Kahn eyed her cautiously, keeping his distance as he tried to side-step around her. She shifted into his way with what sounded like a cat's hiss. My heart soared. She was powerful. She could take him on, and it looked like he knew it.
Kahn's eyes locked with mine and irritation flashed across his expression. “Mother says-”
“I don't care what your mother says,” I snapped. “Get out of my quarters this instant!”
For a moment he looked like a wounded puppy, but then a deadly anger seeped into his gaze and I feared what he was about to do. He was off his medication. He'd nearly killed Aladdin in the brawl and if it hadn't been for Kyra's magic, he probably would have died by now from the injuries he'd sustained.
“I won you fair and square,” Kahn growled, squaring his shoulders. “Count Nazari is dead and so is his guard.”
I tried to drag in air but my lungs wouldn't allow it. “No,” I breathed, shock and horror wrapping around my heart.
“Liar!” Kyra shrieked, lunging at him. “They're alive, I can sense them!”
Relief flooded me but it was short-lived as Kahn swung his arm out to shove her aside. She was so small I feared his meaty fist would knock her out cold. I lurched forward to help just as she turned into a swirling gust of purple smoke which crackled like a magical storm. Jacinda wailed in alarm and Zara stared at her, jaw slack. I’d been so frantic about Cassian and Aladdin, I hadn’t thought to explain to them what Kyra was.
Kahn swung at the cloud uselessly and my heart rate settled a fraction. At least he couldn't hurt one of us here.
“Go Kyra, you know what to do,” I begged.
The mist swirled higher in the room and Kahn swatted his hand at it with a furious snarl.
“I'll be okay. He can't touch me until my wedding night,” I told her, unsure if it was true but knowing the longer she remained here the more chance there was of Aladdin and Cassian meeting their end. If Gothel had her way, she wouldn't keep them alive for long.
Her smokey form tumbled toward the balcony doors and they flew open before she disappeared into the night sky.
Kahn charged after her like a stampeding rhino, gazing across the gardens from the balcony with a snort of rage.
I turned, finding Zira supporting Jacinda, the two of them alarmed by what they'd just witnessed.
“She's on our side,” I said quickly, knowing there was no time to give them more of an explanation. “Go!” I led the way to the panel on the other side of my room which concealed an entranceway into the passages.
Kahn's heavy footfalls hammered after us and my pulse quickened as I reached the hidden door. I fumbled with the lock and the precious seconds cost me too much. A large hand caught my wrist and fear seized my heart as I was yanked into Kahn's arms, his body caging me in like a vice.
“Get off of her!” Zira commanded, shoving his arm.
Kahn didn't pay her any attention, gathering me close and brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. A deep grimace pulled at my face and my stomach churned.
Get away from me you creep!
I pressed my hands to his chest as he tried to lean in for a kiss.
“I like playing games with you,” he purred.
How could he possibly think I was enjoying this!?
I slapped his face as hard as I could but he barely flinched. He caught the back of my head and dragged me in closer and closer.
No no no!
Anger built in me so fiercely I could feel it in every inch of my body. I shrieked my rage, bringing up my hands and jamming my thumbs into his eyes. I pressed as hard as I could and he bellowed in anger, releasing me as he stumbled away.
A yell caught my ear and I spotted Jacinda on the bed, leaping from the mattress with a metal chamber pot in her hands. She bashed it into his skull and he staggered sideways, groaning as he clasped his combined wounds.
I snatched Jacinda's hand with a squeeze of thanks, pulling her toward the passageway in a sprint. Zira had the door open and waiting and we sped through it without a second’s hesitation. I slammed the bolt into place on the other side just as the weight of a wildebeest collided with it. The door trembled but didn't give and I took a steadying breath as the darkness pressed in around me.
“Does anyone have a candle?” I asked, trying to collect my thoughts.
A match illuminated the tunnel and Jacinda stood there with a candle in hand. “I'm always prepared for every eventuality, Your Highness.”
My heart soared and Zira gave me a knowing grin. Why had I ever disliked Jacinda? She was a damn saint. And a complete warrior.
I moved forward and kissed her on the cheek.
Her face turned bright red. “Orders, Princess?” she squeaked.
I took the candle from her as I started moving down the passage at a quick pace. “Help the others, hunt down a vicious Shaitan in disguise as the Queen and take back my damn kingdom.”
Gurvine bellowed a challenge as he came at me and I screamed one right back. I’d never had any formal training with a scimitar but I felt confident enough in my ability to wield the stolen weapon in my hands. Strike him with the sharp end and all that.
No doubt Cassian’s training made him the more obvious choice to wield this blade but as I’d been the one to steal our weapons, I decided to keep this one for myself. The length of it would at least provide me with some striking range while I was at a distance from those salivating mouths.
I swung the heavy blade as Gurvine rushed me and it slammed straight into the meat of his shoulder. I was forced to spin aside as he tried to grab me with his other hand, totally ignoring the wound I’d inflicted.
So these freaks don’t feel pain. Peachy.
With a grunt of effort, I wrenched the blade free again and aimed a kick at his back, sending him stumbling away from me.
The people at the edge of the pit started screaming as his attention fell on them instead, but I had no time to help them as I was surrounded by three more of the unnatural creations.
They rushed forward as one and I ducked down, rolling across the sand in my bid to escape. Cassian yelled a battle cry as he met with them and my heart leapt in concern for him. This newfound camaraderie had already landed me in this pit and now it was filling me with feelings too. Ergh.
I scrambled to my feet, bringing a handful of sand with me as I turned towards the closest bug-brain again.
He lurched towards me, arms wide, fingers grasping, teeth bared.
I threw the handful of sand into his face as I ducked aside. They may not have reacted much to pain but they couldn’t force their eyes to work through a shitload of sand.
The beast snarled angrily as he tried to scrub the sand from his eyes and I released a roar as I swung the scimitar for his neck with every ounce of strength I had.
There was half a second of resistance then the blade carved on through. Blood sprayed and a sickening thump sounded as his head hit the floor. His body fell like a cut tree trunk a moment later and I leapt over the corpse as I darted forward to help Cassian as he battled two more of the demons.
Before I could get more than a few steps, the beetle scrambled out of the decapitated skull and rushed towards me. I cried out, aiming a kick at it which sent it soaring away and slamming into the wall of the domed structure. As it hit the ground, it flipped upright and started scuttling for the closest set of prisoners.
“Don’t let that thing get under your skin!” I bellowed before turning my attention back to the fight.
I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Gurvine bent over a corpse as the rest of the prisoners backed away.
“You guys might wanna think about helping us if you want to get out of here!” I shouted angrily, catching Kalaviv’s eye. He hesitated for a moment then ran forward to attack Gurvine while he was distracted. Several of the other men and women found their balls at the sight of him reclaiming his and they ran to help too.
I made it to Cassian as he danced between the two undead creations, stabbing them again and a
gain with his dagger but the injuries he inflicted did little more than spill blood. And it wasn’t enough blood either. The resurrected men clearly had no heartbeat to keep the fluid moving through their veins. The stab wounds were doing little more than poking holes in the sacks of flesh which housed the bugs controlling them.
“Aim for the bugs, mate!” I yelled, dashing forward and slamming my scimitar down into the top of one of their skulls.
The guard collapsed as he died for a second time but my weapon was wrenched from my grip as it remained lodged in his head.
I lurched forward to reclaim it but as my fingers brushed the hilt, a heavy body collided with me.
I cried out as I hit the floor and the guard’s undead body crushed me as his teeth snapped two centimetres from my face. My hands locked around his throat as I forced him back, his rancid breath sailing into my nostrils. I got the feeling I was smelling the remains of his last victim which were no doubt still lodged in his teeth and that thought sent a wave of desperate strength into my muscles.
I kicked him, getting my legs between us as I tried to knock him back.
I’m not going to leave this life in the belly of this damn ugly bastard!
With a grunt of effort, I sent him flying and Cassian delivered a swift kick to his ribs, sending him rolling further away from me.
Cassian ran forward, aiming to finish him off while he was down and I scrambled to my feet.
I looked around for my scimitar as a warning shiver ran down my spine, urging me to flinch aside just as my own weapon was swung at me.
I tripped over my feet, almost falling as the blade carved a line across my ribcage, eliciting a hiss of pain from me as fresh blood blossomed through my white outfit.
“What the hell?” I bellowed as Hariot swung the blade at me again.
“This only ever ends one way,” the Sea Captain growled as he continued to come for me. “They will only leave once they’ve been fed and an injured man makes for an easier feast.”
“You prune-faced coward,” I cursed.
“It’s not personal,” he snarled as he swung the scimitar at me again and I barely avoided the blow.
The next slash of the blade was aimed at my face and I saw red. Why the face??? Not personal my ass!
Movement caught my eye behind him and I gritted my teeth as I lunged to the left.
Hariot followed and I led him left again. He turned his head half a second before Gurvine leapt on him, teeth digging into his neck and blood flying. He swung the scimitar but his aim was off and it fell from his grip.
I dove to the ground, rolling aside as Gurvine slammed him into the sand. Hariot’s cries for help were punctuated by Gurvine’s growls of satisfaction as he began his feast.
I darted forward, snatching the weapon from the ground with a hiss of pain as the cut to my ribs seared with agony at the movement.
“Help me!” Hariot screeched, his eyes locking with mine.
I moved forward, the scimitar raised as I tried to get behind Gurvine for a clear shot at his skull.
A cry of pain drew my attention behind me and I spun, spotting Cassian pinned to the wall by the other beast. He was fighting with all his strength to keep the creature from his neck but I could see it had him at a disadvantage.
Hariot seemed to realise my dilemma as he shrieked at me again, reaching out towards my ankle but with Gurvine thrashing about I couldn’t get a clear shot at him and Cassian was almost out of time.
I glanced down at Hariot for half a second. “Sorry, mate. It’s not personal.”
I turned and ran from him, abandoning him to Gurvine’s feasting as his screams grew ever shriller and I raced to help my friend. I’d never had a real friend before and I sure as shit wasn’t going to lose my only one to the jaws of a face biter.
I directed my anger into the force of my charge as I rammed my shoulder into the monster’s side and sent him careening away from Cassian. I didn’t slow my advance as he fell to the ground and swung my scimitar in a sweeping arc, cleaving his head from his body and leaving us with only Gurvine to destroy.
The beetle scuttled from the decapitated head and Cassian stamped on it, splattering green ichor across the sand. My lip curled back in disgust and I spun to see what had become of that other bug.
One of the women was laying on the ground near the last place I’d seen it and her body was juddering in a grotesque way that drew me to believe the bug had just found a new host.
Dammit, now we have two to defeat again.
My gaze caught on Hariot’s lifeless eyes as Gurvine stood from his kill to face us, blood running freely down his chin.
For a moment I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the man he had once been remained in him. If somewhere deep down inside, the Prince who had named two thousands goats and liked to prattle on about his wine collection instead of just drinking it was screaming to get out. Or perhaps the beetle in his brain had devoured the essence of his soul just as Gurvine himself now devoured anyone who stood in his path.
I rolled my shoulders back as he assessed us, his animalistic gaze swinging between Cassian and me as he hunted for a weakness which I refused to let him find.
We were trapped in a fight for our lives and maybe some men would have run screaming rather than face it head on like this. But Cassian was a weapon forged from years of torment, abuse and physical hardship. Or, I guess he’d call it training. And I’d spent every second of my entire life fighting for survival, so this was nothing new to me. Ignoring the mind-control bugs of course.
Pretty hard to ignore the bugs though...
Adrenaline filled my veins as the Prince prepared to pounce. And I could only hope that my luck wasn’t about to run out.
My knuckles were raw and bloody. I could barely see in this place but the undead monsters created by Gothel were loud enough to hear. Gurvine came at me with an inhuman hiss and I grimaced as I threw my fists into his face. He stumbled back hard and Aladdin was ready behind him, locking his arm around the Prince's neck.
My heart rate sky-rocketed as I ran forward to help him. In my periphery Kalaviv intercepted the risen woman, trying to keep her away from the other prisoners. And I thanked Osaria that we had some assistance in this fight.
Aladdin struggled to get his sword into Gurvine from the angle he was at and the beast was thrashing like a caged animal. I caught his shirt, yanking him forward, his nails scraping down my arms as Aladdin released him.
“Let go!” Aladdin commanded and I forced Gurvine back a step before leaping aside. Aladdin took his head from his shoulders with a clean swipe and his body slumped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
My stomach hardened as I waited for the beetle to appear and the moment it broke free, I cracked my heel down on it.
Aladdin looked to me with a nod, his expression grim. Both of us were caked in blood and sand, while the rest of the group had held back against the wall. The only one to really help us had been Kalaviv; he stood above the body of the final creature, his foot pressing down on her chest.
“That's all of them,” he growled and I nodded, shooting a glare at the survivors.
“No thanks to you lot,” I snarled, rolling back my sleeves which were slick with blood.
“They have to take s-someone,” a man stuttered.
Aladdin strode toward him at a furious pace then headbutted him right in the nose.
“Argh!” the guy hit the ground and I released a dark laugh.
Aladdin rubbed his forehead with a mutter. “I need Kyra, dammit.”
A rush of air descended on all of us and I squinted as I gazed up at the night sky high above. The moon appeared purple for a moment and I wondered if I'd sustained a head injury during the fight.
The colour shifted into one, rippling cloud and my heart screamed a note of joy as I realised what it was.
Kyra materialised before Aladdin wearing a pink crop top and baggy pants. His mouth parted as he stared at her and everyone else in the hole backed up.
“What in the world?” Kalaviv gasped as Aladdin pulled her into a hug.
I moved to join them and Kyra turned, throwing her arms around me as she released Aladdin.
“Thank the heavens you're here.” I squeezed her tight as relief filled me.“I could kiss you right now.”
“I'd not do that, mate.” Aladdin shouldered me aside.
“Let's go!” Kyra said in a panic. “Kahn's got the princess and he's so big and she's so small and she said she'd be okay but now I'm having doubts, but sometimes I'm wrong, you know? So maybe I'm wrong this time, am I wrong?”
Aladdin reached out and rested a hand on Kyra's shoulder. “You're right. You're always right.”
My heart crushed like it was in a vice. But Kahn couldn't touch her yet, surely? He had to wait until the wedding night. Then again, Gothel was the only one upholding the law right now and I didn't have any faith in her.
Fear crept along my skin.
I vow on everything I am I will not let him hurt her.
A clinking of chains sounded up above and we all froze. The dark shadow of the cage started to descend once more, dropping lower and lower.
My breathing hitched and I turned to Kalaviv for answers.
“They'll want to collect the freaks,” he whispered, nudging one of the dead bodies with the toe of his boot.
I shared a look with Aladdin and he cocked a brow.
“We get in that cage,” I mouthed. “And take them by surprise.”
His mouth skewed into a twisted smile as he nodded.
“Wish for my protection,” Kyra begged and Aladdin nodded.
“I wish our skin was impenetrable to blades.”
She looked to me and I whispered my agreement before she cast the spell. Magic trickled along my skin and it began to feel tough and barely sensitive at all.
I scraped a fingernail along my palm and felt nothing but the vague sensation of the touch.
My heart found a wild beat as we waited for the cage to reach the floor and Kyra started making demonic noises in imitation of the creatures. Aladdin fought a laugh, joining her in her efforts as Kalaviv moved to my side, nodding. He stepped into the cage with us and I shut the brass door loud enough to be heard from the top.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 52