Aftershocks

Chapter Fifteen

Cadmus kept half an ear on Samantha and the other half of his attention on his affai. A lengthy interrogation with Arim had produced nothing but that Arim thought Ellie to be a possible threat, as if that were news. His stubborn uncle still refused to say what exactly he’d done to Ellie upon entering Tanselm, only that he trusted she wouldn’t willingly harm anyone herself.

Great. So the visions and dreams meant what, exactly? That Ellie would make Jonas do her dirty work? That his affai, who chatted pleasantly with his mother, would soon clear the way so that ‘Sin Garu and his Netharat could blast Ravyn into the Next? Cadmus took a deep breath and a hard swallow of novra juice to calm himself. He felt guilty for thinking such thoughts of his lovely affai, but the doubt that had been with him since his dream refused to fade.

He ignored Aerolus’ scrutiny the way he’d ignored Arim’s all morning and shut them both out using Lexa’s handy technique. That bit of Darkness enforced his Light, enabling him to be twice as strong when it came to defending himself. It also didn’t hurt that Tanselm lovingly embraced him at all times. He could feel her love with every breath he took.

Eager to focus on matters not his own, he turned to his sorcerer brother. “You know, Aerolus, my link with Tanselm has only grown since I’ve been back. I have to agree that Tanselm is definitely female.”

Darius and Marcus glowered at him.

Aerolus beamed. “I knew it. We’ll have to do some studies, of course, maybe involve the Great Hall. Alandra, purie, what do you think?”

Alandra winked at Cadmus and involved her husband in a discussion that focused the table in another direction.

“I’ll get you for this,” Darius telepathically threatened Cadmus with a growl.

“Aerolus, your brothers’ gifts are as strong as yours, so perhaps they could assist you in this study when they have the time,” Ravyn offered. “Anything that concerns Tanselm should concern us all, right, Arim?”

Arim shrugged. “If you say so.” He turned his discerning gaze on Ellie and lingered a moment, a frown darkening his face.

“So Arim,” Jonas said “Tell me about about Lord Sava. I heard all about your trip with Aerolus to Aelle and how you met their new king. I’ve always wondered just what he’s like.”

“I’ll tell you what he’s like. He’s a pain in the ass.”

Alandra glared at Arim and turned to Jonas with a Dark wave of joy. “Lord Sava? A great man. Absolutely the best.”

Aerolus raised a brow behind her, momentarily pausing in his conversation about Tanselm. But when Alandra turned on him with a suspicious look, he merely smiled and returned to boring his brothers with academic matters.

Ellie decided to use the diversion to her benefit.

“Samantha, could you show me to the ladies’ room? I had a hard time finding it this morning.”

Cadmus groaned. “I’m sorry. I totally forgot about that. There’s a central bathing chamber down the corridor I should have shown you. I’ll give you the tour as soon as you get back.”

She nodded and left with Samantha.

“The first time I spent the night here I had the same problem,” Samantha admitted, striding down the hallway in an outfit similar to Ellie’s but in red. “It’s a real pain in the ass using a freaking chamber pot when it’s that time of the month, let me tell you.”

Ellie commiserated. When they reached the restroom, she sighed with contentment to see modern plumbing.

Samantha gestured to the room. “I’ll wait out here. These people use magic on a daily basis, but they were in the dark ages before I showed them the comforts of the modern bathroom. Xiantope, my ass.”

Ellie grinned and entered the facility. When finished, she took a few deep breaths and stared at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Despite what Lexa had advised and the odd shielding Cadmus had affected earlier, she knew she needed to tell him the truth. He would trust her. She knew it deep inside.

Coming to that decision, she left the room only to find the hallway empty.

“Samantha?” Granted, they’d only walked a little ways from the dining chamber, but she didn’t feel right leaving Samantha behind.

A few minutes later, Samantha returned. “Sorry, I heard something funny around the bend and decided to investigate. Nothing wrong there.” She waved a hand at the area around them, and Ellie felt a strange, almost numbing buzz.

Samantha shook her into consciousness. “Ellie, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Ellie clutched her aching head, trying to break free from the fog in her mind. “I feel dizzy.”

“You looked like you were going to pass out. Let’s get you back to Cadmus.”

Ellie leaned on Samantha as they walked towards the dining room. Oddly enough, the room had emptied by the time they returned.

“Okay, that’s weirdness number two.” Samantha tried to grin, but the expression came off as a grimace. Her green eyes looked murky, almost black, and Ellie had to blink to clear her own vision. A tiny suspicion shook her, which she immediately banked.

No way someone was impersonating Samantha. She wore the same clothing, the same hairstyle and attitude. And yet…something seemed off.

“Excuse me, good sir,” Samantha called out to a young serving boy who’d entered the hall. “Have you seen Prince Cadmus?”

The boy nodded. “Yes, Princess. He’s in the east tower looking for his affai.” His eyes widened when they lit on Ellie, and he grinned shyly, bowing his head.

“Thank you.”

Samantha kept her hand on Ellie’s as they left the hall. They continued down several corridors, and Samantha walked faster, forcing Ellie to jog to keep pace.

“Samantha, can you please slow down?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. Something’s wrong.”

Ellie hurried, feeling the same. But her steps seemed clumsy, her movement decidedly slow. “Go ahead of me if you need to. Let Cadmus know I’m on the way.”

Samantha nodded and moved out of sight. But Ellie followed her footsteps, and soon entered a large stone chamber littered with fallen men. Shocked, she noticed Queen Ravyn standing across the room talking to Ellie’s mirror image.

Ellie didn’t understand. She wanted to cross to the queen, to save her from the threat she could feel deep in her bones. And she wanted to call Cadmus, but her mind seemed far away. The best she could do was struggle out a warning.

“Queen Ravyn, run,” she warbled before tripping into someone heavy.

The queen’s shocked voice called, “Ellie?”

“I have you.” The body holding her belonged to a masculine voice, and the hands touching her hurt. They were cold, like ice, and caused a burning sensation around her throat, where his fingers clenched.

“Let her go,” Queen Ravyn ordered, her voice imperious and not in the slightest frightened.

Ellie focused. Her twin had vanished. Ravyn cast Ellie a brief, reassuring glance before narrowing her gaze on the man holding Ellie upright.

Lightning arched and power surged through the room, only to come up short as the man held Ellie in front him like a shield. Ellie tried like hell to move, to take herself out of the picture. But it was no use.

“Please.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. “Leave me. Find Cadmus, Queen Ravyn. Get to safety.”

Ravyn gritted her teeth, her focus on the man behind Ellie. “You bastard. You’ve taken away my heart, but you won’t take away my son’s.”

Ellie suddenly nose-dived into the stone below her, ripped from her tormenter by a vicious force.

When her head stopped spinning, she noted the power struggle between her saviour and her attacker—a man with white-blond hair and icy power bent on destroying the queen. Ravyn looked anything but meek. Her black hair streamed and her eyes glowed a bright green. Lightning crackled, and Light sparked throughout the queen’s body as she raised her hands at her opponent.

“Not this time, ‘Sin Garu,” she warned.

They launched vollies back and forth, but neither opponent seemed to be winning the upper hand.

Then ‘Sin Garu glanced down at Ellie and winked.

She watched, horrified, as the Dark Lord used Ellie’s Dark power to shield himself while blasting the queen with a burst of blue fire from his fingertips. The blow pierced her right through the chest.

Ravyn gasped and fell, clutching the whole where her heart should be.

‘Sin Garu blew Ellie a kiss before transforming into that same serving boy she’d seen earlier. “Until we meet again, lovely.” He ran screaming from the hall, shouting accusations and cries of murder.

Ellie staggered to the queen, drained of her energy thanks to whatever ‘Sin Garu had done to her. She dropped to her knees on the hard stone and frantically searched for a pulse, for some way to stem the flow of blood pouring from the queen. But upon closer inspection, nothing oozed from Ravyn’s burning wound. Small bits of blue flame danced around the queen’s chest. Seared flesh and raw muscle gaped at Ellie like twin becons of death.

Footsteps preceded the gasps and shouts behind her. She was shoved away. Then Samantha and Tessa leaned over Ravyn, while their husbands hovered. They glanced from Ravyn to Elli and back again, shock, anger and confusion lining their faces.

Strong arms lifted her, and she tried to struggle but hadn’t the energy. Then Jonas whispered in her ear, “It’s alright, Ellie. I’ve got you now. You’ll be fine.”

“Is it really you?” she asked, her voice hoarse and sore from ‘Sin Garu’s chokehold.

“It’s me.” He waved a hand over her face and the fog that had been trapping her suddenly faded.

She sagged, weary beyond measure. Tears fell as she saw the barely-breathing queen struggling to hold on to life. “Oh no. This is all my fault.”

Jonas shushed and rocked her, supporting her since she had no strength to stand on her own.

Arim and Cadmus suddenly entered.

“Aerolus is caught in the east by a sudden attack, and Alandra’s readying the Aellei…” Arim trailed off when he caught sight of Ravyn. With a curse, he joined her side and began chanting, while Cadmus stood, staring numbly around him.

“Not true, not possibly real,” he muttered, as if trying to awaken from a bad dream. Then his eyes caught Ellie’s, and she wanted to cry.

He looked so miserable, so sad and angry and disheartened as he stared at her. The accusation was there in his glance if not in his voice.

“I didn’t do it,” she whispered.

He watched her a moment longer before turning to his mother.

“Leave him,” Jonas said when she tried to join him. “Give him time, Ellie. He’s had a shock.”

I have too, she wanted to shout. I know his mother’s been hurt, but doesn’t he care at all that I was almost killed?

Darius glared at her. “That one was here when it happened. Norse said he saw her attack Mother. That the new princess tried to kill the queen.”

Arim looked up from Ravyn, his brows close. To her surprise, he said nothing and turned back to the queen. Marcus threw up a hand, and Ellie felt a sharp thrust of energy before Jonas shielded her.

“Not now, River Prince.” Jonas shook his head. “You don’t know the circumstances or the truth around this treachery. See to your kin and your wounded, and leave Ellie be.”

“Yes,” Arim agreed. But Ellie’s heart broke as Cadmus stared at her, his face blank, and said nothing. “I’ve done what I can for your mother, but the Netharat are here. Marcus and Tessa, to the south, now.” He pointed a finger at them and they disappeared. “Darius, take Samantha and guard the west wall. The attack is focused there.” Darius grabbed Samantha and they too vanished under Arim’s stare.

“I’ll stay with Mother,” Cadmus said in a hollow voice.

“Yes, do.” Arim turned to Ellie and Jonas. “You two, come with me.”

Pressure eased through Ellie before she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

“You’re in the northern territory, that of the Earth Lord. You’ll be safe here until I can figure out what went wrong. Jonas, stay with her.”

Jonas nodded, and before Ellie could say anything, the sorcerer disappeared.

Jonas carried Ellie to the large bed in an otherwise empty room and laid her down. Too tired to argue, she let him wipe her tears and tuck her under covers.

“Rest, Ellie. Let the spell wear off. Then you can tell me what happened.” Jonas kissed her forehead and stroked her hair, fingering the bruise on her cheek. “I believe in you, honey.”

She cried harder before blessed tiredness overwhelmed her, and she slept.

Cadmus stared at his mother, unable to separate his nightmare from reality. Ellie crying, looking guilty. Ellie laughing, remorseless in her duplicity. What was the truth? And why did he feel so dirty, so tainted for believing the worst about a Djinn? They had, after all, killed his father. But Ellie wasn’t just a Djinn. Her radiance, her love of life and laughter, her ability to stand up to him, to see him as a man, as more than his brothers’ shadow, proclaimed her his affai. Bewildered and heartsick, he closed his eyes and focused on the land, the source of his power.

The hum of life, of the trees and the swell of earth trickled through to him, growing into a steady swell, until he felt at one with the rich land. A great love seemed to fill him, the love for his family, his life, and there, through an ill-placed tangle of evil and confusion, his affai, Elliara. Sudden clarity grew where before was only doubt, and as he searched deep within himself, he realised what ‘Sin Garu had done.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered as he regained awareness. “I’ll fucking kill him when I get the chance.”

“That’s much better,” Arim said from behind him, narrowly deflecting an arch of energy that flew from Cadmus’ hands. “I feared you’d lost what little mind you have left.”

“She didn’t do it. It was ‘Sin Garu. He did something to her, I know it.”

“Yes, I felt his presence here the moment I stepped into the room. It was all over your affai.”

Cadmus tensed. “Is she—”

“Distraught that the man she loves didn’t believe in her? Yes. And she’s got some bruising around her throat and face, but otherwise she’s fine. I left her with Jonas for protection. She needs sleep more than anything to combat the spell ‘Sin Garu placed over her.”

Cadmus clenched his fist and stood, staring from Arim to his mother. “I’ve got to go to her, now. Can you place a guard over Mother?”

Arim nodded. “I’ve already summoned our most trustworthy guard, as well as a half dozen spellcasters to watch over them. But you have other needs to attend to than your affai. Come, Cadmus. We need you more than Ellie does now. Tanselm is on the verge of corruption, and we must support the kingdom. Darius and Samantha have the west wall, but the Netharat has doubled their size and are now attacking the southern tower. Hurry.”

Not wanting to, but trusting his uncle had the right of it, Cadmus felt the familiar tingling of pressure before the southern tower came into view. Taking a deep breath, he plunged into the hellish battle ensuing. Shocks of power and waves of life-giving black soil struck his enemies time and time again, Tanselm lent her aid as he fought with the other warriors present against the vile stain of evil spreading over the kingdom. But though he fought, not once did he spy ‘Sin Garu, and his feeling of unease grew.

Beyond exhausted, Cadmus and the Light Bringers defending the tower finally reigned victorious over the enemy. But many lives had been lost. As a group of healers swarmed over the masses, Cadmus staggered into the open air out of the tower onto a rampart, needing some space. A few warriors had the same idea, but Cadmus found isolation in the shadows.

Though the open air soothed his many hurts, he couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d treated Ellie. He felt sick at what she most likely thought. He hadn’t intentionally accused her of anything. It was just the shock of seeing his vision made flesh. And even then, he hadn’t been able to truly believe what he saw.

He covered his eyes with a dirtied fist and rubbed tiredly. Much as he wanted to wash and recover, he had to see Ellie first. He had to see for himself she was okay, and to explain his misunderstanding.

He looked for Arim and found him with a few of the warriors overlooking the western wall. “Arim, a word?”

Arim stepped away from the men and took Cadmus by the shoulder. He led him back to the private area in the shadows away from moonlight. “Yes, Cadmus? What is it?”

Cadmus frowned. His uncle didn’t sound like himself. “I need to see Ellie.”

“Oh?” Arim’s smile widened with satisfaction. “You want me to transport you, hmm?”

“Well I don’t need you for your stellar personality.” His uncle knew what he wanted. Cadmus was fast losing his patience. He didn’t have time for games. He needed his affai.

“Yes, of course. Just place your hand in mine, Earth Lord.”

Cadmus stopped himself at the last minute and stepped back. Arim looked fine, but he wasn’t himself. Cadmus paid closer attention to his uncle and noticed the presence of Darkness that clung to him like a second skin. Without another thought, Cadmus shot a band of pure Light into Arim. “You’re not my uncle.”

The man pretending to be Arim hissed and clutched his stomach. Then he slowly assumed ‘Sin Garu’s form and chuckled. “And you’re not as dumb as you look. I’m impressed, Darkling.”

His temper seething, Cadmus solidified the shield around his mind and lashed out at ‘Sin Garu again, wishing he hadn’t used most of his reserves while fighting the Netharat. He couldn’t possibly beat the Dark Lord in this state, but he could buy himself some time. Mentally reaching out to Arim and hoping the message reached his uncle, he struck at the Dark Lord again and again, his elemental energy hurting the Dark Lord more than he’d thought possible.

‘Sin Garu slipped and fell back over the torso of a crumpled wraith, and Cadmus thought he’d won this round. Then the Dark Lord grinned and his eyes blazed with power.

“Not yet, Darkling. Let’s play some more.” In a blur, he shoved Cadmus to his back and sank his teeth into the hand flying towards his face.

The bite stung, and Cadmus fought to shake free of the Dark Lord, but to no avail. Blackness began to creep over him, not from blood loss, but from the evil taint of Dark Lord magic edging into him.

‘Sin Garu finally let him go. With a look of dark satisfaction, the Dark Lord licked his teeth and wiped the trail of blood from his mouth with a finger. Then he sucked his finger clean.

Shit. “Fucking…blood drinker,” Cadmus rasped before passing out.

“Such prejudices.” ‘Sin Garu shook his head, waved his hands to call forth magic, then called for Remir. One of the Light Bringer warriors nearest him shimmered into Remir’s form. The others near him could only watch, frozen in place by a Dark Lord spell.

“Yes, my lord?”

“Take this one into the between, to Orfel. We have some work to do before we can fully claim the throne.”

Remir nodded, his eyes glazed while he struggled to break free of the Dark Lord’s mental hold. The torment in the Djinn’s soul pleased ‘Sin Garu to no end. Remir now knew who he’d fucked the other day. Not Lexa, but her brother in another form. The horror on Remir’s face had made ‘Sin Garu laugh so hard he’d cried.

“Remember, Remir, I reward those handsomely who serve me well,” ‘Sin Garu teased using Lexa’s sultry voice.

The Djinn shuddered but did as commanded. He hoisted Cadmus over his shoulder and vanished.

‘Sin Garu stared around him, waiting for the perfect moment to depart. Arim suddenly appeared in the tower’s archway, his eyes wide as he studied the frozen warriors on the nearly deserted rampart. ‘Sin Garu waited until their gazes met, then he smiled, waved and teleported into the between.

Satisfaction danced through his Dark soul with the pulse of newborn life.