Chapter Twenty-Two
Outside, the noise from the crowd was deafening. The stench of death lingered with a faint tinge of sulfur and blood as the crowd waiting outside the gates made rude noises. They paid no attention to the shrouded bodies that waited in the courtyard for their kin to take them home for burial, or away for burning if they weren’t claimed. The rough group that waited for us and called themselves the leaders of the Horde had very little loyalty among them, not unless you belonged to the caste of the Horde that ruled.
“Who does this bitch think she is?” One of the taller ‘leaders’ snickered as we approached.
“Your queen,” a creature that looked like a Goblin with red eyes snorted. Blood dribbled from the red cap on his head, identifying him As a Dunter or a Powrie. Great; they were blood thirsty and fast little assholes. The only difference between the two types of Red Caps was the amount of kills they had under their bloody caps.
“My queen,” the first heckler chortled. “I’d bend her over and show her what queens are good for. She’d know her place and not be leaving us waiting at her gates, pretending her pussy makes her our new King.”
I listened to them as I approached, stopping just short of where they stood. I waited in silence, allowing them to continue to talk shit. I didn’t look away, didn’t back down. I squared my shoulders and waited patiently. They stopped, and as they turned, the eyes of one of the males who’d been talking shit about me widened as he took in the sight of me.
“She doesn’t look like much,” the male said as his iridescent eyes slid over my body, stopping to watch my breasts rise and fall with each breath I took. Those eyes raised and he snorted. “Not even enough meat on her to keep a man warm at night.” I tried to figure out what kind of creature he was and came up blank. He was extremely tall and emaciated, with long, black, lank hair that descended well past his shoulders. His iridescent eyes had shadows around them that gave the appearance of being sunken in. His lips were slightly blue and his skin was so pale that it was almost corpse-like.
The crowd behind him jeered, shouting their agreement as they chimed in with insults of their own. I grinned at his lewd remarks and waited for the noise of the crowd to die down. Once it was at a tolerable level, I spoke.
“Your King needs your help,” I called out to the crowd, and watched as the asshole laughed openly.
“He isn’t here, sweetheart,” he snorted. “I say we take his woman and his Kingdom. I didn’t much care for the prick anyway.”
“Which caste do you lead?” I asked, and he grinned as if he found my question funny.
“The Sluagh has no leader,” he laughed, and again, his posse snorted and chuckled. “But I guess if we had to pick one, it would be me.” The creatures behind him nodded.
“Good to know,” I snapped as I lunged before he could react. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on as he tried to dislodge me. Zahruk and Ristan also lunged into fighting positions, getting close until I screamed for them to remain where they were. My hands twisted the neck of the ghoul-like creature and I bit into his carotid, tearing the flesh from his neck as I let my legs drop to the ground and spit it out. “Now pick another leader,” I shouted to the onlookers.
No one moved, no one responded. They gasped, as if they couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. The asshole dropped to his knees as his arterial vein sprayed blood. Blood dripped from my chin as I brought my hand up and wiped it away with the back of my hand, as the crowd stared at me.
“I suggest you choose wisely,” I offered as I turned and walked back to Ristan, who had a stupid grin on his face. I was going to ruin it all by throwing up the vile taste of coppery blood that lingered in my mouth.
“Damn, Flower, savage as fuck,” he laughed quietly as his grin widened.
“It’s the only thing they understand,” I growled.
“You have their attention, now keep it,” he encouraged. “Your next challenger will be faster and or stronger than he was. That little maneuver of yours will take a while to heal, but I don’t think he is going to be back in the fight anytime soon.”
“Good to know,” I mused as I turned and stared down the crowd who watched me for any sign of weakness. “How long do you think it will be for them to regroup and choose a warrior?”
“It won’t take them long, and they are probably going to send a few warriors. Lathe was one of their best, and you just tore his neck out with your teeth, which honestly, I couldn’t be any prouder if you ripped his heart out and shared it with me. However, they will be ready for that move next time.”
“Swords it is.” I nodded. “Too bad, I was so looking forward to gagging on a bit more blood.”
“You two are fucking twisted,” Zahruk grumbled beside us.
“Jealous because you haven’t ripped anyone apart lately?” I mocked with a grin on my lips.
“Who says I haven’t?” Zahruk drawled, turning to grin as I frowned.
“Why do you guys get all the action and I have to stay home?” I pouted as I wondered why Ryder hadn’t shared any of that with me.
“Because you will be Queen of the Horde,” Zahruk said without any attitude in his tone. “We can’t lose both of you, so one must remain in the residence at all times.”
“Here they come.” Ristan moved in closer to my side. “Chin up, Buttercup, you got this,” he muttered as he took my slender, elegant swords and handed me his dual bladed ones. “You can count on rounds two and three being to the death; you’ll need iron.”
Ristan was one of the few Fae creatures I knew of who could use or wield iron blades easily. He’d moved so quickly that I wasn’t sure anyone else had noted the switch. I moved closer, as several males stepped forward. The ringing sound of steel being drawn brought my hands to the blades at my sides, and I smiled as the biggest one moved in. He had to have been over nine feet tall, with short gray hair all over his body, and his face looked a little like an ape, but I knew from experience that everything they said about the bigger the guy, the harder they fall was true.
I drew my blades the moment the grey man lunged, dropped to my knees and sliced his legs at the knees. His screams tore through the air, and I rolled with the blades as I came back up, swinging in a wide arc, which sent his head sailing into the crowd that watched us.
A gang of Powries came at me all at the same time, forming a circle around me. I grinned and swung, swords cutting through flesh like butter because Ristan’s blades were always sharpened correctly and ready to go. Grunts and cries sounded as I spun, not bothering to stop. I sliced, stabbed, and massacred the evil little bastards, until I was standing before the Horde, bathed in the blood of their so-called leaders, victorious.
“Choose again. This time, I suggest you take a few minutes to think about it first,” I demanded as I turned and moved back to my allies, glancing at them as they gave me a wide berth. Not even Ristan spoke as blood ran in rivulets from my flesh to the ground, pooling at my feet.
No one came forward; the Horde stared at me, soaked in their leaders’ blood. They bickered and pushed each other towards me, but none came forward. I waited, giving them the chance to choose or follow me. After a few moments passed, I tried again.
“Your King needs your aid, you can give it or you can be hunted down and slaughtered like the faithless dogs you are behaving like. You will follow me into battle, or I will let loose the hounds with your scent.” I could sense Zahruk, Dristan and Aodhan moving closer to me, giving credence to my threat. “They will hunt you down; not even hell can save you once the hounds have your scent. I demand an answer within the next ten minutes or we begin hunting. Do you understand me?” I shouted. When no one answered, I growled and let loose an immense amount of power that surprised even me. My hands lifted to the sky and then slammed down.
The entire Horde that had gathered at the main gates was on their knees, bowing in the dirt. I slowly pushed my hands further down and imagined smashing their smug faces into the earth. I heard gasps of pain and surprised cries as joints cracked, and I could hear the ground buckling from the pressure I was exerting on these creatures.
“Yes!” one of the males shouted. “I yield. I’ll bow to you, my Queen.”
I smiled, allowing him to rise. One by one they begged for mercy and rose, spattered with the dirt and mud of this world. I exhaled and closed my eyes as the crowd continued to pledge themselves to me. I’d done it; I’d brought the Horde to their knees. I’d had to use my power, but hey, it was a win, and we needed one right now.
“Ready your strongest warriors and prepare them for battle,” I shouted victoriously. I turned and looked at Zahruk, who wore his usual dour expression, as if this was exactly what he expected to happen. Then I glanced at Ristan, who nodded with something akin to pride in his eyes.
“You were born for this, Synthia,” he murmured softly. “I don’t think the Horde has ever begged mercy before.”
“The Horde has never met me. At least, not in this capacity. They’ll know who is to wed their King when I finish here. That much I promise you. Besides, I’ve faced worse odds before when I was a Witch.”
“Yes, but you’re not a Witch, Goddess. You are ours now. They will follow you anywhere you or Ryder asks them to go,” Zahruk said. “The Horde will once again, follow their King into battle—willingly.”
“Zahruk, hate to break the speech, but until I get Ryder back, let’s not worry about worlds. I want my fucking Fairy back, and I want him now.”
“Tomorrow we ride, Flower. The United Castes of Faery,” Ristan grinned. “This should be interesting; someone better make some fucking popcorn to bring along.”
“Demon, that sounds like a wrestling league and not at all official-like,” I warned as I stared him down, and then blanched from the coppery scent of my new perfume. “Get this shit off me, my magic is tapped.”
“I kinda like you in red, Flower. It’s kind of a rose hue, and suits you very well.”
“Demon…” I growled.
“Fine.” He grinned as he waved his hand and I was finally cleansed of the sins of the day. I’d just killed seven Fae; seven less who could help us. Seven who had families somewhere, maybe even children? It was a win, though, and right now, we needed it.
“Take me back to my chambers,” I whispered as I trembled with the need to be close to Ryder. “I need to rest before we head out to pick a fight with the Guild.”