by K T Munson
Before she could decide the best approach, the door behind them was thrown wide. A figure stood there holding a long sword dripping with blood and a creature’s head. It only took a moment for her to recognize Ki. Without thinking, she slipped through the open crack and into the room. She rushed to the back of the stone that held up the throne and peered around it.
“Ah, the abomination,” the Black King said. “I can’t seem to get rid of you.”
Ki dropped the very dead creature’s head, which fell to the ground with a sickening squelch. Elisabeth pressed her back against the stone and waved Ethandirill over. Without hesitation, Ethandirill hurried to stand next to her, the door, it returning to a perfectly indistinguishable wall once he’d closed it.
“Nor will you,” Ki said, “so long as you or I live.”
Elisabeth peeked around the corner to watch them. The Black King rolled his head around as though working out a kink. He bobbed each shoulder and then lifted a hand. The force would have hit Ki, but he rolled out of reach, coming up with the sword in hand. Her heart swelled as he came up ready for a fight. She felt a glimmer of hope that perhaps they could win.
“Take care of the false king,” the Black King said. “I’ll take care of this insect.”
Arawn immediately redoubled his efforts to kill Nauberon. A strike rippled across the surface of the shield. Elisabeth turned to Ethandirill. “Get your brother.”
“Wait,” he said, but she was already stepping out from behind the wall.
Arawn went to bring down the axe a second time, shattering the shield. As he slashed down toward King Nauberon’s head, the force of her will hit Arawn squarely in the chest and sent him sprawling. The axe sliced through King Nauberon’s raised arm, and he fell to one knee. Elisabeth immediately advanced and threw a second attack at the Black King. He, too, was thrown back as Ethandirill rushed to his brother’s aid. She had the advantage of surprise, but it wouldn’t last long.
With effort she pushed all emotion aside as she faced Ki. “I will deal with the Black King. You keep Arawn distracted.”
“Get him to the next room,” Ki said, gesturing toward the room from which he had come.
Elisabeth trusted him, so she didn’t ask why. She couldn’t let distractions in, not when facing Aryan the Black, a devourer of worlds. She heard Ethandirill call to Ki as Arawn got to his feet. Then she shifted her entire attention to Aryan the Black.
“Elsariel,” the Black King called to her as he got to his feet, “this time I won’t leave you alive.”
“There is just one problem for you,” Elisabeth said with a glare. “You’re not part Soul Collector.”
Elisabeth opened her mouth and pulled his life force. A stream of bluish purple came out of Aryan the Black’s mouth, causing him to jerk to a halt. Elisabeth kept advancing, even as she consumed his very essence. As she took it into her, it filled her veins with electric fire. He stumbled back at that, clearly not having expected her to attack him that way.
When his head came up, she thrust her hand against his chest with her palm open and threw him backward. He slammed against the wall by the door and slid down. He was dazed for a moment before his eyes burned red. Then he stood slowly, but she continued forward.
“Elisabeth!” a voice called, and she instantly threw up a shield.
Arawn’s axe slammed against her shield and pushed her backward. Golden blood dripped on her nearly invisible blue shield and slid down it as she gritted her teeth. Ki appeared and jumped onto Arawn’s back. He buried twin daggers next to his shoulder blades, and Arawn howled in pain.
Stumbling back, Arawn thrashed his head around, his great antlers swing in dangerous proximity to Ki’s head. Elisabeth was about to counterattack when she saw the Black King attack. She reinforced her shield, but the force of the attack flung Ki from his position. Like a cat, he landed on his feet with one hand steadying him and the other wrapped around a new dagger. He had left the other two still buried in Arawn’s back.
The force of Aryan the Black’s attack had her skidding across the floor, but she weathered it without injury. Arawn turned his attention back to Ki. Elisabeth moved away from him and toward his son. Elisabeth needed to push him into the next room, toward whatever Ki had planned. She lashed out a streak of power, and it struck Aryan’s shield, shoving him toward the door.
He tried to lash back, but she had honed her skills during the months she had fought the monsters that had gotten lose from the Netherworld. With ease, she blocked his attack. During those same months he had only attacked easy prey, and his skills were not as sharp. She could tell that he was lagging behind—and that he knew it. So did Arawn, which is why he kept attacking her.
Elisabeth’s next volley finally pushed him past the threshold. There was a blur of momentum and a startled noise. Elisabeth stopped as Aryan the Black fell to his knees. An old, unsightly creature with yellow skin stood in the doorway behind him, blood covering his bladed arm. When the Black King’s knees hit the ground, his body slid apart in two pieces. The blade had cut from his right shoulder to the middle of his abdomen. Aryan the Black was dead.
“My people are avenged.” The creature’s voice broke the stunned silence.
All of a sudden, a sweeping motion caught her across her abdomen, picked her from the ground, and threw her across the room. She struck the ground and bounced before she threw up a shield to soften the second impact. Sitting up gingerly, she brought her elbows back. Her head spun. She blinked as the room twisted around her vision. She must have hit her head. Someone called out to her, but she couldn’t understand. She weakly called up a shield an instant before an axe struck against it.
“You, Arawn,” a voice called out, “shall not cause Elisabeth any harm by your hand or any hand you command.” Fuzzy black spots shifted around her vision, and her shield failed.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she looked up at Arawn, who was frozen, his axe inches from her. She scooted back out of the way along the stone floor. The hatred in his eyes was evident as he turned back to his son’s body and wailed. The creature was gone, but Aryan the Black’s body remained, unmoving.
“Elisabeth,” Ki said. He put a hand under her elbow to help her to her feet. Following Ethandirill and King Nauberon’s path, they wasted no time in making their escape.
Chapter 48: Morhaven
Ki could hear the agonizing wail follow them down the hall as they ran. Elisabeth appeared dazed, likely from when she hit her head or at Aryan’s sudden death, but she seemed mostly unhurt. He hadn’t been sure if the crazy old orc would come through, but in the end he had. Ki wasn’t sure where the orc had gone, but he hoped that wherever that was, he was at peace. His people had been avenged.
“Don’t worry,” he told Elisabeth, “you’re safe now.”
She didn’t seem to believe his words, and he wasn’t sure he believed them either. He just wanted to comfort her, and it had seemed like the right thing to say. When they caught up to Ethandirill, King Nauberon was pressing part of his cloak against the wound on his shoulder and arm, muttering to himself.
“What’s wrong with him?” Elisabeth asked. She put her hand to his forehead. It was slick with sweat. He shifted away a little at her touch.
“He is poisoned,” Ethandirill said, his expression grave.
“What can we do?” Elisabeth said, glancing back toward the throne room as the wailing abruptly ceased.
King Nauberon reached out and grabbed Elisabeth’s shoulder. She seemed startled by it, and Ki stiffened at the sudden movement. “Elsariel,” he whispered, “find the cure.”
“I will,” Elisabeth said, her brows furrowed with emotion.
“He has the crown,” King Nauberon said to his brother. “He has control.”
He stood and pushed off Ethandirill and Elisabeth. Stumbling, he straightened his back. His shadow grew, and he spoke only a few words. “I am living stone.”
Where a man once stood, now only a statue remained. The stone i
nto which he’d turned himself was cream colored, the color of wheat but paler. It was beautiful. Ethandirill and Ki quickly pushed him to the side of the hall and into an adjourning room.
“What just happened?” Elisabeth asked as she kept watch.
“He preserved himself to buy himself time before the poison could claim his life,” Ethandirill replied. He called the Mystic Elevator, and they worked together to hide King Nauberon in it. Elisabeth swung the door closed slightly as guards jogged by.
A mighty roar sounded throughout the halls, followed by the sound of a horn. Arawn no longer mourned. Now he hunted. Elisabeth’s hand slipped into Ki’s.
They rushed out of the room together. Ethandirill closed the door behind them and they fled down the hall. They rounded a corner and came to another set of intersecting halls. Ki didn’t recognize any of them. He expected Ethandirill would know, but the Det Morian looked worried. Elisabeth must have noticed, too, because she glanced from him to the different hallways.
“He has activated the lockdown,” Ethandirill said.
“Well, we can’t stay here,” Elisabeth said. They ran together down the hall, taking as many twists and turns as they could.
They came to another junction that led down very distinct hallways that looked oddly familiar. “It will keep resetting,” Ethandirill explained. “We are trapped here.”
Elisabeth scanned the halls and the different rooms. “Ethandirill?” she said suddenly. Ki turned toward where the Det Morian had been standing, but he’d disappeared.
“Where did he go?” Elisabeth asked.
“I don’t know,” Ki replied, tightening his hold on Elisabeth’s hand. “He was just here.”
A roar sounded, followed by Arawn’s hunting horn. It was closer than it had been. Elisabeth wildly picked a room and rushed them inside. When she let go of his hand to close the door, he felt pained at the loss of her touch. Elisabeth leaned against the door, her eyes wide with fear.
“We’ll face it together,” Ki said.
Elisabeth smiled and threw her arms around him. He was startled for a moment, but he quickly recovered and embraced her. The sweetness that always seemed to accompany her filled his nostrils. His chest filled with joy at her unbridled affection.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” he whispered.
She leaned the top of her head against his cheek. “I would never have stopped,” she whispered back.
The horn was louder this time—closer. Ki tightened his arms around her for a moment before letting go. “I’ll protect you, El,” he said, touching her face. “I’ll use every last life I have.”
Elisabeth’s eyes glistened with tears before she tucked her chin to her chest. He reached back to pull his longer blade from the sheath on his back and kept his other arm wrapped around her. He would save the dagger at his waist for later. His chest tightened at the agony of what would come next. Elisabeth sniffled and blinked back her tears. She reached for him and he turned to her.
Framing his face with her hands, she drew him to her. His lips parted in surprise as she kissed him. Her lips were soft and tender, and he felt everything come alive at once. She dropped her hands and eased back. There was a soft blush on her cheeks, but he didn’t want the kiss to end. Ki turned his head and put his free hand behind her neck. His entire being came alive with what he imagined was desire. It filled every sense as he kissed her. He could taste her as he deepened the kiss and she pressed herself up against him. When he finally eased back, there were tears on her lashes and cheeks. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Before he could say anything, she whispered, “I love you. You must know that.”
He was stunned. Before he could process the words, he felt the stabbing pain in his side. He gasped as her lips twisted into a painful grin. With a calculated jerk, the blade punctured his heart. He gasped at the sharp pain
“El? Elisabeth?” he managed as he fell. She caught him and helped him to the ground.
“I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for me a second time.” She cradled his head in her lap. “I will see you again.” She touched her lips to his forehead. “A phantom thread connects us, and it cannot be bro—”
With a gasp, he woke up in the forest, muttering her name. Leaping to his feet, he realized he was naked in the morning light in the place of his birth. She was in Morhaven, and he was there—safely among the planets. He cursed loudly before sinking to his knees. His anger was replaced by tears as he felt their separation and the agony of what she had done. She had killed him as swiftly and painlessly as she could in order to save him.
She loved him.
He stood and went to retrieve his clothes and other supplies. She had crossed entire worlds to find him and make him whole. Ki would not rest until she was by his side again.
Notes from the Author
Don’t hate me! This is where the book was meant to end—bringing everything full circle from the conclusion of the first book. Don’t worry, Elisabeth and all the characters of The Nowhere Gate will return in this trilogy’s conclusion, The King’s Gate, in 2019.
A special shout out to Harmony, who this series is dedicated to. The theme of acceptance and friendship is an ongoing theme throughout the series just as it is a going theme of our relationship. Thank you, Harmony, for being my constant friend.
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review with your favorite retailer. Every review helps!
In the meantime, happy reading,
K.T. Munson
Other Titles by K.T. Munson
Unfathomable Chance
When Diana woke up on her 23rd birthday she thought it was going to be a normal day. She thought of donuts, coffee, and laughter. She did not think she was going to become the center in a galactic race to win her heart. None too pleased with the prospect of alien races descending on Earth to try and woo her, Diana does the only reasonable thing she can; she runs. Now she has to try and find a way to get rid of the blasted bracelet that is the cause of all the recent craziness in her life. The problem is this isn't an ordinary bracelet; it contains the Heart of the Cosmos. Furthermore the Cosmos chose her for a reason and it isn't keen on letting her go until she finishes what it started over ten years ago. Something tried to destroy it and now Diana isn't just worried about her heart, she is worried about her life.
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