Have No Mercy (21 page)

“You look stunning, my lady,”
Molly said with a warmness that made it easy to believe.

“I wish I could see myself.”

“I could—” But she stopped
herself.

“"The prince. He's a right
nasty one he is. You must be vigilant and try to get out of here as soon as
possible."

I couldn't see her face as she
was still behind me, but her voice held fear. I knew she meant what she said.

"He's been of age for a
while to take a consort. And all the girls were mad with vying for his
affections. But after the first two were beheaded for not bearing children from
him, no one is willing to be his concubine. Not that they have a choice
really."

I wasn't at all surprised to hear
this. The nasty leer in his heated gaze on me not to mention his words were
enough to make my skin crawl.

"He wants an heir before his
mother succeeds where he has failed. And you being human and all are the perfect
vessel."

Her use of the word vessel sent a
chill down my spine.

“Rowen is quite a catch. You are
quite the lucky lady.”

She came around to face me. My
words were a bit shaky but sure. "I have a husband." It didn't matter
if she assumed I was referring to Flynn. I had no desire to be Rowen no matter
how attractive he was.

"Aye, but mam, if you remain
here Larrison will get rid of any competition."

Apparently, she didn’t know what
I’d done to him. But what was her motivation. "Why are you telling me this?
Won't you get in trouble?"

She glanced away trying to hide a
look that I caught. Fear. I took a step so that we were once again face to face
and held her stare.

This time her eyes found the
floor, but her mouth proceeded to open. "I was in your shoes once."
Her shyness about telling me whatever it was she wanted me to say kept my mouth
firmly closed.

“Tell me.”

Nervously, she shook her head. “I
can only say but this. I was in love once. And an offer made. I choose wrong.”

I reached out and clasped her cold
hands. “You may have another chance. I can’t speak for him, but I think
Tristrom is just as interested in you as you are of him.”

Her head shook violently. “I
cannot speak of this. I must go and get Rowen.”

I wanted to press her, but she
looked spooked. The last thing I needed was for her to get in trouble for me.

“Okay, I wish we had more time. I
feel like we could have been friends.”

She smiled, some of the tension
easing from her body.

“And can you tell Rowen to give
me another minute. I just…”

She nodded. “I will. And mam?”

“Yes.”

“Keep him safe.”

She left with those parting
words, and I wondered why I needed to keep Rowen safe? Added to all the other
cryptic messages I still needed to decipher, I moved to the corner of the room.
I couldn’t leave without telling Flynn goodbye. I promised. And I would try to
keep my promise if I could.

My hand had returned to normal
shortly after Molly entered the room. I knew that whenever I stole power it was
finite. So I first pressed against the hidden door with my hand and quickly
search for seams, latches or anything that would open it. When nothing
happened, I examined my hand and called forth a small amount of cold. I nearly
squealed in delight when my hand began to glow a very faint blue as ice formed
on my palm. I placed my hand on a smooth part of the door and hoped it would
work.

But I didn’t need to reenacted
what happened if you stuck your tongue on something very cold, in this case my
hand. The door clicked opened as if reacting to the power of Winter that
coursed through me.

I released the power after
closing hidden door not by my hand but by my will. That was pretty freaky. I
glanced in the darkness at my hand as if all the power of Winter were stored in
it. What had Larrison been capable of?

Deciding I needed to hurry, I
started moving ahead. The only problem with using this route to get to Flynn
was that his room was across the hall. With the guards at my door, I would have
to go far enough down the line before attempting to cross the hall from another
room to enter the passages on that side. It was dark and many of the lights in
rooms I passed were out. I came to a juncture where the hallway turned right. I
figured I would just enter the next room I got to and cross into the hallway
there and double back. Instead, a chilling voice stopped me.

Light didn't stream in from a
multitude of holes. There was only one pair of holes in this wall. Based on the
voice, I'd come to Madeline's quarters or office. I found it hard to believe
that she would allow such an intrusion.

"The girl is safe."

"Then where is she?"

The first voice was Madeline’s.
And the second had me rock still. I knew the voice. I moved to the eyes holes
having to stoop in order to see. I had to know. And there he was in the
expansive room, impeccably dressed as always. In profile, perched on the edge
of a desk while Madeline paced in front of him, was a demon I hoped never to
see again. Belial, Sebastian’s sire and second in command of hell was in
Fairy. 

I sucked in a breath. Luckily,
the audible noise hadn’t been heard. The heavy looking wooden desk where they
were was more than half a room a way. Behind them in a hearth was a fire... a
freaking fire burned near two people I loathed the most.

The temperature in the castle was
near frigid levels at all times. I’d grown accustomed to the cold. Or maybe my
demon side had protected me from the chill without my knowing. But I hadn’t
seen one fireplace until then.

The ice queen didn't melt as she
came and stood in front of the yellow flame. She held a hand out as if she
might touch the fire before her eyes moved sharply and landed near the spot
where I stooped. She snapped her finger, and the yellow flames turned blue.

"Ah, it's like that now is
it?" Belial asked

Just when I thought she might
head in my direction, her focus traveled back to the man before her.

"What? You don't like the
cold? Hell's got you in a frenzy?"

That answered one question.
Madeline knew exactly who he was. She placed a sharp nailed hand on his chest
and looked in his eyes the way I'd seen Mom peer into David's a time or two
when they didn't know I was there. I wanted to scrub my eyes and close my ears
for the next words that pass between them. But I couldn’t.

"You have me in a
frenzy." I opened my eyes in time to see him capture her wrist and pull
her close. "I need the girl safe and without harm."

Madeline glanced away, and he let
her go. "She's safe. But..." She let the words dangle in front in him
as she then placed a hand on his cheek while maintaining a lock hold on his gaze.

"But." His words were
sharp like a swipe of a dagger.

She maintained a sticky sweetness
that was as fake as the smile on her face. "But Larrison has taken an
interest in her. He wants the girl, and I feel as a mother I should give him
this rare gift."

What had she meant about that?
Wasn’t she sending me off with Rowen? Then again, she was most likely playing a
deadly game as much with him as he was most likely doing with her.

Beliel slapped a hand down on the
desk with a crack and stood. Madeline stepped back almost cowering in his
anger. Then she rolled her shoulders and stood spine stiffened but poised for
battle.

"Our bargain was struck. You
have the boy. He will help you usher in a new age. And she will help me. Let me
remind you that you need humans to believe in you to restore this place,"
he gestured wide with open arms, "back to its glory."

The boy? Was he referring to
Flynn?

He walked a tight circle around
her to stop and face her. He placed a hand on her chin and made her look
directly at him. They stood eye to eye. With Madeline's full-length skirt, I
didn't know what sort of shoes she wore and if in fact they were the same height.
None of that mattered. What he said next did.

"The girl will guarantee an
age and time much like the time of Merlin. Humans will once again know their
place. They will believe and cower before us like the trembling creatures they
are. She will stand next to my son where she was destined to be, or she will
not stand at all."

There was no time to think about
what he said. I wanted to run. I wanted to find Flynn and figure this out. But
I was unable to move. There felt like there was more I could learn if I just
held my ground.

Madeline yanked herself away from
his grasp. "Larrison will be disappointed, but I will take care of it. But
what if your son,” she sneered the words like she knew Sebastian. “What if he
doesn’t succeed? He isn’t your only flesh and—”

“With the angel and her match out
of the way, it is unlikely Sebastian will fail. But there is another who could
fill the role. He’s broken and moldable.” His eyes danced in the blue
firelight. “They’ve met. Their connection is strong.”

Who was he talking about? Who had
I met? I couldn’t concentrate on the who because they continued to speak, and I
didn’t want to miss anything they said.

Belial's eyes grew hard. “Need I
remind you when that buffoon of a husband couldn’t give you a child, what did
you do? You sent that man you claimed to love, honor and all that shite to the
ladies of the court where they ripened with female fruit. Then you sent him to
the Elven Princess, who is Queen now. It must have burned when he gave her a
son.”

“I don’t care about him, you know
that.”

“You did very much so love him
until he loved everyone else but you.”

The Queen who always appeared
unflappable looked shaken.

She quickly regained her
composure. “It doesn’t matter. I stole her son. I stole the father’s soul for
you.”

“And in return you got you wish.
You got the son you wanted.”

Together, they were like a bomb
blast ready to go out. They both appeared as if they were holding back from
going completely nuclear.

Madeline's eyes narrowed, and her
mouth thinned. “I don’t get what’s so special about this one girl. However, she
came here to me of her own free will and brought the boy, an unexpected but
most delicious bonus. And I have them both, so what will you do for me?"

Was she trying to rewrite what
sounded like an agreement earlier? Had Belial set me up to come here?

“You will stick to the plan and
together we will rule the human realm.”

He drew her close and twirled her
around so that her back was flush with his chest. He angled her neck as if he
was a vampire ready to strike. But then he placed a kiss to her throat, and I
wanted to say yuck and prepared myself to leave knowing what was possibly to
come next.

"You are the most beautiful
creature there is. You have nothing to be jealous of." His word made me
think of the fairytale of Snow White. I shook my head to clear it of the
notions. "You don't need the boy. I could give you what you want. I have
before."

She didn't move except for her
eyes as they drifted close. "And look how he turned out. He's barely
controllable. He’s weak. He’s let the girl get the best of him more than once,
yet he continues to desire her. And he thinks himself worthy of my
throne." She coughed out a laugh.

"I can take the boy with me,
teach him."

"No." She snapped. She
moved away from Beliel. "He mustn't know."

"Know what. Where he hails
from?"

She ignored his question. "I
need the boy. Lucien is worthless. Tristrom is not worthy. But..." A smile
blossomed on her face as she kept her thought in her head and let them show on
her face instead. I didn't like the lustful look that grew there.

Belial stepped forward placing a
hand on her shoulder. He pushed away fabric to repeat the gesture on the other
side. "Show me," he commanded. "You know how much I like it when
you’re so sweet."

She didn't do as he bid until he
placed a kiss on her lips. I was really ready to leave until she stepped back
with a wicked gleam in her eye. Then like a tornado of sand that began at her
feet and up around her torso until covering her head, she transformed. The wind
disappeared as fast as it came, and Madeline was no longer. Morgana stood in
her place.

I scrambled back and didn’t wait
to see if I’d been heard. There was one person who needed to know what I just
saw. I crept down the passage at a fast pace. The first dark room I came to, I
opened the door with my chaotic mind as Winter continued to run through me.

The halls were cleared when I
stepped out. The guards stood with their back to me. I began to run towards
Flynn’s door.

“Mercy!”

Several things happened at once.
The guards by my door turned and began to march in my direction. The shout also
had Flynn’s door opening. He turned shocked eyes on me. But Madeline was there
at my side before I could speak.

Flynn’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going
on?” his voice was deep with anger, so deep I flinched against it.

“Mercy was just leaving.”

Rowen rushed passed the guards
having come from my room. He reached me just as we neared Flynn’s door. I
turned to look at Flynn’s disheveled appearance. He stepped fully out of his
room and closed the door before I could look inside.

Madeline stepped over to Flynn
and placed a hand on his shoulder near his neck. I watched as her nails grew
spikey and aimed towards his unsuspecting neck.

The warning was for me, not for
him.

Rowen decided with Madeline gone
from my side it was safe for him to whisper to me. “I told you earlier I could
help you get away from here. We must go while the Queen is willing to let you.”

Flynn couldn’t hear him and
almost at the same time said, “Where is she going?”

It hurt he could bear to direct
his question to me. I caught the glimmer in the Queen’s eye and decided it was
best I play along.

“I’m leaving just like you
wanted.”

“With him?”

I winced at his accusation, but
pushed on. “Why do you care? You told me you wanted Morgana not me. And now I
have Rowen.”

I fixed my face forward and began
marching away with purpose. I glanced back to see Madeline stepping away from
Flynn looking victorious. When I turned back, Larrison stood in the opening
down another hall. He was hidden from everyone taking in my walk of shame. The
guards had remained with Madeline. Larrison was thinner and paler than death.
His hand was braced on a wall as if he needed it to help keep him upright.

There was nothing to say if I
wanted to make it out of there alive. I picked up the pace with the outer doors
in view. They were wide out with bright, chilly air waiting on the outside. I
dashed out making Rowen take quicker steps to keep up with me. I closed my eyes
some against the brightness of the day and double-timed it down the stairs. A
black boxy carriage that looked more like something out of the Wild West times
than fairytales waited for us at the bottom.

Rowen made sure to beat me to the
door, so he could open it for me. The red curtains on the windows were all
drawn, so when I stepped inside, I was shocked to see Tristrom waiting for me.

I kept my mouth shut, not sure if
Rowen knew we had an extra passenger. I sat on the seat facing backward and
nodded at Rowen, who shut the door. I eyed Tristrom.

“Why are you here?”

It didn’t matter that it was a
good thing. I could still finish one task.

“Queen Mab wanted to make sure
you got where you were going. And also that you did as Rowen bid.”

It hadn’t taken him long to
speak, so I assumed he’d planned the words in his head before I showed up.

“Are you here for her or for
yourself?”

The horses began to move. I
leaned over and peeked out the windows as Madeline and crew stepped back
inside. The doors to the fortress began to close, and I was just about let the
fabric fallback in place when a figure ducked through the narrowing gap. It
darted down the stairs and began to run after us. But as the horses picked up
speed, the figure got smaller.

“For you and me,” Tristrom said.

But I banged on the wall behind
me. “Stop!” I cried out and banged and shouted until Rowen did, in fact, stop
the carriage. We’d turned the corner closer to wear Tristrom fought Larrison. I
didn’t wait, I jumped out of the carriage and breezed passed Rowen.

“What’s going on?”

But I ran towards the figure who
was headed for me.

When I reached him, I slammed in
his chest. There was only a beat before I was folded in his arms. “What did you
do this time princess?”

“Flynn, God, you have to know I’m
sorry.” And I wasn’t just talking about what had just transpired. It was an
anguished plea from my heart to his for everything I’d done.

“I know you are,” he said
sounding weary.

Rowen’s voice hit me on my back.
He’d caught up with us. “Touching reunion but we must go. Queen Mab will still
sense our presence in her lands. If she thinks we’ve stopped, she'll come
investigate.”

I glanced up with Flynn wondering
what he was going to choose to do.

“After you,” he said, letting me
go.

We all ran back to the carriage.
Tristrom who’d gotten out had remained next to the door. He helped me in and
followed after Flynn got inside. Rowen got back on the front, and the horses
began to gallop away.

I ended up on the hot seat as the
two boys sat facing me. I wrapped my arms around myself feeling on display.
Flynn must have thought I was cold because he moved to sit next to me wrapping
an arm around my shoulder.

Calmly, Flynn urged, “Now tell me
what’s going on.”

I wasn’t yet sure how much to
tell Flynn. Tristrom kept glancing at Flynn with suspicious eyes. Hadn’t he
told me Flynn was eating Fey food. Was Flynn still my Flynn or was he a spy for
Madeline? I hated to think it but what if she’d sent him to see if I would
divulge a plan that was different than the one she had set out for me.

“Madeline thinks I stole
something from her son when I was forced to kiss him to make good on a bargain
I made.”

Flynn scowled. I glanced at
Tristrom because he would have guessed that was the bargain I made to keep him
alive. But I also knew Flynn would get my meaning. I hadn’t yet told Tristrom
what I was. Too much has happened, I barely had time to breathe.

Flynn turned my cheek to get me
to face him. “Did you steal from him?”

I nodded and glanced down. “I
didn’t mean to.”

He sighed. He didn’t have to ask
how it was possible. How was anything possible when it came to me? Luke had
been researching for information because my mother was bound by demon law and
rules of some game, not to tell me anything about why I was different and
possessed a soul and a demon inside me.

“I need to ask you something.” I
met his eyes. “Was Morgana in your room?”

“Mercy,” he growled. “We don’t
have time for this.”

“Just tell me!”

He exhaled a breath and nodded. I
closed my eyes. So Madeline could take the shape of her daughter but her
daughter still existed. But then, she could also go to Flynn as her daughter. I
needed to tell him anyway. I had no idea if he was lost to me, but if he was
still planning to stay, I owed him that much information.

“Are you still planning to stay
in Fairy?”

His lips pursed. “Yes.”

I felt like I’d been stabbed
again. “Then why are you here?”

I shouldn’t fight, but it hurt. I
wanted him to choose me selfish or not.

“I made a promise to keep you
safe as long as I could.”

I moved away from him shooting to
the other side of the bench as he gave me the give me a break look.

“Then you should know—”

But the quick stop of the
carriage and other horses headed in our direction stopped me.

“Is he in there?” the shout was
wickedly cold.

All of our eyes widened.

“Fuck,” Flynn muttered.

“You have to go,” I cried and
pleaded to Tristrom with my eyes.

“No shit Sherlock. But how?”
Flynn asked.

A burst of light exploded in the
carriage. I hoped it couldn’t be seen from outside.

“Flynn through the portal.” I
mouthed I love you before I added. “Don’t tell anyone about what he can do.”

He nodded and without even a hand
squeeze he leaped through. The light was gone when Madeline yanked open the
door and saw my wide and frightened eyes. They hadn’t been for her, but the
effect worked. She appeared smug.

“Where is Flynn?”

I knew Tristrom would still be
thinking about the best words to say when I shouted, “How the hell would I
know? You’ve taken him from me. You’re making me leave. What else do you want?”

I wanted to pat myself on my back
for my award winning performance, but I abstained.

“You know what I want. And if you
want to keep him safe, you’ll bring it to me.”

She easily backed out the
carriage only having braced her hands on the floor and peered inside like some
sort of monster scenting for prey. The door slammed, and we were off again.

“Thanks, I know you don’t trust
him. But I owe you for that.”

He nodded. I’d nearly closed my
eyes when he said, “You saved my life once too.”

I acknowledge his words with a
reciprocating head shake. Then I drew my thoughts inward. How had she known
Flynn was gone? Rowen’s words drifted back to me. She’ll know we’re still on
her lands. Would she know who specifically? Is that how she’d found us that
first day? Had she sensed us and not been told by the two Fey that guided us
in?

There may never be an answer. In
the end, I just needed Flynn safe like he apparently needed the same for me.

“What has she asked you to get
her?”

Tristrom words drift into my
subconscious thought. I opened my eyes to see him watching me.

“Why do you watch me?” I shook my
head and adjusted my query. “Madeline wants me to deliver the scepter? Do you
know anything about it?”

Patience Mercy, I told myself. At
least he would answer me completely unlike everyone else that held answers in
my life.

“It is Merlin’s wand as some call
it. Merlin was born of light and dark Fey. He walked the lands of human in a
time where magic was real to those who lived on Earth. When he died, memories
were forgotten and the power of his wand was harnessed into the scepter. It was
given to both the Queen of Winter and the Queen of Summer. Shared over equal
measure in alternating times, the scepter can pierce the veil between worlds
and allows the owner to harness the power of the human believers as well as
enter the human realm. Without it, that Queen is stuck in Fairy until her turn
comes up again. ”

That was food for thought, which
food was the wrong word to think. My stomach growled so loud Tristrom arched a
brow at me.

“Thanks for the information,” I
said before closing my eyes.

I let myself drift. I was walking
into another lion’s den, and I needed my wits about me. I had no questions
about that for Tristrom. He’d given me all the information I needed. Madeline
needed to get her son to Earth, and the scepter was her way. If she knew about
Tristrom, she would never let him leave assuming she could control him and his
power long enough so he couldn’t flee on his own.

When the carriage slowed, I woke
and opened the curtains. The lands were a lush green much like Winter except
interspersed where fields of tulips in an array of colors. There were tall
trees along with the evergreens and hedges.

The door opened, and Rowen stood
with a hand held out. “My lady.”

With his hand in mine, I stepped
out into light that warmed my skin. The chill was gone, and I felt like lying
out and getting some much needed rays.

“Summer suits you,” Rowen said
drawing me forward. We walked up a path towards a castle that had Disney
written all over it. It felt inviting as if I had nothing to fear. I didn’t
understand it. It just felt right.

“And here she is. The lady of the
hour.” I glanced from the beautiful gardens into the face of Queen Tatiana. Her
red hair held a tangle of curls atop her head. And even though the place felt
safe, she did not.