Текст книги "The Fallen King"

Автор книги: T. A. Grey

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

Her shoulders shook she laughed so hard. “As if I don’t know what you’re thinking. As if I don’t know that you’d sooner kill me than save that precious human of yours.”

The change in topics sent him spiraling. “What? What are you talking about?” A part of him knew that she knew about Abbigail. Of course she would, but still to know what she was capable of and to know that Abby was alone not far from here sent fear unlike he’d ever known through him. It froze him to the bone.

“Why don’t you bow for me?” she suggested. Her red colored lips twitched.

She didn’t control him now so he stood as tall as his great height let him. “Never.”

The idummi chattered and laughed around him as if he’d said something funny. She would have to make him bow before he did so of his own free will.

“What if I said I’d spare her life if you bowed?”

Alrik tensed. Something had changed. She wasn’t taunting him, she was being serious. A cold knot of fear lodged in his gut, spreading out to wrap his heart in an icy fist.

Alrik bent one knee and placed it on the wet soggy ground, then the other. With fists clenched at his sides, he glared up at his mother.

“I bow.”

The look in her eye became almost insane. Her eyes widened pupils dilating. “You care for this human. How odd indeed and what a sneer to poor, poor Arianna.”

“How do you know about that?” He managed to keep his voice calm even as he wanted to scream and rage against her. She died after he banished Salindra.

“I know everything, son.”

“You don’t know everything.” Now he laughed. He knew something great and powerful that she didn’t. He had the most powerful witch at his disposal.

For a moment, unease flickered in her eye and then it vanished. “Hmm, we’ll get to that later. Bring her forward.”

The idummi jumped and squawked in their excitement. Alrik looked over his shoulder and felt his heart stop beating. Two idummi had Abbigail by her arms. Her eyes were locked on him. He could see the fear in her eyes. But, she kept her cool and walked rigidly along. One way or another, really bad things were going to happen this night.

If only he’d had more time. One sweet night with her was not enough. He needed years, maybe longer to learn everything about her, to touch and taste every inch of her body. He just needed time with her.

“Alrik, I’m sorry. They surprised me. They jumped me while I was sleeping.”

“Krishnoe!” commanded his mother.

Abby’s lips snapped shut but not on their own. His mother wielded magic to do all of her biddings. God, what he would do to see that power stripped from her.

His mother strode toward him and placed her hand upon his shoulder. He tried to lift a hand to snap her wrist in half but her icy magic once again engulfed him. Even as he tried to turn his head to sink his teeth into her hand, she controlled that too.

“See the fallen king bowing before me like a coward. Is this the kind of man that makes your human blood hot?”

Alrik stiffened even as he waited to hear her answer. That’s right, even now he was unsure of what she thought of him. She’d said the words but they were still so fresh and new in his head. She said she loved me. He was acting like a coward. He’d already willingly bowed to Salindra.

“He is not a coward, but you are,” his Abbigail said.

Sharp fingernails the color of bright red blood cut into his shoulder. “What say you, human?”

Alrik might have grinned if he didn’t know better. However, he did know better and his mother could kill Abbigail.

But Abbigail could kill her?

Alrik had no idea what chain of events was about to happen next, but nothing prepared him for what his mother had planned.

Chapter Twenty-one

Abby lifted her chin. “I said you’re a coward. Why else did you need to possess Alrik to get him here, and why else did you send a horde of demons to get me, a mere human, when you could have done it yourself? You’re scared. You’re afraid of us.”

Abby didn’t know how to get them out of this but she’d do whatever it took. She’d save Alrik if it was the last thing she did.

Maybe if they’d acted sooner they’d be sleeping comfortably in her bed in her little rented house right now, and not in the grasp of an evil demon with tremendous powers and a horde of idummi following her. But, they couldn’t go back. She couldn’t change what had already happened. All she could do now was try to keep them both safe.

As she met Alrik’s stricken eyes it only solidified her conviction. She would die for him.

Abby shifted her stance and spread her legs shoulder-width apart keeping her hands open at her sides. She was ready. Magic stirred inside her as she called it forth. It was subtle like a warm blanket settling over her and gradually warming her.

“Release him and let us both leave here and no one will get hurt,” she said calmly.

The queen—an elegant and fantastical looking woman with gorgeous golden skin, a mane of hair worthy of a shampoo commercial, and violet eyes so piercing they might be beautiful if madness didn’t linger there. The queen’s jaw fell open at Abby’s order, then it snapped shut so hard and fast she could hear the clink of teeth.

“How dare you, you loathsome little human? You are nothing!” The woman’s hands shook as she clasped them together and took a loud seething breath. “You are nothing compared to me. To even dare so…you will pay.”

That didn’t sound good. Abby’s stomach clenched. She wasn’t worried about herself. It was Alrik.

“Bring me my potion!” the queen screamed, her voice shrill. Her eyes glowed with uncontained madness. Even her movements weren’t graceful as if she was becoming unhinged.

An idummi stepped forward, his ugly face smiling to reveal sharp pointed teeth yellowed from neglect. He held a tall glass in his hand. It reminded her of a vase that one might put a single flower within. Inside the container was a vile looking substance. It looked murky brown like thick muddy water, but that wasn’t what made her run for Alrik. What made her run for him was the look in the queen’s eyes and the aura of magic surrounding the potion. Something evil had been put into that potion.

She’d nearly made it to him. The muscles in his neck and back strained as he fought invisible bonds holding him down.

The queen smirked and gave Abby a look that clearly said: I know something you don’t.

“Alrik!” Abby shouted.

There was no time to decide what kind of magic to use, to know which spell might be best. She just went for it. With a slash of her hand, she cut his invisible bonds. He tore free and lunged for his mother.

Abby panicked, fear guiding her actions. She wanted to scream at him to run away with her. They could only make an escape together. It didn’t help that his precious swords were back at camp lying next to where he’d been sleeping. What could he do without his weapons?

“Abbigail get out of here!” he bellowed and charged through a path of idummi standing between him and his mother.

The idummi didn’t draw blades but attempted to tackle his midriff and slam him to the ground. Abby ran after him. No way could she leave him.

“Not without you!” she called back.

Alrik’s icy magic shot out from his hands. Demons went slamming back as if a tidal force threw them.

Idummi surrounded Abby. She let out a sound unlike she’d ever made before. Her knees bent and her body tensed for battle. The roar she let out was one made from many waging war in the history of the world. Hers mixed alongside Alrik’s and together they fought their opponents. They sought blood on their hands. They fought for justice and love.

Abby cast spells as if she’d been doing it her whole life. Demons went soaring through the air. Four swarmed her from her left and she turned to them letting out a fiery spell that encased the demons in searing hot flames. Their chaotic screams were barely heard over the rumble of adrenaline in her ears.

She’d turned into a violent creature that reacted to the threat and took action without any thought or remorse. She would protect herself and she would save Alrik’s life—she loved him more than anything.

More demons lunged at her from behind as they tried to grab her. She barely ducked away from one when another grabbed her. The green creatures were strong for something so boney and withered looking. It easily pinned her arms at her sides effectively keeping her from throwing out spells.

Abby fought to catch her breath. A demon on either side of her kept her in their clutches. Their claws nearly cut into her. Their grip was so tight she could feel her skin pinching and blood bursting to the surface. Nothing they could do would make her flinch. She stayed strong and didn’t show any pain. No weakness.

Alrik was slammed to the ground by demons. He landed hard, his head cracking against the ground. Demons surrounded him turning him onto his back. They grabbed his arms and legs and spread them out from his body in an “x” position.

“What are you doing?”

The queen still had that smirk on her face. Abby wanted to beat it off of her. Not a trace of fear could be seen in her eyes.

That nagging feeling came back in full force. The queen had something up her sleeve and it had to be an ace.

Dead carcasses littered the ground. Abby had only done some of that damage. She eyed the dead demons and could have laughed at how many more Alrik had managed to take out in that same amount of time. Her chest puffed up with pride. Her man was a warrior.

The demons hauled her forward. They stopped just as she reached Alrik’s feet, literally.

“Hey honey,” she said softly to him.

Apparently now was not a good time for sweetness for his glare nearly singed the hairs off her head. “You should have listened to me.” Anger laced his words and burned bright in his eyes.

She suddenly started blinking fast to keep any possible extra moisture at bay. “Yes, well, I won’t leave you. I told you that.”

His chest strained against the arms holding him, but his eyes held hers and in them she saw a cold, dead fear.

He’d already marked her for as good as dead in his eyes. That hurt like a punch to the solar plexus.

Well, damn him and his mother. She would show them both. She’d find a way, somehow, to save him and she wouldn’t die in the process. Abby felt something chilling, and altogether calculating, slither over her skin. A strange acceptance settled inside her. She’d already killed idummi. She’d killed an animal to eat. She’d created flames at the flick of her fingertips and had stopped nearly two dozen of Aidan’s men from coming after her with a single spell.

Abby stood tall and let her power radiate around her in a golden halo from her body. Only those with magical powers could see the “magic” in others. So as Abby finally stood accepting her fate, whatever it might be, Alrik and his mother gazed upon her with wonder.

She was a witch. She was powerful. And she was ready to defend her mate.

Abby’s gaze slowly reached the queen’s. She had the satisfaction of watching the queen do a double take.

“Quite the little warrior, aren’t you? Humans always were so…barbaric.”

Abby smiled and took her words as the compliment they were. Her people, humans, had fought long and hard for everything they ever wanted or needed. They fought and killed for food, they worked through blood and sweat to build homes and cities. In times of trouble, they had the capability to come together through differences and hardships. They were fighters. They were barbaric. Right now Abby could feel her ancestors grinning through her smile with pride.

The queen snapped. “Hold his mouth open!”

Alrik’s eyes flared wide with panic. While she thought he’d been fighting his captors before, now he really did. He tossed each of the demons holding his arms off as if they were children, but even more came at him piling on top of his body. Abby struggled against the hands holding her.

The demon carrying the tall glass with that murky substance inside knelt beside Alrik.

“Don’t do it!” Abby shouted.

She fought hard against the demons. Their tight grips tore through her skin. Another grabbed her waist as she fought; her feet slid kicking up dirt as she struggled. Whatever was in the glass was a vile, evil spell. She could feel its dark energy like a pit from hell. And they were going to pour it down his throat.

She tried to think quickly. What did she do? Did she fight demons holding her and use even more magic? Magic that she needed to defeat his mother?

It didn’t matter what she did.

“Don’t drink it!” Abby shouted.

“Like he has a choice,” his mother sneered.

Two demons crawled next to Alrik. Their knobby, long fingers curled into his mouth. Abby gagged at the sight.

“Don’t touch him,” she said her voice much softer now, weaker. They were going to lose this one. She could already feel it. Still she fought against the hands holding her no matter how useless. The second she got her arms free she’d kill them all. They’d regret touching him this way.

The demons wrenched his mouth open while the one with the glass poured the concoction down Alrik’s throat. He wasn’t gentle about it. The foul liquid spilled over Alrik’s cheeks and dribbled down his chin. He made awful gurgling sounds as he choked and struggled not to swallow the liquid.

All at once, Alrik’s body stopped fighting. His eyes closed. A hard shudder traveled through his body as if he’d been zapped with electricity.

Abby stopped struggling. The deed was done. All that was left was to figure out just what that potion did.

“Step away from him,” ordered the queen.

The demons backed up with slow cautious steps. Not even they looked sure what might happen.

Alrik’s teeth clenched, gnashing together. His brow furrowed and grunts of pain sounded from between his teeth. He sounded like a rabid animal. Abby once heard a dog fight when she was a kid. Alrik sounded like that. Snarling and growling with aggression.

Then screams tore from his throat. Bone chilling screams. A sound she could never forget. His eyes popped open—black pools spiraling like water spinning down a drain.

“What are you doing to him!” screamed Abby.

It happened so quickly she had to blink to be sure.

He stopped moving. Completely stopped.

His dark swirling eyes gazed up at the sky unblinking and glassy. His body lay frozen like the dead. Only the subtle rise and fall of his chest gave away any sign of life.

“Alrik…”Abby said hesitantly. “Baby?” A piece of her heart broke off like a shard of glass.

“Alrik, Alrik,” the queen mocked in a child-like voice.

“You bitch!” Abby lunged for the queen. The queen stumbled back a step before she threw a barrier between them with a flick of her wrist. Abby seethed but at least got some satisfaction at the fear in the queen’s eyes.

“You want to know what I’ve done to him? Then I’ll show you. Rise, Alrik.”

Alrik slid to his feet. His body moved in a boneless way like a puppet being controlled. One second he was lying down unmoving and in the next moment he was standing perfectly at attention.

A trickle of unease slithered over Abby.

“Mistress,” he said.

She must still have the effects of the spell Aidan’s man put on her for she knew he just spoke in demonic and yet she’d understood his guttural, garbled words.

“Do you know who this woman is?” the queen asked him.

Alrik turned slowly to face her. He stood with his shoulders back, strong chest thrust forward, eyes seeing her without any recognition whatsoever. No love was there, no fear, worry, or panic, only passivity. As if he didn’t know who she was.

“She is Abbigail Krenshaw. A human with skills in witchcraft.” He paused his dark eyes blinked once. “There is part succubus blood inside her.”

His mother “hmmed” and “ahhed” as he relayed the information. “Half succubus? That is interesting. Does that give her,” she waved an agitated hand in the air, “any special skills I should know about?”

Alrik took a deep, lung-filling breath as if breathing her soul into his body. “Only longevity and the alluring beauty only found in succubi.”

Now was so not the time to blush, yet Abby felt her cheeks flame anyway.

“Alrik, what’s going on?” she said softly.

He didn’t even look at her just gazed forward like a robot. Another chunk of her heart broke away and with it nearly tore a sob from her throat. Oh God, how did she fix this? How could she help him now?

He was gone. Completely gone. Not a sign of life in him.

The queen smiled with glee. Satisfaction gleamed in her eyes. “Isn’t it beautiful? Let’s see just how strong the spell is. I’ve used only the best ingredients for it. The freshest, most powerful of blood I could find…seer blood.”

“Alrik, kill that demon.” She pointed to one of the green, yellow-eyed monsters standing nearby. The creature squawked and started shuffling around, unsure if she really meant it or not.

Alrik didn’t hesitate. His body turned, eyes locked on the creature, and then he took four long steps that landed him directly in front of it. In two swift moves he acted. His big hands squeezed the demons head and then jerked it hard to the right. With repulsive snap, the body crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Abby swallowed but the knot in her throat wouldn’t go away.

The queen clapped, laughing like a giddy child as she bounced on her feet. “Wonderful! Perfect! My ultimate creation! Now, kill her!”

“What?” Abby said, her stunned question unable to be contained. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!” she said getting louder and louder.

Alrik turned towards her with every tall demonic inch of him then strode for her with long determined steps.

“Alrik stop this!” she demanded trying to put some authority in her voice. That didn’t sway him. The demon’s holding her released her. She started backing up. “Baby, I love you! Don’t do this!”

Demons stood in his path. Alrik kept walking straight for her, batting the demons away with sweeping arms if they were bugs. As he neared her, the demons holding her arms at her sides ran. Abby couldn’t fault them for their fear because she spun around and ran.

* * *

The queen let her go. Abby figured it was probably a great power trip for her...to know that Alrik would follow her for however long it took until he killed her.

Abby ran hard, from him. As she did, she tried to think. She needed a spell that would negate the one controlling him.

His hard barreling steps boomed after her. Her lungs started burning as she ran up the hard slope. Her legs muscles burned, but she pushed through it. A foot slipped and she dropped to the ground, using her hands to grab chunks of grass and pull herself up.

Her heart raced in overtime. She could hear him just behind her. Something brushed her shoe—a hand? Fear and adrenaline moved her and she grabbed a hunk of grass over the top of the slope and launched herself over the side.

There was no time to waste for Alrik leaped over after her much smoother and faster than she did. Abby raced into the forest.

“Don’t do this!” she called back to him. “You love me! I love you!”

No answer, only hard steps closing in on her. She jumped over fallen logs, raced through muddy grass, and ducked under low hanging branches that swiped across her face as she ran.

It was only a matter of time. She could never out run him. He was too big, too strong.

No sooner than she had that thought did he barrel into her. Surely, this is what it felt like to get hit by a truck, she thought.

Her breath wheezed out of her as her stomach collapsed into her spine as she went slamming to the ground, her head knocking against it so hard it struck twice. Her bones, everything, hurt from the fall. Her lungs seemed to take the brunt of the hit. It didn’t help that he stayed on top of her, his weight keeping her from drawing in a deep breath.

“Alrik, don’t do this,” she begged. Her eyes watered. She didn’t know whether from the pain of landing or the other pain trying to suffocate her.

Suddenly his body was off hers and she sucked in a long, much needed breath. Only he grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly flipped her over to her back.

“Ow!” she moaned as her head once against rocked back. She was going to be bruised black and blue if she made it out of this.

Footsteps sounded nearby. Abby peered behind Alrik to see the queen and her demons coming towards them. Of course she’d want to see him kill her.

Quickly, Abby sought his gaze only to find it bored and glossy as if no one was really there. “Baby, please don’t do this. You have to help me. Please, I love you so much!” Her voice broke, but still she continued.

He sat over her waist, his hands holding her by the shoulders effectively pinning her down. The position was beyond uncomfortable but she managed to wriggle her hands up and touch his waist. For a second she thought she saw a flicker in his dark eyes, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Alrik, listen to me. I can help you honey. Let me help you. Just get off me. I’ll end the curse on you. I swear it.”

“Kill her!” the queen ordered. She was now within twenty feet. The idummi swarmed around them, teeth bared in smiles. They bounced excitedly as they formed a circle around them. They were all ready for a show.

Big hands moved toward her and she acted on instinct. Abby lifted her hands and cast the very first spell he first taught her. Alrik went flying through the air as if jerked by a mighty force. His back slammed into a tree, cracking it down the middle. The tree groaned, shuddered, and then settled once more.

Alrik shook himself then started for her once more.

“Don’t do this,” she pleaded again.

He kept coming. She squared off against him.

“I don’t want to hurt you!”

He stopped walking then charged for her. Abby couldn’t move fast enough, not even to lift her hands use a spell.

Alrik reached her and deftly checked her body into a tree some fifteen feet or more behind her. He did this all with a hand at her throat, using his sheer strength to lift her feet from the ground and slam her spine against the tree. Her spine cracked at the pressure but she could still wriggle her legs so that gave her some relief—for a moment.

His grip on her throat tightened fast and hard. He meant business. He squeezed her throat, cutting off her air supply. Abby’s hands flew to his wrist as she kicked him with every ounce of strength she had. When that didn’t slow him down one bit, she dug her chin down and kept her neck taut—anything to keep her much needed air. Horrible, choking sounds came from her. She sounded...like someone having the life choked from them.

An unusual feeling came over her. Her vision tunneled, blood pounded loudly in her ears until it was all she could hear.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Alrik’s face went in and out of focus like a camera zooming in and out. An intense pressure started filling her neck and eyes as if there was too much blood and it needed to escape.

He was going to kill her.

Abby used one last tactic. She swept her legs up until she could wrap them around his waist. Her gaze stayed as focused as she could on his face so she could watch for any signs of change in his eyes.

Something flickered in his gaze.

Hope sprung.

Her vision began darkening on the corners as a black fog crept in.

“I love you so much. Kiss me one...,”she gasped, “last...time...”

He blinked, his head tilting to the side. Then his grip loosened on her neck, not all the way but just enough for her to suck in a deep, ragged breath and for some of the fog to recede, and the pressure in her head to dissipate. His dark head leaned in and he pressed a chaste, soft kiss to her lips. Her breath caught.

Her eyes closed at the touch. Another part of her heart broke down. A sob escaped. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t save him.

When he lifted his head, his face swam before hers. In a blink, her tears fell and his face cleared. In his eyes, she saw someone who was alert, fierce, and barely holding on.

His hold on her neck loosened to a feathery touch and then he thrust his hands in her hair. “Port home. Get out of here now!”

Then he pressed a hard kiss to her mouth and spun around. He stood protectively in front of her.

The queen bared her teeth. “Kill her I said!” she demanded.

Alrik’s shoulders shook and he started to turn back around. She could see the battle in his body as he tried to fight the spell controlling.

Abby wanted to obey him, she really did. But, like hell she’d leave the love of her life to die down here alone.

Abby stepped around him, shot her hand out and then the fight really began.