The mist that surrounded Vayne’s hut wasn’t normal. It was more like a bubble that distorted light and confused eyes that weren’t supposed to be there. Seeing through her own eyes it was the same mist that made it impossible to see through no matter how hard she tried. But when her demonic gaze took over she saw the night sky above her head. She saw the empty village that was actually where he made his home. He’d just picked one and isolated it away from people and anything that might wander nearby.
So much of the world was different thanks to the thing inside her that lurked powerfully behind the curtain. She felt it in her hands, the power to just crush a rock without effort. She felt it in her leg, just being able to walk again. Just knowing her legs and feet worked when she needed them almost made the entire change worth it.
Almost.
She reached out toward Blaze who was standing near a tree his tail swishing back and forth. He was probably asleep. If the stars and the moon above meant anything it was nighttime for all the good horses and Blaze was a very good horse. He’d been getting restless since he’d been stuck on this island for several days.
“That creature. Why does it stay here. I’m sure it could leave this place easily.”
“Well that’s because Blaze like us. Especially Vincent. They’ve been through a lot together. They’re friends.”
“But he stole him.”
“True. But he must have been doing something right for Blaze to stay with him.”
The demon made a noise within her head. Like a grunt but caught in between a hiss and the sound of feathers ruffling. It was odd but not the first time she’d heard it.
“The necromancer is up to something.”
“I know. I feel it too.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t either. But without him I wouldn’t have you. Or be able to do what I do.”
“Be careful around him.”
“That almost sounds like you worry about me.”
“You’re my host. I need you to remain healthy or else I die as well.”
She chuckled softly at that but nodded to herself. Vincent joined her after a few minutes handing a journal to her. A beaten black leather journal, faded edges and dirty pages. “What’s this?”
“One of Vayne’s. Swiped it out of off the book shelf. Figured it might help even a little bit.” He shrugged his shoulders.
She smiled but turned the book around to its front and showed it to him. “I’m not sure how much help a book on brewing alcohol is going to be but I appreciate the attempt.”
Vincent swore under his breath and glared back at the hut. “I really hate him.”
“You keep saying that.”
He scowled but looked at her. “How are you? You barely ate whatever the hell it was that he gave us for dinner.”
“We’re. I’m okay. My appetite isn’t where it used to be but it’s okay.” She pointed toward the ground and it slowly carved aside as if she was sticking her own finger into it. She was slowly drawing her name in the dirt and Vincent watched her amazed.
They sat in silence and it wasn’t as comfortable as it had once been. Things had changed between them slightly. And neither of them knew what to do next. She crouched and touched the ground gently. She raised a ball of dirt spinning it around on her finger with her magic.
“So, you have a demon in you? How does that work.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well is it going to make you grow horns,” he held his fingers up to his forehead. “Or will you get wings and a tail.”
She giggled and shook her head. “No, it’s not that dramatic. The Sanctum made up a lot of stories just to make them more scary.”
“I mean we’ve run into a few with the horns, tail and wings.” Vincent frowned slightly. “The Sanctum said that demons would offer you things that you really wanted and then snatch away your soul.”
“Demons are honest things. At least once they’ve signed their contract.”
“Contract?”
She frowned and stood up slowly and hesitated. Her cheeks burned even though she couldn’t see him or even look at him. But she reached down and pulled off her shirt and shivered as the air hit her back.
Vincent immediately looked toward the ground and held a hand over his own eyes. “Alison what are you doing?”
“Aside from embarrassing myself showing you something. Now look at my back. Only my back!”
He wasn’t sure how much of this was a good idea and how much this was going to be risking some sort of magical injury from her but he listened and looked. She had swept her hair up with one of her hands and he saw a tattoo in her skin. Not a tattoo. It looked like a brand. Dark curling lines and vines across her skin. As he stared at its parts of it seemed to glow then fade. Like a fire that rushed through the lines.
“That’s the contract that I have with my demon. I don’t think it’ll ever go away until I die. But the terms are solid. It can’t hurt me or the people I care about. It can’t do anything with my body that I haven’t explicitly given it permission to do. There’s a lot of lines to it. I can see it in my head right now. Everything that we agreed to.”
She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a small smile. “It took a long time to hash out. There’s some weird stuff in the contract. If only you could read it, though you’d probably hate all the magic involved.”
Vincent could hear her tone. It wasn’t the happy and eager girl he’d met before. It was a woman that had seen and done a lot. But that girl was still in there. Smiling throughout all of it. He wanted to say something to her. Some sort of cheesy comment or dumb thing but he was speechless.
She turned to look at him confused, clutching the shirt against her chest and frowned. “Uh. You okay there Vince?”
He blinked slowly at her and shuddered. “Yeah. Yeah I’m okay. Just,” he looked away for a second. “I used to think you were just some starry eyed girl. But you’re really amazing. Stronger than I could ever be. And really beautiful. And not just because your shirts not on I mean honestly. And wow I should not keep talking. This is embarrassing.” He covered his mouth and ran a hand through his hair looking down.
“Where is this coming from?” She asked her face heating up sharply. “It better not be because my shirts off.”
“What? No not even.” He almost looked up to scowl at her but stopped himself. “Please tell me it’s back on by the way.”
She had just finished adjusting it as she nodded. “Yes, it’s back on.”
“I guess it’s just been building up,” He turned to look at her and she looked back at him with a small smile on her face though she wasn’t looking at him directly. “I like you.” Vincent repeated and walked toward her.
She took a step back but took a breath and stepped forward looking right at him with a smile. “I like you too.” She hugged him and he smiled returning it. It was surprisingly nice to be hugging her like this. He wished he hadn’t waited so long to do it.
“Huh you two have finally done more than just stare at each other awkwardly. We guess that’s an improvement.” Both turned to look at Vayne who approached from the hut and stretched cracking his back.
“Can’t you respect that we were having a moment here?” Vincent asked as he scowled at the necromancer.
“What do you want Vayne?” Alison asked as she pulled away from Vincent. “You’ve been up to something since dinner.”
He blinked and then let out a smirk. “Good. You could sense that. We bet you missed it entirely.” He said looking at Vincent who glared and flipped him off. “Yes. We’ve been preforming a ritual. The Calamity is going to strike. Not like the one at Verakruk. A proper one.”
“Nothing will be left.” Vincent mumbled and Vayne nodded.
“You will want to see it. Be a part of it. Witnessing a Calamity forming is different through the eyes of one hosting a demon.”
She looked at him appalled when Vincent squeezed her hand and nodded. Surprised she nodded back at him and walked toward the hut with Vincent at her side. Vayne held a hand up and indicated for them to stop. His eyes glowed and he turned his hand over. Pressing his other hand over it he said something in a language that grated on their ears but Alison could vaguely make out an understanding.
Vayne flexed his fingers wide and a green light appeared underneath his palm then expanded wide to become a three foot wide circle. It was a simple glowing disk that hovered in front of them. He clasped his hands together and held one of the circle as he continued to chant then reached toward her. She looked at his hand and saw the overlay of a skeleton. She looked at him and saw his demon floating behind him, two of it’s arms mimicking his own but the other pair were making their own symbols above him.
Looking back at the circle she saw it was only green on the edges. In the center it was black, devouring all the light that was even remotely near it. She already had an inkling of what to do and her other halves’ instincts spoke louder than words themselves.
She touched her chest then pressed her fingers together, then put one hand on the other, heel to palm. Her own eyes glowed to life and she felt the fire behind her back. She could just barely see the demon’s hands in front of her face and then felt it moving behind her.
It created its own hand signs as she did her part in the ritual. She held her hand over the circle and watched as the shaped changed and morphed. The black bled away to reveal a castle. One that seemed to glow with a haunting beauty, where its spires floated over the ground. Even from here she felt unworthy to be gazing upon it.
She glanced upward and the image moved with her eyes. She looked up and saw it floating in the air. A jagged tear in the sky slowly moving. As if someone had grabbed two handfuls of the night and began tearing it apart.
She felt a chill in the pit of her stomach and was swept with nausea. She stumbled backwards slowly but felt hands on her shoulders. Real hands. She knew it was Vincent keeping her steady. She grit her teeth as she stared at the castle again. Something bothered her, a familiar sensation.
She stared at the castle and the longer she looked the warmer she got. Felt it in her heart. And she knew what exactly what it was. Exactly who was making her feel that was and she gasped for a moment.
“Alistair,” She whispered. Her eyes started to glow brightly. “No. That’s the Cerisan castle. Morrigan is there. Our brother is there! You knew. You knew when this would happen!”
The Necromancer stared at her unabashed by her anger. “It wasn’t our job to save or protect them. They are your companions. Not ours.”
“How do we get there?” she growled clenching her fist.
“You want to arrive there and do what?” Vayne asked tilting his head to the side.
“To save our brother why else.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. But Vincent was the one who spoke up. “I don’t know how magic works but I know you know how to get us there. You’re going to go there yourself.”
“We were. Catching a demon fresh out of a Calamity is easier than coaxing one from their home dimension.” He rubbed his jaw for a moment and glanced toward the pair of them. “We doubt you would be of much help to us.”
“Our priority is saving our brother and Morrigan.” Alison said with a glare. “And if you won’t help us we’ll figure it out on our own.”
“You’re an investment. We’d hate to see you not pan out.” He paused. “We’ll help you get there. But stay out of our way once we begin.”
Alison glared a moment longer and nodded. She stared into the circle again and watched as a bolt of energy struck the castle and all but obliterated the rooftop. The maelstrom got worse as other bolts started to rain down. Her brother was somewhere inside of that.
“How do we get in there?” she asked again.
“A spell. Normally we would cast it ourselves but this time you can help. It will allow us to get close to the castle. Very close however not within it. We’ll have to work for that much.”
“Work for it?” Vincent asked. “It’s just a giant vortex of destruction, right?”
Vayne chuckled and shook his head. “Sometimes it is. This time it’s not. The opening has attracted the attention of other demons. The Cerisans will have their hands full trying to survive let alone fighting them off.”
“Great.” Vincent shook his head and looked at She looked at him and frowned heavily, the glow from her eyes fading and the browns showing again.
“What?”
She couldn’t meet his gaze and shook her head. “It’s nothing Vince.”
“Nothing my ass.” He mumbled but shook his head. “Save our friends. Then talk about it.”
She nodded. Walked toward Vayne her eyes glowed again. “Show us what we have to do.”
Vayne walked outside, already moving his arms and fingers together. His demon floated behind him adding to the spell as he chanted. It took a few moments but thanks to her own demon she figured out when to jump in. The language didn’t make sense to her, not without consulting the demon, but she spoke and chanted as if it were her native language.
She and Vayne turned to their side and thrust their arms forward. The air ripped apart and just watching it made Vincent flinch away. Something about it hurt at the core of his being and he didn’t understand why but there it was. A tear in reality itself and through it he could see the castle in the distance. He could see the rip in the sky and knew demons were on the ground.
“Remember. Rescue your friends but stay out of our way.” He said simply as he jumped through the doorway.
Vincent stared at it and Alison hesitated as she looked toward him. Her glowing eyes didn’t falter but her face showed her indecision. “I’m going Alison. Don’t try to convince me otherwise.” He put his fingers into his mouth and whistled. The beige stallion was at his side in only a few seconds and he pointed toward his horse. “Now get on.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“Now you sound like Morrigan.”
She smiled and jumped onto Blaze’s back. He got on behind her and took a slow breath then pat Blaze’s neck. “Alright boy. We got this.” He whispered and then spurred him on forward. They dashed straight through the portal and grass of the island turned into hard rock with snow on either side.
The air around them felt wrong. It felt aggressive, like an angry swam of insects biting at their skin. And it was loud, screaming in their ears almost drowning everything else out. She fought the urge to rub her arms and instead pointed ahead of them. There was an explosion of green in front of them, slightly off the path but on the way to the castle.
“Looks like Vayne’s already starting to do his thing,” Vincent said softly. “Where’s Alistair? Can you actually sense him?”
She stared at the castle her eyes aglow. From behind her he could see the contract on her back glowing as well. She held a hand in front of her face and let out a very slow breath and pointed. “He’s in the castle. Moving around. We can feel him. He’s stressed. Freaking out.”
“I would too in this situation.” Vincent said and nodded slowly. Before he could say anything more there was a strike from the sky. Like a concentrated cylinder of force that just blasted off one of the towers and sending it crumbling to the ground. The ground shook underneath their feet and Blaze jerked back.
“It’s alright boy.” Alison whispered to him and looked up at Vincent.
He looked back and nodded slowly. “We have our work cut out for us.”
“We can handle it.”
Nodding he leaned forward and started riding again straight down the path. There was a gate coming up on the path but it had been torn off the hinges. The concrete walls were broken into pieces and he could see shapes in the darkness moving with muted eyes that pierced the darkness.
They didn’t even make it to the gate before they got attacked. It moved like a hulking shadow in the darkness. It was more arms than anything else, its lower body not even touching the ground. Its mouth was a gaping hole of teeth and a tongue that darted back and forth.
It dug a hand into the ground and threw a chunk of stone straight at them. Alison glanced at it and pointed, an explosion sending the rock back at the sender. It slammed into the demon’s arm and sent it spiraling toward the ground. The demon didn’t stop running toward them.
“We’ve got it. Keep riding.” She said and pointed both hands at the demon. She then thrust one hand at the ground ice raced across it. The demon stumbled forward under it’s own weight and it’s arms broke off. Letting out a bloody roar it slammed into the ground and completely fell over itself.
Blaze darted around it and off the path. Vincent grunted and pointed toward the gate. “Ignore that buddy. See the rubble. Hop over it.” The horse snorted as they darted to the left and off the path. Blaze darted toward the wall and jumped once clearing the rubble in go and landing elegantly on the other side.
He kept going and Vincent’s eyes widened. There were dead bodies on the ground. And not just a few but dozens. In elegant gowns and suits. Some dead on their own, some together. Some in pieces, some incinerated, and some still being eaten. Vincent held a hand over his mouth and averted his eyes. He could feel the shaking from Alison in front of him and squeezed her shoulder. “Neither of them are here.” She whispered and nodded. “I can still sense him inside.”
“Right. Come on boy.” Vincent pat the horse’s neck and they darted toward the fountain. Blaze clopped up the steps and through the wide open doors. Within was much more active and violent.
There were demons prowling the ground but there were clumps of people still standing. Brandishing swords and shouting obscenities at the demons. There had been several slain on the ground but even more of the defenders. Vincent looked up and saw missing chunks of the ceiling and the swirling calamity above.
A blast of energy struck again and pieces of the ceiling came down around them. One crashed down crushing a demon and sending its black blood splashing away. But two more were already going straight toward the defenders.
Vincent looked toward his partner. “Where do you sense Alistair?”
“Up the stairs. Second floor.”
“Can Blaze get up there?”
“Probably.”
“I’ll help him out if he stumbles.” She said and rubbed his neck slowly.
Vincent spurred the horse forward stepping and leaping over dead bodies both human and demon alike. He saw the demons preying on the nobles and then the castle itself fall over. It was like a four way battle and no one had the time to be allies with anyone. Blaze landed on one step and took another struggling for a second.
Alison touched his side and her palm glowed for a moment. The horse made a startled sound and he surged forward. It was like he was running on the air instead of the steps themselves. Vincent looked at her and then the horse as he kept a hand to steady Blaze.
They made it to the second floor and his gaze was drawn upward. A pair of wings unfurled and a demon dropped down from the sky. Vincent whipped his gun out and shot it through the wings. He flicked his wrist getting his sword out and cut through the creature’s upper body and head as it came down.
It screeched in pain as it sank to the ground and crashed into the railing. He grunted and rotated his shoulder. “I’ve still got it.”
Alison rolled her eyes as they slowed on the balcony. There were a huge pair of doors open in front of them. One was pushed open but the other was blown open entirely. There was a dead demon against it. “Through here Vince.”
Turning Blaze he nodded and they darted through it quickly. The entire hallway was covered in a mist of blood and dead demons that had tried to progress but we’re cut down before making it far. Blaze only got a few steps into the hallway when a blast of energy slammed into the wall. The wall shattered like glass letting in outside air and the noise like tearing mettle. The ground crumbled almost immediately beneath Blaze’s feet startling all three of them.
“Alison!”
“We’re on it!” She shouted and thrust her hand into the air. The gust below came at her call and just like on the stairs. Blaze was panicking because he was a horse and none of this made sense. Vincent was a person and he wasn’t doing much better. But Alison touched the horse’s neck and spoke softly.
“Run Blaze. Just run. You’ll be okay. You’ll get there.”
The horse’s panicked screams slowed into grunts as it began to move. Slow pumping of the legs as he ran across the air. He was hesitant as he moved and the fact that the ground continued to fall apart into the ground below didn’t help but he trudged onward.
After a few tense minutes Blaze finally stepped back onto solid ground and bolted forward immediately. There was another set of doors ahead but they were closed solidly. There were two guards and lots of demons. All of them were dead. They put up a hell of a fight to keep the demons out of that room.
“Alistair’s behind the door.” She whispered to him.
Blaze clopped forward and Vincent hopped off the horses back. The ground felt unstable and even his legs shook slightly. He stumbled for a moment but managed to get it together the longer he walked. He touched the door and tried to push it. It didn’t budge. Grunting he rolled his eyes and backed up. “I can’t do anything about this one.”
“We can.” She urged Blaze forward and her eyes changed. She could see something surrounding the door. A red aura that surrounded the doors and even slightly on the walls themselves. She wanted to touch it but something in her told her that would be a very bad idea.
“You’ll have to break that down to find your brother.”
“I know but this aura. I don’t know. It feels dangerous.” She kept her hand back slightly and narrowed her eyes.
“The one who cast it is was powerful. To keep out weaker beings. But we are not weaker beings.”
Alison felt a hand on her shoulder and knew it was the demon awakening slightly. Hovering behind her like a ghost, she felt the surge in power. Alison gasped and let out the breath slowly. She started chanting under her breath and felt the magic around her. It wasn’t the same as on the island. It felt wilder than before. It wrapped around her arms to the point of being painful.
Gritting her teeth, she made a fist and slammed them both together. A shockwave rippled through the air and left a crack in the wall beside her. Doing that made both her hands ache roughly and she wasn’t sure if she actually broke a finger or not. But she turned toward the door and unleashed a blast of magic at it.
The red binding on the door shattered almost immediately. Shattered was the wrong word. It tried to eat the magic she unleashed, tried to resist it but it couldn’t. It split from the effort of resisting and she watched it collapse into little shards on the ground. The excess magic from her attack blow the doors wide open.
Blaze reared in shock which startled Alison and she almost fell off the horse’s back. She gripped the horse’s mane and wrapped an arm around his neck. “Come on Blaze don’t buck me off like that!”
Vincent, who was taking cover in the only remaining corner peeking through his arms at her. “Can you warn me before you do that type of shit?”
“Sorry Vince. We just kinda went with our gut. Or at least my demon’s advice we guess is the better word for it.” She scratched her head and laughed but focused on the newly opened door in front of them. “Now come on.”
He nodded and drew his weapons again as he walked toward the door. The smoke had cleared for the most part and when they walked through there were a couple people there. Only about a dozen. The air in the room was tense, so much so that it felt like slogging through water.
Alison looked straight through the throng of people to the woman at the throne. Her eyes were glowing a deep crimson and her face frowning. But when she stared at Alison her eyebrows raised. “Well, this is a surprise. In the midst of disaster those closest to us come to our aid.”
At the queen’s side was Morrigan, like she would always be. Her clothes were torn and ripped. There was blood down one of her arms but her eyes were a bright crimson. Her bloodied blade was in one hand, the rapier in her other.
Another man was next to her who looked like one of the nobles that had been dead outside. He scowled at their presence and brandished his own blade at them. A long sword with blood extending down both edges of the weapon. His face was bloodied and one arm hung limp at his side but the redness of his eyes showed he was very much a threat.The others there were a mix of nobles and maybe servants but Alison was staring at the one at Morrigan’s side.
She jumped off the horses back and rushed toward him but slowed down. Without realizing Alistair had crossed some of that distance and the pair stood awkwardly in front of one another. He looked at his sister and it was almost like looking at a stranger. He didn’t recognize her but at the same time he did. The glow in her eyes, the set of her face, the way she held herself. It was all different.
“You’re walking.” He said shocked as he looked at her legs.
“You’re looking like us again.”
He snorted and looked at himself. “I decided to try a new look. Like it?”
“Hairs still too long for our taste.”
After a few more seconds they finally hugged each other and being on the same height was a strange thing for them. “It’s only been a few days right?” she asked softly and frowned.
“Yeah. Feels longer.” He said and pulled away and smiled at her. “You look different. Feel different.”
She frowned staring at the ground for a second and turned to face him. “We are different. Not the same twin sister as before.” She stared at the ground with a frown.
“You talk like Vayne now.”
“We’ve got a lot to catch you up on. We feel like a different person.”
“You’re always going to be my twin.”
She looked at him and there was an unwavering look on his face. One that confidently believed in what he said. She smiled, feeling a warm stinging in her eyes. Before she could respond the entire castle shook like an earthquake. Dust and chunks of stone fell from the sky. It snapped up both of their attention and the pressing facts of the situation came back.
“We came to get you out of here. Vayne knew this would happen but didn’t tell us until it was too late.” A flash of anger crossed her face and Alistair was somewhat startled. He’d never seen something so aggressive on her face before.
“Vayne Krios is here? Great. Disasters on top of disasters.”
Alison turned and was taken aback by the queen as she approached her. Her dress was torn at the hip to allow her better mobility. She was entirely unscathed though she could see a faint glow about her. A redness to her skin that was only visible to her new eyes. It was strange to see things that others couldn’t.
“And you.” The full weight of her gaze was dropped onto her and she almost sank to her knees. Like a ton of bricks was tossed at her. But the demon within her reinforced her resolve and she managed to keep upright. “You’re just like him aren’t you. But you don’t feel like him. New. And being Alistair’s twin, I think under other circumstances I would enjoy you more.”
Alison didn’t know how to respond to any of this. But her demon was immediately on the defense.
“She can see me. I can feel her gaze. She’s dangerous.” Alison nodded slowly at the warning. The Queen stared at her with a predatory gaze that made her shudder.
Vincent walked around marveling at the chamber with Blaze at his back. Blaze bristled, nervously looking back and forth. But Vincent kept a hand on his side, patting him lightly. “Well this is a nice place. Rich and swanky. Bandit like me would never get invited to a place like this.”
“Bandit. Even you have come.” Morrigan said with a scowl but without any of its normal sharpness. It was exhausted but there was some layer of warmth in it. “For some reason I’m relieved.”
“Who are these two Mori?”
“Friends Ben.” She said softly and frowned. “But I hope you had a plan outside of just bursting in here.”
“We can get us out of here.”
“That’s great!” Alistair shouted and smiled at her. “What the hell did Vayne teach you.”
Shaking her head, she scowled. “Not enough.”
“What is the limit to how many you can transport.” Morrigan asked meeting her eyes.
Alison looked at her and talked to her demon, hearing it’s voice quickly in their mind. “Not many.”
Morrigan scowled but nodded her head. “Then make sure that my Queen is able to escape.”
“You assume too much Morrigan,” she said and looked toward her knight. “To assume that you can choose what’s best for me. Presumptuous no matter how close we are.” She said coldly and her words seemed to be like a physical blow upon her.
“Please my Queen. You have to escape. If you remain-“
“I will die? My mortality is not something that concerns me. What does is losing all of my children to this. This disaster. I refuse to allow them all to perish. If I could save even a small handful of you all then I will take that chance. How do you think that we are not all dead yet?”
Morrigan didn’t have an answer and instead lowered her gaze. She gripped her sword all the tighter and raised a determined gaze toward her queen. “No. I won’t leave. No matter the order. I will stand at guard with you my Queen.”
The Queen of Cerise stared at her knight and her face was open disbelief. Admiration and annoyance flirted at the edges of her gaze and finally she settled on a bitter sweet smile. “Your loyalty warms my heart Morrigan. It always has. And for this I understand what I have to do with you now.”
She walked toward her and raised a hand. Blood trailed behind her fingers coating her nails in them. She stroked Morrigan’s cheek gently trailing blood on it. Morrigan stiffened at the touch and went into a bit of a haze, losing focus. Her fingers traced down her cheek to her chin and finally to the back of her neck.
“But that loyalty is my getting to be a pain. So I’m going to force the issue with you my knight.” She snapped her fingers and it was like an electric shock through Morrigan’s body. The red in her eyes bled away and her fingers went limp. She dropped both her blades and they clattered against the ground.
Her legs went weak and she tried to talk. She reached toward her queen and gasped softly. “My… Queen…” she sank forward and the Queen caught her in her arms. Holding her by the waist to keep her upright. The gentle smile on her face as she smoothed her fingers through her hair.
“Benidict.”
“My Queen?” He stood at attention and lowered his sword as he bowed his head to her.
“You’ve always been fond of Morrigan. Even after everything that you’d been through she was still someone you looked after. Take care of her when this is over. She’ll need you as much as you’ll need her.”
He stared at her lost for a moment because it meant accepting the fact that he’d be losing all of this. Losing his home and reason for living. But he bowed his head and came forward picking up Morrigan. He held her against his chest and frowned. “Yes my Queen. It… it has been more than a pleasure. It’s been an honor to have served you.”
She chuckled softly at his words and stroked a hand through his hair. “You are a fantastic knight. One of my most loyal and reliable.”
He grit his teeth together, grinding them but she stood up slowly and stepped back before turning toward Alison. Alistair walked for and picked up both Morrigan’s blades. The moment he touched her blade, it bit at him but he didn’t drop the sword. Grunting he looked toward the Queen. She wore a smirk.
“If fate had been different, you would have been a good knight.” She said to him. “Take care of both of them.”
“Yes your majesty. I’m sorry.”
He walked back to his sister as she finished chanting. Light surrounded him and the others. It grew brighter until it filled his eyes and then they were gone.
The Harlequin Library 