Death And Darkness

by E. A. Copen

  Foxglove stabbed the point of his sword into the floor and used the blade as leverage to get back on his feet. His left foot shifted forward, leaving a bloody footprint behind.

  “Kill him!” Titania screamed.

  William lifted his sword and thrust it at Foxglove’s chest with a shout. Foxglove didn’t even try to deflect the blade. He just stood there and let William stab him. The blade went into his stomach as if Foxglove wasn’t wearing any armor at all and sank several inches.

  The throne room erupted in surprised gasps.

  William seemed just as surprised as everyone else until he shifted and found Foxglove’s sword had found a weak spot in his armor, too, a small gap at the bottom of the breastplate. Foxglove had driven the sword upward and into William’s body at an angle, a fatal blow. The Summer Knight opened his mouth to speak. Nothing but blood came out. He let go of his sword and tried to grip Foxglove by the cheeks, a look of panic on his face.

  “I know,” Foxglove said. “I forgive you. We’ll see each other soon.” With a jerk, he pulled the sword free of William’s body and let the knight fall, lifeless, to the ground.

  The throne room was deathly silent.

  “I claim victory. In accordance with the law, you must release Lazarus at once.” Foxglove teetered and fell to his knees. William’s sword was still in his gut.

  Titania gritted her teeth and started to raise her hand, stopping only when Remy stood.

  Remy rushed down from the dais to kneel at Foxglove’s side. Her hand closed around the hilt of the sword. “Bring a healer!”

  “Leave it!” Foxglove pushed her hand away roughly. “It will do no good. I’m dead already.”

  “No.” She blinked damp eyes and gripped him by the chin. “No, no, no! You can’t die. I command you not to die!”

  He smiled weakly. “There’s poison on the blade, princess. It’s too late.”

  “I’ll go,” Remy promised. “I’ll leave Faerie. You can’t die if I’m not here.” She started to stand.

  Foxglove grabbed for her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t. Please.”

  Remy nodded and sank back to the floor with him.

  I glanced up at the crossbowmen. Once Titania lowered her hand, they’d probably unload on me. She hadn’t yet because Remy could get shot too. I had to get free before Titania decided to open fire.

  “This is her doing,” I said loud enough that Remy could hear. “William would never put poison on his sword. He was too honorable a knight. Foxglove even tried to spare him. If she’d allowed it—”

  “Silence!” The Summer Queen raised her fingers, poised to snap. “Guards, seize the prisoner.”

  One of the guards stepped away from the dais to bow in front of her. “But, Your Majesty, he won the trial by combat.”

  “Remy.” I knelt so that we were on the same level. “Please listen to me. I gave up everything to get here to you. He gave everything. Not because we wanted to steal you away or hurt you. Because you deserve a choice. You don’t have to listen to her. Love who you want to love. Live where you want to live. I know you don’t know me, but let me get to know you. We can still…” I paused to swallow the growing tightness in my throat. “I can still be your dad. Come home with me.”

  She sniffled and pulled her hand away from Foxglove. His arm fell limply to the floor, but he remained as he was, upright. He was gone.

  “I can’t come home with you,” Remy said. “Faerie is my home now. I can’t abandon it.” She leaned in and kissed Foxglove’s cheek before standing. “But I cannot forgive this. All the half-truths. The manipulation.” She turned toward Titania, eyes overflowing with tears and fists clenched. “The deception. I won’t play your games anymore, grandmother.”

  Titania’s eyes flashed. She stepped off the dais and slowly came over to Remy. “Listen to me, child.”

  “No, you listen to me! All my life, I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me, and you were willing to trade me away like property. You convinced me that no one loved me except for you, that no one wanted me. All this time… You lied to me, and it cost two good men their lives.”

  Someone clapped on the other side of the room, slow at first and building speed. My fetch stepped through a shadowy door with one last clap. “A moving speech, princess. But it doesn’t matter, does it? You’re still going to marry some kid you don’t give a shit about, and your dad’s still going to die.” He bowed to Titania. “Allow me to execute him personally, highness. My gift to you.”

  Athdar broke away from the crowd nearby. He grabbed my chains and, with a mighty yank, broke them from the rock. Roshan pursed his lips and blew a stream of molten fire my way. I held my wrists as far apart as I could and out in front of me, letting the fire pour over them until the metal glowed and weakened. Athdar brought his fist down between the weakened metal, severing the cuffs that bound me. I turned just in time to see Declan pull my iron staff free from the back of the weapons rack and throw it to me.

  I caught the staff and spun it, turning back toward my fetch and a very surprised Summer Queen. “Let’s go, asshole.”

  Bizarro Laz scowled at me and jerked a sword away from the nearby guard. But he didn’t come at me with the sword. Instead, he marched over to where William lay on the ground, pulled something out of his pocket, and sprinkled it over the corpse. Dark, sinister magic swelled, and a moment later, the Summer Knight’s corpse began to twitch.

  Someone in the audience screamed and fainted.

  My fetch looked over his shoulder and grinned at me as William’s white-eyed corpse sat up, mouth agape. He’d just turned the Summer Knight into a zombie. “Kill him and anyone who helps him,” commanded the fetch and handed the zombie his sword.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The thing about zombies is, they’re relentless. They’re not fast, not smart, and most certainly not expert swordsmen, especially being undead. Without blood pumping to their muscles, they got a little stiff after a while.

  Apparently, William’s zombie didn’t get the message. He moved like a living thing, charging me at full speed. I ducked the initial swipe of the sword and stepped to the side, drawing him away from Remy.

  “Get out of here!” I shouted to Remy.

  She gripped the sword in Foxglove’s chest and pulled it out before retreating to the dais.

  The zombie knight brought the sword down to cleave my head in two. I lifted the staff and caught it before kicking him. I thought I had the upper hand.

  Until someone stabbed me in the leg from behind.

  I went down, grabbing for my injured leg and just barely managed to roll out of the way of zombie William’s sword. Apparently, my fetch had found a sword too and decided he should join the fun. It was a two-on-one fight and I didn’t stand a chance, not even with the iron staff.

  Good thing I had friends of my own.

  An arrow grazed the zombie’s cheek. It turned its head with a scowl toward Declan as he nocked another arrow, only to be blindsided by Athdar’s fist. The zombie flew across the room and crashed into a screaming crowd.

  Bizarro Laz closed on me and swung the sword wildly. I blocked with the staff, but the sword just glanced off to the side and stabbed me in the shoulder. I grimaced and twisted away from the blade. It left a burning trail of pain in the form of a deep cut. He raised the sword again but suddenly had to duck out of the way of a column of Roshan’s flame. The fire came a little too close, and I had to jump back to avoid being burned to a crisp.

  Off to the side, Athdar smashed a fist into the zombie’s skull, but it didn’t go down. It drove its blade into Athdar’s side until green blood spurted from the wound. Declan threw Athdar an ax. The huge tree-like dryad caught the ax and chopped into the zombie’s back.

  Roshan spat more fire but stopped abruptly when my fetch slammed the pommel of his sword into his temple. I jabbed my iron staff into the back of the fetch’s neck. He cursed and turned around, giving me a better target: his big, ugly nose. I swung the staff like a bat
into it. “Fore!”

  His nose cracked and spouted blood, the momentum sending him spinning to the floor.

  Something crashed behind me. I turned to see Declan trip over the weapons rack in his attempts to get away from the zombie. Athdar lay, dazed and bleeding on the ground with the ax in his arm. Declan glanced around in a panic and settled on the bow he had discarded earlier. He snatched it up, fitted an arrow, closed his eyes, and let loose. The arrow hit the zombie dead in the eye, and it toppled over, finally dead for good this time.

  The momentary distraction cost me. My fetch found his feet and lifted the sword over his head to charge at me.

  On instinct, I jabbed my staff forward and hit him square in the chest, pushing him back. The sword grazed my hand. I drew the staff back and swung it at his head with all my strength before he could recover. It struck him just above his ear with a hollow thump, and he crumpled. “That’s for hitting my little girl!”

  I closed on him, standing over him while he groaned. His whole face was covered in blood and dark burns, but this wasn’t over. This couldn’t be over until he was dead. I raised the staff. “And this is for hitting Emma.” I brought the staff down against his head with a wet thud. Bone cracked. “This is for taking my daughter. And this is for giving her to Titania. And this one… This last one is for me.”

  “Wait!” he slurred and lifted a bloody hand. “If you kill me, you’re no better than I am. You’re just as bad.”

  “You must’ve missed the memo, asshole. I’m not one of the good guys. My name is Death, and nobody gets to hurt my kid.” I brought the staff down on his head with another wet crunch, and another, and another until there was nothing left but chunks of bone and meat.

  “Archers!” Titania’s voice boomed.

  I looked up from the mess on the floor that had been my fetch.

  She lifted her fingers to snap, then suddenly gasped, her eyes going wide. She looked down at her chest, where the blade of a sword erupted. A red circle of blood quickly expanded around it to stain her dress. Titania’s face twisted in disbelief. Her mouth twitched, and her hands went to the blade, closing around it briefly before she fell over, revealing Remy behind her.

  Remy’s gaze met mine. We stared at each other, not father and daughter at that moment, but one killer recognizing another. For the first time, I saw her, who she really was and what she was capable of. It was like looking into a mirror.

  It scared the hell out of me.

  Noelle jumped to her feet. “Long live Queen Remy. Long may she reign.”

  “Long may she reign!” answered the crowd in unison.

  The iron staff dropped from my fingers and clattered to the floor. I tried to take a step toward Remy, but my leg reminded me my fetch had sliced it open. My leg buckled, and I went to the floor.

  Remy stepped over Titania’s body and went to Foxglove again, kneeling.

  “Remy,” I managed, my voice raw, “I’m sorry. He fought well.”

  “His fight’s not over.” She tugged the glove off her right hand. “I’m sorry, Ethan. You deserve to rest, but I still need you.”

  Remy unstrapped his breastplate and pushed it aside. Carefully, she slipped her hand down his collar to rest against his chest. A golden glow emanated from Foxglove’s body, slowly brightening, turning him into a small sun. Warmth filled the room, radiating from whatever magic she was doing. Not the harsh, burning heat of the fire but the gentle warmth of the summer sun.

  I covered my face against the light and turned away, unable to keep watching until the light dimmed.

  Foxglove suddenly gasped, his eyes snapping open. He shot up to sit, drawing in panicked, shaky breaths. The Knight glanced around, confused until he saw Remy sitting next to him. “Princess… You…” He rubbed his chest. “No! You shouldn’t have. You don’t know the cost!”

  She offered a weak smile. “Whatever the cost, I paid it gladly to have you back.”

  “Not to interrupt the happy reunion,” I huffed, holding myself up by the strength of will alone, “but Loki still has someone I care about as a hostage. I need to get to her. There might still be time.”

  Foxglove twisted to look at me. “You don’t look like you’re in any shape to fight.”

  I snorted. “Says the guy who just came back from the dead. That’s normally my trick.”

  Foxglove had said he’d seen Remy drain life from one living thing to revive another, which meant to bring him back, she had to have taken the life from somewhere. We’d have to discuss that later. A power like that couldn’t be used on a whim. She’d killed someone to bring him back. Question was, who and where?

  But that answer could wait until after I’d done everything I could to help Emma.

  “You still have my sword, Lazarus.” Foxglove grunted and pulled himself to his feet. Remy rose and helped steady him. “If we can free Ms. Emma Knight, then we will.”

  Declan came to my side and wrapped a bandage around my leg. “I’m coming too. If it pleases Your Majesty.” He glanced up at Remy and then past her to the redhead in green. It finally clicked that she must be the handmaiden Declan was so in love with.

  I put a hand on Declan’s shoulder. “Loki and his Valkyries are no pushovers. He’s also got at least one other Horseman with him. This is going to be a tough fight. You don’t have to come.”

  “Is it true that Loki wants to kick off a war between the gods?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “Well then, I have to help stop him. A god war won’t do anyone any good.”

  “Issue a call to arms,” Remy said loudly. “Any and every soldier willing to fight is to rally at once. Tell them their queen’s father and our new ally needs their support.”

  Noelle cleared her throat, drawing all eyes to her. “I cannot promise you an army, but you have my sword and my guards to assist you. It’s the least I can do.”

  Declan helped me to my feet. I didn’t know what to say. A few hours ago, I’d been alone and expecting to die. Now I had the makings of an army at my back, ready to help me storm Loki’s party. With two Faerie queens, a knight, and dozens of soldiers, maybe we could do this. We could stop Loki before he got his war after all.

  “There’s just one more thing I need,” I told Remy. “Your guards took something from me when they put me in the dungeon, a small potion.”

  She nodded and turned to Jessica, who lifted the potion from a string tied around her neck and handed it to Remy. My daughter held the small glass vial out to me.

  I took it. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Remy smiled at Foxglove. “I can think of no one else I would rather fight beside, and for no more noble a cause.”

  “Good enough for me.” I pulled out the stopper and tipped the potion into my mouth.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Zacar!”

  The air exploded with a whoosh and spun, stretching space into a sort of spinning wormhole before me. Thunder quaked through my mind and left me staggering and weak. I stayed upright after uttering the word only because Foxglove and Declan pushed me up when I tipped back.

  It looked like the spell had worked, though I hoped it opened in the right place. I had asked Josiah how to make sure it went where I wanted it to, and his answer was vague at best. I had to trust that I understood what he’d taught me and let the magic do the rest. I just hoped I didn’t accidentally open a portal to the bottom of an active volcano or something. That seemed just like my luck.

  With my iron staff in hand, I took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.

  I stepped through into some sort of dance venue with stairs that led to a balcony area where Loki sat in a throne surrounded by his Valkyries. Beth stood to one side, sunken eyes settling on me as I came through. Valkyries lined the stairs. They lowered their spears at the sight of us. I didn’t spot Emma anywhere.

  The dance floor was a mess with bits of discarded paper and crumpled plastic cups lying everywhere. A lone janitor stopped pushing his broom
through the mess to stare at us.

  I glanced at a big clock on the wall. Days, maybe even weeks must’ve passed in Faerie while Foxglove and I were prisoners, but the clock here said only a few hours had passed. It was just after three in the morning, three hours after the deadline my fetch had told me about. Maybe he was wrong.

  “Beat it,” I growled at the janitor.

  He happily dropped the broom and ran for the exit.

  Loki pushed himself up out of his throne. “Ah, the Pale Horseman. Afraid you’ve missed the party. A pity. It was to die for.”

  I gritted my teeth and marched away from the portal to stand in the center of the room. “Where is she?”

  Loki passed the goblet in his hand off to someone else. “She’s safe for now. As long as you keep your end of the bargain and kill two more gods on my list, she’ll stay alive.”

  “New deal,” I shouted. “Hand her over, unharmed, and I don’t kill you.”

  He smirked. “Kill me? You have to get to me first.”

  “Oh, I’m coming for you.”

  “You and what army?”

  Remy and Noelle came through the portal, followed by Declan, Foxglove, and the rest.

  “This army, asshole,” I said.

  Loki’s smile faded. He took a step back from the balcony.

  Noelle raised her sword with a shout and led the charge to the left while one of the Valkyries on the right rushed toward Foxglove. Declan raised his bow and fired a shot straight at Loki. Beth’s hand shot out and closed around the arrow, stopping it from hitting its mark. She lowered the arrow and snapped it in half before vaulting over the balcony. Declan nocked another arrow.

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s mine, kid.”

  He nodded and snapped his bow to a new target.

  “I see you got my gift,” Beth said, planting her black staff firmly on the floor.