The sky overhead had turned a deep orange as Alistair and Morrigan road. The grass was splotchy at best where they were going. Morrigan had been silent since Alistair joined her. She tried to argue against him going but not long. She didn’t want to waste time and she knew the look in his eye.
As they rode he was messing with his face from memory. The pulls and touches of his skin. As his magic returned to him he wanted to at least do this much for himself. He’d all but memorized how his face felt when he was content with it all those nights ago. Even slightly moving upward he felt himself get taller from Eaergo’s back.
“How are we getting back to your home?”
She didn’t respond. Just the constant steps of Eaergo’s hoofs. He let out a soft sound of frustration and kept his forehead pressed against her back. They’d been riding for a few hours but the distance they covered was much more than he imagined. He knew she wouldn’t go back to Verakruk but the next possible town was at least a two days ride away at best. He wasn’t Vincent so even remotely guessing at where they were going was beyond him.
“We need to find a town and wait for night fall.” She said startling him.
“Nightfall? What happens then?”
“Then I can take us back to my home. I’m only allowed one guest to the castle. So be grateful.”
He made a sound at that but just nodded his head. He reached to Eaergo’s saddle bag and removed a map from it. Rolling it out slowly he dragged his finger around to find where they had been prior which was Verakruk. And then he just guessed from to assume where they’d ridden to so far.
“Benala. That’s the nearest town to here. A few more miles West and we should be there.”
Morrigan nodded. “That was already the plan.”
“Glad we’re on the same page then.”
They fell back into the same silence as before but this time it wasn’t as biting nor as cold. The sun was slowly sliding behind a bank of clouds and there were even birds overhead. Some called to one another and one even came down toward them.
Alistair glanced at it, watching it fly and even get on eye level with him. But then it flew into the sky back to the flock above. He wished he could fly. Not like his sister did but with wings of his own. Maybe he could fly like that. Grow a pair of wings if he could even figure out how that would work.
Vayne’s words were still on his mind. He always put his sister first, thought that she was the strong one. He never gave it another thought. She was stronger and the best he could do was the claws and a little bit of shape changing. And that was all he ever wanted to do. He was fine with just being muscle.
But now just the thought of what ‘power’ actually meant. What could he do if he really wanted to try. If he could be like his sister in that regard. He had time to try though. He was going to practice. See just how far he could push himself.
“Can I ask you something personal?” Alistair said softly.
Morrigan was quiet and he could feel her tense up in front of him. “What is it?”
“The Calamity. It’s something closer to you than anyone I’ve met. You survived one didn’t you?”
She was very quiet, so still that if he closed his eyes he was sure that he wouldn’t have felt her there anymore. “Yes. Before I was this. Before I was a knight for my Queen, I was a Norian mercenary with a husband. He didn’t like my work but he always waited for me to come back in one piece. If I was in less than that he’d take care of me until I could go back. He was a good man to me. We weren’t perfect but he was mine.”
She could see him now. He hadn’t been large, actually shorter than her by half a head. He’d had messy black curls for hair and a full beard and mustache. From a distance she couldn’t even see his mouth under it. His skin was tanned to a golden brown and his eyes dark brown. She felt the old ache in her heart just thinking of him.
“One year the Calamity struck as I was coming home. I saw it come down from so far away. I’d never seen it before but the dread I felt in my heart I knew what it was without being told. When I finally came home everything was gone. Our home. Our entire village. Not even a body left to bury.”
She didn’t know why she kept talking but the words tumbled out of her mouth. Having been long buried in her mind. “I lost everything that day. I wandered, lost and angry. I couldn’t kill myself, he would have never forgiven me for that, but I wanted to die. I took more and more dangerous jobs. I fought so many people and tried to die but I wasn’t granted that. I was forced to live.
“And then I stumbled upon a carriage. I was drunk. It was nearing the anniversary of that day. I challenged the carriage occupants in my anger. The guard defeated me with ease and I thought that this would finally be my death. But I was spared again. My Queen came out of the carriage and I was struck by the sight of her. She asked if I wanted a new purpose in life. If I could serve. I told her I was willing. That I had nothing. She took me to Cerise. She took me as one of her knights. She saved my life. I will not lose that again.”
Morrigan looked up slowly and glared ahead. Their town was in front of them. She tapped Eaergo’s neck and the horse started running faster. Each hoof slamming against the uneven sloping ground.
It was another hour, the twilit light barely illuminating their path as they rode in. They got a few looks from store owners closing down their shops and passerby’s who could only scoff or glare. Morrigan paid them no mind and Alistair did his best not to look back.
“Nightfall will be soon. We can hang around a tavern until then.” She said to him taking the horse toward a somewhat empty lot.
Alistair slid off the horse and landed on the ground with a light thud. Adjusting the sword across his back he watched Morrigan drop down as well and thought about their clothes. His shirt and pants, stained with dirt, grass, and blood. Both his and demonic.
Hers once a rich red and black blouse and skirt with black pants underneath it. Her skin was scarred and eyes bright but her clothes showed just how hurt she had really been. Deep cuts in the fabric and some of it entirely torn off. The skirt was shredded as well though her boots had weathered the storm. She placed her hand over both her blades individually.
She reached into the saddlebags and pulled out a coin purse and tied it to her hip. She looked at him for a moment and arched her eyebrow then walked toward the tavern. Pushing the door open she took the room in at once. The usual rabble of young men getting drunk at the tables, the usual’s at the bar itself and finally the thing that made her pause.
A few booths that were lined with red armored soldiers. Glasses on their tables and a few of them had their helmets off but they were loud. Abrasive bunch. The rest of the people in the bar were strangely quiet.
Alistair came to stand beside her and glanced at the soldiers but frowned. He whispered to her, “Norians. Should we get out of here?”
“No. We’ll get a drink. And wait. It needs to be closer to midnight before we can leave.”
“And if something happens?”
She didn’t respond. Instead she walked toward the bar and found a pair of empty stools. She held up two fingers and pointed toward a bottle of something clear. Reaching into her pocket she grabbed two gold coins and put them on the table.
The bar tender came back with two small glasses sloshing with clear liquid. She picked up one and motioned for him to take the other. He picked it up and sniffed it lightly but scowled. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Now drink up Alistair.”
He stared at it one more time and frowned. But he hit his glass against hers, put it to his lips, and sent it back. And damn near spit it back out. Coughing and slamming his hand against the table he coughed again sputtering. Morrigan laughed at him setting the glass down and indicating for more.
“People drink this stuff?”
“Yes, they do.” She told him as the bartender came with a laugh. He saw his reaction and enjoyed it greatly. So, he leaned against the table and watched as Morrigan picked up her glass and looked at him.
She stared at him, eyeing the drink and then back to him. He made a pitiful face and she fought the urge to smirk and hid it behind her glass. He picked up the drink and held it up to her. She cheered it and they both drank. The second drink was easier than the first but not by much.
They drank like this back and forth, Alistair getting the hang of it. She looked at the bartender and motioned him over but didn’t indicate more alcohol. He came over with an empty glass and a rag.
“How’s your friend there?” he asked with a chuckle. A smaller man than her but large in the stomach. Fat not muscle. He had a stubble filled jaw, probably recently shaved it and dark eyes. His skin showed he didn’t get much sunlight.
Morrigan looked at Alistair who had his head on his arms. His eyes looked slightly dazed but focused on the glass that was just out of finger distance. He groaned and she smiled. “I think he’ll live.” He said and she nodded.
“He will. Sturdy boy,” she pat him on the shoulder and he weakly wiped her hand away. “But I got a quick question. Neither of us are from here. We’re actually going back home. But we know some things don’t add up.”
A dark look crossed his face but he gave a short nod. “Aye. They just came through. Took over the town.” He said with a glare.
“When did they arrive?” Alistair mumbled as he got up slowly.
“A few days ago. Came in at dawn. After we saw them we surrendered. A fight wouldn’t have been worth it to waste lives like that.”
“I understand,” she said keeping her voice low. “We had a run in with some of them on the road. Thankfully they didn’t see us. Norians this deep in Sanctum territory. And unafraid of retribution. What’s changed?”
“I wish I knew. Where is the Sanctum and their soldiers?”
The man shook his head in frustration as he put the cup back on the shelf behind him. “Probably wrapped up in helping Verakruk. What happened over there is a true disaster. May the Lord protect them all.”
He bowed his head as he said this and Morrigan nodded slowly. One of the red armored soldiers came over and slammed his glass down on the table. He stared at the barkeep and motioned toward the group. “My men and I need more drink. We’ve finished.”
“You’ll have to wait your turn.” He said coldly. “I’ve got other guests and need to restock on bear.”
The soldier looked to the side and glanced at Morrigan and Alistair. Alistair waved a lazy hand at the soldier but Morrigan didn’t bother to turn her head.
“I think those two are going to be fine. Serve me and my men.”
“I said to hold on.” He said through tightly gritted teeth and clenched fingers on the table.
The soldier met his gaze with a blank stare of one that held anger and frustration. He nodded slowly and backed away leaving the mug on the table. He reached toward his hip and drew his sword hacking at the table with heavy strikes.
“You think these peasants are greater than the soldiers of the Norian army?! Know your place!” he screamed. There was a wave of tension in the tavern. Each thunk of sword on wood echoed but no one spoke up.
The soldier pointed the sword at the man and scowled. “I should kill you. Send a message to the rest of them.”
The bartender, to his credit, didn’t shirk away. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have fear in his eyes. Morrigan knew what fear felt like in a man and that was it. The thought that a quick movement would set of the soldier. That was it definitely it. She sighed and set the drink down and then looked toward Alistair.
He looked back at her and mouthed, “Should I?”
She shook her head and began to stand. But as she turned the bartender shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry. I must have treated you like any other soldiers. Norians deserve a little better.”
The soldier smirked and nodded slowly. He lowered the sword and motioned toward the man. “That’s what I thought. A man who knows better. Just took a bit of demonstration to get the point across.”
Morrigan scowled as she looked at the ground and lowered her hand from her blade. She grabbed the glass again and turned it upside down. The bartender shouted for someone and a young man came from a staircase they couldn’t see. He motioned toward the Norians and spoke about the beer.
Morrigan glanced outside the window and she could clearly see the moon in the sky. “Let’s go.” She said toward Alistair. She slid down five coins and made eye contact with the bartender before leaving.
Thankfully the soldier was too busy going back to his men to notice that the strangers that were holding them up were leaving. Alistair stumbled out after her and looked toward the bar, “I hate leaving like that.”
“We can’t get involved in every squabble like that. And what happens when we leave and they come back. This town gets crushed. The best thing we can do is leave and wait for them to pass through.”
There were shouts and laughter as the door slammed closed behind them. The steps crunched on the empty dirt and she snapped her fingers. Eaergo was at their side out of nowhere, coming straight to Morrigan.
She patted the creature’s neck and then backed away. “Go Eaergo. Return home. We’ll see you soon.” She said stroking his head. He looked at her and tilted his head to the side slightly. But he took a step back and faded away before their eyes like the mist in the sun.
Alistair was sad to see it go but he knew the horse wasn’t dead. He knew that the horse could be called back to their side with another command from Morrigan. She reached back into her purse and pulled out one more coin. She turned it in her fingers slowly then tossed it to Alistair.
“Hold onto that. You’ll need to pay the toll.”
“What toll?”
She shook her head and pulled out another coin. Walking down the main road she left the town the same way that they had come in but this time she stuck to the main road. Glancing around slowly her pace was brisk. As they walked Alistair was messing with his height, arms and legs. Getting comfortable with how long they were and what it felt like. A constantly changing body was still a strange notion even after all these years.
They arrived at a crossroads. Only three paths for them to take. Two in front to the left and right and one behind them. She frowned for a moment. “He won’t like this but he can get over it.”
Morrigan held the coin to the sky and stared at the moon through it for a moment. She took a very slow and deep breath closing her fingers around the coin and lowering it. Coming down the road she could see the shape. The dark horse and the carriage it pulled. The rider was in a suit and top hat wearing man. His face was steeped in shadows and no matter how hard Alistair tried he couldn’t see it.
He raised his head and the light showed on his red lenses. “Miss Morrigan. This is not a true crossroads.”
“I know but we need to return home.” She said scowling. “Cerise is in danger.”
“What danger would prompt a return like this?” he asked.
“One that can threaten to destroy us all.”
She walked toward the carriage and opened the door. Stepping into the carriage Alistair came toward it but the man extended his arm and stared at him. “Who are you?”
“He’s my guest. Show him the coin.”
The twin was still dazed by this. He glanced around at the carriage, the smooth black wood of it and wheels, to the horse and its glossy toned body. Even the red lenses and regalness of the man had him stunned. He fumbled with his pocket and produced the coin. He really looked at it for the first time. A foreign character on one side and a five-petal flower on the other.
“Are you sure about this one?” he asked.
“Yes. He’s trustworthy. I even think my Queen will enjoy him.”
“That’s high praise.”
“High praise well earned.”
Alistair looked at toward her and tried to hide a smile as he ran toward the carriage. Morrigan was looking straight ahead but he recognized the way her eyes were. She was in her own head, her own thoughts.
He sat across from her, rubbing his knees lightly. The door closed beside them without one of them touching it. The carriage jerked forward suddenly and it was moving. Morrigan opened her eyes and looked toward him with a slow blink and intake of breath. “Relax.”
“I thought I was.” He stared at the ground for a moment.
“You’re trying to. But not all there. Not yet. Your sister will be fine. She’s with the bandit.”
“I know.” He made a small face. “I trust him and I have faith in her.” He looked at the ground then met Morrigan’s eyes. They were normal eyes, a faint green color that were entirely human this time around.
“Does visiting my home bother you?”
“In a way.”
She chuckled softly and nodded. “I was like that when I first arrived. It was a new place. Very different from this.” She motioned outside the door. To the small window in the door that was filled with dull light. “But you’ll get used to it faster than you think. Just stay by my side.”
“I had no plan to leave it.”
They rode in silence after that. He did his best to relax. To try and let his unease go. It worked for the most part. The ride was consistent with no bumps. Consistent creaks from the carriage as it made turns here and there. The horse and the driver were both silent as well. He let out a breath and he could see his breath on the air.
“What is the queen like?” he asked looking toward her.
She glanced at him. “My Queen is beautiful and powerful. She is fair but she doesn’t tolerate fools. She demands complete loyalty and rewards it. She sees worth in others, even if you yourself do not.”
“She sounds amazing and intimidating.”
“She is that and more.”
All of a sudden, the carriage stopped. He looked at Morrigan but she was already opening the door. And once he looked outside he saw it. The frozen land that greeted him was something he’d never seen before. She jumped out and he heard the crunch of snow from underneath her boots.
He jumped out as well and shuddered at the cold. It tore through his clothes and right to the bones underneath. He held his sides tightly, rubbing them as he looked around. Snow covered the ground and when he looked behind them there were mountains. Giant black mountains with gentle patches of snow.
When he tried to look at the bottom of the mountain he couldn’t see it. Just thick fog. Even down the path they came from after a couple of miles it turned back into fog. Shaking his shivering head, he caught up to Morrigan who didn’t seem to feel the cold.
“What is this place?”
She pointed ahead of them and he looked. The path went to a gate. Large iron bars with flowers cast throughout them. The walls they were connected to didn’t seem to exist. When he looked towards the ends of the gates there was more fog. Looking up to the sky it was dark with hundreds of stars dotting it like stiches on a velvet carpet.
Morrigan walked the path, the snow blowing aside by a faint breeze on the air. A small excitement went through her. The same one that always happened when she returned home. Though this one was a little different. She touched her sword, the eager katana at her hip and felt its excitement. Not hunger but the same sense of returning home.
Approaching the gate, she raised her hand and her eyes began to glow red. The gate creaked and slowly began to open outward scraping against the ground. Alistair watched trying to decide if he wanted to hold his ears or keep trying to warm himself up.
As the gate opened he felt warm air spill forward and wash over them. It was like going from outside to being in front of an open fire. The snow at their feet melted almost instantly and cleared away down the road they were on.
Alistair started walking again and saw the fountain. A giant stone creation with clear water pouring from the top. It was crafted in the image of several flowers the water coming from each of them. Each flower had a different engraving in them. A ring, a gun, a sword, a goblet, and a coin. Yet none of those marks were on the one at the top. That was the only one with a bullet in the center.
He looked past the fountain and to the castle that loomed overhead. Large spires with glowing windows. Some ramparts hanging over the air and floating while others were jutting out from the walls. The stones were grey as metal and the tips were touching the moon itself.
The steps to the main gate were in front of him and the door had dancing lights behind them. Morrigan brushed past him and chuckled, her hand on his shoulder. “You’re staring. Come along.”
She ascended the steps quickly and pushed both doors open to the point where they creaked. Through the gates she walked along the dark carpet straight toward the next set of stairs. The swirling dancers made way for her. Alistair on the other hand earned looks with every person he passed. Some snobby and others curious. But many of them had a look of hunger in them. As if wondering should they let this one pass or should they perhaps snack on him. He hurried to Morrigan’s side after meeting a particularly dark eyed man’s gaze.
Together they went up the next set of stairs and took a right to a large set of double doors. He turned and looked toward the ceiling and saw the banners. The same symbols that had been on the fountain earlier but with colors attached to it. Grabbing the banister, he stared at the ballroom from this angle, without the eyes of the dancers on him.
It was beautiful in a way. Swirling circles of colors going around in their own patterns. They never ran into one another. Always passing one another and just barely grazing across one another. He shook his head slowly and sighed and turned to face Morrigan but she was already walking down the hallway.
The portraits were on the walls and they were staring at them as they went. At least that’s how he felt. He felt their red eyes boring into him. Men and women who were young yet felt old beyond their years. They all looked like they were wiser and more powerful than he could ever be.
Part of that scared him but he couldn’t help but be intrigued by that. He looked at each portrait through what the shafts of moonlight allowed. “Alistair.”
She didn’t shout but her voice carried. Carried with an air of authority and power that didn’t exist outside. Not like this. This was new. He felt her words in his head and he turned to face her. He was at her side in a few seconds and saw two spear armed soldiers. They had stern faces and didn’t blink.
“I request an audience with my Queen.”
They looked at her and then looked past her to him. “Who is this?”
“My guest.”
“A guest does not meet with Her majesty.”
“My Queen will enjoy meeting him.” Morrigan stated.
“You know our rules Morrigan.”
“I’m a Sanguinight. I’m allowed to bend the rules. I would never betray nor endanger my Queen.” She said tersely and out of the corner of his eye Alistair could see the hints of red.
Both guards remained stern and their own eyes were naturally red. “Not even a Sanguinight.” A guard repeated at her.
But before Morrigan could say a proper response the door creaked open. A thin beam of red light tore across the ground all the way to end of the room. “Allow them to enter. I am interested in seeing my Knight’s friend.”
Both guards looked toward the door but they couldn’t say no. That warm seductive voice owned them all and even now owned Alistair just the same. The door opened wider and they stood aside to allow them through. Morrigan walked with confidence and Alistair tried to pretend he was doing the same.
The queen sat on her throne, leaning against her hand as she watched the pair of them. Her veil was still covering her face, too thick to see through properly. But when she chuckled it echoed around the entire room.
“Morrigan. It’s good to see you again. Though sooner than I had hoped.”
“I apologize my Queen but I come with a dire news. You must flee. We all must.”
She cocked her head slightly at the warning. “What kind of news?”
“The Calamity. It is going to strike here next.”
“I am aware my knight.”
Morrigan paused, the necromancer’s words echoing in her head like some form of prophecy. “You know. But you are still here.”
“I have protected my kingdom for many years from this threat.”
“But you said that you power was waning.”
Morrigan felt her queen’s gaze on her. A heavy weight that pressed down and made her almost kneel and bow her head in forgiveness. But she didn’t. She squared her shoulders and feet and met her Queen’s gaze. Her Queen looked at her and she felt the frustration and fear radiating off her knight.
“You fear for my life. As you always have.”
“I swore to protect you until the day I died my Queen. And I will ensure that. But,” she clenched her fist as she stared at her.
“But what Morrigan?”
“Did you send me away?” She kept her voice strong but the crack of another woman was there.
“Send you away?”
She grit her teeth hard and tried not to glare. Tried to compose herself. She was barely successful. “Yes. Did you send me away, hoping that I wouldn’t be here to find out about the Calamity’s next target? To see you die or worse die here with you.”
Her queen’s gaze didn’t waver. She raised her hand and motioned for her to approach her with a few flicks of her finger. “Come here child.”
She crossed the distance toward her. She stared down at her feet, not able to meet her queen’s gaze just yet. But she felt a hand on her chin and face. It was warm and the fingers thin. She slowly looked up and saw through the veil.
It was clear as day. The face was young, with low cheek bones and a sharp nose. Her eyes were big and they were full red. Like pools of glistening blood. She was beautiful and terrifying. As quick to hold as she was to kill. She tilted her head slowly and stroked Morrigan’s cheek gently.
“Who’s your friend child?” she asked looking past her to Alistair.
He had been watching the two of them in a stunned sort of silence. But also one out of respect. He didn’t want to interfere with something that felt so intimate. He’d never seen Morrigan act like this before. Sound that hurt or scared.
“My name is Alistair, your majesty?” He said uncertainly and she laughed.
“Come now child. Come closer to me. Let me really see you.”
Morrigan looked back at him and nodded her head. Alistair approached slowly and looked at her then averted his eyes and began to kneel.
“No. You are not one of my subjects. You may stand.”
He nodded and fidgeted slightly as he stepped back. He didn’t know what to do and felt uncomfortable. Seeing the draping’s above with the signs of her house. The mere presence she gave off that seemed to fill the room. He never truly felt like a peasant until now.
“He’s a boy.” She said finally. “Barely old enough to fight or fuck. What drew him to you?”
“We traveled together. Myself, his sister and another. We found one who knew about the Calamity intimately. I’ve seen his power and it was something to be respected and feared.” She shook her head and gripped her side. “He spoke of you in familiar tones.”
She chuckled softly with a small eye roll. “Familiar? Many like to be familiar. Usually with unpleasant expletives added to my name.”
“He used your name. Your actual name. And spoke as if he knew you.”
The queen narrowed her eyes quikly. It was rare for anyone to know of her name outside of those of her line, let alone to use it openly. “Who was this man who spoke of me in such ways?”
“He is a necromancer named Vayne.”
A cold wind flew over them and the lights almost died. The warmth was gone and the biting cold from outside was suddenly with them. It seemed to be colder the closer they were to the queen.
“Vayne Krios.” She said through angry gritted teeth. Her hand was clenched in a fist, one that cracked the arm of her throne. “So, the old bastard is still alive. I thought he died a long time ago with his demons. A pity. I would have enjoyed news of that.”
She looked away, her red eyes distant. “You’re a twin. And if he told you this much, your sibling must have had more magical power than you. Far more. That’s the only way Vayne would have entertained the thought of any of you.”
Alistair looked at Morrigan who merely gave a small smile in response. “My Queen is very wise Alistair.”
“Yes. Quite,” she said the annoyance slowly leaving her voice. Resting her head back on her hand she stared at him. “You change yourself. Your appearance. Why?”
He blinked slightly, never had a direct question about his magic. At least not one so blatant and seeing through his own abilities. He touched his face and she chuckled. “Your spells are flawless. A lesser person would not have thought twice as to your sex.”
“But you aren’t a lesser person.”
“No. I am not.”
Alistair gave a short nod. “This is who I am. Who I am truly. Inside and out.” He met her gaze then. Stared her in the eye and didn’t flinch and she laughed. A high pitched one that brought the warmth rushing back in.
“There it is. That’s why she likes you.” She pressed her fingers together almost as if she were going to clap. “That look in your eyes. That conviction. Yes. You would have made a wonderful knight.”
He blushed and looked away from her. This wasn’t what he expected. He wasn’t sure what he expected but this wasn’t it. Not at all. “Come let’s get you some new clothes. I can’t have you walking around like that while representing me.”
The Harlequin Library 