well, that is unfortunate. Perhaps there may be other ways to make them.” He could hear the amusement in her voice, he knew she already had thought of something.
“If anyone could conceive of a way to recreate the spell it would be you, Oh Mighty Queen of Hell.” He bowed slightly.
“He bears Malice now, you would do well to remember that. The creature is mine. Though you fabricated the half-breed, I will not tolerate any interference. I have plans for him.” Then she vanished.
“I really hate her,” the wizard said to himself.
“Leave me here. If you won’t help, at least take me with you.” The unfrozen duke finished.
The Dark One had forgotten all about Blackthorn. The immobilization spell had broken when the Mistress left. “Of course, Willy, I know just the place for you.” And they both vanished.
K’xarr waited until Ansellus returned. It had taken the old general longer than he thought it would to quell Blackthorn’s men.
“How did it go?” K’xarr asked.
“Well, I have them out of our hair for now. Lucky too, a thousand of them were getting ready to ride into the city. Thanks to God many of them remembered their old general.”
“How did you convince them?”
“I appealed to their loyalty and love of their country. I told them about the Princess and her plight. They are ‘thinking on it.’ It was the best I could do in such a short time.”
“Good enough, Ansellus. We will have time to finish this. Later you can win them over to our cause.”
The older man chuckled. “As long as you give me a barrel of wine next time I talk to them. I will do just that.
There was little resistance when they stormed the palace, the huge foyer was where most of the fighting took place. Most of the men surrendered, simply throwing down their weapons when K’xarr and his band burst through the doors.
Endra had to almost hold Kian back from slaughtering the guardsmen where they stood, but in the end he had listened to her pleas for restraint. K’xarr had the palace’s defenders rounded up, as well as all the servants. He ordered Endra and the Loyal watchmen to hold their prisoners in the great dining hall. Then they began to search the palace for Duke Blackthorn.
Kian found the doors to the chapel locked. He stepped back and smashed the door in with his shoulder.
Bishop Lyfair turned with a look of horror on his face. “I’m a man of God, you can’t harm me, demon, be gone from this holy place.”
Kian slowly walked towards the Bishop. The warrior’s sword hand was wet and sticky with gore. Malice too was covered with the blood of two guardsmen he had found hiding in one of the upper level rooms.
A low growl issued from deep in Kian’s chest and Bishop Marin Lyfair wet himself. “Please, I have information the Princess will want to hear, don’t kill me, I beg you.”
The Bishop went to his knees, visibly shaking. Kian wrinkled his nose at the smell of urine and fear.
He reached down and picked Lyfair off the floor by his neck, lifting him until the Bishop’s feet left the floor. He looked into the holy man’s eyes for a moment, then hurled him into the small altar where Raygan had stood for her wedding.
“Kian, don’t kill him.” K’xarr and Cromwell stepped through the broken doors. “He is one of the men the Princess wanted brought to her.”
Kian turned to face his friends. K’xarr continued, “Have you found Blackthorn yet?”
The swordsman shook his head. “No, I have not. This one is of the Church, and you know that they hunt Endra and her children.”
K’xarr could see a problem about to happen if he couldn’t talk Kian out of killing the Bishop. Then again he could just simply let him kill the man. Raygan’s desires were not worth arguing with the swordsman about.
“Let the Princess talk to him. I don’t think he’s going anywhere. When she’s done with him we can kill him then,” K’xarr said.
Lyfair pulled himself up on what was left of the shattered altar. His legs were quivering. “I can tell her who killed her father,” the Bishop said almost out of breath.
Kian looked at K’xarr. “Maybe you’re right, K’xarr. Let the Princess question him, then we will see. She should know who killed her father. I would not want to rob her of that by killing this priest.”
K’xarr gave a brief sigh. Maybe Kian’s mind was working better than he thought.