Adrienne (37 page)

“Your curiosity is for the family crest, is it not, Queen Adrienne?” Nadid asked. “Kontar has always been the watchdog of Ulan and Kakra. But no more.” She waved her hand over the shield. The image changed—the bird of prey now stood on a broken battle-axe and had the serpent caught in its beak. “Soon, Kontar will take its rightful place as the leader of Bron. It will rise from the ashes of Kakra and Ulan’s destruction.”

“You’re no phoenix, Nadid,” Adrienne whispered.

Nadid turned to face Adrienne. Behind her, the door creaked open and revealed stairs that led into an unbroken darkness. Nadid said, “It’s funny you would liken me to a phoenix, Adrienne—since you have dropped my title, I shall do the same for you. For, Kontar, before Derex, had a flaming bird for its crest. That symbol changed when my ancestress, Derex’s daughter, became queen. Soon it will change back.”

She turned to descend the stairs. The acolytes and Adrienne followed.

“You are probably wondering why I wanted you so badly, Adrienne.”

“I’m Malik’s wife.”

“True, you are. But, even if you hadn’t married Malik, I would have wanted you,” Nadid corrected. She paused to smile back at Adrienne. Again, she reached out to touch Adrienne’s face. This time the acolytes held her head in place and her mouth firmly shut. Nadid’s fingers caressed up and down Adrienne’s cheek. She purred, “You are from the Earth dimension. We have waited for someone from the Earth dimension, male or female, to come back to Bron for a very long time.”

Nadid turned to continue down the stairs. As they descended, torches flamed to life.

Adrienne asked, “So what if I’m from Earth? What’s that got to do with anything?”

“My great-grandfather, King Andsaca, met a woman from the Earth dimension once. She was a powerful mage—far beyond any on Bron. Possibly even Malik. My great-grandfather told me she immobilized the entire Mage Guild council with a mere gesture of her hand. Through sheer force of will, she gathered enough magicks around herself to tear open dimensional space and go home. She did not use a portal or transportation spell.”

The stairs emptied into a small circular room made of black marble. It had no windows. Torches adorned the walls. In the middle of the floor, someone had drawn a giant circle with rune-like symbols written along the outside. Each rune had a line drawn from it to the middle of the circle, and the circle segments contained even more symbols.

Nadid continued happily, “The woman impressed King Andsaca very much. He decided she—or someone like her—would be the key to fulfilling Selene’s greatest wish. Selene was Ulan and Kakra’s younger sister.”

“I know that,” Adrienne said through her teeth.

“Good. Then you know her brothers and father treated Selene like dirt. She did not signify until Kakra and Ulan needed a keeper. Even then, Derex didn’t trust her to see the job done. He entrusted the job to the man he married Selene off to.”

Nadid’s features twisted in anger. She clawed her hands in front of her then fisted them.

Adrienne paid no attention to Nadid’s antics. She had eyes only for the circle painted on the black marble floor. Thanks to the knowledge Malik had given her, she could read the runes etched around the border of the circle. It was a spell to transfer power.

“You’ve gone mad,” Adrienne said when she could finally speak.

Nadid came back to herself. Her anger dissipated and she smiled again. She said, “That’s where you’re wrong, Adrienne. I am quite sane, like all of my line before me. Selene wanted to repay her father and brothers for their treatment of her. When Ulan and Kakra started to grow content with their kingdoms, she had Kakra killed. Kakra’s sons killed Ulan and his wife in immediate retaliation. That wasn’t enough. Their kingdoms still stood. Selene wanted them to suffer and she charged her descendants to find a way to enact the ultimate revenge.

“That revenge will be realized through you, Adrienne. You are from the Earth dimension, like the other woman. Your magicks added to my own, just as my great-grandfather wished, will make me powerful enough to level both Ulan and Kakra without ever stepping foot out of Kontar,” she boasted. “Once they are gone and Selene’s soul is finally at peace, I will make all of Bron bow at my feet.”

“I may not know much about Bron, but I do know magicks are like blood—if you try to take my power, your body will reject it.”

“This spell—” she gestured to the circle, “—will siphon your powers.” She pointed to the runes around the perimeter, “And those runes will purify the siphoned power and enable me to feed on it just as I would my evening meal. Like my evening meal, I will feel no ill effects, and my hunger for revenge will be sated.”

She swept her hand towards the circle. Adrienne was ripped out of the hands of the acolytes and went flying. She landed in the middle of the circle with a thud and a cry of pain.

Nadid smiled at Adrienne’s glare. She offered, “Be angry, Adrienne. I don’t mind. For, once the siphon is finished, you will be dead. Regrettably so, for your only crime is being of the Earth dimension.”

Adrienne felt the heat beneath her skin and embraced it. She was an innocent in all this, except for her dimension of origin, which made her the perfect weapon for Nadid. Yet again, someone used Adrienne for their purposes and to hell with how she felt about it. As of this moment, she was sick of kingdoms and royalty and everything in between.

The collar around Adrienne’s neck cracked. The snap resounded throughout the room. Nadid jumped visibly. The collar clattered to the floor.

Adrienne glowed with her anger. Heat rose off the floor around her in waves. Beside Nadid, one of the acolytes screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

Flames erupted around Adrienne and rushed at the fallen woman like a ravenous wolf. In seconds, the acolyte was ash. The flames started towards Nadid.

She raised a barrier around herself, all the while staring at Adrienne in amazement. She murmured an incantation and slowly balled her outstretched hand into a tight fist.

Adrienne felt justified when the flames killed the acolyte. She’d wanted Nadid, but the acolyte was just as guilty. Adrienne started to correct her aim.

Her body slammed into the ground and she watched in horror as the flames died around her.

“You are amazing, Adrienne. I have never seen anyone throw off a mage metal collar before. And, even unschooled, you called up hellion flame,” Nadid complimented with genuine awe. “You truly are everything my great-grandfather said you would be.”

Adrienne struggled against the spell that held her to the floor. She heard footsteps rushing towards her. Now what? Wasn’t her imminent death enough to worry about?

Another acolyte—male this time—rushed into the room. He skidded to a halt. The edge of his shoe stopped right before the outer edge of the circle.

Nadid lashed out at him. She threw an arc of power at the man that smashed him against the far wall away from the circle. She screamed, “Watch your step, you fool. You nearly made yourself part of the siphon spell and killed us all. Why are you disturbing me?”

The man took several deep breaths before he said, “Ulan’s and Kakra’s armies are headed this way, Your Majesty.”

“Both?” Nadid asked in disbelief.

The man gave a curt nod.

“Together?”

“Yes, sire. They crossed the border only half an hour ago.”

Nadid growled out her frustration. “Why haven’t the mages taken care of them? Even Malik and his lack-wits can’t withstand the might of the Guild’s strongest.”

“Mage metal, sire,” the man answered. “Malik is using mage metal to incapacitate any who step forward. The rumor is the mage metal came from Hollace’s stockpile. They have teamed together, sire, and their destination is clearly the palace.” Fear made the man’s voice change octaves several times over his recital.

Nadid gnashed her teeth. Malik must have found her spy and thus realized the identity of his wife’s kidnapper. In all Nadid’s planning, she had never thought Malik would seek Hollace’s aid in retrieving Adrienne.

“Malik has sent back Lord Sabri, sire.”

“Sabri,” Adrienne gasped. “What do you mean ‘sent back’?”

“My spies are many in the palaces of Ulan and Kakra, Adrienne,” Nadid replied. “Sabri is merely one of them.” She turned to the man. “Where is he, then? I shall torture the fool for revealing my secrets to Malik.”

The man held out the orb in his hand. He pointed it towards the ground in front of him. Sabri’s body appeared. His face was frozen in a mask of pain: he’d clenched his jaw enough to crack his teeth and his eyes bugged out of his head. The man said, “That won’t be necessary, sire. Malik has already done it.”

Nadid’s curiosity turned to horror as she studied the body.

She curled her fingers towards herself. A mage metal orb rolled out of Sabri’s prone body. She stared at the orb. “A mage metal orb embedded in Sabri’s body did not stay Malik’s magicks? How?”

“I do not know, sire, but Malik sends a message with it,” the man replied. He waited for Nadid to look at him. When she did, he continued, “His message orb said, ‘You are next’.”

“Get out,” Nadid screamed. She watched the man flee, then looked down at Sabri’s body. Her hand glided in the air above the twisted remains and they were gone. Next, she turned to Adrienne. “It would seem your husband does not want you dead, Adrienne.”

Nadid faced her palm towards Adrienne and barked out an incantation.

Adrienne screamed. She wanted to squirm, wanted to claw the floor, but she couldn’t move. It felt like someone dragged nails down every inch of her body.

“I am sorry I can’t accommodate him. Malik’s arrival in Kontar has only sped up the time of your death, I’m afraid,” Nadid said in feigned concern. She said another incantation. Adrienne’s screams grew. Nadid began to glow. She whispered, “I had thought to take my time; however, I haven’t that luxury anymore.”

She said the final incantation. Adrienne’s powers started the transfer to Nadid.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Malik halted. All of his troops stopped with him. Hollace looked back then wheeled his horse around. “What is it, Malik? You’re pale. Don’t tell me this little bit of fighting has gotten you tired already?” Hollace joked.

Malik’s eyes were only for the palace. He rasped, “Nadid has started the transfer. Adrienne is in pain…terrible pain.”

Hollace followed Malik’s gaze to the palace ahead of them. “Damn it, then, open one of your blasted portals. The scare tactic has worked too well.”

“Do you not think if I could portal to Adrienne’s side, I would have by now, you idiot?” Malik snapped. “Siphon spells are dangerous, as are portals. Mixing the two could make one or both unstable.”

“Meaning?” Hollace asked in a peevish tone. He understood Malik’s anger but he didn’t want it taken out on him.

“Meaning, Adrienne could be killed and the resulting backlash would take the entire Kontar palace and most of the countryside with her in the explosion.” He spurred his horse forward. By his side, Feyr ran with unnatural speed. Malik looked down at him. He yelled, “You can travel faster than I, old friend. Get there. Help her.”

Feyr doubled his speed.

Hollace spurred his horse to catch up to Malik. He said, “If she’s going to explode, I don’t want to be around to see it.”

Malik gave him an evil smile. “Come now, Hollace, where is your thirst for excitement? I thought Kakra was the flaming battle-axe of war and retribution.”

“We are,” agreed Hollace. He gave his horse a kick to get it going faster. “Well, let’s go save your bride.”

Feyr had little trouble finding Adrienne; he followed her screams. Everyone who got in his way fell beneath his claws. Those who were dumb enough to try to use magicks on him were greeted with a nasty reversal spell, which sent all their attacks back at them.

He entered the transfer room and stopped dead in his tracks. The fur on his body stood on end. The magicks in the room brought him to his stomach since his legs were unable to support him under such enormous pressure. He struggled to stay lucid enough to send one thought.

“
Malik, she’s in danger. Nadid has made a mistake.
”

“A mistake?” Malik asked in confusion.

“No time for mistakes, Malik. This war has already started,” Hollace growled.

“Not mine. Feyr—” Again, Malik reined in his mount, but this time for a wholly different reason.

Hani had dropped out of thin air directly in front of him. Blood covered her body and she looked to be in immense pain.

Hani said for all to hear, “Juven is dead, Majesty.” Then she fainted.

“Indivar,” Malik roared. He didn’t wait for the man to gain his side. He pulled out an orb and imbued it with power. When he finished, he tossed it over his shoulder.

Indivar caught it.

“Get far enough from the Kontarian palace and use the orb to portal her back to Ulan. See to her wounds.” Malik steered his mount around Hani’s body and continued to the palace. He hoped she lived but his first concern was Adrienne.

“Majesty,” Indivar agreed with a bow of his head. He dismounted and gathered Hani close. With a shaking hand, he wiped some of the blood from her face. He whispered, “You’ll be all right, Hani. I will see to that.”

As gently as he could, he lifted her onto his mount and sped away from the battle.

Malik and Hollace barely let their horses stop before they jumped down and charged the open gates. Feyr had effectively cleared a path to the throne room for them.

Hollace asked, “Should we be following the cat’s trail if he’s made a mistake and gone to the wrong location?”

“That is not the mistake,” Malik corrected. “Nadid is the one who made a mistake. The spell she invoked is wrong. She did not allow for Adrienne’s true power. She—”

Malik tackled Hollace to the floor seconds before a shock wave of pure power from an open doorway rushed over them. Two women could be heard screaming in perfect harmony with each other. One scream was cut short while the other continued.

Malik wasted no time rushing down the stairs. The power in the room brought him to his knees beside his pet. He laid a hand on Feyr but had eyes only for Adrienne, who shrieked and thrashed around the floor in pain.