Warrior Queen (Skeleton Key)

by Shona Husk

  While it wasn’t the norm, Keleti was happy to sign off on the agreement.

  The now ex-husband still wasn’t thrilled. He’d been hoping that he’d get some of his wife’s wealth even though he had no children to look after. This would be a mark against his name. He would find it hard to marry up again. The woman probably wouldn’t risk such a hasty union again.

  Keleti didn’t want to make that mistake either. While her consort would only be entitled to a small stipend should they split, she still didn’t want that hassle or the breach of trust. She pressed her lips together and listened to a few more grievances, many related to the additional citizens within the walls after they had fled their destroyed villages. Extended family was testing people’s good will.

  Again Keleti knew how they felt. All her people were her family and some days she was tired of their arguing. This was a job that her consort could do.

  As much as she wanted the help, she wanted more than a political marriage, especially after her experience with the Southerners. While the idea had been sensible, in her heart she hadn’t wanted it. She should have listened to her gut and refused from the start.

  The war would have started sooner. She doubted anything could have prevented it. If she’d have married a Southerner, the enemy would’ve been within the walls and taking them over from the inside.

  At least the failed negotiations had brought them some time to get most of the harvest in and start to make ready. They still weren’t ready and she had the stranger from another world in the caves beneath her city.

  She called a break. For the most part people didn’t grumble too loud.

  Her daughter had stood behind her for the whole thing. It was part of her training. She had to learn the laws of the land and the meanings of the rituals as well as how to apply them to day to day life.

  “Do you want me to take over?” Driska was frowning. She didn’t look as though she was sure that she could.

  As much as Keleti wanted to say yes, she shook her head. Driska had to look as though she knew what she was doing before she sat in that chair. Keleti remembered how terrifying that was the first time and the weight of responsibility. “Not today.”

  She looked at her daughter. Her eyes were the same blue as the priest’s. There was no hint of gold. Had she imagined it? They would have to talk soon, before Driska started to feel the urge to stand on the edge of the cliff with the wind on her skin.

  Keleti laid her hand on her daughter’s arm. “We should eat together tonight.”

  Her daughter nodded. “I think so.”

  They walked out arm in arm. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much.”

  “I understand. I know we are in trouble.” Driska’s face tightened. “How much trouble?”

  Keleti couldn’t bring herself to tell her daughter that there was no army coming to help them and that her cousin was missing. While she’d checked with the messengers this morning there was no word on Nadri. The whole situation felt wrong. The longer it continued the more worried Keleti was becoming.

  She’d have to get the priests to see if they could divine a way forward that didn’t end in capitulation to the Southerners.

  “We will be fine.” Did they have enough food and water put away? How long would they be able to last? If the invaders dammed the river, then they would run out of water fast. She doubted that they would poison it.

  Keleti smiled even she didn’t feel at all cheerful.

  “Is it true you caught a spy?” Driska’s eyes were bright with curiosity.

  Keleti stopped and faced her daughter. They were the same height; maybe Driska was a little taller. “We caught a man, but I don’t think he is a spy.”

  Once she’d spoken the words aloud, they felt right. He didn’t look like a Southerner. From his rat ears to his odd clothing to his magic key…he was other and like no one she’d ever met before.

  “Who is he?”

  “I don’t know.” But he had arrived when her city needed a miracle. Perhaps she should find a way to make the most of him. It was unwise to spurn any gift from the gods, even if it did seem strange. However, all magic was strange and best left to the priests to contemplate.

  She hadn’t even asked the rat-eared man his name. That was something she planned on rectifying. Perhaps there was a way to use his appearance to her advantage.

  Bryce hadn’t slept well. The ocean was loud and unsettlingly close. It wasn’t just the ocean, though. It was everything. He’d managed to get his hands free, and had contemplated escaping, but there was nowhere to go—assuming that he didn’t kill himself on the climb down. He doubted he would be able to manage the climb up and the priest still had the key that was his only way home.

  However, he had no intention of dying in a cave either.

  This morning he decided to turn on his phone, there was still no signal so he’d looked through his photos. He had no idea if he’d see any of the people in them again. Had he already been reported missing?

  But who was expecting him and who would be missing him? He had no job to turn up to. It would be a few days before his neighbors noticed the mail stacking up.

  No one would notice that he was gone yet.

  That wasn’t comforting.

  He sat on the edge and dangled his legs out the cave. Below him was a beautiful beach that he knew would be swallowed up by nightfall. Somewhere there was a waterfall, he could hear it when the waves weren’t so violent. He’d been rationing the water he’d been left with, not sure when, or if he was going to get more. Further out in the ocean he saw great green creatures with long graceful necks dive and surface.

  His first thought had been dinosaurs, but really they could be anything. However they still made him smile as he watched them. It was a pretty view if he chose to forget why he was here. When his phone eventually died he would watch it fall into the ocean and see how long it took. If he tried to free climb out of here, he knew that with one slip he’d make that fall.

  He wasn’t that desperate, yet.

  A shadow swept over the cave. He blinked then saw the great hawk, Keleti. That still hurt his head. He’d seen it happen and there was still a disconnect. The bird turned and he realized with a start that she was coming toward him.

  He swore and scrambled back.

  The hawk was only seconds behind him, her talons skidded on the chalky floor and tore up pebbles.

  His heart was about to tear free of his chest as the great golden eyes watched him. Then she shook and there was a shimmer like sunlight on water and then the bird was gone. Keleti picked up what she’d been carrying and shook out a simple cloth that she wrapped around herself to form a dress.

  Bryce lowered his gaze. He shouldn’t have been watching her dress even though she didn’t seem worried about being naked.

  When she was done she picked up the rest of the things she’d carried in the cloth she was now wearing and sat on the floor near where he had scrambled to. “I saw you sitting there. I would have done a second sweep to give you a chance to move.”

  “I didn’t know.” And he wasn’t game to look up. His cheeks were burning at the memory of her legs and ass and the feather tattoo running the length of her spine.

  “What is your name?”

  “Bryce Allard.” Not that it made any difference here. He could’ve called himself Cucumber.

  “I am Keleti the Heavenly. Queen of Telsila.” She paused. “Do you hide your face out of deceit or is it your custom not to look people in the eye when speaking to them?”

  Bryce lifted his chin and met her gaze. “You are a Queen and I am a commoner and your prisoner.”

  She frowned for a moment. “Here you had best learn to look a person in the eye lest they think you a liar.”

  “Understood.” It still didn’t feel quite right to look at her. Her face was partly in shadow, but there was a golden glint in her eyes. “How do you…um…become a hawk?”

  The words sounded silly when spoken. People couldn’t
turn into animals. Not where he came from anyway. Here, well there were plesiosaurs in the ocean so what he thought he knew didn’t really apply.

  “Those with royal blood have the magic. How many of your people have keys?”

  “Magic keys? None that I know of. I have no idea why I ended up with that one. This is all some kind of horrible mistake.” But why had the key been by his letter box? Had it been dropped or left for him? If it had been left, why not put it somewhere more obvious? Then there was the question of why was the key magic. and where had it come from in the first place? He had absolutely no answers.

  What if other people, missing persons, had found keys and gone to other worlds? Was it something that happened on a regular basis? He thought of all the unsolved disappearances and couldn’t suppress the shiver.

  She considered him for a moment, then unwrapped food. She picked up what looked like a palm sized bun. She ate and considered him, her gaze was calm and unflinching. He’d never had anyone stare so openly—except the occasional druggie looking to start a fight.

  Looking away would be considered rude so he made himself hold her gaze even though he was squirming with discomfort on the inside.

  “I do not believe it was a horrible mistake. I think you are here for a reason Bryce Allard.”

  “Just Bryce will be fine. What reason could that be? I am not a military strategist, or a soldier. I’m an ex-cop.” Seeing her lifted eyebrow he clarified. “Policeman.”

  “What is an excop policeman?”

  “I used to be a policeman. Um.” He wasn’t explaining his job very well. “I arrested criminals and upheld the law. That kind of stuff.” They had to have something similar here.

  She nodded and kept on eating. He was hungry. He’d eaten most of the food this morning. “The reason you are here will become clear.”

  He wanted to believe he was here for a reason and once he’d done what was needed he’d be able to leave. “And I will be able to go home?”

  Once he was done the key would work again. The idea was tempting to hold onto. He was grasping at anything that would make this make sense.

  “If the gods will it.”

  “And what gods are there here?” None that he’d be familiar with, that was for sure.

  “The gods are everywhere.”

  “Here?”

  She frowned. “Of course.” She patted the rock. “The earth, the air, the ocean.”

  “Nature?”

  “Gods have the magic to weave each life, but each life has the power to make its own pattern. Without the gods there would be no magic. No magic, no life.”

  “And the temple and the priests are where the magic happens.”

  She smiled. “Exactly. It is important to use the magic all around us. To ignore it would mean turning away a gift. You are a gift from the gods. I have yet to decide how best to use you.”

  Keleti tilted her head and the light caught the curve of her pointed ear, reminding him that he wasn’t on Earth anymore and that he could take nothing at face value.

  “You don’t practice human sacrifice do you?” He tried to make his voice light.

  She gasped. “The Telsila are not some barbarian tribe from the south. Is that common among your people?”

  “No…I just…I don’t know what to expect here.” I need to know how expendable I am. “You could drop me over the cliff and no one would be any the wiser.”

  “One doesn’t drop a gift from the gods over a cliff. That is reserved for the worst kind of criminal. But I don’t know if I can trust you.”

  “You have the key, my only way home. I’m not going to run.”

  She finished what she was eating and licked her fingers. “You are here, and we don’t know why. You want to get home. We are on the same side, I think. If you help me, you may have your key.”

  “Help you do what?”

  “We are at war.” Her expression suggested that the rest of the answer was obvious.

  He didn’t know how to fight a war. “And if you lose?”

  “Then we will all be enslaved.” She stood up. “The choice is yours, Bryce. But I warn you, if you do betray my trust or try to steal the key, then I will drop you over the cliff and call you a test from the gods.”

  Bryce found his lips curving despite the threat. She wasn’t a woman to mess around with. “I think you’re right. If the door doesn’t open, I need to do something before it will. I’m willing to find out what that it is—as long as it doesn’t involve dropping me off the cliff.”

  “Good.” She unwound the cloth and was naked again. Her body was lithe and golden. She was magical and it seemed to radiate from her. It was no wonder she was called the Heavenly.

  He looked away before he could be caught staring.

  “You do not like what you see? Or does your tribe find the body shameful?”

  “People generally keep their clothes on unless they are about to sleep together.” Now he could feel his cheeks burning. He was feeling like a fourteen year old boy getting caught with a lingerie catalogue under his bed.

  “Your people are odd.”

  “Yeah.” But he still didn’t look at her.

  “Sit on the cloth and I will carry you back up.” She walked toward the cave entrance. “Make sure you get close to the edge.” Then she jumped.

  His stomach lurched. He was never going to get used to seeing that.

  Six

  Keleti sat and read messages while Bryce was bathed. Water was already being rationed in preparation for the siege, so instead of a bath, there was a bowl of water and two attendants with cloths and soap. A night in the cave had done nothing for Bryce’s odor—nor had the night prior to that drinking. His clothes had been sent for washing. They were quite curious, especially the metal fastening on his pants. Southerners wore pants, but not like his. The fabrics were also different from anything she’d ever seen.

  Aside from the attendants there was also the messenger. This was her private bathroom. She could have sent him to the public baths under guard, but she wasn’t ready to let him out of the palace.

  Nor did she want him in the servants’ quarters.

  She wasn’t ready for people to be talking about him, and she didn’t know how to explain his presence. She would need an explanation or people would create their own. No, the reasoning behind his sudden appearance had to be carefully crafted to be in her advantage.

  He kept a hand over his genitals as though uncomfortable being naked around people. He had flinched when the attendants had started washing him, but was now standing still. His back was to her, so she had time to study him more closely and without him realizing.

  Would he be more worried if she told him that she was looking at his legs? The shape of his back, and the curve of his arms? Clothing was cut to show off strength. He turned enough that he could catch her gaze. His hand was still firmly in place. Was he worried that everyone in the room would stare at what was between his legs? What was between his legs? Was it something odd like his ears? She slowly turned her head as though she didn’t care that he had caught her looking—she didn’t care—but her curiosity had been pricked even though she shouldn’t be wondering about what he was hiding. Genitals were really only interesting if something was going to happen.

  Nothing was going to happen.

  She didn’t have time for anything to happen.

  Her gaze flicked back to the foreign man. His body was like that of normal men, though a little hairier. His skin had obvious lines between the areas that saw the sun and those that didn’t. His forearms were tanned against the paler skin of his belly. His brown hair darkened and snaked down from his navel. She bit back her smile as he was doused in water. He was nothing like a Southerner in looks or manners. He was completely strange and from somewhere far away…the thought lingered.

  He was, in a way, an Ambassador from his country, or even his world.

  She studied Bryce again, this time with the gaze of a queen, not a woman enjoying the flesh
on display.

  Keleti turned her attention to the man standing near her chair. She had received word back from the closest cities already. They would send warriors, but they had not seen Nadri. She had not gone and asked them for help the way she had been supposed to.

  Her cousin had vanished.

  That was troubling.

  The nearest cities wouldn’t be able to raise enough warriors in a few days. They would need to prepare and then attack the invaders from the back, pinching them against the city walls. Her city would have to withstand the siege and prevent the army from getting in. Rations would need to be implemented in preparation. Better to do it now than later.

  She would order all water tight containers to be filled. She glanced at her full bath that everyone was forbidden to use. There would be no baths until the siege was over. Like everyone else, she would use only the smallest bowl of water to wash herself. She would rather be dirty than dead from thirst.

  Keleti read the full message then refolded it. “Thank you. I want to know immediately when news comes in, regardless of how high the moon is in the sky.”

  Nadri had never made it to even the closest cities, which meant that the ones further north were unaware. “Send birds north to alert them to the problem.”

  “Of course.” He inclined his head and stepped away.

  Where was her cousin? The disquiet in her gut wouldn’t settle. If her cousin had been captured, then Keleti would have to wait for the ransom. How had the Southerners caught her? She would have been flying…unless. She swallowed. Unless Nadri had been shot down, but that would mean that the invaders had spies close by, and her runners had made it to the nearest city. It made no sense.

  She couldn’t sit here any longer. “Dry him off and get him dressed. I have matters to attend to.”

  What was she going to do with him? The longer she kept his presence a secret, the less it would be a secret. No one knew about the key except for the priest. Perhaps… Yes. She would call him an Ambassador.