The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (35 page)

“Get word to who?
What are you talking about?”

Tiergan grabbed her by the waist and pressed her back against his chest.
Squeezing her chin between his fingers, he jerked her head toward the black cloud.

“That is the army of Dolmerti,” he said. “
What else would cause my men to scramble around like frightened little mice? You used your power to bring your vile prince here and now you are going to use your power to destroy him.”

Emmeline’s legs gave out from underneath her.
Erick? Was it possible? The black cloud grew bigger and bigger as it drew closer and if she looked hard enough she could make out tiny figures riding on horseback.

She had forgotten Tiergan had his arm wrapped around her waist until he released her and she fell to the ground.
Scrambling to her feet, Emmeline leaned over the low wall and craned her neck to see the approaching army. She couldn’t believe they had found her. It seemed impossible. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Tiergan grabbed Emmeline’s shoulder and whipped her around to face him.
“You are mine! You’re power belongs to me. I demand you shine your eyes for me so I can put an end to your precious prince and his great army. For once and for all, shine them!”

Emmeline
looked around. There was no fire and her hands were still unbound. She smirked. He still knew nothing of how to control her.

“Ha!
” Tiergan said with a shaking fist. “I saw that. You think I don’t know anything about claiming an Incenaga.”

Emmeline said nothing.

His grin turned wicked. “Demyan gave me a few things to try.”

Emmeline’s heart quickened. Demyan would have told Tiergan exactly what to do. She dashed toward the other end of the
balcony and pulled a flag pole from a sconce on the wall. But just as she got a good grip on it, Tiergan took hold of her hair and yanked her back. She swung the pole behind her, catching the tip of it on Tiergan’s stomach. She swung again and hit his chest. She pulled back for another swing and Tiergan ripped it from her hands. With the strength of a bull he rammed it into her side and she slammed against the wall.

“Do not fight me, Incenaga!” Tiergan roared.

Emmeline scrambled to her feet and leapt onto the balcony railing. “I’ll jump,” she said, holding a hand to her side.

Tiergan stopped. “No you won’t.”

“I will.”

Emmeline
dropped her hand and squared her shoulders. This was it. It wasn’t a dagger, but it would have to do. She glanced over her shoulders to the thirty levels below and then suddenly felt air underneath her feet. Tiergan had swiped the pole behind her ankles and she was falling back. Before she cleared the railing, Tiergan fisted a wad of her dress and pulled her to the floor at his feet. With a knee on her chest, he bound her wrists together.

“No!” Emmeline shouted.

But it was too late. While hanging onto her wrists with one hand, Tiergan pulled a torch from its holder on the wall and lit it with the other hand. Emmeline curled onto her knees as the torch burst to life.

“
Do you still believe you can resist me?” Tiergan said.

His chin jerked up
as a handful of soldiers entered the balcony. He lifted Emmeline to her feet and turned her to face the entrance. Emmeline froze. The soldiers pulled two bound people with burlap sacks over their heads through the door. One was a woman and the other a small boy. Emmeline didn’t need the sacks to be removed to know who they were.

“No!” Emmeline cried.
“Don’t harm them! Please, they have nothing to do with this.”

Tiergan nodded again and the soldier nearest
Flora took his sword and sliced it across the bag. She fell to the ground, the bag around her neck blossoming red.

“Flora! Flora!” Emmeline cried.
She pulled against Tiergan’s grip and he let her go without a fight. She fell to her knees next to her grandmother and cried into her chest.

O’fin struggled in the grip of the soldier and then stopped. Soft whimpers leaked from underneath
his burlap sack.

“I understand the
Incenagas have the capability to heal,” Tiergan said. “Is that so? Surely you will bring your power out from hiding to save your dear old friend?”

Emmeline
faced Tiergan. “You idiot! I don’t have to be using my power for you to take it. Your need for me is enough for the fire to take its claim. I feel its pull already.”

Tiergan grinned. “Even better.” He looked at a soldier. “Dispose of the woman.”

Emmeline leaned over Flora. If only her hands weren’t bound, she could try healing her. Tiergan was such a fool. The fire licked up the side of the castle, but Tiergan ignored it. Heat swirled into in her waves. It called to her, demanding she take on more. A gurgling sound came from the sack over Flora’s head and Emmeline panicked.

Jumping to her feet, Emmeline
faced Tiergan. “Let me heal her and I’ll agree to shine my eyes for you.”

“No, Emmeline!” O’fin shouted.

Tiergan’s eyes widened as a smile spread across his face. “Shine your eyes first and then you may heal her.”

Emmeline’s heart lurched. Could she trust him? Flora choked and then her breathing stilled. She had no time left for bargaining.

“Swear to it!” Emmeline demanded.

Tiergan shifted his weight from one foot to another.

“Otherwise I will shut my eyes this moment and never open them again.”

Tiergan studied her face and then nodded again. “I swear to let you heal her.”

Emmeline glared at Tiergan and then saturated herself with heat. It filled every bone and heated every muscle until her skin burned with pressure. Her hands began to tingle and Emmeline knew it wouldn’t be long before the sensation traveled to her head. More heat flowed into her and she willingly gave in to its influence. Tingles shot up her arm and Emmeline braced herself.

“Get ready,” she said to Tiergan.

Emmeline didn’t flinch as Tiergan grabbed her shoulders and yanked her toward him. His eyes bore into hers with such intensity she thought they would bulge out of their sockets.

With a threa
d of hope still dangling inside her, Emmeline withdrew into the recesses of her mind, focusing on the very center – the core that had helped her freeze the needle and send false tingles up her arm. If she could find it, she might be able to protect it before Tiergan claimed her. Her chest burned with fire and with a silent pleading for victory.

The tingles circled around her shoulders
before shooting up her neck and exploding behind her eyes. Everything flashed white, but with Tiergan’s gaze on hers, Emmeline had no time to react against the fire behind her eyes. For a moment her body went numb, and then she felt his desire to eliminate and destroy the Dolmerti Army. She could see herself obeying, imagining the horror she would cause. It had only taken an instant for Tiergan’s chains to hold fast to her mind and another instant for her to lose all hope.

Emmeline’s shoulder fell. She had failed again.

“Finally!” Tiergan shouted. “She is in my control!” His grip on her shoulders tightened and he laughed into the sky.

“Unbind me,” Emmeline
said.

Tiergan ignored her and leaned over the rail. “The Incenaga is mine!” he
shouted to the soldiers below. A resounding cheer filled the air, increasing in volume until a high-pitched ring stung Emmeline’s ears. They clanged their weapons against their armor and shouted in triumph for a sure victory soon to come.

“Unbind me, Tiergan!” Emmeline repeated
with more force.

Tiergan paused. “Will it have an
effect on my hold over you?”

“I can do nothing until my hands are released.”

Tiergan rubbed his chin. “Let’s prove it first, shall we?”

Emmeline glanced at Flora whose skin
had turned a frightening shade of grey.

“Make it quick,” she said.

“Throw this soldier over the railing,” Tiergan said pointing to the soldier nearest him.

The soldier’s eyes bugged out. With his head shaking,
his looked at her and took several steps back.

Emmeline felt the urge to obey, but her body did not respond.

Tiergan waited another long minute before unsheathing his sword and swiping it between her hands. Emmeline’s hands flew apart and before she could think, heat left her palms and the soldier flew over the railing. With another flash of heat she caught the soldier in the air and brought him back to the balcony. He said nothing about letting him fall.

Tiergan let out
a full laugh and the other soldiers joined in, although their eyes showed more worry than mirth. Fury swelled inside Emmeline and she found herself rushing toward Tiergan. Her shoulder rammed into his stomach and then she reached up and wrapped her hands around his thick neck.

“Stop it!” he shouted. “Don’t move.”

With no choice but to obey, Emmeline stopped and Tiergan’s laughter grew. He held onto his belly and leaned back.

“You are so much fun!” Tiergan said between breaths.

“Let me heal her,” Emmeline said.

Tiergan waved an impatient hand. “
You have one minute. Go ahead and heal the old woman.”

Emmeline sucked
the heat greedily, using every ounce of her strength to pull in the fire’s power. Knowing she’d need all the strength she could get to heal Flora, and that time was slipping away, she absorbed every flicker of heat, every flash of flame. The fire leaned toward her as she heaved and pulled, surprising even herself when it sputtered and turned to smoke.

“What did you do?” Tiergan asked.

Emmeline ignored Tiergan. She had a command to fulfill and for once, it was a command she couldn’t wait to obey. She dropped to her knees, placed her hands on Flora’s chest and let it flow into her body. She imagined it traveling into her mind, her lungs, and her heart, filling her blood with strength and power.

“No,” Flora choked.
“Stop, Emmeline.”

She
ignored her grandmother’s plea and, holding her hand to Flora’s neck, Emmeline poured everything she had toward her grandmother’s wound. She imagined the flesh mending together until her imagination became reality and the bleeding ceased. Emmeline closed her eyes and fell back into a heap of exhaustion. With no flame to regain her strength, she felt herself slip in and out of consciousness.

Tiergan
picked up Emmeline’s limp body and held her over his head. “Our Incenaga!” he shouted. He pumped her up and down before setting her on a bench and leaning her against the wall. Her head bent to her shoulder and her eyes drooped shut.

Tiergan
leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Very good. You have but a few moments to regain your strength and then you will stop Dolmerti’s army.”

Emmeline
felt the color drain from her face. Her vision blurred and the world seemed to turn upside down. What had she done? She’d saved Flora, which she would never regret, but now she would have to decimate Dolmerti’s army and the thousands of men that went with it. Including Erick.

Tiergan
laughed louder than before and it sent a shiver down her spine. Her head lobbed to the other shoulder and the momentum sent her crashing to the ground. With no strength to stop her fall, her head smacked against the stone floor with a resounding crack.

“Remove this sack from my head,” Flora demanded
with a strong voice. “I wish to look upon the girl.”

Hope filled Emmeline
, giving her enough strength to lift herself up on one elbow. Flora was alive and well, and an Incenaga with enough experience to put an end to everything.

“No,” Tiergan said.
“The sack stays on. In fact, tie it tighter, just because she asked.”

The
soldiers yanked on the ropes around Flora’s neck and gave the cords around her wrists an extra tug. Emmeline’s mind swirled. She hadn’t noticed that Flora’s hands were bound. Even if the sack had been removed, Flora couldn’t have done anything to help. Why would she have wanted to expose herself? A sinking feeling gave Emmeline the answer. It had been a last ditch effort to save Emmeline from doing the unthinkable to her only love.

Tiergan pulled Emmeline to
her feet, his thick fingers around her waist. “Are you ready to stop Dolmerti’s army?”

“No!” Flora cried.
“She is too weak. It’ll kill her.”

“What do you know old woman,” Tiergan spit back.

“I know that she has already expended a great deal of energy to save me, no thanks to you. If you have her decimate an entire army, it’ll kill her for sure.”

“I have never heard of such a thing,” Tiergan
said. “I’ve never heard of an Incenaga having any sort of weakness. She will not fail me.”