The Pale Princess, page 4
“We’ll never know, now. Do you have somewhere safe you and your friends can stay? I need to find Anya first and foremost. Then we’ll see what’s next.”
“Nowhere in the Land of the Night Princes will be safe and I never considered that I might need a safe house outside our nation.”
“So, no. I guess you can just stay here. No one in Hell will bother you unless the Reaper tells them to.”
“I can’t just hide in Hell while that creature turns my people into monsters.” Talon’s fist clenched. “My responsibilities don’t just disappear.”
“Your desire to help your people is admirable, but as you said, you can’t raise a finger against the Pale Princess and I assume you also can’t break her control over your fellow vampires.”
“Not in her presence, but maybe if we got one of them away from her, I could free them from her control.”
“Maybe, maybe. I am so sick of maybes.” Conryu scrubbed his hand across his face. “Okay, you guys chill here for a while. I’m going to make sure Anya and the others are safe. Kanna, have the girls spread out and see what’s happening in the Land of the Night Princes. Under no circumstances are they to leave the borderland. A hellpriest of Astaroth shouldn’t be able to enter the Reaper’s hell and if she does, well, we should be so lucky. Once I find Anya, we’ll meet up and you can fill me in.”
Kanna bowed. “As you command, Chosen.”
She vanished, no doubt to issue commands to the others.
Conryu turned to Kai. “Fancy a trip to the realm of earth?”
Kai bowed. “Where you go, I go, Chosen.”
He grinned. “Figured you’d say that.”
Talon put a gentle hand on his shoulder before he had a chance to open a portal. “This is my mess. Perhaps if I had thought to mention the legend, this would never have happened. I appreciate your help.”
“What are friends for? There is one thing you can do while I’m gone.”
“Anything.”
“Try to think of anywhere that might serve as a temple of Astaroth. Any locations mentioned in the legends. If we can find the demonic core and destroy it, that should weaken her.”
“We will put our heads together. Good luck finding your friends.”
Conryu nodded. He’d take all the luck he could get.
Anya opened her mind and reached out to the earth spirits. In terms of raw power, Anya knew she had plenty; what she lacked was proper training. Still, getting ignored by the spirits of her element seemed wrong. She and the other survivors of the vampire attack had been wandering through caverns and tunnels for she knew not how long. Not that it actually made that much difference since time worked differently here. They should be safe enough no matter how long it took for her to make it to the Academy.
One of the older women groaned and held her stomach. Most of them should be okay. Some of the former White Witches were wind aligned and being in their opposed realm left them weak and sick. Hopefully that was all that would happen to them, but Anya had to admit, she didn’t know for sure.
Seconds passed and still nothing from the earth spirits. So much for her instinctive ability to navigate the realm of earth. She’d been so proud of herself when that portal opened and they made it to safety. Anya believed after that she’d finished the hard part. How optimistic she’d been.
At last she blew out a long sigh and made for the nearest tunnel entrance. Since the spirits refused to answer her, she was just guessing, but it was better than sitting here doing nothing.
Nosorova sidled up beside her and whispered, “Are you certain this is the right way?”
The former White Witch had done wonders to keep the younger girls calm and Anya deeply appreciated her presence.
“I’m not sure of anything,” she whispered back. “The spirits refuse to speak to me.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never visited the realm of earth before. Maybe I’m too inexperienced to compel them.”
“Doubtful. If you’re earth aligned, the spirits should see you as a friend and want to help.”
Anya offered a weak smile. “Someone should tell them that. Right now, I’m just guessing.”
“On the bright side, there are no vampires here.”
Her chuckle came out a little bit hysterical. “There is that. I’ll try again in the next cavern. Maybe the spirits that live there will be friendlier.”
“Let’s hope so.”
The ragged group trudged on like the caravan of refugees they were. No one spoke save for the occasional pained groan or sniffle. You’d be hard pressed to find a sadder group. The responsibility for their safety weighed heavily on Anya. She didn’t know how Conryu did it. He was always fighting to save people, sometime whole cities. That sort of pressure would have crushed her flat.
Since time really meant nothing in the endless underground, she had no idea how long they’d been walking when they finally entered another cavern. When the last girl had stepped out of the tunnel, the sound of grinding stone filled the air and the exit sealed tight.
Anya looked around, heart racing.
There were no other exits.
A vibration ran through the floor. Directly in front of them four humanoid figures made of stone and standing at least twice her height rose out of the floor. She swallowed as they looked down at her with eyes made of chipped obsidian.
“Greetings.” The word came out like a squeak and she cleared her throat. Her earth magic teacher said you had to be confident and certain when speaking with the spirits. “Greetings, spirits. Have you come to guide us to our destination?”
“No, little wizard.” The center spirit spoke, its voice sounding like an avalanche, but not an unkind one. “We are here to eliminate the hated wind followers among you. Once that is done, the rest may pass unharmed. Finding your way will be much easier without them clouding the ether.”
Anya stared for a moment, uncertain she’d heard correctly. “All of these people are under my protection. As an earth aligned wizard, I command you to let us pass.”
The spirit shook its stone head. “Impossible. Wind aligned wizards are our enemy. You don’t let the enemy pass, you grind him to pulp. Fear not, we will harm none save the wind aligned. I sense only six of them. No great loss to your group. And don’t worry. I won’t tell our master that you refused to turn them over. You’re still young. Youth often leads to unwise decisions.”
Anya gathered every drop of power she could muster around her like a cloak. “I command you to stand aside!”
Another ponderous shake of its head. Without comment, the spirit lowered a hand as wide as she was tall and very gently scooted her to one side. It didn’t rage or threaten her. It just ignored her, brushing her out of the way like Anya might a stray puppy. That’s all she amounted to in their eyes. A stray to be kept safe and ignored.
And damn it all, she lacked the power to do anything about it!
Conryu emerged from Hell beside Kai and leveled the staff. The crystal turned brown and a matching portal appeared a few feet away. He hadn’t visited the realm of earth since the day he gained the Lord of Earth’s blessing. Hopefully the spirits wouldn’t consider him rude for not visiting more often. In truth he thought little about the realm of earth. Nothing evil or dangerous ever emerged from there and, generally, traveling through Heaven or Hell was more convenient.
“Do you expect a battle, Chosen?” Kai asked.
“No. As far as I know, I’m still in good standing as the Chosen of Earth. That should be enough to get us whatever help we need and see everyone to safety. And if it isn’t, well, no one else is going to die if I can help it. Come on.”
They stepped through and appeared in an empty cavern lit by a diffuse glow that came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Not terribly interesting. If the rest of the realm looked like this, it was a wonder anyone came to visit.
“Help,” he said.
A little tremor ran through the floor and a snake made of stone rose up out of nowhere. “You called, Chosen?” the spirit asked in a voice far too deep and gravelly for a snake, even one made of stone.
“Yes, thank you for coming. A fairly large group of humans arrived in this realm not long ago. I need to find them, quickly.”
“I heard about them. They chose a bad area to appear. Some of our more militant stone giants live in the area and they had a few wind aligned wizards in their group. The giants didn’t like that at all. Not that any of us like it when wind users trespass, but most of us don’t bother them unless they start trouble.”
“These stone giants have a different stance on the matter?” Conryu asked.
“Very different. They’ll kill any wind users they find.”
Conryu’s chest tightened. “Can you take me to them?”
“I lack the power, but I can show you where they are.”
“If you picture it in your head, I’ll shift us there. Kai, none of those women are going to die. Understand?”
Kai drew her sword. It seemed she understood very well.
Conryu put his hand on the serpent’s head and an image of a cavern not all that different from this one appeared in his mind. Everything became blurry then he and Kai appeared in a different yet virtually identical cavern. The main difference consisting of the hundred or so women being sniffed and moved around by a group of four giants made of stone. They currently had a small group of four and two larger groups, one to the left and one to the right.
When the serpent said stone giants, he hadn’t realized it meant giants made of actual rock. Though this being the realm of earth, he didn’t know why he should be surprised. All the spirits were probably made of rock here.
Conryu gathered power in the butt of his staff and slammed it to the ground. An earthquake shook the cavern and all four giants looked his way, just as he hoped. Conryu strode right at them, power crackling around his staff and body.
“Chosen,” the center giant said.
“That’s right. These women are coming with me. All of them. We’ll leave the realm of earth at once, but mark my words, I will let none of them come to harm, even those aligned with wind.”
“They are the enemy,” the spirit said.
“No, they’re not. Only bad luck and unfortunate circumstances forced them to come here. Look at them, they’re already suffering just by being here. Let that be enough punishment. They’ve done your realm and its spirits no harm. Is that the act of an enemy?”
“No, Chosen, but we are taught that those of wind are the enemy. They must be slain.”
The staff’s gem darkened from brown to near black. “I have already lost innocents to people I consider friends. They were compelled to act against their natures. You are all free spirits. If you choose to harm my friends, I will choose to stop you. And I will not be gentle about it.”
“We would not fight you, Chosen. Perhaps your definition of an enemy is the better one. We will bring the question to our master. The debate will continue when we return. Should you not be here…” Its massive shoulders shrugged with a grinding of stone on stone.
All four spirits sank into the ground. As soon as they’d gone, one of the women separated herself from the group and came running. When she’d covered half the distance between them, he recognized Anya. She seemed unhurt, thank the universe.
She wrapped her arms around his neck without a word and Conryu held her while she cried. He let her vent her fear for a minute or so, but they really didn’t have time to delay.
When he let go she stepped back and looked up at him. “I couldn’t stop them. I wasn’t strong enough.”
“It’s okay. You were strong enough to open the portal and get everyone this far. That’s an amazing accomplishment. Without you we both know what would have happened. Now, let’s get out of here before anything else shows up.”
The other women had gathered around them so Conryu pointed the staff and opened a heaven portal. They all hurried through, even Kai, who sheathed her sword before entering. Conryu went last, closing the portal behind him.
The group drifted among the endless clouds. He’d pictured a place well away from the gates of Heaven. He didn’t want to rescue the wind aligned wizards only to have the golden lions attack the dark aligned ones. Not that he worried about it too much. The lions, for all that they looked like beasts, were extremely intelligent and they also liked him.
“I hate it here,” Prime said.
“So you tell me every time we arrive. Relax, we’re not going to linger.” He turned to Anya. “Where were you trying to go?”
“The Academy. I thought Dean Blane might let us stay, at least for a little while. I didn’t know where else to go.”
“It was a good call. I need to talk to her anyway.” Conryu glanced at the assembled women. None of them looked hurt but all the same he asked, “Does anyone need healing? This is the best place to take care of it if you do.”
When no one indicated that they did he took Kai’s hand and said, “Form a chain and don’t let go.”
Kai took Anya’s hand and soon everyone had grabbed someone. Conryu raised the staff and pictured the Academy. A vague sensation of movement filled him and then he knew they were in the right place.
“You make it look so easy,” Anya murmured.
“That’s because I cheat. Let’s get back to the real world.”
He pointed and another heaven portal opened.
The next thing he knew they were standing on the grass in front of the glass-and-steel main Academy building. Given the number of defenses he tripped, he had no doubt every teacher on campus knew they’d arrived. Hopefully they all sensed it was him. He didn’t want someone blasting them after all they’d been through.
A few of the women fell to the grass, clearly exhausted. The others chatted amongst themselves and Conryu didn’t eavesdrop. They certainly had plenty of things to discuss.
“I’ll return to the borderland, Chosen.” Kai released his hand, bowed, and vanished.
“I wish I could do that,” Anya said.
“It is a neat trick, though you’d have to be a dark aligned, death-worshipping ninja to manage it. Are you okay? I talked to Talon and he told me what happened. Your mother…”
“It wasn’t her, not really. The one controlling her is to blame. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. I mean, she is a vampire.”
“Sasha loves you. If you believe nothing else, believe that.” Conryu sensed something and looked up to see a preteen hurtling through the sky. “Dean Blane’s coming. You’re welcome to join the conversation.”
Anya shook her head. “I’m beat. You handle it. If there’s something I need to know, tell me. Otherwise, I just want to rest.”
“Sure, no sweat.” Conryu moved a few paces away and swallowed a sigh. How come no one ever appeared and offered to handle everything so he could take a nap?
Chapter 6
Kanna willed herself through the vast emptiness of Hell. On either side of her, divided into groups of four, forty of her fellow Daughters of the Reaper rushed back towards the Land of the Night Princes. She allowed herself a small smile under her mask. The Chosen so seldom asked them to do anything that it felt good to carry out a mission for him. She knew the others felt as she did.
This was the first large mission they’d carried out since the battle with Atlantis. This job, at least, should be much less dangerous. Not that Kanna feared to face any foe in battle. She would fight anyone he asked her to and die in the attempt should that prove necessary. It pleased her more than she would ever admit out loud that their current leader had no desire to throw her and her sisters’ lives away needlessly.
A pointless death would be the second-worst-possible fate for one of them. The only thing worse was failing to complete a mission.
She gave a minute shake of her head when she sensed them approaching the monastery. When they all gathered around their old home Kanna said, “Alright, you all heard the Chosen’s will. We will spread out in groups and locate the enemy. As soon as you find them, come and get me. Under no circumstance is anyone to leave the borderland. Clear?”
“If we get a chance to slay the enemy leader, should we not take it?” one of the Daughters asked.
Kanna immediately shook her head. “You may think you have an opening, but it may instead be a trap. Remember, we’re hunting the Chosen of another demon lord. You should all act as if she’s as powerful as our Chosen.”
Someone laughed, but Kanna didn’t catch who. Even she had to admit the idea of anyone being as powerful as Conryu struck her as ridiculous. She read the stories of the Reaper’s former Chosen and none of them even came close to matching him. That forced her to assume any of the other Chosen would be more like the Reaper’s earlier choices.
The problem was, she didn’t actually know that for sure and if they acted overconfident, someone might get killed for no reason. And if that happened on her watch, Conryu would look at her with sad eyes and shake his head. He wouldn’t yell or rage or lash out. That wasn’t his way. Kanna wished he would. The idea that she might disappoint him made her heart race and sweat break out on her brow.
“This is a recon mission, not an assassination. We will carry out his orders and complete the mission he gave us. Anyone that can’t follow those orders is welcome to return and tell him.”
Absolute silence followed that pronouncement. Exactly as she knew it would. None of them would question the Chosen.
“Good. Now go!”
The teams dispersed leaving Kanna and her three companions standing in Hell but looking down at their home, or former home. On a whim she shifted a fraction to check the armory. Racks of daggers, swords, and other weapons appeared untouched. Another minute movement brought her to her chamber inside. Again, her few belongings appeared exactly as she left them.
