Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (71 page)

"It's unnerving how much you look like your mother."

My uncle stood upon the empty dais, in a completely empty room. There was no throne or council table or chairs or anything at all. The throne room had been stripped bare. And as I looked back at my uncle, knowing what I knew now, I couldn't believe I hadn't made the tie to Thad sooner. As Eris stood there in his handsome, human form, so confident and carefree, he looked just like Thad. Especially now as he stood there smirking as if he'd just played the greatest prank on the world. Perhaps he had.

"But she was never so predictable," he continued. "I knew all I had to do was wait for you, and you would deliver yourself right into my hands. It's so much simpler finishing off the rest of my feeble resistance when it's concentrated right outside my front door."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "So Lord Pontefract gave you the stone?"

"It would seem so, now wouldn't it." He gestured to the shield. Something about his tone and demeanor made me wonder about Lord Pontefract's current welfare, but before I could voice this, he continued, "Of course, once I had the stone, I knew it was best if I waited for your
army
to arrive before unleashing the full power of the shield. My victory is so much more…efficient this way."

He'd known when and how we were coming, and he'd prepared for us. "Who told you our plans?" I spat, jerking against the guards holding me.

"I have many spies, dear niece. But for the detailed report of your attack strategy, you may thank that little man at the inn in Rex Cross."

I gasped. "Otis…?"

"Ah, that's his name."

I couldn't believe Otis had betrayed us. He'd been there the entire time we'd been discussing battle strategy, so it made sense he would've known everything, but…I couldn't believe Otis was Eris's man. Especially considering how the Del Contes had trusted Otis with my welfare when they'd first brought me to this world.

"The man you saw wasn't really the Otis you're familiar with," Eris said. "He was one of my spies. He used a potion I believe you're quite familiar with: swapping serum. The real Otis is dead."

Swapping serum. It was what I'd used to disguise myself as Stefan and enter the games. The serum hadn't physically transformed me into Stefan; rather, everyone had just seen and heard Stefan when they'd looked at me.

So the real Otis was dead.

I ground my teeth together. "You're nothing but a murderer, and you don't belong up there!"

He regarded me for a long, amused moment. "Oh, but I disagree, dear niece. When a man conquers another man, the victor naturally fills the space left vacant."

"You killed your own father!" I yelled, then hurried to add, "And my brother!"

Eris's eyes narrowed, his understanding sifting through me. "Stefan made it out alive, did he? Well, I shall remedy that little betrayal as soon as we're done here. You'd understand why all this is necessary if you really let yourself think about it. But you don't like to think about these things. You're too much like your father."

He didn't mean it as a compliment.

"My father was a better man than you'll ever be," I said, jerking against the arms holding me in place. "No wonder you hated him."

Eris's gaze darkened. "Careful. Unlike when we last spoke, I no longer need the knowledge of the Draconi or the Dalorens to unlock the power of the shield. I've managed that on my own, as you can see. So you're life isn't nearly as…valuable."

"Do it," I spat. "I dare you. Kill me like you killed the rest of my family, you coward. You're weak and pathetic and I hope—"

His fist slammed into my jaw. I hadn't even seen him step down the dais; he moved faster than humanly possible. Pain exploded in my jaw, and the guards held me on my feet as I staggered and blinked back tears. I tasted the sharp tang of metal in my mouth.

Eris grabbed my chin and forced me to look up into his eyes. They were Thad's eyes, and it was disconcerting seeing them in my uncle's cruel face.

"I am creating a new world." Eris's tone made my skin crawl. "A better world."

"You're creating a prison," I snapped.

He gripped my chin harder. "Mortis must be freed. For too long have men like my father used Gaia's power to beat and pillage the people into submission, forcing them to accept
their
ways."

"And you won't?"

He jerked my chin so hard I cried out. "There must be a balance, Daria. Gaia and Mortis were never meant to be separate. We need both to complete the circle—to reach our full potential. My father refused to see it. So did Alaric, and if he'd embraced the truth, perhaps Aurora would still be alive."

I stared into those eyes so full of hate, while his bitterness and anger and grief stormed inside of me, and I knew. He had loved my mother. He had loved her so much more than he should have, but she had loved my father instead. Eris may have always harbored anger and resentment against my father, but it was my mother who'd tipped him over the edge.

"I could've saved her!" Eris looked through me, as if he were yelling at someone else. As if he were yelling at my father. "You knew I could have saved Aurora, but you refused to let me! You refused to acknowledge Mortis's power—to let me set Mortis free—and it killed her!" He looked back at me, struggling to see
me
again, as if he had to remind himself that I was not my mother. His expression soured with resentment, and he thrust my chin aside. "You're just like your father…you and your pathetic sense of altruism. Gaia created this world. This beautiful, magnificent world where all the wealth is condensed into a small handful and the rest of the people live and die to serve them. This perfect and fair world where an aegis cannot marry a princess," he sneered, then fastened hard eyes on me. "This world needs Mortis. This world needs his servants, just as Earth does."

"So you can control them, too?" I said. "You aren't creating a balance; you're murdering all of Gaia's followers! And the people of Earth don't know the first thing about magic. They won't stand a chance against you, and you know it."

"No, I will build a better Earth—a stronger Earth. I've been to your planet. Yes, that day I saw you in the fields but could not touch you…your father had you so well protected. He'd spent all his life building and rebuilding the spells he placed around your home. If your father and the Del Contes really meant to save your life, they should've never brought you to this world. I found you that day, but I'd been watching your planet far longer. Earth needs this just as much as we do. The people of Earth are divided and selfish. They have lost all faith—all purpose—and their leaders take and they take and they do not give back."

"And what are
you
going to give them?"

He leaned so close I could see the specks of brown in his pale blue eyes. "I am going to give them a god. I am going to give them a purpose. Because of me, they will unite, and their unity will make them stronger, and that strength will help them become who they were destined to be."

"Your slaves?" I spat.

His gaze simmered. "They are already slaves, Daria. I'm just going to be a better master. And because of me, there will be a unity between worlds that hasn't been seen since their inception." He paused. "I will give you one last chance. You can follow me—you can come back to Earth with me and have a place in my new worlds, or you can die. I hate wasting such potential. I think you'll find I'm a conservationist when it benefits the progression of mankind."

I glared straight back. "And I will spend every single moment for the rest of my life fighting against you."

He frowned, his eyes stone cold. "So be it."

48

ALEXANDER

D
aria and Nexus dropped from the sky like a rock, without any signs of slowing. I watched in horror as I shoved off a shadowguard, and then Nexus crashed into the trees behind the castle and I could no longer see either of them. I sprinted forward, hacking down every shadowguard in my path. I cut and punched and kicked and whirled, pushing through their lines. I had to get to her.

And that's when I saw the dragons rise.

There were six of them in total, rising like spirits from the mist, flying straight at the gargons. The sky lit on fire, filling with great plumes of flame—so great, the heat warmed me where I stood. Cheering erupted behind me. At first I thought the men were cheering for the dragons, but then I heard mention of the Arborenne. I glanced over my shoulder. Lord Dommelier stood atop the crest of hill, his warriors spread in a wave of bronze, and my spirits soared higher than the dragons. He had come.

A volley of arrows sailed overhead from the Arborennians, landing at the wall, taking down shadowguard and a few pykans with them. Gargons shrieked overhead, burning and scrambling, as the great dragons flung them aside.

My chest swelled with hope. Maybe we had a chance after all.

Suddenly, the ground trembled. All the men around me staggered to regain footing, and then a great beam of light shot through the clouds.

I cursed. The shield. Eris was using the shield. He'd already acquired the unity stone. We had to get inside
now
. Hopefully, we weren't too late. Once Mortis came through, we were done for.

"Thaddeus!" I yelled.

"Coming!" Thaddeus replied. He and Vera cut down a barghest, and then they appeared at my side, breathless and bloody.

"Alexander!" yelled another voice.

A familiar head of white hair sprinted toward us. It was Ehren, and he fired arrows as he ran.

"Sorry we're late," he said when he reached us.

I grinned. "You’re here, and that's all I could hope for. Let's go."

The four of us bolted toward the castle, cutting our way through shadowguard as we ran. The closer we got to the wall, the thinner our adversary became. But something else changed, too. Some of our men grew sluggish at they fought, some of them even turning away from battle as if they'd suddenly lost all purpose and resolve. I noted one to my right, lowering his shield, letting a shadowguard run him through.

"What's going on?" Vera asked.

"It's Mortis," Ehren said.

"But he's not through yet," I said.

"He doesn't have to be. That shield is opening the sky for him, and already his power seeps into our world, leeching the spirit from our men. If we don't stop Eris soon, we will lose this war."

And we would lose Gaia.

We made it through the wall in no time. The marketplace had been leveled flat, as Arioch had said, and the path to the castle was clear. We sprinted up the path, and once we were within about fifty yards from the drawbridge, more shadowguard appeared at the gate. Ehren fired a bolt from his crossbow before I could react. One of the shadowguard cried out and toppled to the ground, while the other shot an orb of purple light at us. I knocked it aside with Flamebearer. In the shadowguard's moment of surprise, Ehren shot him with another bolt. He, too, collapsed to the ground, but more shadowguard emerged from the gate, and they were raising the drawbridge. Ehren released another bolt. This one cut through one of the bridge's ropes and it stalled, frozen at a forty-five-degree angle. He shot another bolt at the opposite string but missed. The bridge rose—slowly, now—but it was still rising. Vera threw one of her daggers and it whirled end over end, slicing cleanly through the rope. The bridge fell back down and landed with a crack.

"Brilliant, V!" Thaddeus cheered.

Shadowguard spilled onto the bridge and we crashed into them. These weren't as easy to fight as those on the battlefield, because these were actually human.

"Bloody hell!" Thaddeus yelled. "That was my good arm, you oversized troll!" Thaddeus punched the shadowguard in the face, Vera slit the shadowguard's throat as he whirled around, and finally we pushed through the doors.

"This way!" I yelled.

The beam of light had to be coming from the throne room. Our boots pounded on the marble floors as we sprinted, left then right then right again, down the wide hall leading to the throne room. Ehren shot another shadowguard before he could even reach for his weapon, while I pulled the blade from my waist and threw it at another. Both shadowguard sank to the floor. A few more stepped out of the shadows and ran at us. I dodged a blow and cut the guard across his thighs with Flamebearer. He yelled and rolled on the ground to put out the fire now consuming his pants as I whirled around and stabbed Flamebearer through the gut of another. I shoved open the door to the throne room and ran inside.

49

DARIA

T
he doors to the throne room burst open, and Alex ran inside, accompanied by Thad, Vera, and Ehren.

All my hopes suddenly withered and died as I saw Alex standing there. I should've been grateful he had come, but I was too scared by my vision to feel anything but fear. Alex wasn't supposed to be here. Through the obscurities of my vision, I knew that if he stayed and fought, he would not come out of it alive.

Faster than I could react, Eris clamped a hand over my mouth, and pressed a knife to my neck.

Alex saw me, and his eyes narrowed in fury as they landed on Eris's knife.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Eris said.

I struggled against my guards, but their grip only tightened.

"Let her go," Alex said, slowly walking forward, holding his flaming sword low.

"I would stay back if I were you," Eris said, pressing the knife against my neck so hard I winced.

Alex stopped.

I bit Eris's hand, and his grip loosened enough for me to yell, "Alex, get out of here! He'll—"

Eris clamped his hand over my mouth again, and the point of his knife dug into my neck. Something warm trickled over my skin.

"It's my life you want," Alex said, his features hard as stone. "She's not a threat to you anymore.
I
am."

"Alex, stop!" I said, but Eris's palm muffled my words.

Eris's lips curled. And then he dropped the knife at my neck and a ball of light sprang to life in his hand. Eris flung the light at Alex. Alex brandished his sword in a blur of flames. The light hit the sword, the flames swelled, and Eris's light rebounded, striking the wall behind us. Chunks of marble exploded everywhere.