Hellfire and Honey, page 29
Spellwork buzzed over my skin. Every corner we rounded revealed witches and vampires locked in combat. Demons dodged spellwork, though were occasionally caught and sliced away piece by piece. I cut and slashed when I could. People yelled in gratitude as I sprinted by them. Reuben stayed on my heels, breathing hard.
We stumbled to the gate. It stretched higher than the stone wall supporting it, to the top of the parapets. The entrance gaped open and demons spilled through the hole. I cut at two and heads rolled down the steep hill to the right.
Demons trickled through unhindered.
“The infantry’s gone!” Reuben’s panicked tone made me grind my teeth.
Thick metal chains pulled the gate open. Each chain wrapped around a turnstile, held in place by a sword through the center. Two more demons approached and I slashed them to pieces.
The metal turnstile chilled my fingers as I wrenched the sword from its place and pushed against the handle. The gears groaned, but the gate didn’t budge. The two had to be pushed together.
“Reuben, turn the other one!” I jerked the sword from the second coil of chain.
Dark laughter pressed around me. Reuben stood between the two turnstiles, twenty steps away from me, laughing. He shook his head.
I froze. I recognized that tone, the sound of something dark and sinister. I had heard it in his voice twice before, once in my room and again on the battlefield next to Jon Chan’s body. My hand wrapped tighter around the hilt of my sword, the leather warm and comforting.
“What are you doing?”
Reuben rubbed his face with one hand, smiling between his fingers.
“Do you know how long I’ve tried to get you alone?” Reuben raised his voice in mockery. “Oh no, the vampire might be hurting my once betrothed that I can’t get over. Help, the blood building has been attacked. Ugh. It took a war to finally get you to myself.”
His blue eyes cut at me.
“Do you know why the infantry's not here, Sal? Because I sent them away. Do you know why the gates are open? Because I opened the damn things myself! The final chance to get you away from the king. My last moment to take what should be mine!”
He gestured wildly with every word. Sweat broke across his forehead, but his smile remained wide and perfect. Red stained his fingertips. I’d seen the same dye spread across half our vampire’s chests tonight and on the hybrids that had tried to kill me.
“You’re behind the assassination attempts,” I said. “You’ve been drawing spells on kidnapped vampires.”
“The assassination attempts?” Reuben held his arms out. “Give me some credit, Sal. I couldn’t have done that alone. You have a team of rebels working against you. While your council chants ‘long live the queen,’ we’ve been plotting your death.”
“Is this because I had to end the betrothal? I did that for our people, Reuben.”
“The betrothal!” he spat. “Look how stupid you are. You think this started because you ended our marriage? The marriage was supposed to end you! All those rumors about you, your incompetence, your determination to enforce a draft, to kill our children. Where do you think those came from, Sal?”
Rage began to eat away at the battle static in my head. “You’ve been spreading lies about me?”
“Since the ink dried on our betrothment paperwork, sweetheart. Or maybe my parents started before that. Once we were married, you would have had an unfortunate accident. The people hated you. They would celebrate your death.” He raised his sword to the sky. “They would welcome me as the new king of Ededen, ending your family’s line on the throne.”
He lowered the sword slowly, his face hard.
“Then you brought that vampire home. And the people grew to love him. The rumors I spent years building fell apart in my hands. They loved him, and they loved seeing you with him, especially these past weeks of war preparation. It ruined everything.”
The darkness I had seen in his eyes… “You tried to kill me at the blood building.”
“But your stupid maid had to come along. My witches got scared and that vampire broke the mind control. But don’t worry. We’ve fixed that.”
Reuben held out both hands, palms up.
Renee and Cynthia stepped from the shadows, painted with red madder powder. Cynthia walked behind Reuben and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes flashed as red as the symbols on her skin. Her armor was missing and blood dotted her exposed flesh, although I didn’t see any wounds.
“Your friends aren’t here, Sal. They can’t break out of our improved spellwork, since that awful scientist fixed all of our errors. And if you kill them, they’re never coming back.” Reuben smiled. “But they’re not worried about killing you.”
I tightened my grip on my sword and bit the inside of my lip. I didn’t want to kill them and would avoid that outcome at almost any cost. The thought that I’d failed the pair, two people under my protection, drove a sliver of pain into me. Beneath that, though, a spark hotter than anger flared in my chest—rage. Reuben would pay for this ultimate betrayal. Once I incapacitated Renee and Cynthia as delicately as possible, Reuben’s body would bend at my feet.
My magic flailed like a whip around me.
The women’s eyes were glossy and vacant. Renee had a sword and Cynthia gripped two daggers—blades meant for me. I spun the magic around me, driving in more energy to strengthen the binds until it coiled like chain.
I bounced on the balls of my feet.
Cynthia’s wrist flexed and she flung a dagger at me, quick, precise.
I dodged the weapon, and the two drew nearer, saliva dripping from exposed fangs.
That’s right. Come closer.
They waded into the magic and I bound it around their limbs. I pulled them down, but the lack of use had weakened my magic. Cynthia’s feet ground to a halt, but Renee shrugged the power off like a snake shedding its skin.
Surprise froze me and she darted in. Sharp pain cut through my wrist and blood pooled at the surface. I backed away, leaving a red trail in my path.
I blocked her strikes again and again, while Cynthia wrestled against my bonds. Renee cut at me with an overhead swing, and I dodged.
I dashed into her open arms and slipped my blade across her ribs.
She danced back, out of reach. Blood soaked through her shirt.
“Tsk, tsk,” Reuben said. “Could the king ever forgive you if you killed his favorite spy?”
Could I forgive myself?
Cynthia slipped through my magic. She cut at me fast and low. Her blade slashed across my ankle and I fell to one knee. She aimed for my face, and I rolled away.
Renee was already there, her sword a blur. I fell to the side and the blade cut into the dirt. She plucked it out and stabbed again. I smashed a kick to her face, popped to my feet, and backed away.
A trickle of new spellwork brushed against my skin. Natalie’s careful web of magic had finally spread to the outskirts of the city. It was light as a feather, a fresh snow to cover the layer of death and pain on the battlefield. How much more time did she need?
I pooled my magic again, but had no energy to fuel it. I was tired. My wrist and ankle hurt. My chest heaved to catch my breath. I just had to survive long enough for Natalie to finish the spell.
I spun the sword and wiggled my fingers.
Come get me.
The two attacked as one. I elbowed Renee in the face and she stumbled. Cynthia caught an opening and plunged a dainty dagger under my armor, into my stomach. Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed it. Twisting away, I pulled the dagger from my gut, flipped it, and stabbed it into her arm. She screamed. I wrapped layers of magic around her and pulled her down.
Renee punched above the deep puncture from Cynthia’s blade. Lights stole my vision. My breath hissed out.
Reuben laughed.
A hard kick to my ribs and I was on the ground. The lights faded. Renee aimed her foot, but I caught her ankle and pulled. Her mouth made a little ‘O’ as she tumbled to the dirt. I pressed my sword to her throat. Cynthia thrashed in my magic, weakening it with every pull. I pushed more and more energy to hold it tight around her.
Renee smiled at me. “Kill her,” she said, her voice echoing as though spoken in an empty room.
I punched her.
Renee’s head snapped to the side, air rushed from her lungs, and her body went limp. Her chest rose and fell. The blow hadn’t been fatal.
I staggered to my feet. The world spun. Shapes moved, and suddenly Cynthia stood in front of me, her dagger aiming for my throat.
Maybe dying wouldn’t be so bad. Surely the throbbing pain in my side would be gone. This was a better end than being eaten by demons anyway.
My mind found the edge of insanity and brushed against it.
“Why don’t you try it?” Kadence’s voice drifted through my fragmented thoughts. A dim, ghostly image of him held out a dagger hilt first.
He was shirtless, muscles playing across his chest and stomach. Black breeches hugged his hips and I longed for what I knew was under them. Fire of desire lit in my body. Sparks pulsed through me. His lips tilted up at the edges, the way they did when he found me amusing. He raised one eyebrow and gestured with the dagger again.
Did he want me to die?
“No, thank you.” My lips moved on their own, tracing familiar words.
“I must insist.”
He pushed the dagger into my hand. It disappeared, leaving only the remembrance of power and sweet wine in its place.
Kadence’s phantom image faded and Cynthia’s face hovered inches away, her blade prepared to cut through my throat.
Power swelled in my chest, but not my own. There was no magic in the heavy and strong power, but there was fuel. I grabbed the foreign strength, struggling under its weight, and dragged it into my magic, funneling more and more power. The magic rolled and twisted, flexible chains becoming iron bars. I wrapped it around Cynthia and pulled her down, the magic an anchor in a deep and wild sea.
Her hand froze, the blade caressing my throat.
I forced my feet to move, circled behind, and elbowed her in the back of the neck. It wasn’t enough to kill her, but her eyes rolled as she passed out. I released the magic as she fell.
Reuben pressed his lips into a thin line.
“Fine.” He rolled up his sleeves. “I will do it myself.”
The wound in my side trailed fresh blood as I moved. Pain shot through my wrist and ankle. Adrenaline pulsed in my veins, but my mind began to catch up, the aches becoming distracting.
Reuben twisted his sword in the air. “You didn’t expect me to know how to fight, did you Sal? I made sure to keep you in the dark about a lot of things.”
I was too tired for his gloating.
He charged me, a quick and efficient strike.
I stepped to the side and he recovered. His blade clashed against mine and sparks flew between us.
“I will kill you, then that stupid vampire.” His eyes held an edge of madness. “I will take the throne.”
He pushed against my blade. I had more training, but I was wounded, and he outweighed me. If this turned to brute strength, he would pulverize me.
I flicked his sword down and backed away.
He lunged. His hands turned to a flurry of sword strikes and punches, and I barely dodged them. Exhaustion and blood loss made my head spin. He fought harder and harder, until his face reddened and sweat seeped through his white shirt. Practice kept me one step ahead, but my wounds slowed me down.
His fist caught the corner of my jaw. Black stars exploded in my eyes. My recovery took too long. He punched me again and my head snapped to the side. Blood filled my mouth.
“Goodbye, Sal.” His voice sounded distant.
Goodbye? I still had a lot to do.
Anger bubbled in my chest and spread over me, a sweet wash of clarity. He wanted to take my people from me. He wanted to kill Kadence. Death might be a welcome rest, but I had to live for my king and our kingdoms.
I pulled magic from the depths of my soul and wrapped it in the power that Kadence’s blood had given me. They mingled together, two sides of the same stream. I molded them, shaped them into a blade of their own.
Reuben’s sword cut down. His gaze intense, focused, dark. He caught sight of my face and hesitation stilled his hands.
I knew my eyes were silver coins and death stared out of them.
I drove the magic into his chest. There were no wounds, no blood, but it cut through his body like paper, ripping him to shreds from the inside. Pain twisted in me, but I stammered to my feet. I put a hand on Reuben’s hot cheek and found his groomed beard soft. I screamed and poured more magic, more power, into him, filling him until his body couldn’t hold anymore. Even as his heart stopped beating, I couldn’t stop the flow of power. It ate through him and an empty shell collapsed at my feet.
My knees buckled. My vision turned black.
The subtle weave of Natalie’s magic suddenly halted. It hovered through the air, beads of power frozen in place.
Something was wrong.
My body felt numb. It was beyond the point of pain, which I knew was bad, but the relief felt so good. I curled my fingers, but they didn’t move. I willed my legs to stand, but they rested on the snowy ground. I didn’t feel the cold seeping under my armor. Natalie needed me, but I couldn’t remember why.
“Are you sure someone’s alive out here?” Voices whispered through the quiet.
“Yes, I told you I can feel it,” a woman said.
“The gates are open!” A man’s voice.
“I thought reinforcements already came out here!”
“Mr. Emerson said it was covered! We’ll have to report it on our way back.”
Chains rattled and metal banged as the gate closed. Footsteps crunched in the snow. Warm hands prodded me, but I felt no pain.
“This one’s alive!”
“Two more over here.”
The man gasped.
“Beth, it’s the queen!”
Footsteps ran. Hands brushed the hair from my face.
“Can you heal her?”
“The powers are quite new,” the woman said. “But I’ll try.”
Words balanced on the tip of my tongue. Too late. Her magic poured into me, stitching wounds from the inside out. Pain exploded through new nerves as my body was welded back together. She didn’t know how to dull the pain while she healed and months of procedures and strengthening were performed in seconds.
My lungs expanded. I drew a breath and screamed.
The hands dropped me in the cold snow.
My skin burned like I had been raked over hot coals. Tears swelled in my eyes. The scratching of clothes on my flesh felt like jagged glass. Every breath hurt.
“Are you all right, Your Majesty?” The woman chewed on her bottom lip. She was a vampire, painted in Juno’s symbols. Her lack of experience made sense. She hadn’t had magic before.
I rolled onto my hands and knees and took shallow breaths to avoid puking.
“I—” Words caught in my throat. I coughed. “I’m okay now.”
“I didn’t realize it would hurt so much…” Her eyes were round, afraid. The male witch at her side palmed his sword nervously.
“It’s all right.” My voice came out a whisper. “You saved my life.”
Beth settled on her heels.
“I need you to move these two vampires into the castle. Lock them in a room and guard it. Nobody goes in or out. You can heal them if they’re injured.”
I staggered to my feet. My body was whole, but tired. It didn’t want to move.
The two stared at me with their mouths open. My bloodstained clothes were tattered under my scratched and dented armor. I’d depleted my magic and the remnants of Kadence’s power. The two were probably trying to decide if they needed to carry me into the castle as well.
I rolled my shoulders and picked up my sword. I looked them in the eyes.
“Go,” I said, soft but demanding.
They scrambled, lifting Renee and Cynthia into their arms and sloshing toward the castle.
I didn’t want to see what remained of Reuben at my feet, but curiosity, or perhaps horror, called to me. What little the magic had left of him no longer looked human.
Natalie’s magic jerked, pulling against my skin, sticky and thick. She needed me. I ran back into the city.
Chapter Thirty
Bodies lined the grassy field, demons with crushed or missing heads, witches and vampires still bleeding into the dirt. Dust peppered the air, blending into the dark shadows of the streets. Trees swayed in the brisk winter night. The moon was a spotlight in the sky, casting an eerie glow across the city. I circled the perimeter, searching for threats with my sword up.
Natalie crouched on her hands and knees in the center of her circle. Her chest rose and fell. There was no blood. Her power pulsed again, scratching at my skin.
Six people formed a defensive perimeter around her spell. Rayhan loomed at the front, staring down at her. His face was flat.
“What happened?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s fighting the demon king and queen.” He gestured at Natalie with an open palm. “They tapped into her spell before it was finished. She hasn’t moved in several minutes.”
“Where are the others? I didn’t see anyone on my way back.”
“The demons are rallying through the main gates. We’re trying to hold them in.”
The demons possessing my parents had realized the potential of Natalie’s spell. They were trying to get their creatures far away from her.
“Is the gate closed?”
Rayhan nodded. The plan could still work. They were trapped inside our walls as long as the gate held.
“I think she’s losing,” Rayhan whispered.
Trails of sweat ran down the witch’s face, pooling in the dirt. Her shoulders shook as though she had a fever, despite the frigid temperature.
I touched Rayhan’s arm.
“I’ll help her,” I said. “I promise.”
He nodded, his thoughts elsewhere.
I didn’t know where the demons were.
