by Sunny
I gestured to the food. "Eat. Then we go before the Council."
Chapter Sixteen
We did not have to wait this time, and were shown immediately into the great chamber. Almost all the Council seats were occupied and all the new faces were women. The Demon Prince and Warrior Lord Thorane were the only two men on the Council, I saw as we strode in.
The Ice Queen, Mona Louisa, was there. And so was Gryphon. I'd known that as soon as I had entered and smelled the stench of purulent, decaying flesh. He knelt at her feet like a prized pet on display, a jeweled collar around his throat. The leash was held casually in Mona Louisa's white hands. His chest was bare, allowing all to see the poisoned, rotting flesh low in his stomach. Purplish-red streaks of drainage marked his skin, spreading out from the stab wound like an aggravated sunburst. His heart beat too quickly and his breathing was too shallow. I saw the knowledge in Gryphon's eyes. He was dying.
Mona Louisa stiffened involuntarily for a moment when she saw me, before her face smoothed into a blank porcelain mask. I swallowed back my fury. Later, I promised myself. I would see that she paid for her treachery.
The Councilmembers gasped as Mona Carlisse entered behind me and walked to the center, escorted by Amber and Aquila. The only faces not twisted with surprise were that of Lord Thorane and the old and wise Queen Mother.
"Queen Mother." I curtsied deeply before her. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Council. I wish to present Queen Mona Carlisse, whom many of you recognize. She did not die as you can see, but has been held captive these past ten years by Sandoor." I moved aside and let Mona Carlisse step forward.
The chamber erupted in an uproar of angry voices.
"Silence!" Lord Thorane thundered, bringing the room back to order. "Queen Mona Carlisse, if you will explain, please."
Mona Carlisse stepped forward and addressed the court, telling them of her staged death, the birth of her daughter, the years of imprisonment, the growth of the band of rogue warriors under the leadership of Sandoor, and finally of their rescue and flight here. Her recitation was dry, given almost in a monotone, her back rigid with a dignity that dared others to pity her.
"Queen Mona Carlisse, you have endured much." Lord Thorane said most gently. "We have but a few more questions for you. I ask that you bear patiently with us." He paused, clearing his throat. "Am I correct that, according to your testimony, the man beside you, Aquila, was one of these rogues?"
"Yes."
"And that he aided you in your escape?"
Mona Carlisse nodded. "That is correct, Lord Thorane."
"How then, would you have us punish him, milady? His life is yours by right."
Mona Carlisse's eyes glittered with an emotion I dared not try to read. I held my breath.
"I ask that he go unpunished," she finally whispered. "I forfeit his life into Mona Lisa's service. And I pray that he serve her well."
The room grew abuzz, flying with whispered comments.
"Thank you, Sister," I said quietly.
Lord Thorane called for silence once more and looked to the august Queen Mother, who gave the barest nod.
"It shall be as you asked, milady," Lord Thorane pronounced.
"But the other eight men," Mona Carlisse said with cold hatred. "I wish to see them hunted down and executed in the most painful manner. Sandoor, in particular."
"It shall be as you request, Queen Mona Carlisse," Lord Thorane declared.
She hesitated. "My men from before…"
"Your people will be called back from wherever they dispersed and your territory shall be restored unto you, Queen Mona Carlisse. The court with provide you with guards until that time when your own men return."
She bowed her thanks and stepped back.
My time had come. I shot a feral smile at the treacherous Mona Louisa and stepped forward. "I have yet to explain to the court how I came to be captured by Sandoor's men."
The Councilmembers followed my gaze to Mona Louisa. Her blond iciness calmly endured their scrutiny.
"Indeed, Queen Mona Lisa," Lord Thorane said. "Please do so now."
"Mona Louisa promised one of my men, Gryphon, the man at her side, the antidote for silver poisoning if he went to her."
"She lies," Mona Louisa countered smoothly.
I turned to my former lover. "Gryphon?"
"I deliberately misled you so that you would allow me to leave," Gryphon said, his rich, resonant voice unweakened. "There is no cure for silver poisoning."
In a sudden flash, it all became clear to me. "You traded yourself for four of her men to guard and protect me," I said flatly.
"Yes. I was dying anyway."
And Gryphon had traded with the only coin he'd had to barter to ensure my protection—his beautiful body and the rare gift of walking in sunlight that he had gained from me.
"It was a poor bargain, my love," I said, my heart crying bitter tears. "They betrayed me to Sandoor's men at the very first opportunity."
The room buzzed once more with agitated speculation.
"She lies," Mona Louisa repeated, her calmness unruffled.
Aquila spoke up for the first time. "A blond warrior, Miles, brought the new Queen to our attention and agreed to turn her into our hands within the forest. He and his men did as promised, standing by while we took her. Only Amber tried to aid her."
"Queen Mona Louisa," Lord Thorane interjected after the sudden bubble of silence that met Aquila's statement. "Were four of your men given the task of guarding Queen Mona Lisa?"
Mona Louisa nodded, her blue eyes unrippled calm. "Yes. But they informed me they were surrounded and outnumbered and she was snatched away."
"They informed you," I mocked and turned to the blond, slippery shadow trying to hide in the back. "Did you hear that, Miles? Your Queen is going to throw you to the wolves. Come out, come out, wherever you are," I crooned in a sing-song voice.
"Step forward, Warrior Miles, and approach the Council," Lord Thorane ordered.
The other guards stepped away from him, leaving Miles no choice but to make his way reluctantly forward.
Lord Thorane eyed Miles sternly. "Let me remind you that false testimony before the Council is punishable by death."
Miles visibly swallowed and looked to Mona Louisa. She gazed back at him impassively.
"Warrior Miles," Lord Thorane said. "Did you contact the rogues regarding Queen Mona Lisa?"
"No," Miles said, his voice trembling.
"Did you report to Queen Mona Louisa that you were outnumbered and surrounded, and that Mona Lisa was abducted?"
Miles did not look at his Queen. "Yes."
"Is that true?"
"Yes," Miles said, his voice a low harsh sound.
"Lord Thorane," I interrupted. "Perhaps you should ask him if he tried to rape me." I heard Gryphon draw in a sharp breath. "After he ordered Rupert—I believe that's his name, the redheaded one—to smear a liquid aphrodisiac on me."
Amber's voice was a low, ominous, rumbling rage. "He spilled almost the entire vial of witch's brew upon her, leaving her not in her right mind for six days. It is only by the Goddess' mercy that she did not pass from this life."
"Hell's fire!" Halcyon snarled.
Miles glanced nervously at the Demon Prince, sweat dampening his once pretty and now very worried face.
"Warrior Miles, did you order Warrior Rupert to apply witch's brew on Queen Mona Lisa's person?" Lord Thorane asked forebodingly.
"No!"
"Did you try to rape Queen Mona Lisa?"
"No, Lord Thorane!"
I sauntered closer to Miles and asked silkily, "What, did you think I was willing? Is that why you tried to strangle me when I fought you?"
Gryphon let out an anguished cry.
"And did you not say that it was your Queen's most ardent desire that you and the other three guards taste me before handing me over to Sandoor's men?" I bared my teeth at him in a vicious smile. "If you didn't try to rape me, how then do you explain my burn marks up
on your chest?"
I was taking a chance that they hadn't healed completely yet. Burn wounds were notoriously slow to heal. It took months in a human.
"Take off your shirt, Miles," the High Prince of Hell said in a dark portending voice. You could almost smell the sulfur brimming.
Miles grew chalk-white. He turned to Mona Louisa, his eyes desperate. "Milady."
"Do as he says," Mona Louisa said, her voice as cold and flat as her beautiful eyes.
His hands visibly shaking, Miles unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off.
Gasps. Murmurs. All it lacked was applause.
There on Miles's chest were the imprints of my hands, as deep, as brightly red as the day I had branded him. They hadn't healed at all.
I walked to Miles, my hands outstretched. Miles back away, fear flooding his eyes.
"Hold!" Lord Thorane commanded.
Miles held still, quivering as I fit my two hands over the burns. A perfect match, down to the pearly indentations in the center.
I slid my hands down until it rested over his groin and whispered into Miles's ear. "Next time I'll place my mark lower."
He wet his pants.
I stepped contemptuously away from him.
"I believe Miles and his men require further questioning… in private," Halcyon said. "Along with their Queen."
Lord Thorane nodded. "The Council would welcome your worthy assistance in this matter, Prince Halcyon."
"I will be most happy to offer it." Demon nails clicked sharply together.
Mona Louisa blanched.
I turned to the Ice Bitch. "You struck a false bargain with my man, Mona Louisa. Therefore it is null and void." I held out my hand to the man I loved. "Gryphon, come to me."
Gryphon rose and in one easy motion ripped off the bejeweled collar, his eyes filled with sorrow, anger, love, and regret. He took a step toward me.
Mona Louisa rose behind him, a vengeful pale wraith, her eyes narrowed in deadly malice. A silver dagger clutched in her upraised hand, her fingers wrapped tight around the leather-wrapped hilt. "He will never be yours again!" she screeched at me.
Time seemed to stretch out as my vision first narrowed and focused on that descending blade, then expanded until that was all I saw in close, intimate detail. Light glinted off that brilliant blade the color of moonlight. I thought of the taste of silver, remembered that metallic tang in Gryphon's blood. I thought of the feel of my own knives these last few weeks, how they came eagerly to my hands even as I reached for them. I fixed on that reflective silver-bright blade, on the simple, leather-wrapped hilt, and desired it in my own hand.
The hand I held stretched out tingled and throbbed, a giant warm pulse.
The silver dagger flew to my hand, the hilt resting warmly, securely in my palm.
Time continued to move slowly. I saw the shock and fear in Mona Louisa's eyes. Felt my own murderous rage at what she had dared. And knew with sure certainty that I could send that dagger flying straight back into her heart as swiftly as I had called it to me. And I wanted her dead so badly I trembled with the desire of it.
A voice mellowed with age and hardened with innate authority reached me. It was a voice I could not ignore or block out. "Mona Lisa. Attend to me."
Time snapped back, moving swiftly forward once more. I put away the dagger and looked almost blindly to the one who had called me, the august Queen Mother. I dropped to my knees before her and felt Gryphon's warm, tingling presence as he knelt beside me.
"Rise," the Queen Mother commanded.
I stood and lifted my eyes to that proud visage, to those blue eyes that had faded neither in color nor in intelligence or perception.
"You have great gifts, child," the Queen Mother said. "You shall need great control to wield them wisely. Content yourself that Gryphon is yours for however much longer he may live."
I bowed and looked into those wise neutral eyes, neither cold nor warm. "Is there no way to cure him, Queen Mother?"
"What they say is true. There is no antidote for silver poisoning."
My heart wept at her certain words.
With considering eyes, the Queen Mother studied Gryphon and I. "But perhaps there is a way to cure him."
"How?" I whispered.
"You called the silver blade to your hand, did you not? Call the silver out from within his body."
My mind reeled at the simple idea and my heart pounded faster with excitement, with possibility. I could not heal the poison within him, but maybe I could draw it out.
I turned to Gryphon, to his blank face that showed neither hope nor expectation, and traced my eyes down to that gaping, festering hole in his belly that had widened as his flesh had softened and been eaten away. Touching that rotten flesh with my palm, I thought again of silver—the taste, feel, and smell of it. I thought of the silver in his body. And thought of it coming out.
My hand warmed and trembled and the Goddess tear imprinted in the heart of my palm suddenly came to life. It throbbed, pulling on my nerves, pulsating all the way up my arm, shooting to my heart. The embedded tear in my palm began to emit radiance of the purest white light. Light that penetrated into Gryphon's skin. Infused with that light, his skin began to change colors, from deadly gray, rotten, to living color once again.
In that critical, fragile moment, I called even more power out from within, penetrating even deeper into him. With the pull of my palm, one massive blackened clot of blood was sucked out from the wound. Gryphon let out a raw cry of pain. Now with the passage free and uncluttered, I could see. Deep in the gaping hole of his flesh in his waist was a tiny puddle of liquid silver.
My hand pulsated. Vibrated. Shook. A sullen, silvery blood-tinged drop oozed from the hole, growing fatter and fatter until it dropped to the floor with a tiny wet plop. Another drop welled, this one almost pure silver. It, too, kerplunked to the ground. Two more fat, sluggish silvery drops dived to their timely demise, then the light faded and my hand cooled. I dropped my hand, drained, trembling now with fatigue.
Gryphon's rigid body softened. His eyes opened as if awakening from a deep sleep, refreshed. The wound was still there but the violaceous streaking was gone. His presence felt better, stronger, and I knew that Gryphon's body would heal itself now with time.
Gryphon's parched trembling lips brushed mine in silent gratitude. I ran my fingers lovingly through his tousled hair, comforting him. I bowed in deep gratitude to the Queen Mother. She acknowledged me with a kind smile that softened her face for a moment.
Lord Thorane cleared his throat. "Queen Mona Lisa, I could not fail but notice that one…" He narrowed his eyes, concentrating for a moment on Gryphon. "… er, two, actually, now… of your men have reached a high enough level of power to…" He paused, then continued doggedly on. "Is it your wish, milady, that the court recognize Amber and Gryphon as Warrior Lords?"
"Warrior Lords?" I asked, forcing myself to attend his words despite my tiredness. "Like yourself. Lord Thorane?"
"That is correct, milady."
"If they have the power, why do you ask me?"
"They can only be recognized if their Queen requests it."
Oh. Some dark emotion in those aged eyes of his compelled me to ask, "How many Warrior Lords are recognized by the court, Lord Thorane?"
"Myself alone."
Just one. Some Queen had loved him then. But what had become of the many other men that must have reached that same level of power?
"What is the significance of becoming a Warrior Lord?" I asked.
"First of all, it means that through their servitude to their Queens, they have attained enough power—that is, the power they have siphoned off through a Queen's Basking and, of course," he cleared his throat, "through mating—yes, well, in any case, it means they have attained enough physical power to live up to the promised age of three hundred years solely by their own life force. They no longer need to depend upon a Queen's power to sustain their viability, and they can roam free from your control. They ca
n be independent, which brings us to the second point. Because they have attained the above physical power, this rare status allows them to have the privilege and right of ruling their own territories like a Queen, directly serving the Queen Mother."
So Warrior Lords were as powerful as Queens. My two strongest warriors, my mother had called Gryphon and Amber. No wonder Mona Sera had tried to kill them. Not only would they no longer serve her but they would become her direct competitors. Was that the reason why Queens slaughtered their best men or drove them away to become outcast rogues like the ones in the forest?
Lord Thorane was asking me to free them.
Should I? Could I? But I'd only just found them. How could I give them up? Should I make the choice my mother and the other Queens made? Should I chain them to my side forever in servitude? Should I be selfish, treating them as my slaves? Or should I do what was right and free them to stand as equals among us all? Would my heart be broken?
I looked at my beautiful Gryphon, at my strong Amber.
"Yes," I said. It came out a harsh whisper. "I wish to have them recognized."
Lord Thorane exhaled slowly in relief. "Thank you, milady. You are a most unusual and generous Queen. Amber, Gryphon, you may approach the Queen Mother."
I stepped back. Amber moved to stand beside Gryphon. They both knelt before the Queen Mother. With slow care, she slipped over each of their bent heads a gold medallion chain proclaiming their new status.
"Rise, Warrior Lord Gryphon, Warrior Lord Amber," the Queen Mother's strong voice commanded, "and tell me what is your desire." She waved her bejeweled hand to a huge map on the wall behind her, displaying all the sprawling Monère territories scattered around the face of the continent. "All is yours just by asking."
Gryphon didn't even look at the tantalizing map and the promise of his own fiefdom. His eyes were on me. In a clear voice he said, "My heart's greatest desire is to continue serving Mona Lisa, revered Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother raised one eyebrow. "Laudable, laudable, laudable. Such a gallant spirit. What about you, Warrior Lord Amber? You have suffered long and hard. I have quite a few lucrative territories for you to rule. Now is the time for you to reach out and take your glory."