by K T Munson
He should be afraid, Elisabeth thought.
“I will tear you limb from limb,” Elisabeth seethed and knew not the depths of her own rage.
“You are my equal!” he called, lifting his arm, and she deflected his attack with ease.
“I am your superior,” she called to him as she lifted her hand.
“Elisabeth!” Nanette called out, and she hesitated.
Before she could react, arms wrapped around the Black King and Elisabeth saw Ki’s face. He smiled sadly at her for a split second, and she realized what he was going to do. She reached out for him, trying to call his name as she ran forward. Before she could stop him, Ki pulled the Black King through the gate. They vanished into the void as Arawn lifted his axe. It cut through the stone as Elisabeth tried to stop him. His axe skittered across the ground—the damage was done. She fell in front of the halved stone and touched it, trying to make something reappear even though she knew it wouldn’t.
“No, no, no,” Elisabeth whispered over and over again as tears filled her eyes. Malthael touched her shoulder, but she pushed it away. “You shouldn’t have let him!” she cried.
“He saved us all,” Malthael said to her as Elisabeth started to cry. Tears streamed down her face as her mind struggled to understand.
“He shouldn’t have,” Elisabeth whispered, her head bowed low as she leaned against the cold stone. “He should have stayed with me.”
“Elisabeth,” Nanette’s voice broke her grief.
“You!” Elisabeth said pointing at her and standing, “Why did you call my name?”
“He told me to,” Nanette said and sniffled. Her eyes clogged with tears begged for forgiveness as she repeated, “He told me to.”
Malthael touched Elisabeth’s shoulder, and she looked up at Arawn. The hunter put the axe away, and she saw that his eyes betrayed no regret. Elisabeth considered lashing out at him but saw no benefit to it beyond easing the pain in her heart. Before she could do anything, laughter broke through the clearing.
Ra lay on the ground as laughter shook his broken body. Disgust filled Elisabeth’s every sense as she walked over to him. Nanette and Malthael followed closely with Duke and Nathan close behind. Arawn turned slightly but showed little interest.
“What is so funny?” Elisabeth demanded as she looked down at his crumpled body.
“He did the wrong chant,” Ra said, blood coming out of his mouth and dripping down the side of his cheek.
“What does that mean?” Elisabeth asked as something like dread filled her gut.
“They aren’t in Croatoan.” Ra laughed as he coughed blood. “He muddled the incantation and sent them somewhere else.”
In one fluid motion, Malthael severed Ra’s head form his body. He kicked the head so it rolled away, his face still fixed in a wicked smile. He spit on the body and cursed, “Recover from that.”
“So they’re still on one of the planets?” Elisabeth whispered, relief and hope flooding her senses.
“No,” Arawn interjected. “I do not sense Ki and his strange monstrous state on any of the planets.”
Elisabeth’s chest hurt and she pushed her against her heart to ease the ache. “Then where are they?” Elisabeth demanded angrily, tired of getting her hopes up.
“One of the places we cannot go,” Arawn replied.
Her knees gave out, and she sunk down. Nanette gave a cry as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Elisabeth. She put a hand on her friend’s arm as Elisabeth stared into nothing. She hardly noticed when Arawn vanished and Malthael came to stand beside her. She closed her eyes and leaned back into her friend as hopelessness took hold. She rode the wave of grief as it consumed her.
Chapter 66: Ashlad
There was something about the way that Elisabeth moved that told Malthael she had plans. She walked past him again and into the kitchen, her head buried in a book. She was better, though, than she had been when they’d first returned. She had moved listlessly around the house and seemed lost in her thoughts. Curious, Malthael followed her into the kitchen.
Nanette was chatting with Tiss, who looked startled when Elisabeth strode in. Malthael followed quietly as Elisabeth looked up from her book. She set a list down on the countertop and set the book down with her thumb, holding her spot.
“I need everything on this list,” Elisabeth said, pushing it across the counter toward Tiss. “As soon as possible.”
Then she buried her head back in her book, picked up a piece of toast, and put it into her mouth before she left. Malthael held the door open, and she muttered a thank you without looking up. Malthael glanced back at Nanette, who looked stunned before she got up and hurried out after Elisabeth.
“What is she doing?” Malthael asked.
Nanette shrugged. “Until yesterday, she barely responded to anything I said.”
“What happened yesterday?” Malthael asked.
“She woke up before me, and I had to search all over the house for her,” Nanette replied as they followed Elisabeth at her breakneck speed.
“Where did you find her?” Malthael asked as they followed her, hurrying down hall after hall.
“The library,” Nanette said as Elisabeth turned and walked through the library’s great double doors. “She’s practically living in there.”
“She was reading a very old book.” Malthael could tell from the pages.
“Elisabeth?” Nanette called as she crept into the room.
“Yes?” Elisabeth asked as she leaned back from the edge of one of the bookshelves. Just as quickly as she appeared, she disappeared.
“What are you doing?” Nanette asked, glancing at Malthael before rushing toward where Elisabeth had been.
“Researching,” Elisabeth muttered as she read over a book. “I came in here to find a way to take Kerrigan’s soul out of Jinq without killing them both, but I stumbled across something else.”
“What?” Malthael asked, stepping up to peer at the piles of books.
“Books on the Netherworld”—Elisabeth pointed at a rough map—“that discuss gates to places that aren’t one of the five planets.” She paused. “Six planets.”
“What does that have to do with Kerrigan and Jinq?” Malthael asked, turning the page of one of the books absentmindedly.
“It doesn’t,” Elisabeth replied, putting her hands on her hips and facing them. “It has to do with Ki.”
“Elsa,” Malthael began, but she put up a hand to stop him.
“He isn’t gone. He is just lost,” Elisabeth told him, and he saw all the emotions on her face. “And I am going to find him.”
Notes from the Author
Do not worry! Even though this book is over with, the adventures with Elisabeth are not. Elisabeth and all the characters of The Sixth Gate will return in 2019 in The Nowhere Gate. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review with your favorite retailer.
To give you some background, I wrote this book for Harmony, a friend who is more like a sister. I hope you recognized that this book was about Elisabeth accepting who she was. Harmony has always accepted me for who I am—flaws and all—and to repay her for a lifetime of friendship I’ve dedicated this book and entire series to her. Thank you, Harmony.
In the meantime, happy reading,
K.T. Munson
Other Titles by K.T. Munson
1001 Islands
The sliver of moonlight cast eerie shadows across the deck of The Dark Revenge. The Silence at the helm stood embracing the obscurity. His foreboding presence matched the anticipation aboard the ship, and no one spoke for fear they would break the stillness that encompassed them.
Tonight, everything changed.
The Dark Revenge gained on the Regatta. The raiders said nothing but he could hear the shuffle of taut female clothing and the tension in the air. It hadn’t sensed their existence, and drifted like heedless prey. Princess Roxana slept, unsuspecting of what was hunting her in the inky blackness of the night.
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