by A Lonergan
A thought hit me and made my knees weak. I would have easily continued to wear the stupid get up if I had gotten to spend more time with Cal. I swallowed and pushed my hair into a bun at the top of my head. When I opened the door to my sleeping quarters I found myself flipping over. My butt hit the wooden floors and I winced. When I looked up to see what had caused me to trip, I discovered the man that had bumped into me on the stairs. His hat was pulled down on his face, and he appeared to be sleeping. The smell of alcohol was strong on his breath, but that was it. The reek of death or rape didn’t follow this man, so I left him be. He had probably looked for a quiet place to rest his head and not realized where he had stumbled. All of the other men had stayed away by order from Cal and all the weapons I carried on me.
On the third day aboard the ship, a man had tried to intimidate me. He was a good man, I could tell by his scent, but he was egotistical. He liked the way I moved, and how I carried so many weapons. He took it as a challenge.
The worst.
So I had shown him just what I could do with my throwing knives and pinned him to the wall of the mess hall. The knives had gone so deep into the wood, he had needed help freeing himself. He had sputtered and spat, and avoided me for the rest of the voyage. Many of the other men had quickly heard what had happened and stayed far away too. I didn’t mind being the intimidating one. Not many men liked women like me. And I was perfectly okay with that.
Monster. My mind whispered. I shook my head to free the thoughts getting tangled there.
When I finally emerged from the cabin, the sun beat on my face and the salt air assaulted my nose. My stomach lurched, but it wasn’t from seasickness. We had arrived at Arinal. I was home. As much of a home as it could be, I guessed. Sand stretched for as far as I could see on the coast. The black water was an odd contrast splashing against it. It made the sand appear even whiter. Like the snow that fell in Rosalia. I had heard the rumors of it, but had never experienced it. I wished I had stayed longer.
The men tossed rope and shouted out commands around me. I rushed back down the stairs, two at a time, almost killing myself in the process. I hadn’t thought it would be this soon. I had thought I had more time. My hands shook as I tried to get the old iron key into the lock. It clicked and my door swung open. I pulled my little backpack up and over my shoulder. It wasn’t until I was halfway back up the stairs that I realized the man was gone. I shook it off and rushed to the farthest side of the ship, the one with the least amount of attention and action happening.
I looked down at the black water splashing against the ship and knew I would have to swim to get off of this vessel without being noticed. I did just that. I kept my body ramrod straight as I plunged into the cold depths. I didn’t dare open my eyes, I was too afraid of what I would see. I had grown up listening to the tales of the monsters of the deep. I just hoped they left me alone too. I didn’t know how my magic affected animals or if it even worked on them. I doubted very much that Hel would save me under water too. I pushed against the water that was trying to pull me down and when I broke the surface, I finally opened my eyes. The docks were above me. I smiled. I had made it this far.
Having stealth while soaking wet, wasn’t exactly my best plan, but it had gotten me off of the ship without suspicion and that was all that mattered. It had gotten me past the customs officers. Arinal was full of shadows, even though it was the southern part of the country. It was easy to stay hidden as I hopped from building to building. My mother liked the coast, and had her home built close to the docks. I had never understood why. It always smelled like piss and fish. Some of the worst smells in the realm. But as I maneuvered between the white stucco buildings, I was thankful for it. It would help with an easy escape.
I hoped.
The window at the top of our home was open, which was usual. My mother loved the salt air. There were window boxes full of flowers all over the house. She also liked bright flowers and anything that screamed happiness. She was the epitome of joy. I hopped from box to box then soared right through the window. I was silent as I rolled across the floor. The bed was made in the corner of the room and I could hear drawers closing below. I crept down the stairs and watched the woman that had given me life search the kitchen for something she had probably misplaced. The house was bright with natural lighting, and thats what I was afraid of. All it took was a neighbor seeing me and the plan was forfeit. Guards would fall upon this place and we would be doomed.
“Mother,” I whispered, like I had when I was a child, afraid of waking Father after his conquests beyond the Mystic Mountains that bordered Arinal.
Her head snapped up and her bright blue eyes found mine in the shadows of the stairs. She dropped whatever she had and rushed to my side. Her hands fluttered over my face and my shoulders and right down to the ink visible on my arm. She wore a thin white sheet today that was belted at the waist. I could see the outline of her body with how transparent the cloth was. My lip curled. The Emperor was using her. Her hair was long and wavy. She liked it up, but today it was down her back and a circlet was over her brow. Mother was most certainly being used for Hildiguard's entertainment.
She let out a sob. “You know.”
I nodded my head. I couldn’t tell her that I was free yet. If she was captured it would be over with. She would die, even though she had nothing to do with it. It would be treason. I was skirting a thin line. I just needed to get her out as quickly as possible. That's all I cared about.
“I need you to listen to me.” I grabbed her soft hands in mine. Her hands that had never known a day of work, thanks to my father and I. I slipped my pack from my shoulder. “Get to the docks. Walk like you normally do when you go visit the boats coming. There is a larger ship there today, a cargo ship, the men will see you and know. Don’t be afraid. I have put this together for you.” I handed my pack to her. “There is enough gold in here to last you a very long time in Rosalia. You will live a free life.”
Her breath caught and tears shone in her blue eyes. Her blue eyes that I saw every time I looked in the mirror. She brushed her hair away from her face. “What about you?”
“I have to turn myself in or he will hunt us down until we are both back here. Either dead or tortured. It matters not to him. I only care about your safety. ”
She nodded her head and brushed her dark brown hair from her shoulder. My mother kissed my forehead and exited our home like she was just taking a stroll. I exhaled and spotted the picture of my father on the fireplace. The one I had overlooked so many times as a child. My eyes immediately found the tattoo snaking up his right arm. I folded the picture and tucked it into my boot, beside the dagger he had given me.
I went to turn around and blinding, white pain lit up the back of my skull. I cried out as I crashed to the ground in front of my family’s hearth, paintings of my parents swimming above me. My vision swam as I saw one of the Emperor’s men looming over me. I recognized him. He hated me more than any of the others. “Greatest assassin, my ass. The Emperor is going to love this.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Willow
I blinked my eyes open and I immediately knew where I was.
No.
The Emperor’s throne room. I would know it anywhere. It was where I had killed for the first time. It was where I had been tortured the first time. It was where I had found my father’s dead body. It was where I had experienced almost all of my first traumas, with the Emperor overseeing it all.
It was nothing special. It had a stone throne against curtained walls and a large silver rug that was currently beneath me. Emperor Hildiguard sat on his graying, worn throne and watched me.
“Welcome back home Willow Bane.” His voice had an extra cold edge to it today. I would have expected nothing less and nothing more. I had gone over my period of stay in the neighboring kingdom, and hadn’t delivered anything he had asked. Instead of coming straight to him, I went to my mother’s home. Which was the biggest no no of all.
My head still throbbed but I managed to stand up and bow before him. If I was going to lie to him, I needed to make it good and believable. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“News on my sweet Claudia?”
I bowed my head. “Yes, Your Grace, she fell in love with a witch from the Mortal Realm and ran off to elope with him.” There was no point in sugar coating it. If I was going to get through this, I needed everything exposed. I had to be honest, to a certain extent. I had to be careful.
Emperor Hildiguard watched me. I wished my magic had been reading minds for a moment. His cold dark eyes didn’t miss a thing. If he wasn’t so cruel he would have been handsome. His blonde hair was plaited away from his face and his cheek bones and jaw line were sculpted to perfection. His toned body was hidden under thin battle leathers, and his tan feet were bare. He spent many hours in the sun training with his elites, like I had. He didn’t expect his men to do all the dirty work for him, he reveled in getting dirty. He didn’t bathe after battle or torture sessions. He seemed to enjoy the grit and nastiness of other’s life sources. I zeroed in a piece of hair at the nape of his neck, it was bloody. He had taken a life today.
I went to bow my head again and the guard to the right of me ripped my head up by my hair. I could hardly feel it, but I knew that I was missing a good chunk.
“I see you have found your destiny,” Emperor Hildiguard remarked. “It was only so long before you would find out. Though, I used a skilled witch. How did you uncover it?”
He wasn’t even worried about his daughter… He switched topics like it was the weather and of no importance to him. She probably wasn’t of any importance, he always had a hidden agenda. It probably started with needing an excuse to conquer Rosalia. He needed Cal out of the way. Of course, it all made sense. It had nothing to do with his daughter. He had sent her to marry the king, to conquer that way, and it hadn't gone the way he wanted.
“I didn’t,” I swallowed, trying to adjust to the pulling at my scalp. “It was cut off of me during a torture session.”
He rolled his eyes like he was bored. “Oh? Were they disappointed in what they uncovered?”
“Yes, and she could sense the magic on my arm. Somehow she had found out who I was, though she didn’t know my real profession.” I said.
“How did you manage to get caught?” He narrowed his eyes.
“I was investigating a spree of murders.” My hands started to shake in front of me and I tucked them into my tight tunic.
“Why would you ever do a thing like that?” The Emperor scowled. “You had one mission, you have never steered from it before. You have never cared for others.”
“I needed them to trust me,” I struggled to get it out as the guard continued to pull on my hair. As much as it didn’t really hurt, it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
“I feel like you’re lying to me.” He scoffed. “First about my daughter eloping with an Earth Dweller, and now this? Trust you? Why would they need to do such a thing as that? Claudia is of the perfect breeding, she would never stoop so low. Find Claudia, kill the King of Rosalia, come home. You have been given worse tasks in the past. What made this one that difficult for you? My son should have killed you when he stumbled upon you.”
An invisible hand wrapped around my neck and I wondered if I could take his life. If I could pull the life from the men beside me or if I would fail. I wasn’t exactly seasoned at it. I could try my hand at taking them out with the knives that were still strapped to my body, but there were hundreds of guards in the palace. I would never make it out alive. But if I could just simply pluck their souls out, I would have the upper hand. I would be superior no matter where I went.
I struggled to get the words out. “Did you know of Hel?”
The Emperor’s eyes get big. “Excuse me?”
He motioned for the guard to let me down and the invisible hand disappeared. “Did you know my heritage?”
Emperor Hildiguard looked taken back by my questions and leaned forward, almost as if he’s preparing for a fight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You must.” I paused. “My father was the best and gave you everything you desired on the battlefield and off. He took kingdoms for you, and you had him train me.”
“That means nothing.” He shook his head, dismissing the conversation with a wave of his hand.
“What if my magic is here?”
“You’re bluffing.” The Emperor stood up and marched toward me, but stopped when I inhaled.
Something overtook me and the two men that had been holding me crumbled to the ground. Whatever magic one of them had filled my body. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but it made me feel strange, like I had extra limbs.
Emperor Hildiguard stumbled backward before a smile spread across his face. “Your mother has been found, trying to flee. You will never find her.”
I didn’t have time to figure out if he was bluffing or not. It was putting my life on the line, just as much as hers. I raced from the room, and through the majestic hallways that I wasn’t familiar with. Paintings with gold frames lined the walls, and thick, lavish rugs ran down the floors. Not one of his guards chased behind me. He probably knew that he would lose all of his men if he sent them. It was easier for me, so I didn’t mind at all. I broke through the front of the palace and sprinted toward the docks. I stayed to the shadows as I went. Not like it mattered, they would let me get away now. But they would come for me later, if I managed to get away.
I skidded across the wooden docks, and my heart sank. The boats were gone, and the sun was starting to set. There wouldn’t be anymore boats in the harbor until the morning. I would be dead by then. There was no way to escape this kingdom, unless I wanted to try my luck in the Mystic Mountains, which I definitely didn’t. I wouldn’t survive the hot days and cold snowy nights. The weather and creatures were unpredictable. My father had ventured into them many times over my childhood and had returned with sicknesses, scarring and bizarre stories. I wasn’t prepared to make my own journey, my father had the best of the best with him, with plenty of food and supplies. I had the clothes on my back and my weapons. I had given all of my money to my mother, afraid that I wouldn’t make it out alive.
And now that I had?
I knew there was gold and silver hidden in my childhood home, but as I watched a gray fluff of smoke filled the sky above the city, I knew it would be our home that was engulfed in flames. I hadn’t been allowed friends, and I hadn’t tried to make any. I knew most of the guards but they were more afraid of the Emperor than I was. Fear made people do the worst things. Fear would get me killed.
I watched the black water splash against the pier and felt myself sinking into despair. I clutched my face in my hands. Would I be able to pluck souls of hundreds of guards? Would I be able to fight through this entire rutting place on my own? Was I that powerful?
“You have to be kidding me!” A familiar voice said down the walk. “I have been looking everywhere for you and here you are, drowning in your own pity party.”
My ears must have deceived me because when I looked up, the man that had almost plowed me over on the stairs, and had slept outside my room on the ship was walking toward me. He was the only one at the harbor with me, so maybe he had the same voice? It seemed impossible. I grabbed the throwing knife from my hip and readied myself for what I was about to do. He smelled fine, there was a small amount of death that followed him, but nothing alarming. He didn't have the stench of evil.
The man smirked and I could have sworn it was the same smirk…
Before I could let go of my knife, his face started to contort and change before my eyes. His body started to fill out where it had been skinny before. His goatee disappeared and his hair started to shorten. His face thinned out, and his nose got a little crooked.
Cal.
My mind didn’t work at the same pace as my brain, I flew across the wooden planks and launched myself at him. He laughed as he wrapped his arms around my
waist and lifted me from the pier. He squeezed me close and I could have sworn it was the best feeling.
“How?”
He quieted my questions with a mind altering kiss. I could have cried, but then I remembered where we were. The King of Rosalia was in Arinal without announcing his arrival. He would be killed here. I looked around frantically.
“It’s okay, only you can see me like this. For everyone else I still look like that starving sailor.” He pressed his nose against my neck. “But we do need to get going. I have only practiced air walking a few times, and I don’t trust myself to get us completely where we need to go.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and in a split second we were hovering over the black water of the Wasted Sea.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The King
The Wasted Sea was a cold wakeup call for the both of us. As Wyna had popped in and out of the Mortal Realm, she had brought back different things she had learned from the witches there. The first one had been airwalking. Wyna insisted it was quicker than bubble riding, but I didn’t trust it and I shouldn’t have tried it. Unfortunately, bubble riding would have gotten us more attention than it was worth. Landing in the water about 20 feet from our boat was not what I had planned, but at least we had gotten close. The cold black water clung to our skin, and tried to pull us under as we treaded against it.