by Sam Cheever
My eyes stopped seeing what was going on with Nille and Kaline. Vaguely I was aware that Nille was being pushed onto the altar and dimly I heard the chanting that I recognized all too well begin. I didn’t want to know what was happening on that altar. I didn’t even want to know what I was gonna do. I just wanted to do it and get the hell out of there.
With the crowd’s attention firmly transfixed on the altar and its occupants, I was able to push my way through until I was standing just behind the figures that were closest to the stone.
I placed myself just as close behind one of the uniformed demon guards as I could get without touching him and closed my eyes. Taking a deep, cleansing breath to calm myself, I nearly choked on the guard’s musty stench and had to push bile back down my throat before I could move again. Looking around one last time to make sure no one was paying me any attention, I reached for the knife the creature wore in a sheath around its waist and carefully pulled it free. As it cleared the sheath, the demon’s hand reached for it and he turned in surprise when the knife found the middle of his back instead, piercing his black, shriveled heart.
He dropped to his knees and I pulled the knife free, swiping it across my robe from habit before turning to the next guard and giving him a new air hole in his back to match his friend’s. I managed to kill a third guard in pretty much the same way before the crowd around me noticed the growing pile of demons and a cry broke out.
I ducked as they flew at me, pushing my way through the crowd on the opposite side of the altar. I dropped the knife and forced myself to walk and then stop, buried in the now frantic crowd and turn back toward the altar as if I’d always been there.
For the first time in my life I was happy to blend into a crowd. Never let it be said of me that I’m inflexible. I can be a sheep if I need to be to survive. Like the other sheep, I raised my arms and, being careful to keep my lily-white fists covered by the robe, I shook them in the air as if I too were outraged at the senseless slaughter of several members of the demon guard.
I was having so much fun being a sheep that I almost forgot to continue on with my plan. But the arrival of the parade from hell, which was just entering the cavern at the far end, made me realize that I didn’t have much time.
I assumed the covered trufka that was currently being buffeted and blocked by the roiling crowd carried Nerul. That meant that things were coming to a head. I moved quickly toward the altar again and, grabbing another knife from yet another sheath, I quickly dispatched another distracted guard.
As his body crashed to the ground at my feet, a huge shadow covered me and I spun to meet the next guard with a knife-bearing fist to the gut. He grunted and tried to fall on me but I sprang sideways and he landed instead on the skewered body of his friend.
By now the gig was up. A screaming crowd was moving toward me, closing me off on all sides except one. The altar was at my back and I wasted no time leaping onto it. I nearly missed because I’d tried to hit the edge, rather than land on top of the naked couple on its surface. Nille, who’d jumped to his feet as the crowd erupted, reached out a hand and grabbed my arm, steadying me.
“Nicely done, Princess Astra.” His pale, blue eyes found mine and, for the briefest moment in time I almost forgot that I was surrounded by hundreds of slavering members of the dark world that wanted to kill me.
He smiled and I smiled back. “Shall we, as you would probably say, kick some ass?”
I grinned. “Oh yeah.” Almost before I finished speaking, a heavy body crashed into my legs, knocking me off my feet to sprawl across the unfortunate Kaline. Nille reached down and grabbed the demon’s robe-enshrouded neck and spoke some words in a language I didn’t understand. The demon shrieked once and then simply disintegrated, leaving a flattened robe behind on my legs.
I grinned up at Nille. “Crashin’!” It didn’t occur to me at the time to ask why, if he’d had the power to vaporize demons with a few words, he hadn’t done it before.
He laughed and then turned to take care of three more hooded figures that were trying to clamber up onto the altar.
I pushed myself to my knees and searched the room full of brown robes and hoods for Emo. He should have found me by now. I felt a hand on my arm in a soft but firm grip and, fighting the instant impulse to smash my fist into its owner, my eyes dropped to the hand and then rose again to find Queen Kaline’s soft, black gaze. Incredibly, lying there completely naked, fresh red blood drying to a stiff glaze over much of her pale, golden body, she smiled at me.
I smiled back. What else could I do?
“Thank you Tweener Phelps. You are much more than the fulfillment of a prophecy to me.” Her soft golden hand fell away from my arm and I felt an overwhelming need to retrieve it. Instead I channeled my energies into getting her free from the face of that rock. As I leaned down to examine the chains that criss-crossed her body, I forced myself not to think too deeply about what she’d said to me. I had been called many things in my life, but I’d never been accused of being part of an ancient prophecy. Obviously she had the wrong girl. But the trust and hope in her eyes were enough to make me want to be the right girl and I had to do what I could to help her. I wasn’t sure why I cared what she thought or felt, but somehow I did. Like the prophecy thing, I was gonna ignore the parts that made me uncomfortable and just go on instinct. Ain’t rationalization great?
While her hands and legs were free, her body was strapped tightly to the surface of the altar with thick, dense chains that rode the top of her hips and cut into the soft surface of her neck. I suddenly realized that much of the blood she sported was her own. The brutal chains had dug deeply into the golden column of her neck, probably as the result of her struggling to free herself and they were glossy with her blood.
Realizing that no knife would cut through those chains, I made a quick decision. Closing my eyes I trusted Prince Nille and Emo, wherever the Hades he was, to hold off the attacking demons and lesser devils long enough for me to use my powers.
Grasping the chain that was around her neck on either side of her head, I quickly went to that place in my mind where the power awaited me. It sparked and spilled down my arms and, once again, I sensed Dialle’s presence in my magic. Together, if it was true that our powers were now merged, Dialle and I poured our magic into that dense metal chain in an effort to shatter it.
The chain jumped in my hands as an incredible amount of energy surged into it. Its surface grew red with heat and burned my hands until I could smell my own flesh, but somehow I didn’t feel any pain. Finally the links in the chain blew apart with a dark explosion that scattered debris into the crowd around the rock and pinged off my shoulders, leaving behind hot welts of pain.
I felt Kaline jerk beneath my hands and opened my eyes. Her face and chest were wet with new blood and her neck was red and blistered from the hot metal, but she was smiling as I pulled the last remnants of chain from her shoulders.
“Sorry.” It was all the apology I had time for, the crowd’s mood was growing more agitated with the approach of Nerul’s trufka and I knew that Nille wouldn’t be able to hold them off much longer all by himself.
I spared him a quick glance as I helped Kaline squirm her hips free from the remaining chain.
He stood above us. From my perspective it was as if he had grown taller. As I watched, he raised his arms above his head, palms open. His legs were spread to block us from the surging crowd and his body was surrounded by a bright halo of light, which wavered and throbbed as he spoke in a voice that sounded like thunder on a steamy summer night. The crowd had grown suddenly quiet. For the moment at least, Nille seemed to have stopped everything and everyone in that room in its tracks.
Power radiated from him and coated the room. A spear of throbbing, iridescent light suddenly shot away from him in a vertical pillar. It rose into the thick darkness above our heads and, when it was stopped by the jagged rock that formed the ceiling of the cavern, it flowed down the cavern’s walls, bathing the room in a so
ft, throbbing light. Incredibly, one by one, the hooded creatures in that thickly populated cavern began bowing to his power. First their heads drooped in supplication and then they dropped to their knees before him.
I found myself staring like the rest of the sheep in the room. My mouth hung open with awe. Surely this was the great unifier that had been prophesied in the ancient court records I’d been given by the Angel Council. There was little doubt that he had control of the room. Even Nerul’s trufka had stopped moving forward. As the creatures around it began to drop to their knees, the trufka’s bearers looked around with confusion painted across their faces. I watched their knees buckle and waver with their desire to follow the rest of the sheep to the ground. But suddenly they gasped and arched their backs rigidly as if they’d been struck by lightning. Then their faces grew closed with fear and they forced their bodies straighter, shifting the trufka into a more stable position on their shoulders and straightening their spines against Nille’s power. As the hooded figures all around it fell like knickers in a whorehouse, the trufka remained determinedly upright. It was like a dark island in a sea of light.
Low at first, then growing louder and more passionate, a sound started to throb against the rock walls. I realized after a moment that it was coming from the hooded supplicants on the floor. Their deep, razor-like chanting soon filled the air, drowning out all sound and with it, the light that came from Nille grew brighter and more alive.
I shivered under the force of that sound and made myself look away from Nille. Even if his power was good, I didn’t want to be completely caught up in it and lose my capacity to think. Just as I turned away I felt a hand on my arm and looked up to see those glowing, red eyes under the hood again.
I smiled at Emo. “There you are. I wondered where you’d gone.”
Emo’s voice came to me in my head. Astra. I need you to come with me right now. I’ve seen Dialle and he has an army from his court with him. I fear for your safety if this thing explodes.
My gaze flew again to Nille. Emo tugged at my arm with an urgency that surprised me. I think it’s obvious that Prince Nille has this under control. He can take care of himself now that he’s come into his full power.
Actually I had to agree. Nille certainly seemed to have come into himself in that putrid cavern. I briefly wondered at the sudden cause of all the power. If he had been this powerful all along, why had he needed me? And why had he allowed himself to be taken captive all those weeks? I allowed Emo to pull me off the altar but I wasn’t happy about it. Something just didn’t feel right. I was reluctant to leave Nille behind. But then Kaline rose gracefully from the altar and stood beside him. He dropped one arm and held it out at a ninety degree angle from his body so that she could place her hand on his. Immediately as they touched, his power thickened and flared to include her. I was almost blown away from the altar by the force of it.
I realized that Emo was right, they didn’t need me anymore. They had somehow forged their own unbreakable bond and what happened next was completely up to them. I allowed Emo to lead me back through the crowd and back toward Nerul’s office. Though I experienced a quick jolt of reluctance to enter that office again and touch that nasty carpet, I knew I needed to get out of there before the war of all wars began. And Emo knew Nerul’s court much better than I did.
Emo pushed through the corridor door and we entered the hated office. It was only dimly lit by the horrendous mural above our heads. At first I thought the room was empty except for Emo and myself. Then I noticed that the hair carpet appeared to be especially agitated, swaying disgustingly under my feet and swiping my bare calves as if it were trying to warn me of something.
And then, suddenly and horrifically, I knew what was wrong in that room. My heart plunged into my stomach and I thought I would pass out. Emo was in that room, but he was not standing beside me with falsely glowing eyes. He was hanging from the far wall on dense, blood-covered chains. His head drooped to a chest that was ripped to shreds beneath it.
My horrified gaze took in the thick, bubbling puddle of blood beneath his limp feet. And then I turned to the hooded figure beside me. Who apparently wasn’t Emo and who was just starting to pull back that cloaking hood.
The face that emerged made me nostalgic for those carefree moments when I was on that altar with demon claws rubbing across my cringing flesh. It made me think longingly of that gargoyle mating Nille had spoken of so casually. It even made my mother’s idea of how my life should be structured start to look good.
Nahhh…it wasn’t quite that scary.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A Battle True
Despair! Our lady clasped a friend and trusted him to lead,
Only to find a plotting fiend and a loved one who is…dead?
I turned away from the hated monster that emerged from that cloak. I ran across the room and grabbed Emo’s face with both hands. As I pulled his chin off his mangled chest my blood ran into my feet and I thought I would pass out. His left cheek was pierced through with a platinum knife. The point of the knife had left Emo’s head just above his neck. It would be a miracle if his spinal cord hadn’t been severed.
I quickly examined his chest and was relieved to find that his heart hadn’t been removed. Yet. And he was still breathing. Barely. At least that was something.
I didn’t even cringe at the sound of Rayanne’s voice behind me. “We meet for the last time, Tweener Phelps. And this time there is no one here to save you from me.”
I kept my back turned to her with the greatest effort of will. My hands quickly moved over Emo’s body, assessing which wounds were life-threatening and which could wait to be healed until later. I knew I didn’t have much time. As I’d been standing there his breathing had grown weaker and more strangled. Dark blood dribbled from the corners of his mouth. I had, maybe, a few minutes to save him. And there was Rayanne to be dealt with.
Finally I turned to face her with Emo’s blood coating my hands. I forced back a gasp of surprise when I found myself staring into those cold, midnight eyes. She was standing mere inches from me. I forced a smile onto my face which I knew looked less like humor and more like a violent promise. Hiding my feelings has never been one of my better things. “You’ve pissed me off for the last time, Evil Barbie. This time I’m kickin’ your scrawny ass and you’re gonna stay down.”
She laughed. My knees buckled and I went down onto that nasty carpet. Damn. I didn’t stay down for long, though. With a speed I didn’t know I possessed I sprang back up and flew at her. Her eyes widened just the tiniest bit as my hands closed around her throat and pinched her airways closed. She choked as I jammed my thumbs into the hollow of her throat and pressed with everything I had. I didn’t know if devils could even be killed like normal humans, but I was determined to find out. If this didn’t work I’d just try something else. She’d touched a live wire to my last nerve and I was going on pure, adrenaline charged pissed off.
Her body went limp in my hands and I heard her laughing behind me. I turned and could see a shadowy figure standing a few feet away. Apparently royals could leave their bodies at will. Well that just sucked!
I dropped the useless husk of her body and turned to face her fleshless component. I realized she would have me on the floor again if I didn’t do something fast. I focused on my power core and drew it forward, using it, at first, to surround myself with a protective bubble, which I hoped would repel anything she threw at me.
In the spiritual form, her power was a visible entity. I saw it emerge from her shadow self and meet up with my own power bubble. The result was impressive. The point of impact created a lightning bolt of electricity that throbbed and spat, fighting to be released but trapped at the juncture of our two powers. I saw her ghostly face register surprise as my power proved to be the equal of hers. It gave me confidence to hold her off, when I might otherwise have buckled under the force of it. I closed my eyes and concentrated on building the power and pushing the spitting bolt of elect
ricity back toward the evil witch.
I could feel her resistance give as I caught her by surprise and I gained some ground. Inch by inch the life-eating force moved toward Rayanne and I could taste her fear on the back of my tongue. I wondered if she could taste mine.
Somewhere in the back of my consciousness I became aware of the splintered sound of voices, like static in my head. The static began to grow in intensity until I started to get distracted by it and Rayanne started winning the magic war. The lightning bolt surged backward with a roar, landing just inches from my nose and I had to force my mind closed to the voices that fought to be heard there. I sensed Dialle in the broken noise and someone else who felt familiar, but I couldn’t expend the energy to explore that right at the moment. I had to concentrate. Hard.
I managed to push the fiery wall of power back toward Rayanne a few precious inches, but unfortunately, my energies were running low. This power, all too new to me, seemed to have a limit and I wasn’t experienced enough at dealing with it to work through it. Despite my renewed efforts to hold her off, Rayanne and her evil power started to close in on me.
Inch by inch the magic-charged electricity moved toward me, until it burned at the edge of my power, eating it away bit by bit. I felt my power bubble waver and weaken and I knew I was seconds away from losing the magical tug of war and eating a death sandwich, heavy on the ionic mayo. Every cell in my body ached with the effort I was expelling to hold her off. And, to make it worse, I could feel her gaining strength as I weakened. It was if she was feeding her power from me, sucking me dry.
That thought brought my eyes open and I realized with a start that that was exactly what she was doing. As I sent my power out, she was slowly draining it from me and throwing it back. I realized I would need to block her somehow and then use every resource I could find to finish her off.