Empire of Demons (The Moonstone Chronicles Book 4)

by Sara C. Roethle

  Elmerah lifted a brow. “And were you supposed to tell me that?”

  Thera shrugged, then stood. “It doesn’t matter. Egrin will get what he wants. Neither of us have any choice.”

  “And what does he want?”

  “An empire of demons.”

  Elmerah shivered. “What did he promise you? Demon magic like he granted the Dreilore?”

  Thera sneered. “The magic is limited. They can only access it when Egrin wills it. He could take it away in an instant. Egrin will rule these lands, and none shall stand against him.”

  The Dreilore guards shifted uneasily. Elmerah would have laughed in their faces if she didn’t fear a beating.

  She turned her attention back to Thera. “Well I’m glad to see you’re trying so hard to stop him,” she said caustically.

  Thera gave her a dead-eyed stare in response. She shook her head at some silent thought. “What happened to Rissine? The last I heard, the emperor was hunting you both.”

  Elmerah leaned back against the bars. “So you don’t know? Your long-time friend will be here soon. The Arthali have her.” And Alluin, and Celen. Gods what a mess.

  “And the priestess?” Thera pressed.

  “I don’t know where she is,” Elmerah lied.

  “That’s something, at least.” Thera stepped back, turning to go.

  “Don’t tell me you actually care about Saida.”

  She noticed a slight tightening around Thera’s eyes as she turned back to her. “I don’t even know the girl. I was just curious. Word around Galterra is that she wields the power of Ilthune and will come to kill us all.”

  Elmerah snorted. Of course that was the rumor Egrin would choose to spread. “The people of this city are fools.”

  Thera’s eyes darted to the Dreilore guards, then back to Elmerah. “Do you think she’s actually a threat?”

  Elmerah watched her for a moment. She was quite sure Thera wasn’t asking if Saida was a threat to the city. She was asking if she was a threat to Egrin. If she cared about a threat to Egrin, that meant she wanted him dead.

  “Not a threat at all.” She gave a slight wink that only Thera could see.

  With a quick nod, Thera turned and retreated.

  Elmerah watched her go. Perhaps her efforts were in vain, but something had changed with the elf. If there was a single ally to be found in the castle, it was her.

  Alluin

  Their captors marched them through the rainy night, arriving at the small port damp and exhausted the next morning. The few sailors and workers milling about watched the procession out of the corners of their eyes. No one dared to look directly at any of the Arthali or Dreilore. Alluin noticed a few more bold glances lingering on him, and he wondered when they last saw a Valeroot elf—if any of his people still remained near the Capital.

  The Dreilore at his back pressed his blade against Alluin’s shirt, prodding him across the wooden dock toward the small ship. Once they were on that ship, they would be taken to the Capital, and escape would be near impossible. The footsteps echoing across the dock seemed to beat in time with his pounding heart.

  He looked to Rissine being marched near his side, wondering why her eyes scanned the ocean so intently, almost as if she expected another ship somewhere out there.

  “Move,” the Dreilore said in a thick accent behind him, and he realized it was his turn to walk the plank up to the small ship.

  He moved in front of the plank, then stepped up onto the board, briefly debating throwing himself into the water below. He would have done it if his hands weren’t shackled. As it stood, he would do Elmerah no good if he drowned himself.

  One by one, they were marched onto the ship, then forced to sit near the main mast. Below, he could barely hear Tunisa exchanging a few words with the portmaster.

  He had been seated next to Rissine, who stretched her neck to continue gazing out at the ocean.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  She glanced at the Dreilore keeping an eye on them, then shook her head. “Whatever happens, you must reach Elmerah. Even if you have to leave all of us behind.”

  “I would gladly put her life before any of yours.” It was a cruel thing to say, but it was the truth. He knew both Rissine and Celen would do the same thing to him. Maybe not Killian—he would probably get himself killed trying to rescue them all, but he could not afford to make the Nokken a priority.

  Once Tunisa was on board, the ship cast off. By his estimations, it would be a short trip to the Capital. If Rissine had some sort of plan, it would have to be enacted soon.

  Tunisa moved behind the main mast, using her magic to fill the sails with wind. The water and sea breeze became louder as they picked up speed. The pit of dread in Alluin’s stomach swelled.

  Killian scooted closer to his other side, opposite Rissine, bumping Alluin’s shoulder with his. His russet hair streamed in the breeze across his pinned-back fox ears. “Just in case you have some sort of plan,” he muttered, “I figured I should tell you that my hands are not actually shackled. I gave the illusion of them being bound when the emperor took Elmerah, and no one realized they hadn’t actually captured me.”

  His words were too low for anyone else to hear, but that didn’t keep Alluin from glancing around warily.

  No one paid them any mind. So they had one ally unbound, for what good it would do them. It would have been more useful to have someone with real magic, not just illusion limited to himself.

  “If you can escape,” he muttered back, “do it. Find Saida and let her know what has happened.”

  Killian blinked amber eyes at him, then nodded.

  Alluin found himself surprised that he believed Killian would do as promised. He never would have thought in one million years he would grow to trust a Nokken, but here they were.

  “Ship ahead!” one of their captors called out.

  Alluin glanced back to see Tunisa rolling her eyes. “It’s surely just militia this close to the Capital!” she shouted back.

  “Akkeri!” another Arthali shouted.

  “Be ready,” Rissine said, bumping Alluin’s shoulder.

  He glanced down at the silver whistle hanging from her neck. His jaw fell open. “You summoned them, didn’t you? Merwyn recognized that whistle.”

  Rissine gave him a wry grin. “It seemed the circumstances called for it.”

  The Arthali and Dreilore hurried around them, preparing for the Akkeri ship heading their way.

  “What did you promise Hotrath in exchange?” Alluin demanded. “Did you say you would give him Saida?”

  She smirked. “My, you do catch on quick. Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not really going to give him the priestess. We will figure it out once we are—”

  The impact from a cannonball rocked the ship. Tunisa cursed, sending her winds toward the Akkeri. If the ship sunk with their hands still bound, they would drown.

  Alluin whipped his attention toward Killian. “Tunisa has the key for our shackles.”

  Killian nodded. In the blink of an eye, a male Dreilore had taken Killian’s place. He hopped to his feet and ran off without another word.

  More cannon fire sounded.

  “Were his hands free this whole time?” Rissine asked, sounding much too calm given the circumstances.

  “Never underestimate a Nokken,” Celen said from somewhere behind them.

  Alluin ignored them both. With the ship wildly rocking, he had lost track of which Dreilore was actually Killian. Then one of the Dreilore bumped into Tunisa’s back. She cursed at him, but was too busy maintaining her winds to realize the keys had gone missing from her belt.

  Killian returned to them a moment later, still in his Dreilore disguise.

  “Rissine first,” Alluin ordered.

  Killian nodded and unlocked her shackles.

  Rissine rubbed her wrists and stood. “The rest of you abandon ship. I will cover your escape.”

  One of the enemy Arthali ran past them, then skidded to
a halt. “Hey!” he grabbed for Rissine.

  His hands now free, Zirin punched the man in the face, knocking him out cold.

  Killian freed Alluin last. They all stood close together, waiting for someone else to notice them.

  “Over the railing at the back of the ship,” Rissine ordered. “Now!”

  Alluin considered for a moment that Elmerah would not want him to leave her sister behind, but at least one of them had to escape. He turned and ran toward the back of the ship.

  He was almost at the railing when a Dreilore jumped in his path. He dove aside, avoiding the Dreilore’s blade, then rolled across the deck and came to his feet.

  A gust of strong wind sent the Dreilore careening sideways.

  Alluin nodded his thanks to Zirin, scaled the railing, then dove into the sea.

  Icy water slammed into him, stealing his breath. He dove deeper, propelling himself away from the ship. It would only take one Dreilore arrow to thwart his escape, so he stayed under. Until they reached shore, they were all on their own.

  He kicked underwater until his lungs screamed for air, then finally he surfaced, daring a quick glance back at the ship. With Arthali winds deflecting most of the cannonballs, the ship was still afloat, but the Akkeri now drew near, preparing to board. That was the last he saw of it as he turned away and continued swimming toward shore.

  A moment later, fox ears popped up in the water beside him, followed by Killian’s dripping wet face. “I don’t think Zirin and Rissine made it off the ship. They fought the Dreilore so Celen and I could get away.”

  “Just keep swimming,” he panted. “There’s nothing we can do for them now.”

  Despite his words, he briefly debated going back. If Elmerah survived long enough to learn that he left her sister for dead, it would surely be the end for them all.

  Chapter Twelve

  Alluin

  “Keep moving,” Alluin ordered, seeing that Celen and Killian were beginning to slow. He understood that they were tired—he was worn to the bone himself—but they had already lost too much time. He knew what Egrin had done to Elmerah when he captured her before. He couldn’t just leave her to that fate again.

  “We need a plan,” Celen argued. “We’ll reach Galterra in the morning. How do we intend to reach Ellie? My magic can only get us so far, and we have nothing to prevent that demon from crushing the air out of us.”

  He stopped walking, looking back at Celen and Killian. Their clothes had dried, but both looked haggard and about ready to fall over. “I know how to get into the city unnoticed.”

  Celen walked toward him, swiping a palm across his scarred face and back into his short hair. He smelled like the ocean and sweat. “And into the keep? The dungeon? Wherever she is being held?”

  Alluin didn’t have an answer for him. He’d never been within the main castle. “We can’t just leave her there.”

  “Saida—”

  He shook his head, cutting Celen off. “She would have gone after her army by now. We don’t know how to find her.”

  Killian moved closer, his fox ears pinned back against his hair. His amber eyes were hooded, wary. “I’ll go. I can disguise myself and find a way into the castle. If I can locate my sister—”

  Celen gave Killian a warning glance. “You don’t know that she’s still there, or that she’ll even help you. She volunteered to work with the emperor after he threatened your people.”

  Killian’s pointy chin lowered. “I know, but if I can simply explain things to her—”

  “No,” Alluin said. “Even if we can find her, we don’t know that we can trust her. We can’t risk her turning us in before we reach Elmerah.”

  Killian straightened. “Well I’ll still go. I can get into the castle. I’ll find a path to Elmerah. She’s my friend too.”

  He considered the Nokken’s offer. He highly doubted Elmerah thought him a friend in return, let alone someone who should be trusted with her life. Sending Killian ahead would mean putting every ounce of trust he had into someone he had only recently gotten to know . . . but what other choice did he have? Killian had saved their necks on the ship, and he had saved them before in Aeluvaria.

  He glanced around at the slowly darkening trees. If they kept walking, they could reach Galterra that very night. “Alright,” he decided, “I’ll get us into the city, and you’ll get us into the keep. With any luck Saida’s army will arrive and provide a distraction.”

  “We have no weapons,” Celen argued. “We don’t even have cloaks to hide our appearance.”

  Alluin’s gut clenched at the thought of pillaging any belongings left behind by his people, but he knew some of the camps had been hastily abandoned. Some useful items might remain. “I know where we may be able to find some supplies.” Supplies left behind because too many had been lost, and not everything could be carried.

  Celen watched him for a moment, clearly wondering, but he didn’t question Alluin’s offer. “Lead on then.” He hesitated. “I don’t like the idea of what’s happening to Ellie either, you know.”

  “I know.” He nodded. “We’ll get her back.” Again. She was lost again. As hard as he tried, he just kept losing her.

  It was a habit he fully intended to break.

  Rissine

  The image of Tunisa tied to the main mast with shackles on her wrists was something Rissine hoped to remember for the rest of her life. The few other surviving Arthali and Dreilore were shackled too, all seated on the deck while Hotrath decided if it was worth keeping them alive.

  Glancing at the High King, she stepped a little closer to Zirin. The Akkeri had kept their part of the bargain, now they would expect her to deliver Saida. What might they do when she told them she had no idea where the elven priestess was? Whatever they chose, there would be no escaping them. Several more ships loomed in the distance, slowly closing in. Hotrath had promised an army, and he had delivered.

  She startled when she realized the High King was watching her.

  “You don’t seem to have my payment.” He raised a massive bare brow at her.

  The other Akkeri who had boarded the ship chattered around him, some poking spears at their new captives. The rage in one female Dreilore’s eyes gave Rissine the chills. The Akkeri had shackled a pack of wolves, and Rissine hoped they knew better than to ever free them.

  She gnawed her lip, realizing Hotrath was still waiting for a reply. Think, Rissine, think. “She will be delivered once I have finished using your army.”

  Hotrath gave her an irritated smile. “Is that so? What else would you have of us?”

  The surrounding Akkeri had her so unnerved, she blurted the first thing that came to mind. “We must attack Galterra and rescue my sister from Egrin Dinoba.”

  “You fool,” Tunisa interrupted. “As if the Akkeri could take the Capital. If they had such numbers they would have pillaged the city long ago.”

  Hotrath burst out laughing, the sound surprisingly rich and throaty. “You are brazen, witch, but I will need proof that you can provide the priestess, separated from the circlet, of course.”

  Rissine glanced at Zirin, then the captive Arthali. She did not like divulging any information in front of the latter, but she had a feeling she was running out of time to bargain. “Saida marches toward the Capital with an army of Makali warriors. She intends to use the circlets to destroy Egrin Dinoba. Once that has been accomplished, it would be the perfect time to catch her unaware. She trusts me enough. I could get close to her.”

  Hotrath moved closer, his footsteps heavy on the deck. He loomed a full head taller than her, casting her in shadow. “You want us to attack the Capital, a well fortified city protected by Dreilore, demons, and the militia?”

  Her mouth went dry. “Surely demons do not protect the city.”

  “If Dinoba summons them, they will come.”

  She crossed her arms, gripping her flesh tightly through her torn emerald coat. If the Akkeri and Makali attacked at the same time, and were met with Dre
ilore, the militia, and demons . . . it would be a bloodbath.

  But it might also be just the distraction she needed to reach Elmerah.

  She pretended to think things over for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, that is what I would like you to do. Help me rescue my sister, and I will do everything in my power to deliver Saida and the circlet to you.” She felt ill just making the offer. Elmerah was never going to forgive her, but at least she would be alive.

  Hotrath studied her face. “And what of our captives?” He extended one meaty palm toward the bound Arthali.

  Rissine shrugged. “Throw them overboard for all I care.”

  Hotrath stepped so close his fishy odor was overwhelming. “No, I think I will hang onto them for now. If you betray me, I will give you to them.” He glanced at Tunisa, then back to her. “I think that one has something truly terrible planned for you.”

  Rissine sucked her teeth. After the humiliation Tunisa had suffered, she really would cut Rissine into tiny bits, but it was still better than what the Dreilore might do to her.

  She held out a hand toward Hotrath. She would have to worry about that later, just as she would worry about Saida later. For now, more Akkeri ships appeared in the distance. The Capital was not far. Egrin would rue the day he decided to cross Shadowmarsh witches.

  Hotrath seemed surprised for a moment by her offer, then he took her hand and shook it. His skin was damp and clammy. “I cannot wait to see the look on Dinoba’s face.”

  She could hardly even imagine it. “You and me both,” she breathed, hoping she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.

  Saida

  Saida stood near Vessa and the other elves as they took in their army. The Makali had made tremendous progress, reaching an area of the woods over halfway between Galterra and Aeluvaria. There would be no going back now. Tomorrow they would march on the Capital.

  Brosod had gone with Malon to meet with the clan leaders.