The Rising King

by Shea Berkley

  The last echo of the scream faded, but before she could hide, the sun broke over the east and with it, the other sisters descended on Kera. They were a whirl of power. Kera used her speed to dart behind one. She touched one woman’s shoulder and transformed her into a homely little bird. Kera quickly took to the trees and when another one passed beneath her, she dropped from her perch and condemned the sister to take the form of a thick patch of poison ivy.

  Another sister attacked, and Kera fought her to the water’s edge where she used her dark magic to dissolve the sister into a froth of seafoam.

  Five down. Two more. Kera started for the trees, and was met by another sister. Her red hair reminded her of Signe, but her look of utter hate reminded Kera of the dangerous game she was playing. Weapons in hand, the women circled each other.

  “I’ve seen you in action,” the woman said. A swift slicing motion followed by a few quick jabs of her sword brought them face-to-face as they each strained to get the upper hand. “You are a good fighter, but do you honestly think you can win?”

  “Look around.” Kera’s emotionless voice sounded foreign even to her. “I have so far.”

  The beautiful woman’s lips curled, and she pushed Kera away. “Your ego will be your downfall.”

  As soon as the words were out, she came at Kera, sword raised, forcing her to think about protecting herself from the slashes and jabs that cut with ease. A bloody red line appeared on Kera’s left arm. She’d actually been cut. Before she knew it, she was in knee deep water. Seafoam rolled around her, swarming Kera in thick bubbles that obliterated everything from sight and muffled all sound. She turned and twisted, her nerves on edge, not knowing from which direction the attack would come. She tried using her powers to push the foam out of the way, but nothing happened.

  Disoriented, she thrashed around and ended up in waist-high water. A tendril of kelp wrapped around her ankle, and she yanked back. It held on as tight as an iron chain and began to tug her toward deeper water.

  Kera hacked at the kelp, but her knife slipped from her fingers. More kelp wrapped around her, and she struggled to stay in shallow water. Kelp climbed her body, wrapping tighter and tighter until she could barely take a breath.

  Something large moved in the water and Reece suddenly surfaced to her right, Halim on her left. “All tied up?” the boy said and held up her dagger. “We’ll fix it.” He suddenly sank beneath the water.

  With a slash, the kelp fell away. Reece dragged her from the water. His fingers dug into Kera’s upper arm, and when she glanced at him, his eyes spat hate. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to.

  Dripping wet and bleeding from her cuts, Kera stumbled over to Signe, ignoring the pain that tore at her arm. “Where is Bodog?” Now that they were here, Kera couldn’t do what needed to be done if she had to worry about their safety as well.

  Halim handed her back her dagger. “He’s over…”

  His words faded as they all looked around, but didn’t see him.

  Reece cursed. He grabbed his sword from Signe and glared at Kera. “You’re hurt. Stay here with Signe.” Reece sent Halim in one direction to search for Bodog while he took the other.

  The sound of Signe ripping away a portion of her underskirt to make a bandage caught Kera’s attention. “It’s only a scratch.”

  “And the plague is only a head cold.”

  Bandaging her arm took barely a minute. When Signe was done, Kera found one of the sisters’ crossbow and arrows.

  Signe dogged her steps. “Reece said to stay here.”

  Kera fitted an arrow in the chamber. “Who do you think is more able to fight the remaining sisters?”

  “Oh.” Signe stopped following Kera for a second, and then ran after her. “Well, I’m going with you.”

  “Then stay close.” Motioning Signe to follow, they quietly moved forward, searching the area.

  Morning light slipped between the trees, softening the shadows. A movement on her right caught Kera’s attention. She swiveled and pulled the trigger. She reloaded before the arrow lodged in a tree. Behind her, Signe made a choking noise. Kera turned and found the redheaded sister holding a knife to Signe’s throat.

  “Put your weapons down.” The command was given as if there were no question as to what Kera would do. And there wasn’t. Kera would do what needed to be done. She didn’t need the crossbow or her dagger. Her skills were greater than even the sisters suspected. She placed the weapons on the ground, but hesitated as the ache in her arm grew and a dizzy spell swept over her. Shaking it off, she faced the woman. One moment. That’s all she’d need to end the threat.

  As if she could read Kera’s thoughts, the woman tightened her grip on Signe. “One cut from this and she dies…just like you.” Kera frowned and the woman laughed. “Oh yes. That is no simple cut on your arm. Just like Wyatt’s, it will not heal.”

  Kera glanced at her blood-soaked bandage and the red droplets seeping down her arm. Her flashes of weakness were from blood loss. It was how they had killed Wyatt, poisoning him in a way that she couldn’t counteract. Now she was infected and would die. Her insides burned with hate. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

  “You will do as I say. Release my sisters.”

  Kera had little choice, but she had one last trick up her sleeve. It was dangerous…if Signe didn’t stay perfectly still, it would end in disaster, yet it could work. Kera slowly bent and palmed a handful of dirt.

  “What are you doing?” The woman was smart to distrust her.

  Kera rubbed a fine mixture of soil into her hand, and without looking up said, “Breaking the spell like you asked.”

  With her hand coated with dirt, she stood and muttered a spell under her breath. When she was done, she acted as if she would shake the dirt off her hand, but instead, she took a quick step forward and blew the dirt in the woman’s face. Signe gasped as Kera pulled her to safety. Dropping the knife, the woman covered her face with her hands, coughing and sputtering. Like a deadly virus, the dirt spread over her skin and clothes, and all too soon she became a stone statue, posed perfectly with hardened tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Kera turned to Signe and sliced off a lock of her hair.

  Her friend gasped and put her hand to her head. “What are you doing?”

  Kera held up the lock coated with dirt. It had begun to harden. She dropped the petrified curl to the ground. “Are you cut?”

  Signe splayed her fingers around her neck, her eyes wide. “No. Not a scratch.”

  Kera let out a relieved breath. It had worked. She was so weak, she couldn’t stay upright. Signe grabbed Kera and held her steady as they sank to the ground. “You’ll be okay. Stay with me.”

  As if Kera had the strength to leave on her own.

  But what she saw behind Signe chilled Kera to the bone. The last sister had slipped from the shadows. Kera grabbed Signe’s hand and squeezed. Her breath was labored. Wispy even. “Behind you.” She took the crossbow and clumsily pressed it into Signe’s hands. “Don’t think. Just shoot.”

  The woman came closer. Tears rushed to Kera’s eyes. Signe wasn’t the killing type. She’d never had to. “Shoot,” Kera said. “Don’t think. Just shoot.” She fell back, too weak to hold up her own weight.

  Signe, the light of fear shining in her eyes, turned and raised the crossbow.

  Kera struggled to remain awake. Before she lost consciousness, she heard the arrow spring out of the crossbow. Even Signe couldn’t miss at such a close range.

  When she came to, all Kera cared about was that she was still alive.

  “Pale. Too pale,” she heard Bodog say.

  Kera pried her eyes open to bright sunlight.

  “Are you sure you’re mixing it right?” Halim’s insistent high-pitched voice asked.

  “I am sure,” said a female voice Kera didn’t recognize. “This will cure her. Trust me.”

  “Oh, I do,” came his quick reply. “But is it the plant or your spit? ’Cause there’s a lot o
f spit in that.”

  “I suspect both,” Faldon injected. “Siren lore makes note of the mystical qualities attached to their kisses.”

  “Oh,” Halim sounded disappointed. “I have ordinary spit.”

  Bodog grunted. “Most humans do.”

  They found Bodog. Good. Kera angled her head and saw the last sister kneeling beside her. It was Neve and she was chewing on some green leaves. After they were good and soggy, she peeled off a layer of green she’d previously pressed into the cut along Kera’s arm and replaced it with the latest green slime. It stung like mad and Kera took a quick intake of breath.

  “She’s awake!” Halim shouted like a village crier on a Saturday night outside the local pub.

  Signe’s face immediately hovered over Kera, blocking out the sun. “How do you feel?”

  “Alive.” She glanced at Neve and back at her friend. “You missed. How could you possibly miss?”

  Halim pushed Signe out of the way. “It’s a good thing she did or else you’d be deader than dead.” He glanced over at Neve and sighed. “Isn’t she amazing?”

  “Halim,” Reece called. He didn’t look at all happy. When Halim only stared at Neve, Signe snagged his ear and pulled him toward Reece.

  Neve plucked at the leaves she’d gathered in her lap and sent Kera an apologetic smile. “I don’t mean to beguile the boy. It just happens sometimes.”

  Kera saw past the glamour to the sadness that swelled around Neve. “Did you accidentally enchant Wyatt?”

  Her eyes widened in real surprise. “No. The rules of that game were different. Sorcha was bored and Lucinda came at just the right time. I didn’t expect to love Wyatt, but I did. We all did in our own way.”

  Kera stopped herself from letting out a disbelieving snort, but she couldn’t hold back her words. “Love usually doesn’t end in murder.”

  “He threatened us. We are the Seven Sisters. Without someone to take my place, they had no choice but to eliminate the threat.”

  “And you believed that?”

  For a moment, Kera wasn’t sure Neve would answer her, but when she did, it was in a small soft voice filled with pain. “No.” Neve looked at the statue Sorcha had become and sighed. “Sorcha was jealous.”

  That rang true. “And she convinced the others to go along with her plan.” Kera eyed the crying statue. “Turning her into stone was too kind.”

  “I understand why you did it,” Neve said. “I wanted to do worse to them, but Wyatt’s gone. Killing them won’t bring him back.” She blinked back a tear and glanced around at what remained of each of her sisters. “I know this will sound strange, but if you let me, I would like to stay and tend to them.”

  Confusion had Kera pushing herself up onto her elbows and giving Neve a hard look. “It’s no simple spell I used. It’s a hundred-year curse. That is a long time even for someone like you.”

  “Maybe we need a long time to ponder our mistakes.”

  Neve was sentencing herself to a punishment almost as severe as her sisters. Kera didn’t understand it, but she wouldn’t deny the girl. Let her tend her new garden and dwell day after day upon the one true love she had lost. It was a just punishment.

  “Thank you,” Neve whispered. She replaced the green leaves with a fresh coating of slimy ones, and this time wrapped Kera’s arm with a silken bandage. When she was done, she brushed the unused leaves off her lap and helped Kera to her feet. Signe and Halim steadied her as they watched Neve walk away. She stopped and turned to look at them. “My sisters and I aren’t truly bad. Just misguided at times.”

  Kera had to bite her tongue. The Seven Sisters were not misguided. They were calculating creatures who preyed on innocent people. That was a fact. Watching her slip into the forest alone gave her a moment’s pause.

  Reece asked the question she was asking herself. “Do we just let her go?”

  Signe put her arm around Halim. “Without her sisters, Neve is lost. She has nowhere else to go.”

  “Come,” Bodog grunted. “We leave.” Even Bodog didn’t fully trust the girl.

  Kera touched the bandage on her arm and as they left the sisters’ domain, she lagged behind the rest of them. This moment called for the magic within her to mingle together. What Navar used for bad, she would use to ensure the sisters stayed where she put them. When she was alone, Kera spoke the words that sealed the sisters’ fate. “One hundred years, the curse will be. Only that day will set you free. Hidden in time, hidden in space. Those who look, will find no trace.”

  When the last words were uttered, the forest and inland sea where the Sisters lived disappeared, replaced by a stretch of inhospitable desert.

  When she turned around, she found Bodog, his big eyes staring. Her chin rose defiantly. “Dylan is safe now.”

  He nodded and they walked away.

  Impossible to Handle

  We’re not looking at the edge of the world, but we might as well be. We’re at the edge of the Vegas strip, a place only the poorest gamblers or those who come to shake loose their spare change frequent. An empty bag of chips tumbles past the cracked glass of the little motel’s front door. Forty-eight low-budget rooms sit in the shadow of the Stratosphere hotel. The place is about as far from luxurious as Mom can get, while still close enough to let her smell the high-priced perfume drifting off the main drag. Her beat-up car is in the parking lot next to the trailer containing all our worldly possessions. I don’t want to believe she’s stooped this low, but all the signs point to her being one step away from living off the streets.

  This was the life Kera had saved me from. Gutters and gambling and living off air. It’s barely a life at all. From the moment Kera met me, she’d believed in me. She’d told me I was special. A guy like me rarely lays claim to that title. I’d never heard it directed at me before. Ever.

  Leo and I sit in the idling Jeep and stare at the run-down motel. “What a dump. No offense, but I really don’t want to be here.” He throws his head back against his headrest and sighs. “I miss Lucinda.” He inhales like he’s trying to recall how she smells. “This has been the longest I’ve spent away from her in a long time.”

  Are his eyes actually tearing up? Oh for the love of… They are. “We’re almost done. You’ll see her soon enough.”

  I can’t believe I have to be the guy’s emotional crutch. We don’t have time for him to get all sappy.

  He turns his head toward me. “I miss Cin’s cute little nose, how it wrinkles up when she’s having…”

  I wait for him to say, but he turns away. “Having what?” Then I think about it and I wish I hadn’t asked.

  A smile tugs on his mouth. “Milk. She likes her milk.”

  Oh, thank God. I thought he was going to tell me something I really didn’t want to hear. I relax, and my mind goes to Kera. “I miss Kera’s eyes. I’ve never seen anyone with that color before. Violet, with shots of blue.”

  “Yeah, she has really big eyes. Anime eyes.”

  I tilt my head at him and frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” he says all innocently, and quickly looks at the motel. “You sure this is the place?”

  “Positive.”

  “Just think,” he says, staring at a man pushing a shopping cart filled with his belongings across the street. “If your mom knew what kind of power she held, she wouldn’t be here.”

  The thought brings out a cold sweat, and I feel sick. “She can’t know.”

  “How are we going to get it from her? Do we even know what it is? Does she even have it still?”

  “I don’t know.” I rub my red-rimmed and sore eyes before slipping on my new dark sunglasses. The salesgirl said they give me a dangerous look, and Leo said I look like a Hollywood player. All I want is to shield my eyes from the glaring sun. An absinthe hangover is nothing to joke about. “How are we even going to get her out of there?” I rub my forehead and sigh. “God, this is a mess.”

  Leo turns the car off. “Let’s clean it up, t
hen. No way will she complain if we tell her where we’re going. Let’s pack her up and take her back to our hotel.”

  “And do what?” Mom, sitting in a room full of expensive breakables as she recounts the evils of her latest love disaster didn’t sound like a good idea.

  “She wants money.” Leo flashes a megawatt smile. “Let her play, bro. You’re the one with a magically thick wad of green.”

  I didn’t just hear him correctly. “The moral fiber by which you live your life is beginning to tear, because I’m pretty sure you just suggested I cheat.” I throw him a hard look. “Are you suggesting I cheat?”

  “Relax, bro. The universe won’t dissolve because I’m stepping into a gray zone. I’m suggesting you take the money your grandma gave you and put it to use in a creative manner while I search her stuff.”

  There’s a flaw to his plan, but I can’t think. All I want is to get Mom and get the hell away from Vegas.

  “Okay,” I say, but I’m not at all happy. No doubt disaster is waiting for us right around the corner. I just can’t see it, although I have an excellent imagination. “You want me to put my mom in the middle of a crowd of people with a wad of money and let her loose? I’m not seeing the wisdom of that plan.”

  “We could always tie her up and ransack her belongings.” He tips his head as he thinks. “First we’ll need to buy some rope, duct tape, and maybe a face mask and a—”

  “Stop.” I hold up my hand. Any guy who walks into a hardware store and buys a mask and duct tape at the same time is one step away from serial killer. “We’re not tying her up. She’s my mom.” I open the car door, look back at him, and shake my head. “Why would you even think that’s an option?”

  “Just showing you how not-so-crazy my first idea is.”

  “Fine. We take her back to the hotel.”

  I start to get out when Leo puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. He has one of those faces that says “trust me” and a voice that can calm a raging bulldog. “Your mom still has the magic. I know it. She’s going to give it to us and we’re going to take it back and save Teag and everything will settle down.”