Carter touched my arm.
“You’re saying that you didn’t kill Maree, free this joker, and then massacre my soldiers?”
Did this guy really think the two of us were capable of that? Seriously?
“No.” I cleared my throat and swallowed. “We’re two teenagers, if you haven’t noticed.” I tore my eyes away from him for a second and caught sight of Esme in Satchel’s arms. “Ask Satchel. He’s seen my sword wielding abilities.”
Jaco took a step back. “And where’s Farra now? How did two teenagers escape Athena’s best?”
Esme held her place in Satchel’s arms. It suited these men for her to be an ornament, not the badass who took out Athena’s men with her bow.
“Tyran found us.”
“And I’m assuming this is Tyran?” Jaco took in the magician beside me for the first time.
“You would be assuming right.” I whacked him on the back. “Good old Tyran took them out with his magical powers.”
“Another magician.” He rubbed his hands together. “Another weapon in our arsenal to take down Athena. Your Brekken is quite the fighter.”
I drew my eyebrows in and let out a breath. I didn’t want either guy involved in the fighting, but as one of Jaco’s prized jewels, Brek had no other choice. “Oh, is he?” I shot him a phony smile. “Must be all those video games.”
He stared down at his shoes. “Yeah, that’s it.”
We followed them back to the campsite where at least twenty insurgent soldiers prepared for battle. Some sharpened swords, others talked strategy, and one hooded figure sat by the fire in a meditative state.
“We march tomorrow.” Jaco stared down at me with eyes that were as black as night. “Your job’s not to get killed. When we kill the queen, we’ll seat you immediately upon the throne. We don’t want to give the subjects a chance to argue.” He turned and walked away, not giving me a chance to argue either.
How in the world would we defeat Athena’s guards with twenty soldiers, three magicians and two teenagers? It was laughable.
Brek stayed to talk with Tyran while Carter took my hand and led me to the fire. A man bowed before me and shared part of his meal with us. Across the flames, the meditating soldier didn’t even glance up. Man, that guy was good at tuning others out.
“Wren, I want you to meet someone.” Brek skirted around the fire to the hooded figure.
She removed her hood, revealing her long, brown hair. The girl must’ve taken a shower because in the firelight, her former beauty was restored. She stood and he wrapped an arm around her. My heart rate increased.
“Tyran, this is Wren.” Brek beamed at his shiny, new treasure.
“Glad to meet you.” Tyran bowed low in front of her. “When I arrived at camp, Brek told me a lot about you. It seems the three of us have something in common.”
I tensed. Carter reached behind me and rubbed my back. I hated that he knew I needed consoling. I’d done it to myself. It wasn’t like I could have a boyfriend of my own and keep Brek on the side, just in case. He was my rock but maybe it was time to move on to a different rock. I shook my head, zoning back into their conversation.
“So, there we were, side-by-side, in the middle of the valley fighting off Athena’s guards.” Brek waved his arms around demonstrating how he had used his magical weapons. “This woman is the most amazing fighter I’ve ever met. I’d love to have her as my teammate in Mortal Kombat.”
Gut punch. I’d always been his partner in that game. He wasn’t aware of what he was doing to me.
He pulled Wren close and kissed her on the cheek. “If Meg and I had chosen another door, I never would have met my soul mate.”
I ripped free from Carter’s arms and darted into the forest. I had no destination in mind, but to get away. When I reached an outcropping of boulders, my legs finally gave out on me. My back slid down the cold, hard rock, and I pulled my knees into my chest. I wasn’t going to cry… I wasn’t going to cry. I crouched there in my stupid pity party, embarrassed to set foot back in the camp. I was sure I hurt Carter, and what would Brek think? Yet, when did I ever care about what he thought?
Twilight crept around me in my hidden glen. Voices called out to me that I refused to answer. When dusk gave into night, a greenish glow appeared from between the trees. A small ball of light flickered out of Tyran’s palm. The magician shook his head when he saw me in my miserable state.
“Megan.” He slid down beside me; his magical light illuminated the space between us. “Is this about tomorrow? You know we’ve got your back. We won’t let anything happen to you.” He picked up a rock with his free hand. “And I’ve got just as much at stake as you do in all this.”
“It’s not about tomorrow,” I grumbled, tossing my own rock into the darkness. “It’s issues I’ve got to work out on my own.”
He gripped the rock in his palm and then let his fingers release it one-by-one. “Shaol wasn’t the first woman I loved.”
I turned my head to look at him. His eyes were a strange shade of hazel in the eerie green glow.
“There was another before her, but we were young.” He wiggled his fingers in his lighted hand, and the greenish hue danced and formed into a teenage girl. “When Moira gave me her heart, I thought the world was perfect.” He closed his fingers over his palm, and we were surrounded in pure darkness. “Until she took her love away and gave it to another. I died that day.” The light sprung up again; his eyes staring into a far-off past. “Shaol worked at the general store in town. Her smile brightened my day, and soon we took strolls by the river to fill each other’s loneliness.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I sense the love you feel for Brekken.”
“I don’t—”
“Perhaps it’s not a romantic love, but it’s a lost love, all the same.” He patted my knee and then stood up. “The others are worried sick about you. It’s best we get back. You need your beauty sleep and the insurgents are taking bets on how long it will take Athena to kill you tomorrow.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered.
When we entered camp, I kept my head down. I didn’t want to look Brek or Carter in the eyes. I’d had my temper tantrum, now it was time to get to work.
Tyran led me to a small tent on the far side of camp. “Go to sleep. I’ll tell the boys you’re fine.”
Inside, a dim light flickered from an oil lamp, illuminating two cots. My backpack lay on the empty one. Esme sat up when I entered.
She rubbed her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow. “Good. You’re back.”
“Why aren’t you with Satchel?” I set my pack down on the ground next to the cot and took off my coat.
“The goal is to defeat Athena tomorrow, right?” She smiled, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “He tried, but I told him we both need our sleep. And what about you? Why are you running away from your handsome soldier?”
I sat down on the cot, leaned my elbows on my knees, and placed my forehead in my hands. “Do you love Satchel?”
“Of course.” She laughed. “We’re to be married. I want to pummel him over the head once in a while for his backwards notions, but it was how he was raised.”
“Well, I’m not in love with Carter.” I sighed and lay back on the cot. “I’m not sure if I ever can be…” I watched shadows dance along the canvas of the tent. “Unless I let go of someone else’s firm grip on my heart.”
She arched an eyebrow. “The other one?”
“Yes.” I stared again at the shadows. “Brek’s been my best friend for a long time, and he loves me, but I’ve messed up. I’ve rejected him too many times.”
“It sounds like you still have some growing to do.” She crossed the tent and sat beside me. Her blonde hair cascaded over her black gear like a golden sash. “You need to be honest with yourself before you can be honest with either of them.” She rubbed my arm and sang a strange song that reminded me of a lullaby as I drifted to sleep.
I w
oke the next morning to Esme packing her gear and a scuffle outside our tent. I couldn’t quite make out the voices. Brushing my hair with my fingers, I stood to open the flap. Carter and Tyran were arguing about something beside the campfire.
“Just take it.” The magician shoved a soot-stained envelope into my boyfriend’s hand.
“Carter?”
They both turned their heads toward me.
I blinked a couple of times. I recognized the symbol on the outside of the package. “What’s that?” I stepped closer to examine it.
Carter slipped it beneath his jacket. “Nothing. Well… something came from Athena this morning.”
“But it looks just like,” I shut my mouth, pursing my lips together. The symbol on the envelope was the same as the one I’d seen on the boxes in Rosenbaum’s house.
He was obviously lying to me. He bit his chapped lip and pulled me into an embrace. “I was so worried about you last night.”
“I’m okay.” I touched the stubble along his jawline.
Between yesterday and now this, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him, or us. But in the tent last night, I’d made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let my conflicting feelings show anymore.
“Is the queen ready for battle?” Jaco stomped over to the campfire. He had a sword strapped against his back. His red guard uniform matched Athena’s soldiers. “Not that you’re going to see any of it.” He ran his fingers through my hair.
Carter tensed beside me. All I wanted to do was puke all over Jaco’s shiny, pink boots. Over the leader’s shoulder, Brek and Wren exited one of the tents, his arm around her back. I drew in a deep breath, fighting back my nausea.
You have to grow up, Meg… you have to grow up.
I brushed past Jaco and crossed the campsite, careful not to step on sleeping soldiers.
Brek looked up as I approached and smiled. “Tyran said you were all right.” He released Wren and pulled me into a bear hug. “You had me worried.”
When he let go of me, I held out my hand to the female magician. “I’m Meg. We met in the cave in Mateel, but we were all kind of traumatized at the time, seeing that we almost died from poisonous gas. I never thanked you for saving my boyfriend.” I glanced back at Carter, and he smiled.
Wren beamed, her freckles more vivid in the sunlight, and clasped both of her hands around mine. This girl wasn’t an evil demon. She was exactly the type of person I’d want Brek to be with.
“All right everybody.” Jaco hopped up onto a stump. “We leave in ten. Bring only the necessities for battle. I want this to be a quick in and a quick out. The one objective is to kill the queen. She is not to be taken alive. Her pheromones are too dangerous.”
The soldiers murmured, collected their belongings, and assembled at the south side of the camp.
Satchel drew a knife from behind his back, flipped it around, and gave it to me. “This is for protection only. I’ve seen you try to use one of these before. It isn’t pretty.”
“Thanks.” I scrunched my nose up at him. “Did you give one to Esme?”
“She’s staying here.” His words were short and final, like he’d already had a long, drawn-out argument about it. “A woman’s place is not on the battlefield.”
“It’s on the throne, you chauvinistic pig.” I marched away from him, intent on finding Esme in the chaos around me.
She sat on a log by the fire, tossing blades of grass into the flames, her hair woven into braids. It made her look like the older sister I never had.
“Can I kill your fiancé right now?” I threw my sword on the ground and plopped down beside her. “You probably love him and all that, but when you become queen, you should definitely ditch the loser and marry up.”
She smiled. Task accomplished.
I lifted the sword off the ground and held it in front of me; the early morning light reflected from the metal. “I’m not too good with this thing but there’s someone I know who’s amazing with a bow and arrow. Do you think she’d be my right-hand woman during this battle, or skirmish, or whatever you want to call it?”
Her boot traced a line in the dirt, back-and-forth. It wasn’t easy for her to ignore Satchel’s orders. “I was kind of hoping you’d ask.”
23
Jaco had explained that Athena’s burgundy-shaded fortress was only a half-day’s walk from where we camped. The soldiers wore the red uniforms of the queen’s men and received a day’s supply of the green capsules. We took ours, not wanting to reveal our pendants to Jaco. The plan was to take us into the citadel as prisoners. Once inside, we’d make our way to the throne room to assassinate the queen.
Soldiers marched in the front of the line, led by Jaco and Satchel. The prisoners were in the middle of the pack—Carter, Wren, Tyran and me. As the beginning of the group headed out, Esme squeezed in beside me, quiver strapped to her back. She wrapped a red cape over her weapons.
“He’ll never notice.” I winked at her and then kept my eyes on the road.
“And if he does,” she said, “see if I care.”
My mouth hung open. I’d seen a changed woman over the past few days, but now I saw a woman who was ready to lead a kingdom. No man was going to stand in her way.
We pushed through the morning hours and more and more red appeared around us—a shirt on a clothesline, a flag in front on a post, and even the homes had red shutters and frosting around the eaves.
Carter walked on the other side of me in silence. He had his long sleeves pushed up in the warmth of the morning, unintentionally showing off his tattoos. The hike gave me time to think and connect some dots. The ink on his forearm swirled around a blank spot on his skin. Strange.
I pointed at his arm. “Why’d you leave a blank spot?”
He yanked his sleeve down and muttered, “It’s nothing. Hoping to put my wife’s name there someday.”
Bullshit. I wanted to call him on it, but this wasn’t the time for an argument. Crowds of citizens lined the roads to see what the soldiers brought back for the queen.
By the time the spires of Athena’s fortress came into view, I swore I had multiple blisters and a twisted ankle. Jaco led the troops through the front door without anyone stopping us. It must be an everyday thing to have a group of soldiers leading prisoners into the castle. My heart twisted with the memories of the last time we were held captive by Athena. Mind control was an evil thing. I hated what she put me through, but what she put Brek through was despicable.
The trepidation increased as we wound through the same red hallway I was led through only a week before. Two guards stood at the archway to Athena’s throne room.
“Halt.” They crossed their spears in front of the door.
“These are high security prisoners.” Satchel took the lead so Jaco could blend in with the others, in case he was recognized. “They are to be brought to Athena immediately.”
“Do you have paperwork?” The guard held out his gloved hand.
Satchel squinted his eyes and pursed his lips. His fake annoyance almost had me convinced. “No, but if Athena finds out you kept us from bringing the prophesied queen to her, I’m sure she’ll dispose of you properly.” He ran his finger across his throat.
“One moment,” the guard snarled, slipping into the throne room.
The other guard unsheathed his sword, holding it in front of him. He shuffled his feet from side-to-side, obviously nervous to protect the throne room from twenty or so would-be assassins. His shoulders relaxed when the huge metal door opened again.
“The queen will see you immediately.” The first guard held the door open for Satchel and looked him in the eyes. “Only you and the prisoners. The remainder of your party will wait in the courtyard.”
Satchel glanced back at us. “But—”
“These are the queen’s orders.”
The soldiers in front of us moved to the side, allowing the six of us to the front. Esme clung close to me and kept her head lowered as we climbed the stairs to our deaths. Without th
e soldiers to protect us, there was no way we’d be able to follow through with our plans. I was sure Jaco was seething and cursing Satchel under his breath. He’d have done things differently. Now, his puppet queen was being led to the slaughter.
In front of me, Brek reached down and took Wren’s hand. Could their magic save us? And then there was Tyran behind me, who had so much more to fight for than my measly life. He set a hand on my shoulder, sending warm pulses through my veins. He reassured me with his touch. The only problem was this time, we wouldn’t be locked away in a Las Vegas style love-nest. This time, the queen would see to it that she’d squash any kind of uprising.
The Athena worshippers parted as we marched down the red carpet of doom in the center of her throne room. Ghastly smelling perfume floated through the air and into my nose. The scent soon permeated every last pore in my body, making me want to gag as we moved closer. Two steps ahead, Tyran clutched his stomach. The wretched scent was obviously getting to him. He righted himself quickly—any false move might offer a clue to our necklaces. Without the chance to talk out a new plan, we’d be playing the ultimate game of improv.
In our ragged clothing, we stuck out in the sea of red. As we surged forward through the waves of people, the onlookers giggled and whispered, unsuspecting of our plan to go all Rambo on them, or at least escort them politely out of the chambers if Athena no longer had a hold over them.
“And at last we meet again.” Her voice echoed through the vast room like a bullet through the air.
I shuddered as my body reacted to the trauma of bowing to her influence just days—or had it been weeks ago? Hidden behind Tyran, I chanced a peek at Athena. She was the epitome of the wretched pictures Carter and I had seen in our love prison, not the goddess I made her out to be when I was lured by her pheromones. Her dark hair clung to one side of her face like she’d rolled out of bed minutes before, the crown with our jewel lopsided on top. Instead of a gown, she wore an oversized red t-shirt and pink leggings. Deep-set wrinkles covered her face where mascara ran down her cheeks. She scratched her armpit, then placed her fingers under her nose and winced.
The Red Door Page 17