Cursed

by Sue Tingey

  Jinx jumped down beside us with a squish of sodden boots. “I’m more concerned about your safety than what Amaliel might get up to in the Overlands,” Jinx said. “Anyway, if Baltheza hasn’t already put out a warrant for his arrest he will do soon, and then there won’t be anywhere he’ll be safe ever again.”

  With Amaliel gone, and Philip with him, there was only one thing we could do—go back to the palace and tell Baltheza.

  “Baltheza won’t be happy that we’ve lost him,” Jamie said.

  “Baltheza is never happy unless he’s torturing someone,” I said.

  Jinx slung his arm around my shoulders and Jamie took my hand. “Don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I think brother, maybe we should take that holiday we were talking about,” but I saw the forced smile he gave Jamie. Jinx might have been playing it down, but I knew he was still worried that Amaliel was out there somewhere.

  “What about Henri?” I asked.

  “We’ll drop him off in the cells pending our chat with Baltheza. He can make the decision of what’s to be done with him.”

  I let them take me back inside. Jamie flew me through the broken window and Pyrites helped Jinx through, while Kayla drifted ahead into the great hall. “Oh my,” I heard her say and then she began to laugh. I must admit, when I walked into the chamber I had to stifle a giggle of my own.

  “He been giving you trouble?” Jinx asked Kubeck, who had released Henri’s collar and was now sitting on his chest.

  Kubeck lifted up one of his meaty hands to show us the palm. A long gash ran from the base of his forefinger to his wrist. “Knife up his sleeve,” the demon said.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t kill him,” Jinx said.

  Kubeck grinned. “I think time down in the cells at Lord Baltheza’s pleasure is a far worse fate.”

  “I think he’s having trouble breathing,” Kayla said.

  “He is going a rather strange color,” I agreed.

  Kubeck climbed to his feet and dragged Henri up by the belt of his trousers, dangling him about two feet off the ground. “Take him down to the cells,” Jinx said. “Then we go to Baltheza.”

  I didn’t go back down to the chambers below the palace. Instead I waited with Kayla in the entrance hall; I didn’t ever want to be in that godforsaken place again.

  I was still worried about Amaliel’s disappearance. Even as we stood there waiting for my two men and Kubeck to come back from the Chambers of Rectification, I worried that he could be hiding out somewhere in the human world while he plotted and planned. We had enough evil people of our own doing wicked things without him inciting them to do more.

  Kayla didn’t share my concerns. “The Deathbringer’s right. With a warrant out for his arrest he won’t be safe anywhere.”

  “He will, if he’s in my world.”

  “Not if Daddy sanctions a court assassin to go after him. Anyway,” Kayla flapped a hand at me, “he won’t last five minutes in the Overlands: too much technology, too many people. He will be a nobody there; an odd-looking nobody at that.”

  “But demons can make themselves look a whole lot different in my world—you being a case in point,” I reminded her, but she dismissed it with another flap of her hand.

  “You worry too much.”

  She may have brushed aside my fears, but I had this hard, cold feeling in my solar plexus telling me I had good reason to be afraid. I didn’t push it though; there was no point. If Jamie or Jinx knew where Amaliel was they would have gone after him. He was too evil to be allowed to live.

  When Jamie, Jinx and Kubeck returned, we went to find Baltheza and Kayla chose to come with us. Apart from Amaliel being free, I had other things on my mind, like: would I be spending the night down in the Chambers of Rectification myself? I doubted my men would let it happen, but who’s to say? The news we had to give Baltheza was not good.

  We reached Baltheza’s chamber all too soon, and one of the guards banged on the door to Baltheza’s chamber three times. “Come,” we heard from behind the door.

  “I hate that, don’t you?” Kayla said. “‘Come!’ it sounds like he’s calling a dog.”

  The soldier opened the door and we all filed in. I was beginning to find these constant meetings tedious; I could do without all the threats and innuendos of violence—and the smiling white-haired girl. She was beginning to wind me up big time, though that was probably because she scared me.

  “Well, what news do you have for me apart from having turned my palace into a battlefield?” Baltheza said, not even bothering with any niceties. The girl at his feet hid her mouth behind her hand and her eyes glittered with laughter. This time, the boys didn’t bother with any preamble.

  “We found Amaliel hiding in the tunnels beneath the palace,” Jamie said, “but unfortunately he escaped. His accomplice, Henri le Dent, however, resides in the Chambers of Rectification, at your leisure.”

  “But Amaliel and the human do not.”

  “You wanted the human?” Jinx asked.

  Baltheza wrinkled his nose. “Not particularly, but if he is of an interest to Amaliel I think he should be of an interest to me.”

  “It is most odd that he gave up Henri rather than Philip Conrad,” Jamie said.

  “You saved the child?” Baltheza asked.

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “It is strange a father should be prepared to give up his daughter,” Baltheza said, reaching to pick up his goblet from the small table at his elbow.

  “Not that strange,” Kayla muttered.

  Baltheza regarded us over the rim of his drink. “What do you think Amaliel was offering this Philip in return for his services?”

  “We have no idea,” Jinx said. “Though we know Amaliel has designs on both our world, and the Overlands.”

  “Insanity.”

  “Quite.”

  Baltheza’s blazing orange eyes turned on me. “You are strangely quiet, daughter mine.”

  “I have nothing to add to what you’ve been told by the Guardian and Deathbringer.”

  “You have failed me once again.”

  “I’d hoped not to.”

  He gestured to his slave to pour him another drink. He didn’t offer me one. “I would speak with the Princess Lucinda alone,” he said.

  “I don’t think so,” Jinx said.

  The slave handed Baltheza back his goblet and he tapped his long pointed claws against the metal, staring at Jinx as he did so. “I will speak to her alone, but I’ll promise you this: I mean her no harm at this time. We have matters to discuss which I will not speak of in front of an audience.”

  “And what of her?” Jinx said, gesturing at the slave.

  Baltheza gave a puzzled frown. “She’s nothing more than a poppet.”

  “Really?” Jinx said, and I’m pretty sure the tension in the room ramped up a notch. Jamie and Jinx had certainly gone into guard mode.

  Baltheza looked down upon the girl, wrenched the loop of the leash from around his wrist and threw it down at Jinx’s feet. “Take her if you must, but I will have a few moments alone with Lucinda.”

  Jinx stooped down and scooped up the end of the lead. “Thank you,” he said, and smiled at the girl, but it certainly wasn’t a friendly aren’t-you-a-pretty-little-thing smile, then he gave the leash a tug.

  The girl uncurled her legs from beneath her and got to her feet, her own smile gone. She glanced at Baltheza, but he waved a hand for her to leave. “We’ll be right outside,” Jinx said and gave Kayla a pointed look.

  Her expression was one of bemusement—she was obviously as bewildered as I felt. Added to my growing confusion was an underlying fear of being left alone with the demon I now knew could not possibly be my father.

  “I’ll let you know if Lucky is in any danger,” she said, and it was only when the door had closed behind them that I realized Kayla may be just as unhappy as her father to hear the truth. I pushed the thought aside. He hadn’t questioned the legitimacy of my
being his daughter before; he was the one who had announced it, so why should he now?

  “Sit down,” Baltheza said, patting the sofa.

  I did as he said, but sat as far away from him as I could without appearing rude. If he noticed he didn’t say, though I doubted his blazing orange eyes missed much.

  “Time for some plain speaking,” he said, and took a swallow of his drink. He stared at me for a very long time, and I found it hard not to fidget under his watchful gaze. “You look so very much like your mother, it could be she sitting where you are now.”

  “I understand she was Kayla’s aunt.”

  He smiled and took another sip of his drink. “She was really the sister I should have married, but I didn’t realize until it was too late. Still, we had our moments together; Kayla being the product of one of them.”

  “What?” Kayla said. I stared at him dumbstruck.

  “Of course, it couldn’t be seen that my mistress could bear me offspring whereas my wife could not, so the two went away for a visit to their parents and when they came back my wife was holding a baby girl in her arms.”

  Kayla sank down onto the couch between us. “I do not believe this.”

  “Of course, it made things difficult between my wife and her sister, and Marla wouldn’t have her in the palace, which meant I didn’t see Veronica as much as I’d have liked.”

  “That’s hardly surprising,” Kayla said. “I’m amazed I didn’t suffer a nasty accident as a child.”

  It was as if he’d heard her. “Fortunately, Marla quickly gained affection for the child—and who wouldn’t have? She was a beautiful little thing.” His voice wavered for a moment and he took another sip from the goblet. “And now she is lost to me.”

  “And me,” I told him—I could hardly tell him she was sitting in between us glaring daggers at his profile.

  “When Veronica disappeared for a while, I wasn’t surprised; I thought she was keeping her distance from Marla. It had been over three-thousand years, but family grudges run deep. Then there was a disturbance in the human world. A child was born; a demon child—a special child.” His eyes met mine and it was then that I realized he knew. He knew I was the Soulseer.

  “In retrospect, it was clear that Amaliel was already plotting, planning and scheming, but to my complete and utter surprise it was Kayla who somehow wheedled her way into the human world to be by your side.” He stood to pour himself another drink, and as an afterthought offered me one. I refused it—my head was spinning as it was.

  “At first I thought she would see you dead and then return, but just as Marla became enamored with Kayla, so Kayla became enamored with you.

  “Veronica had already returned, leaving you in the care of the human who you called your father and, after Kayla left, I had her arrested.” He let out a sigh. “I now know this was due to Amaliel causing mischief, whispering words of discord in my ear.”

  “So that’s how he knew all about you,” Kayla said, “from Veronica.”

  Baltheza continued, oblivious. “It’s now clear Amaliel didn’t tell me everything he’d learned, only what he wanted me to know. He told me she’d had a human lover. He told me you were the product of that liaison and not my daughter at all. He told me Veronica had betrayed me.” His lips twisted into a grimace.

  “He’s getting worked up,” Kayla said. “Say something. Say something to calm him.”

  I opened my mouth and shut it again, I couldn’t think of a word to say that wouldn’t make it worse.

  Fortunately, Baltheza took a deep breath and then exhaled, calming himself. “He manipulated me into doing something I’ve regretted ever since and it was then that any semblance of friendship ended between us.”

  So he knew I wasn’t his daughter and always had—but why introduce me to the court as his, and continue the pretense for this long? I was truly confused.

  “Years passed, and although I missed Kayla, I knew she would return at some point. Then Daltas started making noises about getting her back. I thought it was to do with him wanting to court her, therefore bringing himself nearer to my throne. I did not know that Amaliel was playing his evil games yet again. If I had, I would’ve resisted bringing you here. Why would I want the child of another and the woman I loved flaunted before me?”

  “Why indeed?” Kayla said.

  “But Amaliel used my fondness for Kayla to get me to agree to bring you here, and I fell for it, hoping that Kayla would come back.”

  “I never knew he cared so much,” Kayla said, reaching out to touch her father’s cheek. “I always knew he had a soft spot for me, but—” she pressed her lips together into a tight line.

  “So,” Baltheza said, “now I’ve lost my true daughter and I have you—someone else’s.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, which was totally inadequate, but the best I could do.

  He smiled and this time it was a true smile. “I like you,” he said. “You’re so very much like your mother and your sister. If nothing else is true, that at least is: you are Kayla’s sister and she loved you, therefore, even if it weren’t for you having two such dangerous allies, I wouldn’t see any harm come to you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Of course, the fact that you are the Soulseer does put a rather different perspective upon the matter.”

  Kayla’s hand jerked back from his cheek as though burned. “What does being the Soulseer have to do with anything?” she said.

  I stared at him and he stared right back, his fleeting, gentle, kind smile gone to be replaced by his usual cruel arrogance.

  “Why should you care?” I asked.

  “The dead can tell you secrets.”

  “All the dead want to do is find peace, which was hard to do with your old friend Amaliel around. Did you realize he and the Sicarii were stopping them from passing over? If anyone, he was the one who wanted your secrets. Not me.” I leaned back in the seat and folded my arms. He wasn’t going to have everything his own way and I wasn’t going to act like a scared child; I’d had enough of his threats.

  “Amaliel said—”

  “Amaliel said,” I sneered. “You’ve just spent the past fifteen minutes or so telling me why you shouldn’t believe one word that manipulative shit has ever said, and now you’re back to quoting him? Do you never learn?”

  “Lucky,” Kayla said, laying her hand on my wrist, “shut up before you really piss him off.”

  “I will not,” I said, scowling at her. “I’m fed up with him playing with my head and threatening me the whole time.”

  Baltheza jumped to his feet and backed away from me. “It’s true?”

  “What do you think?” I said, also getting to my feet. “Here’s the deal: I’ll stay out of your way and you’ll stay out of mine. That way we’ll both live long and happy lives. If not, it will end badly for one of us, and as I have the Guardian and Deathbringer on my side, I wouldn’t bet on it being me.”

  Baltheza’s eyes blazed and his mouth curled into a snarl as he glared at me. Then his lips began to twitch and he started to laugh. Kayla stood between us looking to him, then to me, and back again.

  “That was close,” Kayla said, “but don’t think you’re out of trouble yet.”

  “So much like your mother; so much like your sister.”

  “Have we a deal?”

  “No,” he said, “but we have a truce.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I quite like having you around Lucky de Salle, so if it is your intention to leave this day, don’t wait too long before you return to see me.” His laughter died away to be replaced by a deeper emotion. “Is she here? Is Kayla here in this room?” I nodded. “Is she well?”

  “I’m dead Papa, how in all of the Underlands could I possibly be considered well?”

  “She’s mighty fed up she’s dead, but otherwise she’s the same old Kayla.”

  “I want Amaliel’s head,” Baltheza said, sitting down and slumping back on the couch as he reached for his goblet.<
br />
  “No more than I,” I told him. “We’ll find him or, more than likely, he’ll find us. We haven’t heard the last of him I’m quite sure.”

  “No,” Baltheza said, “on that I think you’re right. Before you leave I’ll give you one piece of advice.” He beckoned me to move closer and whispered as though he thought Amaliel could still be listening. “Do not underestimate Amaliel. It has become clear to me that he has been plotting and planning for a considerable amount of time. Don’t for one moment think this is over. He wanted you here for a reason and, as you aren’t dead, I’m not convinced he’s done with you. Be very, very careful.”

  With that happy thought in mind, and counting myself lucky that Vaybian had not been mentioned, I left him. My men were waiting outside with Baltheza’s “poppet,” and from the glowering glare she gave me when I stepped into the hall, I gathered her smile had at least temporarily deserted her.

  “Remember what I said,” Jinx said, dropping her lead into her palm.

  She opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it, and flounced back into Baltheza’s chambers.

  “What was that all about?” I asked.

  “She’s one of Amaliel’s spies.”

  “Really?” I said, looking over my shoulder at the closed door.

  “I have put it to her that it would probably be best for her health if Baltheza was never made aware of her previous loyalties.”

  “Shouldn’t we tell him?”

  Jinx smiled one of his dangerous smiles. “No, she’s had a change of allegiance. She’s now our spy.”

  “She didn’t look very happy about it,” I said as we started down the corridor.

  “No,” Jinx said, “she didn’t, did she?”

  I didn’t ask for any more details. It was just another one of those occasions when it was probably better I didn’t know.

  “I could do with a drink,” I said instead.

  “Now that sounds like a very good idea,” Jinx said.

  Seventeen

  We didn’t reach the Drakon’s Rest a moment too soon. Vaybian was fighting drunk and Kerfuffle had imbibed enough that he was willing to take him on. They were glaring at each other across our favorite table in the corner and it was only Shenanigans’ tight grip on his friend’s arm that stopped Kerfuffle from launching himself at Kayla’s green captain.