Devourer: A Minister Knight Novel (The Minister Knights Series Book 2)

by Nicole Givens Kurtz

  22

  The Best Laid Plans

  Early the next morn, Akub sat in the Great Hall. As they sat down at the table closest to the throne, Marion ordered drinks for everyone, and Chloe placed them in front of each person with a kind smile despite the hour. Zykeiah came in, dusting snow from her cloak and her daggers. Just as she sat down on the bench, she pinned Kalah with a glare, her eyes bright in the early morning light.

  “Kalah, where were you last evening?” she asked.

  “I was alone, in my quarters? Why?” he croaked out and met her stern expression. He looked awful. Heavy bags and red-rimmed eyes loomed out from sunken cheeks. A bit of tarnish to his usual swagger lingered.

  Akub noted that none of them looked too good. Zykeiah may not have not have slept at all. Throughout the night, Akub struggled to sleep, and she wondered where Zykeiah had stormed off to after evening meals. Marion had called them all to an early morn meeting, but Zy still hadn’t returned to her chambers.

  “Really, Kalah?” Zykeiah selected one of the mugs.

  “No, I had a case of ale, too,” Kalah snapped and jerked his body away, putting his back to the table.

  Akub snorted. His usual smug demeanor had tattered around the edges.

  “You find it, funny? You awful creature,” Kalah growled.

  “So cruel.” Zykeiah waved him off. “You do seem peaky and quite sluggish. Regardless, I’ve been along the trail.”

  “It was a filthy night.” Kalah rubbed his eyes and reached for his sweater. He tugged it on, barely missing the tabletop. “I need some firewater.”

  He may as well have had a cup of death so rigid his motions and black his mood.

  “The last thing you need is firewater. Here’s some tea.” Marion pushed a mug to him. “Okay, Zykeiah, you wanted me to call a meeting. I did. So, why are we here?”

  “And so blasted early?” Kalah groaned.

  “We had word that a few of the servants, including the lead cook, Toran, have left…”

  She paused and surveyed those at the table, until each one’s eyes met her own before she continued. “People are escaping to the Land of Lundlei across the Capolla River. Indeed, it is not only rumor but fact. Those servants who have not appeared for duty any more were said to be ill. Kanton said some have vacated their homes, and those buildings lay in darkness, deserted. In some instances, people from Saturn Four have taken up residence in those homes.”

  “We would’ve known,” Marion said, shaking his head.

  Kalah agreed. “How, Marion? How did we not notice?”

  “I did notice. But we have no way of knowing who leaves the servants’ quarters. No one is posted there to keep watch on their comings and goings. There exist Circles to other worlds throughout Veloris to which you are all aware, since they are marked on a map,” Marion said.

  Zykeiah waved a hand at them, quieting them down. “There’s a newly worn path, and last night Kanton and I went to investigate the rumors. The point to this tale is that last night we spied several families actually crossing the Capolla Bridge into Lundlei…”

  Akub gasped. “Zykeiah! Don’t go down into the darkness without a plan!”

  She felt the words leave her lips, but a numbness surged.

  “We need to know what we’re dealing with,” Zykeiah countered.

  Octiva appeared at the entranceway. “Evil must be recognized and fought. Wickedness cannot triumph.”

  “While we’re hunting her, she may be hunting us,” Marion noted, his face grave.

  “Indeed, but I saw with my own eyes the families risking their very lives to get away from here.”

  “You don’t sound so sure, Zykeiah.” Sarah looked up from her woolgathering.

  “I’m not done! There was a green light...”

  “A green light?” Kalah asked, his lips pressed into a tight line of rage. “As in the green light that broke Manola out of her cells? You mean to tell me…”

  “Amana stood with the green flames on her torch!” Zykeiah finished with a slap on the table.

  Marion said, “Clearly they survived the woods, and somehow they are recruiting people from our kingdom to theirs.”

  “She has no kingdom!” Kalah spat, spraying Marion with spittle and slamming his fist into the table, upsetting the drinks. “She does not get to rule like a queen when her head should be decaying beneath the first frost!”

  Sarah frowned at him, but Kalah did not notice.

  “Calm down, Kalah,” Akub said, drawing all eyes to her. “The important issues here are why are the people fleeing to her and why does she need them?”

  Zykeiah said, “What lies beyond the Capolla in Lundlei?”

  Here Octiva stepped forward and gestured to Kalah to sit. “The Land of Lundlei is the land of the ancients, of my people, descendants of the gods.”

  Groaning, Kalah plopped back down in his seat beside Zykeiah, and Chloe came around, cleaned up the spilled drinks and issued new, filled ones.

  “The moment I stepped on the bridge to go over to find where the family had disappeared to, it began to snow again,” Zykeiah said. “I nearly lost my footing and fell into the river.”

  “Rubbish!” Kalah said. “I do not care for talk of oracles, goddesses, and feuds. What are we going to do about the people leaving and Manola still breathing?”

  Kalah did always have a way with words.

  “What are we going to do, Marion?” Zykeiah asked. “Is she trying to raise an army to attack us? What does she give the people who come to her that makes others want to come as well?”

  They all were silent, thinking of an answer to that very question.

  “Later today, we should split up.” Marion pointed at Zykeiah and then Kalah. “You two go out this evening. It will give Zy time to sleep.”

  “Great. Split the group. Nothing can go wrong with that idea,” Zykeiah said, with a quick glance at Akub.

  Akub chuckled. Zykeiah’s benevolent mood soured due to lack of sleep. Peace didn’t suit her, anyway. Her minister came alive on the brink of battle or war. Even now, despite her tone and sleep deprived state, Zykeiah’s unusual eyes glowed. She fingered her daggers beneath the table. A tiny grin tugged at her lips.

  On the other hand, Kalah looked ill. Hunting for his wife seemed to curdle into bitterness where prior to Manola’s visit, their love could’ve been refreshed or renewed.

  Not now.

  Amana had chosen. How much had been her willful decision remained unknown, but from what she’d heard, Amana had been itching to go.

  “No. I refuse to go after my wife like she’s some common horror.” Kalah threw his hands up and then folded them across his chest. As a minister and prince, Kalah could take as many wives as he wanted. Greed led to headaches, which is why the practice had fallen to monogamy in the past generations.

  Marion scowled. “We are.”

  Kalah grunted. “We don’t know if she’s been taken by Manola or…”

  “I saw Amana last night. She wants to be there, welcoming people into her land. And besides, the kidnappers took all her belongings out of the kindness of their hearts, too. So she’s feeling pretty much like home,” Zykeiah interjected. “If not her, who deserves my blades?”

  “I don’t know!” Kalah shot up from the wooden bench. “Neither do any of you.”

  “We understand your agony, but just accept it. She left you.” Zykeiah shot out of her seat and leaned across the table.

  “No!” Kalah roared, his face frozen in fury. He became a pool of exalted rage. “Never!”

  She reached for him, but he shook her off. “Don’t paw me!”

  “Let ‘em go,” Marion said, his voice calm.

  “He’s my partner.” Zykeiah eased back onto the bench and frowned. “I don’t want to be saddled with him. Give me Kanton or Akub.”

  “Kanton’s a boy and Akub, well, take Octiva with you.” Marion rubbed his bald head, clearly annoyed.

  “What of Sarah?” Akub looked at Marion’s wife
seated beside him.

  She’d been incredibly silent through the entire exchange. Hidden beneath the fall of her corkscrew dark hair, the priestess seemed in shock. She hugged herself and leaned into Marion’s arms. He rose with her still nestled close to him.

  “She won’t be joining us.”

  Zykeiah sucked her teeth, drawing a raised eyebrow and furious glare from Marion. “Report to me. My mother is indisposed.”

  With Kalah, Marion, and Sarah gone, Akub turned to the only minister knight remaining for morning meals. Many thoughts went round and round like a fish in a bowl. An endless swirl of gray clouds. Still, morning meals had been served, but it felt much later—the gloomy clouds outside made the day seem like night.

  “What would you like, minister?” Chloe asked as she adjusted her apron.

  “Something stronger than this tea. Coffee.”

  “The same.”

  In moments, the coffee came. A Saturn Four import that tasted bitter but somehow calming. With those soft sips, she and Zykeiah sat in quiet. The only disturbances came when Chloe dropped off flatbread and eggs to Zykeiah. Then again later when she dropped off a basket of sweet bread for Akub.

  “I’m glad you’re eating. You’ll need your strength.” Zykeiah winked.

  “And you will need your rest,” Akub shot back.

  “Soon. I will need company.”

  “Indeed.”

  * * *

  Zykeiah’s quarters sat in dimness as she entered, legs rubbery, body singing in fatigue and weariness. She could make out Akub’s round hips and long legs silhouetted against the blackness in the bed. Feeling her desire stir, she quickly placed her thigh hostler on the floor. Too weary to apply herbal treatment to her still-wounded body, she removed her boots and her shirt, as quietly as she could.

  She crawled into bed with Akub, feeling her body’s warmth. The bed gave as she crawled in. Lifting the blanket, she slid close behind her and nuzzled against her hair. It smelled like rosemary, and each soft locked strand cushioned her face. She inhaled Akub’s scent and now, excited, she pulled Akub back into her.

  Almost instantly she placed her hand on Akub’s smooth stomach. This uncharted area caused Zykeiah to swallow the thin layer of fear on her tongue. She hungered for Akub since coming back to her. As she nestled against Akub’s warmth, she pondered the ramifications of this act.

  Later tonight, they would go off into the cold and to the unknown, to the Land of Lundlei. Zykeiah had seen enough battles to know that one of them may not return. She didn’t want to allow this moment of peace and love to pass—she would deal with tomorrow, if they had one.

  In the low candlelight, Akub grimaced and then laughed; her chuckling lightened the load around her heart—but only for a few brief minutes.

  “You sure about this, Zy?”

  “Shush.” She smiled into Akub’s hair as she rolled over to face her. She kissed Akub’s silky cheeks. She undid the laces of her pants and pushed them down to her ankles. With quick fingers, she pushed off her boots, and then stepped out of her pants. The thoughts remained, waiting patiently in the back of Zykeiah’s mind; the queen’s decision to launch another class of people would somehow be their undoing. She knew it. Her pants rested in a heap on the floor beside the bed.

  “I’ve missed your love,” Akub said, her voice filled with soothing tones and admiration that Zykeiah wasn’t sure she deserved. “Let us rest.”

  When at last her lips joined Akub’s, the entire stress of the day seemed to dissolve from her shoulders. Her arms drew Akub in closer, as if she meant to consume her. Her tongue darted in and out of her mouth, teasing, fleeing, and making her chase after it. She lost herself in her lips and in her taste.

  She moved her lips from Akub’s and planted a trail of soft kisses all the way to her breasts. Carefully, Zykeiah lifted one to her mouth and nipped. A low moan escaped Akub’s mouth, and without warning, she grabbed Zykeiah’s head and jerked her in further into her chest. With each lick and sharp nip, Akub moaned.

  “Zy,” she whispered into her ear.

  Just to hear her name on Akub’s lips made all that they had been through worth it, Zykeiah thought as she moved to her other breast. Unable to withstand the wait, Akub gently pushed Zykeiah onto her back. She tossed one of her legs over Zy’s waist and whispered, “Let me show how much I missed you.”

  Zykeiah reached up to caress her flat stomach. How magnificent she looked astride her, her hair flowing. Passion added an impassioned tint to her skin. She was so beautiful, and she ached to be joined with her. “Please…”

  With one swift dive, Akub parted Zykeiah’s thighs and lowered her lips. A gasp erupted from Zykeiah’s mouth. With each flick of the tongue, Akub paced out the rhythm and Zykeiah learned the tune.

  23

  The Land of Lundlei

  In the end, the minister knights, Akub, and Octiva all set out together at dusk for the Land of Lundlei. Stealth mattered more than numbers, but Akub didn’t speak that aloud to Marion. Safety came with numbers, and fifteen should be good. Lundlei sat on the eastern swath of the Northern Forest. Overhead, birds squawked in an alarming as they flew across the dusk colored sky. A break in the clouds allowed a thin sliver of sun to fall on the elder. It looked good on her. The wind howled, announcing their arrival at the bridge.

  Octiva led, levitating as she did so. They flanked out behind her.

  “It is best the queen remains with Sarah. Neither would do well to be captured by Manola, and Sarah’s in no health for battle,” Octiva said.

  “Agreed.” Akub walked along beside her.

  “What is this place?” Kalah adjusted his dual swords strapped in their holster on his back.

  “In the days of old, pilgrims would make pilgrimages to the Goddess Ana’s oracle, here across the river in the Land of Lundlei. Marvelina and Ana, both the light and the dark, were worshipped here. People longed to hear their voices, the divine with their cryptic future visions.”

  “I do love the bareness of the trees in the area.” Zykeiah tucked her sunglasses more securely to her head. The rushing air blew hard, nearly knocking her glasses from their perch.

  “They both were worshiped here?” Marion scowled.

  Octiva nodded. “As the population increased, they left Marvelina for the Goddess Ana, a gentler divine.”

  Zykeiah said, “Several miles away from the Capolla River, through a dense thicket of green trees and across a small frozen pond, is a stone castle. Last evening, the candles and torches burned bright despite the late hour. The fireplaces and hearths were ablaze to chase the new snowfall and its chilly cold away. Folks live there.”

  They approached their side of the river and came to a stop. In minutes, they would lose the light and would have to proceed into the darkness.

  “This is where Kanton and I spied the villagers.” Zykeiah pointed at the bridge where mud and dirty snow pointed the way of the castle.

  Octiva remained levitating at the brink of the bridge. Akub sensed a thin veil of magick that made the hairs on her neck and arms stand in alarm. The cold wind halted and the silence descended. Not even the nocturnal creatures that thrived in the dark made sound, their eerie birdsong hushed by the evil across the river. Only the soft trickling of water from the river and the impatience of the danker beasts could be heard.

  “We must pass over.” Akub looked out across the bridge.

  “We have to risk it.” Zykeiah bobbed on the balls of her feet.

  Marion moved to the front. “Let’s go forward. For Veloris!”

  The moment Marion’s black boot touched the bridge, a screeching shattered the uncomfortable quiet. A bar crack of lightening rent the sky. Akub rushed forward, but nothing moved. Just the horrendous screams and the thunderous crash overhead.

  “Go!” Marion roared. He waved them forward. “It’s only noise.”

  “What?” Zykeiah shouted, her hands over both ears.

  “RUN!” Marion shouted again.

  Kalah
had crumpled to the ground, his hands over his ears. Akub went back to him and hoisted him to his feet.

  “Come on!” She pulled him to his feet and dragged him to the bridge.

  Marion waved them forward across the bridge. Octiva floated over the sludge and mud covered planks. As she reached the center, the roar of cracking ice shot up through the wood. Sharp ice punctured the bridge, punching gaping holes. Octiva sidestepped the attack by zipping around. Zykeiah leapt over one that didn’t protrude fast enough. It sliced a bit of her leg, enough to tear through the fabric to the skin. Akub pushed Kalah forward and tried to make a run for it. The younger minister knight walked right into one of the ice shards. Bright blood splattered the ground, and Kalah shrieked. That painful agony managed to sail higher than the ongoing screeching. Akub raced to his side, but Kalah had sliced the ice with his dual swords.

  “Get. Across!” Kalah shouted at her, spittle flying into her face. Blood trailed down from his nose and into his mouth. His wide eyes shot to something behind her and he slashed.

  A section of ice thudded beside her.

  “I said run!”

  Akub scrambled to her feet and ran. Keeping her eyes on the end of the bridge, she watched both for the ice already jutting through the bridge, and the new punctures from the river below.

  Ahead, as Octiva landed on the other side, the screeching stopped and everything fell to that heavy hushed quiet from before. The rest of the ministers hurried to the clearing. The screeching of the bridge’s hinges announced it may not last long. On the verge of rupture, it cracked.

  Now, on the other side of the Capolla River, they made it to a small clearing.

  “That didn’t happen when the villagers came through here.” Zykeiah wiped her face. Her defensive injuries left bright red marks on her knuckles.

  Marion stepped off the bridge and made his way to them. “Kalah, are you okay?”

  “Yes. Hurt like a danker.” Kalah wiped his nose and winced.

  “Let’s get moving.” Marion walked toward the smoke signals sailing high above the treetops. He removed a stick from his boot, lit it with two pieces of flint, and ignited the fabric, giving them light to see. He waved them to follow him.