“Is this Ralina’s doing?” Baynor Sorin asked.
Carrick blew out a frustrated breath and nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Then what is our plan?” the King of House D’Amuri asked.
Carrick had no answer so it was a good thing they were interrupted by a messenger running down the aisle to their meeting table. Coming to a stop before Carrick, he handed him what looked to be a black lump of coal.
“Sir, this was just delivered by a man claiming to be an emissary of the Empress Ralina. He said to deliver this to you.”
“Where is this man?” Carrick asked as he looked back toward the door.
“Sir, I don’t know. After he handed me the stone, he just… sort of… melted away. There’s a puddle of him left outside the Hall if you want to see.”
Carrick looked over at Heph. The look between them confirmed that this was Ralina’s dark magic at work. He looked down at the stone in his hand, but he had no idea what to do with it. He looked again at Heph, who shrugged his shoulders.
Suddenly, the stone started growing hot. Within a few seconds, Carrick was unable to hold it and dropped it to the floor. The minute the stone made contact with the floor, a beam of light shot up out of it. It stayed narrow at the base of the stone, but spread outward as it went higher.
Within the light, Carrick started to recognize something taking form. It was becoming clearer as his eyes adjusted to the glow. Then he realized what he was seeing. A vision of Ralina. Except this was a different Ralina from what he remembered. Gone was the blonde hair and icy blue eyes. She was red all over. Hair, eyes, clothing. She looked evil and deranged.
“Hello, Carrick. It’s been a long time. You’re looking well.”
Ralina’s voice drifted around the Hall. She was making an attempt to sound seductive but it only made Carrick shudder in disgust. Her voice seemed to be everywhere, bouncing off the walls, reverberating under his feet. He could see her lips moving in the vision from the stone, matching the eerie voice all around them.
“Ralina. It has been a long time. I wish I could say you were looking well too, but, let’s just say the dark magicks have not done any favors to your looks.”
Carrick thought he heard Baynor hiss, “Don’t antagonize her Carrick”, but he was beyond caring if he pissed Ralina off.
Ralina gave a cold laugh that sent icicles racing through his veins. “Baynor is right. Don’t antagonize me Carrick. You don’t want me taking my wrath out on your lovely little Ava would you?”
Carrick’s worst fear was confirmed. Ralina had Ava and he felt his rage building up hotly. He couldn’t stop himself from saying though, “If you harm her, Ralina, I will personally carve you up, an inch at a time.”
Ralina gave another icy chuckle. Everyone in the room seemed to be wincing from the pain of it. “You’re too late Carrick. I’ve already harmed her. See for yourself.”
Carrick watched with dread as the light changed and a vision came through of Ava. Most of her clothes had been ripped away and she was tied to a cross in an empty room, arms outstretched and bound with rope. Her head hung forward and her face was hidden by her hair. Carrick assumed she was unconscious. He would not believe, for a second, that she was dead. Worst of all, he noticed a symbol that had been carved into her upper right arm and was slowly leaking blood, being collected in a bowl below.
Carrick bellowed in rage. The vision changed back to Ralina.
“Now listen closely, Carrick. Ava lives and will continue to live, as long as you and your troops stay away from Kestevayne. It just so happens I need her alive for many years for what I have planned. So if you value her life, you will stay away from Kestevayne. I’ll even gladly let the other Royals there in the room with you swear allegiance to me and their past aggressions will be forgiven.”
“How do I know you will keep your word?” Carrick demanded.
“You don’t, silly fool. But if you want to test the truth of my words, come to Kestevayne with your army and I’ll hang Ava’s dead body from the palace walls.”
No one said a word.
“I see we have an agreement. As always, it’s been a pleasure.” The light in the stone vanished and it seemed the temperature in the room warmed by a few degrees.
The Commander of the Groucutt Army spoke first. “So, as long as we leave Kestevayne alone, Princess Ava will continue to live?”
Carrick sneered at that question. “Of course she’s not going to let Ava live. She’s clearly just trying to stall us.”
Heph started walking toward the Hall doors.
“Where are you going?” Carrick asked.
“I think I know what Ralina wants with Ava but I need to check something out. I’ll be back soon.”
Carrick watched Heph exit and he had a spark of hope that there was time to save her. Carrick turned to the rest of the group.
“We need to stand by the plan of attack we hammered out today but we may not have time for the training. I suggest the Commanders leave now, and start preparing for the possibility of moving out at a moment’s notice.”
“Don’t you think that is gambling with Ava’s life?” Baynor asked.
“I don’t see that we have a choice. There is no way that Ralina is going to let Ava live. Her magic requires the sacrifice of life. Ava’s blood is strong and there must be something big that Ralina wants to achieve here.” Carrick turned to the rest of the room. “Now is the time for you to start fearing for your own kingdom’s welfare. I’m guessing Ralina is just getting warmed up with Kestevayne.”
Everyone was silent for just a moment then it seemed everyone jumped into action at once. Within minutes, the Hall had cleared and plans were being put into motion.
Carrick turned and saw Kieran standing there watching him. “She’ll be okay, Carrick.”
“You don’t know that.” His voice was filled with anguish.
“I know that I have faith in you, and I know that because you love her so much, there is no way you are going to let her die.” Kieran walked toward Carrick. He laid his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “I know it.”
The confidence in Kieran’s voice raised Carrick’s hopes further. Carrick would be eternally grateful to Kieran for that boost of strength he had just given him. The normal anger and guilt that dwelled in him swelled up and rose, but it now seemed to have new purpose. Before, he thought the purpose was ending Ralina. But he was wrong. His purpose was to start a new life with Ava. He now needed to funnel his regrets into action that would make this right.
Carrick clasped Kieran by the shoulders and squeezed. “Thanks, brother.”
Kieran grinned. “Now let’s go kick that evil bitch’s ass.”
Carrick chuckled but was cut short when the doors burst open and Heph came running back into the Hall. He was carrying the book of blood magic he had given Ava. He was out of breath when he reached Carrick and had to take a minute to slow his pulse.
Finally, he slammed the book down and opened it up to a particular page. He pointed down and gasped, “There. That is what Ralina wants Ava for.” He was still breathing heavily from his run.
Carrick and Kieran glanced down at hundreds of lines of miniscule writing. It couldn’t be read with the naked eye but would need a powerful magnifier.
“Now I see why it took you so long to get through the entire book,” Carrick said in wonder.
Heph vigorously nodded his head in agreement. “So let me summarize for you what it says. This is basically a blood spell to transfer magical power. As you know, the Royals have the most powerful lines of magic, then the Warrior caste, then the Maiorns and finally, the regular citizens. But, what you don’t know, and what I just confirmed with one of our Conclave prisoners, is that the Royal lines are ranked as well. The House of Clairmont is the oldest and undeniably has the strongest magic within its line. And magic does not dilute as the line gets older. To the contrary, it strengthens and grows more potent. Which makes…”
“…Ava the most p
owerful sorceress in our world,” Carrick finished in awe.
“And Ralina is going to use this spell to transfer the Clairmont line of magic into herself. Once she performs the spell, it cannot be undone. And as you can guess, it is accomplished by sacrificing the strongest holder of the magic….which is Ava.”
“When will she do this?”
“She can’t perform the ritual until the new moon. That happens three days hence.”
Carrick turned to look at Kieran, a smile lighting his face. “And we are only two days from Kestevayne. We need to prepare to move out now.”
CHAPTER 22
Ralina strolled through the dark hallways of the prison system. She was heading to Ava’s cell. While she couldn’t take her life for officially another eighteen hours, she felt Ava could handle another little cut. The sacrifice she had planned for Ava didn’t require Ralina to take her blood at this time. She just wanted to take it so she could make Ava suffer a bit before her death.
She had always hated Ava, all the way from that first day she waged an unbreakable friendship with Carrick. And then Carrick having the temerity to push her to the side, all so he could have Ava?
It still made no sense to her. Sure, she had been with Carrick as a means to climb her way up into higher social circles. And sure, she had been beyond furious when he broke up with her. Not because her heart was broken, but because she would have to start over with someone else. The fact that he had the gall to immediately start a relationship with Ava didn’t really bother her personally, but others saw it as an insult and immediately pitied her. That she could not tolerate and it just ratcheted up her hate of Ava another notch.
But as she looked back on it now, even she had to admit that was a fortuitous turn of events. Carrick’s break up with her had led her straight into Quentin Solaire’s bed. Not only had she found a bit of mediocre sex to help pass the time, but she soon discovered the Scrinia’s secret of blood magic.
She wasn’t sure if it was done in an effort to impress her, but Quentin told her about blood magic lying in bed one night after he had achieved orgasm and she had not. She had been considering dumping him as he was no match for her sexual appetites, but then he mentioned blood magic. And Ralina was immediately entranced with the idea.
After pumping Quentin for all he knew, and he knew quite a lot given his lineage, she sought out other nefarious sorcerers who were more than willing to share their knowledge with her for a tumble in bed. Within six months, Ralina had learned a lot, the most important was the blood spell that would steal Ava’s magic. Driven by hate and a need for conquest, she immersed herself in the darkest of magicks, not caring one whit for the lives she took in sacrifice.
For her first major blood spell, she killed her mother and with her blood, weaved control over her father’s mind and actions. From there, it was easy for her to control the Stansworth military for her own purposes. Once she had control over the army through their blood allegiance, she had no further use for her father. The loss of her parents was of no consequence. Ralina was never particularly close to them and they served a very important purpose for her.
When it came time to implement her plan to capture Kestevayne and that little bitch Ava, she was quite powerful indeed. It was so easy breezing through the palace, killing everyone who stood in her way. Making her way directly to Ava’s room, she found the snotty brat was not there. She tore the palace apart but could not find her. She couldn’t find Carrick either and assumed they were together.
The only good thing that had happened was that she had killed Jaron and Selena herself, but not before telling them what she would do to their daughter. Before Jaron died, he had looked her straight in the eye and told her she would never prevail over Ava. Just the thought made her want to go back and murder him all over again.
Ralina realized she had anger issues. Some would think she had taken over Kestevayne to retaliate against Carrick and Ava for being dumped. Those imbeciles. She did what she did for power… pure and simple. Ava was the means to achieve that power given she had the most potent magical blood in all of Vyronas. This was something she didn’t learn until after Carrick broke up with her. The fact that Ralina hated Ava was coincidental really.
As she walked to Ava’s cell, she thought back to their last meeting. She had immensely enjoyed the first carving she made to Ava’s bicep. Watching her rich, magical blood drain into her vessel was exhilarating.
She had to admit she was a little dissatisfied that Ava didn’t cry out while she was slicing into that tender skin. Instead, Ava had glared at her the entire time. She rewarded Ava with a vicious hit to the head with the hilt of her knife, knocking her unconscious. Maybe with this cutting, she could get a scream or two out of Ava. In fact, she was pretty sure she could and that made her all the more excited for what she was about to do. Ralina reached Ava’s cell and opened the door.
“Ava, darling. I’m here to draw a little more blood from you.”
Ava’s head was up and she was glaring defiantly at Ralina.
“Why, Ava?” Ralina purred sympathetically. “Whatever could be wrong?” She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at Ava.
“How about for starters, you’re a fucking nutcase,” Ava said, reflecting back a syrupy grin of her own.
Ralina’s smile died and was replaced with the promise of retribution. “You’ll pay for that. And I think I’ll let Carrick take a few lashes for your impertinence.”
“No,” Ava cried out. “You said you wouldn’t hurt him if I didn’t use my magic.”
“I said he would enjoy a relatively healthy life,” Ralina snarled. “I never promised not to whip him for funsies.”
Ralina mentally patted herself on the back for duping Ava into thinking she had Carrick. Ava had been nice and quiet for her entire captivity… until now. Oh well, she didn’t need her for much longer. She could put up with a little lip from her if need be.
***
Ava kept silent, afraid that any further rebuke would cause more harm to Carrick. Ralina started circling her again.
“Now, let’s see where should we cut today?”
Ava was mentally preparing herself to deal with the pain the knife would make. She knew it infuriated Ralina when she didn’t react to the last cutting. She hoped she could do the same this time. But she had to admit, she was scared as hell.
Suddenly the cell door burst open and Ralina screeched. “How dare you interrupt me!”
The guard who entered suddenly threw himself prostrate on the floor and quickly exclaimed, “We’re under attack. My apologies, Empress.”
Ava was certain had the man started with the apology comment, he would be dead already. Smart move to start with yelling they were under attack.
Ralina commanded the man to stand and tell her what he knew.
“Empress… troops approach from the north of Kestevayne, led by Commandant Dunne. Thousands upon thousands. They are probably breaching the walls by now.” The guard’s voice was trembling. “There is no way we can defend.”
“Nonsense,” Ralina yelled. “Employ our Hell-Fire.”
“We have, Empress. But it doesn’t work against them.”
“Impossible,” Ralina exclaimed.
“I swear it’s true. And they are sending spells toward us such as we have never seen before.”
Ava thought she must have mistaken what she had heard the guard say. But no, he clearly said Commandant Dunne led the forces. Had he escaped? Idiot! Ava mentally slapped herself in the head. She had been tricked by Ralina into thinking she had Carrick so Ava would not fight her. Well, she didn’t have that worry now. It was time to fire up her power.
But before Ava could even think of what spell she wanted to use, Ralina leapt toward her and clamped an iron collar around her neck. Shit!
“Now that you know I don’t have your boyfriend, I’m going to have to collar your magic until it’s time to sacrifice you. Can’t have you ruining my plans.”
Ava smiled to hersel
f. Carrick was coming to her rescue so she would say that Ralina’s plans had already been ruined.
Ralina pointed at the soldier. “Go. Send my best troops down to guard this cell. Let no one through.” Ava noticed the man ran from the room as if Hell-Fire was on his ass.
Ralina started pacing frantically back and forth.
“You need to surrender Ralina,” Ava said softly.
Ralina turned on Ava and hissed, “Never.”
“Our troops have you outnumbered five to one. We have learned much about blood magic and have neutralized your spells. You cannot hope to win.”
Ralina smiled wickedly. “But I still have you, Ava.”
Ralina made the gripping motion with her hand and Ava’s windpipe was cut off again. While Ava was pre-occupied with trying to breathe, Ralina cut the ropes securing her hands and feet. Ava’s hands immediately scrabbled to her throat in a vain attempt to pull Ralina’s invisible hands off her. Just as her vision was going black, Ralina released her magical squeeze on Ava’s windpipe and replaced it with a firm, magical grip to the back of her neck. Then Ralina stepped close to Ava and put the knife to her throat, just above the iron collar.
***
Carrick made easy entrance to the palace. The overwhelming numbers of their forces, and Ava’s spectacular blood magic paved a clear way. Most of Ralina’s troops and demons were easily cut down. They had neither the training nor the experience found within the Royal armies, and her numbers were outweighed heavily by Carrick’s forces.
From the vision Ralina had provided in the black stone, Carrick knew Ava would be down in the prison system, but that place was huge and he didn’t know his way around it at all. He had bid several of his men, including Kieran and Heph, to aid in the search for Ava. He had no doubt that when he found Ava, he would find Ralina too.
Carrick and his men searched methodically every room and cell in the prison. It was frustratingly slow work, but Carrick didn’t want to rush and miss something.
Heading down a dark hallway, Carrick was brought up short when Quentin stepped in front of him, a ball of Hell-Fire in his hands. Carrick had not received the protection charm Ava made so he knew if he was hit with the fire, he was dead.
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