A female snicker caught her ear. Ramona turned to glare at the perpetrator taking comfort in her mistreatment.
It can’t be…
The fucking dish maid, Lulu, waved back.
Ramona refused to budge when the burly guard yanked at her again. “Are you kidding me?” she yelled down the corridor. Lulu replied with a haughty grin. Ramona shook off her escort’s grab and began to storm the length of the hall, but he caught her after a few steps and slammed her into the wall again.
His acrid breath made her stomach lurch as he pressed himself against her, further rubbing her face into the hard stone. “Give me a reason, whore. I’d wager Queen Labelle herself wouldn’t mind me teaching you a lesson or two.” His slimy tongue wet her face. “Mmm. You taste so good. Mayhap when your brat is born, I’ll show you what a real man can do.”
Ramona closed her eyes against the oncoming assault. Still as death, she held her breath and hugged the wall, praying for a quick end to whatever cruelty he thought up. His weight suddenly lifted from her; she fell to her knees and shielded her stomach, expecting a flurry of kicks and punches. It wouldn’t be the first time the guards had abused someone in the halls.
Sandread’s deep voice startled her to her feet. “You have less than one minute to explain yourself, you pile of horse shit.”
The guard looked ready to piss himself. He stuttered on an explanation. “Queen…Queen Labelle… bid me…to return the prisoner to her quarters.”
“I see,” Sandread replied calmly. With lightning speed, he pulled a dagger from his belt and pinned the smelly guard against the wall in the same spot he’d had Ramona moments before, the blade biting into his neck. “I should kill you where you stand, but for some unfathomable reason, the queen likes you enough to keep you on her door.”
“I beg forgiveness, Commander.” He squealed like the pig he was. “I shall take further care in my treatment of the lady.”
“Oh, that is a given, friend. But if I were you, I’d take further care to watch my back. So many accidents happen when one is on patrol duty outside the gates.” The guard paled. Sandread released him, but not before inflicting a warning cut to the man’s jugular. “Be gone from my sight. Now!”
Sandread extended an arm to Ramona. “Forgive me, milady. Please, let us walk. I wish to discuss a few things with you.”
Ramona slipped her arms through his. How could she deny him after he came to her rescue? She decided she owed the asshat a small reprieve for the day. Besides, a walk outside with a fresh and fair breeze was better than returning to her cramped room and stuffy air. She put on her best smile. “I would like that a lot.”
Rarely having the opportunity to leave her room, much less the castle, Ramona’s eyes struggled to adjust to the direct sunlight once outside. Stealing occasional glances at the commander as they walked beside each other, she couldn’t help but compare him to Jalomar. They shared the same dark looks and massive size. Though both their eyes were blue, Jalomar's were deeper in color, favoring a sapphire, while Sandread's reflected nothing but ice. She’d always known Sandread had wanted her, but over the last several months, she’d watched his desire transform into something much more than she could ever give. She saw it even now in the glow of his aura.
So far, Ramona had kept her ability to read auras a secret. The sociopathic queen would probably dissect her if she knew the extent of Ramona’s developing majik. Each day her mental abilities grew a bit stronger. Occasionally, she caught random glances of the future, but only a few days in advance. They were sporadic at best. The impeding anklet gave off a warning shot of heat. Goddammit. During the last couple of weeks the damned thing had begun to respond to even the mere thought of her using her powers. She shook her leg in response. Sandread cocked a brow at the odd display. Ramona shrugged her shoulder, offering no explanation as they continued on. They came to stand beneath one of the trees at the center of the courtyard. He helped her to sit beneath the shade. “Did I just see Dilseacht’s dish maid in the hall?”
His aura momentarily flickered from a serene blue purple to a muddy brown. “Aye. She is currently Labelle’s most trusted spy, and lover.”
“Lover? Does she know her lover was trying to sleep with Jalomar?” She hoped Sandread didn’t hear the venom in her voice. The image of them in the kitchen getting their freak on had been seared into her brain.
He sat down beside her under the tree. “Who do you think sent her there? She was to become a distraction between you and Jalomar.”
“Why? What was her purpose to…do that? People can spy without being a total hobag.” She couldn’t stop the following eye roll.
Sandread looked around meaningfully at the several guards who suddenly appeared at random. Once again his aura became murky. Something unpleasant bothered him. “There is little privacy here in the open. I have much to tell you later, my gem.”
Ramona didn’t need to see the commander’s aura to sense the inner war waging in his head. He stood, extending a hand to help her up. She allowed him to help her up and followed behind as he guided them back toward the castle. “I guess my prison awaits,” she mumbled.
They entered the cracked and crumbling archway into the castle. “How the hell is this place still standing?”
Sandread chuckled, slowing his pace to match hers. Her offered her an arm and she accepted. “Would you believe me if I told you Castle Dika was once the envy of all the hemispheres?”
She wrinkled her nose as she eyed the walls of the hallway they turned down. “I suppose it once had potential. Why did Labelle let it get so bad? Jalomar would never let Dilseacht fall into such disrepair.”
The muscles in his arm flexed. She held on to him tighter, preventing him from pulling away. “I mentioned his name, and you tensed. Why?”
He stared straight ahead, his demeanor rigid. “You could never understand.”
“Or maybe I could. I mean, I never had any siblings, but I’ve met my share of people who did. Oh man, the sibling rivalry between some of them—”
He came to a stop, jerking her to stand in front of him. “Do you really believe me so petty that simple sibling rivalry would compel my desires, or control my life?”
She jerked her arm free of his and put her hands on her hips. “Well, yeah…kinda. Look at what you’re doing here, with me. Why am I here, Sandread? And don’t give me that shit about being a faithful follower of Labelle’s. I’ve seen the disgust in your eyes when you deal with her.”
His eye blues narrowed, darting about haphazardly as he searched the immediate area. “Silence, milady. I warned you to hold your tongue. You never know who is listening in these dank halls. We will discuss it all later.”
He reached for her arm again, but she backed away. “No. We will talk now, or I will scream my head off.”
He advanced, his boots hitting the stone floor with imminent thuds. “No one here will care if you scream, Ramona. Especially when I’m the one invoking the screams.”
“Yeah?” she challenged, raising her brow and smirking. “According to you, that only depends on what I am screaming, Commander Sandread. How do you think Labelle handles traitors?”
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “By the Vespa. Did you cause my damn brother such a hard time? Or is it just me you’re trying to tempt into insanity?”
She smiled wide and winked. “I’m much easier on you. Now, are we ready to talk?”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Jalomar lay on the cold ground. He writhed against the pain in his chest; a jeweled dagger embedded to the right of his heart reflected the pale moonlight. The scorched ground beneath him was stained crimson as his life quickly drained away. She stood before him, a cruel smile distorting her beautiful face.
“Ramona,” he rasped.
Jalomar bolted upright; his sweat soaked the dark sheets. His breathing returned to normal with the realization he had been dreaming. Still, he felt his chest for good measure. A slight chill overtook him. A look at the fire
place told him the fire had died out hours ago. The shutters clanked against the window. He swore to all that was holy he’d shut them before slipping into bed. Snatching up the fur blanket he’d tossed aside while deep in his nightmare, he wrapped himself and made a dash across the room to shut the damn shutters, again. The hair at the nape of his neck rose. He dropped the covers and claimed a defensive stance. “Who goes there?”
Yellow eyes stared at him from the farthest corner of the room. A gargantuan manlike creature slowly emerged to stand in the beams of moonlight flittering through the slatted window. “Clothe yourself. There is a great need to talk, Lord Jalomar of Dilseacht and the Western Hemisphere.”
Jalomar eyed the fireplace, estimating how many steps it would take to reach the rack of pokers beside it.
The reptile-man shook his head. “Please, do not attempt it, human. I present no threat. I come in the interest of the maiden only.”
Ramona. Jalomar dressed as his visitor waited patiently. “She’s not dead, is she?”
“Nay. Not as of yet. I would have sensed her loss. However, she and your daughter are running out of time.”
Jalomar grit his teeth. All hopes were crushed with the creature’s obvious lie. “I have no daughter, friend. Why do you come to me in the middle of the night with such preposterous claims? Who are you?”
The scaled beast bowed. A gentle smile made him appear more humanlike. “I am Bob. Better known to you as the Shema.”
Jalomar staggered. The Shema? He wanted to refute the stranger’s claim, but he failed to detect any sign of deceit. Or maybe he was desperate enough to believe anything. “Then you have seen her alive? Recently?”
“Aye, milord. But the queen has placed majikal wards around the borders of the castle. I cannot penetrate them to retrieve the maiden. Please know I would have by now, if I could. The Lady Ramona will give birth within the next fortnight as prophesied. Labelle will snuff the life from both mother and child to gain their power. This cannot happen. The maiden’s bloodline must live on.”
Elation claimed Jalomar. I’m going to be a father! Sobering images of Ramona upon the stone altar, dead, stayed his joy. “But she is fated to die. The Vespa—High Priest Azer— has shown me thus.”
“Then he deceives you. The Altar of Changed Fate is destined for the Maiden of Light to make her final sacrifice upon. It is her life-force and pure energy that will fuse with the Fiery Maiden’s to bring about salvation for humanity. It has been written.”
“Nay. Why would the High Priest lie? How do you know such things? You are a mere creature.”
The Shema straightened his shoulders and stood tall. He whispered as if he were revealing the secrets of the universe, “The Lady Ramona is merely one of many maidens to be born of her bloodline. Believe me when I say her life is not forfeit. She is safe with Sandread, for the time being. However, once the child enters this world, it will not be so.”
His brother’s name stirred instant hatred as he imagined the bastard touching Ramona. Jalomar stumbled backward until he bumped the bed. He sat before his shaking legs failed him. In all his studies, he’d never heard such a ludicrous theory. But why would the Shema lie? “But the texts? The prophesy?”
The Shema stared down at his webbed feet. “It all rests on you now. The Fiery Maiden’s protector.”
“What should happen if I fail?”
“Then all of humanity pays the price, and Labelle’s darkness envelopes all that is and ever was.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
Ramona tossed and turned, desperate to find a comfortable position. After sleeping on a mattress made of stinky straw and meager stuffing, the luxurious, overstuffed bed was too damn soft. She absentmindedly ran her hand across the red silken sheets, silently thanking Sandread for the upgraded prison.
Three days had passed since their in-depth conversation, where he had spilled his heart and soul. Well, at least as much as he could. She sensed he was holding something back. But after all he had said, she couldn't imagine anything being worse than what he’d already shared.
No secret Labelle was cold, but it still shocked Ramona to learn Labelle wanted her soul. It was the reason she summoned Ramona at least once a week, to invoke the maiden and study the potency of her majikal essence. Apparently, Labelle could read auras, too, but on a higher level. Sandread had also confided that Labelle planned to sacrifice Ramona on the full moon after she gave birth. But in order to steal the maiden’s essence, the majikal tether on her ankle had to be removed. Hence the queen’s need to know the maiden’s weaknesses; a way to subdue her power during the ritual. But that didn’t matter anymore. Her Not-So-Shining-Knight-In-Armor was going to help her escape.
A sharp pain in her abdomen doubled her over. The little one in her tummy had been giving her a fit the entire evening. The babe's birth was nearing sometime within the next couple of weeks, maybe even days. Would she have a boy or a girl? What color hair would he or she have? She smiled despite the discomfort when the child kicked. A girl. She knew it. A cherub cheeked daughter with a crop of raven hair and blue eyes, just like her father…
Damn him! Resentment rose in her throat in the form of bile. Eight months since her kidnapping, and Jalomar had yet to attempt a rescue. Where the hell was he? In fact, no one had dared to intervene on her behalf. Even the Vespa had abandoned her and were no longer answering her calls. What ever happened to being the great maiden of legend and blah blah blah?
Emotions overwhelmed Ramona. She buried her head in her pillow and let the tears flow. Exhaustion trumped self-pity, and sleep offered an escape. Through the final moment of hazy consciousness, she thought she heard a distant whispering.
He will come for you!
The full moon hung low. An ominous sign. Its bright light shined down upon Jalomar's army making camp amongst the forestry a mile outside the fortress of Dika. The reports coming from the scouts were disheartening. Dika may be run down on the interior, but its outer walls were strong and impregnable. It would take an outright assault to break through its gates.
Inside the commander’s tent, Jalomar and Kald buried their heads in a laid out battle map among one of the many small tables adorned with weaponry and reports. The two men shuffled around each other in the cramped space as they observed the map from all directions.
“I found the possible weak spot here, milord,” Kald said, his fingernail tapping loudly against the hard grain of the table. “The scouts missed this in their initial sweep because it's hidden by a mass of shrubs. It's a perfect stone square blending into a natural rock hill. I'm thinking escape tunnel of sorts.”
Jalomar pursed his lips. If the tunnel could be used as an escape route, surely it could also be used as an entrance. Could he really be so fortunate? Nay. It was destiny. A premature sense of victory brought both joy and grief. If the Shema had been speaking truth, by the end of the day, Labelle would fall, he’d reclaim Ramona and his fatherhood, and Cynthe would meet her fate. “Gather twenty men. We'll breach the tunnel and take the castle from inside. I want you to personally open the gates and lead our men into victory.”
“Aye, Milord!”
Chapter Forty
Ramona's screams alerted the posted guard in the hall. He opened the bedroom door, sneering when his eyes locked on her. “Be silent, woman. Or I will have you flogged.”
The piercing in her abdomen let up enough for her to sit up. She threw an empty water pitcher from the nightstand; the porcelain shattered into pieces at his feet. “Threaten me again, and I will make sure I tell the commander you touched me in the most perverted ways.”
He winced at the threat. “Forgive me, milady.” After a curt bow, he hurriedly closed the door.
Her back ached. She attempted to lie back down to ease the discomfort, but the tensing in her abdomen renewed. Her insides felt like they were making a break for it. The pain traveled down to her groin. She wanted to deny what she knew was happening. It’s too early. She couldn’t give birth now, not when escap
e was so close.
A rush of liquid soaked her bottom half. Panic overrode pain, and she ran for the door. She flung it open to find another guard on duty. It was Henric, the one guard who didn’t treat her like crap. “Henric! Please, go find Sandread.” Another pain doubled her over. “Or anyone who knows how to deliver a baby!”
He paled and nodded his acknowledgment.
Ramona shut the door and returned to bed. She estimated the pain was coming in two minute increments. What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Two contractions later, a breathless Sandread burst into her room and ran to her side. “I’ve sent for the midwife, milady. Hold on for a bit longer.”
“Oh, yes of course. I will just hold my freaking legs closed,” Ramona snapped. Her breathing came in ragged pants; sweat sheened her face. She turned pleading eyes to Sandread.
He clasped her hand in return, exasperation apparent in his expression. “What is taking the wench so long? I’ll go fetch her myself!”
“Stay with me,” Ramona begged as another contraction seized her. She screamed as the urge to push took over. “I'm not ready. I’m not ready!”
Sandread flushed, gawping at her spread legs. “Damn the Vespa,” he swore through gritted teeth. He quickly stripped his customary arm and chest armor, letting it fall to the floor with a loud clang. Ramona scooted down to the end of the mattress where he took up position between her legs. “I see raven hair, milady!”
Jalomar and a handful of his best men crept along the dark walls of Dika castle. The hidden entrance led them straight to a trap door in the lower level kitchen. They followed the sound of Ramona’s gut wrenching screams. Jalomar’s anger escalated with each hallway cleared. His imagination fueled his rage as he envisioned the continuous torment she must have faced every day since her capture. If only he’d searched harder, or stormed the castle sooner. He vowed whoever was hurting her would die an extremely slow and torturous death.
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