The Cage King

by Danielle Monsch

  Nalah glanced at him, love and desire and no ghosts in that gaze. He thought he knew freedom before, but this, loving and being loved, this was free. This was true happiness. “I am going to be with him and we’re figuring out our life together, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take or where it’s going to lead us.” His heart stuttered in his chest over this final proof she’d forgiven him, and herself as well.

  “And the Guild?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Fair enough, but even if you choose not to come back, know you’ll always be Guild. You’ve been marked by our enemies and you need to remember that, and if there is a question that only your talents can find the answer to, we will call on you. You’re never truly free.”

  Fallon’s response was reasonable. Still, flame bristled under his skin at the directive, while Nalah answered. “I understand. That means also if there is something only the Guild can help us with, we’ll be sure to call you.”

  With that, Fallon smiled a wide, genuine smile. “Make sure you invite Laire to the wedding. She gets horribly depressed if she misses any occasion that allows her to dress up.” In a smooth movement Fallon turned and headed back to the town, the other two following.

  Let them clean up, or arrest people, or whatever else. He was done, and all that mattered was getting back home, getting his motorcycle, and bending Nalah over it as he’d been dreaming about for six years.

  Speaking of, Nalah leaped into his arms and began raining kisses over his face. “I love you,” she said, fierce and forever, and it seared itself onto his heart. “But don’t think you’re getting your way in everything. Five years is a long time, and we need to readjust to one another. So don’t expect us to move in together right away.”

  He started kissing her neck. Not right away then. He’d give it two weeks before he moved her.

  She was wriggling in his arms, her voice growing breathier as her body responded to his kisses. “And I’m not staying at home while you get in trouble. Even if I don’t go back to the Guild, I need to use my talents and be productive.”

  There were handcuffs to keep her at home. Though by the bulge in his jeans, handcuffs were both a good and bad idea. Good because it would keep her safe. Bad because he’d never leave the apartment if she was cuffed to the bed.

  “And why the hell do I bother to talk? You aren’t listening to a damn thing I said.”

  “You said you love me. What else do I need to hear?”

  And after her bright smile, as she leaned in to kiss him, she said, “You better stay very good in bed if you expect lines like that to keep working.”

  That, he intended to do.

  Chapter Twenty-One

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  The huge walls and domed ceiling of the hall told the story of a proud and powerful people. Guards stood at the ready with weapons while behind them tiled scenes decorated every square inch of stone, scenes depicting battles and victory and always, always, flame and ash and the burnt remains of those who were enemies.

  Red and gold dominated, followed by rich earthen colors. A closer look revealed the decoration to be gold and silver, gems of all types within the designs. None entering could mistake this place as anything but the domain of one who should be looked on with awe or fear – or both.

  The hall led to a room, large and forbidding. Everything from the wood of the floor to the fabrics that covered the scattering of furniture was rich and sumptuous, tasteful, restrained, and any Blackguard’s mouth would water at the fortune contained within.

  At the far end, in front of a huge picture window, the man stood, his shoulder-length red-gold hair alight from the incoming sunshine, creating a halo effect.

  “No wonder your kind were looked upon as heaven’s messengers. I can almost hear the harps.”

  He didn’t start or look away from whatever held his attention beyond the glass. He answered, his voice the deep tones of culture and breeding. “And do you wonder about the workings of heaven, Dragon Slayer?”

  Fallon gave a short laugh that edged into humorless. “Hardly. I have enough problems worrying about all the gods wandering underfoot down here. I’ll leave heaven to its own. Lord Kyo sends his regards.”

  He turned to her, his eyes a simmering flame, red and gold mingled together, almost the same shade as his hair. The expression on his face was pleasant, the rehearsed pleasant that spoke of training to never let real emotion through. “I have been anxious to hear your account of our operation. I am pleased it was a success.”

  Fallon’s eyes flicked to the side, her mouth twisting in one corner. “Depends on your definition, though Kyo agrees with your assessment.”

  “Yes, Lord Kyo and I are in agreement.” His next words were a volley, a gentle probe against her defenses. “And your thoughts?”

  The quirk of her eyebrow spoke that she knew what he was doing, but she answered anyway. “While I agree that Esh was our priority, I think I put a little higher value on the Realm Jumper than perhaps you or Kyo.”

  “The Realm Jumper has many advantages, yes, but it can accomplish nothing that a large group of powerful wizards could not.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “And your tone says you believe otherwise.”

  She smiled, a shading of amusement that he called her out. “I don’t trust magic, so I’m always asking what if. The Realm Jumper can access all nine of the other Realms, but what if, just maybe, it can access more?”

  “The Tenth Realm? That’s a fable.”

  Her smile widened, and she inclined her head an inch. “More likely I’m pissed the best I can claim is a draw with the Corpse Bloom Queen.”

  He stepped closer, keeping a respectful distance but placing himself behind his desk and into the center of authority. “Ah yes, the Pale Lady. Unexpected, that.”

  Fallon put her hands in her pockets and leaned back against the wall, one knee bent and the sole of her foot propped against the vertical surface in a false façade of casual repose. “Was it unexpected for you as well?”

  “Of course. When it comes to the necromancers, I would not leave unmentioned even a suspicion of their workings.” There was a globe on his desk, done in browns and gold with very little primary color. His index finger stroked with lazy ease over a section changed more than any other because of the Great Collision, an area where necromancers ruled. “We now have in-fighting amongst the necromancers to consider in our future plans. Reign and the Pale Lady have ever been at odds, but this display means that she, at least, has decided no longer to keep it hidden from us. Open warfare has been declared in their ranks, and we will be drawn in.”

  “Necromancers not able to make friends with one another? Shocking,” Fallon said with deadpan delivery.

  “I would not take this so lightly. Of all in our alliance, she has an especial hatred for you.”

  “Let me lose sleep that yet another necromancer wants me dead, or undead, or whatever.”

  “Oh, she wants you dead. She wants you obliterated down to the mention of your name. She would not keep you around even as a trophy to display.” The handsome lines of his face sharpened, and the predator flickered over his features for the briefest moment. “But it’s not as if that is what all of them wish, is it?”

  Fallon met his gaze straight on. “Beware taking that path, Phoenix Lord. I am not yours to poke and prod.” She straightened, hands still in pockets but body more visibly ready for battle, Tenro glinting behind her shoulder.

  The barest tilt of his head signaled the acceptance of her words, and he continued. “Do you have any word why Reign did not try harder to reclaim the Realm Jumper? Using only the Skin Dweller in such circumstances is almost pathetic.”

  “We came up with the same reason I’m sure you did – something better is out there that he wants and his efforts are focused elsewhere. We have Tec working on it, but…” Her words trailed off.

  “With the theft of the items in the vault, too many variables.”

  “Too many var
iables,” she agreed, her attention locked onto a ten-foot tapestry of a phoenix in full glory, its wings and its neck straining upwards. “Esh will come to you soon. He’s still holding onto anger, but even if he wanted to leave his heritage alone, Nalah is too curious to let information go unclaimed.”

  “Of course he’ll return. From the moment his fire awoke, that conclusion became inevitable. He is of phoenix blood. When the blood calls, he will answer, and he will stand beside us in all battles.”

  “Such good luck one so strong and talented came into his power in these tense times, when war is edging ever closer.” Fallon’s voice held a weary, far away note, her vision fixed on the phoenix.

  “War is always close. Our existence is to hold it at bay.” For those few words, the false pleasantness was gone, and pure determination and fierce purpose were all that existed. With a deep breath, he became again bland politeness. “Please thank Lord Kyo for his assistance in returning one of ours to us.”

  Fallon took her attention away from the tapestry and once again faced him, her face as devoid of true feelings as the Phoenix Lord. “Lord Kyo needs no thanks and is always ready to help his allies. He does ask that you share a financial burden that came out of this mission. It seems the Blackguards accuse us of not informing them of the true danger of this mission, which caused their man to get caught and killed. To smooth over relations, Lord Kyo has offered monetary compensation, which they have accepted.”

  “Of course. Should I include a note of condolence?”

  “No need. The man killed was a violent scumbag who had no family. Personally, I think the world is better off without him and am sure he would have died soon enough, but…” she gave a small lift of her shoulder, the move shifting Tenro and causing her red hair to curl around the sword’s hilt. “Politics and all.”

  “Politics is all.” He bent over the desk and wrote something in elegant cursive. “To think, if this man hadn’t died, Nalah would have accomplished her task in short order, and she and Esh may never have reunited, which would have meant Esh’s power would not have manifested.” Stuffing the note in an envelope, he handed the paper to Fallon.

  She took it with quick flick of her hand, her gaze steady and unflinching on his. “Crazy to think how things work sometimes.”

  “Indeed. How do you believe things work, Dragon Slayer?”

  She snorted, straightening up, her body language that of one ready to depart. “I don’t care about gods or heavens or politics. I swing my sword and take down any in my way, and the moving of the pawns I’ll leave to all of you who enjoy sitting behind the desks.”

  “As you say. Please give my regards to Lord Kyo,” he replied, courtesy in every line of his body.

  She inclined her head and turned to go. When she was halfway to the door, he called out, “And please give my highest respect to the Most Great One, Master and UnMaster of all.”

  Fallon spun to face him while walking backwards, still heading towards the exit. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” she said, her voice and countenance amused confusion. And she spun around again and continued to the door.

  He lowered himself to his seat. “Oh yes…”

  Tenro’s hilt gleamed against Fallon’s coppery-red hair, visible only a moment before the swordswoman exited the room.

  “I’m sure.”

  The End

  Note from Danielle Monsch

  Peoples! Thanks for reading The Cage King, a story of the Entwined Realms. I appreciate you spending some time in my world, and I hope you enjoyed.

  Let me share a not-so-secret secret with you. Reviews are the absolute BEST WAY for readers to discover authors. Reviews help both retailers and advertisers discover authors and books to recommend to their customers. As a small-time author, I am very dependent on reviews – but, I’m very aware that the time spent writing a review could be spent doing things much more enjoyable. So, to show my gratitude, if you leave a review for me anywhere and email me at Dani@DanielleMonsch.com with the link to it, I will gift you The Dream Crafter (Entwined Realms, Book 2) when it comes out. Thank you!

  If you’d like to read the book that started it all, with a Gargoyle as our hero, a Human teacher as our heroine, and extra Fallon and Laire waiting for you, I direct you to Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms, Book 1), followed by a short after-scene written as a thank you for my friends entitled Stone Embrace.

  And if you are interested in hearing about my other books and want to know as soon as they are released, please sign up for my newsletter! Newsletters are sent out only when a book is released or I’m giving stuff away, and your email is never used for any other purpose or sold/distributed to anyone!

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  Stone Guardian

  Entwined Realms, Book One

  Gryphons flying past skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffeehouses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.

  Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species, nor has she wanted to. Her life is as ordinary as it gets – that is, until one day she walks out of her apartment and is attacked by a mob of Zombies, only to be saved by a Gargoyle.

  Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but due to a cryptic prophecy, Terak, Leader of the Gargoyles, has been watching over the human woman for months. While he can find no reason why the woman has been singled out, something about her stirs every protective instinct within him. When the attack confirms that the threats against her exist and are real, he convinces Larissa that though their races have never been allies, the best chance of discovering why she has been brought into his world is by working together.

  In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa’s life, but the fate of this New Realm as well.

  Buy Stone Guardian here!

  About the Author

  Born to the pothole-ridden streets of Pittsburgh, PA, Danielle Monsch started writing in a time long ago, a time when there were not enough vampire stories to read and she had to write her own to fill the void. Yes, such a time of darkness did indeed exist.

  Danielle writes stories full of fantastical goodness and plenty of action, but always with lots of romance (and a bit of woo-hoo!) mixed in. Vampires and Werewolves and Demons and Angels, Sword & Sorcery, Fairy Tales, Updated Mythologies and the like – if it’s out of the ordinary, it’s fair game for her stories.

  Go to www.DanielleMonsch.com for one-stop shopping with everything to do with Danielle – there you can join her Newsletter (highly encouraged as it contains all info about upcoming books, plus random surprises) follow her on Twitter, and like her on Facebook. Just want to send Danielle a quick email? Easy enough, that’s Dani@DanielleMonsch.com.