Princess of Death (Three Provinces Book 1) (10 page)

Blah, my siblings are jealous of my grand adventures. When I told Nergal you were coming he was so excited he drafted a letter and told me to bring it. I was more than happy to.

“He wrote me a letter?” I snatched up the envelope she had dropped and ripped it open. 

Read it aloud. I deserve to know what I was carrying.

Humoring her I began to read, “Dearest Ereshkigal, when Puabi told me you were coming to Bet Pagri I was very happy. I have missed you these past days, being without you is a sad burden I have had o carry.”

Oh, please.

Ignoring her I went on, “I will be looking for your arrival. Please send Puabi with the day I should expect you. My mother and father are looking forward to seeing you and Ekur sends his love as well. Things at Bet Pagri are not good, and as much as I wish we could have a holiday together I am afraid I must request your aid. Together I believe we can end the dark days here and work towards your rulership of Adura.”

Notice he doesn’t say EXACTLY what is going on?

“Do you want me to keep reading? I do not need your commentary,” I snapped, but it was a concern, I didn’t have any idea what I was walking into at Bet Pagri, just that someone there didn’t want me to marry Nergal or be queen.

Yes, please, I’m sorry.

Rolling my eyes I continued, “Our prophets have seen the resurrection of the Great Three, have you any idea what event they are speaking of?  My people have long hoped for a return of the old ways.  I cannot wait to see you. Yours, Nergal.”

Heart beating a little faster I went to one of my bags, grabbed parchment and a quill and began to scribble a note for Puabi to take back.

Do you know what he is talking about, the Great Three?

“Yes, I have been marked by them.” I showed her, she made a squeak and almost let go of her perch, I laughed for a few minutes while she regained her grip. I wrote all about the things that had happened since he left, up until I received his missive. And let him know it would probably be another two weeks before I saw him again. By the time I was finished the letter was three pages long, front and back and my hand was cramping.

When I was done I used his envelope and gave it to Puabi, “please take this back to him as fast as you can.” I could hear her groaning in my head but I knew she was secretly excited to have a purpose, a mission, and she flew away on my request.

There was a knock on my door and Namtar walked in, “you don’t have a lady’s maid, you want me to brush your hair?”             

“No, you don’t have to do that now that we’re outside the castle you know,” I teased.

“I know, but I like to.” He shrugged.

“I don’t know what to do, I feel a little lost
Nam,” I said, leaning against the wardrobe.

“Maybe you should just get a good night’s sleep?” he suggested. Seeing that this wasn’t the answer I wanted, he cleared his throat, “or you could call your brother, then go to sleep.”

“You know me too well my friend.” Hugging him I pushed him out of the room, “get some sleep.”

After he left I went back to the mirror and made another call to my brother, I knew Mash would not reject me.

He came on the mirror, glowing and bright; I had to shield my eyes. The room behind him was dark. In Nannaru they pull shades over the windows during sleep time, since it is always a stage of daylight there.  He was in a gold dressing gown, sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked so grown up, wearing a crystal circlet on his head, already King in his own mind.

Behind him I could see a slim form asleep, covered in pearl colored silk sheets, Aya, I guessed.

“Sister, to what do I owe this call so late in the night?” It was funny hearing him say night when we both knew the sun never stopped shining there. But I guess the same could be said for me and the word, “day.”

“I have reached Damu and met Aunt Nanna and Uncle Zaltu.”

“Good. You made excellent time, any problems?” He asked. I then told him all which had transpired.

“Goddess of Light, Eshie this is excellent. Well, not the someone trying to kill you part of course,” he said, leaning forward, “I do wonder why the Great Three have not contacted me, though?”

“I think they will. The Light Goddess spoke of you favorably,” I quickly put out any jealousy he might feel, I knew my brother and envy was his biggest fault.

“Did she?” He scratched his chin, looking pleased, I nodded promptly.

“Our aunt is nothing like Mother.”

“No, she isn’t, but then neither is the family here. Poor Mare, she’s just frigid inside.” He seemed to feel sorry for our mother, which is where we were different. If mother had wanted to she could have been good and kind, instead she was cold and horrid.

“They are giving a party in my honor tomorrow night.” Just saying it made the butterflies in my stomach act up.

“As they should. You will be their queen one day, Ereshkigal. Now I have sent you a present, which should be arriving tomorrow. It took a little while longer because I had to send it by sea.” He looked apprehensive and I could understand that.

Salas is a large continent surrounded by water. While the water is divided (as the whole world is) into light, grey, and dark, there was something about the salt water that allowed the underwater creatures to go wherever they wanted with no ill effects. If you travelled by ship and were born in Nannaru you could deliver to Biri or Adura without ill affects either. The problem was the water of the dark bred scary creatures, creatures that could show up in the light or grey whenever they wanted.  Most found it a dodgy way to travel.

“I guess that’s the only way we’ll be able to trade or send things until this is all over huh?” I wondered after a few moments of silence.

“Yes, now I have to go. Call me if you need anything little sister.” With that the mirror went blank and I found myself staring at my reflection again.

Chapter 10

“Oh, it is beautiful Ereshkigal!” Nanna exclaimed as I opened the package that had arrived after dinner the next day.

My brother had sent me a shinning black circlet with symbols of the Three carved into it in a magical glinting black light.

“Here, allow me,” my Uncle said in hushed tones, I bent my head and he placed it, regally on me. When I lifted my eyes to his there were unshed tears in them.

“Now you truly do look like a Princess.” Nam whispered, in awe. This I had to see for myself. I found the nearest mirror and looked. The circlet did make me seem more royal somehow.

“It will be gorgeous with the dress I bought for you; this evening you will outshine everyone.” Nanna seemed so excited I could not squash it; I was more than a little nervous about this party being thrown in my honor.

“You bought her a dress?” Nam’s voice held concern, probably hoping my Aunt’s taste didn’t mimic my mother’s.

“Yes,” she winked, “in proper Adura attire. Trust me, I remember the horrors I was forced to wear in the castle. Biri designs stifle so.”

We all had a good laugh about this, and it felt amazing to be with people who didn’t look at me with scorn and fear.

“Ereshkigal, our friends will be here within the next few hours, you’d do well to get ready.” Zaltu informed me, looking at the clock on the wall.

“Now, since we only had days warning of your arrival we are only introducing you to prominent people from Damu, perhaps fifteen or twenty.” My Aunt was trying to relieve my trepidation, and it worked. That was not as many people as I had feared. I knew we were holding this “ball” of sorts downstairs in the banquet room of my aunt and uncle’s bank.

“
Well that’s not too many,” Nam said into the silence that followed her statement. “C’mon Eshie, I’ll help you get ready.”

As we made our way back to my room there were butterflies in my stomach, and not the good kind. More like the I’m-gonna-puke kind.

“Breathe, you are a Princess and if you ever want to be Queen you may as well get used to this sort of thing,” Nam sounded annoyed as he shooed me through the door and closed it.

“I don’t know if I will ever be ready to be Queen,” I admitted, sitting on the bed as
Nam grabbed the package off the dresser that, I assumed, was my clothing.

“Well you better get ready, this is coming. If you don’t want to be Queen better tell them now, not later.” He spun around smiling, holding out clothing.

I looked at him, feeling a little angry at his nonchalant attitude, “who else but me?”

“That is the question isn’t it?”  He raised an eyebrow and I shook my head, yup that was
Nam giving me a suck-it-up speech.

“Okay, make me beautiful.”

“You already are, this will just improve it.” He laughed.

It only took a few hours for
Nam to decide I was presentable enough.

My hair was loose and flowing down my back, the circlet keeping it from my face.  I was in short ruffled red skirts and a matching tunic with a black corset. As we descended down stairs to where everyone was waiting for us I had to steady myself in the knee high black heeled boots my aunt had insisted I wear.

Nam looked very handsome standing next to me in a sleek pin striped suit, hair pulled back from his face. I hadn’t had time to explore much so I took my time glancing around the inside of my family’s business. It looked like a bank should, which was nice, large, sterile and smelling of money. What I enjoyed most were the symbols of the old ways hidden everywhere, carved into the marble benches and in patterns on the stationary.

We opened large doors and I walked into an Adura party. There was soft, haunting music piping into the room, thousands of candles were lit, lighting up the space but throwing shadows far and wide. Tables and chairs were draped in black and servers dressed in red and white were bringing food and drink to the people sitting and milling about.

As I entered they stopped talking and everyone turned to look at me. I could feel my heart fluttering in my throat and my hands felt clammy, Nam pushed me in farther. I watched in kind of a daze as my aunt bustled towards me, hands out, smiling.

I frowned as the warnings I had put in position started to go off. Someone was trying to attack my barriers, forcing their way through the protection spells I had placed on myself. I felt my magic lash out and make contact but it was too late.

The thick smell of incense, perfume and food filled my nostrils as hands reached for me and for the first time in my whole life, I fainted.

When I woke up I knew I was dreaming, or at least in a dream state. As I sat up not only was I irritated, could this please stop happening to me? But concerned, unlike when I had awoken with the Three this was different. The Dream World made my powers null and void. I had no magic and that was never a good thing.

“Syb?” I whispered. The Dream World was her realm, so I thought I had a chance of her hearing me. After a few moments with no response I guessed not.

Standing I took in my surroundings, I was in a building, that was obvious, and I was also in a long, dark hallway, which made me nervous. There were several doors and a flickering lamp that made the darkness more ominous. The smell permeating the hallway was musky and stale, like someone hadn’t opened a window in years. There was a large window at the end of the corridor; looking behind me I saw there was just a wall.

So I had no choice, the window or a door, great. Had I been truly in Adura this would have been some haunted house somewhere, but in the Dream World, who knew? There could be unicorns or a laundry room behind one of the doors.

Making my way to the window I stopped and tapped the light trying to get it to steady itself, but I only managed to make it worse, plunging the room into absolute darkness. I stood, frozen for a few seconds, the only sound in the room my breathing. I shivered as the temperature seemed to drop and then the light came back on, soft and yellow, barely touching the gloom in the corners.

I shook my head, noticing with pleasure I was still dressed the same, so at least I had that much control. I grabbed the dust covered curtain and pulled it back. Annoyance filled me as I looked at a brick wall, perfect. So now I had no other choice but to pick one of the doors. I grabbed the handle of the one nearest me and turned, but it was locked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumbled. I hated dreams for this one reason, nothing made sense and everything was ridiculous.

Daughter, we truly cannot help you here…. Something is stopping us. However, in the Dream World your best defense is your imagination.

I heard Syb’s voice in my mind and touched her ring, rubbing my thumb over the cool stone. If the Three couldn’t get to me, that was a problem. Particularly since the Dream World was Syb’s home away from home, just as the Heavens were Pesu and the Underworld Zalm.

“Excellent, what is this? Pick on Eshie week?” And now I was talking to myself and what did Syb mean by my imagination being a defense mechanism? I continued trying the doors until the one at the opposite end of the hall opened. Taking a deep breath I stepped through and into a softly lit parlor.

“Oh, Dark Goddess, a funeral parlor.” There were four coffins near the walls, each shining in shades of black and brown, lids closed.  The walls were covered with thick brown curtains. The room smelled sickly sweet, like flowers that hadn’t been thrown away fast enough, and stagnate because of their water, just sitting there for who knows how much time. My feet sank into the deep carpet as I wandered around the room. There was no other door, no other way to get out. Whatever was about to go down would do it here and probably soon.

Fingers sliding across the lid of one casket I relished in the cool feel of the metal, then I stilled, I couldn’t tell if there was anyone inside and a part of me didn’t want to know. A bigger part, however, needed to. Had this been anywhere else, anywhere real, my magic would have connected with a corpse inside.

“Do you like that model?” a voice from behind said. Startled, I turned and raised a hand to fend him off, before I remembered I was powerless. The man before me was a Mormos and it was obvious. I didn’t care for Mormos; they were devilish, cunning, crafty and well… slinky. Not to be trusted. They tended to keep to the darkest parts of Adura and fed off blood.

“It’s ok,” I answered cautiously, wondering what the hell this pasty Mormos was doing in my dream.

“Perhaps you would care to look at it more?” He smiled, flashing dingy looking fangs, in a red brown mouth.  I took a step back, without my magic I wouldn’t be able to fight him much, I was strong and fast….But not more than a Mormos.

I tapped down my fear, this was the Dream World, traditionally nothing really horrible could happen, this was a nightmare and I just needed to wake from it.

“Sure, does it have silk lining?” I asked, I could play along.  With a flip of his long fingers the coffin lid sprung open. Looking down I saw it was filled with pretty dark blue silk sheets and a matching pillow. He brushed his long, chipped fingernails over the finery.

“It’s soft and breathable, one of our finest and most popular models.” His eyes were blue and fever bright so I kept my gaze trained at his nose. Mormos could swallow you with their stare if you didn’t have the power to stop them. I had no interest in this dream becoming worse than it already was. I was feeling very out of control and a part of me feared I wasn’t as in charge of my dream and I should be.

“Why does it need to be breathable?” I rubbed the silk between my fingers, it did feel nice.  Glancing around the room, I was taken aback by just how quiet it was. In a real Mortuary there would be bad music and more people. As I thought it, soft nondescript music began to play in the background.

The Mormos jerked, like he hadn’t expected the music to turn on. As I watched him he seemed to compose himself, “you won’t know if you should purchase unless you try it out.” His voice echoed in my mind sounding pleasant and reasonable.

Feeling distant from myself I allowed him to help me in the coffin, “It is rather comfortable.” I said in a far away sounding voice. Something was very wrong, why was climbing in this death holder a good idea?

Panic began to flutter in my breast as his eyes flashed above me and he lowered the lid, this wasn’t a good idea in fact, “this is a horrible idea. Wait!” I screamed as the lid snapped closed and I heard him throw the outside latches.

Staring up at the darkness I took several deep breaths, the darkness enveloping me as I realized how close the lid was from my face, I could barely move, I was so constricted. I tried to stay calm, frantically breathing or screaming would just lead to no air and death. While I was not afraid of death, I was not going to bite it before I had done at least SOMETHING with my life.

“Okay…. Think Eshie, can you actually
die
in the Dream World? Won’t you just pass out and then wake up on the floor, Nam looking down at you worried?”  My whisper sounded loud in the closed space.

“Stupid Princess, do they teach you nothing in your schooling? If you die here you die for real.” An alien sounding voice came from the other side of the lid; I placed my hand against the inside of the cover.

“Help me,” I begged, feeling stupid and scared. I did not enjoy being powerless.

“No.”

I waited a few moments and knew I was alone. Tears began to drip down my face as I struggled against wanting to scream and waste the oxygen.  As I was reaching a pinnacle panic moment Syb’s words came back to me, then I remembered the music in the room turning on.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes tight, this was the Dream World, and I could change the outcome. Lucid dreaming and I never really worked; I always thought it was a fun idea, but had never accomplished it.

Thinking, I tried to find a connection that I could use to warp this dream. Eyes widening I remembered that I had always made Mash and Ishtar promise if I died they would place me in a coffin with a latch from the inside, with a key tied around my neck to the door of the Family Mausoleum.

Letting the air out of my lungs I reached up and found a button, pushing it created a swooshing sound and the lid snapped open. I sat up taking huge deep breaths, shoving my fear into a tiny box in my mind. I climbed out and stood, on shaky feet, for a few moments before noticing the weight dangling around my neck. I touched something cool and small hanging about my throat on a thin chain. I tore it off and looked down at my hand, it was a key.

“A key for what?”  I mean I knew it was for a door but the door I had come through was gone.  I had a feeling if I didn’t find a way out I was going to be stuck in this place until I went crazy.

“This sucks, I could really use some help,”

As the words left my lips I felt a cold nose touch the hand that was hanging at my side, squealing, I jumped, turned around and looked down. Next to me sitting calmly with a peaceful expression on its face was a huge dog. Its head came to my hips and it was long and graceful looking with small pointed ears and a long muzzle.

“Ummm, hello.” Yeah, that was intelligent. The dog butted its head against my hand again and gave me a lick, which was friendly AND gross.

Wiping my hand on my skirt, “can you help me find the door?” Couldn’t hurt, I mean I asked for help and the dog appeared. It seemed to nod and as it stood and began to walk towards the wall, I followed. He, yes he, it was pretty obvious now, was silver with gold eyes and blue-black spots.