Page 2 of The Nightmare Queen
A shadow moves from the corner of my eye causing me to turn my head. Felix, the head of my council stands in the passageway, his finger crooking in my direction. The motion is a direct summons to follow him. Ezra is the only other person who notices Felix, his hand grazing my arm briefly and in an awkward way as I walk past him, leaving the men and my stuff behind.
“Felix.” I greet before passing him up. The halls are quiet this morning, spare a few staff members rustling about their early chores. Most of the families who live here haven’t woken yet, save for their spousal counterparts that play a part on my council. The doors to the council room come quickly into view where I find each member is already sitting in their usual place upon my entrance. Their faces bear small, polite smiles in my direction that I return in my usual fashion of flopping down into my chair and kicking my feet up. My intent reading loudly and clearly that I’m ready to get this over with before it even starts. Felix takes his place next to me, pulling a piece of parchment from inside his vest and setting it down on my legs.
I look down at it and then back up at him, his eyes are wide giving me an insistent look. “Ugh, you’re joking.” I mutter before picking up the paper and unfolding it. I glance back up at him from the corner of my eye to see if he's changed his mind and wants to read it for me instead, but his face remains unchanged. Clearing my throat loudly I begin reading the words scrawled in front of me:
“OFFICIAL REQUEST FOR PORTAL ENTRY:
PRINCE RORIN COLLIER OF THE KINGDOM OF VELLAR, HUMBLY REQUESTS ENTRY INTO THE KINGDOM OF OBSIDIAN FOR A ONE ON ONE MEETING WITH ITS QUEEN.”
A few gasps echo around me.Vellar. My stomach churns at the name of the kingdom nestled against my northern borders. “Felix…didn’t you say the gentleman getting cozy in our cells had a strange Wield?” He nods. My finger taps against my chin, scheme and plot brewing in my mind. “I think he and I need to have a little chat.” Some of the council members eyes find something suddenly very interesting on the ceiling as my Wield flares from my fingertips, black creeping up to my wrists. I slide my legs down, pushing up from my seat, the paper crinkling underneath my grip. “Am I supposed to do something with this?” I ask Felix.
But it’s Lord Frederic who answers, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously. “Well, it’s prudent that we, that we, that we…”
Bleeding gods. “Spit it out, Frederic.” His chin quivers and Felix finishes for him.
“Your highness, we don’t like to decide things for you…” I roll my eyes at that.Since when?I want to say, but he continues on. “It would be appropriate to send a response.”
I make a noncommittal noise and read over the paper a second time. Everyone’s eyes are on me, their stares heavy and their breaths held in anticipation of my reaction.
“Denied.” I say flatly. The chair scrapes against the floor behind me as I kick it out of my way the movement of my feet carrying me swiftly out towards the exit. Leaving the lot of them to bicker and argue over my decision.
The hallways of the castle are warmly lit, illuminating a orange glow against the black stone but as I grow closer to the cells even that small glow dissipates. The darkness for some is frightening, for me it’s a comfort. Unfortunately for the man cowering in the corner of the cell I now stand in front of, the dark is just the beginning of what I’ll subject him too.
Clink, clink, clink.My fingernail taps against the metal bars.
“Hello, dear. You have something I need.”
Screams ring out through the Room. My familiar, Vada, watches us closely from the mouth of her cave.“You’re salivating.”I note down our bond.
She gives me an agitated huff but I see right through it, she gets a high off this as much as I do. The screams, the blood, the occasional mutilation. Tonight however, isn’t about that, this is more of an extracurricular interrogation. It would have happened sooner or later, but with the missive today from his prince, I felt eager to get a head start.
CRACK!
“Again.” I command as I pick out the blood from beneath my finger nails.
CRACK!
“Again.” The man’s skin is peeled open as each of the tassels lacerate it. One of the tendrils of my Wield is wrapped lazily around his hand so that he doesn’t drop the whip. The main focus of my Wield is in his head, manipulating the commands of his brain, bending it to the will of the nightmare. “Again.”
CRACK!
“This can all stop if you just tell me why your king sent you and why your prince sent me a sweet little note asking to meet me.”His actions still as I temporarily stop the nightmare. I want his full attention for this interrogation.
“Tsk tsk tsk. Percy was it?” I jerk his chin towards me. His shoulders go slack. He’s lost a lot of blood but not enough to kill him. His blonde hair has turned pink at the ends from the blood staining it. He can’t be more than thirty, handsome enough, that’s too bad.
“Percy, Percy, Percy…” My hand lightly slaps either cheek, once for every time I said his name. “See it doesn’t add up. You have quite an impressive Wield,Illusionary. Poor Felix had no idea you’d followed him home from that big…what are they called?” He whimpers while eyeing the slithering ink on my arms and chest and then the dragon behind me.
“T-trade meetings.”Ah, yes. I don’t know why we go to those still.
I crouch down to where he is kneeling, my shoes sticky with his blood, “the way I see it is either, the prince is requesting to visit because they greatly miss a talent such as yours. Or your here on very specific orders not even the prince is aware of. And what a concern that would be, the ruler and his heir keeping secrets from one another. That makes for a dodgy relationship doesn’t it? Maybe the king had plans for you to use your oh so special magic to come and spy. Maybe evenharm. Harming a pretty face like mine would be simply devastating, don't you agree?” He flinches as he feels cool metal prick against his collar bone. His eyes darting everywhere to avoid my gaze, his expressions giving me reason to believe my assumptions could be correct. “You must’ve been so proud that your King picked you, huh?” The tip of my dagger digs into the bone just a little causing him to squeal like a pig.
I stand up walking over to the table against the stone wall and pick up two vials. One to mute his Wield, boosting the mage shackles he wears and another to replenish his lost blood just enough that he doesn’t die on me quite yet. I shove the vials into his shaky hands, while he tries to fight against my grip. “Drink.” My Wield steps back into his mind convincing him of much worse horrors if he doesn’t drink them. Each of the vials liquids goes down his throat and he swallows thickly. I pace slowly in front of him, “of course if the king and yourself are in on a secret plan to destroy me, that still doesn’t answer the small issue of why the prince wants a meeting.” Percy’s eyes are squeezed shut, his breathing eveningout as the liquids do their job. I lean back down into his face, “do you know why your prince…what’s his name again?”
“Rorin.” He chokes out, bloodshot eyes finally staring back at me.
“Rorin.” The name glides off my tongue. “Percy…do you know why Rorin wants to meet me?” He shakes his head vigorously back and forth, holding in his answer. My lips curl up into a smile, “liar.” I loosen my Wield just a little that it tickles against his face.
He sucks in a fast sharp breath, “yo-your,” he starts.