Witch Queen (21 page)

The witch at the door cleared his throat and
raised his brows.

“Next to present their case to the witch
king are witches Giburb and Tala from the Shifter clan. Please make
your way to the front.”

Two witches clad in purple separated from
the group and headed towards the doors, but Fawkes pushed them out
of his way and stormed towards the doors with me and the men
closely behind him.

“Wait!” yelled the official as he placed
himself directly in front of the door.

“You cannot go into the witch king’s court
unannounced! Who are you? I’ve never seen such ruthless behavior
before. What’s your name? I don’t recognize you or the other
witches with you—”

But then his expression changed to something
foul as he growled, “
Humans
!”

Everyone froze. The witches turned their
collective hatred towards us, and I knew we only had seconds left
to live.

The official threw up his hands and
whispered an incantation. But Fawkes was already on him, and with a
flick of his wrist, a gust of wind sent the witch crashing into the
opposite wall.

“Quickly, get inside,” urged Fawkes. His
body shook, and he looked as if he were about to fall over.

“I can’t shield you anymore. My magic is
spent.”

The air in the hallway shifted with
electrical charges, like right before a lightning storm. The
witches’ hatred for humans was unmasked. Their lips moved in
unison, and their pendants began to glow with yellow magic.

Cold with panic, I couldn’t move.

And then the witches unleashed their
terrible power.

CHAPTER 17

Y
ELLOW, RED, AND GREEN streams of
magic shot towards us, but Fawkes barreled into us first. We
crashed through the iron doors and collapsed in a jumble of bodies
on the other side. The magic careened off the stone with such force
that it cracked as though it were nothing more than a thin sheet of
ice.

That could have been me.

Fawkes leaped to his feet and raised his
palms. The doors slammed shut with a great gust of wind.

A thundering boom crashed into the doors
from the other side, and I feared the witches’ magic would burst
them open. But the doors stayed shut.

“It won’t hold for very long,” said Fawkes
as he wiped his sweaty brow with his cloak. “But it should give us
enough time to plead our case to the witch king.”

He sighed and looked at me intensely as I
pushed myself to my feet. “You ready?”

I raised my brows and resisted the urge to
smell myself as I patted down my hair as best as I could. “As ready
as I’ll ever be.”

With a straight face, I looked over to Will,
Leo, Nugar, and Lucas. They looked as resolved as I did, but I was
sure it was only a ploy to lift my spirits. I could feel their
desperation, and I knew that it mirrored my own.

I raised my chin. “For better or for worse.
Let’s do what we came here to do.”

I was surprised at the steadiness of my
voice since my entire body shook with fear. The men nodded, but
their hands rested on the hilts of their swords.

I walked beside Fawkes and tried to conceal
my panic. With the men at our backs, we moved between the gleaming
rock columns that upheld the ceiling of a vast black granite
chamber. I strained to keep my teeth from chattering. I knew that I
would meet the witch king here, and I was certain he had heard our
entrance.

The walls on either side were decorated with
paintings that depicted the wars between witches and humans. Rich
tapestries hung on the walls, and the fire sconces that hung on the
columns reflected yellow light off the gleaming, black granite
floor.

A small group of witches was assembled in
the witch king’s court. Some stood while others lounged on long
sofas or sat at tables and sipped from jeweled cups. Although they
milled around and chatted, their eyes didn’t leave us.

They wore the same colors and symbols as I
had seen on the witches outside. I realized that there were only
five different variations of colors and symbols, and they must
signify the five different clans. I made the easy identification of
the Elemental clan because they wore the same colors and symbols as
Fawkes. The White Witches wore white garbs and gold pentacles. The
ones in silver with an embellished eye must have been from the
Augur clan, and those in purple with the raven must have been from
the Shifter clan. That left only one clan, the Dark Witches, and
they were dressed in black with an emblazoned red hand.

Although the witches in the court sneered at
us, they moved away and let us pass. It was as though they already
knew we were doomed. I could almost feel a noose around my
neck.

By the time we’d reached the end of the
chamber, my heart thundered in my ears and my legs were heavy as
stone. Fawkes stopped in front of a dais and shielded us as well as
he could with his large body. I swallowed hard, tried to steady my
nerves, and waited.

The witch king lounged on a patchwork
leather throne. He was huge, even larger than Fawkes. He was clad
in a shimmering black coat that was embroidered with a red hand and
had other symbols on his collar and sleeves. He wore an iron crown
with sharp points that looked almost like blades, and his white
hair draped over his shoulders and down to his waist. His face was
strong and hard, with sharp cheekbones and a thin mouth. And like
Fawkes, his face was ageless. He looked to be in his late forties,
but I knew he must have been centuries old. His shadowed eyes were
black, and he wore a large gray jewel in a pendant that hung from
his neck on a thick iron chain.

A woman with bright red hair piled high on
top of her head like a beehive sat next to him. She wore a small
crown and was obviously the witch queen. While her face was plain,
her body was voluptuous. She wore a revealing dress of exquisite
black silk with red hands embroidered on it. It crisscrossed at the
front and left her midriff exposed. Her large breasts nearly
spilled out from the top. She appeared to be bored and looked
lazily at her fingernails.

Standing next to her was the most beautiful
man I’d ever seen. I hadn’t thought I’d ever see a man more
handsome than Landon, but here he was.

Although he had no crown, I knew he was the
witch prince, Aurion. He was pale like snow, and yet beautiful and
strong as though he had been sculpted by the Goddess herself. With
sharp, elegant features, he looked to be in his mid-twenties, but
then I could never know for sure. His glimmering silver hair was
pulled back into a long braid, and I was a little envious because
my hair was such a mess. Unlike his parents, he wore a simple
tailored gray coat without any embellishments that I could see. But
his face was too perfect, too smooth, and it felt wrong in some
way.

I wasn’t sure how long I stared at him, but
when his silver eyes met mine, he frowned. I was glad my cowl hid
the flush on my face.

Another man was standing behind the witch
king. He had spiked yellow hair and yellow eyes and wore the same
clan colors as his king. But he was different from the others
because a hand was branded on his forehead and a large jeweled
pendant hung from his thick neck.

On a platform below the king stood a group
of five white-haired witches. They were bent with age and as old as
dirt. They all wore clan colors, and I knew from Fawkes’
description that I was staring at the Coven Council. I hoped they
would hear me out.

I looked at the throne more carefully, and a
shiver of recognition flew up my spine. It wasn’t regular animal
leather that covered the throne. It was
human
. There was no
mistaking it. It had the same texture as the human hides I had seen
in the hall. The throne was made of human skin. I squeezed my eyes
shut so my tears wouldn’t show. Whatever fear I felt before was
replaced by fury.

My fingers twitched, aching for my sword. I
wanted to slice the witch king’s throat and watch him bleed over
his goddamn throne.
Bastard
.

The next thing I knew, I had leaned forward
and had moved my hand to my sword. Fawkes’ hand shot out and
gripped my arm with such force that I had to stifle a scream.

His eyes were wide with the knowledge of
what I was about to do.

“The chair, it’s made of—” I said through
gritted teeth.

But before I could bring myself to say it,
Fawkes whispered, “Forget the chair and follow my lead if you want
to live. Let me do the talking first.”

Even if the witch king was a murderous
prick, I still needed his help.

I released a breath and controlled my
temper. The witch king shifted with interest as he witnessed our
exchange. His smile was full of contempt, but I saw a flash of
recognition in his eyes when he looked at Fawkes. They knew each
other. How many more secrets was Fawkes keeping from me?

The witch king looked at my men, and his
eyes widened. In a flurry of black silk and white hair, he jumped
to his feet. His pale skin turned an ugly shade of red.

“You dare bring
humans
in my
court!”

His voice thundered inside the chamber. It
was deep, rich, and commanding.

“You would sully my court with the presence
of these lower creatures! These animals! These humans!”

The hair on the back of my neck rose. The
court erupted with noise, mostly hisses and scoffs, although a few
of the witches watched in silence. After a few moments the chamber
stilled, until all I heard was the beating of my heart and the
rapid breaths from the men behind me. The pendant on his neck
glowed with yellow power.

“My position on humans is well known,
Fawkes,” continued the witch king, confirming my suspicion that
they knew each other. “You of all the witches in Witchdom should
know this, as you yourself share my views. Humans are a threat to
our world and our way of life.”

Fawkes clenched his jaw and frowned
darkly.

“Speak!” growled the witch king.

I noticed a smile on the witch queen’s
swollen, ruby lips.

Fawkes bowed in submission.

“Most sincere apologies, witch king. It was
not my intention to slight you. I wished no disrespect. Only that
you grant us an audience with you, to hear what we have to say. I
wouldn’t have brought them here if it weren’t important.”

“What is the purpose behind your
impertinence, elemental?”

The witch king was still standing. “You
better have a good explanation for such an interruption.”

He raised a hairless brow. “You haven’t been
in my court for…what is it now? Yes, for over
fifty
years.
You resigned from your post and swore to me that you’d never come
back…and yet here you are. Why now? Why come here after all these
years and insult me with the presence of these humans?”

“Perhaps it is a gift, my king,” purred the
witch queen. The black kohl around her violet eyes made her look
evil.

“We do require more slaves in the mines.
Perhaps Fawkes seeks to come back to your court, my love.”

She turned her loving eyes on Fawkes, and
they sparkled as she beheld the men. “Are these humans for us?”

Fawkes clenched and unclenched his fingers.
He bowed lower. “No, witch queen.”

I heard a collective intake of breath from
the company of witches. The witch queen’s smile faded just a
little, but it was enough to see that the word
no
was not
something she heard often.

“Forgive me, witch queen,” continued
Fawkes.

His voice steady, he raised his head. “The
humans are valuable subjects on a very important quest, a quest in
which I strongly believe, and one which may determine the fate of
the world.”

The witch queen threw back her head and
laughed without feeling. It was the type of laugh I’d heard too
often from the mouths of the noble women from Anglia.

“Fawkes, you’ve been alone in the woods for
far too long. It has clearly affected your mind.”

She sighed dramatically and leaned forward,
revealing more of her ample bosom. “You know, Fawkes, those
mushrooms in Fell Forest are for
medicinal
purposes.”

She turned and laughed, as did her entourage
of witches. My dislike of her increased with every laugh. God, I
wanted to punch her.

But Fawkes stayed calm.

The witch king surveyed our little group
with a look of hatred far worse than I’d seen on Fawkes. “What
quest?”

“With your permission, I would like my
companion here to explain their purpose here in court—”

The witch king bared his teeth. “I will not
have my halls soiled by the mouths of
humans
—

“A steel maiden, witch king, not a human,”
interjected Fawkes, and he motioned his head towards me. The
chamber went silent again.