The Agrista (Between the Lines Book 1) (35 page)

  The softest of the three screamed every word, yet still struggled to be heard. It had the haunting bellows of a madman who’d seen what lies in the darkness far beyond the scope of imagination, and desperately needed others to see in hope of validation as he clings to the last vestiges of former sanity.

  The second voice was but a whisper, but its chilling presence made it the loudest of them all. It lay dormant in the back of one’s mind, springing to life at the first battle of conscience. Seemingly harmless as it crawls into the ears of the fickle hearted, inciting evil deeds and deeming them sane as it sways a person to find reason in the wrong choices.

  The most startling voice among the three was that of a regal woman. Her eerily calm demeanor amidst the chaos was striking. Bolstered with unnerving detachment, it augmented the two sparring voices by creating a terrible counterpart that tied them all together.

  Marie stuffed her hands into the crook of her elbows and willed herself not to tremble. She felt no more valiant than a scared child hiding beneath the covers, but she did her damnedest not to show such weakness in the face of her enemy. She cringed at the subtle rattling of her armor as she struggled to remain still, no more able to stop it than she could will her heart to stop beating.

  Laylia rushed to her sister’s side with Bria close in tow, clumsily clutching her free hand. Marie gasped at the sudden spark of contact, thinking it a first move on Cailene’s part as she shakily braced herself. She jerked her head to the side and melted into her next exhalation. The rigid tension drained from her shoulders at the sight of Laylia standing tall at her side. She found great comfort in the warmth of her sister’s fragile hand.

  “Let us pass.” Marie’s voice was so soft that it had only reached Laylia’s ears.

  “Louder, Mariella. I’m right here. We all are.” Marie was blind to the fact that Laylia’s voice was shaking too, and focused only on her firm grasp. She took a deep breath, gathered up her strength, and spoke again.

  “Let us pass!” Marie’s screams were augmented by the steel walls of the mausoleum, reverberating through the valleys with resounding clarity for all to hear.

  “Oh, I’d
love
to let you pass, but
she
won’t hear of it,” Cailene pouted. “I can see the power coming off of you in waves, child. Oh, I
remember
that power. Surprising for one so young. So ripe! It looks absolutely delicious!” The creature slowly ran its forked tongue over its quivering lips as it began to salivate deep violet blood. “Oh, I do hope you can defeat her! She’s fading, but you’re so fresh!” A manic laughter erupted from the creature’s chest and rang through the hills.

  “She? Who is
she
?” Marie had all she could do to keep the quaver from her voice.

  “This body. My host,” Cailene sighed. “Tsk. Tsk. What am I saying? This body is only an extension of my host. My true host lies but a hairsbreadth away. She was quite innocent when she went in, but years of captivity has driven her as mad as the old King! She craves you, child. Oh, such longing!”

  “Do you have
any
idea what she’s talking about?” Marie whispered to Laylia with a sidelong glance.

  “No, but I’m done talking to this thing.”

  “Anything she tells you is a lie.” Gustav was suddenly at Marie’s side, vying for her attention. “No good will come of conversing with this grotesque creature. She will only poison your mind!”

  “Tsk. Tsk. You’re one to talk, little mousling. But okay, I’ll play along!” Cailene giggled.

  “The others are about to make their move. They can’t defeat her, but it will be enough to distract her so you can get to the door,” Gustav whispered as his eyes darted askance.

  “In a moment, we’re going to make a run for it,” Marie whispered, clutching Laylia’s hand.

  Marie trembled with frightful anticipation. She mentally recited useless mantras to herself in an attempt to gain strength from the hollow words as she struggled to build up courage. Laylia held her chin high, took a deep breath, and relaxed her posture with a prolonged exhale. If there was one thing she could do, it was act. She was prepared to act as Marie’s stronghold, despite her own niggling doubt.

  With no more warning than the flick of a wrist, Fallon violently thrust out her arm, sending her beloved sword Silver carving through the air in layers as it coiled around Cailene’s hind leg. Sharp as the blades were, they couldn’t cut through her thick glass hide to return to their original form as one fat sword, and fell hopelessly limp. She attempted to tighten the reins of the coil, but had only managed the grating chink of metal scraping along glass. She convulsed at the resulting sound.

  “Oh! Is it time to play?” Cailene excitedly spun around, yanking the sword from Fallon’s iron grip in one swift movement.

  “Now’s our chance!” Marie hissed, mercilessly dragging Laylia’s limp body along the craggy walkway as they fumbled to stay upright.

  Knowing she had no chance of retrieving her sword, Fallon hastily pulled another weapon from her belt. It was a small piece of metal-edged wood that fit snugly into the palm of her hand. The confounding device expanded into a rectangular two-headed spear. It was jointed like the bellows of an accordion, allowing the two halves to move diagonally as they crisscrossed.

  Fallon leapt forward and landed in a crouching position beside Cailene. She shifted her weight between her hips as she balanced on the balls of her feet, deftly slicing her weapon through the air and tracing the shape of an hour glass. She’d managed to hit six pivotal pressure points, but all she had to show for it was cracked glass and two mangled blades.

  Shock contorted Fallon’s stern features as she dumbly threw her weapon aside and jumped away, just in time to dodge the tour de force that was Cailene’s massive wingspan. It had nearly decapitated her as she swiveled back and slammed down on her backside, lucky to escape with the skin on her back.

  Cayden watched in horror as he plunged his forearms into the dirt and felt the world churn beneath his paws. Thick roots sprouted through dense tiers of rock in a maelstrom of pulverized stone and dust, twisting around Cailene’s torso and pinioning her to the ground. The brief prostration provided Fallon just enough time to duck out of harm’s way as she scoured her arsenal for a more effective weapon.

  Cayden rooted his arms deeper into the soil, feeling the roots wind and tauten with every twitch of his digits. The pull strained his muscles and boiled his blood as it razed Cailene’s jutted hide. The crushing roots encompassed her wriggling body, smothering the sound of shattering glass as they forced the breath from her lungs.

  With a strangled battle cry that rang out like silver bells, Cailene thrust out her wings, eviscerating the ancient oak to scraps of kindling in one powerful blow. Aruzhan circled their now seething opponent, searching for the best angle to strike as she constantly switched directions and kicked up loose debris to disorient her. So far, distraction seemed to be the most effective tactic. In the end, it was all they could do.

  Laylia slapped her hand over Marie’s mouth, smothering her forthcoming scream as it bubbled up her throat with astounding tenacity. They’d made it to the door, but a massive crater stretched the length of the field. The gap brought their scrambling steps to a frightening halt as they teetered along the edge of the cliff, holding tight to each other as they struggled for balance.

  Marie steadied herself with a slow, shaky breath as she stared into the black abyss. She watched the land fall away into nothingness as a few stray pebbles skittered along the harrowing declivity, disappearing into the distant hollow. The sisters staggered back from the edge, stepping in tandem as they anchored each other to the solid ground.

  “That could’ve been us!” Marie rasped.

  “Don’t try our luck just yet,” Laylia hissed, yanking Marie back from a crumbling foothold that broke off and plunged into the darkness.

  Just as surely as they had felt the sturdy rock beneath their feet, they now felt the wind rushing through their hair, enveloping them with gyres of ruthless gales. Marie grappled for phantom reins as they made their lofty ascent atop Bria’s determined body. She sailed across the rustling currents, over the crater and toward the looming shadow of the mausoleum.

  Cailene spun her body around as Marie’s screams of surprise reached her ears. She’d eviscerated the others’ feeble attempts to restrain her in one fell swoop as they scattered like dead leaves to the cold autumn wind. Marie’s heart jumped into her throat at the sight of Cailene breaking into a full gallop, as giddy as a wee foal at the first sign of spring.

  In a desperate attempt to force her attention, Alex threw his body into Cailene’s path to serve as a crude obstruction. With a careless swipe of her massive paw and an offhand sigh of displeasure, she sent him sprawling into a giant, overgrown oak, splitting it in two from the immense velocity alone.

  Glistening globules of fatty tissue seeped through his punctured hide, suffusing his once pristine pelt with runnels of silver and merlot. With monumental effort, he stumbled to his feet and weakly staggered in place, struggling to see through the haze of blood and sweat.  

  Cayden blanched at the sight of Alex, shifting his arms deeper into the land and erecting a towering barricade of gnarled brambles that swallowed Cailene’s next steps. Aruzhan hastily stalked the perimeter in an attempt to discern Cailene’s frantic movements among the thickening barbs, never straying too far from Alex’s side.

  Fallon seized the fleeting opportunity as she lined the spaces between her fingers with daggers. With expert aim, she sent them spiraling through the air in a matrix of angles that tested for her enemy’s weakness. Cailene’s discordant trinity battled to be heard as one of the daggers lodged itself into the side of her mask, bringing about a universal shudder as her scream pierced the atmosphere.

  She flailed wildly from the pain, emerging from her thorny prison only to be ambushed by the three Umbra. Now that they knew her weakness, they didn’t think to hesitate. In a flurry of teeth and claws, they tore into the surprisingly ductile porcelain with atavistic abandon, twisting her darkly delicate features into a deformity of nightmares. 

  Marie stiffened as Cailene’s horrible screams slammed into her, stealing the breath from her lungs and dredging up a surprising feeling of pity. Drunk with fear, she tightly grasped the key in her shaking hands. She outwardly cursed herself as she clumsily fumbled with the lock, finding it near impossible to connect the two.

  “Focus. Ignore everything else.” Laylia slid her delicate hands over Marie’s, quelling her trembling. “We’re almost there.”

  It was as if time had stopped with the turn of the key. The chaos of the raging battle cut off abruptly with the winding of tumblers, replaced by an all-encompassing silence that breathed life into the tiny hairs tingling at the base of Marie’s neck, bringing them to full attention with a sharp jolt of energy.

  Marie and Laylia reluctantly turned to see what fresh tragedy had transpired, only to find the three Umbra huddled around a glowing object at the center of the wreckage, looking just as confused. Marie languidly surveyed the damage to the land with a pang of remorse. Her stomach twisted in knots upon discovering Marcel’s absence. She hoped, for Laylia’s sake, that his disappearance had gone unnoticed by her elder sister.

  Cerin and Fallon inquired impatiently, demanding an explanation and growing substantially more frustrated as their confusion deepened. They attempted to see around the Umbra and discover for themselves what had caused such awed silence, only to fall victim themselves.

  Cailene’s mask hung in tatters around her face as her rugged appearance melted away to reveal a different creature entirely. Remnants of her former self suffused the shriveled tussocks beneath her limp body with a dark ring of blood as it purled through the grass. She was a majestic sight to behold, making the other Umbra pale in comparison.

  She’d more than halved in size, and her serrated glass coat had dissolved to reveal an unruly shock of pearly flowing curls, edged with the sparkle of diamonds as they rippled in the sun. The sunlight skittered along her subtly pied gossamer wings, reflecting dapples of dancing prisms and surrounding her with an iridescent aura. Her beauty was astounding when Marie considered the madness trapped within.

  The sight of Gustav stalking toward her with his face screwed up in angry determination marred the strangely perfect scene. Marie had thought everything had been going according to plan until she observed the anger rolling off of him in waves. It was like heat streaming from the pavement, barely visible but
fully
felt.

  She turned on her heel and faced her back to him. She blatantly ignored him and pushed in the door to the tomb in an obvious effort to get away. She sharply turned to her sister, feeling the warm rush of adrenaline upon seeing her own nervous smile reflected in Laylia’s pale face. Knowing she wasn’t alone was the only thing that gave her the courage to take her first step into the darkness.

TWO-FACED

 
A
t the center of the room was an open-faced coffin of bleached ivory, adorned with rubies and sapphires, symbolic of the grief and bloodshed that was the catalyst for its creation. The beauty of the woman held inside eclipsed that of their elegant surroundings and brought Marie to a stumbling halt as she looked on the otherworldly stranger with awe.

  Thick tresses of ashen hair purled with silver framed her round face, infused with a surprisingly healthy glow for one who’d gone cold so long ago. A thick fringe of shock white lashes embossed her deep-set black eyes, infusing them with a chillingly lively appearance. A deep shade of plum sharpened the hollow of her cheeks, offset by a vibrant rouge that traced the line of her delicate mouth. A black silk and burgundy lace gown clung to the woman’s shapely frame.

  “Mother!” Laylia pressed her back to the wall and steadied herself with slow, deep breaths. She certainly wasn’t surprised to see her mother here, but she hadn’t expected her to be so well preserved. She found the thought of bare bone and rotted flesh oddly more settling, for it’s what she’d expected to see. “She looks exactly the same!” Laylia gasped as her face twisted with confusion.

  That can’t be the monster Gustav warned me about.
Marie eyed the fragile woman cautiously. She mindlessly stroked the hilt of her dagger as she carefully edged closer. “I hate to be indelicate, but...” Marie cringed, anticipating the impact of her next words. “Do people here not decay after they die?”

  “They do,” Laylia nodded somberly. “They don’t, however, breathe,” Laylia rasped. She nervously felt along the wall for the protrusion of the doorjamb as she scrambled toward the stream of incoming sunlight.

 
Breathe
? “Laylia, what are you...” Marie took a shaky step forward, furrowing her brow in concentration as she peered into the coffin. “...talking about?” Marie’s voice faded to a murmur of jumbled consonants as she took in the gentle rise and fall of Evangeline’s chest, stopping her own cold.

  She and Laylia turned sharply with a unified gasp as Gustav’s stout figure suddenly filled the doorway. He cast a surprisingly long shadow that absorbed the meager remnants of light spattering the room, and created a visible shift in the atmosphere as the mausoleum darkened.

  “This was
your
task, Mariella, and yours alone. She
shouldn’t be here,” Gustav said as he hurried into the room.

  “What?” Marie asked dumbly, taken aback by his surprising audacity. “She’s my sister, and this affects all of us,” she quickly recovered her bearings with a flare of her nostrils. Her faith in Gustav diminished with every harsh word and dirty look.

  “Why haven’t you done what you’ve set out to do? I told you
not
to hesitate! Not even for a moment, child!” he barked with a hailstorm of angry spittle.

  “I’m not a child! You have no right to speak to me that way, and I’m disinclined to believe anything you have to say when you act like a crazed maniac!” she slammed her hand down on the side of the coffin for emphasis.

  Laylia’s piercing shriek brought their squabbling to an abrupt halt as she crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap. Marie jerked her head toward Evangeline, suddenly remembering with frightening clarity what had unraveled her nerves and stopped her heart cold before Gustav came crashing through her thoughts. Marie found herself face to face with Evangeline. She peered into her deep-set black eyes rimmed with tears, horrifyingly animated in her taut, pale face.

  “Mariella!” Evangeline dug her icy fingertips into Marie’s temples, shaking her young daughter with a surge of joy and horror. “You shouldn’t have come.” Marie quailed when Evangeline pressed her clammy forehead to Marie’s.

  The gentle touch swiftly brought her to her knees as everything faded to black. Foreign voices drifted in among her thoughts, slowly tying themselves to obscure images shimmering in the distance, as if she were trapped between consciousness and dreaming.
  It all seemed so serene as she slowly made her way toward the distant flurry of activity. She temporarily suspended her disbelief, as if walking through a lucid dream. She was barely conscious of Alex’s looming presence as he came bounding into the room, mad with bloodlust.

  He charged toward Evangeline, ready to betray his very blood and rip her from Marie when his creator’s outstretched hand stopped him cold. Marie wasn’t entirely cogent, but there was no indecision in her hard gaze. Her cold blue eyes reduced Alex to nothing more than a whimpering mongrel.

  A scattered flock of servants bustled along the gilded marble. They irritably fussed about the flowers and perfected the lines of the shimmering tiers of lace as if they were sculpting stone. They passed through Marie as if she were no more than a gyre of dust motes. She was standing in the middle of the throne room, but it was no longer the dark chasm she remembered it to be.

  Vibrant tapestries stretched the length of the room, their subtle pattern embossed by yellow flowering vines that wrapped around the towering columns and traced the fine ridges of the carved stone. Light breathed life into everything in the room, framing Evangeline’s smiling face with a glowing nimbus as she mindlessly stroked her stomach and hummed a gentle tune, looking out on her kingdom with beaming contentment.

  Upon seeing her mother’s face, Marie became acutely aware that she was watching a memory. She stood stock-still for fear of discovery, having little faith in how ineffectual her presence might be, despite signs to the contrary. She silently watched the softly sighing Queen with rapt attention.

  “Hello, Cailene,” a playful smile tugged at the corners of Evangeline’s mouth as Cailene emerged from the shadows beside her throne.

  “My Queen,” Cailene said stiffly with a customary bow.

  The Cailene that stood before Evangeline was not the haggard old woman that Marie had come to hate and fear. Tight, ebony ringlets fell around her heart-shaped face and bounced playfully along her strong jaw line. Her pale skin and rosy cheeks made her appear strangely childlike, belied by her captivatingly ancient eyes. Their pale blue depths contained shards of fractured rainbow and reflected the soul of a wild beast, stalking its prey deep into the night.

  “We’ve known each other for decades. Will you ever stop addressing me so formally?” It was a rhetorical question Evangeline posed every day; one that consistently yielded no results. “You’re even more serious than usual. What’s wrong, dear?”

  “It’s been one week. I still haven’t heard word from Eka. Not a word!” she raked a shaky hand through her unruly tresses, letting them cascade over her eyes to conceal the surge of emotion they betrayed.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, dear, but I’m sure your brother is fine,” Evangeline cooed. “My husband is always sending him to and fro. A pair of adventurers, those two,” she smiled warmly. “I’m sure this time is no different.”

  “Ha. The King doesn’t go on too many adventures these days, my lady.”

  “Cailene!” Evangeline’s gasp suppressed a low giggle. “You’re not wrong. The King
is
older now, and he does not venture out as much. Still, you know how sensitive he is about his age. What if he’d heard you?” she chuckled. “Speaking of which, where
is
my doting husband? I’ve wonderful news to tell him!”

  “I think I know what that news is…”

  “Is it that obvious?” Evangeline teased. “Yes, I am with child! It’s a girl, I just know it! I can
always
tell, you know,” she beamed. “I’ve decided on Mariella. Beautiful name, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, my Queen,” Cailene nodded absently, lost to a sudden swell of dark thoughts. “Eva...” she sighed, lowering herself to one knee as she gently took Evangeline’s hand in hers.

  “You used my name. This
must
be serious.”

  “May I be honest with you, my Queen?” Cailene spoke through clenched teeth, overwhelmed by the ruminations burning a hole in her tongue.

  “I hope you always are, my friend.”

  “I don’t think you should tell the King about Mariella,” she winced. “Not just yet, anyway.”

  “Why ever not?” Evangeline demanded.

  “I don’t mean to speak out of turn,” Cailene began hesitantly, cocking her head to the side and shading her face with wisps of shadow.

  “Nonsense,” Evangeline sighed. “Tell me what troubles you.”

  “The King has not been himself lately. He has been cruel and withdrawn. I suspect…” she trailed off, stammering. “I don’t know exactly what to suspect, but my trust in him is faltering.”

  “Cailene!” Evangeline suddenly stiffened, jerking her hand from Cailene’s grasp. “You’re my best friend, but you should not speak of my husband, your
King
, that way,” her expression hardened as she coldly looked beyond Cailene and absently studied the arch of the ceiling.

  “I’m sorry, my Queen. I did not mean to upset you.” Cailene shrank into an upright fetal position, urging herself not to go on. “I would not even think to mention it unless I thought my words had merit!” she bowed her head, inwardly cursing herself.

  “Yes, I know you wouldn’t,” Evangeline sighed. “I promise to look into the matter,” she nodded begrudgingly. “Until then, we shall keep little Mariella a secret, but it is not one I can hold for long,” Evangeline smiled, fondly stroking her abdomen.

  The scene before Marie darkened, leaving her in a state of confused anticipation. She suddenly found herself in the old King and Queen’s master bedroom, with no idea how she’d gotten there. She braced herself with a weary grimace as they prepared to turn in for the night.

  “Try to get some sleep, Xenos, darling,” Evangeline suggested with a playful sidelong glance.

  “Sleep? You do not wish to make love to your King?” he chuckled heartily.

  “Always, my love,” she smiled coyly. “Although, there is something I’d like to discuss with you first,” she slowly turned to the plump, bearded figure beside her.

  “What is it, my dear?” he gently laced his fingers through the ends of her silver hair.

  “You’ve been spending a lot of time in your study,” she began softly.

  “Is that so wrong, a man having a thirst for knowledge? A King should be wise!” he growled, ripping his hand from her hair and turning away.

  “And a wise King you are, my dear,” she rectified with an apologetic touch at his shoulder, tenderizing the knots with a firm but gentle hand. “I’m only concerned,” she muttered. “Are you taking proper care of yourself? You are gone often, and I grow lonely in your absence. It is a wife’s duty to worry,” she purred, gently nuzzling his earlobe. “But why the mystery, my love? I keep no secrets from you.” Evangeline felt Xenos’ muscles grow stiff beneath her kneading fingertips.

“You are so beautiful, my love,” he turned and flashed her a chilling smile, causing her to instinctively cradle her womb as she shied away. “I haven’t been keeping secrets, but simply a surprise. I suppose I cannot keep it from you any longer, you little vixen.” A flickering candle limned his face with a sinister glow. His coquettish tone did nothing to assuage her nerves as he pulled a small vial of deep red liquid from the folds of his silken robe.

  “Oh!” she let out a subdued sigh of relief. “What is it, dear?” Her smile flickered, caught between uncertainty and curiosity.

  “It is a present. This will make you beautiful forever.” He pressed the vial to her lips with a sense of urgency. She delivered a quick peck and pressed her back to the mahogany headboard as she fixed it with a gimlet eye. “I have been losing years of my
own
life slaving over this! Do you not appreciate this gift from your husband? From your
King
?” The lilt in his voice was no subtle reminder of her lower station, contrary to her facade of power.

  “Of course I do! Forgive me, dear husband. I thought it was a charm,” she steepled her hands and inclined her head graciously. “I am...to drink it?” Xenos gave a curt nod in response, thrusting the vial in her hand with a vicious smile.

  Marie jerked away as Evangeline pressed the vial to her lips, allowing the coppery syrup to slide down her throat as she audibly shuddered. Marie recalled the sickly sweet taste of blood from her nightmare with nauseating clarity, and began shaking at the memory. When she opened her eyes, she was somewhere else entirely, and thankful for it.

  The air was thick with the scent of lavender and honey. Evangeline sprawled out haphazardly in a comically large bathtub, her bulbous abdomen bobbing atop the water as her naked limbs undulated gently beneath the frothy surface.

  “What’s wrong, Cailene?” Evangeline sighed.

  “I have not seen Eka for three months now.”

  “Eka, Eka, Eka! Great Lucidus, you’re obsessed!” she scowled at Cailene, who was on the verge of tears. “Stop your sniveling!” she immediately slapped a shaky hand over her mouth as she took in Cailene’s broken state, mortified. “I’m so sorry, Cailene. I don’t know what came over me,” she cringed as the recent memory of her harsh words cut into her. “I do hope your brother is okay. I’m so sorry, dear friend.” Evangeline buried her face in her trembling hands.