Reign Check (18 page)

16

Based on my limited experience with the Shadowlands—gray stormy skies; scary black castle; sharp, rocky ground beneath my feet; and cold, dry winds—I’d expected an even more desolate wasteland for the Underworld. But I’d been wrong.

The Underworld looked like a city. A big one, with paved streets and tall chrome-and-glass skyscrapers looming all around me. I could barely see the skies above where the gateway let me and Michael off on a long, pale sidewalk, but what little I could see appeared to be reassuringly blue.

“You’re getting stronger, Princess,” Michael commented.

“Oh?” I looked at him before realizing I had his arm in a death grip. I released him. “Sorry.”

He smiled. “It’s okay. It’s my first time here, too, at least that I can remember. So it is a bit strange, isn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement,” I said.

Again, that smile of his was totally distracting. I found myself very quickly lost in it, forgetting for a moment that we’d just entered a completely different world. But I was jolted out of my daze when he suddenly pushed me back a few feet behind him.

“What are you—?” I began, when I turned to see what had prompted him to block me.

A blonde woman now stood in front of us. An unfortunately
familiar
blonde woman.

“I was asked to wait here for your arrival,” my aunt Elizabeth said. “Welcome to the Underworld, Nikki.”

The fear and surprise caused pain to sweep through me, and I knew my horns had formed because of the burning, tingling sensation on either side of my head. I clenched my fists and felt the sharp talons dig into my skin. A small, unconscious hiss slipped through my rapidly sharpening teeth at the sight of the woman who’d nearly succeeded in murdering me and my father only last week.

“What are you doing here?” Michael growled.

Elizabeth’s eyebrows went up as if surprised by our visceral reaction to her. “Prince Kieran sent me to fetch you both and lead you to the castle. Otherwise, would you be able to find your way without a guide? I don’t think you have a map.”

“Why would he send
you
?”

“Because no one else was available.”

Michael shook his head. “I don’t like this, Princess. We’re leaving. Sending Elizabeth after what happened is a show of major disrespect to you and King Desmond.”

Elizabeth’s lips curled. “So protective, Shadow. It’s good that you’re doing your job, but you have nothing to fear from me. Despite our rather …
unpleasant
… history.”

“You tried to kill me,” I said tightly, when I finally found my voice.

“And I was soundly punished for it,” she replied. “My brother will never allow me to return to the Shadowlands. I accept my banishment and I’m doing what I can to make amends. I want you to know how deeply I regret what transpired last week.” She reached out a hand toward me.

Michael placed himself in front of me. “Don’t come any closer.”

“But I wanted to demonstrate that you have nothing to fear from me. The banishment makes it impossible for me even to touch my niece now.”

Michael’s lean muscles were tense as he held me back, but we didn’t move as Elizabeth reached her well-manicured hand out toward me. When she was about six inches away, I heard a zapping sound, similar to what happened if I inadvertently touched Michael’s amulet. She yanked her hand back and shook it out, pain crossing her beautiful face.

“See?” she said. “You’re completely safe. Any closer and I might have lost a finger.”

“That
is
oddly reassuring,” I said.

“Please, come with me.” She turned and began walking away. Michael didn’t make any immediate move to follow her.

“We can leave right now and go back to the Shadowlands,” he said, his worried gaze sweeping over my partial Darkling shift. He reached down to squeeze my hand. “Your father will be furious to know the council sent Elizabeth to meet us.”

I concentrated for a moment and felt my horns and talons disappear. I was getting better at controlling my shifts. Practice makes perfect, after all.

“No … let’s keep going. We’re here now. She can’t touch me.”

“I really don’t like her.”

“That makes two of us.”

Despite my brave(ish) words, seeing Elizabeth with no warning had freaked me out. So I tried to focus on something, anything, else. As we tentatively followed Elizabeth at a safe distance, I craned my neck, looking at the tall buildings around us.

If I didn’t know we were in the Underworld, I would swear it was New York City. Mom had taken me on a trip to visit her publisher there a couple years ago. This was similar, only I didn’t see any tour buses or big neon billboards, like in Times Square.

There was one major difference, though. In New York, there were crowds of people and the streets were filled with traffic. There were sounds and smells—both good and bad—and an energy that infused the city from corner to corner.

Here was none of that. No sirens, no traffic—no cars or taxis, either, parked or driving—no crowds. No one, seemingly, but the three of us. That such a large city was so silent and empty gave it an eerie ghost-town feel that sent a shiver through me.

Where is everybody?
I asked Michael telepathically.

::I don’t know. The Underworld is a very large place—bigger than anything you can imagine. I guess everyone’s really spread out. Doesn’t explain why it’s completely deserted, though. We can leave—::

No, we’re staying. For now, anyway.

Michael stayed close to me, keeping watch for potential threats. But there was nothing and no one other than Elizabeth, walking quickly on high heels that
click-clacked
along the sidewalk, the cloaklike blue dress she wore swishing around her slim legs.

I remembered when I’d first met her—she’d seemed so nice, so helpful, so caring. My mom was an only child, like me, so the thought of finding not only my father but my aunt as well had been amazing to me.

Unfortunately, she’d been one big lie wrapped in a beautiful blonde package. I think she’d single-handedly taught me the lesson not to trust anyone I met, or anything they said, before I got to know them better.

We finally came to a building that seemed to be made entirely of gold, and it reached so far into the sky that I couldn’t even see the top of it.

“Here we are,” Elizabeth announced. “The castle.”

“This is a castle?” I said.

She nodded. “Queen Sephina changes the appearance of the Underworld’s core frequently. All you see around you can change at her whim. Right now it’s a city. Six months ago this was forestland. A year ago it was a tropical island.”

She changed her surroundings like she might change her outfit? “So she gets easily bored?”

“Her daughter, Princess Kassandra, is the one who requests the changes when she visits. And”—Elizabeth sighed heavily—“what Kassandra wants, Kassandra gets.”

That sounded interesting. Someone who made Elizabeth sigh with frustration and annoyance? I liked this Princess Kassandra person already.

Despite my feet really wanting to rebel and head back through the gateway to where I knew it was safe, I followed Elizabeth and Michael through the huge glass doors at the front of the building. They led into an expansive lobby with white marble floors. The walls looked like mottled silver and reflected our shapes, without detail, as we walked through. To the left of the doors was a fountain, and a hundred feet in front of us were elevators.

“Where is everybody?” I asked. My voice echoed off the metallic walls.

“The council is upstairs right now.”

“No, I mean … everyone else. Like, the people, or demons, who live in the Underworld. Outside was empty as well. Where are they?”

“The Underworld is made up of many divisions, Nikki,” she explained patiently, as if this was something I should already know. “This particular one represents the kingdom—the core. For security reasons, only royals and our servants and guards are allowed here, unless we choose to invite others. So yes, it can seem a little underpopulated at times.”

“You could say that.” I glanced at Michael.

“Although, it’s much more populated than the Shadowlands.” Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know what my brother does to fill his years there other than read from that massive library of his, chat with his servants, and walk the halls of that boring castle. At least I was able to come and go at my leisure. And since his magic is all used up by maintaining the barrier, he can’t even use it to change his surroundings to something more interesting.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said as the anger rose inside me. “Are we politely chatting about my father? The one you tried to poison so you could take over his throne?”

Her laughter died away and she cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I guess there’s no need to drum up the past, is there?”

The look she gave me was filled with extreme hatred for me—since I’d basically ruined her master plan of taking over the Shadowlands and letting her boyfriend Kieran have an all-access pass to the human and faery worlds.

There was an edge of fear there, too, and I didn’t think it just had to do with the prophecy that may or may not be true about me. I’d proven the last time I saw my aunt that my power as a Darkling was bigger than hers as a demon. She hadn’t liked being defeated, especially by a sixteen-year-old.

Even now, standing ten feet away from her, power began to move along my arm and into my right hand. I instinctively wanted to protect myself against somebody who’d tried to hurt me and my father. She’d taken Michael’s amulet away and nearly killed him as well. To say Elizabeth and I would never be good buddies was putting it mildly.

“You said the council is upstairs?” Michael asked, as if trying to divert my thoughts from ones of zapping my aunt into the next dimension. Literally.

“They are.” She walked over toward the fountain, sat on the edge of it, and dipped her hand into the shallow water.

“Princess Nikki has arrived,” she said. After a moment, she nodded. “Very well.”

It was a gazer. A big one. I guess it worked similar to an intercom.

Cell phones were easier in my honest opinion. Way more portable than a magical pool of water.

“They’ll see you now.” Elizabeth got up and walked toward the elevator.

My breath caught in my chest. Just like that. No preparation time. No nothing. I had to meet with the demon council. I looked at Michael for support.

He shrugged at me.

Yeah. Real helpful.

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder, and a smile snaked across her face. “Oh, it looks like Fernando is coming to say hello.”

“Who’s Fernando?” I asked.

“Princess—” Michael’s voice sounded strained. “Do not move.”

“What?”

I suddenly heard the sound of scratching on the marble floor, a sound that got closer and closer, along with something like wet, slobbery breaths. Then a low, throaty, threatening growl. I turned to my right slowly, very slowly, to see the scariest thing I’d ever seen in my entire life.

It was big, the size of a full-grown lion. Its lips curled back from long, razor-sharp yellow teeth. Its fur was coarse and black and its eyes were glowing demon red. Its long swishing tail had a sharp point to it, like an arrowhead.

“Don’t worry, he’s very friendly,” Elizabeth said evenly.

Michael’s hand clamped down on my wrist, tight enough to hurt, but he didn’t move, either.

I seriously was going to pass out.

My Darkling power—the energy and magic I’d had at the ready a moment ago to defend myself against Elizabeth—suddenly vanished. Where did it go? I felt completely helpless to defend myself.

Whatever this monster was, had it drained me of my power? Just like that?

The monster continued to growl at me as it got close enough to sniff my shaking hand. Tendrils of smoke wafted from its nose and a steady stream of drool dripped from its jowls.

Elizabeth said this thing was friendly? Didn’t seem that friendly to me. Actually, it looked
hungry
.

“Hey …
Fernando
,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Nice puppy.”