WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE (19 page)

Raven shook her
head as she stepped over the charred remains.
 

Felicity followed,
brushing stray bits of ash off her shirt.
 
“How did you do that?”
 
She asked,
slightly calmer since no alarms were going off.

“That was a rune
on the door.
 
I found the keystone rune
and destroyed it.”
 
Raven wasn’t really
interested in conversation.
 
She walked
into the darkened building.

“That’s why there
are no guards.
 
Nobody can get in or
out.”
 
She followed Raven who seemed to
know where they were going.
 
“Whoever
inscribed that rune must be pretty strong.”

Raven shrugged her
shoulders and slid the sword back into its scabbard.
 
“I’m stronger.”

           
Sarah
floated in the stygian darkness, thinking that death wasn’t as bad as she
feared.
 
The pain was subsiding and
comforting warmth enveloped her.
 
It was
peaceful and gentle.
 
She could even hear
voices now, telling her to come on.
 
Just
wait, she thought dreamily, I have all eternity.

           
The
voices were growing louder, more insistent as a pair of firm hands grasped her
shoulders, shaking her.
 
Sarah hadn’t
contemplated death before the last couple of days but that didn’t seem quite
right.
 
Cautiously she opened an eye and
saw two blurry images peering down at her.
 
One seemed to be holding a fireball… Raven!

           
Sarah
tried to sit up but the days of abuse had left her body stiff and
unwieldy.
 
Her joints felt like they were
full of metal shavings off the shop floor.
 
Another shadow, the one gently brushing her wounds with a sweet smelling
ointment, pushed her back down and held a flask to her lips.
 
Sarah drank it greedily, the cooling mixture
chasing away the dryness in her throat.
 
Take it easy the second shadow told her.
 
Sarah recognized the voice at once.
 
Felicity had come too.

           
Seeing
Sarah awake, Raven let the fireball disperse and brushed Felicity aside.
 
“I’m so sorry, Lil’bit.”
 
Raven choked back the tears as she gently
wrapped her arms around Sarah.

           
“Raven,”
Felicity’s voice was rushed, “we have to get her to a doctor soon.”

           
After
a final hug, Raven conjured another fireball.
 
Sarah squinted at the sudden brightness and tried to stand herself but
was too weak.
 
Quickly Felicity bent forward
to help.
 

The three girls
walked up the steps, every sound magnified by the echoing stone.
 
They had broken into-- and were now trying to
break out of-- a Protectorate prison.
 
The going was slow because although Sarah’s wounds were somewhat healed she
was still weak from lack of food and water.
 
They climbed halfway up stairs when the door above hammered open.
 
Two large men stood silhouetted in the door
way, blocking their escape.
 
One muttered
something and torches blazed into life.
 

Felicity
recognized the two men, William Rodgers and Jeff Lewis, as members of the
Protectorate squad assigned to bringing in rogue magic users.

“Raven we have to
do something those two are…”

“I know who they
are.
 
Just hold Sarah and we’ll be out of
here soon.”
 
Raven eyed the men with a
mixture of revulsion and rage.
 
The
Protectorate had known she’d try to rescue Sarah and set a trap.
 

The two men began
walking down the steps with steady deliberation, stopping ten stairs above the
trio.

“Well look what we
have here.”
 
Jeff sneered, “Richard was
right about setting that one up for bait but damned if we ain’t caught two
Valentria gals breaking in.”

William laughed,
“Yeah, three for the price of one is a pretty sweet deal.
 
Say do you think these two will scream as
pretty as the blonde did?”

Jeff chortled
loudly, sending fresh chills down Sarah’s spine.
 
She remembered that same laughter in the
interrogation chamber.
 

Raven shook, barely
able to contain her rage.
 
Shadows cast
by the torches darkened her eyes.
 
“You
two are responsible for Sarah’s injuries?”

Even through the
pain induced stupor, Sarah heard death in Raven’s words.
 

The two men
cackled again, secure in the knowledge that they could handle three girls, one
of which was already near death.
 
“We
sure are.”

A muscle throbbed
in Raven’s jaw and her eyes grew a shade darker.
 
Fights were one thing, but these two had
tortured an innocent person just to get to her.
 
There would be no forgiveness.

Felicity, who
didn’t dare take her eyes off the two men, felt something like a breeze brush
against her cheek.
 
Raven was gathering
energy for something and although she had seen Raven cast hundreds of spells in
the past she’d never felt anything like this.
 
This magic felt dark and heavy, almost like it wasn’t really her
sister’s.
 
It made her physically ill as
it swirled around them in invisible eddies.
 
It was evil.
 
She started to say
something but Raven’s oddly mechanical voice stopped her.

“Felicity, Sarah,
close your eyes.”
 
She didn’t bother
checking if her instructions were followed.
 
Muttering under her breath, Raven’s eyes rolled back in their
sockets.
 
A dark gray mist coiled
snakelike around her body.
 
Other voices,
dozens, or possibly more, joined that of the sorceress.
 
Finally, with an audible hiss, Raven shot her
arms out straight and the mist streamed from them, surrounding the two
men.
 
Felicity closed her eyes tightly.

Jeff and William
grinned like jackals.
 
They had never
seen anything like this but weren’t exactly afraid of talking smoke.
 
Jeff tried to take a step.
 
Something tugged at his foot.
 
William tried to free his sword.
 
A vice like grip held his arm in place.
 
They both tried desperately to move but were
immobilized by some unseen force, except their mouths.
 

When the screaming
began, Felicity urgently fought the urge to cry out herself.
 
Grown men should not make that noise; a
horrible, keening wail that pierced through the hands over her ears and drove
itself deep into her brain.
 
Like a maggot
through rotten flesh it burrowed ever closer to her soul.
 
She thought she would go crazy.
 
Another voice joined in the unholy chorus of
shrieks and it was only after an eternity that Felicity realized it was hers.

As quickly as it began,
the screaming stopped.
 
Immediately
Felicity wished it would return.
 
A damp
ripping noise, worse than the screams, filled the vacuum followed by a dull
plop.
 

Rip.
 

Plop.
 

Rip.
 

Plop.

Felicity thought
it would go on forever before a smell joined the terrible sounds.
 
Damp and coppery it forced its way into her
nose and down into her stomach which cramped in protest.
 
She fought a wave of nausea.
 
Finally even the terrible noise stopped
though the stench remained.
 
With her
ears still covered Felicity could hear mumbled words as Raven held a
conversation with someone she didn’t dare open her eyes to see.

Raven barely
acknowledged the carnage.
 
She never knew
precisely how much blood the human body could hold and wasn’t really interested
in making a through examination.
 
“Keep
your eyes closed.”

Felicity had no
intention of arguing.
 
Her other senses
were enough to tell her that something terrible had happened, something her
little sister was at least partially responsible for.
 
The smell of blood, Felicity recognized it
now, was making her gag.
 
Once she stepped
in something soft and pliable, almost falling as it wrapped itself wetly around
the toe of her boot but she didn’t look to see what it was.
 
No, Felicity Chandlish had no intentions of
opening her eyes.

 
She felt Raven grab her hand and they moved
hastily to the top of the stairs.
 
The door
slammed and she risked peeking with one eye.
 

“What
happened?”
 
Liz realized she had been
holding her breath and let out a loud gasp, opening both eyes since she
couldn’t see anything really appalling.
 
There were crimson footprints smearing the floor but she studiously
ignored them.

Raven paid her no
attention, instead focusing on the rune she was inscribing.
 
Something was coming from the lower levels,
something she couldn’t fight.
 
They had
to get out of here before it reached the top of the stairs and that blockade
rune wouldn’t hold very long.

The flames from
the prison were slowly dying out, though bright red embers still floated on the
crisp morning breeze, when Richard DeGuire stepped off of his airship followed
by a figure wrapped in a flowing black cloak.
 
Casting an appraising look over the smoking ruins, Richard turned to his
companion and nodded.
 
The figure walked
calmly to the ruins and placed one of its hands in the charred remains.

“Powerful magic my
lord.
 
Ancient magic.”

“Are you certain?”

The cloaked figure
held a gloved hand to where Richard assumed its nose was.
 
“Even with the dragon’s breath, there is
still a trace of it in the air.”

“Is it her?
 
Is she the one we’ve been looking for?”

“There can be no
mistake, my lord.
 
The flames of a dragon
will consume anything they touch, save for the most powerful of magics.
 
No mere sorceress possesses the kind of energy
needed to cast the spells used here.
 
She
is the one.”

Richard
smiled.
 
What were two lost soldiers and
a building when they had finally discovered what they had searched so long
for?
 
The trap had worked perfectly.

Sarah was fast
asleep, held tight in Raven’s arms with Liz sitting behind them as they headed
back towards Valentria.
 
Bryson flew
without hurry, not wanting to jar Sarah awake until they could get home.

           
“Raven,”
Felicity started cautiously, “what exactly happened back there?”
 
After they were free, Raven had whispered
something to Bryson and the dragon torched the prison.
 
It fell in on itself shortly after the first
spout of fire but he kept the flames blazing, scorching the area left by the
building’s collapse until all that remained was a charred and blackened
hole.
 
Felicity thought she had seen
something moving briefly in the inferno but Bryson’s flame intensified so she
never got a clear look.
 
Now the normally
gregarious Raven was as pale and silent as the marble bust that decorated the
castle, only occasionally leaning her face forward into Sarah’s blonde
hair.
 
For a moment Liz thought she would
be ignored but Raven responded.

           
“There
was something else in that prison.
 
They
planned to feed Sarah to it.”

           
Raven’s
monotone chilled her almost as much at the words did, but Felicity still asked
the question she didn’t really want an answer to.
 

           
“How
did you know that?”

           
“They
told me.”

           
“Who
told you?
 
Branwyen, what did you do?”

Raven finally
turned and Felicity almost cried.
 
Her
sister’s sparkling emerald eyes were washed out, lifeless looking.
 
Looking into those dull orbs was the hardest
thing Felicity ever had to do.

“Never ask me that
again.”

The rest of the
flight home was silent.

CHAPTER
16: THE EYES HAVE IT

Raven and Felicity
carefully slid Sarah down from Bryson, trying their best not to jerk the
injured girl.
 
At once the doors to the
castle flew open and a swarm of people rushed outside, Elspeth in the lead.

           
Not
even bothering to look at Raven or the unconscious Sarah, Elspeth hugged
Felicity and asked if she were alright.

           
“I’m
fine Mom, but Sarah needs medical attention right away.”
 
Felicity said, still supporting Sarah on one
arm.
 
Elspeth appeared for a moment as if
she were going to refuse but the look in her oldest daughter’s eye changed her
mind.
 
With a curt nod from the Duchess,
Daniel and two guards emerged from the shadows and carried Sarah to the medical
rooms.
 
Raven started to follow but
Elspeth stood in front of her.

           
“Move.”
  
An unmistakable threat carried in the single
word.

           
A
sharp crack split the chilly autumn air as Elspeth’s open hand slapped Raven’s
cheek.
 
“Don’t you dare tell me what to
do Branwyen.”

           
Raven
glowered for a second, her frayed nerves tensing.
 
The rest of the small gathering, Bekah, Stephen
and Amanda among them, felt the tension intensifying.
 
With a deep breath Raven stepped around
Elspeth.

           
“I’m
not done with… ARGH!”
 
Elspeth grabbed
Raven but a bright flame enveloped the redhead’s entire arm.
 
Elspeth drew her hand back quickly, pain and
shock flashing across her face.

           
“I’m
going to check on Sarah.”
 
Raven’s voice
didn’t rise above a whisper.
 
Nobody else
tried to stop her.

           
In
the medical quarters, Daniel checked over Sarah’s various injuries, thankful to
find that they weren’t as severe as he thought at first.
 
She was dehydrated and starving but nothing
really life threatening.
 
Unexpectedly, gray
eyes fluttered open and a raspy voice breathed past cracked lips.
 
Daniel leaned closer to hear what Sarah
wanted.

           
“Raven…
Liz.”
 
She whispered with a dry
cough.
 
Brushing her head with a damp
towel, Daniel assured her that they were alright.
 
Appearing to relax, Sarah sank back into
unconsciousness.

           
“Is
she going to be okay?”
 
Daniel wasn’t
surprised to hear Raven behind him.

           
“We’ll
have to hook up to a saline drip to rehydrate her and another to get her some
vitamins, but she’ll be fine.”
 
Daniel
turned to Raven and wiped a trembling hand over his brow.
 
“Is there any chance you’re going to tell me
what happened out there?”
 
He asked as
the grim faced girl glided past him and perched on the hospital bed.

           
“They
tortured her.”

           
“I
can see that.
 
How did you escape?”

           
Raven
eyed him for a moment and for the first time after all the practical jokes
involving magic and weapons, Daniel was terrified of her.

           
“I
killed them.”

           
An
hour later Raven was still holding Sarah’s hand as Daniel checked the IVs when
one of the castle guards arrived; informing them that Branwyen’s presence was
required.

           
“I’m
busy.”
 
Raven told the man, her eyes
never leaving Sarah.

           
“I’m
sorry, Lady Branwyen, but this is an order.
 
I was told to make you come with me.”

Raven reached for
the hilt of her sword, “How are you going to MAKE me?”
 
The man took an instinctive step backwards
but before Raven could move, Daniel grabbed her arm.

“Go.”
 
He whispered firmly, “If you fight in here
you’ll only put Sarah in more danger.
 
I’m watching her, so go.”

Raven looked for a
moment as if she were going to be difficult but instead leaned over and kissed
Sarah on the forehead, “I’ll be back soon, Lil’bit.”

Marching
purposefully through the doors of the Sanctum Inquisitor, Raven’s jaw clenched
tightly and a small muscle throbbed in her cheek.
 
She stopped in a small patch of bright light
that shone down from a hidden alcove in the ceiling.
 
Having been on the giving end of these
interrogations before, Raven didn’t need to see into the shadows that lay just
out of the light’s reach to know where everybody was.
 
Elspeth was sitting straight ahead of her,
and to the Duchess’s right was an empty chair, symbolic of her late husband,
followed by Felicity, Stephen and Mike, the head of the castle guards.
 
To Elspeth’s left was Bekah, the chair Raven
normally sat in which would be filled by Brian now, and then Mandy.

“Sis, are you
alright?”
 
Bekah sounded like she
desperately wanted to give her Sis a hug.
 
Raven felt like she really needed one but maintained eye contact with where
Elspeth would be sitting.
 
If the whole
family was gathered together, this was going to be unpleasant.

“Branwyen, we’ve
already heard Felicity’s version of what happened.
 
Now we would like you to fill in some
holes.”
 
Elspeth’s voice was almost
conversational from the darkness.
 
Raven knew
that the shadows were meant to make the person being questioned nervous.
 
It wasn’t working on her, though if that was
because she knew what was supposed to happen or was just too tired to care, she
couldn’t say.

“What do you want
to know?”

“Tell me
everything.”
 
A subtle movement of dark
on black meant that Elspeth was getting comfortable.

“We flew to the
prison.
 
We rescued Sarah, killed the
guards, and then burned the place down.”

“Do you mind
telling me why?”

Under normal
circumstances, Raven’s first response would have been to say because flying was
a lot faster than walking but she wanted to get back to Sarah quickly as
possible.

“The guards
tortured Sarah and were using her as a trap for me and Felicity.
 
I had to kill them to protect us.”

“I do not care
about them, Branwyen.
 
I meant, why did
you go rescue Sarah?
 
I remember
distinctly telling you not to.”

“Because I care
about her and they were going to kill her.”
 
Raven could feel the irritation starting to boil again.

“And you defied a
direct order.
 
I have an entire
city-state to consider, Branwyen.
 
The
life of a blacksmith weighed against the safety of hundreds of thousands of
people doesn’t balance out.”

“She’s not a
‘blacksmith’ Mom,” Mandy defended Raven’s actions.
 
“She’s our friend.”

“Be that as it
may, Amanda, there is no justification for Branwyen’s actions.
 
Times are tense with the Protectorate.
 
What if Branwyen and Felicity were captured
breaking into that prison?”

“We weren’t
though.”
 
Raven boldly, crossed her
arms.
 
The bright light shining directly
down cast her eyes into the shadow of her hat brim, and for that she was
thankful.
 
Her tears would be seen as a
weakness.

“But you could
have been.”
 
Anger crept into Elspeth’s
voice.
 
First with the Protectorate in Augusta and now this, her
nerves were being heavily taxed.
  
“Now,
do you mind telling all of us why you felt the need to burn the prison to the
ground?”

Raven tensed.
 
The real reason Bryson torched the place was
going to be a bombshell and she wasn’t entirely sure Elspeth was going to
believe her.
 
With an inward sigh she let
it fall.

“There was a shadow
walker.”

The effect of the
words was instantaneous.
 
Every person
assembled gasped in alarm and Elspeth rose from her seat, a shapeless mass looming
closer until she was standing nose-to-nose with her adopted daughter.
 
Hushed whispers circulating the room stopped
with Elspeth’s icy voice.

“Choose your next
words very carefully, Branwyen Chandlish.
 
You know very well that the merest mention of demonic worship is a
punishable crime in this country, and you are accusing the Protectorate of
using one.
 
How is it you came by this
information?”

Raven forced her
voice not to quiver under Elspeth’s piercing glare and lied.
 
“Bryson told me.”

“And how exactly
does Bryson know?”

“Shadow walkers
and demons are mortal enemies.
 
They can
sense each other.”
 
The redhead fibbed
coolly.

Elspeth asked
Felicity if she heard Bryson say anything about this.

“No, I did
not.
 
But,” Felicity spoke above the new
round of chatter her response provoked, “Bryson and Raven did whisper to each
other after we were outside.”

Elspeth turned
back to Raven who answered the unspoken question.

“That’s when he
told me.
 
I told him to raze the building
and the land it was on in order to destroy the creature.”
 
She was grateful Liz forgot about her putting
that rune on the door before they talked to Bryson.

The room itself
seemed to hold its breath as the mother intently studied the daughter’s
face.
 
Finally Elspeth turned and walked
back to her seat and held a brief conversation with Stephen.

“Very well, we
will investigate these accusations.
 
If
you are correct, then the Protectorate is indeed preparing for something.”

After a long pause
Raven turned and started walking towards the door but Elspeth’s voice stopped
her.

“Where do you
think you’re going?”

“Too check on
Sarah.”

“I haven’t decided
on your punishment yet.”

“Then hurry up.”

Elspeth took deep
breaths, trying her best to remain calm.
 
She couldn’t let Branwyen get under her skin.
  
“You have always been too impetuous for your
own good, Branwyen, and for to long I have overlooked it.
 
Now you are threatening the lives of my
family with your actions.
 
Do you have
any idea what would have happened if you had been captured?”

“We weren’t.”

“SILENCE!
 
Your sister-- my daughter-- was put into
mortal danger today by you.
 
Even worse
danger if it turns out you aren’t lying about the shadow walker.
 
Not to mention what would happen if the
newspapers got word that members of this family were caught breaking into a
Protectorate prison.”

Another sharp
intake of breath and Elspeth gave her sentence.
 
“You are therefore confined to the castle until your trial in one
week.
 
Is that understood?”

“I’ll need to get
some clothes for me and Sarah from the shop.
 
Plus someone needs to feed Snuffles.”

“We will send a
servant for your clothes and to feed your pet.
 
Do not leave this castle under any circumstances.
 
Are we clear?”

Raven’s hand
curled into a tight fist.
 
She was a
successful business woman and an extremely powerful sorceress.
 
To be grounded like a petulant child was
demeaning.
 
But, she reasoned, Lil’bit
needed the best medical care and the castle provided it.
 
Only just controlling her anger, she nodded,
“Yes ma’am.”
  

“Very well, you
may leave now.”
 
Elspeth waved a hand as
the room flooded with light, making Raven blink as she stormed towards the
doors.

The eyes of a
young woman watched from the cover of magic as Daniel checked the saline drip a
final time.
 
Sarah was sleeping soundly,
and her heartbeat was strong.
 
Despite everything
the Protectorate put her through she was going to be alright.
 
Not for the first time, Daniel marveled at
that amazing healing potion of Raven’s.
 
Satisfied there was nothing else he could do tonight, the young doctor
turned off the light and left for some much needed rest.

Moonlight peaked
from behind its shroud, splashing through the windows and illuminating Sarah’s
bed.
 
Shadows melted in the corner, pooling
on the ground.
 
A girl, paler than the
moon, stepped from their depths.

How had things
come to this?
 
Raven wondered, as she
gently brushed a lock of golden hair from Sarah’s cheek.
 
Hours ago she had killed two men in cold
blood; seen them ripped apart by her magic.
 
It wasn’t Malleus who had done that, it was her.
 
A conscious decision on her part meant that someone
would have to tell the families of those men they were dead.