CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
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King Te’Korei
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2nd of Janus, 936 PC
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“Then he jumps halfway to the moon and comes down on a root. Fell face first into a pile of goop,” King said, letting out a laugh that took some of his pain with it.
The graceful assassin shook his head at the idea of falling like he’d never heard of it.
“It gets better.” King was still in stitches. And for once, it wasn’t the kind that savaged his ribs. “He stands up and runs his slimy right through the middle of his hair. A patch of that golden blonde bush slicked straight back.”
They laughed. And smiled.
“Sounds like a good fella,” Shade said.
King hesitated to comment. “He is. He is.”
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King had held a crossbow, years ago when he and Iggy had found one in the cave he’d told Colin they’d encountered a bear in. To be fair, the snoring man sounded much like a bear but it had been a man, a very ordinary man. Iggy’s idea to steal the weapon had weighed on King’s conscience so badly and for so long that he refused to ever touch a crossbow again. Until now. Shade had sat him down in the trees outside Raindrop Grove and told him to only pull the trigger if his own life was in danger. When he’d asked what he should do if it was Shade that was in danger, the assassin had simply grinned and told him not to worry about that.
So, there he was, sitting beside a silent Danella, watching for Narah and Maddy to come back down the path from the small village beside the grove while Shade tip-toed through the night and delivered multiple impromptu white roses to the Lotus guarding the Hunter. Apparently, Narah was set on getting to the Lotus Queen’s floating castle in DuVale before some deadline. One they’d surely miss if Maddy wasn’t able to steal the knowledge necessary to fly one of the dastardly Lotus ships.
The bulbs that hung from the ends of the raindrop willow trees all around him glowed a stunning blue and were backdropped by wintery white branches. The beauty of it all made him comment to the trees how lucky they were to be altered by alchemy in such a way that made them a treasure and not a hideous monster like the strangler oaks in the Emerald Forest.
Beautiful as the scenery was, his eyes had almost fallen shut when he heard Danella speak. “You deserve to die.”
“Aye. But not for the reason you think,” King said. He opened his eyes to see the woman’s head tilted back against the tree behind her.
“His name was Peruva. Had seven years to his name when you stole him.”
King fiddled with the crossbow lying on his lap, tapping it uncomfortably, trying to think of a way to explain to this woman what had actually happened to her son but feeling crushed by the truth. “I did not take your son. Even if I had, I would never give him to Iris. I’m a Purist too.” He stopped to think about that. “Or at least I was when your son was taken. And I’ve always played the hero, not the villain.” There was a time he had played the villain, but it wasn’t with this stranger.
“I watched you with my own eyes.”
“I don’t doubt that you did.” This narrowed Danella’s eyes. “A shapeshifter named Kovey Walber stole your son from you. I know you’re not inclined to believe that but it’s the truth.”
Silence. It grew longer and louder with each passing second. Colin’s voice filled the void in his head. His pitiful plea not to be sent back to Rubora. His pitiful claim that he cared about King enough to be by his side when King died. Colin tried to continue but Iggy’s voice emerged from memories buried so deep he couldn’t guarantee it was how his friend had sounded, throwing Colin aside like a ragdoll. Look at that thing. It must be worth fifty Leos. Imagine what we could do with that much money. We wouldn’t be sleeping in caves, that’s for sure. Use your magic so he won’t wake up. No. You do it. I won’t. Come on, King. It’ll be easy. He doesn’t need it. Of course he does. It’s his, isn’t it? Fine. I’ll do it. No. Stop. I’ll do it. You’ll only mess it up. He’d used his magic that night with confidence as he’d strolled into the cave like an invited guest. Plucked the crossbow up smoothly and ran his hand along it like he wasn’t in a rush. But Iggy sneezed behind him. The man stirred, woke up. What a blessing that the weapon had been loaded. What a terrible disappointment that the man died at the hands of a stupid young man holding his own weapon. They’d run from the caves so fast the bottom of their feet started to burn.
He’d been furious at Iggy. He’d always thought seeing red was just an expression, but Iggy had been a bloody tint of red as he’d approached him on that cliffside. King was a man of The Creator and his friend had turned him into a murderer. He deserved to pay for that. But they were friends. He should have never… The reverberation of the weapon jolted through his hands as the thwack of the crossbow firing ripped him from his past. His mouth gaped as he watched Danella topple sideways, the bolt sticking out of her neck.
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He panicked. The simple motion of throwing the weapon into the snow beside his legs sent pain all throughout his body. Climbing to his feet was a nightmare full of excruciating agony. He fumbled through the knick knacks in his pocket as if there was something in there that might change what he’d done. He tried to lower himself slowly but instead fell to his knees almost as clumsily as Danella had toppled over. The muscles in his legs burned as if he was kneeling in a campfire. He began to tug on the woman’s dainty frame, pulling her toward himself, quietly begging her to wake up. When she didn’t, he let her fall, then fell onto his own backside. Tears blurred the scratchy slits in his wool mask.
There was a crunch. It had been purposeful or else he may have never seen Shade standing at the tree. For a moment, they just stared at one another, a real assassin observing the work of a clumsy idiot. The slight nod of his head was the grief escaping his heart as he stared at the corpse of the woman who had taken his parents from him.
“I-I-I didn’t-” Shade lifted a hand.
He watched as the assassin lowered himself and started undoing the ropes on Danella’s wrists.
“What are you doing?” King said through his sobs.
“Have to make this look more like self-defense or Narah will kill you.”
*~~~**~~~*
“Where I can see it, please,” King said, staring at the back of his eyelids.
Shade lowered King to the cold hard ground with his gentle elegance. Maddy had landed the Hunter fifty yards below the peak of the mountains; valley side, so as not to be seen by those on the coast. The walk had snatched the last bits of dignity and strength from King’s legs within the first hundred steps. Not that there was much left from his scuffle with Danella. He’d leaned on Shade the rest of the way up the rocky path to a location Narah believed they could safely gather reconnaissance on the Lotus Queen’s floating castle.
“Thank you,” King whispered, though he hadn’t intended to whisper.
Shade crouched in front of him. “Remember, you haven’t held up your end of the deal yet.” Words of encouragement. King nodded.
After a long discussion with his eyes, they finally obeyed his orders to open. There, high up in the sky, hovering over the Port of DuVale, was an architectural wonder. A lotus flower made of stone. The pedals carved in such a way that they surrounded the castle that sat safely within. Four massive arches extended from the mountains that circled the port city like a ring with a chunk taken out for ships to pass through. The arches met at the top, creating a pedestal of sorts for the stone flower to sit upon. If the most evil being to ever walk the earth did not call the masterpiece home, it would be glorious. Instead, it sent shivers down King’s spine. Painful shivers.
“They have Lotus stationed at the base of each arch,” Narah said. “We’ll have to watch out for patrols checking the mountains but I don’t think we’ll be here long enough for that to matter.” She glared at King, full of accusations she was unwilling to throw at him in front of her brother. “Alaric will be expecting us to have struck by sunrise. The sooner we get to it the better.”
“I still don’t understand why I’m not going in with you,” Shade said.
“We’ve been over this. Maddy feels more comfortable with me.”
“So, we tell him to grow up. Three hells, you could make him grow up. I’m the one that does this for a living. Remember? Death lurking in the shadows. Killing someone with little to no risk of dying myself. Remember all that?”
“Without Garth to carry her out of that castle, this is the only way. And I can bound and gag a woman without your help,” she said.
“But you can’t tread lighter than a mouse.”
She stepped to him. “It was never the plan for you to go inside that castle. Nor is it now.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “ If lords forbid Maddy can’t get the information out of her head, I must try to age her enough to slip it out of her elderly confusion. Unless your light feet can alter the Lotus Queen’s mind, I am our best backup plan.”
“Then why am I even here?” he asked. “This makes absolutely no sense.” For the first time since King had met him, Shade's aura of composure showed thin cracks.
“Where else would you be? You’ve been on my hip since mother died.” Shade looked at the ground. “We need someone on the outside that can try again if we fail. That’s when your magic will be necessary. When the guards are on high alert. There’s no one in the world better suited to rescue me if the worst happens.” Shade didn’t respond but his body language admitted defeat.
“Look,” Maddy said.
It wasn’t just silence that fell over the cliffside, it was the deafening emptiness of despair. The Royal Cloudcruiser was rising from within the stone flower in the sky. Wings flapping slowly but fiercely. Four Hunters rose as well, surrounding the larger ship like angry bees ready to protect their queen.
“What in the three hells is happening?” Shade asked.
Much like anyone whose perfect plan was falling apart piece by piece, Narah couldn’t do anything but stand and stare in disbelief. The ships took off, heading toward them but not close enough to be a concern. Not until the last slivers of their silhouettes vanished into the night sky did Narah finally spin on her heel and walk away. Shade chased after her.
“What do we do now?” he said.
“I have to send a message to Alaric.”
“Then what?!”
“Then we’re bringing that fucking castle down.”
“How can we do that?” Shade asked.
“I don’t know yet, but we’re doing it!”
“I can help with that,” King said.