Chapter 28
Nikolas
My head pounded violently and screams wailed in my ears. I was floating in darkness, trying to break the surface. A futile effort it seemed.
Dani.
I struggled to emerge from the darkness, eyelids fluttering.
Dani.
Stark fear coursed through me down to my very bones and I struggled harder. My body finally obeyed and my eyes shot open. My vision was blurred and I felt hot, wet warmth seeping down my neck. Fingers fumbling, I searched my head until I located the source at the base of my skull. I swirled the sticky blood between my fingers and thumb. I was injured.
Dani?
Was she injured? I remembered why I had to open my eyes and the world came swarming in around me once more as I recalled what had happened. Pulling myself forward I came to rest on my knees, hands sprawled in front of me as I tried to find my center of balance again. The ground beneath me tilted and spun.
I searched the grounds with foggy eyes, a cold feeling spread through my chest as my surroundings came into focus.
There by the castle stood Annette, face devoid of emotion once again, hands outstretched toward a doorway. But it was no ordinary door, it was a portal, and there emerging from the door were scores of Black Knights.
Ruedenbury. I recalled a story I had been told as a boy. I thought it a simple children’s tale, but now it seemed there was more truth to it than I ever would have believed. Ruedenbury was home to the fabled pools of Old Avenlore, where the first magic appeared in our world. There was a portal there so powerful one could go anywhere, no veil or charm was able to hold up against this old magic. All that was needed was a someone to open up the door on the other side. The protection Soleil had place around the castle would be useless if a portal had been opened inside the grounds. It was so obvious, and yet, we had all missed it until it was too late.
Lead settled in my core.
The din of metal on metal reached my ears and I watched as the Knights of Castle Lux battled the enemy inside our very walls. Our numbers were few, the commotion only drawing the attention of those immediately in the area. Someone would have been sent to gather our full forces, but the precious minutes in between would be like a lifetime.
I tried to think beyond the initial I knew the impossibility of the situation, the castle was charmed and enchanted to prevent those cloaked in black magic from entering. And yet, here they were. She had brought them here.
My eyes found Annette…it must be her…this must be her purpose. My mind raced with possibilities, trying to understand. She was not dark, she could not have been touched by black magic to have entered here. A thought struck me. She’d been no more than a babe when she was taken and babies were like putty. They could be molded into whatever shape you desired. If that were true…she had been molded into a monster. She was not black magic, but she was magic…pure and innate…just like Dani. The blood that flowed in Dani’s veins flowed in Annette’s as well.
Dani.
Fear and determination burned through me, beseeching my muscles to remember their strength and my mind to recall its purpose. Protect this House, protect my king and queen…protect Dani, my Dani.
I existed for this purpose.
I drew myself up from the ground to stand on my feet as I pulled a dagger from my boot and one from my belt. The blades held no runes, they held no magic and they would do little against the dark magic cloaking the Black Knights, but I would make due. Within my chest my heart pulled and I followed, turning to see Dani striding forward bravely with steel in her eyes, as if she was not small, dainty, and nearly made of glass.
I opened my mouth to call out to her as she raised her arms to her target, Annette. My words stalled in my throat. She was sure of herself now, more so than I’d seen her at any point in time since her return. Her movements were instinctive, as though she’d been born for this moment. I could not understand the change. Before, her magic was spotty, she could not command it. It had just come in moments of great distress, without her having the ability to control it. Now, it seemed as though some sleeping giant had awoken inside her.
As if sensing Dani’s approach, Annette pivoted toward Dani and from her hands flew a wave of red, like a half circle spanning around her protectively and pulsing slowly toward Dani.
“DANI!” My hoarse scream was scarcely audible above the chaos.
But, this time Dani was ready. Spreading her tiny fingers she produced an identical wave of blue and when the two fields met, the force shook the earth, releasing a wave of power that leveled me and everyone in the surrounding castle yard.
Only Dani and Annette remained standing.
The portal behind Annette began to flicker, like the flame of a candle. She squinted in concentration, pain crossing her hollow face as she fought to keep the portal open. It shone more brightly, the light nearly blinding me.
Through the light stepped a beast, a black horse with eyes of an eerie pale white. The stench of decay assaulted my nose. I had become accustomed to this phenomenon years ago…evil smelled the very same as death. The same smell oozed from the pores of each Black Knight in the yard, but none so pungent as that of Lord Soren. Thunder cracked through the night, as if announcing his arrival, deep and ominous.
Sitting grandly atop his steed, Soren surveyed the yard, his gaze lingering on Dani. I stepped forward closing the distance and placing myself between Dani and the man who meant to take her life.
A manic smile spread across his face. “Belmont, always such a pleasure to be in your company.” His eyes fell to Annette and he smiled, almost proudly. “My pet. You have done so well for me this night.”
The portal blinked once more as Annette turned to focus on Lord Soren, then faded to blackness. She smiled up at him, looking to him with so much adoration in that moment she appeared more like a little girl and less like a corpse.
Distracted by Lord Soren’s appearance, Annette had closed off the portal and her protective field faded away.
The confidence that had flowed from Dani moments ago wavered as she warily looked on at Soren for the first time, her field disappearing on the wind. Without being told, she knew who he was…knew he was here for her.
The yard was silent as the grave now but I knew they were here, the full power of the Knights of Castle Lux. Like the coming of the rain, I could sense them fanning out silently all around us, just as they’d been trained to do. It was a precaution I had taken, a contingency plan put in to place if the need should ever arise, but I never dreamed it would become necessary. Movement above caught my eye as Soleil emerged onto the balcony overlooking the yard, Queen Isla at her side. She met my eyes for a moment, and then shifted them to Dani and back again. I understood her silent plea. Get Dani out of this nightmare. I nodded once in understanding.
All around us, knights emerged from the trees. To my left King Elias emerged, flanked by Sir Landon. To my right, Liam stepped forth, a hellish glint in his eyes as he studied his father. Looking to me, he tossed over my sword.
While I may never grow fond of Liam, he certainly had my respect.
“William, how you disappoint me.” Soren spoke, his voice feigning sadness.
The tension pouring from Liam was thick on the air. “Your approval is something I have not concerned myself with since I was a small boy.”
Soren scoffed. “You would take up arms against your own blood, boy?”
Liam stared unforgivingly at his father. “It is not blood that flows in your veins, father, but evil.”
Nodding solemnly, Soren appeared to consider his words, but no one was fooled. This was a game to him, one he enjoyed intensely. “You know the cost of disloyalty, my son. It will pain me to kill you, but know I shall not hesitate if you raise arms against your own house.”
“So be it.” Liam responded, pulling an arrow from his quiver and nocking it in the blink of an eye.
Like a dam breaking, all around fighting broke out. Liam loosed arrow after arrow at the Black Knights and this time they seemed to do significant damage. The Maker love Soleil and her charms.
Landon charged into the fray like a madman, screaming “The dawn is coming” as he ran. King Elias fought behind Dani while I fought in front of her. I blocked blow after blow, the force reverberating through my skin and down through the muscle and bone beneath. I pierced the black knight before me through the chest and looked up to find an arrow stall before piercing my eye, it fell to the ground quietly against the damp earth. Turning to find Dani, she stood behind me with an intent gleam in her eyes as her hands worked frantically to drop arrows and block blows.
She was amazing.
My eyes fell to King Elias, who was fighting ferociously against a Black Knight. He blocked and sliced and swung with his sword until he’d nearly vanquished the evil before him. He never saw the enemy that approached him from behind. Running to defend my King, I was vaguely aware that a portal had opened up near Dani. I had nearly reached the King and Soren shoved his sword toward him. Jumping into the air, I brought my own blade down against his and only the tip of his sword glanced off the King’s armor.
Loren Soren looked down at me from the saddle with a strange, content smile. I turned on my heel and watched as a silver arrow slid from his belly. Liam was visible in the background, nocking another arrow.
And then I felt it. It was an odd sensation as the metal pierced my flesh and entered my body. Painful, yes, but more than that it was shocking. I heard a shattering scream, Dani’s scream, as I dropped to my knees. The Black Knight before me fell to his as well, and then slumped to the side, blood gushing from his mouth and another silver arrow tip protruding at the base of his throat.
Dani screamed again and a blast shook the ground, leveling everyone once again.
Resting on my side, I watched as Dani crawled toward me, screaming and crying. With what strength I had left, I pulled the sword from my belly…then came the pain. It was cruel and cold, and my vision became cloudy.
I could still make out a glowing blue, a beautiful sight, lighting the two figures heading toward it. One pulling, the other being dragged. The pain had dimmed and I thought of Dani and how my heart beat for her even as it slowed in my chest.
Someone was screaming.
I closed my eyes and saw her face, pale and beautiful…looking to me as though I were the sun. The face I lived for…the face I would die for.
I no longer felt cold or pain, but happiness and warmth as I sank beneath the cold black depths
…to be continued.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Unraveled, the next installment of the Avenlore Series.