“Hand wrinkles?” Tathan asked.
“Yes, look at your hand, there’re all sorts of wrinkles on it.” Tathan did and noticed the lines. Mystics at fairs often made a living by interpreting what the lines meant. Vevin held up the guard’s hand, bending it at an odd angle. Tathan looked closely and saw that they had similar lines, just more of them. The textures of hand and finger pads were rough in comparison to his. Vevin explained, “Everyone’s hand wrinkles are different, even theirs. The magic pad reads the hand wrinkles.” He grinned at them and let the arm flop to the ground.
“That is exceptional work, how did you know?” Sir Danth asked.
“I’m amazing,” Vevin replied with a toothy smile, generating laughter from the companions. Princess Anilyia stared at Vevin. Tathan noticed that her eyes seemed to get wide a lot. He wondered if that was a habit, or just the fact that their party was so amazing.
“Alright, let’s see what’s behind here. There’s likely to be danger judging by the security measures they have, so be ready for trouble,” Tathan warned. They all nodded. He scanned each of them. When he had told them to be ready for trouble, they just stood there acting like they normally would.
“Is something wrong, Master Tathan?” Sir Danth asked.
“No . . . it’s just that if I told anyone else to be ready, they’d draw weapons and get ready for a fight. You three don’t really do anything to prepare,” Tathan explained.
“There is no need,” Sir Danth said with a wave of his hand. “Master Vevin is a weapon, Lady Liselle casts her magic in the blink of an eye and my sword is always in my hand, regardless of whether or not it is in my hand,” he said cryptically. Then he turned to the princess. “And her majesty is a beautiful flower not made to fight.”
Liselle snorted in contempt. “She is not a flower, and I’ll thank you not to suggest such a thing again, Sir Danth.”
Anger and hurt flashed across the princess’s face as she momentarily forgot her fear of Liselle. “I am so a flower!” she protested.
Fire flared in Liselle’s eyes. “I know flowers better than anyone in the world, and you are most definitely not a flower.” The princess backed up, still angry, but not enough to challenge Liselle.
“Cousin, peace,” Tathan said with a hand on her shoulder.
The fire went out and she looked at him repentantly. “I’m sorry, Tathan. The feeling from beyond is setting me on edge and I’m getting tired too,” she said with a weary gesture past where the barrier used to be.
“It’s alright. Let’s get this over with,” Tathan said, turning up the passage. Then he heard the sobbing. Tathan sighed and hung his head before turning back around. Princess Anilyia was bawling while everyone else stood around staring at her. He sighed again and walked back into the guard chamber. “Come along, Your Highness, we’ll get you out of here soon.”
She didn’t respond, her shoulders heaving with each new sob. Vevin, Liselle and Sir Danth exchanged glances and shrugged in unison. Tathan sighed again. There was only one thing to do. He went to her and put arms around her in comfort.
The princess instantly threw her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shoulder. He let her spend a moment getting the worst of it out. The orange barrier came back up behind him and he was helpless to prevent yet another sigh from escaping his lips. Vevin grabbed the unconscious guard’s hand and pressed it against the panel to reopen the barrier. “We should go before it closes, Tathan,” Vevin stated.
Tathan nodded. The princess felt good against his chest, even if she was crying. He liked holding women. They were soft and sometimes they smelled good like the princess did. But it was time to go. He took her by the upper arms and held her so he could look down into her eyes. “Hey, hey. Look at me now.” She slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears as she tried to regain control.
“I know you’re scared, but I need you to trust that we’re going to get you out of here as soon as we can, alright?” he asked in soothing tones. She moved her hands to his chest, leaning on him for support as she nodded. He smiled encouragingly. “Stay with Sir Danth. He’ll keep you safe and there isn’t anything that can break through that armor.” The princess nodded again and feebly smiled back, still too distraught to speak. At least the sobs had stopped.
Tathan turned back to the new hall and entered. The passage wasn’t long, leading to large, stone double doors. Tathan leaned down to check the metal handles for traps, reaching into his jacket for lock-picks. “It’s not locked, Tathan,” Vevin said from behind him. Tathan sighed and stood up, ignoring the giggle from Liselle.
He wondered what the best way to proceed would be. Should he sneak in, knock or wait for someone to come through. He quickly discarded the idea of waiting. It wouldn’t do for the guards to wake up or for someone to come along and find them.
“Whatever the feeling is, it’s coming from behind those doors,” Liselle said. “Please be careful.”
“It would be polite to knock,” Sir Danth informed him.
“I have no desire to be polite here,” Tathan responded. “Be ready for a fight.” With that, he opened the door and moved instantly to the right side, his sword drawn. Sir Danth led the princess to the left, keeping her behind him while Liselle and Vevin walked through the middle.
What they saw next, shocked them to the bone. The companions had entered a large cavern with lights hanging from the ceiling. Throughout the cavern were metal tables with bodies on them, human bodies. The cool, motionless air smelled of cleaning liquids mixed with blood and decay. Rojuun healers in robes stood at many of the tables with sharp implements in their hands, dissecting those bodies.
No one noticed the newcomers right away, which was good because the companions were paralyzed by the scene. Bodies had coldly been cut into pieces and opened for inspection. Blood was on the tables and floor around many of them as well as on the robes of the Rojuun. It was more brutal and ruthless than anything Tathan had seen in any battlefield or back alley. He wondered where they got the bodies, whether from Alluu or one of the other cities. Perhaps they were prisoners of the Iynath Empire’s war.
Princess Anilyia screamed, the shrill noise echoing throughout the harsh cave. There was no moss or plant life to muffle the sound as though such things had rejected this room and its unnatural purpose. Sure enough, every Rojuun in the room turned in their direction. A few immediately began preparing spells.
Then Vevin roared. A macabre grin lit Tathan’s face when the dragon dashed forward. He turned to see Liselle standing there with silent tears streaming down her face. Sir Danth was on the other side gesturing for Tathan to grab the princess who was still screaming at the top of her lungs.
Tathan was there in a few steps. Anilyia flung herself into his arms and began sobbing, hiding her face from the gruesome sight of the dead bodies. He also put a hand on Liselle’s shoulder in comfort, all the while thinking that he should really be out there fighting.
As soon as Tathan had the princess, Sir Danth shifted next to two of the Rojuun who had begun casting spells. The knight’s blade flashed through the air cutting through their chests as easily as if their bodies were made of butter. Blood sprayed everywhere as the bodies fell, but it dripped off the knight’s armor and sword.
Vevin ripped apart two with a claw and hit another with his tail. The force of the blow sent the Rojuun flying to smash against the nearest wall and fall to the ground, lifeless. The rest either fainted or ran screaming toward the other two sets of doors leading out of the cavern. Tathan thought that Rojuun screamed more than most women he had met, especially when Vevin went full dragon.
Meanwhile, Sir Danth had shifted to another pair of Rojuun and quickly dispatched them. Princess Anilyia was looking back and forth between the knight and dragon as though trying to figure out which was more frightening.
He noticed his cousin was bathed in fire again, only this time it was up the length of her arms. Tathan removed his hand from her shoulder and took
a step back. She turned to him and used that otherworldly voice again. “Go beyond those doors,” she said, pointing to a pair of doors across the way, heading northwest. The blue fire coming out of her mouth was surreal, like smokeless flames close to the wood of a hot fire. He was entranced by it until the princess pulled on his arm. She seemed more afraid of Liselle than the knight, dragon or horrors of the cavern they were in.
They ran in that direction, doing their best not to get too close to the tables. The princess had her dress hiked up around her calves and was moving as fast as she could. Tathan stayed close to her. Sir Danth appeared at the doors and quickly killed three Rojuun who had just opened them in a desperate attempt to get away from the dragon. Vevin roared again before heading toward the door, stepping over the tables and their dissected bodies. Sir Danth led the party into the tunnel a short ways. Vevin became human again so he could fit. Then they turned and looked for Liselle.
She appeared at the tunnel entrance. Seeing they were safe, she turned around. A deafening crack filled the air and the rock floor in front of her broke. Water spouted forth, reaching for Liselle. Tathan dashed forward to rescue her, only to be grabbed and held by Vevin. “It’s magic,” he said. Tathan stopped struggling against his grip and they watched the magic unfold.
The water swirled around Liselle, mixing with her fire to become a living entity that was both liquid and heat. She held her arms out to thrust the firewater into the cavern. The roar drowned out all sound as the cavern was flooded. A sharp smell, similar to rain, filled the air.
From what little they could see, the destruction was complete. Bolted tables were ripped out of the ground with ease and flung against the far wall. Human and Rojuun bodies disintegrated under the spell, regardless of whether they were dead or alive.
For three minutes, water spiraled up to mix with Liselle’s flames creating the destructive flow. It stopped just as suddenly as it had started. Liselle stood at the entrance to the tunnel, staring at the cavern, her fire spent. Tathan and Vevin both rushed forward to catch her, but were surprised when she didn’t fall. They each grabbed an arm upon reaching her.
She smiled. “Hi. It’s all better,” she said, gesturing to the now empty room. They looked and saw that there was no longer any trace of the wickedness that had existed before. The blood was washed clean, the bodies gone and even the tables had been annihilated. Sir Danth and the princess walked up behind them. If Anilyia had been impressed by Liselle’s power before, she was absolutely in awe now.
“Liselle,” Tathan said gently. “You must be exhausted. We’ll get you someplace safe and let you rest. Vevin can carry you if need be.”
“I’m not tired at all. In fact, I feel completely refreshed,” she replied with a smile. Upon seeing his frown, she laughed lightly. “I told you, the world didn’t like what was happening in that room. It asked me to cleanse it and I did so. In return, it rewarded me.”
“Rewarded?” Tathan asked, suddenly very interested. “What reward did it give you?”
The smile became mysterious. “Knowledge,” she answered. Then she turned to walk down the new tunnel. Princess Anilyia jumped out of her way. “The world also refreshed me so that I’m not hungry and tired. It also told me how to get out of the tunnels.” The rest of them hurried along behind her, eager to escape yet mystified by everything that had just happened.
Chapter 24
Her Royal Highness, Princess Anilyia Felicia Romenia Illiath Turllisa Wannita Ullbra of the Kingdom of Mayncal was miserable. Being a princess sucked. Sure, there were nice clothes, admirers who wanted to be her, servants to take care of her every need, powerful people paying attention to her and nice clothes, which bore repeating. More than anything, she missed the nice clothes. They felt good against her skin and made her feel beautiful. Everyone complimented her on them.
They wouldn’t compliment her on the dress she wore now though! It was torn and tattered. She didn’t like it anyway. Those stupid, evil Rojuun had made it for her and they simply had no eye for design, probably because their eyes were stupid. Everything about the Rojuun was stupid. Why did anyone need four arms and two voices anyway? If they were truly as impressive as they thought, they would be able to succeed with the proper amount of two arms and one voice. Instead, they had to cheat. Rojuun were grotesque as far as she was concerned.
It didn’t help that they had kept her a prisoner. Being a princess was great until someone accosted you in the royal garden in the middle of the night, killed your personal guards and your best friend, dragged you to the evil Iynath Empire and teleported you to a godforsaken hole in the ground with monsters to watch over you while waving their arms and trying to murder you with their singing.
The horrible Rojuun tried to make her wear those stupid robes and treated her as though she were the servant. Anilyia was a princess, not a servant and made the Rojuun serve her instead. Except that when no one was looking, they would hurt her. Rojuun assigned to serve and protect her would squeeze her arms until she cried. They insulted her and one had even tied her down and cut her in places that would be covered by clothes.
Anilyia still had nightmares about that Rojuun . . . feju. Whenever she said the word it was an insult. That one hated the princess and liked to make her suffer. She would gag Anilyia’s mouth to muffle the screams then pretend nothing had happened when others came. Yes, being a princess was wonderful until it became hell.
Now she was being ‘rescued’. What a wonderful word. The reality wasn’t so great. The reality was that her rescuers consisted of a man with a sword that ate light, a woman who shot blue fire out of her body, and a knight who somehow managed to convey expressions through a helmet. There was something wrong with all of them.
Worst of all was the evil dragon. Everyone knew dragons loved to eat princesses. Anilyia glanced at him. He was in human form now, but his teeth were bared and she was sure he wanted to eat her. Anilyia knew she would taste yummy because sweet, wonderful princesses like her tasted best to dragons. The girl called Liselle and the dragon called Vevin were even bigger nightmares than the Rojuun.
“Alright, let’s head out,” Tathan said. He stood up from the rock and stretched. They had stopped to eat and sleep in a cave with a tiny waterfall that flowed into a small pond. The splashing water was peaceful and relaxing after their long, exhausting escape. Liselle had told them about it and they went away from tunnels leading to the surface to get to it. She said they would be able to rest for the night without being disturbed. Anilyia wondered how Liselle could know these things. She also wondered what Liselle was, because no girl that she knew spoke in a freaky, otherworldly voice and had eyes that turned into blue fire.
Tathan led the way out of the cave, passing through the skinny tunnel that was just big enough for one person to fit through at a time if they turned sideways. He gestured for the princess to follow him. Anilyia stood and walked to him timidly, taking his strong hand. She was very happy that Sir Danth came next so that she wouldn’t have to be next to one of the other two.
Anilyia hadn’t said anything since the cave where the evil Rojuun performed their horrible acts upon human bodies. It all seemed like a hundred little bad dreams lumped together to create one colossal nightmare.
A few times, the party had come across Rojuun. Sometimes Liselle would hold them with magic or create barriers. Tathan would knock out others with leaping blows to the head. Sir Danth had tried to subdue a few but always seemed to kill them instead. He was more powerful than any knight of her father’s kingdom. He made the princess feel safe at times, but every once in a while he scared her. There was something very dark and dangerous about him and it bothered her that he never took his helmet off so she could see his face.
Tathan led them into the hallway where they had originally turned off to get to the hiding place. He tried to release her hand, but she held onto it, not wanting to let go of the only thing that felt real. He stopped to look at her with his intense grey eyes. They were so deep that sh
e thought she would fall in and sink for eternity if she gazed into them for too long. He smiled, and let her continue holding it.
Before sleeping, he had washed up in the pond. Anilyia stared at him the entire time. A princess wasn’t allowed to see men unless they were completely covered and it was the first time in her life that she had seen a man’s bare chest. Tathan was strong, with muscles everywhere although he wasn’t bulky. A few scars marred the muscles, but they just made him all that much more attractive. He was a man who lived life and faced danger all the time, the sort of man bards sung about in court.
He led her down the hallway and a few moments later, they reached a small cave with more passages. It was hot and humid in this area. “Take the tunnel to the left,” Liselle said from behind. “It leads to the northwest. More importantly, it will start to travel up to the surface.” Anilyia glanced back. Somehow, Liselle knew the way out of the tunnels. She had known the way out since doing the cleansing back in that cavern. The ‘world’ spoke to her. As if Liselle weren’t scary enough with the fiery eyes, now she was best friends with the entire world.
Tathan took that tunnel. Immediately, it started to slant upward. There was no carpeting or wall decoration. The light globes were gone, leaving only glowing plants to light their way. Anilyia didn’t like this tunnel at all and moved closer to Tathan, gripping his hand with both of hers.
He smiled at her again. It made her knees feel a little weak, or maybe it was the incline. Tathan didn’t smile a lot, but it was nice when he did, especially when aimed at her. “We’re going to be alright, Your Highness,” Tathan reassured her. “I know it’s scary here. Would you like some more light?” he asked suddenly.
She nodded, not trusting words yet. Tathan spoke an incantation and made a gesture with his right hand. The magical wind rustled his hair, which she had an urge to run her fingers through. A small orb of yellow light appeared, floating a few feet above them near the ceiling. Anilyia’s jaw dropped. She was certain he was a warrior, not a wizard, yet he cast magical light with ease.
Anilyia Page 24