Feel the Burn (40 page)

The images moved.

The closest portrait showed a young man with intriguingly light eyes and soft brown hair. He ducked his head, smiling shyly like he could see me and I swallowed hard, pivoting on a heel to check behind me while the hairs on the back of my neck rose. The corridor was empty and I saw the other portraits moving too, confirming my other thought.

Enchanted frames.

I felt a hint of relief then glanced back at the one of the young man, wondering what seemed so familiar about him. He looked to the side like he spoke to someone then turned back, chin down while silently laughing. When his gaze lifted to meet mine I jerked back with a gasp.

His eyes shone stark white.

*~*~*

Chapter Thirty Two

The air around me crackled with screams of anguish and my knees turned to water when I recognized Alek’s final cries from that awful morning. The sounds rooted me to the spot as I heard the labored breaths, the groans and whimpers of pain before it started—the slight crackle of energy followed by his inhuman, bone jarring, shrieks of agony. My chest heaved and I gulped breaths, holding back tears until the sounds grew quiet and I heard his broken whispers to me, his tortured voice shattering my heart. Tears fell, plodding on the thick carpet at those final words.

Then it vanished. The room still and silent like when I’d entered.

Swallowing, and swallowing again, I shook off the sudden, overwhelming grief and turned to glare at the portrait, dagger itching against my palm. The gaze looked blankly past me.

Stumbling on the thick pile carpet, I stiffened my limbs and ignored the portraits, continuing my way around the curving corridor. Those bulging lights continued and I counted two more, then three, before I spotted the unlit staircase. The stairs looked like they vanished up into a black abyss and I regarded it grimly. While I knew it might be a waste of time, I didn’t want to reveal my full abilities yet so resisted lighting the area, climbing the stairs in the dark. The staircase was wider than expected and I fumbled my way up each step, groping blindly for the outer wall, inwardly cringing as I edged further and further out. Finally my fingers brushed the smooth coolness of the wall and I paused in relief, hand against the wall.

A heavy weight slammed into my back, teeth chomping against my shoulder and claws scrabbled against my back. I shrieked, toppling backward down the stairs, hearing the snarls of whatever attacked me loud in my ears.

‘Ballista!’ Ignatius yelled and launched himself from Belsesus’ back when an almighty CRACK broke the air, the massive wooden bolt just missing them, whistling overhead. The trolls operating the colossal piece of machinery made angry ‘hnkk hnnk hnnkk’ grunting noises while winding the cables back, slotting another bolt in.

‘Back on!’ Belsesus barked, and Ignatius seized the offered arm, swinging up onto the centaur’s back. Just this final line of trolls to navigate then they’d have a clear run to the castle.

‘Do you have any more bolts?’ Belsesus called back to him.

‘Three,’ he replied, drawing the crossbow up and sighted the trolls around the ballista while they aimed at him. With two easy pulls of the trigger the first two trolls dropped as they charged by, then he twisted back, bracing to make the final shot.

Another CRACK reverberated through the air before he got the chance to pull the trigger, and the world spun when Belsesus slammed into the earth. Cursing, Ignatius scrambled off the centaur then froze. The bolt had speared the Cavalry Lieutenant fully through the lower body, ripping through his first set of lungs. Belsesus still breathed but didn’t have long. Fury made Ignatius react in an instant, the final pull of his trigger killing the one responsible for his dying comrade.

‘Iggy,’ wheezed Belsesus, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth when his second set of lungs began to drown in it.

‘Do your job, get her home. Make sure the witch dies!’ The centaur hacked, gasping for breath, face taut with pain and punched the earth. The frustration and brief look of despair flashed across his face before he swore and glanced at Ignatius with a grimace of a smile.

‘Fuck.’

Ignatius crouched beside him and returned the grimace.

‘Yes,’ then he swore too. ‘I need you there, dammit!’

Belsesus made a wheeze of a laugh, breaking off into a hacking cough. Flecks of blood hit the ground in front of him.

‘Agreed.’

The unwelcome, and all too familiar, feeling of sorrow rose, and Ignatius reached to squeeze the Lieutenant’s shoulder.

‘I’ll see it done. And that yours receive the honors and pensions due.’

The centaur shuddered while his body fought against the imminent and he squinted at Ignatius, eyes narrowed in pain.

‘My thanks.’

With another shuddering wheeze, the centaur died.

For a moment everything seemed to stop. Belsesus, the oldest and strongest of the Aswaran division lay dead before him. Knowing the likelihood of returning his body to his family was slim, Ignatius gently leaned the body forward to conceal the mess, making it look like the centaur bowed, then took a dagger and sliced off the long plait the Lieutenant wore. It might offer some comfort to his family, he thought, tucking it in the empty crossbow sheath. Standing, he bowed low to the dead Lieutenant, then turned and set off toward the castle at a brisk jog.

‘Fuck OFF!’

The shield I held in place prevented the teeth and claws from reaching even my chainmail, but that didn’t slow the demented creatures. It only seemed to make them try harder and I grappled for a hold of the flailing limbs. My fingers closed on the throat of one when it dove at my face and I made a sharp twist with my hips, rolling over and slamming it into the stone floor at the base of the staircase. Another creature attacked my back, trying to wrench my head up or off, and any concern I’d had at concealing my abilities vanished. With a snarl of anger I flashed out a wall of flames, enveloping my body and those attacking, then spiraled it up the staircase. Screams so high my teeth rattled ricocheted down the stairwell and I let go of the smoking corpse with a shudder of revulsion. When I stood the other corpse dropped off my back, hitting the floor.

Are these shadow creatures? I crouched, reaching out and gingerly turned the body over. This one wasn’t as badly burnt as the one I’d held and the pale face with visible veins looked just like the Cyq I’d met in the caves. I studied it, quickly noting the differences; heavier hands with talons, not the spider-like claw daintiness of the Cyq. A jaw full of teeth that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a shark, but looked like overkill on the finely boned corpse. Pushing back to standing I groaned, feeling bruises on my elbows, spine, and head from crashing down the stairs.

Extend shield further, Cat, I inwardly scolded.

Not a sound could be heard now but I wasn’t risking it. As I started up the stairs I let my energy flare out until not an inch of stairwell remained unlit. Corpses of the shadow creatures littered the stairs and I stepped over them while climbing up and up, the staircase longer than I’d expected. Just when I spotted the door at the top, another of those crystal shattering screams exploded from above my head. A creature dropped from the ceiling, smacking me to the stairs. The chainmail skimmed over the steps and I juddered down several, jamming a foot into the spokes of the banister to stop another hasty descent. The creature tumbled down the few stairs onto me and I swung an arm out, knocking it aside. To my astonishment it didn’t attack and a cautious poke with a foot revealed it to be dead. Struggling to my feet I stared at the dead creature, face frozen in a grimace of anguish. My heart pounded a frantic beat and it took a moment to catch my breath. The door, only five steps away, loomed over me causing an irrational terror at first and then I laughed, the sound shocking in contrast to the scene around me.

What does it matter, up or down, still my version of hell, I thought, another cynical snort of laughter slipping out. Keeping my shield bright and dagger ready, I climbed those steps and turned the heavy iron handle, shoving the door wide.

Ignatius thought the castle gates would pose a problem—he hadn’t expected to find them open. The Lieutenant studied the open gatehouse uneasily and paused to draw his sword and dagger, then continued up the wide path into the courtyard. Aiming for the first door he spotted, he stopped at a soft throaty warble and looked up. Loushka sat on the roof of the highest tower and peered down at him then made a deliberate motion with her head to the central door, into the tower she sat on. With a nod of thanks, Ignatius moved silently up the stairs and pushed one of the stubbed iron doors wide. After a vigilant look around, he slipped in and let the door close behind.

The silence I stepped into after all the noise from the shadow creatures felt unnerving. It looked like the first floor; dark wood walls and a thick rich carpet. Again, I could see no one around. Only a few feet before me stood a beautiful blue tank. Large and cylindrical, taller than me by another half easily. The warmth of the blue intrigued me. It looks almost like a lava lamp, I thought, and I stepped closer, admiring the polished wood frame that supported the sides of the tank. I realized then that the bottom of the tank was what I’d seen on the previous floor—those strange bulbous lights. The brightness of my energy reflected off the tank, making it impossible to see well, so I lowered the light but kept the thick shield in place. The faint hum of light across the chainmail didn’t intrude when I stepped up to the tank and placed a hand on its cool smooth surface. The glass felt thick and I didn’t think the liquid looked quite like water. Beneath my fingers I could feel tiny vibrations through the glass and I peered closer, trying to see through the viscous blue liquid. I was sure I could see a shadow within it and had my nose almost to the glass while I squinted, trying to make sense of it.

Thrust forward, thudding against the glass beneath my hands, the body of a man writhed against the inside of the tank, mouth open in a silent scream while his dead eyes stared at me. I jerked back with a gasp, hands clutched in tight balls as shudders of horror ran through me.

‘Little princess,’ crooned a whisper directly behind me. My breath hitched in terror as I recognized
her
voice. ‘You too will float in the blue.’

Stamping on that awful impulse to flee, I went to twist around, fingers flaming and ready, when a heavy weight clamped down on my shoulder making me cry out. Acting on trained instinct, I reached a hand up and over, finding a hold on the jaws that had me and let my knees buckle, falling to the floor then used the body weight of the creature to fling it over my shoulder, forcing it to release its hold. Flaring my energy bright I bared my teeth in a snarl and yanked my sword out, arm drawn back just as the creature lunged, and thrust forward, spearing it. I gave the sword a sharp twist, the body jerking, then wrenched it out. Panting from the sudden exertion I stayed in the crouched position, turning this way and that to check nothing else lurked nearby. The silence descended again and with a growl of frustration I rose to my feet. The body in the tank no longer moved and noticing a plaque on the base of the wooden frame, I bent to read it.

Fire Elemental of the fifth millennia.

I straightened up sharply, staring into the tank in shocked revulsion. Beyond the tank, somewhere deeper in the room I heard that light callous laughter echo and fade away. Placing my hand on the tank again, I felt a deep sense of regret and sorrow while I stared at the remains of the man, who had once been what I now was. Not a particularly remarkable looking man, average to tall with light brown hair and gentle eyes, and a tear trickled down when I gazed in the tank, remembering the story Elena told us of how these Elementals died.

‘I’ll see it done,’ I whispered before turning away and felt ill when I spied the other tanks, widely spaced like the lights I’d seen on the floor below. Another man floated in the next tank, his longish blond hair reminding me of Sabyn. His eyes were closed and body hunched over, as if to protect himself.

Water Elemental of the fifth millennia.

I continued my way around, the floor deliberately arranged so you had to walk past all the tanks to reach the next stairwell. The Earth Elemental was a woman, her pretty curls floating out like the soft fronds of a water plant. I paused to place my hand against each tank, silently making the same promise to each of them. At the first empty tank after the Air Elemental, I stared down at the plaque.