Chapter Sixteen

We both spun at the roar of fury. Axxon, Fon, Vashri and Rey spilled through the entrance to the keep. Relief flooded through me. I was no longer alone.

“Raise the drawbridge!” I shouted. “The Emperor is on his way!”

The kings headed that way, but there wasn’t enough time. As Axxon and Fon ran towards the gates, the thunder of hooves rang out on the other side of the moat. Dust rose from the horses’ hooves as the riders neared.

“You’re too late!” Geedan screamed triumphantly.

Vashri stepped forward. He and Axxon cast their spells. The wood of the drawbridge exploded, and the galloping horses reared back in fear as fragments of wood scattered. We were safe. For the moment. But we were also isolated inside the walls.

The castle’s inhabitants were starting to stir as the last effects of Geedan’s spell wore off. Guards stood up on the walls of the castle, gathering dropped weapons. “Close the gates!” I bellowed. The moat could be waded through. The lack of a drawbridge wouldn’t hold them back for long.

“Do what she says!” Leea strode through the entrance of the keep, taking in the scene at a glance and confirming my order.

“Leea, get inside,” Geedan told her. “It’s not safe.”

“I see that!” she snapped back. “What chaos have you unleashed upon us?”

Two guards ran to do her bidding, pushing against the heavy, oak doors to bring them together. On the other side of the moat, the riders neared the edge. It was going to be close.

“Let him in!” Geedan called. “It’s our only chance.”

 The foremost rider was close enough for me to see. I recognised the Emperor from his bald head and his cold expression, visible even from a distance.

Geedan grabbed his sister’s arm. “He’ll kill us if we stand against him.”

Leea turned to him. “Will he return Father to us?” I could see her wavering, and I couldn’t blame her. Wouldn’t I do the same, if I had the chance to bring my father back? If Essa were the one in danger, could I stand firm?

“Hurry!” I called to the guards. I didn’t have a father to think of. Instead, I had my sister and the four kings and everyone in the castle to save.

“Father died,” Geedan snapped. “He didn’t survive being robbed of his magic. The Emperor promised that I would take his place. He offered me money, more land…”

Leea paled with shock. “You’re an idiot!” she hissed, pushing past her brother. “The Emperor makes promises that cost nothing. The four kings filled our storehouses. I know who I trust.” She turned a fearful face to me. “Can you stop him?”

“I hope so.”

The gates were only halfway closed and the Emperor was mere yards away, urging his horse forward as he looked for a way across, determination darkening his expression. He lifted a hand, blue magic wreathing his hand. The gates shattered as though they’d been built of sand, splinters flying around us.

I turned away, raising an arm to protect my face. Rey ran in the opposite direction, into the middle of the courtyard. A crackle of power split the air and the courtyard filled with magic.

The Emperor wheeled his mount around, backing away from the edge of the moat to give enough space to jump the distance to the courtyard.

“Hurry!” I urged Rey.

There was a rush of sound and the water of the moat rose up like a wall. Through the shifting water I saw the Emperor’s mount baulk, skidding to a stop instead of jumping.

The Emperor yanked on the reins and the poor creature turned a circle almost on the spot. He settled the beast facing the open gateway. The wall of water crashed back into the moat. “Surrender the kings and I will allow you to keep your lives,” the Emperor called, the fury in his tone carrying easily over the distance.

Leea strode into the middle of the courtyard, chin high, looking every inch the head of her family. “You no longer have the fealty of the Baloa family. You murdered my father and imprisoned my brother. We acknowledge the four kings as the rightful rulers of Charnrosa now.”

The Emperor roared in fury. The guards with him spanned out.

“You’re a fool!” Geedan cried. “He’ll kill us both.” He delved into his shirt and I realised he was reaching for his horn of magic a moment before he lifted the pendant free.

“Guards!” Leea swung to address the men on the top of the curtain wall. “The castle is under attack. Archers respond!”

Geedan’s lips moved, chanting a spell. I ran towards him. Rey raised his hand and the wall of water rose between us and the Emperor once more. Geedan lifted a hand and one of the guards screamed as the boy’s magic knocked him from the top of the wall into the moat.

I grappled with Geedan, trying to wrest the horn of magic from his grip. From the corner of my eye I saw Axxon duck, pressing a hand to the beaten earth of the courtyard. Magic rippled across the ground. Dozens of splinters from the gates began to sprout, saplings springing up in their place, growing unnaturally fast to fill the gap where the gates had been.

“No!” Geedan cried. He threw a punch. I snatched at the talisman, and when my fingers closed around the gem I dropped to the ground. I’d thought my weight would snap the chain the horn of magic was suspended from, but Geedan jerked and stumbled, falling on top of me. But my touch alone had the effect I’d wanted. The spells he’d cast vanished as magic leeched from the talisman. I slackened my fingers. The blue glow of the gem had gone, leaving a dull, white stone behind.

“No,” Geedan muttered. He scrambled to his feet, peering through the magical forest Axxon had cast to see the Emperor on the far bank of the moat. “Sire, please!” He reached out, hands spread wide in appeal.

“You failed me, boy!” The Emperor’s ferocious expression made me shiver, even before he lifted a hand and Geedan dropped to the ground, screaming.

“No!” Leea ran to her brother’s side as his screams trailed away. She fell to her knees, smoothing his hair back from his brow. A groan escaped him. “He still lives.” She turned an anxious face to me. “Help me get him inside.”

“I’ll help you.” Essa pushed past and hurried to Leea’s side. “I can heal him as I did you.”

I turned to the kings. “I need to get to the Emperor. I can stop him.”

“We’ll help you,” Rey promised, reaching my side.

The forest Axxon had created was thick, but he cleared a space through with a flick of his hand, the trees moving through the earth as though it were water. Rey strode beside me to the edge of the castle grounds. From there, we could see the situation outside clearly. The other kings were a step behind. My heart soared. The soldiers on the wall above our heads were sending a cascade of arrows down on the heads of the Emperor’s men. Two had fallen, while the others were hampered from action by having to hold shields over their heads.

On the far side of the Emperor’s guards, the people who farmed the Baloa lands were also showing their allegiance. They were throwing stones at the Emperor’s men, unsettling the horses and forcing the guards to protect themselves from the missiles.

Rey faced the moat once more, clutching the Tears of Giera as he cast his spell. The moat water rose up, but it didn’t stay water this time. Instead, two horses’ heads broke the surface. Black-maned and red eyed, the magnificent beasts surged from the water to the far side of the moat. Ten feet tall at the shoulder, the kelpies shook their heads and charged towards the Emperor’s guards. The men had done their best against the stones and arrows thrown at them, but a supernatural onslaught was too much for them. As the kelpies advanced, the horses screamed in terror and bolted, fleeing towards the forest.

Only the Emperor was left, his mount white-eyed with terror, but obedient to his commands.

“I just need to touch him and I’ll steal his magic,” I said.

Axxon dropped to his knees. Vashri and Fon sent spells towards the Emperor, fighting the enchantments he was directing at the five of us.

Some of the splinters of wood had landed on the far side of the moat. Axxon’s magic nudged them to life and another forest began to grow around the Emperor. His horse danced at the sudden obstruction. As Axxon continued to work, three of the trees bent, their trunks running level to the ground as they thickened and lengthened, providing a bridge across the moat to replace the destroyed drawbridge.

The Emperor glared at me. I could see the movements of his lips but I had no idea what spell he was casting. Whatever it was, it wasn’t strong enough to defeat my natural defences. As the trees thickened to provide a safe path for me, the Emperor seemed to realise that his magic wasn’t working.

He leaned back and snatched something attached to the saddle behind him. A crossbow. He settled the weapon on his lap and loaded a bolt into the mechanism.

I glanced nervously aside as the Emperor levelled the weapon at me. Spells I could defeat, but a crossbow bolt would tear through my flesh as well as anyone else’s. I could take shelter behind one of Axxon’s trees, but that wouldn’t get me close enough to steal the Emperor’s magic.

“I won’t let him harm you,” Fon promised. Vashri was already muttering a spell. I saw the breeze as it tugged at the horse’s forelock. The Emperor fired the bolt, and Fon spoke a single word. Once more, an arrowshaft was turned instantly to ash by the power of the king of fire.

The Emperor gave a shout of fury. “I will end you!”

You first. With Rey beside me, I stepped forward onto the enchanted tree whose elongated branches had just reached the far side of the moat.

More arrows flew in my direction, but Vashri and Fon ensured none reached me.

Axxon muttered behind me. More trees sprang up around the Emperor’s horse. The Emperor screamed in fury, knees digging in to his horse’s flanks to keep the poor animal where it was as it danced restlessly, eyes rolling with fear.

Having used all the bolts he had, he flung the crossbow aside. I was only yards away from him now, dodging between the trees. If I grabbed his arm, would that be enough to stop his magic – or did I need skin contact? My heart thudded with what I was about to do. This had to succeed. It had to.

Our quarry was cornered now, his horse barely able to turn now the trees had grown thick and close. The gap between us narrowed. I think I might even have smiled. I grabbed for the Emperor, my hands closing around his leather-clad armour.

“This isn’t over!” he screamed.

As my hands pressed around his leather armour, he transformed.

His face stretched and melted. Hair sprang from his bald head as he sagged, flopping over in the saddle so his face was level with my chest. I gasped. His face became that of the other man I’d seen in the audience chamber: Leea’s father. I opened my mouth to call to Leea, only to swallow a gulp of horror. Lord Baloa’s skin dulled to grey, and his eyes glassed over with a white mist. Geedan had said his father had been killed by the Emperor. Before me now was a corpse. As the horse stamped uneasily, its rider continued to slide to one side, falling out of the saddle to land half-slumped at the base of one of the trees.

I jumped out of the way, pressing back against a tree trunk as the horse, freed of its rider, galloped past me to find a way out.

I crouched beside Lord Baloa. Unease crawled over my skin, but I had to be sure. He stared unseeing into the trees. I bent to feel the pulse at his neck, but there was nothing. The Emperor had enchanted a corpse to take his form. My stomach turned over. I hadn’t known such magic was possible.

“Kyann! Get back to us!”

Rey’s strong fingers grabbed my hand and he pulled me alongside him. My legs barely worked, stumbling between the trees until we reached the castle’s courtyard.

“Did you see?” I gasped, as we reached Axxon, Vashri and Fon. I leaned against Rey and his warm arms went around me, comforting my shaking. The other kings crowded around me, joining Rey in a hug full of warmth and support. “Did you see Lord Baloa?”

The kings’ arms were tight around me. Love and security radiated from all of them, soothing me and slowing my shivers. “We saw,” Vashri said. “The Emperor has mastered shadow magic. He can possess the dead.”