Chapter 25 #2
“No.” I try to think. “I could check a book, but I fear it could take too long.” My pulse quickens with anxiety, as I try to push away the fear and find some clarity, some answer.
Clarity. Light. I recall Astra reciting a prayer, blocking our bedroom once, and remember her faith. I think about the Almighty Mother, and ask her to help me save Astra.
Clarity. It comes to me suddenly. “If Sayanne’s blade was poisoned, Otavio knew about it, and if he did, he would have the antidote close by, just in case.”
“True. And it would be within reach.”
The strange dark smoke still hovers over the bed, and I condense some water above it, so that it brings it down, then I search the corner of the mattress, under the pillow, while Azur searches the other side.
“Here,” he says, and shows three bottles.
One of them is a cylinder, one has a square bottom and shape, and the other has jagged corners.
I point at the jagged one. “It’s something they’ll want to find quickly, when their mind might be confused.”
“Let me check.” He opens it, then raises an eyebrow. “My sense of smell is better than yours.” His face turns into a grimace. “This is the poison.” He closes it, then takes the square bottle and opens it. “It doesn’t smell toxic. It could be.”
I double check the bed again, to see if there’s any other bottle. It has to be the square one. Azur drops some of the liquid on her arm wound, then some of it in her mouth, then says, “If it doesn’t work, the Nymphs might be able to heal her. They practically brought me back from the grave.”
“That might work.” Only if she survives getting there, but I don’t dare say it, don’t dare voice my fears out loud. I’m so scared for my friend that I’m trembling.
“We need to get to the River of Tears.” He sounds calm, but I notice he’s also holding back his emotions. “Once we cross it, I’ll be able to transcend. What’s the fastest way to get there?”
I swallow. “We’ll need to get some horses from the stables.”
“I can carry her. What are we going to do about the guards?”
Guards. There will be so many of them, patrolling the royal wing, the castle, and keeping the horses safe. Guards, guards, guards, when there’s only two of us, and Azur’s hands will be busy.
Except that… an idea hits me. “They won’t bother with us. We’ll just walk calmly and confidently, like we’re doing our business, and nobody will notice.”
Azur stares at me as if I was crazy, and I add, “Guards are trained to stop intruders, take care of disruptions. They won’t blink at two men walking. And we’re wearing the capes.”
Azur puts her on his shoulder. “She’s breathing.”
I sigh in relief, then I unbar the bedroom and open the door.
There are no guards right outside, which explains why nobody came despite all the commotion.
I point to the end of the corridor, and we walk at a steady pace.
Azur has pushed his hat and hair down, so that the tips of his ears are hidden.
We pass the two guards at the end of the hallway. One of them glances at us, opens his mouth, then closes it and turns his gaze away, likely having decided to mind his own business.
I feel more confident about our odds of escaping this castle, even if I’m still worried about Astra.
We get to the stables without issue, and the caretaker pays us no mind. Azur ties Astra over a horse, then mounts it, while I mount another. But when we cross the castle gates, I hear a bell, then a yell.
“Thieves, thieves! They stole two horses.”
Well, it’s true that the horses are not wearing capes. Gallops sound behind us, and I fear they might close the distance at any minute. We’re on a minor road leading west, surrounded by woods, and I approach Azur. “We need to stop, dismount, and let the horses go.”
He nods, stops, I help him untie Astra, and we step away from the road, toward the forest, from where we hear guards galloping by.
“How long walking until we reach the River of Tears?” Azur whispers.
“Two, three hours.”
“Let’s get going then.” He then adds, “She’s still breathing.”
Indeed her skin looks healthy and full of color, so there’s no doubt that she’s alive. The question is if she needs more healing, and if we’ll cross the river in time to save her.
MARLAK
Idon’t want to die, don’t want my sister, my brother, Lidiane, Ferer, Tarlia, or even Nelsin to die, and yet I can’t come up with a solution. Can’t think of a way to save us. Perhaps if we resist long enough, if we can stand until sunrise, we’ll make it, but it’s so far away. Almost impossible.
I bang my pan on more ghouls. There’s nothing to plan, nothing to think, just keep fighting.
From the corner of my eye, I see Nelsin falling. We’re being overwhelmed.
A screech sounds behind me, and I decide I’m hearing things. Someone pushes me down—Lidiane. Right as I fall to the ground, a gigantic black bird jumps over us, its beak open, hitting the ghouls. Not its beak, her beak. It’s Mirella.
Thanks to her, Nelsin gets up, and I have time to breathe, but there are still too many foes.
Way to many, advancing on my sister, aiming for her fragile legs.
I jump beside her and hit as many ghouls as I can, even if I know it isn’t enough.
If she had room to fly, she could maneuver and hit them, but as it is, she’s cornered like us.
A horn blasts outside, and I wonder if the ghouls are celebrating their victory already, wonder if it’s the Witch King himself announcing his presence.
My blood chills, even if I still focus on hitting those horrible foes, even if I still try to survive for one minute more, despite whatever horrors might be coming.
I can’t die. Can’t leave Astra. But most important of all, I can’t even let grief overpower me, or I’ll miss my hits.
I can’t even close my eyes and catch a breath, can’t even check if my friends or my brother are all right.
My heart is shattering, and yet I need to keep fighting with a hollow chest.
A ghoul jumps on me, and when I try to hit it, it shudders and falls. All around me, I see ghouls trembling, and many of them falling. So many of them hit the ground that I can see the windows again. Outside, tall fae point tridents at the ghouls.
The Sea Court is here, except that I don’t know if they came to help or hurt us.
I notice then that they have some kind of breathing equipment and that their tridents send a bluish energy that hits the ghouls and makes them fall.
I’m not sure if I can say that the creatures are killed, but at least they don’t get up.
I take a deep breath and look around. All my friends are standing, even if Renel and Nelsin are bleeding. I turn and face again the Sea Court, still holding onto the pan, even if it looks ridiculous.
Mirella screeches, but she hasn’t yet attacked the sea fae as we wait.
“We’re here in peace,” a man with a deep voice says as he walks in through the door.
“You needed help, right?” His chest is covered in silver scales, his skin is dark, and his hair is black and silver.
He wears a tube connecting his mouth and nose to something on his waist. “I’m Sonrad, King of the Sea Court. ”
The king. I exhale. Azur said he helped him. Not only that, he’s Lidiane and Ferer’s father. He says, “We cleared the ghouls, but he could create more of them, so my guards will stay here until morning. He was flying on a dark unicorn.”
My insides freeze. Is that why Cherry Cake was so sad? Did he know he would be pulled into the Witch King’s thrall? I can’t believe it.
The king walks to Ferer and Lidiane, and kneels. “I’m here to serve you, and to try to make up for… all that happened.”
“Azur told me,” Lidiane says.
“So you know?” the king asks.
“Yes.” She eyes him with curiosity, maybe perplexed to find her father after believing he had died, and maybe too exhausted from fighting to be able to say much.
“I…” He’s clearly struggling with his words.
“The queen is dead. My son… other son, has been imprisoned, as he believes you both are a threat to his crown. I hope he’s right, and that one of you will be my successor.
” He looks at Ferer and Lidiane. “You’re…
incredible. But I have to leave. I… I have to… ”
“It’s fine,” Lidiane says. “Thank you for coming.”
“I wish… I had done more. Once things are calmer, please come and find me. I have to go.”
“We’ll talk later,” Ferer says, then adds, “Father.”
The Sea King hugs him and Lidiane, then gets up. “I’ll be back soon. My guards are here.”
He turns around and leaves while his guards retreat and form a perimeter around the house.
I think he would rather talk to them on a better occasion, when they’re not so drained that they can barely breathe, and I’m assuming the Sea Court is still in turmoil after the death of the queen, so he can’t linger.
I look for my brother and find him on the back of the kitchen, sitting on the floor, hugging Tarlia.
Nelsin, who has a wound on his hand, sits by Ferer and Lidiane, who check on it.
I then check on Mirella. Her wings are bloodied, but she looks nothing like the monster bird who attacked Ziven and I on that strange island.
Her feathers are black, brilliant, and beautiful, and her eyes are not hateful and empty, but instead remind me of my sister’s eyes.
I lean my face on her, and she screeches.
“Can you shift back?” I ask.
She screeches and points up with her beak, as if trying to tell me something.
“You want to fly?” I ask.
She keeps pointing.
“Is that a yes?”
Her screech is so loud that it hurts my ears. At the same time, I feel a horrific pain in my arm, and I fall.
Astra. Something’s wrong with Astra.
ASTRA
I’m dying, my body dissolving in black smoke. Dying, reuniting with the stars. The Almighty Mother extends a hand to me. I reach out to her, but she gives me a shove, and then I fall.
My arm hurts, pain radiating through my entire body. My belly hurts, something bony and hard under it. I see the ground of a forest with moss, vegetation, and some fallen leaves.
And then I’m flying, ready for my revenge, watching as my creatures are about to defeat my enemies. Then getting weaker as the creatures are defeated.
My unicorn still flies around the house, bound by the circle of magic, high enough that they’ll never reach me even if I’m weakened. My anchors are gone, and the tethers that tie me to this world are ripping. It’s time for me to rest.
“No!” I yell, and the vision fades.
Strong hands pull me, and change my position. I’m in Azur’s arms, just like I was when we walked to the Witch King’s throne.
“What?” he asks.
“You’re awake!” Ziven smiles, his expression full of relief.
“The Witch King, he’s flying over the house.” I point at Azur. “Your house. Can you put me down?”
He crouches and places me on the dirt, and I sit.
Ziven crouches in front of me. “We need to keep moving.”
“Where are we?”
“Going to the River of Tears,” Ziven says. “Then Azur will be able to transcend.”
Azur’s expression is troubled. “What do you mean he’s flying over my house? Is that a dream? A vision?”
I try to think, try to remember. “I don’t know. It’s gone.”
“Astra,” Azur pleads.
“Let’s just keep going,” Ziven says.
Azur waves a finger. “No. What’s happening?”
I close my eyes and try to enter that vision again, but it’s so… horrible. So much hatred, pain, anger. But I have to see it, and it’s clearer now.
“The Witch King is flying over your house, but everyone’s safe. There’s some… Something protecting it.”
Azur exhales. “The wards.”
I’m not sure that’s what it is, but I don’t think it makes a big difference. “He’s weak now, but he won’t be weak for long.”
“I can run and tell them,” Azur says.
I’m not sure it can help. “But he’s high up in the air.”
“I can transcend anywhere,” he insists. “I’ll go, but I’ll come back.”
“What if Astra can transcend again?” Ziven asks.
“Pick me up on the way!”
He bolts, leaving me here with Ziven, who asks, “Are you sure they’re safe, or did you just say it to…”
“They’re safe. Something’s protecting the house, but the opportunity to kill him is now.”
Ziven clicks his tongue and sighs. “At least you’re awake. And alive.”
“Yes.” The memory of being cut and poisoned comes to me in a second. It feels so distant. I remember then that I reached Marlak once, and he came to rescue me. Could I do the same now?
“I’ll try to reach Marlak through our bond. Let me focus.” I close my eyes, and yet I can’t find my husband. All I see is the house through the eyes of the Witch King, and I sense his desire to escape and hide.
His unicorn is not obeying him, though. He’s keeping him there. It’s Marlak’s chance—if he can use his fire.