Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Leah
“You want to send them all?”
“Did I stutter?”
“No, but leaving New Hope with a single regiment of vampire soldiers may not be enough to quell an insurrection if the people rise against us.”
Leah looked at Commander Steel from her seat in her new throne. She had done away with the gaudy chair her sister had chosen to rule from. Leah had simpler, if not more, commanding taste than the late queen.
She sat on her recently commissioned seat, a throne of pure obsidian stone, which glimmered in the presence of the mage lights set high overhead in the throne room.
Her temper matched her dark dress. News of her mage engine and, more importantly, of Elizabeth’s defeat on the road to Azra had just reached her.
Mage engines would come and go, but an apprentice with Elizabeth’s power came once in a lifetime. The reports were muddled, but one thing was clear: a witch was protecting Azra; a witch strong enough to defeat Elizabeth, one who’d fought with yellow magic.
“My queen?” Commander Steel stood at attention. The way he’d said the words told Leah it wasn’t the first time he’d said her name. “We leave only one regiment in New Hope?”
Leah’s anger broke free from her usual calm resolve. “Our enemies are in Azra! They’re out there in front of us! I want you to have the entire army ready to march by tomorrow night. Leave no one behind; take every vampire soldier with you!”
Leah’s voice had boomed in the massive open space that made up the throne room, words echoing off the walls and reverberating back in toward the room.
Although the queen and the commander were the only two in the room, it would have been a safe guess that her guards on the other side of the large doors had heard her screaming.
“Commander, you have the most powerful army in the known world at your disposal. Use them to crush our enemies in Azra. Whatever it takes.” Leah gritted her teeth at an image of Azra in flames in her mind.
She could practically hear the screams of the dying in her ears.
“The wolf monsters tethered to Elizabeth will have scattered. Don’t waste your time trying to reel in the beasts. What of the mage engine itself?”
“It’s in perfect working order.” Commander Steel met her eyes with a mischievous grin. “As soon as it released your apprentice and the monsters, the conductor reversed the unit and it rolled into New Hope without a scratch. If it’s not too forward of me to ask: Will you be joining us?”
“I’ll be catching up with you.” Leah drummed her long, slender fingers on the cold arm of her throne. “Powerful wizards aren’t the only weapons to be had in the Outland. I’m sure the vampire army will be more than enough to overwhelm Azra, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
A dark shadow loomed across Commander Steel’s face. Leah knew he would understand her meaning. Before his transformation into a vampire, before his rise to commanding the New Hope army, he had been a mercenary in the Outland, himself.
“I know you know what you’re doing, but they can’t be trusted.” Commander Steel shook his head, trying to maneuver the conversation in such a way that came out firm yet respectful. “They’re dark, evil men and women?—”
“I understand your hesitation in using their particular skill set. But that’s for me to worry about, not you. Go”—Leah waved him away—“and do as you are ordered. If you do your job, maybe we won’t have to use them at all.”
Commander Steel swallowed hard, then bowed at the waist and exited the room. His heavy boots made loud clicks on the marble floor.
Leah watched his back disappear through the doors.
She was alone with her thoughts again, the same thoughts that kept leading back to her younger sister.
It had to be her. It could be no one else.
Leah had made a point of keeping track of any witch or wizard capable of such power.
When one tried to control the board, you kept track of all of the pieces.
It was clear Croft had somehow masked her mark. The little brat had remained quiet all these years, amassing an army of her own in Azra. Leah should have guessed.
But dwelling on these thoughts would get her nowhere. It was time to act. Leah rose and lifted her black wand from the holster she wore on the side of her right hip. Channeling her magic came as naturally to her as lifting her own hand.
Purple light danced at the edge of her wand as she traced a large circle in the air in front of her, while an ancient spell danced across her lips.
At once, the circle of magic floating in the air shimmered.
A ripple of energy brought an image of darkness in front of her.
Instead of seeing the rest of the throne room through the circle, she was now viewing a dark chamber.
The viewing portal was large, big enough for her to see a massive bed lying against the far wall. Floor-to-ceiling curtains were closed, a pair of fluffy, blue slippers having been placed methodically by the foot of a dresser.
“I was wondering when you’d come and ask for my help,” a male voice drifted from the bed and through Leah’s spell. “I’ve heard you’re having quite the problem in your corner of the world.”
“‘Problem,’ is a strong word for what’s going on here, Dominic.” Leah paused, choosing her next words carefully. “I’m not much of a gambler. I’m going to crush Azra and kill every last one of them. My vampire army is strong enough to do that now.”
“But … ?” A shadow figure sat up in the bed and swung bare legs over the side to slip naked feet into the pair of blue slippers. “Maybe they’re not? Or why would you be coming to me?”
“I wouldn’t mind having your help and the help of those you serve in all of this.”
“Ahhh … and there it is. You understand the Fallen have little to no interest in the dealings of your petty squabbles. What’s in it for them if they decide to help?”
Dominic rose from the bed and sauntered over toward Leah’s spell. He was tall, good looking, with dark features and a body that would make any man envious. He reached out of sight for a moment, and the sound of liquid being poured filled Leah’s vision.
He came forward, right up to the spell wall now, and sipped at a red wine he swirled in a golden chalice.
“What is it that they would want?” Leah asked, already wondering if she wanted to know the answer to her question.
“I’ll be honest with you Leah.” Dominic looked her up and down with hungry eyes. “They have their hands full battling their celestial counterparts in their shadow war here on Earth, but I might be swayed to step in and be your knight in shinning armor.”
“And in return?”
“Oh”—Dominic smiled at her with a mischievous grin—“I think you know what I want.”