Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) (12 page)

“What is it, you hag?” Eranna snarled as she slid her feet into matching silk slippers. “Can’t you see that I am busy?”

“I would not have disturbed you if it were not important, my
Q
ueen,” Ushma said, inching further into the room but keeping her head bowed in reverence. “It is about the
boy
you sent into the human realm.”

Eranna smiled at her reflection, smoothing on
e
hand over a high cheekbone. A tiny shiver of satisfaction shot though
her
as she remembered the raw terror she’d incited in young Titus.

“He is quite delicious, isn’t he
,
Ushma? He is young
,
but moldable. Once his assignment is done I think that I might keep him around a while longer just for fun.”

“That is what I’m trying to tell you!
The lookouts you posted at the wall have reported seeing him enter Fallada in the company of the Brothers Grimm.”

Fury swirled low in her gut and exploded from her lips in a ferocious roar. Her fingernails ate into her palms as she whirled on the hunchbacked witch, her eyes glowing with the pale, white light of her rage.

“Princess Eladria was with them, was she not?”

The calm tones of her voice wavered with the force of her anger, causing Ushma to cower and fall to her knees on the floor.

“Yes, my
Q
ueen. They are traveling together toward Goldun. What would you have me do?”

Eranna brushed past Ushma and moved through the open door of her bedroom, to the chamber containing the Eye of Mollac. She welcomed the frigid winter blast that met her through the room’s open windows. It stirred the stark white curtains with bursts of swirling snow and filled the room with white flakes. In the center stood a
full-length mirror in a gilded silver frame, covered by a sheer, white cloth
. Eranna pulled away the white cloth and felt serenity calming her turbulent thoughts at the sight of the swirling arcs of light within the
mirror, her all-seeing Eye
.
She
faced it determinedly.

“Mirror, mirror, show me the traitor
ous
Werewolf and his companions.”

She focused all of her mental energy on Titus and called up his image using the Eye. It shuddered and glowed with a blinding white light as her vision was filled with that of a shady glen only one days’ journey from Goldun. By the afternoon of the next day, Princess Eladria would have made it to the realm of the
Fae
and would be out of her reach until transported to Damu, an eventuality that Eranna had been hoping to avoid. Once surrounded by Adrah and her warrior
Fae
, Eladria and her party would be more than adequately protected.

The traveling party was sleeping peacefully in
the little corner of the woods. Eranna shifted her energy from the sleeping form of Titus, to that of Eladria. Revulsion and envy twisted in her chest as her eyes traveled
luscious, brown eyelashes resting against high cheekbones
, a pert nose
,
and a full, pink mouth. Locks of vibrant red hair fanned out
beneath her head and thick. Deeper than her outer beauty was a quiet strength. It boiled just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

She couldn’t have that. If King Eldalwen got hold of his daughter, the seasoned warrior would no doubt turn her into a fierce fighter, unlocking the full potential of her power. It would be the beginning of the end for Eranna, but she was not going down without a fight.

Turning her eyes away from the mirror
, Eranna reached for the cloth and quickly covered
it
. Ushma waited outside of the chamber, cowering as Eranna stormed back through the doorway.

“Your hunters await your orders, my
Q
ueen,” Ushma said as she followed her mistress through the winding hallway of her iron fortress. “Ruen has assembled them in the hall.”

Eranna turned left down the corridor leading to the hall Ushma had mentioned.

“Perfect,” she purred as she swung the doors open. The faces of fifty of the most frightening creatures in all of Fallada greeted her. The
Minotaurs
were hideous apparitions created by her
Witches
, with the bodies of strong
males
and the heads of horned oxen. They were unintelligent, great lumbering brutes, but they served
their purposes well as trackers and ruthless killers.

They parted for her as she moved into their midst, watching her with shining black eyes as she held her hands up for silence. The light of a dozen torches cast an eerie orange glow ove
r their deranged faces and the sounds of their snorts and heavy breathing echoed from the high, arched ceilings.

Ruen, the head hunter who could be identified by the three golden rings puncturing his wide nostrils
,
stepped forward.

“We are ready to serve you
,
my beautiful
Q
ueen,” he said, the deep timbre of his voice echoing through his massive chest. “What do you require?”

“Princess Eladria has been brought into Fallada by the Grimm Brothers and Titus, that treacherous
Werewolf
.”

The snorting and growling grew louder as the hunters expressed their mutual rage. Eranna smiled her pleasure as she grasped the beefy shoulder
of
Ruen.

“My hunters, I want the traitor brought to me alive
,
but as for Eladria
…
”

Their breath
s stilled in anticipation as every heart within the large hall skipped a beat. Eranna’s grin widened.

“Kill her!”

The roar that met her ears was thunderous as the eyes of every beast flashed red. Their stomping and grunting preceded them from the hall like a mighty earthquake, causing the walls around her to shake. Eranna crossed her arms over her chest and watched them go.

“Worry not
,
Ushma,” she said to the witch who had stood in the doorway, watching the entire exchange. “In me
,
Queen Adrah of Goldun has found her match.”

~*~

Titus halted midstride, his every muscle stiff as
h
is eyes narrowed. Selena came up short beside him, confusion knitting her brows as she studied him. It was sunset and their group had made camp for the night. The Grimm Brothers refused to travel after dark, stating that this time of day was when Eranna’s minions were at their most powerful. The
y
promised arrival in Goldun by the following afternoon
,
and as far as Selena was concerned, they couldn’t get there fast enough.
Rose was not awake often, but when she was fits of delirium consumed her. The hallucinations, sweating
,
and mumbling were so bad that after they’d managed to get some water down her throat, Selena had begged the brothers to give her more of their sleeping potion. It was the only thing that seemed to bring her peace.

She and Titus had just left a nearby stream, where they washed their hands for a picnic dinner, when he suddenly became stiff, silent
,
and alert.

“What’s wrong?” Selena asked
,
only to be shushed by Titus.

She fell silent and he dropped his finger from his mouth while keeping the rest of his body perfectly still. His nostrils widened and he inhaled as he slowly scanned the line of trees surrounding them. Titus shifted his eyes toward Selena and she felt anxiety creeping up her spine at the fear she found in his.

“Minotaur
s
,” he sai
d, his whisper snatched away by
the wind.
“At least six of them.”

Selena tried to recall her Greek mythology. Jake had told her that many of the creatures written about in myths and fairytales were a
real
ity in Fallada
, immortalized by those who had lived during the time when the two worlds were one
. She felt acid
rising up in her throat as she recalled her junior high school English class study on the Greek legends. Minotaur
s
were the stuff of nightmares and she definitely did not want to be around
if one of them was a
bout
, let alone six.

“What do we do?” she whispered back, deciding to follow Titus’ lead and not speak
loudly
or make any sudden moves.

“You’re going to have to really trust me,” he said as their eyes locked once more. “I’m going to shift.”

Selena felt herself stiffen involuntarily as memories of Titus’ attack came rushing back to her mind. He reached
out slowly to grasp her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m not going to hurt you
,” he said gently. “Never again
,
Selena, I promise. It’s the only way I can take them on and give you a chance to escape to camp. Warn the others and get away.”

Selena shook her head. “No!” she said a little louder than she’d meant to. “You can’t, you’ll be killed!”

He smiled and shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Just do it. As soon as I shift, they’ll be on me and you need to make a break for it. Run like you’ve never run in your life.”

It was then that she heard the sound of low growls from different points around them. The
demonic glow of red eyes
peered at them through the brush and foliage, making Selena’s blood run cold.

“Okay,” she agreed as she released his hand. “I’m ready.”

Titus closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, expanding his chest with the motion. In a flash, the sound of realigning bones and cartilage met
her ears and Titus was bending and transforming, sprouting fur and dropping to all fours until he was a fearsome beast once again. Selena stood, mesmerized, unable to take her eyes off of the
white-furred animal. He turned to her, his eyes burning red
,
and growled before nudging her leg with his
muzzle
. The roar of the Minotaur
s
echoed across the forest and threw Selena into action. She
put
all of her strength into a single burst of speed, propelling herself away from Titus and the menacing creatures.

Through the blur of trees ahead of her, she witnessed a sight that stole her speed and punched the air straight from her lungs. Behind her the sounds of struggles and growls assaulted her ears, while in front of her, six more Minotaurs held her entourage hostage. The Grimm brothers stood with Zoe between them and
were
surrounded by the member
s
of the ship crew. Rose was limp in Jake’s arms.
The
Minotaurs
circled
them, rendering them helpless with massive, sharpened axes.

Their massive bodies rippled with hard muscle, their biceps like tree trunks. The hands gripping the axes were as meaty as a Christmas ham. Their grotesque faces were further mauled by various piercings: gold rings that punctured their nostrils, eyebrows, eyelids, and ears. A stripe of dark hair ran from the top of each one’s head
to
down between their shoulder blades. Long, curved
,
and pointed horns gleamed menacingly in the moonlight. Selena skidded to a stop, her every nerve on edge as the sixth beast, one sporting three dangling rings in his nostrils, came toward her.

Selena met Zoe’s eyes and felt her heart lurch at the fear she found there. Wil’s hand was on the butt of his silver pistol, but his
expression told Selena that he was not stupid enough to try to fire. By the time he took one down, the other five would be on him in a second. She could tell that he was angry over feeling helpless. So was she. What was she supposed to do against six
Minotaurs?
She wasn’t sure, but for the sake of Zoe and the sleeping Rose, Selena knew she would have to try.

The
sixth Minotaur rested the staff of his axe on the ground and leaned forward, his glowing red eyes narrowed as he studied her. His nostrils widened as he chuckled, sending Selena’s head reeling as the stench of his acrid breath curled around her.

“Princess Eladria, I presume,” he said, the deep bass of his voice sending chills through her core. She refused to show her fear.
Instead, s
he placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the creature.

“My name is Selena,” she hissed.

“It does not matter what you choose to call yourself. By entering this realm you have sentenced yourself
,
and your companions
,
to death.”

“They haven’t done anything,” Selena argued, her voice wavering with fear. “Let them go.”