Game of Survival

by T R Tells

  Not being Mundane himself, Clovis could not feel the bitter feeling of cold, but he remembered how the freezing temperatures could do damage to one’s body.

  “Clovis, are you sure this is a good idea? If Audalai finds out what you’re doing, she’ll never forgive you,” Eileen said sitting on Clovis’ shoulder. “Besides. what more could you give to the Fae queen!”

  "I know, Eileen. Hopefully, in time, Audalai will forgive me, but I've made far too many mistakes in the past. Knowing that I can fix this one, is good enough for me."

  Eileen crossed her arms and pouted.

  “You’re clearly stubborn, Clovis! You’re lucky I’m here to make sure that you don’t get yourself into too much trouble.”

  Clovis chuckled. “And, I thank you for that.”

  They walked for several miles until they saw the forest on the outskirts of the town. It was forbidden to enter the forest for the Unseelie Faes lurked within the shadows and would steal your souls if they came upon you.

  Clovis stood at the edge of the forest, peering into it. He couldn't see past the thick trees and the snow that clung to the branches wasn't helping.

  “Eileen, would you?” He asked the Puck Fae, who nodded at the request. She flew in front of his face and waved her arms in the air, a sparkle of blue dust escaped from her body and toward the forest.

  By magic, the thick rooted forest slowly began to pull apart, making a pathway for Clovis.

  “Thank you, Eileen,” Clovis said. “You don’t have to make the rest of the journey with me, you can head back to the ship. I know how it feels to be back to a place you left.”

  Eileen rested on Clovis' shoulder. "And let you face the mean old queen by yourself? Audalai will already by mad, but she wouldn’t let me live it down if I let you go alone. Plus, we're partners."

  Clovis smirked and made his way into the forest. He kept his attention forward since there were all kinds of creatures that could veer him from the path, like Wisps and goblins.

  It didn’t take long, however, for Clovis to reach the end of the forest and two Puck Fae’s flew in front of him.

  “What are you doing here, Halfling?” one of the Puck Fae’s said. They had bright green, short hair. “Has it really been more than a hundred years already?”

  “Hey, Ita, look what the cat dragged in?” the other Fae with bright purple hair said, moving closer to Eileen. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here after you left our mistress.”

  Clovis grunted and slightly moved, so the Fae backed away from Eileen.

  “That’s enough. Bring me to your Queen, she should be expecting me.”

  The two Fae's mumbled something that Clovis couldn't understand and the green-haired Fae, named Ita, spoke.

  “Alright, Halfling. Come on, the entrance should be forming right now.”

  Like the Fae had said, thorn-like vines began to collect from the ground and started to form into the shape of a door.

  “Our Queen is waiting for you; you may step through.”

  Clovis nodded and walked toward the vine door. He grabbed the knob and turned and stepped through it.

  A Fae's magic could be powerful, especially if the Fae in question was strong. The Fae were able to teleport anyone at any location by mere thought. Clovis found himself in a throne room. The walls and floors were made out of stone, some pillars held up the ceiling. At the end of the hall was a stone throne and where a woman sat.

  Clovis couldn’t deny that the woman was beautiful. Her skin was flawless. Her jet-black hair looked perfect, not a strand out of place. However, Clovis knew that there was dark magic involved that hid the sickening monster underneath.

  “Clodovicus, you’ve caught me at a bad time. I was just breastfeeding this little one,” Queen Maron said addressing him without a look.

  Clovis looked at the baby and its complexion turned a light shade of blue. The baby had been recently taken, and a changeling had taken its place. Clovis looked away from the baby, who was being passed off to one of her guards.

  “Have you come to pay your visits to the elderly?”

  With the snap of her fingers, a gilded black cage appeared from thin air. Clovis flinched. There sat an old man, whose back was bent from being in a cage sizes too small for him. His eyes had sunk in making them look hollowed out and the crown that sat upon his head was tilted sideways.

  Around the man’s scrawny neck was an electrifying blue collar that was attached to a leash that the queen held in her hands.

  "You give yourself too much credit, you're far older than the elderly," Clovis chided back. Queen Maron squared her eyes at Clovis, anger did not cross her perfect features; instead, she only gave him a subtle smirk.

  “I’ve prided on looking my best, thanks to this old fool here.” She tapped her hand on the cage, the reaction made the old man jerk backward. His tired eyes bugged out at the noise. Queen Maron laughed at the old man’s cowardice.

  Clovis looked away, not having the heart to look at the torture she was causing him.

  “What’s wrong Maximus. I would have thought you would enjoy the old man’s pain.”

  At the mention of the name, Clovis flinched, being reminded of a past he tried hard to forget.

  “Clovis, don’t let her get to you,” Eileen said, hoping to get inside of his thoughts.

  “It is truly enthralling when you think that a simple name change and building your body can erase your history . . .” Queen Maron rested her chin on her hand and eyed Clovis, licking her dark red lips. “Though it isn’t unsightly, you’ve certainly filled out nicely since you were a boy. Do you perhaps still remember our first—”

  “Erm, we apologize, but we aren’t here for stories . . . your majesty.” Eileen interrupted. She could feel Clovis’ shoulder tense at the memories and knew she would need to step in sooner or later.

  Queen Maron’s eyes trained themselves on Eileen when she spoke and smirked at the blue-haired Puck. “And if it isn’t my loyal Puck Fae, though I suppose your loyalties are forever bound to Clodovicus. Pity, you were my favorite of my Fae children.”

  "Enough of this, Maron," Clovis grunted, breaking free of his reverie. "I've come for one thing and one thing only. Are you going to help me or not?"

  Queen Maron let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in her throne, placing her left leg across the other. The slit on the side of her dress exposed her pale skin.

  "That depends on what it is and what I get out of it. I'm sure you know well enough that the Unseelie are sired to Fenris. If I make a deal with you that interferes with my current alliance, the end of days will wipe all of my Fae. So, I wonder what could you possibly give me? You've already given me your first child."

  Clovis’ flinched at the reminder of his mistake that had cursed both Audalai and himself.

  Queen Maron's brows raised and she smiled, sensing Clovis' discomfort. "How is she doing, by the way? Or, have you two had a falling out? It sucks that the Horai only have a lifespan of two-hundred years. What men would do to save the one they love."

  Clovis gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. He had thought about this decision for a while.

  "My soul," Clovis said and stared at the crippling man in the caged. "And I will take his place.”

  Eileen turned to him, and her eyes bugged out. "Clovis!"

  A wicked smile tugged at the corners of the Queen’s lips.

  “As I recall, you have the mark of the ouroboros on you. You cannot die.”

  “Not by time or anyone’s hand, but my own. If you bind my soul to you, I can take the king’s place. He’s getting old, weak. He won’t give you the beauty and strength you need.”

  Queen Maron stared at Clovis for a moment, tapping her chin with her manicured nail. “You paint me an interesting offer, Clodovicus, I am getting tired of this fart.”

  To make her point, Queen Maron pulled the chain and the old man yelled in agony.

  “But it does me make me wonder what you could want from me th
at you would be willing to give your soul away.”

  "I need you to break a dark magic spell. It was placed on someone by the castor and only someone of high dark magic can break it."

  "That's it?" Queen Maron asked surprise crossed her face. "I'm surprised at you, Clodovicus, but a Fae's word is their bond. You have a deal."

  An X mark appeared where Queen Maron's heart was and it lit up briefly to show their deal could not be broken.

  "I hope Audalai appreciates your time alive while she can. I cannot wait to have you in my clutches." From Queen Maron's hand, she made a vial appear. It was small and contained a purple liquid inside. "Two drops and the ailment that has been caused will cease to exist."

  Clovis stepped toward the queen and stretched his arm out to take the vial from her hands. Queen Maron, however, grasped onto Clovis' hand and pulled him close so they were but an inch apart.

  “Do not try and trick me, Maximus, you may have got away with it then, but times are different now.”

  Clovis stared into the black eyes of the Queen but said nothing. He wrenched his hand with the vial and turned away from her only for Queen Maron to call him back.

  “Won’t you say goodbye? I assume that is why you are willing to give up your soul for his, to give him peace from his torture, and to write the sins of your past."

  Clovis didn’t need to look at Queen Maron’s face to know that she had a smile on her face, teasing him.

  “Clovis, you don’t have to answer her,” Eileen said to him, knowing how much it pained him to even see the man before him.

  Clovis, however, sighed and partially turned to see the old man staring at him, but he was sure that after centuries of being drained away by the Queen’s magic the old man no longer remembered him.

  "Hello, father . . ."

  Clovis turned away and left out of the Fae world.

  ***

  "Clovis, where have you been?" Audalai asked when he had returned back to the ship. She squared her eyes at him, seeing the troubled look on his face. "Clovis, what happened?"

  “How is she?” Clovis jutted his chin toward Dominya’s unconscious figure.

  Audalai frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Same as before, why are you dodging the question? What happened?”

  Clovis reached into his pocket and pulled out the small vial with the purple liquid. When Audalai saw the bottle in her hands, her arms dropped to her side and her jaw dropped.

  “You didn’t . . . and you knew about this?” She asked, turning her attention Eileen.

  “Audalai, I’m sorry, but I had to—”

  “You had to what!” Audalai shouted at him, pushing her hand into his chest. Clovis flinched, not from the shove, but seeing her eyes becoming glassy. “You promised me that you wouldn’t go back there and you lied! Why, Clovis? Is your life so meaningless you’re willing to shoehorn it away!”

  “I’ve done things, Audalai. Things that I am not proud of and the sins of my past keep haunting me, I don’t even know how much longer I will have in control of my demon.”

  “And, now you have one more sin to carry on your shoulders. What was the deal, Clovis?”

  “My soul,” Clovis said right away, knowing that delaying would make things worse.

  Audalai stepped back as if she had been smacked. She shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks. He flinched and tried to reach out his hand to brush her cheeks away, but she pushed his hand away.

  “It was for him, wasn’t it? Damn it, Clodovicus. You owe him nothing! Why can’t you see that!”

  Audalai pushed him aside and left out of the room.

  "Should I . . . go see if she's okay?"

  Clovis shook his head. “No, give her time. I do need you to watch over Dominya’s body until she wakes up.”

  Clovis removed the cork from the vial and leaned the bottle over Dominya's lip, placing two droplets of the purple liquid in her mouth. Clovis set the cork on the bottle and stared at Dominya. While the heavy weight on his chest didn't disappear, he hoped that he would be doing one good deed that he should have done years ago.

  If Dominya could find Thea and his father could find peace, just one layer of guilt that would be erased from his sins.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  The start of the new year not only brought white flourishes of snow, but it also brought death.

  Thea and Maggie dressed in their Sicarri outfits and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, heading toward the Caspian. It was usually a secret underground where men would bet, gamble, drink, and gossip. It had only recently started to host dark events — illegal fight rings, similar to the fighting pits the king held to throw the Magi women into it.

  Now, the fighting rings were held between those who have committed heinous crimes and the weak.

  Thea and Maggie sat on the roof of the building and looked out through the window. The building was dimly lit, but you were still able to see inside. The walls were held up by wooden pillars that were stained a dark crimson red. The floors were splattered with blood and the area in the middle of the room was surrounded by a five-foot iron wrought gate that prevented people from leaving the arena.

  “So, their sending in people to fight to the death,” Maggie said looking down. There were people already starting to gather inside of the building. The only people inside were older men in their thirties and forties.

  “Do you see Mar Donias?” Thea asked. The searing anger that had been building in her chest was ready to boil over. She glared at the unsuspecting crowd and darted her eyes over at the dirty, filthy men that inhabited the building.

  “There,” Maggie said, pointing over to the corner of the room. “Is it that guard with the one eye?”

  Over in the dark part of the building stood a Kingsland guard with his arm crossed over his chest. His long white hair went to the nape of his neck and he glared at the people coming into the room. He had aged exceedingly in the last few years, a wrinkle set in between his brows and his missing eye made him look more sinister and eviler than before.

  The hate building inside of Thea bubbled. She gripped onto the side of the building and gritted her teeth.

  Do it. The bastard deserves what's been coming to him, the disembodied voice said, sounding farther away like an echo. Thea could no longer distinguish them as separate entities.

  A gold, fragment line connected Thea to Mar Donias, constricting around him like a viper toward its prey. The Vector Fragments that had been dormant for weeks began to flare, giving off a powerful aura.

  The back of Maggie's neck hairs stood on end and she turned to Thea, concern crossed her features. "Thea, what's going on? There's this energy, it doesn’t feel . . . Good.” She looked at Mar Donias and then back toward Thea with a knowing look in her eyes.

  “He was there when they took your sister, wasn’t he?”

  Thea didn’t answer. She stared long enough for the iron wrought gates to open and for people to walk through. They were six people that formed a straight line, their arms, and legs chained together. The rattling of the chains echoed in Thea’s ears as she watched men and children as young nine years old cower over in the corner as the crowds cheered moronically.

  Thea stood to her feet and balled her hands into fists.

  “Thea?” Maggie asked craning her neck up to her.

  Thea’s lips were pressed firmly together as she dryly said, “I’m fine, let’s go.”

  “What?” Maggie hissed. “Thea, we haven’t thought of a plan of action. We can’t drop in there.”

  Thea turned to Maggie with a blank look in her eyes. The Vector Fragments began to sprout even further than they did before, wiggling freely like snakes searching for their prey.

  “Stay here, Maggie. Make sure Mar Donias does not leave this building.”

  Unknowing to Maggie, a shadow lurked over Thea, and a hand rested on her shoulder. The half-corpse woman smiled, tugging the corners of her lips into a huge grin.

  It has been a while, my little host. I
hope you missed me.

  Hel’s lingering and hypnotic voice resonated through the air, increasing the length of her Vectors.

  A shift in the air made drew Maggie's attention past Thea and to the corpse behind her. Her eyes bugged out of their sockets. Her face paled to see the monster lingering behind her sister.

  Maggie opened her mouth to call out to Thea to tell her of the half-faced woman, but Thea had already jumped through the window. Maggie jerked forward to where Thea had fallen through the window and watched with fear as Thea was crouched in a predator’s stance.

  The cheers and clapping of the men silenced at Thea's unexpected appearance. The prisoners furrowed their brows in confusion, looking at each other, thinking the hooded individual would have a part to play. Even Mar Donias leaned off the wall and let his arms drop to the side, squinting his one eye at the intruder.

  The whispers suddenly started as men leaned into each other's ears. Thea darted her eyes over at the fearful expressions that crossed the men's face when they breathed the one dreaded word that would make any man quake with fear.

  That’s the Sicarri.

  "Sorry to have crashed your little party," Thea dryly said with a stony face. "But there's been a complaint and I'm here to end your little shindig."

  The creaking sound of the gates made Thea turn her head and she saw a man, just a little under six-foot, striding over to her with a cocky smile on his scarred face. Thea faced him, her expression never changed when the man approached her, leaving several inches apart.

  He had a cocky smile on his face as he addressed Thea, despite the whispered rumors that the being in front of him was the infamous Sicarri.

  “I suggest you leave. Your kind isn’t welcomed here. In fact, you’re very much a wanted criminal and could leave a man’s pockets very rich.”

  The man chuckled and turned around to encourage the other men behind the gate, who laughed along with their friend. Thea took no time but to raise her hand and with outstretched palms forced the man to face her with a quick jerk.

  “What the hell!” The man yelled at the top of his lungs. “What did you do to me? I can’t m—”