The Iron Locket (The Risen King) (25 page)
Read The Iron Locket (The Risen King) Online
Authors: Samantha Warren
"I did, I did! I swear it, m'lady, my highness, your queen! I did!" He clapped his hands over his ears and rocked on his haunches, peeking up at her.
Lea groaned and turned to look at her incomplete skeleton. Two toes were missing from the left foot. She couldn't perform the ritual without a complete skeleton. Tapping the cane on the floor, she looked around her lab until her eyes fell on the crying faery. It was blue and covered in fur, but it was mostly humanoid. She shuffled over to it and examined its feet. The toes were slightly larger than her skeleton's should be, but they would have to do. Grabbing a cleaver from the table, she hacked off two of the digits, ignoring the howling protests of the creature they belonged to, then she dropped them in a vat of acid to burn away the flesh. After fishing the newly cleaned bones from the bubbling liquid, she attached them to her skeleton and grinned.
"Perfect."
With Borton's help, she arranged herbs around the table in particular fashion, then stood at the end, her hands on the skull. She began to chant, very slowly and quietly at first, but her volume picked up as her speed quickened. Soon, she was shouting so fast her tongue could barely keep up. Her hands were vibrating and she could feel the energy draining from her body, but she did not stop. Her eyes stayed locked on the bones as flesh began to grow among them, binding them together and forming muscles and organs. Skin slithered over the entire body to cover the insides and blond hair sprouted from the head, trailing out in long cascading waves.
Lea felt when the last piece was in place and stopped, pulling her hands away from the new woman's head. The faery was breathing hard, so weak she could barely stand, but she forced herself to walk the length of the table, examining the body. It was exquisite, perfectly formed, beauty beyond compare. Aside from the two blue, furry toes. Lea scowled at them, almost ready to throttle Borton, when the body gasped and sat up. Blue eyes darted around the room until they found Lea.
Lea walked up to the girl, cupping the soft cheek in her hand, the smile of a mother greeting her daughter on her face. "Hello, Guinevere," she said.
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Thank you for reading
The Iron Locket
.
If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to write a review on your favorite bookseller website and share with your friends!
Pick up
Queen of Hearts
, book 2, today!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LDXYKUE
Also available,
Sir Kay and the White Lady
, a Risen King short
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFQOXUC
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OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
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Battle of Black River
Blood of the Dragon
Winds from the North
Vampire Assassin (Jane #1)
New Blood (Jane #2)
Blood & Tears (Jane #3)
Redemption (Jane #4)
Til Death (Jane #5)
Blood Moon (Jane #6)
A Magical Christmas (Jane #6.5)
Cursed (Jane #7)
Witchfire (Jane #8)
Blood Feud (Jane #9)
Bloodshed (Jane #10)
The Seven Keys of Alaesha
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Samantha Warren is a fantasy and science fiction author who spends her days immersed in dragons, space ships, and vampires. With her pet dragon, Anethesis, she ventured to the ends of the universe, but the cost of space travel cut into her sock fetish fund, so she sold her ship and returned home. When she isn’t writing, she’s milking cows or trying to feed them Pop-Tarts. She spends a lot of time in her weed patch (aka: garden), watching any show featuring Gordon Ramsay, or posting random things on her blog.
Interested in contacting Samantha?
Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
@_SamanthaWarren