His gaze never left her. “You know exactly what I’m referring to. It isn’t too late to change your mind.” His other hand moved with surprising speed and landed just above her left breast. Selene tried to pull away, but he simply followed her, catching her other arm to shift her momentum and press her firmly against the wall. She struggled a moment, but he wouldn’t relent. “Hold still!”

  Selene stopped resisting, but she stared back at him with hateful eyes until he stepped back. “Satisfied?” she asked.

  The lich nodded. “I repeat what I said. I’m not sure if you are fully aware of the consequences, but you still have a choice.”

  Selene sneered at him. “You said you need me after my blood opens the way, didn’t you? I’m sure you weren’t lying. I’ve given it careful thought. I will be there to make sure Lognion dies. Do you object to that?”

  A hungry light came into his eyes. It was an expression she’d never seen on Grim Talek’s normally dispassionate features. He licked his lips, then replied, “No. I have none, none at all.” He moved back to the doorway and this time bent his arm and offered it to her. “This way, my dear.”

  She’d initiated the gesture only moments before, but Selene was too irritated for the charade now. “Move. I know the way.”

  Chapter 46

  Will was wearing much better clothes when Evie returned. The tunic was mostly obscured by his mail and gambeson, and the demon-steel breastplate didn’t help. But he knew his tunic was of a better cut of material. More importantly for his outward appearance, he’d gotten a trim from the local barber. His neck was smooth shaven, and his beard had been manicured and styled. For the first time in over a month he felt somewhat like the civilized man that Selene had always insisted he emulate. He’d even replaced his awkwardly sized military boots with a secondhand pair from the local cobbler. They weren’t a perfect fit, but they were close.

  The armor still made him stink, but that was ever the case. When the choice was between stench or blood, military men always chose the stench of armor, and they wore as much as they could afford.

  Evie wrinkled her nose, refusing to approach, but she didn’t need to. They both knew why she was there. “Lead the way,” said Will. She vanished, and he slipped partway into the astral; he teleported to her location only seconds later.

  He found himself pretty much where he had expected, in the ley-line chamber beneath his house in Cerria. Will’s memories of the place weren’t pretty, and what he saw today did nothing to improve them. The circle was still there, though the runes had been changed. The blood grooves also remained, and they were full of dark fluid. A wide stone archway, twenty feet in width, stood opposite him, in a place where there had been nothing but stone before. The turyn flowing from the ley nexus illuminated its borders, maintaining the link between the human world and the dragon’s pocket dimension. They had succeeded in opening it.

  Beyond the archway, all hell had broken loose. Flashes of fire and furious screams echoed to his ears, but Will’s eyes refused to follow—they had room for only one thing. Not far from where he stood was the source of the blood, a broad stone pedestal with a rectangular shape and a human-sized depression carved into the top. The first time Will had seen it used had been when he had forced Arlen Arenata onto it and used her own ritual against her, draining the blood from her veins while ignoring her begging and pleas for mercy.

  Today, it held the woman he loved most in the world.

  Selene lay on her back, with her arms resting on either side. Ugly cuts had opened her wrists to fill the stone depressions beneath them. From there, the blood had followed channels to activate the circle.

  A sound came from Will’s throat, a pitiful and incoherent noise, a mix between a half-choked cry and a yelp of dismay and disbelief. Grim Talek had lied, and he should have known it. The ritual had taken much more than a token amount of blood from her. It had taken it all.

  It had taken her life.

  Selene’s eyes were still open, staring blankly up at the ceiling as he rushed to her side. Something flickered in them, and Will saw her gaze shift, trying to focus on his face. Looking down, he saw that there was still blood coming from her wrists, pumping sluggishly in time with a heart that was hardly beating at all. “Wait. Hold on,” he cried, summoning a regeneration potion within the same breath.

  She’s still alive. That was the only thought in his mind. He poured the potion into her mouth and dripped the dregs over her wrists. If there was life in her still, it would work. It had to. Putting his hands over her heart, he matched the frequency of her vital turyn and pressed energy into her body, which was almost devoid of life. It had worked for Sammy, whose heart had already stopped—all Selene’s had to do was keep beating long enough for the potion to work.

  Her wrists closed, and her heart sped up, finding fresh strength. It was beating a feverish tempo, straining to make up for the lack of blood. Selene’s lips moved. “Is this a dream?”

  “More like a nightmare,” snapped Will. He summoned a jar and cup from his limnthal and lifted water to her lips. “Drink. You’re healing, but you need fluid to replace your blood.”

  She nodded, then sipped. After a few more sips, she began to gulp, and Will had to refill the cup. “So thirsty,” she murmured. “Is he dead?”

  Will assumed she meant the dragon. “It doesn’t sound like it. I haven’t gone in to see yet.”

  Selene frowned faintly, then focused on his face. “You’re crying. Do liches cry?”

  Understanding struck him then. “I’m not Grim Talek. It’s me. William.”

  “Don’t taunt me,” she replied. Her voice was airy and tired but managed to gain some venom. “I’m so weary. I didn’t think I would be this tired.”

  “Of course you’re tired, you nearly bled to death!” Leaning forward, he tried to kiss her forehead, but she jerked her head back.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Damn it, Selene. It’s me. Snap out of it.”

  Her face twisted into an expression of confusion. “You can’t be you. You’re dead. You went to Hell.”

  “I came back for you,” he replied. He wanted to soothe the pain she was feeling. Will glanced over her body once more, noting the bloody condition of her dress. “You look a lot like you did when we first met, though you were the healer, rather than the patient then.”

  “What was my name?”

  “Isabel.”

  Tears began to well in her eyes. “How is this possible?”

  His expression was guilty as he answered, “There’s a lot to explain. Sammy was hurt and we had to hide. I’ll tell you the rest after we get home.”

  “Home,” she murmured wistfully. “I haven’t had one of those, not since you died.” Lifting one arm, she placed her right hand carefully over her heart. “Is it beating?”

  Will nodded, then had to wipe his face again. “You’re still alive.”

  “I’m supposed to be dead. I was planning to die,” she confessed.

  She knew what would happen, but she did it anyway. A surge of anger shot through him, but it wasn’t the time. “I’ll take you to Rimberlin. You can rest there.”

  “No! I’m not leaving. I came to fight.” She sat up, then nearly lost her balance.

  Will caught her before she could roll off the pedestal. Bending his knees, he got an arm under her legs and put the other behind her shoulders, then moved her gently to the wall farthest from the opening to the nest.

  Once she was propped up, Selene asked, “Why am I so tired?”

  “I gave you a regeneration potion.”

  “That’s going to make me sleep. I’m supposed to fight. Are you stupid?”

  It was obvious that she was confused, but Will merely nodded. “Probably. You’d be dead if I hadn’t, so you wouldn’t have been able to fight anyway.”

  “You’d be surprised,” she mumbled, struggling to keep the lids of her eyes from closing.

  “I’m taking you to Rimberlin.”

  Her eyes jerked open, and a fierce look filled her gaze. “Try and I’ll bite your ears off. I’m staying.” She studied him a moment, then said, “I’m going to be mad at you later, aren’t I?”

  “I have no doubt of that,” he admitted.

  “I love you anyway,” she told him. “Even when I hated you for dying, I still loved you. You still love me, don’t you?”

  “What a silly question,” he replied. “Of course I do.”

  She smiled weakly. “I’m glad you didn’t sacrifice those people, but it wouldn’t have changed my heart.”

  “You’re crazy like that,” said Will. “I don’t know how you do it. You might have forgiven me, but I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.” He crouched down beside her, and when he saw her chin lift, he leaned in for a gentle kiss. The warmth of her lips drove away the fear in his heart, though he noticed a strange energy around her as he pulled away.

  She watched him carefully, then said tentatively, “If I did something like that, you’d forgive me, though, wouldn’t you?” When she saw his frown, she changed her question, “Or maybe if you didn’t forgive, you’d still love me, right?”

  “I don’t think I could ever stop loving you. I know you’re forced to make hard choices as queen, but you do it for your people.” A loud boom drew his attention. Smoke obscured the archway, but while he was looking, a hulking shape flew through to land in the chamber. It wasn’t a graceful landing, either.

  As it rolled to a stop, he saw that it was dragonkin, another of the egg guardians, like the ones he had met the day he had fought the king. It was missing its right arm, but it rose anyway, pushing off from the floor with its left—until a thousand pounds worth of cat slammed into it. The creature never stood a chance. Already wounded and with only one arm, it couldn’t keep the Cath Bawlg’s jaws at bay. Evie savaged it, seizing one leg and whipping her head until the dragonkin fell onto its belly. Then, she leapt onto its back and her teeth found the back of its neck. With a sickening crunch, she bit through scales, muscle, and spine.

  Unlike most injuries, which seemed only to serve as a mild warning to the dragonkin, the flesh torn free by the Cath Bawlg showed no signs of regenerating. Evie smiled at him, showing a muzzle soaked in blood and fangs happy to have found their purpose. Will turned back to Selene. “I need to get in there.”

  She grabbed his arm. “He said he doesn’t need help. He’s prepared for everything. Stay here. There’s more of those things, and any one of them could end your life.”

  “If it’s as sure as you say, I’ll stay out of it. They won’t even know I’m there, but I have to make sure.” The silhouette of an armored figure passed in front of the archway, a giant man clad in demon-steel plate. The warrior vanished from view a moment later, carrying a vicious poleaxe sized to match. “Who was that?”

  “Tiny,” said Selene with a grim smile. “He’s the point of our spear. Nothing will stop him.”

  Alarmed, Will pulled away and got to his feet. Demon-steel armor or not, Will knew what kind of wounds a man could receive, even if his armor was unbreakable. “He needs my help, then.” He camouflaged himself and smoothed out his turyn as he walked.

  Behind him, he heard Selene say something, but the din of battle from the nest obscured her words. Evie was nowhere to be seen, so he went through the entrance to the nest by himself, staying to the left and following the wall.

  Within, he found a chamber far beyond the size he had imagined. A better term was cavern. The opposite wall was so far away it was hard to judge the distance, and the ceiling was at least a hundred feet above. It wasn’t enough for the enormous dragon he had seen to fly, at least not comfortably, but the dragon wasn’t in view. Across the uneven stone floor, there was nothing to see but giant eggs in every direction, each one large enough to hold a grown man, or possibly even two. They were widely spread, with twenty or thirty feet between each one, but the nest was so large Will couldn’t guess at how many were there. The shells were beautiful to behold, and every one a different color: sapphire, crimson, ebon, and gold.

  Will almost felt bad about the fact that they were there to destroy them. Lognion had said that once they hatched, the dragonlings would fight one another to the death, until only one, or perhaps two at most, survived, but much of that fighting would occur after they left. Scattering across the world, the dragons would feed and grow strong, challenging one another while decimating the world.

  Will had different plans, but first he needed to make certain that Grim Talek was victorious in the battle presently before him.

  Between the eggs, a chaotic melee was being fought. Hundreds of egg guardians were there, fighting tooth and nail against men carrying spears. No, not men. Will studied the lich’s allies until he was sure. They were vampires, and they numbered in the thousands. None of them wore armor, but they each carried a single spear tipped in black metal.

  It was obvious that the lich had lied again, and Theravan and Mahak, his wizardly lieutenants, had been complicit. Grim Talek had built an army of the undead, and unlike the chaos of Androv’s mob, the lich had kept his soldiers hidden and unnoticed, possibly for centuries. Will wondered how he had fed them. Had they been disciplined enough to use animals, or had there been more sinister methods used? He could easily imagine hidden pits, with men and women kept like cattle.

  There was no time for speculation, though. Will first needed to see the war won. Afterward, he could think about a new campaign of extermination, if it was necessary. Despite their numbers, the Drak’shar were outmatched. The dragonkin were bigger, stronger, faster, and they recovered from almost any injury, except those made by the demon-steel spearheads.

  Even worse, the egg guardians weren’t stupid. Many wore steel breastplates, and even those that didn’t understood the threat posed by the black metal weapons. They weren’t lining up to be stabbed in the heart. Fireballs flashed overhead, incinerating small groups, and at first Will thought it was the lich’s work, until he saw the ones being burned were vampires. Some of the egg guardians were using spells.

  Grim Talek floated in the air, roughly centered in the vast space, his will stretching out to smother the magic of the dragonkin, but he couldn’t contain them all. The casters farthest away were still able to use their spells, and they were the ones roasting the vampires that fought near the walls of the cavern. Will wondered what spell the lich was using to fly like that, feeling envious, but another thought rose in his mind that took precedence. Where are Mahak and Theravan?

  The two wizards were nearly Grim Talek’s equals and if they were involved, most of the dragonkin magic-users could easily have been neutralized. As things were, the vampires were suffering unacceptable losses. Some egg guardians were down, but most still fought, for it was harder to stab an eight-hundred-pound scaled monstrosity through the heart with a spear than some would assume. Minor injuries only pissed them off.

  He spotted Tiny to the right, leaving a trail of destruction near the outer edges. The big man’s weapon had an axe head backed by a wicked spike, but above it was a long spike that allowed him to use it as a stabbing weapon as well. Even the butt end was capped with a demon-steel spike, so he could reverse it and use the polearm as a spear when needed.

  While the massive poleaxe had demon-steel for its axe and the spikes, the haft was made of simple wrought iron, two inches thick. It kept their use of the valuable driktenspal to a minimum, and the iron was strong enough to support Tiny’s incredible swings. Will guessed they’d chosen plain iron for the haft rather than steel since it was less likely to shatter, but he thought spring-steel would have been a better choice. Even with a two-inch diameter, it would eventually get bent considering the force of Tiny’s blows.

  He marveled at his big friend’s carnage. Selene had been right. The armored warrior shouldered dragonkin aside as if they were children. His poleaxe would sweep in and remove arms and legs, and when the swing was finished, he’d whip it back to bury the spike in another’s face, or turn and drive the butt end completely through the ones behind him.

  Claws, hammers, and two-handed great swords smashed into him, but it didn’t faze the knight. The demon-steel robbed most of the attacks of their inertia, keeping him steady despite being hit by incredible blows. Both Tiny’s armor and his weapon were burning with black flames, radiating deadly turyn that seared any enemies who came into contact with him.

  That made Will concerned. He should be dead already. That much void turyn would kill any normal person within seconds. Tiny hacked down another of the dragonkin mages as he watched, then moved on. The black flames obviously weren’t bothering him.

  If Theravan and Mahak had been there, Will thought they could win, but without them, the vampires were slowly losing despite their numbers. It would take Tiny too long to circle the room, and in the meantime, the mages were turning an almost even fight into a massacre.

  Will considered revealing himself, but he forced himself to wait instead, watching the lich. Grim Talek wasn’t idle as he suppressed the magic users in the main portion of the room. Ebon blades of fel power spun around him, darting in and out to cut at the egg guardians nearby. Will didn’t recognize the spell he was using, but it used the same type of turyn the lich had shared with him. It burned into the dragonkin, leaving painful wounds that hampered their movements.

  At the same time, quite a few of them hurled stones, spears, and even vampires at him, anything that came to hand. The lich blocked them all with a rapid use of shields and fired back with a bewildering array of spells. As he watched, Will became convinced that at certain times the lich was casting more than one spell simultaneously.

  Force spells were limited to one at a time, but theoretically other spells could be cast in multiples. Most people simply couldn’t manage to do more than one thing at a time. Fog clouds appeared, obscuring vulnerable allies, while at the same time more black blades spun out to harry attackers, and the lich never missed a block to protect himself while doing those things.