Prince Kristian's Honor

by Tod Langley

Chapter 9

  No Escape

  Allisia awoke slowly, finally escaping her nightmares. She forced her eyes open, afraid that she was still trapped in the darkness of her dreams. She tried to sit up, but a heavy weight kept her down. It was as if chains pinned her to the bed, but she finally started to realize where she was. She blinked several times to make sure her eyes were actually open, but everything was covered in darkness. Moving her hands across her body, she found that she was not bound by chains but by several layers of silk sheets. She was lying in a large bed, and by the feel of the material, she was not in a dungeon as she expected.

  The light from a candle blinded her before she could discern more. Allisia heard, more than saw, a figure open a door across from her and quickly enter. The lone figure lighted more candles and then hesitantly approached the bed. Allisia’s sight finally returned, and she began to see the slim and beautiful figure of a woman in a dark red robe. The woman poured water into a cup from a nearby pitcher and then turned and smiled at her reassuringly.

  Allisia suddenly recognized her. It was the demon … her father’s murderer. She screamed in terror, lashing out with her hands and feet, feebly trying to push the monster away. Smiling demurely, the demon raised a finger to her lips, commanding Allisia to silence. Allisia stopped screaming abruptly, afraid of what the demon might do if she disobeyed. The princess fought to keep her sanity as she cringed away from the monster on the far side of the bed.

  The demon woman sat on the opposite side from her, smoothing out her red dress and cloak. Allisia wondered why the demon was so quiet now. It was completely different from the monster she had seen earlier, and it unsettled her. She began to question the terrible things that had happened as she looked back at the creature that had killed her father. The only thing she remembered from the previous night was the face of a beautiful woman with dark blue eyes and long blonde hair. And then the demon’s hand had changed as it reached slowly toward her father. The delicate hand grew mangled and clawed, the skin turning a mottled gray. The hand rested on her father’s head, the claws sinking into the skin near his temples. Effortlessly, the demon’s hand twisted, snapping his neck. Allisia remembered hearing a soft pop and then there was blood everywhere. She remembered watching the woman bow deeply in a gesture of respect. That was a cruelty Allisia would never forget. She was terrified of the creature, but the demon woman appeared to be calm and unthreatening. The monster handed her the glass of water, urging her to drink.

  “It was a long journey here for you. Drink the water. It is not poisoned,” she said calmly. She looked expectantly at the princess waiting for her to do as she was told. Allisia looked hesitantly at the water before deciding; poisoned or not, she was thirsty. Perhaps dying from poison might be better anyway, she thought. She quickly drank the water, finding she was even thirstier than she imagined. The empty cup was clenched between her hands as she looked distrustfully at the demon.

  “It was not easy for me to do. You will not understand that, but I do not expect you to understand.” The demon woman leaned closer to the princess, sending cold chills through the young girl’s body. Realizing she was unsettling Allisia, the demon slowly backed away. “I think you will find your accommodations are not as bad as they could be. You will, of course, be locked in this room, and there are guards right outside the door.” The demon saw Allisia quickly look toward the window, and she added, “They are barred, and we are hundreds of feet above the courtyard. Escape is impossible. Do not bring down harsher punishment upon yourself by trying anything foolish.” The demon stood, turning one last time to look at the young princess. She smiled and said, “And do not try to harm yourself. The place where you would go is much worse than this.”

  She glided back across the room and shut the door behind her. Allisia could hear the lock fall into place and was certain she was trapped with no hope of escape.

  The new king of Belarn paced across the dais, constantly looking toward the door behind the throne. He had sent the demon to the princess’s chamber to check on her condition. He was unsure what affect her health would have on his plans, but he thought it better to ensure her well-being, for the moment, than to kill her. Ferral was initially exhilarated by his newfound powers in the black arts, but he was reluctant to experiment further. The sorcerer-king simply did what the demon advised him; he was afraid he might destroy himself by abusing the magic he had been given. That restraint was quickly eroding.

  The demon, in its grotesque warrior form, was incapable of logical thinking; the monster served only one purpose. It had been given strength to destroy whatever got in the way, and it fed off the fear of its victims, giving it even more power. The demon, in woman form, was a schemer and was constantly calculating the outcome of events. The beautiful creature devised a plan that she assured Ferral would prevent Duellr from aiding Erand. The red robed woman promised that with the deaths of Duellr’s royal family and the heir to Erand’s throne there would be no one left in the world capable of preventing him from mastering the powerful magic he sought or from conquering Erinia. Things did not appear to have gone according to plan.

  Ferral had made a few changes in the citadel while the demon was gone. Belatarn was re-established as the official religion. The One God priests quickly vanished as did many others that opposed Ferral’s actions. The purge was necessary. Belarn would become strong again if it followed the old ways, the mad man assured them. He had waited anxiously for the demon to do what it had promised. Ferral waited an entire week, growing more impatient. When the demon returned, it was furious that things had not gone well. The monster went on a rampage, killing two guards as soon as it entered the palace.

  Later, the woman had calmly reappeared to inform him that her mission had not been completely successful. The king of Duellr was dead, and the heir was so dumbfounded by the tragic death of his father that he was incapable of leading his kingdom. However, for some reason that the demon woman did not offer, the prince of Erand still lived. In fact, he would most likely raise an army to move against Belarn very soon. Ferral was unable to control his anger. If they came too soon, he would not have the time he needed to prepare for the next ritual. The demon promised him even greater powers if he sacrificed the princess and moved his army out to destroy the lands of Erinia.

  The demon woman reassured him, “You will have the ability to raise the army you need to destroy anyone that dares interfere with your plans. Our Master will be especially pleased with you when you offer the princess as a pledge of your eternal servitude.”

  Ferral instantly moved to prepare for the princess’s sacrifice, but the demon stopped him. Ferral would have to wait. Belatarn would tell him when to kill her.

  Reluctantly, Ferral agreed to wait, in order to appease his god. He still remembered the demon woman’s puzzled look after he mentioned their god’s name. When he repeated the name, she smiled knowingly and left to check on the girl saying, “Call him what you will.”

  Now, Ferral paced the throne room floor, anticipating her news. He also worried about what he would do if Kristian’s army arrived before it was time to sacrifice Allisia. He had not easily won over the leaders of Belarn’s army. Most of the generals had mysteriously vanished one evening after telling him they would not marshal their soldiers to fight Erand. It took him two weeks to regain control, placing trusted leaders from his personal Black Guards unit into key positions within the army. They were now ready to march, but he was unsure about what they could accomplish. If he ordered the attack against Erand now he might succeed in destroying his enemy, but his capital would be left defenseless against Kristian’s forces.

  “However, leaving them here may prove just as disastrous,” he said out loud. He knew his own men were no match for the better-trained Erandians. If he wanted to see his plans come to fruition, he would have to destroy his enemies by using his new powers and the element of surprise. Finally, he shrugged, deciding to do nothing for the moment.

  Except with Allisia. He
smiled, thinking of the pleasure he would have in toying with her mind. She would remain alive until she was called for by his god even though she would beg for death.

  Still walking back and forth, he did not notice his wench, Rebenna, move past him to drop down on the throne. “I think you are misled. The demon woman calls no one master and will destroy us. Kill her. Kill her now, before it is too late,” Rebenna demanded. She smiled as Ferral finally noticed her.

  Quickly moving to her side, he grabbed her by the wrists and flung her down the steps of the dais. Fuming, he pointed a single finger at her and warned, “Do not push me, Rebenna. I am more powerful now than you ever thought possible. You are here because I allow you to be. Do not assume to be in my confidence any longer.” His eyes reinforced the threat, but Rebenna would not give up. She crawled seductively across the floor toward him.

  “But my love, it was me who foresaw your coming to power all those years ago. I have been your constant guide. Will you throw me away now after everything I have done for you? What I can still do for you?” She slowly stood up and approached the king. Throwing an arm over his shoulder, she kissed him. “Have you forgotten how well I please you? I have given you everything I have to help you.”

  “I have not forgotten what you showed me,” Ferral murmured as he smiled, “but answer me this then, Rebenna. What good are you to me now that I have everything you had to offer? I warn you, be careful or you will be lucky to remain as a servant girl.”

  Laughing, he motioned toward a dark corner of the throne room where a single figure stood constantly waiting for her master to give her an order. Incapable of rest, never to be released, the beautiful girl with pale features and raven hair stood as still as a statue. She sensed that her master was using her as an example. Standing motionless in the dark shadows, the servant girl tried to move. She tried to run away, scream, cry … anything that would set her free from her curse, but she knew it was futile. She had been trapped in her body for what seemed like an eternity, and there was no hope of ever escaping.