Wicked Path (The Daath Chronicles Book 2) (5 page)

Jeslyn escorted the woman to the front of the shop, talking with her before shutting the door and locking it. She peeked through the small window, looking outside. Her body slouched and she leaned against the wall. Was she ill? She turned around and made her way through the room to a back door, then up a narrow staircase.

While this silent show was riveting, I didn’t need to watch her sell jewelry. I contemplated ending the session and trying again tomorrow, but I found it hard to swipe the image away. Seeing her raised many questions, and not just about her location.

Jeslyn entered a room decorated with a single bed, a wardrobe and a balcony. She reached behind her head and took out a pin, letting her hair unfold down her back.

Yes, I remembered her lovely hair, the color of chestnut and lusciously smooth; the way it slid like liquid through my fingers.

I shook my head. Her hair was irrelevant.

An older man entered the room, and Jeslyn smiled, then stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. The gentleman’s icy blue eyes matched Jeslyn’s.

“I need to return to Daath,” I said, leaving the scrying bowl.

“You’re not ready,” Romulus grumbled. “Did the prince forget about his defeat, hmm?”

His words stirred such anger, I had to smile to keep from killing him. “That wasn’t a defeat. Had the gate not been there, had I not slipped in, I would’ve ripped his head off with my hands.”

“Your skin has just healed.” Romulus shook his head. “No, too dangerous. The prince must stay here where he can be protected.”

If Romulus thought these things, what did The Council think? What did my father think? Did they all see me as weak?

A Reptilian Prince needed no protection, and I needed to remind them all.

I hurried to my private chambers where I would retrieve my staff and head to the Dreadwood.

To the right of the fireplace, across from my bed, laid a black sculpture carved into the wall, a distorted image that resembled neither Reptilian nor beast. I pressed six grooves in a specific sequence and the wall rose, revealing a red velvet case holding four weapons: a six-sided glaive, poison-tipped sais, a set of jagged short swords, and a chained three quarter staff. I grabbed the staff—the only weapon with the ability to break apart the way I needed it to.

The royal guards would follow if I left through the main chamber door, so I exited through a secret entrance in the room and walked down the tunnel that would lead me to the carrier house.

Servants walked the halls and I waited inside the tunnel until the voices disappeared. Slipping out of the passage, I rushed into the carrier house. Silver chrome speeders sat in rows, their shapes smooth and shining under the red lights.

I took one last glance around the room, then entered the code into the dashboard at the gate. The west wall rose and I ran to one of the front speeders. Inside the metal craft, lights blinked as I tapped at various buttons, turning the machine on. A buzz sounded around me. Straps released from the corners of the smooth seat, securing me to the vessel.

Zipping out of the safety of the city, I flew to the Dreadwood, a swamp where the trees are full of venomous centipedes and home to the dreaded wenlo. Many Reptilians had died trying to steal the wenlo eggs, and the mother relentlessly hunted the few who may have survived until their death. There were not many places to land on the wet ground, and always a chance the swamp would take the speeder, but the danger was a risk worth taking.

In a land full of mud and decay, the wenlo nests stuck out like giant cones, making them easy to spot. I hovered around the land near a mound, examining the places of water and dirt. A giant webbed tree grew near the mound, which meant the ground was stable.

Once I landed, I grabbed a light band from the speeder and walked to the nest. A giant cave opening stood before me. Light couldn’t penetrate the deep cave, adding to the difficulty ahead. I placed the light band on my head, the metal crown illuminating the path before me, allowing my hands to remain free, and I headed into the deep cave.

A clacking noise came from inside, and in the green light, a black creature came forth. Giant pincers clicked forward. Two more creatures followed. Their hulking forms resembled scorpions walking on four appendages with bulbous heads, a pincher mouth, two more pinchers where hands should be, and another set of arms.

Holding the staff with both hands, I pulled away from the center, twisting until it broke into three parts. The ends, attached by an iridium chain, swung around me as I swiveled the staff. I moved my hands faster, until a
whoosh
sound streaked the air. It isn’t often I’m allowed to cut loose; my position as prince demands I stay in control at all times. The lack of worthy opponents, both here and in Tarrtainya, had me starving for a true fight.

A human would never defeat me again.

With the staff pointed forward, I dashed to the right. The wenlo phased, disappearing from sight, and I whipped the staff left, hitting the second one. It screeched before phasing, and I swung the staff around me in a whipping circle, twisting my body to create less of a target area. To survive, I had to blend my speed and focus into perfect harmony. Few ever attempted to raid a wenlo nest, and even fewer lived to tell the tale. Even with my swiftness, I discovered why so many had failed. In the blink of an eye, I was surrounded. Wenlos appeared right behind my staff’s sweeping attack. I ducked the claw aimed at my face, but not quick enough. It raked my skin, sending pain across my bicep.

Back and forth, I whipped the ends of the staff, defending my front and rear. Phasing wenlos were hard to defend against, and even harder to strike. I wished my captivation spell worked on insects, but the spell could only be used on creatures with a specific level of intelligence.

Sweat dripped from me as I took my time, concentrating on the constant movement of my feet and staff. A pincher snapped at my neck, and I ducked, lunging in the direction of the attack. Musk filled my nostrils, an acrid stench that made me cough. Another pincher reached for my side, but I back stepped before it could connect.

By now, the fear should have been overwhelming, yet a smile played on my lips. I had missed the carnal pleasure of battle. The palace walls became more of a prison with each passing day. Was this why I lost to him? Avikar’s face flashed in my mind and the rage of the lost battle fueled me forward.

One of the wenlos phased into sight. Before it could phase back out, I charged in, my body moving on its own volition. The creature never had a chance as both tips of my staff hit its center, instantly releasing energy blades which cleaved it in half.

Two more to go.

Flanked on either side, I had to contend with eight attacks. Hard pressed, I worked the three quarter staff, rotating the link in my right hand clockwise while rotating the link in my left counter clockwise. The parry turned them away from each other, leaving me in the middle. I twisted and sank, crossing my legs in a sitting position. The staff end in my right hand scored a heavy blow to the wenlo on my left as I finished the spin. One of its appendages thumped to the floor. Another wenlo phased in and out so fast, my staff swooped through empty space while trying to hit it. Pain flared in my ribs as a serrated pincher found its way to flesh.

The wound on my side burned, but I ignored the sting. These males were nothing compared to the mother. Sliding my hands back to the center, I snapped the staff back into one piece and pressed two semi circles that released tiny energy blades, then launched into a whirlwind attack, keeping the momentum. I swung around and around, the staff slicing into the hissing wenlos.

Another thud.

The last wenlo phased, disappearing into the dark. I waited for it to attack… my heavy breathing distorted the silence.

Musk to my left.

Three claws came in low at my legs and abdomen. I planted one end and used the staff to cartwheel over its hulking mass, then rotated the position of the staff into a downward thrust as I landed. The energy blades exploded out the front of the beast’s thorax.

A dying screech echoed off the cavern walls.

There was no time to enjoy this slight victory. I needed to get to the mother before the entire nest stirred. The cave curved deeper into the dark, and the sharp scent of urine and decay increased. I stopped at the sound of shuffling, waiting for a creature to appear. If I could sneak the rest of the way, I might have a chance of avoiding further attacks.

The light from the band flickered. I took it off and examined the counter: zero. In my haste, I had forgotten to check if the light band had a full charge—a careless mistake that could kill me. No, I wouldn’t dwell on the ‘what ifs,’ for they wouldn’t help me survive this fight.

Blackness cloaked me. I crept along the wall, my feet leaving no sound as I passed. I had to become a hunter: quiet, patient, invisible. Fear would not stop me. Dim light broke through the darkness. When the cave dipped, I looked over a cavernous ledge. Below, light from the emerald moon crystals on the walls reflected off of the different shapes, filling the cavern. The males slept in piles all over the main chamber. I passed, inching closer to the deeper recesses of the cavern.

Luminescent light shone from the passage ahead. Keeping my breaths quiet, I readied the staff. Inside the mother’s chamber lay the mother and a pile of silver eggs beside her. On the ground, she seemed massive. She curled around her eggs in a protective huddle. Her scorpion tail curled upward, swaying back and forth.

Her black eyes opened.

I dashed forward before she could react, thrusting the staff at her head. She phased just before the weapon connected. My hands readjusted, and I snapped it apart, this time hitting the two crescent shaped symbols. Two fire scythes appeared on the ends of the staff, making my attacks deadly to both of us. One wrong twist and I could gouge the scythes into my back or side, crippling myself and giving the wenlo the upper hand.

The mother swiped a pincher from behind, and her giant tail dripped with venom as it stabbed at the air above my head. I tumbled forward, then swung the ends of the staff up, slicing off the tip of her tail. She screeched, and both of her massive pinchers descended on me. Ducking, I swung the staff at the bottom appendages, cutting into her. She phased, causing me to stumble. One scythe sliced my arm.

Blood seeped from the large gash.

Again, she charged, throwing her gargantuan body at me, forcing me on the defense. Slice, dip, thrust. I repeated the movements, maneuvering myself around the swinging blades. The blood loss tugged at my mind, but I held onto consciousness.

She phased again, and I whipped the staff around in a circle, covering my rear and front. No sound and no scent. I blinked my eyes and wiped the sweat off my brow with my left hand while with my right hand I swung the weapon around in large arcs.

Exhaustion attacked my left side. The cut continued to burn, and my eyes watered. Wenlos were dirty creatures, covered in bacteria. Whatever plagued my body could be one of many things. Without any biocides on me to counteract the bacteria, I’d be weakened.

But this fight would not end with my defeat.

The wenlo’s tail slammed against my side, throwing me into the cavern wall. I screamed as a jutting rock stabbed into my back. The mother hissed and scrambled forward, her pinchers snapping at me. With my back against the wall, I had little room to move.

Shuffling sounds came from the tunnel, a sure sign the nest had awoken.

I dropped the staff, which was unusable at this angle, and threw myself into the mother, barely ducking under her massive pinchers and pummeling her onto her back. Her acrid breath washed over me, almost making me lose consciousness. I reached for the soft area where her ear would be, and shoved my fingers through the black flesh. The wenlo screeched, shaking her head back and forth. Grabbing the knife from my belt, I quickly jabbed it into her body.

Hisses, shuffling, and screeching became louder, rising to a near-deafening level as the creatures neared the mouth of the cave. I had only moments before the wenlos were on me, and with my body weakened, I wouldn’t be able to fight.

I yanked the dagger free of the mother’s side and used it to cut her head off. With her head in one hand, I ran for the eggs and grabbed two, then ran out of the cavern faster than I ever thought I could.

Wenlos closed in on my every step. It took all my energy to evade the few that caught up to me, but the surge of adrenaline drove me to a new level of performance. The attacks came, but none would land again this day. My agility would see to that. After more than a few flips, rolls and spins, I reached the exit, and the safety of the speeder.

Inside the craft, I turned on the navigation system and entered in the coordinates for the royal city. Once the speeder was in the air, I pulled out a biocide injector from the med kit, and slammed the needle into my neck. Wenlos swarmed the ground below me, and as I flew away from the danger, my eyes closed and I sank into a deep sleep.