Pandora's Box: Land of Strife: Pandora's Box Series, Book 1

by S. Y. Lee

  “I’m not letting my daughter go off with you again,” he sneered, but the wizard was in no mood to argue with him and squeezed past the skinny man.

  “Then come along,” she said.

  *

  “Keep your sword drawn, you might need it,” Elin said to Leo, who was two steps behind her as they ascended the stairwell. Once they reached the ground level, the wizard started running back the way they had come from initially, although she made a different turn that brought them back to the throne room. It was empty since the council wasn’t assembled and the group ran through the hollow halls to the back of the throne room, where Elin led them down deserted corridors and up several flights of stairs at a frantic pace.

  Qasper and Leo had no problem keeping up with her, while Sarah helped David carry some of the waterskins. Out of all of them, Alister was probably the most agile and light-footed, and he hovered around Sarah, constantly on the lookout for potential danger.

  It seemed the wizard knew exactly where she was going and she brought them to the bottom of a set of grand stairs where about a dozen guards stood with their swords out and shields in front of them. These guards wore plated armors that covered them from head to toe, unlike the rest of the cohort that David had been drafted into, and one of them shouted for the group to halt.

  At the top of the stairs was a pair of majestic doors. These were made of gold, or at least were gold plated, a stark difference from the dull but heavy metal door that had guarded the tunnel deep beneath their feet. Halfway down the steps, a female dwarf was making her descent. Leo recognized her. It was Opilia, one of the council members who had disapproved of Elin’s plan and had vehemently denied the wizard’s all but subtle accusations.

  “What are you all doing here? Qasper, why are you with them?” the dwarf demanded to know, but Elin wasn’t going to suffer another a verbal argument. The wizard charged at the guards, flinging balls of fire directly at them. Most were quick enough to deflect the flames with their shields, but one wasn’t so lucky as his entire upper torso caught on fire and he screamed in pain.

  “Follow me!” Elin shouted. With another flick of her wrist, the wide stairs crumbled on both sides, causing some of the guards to lose their footing, while the rest of the group followed her up the middle of the stairs. Leo and Alister flanked the twins, who had their hands full, as they fended off the guards. Leo was mindful to adopt a defensive stance and he parried the guards’ strikes with his sword and pushed them away, and Alister exercised considerable constraint, using his limber feet to stomp on their shields and swipe at their feet instead of deploying his lethal throwing knives.

  As Elin ran up the stairs, she ignored the unarmed dwarf who did nothing but yell and protest at their trespassing. The others did the same, running past Opilia on either side of her until they were in front of the gilded entrance. Just as Elin placed her palms on the doors to push them open, Leo heard a sharp, high-pitch cry of agony from behind them, which everyone else had seemed to miss.

  While the rest of the group entered through the doors, Leo stopped at the top of the stairs as Qasper, the last person in the group, hurried past him. He turned around and saw the back of Opilia’s tiny head and her braided red hair, and she appeared to be clutching her chest. He knew he shouldn’t be wasting time, but he was curious to find out what had caused her alarmed outburst. That was soon explained, as Opilia stumbled sideways unsteadily, before tumbling down the stairs. When she finally came to rest at the bottom of the stone steps, Leo saw her lifeless eyes staring up and a dagger plunged into her chest. Blood was just now beginning to form a dark, scarlet blot on her clothes.

  “Leo! Come on!” Sarah shouted out to him. Numbed by the shock of Opilia’s death, Leo slowly backed through the doors and turned to join the group. They were standing in a lavish bedroom. A massive woven carpet covered the entire floor, and the room was decorated with various paintings, ornaments, and embroidered curtains and cushions. In the middle of the room was a poster bed that was too big for one person, or even four, and there was a young child, who couldn’t have been more than twelve years old, lying in the center of it.

  Leo would have confronted Alister or Qasper about Opilia’s death, since they were the only two viable culprits who could have committed the murder, but the sight before him was equally appalling. The boy wore a gilded purple robe and looked ghastly as he snarled at his visitors. His eyes were bloodshot and his mouth foamed as he struggled against ropes that bound his hands to the bedposts. This was the King of Thelmont.

  Elin sat on the bed beside the boy, who was more feral than human at this point. “You didn’t tell me he was this far along,” she said softly, as she fondly touched the boy’s hair while he growled at her. “This is not the normal corruption of Gormore. Someone has poisoned him.”

  Everyone else turned to Qasper, who didn’t say a word. He stood on the other side of the bed and stared at the boy.

  “David, bring the waterskins here,” Elin said. She took out a small knife from her robe and Sarah gasped audibly.

  “You can’t kill him!” she exclaimed and grabbed the wizard’s hand that held the knife.

  “I don’t intend to, even if it might be a better end for him. We just need a few drops of his blood,” Elin responded, looking Sarah in the eyes. Whatever she saw in Elin’s eyes, it was assuring enough that she let go. Then, using the small blade in her hand, Elin leaned over to the young king and pricked his index finger.

  “Come, bring one of the waterskins to me. Open it,” Elin told David. He hesitated at first, looking at his sister for a gut check and only complied when she gave him the go ahead. Elin squeezed a drop of blood into the water and from David’s expression, it was clear there was some sort of chemical reaction to it.

  “It’s turning blue,” he said, peering into the waterskin.

  “Good. Quickly, bring me the others,” Elin instructed.

  Outside the king’s chambers, the guards could be heard groaning in pain as they regrouped, and Alister stepped out of the room for a moment. From where he was standing, Leo could see a flurry of movement, mostly by Alister, who dodged and weaved while kicking the guards back down the stairs. It was a good thing he had insisted on tagging along. Leo wasn’t sure if he could have handled the guards by himself.

  In the face of the attack on the city, lines were being blurred and he frankly had no idea if they were supposed to side with or against the guards. While they shared a common enemy, their goals and paths to accomplishing them diverged. Forcing their way into the king’s chambers to steal his blood certainly wasn’t going to help their standing with the guards.

  When Elin was done, Alister had already returned to the room and she handed the waterskins to Sarah and David and got up from the bed.

  “What about the boy?” Sarah asked. She felt sorry for him and while she knew that he was the sovereign king of this massive city, all she saw lying in the bed was a sick child.

  Elin shook her head and pulled Sarah by the arm to the doors. “There’s nothing we can do for him. We must go.”

  Leo was about to follow them out, when he realized that Qasper had stayed by the bedside and was leaning over and looking down at the boy king. Suddenly, Leo was overwhelmed by a gut-wrenching feeling. In that instant, he knew that something bad was about to happen and he regretted not calling out Qasper earlier about Opilia’s death.

  “Qasper! Step away from him!” Leo shouted, but it was too late. The goblin had a dagger in his hand. It was identical to the one currently lodged in the female dwarf’s chest at the bottom of the stairs, and in one swift motion, Qasper plunged it downwards into the boy’s heart. The king’s mouth opened in shock and his body stiffened for a second, before going limp.

  “No!” Sarah screamed when she saw what had happened. Giving it no thought, she ran at Qasper, with the waterskins in her arms, and in a blink of an eye, he had pulled the dagger out of the king and slashed it across the front of Sarah. Blue water splashed out as th
e stunned Englishwoman staggered back and both Alister and David lunged forward to prevent her from falling to the ground.

  Leo charged at the goblin with his sword, who was nimbler than he imagined and kept dodging his blade until a fireball from the direction of Elin came hurtling at Qasper’s head. Qasper ducked, and so did Leo behind him, but he was able to roll forward on the ground and lob off the goblin’s left foot with one swing of his sword.

  Outside the room, a horn sounded somewhere in the castle, no doubt because someone had raised the alarm on their intrusion. Leo got back up to his feet and pointed his sword at the goblin’s face. Qasper was screaming in pain while rolling on the floor, and in no condition to flee or fight, so Leo hurried over to Sarah’s side to see how she was doing. She laid in Alister’s arms in her now soaked clothes and there was blood all over her. She hadn’t anticipated Qasper lashing out at her, and there were deep cuts on both of her arms, and a long gash just below her neck, though it didn’t appear to be too deep.

  She was breathing heavily as she held David’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed through her tears. Elin had come over too and she was holding a cloth that she pressed onto the wound on Sarah’s chest.

  “Hold it there to stop the bleeding,” the wizard said to Alister as she examined Sarah and let out a sigh of relief after further inspection of the cuts. “She’ll be fine.”

  “She can’t stay here. Or go wherever it is you lot were off to,” the skinny man who was her guardian in this world said. He was surprisingly calm and composed, which was out of character for his bombastic and flamboyant nature. He took his pelt off and wrapped it around Sarah to keep her warm.

  Elin looked down at the wet carpet. Sarah had been carrying three of the waterskins and they had partially shielded her from Qasper’s attack, though they were now destroyed and their contents spilled all over the floor. There were only four left. “She couldn’t make the journey even if she wanted to. Only four can go now,” Elin muttered. Leo could tell she was trying to figure out in her mind who the four should be.

  “I’m not going anywhere without my sister, so count me out,” David said.

  The wizard nodded and told Leo to gather up the remaining waterskins so that they could return to the tunnel entrance. “You must go quickly before the guards get here,” Elin told the other three. David carried his twin sister in both arms and he looked to Alister. He didn’t like him or the fact that he claimed to be Sarah’s guardian, but her life depended on him now.

  “I’ll carry her. Think you can get us out of here?” he asked.

  Alister curled the end of his mustache upwards with his right hand, and palmed one of his throwing blades in the other. “Of course. Let’s go,” he said, and they headed to the doors.

  “Sarah!” Leo called out to his friend, but he was at a loss for words when she looked over her brother’s shoulder at him. He felt bad about going to Gormore without them, but there was no other alternative and they both knew it.

  The loss of blood was quickly sapping her strength, but she still managed a weak smile at him when he didn’t say anything. “I’ll be okay, Leo. Go. We’ll find some way to join you all. I know it.” Her hopeful words made his eyes well up, and he had to hold back his tears, knowing that this might be the last time they saw each other.

  After the trio left, Elin walked over to the goblin writhing on the carpet. “Why?” she simply asked.

  “You know why! You and all the humans slaughtered my clan like we were animals!” Qasper screamed.

  “And the tunnel? You weren’t trying to help us get to Gormore, were you?”

  Qasper laughed through his pain. “Oh no, I was going to kill you then send word to Gormore for them to attack from there. But then, you gave me the chance to kill the king!”

  “Elin, we’ve got to go,” Leo said. He was eyeing the doorway anxiously and he didn’t care for what Qasper had to say.

  “Thelmont took your clan in,” Elin said to Qasper.

  “Thelmont stood by while you help the others murder my clan.” Qasper’s voice was growing weaker and he was losing a massive amount of blood from the wound inflicted by Leo.

  “Only to stop your clan from doing it to others,” Elin said sadly. She signaled to Leo that it was time to return to the others. “We merely won.”

  They left the goblin there on the ground of the bedroom where he had just murdered the king.

  Chapter 84

  “Where are the others?”

  Those were the first words out of Eva’s mouth when she saw Elin and Leo return.

  “Sarah’s hurt. She’ll be okay, but she can’t make the trip with us. David and Alister are staying with her,” Leo said. He looked over at the tunnel entrance and the bars that previously blocked it were gone and a rubble of ice was on the ground. He counted the faces in the room, including his own, and wondered what to do. There were seven of them and only four waterskins with the special concoction that Elin claimed would ward off the adverse effects of Gormore.

  “Elin, can we share these?” He held up the waterskins in his arms.

  She shook her head. “No, it has to last the journey. Each person will have to drink at least a few mouthfuls every day. I don’t know the exact dosage, but it would be prudent to have a sip at the slightest hint of giddiness or if either of you find yourselves starting to go mad for no reason.”

  Eva and Jessica were confused at first, until they realized Leo was only carrying four of the waterskins, while Caitlin and Themba were clueless to the discussion. Up to this point, they had been content to tag along and go with the flow of the group while the city was under attack. Few words had been exchanged while Leo and Elin were gone, and there was no time to catch them up now on the plan. Karine appeared indifferent to this development. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

  Nobody spoke for a long time. There were seven people in the room, but only four would be able to make the perilous journey. Elin was in the pole position to make the decision on who should venture into the tunnel, which would likely include herself. She possessed the most knowledge of the Blood Throne and her magical prowess was going to be a huge asset.

  Eva moved across the room and gravitated to Leo’s side. She had no intention of being separated from him again and she was determined to ensure that both of them made the trip, even if it meant facing insurmountable odds. She hadn’t come this far to turn around and stay here for the rest of her life. She took two of the waterskins out of Leo’s arms and tucked one into the bag slung over her shoulder, before doing the same for Leo. That left two waterskins in his arms.

  “Leo and I are going,” Eva asserted to the room. She couldn’t bear to look anyone in the eyes, especially the others who had been brought to this world by the wooden boxes, and tell them they couldn’t go. Someone else could make that call.

  “I’m going too,” Jessica said, and she walked over Leo to grab one of the waterskins. There was only one spot left.

  Caitlin had been lurking quietly in a corner, but she felt a need to speak up then. “Wait, why are we doing this? I’m not sure where this tunnel leads to or what you all hope to accomplish there.”

  “It leads to a place where we might be able to find a way back to our world, although it’s probably going to be dangerous,” Eva said.

  “Speaking of that, who’s from, uh… Earth?” the Australian asked. Elin and Karine were the only ones who didn’t raise their hands.

  “And David and Sarah,” Leo added. He held out the last waterskin to Caitlin. “Do you want to come?” he asked. He glanced at Eva to see if she approved, but it was difficult to tell what she was thinking. On one hand, she felt strongly that if this was an opportunity to return to where they came from, then each person in their world should be given the opportunity to make the journey. Yet, she also approached the hypothetical strategically. From a tactical viewpoint and for the highest probability of success of their quest, it made more sense to have Elin or Karine as their last
companion.

  “I’m not going,” the elf said abruptly. She had gotten off the wall and was walking over to the trio who were prepared to leave. “Thelmont cannot fall, or this entire land will be swallowed into an inescapable darkness. I’ll stay and fight,” Karine said as she embraced Eva, then Leo. Her arms lingered a little longer around Leo, until she finally let go and smiled. “Be safe,” she said softly to him and made for the stairwell.

  “Wait,” Elin spoke up. The elf stopped mid-stride and turned around slightly with an eyebrow raised, waiting for the wizard to continue. “I’m staying too. The mistress is right. Thelmont is without a king or full council now. I must help the city repel its attackers. There’s no point in defeating the Blood King if there is nothing left standing.”

  Eva was surprised. She had thought for sure Elin would have insisted on going or dictated who would be allowed go under her supervision. This was an unexpected development. “But Elin, we need your knowledge and power,” she uttered, without thinking about how her words could be perceived by Caitlin and the thus far silent Themba. She blushed when she realized the faux pas she had committed and looked down at her feet.

  “I don’t want to go either. I can stay here and help,” Themba offered. While it might have sounded like he was trying to provide Eva with leeway on her comments, he was actually speaking out of terror, as he stared into the darkness of the tunnel. From what he could gather, great peril awaited them at the other end and without the wizard or elf, he wasn’t sure he wanted to place himself in harm’s way for an improbable chance to go back to Johannesburg. He couldn’t risk failing, or worse, dying.

  Themba’s pronouncement appeared to pave the way for Caitlin to take the final spot of the quartet to head into the tunnel to Gormore, but the matter wasn’t settled.

  “No, you go ahead,” she said to Themba, giving him a gentle push towards Leo. “I’ll stay and help David and his sister. It’s the least I could do after he helped me. I have no idea what you all are talking about, but I’m going to find a way back to my family no matter what. I’ve been by myself in this place for weeks. I can survive.”