The Unseen Tempest (Lords of Arcadia) (18 page)

Kor had no idea how far they’d walked. Distances didn’t feel the same in the gloom. However, as they strode along ahead of their guard, the city around them changed and conditions improved. People wore actual clothes, some even sporting leather armor with weapons. Tents and shacks became small and large homes with sturdy walls and strong roofs. The walls became smoother, and there were glass orbs enchanted to glow for light. The difference was… well, it was like night and day. He did not understand how these people lived so well while so many others starved nearer the entrance. When the dark elves abandoned Koran, did they give up compassion as well?

The guards called a halt when they reached a large multiple-storied, stone-block building. It sat at street level, with a pair of golden doors inlaid with ivory carvings at the entry. Kor forced his face not to react to the blasphemy when he realized the carvings depicted two snakes consuming themselves, the holy sign of Lilith. He had no time to think about Lilith or worms eating themselves. The guards hurried both of them down a short, empty hall, turned left, and climbed a set of stairs to the mezzanine level. A much less ornate door blocked their way until one guard pushed it open.

Inside was a spacious throne room. At least, Kor assumed it was a throne room, since an actual throne made of what looked like gold and silver squatted in the center of it. A dark elf lounged in the throne, His white hair was cut short, a popular style with most dark elves since light elves were forbidden to do so. The throne had obviously been created for a much larger person, since he sprawled with his booted feet propped up on an armrest.

“Well, well, well!” the man exclaimed, jumping to his feet, bowing excessively deeply, and flourishing an imaginary hat to the floor in front of Ater. “If I had known a celebrity was coming, I would have freshened up.” Ater said nothing. “Oh come on now, no biting comment from the royal assassin? Please tell me your tongue as is as sharp as your weapon. I’ve heard so many stories about it and you.”

Ater glared at the man. “Dismiss your guards, and I will prove the cutting edge of both.”

Kor glanced casually over at Ater, only the minute widening of his eyes conveying his surprise. Had the man lost his mind? Subtly he moved his shoulder and felt his bow move slightly, ready to pull off and fire. He thought he caught a flicker of movement, as if Ater had shot a glance back at him, but he couldn’t be sure.

The directeur threw back his head and began to laugh loudly. “Now see? That is the Ater from the tales I have heard.” Kor could tell the man’s laughter was as false as his flattery, which made their verbal dance that much more dangerous. “And now you walk into my city with a light elf.” His laughter ceased instantly. “I assume that is a joke as well?”

Kor held his breath and waited for Ater’s answer.

Ater looked behind them and then back to the directeur. “Did a light elf follow us in?”

Everyone looked at the assassin as if he had lost his mind. The directeur glanced at his guards, silently asking them if he had acted like this on their way here. They shook their heads slightly, obviously as confused as everyone else. Finally he pointed at Kor and asked Ater, “You can see the man next to you, right?”

Ater glanced over at Kor, who was still holding his breath. “You think he is a light elf?”

The directeur exploded in anger as he waved his arms. “What kind of idiot do you think I am? He is a follower of Koran! He has the beard, the long hair, not to mention he is wearing a damned holy symbol.”

As the dark elf got louder, Ater became quieter and calmer. “Yes. He does possess all of those attributes,” he agreed before falling into silence.

“And that doesn’t make him a light elf?”

Ater shook his head.

“Then what, pray tell, does it make him?”

Ater leveled a steely glance at the directeur. Kor felt the fury winding itself around Ater and shuddered mentally. “He is my partner, who has been in deep cover for over a year now, infiltrating Evermore. I was barely able to get him out when his cover was blown, and I am sure he is as exhausted as I am. We came here seeking succor; instead we are treated like criminals and bombarded by questions. Things have changed around here, and not for the better.”

The directeur seemed to think about Ater’s explanation for a long time as he paced around the two men slowly. “So this is your partner? Pullus, is it?” Kor stiffened at the mention of his brother’s name, but he nodded in answer. “And you are his partner?” Another nod.

The directeur finished walking around them and sat back on his throne. “Oh well, then, that makes sense,” he said jovially. “A complete misunderstanding on my part.” Kor refused to relax despite the man’s words. “In fact, let me offer you use of my own personal suite to clean up and rest after what must have been an exhausting ordeal.” Ater began to open his mouth to thank him, but the man cut him off. “As soon as you two kiss.”

It took a second for the words to penetrate Kor’s mind, where Ater understood them instantly. “Excuse me?”

The directeur leaned back in his chair, reminding Kor of a cat enjoying his prey’s plight before killing it. “It’s simple. If Pullus is your partner, and you have been separated for over a year like you said, then a simple kiss should be in order, correct?” He arched one eyebrow in question. “Unless he isn’t your partner and is in fact a light elf. If that is the case, two men kissing would be a sin, would it not?”

Kor had to give Ater credit; he didn’t show one iota of worry that his story was unraveling before him. Instead he got mad. “You have no right to ask us to do that. We aren’t here for your entertainment.” The words were spoken quietly, but that same fury Kor had sensed writhed in each one.

Kor flinched as the directeur jumped up and got nose to nose with Ater. “
You are here for whatever I want you to be
.
I am directeur, and my word is law
.” Ater didn’t move, not even to wipe the spittle off his face. “So, you will kiss your partner and prove to me he is who you say he is, or I will show you what you have to do for my entertainment.”

Ater said nothing as he tried to figure a way out of what he’d led them both into. When Kor tapped Ater’s left forearm, the dark elf jolted, surprised. To anyone else, Kor’s tilt of the head and infinitely tiny shrug would have meant “The directeur’s an asshole, and I haven’t kissed you enough yet.” But Ater realized Kor was signaling “I know what I’m doing. Follow my lead.”

Kor sighed and pushed the directeur out of the way, never removing his hand from Ater’s forearm. The assassin’s eyes widened as he saw Kor’s intention.
Koran forgive me
, Kor thought as he tugged Ater a step closer and pressed his lips against Ater’s. And kissed him.

T
HE
FABRICATION
floor had become three times larger than Ferra remembered it.

As she stumbled behind Molly, she could have sworn the door hadn’t been as far away as it seemed now. Then again, her head was still swimming from the blow Diablo had delivered, and she hadn’t been running away from a monstrous torso when she had first entered the room. So she wasn’t the best judge at the moment. Either way, one unmistakable fact was becoming abundantly clear to the barbarian.

They weren’t going to make it to the door.

Diablo was moving faster than they were; there was no way they could outrun the clockwork monster, which left only one alternative—turning around and fighting it. She glanced over her shoulder and could see a glow building in the demon’s mouth. Ferra stopped running and spun around to face her foe. “Get down!” she called to the others as she formed an ice shield in front of her. Diablo opened its mouth, and a huge gout of flame came spilling out toward them.

The heat was so intense it reminded Ferra of the djinn’s attacks. She knew her ice could not withstand prolonged exposure to this kind of fire. Sooner or later the shield was going to melt, and when that happened, they would be at a huge disadvantage. She could survive for a time, and the gem might be okay, but Molly would instantly be melted, and that wasn’t something Ferra was willing to risk.

“Get out!” Ferra called back, focusing on the shield. “Find a way to stop this thing.”

“No!” Molly screamed back. “We all have to get out now or—”

Her words were cut off by the sound of the doors slamming shut.

Ferra didn’t have to look back to know they were trapped. Calm came over her as a thought passed through her mind.
So this is where I die.

There was no fear, no panic, just a quiet regret of all the things she was never going to do. “Caerus,” she said, watching her shield begin to melt under the assault. “Get Molly away from this thing and shield her from the heat. I’ll keep it busy while you two look for another way out of here.”

“Ferra! No!” Molly cried as she realized Ferra was going to sacrifice herself to give them a chance.

“Caerus, go now!” Ferra refused to look back, knowing if she did she would lose her nerve.

A slight hum and the muffled sound of Molly protesting from within the magical shield came to Ferra’s ears. The gemling paused and looked at the warrior. “Logos go with you, Ferra.”

“He always does,” she answered as she dropped the shield and charged toward Diablo. Within seconds, she was engulfed by the flame. Caerus could no longer see her.

The gemling surveyed what she could see of the room and took off away from the fight. Molly pounded against the magical bubble she was trapped in to no avail. She watched Diablo get smaller and smaller as they flew away as fast as they could.

W
E
GOT
to Demain’s study, and I could tell things were about to get real up in here.

Sorry, it’s a nervous habit of mine. I get jittery and I start talking like an idiot. I’m sure you’ve noticed this by now.

She was dressed in an outfit I would assume Lady Gaga would wear if she was going to slay a dragon or present at the Oscars. The dark red leather bodysuit was inlaid with runes and symbols, which glowed brightly as she moved. It took me a moment to notice that all the glowing was actually happening in the air above her suit. She looked like she had decided to accessorize with neon. All of that was nothing compared to the sword that was hanging from her belt.

I have seen a lot of swords. Back in Athens there was always a Renaissance Faire just around the corner, no matter what time of year it was. So I had seen some really cool-looking weapons over the years, but this one took the cake. The hilt was a silver dragon at rest curled around the top of a black blade that could have been a carved and polished piece of crystal from the way it gleamed at her side. Whoever had carved the dragon had been a master, because every single detail was perfect. I could count every scale on its body, see the veins in its wings, I could swear I could see the scales on its eyelid.

Which then opened and looked at me cautiously.

“Oh hell no,” I breathed, fumbling a few steps back in shock. Talking rubies I could take. Stuck-up rabbits with magic pocket watches, sure. But a living minidragon making a home on a sword’s hilt is where I draw the line.

Hawk gaped at the sword, and I felt a clash of shock and awe in his mind. “Is that…?” he asked Demain, not able to finish the question.

She looked down at the sword and stroked the top of the dragon’s head with one finger. It leaned into it for a few seconds before letting loose a huge yawn, in which I could see a silver tongue and tiny teeth and everything. “If you are asking me if this is the vorpal sword, then the answer is ‘yes.’” The dragon looked around for a few seconds before settling back onto the hilt and closing its eyes again.

“Wait,” I said, trying to get some semblance of control on my thoughts. “As in the snicker-snack?”

She raised an eyebrow, obviously wondering how I knew about the sword.

Hawk skimmed my thoughts, and I could see he was surprised to find out how much I knew. “It’s close to your story,” Hawk explained quietly when the queen went back to conferring with her aides. “It is a powerful weapon, but not in the way you think. It’s like your people heard the story but got all the details wrong, so they made up the rest.”

“How does that work?” I asked, not understanding how a writer could know about a sword while being worlds away.

Before Hawk could answer, Ruber cried out, sounding like he was hurt.

“Oh…,” he said, hovering a bit lower than normal.

Hawk reached for his sword while I cupped my hands together to give Ruber somewhere to rest. “What’s wrong?”

I could tell Hawk suspected Demain, but she looked as completely confused as we did.

“It’s Caerus. She’s in danger,” he managed to say in a strained voice.

“How do you know that?” Hawk demanded. I could sense he was upset that Ruber knew of his sister’s whereabouts when the whole point of us scattering was to prevent any team knowing where any other was.

If Ruber cared about Hawk’s anger, he didn’t show it. “She’s sending me a magical pulse confined to my specific frequency.” No one in the room had any idea what he was talking about. “My people have a resonant frequency that can cause us… discomfort. Normally these frequencies are guarded fiercely.”

“But you and your sister shared each other’s in case you needed to contact the other,” I finished for him. “Do you know where she is?”

“No,” he answered, sounding like he was wincing. “I only know she is telling me she’s in danger.”

I looked back to Hawk. “We need to get to her.”

He instantly rejected the idea, since the more of us were together, the easier it would be to capture us all. He could feel I hadn’t been asking him, however, and he made a face, giving in before he spoke. “Even if I wanted to, we have no idea where she is. How are we supposed to get to her?”

We both looked at Demain, who seemed puzzled by the entire exchange. “I have no idea how to trace a… resonant frequency? Resonant frequency, then, much less use it as a teleportation beacon.”

Ruber made another sound, and I could tell whatever Caerus was doing was hurting him. “What about Milo?” I asked, looking at the rabbit. “Can’t you make a portal to where Caerus is?”