The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (36 page)

“And what do you make of her state now?” Flora cried.
“Does she not look weak to you?”

Emmeline furled her eyebrows. How could Flora know what she looked like?
Tiergan held her at arm’s length, looked her up and down, and then pulled her close to him again.

“She’s fine!
Keep your mouth shut or I’ll shut it for you.”

Shouts
filled the air as a volley of arrows showered upon Griet’s army. Another round whistled and a low rumble warned of the advancing army. Thousands of horses thundered toward Griet, darkening the air with black sand.

“Now, Emmeline.
” Tiergan shouted. “Stop Dolmerti’s army!”

Emmeline stumbled toward the railing. How was she supposed to do anything without a fire? She smiled. She couldn’t. He asked it of her and she had to obey, but the only power she had left
was the last flicker of flame keeping her alive. It wouldn’t be enough to hurt anything, let alone stop Erick.

Tiergan cursed as another volley of arrows sliced through his men. “
Now! Or both the woman and the boy die!”

Emmeline held up her shaking hands.

“Giver her fire!” Flora shouted.

Emmeline shot
a glare at Flora. What was she thinking? Why couldn’t she let her be drained like every other Incenaga had before her and end it once and for all? Erick would be safe. Dolmerti would be safe. Everyone would be free from her wretched existence and she would be liberated from the curse.

“What?”
Tiergan shouted.

“Be quiet, Flora!” Emmeline said
as warmth left her body and dissolved in front of her. She didn’t even have enough heat left to send it away from the balcony. “Stay out this!”

Flora stood a little taller. “Give her
a flame or you will drain her. She will die and your army will follow her to the grave.”

Tiergan looked from Flora to Emmeline
. “Stop,” he commanded, confusion heavy on his breath.

Emmeline dropped her hands. “No, I can do this,” she whispered, although
she barely had the strength to speak the words. Her knees buckled and she crumpled to the ground.

The door to
the stairs swished open and Demyan rushed through carrying a fire-lit torch.

“
She needs heat,” Demyan said as he stalked forward.

Emmeline clenched her fist. “No
.”

Tiergan’s brow smoothed. “Take it in, Incenaga. Take in your heat.”

Demyan knelt on one knee and thrust the flame
near her face, but whether she wanted to or not, she had already been pulling from its power the moment Tiergan had commanded it. She didn’t need him so close to her, in fact, she wished he would move as far away as possible. She cursed every rush of heat as it tore into her, every flicker of flame as it strengthened her body and filled her with power. Power to kill.

Demyan took hold of her arm and pulled her to her fe
et. The corners of his mouth lifted. “Feeling better?”

Emmeline glared at him. “The first chance I get I’m going to burn you from the inside out.”

Demyan laughed. “My body has been filled with enough Incenaga heat to withstand anything you send my way.”

Tierg
an furled his brows. “I’m going to disregard the fact that you have obviously withheld information from me, Demyan. For now, that is. Is she or is she not ready to serve me?”

Demyan studied Emmeline and then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear so that Tiergan couldn’t hear. “He is going to make you kill your people, Emmeline.”

Emmeline ground her teeth together. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t kill Erick. Narrowing her eyes she turned her head to face Demyan.

“I’ll die first,” she said.

Demyan leaned back. “She’s ready.”

Tiergan took her arm in his grip and shouted into her face. “
Incenaga, I command you to stop the Dolmerti Army.” He released her and stood back, a strange mixture of expectation, excitement, and panic twisting his face. With Dolmerti nearing, she knew he needed her, more than ever before.

With tears streaming down her face, Emmeline
unwillingly held up her hands toward Dolmerti’s own. She gathered enough heat to level a building. It grew to an excruciating level, threatening to engulf her in flames.

But
Emmeline resisted the command.

Her disobedience
seemed to ignite the curse’s worst weapon. Icy hands wrapped around her throat, choking off her air supply, while a scorching fist clenched her heart. The fire thrashed inside her, pulsing against her skin, shredding her insides apart. If she didn’t obey soon, the fire would do it for her. But she held on a little longer, searching for a way to obey Tiergan’s command without killing.

“What are you waiting for?” Tiergan screamed. “Stop them!”

The fire inside her took control. Emmeline’s chest jerked and her head fell back as heat surged from her open mouth. It stretched from her body toward Dolmerti’s army, stretching further and further with the intent to destroy. She snapped her mouth shut, brought her head back up, and sent another wave of heat from her hands, manipulating the first wave until both drove into the ground in front of the advancing army.

The ground sh
ook and, to keep herself from falling, Emmeline reached out and grasped the stone railing. Her teeth rattled and her vision blurred as everything rolled around her. A deafening roar filled the air, like the sound of a great boulder crashing down a mountainside, Emmeline ducked next to the railing and covered her head with her hands.

Not long after, t
he quake slowed and then silence hovered over everything like a thick blanket. Emmeline leaned over the railing and gazed into the desert where a large fissure had opened in the ground, stretching in front of Dolmerti’s army like a snake.

Emmeline smiled
. She had done it. She had obeyed Tiergan’s command and kept Erick alive. She closed her eyes and gathered enough heat to replenish her strength.

Tiergan slammed his fists against the rail. “That isn’t what I
wanted you to do, Incenaga, and you know it!”

Emmeline glanced at Demyan who looked at her with appraising eyes. She
raised her chin, brushed off her dress, and turned toward Flora and O’fin.

“Where are you going?” Tiergan
demanded.

“I’m done here,” she said without turning to look at him. “
You wanted me to stop the army and that is what I have done. They won’t be able to cross that fissure. Now if you would please release my friends, I need to rest.”

Tiergan
howled with fury. “You will leave when I dismiss you and not a moment sooner.”

“I’ve done all I can do,” Emmeline said with a shrug, hoping his ignorance would work in her favor.

Demyan shook his head and leaned toward Tiergan, smirking as he spoke in a voice too low for Emmeline to hear. Tiergan’s eyes turned into angry slits.

“Destroy them,” he said to Emmeline. “Kill every last filthy Dolmertian.”

Erick’s mouth went dry. Everyone had seen the brilliant light flashing from the top of the castle. No one could have missed it, or denied that it had happened, as much as Erick wanted to. His heart had plummeted to his feet and then stayed there in an agonizing lump. She’d been taken.

His army waited behind him, unsure how to proceed with the sudden fissure blocking their path. Erick dismounted from his horse and inspected the sunken gorge. He kicked a rock over the edge, but didn’t fool himself into thinking he’d ever hear it land. He scowled and searched the top of the castle. Only one person could have created such a phenomenon and it tore his heart from his chest. She was being used, and unless he hurried, she’d be drained completely. If she wasn’t already.

Erick’s gaze fell to the army of Griet. Their numbers were small but the men appeared loyal. With their shoulders rolled back and their chests puffed in pride, it was clear they believed a victory was theirs for the taking. Erick could almost hear their thoughts, taunting and mocking. What would the great army of Dolmerti do now that the Incenaga served Griet?

Erick glanced
behind him at Burungi who, for once, had nothing to say. Burungi looked at the ground, a frown pulling at his face. Erick searched his men, looking for signs of defeat. They had to know, as well as he, that the real fight would not be with Griet’s army. It would be against the princess they had come to save. An Incenaga with no control over her own power.

He searched their eyes and found anger, determination and a need for victory. Erick smiled. It wasn’t size alone that made his army so great. It was the hearts of his men. They had come to reclaim their princess, no matter the cost.

“We will march around,” Erick said. “This fissure cannot spread far, so we will find the end and navigate our way to the other side. They have the princess in their control and will use her against us. Her powers are greater than anything I’ve ever seen, but we must do everything in our power to recover her! Dolmerti’s army is strong, it is courageous, and it is unstoppable!” He mounted his horse and waved his arm to the east before spurring his horse into a gallop.

They sped their way across the valley
toward the foothills of the low mountains protecting the city of Griet. The fissure narrowed and closed at the base of mountains and Erick led his men up the foothills before bringing them around to the other side. They spilled into the fields surrounding the east walls of the castle and faced Griet’s army. The small force of men had taken advantage of their diversion and had formed a protective barrier of bodies in front of the gates of Griet.

Despite the heat and
the long hours his men had already ridden, Dolmerti’s army sat high on their mounts with their backs taut and their swords drawn. Burungi brought his hands to his mouth and sounded a war cry. He looked at Erick with a grin and shrugged.

Erick held his sword above his head and sliced it through the air, sounding a war cry of his own.
His faithful army rushed forward like water from a broken dam and crashed into the army of Griet. The sickening sound of battle filled the air.

Emmeline’s entire frame jolted as a rush of heat slammed into her, fueling her with the power to obey Tiergan’s command.

“Kill them!” Tiergan shouted, his voice rising.

The feeling of hot tar passed through Emmeline’s veins, churning inside her with hate and destruction. Beads of sweat poured from her face. She dug deep within herself, searching for the strength to resist the command, the strength to save Dolmerti’s army and its leader. She knew Erick was among them and she felt herself crumbling from within. The curse wrapped its fists around her neck, punishing her for her delay.

“
Unlock your soul!” Flora shouted.

Emmeline furled her brow.
Flora had shouted the same phrase during their practice sessions, but she never understood what she meant. The curse squeezed tighter and Emmeline choked for air. She bit her lip until it bled. How much longer could she hold the curse off?

Heat
swirled inside her as if she were a hollow tree – motionless and at the mercy of the elements. But she wasn’t hollow, she knew that. She was full of hopes and despair, love and hate, strength and weakness. She was human with faults of her own, faults she could overcome. Unlike a hollow tree, she could grow and become stronger. She understood now what her grandmother meant. She needed to unlock herself, the fear she felt from being who she was. She was an Incenaga. It wasn’t something to fear or an ugly thing that had been forced upon her. It was a part of who she was, and a part of who her mother was. Her soul was her strength, her determination and what allowed her to love so deeply. Something pulsed inside her and Emmeline felt a taste of a different kind of strength.

“Do it!” Tiergan shouted.

Emmeline held onto the little bit of strength beating inside her, closing her mind to every other sight and sound. Her skin numbed and her breathing hushed as the world around her disappeared. She dove inside her mind, pushing past the walls of heat that permeated her every thought. Something glowed in the center, pulsing with brilliant light as fat chains squeezed around it, winding and twisting in a mass of unbreakable metal. A sliver of light broke through one of the links, illuminating her path.

Something sharp bit into her cheek and she knew Tiergan had struck her. She panicked. Could she block him out if he began to beat her? If not, she’d never break free.
Another sting bit into her cheek and then her chest, arms, and then her back. Tiergan wouldn’t stop until she either obeyed or he killed her. The chains tightened, blocking the light, and Emmeline knew the curse had sensed her fear.

Refocusing her efforts, Emmeline pushed the pain from her mind
and soon light shone once again through a single link. Gathering every spark of heat in her mind, she pushed it against the iron chain, melting it, twisting it. The curse squeezed her heart and pain shot through her chest. She gasped but no air came. Pulling heat from other parts of her body, Emmeline sent everything she had at the chains until they weakened and fell away. A round orb as bright as the sun pulsed in the center of her mind, stretching and growing with each beat. She’d done it.