Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (24 page)

“Dec!” she hissed and grabbed his arm. He turned to her shocked. “I had a dream about them, Dec!” The dream of the evil Witches flashed through her mind as it was all coming together. “My sisters, Dec! The Fates need my sisters to sacrifice thei
r power to them so they can rule. The Three in the box replaces the Three!”

“What are you talking about?” Declan asked alarmed.

“In my dream in the cells of the black castle, I saw three Witches performing a spell. Their words didn’t make sense until now. They need three souls to take in order for their power to rise. If they suck out the souls of my sisters trapped in Pandora’s Box, they will be given enough power to rule. The spell that will enable them to bend the fate requires a sacrifice…the sacrifice of my sisters.”

“Shit!” Chase cursed beside her. “
So wait, Hekate doesn’t want your power anymore?”

“No, don’t you get it?” Willow asked. “When the Fates come to power,
they will be able to gain any power they want to, including mine! Right, Declan?”

Declan nodded dismally. “I think so
.”

“Hekate failed to extract my power at my talisman ceremony, but if she combines her magic with her sisters, there will be nothing I can do to stop her from taking it....and killing me.”

“Shit,” Chase cursed again. “What do we do?”

“Find the prophesy. It will tell us how to destroy them,” Declan said.

“Surely Carmela wouldn’t let this happen. She’s on our side, right?” Chase asked.

“She may not have a choice,” Declan contemplated as they made it to the entrance of the throne room. Tierran opened the wide doors made out of sol
id gold as they entered. Willow’s heart pounded as they made the long journey up to the King and Queen. Now, their fate was in the hands of the King and Queen of the A’minthrid Elves.

The King and Queen of the Elves sat with perfect posture on their golden thrones. This was the third time Willow had to address royalty, and frankly, she was getting tired of it. First, it was the Fey. King Diazinon and Queen Eclipsia of the Everwild were very cold and deceitful, manipulating Declan to face the dragon Angont to win her talisman. Next, it was the supposed “King of the Deadlands” a.k.a. Selene. She was even worse than the Fey! And now, she had come face to face with the Elven royalty. Hopefully, they will show better hospitality than the other royals, but her experiences thus far did not deem it promising.

“
King Malathion, Queen Nastia, I present the Healer and the Destroyer,” Tierran bowed to them at the throne and stood idly by, keeping guard.

Princess
Aralee scoffed at Tierran, “Do not forget my Handmaiden and Chase, Captain!”

Tierran smirked but said nothing more. “
Elirana Carpathiamin,” King Malathion addressed Elirana. She hurriedly came up to the throne and bowed before her King and Queen. “We are so pleased to see you well. My child has missed her most devoted friend and protector.”

“And I am also glad you are well
, my King,” Elirana said with her head still bowed. “I have also missed my Princess greatly.”

Willow was close enough to the King and Queen to study their features. Both royals before her had long draping black hair, yet in the Queen’s hair, there were streaks of bright red. They both wore red in their attire and wore crowns of gold detail
on their heads. Their faces were young and fresh. Whereas the King had green eyes like the Princess, the Queen had sapphire blue eyes. Their eyes held years of wisdom. Willow was not fooled by their youthful appearance. They were probably centuries old.

“Tierran has told us troubling
news,” Queen Nastia’s voice spoke softly. Her gaze turned upon Willow and Declan and stayed there. Willow moved closer to Declan. The Queen seemed to be looking straight into her soul and it made Willow uncomfortable. Declan wrapped an arm around Willow’s waist to secure her to him.

Elirana stood to address them. “The Deadlands are not what they seem, My Lady,” she began. “They have been under the control of Selene, one of the Three Fates
for quite some time now. She has gathered an army of all the evil we have placed there and is planning to unleash them upon the human realm. It was my promise to lead the Healer through the Deadlands to find the key to free her sisters.”

“What importance is this key?” Malathion asked.

“It unlocks a box of souls. The Dark Queen Hekate has trapped the Healer’s three sisters in order to gain their power. You are aware of what will happen if the sacrifice takes place. They have come to our ream in search of the Healer’s prophesy. Our Historians know of the prophesy they are seeking.”

“
This is very grim news,” Malathion spoke. “But tell me…were you forced into the Deadlands as Tierran claims?”

“
No.” Elirana held her head high. She didn’t glance at Tierran, but Willow could tell Elirana was annoyed with him. “I volunteered, My Lord.” Several gasps from the other Elves echoed across the throne room.

“And how come you by your memories?”
Nastia asked. “How did you break through the magic our Elders beset upon you?”

Elirana cleared her throat and fiddled
with her hands. While simultaneously tucking her hair behind her ear and turning, she glanced quickly at Chase and then back to the Queen. Willow swore she saw the Elf maiden blush. “The Werewolf Chase Hawthorne has helped me greatly. He recovered my memories.”

“The Werewolf?” The Queen asked in shock looking at Chase. Chase stood tall and proud crossing his arms. “Your father was attacked by three Werewolves not long ago! He came back to us, thank goodness, claiming you were taken by f
orce but did not say where. He claims a Werewolf and two magic casters took you hostage through Carmela’s portal. And yet here you are unharmed saying you came back from the Deadlands with your memories intact!”

“With
all due respect,” Willow spoke up, getting strange looks from the royals, “Carmela sent us there for a reason.”

“Are we all in a game of the F
ates?” Malathion questioned quietly. His brow was furrowed, and he looked worried. “Are we pawns in their scheme to rise to power? Carmela seems to be twisting many things.”

“It is our opinion that Carmela is still on the side of good,” Elirana said.

“
Our
opinion?” the Queen asked, and then looked again at Willow narrowing her blue eyes.

“Um…yes, Your Majesty,” Elirana stepped back to stand by Willow and Declan. “
On our journey through the Deadlands, many things have been discovered. We have worked together and have made it out alive. We can defeat the evil descending upon us. The Healer and the Destroyer are meant to balance nature in the human realm…together. I have come to respect them as magic casters and can call them my friends.” Willow’s mouth dropped opened at that revelation. So Elirana considered her a friend? Wow! She was both touched and honored to have gained the respect of an Elf, because that respect is extremely hard to earn.

“Healer…what are your thoughts?” Malathion finally addressed Willow. What did he mean by that? What was he asking her?

“Um…” Willow spoke up, of course her voice held no confidence whatsoever. “I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Why are the Witches deceiving us? Now?” he questioned deeply. The King was very perceptive and he wanted to
take the conversation to a deeper level.

Willow took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. “Why are there traitors among any race, Your Highness? Why can you find both good and evil in a person’s
heart? No one truly knows the answers to these questions, but one thing is certain. There is no in between. You can either side with that of the good, or you can sit back and allow darkness and evil to reign. If you do that, you may as well have joined with the darkness as the Fey have done. It is that decision alone that changes a person’s destiny, for better or worse. Hekate has betrayed the Witches. She has twisted her place as Queen among our race all for her selfish love of power. She is gaining allies and agents of evil to cover my world in terror and immorality. I wish I could justify her actions and apologize for the betrayal of our Queen, but I did not realize she was one of the Fates, and this goes beyond our ways.

Witches have always looked to the good of others. We brew potions and give help when needed, if it
is for a good cause. We strive for love and decency, and cherish one another. As with any race, though, there will always be darkness threatening to take over and it is up to us to stop it.    

As for Carmela, I do not know what side she
is playing. One minute I think she’s on our side, the next, I feel she has betrayed me. Yet, with her help I have found my talisman to strengthen my power. I have also found the one key that will open Pandora’s Box and free my sisters. Declan,” she pointed to him, “is the son of the Head Warlock of the Emerald Circle Order and has incredible power. As you both know I am a Healer. With our powers combined, we can defeat them if only we have the prophesy. In any case, war is upon us whether we like to admit that or not.” 

The King and Queen of the Elves looked upon Willow in a different li
ght upon ending her speech. It almost seemed like they were impressed. Nevertheless, the King’s words still were not what Willow wanted to hear. “I do not wish to partake in any war,” Malathion said sternly. “I will not subject my people to death and decay. Our realm will go on as it always has. Yet, even though I choose not to aid the magic casters in this war, I will play a small part, so that all may not come to the Fates’ powers, for they are evil and treacherous, and everything I stand against. If it is the Prophesy you seek, then I will allow my most knowledgeable Historian to find it. Tierran, fetch Corwyn,” the King ordered.

Willow let out a breath of relief.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she said elated, and couldn’t wait for Tierran to bring the Historian into the hall. She did a double take when the doors opened minutes later and in walked Tierran, strutting proudly next to….a Satyr. The clip clop of the Satyr’s hooved feet echoed on the marbled floor as he made his way towards them. He was short, only half of the Elven knight’s height, and despite his bottom half being a goat, he looked like an average man waist up. The Satyr was bare-chested with a tuft of hair on his chest. He had shaggy white hair and two small curved horns at the top of his head. He had a long white beard that curled at the end and wore moon rimmed glasses. In his hand was a book. He looked very intelligent.

The Satyr reached the King and bowed. “How may I be of service to you, Your Majesty?” he asked standing up.

“Corwyn, I’d like to introduce the Healer of the Witch race, Willow Rose, along with Declan of the Warlocks, the Destroyer.” King Malathion didn’t address Chase, and Willow heard him puff out a breath of irritation. She almost smiled at that if the situation wasn’t so tense. She was dying to find out what the prophesy said.

Corwyn turned to look at them and
lowered his head to peer at the magic casters beyond his glasses. His eyes were a slate gray and were very small, but they twinkled with interest. “My, my, my,” he said, his voice sounded a bit gruff, but that was to be expected from a half goat. “A Witch and Warlock are here in our realm at such a time as this! I never expected to live to see this day.”

“Corwyn,”
the King spoke. “Do you know of the Healer’s prophesy?”

Corwyn turned to the King
and his gray eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh yes,” he said nodding, “it is one of our prized pieces of parchment we have procured. I know we have it in Malak Select, but the words have escaped my memory. It was a very, very long time ago that this prophesy was written. If I may inquire, My Lord, why are you asking?”

“We have granted
the magic casters access to this prophesy. Please show them the scrolls.”

“As you wish,” Corwyn bowed.

Corwyn began to exit, when the Queen spoke across the room, addressing her servants. “The day is long and I am sure our guests are weary. After finding the prophesy, take them to the quarter chambers to clean and get some rest before they leave.”

“Even the Werewolf, Your Highness?” Tierran asked
surprised.

The Queen’s eyes flashed once when her gaze landed on Chase. “Even the Werewolf. We cannot hold his crimes against him. For Elirana has returned unharmed and has been truthful in her
words and actions. Besides, he helped reclaim her memories and Elirana went with them willingly. This suggests the Werewolf has done no wrong. Send word to her father and brother that she is safe in our Kingdom again.” The Queen reasoned very well and gave justice accordingly.

Tierran bowed stiffly. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Corwyn beckoned them to follow him. Elirana also joined them in leaving, with Princess Aralee right on their heels. “My Lady,” Tierran called to her. The Princess stopped and turned. “May I ask where you’re going?”

“With them, of course,” she said stubbornly. She turned to her mother and father, and they both had strange smirks on their faces.

“Let her go, Tierran,” King Malathion said. “You as well as I know that once her mind is set on something, she cannot let it go. Please accompany her.”

Tierran nodded and followed the Princess out of the room. Their company just got
a little bigger. They followed Corwyn through long corridors of splendor and magnificence. Many painting were hung on the walls, paintings, she noticed, from the mortal realm. Van Gough’s Starry Night, Water Lilies by Claude Monet, and even a replica of the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo. It was odd to see human paintings in the Elven realm, but it added to the castle’s beauty. Chase said the Elves liked to acquire all sorts of goods from the human realm, and it was obvious.

They made it to a hallway with large doors at the end. They were entirely made of gold with the words, “Malak Select” written above them. When Corwyn opened the doors, Willow inhaled in shock. The library was absolutely magnificent! Three floors of nothing but shelves and shelves of bookcases and papers wrapped around the room lining up all the way to domed ceiling. There was a red carpet runner going up the stairs on either side of the library. Several ladders were attached to the bookcases to allow easy access to the top shelves. There were too many books to count, and endless depths of knowledge of all races. The histories of different magical creatures were all contained within the books on these shelves.

On the first floor in the library were several couches, chairs, and desks. Stacks of old papers buried the desks so that you couldn’t distinguish where the
grain of the wood was. Corwyn walked in easily and motioned for them to follow him. They came to a large armoire entirely encased in glass. There were dozens of organized scrolls on the shelves in the armoire. Corwyn glanced at Willow and smiled.

“This armoire contains the most powerful prophesies in our age and ages past. It is not history, but the future.
For each prophesy speaks about what is to come, not what has preceded.”