Witch Queen

by Kim Richardson

  I swore loudly, grabbed Torak’s reins and bounded after Nugar and the others into the forest.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE FOREST WAS FAR worse than I’d first thought, and I began to regret my decision.

  Branches sliced my forehead and cheeks like thin knives as I pushed past them. I led Torak through a passage so narrow that the sharp boulders grazed his legs, and I prayed to the Goddess that the horses would be all right. The dense undergrowth was as sharp as needles, and the ground was slippery with moss-covered rocks.

  As we fought our way quietly into the deep forest, I realized our mistake. The witch, Fawkes, was expecting us on the main road. I didn’t know how to get word to him, to tell him that we’d changed our route. But it was too late to turn around. If he didn’t find us, we might never find the way into Witchdom.

  Up ahead, behind the bulk of a tawny-colored horse, I could barely make out Will’s broad shoulders as he cautiously disentangled himself from the undergrowth and slipped farther into the forest. I could hear their hard breathing, the snapping of twigs, and the thumps of their boots, but I couldn’t see the others.

  The deeper we went, the harsher the terrain proved to be. Branches spread out in front of us like arms, like a wall, pushing us back, as though it didn’t want us to be here. The trees were over three stories high and masked out the sun. It was dark, too dark. And yet the smells of damp soil, decomposing leaves, mushrooms, moss, and pine needles were so familiar that I was not without hope. I felt like I was back home in the woodlands near the Pit. Nothing that smelled this good could be evil. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  The air was humid, and my tunic was heavy and wet with sweat and clung to my back. I couldn’t see any paths or clearings. It was a wonder that Nugar knew where he was leading us. Or maybe he had no idea, and he was simply leading us farther and farther into forest. I tried not to think about getting lost. It was not an option, but neither was stopping or going back. We would die if the high priest and his company found us.

  Why was a high priest himself chasing us? He could have sent an army of red monks. It didn’t make sense, but it motivated me to press on.

  The beating hooves slowed behind me, and I knew the high priest had reached the spot where we’d camped, buried Garrick, and left the bodies of the Romilians.

  I pushed through the forest with agonizing slowness. We weren’t moving fast enough. My thighs burned as I stepped carefully on the slippery rocks. My heart was in my throat, and I could hardly breathe.

  Then the red monk’s wound at the base of my neck began to throb. I could sense them now. They were in the forest behind us, coming up quickly.

  I could feel the ripple of cold black magic roll up my spine like a shiver, but I couldn’t feel the dark energy of the stone. I couldn’t tell if the Heart of Arcania was with this priest. I prayed it wasn’t.

  There seemed to be no clearing in the trees, no space for us to stand and fight. If anything the trees and foliage were becoming even darker and more closed in.

  It was the perfect site for an ambush.

  I slipped, and my knee smashed into a large boulder with all my weight behind it. I cried out in pain and stumbled forward, catching my fall just before I impaled myself on the snag of a broken branch.

  Will was at my side before I had straightened up.

  “What is it? What happened?” A sheen of sweat covered his flushed face and neck, and his breathing came in rapid gasps.

  I waved my hand at him. “Don’t stop! There’s a high priest behind us.”

  “What?”

  “There’s no time to explain,” I said urgently. “Just go!”

  Before I could protest, Will squeezed his horse between me and Torak. He saw the confusion on my face and said, “I promised Jon to keep you safe. We need you alive, Elena. There’s no point in arguing because I’m not moving until you go ahead.”

  I scowled at him but there was no time to argue. I could sense the high priest getting closer, the black magic pursuing us like a dark shadow.

  Just as I started forward again, I heard heavy footfalls approaching fast. They were almost upon us.

  I tried to jog slowly, but my legs were stiff with exhaustion and fear. Torak’s hot breath tickled the back of my neck, and his trust in me sent a pang through my chest. Goddess above, I loved that horse. I hoped I wasn’t leading him to his death.

  We plunged into the thick of the forest, moving on instinct, moving mechanically. It felt like we’d been running for hours. I had become so preoccupied with watching where I placed my feet, that I didn’t notice Max until I slammed into his back.

  “Shit, sorry.”

  I looked up. I could see everyone clearly through the thick branches and shrubbery. My stomach dropped. We hadn’t gone nearly far enough to hide.

  “Steel Maiden!”

  The voice nearly sent me to my knees. It was a voice that demanded attention. It was the voice of a preacher who moved men to action.

  And it had me frozen in fear.

  I halted, listening through the pounding of blood in my ears. The whites of Max’s eyes gleamed like bright saucers. I stared at my companions, dismayed by the terror on their faces.

  “Give yourself up,” said the same voice. It was as clear and melodious as the notes of a well-played flute. I would recognize that bastard’s voice anywhere. It was imprinted into my brain, the sly and confident voice of the high priest of Anglia.

  My body went rigid. The stone was here. It was with him.

  “Give yourself up,” repeated the high priest casually.

  It was as if he were addressing some nobles at a formal event.

  “I will spare your friends. It’s very simple. You for them. It’s a very good trade. And if you ask me, they’re getting the better end of the deal. If you come quietly, no harm will come to them. We will leave these vile woods, with you of course, but I will let them live. They can even keep rebelling if they want. I give you my word.”

  I muffled a nervous laugh and turned around. I clenched my jaw tightly shut to keep from screaming obscenities at the priest.

  Will shook his head and mouthed, no. Of course I knew they would kill me the moment they had the chance, but I wouldn’t give up our position by answering him. Did he think I was that stupid?

  I had no doubt that the power of the stone could reach us already. I’d seen what it could do in the hands of that priest. We’d never make it. Our only chance was to get deeper into the forest and lose them.

  I put my finger to my lips and motioned for the men to keep moving. I gripped Torak’s reins firmly in my trembling hands and pulled him forward. The thick moss and leaf-covered ground smothered the noise of our tread. Thank the Goddess for that. I prayed that the necromancer priest couldn’t sense my magic, as I could sense his.

  “Rose sends her love.”

  I let out a whimper that I couldn’t control. Rose! For a brief moment, my love for Rose overpowered my fear, and I whirled around. But Will was there and gripped me so hard with his callused hands that I nearly cried out. Although I knew the priest lied, and I was certain this was a trick, I still could not ignore the possibility that he might be holding Rose.

  “Rose, Rose, Rose,” the priest rolled her name as though he were tasting it. “Such a fine, delicate but feisty old gal, isn’t she? Just like the flower, wouldn’t you say? All prickles and thorns, that woman. She had lots to say about the priesthood, about the temple, about me. I got the impression she didn’t like us very much. Isn’t that right, Steel Maiden?”

  I wavered slightly, and I was glad Will was still holding me. I tried to stand straighter, but the weight of the priest’s words pulled me down.

  “Would you like to know what she said before I cut off her fingers?”

  Lies! Lies! Lies! I thought.

  I closed my eyes. I had to ignore the lies and keep moving.

  And yet, another voice inside me reasoned that if Rose and the witches had been capt
ured on their way to Gray Havens, I would be letting her die if I turned my back and went deeper into the forest.

  When I finally opened my eyes, my companions were staring at me, sad at the pain and struggle they could see on my face, but mostly frightened of what I might do next.

  “No?” The priest’s voice was louder now, closer. “That’s too bad. Tell me, did you know she wasn’t born in the Pit but came from Fransia? Did she ever tell you that?”

  He paused, and for a moment I feared that he spoke the truth. I felt myself lean towards his voice. I wanted to gouge out the bastard’s eyes with my own hands.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” continued the high priest. His voice still rang with that melodic tone that implied he clearly enjoyed the sound of his own voice.

  “Surrender to me now…and I’ll let the old hag live. If not, I will cut out her lovely brown eyes. Then I’ll cut out her tongue. She does have a mouth on her, doesn’t she? And then I’ll let my guards have their way with her. She’s old and dreadfully ugly, yes, practically a corpse really, but she’s still a female.”

  Bile burned my throat, and I gritted my teeth so hard they hurt as I struggled with the revulsion I felt. I wished my magic could help me distinguish truths from lies, but I knew it couldn’t. I couldn’t. My breath was ragged, but I said nothing.

  I sobbed like a child, but I pulled Torak and kept moving forward, doing my best to ignore the worried glances from my men. I needed to be stronger than this.

  “You cannot hide from me forever, Steel Maiden. Or shall I call you Elena? This world is not as big as you might think. I will find you. It’s only a matter of time. Come now, or you and your friends will suffer the consequences. And I promise you will feel pain like you’ve never felt before.”

  I tried to shut the voice out of my head and plunged into the thick and tangle of the forest.

  A crack like thunder resonated throughout the forest.

  Torak let out a high-pitched squeal and thrashed violently, trampling the ground. The reins slipped through my grip cutting deep gashes into my palms. I stumbled and fell back. White showed around Torak’s eyes, and his nostrils flared in terror. I thought he was about to bolt, and I sprung to my feet and grabbed his reins in my bloodied palms. The other horses shifted nervously, too, and their heads all pointed behind me.

  I smelled it before I felt it.

  My eyes watered at the sour burning vapors that smelled of bile and rotten meat, like the pungent reek of a long-dead animal. I turned around slowly.

  A figure stumbled out of the shadows of forest behind us. It looked human, or it had once been human. Its arms hung in threads of flesh, and its head was mostly bare skull with milky white eyes and a hollow, gaping, toothless mouth. Although it was completely naked, the body was in such state of decay there was no telling if it had been female or male at one time. It was unquestionably dead. I suppressed the urge to vomit. A thick yellow viscous substance coated its rotten body, and I realized it was the bile I’d smelled. It was as though something large had regurgitated it. I tried hard not to think what that thing might have been.

  The undergrowth started to move, and then a whole army of these putrid bodies staggered out of the forest. They were coming at us from every side.

  Ada had said the priests were necromancers, sorcerers capable of raising the dead and opening portals into otherworldly dimensions. This was but a glimpse of their black magic. I felt the men stiffen, but no one moved.

  “Soon we’ll be together again, Steel Maiden.”

  The high priest’s voice seemed to be amplified by the forest.

  “We have so much to discuss. So much has happened since you and I last spoke. This world is changing, making room for the true rulers, the true gods. Of course, you’ve only seen the black blight. But there’s so much more, much, much more. Let’s see what you make of my revenants.”

  I bit down hard to keep from screaming and tasted blood in my mouth. But I didn’t move.

  My companions had caught on because they remained still and silent. I could only hear Torak’s faint breathing.

  The dead were rolling their heads around, as though they were looking for something, looking for us. Their eyes were rotten, possibly blind, and I sensed that they hadn’t seen us yet. If we were silent, we might have a chance to escape. Just as I turned to the others and signaled for stealth—Torak and the other horses squealed.

  The dead turned their heads towards the horses in unison.

  “What the hell are those things?” Leo was just ahead of me.

  “Death. Now run!”

  The high priest laughed, and I sprang clumsily forward. I could see flashes of silver as my companions drew their swords.

  A harsh inhuman cry like the squeal of a broken bellows sounded behind us, and we thrashed, blind and frightened, into the forest.

  We were heading in all directions, running wild, afraid for our lives. We weren’t following Nugar any longer. In the madness our group had fallen apart.

  “Stay together!” I shouted.

  Max dashed by to my left without his horse.

  “Max stop! You’ll get lost. Come back! Max!”

  But my cries fell on deaf ears. I didn’t have time to look for Max’s horse. I only prayed the animal was swift enough to get away.

  A flash of red hair up ahead disappeared in the shadows behind a giant oak tree.

  I pressed on, not knowing where I was going. All I knew was that the dead were still behind me. I had to keep going.

  I sensed and smelled that the dead were beginning to encircle us. They were going to trap us. It was harder and harder to keep Torak from bolting because his reins kept slipping from my bloodied hands.

  Sweat trickled down my neck and back. And then I smelled smoke. Somewhere the forest was on fire.

  A cry pierced the air, and I recognized Max’s deep voice.

  With fingers wet with sweat and blood, I pulled out my short sword and urged Torak to my left, following the cry. I was there within moments, but not fast enough.

  Five of the dead things were biting and clawing at Max’s face and neck. They were chewing on his flesh like rabid animals. Max howled and screamed, but then his scream turned into a wet gurgle and died in his throat. Max’s mouth hung open and silent as one of the dead things tore a gaping hole in his neck and began to feast on his flesh. Before I could move, Max’s head slipped away from his body and landed at his feet.

  The creatures looked up when I approached. They angled their heads in thought, enough to show some kernel of intelligence. They smelled me and Torak.

  I spit the bile from my mouth and ran.

  The dead shambled like drunks. Their arms and legs were clearly not fully under control. That was good. It would make them slower. They looked as if they were drunk on blood and guts. It made me feel sick but a little more hopeful.

  The trees thinned out, and I could see the soft light of a clearing up ahead. If I could make it there, at least I could see what was coming at me and could defend myself. The air turned thick with gray smoke that burned my eyes and throat. Torak shifted nervously beside me. He was as terrified of the smoke as I was. I didn’t know which was worse, burning to death or being eaten.

  My breath caught in my throat as a flash of green like a cape wavered behind the trees. It was moving too fast to be anything natural. What was it?

  I decided to avoid this new threat and made a right turn. The dead had caught up to me and rammed into me from both sides.

  I cried as they leaped on me, and my breath was knocked out as I fell to the ground. The reins slipped from my hand, and Torak bolted.

  Cold fingers pierced the flesh of my abdomen like knives. They were going for my guts, my arteries, and my heart. I gripped the jaw of the dead thing that was on me and shoved her head up with a wrenching thrust. The agony of her bite eased as her head snapped back and her mouth lost its grip on my skin. Blood coursed down the front of my shirt.

  I screamed and scream
ed until my voice broke. I slashed blindly with my sword, but they were weighing me down. I felt my strength leaving me. My breath was ragged and seemed to burn a hole through my throat.

  The dead didn’t appear to have any visible teeth that I could see. They were tearing at my flesh with rotten gums. I could feel the warmth of my magic trying to heal what it could, but there were too many mouths sucking my blood and too many fingers tearing at my flesh.

  I screamed until my voice broke. It didn’t matter anymore. No one was coming for me. They were probably already dead.

  If I had to pick the worst way to die, it would be to be eaten alive by the dead.

  I couldn’t move any more. The ground had become wet and smelled heavily of copper. My blood pulsed behind my eyes, and my mind began to muddle. My last thoughts were of Jon’s soft, luscious lips on mine and the feel of his strong body holding me warm and close.

  I clung to the thoughts of Jon as I waited for death to take me. Tears sprang hot in my eyes as I felt the suction of their mouths on my body. The black smoke burned my lungs, and I could hardly breathe.

  I felt warm, however, and not cold. I thought I would feel cold if I were close to death. I couldn’t tell if I was healing. Maybe I was too far gone, and my magic couldn’t repair me.

  My face burned, like I was too close to a fire, but I was too tired to move my head.

  Suddenly, I felt the weight lift from my body. The sucking and biting stopped, and I lay still and listened.

  Had the dead left? Had they fed on me enough and gone in search of their next victim?

  I propped myself up on my elbows.

  Liquid walls of orange flames surrounded me. It was blazing hot, and yet I did not burn. I could smell burned flesh, but it wasn’t mine.

  I could hear howling, and I could see through the wall of fire. The dead were fleeing through the forest. They were running from the flames, but they weren’t fast enough.

  I watched as the fire slipped along the forest floor like a giant snake. It moved with a mind of its own, skipping trees and shrubs and going only for the dead. It was the most unnatural thing I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t look away. It was smart fire, magic fire, and it was both beautiful and terrifying.