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Chapter 31: Saving The Queen

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Ahrman capital of Perigrah

Muffled explosions drummed through the night, but the royal estate was quiet. There would usually be some sort of celebration held in the courtyard. An all-night wedding party, a victory celebration for the Verglas hometeam, or even a loss; the king didn’t need a win to keep the servants bustling.

From the second-floor balcony, Queen Katherine overlooked the empty palace. Her title was two decades old. By now she expected to see children running around the pristine tile and carelessly knocking over prized possessions. She was physically capable of conceiving, but Lisador seemed better at fathering someone else’s children.

And she would never allow those mestizos to live under the same roof as her.

Gliding her hand along the railing, Katherine stepped down to the first floor. Seeking the source of the explosions, she turned to the room's large windows. Staring down at her stood a tall, slender, white-eyed silhouette.

“Katherine! Move!” Sisten yelled.

The queen ducked down just as a burning disk flew overhead. She covered her head as shards of glass pelleted her body.

“You need to get out of here!” Sisten said, pulling the queen to her feet.

“Sisten..!” Katherine said, looking back at the shattered window. Crackling flames exposed boney long cannons extending from the white-eyed intruder’s arms before it shattered into small pieces. “Who was that?!”

“I don’t know. They’re all over the place. Come on! I’m taking you to the fortified room.”

“Just a minute, Sisten!” Katherine lifted her gown enough to reveal her bare feet. “Do you honestly expect your queen to bloody her heels on broken glass?!”

“If you valued your life you would!” Sisten grimaced, scooping the queen up in his arms.

“And you will address me appropriately, Sisten! Just because the king lets you get away with--!”

“Would you be quiet?!”

Sounds of glass shattering turned their heads. Sisten dropped the queen and set his hand ablaze. Another slender fiend with cannons for hands crept around the corner. Slick, dark hair obscured everything but a toothy grin. With the queen behind him, Sisten released a wave of fire at their enemy. His attack missed as the target ducked behind a wall.

“What is that thing?!?” the queen gasped.

Keeping its body concealed, the fiend lowered its left cannon arm around the wall and fired. The flaming projectile cut a path over the Ahrman’s heads as they leaped into another hallway. Stepping lightly, the fiend followed the narrow path and poke its head down the hall. A flaming sword immediately severed it.

“That’s not a Midaharian!” Katherine analyzed as the grinning head rolled to a stop and disintegrated. “Sisten, who’s attacking us?!”

More windows shattered upstairs, and underfoot. The palace was probably crawling with gunners by now, anxious to slay the queen. “Change of plans!” Sisten said, kicking a patio door open. “I’m going to need you to run to the water channel, your highness.”

“You must be joking!” Katherine objected. “I’m not dressed for running. I’m not even wearing shoes!”

“Just get out there!” Sisten said, flinging her outside by the arm.

“I will have you reprimanded for disrespecting the throne, Sisten!” she scolded, running with her gown above her calves.

From the second-floor balcony, two cannon-armed fiends took aim at the moving target. They were swiftly dispatched by Sisten’s fireballs. Another appeared from the estate’s shadows only to find death by fire.

Katherine ran faster than Sisten expected. By the time a fourth enemy jumped down from the balcony, she was yards into the night. After his fire blade made quick work of the enemy, it was a race to catch the queen.

Why did she decide to go by way of the hedge maze?! He hated the hedge maze! It was a pain to navigate in the daylight hours; it was worse in the dark.

“Katherine! Stop!” Sisten shouted, but she was already gone. “Katherine!”

Left?! Right?! Which way did she go?! She should still be within earshot! Why wasn’t she responding?

Fire stirred in his hand, parting the darkness. But not every shadow retreated. Wrapped in black, a gangly fiend with extremely long claws stood with its back flat against the brush. It was almost as if it were attempting to remain hidden. Only the threat of fire compelled it to move, scurrying up the wall on all fours.

“Bloody freaks!” Sisten growled as it escaped into the maze.

Another shadow jumped him from behind, quickly putting its sharp claws to work. With a flaming weapon. Sisten swiftly dispatched the fiend. Several more made a quick assault, piling on to the royal guard and ripping his flesh. They were immediately consumed by angry flames, covering Sisten from head to toe.

It was the second time fire saved his hide. Unfortunately, it also scorched the little bit of hair he had left on his head.

Fire licking its body, one of the shadows ran away igniting the maze as it hopped over the walls. The rest of the shrubs, as green as they were, caught on like kindling. It didn’t take long before it was fully engulfed.

Fire’s wrath had no effect on Sisten, the queen on the other hand would not be as fortunate.

“Katherine! If you can hear me, you’d better answer!” Sisten ran through the burning brush, eventually escaping the irritating maze.

“Sisten!” said Breuke, grabbing Sisten’s attention. His eyes were widened with concern. “You’re on fire!”

“It’s fine! Just keep back.”

“The maze!” the queen shrieked as she joined the two royal guards. “Sisten! You did this deliberately! Put that fire out!”

“Where have you been, woman?! I thought you were in there!”

“I see! You’re trying to kill me as well!”

“I was trying to save your rotten life!”

“Rotten life?! Breuke, arrest him!”

“ENOUGH!” Breuke interrupted. “We're in serious trouble! Tasha’s joined the enemy!”

“What? Why would she throw in with those Midaharians?” Sisten inquired.

“It's not them!" Breuke shouted, his polearm trembling in his hand. "It's something worse."

Katherine approached him with concerned eyes. "Breuke, what is it? You look of fright! Is it the king? Has something happened to Lisador?!"

Elsewhere

An abandoned house.

Much of its foundation was beneath the ground. Thorny veins of grass sprawled up its walls as if pulling the small abode into the earth. Light found its way inside through glassless windows and a hole in the roof.

There were more houses like it scattered across the short stretch of land. He chose the closest one he could find. It was the furthest island from Khalina, but still not far enough to settled Jaff’s nerves. As usual, morphing into a giant anything was taxing on his body. If he hadn’t landed they would have fallen into the ocean.

He removed the knife from Aiden’s heart and clutched his breath. The fluid of life instantly refilled his veins; his cuts healed before Jaff's eyes. It was an amazing sight to behold and rather frightening.

Hanging by a hinge, the front door suddenly swayed. Could those warrior women from Khalina have found them so soon? Jaff went to the door and carefully checked the surroundings. Nothing.

He returned to Aiden’s side and was immediately caught in the young man’s angry gaze.

“Aiden!" Jaff said, rattled by how quickly he returned to life. "You’re..you’re back!”

“Why did you stab me, Jaff,” the young man asked.

“I--I was wrong. I shouldn’t have --!”

“Why!?” Aiden’s voice sounded of thunder. Before he could blink, Jaff's body was propelled across the room and slammed him against the wall.

Escape felt impossible. “I--I thought I was doing the right thing, Aiden!”

“The right thing?! I should have known I couldn’t trust you! You’re just like everyone else!”

“That's not true!”

Particles of light around his hand formed a dagger as he left the wobbly table. Eyes burning with rage, Aiden stood before his uncle. “Come near me again...” he said, thrusting the dagger a hair away from Jaff’s skull. “And I will kill you!”

Aiden stormed out of the house as Jaff’s body fell to the floor.

Jaff rushed after him but the young man was nowhere in sight.