Chapter 21 #3
“We need to warn them,” Mirella says, then proceeds to climb down from the roof, and I follow her, going down a thin, winding path past the main entrance.
We slip through her bedroom’s window in the guests’ section. She shuts it, eyes wide. If ghouls are climbing the walls, they could obviously enter through this window.
She rushes to the hall, then the winding stairs leading to the old library, and I follow her.
“Renel!” she yells even before entering the room. “The castle’s under attack.”
There’s a tone of desperation in her voice that surprises me. In the library, Renel and Tarlia stare at us, their eyes wide.
“Ghouls,” Mirella says.
Renel’s expression is incredulous. “Here?”
“We saw them,” I say. “They were climbing the hill.”
“Does the queen know that?” he asks.
“We came straight down,” I explain. “But she must have sentinels. I hope.”
“Let’s check.” He heads to the door.
“Renel!” Mirella extends her hands, palms up. “My magic. Please!”
I understand now why she ran here. Somehow, I had thought that deep down, she cared for her stepbrother, but I was wrong. I don’t know why I’m disappointed.
Renel looks Mirela up and down, as if measuring her, considering, then places his hands on top of hers. “Per mutual wish and agreement, we undo the deal, and you can use your magic now.”
She sighs as if relieved, but then frowns. “It’s not working.”
He pulls the fancy dagger Astra lent him and makes an x in the air. “I undo the deal with Mirella, and allow her to use her magic.”
“Still not working!” Mirella waves her hands in the air.
“We can try again later,” Renel says. “Now I need to make sure that the queen has set up her defenses, or else we’re finished.”
He takes Tarlia’s hand, heads to the door, and we follow.
Mirella yells, “Renel, please! I can blow them away from the hill with my air.”
“I did what I could,” he yells back. “I don’t know why you still can’t use your magic.”
“He can try again later,” I tell her softly, and she huffs, frustrated.
I understand her frustration, but I doubt Renel is lying, and he’s right that it’s imperative to check if Queen Berta is aware of the attack.
The queen should know about it. But then, why haven’t we heard any bell? Any movement of guards?
We climb up to the entrance hall, and don’t come across a single guard, then we finally find her in the mezzanine, lying on a high bed while two attendants massage her back.
Renel lets go of Tarlia’s hand and approaches the queen in fast steps. “Your Majesty. Apologies for disturbing you, but Ziven and Mirella saw ghouls climbing this hill.”
She raises a hand and the attendants step away from her. “Ghouls?” Her expression is disbelief, obviously.
“Yes,” Mirella says. “I saw some fifty of them coming up, then heard even more at the base.”
The queen sits up without even covering herself and yells, “Guards! Raise the defenses!”
The attendants and most of her guard leave the mezzanine, probably to get reinforcements.
The queen then scowls at us. “Did you bring them here?”
“No,” Renel says. “We don’t have anything to do with these ghouls. I don’t even know how they crossed the Charmed River and came all the way here.”
“He brought them,” she says slowly. “And transcended here.”
She walks to a window and looks down, her countenance calm, collected. All her haughtiness is gone, replaced by worry, I think.
A guard comes running. “Our magic. It’s not working.”
The lightstones go out at the same moment.
“Light candles!” the queen yells.
I try to condense some water on my hand, wondering if my magic has been suppressed as well, but relief courses through me as a water ball appears on my palm.
Beside me, Mirella gives me a small smile.
The thin flame of a candle brings some light to the mezzanine, and the queen yells, “Secure all windows and doors! Defend our treasure.”
“I have water magic,” I tell her. “How can I help?”
Her eyes are hard and her body is stiff. “Stay close, but hidden. He’s coming.”
He. It can’t be. “The Witch King?” I ask.
She nods. “He didn’t get us last time. This court kept itself well hidden, but he promised revenge.
I guess that’s why he didn’t give us time to hide now.
Ghouls are his creatures, and if they’re here, it’s because he transcended to this area.
Nobody’s safe. Nowhere’s safe. A circle of magic, or rather, a circle with no magic, that’s his signature attack. ”
My insides turn to stone.
“Fire can deter the ghouls,” Tarlia says. “If you have oil or spirits, we can make weapons to fight them.”
The queen glares at her. “Hide. Just hide, and hope he doesn’t find you.” She then yells, “Archers!”
“Arrows won’t hurt them,” Renel says.
Meanwhile, two guards carrying bows come to the queen’s side.
She huffs. “They’ll slow them down. With no air magic, we can’t push them off the hill. Now hide!”
Something’s banging on the main door of the castle, and I go there and reinforce the door with ice. The banging doesn’t stop, and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to protect it with my magic.
There aren’t enough guards around, perhaps because they’re protecting other windows and doors, but I’m getting the sense that the forces here are quite small.
Renel and Tarlia rush down the stairs and continue going down, and then I hear glass crashing above me and rush to the mezzanine. Four ghouls breached the area, and while the guards shoot arrows, they do nothing.
I aim at the feet of the two closest to us, and lock them in place with ice, giving time for the queen to hit them with her sword.
The two others advance, and something hits one ghoul.
An apple. I realize it’s Mirella, who throws a second one at them.
I create ice daggers and hit their chests.
They fall, and I push them out the window.
“Do you have more swords somewhere?” I ask the queen. “Arrows don’t work.”
She snaps her fingers, and one of the guards descends the stairs.
I can barely believe she let most of her retinue abandon her.
Two ghouls advance through the broken windows, and I send balls of ice on their faces.
My magic is temporarily weakened after reinforcing the door, and I can’t create enough ice to lock all of their feet or to create a barrier, and I’m starting to get worried.
Mirella throws plates at them, but still they advance, and then five more show up behind them. I create a layer of ice on the floor, smooth and slippery, and while some of the ghouls fall, three still advance, while five more come from behind them.
I have a dagger, but it’s hardly enough to fight against one ghoul, nevermind six or seven of them.
My insides turn cold. I should perhaps run and hide, but then if the ghouls take the castle, will there be any hiding spot? And we don’t even know if they haven’t entered through other windows. Don’t even know if any place is safe.
I create thin ice daggers and throw, realizing they’re as useless as arrows, as Mirella throws a plate, making one of them fall. There are too many.
My heart beats fast in my chest, and I glance at Mirella, wondering if she’s willing to run, but she has a cup in her hand, her face set, ready to fight.
The queen is struggling with her sword against two ghouls.
This would be the moment for a great surge of magic, but there isn’t that much humidity here, and my magic is still weakened.
A new light comes from behind me. Tarlia has a candle, and Renel carries a pot, and then she throws a wooden skewer with fire on its tip, then another. The ghouls burn quickly when fire reaches them, and I use some water to douse it and prevent the fire from burning the castle.
Once these ghouls are pushed back, we approach the window, from where I see more creatures climbing.
Outside, I can feel more water in the air.
My magic returns in full force, and and I create a layer of ice on the stone, turning it slippery, while Tarlia and Renel throw balls or skewers with fire.
I see that he has some strong alcohol in the pot, and some wooden and fabric pieces, and they’re lighting and throwing them, which is quite effective against the ghouls.
Below us, the door bangs, and I go down to reinforce it—but it’s too late. It swings open, revealing a man flanked by some ten ghouls. A man with purplish-black hair.
The Witch King himself. I think I’m ready to puke.
AZUR
Istare at the five guards surrounding me in the Sea King’s chamber, and say calmly, “I need to speak to Your Majesty.”
If that pearl works the way the king said it would, he should find me.
“Kill him,” a guard further back says.
I transcend away from the room, and find myself in the ocean, facing a white tower with tons of doors. A group of guards swims to me, but the king is among them.
“Stand down,” he says as he raises a hand, then approaches me. “What’s wrong?”
“They took her,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion.
The king’s face turns somber all at once. “What do you mean?”
“Can we talk in private?” I want to go rescue Lidiane at this very second, but I need to ensure her safety.
The king leads me to the same room, and the guards leave.
Once the door is closed, I say, “The Sea Court took Lidiane from where she was, which was very far from the shore. They flew there in a carriage pulled by moths.”
The king blinks. “How do you know that?”
“Witnesses saw it. Now, I can get to Lidiane, wherever she is, if I focus. I can bring Your Highness with me, and up to five more fae. Can you gather your most loyal guards?”
He grimaces. “You can transcend that many fae?”
The question is pointless and annoys me. “Yes. Can you get some guards?”
“Guards won’t be necessary. Are you sure you can find my daughter?”
“Positive. Give me your hand.”
He pauses, as if hesitating, looks at me, then finally extends his arm, as if my expression convinced him that he can trust me.
I grab his hand at once, then feel for where Lidiane is.
We emerge by the ceiling of an underground cave lit by crystals. Below us, more than fifty guards surround a small cage. The Sea Prince and a woman that I assume must be his mother float by the cage.
Lidiane’s there. Even with all the water between us, even from this distance, I meet her eyes.
“Go,” she mouths.
Go. As if I shouldn’t care. If we were on the surface, I would have destroyed that cage by now, but there’s no air down here. I could transcend us to another place, but I’ll need to get close enough.
The woman looks up, notices us, and narrows her eyes at the king. “There you are! Took you long enough. Always too slow on what concerns your children, isn’t it, dear Sonrad?”
“What is it you want?” the Sea King asks, his voice calm.
She raises a hand. “First, don’t try to free your little spawn.
The cage is enchanted. If I’m injured—or killed—it will close in on her, and the inner spikes are quite sharp.
Would you want to see your little girl torn to shreds?
I don’t think so.” She looks at me. “Second, do not try to transcend. The cage is enchanted and blocks all magic in it. And that includes transcending magic.”
“Well understood, Selena,” the king says. “And I assume there’s a reason for the cage, right?” His tone’s so soothing that he sounds as if he’s trying to calm down a scared child.
I look at Lidiane again, who seems more perplexed than afraid.
The queen laughs. “You assume correctly. What I propose is a fair deal. You abdicate your crown, here in front of all these witnesses.” She points around her, at all the guards.
“Crown your son.” She says those words through gritted teeth, a dash of fury coating her voice.
“Your true son, the one who deserves the throne, the crown, the honor. The only son who deserves your love. Abdicate your title, crown your son, and I’ll let the girl go. ”
That’s a terrible deal. It would mean giving all the Sea Court power to this nutcase prince, and she’s not even offering any guarantees that they won’t harm Lidiane.
I try to sense the cage from here, see if it’s true that it can block any magic. Had it been just a tad bit larger, I could try to transcend inside it, and from there we’d figure it out, but it’s so tight that the spikes are already poking Lidiane. I feel powerless. Useless.
And so guilty.
The king asks, “Will you let her go unharmed?”
“As long as she never even dips her toes in ocean water, yes. She can go.” The queen points at me. “Even the guardian can go, despite his disrespect for our son, the legitimate heir of the Sea Court. I’m in a magnanimous mood.”
“As always,” the king says, then swims close to her and the prince. I don’t think he’ll be in danger, at least not before crowning his son, but I don’t trust this queen, and don’t think Lidiane will be safe.
My heart beats hard in my chest, and questions spiral in my mind as I stare down at the scene—a nightmare before my eyes.
Can I try to save her? Can I hope that the king will find a solution?
I have no answers, and it’s tearing me apart.