Outside, the music and chanting were clearer, drifting down from the top level of the ziggurat. She eyed the stairs that flanked the side of the structure. There was no cover. She’d be completely exposed, and if there were more Anunnaki above, they could easily fly down in an ambush.
Lacking wings herself, she didn’t look forward to a fight on the stairs where one misstep could send her tumbling two-thirds of the way down the side of the ziggurat to a painful death. Above her head rose the last level of the structure and upon its flattened pinnacle loomed the temple.
Drawing in a deep, fortifying breath, she darted up the steps, only halting when she was almost even with the temple’s topmost level. She crouched, studying the layout. Rows of torches lined the edge, their light reflecting against the gold-plated temple columns. In other places, polished lapis lazuli and colored plaster devoured the light, empowering the deepest shadows to hide unseen assailants.
Dancers moved in time to drum and voice, twisting and spinning gracefully between the shadow and the light. She was about to run headlong into an unknown number of enemy, but she didn’t care. Kuwari was up there and needed her help.
She leaped into motion, taking the last stairs two at a time and emerged on to the floor of the temple. The dancers didn’t react to her arrival as she’d expected. Instead of scattering to make way for armed guards, they shifted closer to her as they continued their graceful spinning and leaping dance. Their actions weren’t at all aggressive, but rather inviting as if they’d been expecting her.
Enkara threatened any who came too close with a flick of her sword’s tip. But they were unarmed and not attacking. She wouldn’t kill unarmed novices, not even in a vision, but she wasn’t against giving them a few cuts and bruises if they got in her way.
Easing past the dancers and between the first two rows of columns, she moved deeper into the temple. Musicians were spread out among the columns, with the greatest clustered along the front wall. Circling the central altar, priests and priestesses chanted their praises for Ereshkigal, their great queen of the underworld.
All of this only got the barest glance, her gaze locked onto Kuwari, where he was being dragged towards an altar by two powerfully built Anunnaki. She rushed forward, still expecting someone to halt her, but the dancers merely drew aside as she passed. Though, again, some reached out to her, attempting to persuade her to partake in the dance with them.
She swatted away their reaching hands.
Kuwari struggled against his two Anunnaki captors, twisting and bucking and kicking out, using every trick Burrukan taught. Twice he nearly escaped their hold, only to get recaptured as three more Anunnaki came forward to help.
The tallest of them, a broad-shouldered, eagle-headed Anunnaki, who radiated ancient power, turned from Prince Kuwari and gestured in her direction. After a moment he said something to the prince. Kuwari froze in place. Then turning, he met her gaze but said nothing, not even over their special link. But she noted the moment he straightened from his fighter’s crouch, waiting for what was coming next.
The tallest Anunnaki placed a hand on Kuwari’s shoulder and said something else, his head tilting back to the central altar. The prince shook his head at whatever the guardian said.
Enkara shoved her way through the dancers now clustering around her. When the large Anunnaki said something else to the prince, Kuwari shook his head violently and struck at the nearest guard, taking him by surprise. He only made it a few steps before the Anunnaki flared his broad wings, sweeping Kuwari’s feet out from under him.
The prince rolled, using his momentum to propel himself back to his feet. Not one to be trounced, Kuwari latched on to the wing of the nearest Anunnaki and darted under his opponent’s outstretched arm. He gave it a wicked twist, one with enough force that it would have dislocated the joint if it had been an arm. Unfortunately, the ploy failed, the wing having much more flexibility.
Enkara shouldered aside two dancers and then ran into a group of musicians, sending them crashing to the polished stone floor when they didn’t move out of her way fast enough. She resumed her sprint but was still too far away.
The Anunnaki screeched out a raptor’s sound of rage, then flicked his wing out of the prince’s grasp and slammed a hand firmly against Kuwari’s chest. Even over the distance, she felt the wave of force that slammed her prince back into the waiting arms of two more Anunnaki.
She pounded closer, knocking priests and priestesses out of her way, but before she could reach Kuwari, other Anunnaki converged on him, grabbing him by his arms and legs, hoisting him off his feet. They carried him bodily toward the altar.
An expanse of creamy, red-fringed feathers blocked her view of Kuwari and suddenly the tall Anunnaki was confronting her. She slashed at him with her sword, and he blocked the strike with his own.
“Peace to you, honored Blade.” The Anunnaki’s voice was deep and mellow, full of rich resonance and beautiful to hear. He didn’t sound the least bit concerned or surprised.
“I thought an Anunnaki couldn’t lie?” she challenged in return.
“That is correct. We mean no harm to you or our King.”
Our King? What did he mean by that? Not that she had time to figure it out now. Snapping her sword around, she brought the tip close to his throat and was about to see if one of his kind could bleed when her gift flared and confirmed his words were true. Her hesitation saved the Anunnaki and he deflected her strike.
“Why did you bring us here?”
He snapped his beak together and his facial feathers fluffed in a way she’d have said was humor on a gryphon. On an Anunnaki, she didn’t know what the expression meant.
“I didn’t bring you here. Our King chose to return. You followed like any good Blade would do.”
Truth again.
Why, by Ishtar’s great tempers, were they calling Kuwari their king?
“Kuwari’s gift might have brought him here, but it wasn’t willingly. That’s clear to see.”
The Anunnaki snapped his beak together again. “That is true. Our king is a touch confused, but once you and Kuwari perform the Sacred Marriage, Queen Ereshkigal will make everything clear to both her beloved husband and you.”
“You might believe what you say, but I know Ereshkigal seeks to rob her sister of the gryphon heir and his Blade.”
“I am one of the seven justices. The oldest of my kind. I do not lie. When I say Ishtar stole something very dear to Ereshkigal’s heart, it is the truth.”
Well, someone was lying. Kuwari wasn’t meant for Ereshkigal. Enkara was damn certain of that, and as long as she drew breath, she’d make sure the Queen of the Underworld never got within touching distance of Prince Kuwari.
“Let us prepare our king for you.”
“No!” She brought her crystalline blade to bear. This time there was no hesitation, and the Anunnaki had to work hard to keep his head on his shoulders. Even so, the divine being didn’t act concerned that she might take his head at any moment.
“There is no fighting fate, child.” The Anunnaki’s tone hinted that he’d had a taste of fate before and didn’t much care for the lack of choice.
“Perhaps not, but this isn’t our fate.”
“Young one, your fate is already written. You always have and will always be Ereshkigal’s Blade.”
The Anunnaki grunted in surprise as her crystalline blade buried its burning length in his chest. Taking a two-handed hold on her sword’s hilt, she twisted with all her strength. If he’d been mortal, he’d have dropped to his knees and swiftly bled out, but this opponent merely stumbled back, pressing a hand to the hole in his chest.
Kicking him out of her way, she leaped clear, targeting the next nearest Anunnaki, one of the four holding Kuwari down upon the altar. She attacked before he had time to draw his blade.
He buffeted her with his wings, but her crystalline sword blazed bright, burning through feathers, bones, and cartilage. She slashed again, intent on dealing with this opponen
t swiftly, but he’d managed to draw his sword before hers completed its deadly arc and he deflected her blow. They circled each other in a deadly dance, both seeking the other’s weakness.
All the while she faced her opponent, she also tracked Kuwari. He’d managed to throw off the Anunnaki holding his legs. And as she watched, he kicked up, nearly folding himself in half to land a powerful kick to the head of one of his captors. His momentum carried him on over. Twisting out of the hold of the last Anunnaki, Kuwari landed on his feet, one of his opponent’s swords in his hand.
At which point Enkara was forced to focus on her own fight. Her new Anunnaki opponent wasn’t pulling his strikes like she now realized the first one had been. While they fought, exchanging bone-jarring strikes, her gift flared again, and she felt the approach of other guardians.
Casting a swift glance skyward, she spotted dozens of winged forms descending from the star-speckled sky overhead.
Time was running out. She didn’t know what would happen if they were captured by the horde of Anunnaki or if Ereshkigal arrived while they were still fighting, but she wasn’t waiting around to find out. They needed to escape. Now. She dived under her opponent’s sword arm and sprinted the last few steps to her prince, and together they shoved their way through the surprised crowd of priests, priestesses, musicians, and dancers.
They reached the edge of the temple and glanced down the steep slope of the ziggurat’s gleaming wall. Above them, the winged figures loomed large, descending fast. There was no way they’d be able to get to the stairs before the Anunnaki reinforcements were upon them.
Kuwari glanced sidelong at her and reached out for her hand. “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
Enkara couldn’t agree more, but they had nowhere to go unless Kuwari shifted to gryphon form, and, even then, the open sky offered no safety. Not against flying opponents.
Her crystalline sword had its own ideas though and flared brighter. Inside her, Ishtar’s warm power flared stronger and the dormant tattoo stamped along her spine tingled with a new warmth.
Relief washed over her only to be stolen a moment later as a second, colder power rose up within her to battle Ishtar for control. Against her will, Enkara took a half step away from the temple’s edge. Turning farther, she glanced over her shoulder to see a coldly beautiful woman standing behind them, dressed only in her fierce and glorious power.
Wings stretched out behind her, arched proudly, framing her form. In her right hand, she grasped a scepter of power. Perched on her left wrist sat a small, watchful owl. Its eyes blinked once slowly as it studied first Enkara and then Kuwari.
The owl’s mistress made no move to come closer, but she held her arms wide in welcome. “My King and my Blade have finally come home. Welcome.”
Gasping out in surprise, Enkara remained locked in place, her muscles rigid as the two powers mixed, battling for control. The warmth spiked suddenly, and Enkara’s sword flared even more intensely, chasing away some of the cold.
“Sister, you should know better than to steal what is mine,” Enkara said, though the words were not hers, nor was the will behind them. The warm rush of power flooding her body slowed but didn’t diminish or release its hold.
“Ishtar,” Ereshkigal said in acknowledgment, her earlier welcoming expression shifting into something darker and more hateful “You should heed your own words. I only take back what is rightfully mine.”
“Not this day,” Ishtar countered, and then Enkara turned back to Kuwari and placed a hand on his forehead. “Prince Kuwari, I order you to wake. Listen and obey, for I am Ishtar, Mother to all gryphons.”
“As my goddess wishes.” On the tail of Kuwari’s words the temple shimmered and blurred, beginning to fade. Only Kuwari’s hands wrapped around hers still felt real, warm, and alive.
He pulled her to him. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him. Off balance, they fell forward through an impossibly great distance.
The cold began to recede, replaced by the warmth of a human body pressed against hers. Voices drifted closer, dragging her further from the world of dreams and visions, back to warm and painful life. Enkara gasped out a surprised sound and as she blinked down into Kuwari’s equally startled eyes.
Chapter 10
“That was a nasty one.” Shock slowly melted from Kuwari’s features as he blinked up at her. “I’m glad you were here for it.”
His voice was shaky, his breathing no better. At least he had a voice. Enkara still didn’t trust herself to speak even if she knew what to say.
Kuwari swallowed and then licked his lips. “I think you just saved me from something very unpleasant.”
It took her mind far too long to process the simple fact that she was likely crushing the heir to the Gryphon Kingdom under her weight. But if she was to judge by his fierce hold on her, he didn’t seem to care about that minor discomfort. His gaze was a touch wild-eyed. Hers probably was as well.
Enkara braced her hands on either side of his head and levered some of her weight off him. Voices encroached upon her awareness and her senses slowly expanded outward. Twin weights rested on either side of her shoulders—hands, but they weren’t Kuwari’s. His were locked around her waist.
“You are alright, Enkara. You’re safe now,” said a voice that was nagging in its familiarity. “Kuwari’s safe. It’s over now.”
One of the hands squeezed her right shoulder. Enkara turned her head enough to gaze upon Queen Iltani. The Queen was standing on the right side of the bed, her expression calm but concerned.
The bed shifted as another weight settled on the left. “It’s over. Easy. Come back to us.”
She glanced over her other shoulder to see King Ditanu kneeling on the edge of the bed, worry for his son still evident in his eyes. For once his King’s emotionless mask was missing.
That could only mean the situation was as bad as she’d feared.
“That’s it. Kuwari’s safe now,” the King crooned. “Let me examine my son.”
Slowly, feeling returned to her body. She almost wished it hadn’t. An intense throbbing ache pulsed down the length of her back. The skin along her spine felt blistered and stiff. Moving caused the red agony to flare brighter, but Kuwari’s parents needed to see their son. And one didn’t disobey the rulers of the ten island city-states.
There was no telling what Kuwari had suffered. He’d been under the influence of the vision-dream longer than her. She forced herself to move, trying to slowly shift off him, but she could barely move even with help. The parts of her body that didn’t hurt were numb and unresponsive.
“My son, tell me what happened. Are you hurt?” Ditanu asked.
Kuwari glanced at his father, his gaze sharpening. Reluctantly he released his hold on her. “I think I’m fine, considering. I just need a moment to commit to memory all the vision showed me before the details grow hazy.”
Enkara could understand needing a bit of time. Her own mind felt foggy, her senses dull and sluggish. It was only when she was lifted away by several helping hands that she realized there were others in Kuwari’s quarters. Many others.
Regents Ahassunu and Burrukan were standing at the end of the sleeping platform. Behind them waited a dozen silent, unhappy Shadows. Enkara could understand their disquiet. The vision was unquestionably an attack. But how did one fight an enemy one couldn’t touch with magic, dagger, or sword?
The four of her Shadow brethren who’d helped to lift her from the bed carefully placed her on her feet. She was still gathering her wits when her mentor came over to check on her. Burrukan grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face away from him while he studied her back. He made a low murmur of sympathy.
Damn. It must look just as bad as it felt to get that response from her mentor.
“Nasty. Burned right through the fabric of your night robe. Priestess Kammani is mixing something to take away the pain, but in the meantime, what, by Ishtar, just happened? When the guards woke me to say Kuwari was under
the influence of a powerful dream, or some form of attack, and that you tried to aid him but then turned unresponsive yourself, I knew the gods were up to no good.”
“Don’t tell him anything that incriminates us. Assume everything we heard there was a lie until we discover otherwise,” Kuwari whispered along their mental link without even taking his eyes off his parents. “I don’t want to share this with my parents until I know they won’t separate us. I don’t know what is happening, but I do know we are much stronger together.”
“Just until we get our bearings,” she agreed.
She then rallied her scattered thoughts enough to answer Burrukan’s question. Taking her cue from Kuwari, where he was talking with his father, she kept the details sparse until she could better understand the vision’s meaning. But she did describe how she’d found the prince and merged into his vision and some of what she saw in the underworld. Though she skirted around what the Anunnaki had said about her being Ereshkigal’s blade or that the goddess had called Kuwari her husband.
Coming to the end of her tale, she said, “This vision, if that’s what it was, was far stronger than any he’s had before.”
“That’s what the guards thought as well. When I felt the magic rising off you, I had Iltani and Ditanu summoned,” Burrukan explained. “Ditanu said Kuwari was trapped in a powerful vision, one he feared was real enough to cause trauma in the waking world should either of you sustain an injury in that alternate vision plain.”
Enkara remained silent and Burrukan continued. “Iltani merged with you and Kuwari. She was able to focus Ishtar’s magic using your tattoo and with the goddess’ help, she was able to break you free of whatever spell held you trapped.”
“I must thank our Queen then.”
Burrukan grunted. “Iltani said you were holding your own until she got there. Clearly, there was a physical cost since your mark was dormant. You’ll need to rest and heal before we continue your training, but that’s a small price to pay for saving the heir.”
Blade's Honor (Ishtar's Legacy Book 2) Page 8