Princess Reviled

by Butler, J. M.

  "You can't die," Matthu blurted out. "I know people don't listen to you, but we need you."

  "I have some days left. But almost all must die." Kepsalon smiled. The mask that kept his eyes so sharp and clear returned, only a minor twitch at the side of his jaw suggesting he restrained some deeper emotion. "It was a promise I swore freely, and it is one that must be kept so that I can keep another more important promise. But I did not tell you this to make you mourn. I told you this so that the prophecy would not burden you. It would not be right for you to think that it spoke of your demise. Such thoughts would only weaken your healing."

  "You can't die though," Matthu said. His face twisted more. Somehow that thought was even worse.

  "Everyone can die. It's a skill we all share." Kepsalon smirked a little, his attention shifting to the left as footsteps drew closer. A masked man came into sight, holding a loose bag. "I found it," he said.

  Kepsalon nodded. "Good. Keep hold of that. You'll need it. I don't think we're going to the same place."

  "What?" Matthu frowned. Light sparkled around him. He blinked, but it grew stronger.

  Shon held up his hand as the light enveloped him. "Kepsalon…"

  "Just stay calm," Kepsalon said. "As I said, you both have much yet to accomplish. And it would seem like the Tue-Rah agrees." He sighed. "So it goes, and so we go."

  44

  By Fang and Scale

  None of the Ayamin even attempted to stop Naatos or his brothers. They backed out of the way, and Naatos paid them no attention. Gunshots fired down the hall. The torch light reflected on the golden starbursts. A large group of Ayamin stood before the great doors of the Chamber of the Tue-Rah.

  "Out of the way," Naatos bellowed.

  The Ayamin split at once, scattering to the sides. "Prepare the fires," one called out.

  Naatos struck the left door, but it did not even budge. Not even when his brothers attacked it as well. Naatos exploded into his jet dragon form and thrust his shoulder against the door, but it barely gave a little. A distinctive hissing and chatter eked from the other side.

  WroOth pounded on the door. "Amelia! Amelia, are you all right in there?"

  * * *

  It took four bullets to take down the next spider. Amelia ran the calculations with each attack. As one of the spiders darted closer, Vorec slashed at it, slicing across its nearest foreleg. Another spider swept in, but Amelia shot it in the abdomen. This one retreated backwards. More spiders scurried on the ceiling.

  Something struck the door, much harder this time. More pounding followed. Then she heard a familiar voice. "Amelia! Amelia, are you all right in there?"

  Amelia pulled back, her ears prickling. "WroOth!"

  One of the spiders slid down on a long strand.

  "Get back!" Amelia shouted. Vorec dodged to the side, taking a low blow across three of the spiders that waited. The spiders danced out of the way.

  * * *

  Naatos stiffened as he heard Amelia's voice. The tension and awareness flamed throughout his body as the dragon form melted away. "Amelia!" he shouted back. The door felt as if it had been sealed shut. "Delorme, spiders, stop." The scuffling and hissing continued. "Delorme, spiders, halt!" Naatos bellowed. They weren't listening. "Amelia, don't let them touch you. One bite, one touch, and you're dead!"

  AaQar pointed to the ventilation shafts on the side. "WroOth, take the right. QueQoa, help Naatos break down the door."

  * * *

  Amelia spun around in time to shoot another spider. Naatos's muffled voice came through the door. "Amelia, don't let them touch you. One bite, one touch, and you're dead!"

  "Thanks for telling me," she shouted back. "I was planning on snuggling with them."

  Vorec shot her a disgusted look. "Of course you would."

  "It's called sarcasm," Amelia snapped.

  "Don't go near the Tue-Rah!" Naatos shouted back. "They'll have set traps near the light if they can't put it out. They'll be trip wires with spider traps. Possibly nets. But stay out of the shadows. The spiders hide there."

  Amelia turned around. Over a dozen spiders still surrounded them. Some held steady while others raced about the exterior of the circle. A broad open path led up the dais staircase to the Tue-Rah. "Just get in here!"

  "Above you," Vorec called.

  Amelia's elmis prickled with warning, and her instincts sent her sharply to the left.

  The hook-fanged spider slid down in front of her. It spread its jaws wide, hissing. Vorec stabbed the back of its abdomen as Amelia shot it in the mouth.

  * * *

  QueQoa shifted into his rust dragon form and attacked the doors, scraping and clawing. But the remarkable craftsmanship had been made to withstand the attacks of creatures stronger and larger than dragons.

  AaQar and WroOth both transformed and vanished into the air shafts. Naatos stared down at his hands, humiliation burning through him. Amelia's voice sounded beyond the door. And that was enough. That was all it had taken. She hadn't even said his name. The locking's advancement had taken him practically to the same point of helplessness as the huanna. He couldn't shift. She hadn't even had to touch him.

  It had been days since his locking with Amelia. Legends warned of the consequences for Vawtrians who remained unsatisfied. She needed him, but he was useless. Useless! He struck his fist against the door and beat against it repeatedly. "Delorme, spiders, fall back."

  "Why won't they listen to you?" QueQoa asked.

  Naatos struck the door again. It barely stirred, and beyond it, the spiders hissed and snarled. More shots exploded within.

  * * *

  Amelia ducked and rolled as one of the spiders lunged past her and her shot missed. Vorec slid to the left. He brought the sword down on the flank of another. Amelia let off three more rounds and reloaded. The banging on the door continued, but the webs held fast, sealing the door so fully she could scarcely see stone beneath the strands. The spiders' attacks continued, driving her farther and farther from Vorec and up the staircase toward the Tue-Rah. Thinner and finer webs ran up the staircase and along the sides, some barely suspended above the ground and others a little higher, all suggesting something far worse lay ahead.

  A great rushing and blustering sounded from within the left far air shaft. A long silver-blue dragon with great whiskers poured out of the dark square passage more than twenty feet from the ground. AaQar!

  Amelia straightened with relief. The hook-fanged spiders spun around. Hissing and clattering their mandibles, most of the spiders charged the invading dragon. Several must have been in the passage because they clung to him, biting, stinging, and striking. They swarmed him, not appearing interested at all in tormenting or taunting. His whole body writhed with spiders. AaQar shook his head ferociously, snapping and whirling, trying to throw them off.

  Amelia shot one in the back of the head. It shuddered and hesitated, then resumed its attack. Another shot brought it down when she nailed the same spot.

  A rush of air whooshed down the opposing shaft. WroOth exploded outward, two spiders clinging to his face. He slammed his head into the nearest wall, speared them, and cast them aside. "Why did you make so many, Naatos?" he demanded.

  "Just get the webs off the door." Naatos's voice remained muffled.

  Shaking his long red head and muttering, WroOth blasted a long stream of fire into the webs. The fire sprang to life, spreading rapidly and shrinking the webs like cotton candy in a blazing firepit. He lunged to his brother's aid as more of the hook-fanged spiders converged on AaQar. AaQar shook his head, snarling and spitting. He no sooner clawed one spider off his face before another took its place. "They like you very much, brother," WroOth said.

  AaQar seized one in his jaws and then spat it off, grimacing.

  WroOth inhaled and blasted out a long blade of fire, setting several of the spiders alight.

  Amelia braced herself against the staircase, her foot narrowly avoiding one of the trip webs that the spiders had set up. She reloaded
the gun, her fingers shaking. It was almost over. Practically finished. The next part would be tricky, but she had made it this far, she could make it the rest of the way.

  WroOth crushed two of the spiders and set another on fire.

  "Stop setting them on fire when they're on my face!" AaQar snapped.

  Amelia picked off the fleeing fire-lit spiders. They fell far easier than the others. How many were there actually? It was as if they'd made barely any dent in their numbers at all.

  "Stop moving." WroOth swatted another out from under AaQar's frill. Another clambered up the back of AaQar's head. Ten still clung to him. AaQar shook them off and speared one with his tail. WroOth skewered two others.

  Amelia aimed at one on the top of AaQar's head. The gun clicked. Digging into her satchel, she fished out more bullets and began to reload.

  Vorec stood at the bottom of the stairs, focused on AaQar and WroOth. But then, as she struggled to reload, her hands still shaking, he turned. The same harsh look returned to his eyes.

  "Hey. Hey." Amelia finished reloading and with a sharp jerk aimed the gun at Vorec. "Don't do it," she said sternly. "We both want the same thing in this. Get out of here while you have a chance. If you stay, they will kill you."

  "And you expect me to believe you won't turn them against Libysha any further?" Vorec kept the sword extended. He was close enough that with a single lunge he could pierce her heart. "If you want me to trust you, then you will let me take you hostage again to ensure that they cooperate."

  "No, no." Amelia backed farther up the staircase. "They will kill you. I don't know if I can stop them. I don't even know if I want to stop them after everything you've done. You shot Matthu. I should shoot you myself, but I'm going to try to show you mercy one last time. So get out of here." Her hands tightened on the gun.

  Vorec followed her. "If you really want me to live, you know what has to happen."

  "Your survival is not so important to me that I would ever put myself in your power," Amelia said. "Now one step more, and I will drop you. And then they will kill you horribly."

  Vorec halted.

  The doors burst open. QueQoa dropped back into his state of rest, ducking to avoid the flaming strands of webs. Naatos bolted inside. "Delorme, spiders, stop," he roared. One of the spiders took an aggressive stance beside him, rearing up and shaking its mandibles at him. Naatos speared it to the wall and ripped his weapon free. He pointed at Vorec. "You, get away from her now. Amelia, don't come down."

  QueQoa helped peel off another spider from AaQar's neck. Several stingers and hairs remained embedded in his scales. "They do not like you, brother."

  AaQar hissed and slammed his body back against the wall. He arched backward as more spines and stingers dug deep. The spiders on his tail and left side bit deeper.

  Naatos speared another. WroOth and QueQoa seized and broke two more. Amelia shot the one in the head. She immediately brought the gun back to Vorec as he edged closer. "Get away from me," she said sharply. "The door is open. If you run now, you might be able to get away."

  AaQar seized the final spider and crushed it between his great claws. He shook his body ferociously. The stingers and barbs fell away from the thick armor of his scales. "That was remarkably unpleasant," he said. "What foul creatures."

  Naatos turned on Vorec and Amelia. "I said get away from her," he bellowed.

  "I can kill her, and I will," Vorec shouted from the step below her. "Get into the Tue-Rah, all of you."

  There wasn't any other choice. A pang of guilt stabbed her chest, but Amelia swept it away, pointed the gun at his sword hand, and pulled the trigger. The bullet exploded through his hand. Red blood rippled along his sleeve, the blade, and hilt. With a gnashing cry of pain, Vorec gripped his hand close and lurched back. His boot lost its traction on the side of the stair and he fell to the side.

  Naatos pounced on him, delivering a solid blow to his head and then flinging him across the room toward his brothers. QueQoa grabbed him by the shoulder. "Now this one is our enemy, yes?"

  "Yes." AaQar shook his scales again and then resumed his state of rest. He pressed his palms upward along his temples and sighed. "Very much so. Don't kill him yet. Just keep him restrained."

  Amelia slumped down onto the stair, her heart racing and her strength fading. "Matthu is in trouble," she said. "Libyshan medicine isn't going to be enough. Please get him. You know he's the reason I'm alive, and if he had been able to, he would have stopped Vorec from taking me in here. You owe him at the very least. He needs to come with us."

  AaQar shrugged slightly, looking to Naatos.

  Naatos collapsed his spear and hung it at his side. "WroOth, see if you can find the Awdawm boy." WroOth lifted his hands in assent and departed at once.

  "And then we can leave?" Amelia asked, not willing to give in to the sensation of relief just yet.

  "Yes." Naatos started up the staircase. "Then we can leave."

  Amelia breathed with gratitude, ducking her head. Thank You, Elonumato, she thought. Spertha or not, dragon or not, spiders or not, she had survived and could ensure that they left Libysha alone.

  Something hissed above her. Naatos halted at the third curved stair. Slowly Amelia lifted her gaze.

  Four hook-fanged spiders crouched on the arches over the Tue-Rah, agitated and vengeful. Their eyes swam with rage, their fangs exposed.

  "Delorme, spiders, stop," Naatos said again, firm but calm. He nodded toward AaQar, then motioned to the side in a curving gesture. The spiders hissed again. The largest and nearest rattled its furred mandibles at Amelia.

  Amelia slid up the staircase and lifted her gun slowly. Any of the four could very easily jump on her. A fifth hung on the high edge of the dome, almost entirely obscured except for its one hairy leg. Her hands shook as she steadied her weapon.

  AaQar's form stretched sharply, lengthening and broadening into a spike-nosed serpent with thick hooded eyelids and blade-like ridges along the sides of his snout and skull. He angled himself toward the arches, sliding closer to the nearest smooth pillar.

  Amelia took another step back. Occasionally the spiders' attention wavered, their eyes flicking around the room and to Naatos and AaQar as if they knew that either of them could cause a problem. But their intense focus always returned to her, malice apparent. She pointed the gun at the spider directly across from her, less than ten feet away. "I'm going to shoot it in the face," she said, nodding toward it.

  "Shoot swiftly." Naatos angled toward the second, bringing his spear up over his shoulder. Long curved blades arched out from the spear's shaft, glistening in the Tue-Rah's light.

  Amelia gritted her jaw and pulled the trigger in rapid succession. Naatos hurled his spear into the second spider as AaQar sliced up along the pillar to attack the remaining two.

  The spider nearest Amelia collapsed forward, striking the staircase, its massive body flipping up. Amelia barely dodged out of the way as she reached the top of the dais. The Tue-Rah hummed softly, the light flickering, blue light merging with yellow light and yet not creating even the slightest hint of green. She gave it a broad berth as she searched the ceiling. Where had the fifth spider gone?

  AaQar flung the remaining two spider corpses to the ground as Naatos retrieved his spear. "I understand you pride yourself on your accuracy to the originals." AaQar dusted his hands off as he shot his brother an annoyed look. "But the blood lust and rage focus are both elements I could gladly do without. Especially if they aren't willing to take commands while in the middle of those states. I don't understand what has made them so problematic though. Usually even then they cooperate."

  "I could do without ever seeing them again," QueQoa called from the back.

  Naatos twisted the spear free. "Willful arachnids."

  "There was a fifth one," Amelia called down. Her elmis throbbed with the awareness, but they didn't guide her to any safe point. "It was on the ceiling somewhere."

  Before Naatos could respond, a dark form leaped out of
the shadows. Amelia dodged backwards, nearly losing her grip on her gun. The fifth spider blocked the nearest staircase, its legs tensed, its posture ready.

  Amelia's muscles locked in terror. Everything slowed, and all sound faded. The spider's eyes honed in on her. Its weight shifted forward. Her elmis screamed the warning, and she bolted back as the spider leaped forward. Something hard and bright struck her, and the warm light engulfed her.

  45

  Lost

  Naatos hurled his spear again, but the spider had already lunged. The spear blades grazed the spider's back. Still Amelia crashed backwards into the Tue-Rah and the spider followed. It vanished, legs constricting over a now invisible form.

  "No!" he shouted. He scaled the stairs two at a time, ripping through the webs. Wads of stinging webs fell on him from the ceiling, but he tore through.

  A great force tackled him. They crashed off the edge of the staircase and struck the carved marble floor. AaQar tightened his grip on Naatos. "Naatos, stop. Stop now! We go through together."

  "Get off!" Naatos shouted.

  "Don't make me drive you unconscious," AaQar hissed. "One minute or ten, it doesn't matter now. The time has been altered on the Tue-Rah. And you can't go there alone. Not now."

  Naatos flinched, his jaw tightening. Of course AaQar had noticed. He always noticed. He tried to shove his brother off him, but AaQar knotted his grip.

  "You didn't let me kill myself, and I won't let you either," AaQar said sternly. "Amelia has to survive to the end. But you don't. Only one of us has to live that long. But I didn't live just so you could die before me."