To Take a Castle
Abraxas directed me to place my hands on the walls of the tunnel, fingers spread out flat against the stone. Within it I could feel the blackened iron surrounding me on all sides, pulsating with an ancient evil that sucked the magic from the High Fae. But I was not going to let it get the better of me. I was the Dawnstar. I could do this.
The festivities had begun. I could hear the noise from the great hall in the dungeons. Soon Rafe would be executed, and I had to get out if I was going to prevent that from happening. The thought of Rafe gave me strength; I had to help him.
I searched for light magic and understood more of what Abraxas was trying to teach me. It was a culmination of all my fae powers. Knowing how it worked made it easier to access. I pushed away all doubts from my mind, gathered all the threads of my magic, and plunged inward, deep inside myself, where the source of my magic lay. The Dawnstar was there waiting to be called forth, shining like a beacon within my very soul. I opened myself to it and let it rise within me.
“Good,” said Abraxas, “now infuse the darkness in the iron with light, just as you did with the cuffs; that will nullify its power. Mind you, you will need much more power to achieve this. It will not be easy, but it should work.”
I grinned. It was good to know Abraxas was there. If I was doing anything stupid, he didn’t have any qualms about popping into my head and telling me so. And if he thought I could do this, I knew I could.
I pushed my magic into the walls, and the darkness pulsated beneath my fingers. I could feel the veins of blackened iron around me as the darkness clung to my magic like a leech.
Erien watched me, his eyes as wide as saucers. “What is she doing?”
“What she’s doing—” Tristan drew his swords and threw a quick glance at Erien, “—is getting us out of here.”
I gathered more light magic and pushed it into the walls, guiding it through the stone, surrounding the blackened iron. Power seared through my veins as the light of the Dawnstar engulfed the blackened iron, which seemed to scream and pull away like a trapped beast, but I strengthened my will and held on, pushing more and more power into the walls around me.
The darkness that surrounded me seemed endless. My hands became clammy, and my body began to vibrate with the pressure. There was so much dark magic here that it threatened to engulf my light completely, gnawing at it like a ravening beast. But still I held on. I couldn’t let go, not yet. Rafe’s life depended on it.
I braced myself and reached deeper into the well of light that now lay wide open for me to use, drawing up immense power as my whole body started to glow. I pushed the magic into the walls and the tunnel lit up with white light, causing the darkness to shriek and flee, dissipating into nothing.
Tristan’s swords blazed with silver fire, burning brighter than before as he twirled them in his hands. “Nicely done,” he growled.
His magic was back, and so was mine.
I smiled at Tristan and flexed my fingers as a ball of silver fire formed in my glowing palm. “We’re not out of danger yet.”
Erien came over to me. “What you just did was impossible, Aurora.”
“Don’t ever underestimate the Dawnstar, boy,” said Tristan.
“Shield them, Tristan,” I said as I released my magic on the blackened iron portcullis.
Tristan threw up a hasty shield to surround the others just as a blast of pure silver fire, hotter than anything mages could produce, burst from my palm and melted the bars as if they were butter.
Vivienne and Erien gaped at me as Tristan ushered everyone out of the dark tunnel and into the ruins of the great arched hall that lay at the end of the dungeons.
Torches flared in the passageways around us. Brandon’s mage guards were coming.
Tristan glanced at me. “Create the portal. We need to get them out now!”
Erien put his arm around Vivienne. “Hurry, Aurora, they’re coming.”
I took a deep breath. I could do this; I was trained by the best. I turned to Tristan. “Keep the guards busy.”
The fae prince glowered at me, silver sparks flashing within his twilight-blue eyes. His swords flared brighter with raging silver fire, dispersing the shadows and lighting up the pillars of the great underground hall. “With pleasure,” he snarled and lunged for the first guard.
I hurriedly summoned my magic, opening my will to the growing light inside me. After leaving the confines of the tunnel, my magic grew effortlessly. I tried to contain my excitement. I didn’t want anyone to know how relieved I was that it was back. Being in that tunnel had scared me, and for the first time in my life I was grateful for everything I had learned—not just an acceptance of my fate, but a sense that I should never take my gifts for granted.
The portal expanded until it was big enough for the children to pass through.
Erien and I herded the children through, and Vivienne stepped into it without even looking at me. I felt a piece of my heart break, but I steeled myself against the emotions that threatened to engulf me. This was not the time to be emotional. I had to be focused.
Erien was the last to go. I clasped his hand. “Penelope will be waiting for you. She will know what to do.”
He nodded, disappearing into the portal, and I closed it behind him. It would be a while before I would be able to open one again. Holding it open for so many to pass through had drained my spirit magic considerably, but this time I could manage it better. I knew it could affect the intensity of my other fae powers as well, but I would make do with whatever magic I had left.
I turned to see guards lying face down or flat on their backs strewn all around the hall, Tristan standing over them like an avenging angel. More were coming; I could hear voices in the tunnel.
“Follow me,” I whispered to Tristan, moving toward the wall and feeling for the stone that was supposed to reveal the secret passage Rafe told us about. I scanned my memory for the maps to remember exactly where it was.
“Are you sure it’s here?” growled Tristan, gathering his magic to face the oncoming guards.
I searched frantically around on the wall. “No.”
Finally, a stone in the wall triggered the other stones to shift, revealing the secret passage. Tristan and I got in and closed it as more guards entered the underground hall.
I heard their faint voices. “Where did they go?” Their voices drained away as we moved deeper into the passageway.
“I guess it pays to have a castle as your childhood home,” said Tristan as we traversed the damp stone tunnel. “We were lucky Rafe knew about these passages or we would still be trapped down there.”
We ran through the tunnels. By now Delacourt would know we had escaped his cell and every soldier in the castle would be on the lookout for us. If we didn’t manage to get to Rafe and open the main gate to let the army through, we could lose Eldoren.
The tunnel ended in rough stone steps that led upward to a stone door. There was no handle, so I searched for a trigger stone in the wall beside it. Finally a loose stone clicked, opening the door. We appeared in a shadowy, curtained alcove behind a tapestry in the main corridor, which led to the great hall and the festivities.
I glamoured both of us to become invisible as we stepped out into the brightly lit corridor. My spirit magic was shaky because of the portal I had recently opened, and I hoped the glamour would hold long enough to reach the great hall—and Rafe. We wove our way through the throng of glittering guests and pompous nobles and into the great hall, a vast, cavernous room with a vaulted ceiling held up by stone pillars adorned with a garden of fresh flowers. Massive iron chandeliers gleaming with thousands of candles illuminated the room as the nobility of Eldoren sparkled and danced beneath them.
Brandon was sitting on a raised dais on his throne, the heavy state crown of Eldoren already resting on his blond head. Dark shadows stood behind him. Drakaar! I took in their positions; there were only four of them, but I knew dealing with the Drakaar was going to make this muc
h more difficult than it already was.
I spotted Rafe tied to a pillar nearby, surrounded by at least a dozen guards, with heavy chains resting beside his feet and manacles attached to his ankles. I scanned the room quickly for Brandon’s other soldiers and took note of all their positions. A row of great arched doors lined one side of the room, opening out into the courtyard and gardens of the inner bailey, flanked by scores of black-clad guards.
We wound our way through the crowd of chattering nobility and others who supported Brandon’s sudden rise to power, and stopped in a shadowy alcove close to the pillar where Rafe was chained.
It was time. I nodded at Tristan and removed my amulet, which until now had hidden my power from the outside world.
Rafe looked up and scanned the room. I knew he had felt it, felt my magic awakening—and very soon the others would too.
Lilith stood up abruptly from her throne beside Brandon, real fear in her eyes as she hurriedly glanced around. “She’s here.” The Dark Queen in Calisto’s body looked at Brandon, and her voice shook slightly as dark shadows started to form around her like a shield. “The Dawnstar is free.”
Rafe smiled at Lilith. “Of course she is. Did you really think your puny dungeon could hold her?”
I was startled by the pride and conviction in his voice.
It was now or never.
I removed the glamour that hid us, and my swords lit up with silver fire as Tristan and I unleashed ourselves on the unsuspecting guards.
The great hall of Caeleron Castle erupted into chaos as we raced toward Rafe. The chain around his wrists was already strangling a guard’s neck as I slashed through Delacourt’s guards, opening a path forward.
More dark shadows seeped out of Lilith, and she directed them toward Rafe. Shadow Demons sprang up around us as the Drakaar converged, cutting us off. I threw out a hasty shield, protecting Rafe from the shadows as he fought the guards as best he could with restraints still holding him back.
Brandon, emboldened by the presence of the Drakaar, moved toward Rafe.
Tristan glanced at me hurriedly. “Go help him. I will hold them off.” He lunged at the Drakaar at the same time I did.
I slashed and swerved, cutting through the arm of one Drakaar who got in my way. He staggered backward as I shot through the crowd—there was no time to kill him. I had to get to Rafe before Brandon did.
Rafe fell to his knees as Lilith’s shadows completely surrounded him while her dark magic held him in place. He struggled to free himself. Brandon drew his sword as he advanced on Rafe. A soldier with the chain still around his neck lay dead beside the prince. Rafe’s hands were still bound, but he managed to pick up the fallen guard’s sword.
This time I didn’t even need to think. My hands lit up as I flung out a bolt of white light at Lilith, pushing her back. She screeched and stumbled, falling to the floor. Abraxas had told me the light magic of the Dawnstar would only harm demons, but I didn’t want to risk killing her while she was still in Calisto’s body. If I could get my hands on her, I might be able to remove the Dark Queen from her host and save Calisto.
The shadows withdrew their hold on Rafe, freeing him and returning hurriedly to their queen. She wrapped herself in a cocoon of darkness.
Brandon brought his sword down on Rafe’s head.
Metal clashed as Rafe held up the sword of the fallen guard, blocking Brandon’s blow.
I flung a small strike of magic at the chains that held him, and the manacles fell away. Rafe pushed himself up swiftly as Brandon struck again. The fight was short, as Rafe swiftly disarmed his enemy and Brandon’s sword clattered away from him. Brandon scrambled backward.
A powerful bolt of dark magic hit me in the back. I cried out, falling to my knees.
Drakaar!
“Aurora!” Rafe shouted and ran toward me.
“Don’t let them get away,” shouted Brandon from the dais. “Bring me Rafael’s head!”
I was winded, but I quickly healed myself and pushed myself up in time to avoid an obsidian sword that came whizzing toward me. Tristan was engaged in battle with three of the Drakaar, but the one I had cut on the arm was targeting me.
I spun and ducked. Magic sizzled in my hands and I unleashed it on my attacker. The Drakaar’s mouth opened in a silent scream, sharp canines flashing as a blast of white light hit him squarely in the chest, burning him from the inside out.
Rafe ran up beside me, his gray eyes smoldering as they locked with mine. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Don’t look so surprised. Did you think I would leave you here?”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” he muttered, looking over at Tristan, who was busy dismembering guards and Drakaar alike. Two of the Drakaar were on the ground, their heads severed from their bodies, but one managed to slip away into the crowd.
I smiled faintly as I slashed my sword across an oncoming guard’s chest. “We need to get to the gate.”
“Go!” Tristan growled and turned to re-engage the guards. Tristan Nightshade on a killing spree was not someone to mess with.
More guards had lined up, blocking our path to the doors. I raised my hand and pushed. My magic erupted in a flash of light, and the guards were thrown out of the way. We dashed through the large arched doors leading out to the gardens.
“Archers!” someone shouted as dozens of arrows released from their bows and came flying at us from all sides. I raised my hands and the arrows stopped mid-flight, dropping like stones around us as we ran.
“Not fast enough,” said Tristan, appearing on the other side of me, swords blazing in both hands. “You should have stopped the arrows as soon as they left their bows.”
I glared at Tristan as I slashed and twirled, cutting down a guard and flinging my magic at others as they got in our way. “Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied with the dozens of guards chasing us,” I snapped as we raced through the gardens and past the gurgling fountains, trampling flowering bushes as the guards pursued us relentlessly.
He glared back at me, cutting down two guards at the same time. “Then you should always be on guard,” he growled, always the critic, always pushing me to be better.
Rafe cleared his throat. “If you two have finished, we still have to get through those gates.”
Soldiers swarmed around us as we backed each other and fought for our lives, but the guards kept coming. The inner gate was shut, and a heavy iron portcullis barred our path to the outer bailey. Arrows rained down on us from the walls, but I had created a shield to cover all three of us. My hands shook as I struggled with the power it took to hold it and fight at the same time. Beads of sweat had formed on my brow, and I felt my shield flicker. We had to get through the gate—it was the only way out.
Shadow Demons started to appear around us, and my shield fell. Tristan’s swords had already started slashing through them as I directed bolts of white light with one hand and kept a grip on my sword with the other.
From the corner of my eye I saw a dark shape, moving faster than an ordinary mortal, come up behind Rafe.
Before I could warn him, the Drakaar had Rafe in a stranglehold, his knife at Rafe's throat. “Curb your magic, Dawnstar, or I will cut him from ear to ear.”
I stopped dead in my tracks as a mind-numbing fear pooled in my stomach. One wrong move and Rafe could die.
“Call off your dog.” His eyes darted to Tristan.
“Tristan,” I snapped.
Delacourt’s guards surrounded us as Tristan lowered his sword.
Brandon sauntered up, four more Drakaar in tow. Their black swords seemed to absorb light as they moved toward us.
I kept an eye on Rafe as I faced Brandon. “Hiding behind the Drakaar again, are we, Brandon?”
Brandon smirked. “More of them came as quickly as they could after they heard we had you locked up in the dungeon.” He frowned. “I don’t know how you got out—the blackened iron should have held you until they got here.”
I shrugged. “Well, I guess y
ou don’t know me very well, Brandon.”
He adjusted his ermine-lined cloak on his shoulders and pretended to flick some dirt off it. “Oh, I know you only too well, Princess.” He threw a glance at Rafe, the knife in the Drakaar’s hand pressed to his skin. “I know you will never make a move as long as I have a knife to your lover’s throat.”
My eyes darted to Tristan. He would be ready to fight on my signal. I had come here to help Rafe get this throne back, and I wasn’t going to let Brandon win. If I made one wrong move, Rafe could die. There was only one way to end this.
I turned my gaze back to Brandon. “Like I said, you don’t know me at all, Brandon.”
I gathered my magic slowly, my eyes fixed on Rafe and sent out a silent call. “Abraxas, I need you.”
And the ring on my finger started to glow.
Instantly the sky darkened, and a mighty roar shook the castle as the ancient dragon appeared overhead.
It was as if time stopped while everyone halted what they were doing to look up, terror showing plainly on their faces.
“Dragon!” screamed a guard.
The Drakaar holding the knife to Rafe’s throat faltered for a moment when the great dragon appeared, but a moment was all we needed.
Rafe spun out of the Drakaar’s grip as I unleashed a raging bolt of white light, incinerating the demon sorcerer to dust.
Onlookers shrieked hysterically, and the whole castle fell into chaos.
Tristan roared and pounced on the remaining Drakaar as they banded together to protect Brandon from the dark prince. But we didn’t have time to go after the archmage—we had to get to the main gates and let the rest of our army in, otherwise we would not be able to take the castle. We still had to cross the main bailey, a huge open space where the majority of the soldiers were stationed, and they would be waiting for us.
The Return of the Dragon Queen Page 13