Kara Read online

  He took small shallow breaths. It took about five minutes for him to whisper a thank you to the rat. In that time, the other one crept out of the darkness, but only enough for his head to show in the torchlight.

  Don’t mention it. Just a little tidbit I picked up hanging around the physiker’s lab. You can sometimes get a pretty square meal when they’re doing some operatin’.

  “Again. Thank you.” His breath came back to him slowly, even though his chest and back throbbed. He lifted his shoulder a couple of inches off the floor. “How bad’s…the wound.”

  The two rats ran underneath him and looked up at the still oozing hole. .

  It looks worse than it probably is. It’s a good thing you were laying on it, though. Not sure if me an’ Vern would’ve had the self-control not to take a nip out of all that yummy blood.

  The rat beside him nodded his head in agreement.

  Jesset gave a weak smile, grateful that he had turned himself over. Rats could be good friends, unless food was involved. They would rather eat their good friends than let them waste any of that tasty carrion.

  Was this your food we was munching on?

  Jesset’s grimaced. He shook his head.

  Then you won’t mind if we just continue our meal while we chat.

  The Mordock nodded and Vern and Fred dug in. There was little talking while the rats chowed down on the moldy food. Soon the dish was clean and Fred lay on his back rubbing his belly. Vern belched and let forth a squeak in the process.

  Uhhh, I think that last bite might’ve done me in. The screams had stopped from down the hall, but Jesset still heard the guards faintly.

  “How many prisoners are down here?”

  I don’t rightly know. Vern, what would you say—like twenty? Maybe a couple more.

  Vern just nodded. Not our usual hangout here. The cellies usually eat up all the food, before we get a chance to. Unless, of course, they pass away. Plus, most of the blokes want to try an’ eat us.

  Vern nodded again, Yeah, you’re the first cellie who’s ever talked to us.

  Well, there was that one chap, with the crazy eyes. Wanted to sing to us. But then again he also whispered to the walls. Called one Petunia. Fred gave out a big laugh.

  “Anyone ever escape from here?” The moment Jesset asked it, he wished he hadn’t. Mocking animals were always humiliating.

  O ho ho. Got ourselves a bit of a trickster or magician here. Wanting to pull a bit of the disappearing act, Fred teased.

  Vern came close to Jesset. I wouldn’t try. Many talk of it, but very few succeed. Gotta have keys, and then there’s the guards down here and the guards in the castle.

  Listen to Vern. Sure you can talk to us and that’s pretty nifty, but how are two rats and an animal talker going to pull a fast one over on this bunch? Fred picked at his teeth, but Vern watched Jesset.

  Look at his face. His eyes. He’s scheming. Vern exclaimed.

  A smile started to spread across Jesset’s face—a smile that made this whole place bearable.

  ***

  Wordlessly, Kreitan escorted his second-in-command to a private area where they could not be overheard. Taylon brought the chest with him.

  Taylon put the trunk on a nearby table and opened it for his captain to see. Kreitan paused, taking the shard in.

  “The king will reward you handsomely for this.” Kreitan said. He closed the lid and secured it.

  “Yes, Captain.” Taylon hesitated for a moment. “If I may?”

  “Proceed.”

  “Why all this bother for a piece of glass? I admit it is very pretty, but a simple shard?”

  Kreitan had not informed his second of all the details. Only he and the king held those cards.

  “Royal desires know no bounds. It is a trivial thing. And the Mordock?”

  “Taken to the dungeons. Shall I have him brought to you for questioning?”

  “Leave him for another time. Perhaps he will be forgotten to rot.” The Mordock was not important, now that Kreitan had the shard.

  “Captain, if I may?” Kreitan motioned with his hand and Taylon continued. “I lost some good men to this Mordock. The remaining members would love to exact some vengeance. Perhaps….”

  Kreitan smiled. “Do not kill him. But relieve that stress you built up during your ride.” Kreitan stared at Taylon to make sure he got his meaning.

  “Yes sir.” Taylon exited and the door shut after him.

  Kreitan rested his gloved hands on the chest, knowing that he held the fate of the king’s daughter in his hands. La’ard didn’t know of the piece of mirror’s arrival yet. Maybe he should let him suffer just a—

  The door slammed open. Kreitan turned. The king! How had he known Kreitan had possession of the mirror fragment?

  Quickly, the king approached and slapped Kreitan across the face.

  “Where is it?” La’ard gestured to the chest. “Is it the shard?”

  Kreitan stiffened, using all his effort to hold his anger at bay. He gave a curt nod.

  The king turned his back to his captain and took hold of the lid. Slowly, he lifted the cover revealing the jagged piece once again. “At last, he whispered.

  Kreitan seethed, knowing he could slaughter the king in an instant, but also knowing that there was no escape for him if he did. He remained at attention, motionless.

  La’ard visibly shuddered at the sight of the object that he had searched for, long and hard. Kreitan saw hope skitter across the king’s face. Carefully, La’ard set the lid back in place and turned toward his captain.

  “The creature informed me that you had this. Saw it, or felt it, or whatever. You should have been the one telling me this.”

  Kreitan let his eyes tell nothing. He stared back at the king with a stony, blank look.

  La’ard continued. “We will deal with your lack of judgment later, Kreitan, but first we must finish this. Bring the chest and come with me.” The king flung open the door and strode down the hallway.

  Kreitan, still trembling with anger, picked up the chest and followed him. Maybe some time soon a chance would present itself to rid himself of La’ard.

  Perhaps this shard was the key to his salvation as well.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The boundary between the human world and the Territories was thought to be magical. Perhaps it had been at one time, but now it mostly consisted of natural obstacles, such as the River Kilarne to the east and the much wider River Vaspa on the west. A stretch of castle wall standing twenty feet high provided the border between the two rivers. This wall was sometimes patrolled, but never maintained.

  Centuries ago, the elf council and the human king at that time made an agreement that the land north of these rivers would belong to the humans. South of the rivers would be for the elves and other races. Both sides signed the agreement, and for a long while there was very little warring between the groups. As a general rule, any race on human land would either be left alone or dealt with depending on the law of the province the non-human was found in. The same would go for the Territories. This agreement kept the peace in both lands.

  While the Territories saw a human from time to time and usually left them alone, the human kingdom’s punishment depended on who was in power. After the treaty, the first king let the infractions go. But as new monarchs took the throne, fear came along with the new power. Rules banned any human from entering the Territories. Non-humans received punishment for trespassing on the king’s land. The consequence was usually death.

  The walls fell into disrepair. The number of guards along the walls dwindled every year until only a handful were serving this duty for disciplinary reasons. It was in one of these walls that Katrena had an access point into La’ard’s realm.

  Along the wall, a secret door gave easy access to either side. Many years ago, Katrena purchased a door key off an old peddler. Money did not change hands until she was sure of the validity of the opener. Even after the key proved true, the salesman only received a bla
de across his throat as payment.

  Today Katrena’s bounty was still out cold, which in some ways she regretted. Having to carry the girl all this way made the trek difficult and tedious. She was dead weight on the elf’s shoulder. The dark elf dropped Kara’s body to the ground by the wall and retrieved the key from her boot. It was a well-concealed door, undetectable unless one was looking for it. She moved aside a sliding rock and slid the key in. Quickly the tumblers spun, unlocking the door. Katrena paused listening. She then opened the door handle and peeked through the crack. Nothing.

  The dark elf picked up the human, slung her over her shoulder again, and proceeded into La’ard’s kingdom. Very soon, Katrena would be able to put her quarry down. It had been a long time since the dark elf had delivered a live mark to Kreitan or any of her other employers. The task was usually much easier in the Territories than on the human side because she was able to blend in here.

  No matter, her first destination was only a little farther in a place called Willow Haven. With any luck, the Mordock would have what she needed. Maybe a mule and cart and a simple robe. Simple worked best for disguises.

  The next issue would be getting Kara to Kreitan. Before she set out for the human lands, she’d sent a messenger raven to Kreitan, setting up the time and meeting place. She figured the church would be the best place to make the exchange. Lots of people and plenty of hustle and bustle. Her carrier crows were usually reliable, although this new one had looked a little ditzy. All she could do was assume her employer had received her note.

  Kara would be a nice package wrapped up for Kreitan. The delivery would be simple and the payment sweet.

  A large smile crept across her face, one that hadn’t been there in a long time.

  ***

  La’ard burst into the room, his blood pumping through him like the River Kilarne. He was anxious and excited that this whole ordeal would be over in just a matter of minutes.

  He stopped short inside the door. Euphoria stood, waiting for his arrival. But the creature was not the beautiful daughter he remembered. Its skin was taut around the face, like that of an old woman who would soon be breathing her last. Facial bones were evident, especially around her eyes and across her cheeks, both looking hollow. The once chocolate-colored hair now appeared dishwater gray, hanging lifeless like the moss that draped the trees in Hunidoas City. The hands that had once pulled on the king’s hair and patted his cheeks had grown into bony and blotchy corpse hands.

  The king gasped at her appearance and took a step back. Kreitan also seemed unsettled as he appeared in the doorway moments afterward.

  A gift. How nice.

  “What have you done…to my daughter’s body?” La’ard’s tone shook with horror but also rage. This thing was taunting him again.

  Euphoria walked to the bed and sat. Kreitan closed the door behind him. As she walked, a subtle change happened with each step. When she turned, Euphoria was back, radiant and beautiful.

  “Is this more pleasing to your eye?” The raspy hiss of the creature’s words had disappeared. Instead, it came out seductive, sultry.

  The king broke the silence, once he had found his tongue. “Enough! I bring you the missing piece. Let us be done with this!” He turned to Kreitan and motioned for him to bring forth the chest.

  “By all means, let’s.” Again, the voice remained alluring, but this time tinged with sarcasm.

  La’ard popped the chest open and picked up the shard. He turned slowly as if he had a newborn in his arms. Then he approached the mirror, which remained dark and cracked. Kreitan watched Euphoria, her expression turning to anticipation, longing.

  La’ard turned back to Euphoria. “I hope you rot in hell.” Then he turned quickly and inserted the shard in the mirror.

  He stepped back, closing his eyes.

  Nothing happened.

  He opened his eyes again. A whispered cracking sound emanated from the mirror. Each shard lost definition as the cracks melted away. A popping sound followed the last crack.

  The mirror, although whole, remained dark.

  The king turned to look at his daughter.

  She had fallen back on the bed, as if asleep. Four strides and he was at her side pulling her into his arms. “Euphoria…Euphoria!”

  “Daddy…Daddy?” His daughter’s magical voice once again. His heart leapt. He hugged her tight. Her arms also returned the hug.

  “Are you okay?” The king began to weep, but he really didn’t care who saw him at the moment.

  “Never better…stupid human.”

  It took a moment for the words to penetrate the king’s happiness, and even then, he did not believe it. “What?” He broke the embrace and held his daughter at arm’s length.

  A devious smile played upon Euphoria’s lips. I’m still here.

  La’ard jumped back from the bed, repulsed. The raspy words echoed in his head, tearing apart the joy that now was deflating, tumbling down.

  “You monster!”

  Euphoria laughed—a laugh that normally he cherished. A laugh that used to remind him of his wife. La’ard looked back to the captain for any kind of answer. Kreitan watched from the wall, showing no reaction to the scene. Anger followed his shock. Anger toward Kreitan, anger toward the thing, and anger toward himself for believing the lies.

  Euphoria stood. Her beauty now intensified even though the creature had not altered her shape anymore. There was an invisible aura, or something that just heightened the senses, about her.

  “For a king, you are certainly stupid. Just because you completed a puzzle, you think that I will… poof…” She snapped her fingers. “…be gone.” She laughed again.

  “It took Guillaud fourteen years to imprison me in that mirror.” Euphoria paused as if reminiscing. “I’m not about to hand you the key that will lock me away again.”

  La’ard suddenly came out of his stupor. With a yell, he ran at the mirror. Euphoria made no move to stop him. His fist bounced off the glass with each hit, but the mirror did not crack. The king grabbed the sides of it and started shaking, then kicking it, and then grabbing heavy objects to throw at it. He wore himself out shortly.

  “And what’s that supposed to do, La’ard?” Euphoria said with a smirk.

  The king caught his breath, hands on his knees. “Break the mirror…break your power….”

  “Ha…the only thing you would wind up breaking is your daughter’s soul.”

  La’ard’s eyes immediately grew wide and looked back at the mirror. He stood and then looked back at Euphoria. “How can I trust anything you say?”

  “Daddy…” This voice came from behind him, a wispy dreamy voice. He spun and saw his baby girl in the mirror.

  “Euphoria…” His fingers traced her face on the surface of the mirror. And all at once, she was gone. The mirror was dark.

  “No!”

  “I’m sorry, my king. Parting is such sweet sorrow.” Euphoria turned her eyes toward Kreitan, watching him intently. Kreitan turned and returned the gaze.

  La’ard glanced again at the captain, still having contempt for the lack of reaction from the man. The king took his time facing the thing he now truly despised. “I order you…to release my daughter now.” From his belt, he drew his sword.

  Her eyes shifted to him. Euphoria’s eyes had become cold and hard. The playfulness, like a cat playing with its prey, turned to resolute determination. It stung like a builder’s stone thrown at him, but his resolve was strong too. He took a step closer.

  “Release my daughter.”

  “Or what? You will stab your only daughter. Drive a sword through this heart.” She placed both of her hands protectively on her chest. “The horror. What would your dear wife think about that?”

  Rage, anger, and blind panic caused him to charge the taunting monster. La’ard ran at her forgetting all his swordsmanship training. He ran at her, screaming his hatred as if jousting, a knight charging, saber outstretched.

  Before the king’s blade even ca
me close to Euphoria, a dagger, long enough to tickle one’s heart, plunged into the back of him. Shock released the sword from his hands, but La’ard remained on his feet. He staggered into Euphoria, who had her arms open as if to embrace the man she once called father.

  One hand found the dirk and pushed it deeper, as her other hand cradled his head against her chest. La’ard could only shudder and make inarticulate sounds. She patted his head in a ‘there, there’ motion.

  Pain. La’ard felt nothing else as his life slipped away. He slumped to Euphoria’s feet, not able to move, yet still able to hear. He heard the wicked thing’s laughter, he heard it call Kreitan king, and last he heard his daughter’s voice call him ‘father’ for the final time.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “So, where do we start?” Snow asked. There was a sad quality to her tone. She stared down at the floor from the chair she was sitting in. Hambone realized that Snow always wore her regular form whenever she was in a depressed mood. Dante, on the other hand, preferred his fox form to mope.

  Hambone shrugged, his shoulders heavy with remorse. “What can we do? Katrena has Kara. How can we possibly follow her if we can’t get over to the human side?”

  Dante lay on the floor, his face between his paws. He had not spoken for a long time.

  “Dante, what do you think?” Snow asked in an irritated voice. The fox snorted and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Oh no, don’t think you are going to mope right there.” Snow stood up and walked over to her brother. He didn’t move. She kicked him in the ribs.

  “Ow! What the heck did you do that for?” Dante flipped to his feet.

  “It’s a miracle!” Snow threw her hands in the air in mock celebration. “The fox can speak!”

  Schunk! Dante transformed and went nose to nose with his sister. Whenever there was going to be a fight with her, he preferred to use his taller form.