Chapter 6 #2
Still holding Okeanos’ hand, I gave him a nod, and his mighty kraken exploded upward in a tangled squirmy mess of tentacles. Still holding my arm, he effortlessly pulled me up against his octopus-like body. His thicker tentacles swept across the ground, pulling us into the darkness.
:I’m at the pit,: Xin said. :There are chains down into the mud, but I don’t see any sign of movement or life.:
:Don’t be fooled,: Thierry said in my head.
:A single drop of blood will bring the leeches swarming to the surface.
I killed a lot of them to feed myself and Leonie, but the Dauphine noticed the flow of power decreased.
Then she sent me to the swamp. I’m sure she put more of the leeches back over the years to keep feeding on Leonie. :
:Anybody know the best way to kill a bunch of leeches?: I asked.
:Fire,: Mehen said immediately. :Crispy critter those fuckers.:
I’d have to lure the ones deep in the mud up to the surface first and then blast them.
Though I’d hate to give such disgusting creatures even one drop of my blood.
Maybe I could use the Dauphine’s power against them?
Theoretically they each carried her blood.
Her magic. Then they fed on Leonie, draining her power along with her blood for the Dauphine.
Even Thierry’s blood—Isador blood—would be in them. Tainted, but possibly usable.
Gwen slipped, crying out softly, though Lancelot quickly steadied her. He strode along beside her, mud up to his knees. As long as it didn’t get much deeper, he didn’t appear to be struggling too much. A low muttered curse behind us made me turn my head.
Merlin brought up the rear, grumbling to himself, holding his purple robes up around his waist.
“I told you not to wear your ceremonial robes,” Lancelot said over his shoulder.
“Fuck you,” Merlin retorted. “Wizards do not wear the clothes of mortals.”
“You could shift too,” Gwen said. “Your creature would have no difficulties in the mud and darkness.”
He grunted sourly and shook his head. “I’d rather not unless we’re attacked.”
I wasn’t sure what beast he shifted to, but given my kraken and ushi-oni, it must be rather unique if he was reluctant to reveal it.
Picking up on my curiosity, Gwen said in our bond, :He would need to feed, the same as your flesh eater, and there may not be enough of our enemies to go around to slake all their hunger. He doesn’t want to be forced to leave my side in search of suitable prey.:
:Ah, that makes sense. Sorry, it’s none of my business anyway.:
:Don’t be ridiculous, Your Majesty.: Her mental voice rang with power, reminding me of the oath she’d sworn the day I made her my sibling in Isador Tower. :What’s mine is yours.:
:I will never use your Blood like that. Not without your full consent and knowledge.:
:I know. That’s why I was willing to swear to you. But you should know his power in case you need to call upon us one day. He serves House Camelot, but I live to serve you.:
The mud thickened as we neared the cistern.
Lancelot dragged himself up onto the wooden planks balanced precariously on stacks of stones and cement blocks that slowly sank into the mud, forcing a slower pace so he could test each plank’s stability beneath his weight.
Merlin joined him behind their queen, guarding her back, but hanging behind a plank length to not strain the rotten wood.
Okeanos glided around them, easily moving through the mud so we could join Xin and Vore.
My wolf sat on his haunches on the edge of a cement-topped stone ledge, with my ushi-oni perched beside him like a giant spider.
Thick, rough-hewn posts that looked like entire tree trunks braced the house overhead, balanced on footings of flat stones stacked together in the mud.
Areas had been fortified with concrete over the years, but the stacked stones and beams looked original to the house.
A careless toss of Vore’s head, and his horns would bring the whole house down on top of us.
The four beams each formed a cornerstone of the concrete ledge. Massive chains wrapped around each beam and disappeared into the mud. Thierry flew up to perch on an ancient, rusted nail poking out of one of the thick floor joists, overlooking the pit.
Snippets of his memory flickered through me.
The first blow of the Dauphine’s power had knocked him senseless.
He lay here on the ledge, unable to move or defend himself.
The alpha forced a live leech into his mouth, tainted with his queen’s blood.
Then they rolled him into the pit like a dead body.
My stomach heaved but I didn’t flinch away from his memory. He’d endured it all so he could reach me in New York City.
:She has a chain around her throat,: Thierry whispered. :Both ankles. One wrist. The other, she’s missing her hand. Her tongue is gone and her mouth was sewn shut.:
Steeling myself, I nodded and dipped my focus into the mud. Just a brief touch and I jerked my awareness back out, gasping. “Goddess.”
Okeanos curled around me, and Xin snarled, his hackles rising. Vore lifted two long, shiny legs, brandishing them like swords, looking for a threat. Lancelot held his broadsword in both hands, making a slow, careful turn, scanning for danger. Merlin pressed against Gwen, shielding her back.
Shuddering, I fought the urge to wipe my hands on my pants. I hadn’t physically touched the muck but I still felt unclean. “Sorry, it’s the leeches. The pit is absolutely full of them. I’d rather eliminate as many of them as possible before exposing any of us to their touch.”
“They were the Dauphine’s creatures, correct?” Merlin waited for my nod. “Then forgive me, Your Majesty, but they’re yours, now. They’ll do your bidding as they would do hers.”
I clenched my jaws, swallowing the bile bubbling up my throat.
“It’s not easy to touch something so tainted and evil,” Gwen said gently, as much for me as explaining my reluctance to her Blood.
Vore clicked two of his legs together in a metallic rattle. :You touch us.:
“You’re not tainted and evil,” I retorted harsher than I would like. “I can certainly will them to die but the power they carry will be released into me then. It’s… foul stuff. Worse than anything I’ve ever seen or felt before.”
So foul that I didn’t know if I would ever feel clean again after wielding such darkness. Even for Leonie’s rescue.
But then I heard myself. Listened to my own thoughts. And it shamed me.
Because Thierry had no choice but to suffer for years in the pit with the Dauphine’s power growing into massive eels inside him. Tainting him. Rotting him from the inside out.
Yet I loved him.
His steadfast loyalty and dedication. His sacrifice. He certainly wasn’t evil simply because he’d been forced to endure torture as the Dauphine’s thrall.
Clenching my jaws, I shoved my awareness deep into the pit like a brutal sword. All creatures carrying Jeanne Viennois’ power rise now.
The mud boiled. Leeches clumped together into wriggling bundles, squelching up out of the mud to hover over the pit.
I tightened my fingers into a fist, pulling the writhing clumps together.
Compressing them smaller into a tight ball that was still nearly five feet in diameter. So many fucking leeches.
I bit my lip and allowed my blood to drip down my chin. Then I set the mass on fire. They squealed and shrieked and popped like fat, juicy bratwursts cooking in an open fire, frantically leaping in the flames, though they couldn’t escape.
Releasing the power that had bound them to the Dauphine’s will.
I braced for pummeling waves to slam into me, but her power was much more insidious.
A creeping, disfiguring blight contaminating its host long before it killed, allowing its power to spread and multiply.
A slow, evil smile relishing someone’s agony.
Cuts so sharp and deep you didn’t even know you’d been injured.
Until you fell gasping to the floor, wondering why you were dying.
I allowed her power to fill me. All of it. I would need it to restore Leonie and her House as much as possible.
The chains rattled and clanked against the cement. A hump swelled in the center of the pit in a vague body-like shape, also responding to my command to rise. Though the chains weren’t long enough for me to lift her fully from the mud.
:I need to get closer,: I told my kraken.
He oozed over the ledge into the mud, spreading out his tentacles across the surface so we didn’t sink.
“Wait, Your Majesty.” Lancelot reached down into his boot and pulled out a slender knife to press into my palm. “You may need steel to break the locks.”
I’d gotten complacent with Guillaume’s many knives hidden all over his body, so I hadn’t thought to bring my trusty pocketknife. “Thank you. Vore, come with us. Everyone else, watch for an attack. Gwen, once we free her, we’ll move her onto the ledge so you can assess her injuries.”
The hump didn’t rise any higher, constrained by the chains. If she was alive, she wasn’t moving or breathing. Okeanos eased one of his tentacles deeper into the mud, feeling along the chain until he found the cuff. :Her arm.:
:Good. We’ll take this end, Vore. See if you’re able to break her legs free, or if we’ll need the knight’s blade to pry the locks open.:
The ushi-oni used one of his legs like a lever to lift and pry more of the smaller lumps up out of the mud, while he carefully carved layers of mud away, looking for her ankles. Okeanos lifted her arm higher for me, chain taut, but he couldn’t free her arm entirely from the mud.
With one hand, I gripped some of his smaller tentacles around his mouth, leaning out so I could reach down into the mud.
Eyes closed, I focused on touch. Not just mine, but his as well.
The tip of his tentacle curled around her wrist and probed at the lock.
Showing me exactly where I needed to pry the tip of the blade to free her arm.
Clanking against the cement edge, the chain went slack, plopping back into the mud.
One arm free. Okeanos already had another tentacle working through the mud, searching for her head.
Goddess, please still be alive, Leonie.
As if she heard my silent prayer, her body heaved. Something lunged up out of the mud with a roar. No. That was Okeanos. He flung me sideways, tumbling into the muck. Tossing me away from whatever attacked. His tentacles slammed with brutal, meaty thuds.
But I smelled his blood.