CHAPTER 11 #3
“That’s great,” Iggs said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “If there’s no prince in the attack force and Heaven’s not coming out of the sky to blast them, I bet the Blackwood can hold off Gilgamesh’s army no problem.”
“Not when they’ve only got a skeleton crew,” Adrian said, glaring sharply at Iggs until the demon got the message and lay back down again.
“Not having a prince will slow Heaven’s forces down, but unless we all go back right now, the Blackwood is as good as lost, which is the whole reason Gilgamesh is attacking it.
He wants us to turn around and give up the assault. ”
“Which means that’s the last thing we should do,” Bex said, looking up at the scorched ceiling. “It feels weird to say, but I’m glad Gilgamesh is being so ruthless. It proves we’re on the right track. The Blackwood’s where he gets his princes. He’d never burn that bridge unless he was desperate.”
“Or he felt its loss was inevitable anyway,” Nemini pointed out in her usual monotone.
“The Blackwood did attack him first,” Adrian agreed.
“But he was already moving his forces into position well before I grew my tree, so…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. No matter what Gilgamesh is, was, or will be doing, we still have to stop him, so let’s just focus on that. ”
“Works for me,” Bex said, rising back to her feet. “First step is to find him. The Morrigan said to follow the chains, so let’s start there. They’re down those stairs, right?”
Adrian nodded and rose to his feet as well. Iggs, however, looked panicked. “You can’t go down there alone!” he cried, flopping on his back like a bandaged fish. “That’s where all the sorcerers ran!”
“I wouldn’t be much of a queen if I was afraid of a few sorcerers,” Bex reminded him. “And I wasn’t planning to go alone. Adrian and Nemini are coming with me. Leander’s here, too, but he’s working through some stuff, so we’ll leave him as a backup for now.”
“Stuff?” Adrian repeated with a worried look.
“He ran into your mom,” Bex explained. “It wasn’t a pleasant reunion.”
Adrian winced. “I can see how he’d need a moment after that. Is he going to be okay?”
“I have no idea,” Bex said honestly. “But he’s still going to fight, so that’s good enough for now. We’ll swing back and pick him up once we know where we’re going. Iggs, you lie there and make sure no one follows us. Call me on the comm if anything happens.”
“Yes, my queen,” Iggs replied, bowing his horns as far as he was able on his back.
“Boston, you and Bran stay with him,” Adrian ordered. “Make sure he doesn’t move.”
Iggs scowled at that. Boston, however, looked incredibly relieved. “I’ll take utmost care of the patient,” he promised, hopping off the broom to sit on Iggs’s bandaged chest, which made Bex’s cat-loving demon suddenly look much less mad about being left behind. “Good luck.”
Adrian nodded and turned toward the stairs, offering his hand to Bex as he went.
She took it without hesitation. “Thank you for saving Lys,” she whispered as they walked across the room. “And Iggs. And me, while I’m at it. Your vines pushed back the prince’s fear.”
“That was Aunt Muriel’s magic,” he insisted, squeezing her fingers. “I merely provided the foundation, but I’m happy it worked. We’d never actually cast the Witch’s Spite before.”
“Hell of a first run,” Bex said as they started down the giant staircase, which was even more blackened and battle-scarred than the rest of the room. “Is this big walkway how Heavenly citizens got down to the Anchor Markets?”
“Yes,” Adrian said. “Or at least, that’s what I assume it’s for. These stairs were closed off the last time your princess dragged me through this part of the palace.”
“Don’t mention her,” Bex said with a shudder. “Just thinking about Gilgamesh making a princess version of me still gives me the creeps.”
“She was never you,” Adrian assured her. “But she was definitely creepy.”
Despite just asking him not to talk about it, Bex wanted to hear more. She wanted to talk to Adrian about all sorts of things, but there was no time. The chamber at the bottom of the scorched staircase was already coming into view.
Like everything she’d seen in Gilgamesh’s palace so far, it was enormous.
Between the soaring ceiling and the long list of destinations carved into the floor, Bex felt like she was walking into a station from the grand age of railroads.
The room’s circular walls were pierced with multiple doorways leading to hallways that were lined with even more doors, which Bex presumed were the entrances to all the various Anchors.
But while she spotted plenty of good places for an ambush, she didn’t see any chains, or any people.
Either the sorcerers Iggs mentioned earlier had already fled down to Earth or there was another level to this place.
She was looking around for a second staircase when she finally spotted someone.
Bex had no idea how she hadn’t noticed him sooner.
The man was directly ahead of them at the dead center of the giant circular room.
He was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed all the way over so that his forehead was pressed flat against the marble.
Between the humble position and his filthy clothes, Bex’s first thought was that he was a demon slave who’d been left behind when all the masters ran.
Then she saw the white sword lying on the ground beside him.
Her boots squeaked to a stop on the slick-polished floor.
Adrian froze a second later, his blue-gray eyes flying wide.
Nemini was the only one who didn’t seem surprised.
She simply moved a little closer to Bex, her snakes hissing protectively on her head as the bowing prince lifted his empty, dirty hands and said,
“I surrender.”