Eternal Palace (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 4)

by Edmund Hughes

  “I… hunt,” said Karnas. He stretched his wings out, but stayed where he was.

  “Be careful,” said Hal. He reached up and gave the dragon a hug. His arms could still fit completely around Karnas’s neck, and he wondered for how long that would remain true. “And if you decide to take off for a few days, come back and let me know, first?”

  “Okay,” said Karnas. “Bye Hally!”

  The dragon leaned back on his hind limbs and leapt into the air, his wings flapping and pulling him into flight. It was too dark for Hal to see him disappear over the horizon, but he still watched the sky for a few minutes before retiring back into the homestead.

  Rei had left a bit of a mess in her wake during her terrified retreat. Hal pulled the sitting room table back into the center of the room and then fetched a rag to wipe up a glass of apple wine that had been knocked over at some point.

  He took a second to examine his heartgem, reaching out with his awareness to sense the amount of each essence inside of it. Even though his intimate encounter had come to a disappointing end, it still had generated a modest amount of ruby essence. Enough for a few spells, at least.

  His gem had plenty of diamond essence, though that was no surprise. Hal found it to be the easiest magical essence to store, and Wind Dash was more efficient than his other spells. He still wondered how things would have progressed had Cadrian been able to tutor him in wind magic, instead of fire. Would he have reached the point of being able to enter a Diamond Trance? And would he have been stronger for it?

  Thinking of Cadrian, even just in passing, brought a bitter edge to Hal’s mood. He hated the fact that he still wondered about her, about where she was, and what she was doing. There were still so many lingering feelings for her in his heart. Was she dead? The idea that she might be twisted at his emotions in a confusing way, which only annoyed him even more.

  He was still standing over the table, holding the wine soiled rag, when a knock came at the door. Hal felt a small rush of excitement. It had to be Rei. And that meant that he might be able to salvage his night, after all.

  He walked over to the door, opened it, and stared at what he saw on the other side. Six female elves stood in position, two on his porch, four more forming a semi-circle behind them. They were shorter than he was, which wasn’t surprising, given the slight stature of elves compared to humans. Each of them wore form-fitting black clothing, showing off their curves, or lack thereof, in some cases.

  Hal reached for his pistol, only remembering that it was on his sword belt as his hand closed on nothing. He’d taken his sword belt off when he’d brought Rei inside, leaving it on the ground next to his bed. He was unarmed and facing off against six elves who were most likely the Empress’s handpicked valkyries. The intricate tattoos he could see peeking out from the collar of one of the women’s shirts all but confirmed it.

  They wore no armor and carried no weapons, but that was no consolation. Valkyries were runic warriors, capable of summoning magical weapons that drew strength from their life force. Even just one would make for a formidable opponent with Hal fully equipped. Going up against six would be borderline suicidal.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” Hal asked, keeping his voice as level as he could. They hadn’t attacked him, and they’d knocked. They weren’t there to assassinate him, and he hoped he could take advantage of that and stall for time.

  “Tessianna, daughter of Empress Kay and mistress of the White Hive, wishes to speak with you,” said the elf woman closest to the door. Hal suppressed a frown, feeling his emotions flashing back to his time in the Upper Realm. It was a twisted place, built on slavery, violence, and hedonism.

  “And what, exactly, does she want?” asked Hal. He kept his eyes on the elves while thinking through his options. He still had his heartgem on, though his offensive ruby magic was not something he could cast unless he moved closer to the hearth.

  Instead of answering him, the elf woman nearest to him reached into the pouch at her waist and drew out a palm-sized white crystal. Hal recognized it instantly as a two-way view crystal, capable of transmitting sound and images across vast distances. He had one of his own sitting in the chest in front of his bed, though he hadn’t managed to make it work.

  The view crystal flashed with light, and an instant later, the blurry, bluish visage of an elf woman appeared in the air between them. Hal studied the woman carefully, though it was hard to glean much detail.

  She was young, even by the standards of the slow aging elves. She looked to be no older than Hal was, both in appearance and expression. He couldn’t make out her hair color, but she wore it up in an intricate bun, which emphasized her long and slender neck. He could only see her body from the chest up, but her gown was expensive and low-cut. Primed by the earlier events in the night, Hal could only just resist glancing down at her ethereal cleavage.

  “Heart Holder,” said Tessianna. “Interesting. I was expecting a man, not a boy.”

  Hal forced himself to smile, even as her voice made his blood run cold. She was confident, and that was bad. It meant that she already had an idea of how the next few minutes were to play out. His earlier assumption about them not being there to kill him now seemed a little premature.

  “I see my reputation precedes me,” said Hal. “So you’re the Empress’s daughter? I’m not sure I see the resemblance.”

  “I am the Empress’s youngest daughter,” said Tessianna. “And I’ve been entrusted with finding you. A task which I’ve clearly succeeded at.”

  He didn’t let any emotion show on his face, even as a sinking feeling took root in his chest. How much did Tessianna know? If she found him here, at the homestead, could she have also found Laurel, in Meldence? What about Zoria, who’d already had a tenuous, easily investigable connection to him during his time in the Upper Realm?

  “Congratulations,” said Hal.

  “I’ve studied you, Heart Holder,” said Tessianna. “I know what you’re feeling right now. The fears you keep hidden under the surface.”

  Hal stayed silent, keeping his gaze on the ethereal figure.

  “You saw your family dead,” said Tessianna. “Murdered in front of you, by Elyse Ardstone and Aangavar. You were brought to Krestia’s Cradle and trained in secret. Elyse wished to make you into a tool to use to create strife within the Upper Realm, and stab at my mother’s heart.”

  Hal slowly reached into his shirt and withdrew the heartgem. He held it between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth in a manner that implied a vague threat.

  “You took refuge with Lady Laurel Ancina,” said Tessianna. “She’s alright, by the way. Though Meldence has certainly seen better days.”

  Hal’s jaw tightened. What had Karnas said, when he’d first arrived back? Something bad about Meldence?

  “You fought in the Harvest Tournament and nearly won it,” said Tessianna. “You slew an eklid necromancer in service to my mother. You were captured, enslaved, and eventually enrolled in the Dragongrounds, which you did go on to win…”

  Tessianna continued with a summary of Hal’s time in the Upper Realm, but he’d stopped listening. She’d hadn’t said a word about Karnas, and it was such a huge omission that it could only mean that the Empress didn’t know that Hal had a dragon on his side.

  “Get to the point,” he said, interrupting her. “What is it you want from me?”

  Tessianna glared at him, and again, Hal sensed that she was still young, and impetuous. Could he use that to his advantage, too?

  “Your services are required by the Empress,” said Tessianna.

  “She’s tried to recruit me before,” said Hal. “Didn’t go over so well.”

  “She’s not asking for you to swear fealty,” said Tessianna. “She requires but a single favor from you. One that would place you in her good graces for what comes next.”

  He didn’t like her phrasing, or the vagueness of it.

  “Either tell me exactly what you want, or get off my
porch,” said Hal.

  Tessianna smiled, and then gestured to the elf holding the view crystal.

  “Seize him.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Several things happened at once. Hal attempted to draw back into the homestead, pulling hard on the door to close it in the elves’ faces. The other elf on the porch dove for his legs, tackling him in a way that made him fall forward, away from his escape. And all four of the elves standing on the grass summoned their runic armor and weapons, glowing with the colors of the rainbow as glowing swords, breast plates, gauntlets, and spears appeared in a burst of magic.

  Hal twisted, pulling loose from the elf’s grip and rolling painfully down the homestead’s wooden steps. He stumbled upright, immediately channeling his diamond essence and casting Wind Dash off the exhalation of his breath. He dodged a blue, magical whip strike that would have ensnared him and quickly positioned himself so he had all his opponents on one side.

  The angle allowed him to see where each attack was coming from, but it didn’t do much more. Hal couldn’t do much more. He needed his weapons, and that meant going back inside.

  One of the elves was wielding a golden runic claymore, and she charged forward at Hal, flanked by two of her compatriots, who were both equipped with dual daggers. Hal went on the offensive temporarily, using Wind Dash to put himself inside the claymore elf’s guard, before trying to slam his fist into the open section of her golden runic helm.

  A jolting vibration shot up his arm as his knuckles made contact. He used Wind Dash to move himself backward before any further retaliation could be taken, appreciating his spell more than ever. His arm felt a little numb, but he could still move it. And though his attack had failed to cause damage, it had achieved another result.

  The two elves who’d been between him and the homestead were circling around, trying to press in on him on three sides, with the homestead’s wall at his back. Hal eyed the window, wondering if he’d have time to knock the glass loose first. The elf with the blue, runic whip snapped it through the air, and it came down on the grass a few inches from Hal’s foot.

  He kept his jaw set as he rushed toward the window, pulling up his arms to cover his face at the last second. He used Wind Dash again, giving himself a strong push as soon as he entered his dive. He winced as he broke through the glass, feeling it slice shallow cuts into his forearms, shoulder, and scalp.

  A piece of glass embedded itself into his back as he landed in a roll and stood upright. Hal took a second to carefully pull it loose, not wanting to risk what could happen if a shard broke off. The elves weren’t charging in after him, which he’d expected. It was too dangerous, too stupid to fight a surrounded opponent in their own home if they didn’t have to.

  He grabbed his sword belt from his room and pulled it on in record time. He was smiling as he approached the front door, wondering if it might be better to try escaping through another window. The smile faded when he noticed the posture of one of the elves outside.

  The valkyrie’s arm was extended, and she held a small rod with a chunk of crystal embedded in the tip. Hal recognized it immediately. He’d used one before, back in the Dragongrounds. It was a crystal wand, and if it was the same as the one that’d saved him, that meant…

  I just have all the luck, don’t I?

  He fell flat on his stomach and covered his ears as the blast wand let loose its magical energy. Using his heartgem and Flame Shield, he might have been able to block a fraction of the fire the wand spat forth, but probably not enough to be significant. It was just too strong.

  The impact of the fireball against the wall of the homestead was enough to cause Hal’s awareness to blink out, as though he’d just taken a blow to the head. He still had a sense of what was going on when he could see again, though he almost wished he didn’t.

  The homestead was missing a massive chunk of one wall and part of its roof. It was on fire, the dry wood catching and igniting easily. Laurel’s room was the first to be engulfed, given its position. There was no saving it, not with the damage that had already been done, and not with the strength of the flames.

  Hal was lucky to have been behind the sitting room table, but the smoke was thick enough to make him vulnerable even without being in contact with the fire. He wondered if the enemies he’d fought in the Dragongrounds, the ones who’d been in the house when he’d used a blast wand in a similar situation, had survived in the same way. Were they faced with a choice of rushing out through fire, or breathing smoke?

  Hal took a breath through his shirt and gritted his teeth. The anger was hitting him now. This was his home. This was all he had left, and the elves were taking it from him. He slowly got to his feet, dimly aware of the sound of flapping wings overhead.

  “Hally!” shouted Karnas. The dragon landed on top of the homestead, unfazed by the flames. He extended one claw down into the ruined, burning structure. Hal took hold of it with his hands, and then Karnas was airborne again, lifting him to safety.

  “Land nearby,” said Hal. “I’m not done with them.”

  The memories of the Dragongrounds that the blast wand had stirred up had also put him in a certain kind of mood. Karnas descended near the edge of the forest. The valkyries were already on their way toward them, and that was exactly what Hal wanted.

  He drew both his sword and pistol and glanced at Karnas. The dragon seemed to sense what he wanted without needing to be told. Hal felt silly for ever questioning his friend’s intelligence, or ability to communicate. He understood things on a level that often went deeper than words.

  Hal cocked his pistol and fired a Flame Shot at the elf at the front of the group. The fist-sized fireball moved as fast as any bullet, with far more accuracy and maneuverability. It found its target’s chest, flaring as it connected with the elf’s runic armor.

  The other elves’ attention was drawn by the spell. Hal was already moving to take advantage, using Wind Dash to position himself in the group’s blind spot. Karnas roared, keeping their focus off Hal. Hal moved forward, hitting two elves with a single slash. The cut sliced into the back of their necks, in a spot where their runic armor didn’t cover.

  He fired another Flame Shot into the face of a third as the elf turned to look in the direction of the noise. Then, he used Wind Dash again, putting himself out of their range. Hal’s newest spell was useful enough to keep him from considering pushing into a Ruby Trance, which would have locked him into a single element. Offensively, he’d be more powerful, but it wasn’t what the situation called for.

  The two elves he’d hit in the neck were on the ground, dead or soon to be. Karnas was fighting two more, the pair struggling to get past the flames of the dragon’s breath so they could strike with their weapons. The last two elves stood together, back to back. One of them had singed hair and burns on her face, courtesy of Hal’s Flame Shot.

  He didn’t have much diamond essence left, but used what remained to loop around his opponents, making enough noise on the grass and through the trees to thoroughly confuse them. Hal knew that if he wanted to, he could wear them down, and then offer them their escape. They were in the process of realizing that they were not equipped to deal with him and Karnas.

  No. They all die.

  He was a little surprised by how casually he was able to come to the conclusion. It was what needed to happen, not just in retribution for the home they’d taken from him, but for a practical reason. The Empress didn’t know about Karnas. He couldn’t have witnesses going back to her and spoiling the advantage his friend gave him.

  Hal surged forward, slamming into the two back to back elves from the side. He cut at their necks with his sword, but missed the chink in their runic armor he’d been aiming for. One of the elves attacked immediately, spinning with her daggers. Hal hopped a step back, and then twisted into his own spin, letting the hilt of his sword touch against his spark ring and casting Flame Strike.

  The spell engulfed his sword in magical flames, and it enabled the strike to cut
through the elf’s runic armor like a hot knife through butter. He wasn’t sure if the spell itself was that effective, or if this particular elf had runic armor with an elemental weakness. He couldn’t dwell on it just then.

  The elf’s partner was the one with the whip, and she’d attacked as Hal’s spin turned his back to her. The whip wrapped around Hal’s sword arm and immediately began reeling in. She was reaching for something in the pouch at her waist, and Hal had no intention of finding out what.

  He leveled his pistol at her and fired Flame Shot twice in quick succession. The runic armor hummed against the first blast, but the second went through, judging from the way the elf’s body gave out. She fell to the ground, limp and motionless.

  Karnas had already dealt with his two opponents, one of them immolated, one of them crushed under his claw. Hal glanced across the bodies. He took no pleasure in killing, but if he had to do it, he intended to do it right. He walked by each of the elves, stabbing with his short sword and making completely sure that the job was done.

  “Karnas,” said Hal. “Thank you.”

  The dragon let out a pleased grunt.

  “Can you take the bodies and dump them somewhere?” he asked. “Deep in the woods? Or on the mountain?”

  “Okay…” said Karnas.

  The dragon immediately set out, carrying an elf in each of his front claws as he flew. Hal walked back over to the burning homestead, and only then did the loss really hit him.

  The roof had collapsed in, and smoke and ash billowed up in a single large plume. The flames had left nothing untouched, spreading out to cover the entire homestead. All of the clothing Laurel had left behind. The food in the pantry. All of the apple wine they’d so carefully bottled earlier in the season.

  It was more than just possessions. Hal had lost another home. It was impossible to keep his mind from drifting back to the night his family’s estate had been destroyed. It made him feel stupid, as though he should have expected to lose the homestead and everything it represented. It was an inevitable cycle, building up a life only to have it torn down.