Death's Queen (The Complete Series)

by Janeal Falor

  “It’s ready when you are.”

  “Let’s do this, then.”

  Nash walks over and picks me up. “No matter what happens, I have you.”

  “If this doesn’t work—”

  “It will. We have to believe.”

  My chest tightens, but I nod. No matter how I feel, we’re going to make this happen.

  Jaku, Venda, and Julina have their weapons out. Julina was given hers back under my direction. So far, it’s been the right choice. She hasn’t tried to run off in a misguided effort to protect me.

  The pressure in my head grows so great, it’s hard to concentrate, but I force myself to. “What do I need to do?”

  Venda instructs me as she holds her sword ready. “We need to mix your blood with the lemongrass, oak leaf, and honey over the top of the clay. If my research is right, it should bring the golem to life and send Androlla’s spirit into it.” She sounds very matter of fact.

  “How do you know it won’t send my soul in it?” I ask.

  “Honestly, I don’t. This is guesswork. But I believe it will work—that’s half the battle right there. Believe it yourself, and all will turn out okay,” she says.

  I let out a deep breath and let her take my hand. She slashes it, and I’m taken back to Daros and how he used to treat me. I throw the feeling aside and force myself to concentrate. Venda guides my hand to the top of the clay. I tip it to the side and let the blood flow out.

  I push my injured hand into the mixture and direct my attention on the sensation inside me. The pull of power.

  “I don’t know what to chant,” Venda whispers. “As long as you find something in the magic to focus on, you can do this.”

  I tut under my breath and let that be the chanting. I continue as the magic pulls at me. I don’t know what it is, but something feels different. It’s heavier than any spell I’ve done before. I don’t have a lot of experience with magic, but I have enough to know there’s a strange, slimy, feel to this.

  The pull is strong, achingly so. My instinct is to stop it. To keep it from tainting inside me. Instead, I force myself to deal with it. To take it and let it out. The darkness coats my insides, making me cringe.

  I continue chanting and let the oily feeling spread across me. It tugs and pulls, leaving me the impression like I’m about to be gutted.

  This is for my friends, my country, and for me. I have to let it happen. I focus like I’ve never focused before, sending waves of energy through my body, across my arm, into my hand, and down into the golem. The mixture is slick in my hand as I rub it into the top of the clay. My palm stings, but it’s nothing compared to the ick inside me.

  It rips me to shreds—the power bursting from me. I call out as the pain doubles, jolting through my body and out my palm.

  All is quiet.

  I take my hand from the golem. Did it work? There’s no pain in my head, no pressure of another, but there’s no life in the golem either.

  “Get ready,” I say.

  The golem’s crude mouth opens, and the swords are raised. “Don’t attack. It’s me, Ryn.” The voice is strangely feminine, coming out of such a creature.

  They hesitate. Nash looks from me to the golem and back.

  “Don’t believe her,” I say. “She’s trying to trick you.”

  “No,” Androlla says through the golem. “It’s me, Ryn. Please don’t hurt me. Something went wrong.”

  “Venda?” Nash asks.

  “I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible the wrong spirit went into the golem. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  Nash growls and starts to move me away from his body. I force my arms around his neck and cling to him. “Please, Nash. It’s me.”

  “What do we do?” Jaku asks.

  “I don’t know,” Venda says.

  Nash looks between me and the golem, as if trying to decide something. “Maybe Puneah knows?”

  “Give me a dagger, and I’ll prove I’m me,” I say.

  Androlla laughs.

  Nash pulls me away from the clay creature. “Kill it.”

  “Are you certain?” Julina says.

  “Ryn would never laugh at us like that, and she would most definitely ask for a dagger. That thing is the First Queen.” Nash takes several more steps back.

  I clutch onto the arm of his shirt, wishing I could be the one to deal the killing blow. Not that it matters as long as we get rid of Androlla and her influence.

  The blades go slashing down onto the golem. But instead of fighting or crying out, Androlla just stands there, laughing.

  Nash takes another step back, but I have a feeling it’s not enough.

  The clay of the golem’s body reforms where the slashes from the swords cut through it. She giggles as the edges of the cuts come back together. “You fools. All you’ve done is given me a body that can move until a new queen drinks the Mortum Tura.”

  Her big, uneven hand takes a swat at Jaku. He cuts her arm before she gets to him, but it doesn’t fall off. Instead, it reattaches itself and resumes its motion until it hits Jaku in the side of the head.

  He slams into the wall.

  “Jaku,” I yell.

  Venda and Julina rush to step in front of him before Androlla’s golem can do more to hurt him. They keep cutting at her as she swipes at them, but again, she heals faster than they can cut.

  Puneah dives at her, snarling, but Androlla whips the animal away. Puneah shakes herself as the others continue to try to hurt the First Queen.

  “Give me a dagger,” I tell Nash.

  He sets me on a chair from where I watch Venda and Julina get shoved to the side. Androlla steps toward Jaku. Nash pulls out a dagger and hands it to me before picking me back up and whispering, “We’ve got to get you out of here.”

  “And leave her on the loose?”

  “Only until we figure out what can defeat her.”

  I don’t like it, but it’s probably for the best. Still— “Can’t we lock her up somewhere?”

  Nash darts for the door, and Julina gets to her feet. She screams something unintelligible as Androlla goes to stomp on Jaku. At the last moment, Jaku rolls out of the way, and Julina runs her sword through the clay all the way up to the hilt.

  Right. No locking her up, then.

  Androlla whips around, the sword yanked out of Julina’s hand. Androlla shoves Julina aside and strides straight for Nash and me. He turns and runs as fast as he can while carrying me. He stops at the door, and I glance over his shoulder.

  “Faster,” I say. “She’s gaining.”

  The door bursts open, and Nash takes a step, Puneah at our heels.

  “Turn around,” I yell.

  He pivots to face the golem, and I throw the dagger at her where the indents for its eyes are. The whole blade slides right in.

  She howls before ripping it out with a ragged hand and throwing it to the side. “What? Did you think you were strong enough? That you would slay me?” The tinkling laugh sounds odd, coming from such a creature. “Nothing you can do will stop me now. Not anything.”

  “Run, Nash.” She’s coming straight for us.

  Chapter 38

  Nash runs, weaving through the streets as he carries me, Puneah staying faithfully close by. “What now?”

  I glance behind us. “She’s coming, but she’s slower than you.”

  “Where to?” Nash asks.

  “Good question. We don’t want to lead her to the market. Too many people to get hurt.” Though maybe it’s a good idea to have them see her. Then they’ll be more likely to believe me that magic has been at work at this country for ages. “We have to find a way to destroy her.”

  “A well. If we can get her to fall in a well, it should do the trick. Clay can be diluted in a ton of water, can’t it?”

  “That might work.”

  “There’s one a couple of blocks away. Can you make it?” I ask because he’s slowing down.

  “Making sure she can follow us.”

 
; “You can leave me behind.”

  “Never.”

  It’s just as well. She’d be more likely to come after me than Nash. I’m the bait. Not the first time I’ve played that role, but first I’ve done it when I can’t attack the thing chasing me. It wouldn’t do any good. Even a dagger to the eye didn’t slow Androlla down. If the well doesn’t work, I don’t know how we’ll defeat her.

  And if we can’t defeat her now she’s going to kill everyone I love. “She’s gaining.”

  Nash speeds up, but his breathing is labored. He rounds a corner. “We’re almost there,” he says between breaths.

  I look away from Androlla’s lumpy, clay body to look ahead. The well is in sight, wide and surrounded by people on their midday break.

  “Get away, by order of the queen,” I yell.

  People glance our way and scream.

  “Run,” Nash hollers.

  They scatter at his word, running in all directions but toward us. Nash takes a leaping bound over the well. For a moment, I think we’re not going to make it. His foot catches on the wall of the well, and he stumbles forward, dropping me on the ground.

  I tumble forward, scratching my elbows on the dirt and rocks.

  “Ryn.” The word is breathless.

  “Don’t worry about me. Figure out how to get her where we want her. She’s coming.”

  He goes to pick me up.

  I wave him away. “Leave me. Figure it out.”

  He jumps to his feet and turns to face Androlla, who’s almost upon us. Puneah licks my cheek with her rough tongue before planting herself between me and the golem. Nash pulls out his sword and tosses me a dagger. It’s not like I can do much with it, but I feel more secure having it in my hand.

  Nash rounds the well. I scoot, using my arms so I’m opposite him, but far enough back that he can jump over it. Pebbles grind into my arms, drawing blood. Puneah keeps between the First Queen and us.

  I continue crawling away, but look back when I hear the pounding of feet. Nash is facing me, running from Androlla’s golem. He leaps over the well, and then crouches down beside me, Puneah not turning to look at either of us.

  Androlla gets a running start and jumps.

  “Here she comes,” I say.

  Quick as a flash, he whips around and slashes his sword through the air to slam it into her mass before pushing against her with his body. She tumbles down the well and lands in the deep water. Half of her upper body is sticking out.

  With a laugh, she chants and rolls something in her hand. As she does, her body grows bulkier.

  “I think that was a bad idea,” I say.

  Nash grabs me and pulls me into his arms as he runs. “Where to now?”

  “I don’t know.” If we’re both out of ideas, that means trouble.

  There’s screaming in the distance. As I glance back, I say, “Dagger it all.” She’s coming at us with thumping footsteps. Her mass has doubled as she towers over us.

  “What?” Nash asks, chest heaving.

  “She’s grown.”

  He hisses.

  Julina, Venda, and Jaku appear ahead. They must have used a shortcut. All of them have weapons drawn, though at this point, I don’t think it’ll do any good.

  But what will?

  We’ve lost, just as we started fighting. I’m not going to give up; I don’t know how to contend something like her. At least my head doesn’t hurt anymore.

  “Get behind us,” Jaku calls.

  Nash dashes past them, and they block the path, facing Androlla. Puneah stays at Nash’s feet. The First Queen’s form has smoothed out and taken a more feminine shape, as if her vanity was more important than bulking up, but she’s still huge. The creature even has long hair, like a solid wall of dirt and clay, though it’s darkened from getting damp in the well.

  That’s it.

  “Get a torch. If we burn her, the clay will harden so she can’t move.” It won’t be a permanent solution, but it should work and won’t make her bigger. It may even let us break her apart.

  But will that kill her for good?

  Nash runs into a house without knocking. The family inside shrieks.

  “I need a lit torch, in the name of the queen.” He moves to the fireplace.

  The family backs up, except for the man who comes over, grabs a torch, and sticks it in the fire. When he hands it to me, he says, “Your Majesty.”

  I take hold of it. “Thank you. Get your family away from here, and take as many people with you as you can. There’s about to be a battle.”

  The man’s jaw tightens, but he nods and gathers his family. Nash is out the door before them, racing back toward the fight.

  My hand is tight around the handle of the torch, but aching. “I don’t know how long I can hold this.”

  “I understand.” He slows.

  “No. Just put me down on the ground, by a house. I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ve got to take you somewhere safe.”

  “There’s no time. Put me down.” I don’t want to pull authority over him, but I will if I have to.

  Thankfully, he veers off to the side and sets me on the stoop of a house, taking the torch.

  “Stay safe,” he says to me, and to Puneah, “Keep close to her.”

  As he runs off, I call after him, “You too.”

  In the time it took us to get the torch, the three of my friends fighting the First Queen have been knocked to the ground. Not one is getting up.

  They’d better not be hurt.

  Androlla stomps forward, looking like a giant warrior, except she lacks the weapon and grace. What she lacks, she gains in brute strength. Making her out of clay was a bad idea. Putting her in an area she could make herself bigger, a worse one. I hope fire will work.

  I squeeze my hands into fists so tight they hurt as Nash gets closer to her monstrous form. Puneah paces in front of me like she’s not certain if she should join the fight or stay with me.

  Androlla puts one hand on her hip and stretches the other out to the side, palm up. “What do you think you’re going to do with the torch, little man?”

  Nash ignores her words but slows as he approaches her. One of the figures on the ground pulls itself up behind Androlla. Julina. She’s alive. The others might be as well. Maybe they just got knocked out.

  Julina sneaks behind the golem as Nash grows closer. When he’s almost upon the golem, Julina slices across Androlla’s legs and kicks her, so she falls forward, toward him. She did it fast enough that the bottom halves of the golem’s legs are now disconnected from its body, far enough away that they didn’t reattach.

  Why is Androlla even after me? What good would it do to kill me? Would she go back into the next person who drank the Mortum Tura, or would she stay a golem? I don’t know, and now isn’t the time to worry about it.

  Nash slams the torch into the middle of the First Queen’s chest. She tries to bat him aside, but he doesn’t budge, holding the fire on her. The legs try to move toward the body, but Julina kicks them back.

  It doesn’t look like Nash is doing any good with the torch. The flames lick the clay, but it’s not enough to harden the thing. We need a bigger fire.

  Venda gets up and runs into the nearest house. Jaku also stands and goes to Androlla’s arms, trying to cut through them as Nash holds steady. The arms reattach faster than Jaku can slice, but he provides a distraction. The clay around the fire is turning a lighter color, but not fast enough.

  I want to crawl out there and tell them that this isn’t going to work, but I’ll never make it in time. What can I do to assist them? I hate this helpless feeling. I scan the area for something, anything, that can take her down. I wish I could send Puneah to them with a message, but there’s no way, and I doubt she’d leave my side anyway.

  Smoke is coming from the house Venda went into. As the others continue to fight Androlla, Venda races out of the house and yells something I can’t make out.

  Androlla takes another swipe at Nash, this time
knocking him off his feet. The torch tumbles to the ground. She goes to stomp on him with her nubs, but Jaku dances around her, wielding his sword. She swats at him and misses as he skirts around her. Julina is coming from the back with her dagger, except when she diverts her attention from the legs, they jump toward their master.

  The First Queen turns her back toward me and bends to put the bottom half of her legs back on. Venda runs up to the others and points toward the house that’s now engulfed in flames. A moment later, they’re all on the opposite side of Androlla, slicing her and shoving her sideways into the inferno.

  Androlla stumbles back and falls into the flaming house, crashing through the wall. Her legs go hopping after her and disappear into the house.

  All is quiet, except the crackle of flames.

  I hope against all hope that this will work. That it will dry her out so much and harden her, like her heart, so she won’t be able to move.

  Jaku takes a step closer to the raging fire. Thankfully, the house isn’t close to the others around it, so with any luck, the flames won’t spread. Venda chose well.

  Androlla jumps from the flames and knocks Jaku to the ground with a powerful strike.

  He has to get up.

  But he lies still.

  He’ll get up in a minute. I know he will. Though that was a hard hit, he’ll be fine.

  Except, with her new, lighter colored body that looks like rock, she slams her foot down on him, crushing him.

  I gasp, helpless.

  The others run for Androlla, their swords drawn. They try to slice up her body, like they did before, but this time instead of going cleanly through, they clang against her. There’s no piercing her. How’s she even moving? Magic? Something else?

  Whatever it is, we’ve made her an even worse monster.

  Chapter 39

  Julina steps forward, toward Jaku. Androlla shoves her with one swift movement, and Julina goes flying to the ground. Venda faces the golem alone while Nash runs toward me. The creature takes a swipe at Venda, but she jumps out of the way with a grace I haven’t seen before.

  Nash blocks my vision and scoops me up into his arms. “We have to go.”