The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (17 page)

“You must fight me first,” Demyan said.
“Before you may challenge the Captain to a duel, you must prove yourself a worthy opponent.”

The pirate captain
smiled and bowed, his hands stretched on either side. “Aye. If this be yer custom, I’ll meet yer terms. Anything to see yer captain’s head roll.”

The two men crouched and
cut a circle into the deck. With focused determination, the pirate stared at Demyan and set his first mark. Demyan, on the other hand, appeared somewhat bored. He deflected each blow with precision, the dexterity of his sword carrying no warning as it matched each and every strike.

It wasn’t long before s
weat drenched the pirate captain’s frame. His efforts increased as he leapt around the ship deck, searching for a weak point in his opponent’s game. His speed quickened, his swings tightened, and he shifted his body in different ways, but every technique failed. Again and again, the pirate thrust forward, but with each parry he grew weaker while it appeared Demyan grew stronger.

Demyan had the audacity to yawn.
Several chuckles escaped the soldier’s mouths and the pirate roared, his face turning red. He raised his arms high above his head and swung down, his expression one that suggested no man could counter such force and speed.

But Demyan
appeared to have lost interest. With a swift lunge forward, he parried the blow and brought his blade around to meet the pirate captain’s throat. Without pause, he sliced through his flesh, sneering as the pirate’s head rolled off his body and onto the deck.

The soldiers let out a cheer,
shaking their fists in the air.

Tiergan strode over to Demyan and slapped him on the back. “Well done,” he said
before turning toward a group of soldiers. “Extinguish the fire, you fools! Must I direct you in everything?”

“This ship is crippled,” De
myan said. His voice sounded eerily calm for someone who had just decapitated a man. “We cannot sail until the main mast is repaired. We will lose a great amount of time to repair it so I suggest we commandeer the pirate ship, Captain.”

“Yes,”
Tiergan replied, rubbing his chin. “The pirate ship has proven its speed. Have this ship emptied before morning.”

“Of course, Captain.”

A shout arose from the stairway. “She’s taking on water!” a soldier called.

Tiergan scowled and the ship creaked and moaned as if in response.

“Then have her emptied within the hour,” Tiergan said. “Do not let a single pirate onboard.”

Demyan nodded.

“Wait.” Emmeline said. “You intend to let those men drown?”

Tiergan laughed. “If they aren’t eaten
first.”

Emmeline’s jaw dropped as Tiergan turned on his heel and strode
onto the pirate ship. She hadn’t meant to sentence all the pirates to death. She looked back to find Demyan’s black eyes on hers, the cold depth of them startling her. Why hadn’t she noticed before that he looked into her eyes? Or was this the first time? No, she would have remembered his black eyes. Something had changed.

“What do you want?” she asked when he did not look away.

Demyan said nothing. He stalked toward her with a cocky smile, his eyes probing hers. Glancing at his lethal, bloody hands, she took a step back, her dress dripping all around her. She opened her mouth to demand he leave her alone, but her voice snagged on something in her throat and came out in a squeak.

“I won’t harm you,” he said as he neared her.
And Emmeline knew he spoke the truth. For whatever reason, she knew he would protect her. Yet, she couldn’t keep herself from trembling the closer he became.

Demyan
slowed his gait until he stood inches from her. “Good work today,” he said.

Emmeline held her ground, unwilling to be the first to look away. Something about the way his dark eyes glinted
spoke of more power than he let others see. An ancient power. It was as if he was showing her, and her alone, that his role as Tiergan’s first mate was beneath him. Tiergan was only for show, the face for the dark plans taking place below the surface. He seemed to wait for this knowledge to sink into her before he waltzed past her and dove into the sea.

Stunned, Em
meline stood transfixed as Demyan’s head emerged from the water. As the pirates swam in the opposite direction, he scrubbed himself clean, careful to make sure every drop of blood was cleansed from his body. Thorough and quick, it became apparent to her that it pleased him to be clean. As if nothing pleased him more. He noticed Emmeline watching and his laughter broke her trance. She shook her head and rushed off to find O’fin.

Erick paced the forest for another hour, letting himself slip into the depths of misery. It wasn’t until cold water lapped against his knees that he became aware of his surroundings. He stood in the river again, in the middle of the roaring water, and with the current swirling around him.

Move or join
, it seemed to say. Move or join.

He would move.
Erick gripped the necklace and made his way once again to the banks of the river. He couldn’t live without her, a fact he already knew, and he realized that if he did nothing to win her back, it would kill him. He bound up the hill toward the palace, hoping his father would know what he could do.

Erick tore through
the palace and into his father’s quarters where a snore rose from the bed. Taking a seat at his father’s bedside, he gently shook the old man’s shoulders.

“
Is that you, son?” his father asked.

“I’m sorry for waking you.”

His father loosed a sly grin. “Humph.
I expected you to wallow in self pity for the remainder of the day.”

“Very funny, father
,” Erick said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “It never ceases to amaze me how you can make light of any situation.”

“You have to laugh through life, son, if you are to live it.”

“Sure.” He paused. “I found Emmeline’s necklace,” he said, placing the chain and pendant in his father’s wrinkled hands. “It’s proof that she left me, but I don’t care anymore. I’m going to go after her. I’m going to win her back.”

“Good for you.”

“But, I need your help. I’m not quite sure what steps I need to take. I can’t think straight.”

“Oh
, I know you don’t think straight,” his father said. “Were you aware there is blood on this chain.”

“
What? How could you possibly know that? I didn’t see anything of the sort.”

“I didn’t see
it either. I can smell it.”

Erick raised
an eyebrow, knowing his father wouldn’t see it.

“Here, boy.
Look at it yourself.”

Erick took the necklace
and held it up to the light streaming through the open window. Sure enough, a small portion of the chain had darkened with a reddish-brown stain. Erick swallowed a lump in his throat.

“This still
doesn’t mean she is in danger,” he whispered.

“What else could it mean?”

A quick rap sounded on the door.

“Enter,” the King said.

And there he was.
The messenger Erick had been waiting for. He knew him from the other messengers because he wore the insignia of the Pamizakian Palace. The messenger’s face was flushed and his breathing labored. A sheen of perspiration covered his brow.

Erick jumped to his feet
, knocking the chair back. The messenger couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Just as Erick had begun to fear the worst, the messenger had come with news that she was safe. She had to be.

“
A message from His Grace, Orrin Durandi,” the messenger announced.

Erick
seized the letter from the messenger’s hands, broke the seal and read in silence. The letter fell from his hands and fluttered to the ground.

“What does it say?”
his father questioned, panic evident by the pitch of his voice.

Erick
stood as unmoving as a statue, and yet his heart raced, blurring his vision and obscuring all rational thought.

“Thank you
, messenger,” the King said. “You may leave. Please pay our respects to the people of Pamizak.”

The messenger bowed and left the room, leaving a deafening silence
in his wake.

“What does it say?”
his father repeated.

“She’s gone.
They couldn’t find her. Orrin searched every establishment between here and Pamizak. No one has seen her. When they arrived in Pamizak, she was nowhere to be found. She’s gone. Orrin and some of his men are going to Volarcus in search of her. He will be coming through here within the week and has requested that I join him.”

“Good, good.
That is wise.”

“I’m not going with him.”

“What! Do you still question her love for you? Do you wish to sit back and let her die?”

“With respect father, you did not allow me to finish.
I’m not going with him. I won’t wait a second longer. I’m leaving at once.”

His father
pumped his hands above his head. “That is more like it! Forgive me for not knowing you better, my son. I should have known you would fight for her.”

“I won’t just fight for her.
I’ll destroy who ever has taken her from me. If one hair on her head is harmed, they will wish they had never been born.”

“Whatever needs to be done.
Just find her and bring her home.”

Erick embraced his father
and rushed out of the room. With each stride he took toward the palace doors he transitioned himself from a prince to a warrior. No archer was as accurate as he, no swordsman as swift. He had mastered every weapon presented before him, and he would use whatever it took to recover Emmeline. He had promised her he would keep her safe and he had failed. He would never fail her again.

Finally reaching the
stables, Erick threw a blanket and saddle on his best horse, a tall steed with a strong back and quick legs. The horse stamped its feet with impatience and Erick gladly complied. The faster, the better.

Unwilling to lose any
more time, Erick left without any of his men. He could travel faster without them and wouldn’t have to waste time for rest. However unsafe the roads were to Volarcus, he knew traveling alone would let him maintain a quicker pace.

He
urged the horse into a gallop through the trees, choosing the shortest route against the well worn road. As the hours wore on, worry crept into his mind. Three weeks. She’d been gone for three whole weeks. Was she scared? Was she hurt? Had someone already broken her and taken control of her power? He cringed. How could he have let her down? Was she waiting for him to come for her? Had she given up on him? A thousand questions poured into his mind as he contemplated every possible outcome. He needed to prepare himself for whatever he would find. Although, nothing could prepare him if he found her dead. Nothing.

Nearly a week of
travel loomed ahead of him before he would reach Volarcus, if the horse could maintain top speeds. Just one short week. And yet it seemed like forever. He needed to hold onto his sanity until then. Until he could embrace Emmeline and bring her back home.

The air thickened with heat and the horses moved at a labored pace, their coats wet with perspiration. Having arrived on land several nights before, Tiergan and his crew traveled at a snail’s pace through the barren desert.

Tiergan glanced
at the Incenaga. She looked miserable and worn from the long journey. If only she had less spirit in her, he wouldn’t have had to tie her to the saddle. Not only were her hands bound, a precautionary measure he awarded all his prisoners, but he had wrapped a thick band of leather around her neck and tied it to the saddle as well.

Demyan expressed concern that her nec
k would snap if the horse spooked, but Tiergan didn’t think it likely. The Incenaga overheard, of course, the sneaky little thing, and had spent the better part of the last three days cooing and clucking at the beast. Much to his annoyance, she refused to dig her heels into its sides, slowing everyone down. Tiergan scowled. The Incenaga couldn’t ride worth a lick. He knew the horse wouldn’t throw her. With all her petting and shushing, it seemed more likely to fall asleep than rear its legs. Although, he had to concede that if anything startled the horse, it could be detrimental. Especially if he returned to Griet empty handed.

The
closer they came to Griet, the wider his smile spread, the more his chest puffed with pride. With his prize in tow, the people would fall at his feet. They would praise his name for generations to come. Images of what the future would hold flashed before his eyes. Millions of people would adore and worship him. Millions more would become slaves just for the chance to serve him. His empire would thrive and grow to unthinkable heights. All because he had managed the impossible and had captured the last Incenaga.