Gods of Shadow and Flame

by M. H. Johnson

  Yet the perfect trap had collapsed into nightmare.

  Somehow, that vile girl so reminiscent of his mistress had managed to sense his intent, so carefully hidden. Dodging his skillful baiting with mocking cruel words of her own that had clutched upon his darkest shame, his secret fears, goading him into unleashing all his pent up power and dark gifts in one furious, final exchange. Goading him to strike first, with all the headaches such would cause him, even had he won.

  And much to his horror, despite all the dark gifts he had been given, it was he that had stiffened in death, kept in a cold cellar, awaiting judgment and burial, when it should have been her.

  And now he would be forced to pay for his folly for eternity.

  His soul screamed. Pleaded. Twisting madly to escape unbreakable chains of obligation forged with the darkest, bloodiest of promises. A pact forged in his own slattern mother's dying blood. Chains that even now cut into the essence of his soul just as deeply as his own knife had once cut into the only woman who had ever loved him, her desperate struggles no less frantic than his own, and just as futile.

  A spirit now burning with unspeakable pain as sinews frozen over in death were forced into agonized service once more. And now the thing that was once Vardelos shrieked. Endlessly. A soul in unspeakable torment, its very agony feeding the abomination that inhabited it, granting it strength inhuman as it opened rotting eyes to gaze upon the world it now inhabited with delight filled hate. "Don't worry, little thing," the terrible voice whispered to the shreds of soul even now losing all awareness save endless, unspeakable agony. "You have failed Lilith once, but you will not fail her again. You shall make amends with your suffering. Suffering that shall last for all eternity!" Mocking laughter as the spirit that was once Vardelos writhed in hideous pain, the lost soul's only reward for darkest deeds committed, then utter blackness once more.

  26

  Jess cried out as she clawed free of her nightmare, coming to with an awful gasp, heart pounding, throat raspy and sore. She blinked then, dazed and disoriented, seeing naught but the brilliant sapphire eyes of her familiar, gazing so intently into her own.

  “Jess? You need to wake up.”

  “Twilight? Thank the gods. I just had the most awful dream.” Jess shuddered, blinking away the sleep from her eyes.

  Her familiar nodded. “I know. But immediate concerns supersede your mother's twisted games. Captain Alben and Joshua are heading this way even now, and neither look pleased.”

  “That thing is not my mother!” Jess shouted, even as she tried to get up, hissed and collapsed.

  Twilight dipped his head. “Forgive me, my queen. I spoke in haste. Let us say instead that we both sensed an ancient remnant of a time long past. One that still resents the beauty and innocence that so reminds her of what she had lost, so very long ago.” He gazed carefully at Jess. “Still, when your meeting with the prince is done, we need to discuss the nature of your dream. I sensed only her presence. She retreated once I entered her little chamber of horrors. What did you see?”

  Jess grimaced. "Nothing, Twilight. It was just a stupid nightmare. I've pretty much forgotten it already." And much to her surprise, she found that this was true, smiling with relief, even as her abdomen twinged with pain.

  Her familiar turned his head toward the door, even as he settled himself in her lap. "You might not be going anywhere for a day or two, my mistress. You were near disemboweled twice now in the last few weeks, with infernal weapons, no less. Even a former Delver's restorative sleep might be insufficient to immediately recover from injuries so grave. I would settle for simply being awake and alert. Oh, I do believe your guests have arrived."

  Yet Jess already felt their presence as they knocked upon the door.

  “Come in,” she said, the door opening automatically, Prince Joshua and Captain Alben both making their way within.

  Strangely, both men were silent, though their grim countenance caused Jess's gut to twist in knots having nothing to do with the grievous injury she had taken. "Joshua. Alben. Good morning to you both. How may I help you?"

  Captain Alben's gaze locked upon her own, as if he would compel her to speak. For all that his skin was more bronze than most of the northern stock that made up Erovering's citizenry, much like General Eloquin's, in fact, his darker hair possessed the same soft curl as the man at his side. And for all that Joshua's golden locks were kissed by his father's fire, sparkling cinnamon as much as blond in the light, his brooding hazel eyes were the mirror image of the Alben's own. Jess noted that for all their differences, the two men before her bore a striking similarity in the lines of their jaws, the tilt of their heads, the way they both carried themselves.

  They could be brothers. Almost.

  Jess felt a sudden chill.

  How deep did these games go?

  "Bloody Hells," Jess cursed, shaking her head, realizing in that stark moment of clarity how what seemed utterly plain to her might appear mad speculation to another.

  Alben spoke first, voice clipped and cold. "Captain Vardelos arrived at the Ladies Royal Academy but two days ago, Jessica de Calenbry, ostensibly to represent reinforcements for the royal contingent stationed here at this location of interest, as well as to serve as my replacement. Upon meeting with the dean and Prince Joshua beside me, my replacement then asked the dean to send a runner to retrieve you from your quarters, only to have you knock before the dean could even ring his bell, armed and armored, wherein Lord Echobart had you make yourself comfortable with refreshments, seemingly unaware of the intent behind Captain Vardelos's request. Do you concur with that assessment so far?"

  Jess swallowed. "Yes, Captain Alben. That is correct, though I knew nothing about any messenger being sent to my quarters."

  He nodded. “It was only at that moment, to the surprise of prince and dean both, that the captain revealed the true nature of his visit. He asked if you had met with a certain Rulia VonBurg, former student of this academy, and led her into the heart of your garden.”

  Jess stilled herself. Refusing even to fidget, to give no tells, for all that her heart began to race once more. She forced herself to breathe as Captain Alben continued his cold recital of the events that had led to Vardelos's death. "When you had acceded to doing so, Captain Vardelos then produced a writ for your arrest, pressed you to cuff yourself, explained that the trial that had taken place under Judge Ernest was to be declared a mistrial, and that you were to be arraigned in the capital, with an added charge of treason for assisting one Rulia VonBurg, and that you were to accompany him immediately and assist in the capture of this wanted agent, with your family paying the price if you did not comply.”

  His hard eyes bored into her own. “At which point you ripped up the writ, threw it in his face, declared him the son of a harlot who had made his way up the ranks by... carnally associating with his betters, goaded him into attacking you, and promptly killed him.”

  Jess gave a rueful chuckle, wincing in sudden pain. “When you paint it like that, you make me sound like a monster.”

  Alben raised one brow. "Is that not the truth of it?" He shook his head. "You have inferred much about my own position, Jessica. I know as well as anyone the rather unorthodox training Eloquin's pet Squires have received. You measured that man's weaknesses as well as any enemy agent could, and goaded him into making a fatal error. He attacked first, and thus despite his rank and status, you were well within your rights as a noble to take him down, not hesitating to do so."

  Jess closed her eyes, collapsing fully into her bed once more. She rubbed her throbbing forehead, taking a deep ragged breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

  “Jess? You have to talk to us.” Quietly said. Joshua, showing at least a trace of concern.

  Yet when Jess looked his way, his eyes were as hard as Alben's.

  “Joshua, you were there!”

  He gave a sad nod. “I was indeed, my Jess, and I heard every word of your rather... heated exchange.”

  She grima
ced. "Well then, does it make sense to you that Judge Ernest's ruling would be so easily overturned after Franken reveals his true colors, admits to his infernal ties, and attempts to butcher the jury entirely?"

  Joshua blinked, frowning, gazing at Alben. “The official report was strangely sparse on details.”

  Captain Alben gave the smallest of smiles. “I am not surprised. I too took Judge Ernest's ruling as being the end of the matter, particularly given Franken's rather extreme response to the jury's ruling.”

  Jess took a deep breath, forcing herself to say what must be said. “Alben, just from the traitors we had faced down together in that courtroom even now sealed from all, a room where I nearly died from a madman's blows, delivered by one who admitted to being the mastermind behind so much horror, who had done everything he could to manipulate the court into handing me a death sentence for the crimes he himself had committed, I hope you will give my judgment a certain amount of credit.”

  Alben just stared at her. Jess swallowed and forced herself to speak on.

  "Vardelos's writ for my arrest. It was just too easy. Too perfect. It utterly dismissed the horrors and treachery we had faced down together with a presumption of my guilt. Did the king really doubt our mutual reports regarding the horrors we had survived? Doubt what had happened to Appolonia, thanks to Franken? Doubt that Ulric himself would have been trapped forever in Faerie, if Franken had been allowed to kill me? Haven't I been vindicated, just these past couple of days?" She gazed imploringly at the hard-faced men before her. "Are the rumors not true? Has Ulric not returned?"

  Joshua's pleased smile instantly lightened Jess's heart. “You are correct, Jessica. He has.”

  She gave a relieved nod. “Well, there you have it. Being allowed to live with my garden intact, I was able to heal the rifts in the connections between Faerie and Dawn. As a result, Ulric was able to return. And has he spoken ill of me at any time? I would dearly like to know, if this is the case.”

  Joshua shook his head. “Nothing but praise, my Jess. Nothing but praise.”

  She sighed with relief. "Well then, that begs the question, why would the king authorize my arrest? The mastermind had been revealed and righteously struck down, the crown prince returned, and the bridge between Dawn and Faerie restored!" She caught Joshua with her gaze. "You heard the horrible things Vardelos was saying. Did he give you any hint he was there to take me prisoner? The way he threw those cuffs of iron at my head. That blow was meant to mark me, scar me, or enrage me. He had been filled with hate for me from the first moment he saw me, just like Franken had been! Joshua, did your father give you any indication he was less than pleased with me?"

  Joshua gave a small shake of his head. “No, he did not. But I am not privy to everything, Jess, however much I might wish it otherwise.”

  Jess grimaced and shook her head.

  “You must understand how this looks, Jess,” Alben said. “Yet another officer of the inquisitors has made his way to this college to arrest you, only to die by your blade.”

  Jess flushed. “Not without being pinked in turn. Near fatally so.”

  “Yet it was you who baited him. Masterfully so. As you were taught.”

  “Yes, Alben, I did!”

  "Ware your words, my mistress," Twilight softly counseled as he made himself comfortable within her lap, Jess stroking his soft, silky fur, comforting herself as much as he.

  Jess flushed, knowing he was right. Determinedly she pushed forward, doing her best to focus on what mattered; not her own tactics, but rather the tactics of those out to destroy her. "It was when he was looking at me." Don't tell them what they can't understand. "You saw his contempt as well, Joshua, how he twisted everything I said, everything that had happened completely out of true. He didn't care that Franken had near killed me unjustly, didn't care that I had been found innocent. Instead, he looked for every reason to dismiss my assertions, insisting on my guilt when I had already been declared innocent by my peers, demanding that I submit to being placed in chains before coming with him, meek and compliant, to hunt down my friend!"

  Jess gave a bitter shake of her head. “Let's be honest, Alben. If Franken's hostility was anything to go by, I would never even live to see the capital!”

  She boldly met the captain's cool gaze. "I have no doubt that he had every intention of killing me, Alben. Killing me and saying I had fled, using that as pretext to strip my family of all their wealth and assets, even as he committed murder most foul. Does that not also fit Franken's methods to a tee? How he had stolen away Apple, hoping to goad my own mother into charging him in a desperate frenzy, only so that he could cut her down in coldest calculation? You were there, Alben. You saw how that man treated me, you saw the things he had done!"

  “Franken had fallen, Jessica. I acknowledge that. I bared witness to that. But you admitted by your own words that you had goaded Vardelos into committing the very same error of passion Franken had tried to compel your mother into, the difference being that your mother yet lives."

  Jess grimaced, giving a bitter shake of her head. "We have enemies striking from the shadows that would put the Crown itself in play! You know this, Alben. You are the one who told me about the growing threat. Damn it, you are the king's man! I thought we were on the same side!"

  Joshua blinked, gazing at Alben curiously, a faint smile playing across his features.

  Alben gazed furiously at Jess, and she felt her cheeks flush in sudden hot shame.

  He had meant it to be a secret, and she had blown his trust in a moment of pique.

  “I am sorry,” she said, hanging her head. “I tend to have a knack for playing the fool, as even Eloquin would say.”

  “No, Jess,” Joshua softly corrected. “Just overly impulsive.”

  "A fool indeed!" Alben snapped. "It does not matter what I think, Jessica. That's not the point! It is how it would look the head of the inquisitorial order, how it will look to any councilmember in that man's circle!"

  Jess's countenance hardened, forcing herself to meet his hot gaze. “Then we must needs find out from the king's own lips what he thinks of me, before this all becomes common knowledge at the capital. If he had no intention of charging me, then would he not find Vardelos's writ for my arrest quite suspicious?”

  Alben closed his eyes in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Jessica, it is not the king who presses charges, except in extraordinary circumstances! His privilege is absolute, but to avoid undue friction between Crown and Council, he allows the inquisitorial head to make such decisions. He can, of course, veto any determination made by any court in the land for whatever reason he sees fit. But for all his dreams of conquest, he has largely left the Council to its own affairs."

  Joshua nodded. “He is right, Jess. Ulric alone has taken a more active interest. Our father commutes the sentence of any noble who has gained his favor, but he rarely initiates prosecution, or insists upon a harsher judgment.”

  Jess blinked, swallowing, her throat suddenly bone dry. "So what you are saying is that even if the inquisitorial head had it in for me, barring Franken's mockery of a snap trial and burning me before word even reaches the capital, were I to be tried in proximity of the royal palace, the king could step in and absolve me of wrongdoing at a whim?”

  Both the men before her nodded in grim unison.

  "Bloody Hells," Jess whispered, suddenly realizing how very much trouble she might now be in. She laughed bitterly. "Yet he would be far less likely to if I gain a reputation for butchering high ranking members loyal to the Crown, lest he need fear about the morale of his own forces. But if the inquisitorial head is corrupt, then it would have been all too easy for me to be gutted and thrown into the underbrush, and Vardelos to declare my escape. And as I forced him to act, even his defeat makes me look suspiciously guilty, for all that my life depended upon my seizing the Vor!" She gave a mocking clap. "It appears my enemies have outmaneuvered me yet again."

  Alben sighed. “Do you see how paranoid y
our words make you sound, even now?”

  Jess grinned bitterly. “Absolutely. And do you doubt, from what you saw just these past few weeks, that enemies are in play for the Calenbry barony and the Crown itself, if they can get it?”

  Alben gave a sad shake of his head. “Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what I think. Only how your actions appear to the powers that be.”

  Her gut twisted in anxious knots. Desperately, she tried to think of a way she could vindicate herself, her anxiety growing, almost imagining she could hear mocking laughter just a nightmare away, when Twilight gently put his paw upon her shoulder, sapphire eyes locking to her own.

  “Relax. Focus. We have slain every serpent that has sought to strike us down. Now we need only to find our way past the loops of these treacherous knots and coils, before they can trap and strangle us. Think, my queen. What is there that would vindicate us?”

  Jess smiled then, fancying golden rays of insight piercing the leaden gray clouds of worry plaguing her. “The sword, Joshua! The sword and dagger.”

  Joshua blinked. “The sword?”

  Jess nodded. "Vardelos's weaponry. Infernal in origin. We need but have a master enchanter examine them, to prove the veracity of my claim. If it can be shown that these are, in fact, cursed magics, then does that not tie in perfectly with the narrative that Vardelos is in league with the very diabolists seeking, somehow, to take the throne and destroy anyone who gets in their way?"

  Joshua's eyebrows raised at this. "Diabolists with their eye on the throne? The practice of infernalism is a burnable offense, Jess. Honestly, I have heard of few accounts, save what you and your Delving companions have managed to encounter, these last few years." He gave a teasing smile. "Very much like a bard's tale of treachery and darkest magics, yet such is fitting for Delvers, finding themselves in the midst of such a dark saga. Still, I had hoped, as did your family I am given to understand, that with the noble sacrifice of your powers, you had been freed from the strange magics that trap our Delvers in the most exotic and dangerous of tales."