her voice shook as she braced herself for the pain.

  Ciaska stabbed her.

  Revel grunted. Gods, that was worse that she’d imagined. She’d never been stabbed before, and she’d had no idea anything could hurt so badly.

  Ciaska pulled the knife out. “All right, then, do you want me to do that again?”

  Revel clutched her wound, tears springing to her eyes. She fell to her knees. The pain was intense. It was all-consuming.

  Ciaska knelt down in front of her. Her voice was soft. “You have a lot of skin. There are a lot of places to stab you. I know which ones to avoid if I don’t want you to bleed out.”

  Revel whimpered. Gods, she was weak. Why was she so weak? “She has sunlight for blood,” she whispered.

  “What? Who does?”

  “Nicce,” said Revel. “If we drink it, we can walk in the sun.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Eithan stood a few feet off, watching Lian and Nicce together. They were practicing Lian’s lines for the play, and Lian was doing great at memorizing them.

  “Let me see the script again,” said Lian, holding out his hand.

  “No, try it without,” said Nicce, smiling and shaking her head. “I think you’ve got it.”

  Lian wrinkled up his nose, but he nodded. “‘Please, sir, don’t say that about the queen. It can’t be true.’”

  “‘It isn’t true,’” Nicce corrected.

  Lian repeated that to himself several times under his breath, nodding.

  “Lian!” called Jonas. “It’s your scene. Where are you?”

  Lian snatched the script from Nicce. “Got to go,” he said, running off.

  Nicce turned to watch him, smiling.