The Rising Read online

  “I’m certain that went over well,” Silence noted, her eyes twinkling, her wee monkey hiding in the fall of her hair at her shoulder.

  “He not only damned Cassius and Elena’s line for eternity, but mine too,” Ian replied to Silence.

  “Oh no, does he have magic in his blood?” Silence asked worriedly.

  “There has not been any real magic in the royal lines of landed Triton since the Sky King clashed against the Fire King,” Jorie declared.

  Everyone looked to him.

  “They were both stout. Both mighty. Both had magic. And both fell in love with the same woman,” Jorie intoned. “She was an extraordinary beauty. Born,” he turned his eyes to True, “to the green.”

  He looked about the room, saw he had everyone’s attention, and carried on.

  “The firstborn, the Fire King, who had dominion over their realm, felt, as the firstborn, and as the true king, he should be able to lay claim to her. The second born, the Sky King, who ruled at his brother’s behest the northern regions of their realm, felt they should play out a challenge, the victor winning her. The Fire King refused the challenge and spoke loud and much, which reached far, about how he would not do so as he did not wish to humiliate his younger kin. This infuriated the Sky King, and he demanded satisfaction. The Fire King responded by abducting the fair maiden from her green land, imprisoning her in his castle of sand and showering her with jewels and love and affection until she was utterly besotted with him.”

  “That sounds like one of your forebears,” Silence murmured, and Mars grinned down at her unrepentantly.

  “Stealing through the dunes,” Jorie went on, “the Sky King infiltrated the castle of sand, and in his turn, seized her and took her to his keep on the black cliffs by the sea. There, he taught her the names of the stars and manipulated the clouds to form visions of her beauty in the sky. And he promised her their love would be written, her name on the sun, and his name on the moon, forevermore. Which, of course meant she became utterly besotted with him.”

  True noted Cassius staring at Jorie with an inscrutable expression on his face.

  While Elena gazed at Cassius with easily read devotion.

  And concern.

  “The Fire King was beside himself with fury at her loss,” Jorie continued. “He vowed he would lay waste to everything in a blaze of fire until she was returned. This meant the Green King felt he had to intervene. She was his subject. He claimed dominion over her and demanded her return to the green land so he could speak with her and know her desires.”

  “I’ve never heard this story,” Ha-Lah whispered to Aramus.

  “I haven’t either,” Farah whispered to True.

  “Do you know this story, Frey?” Finnie asked.

  “Not at all,” Frey answered, his gaze on Jorie.

  Circe was regarding Jorie with avid attention.

  Lahn was looking into his glass like he wished there was more liquor in it.

  Or the liquor that was in it was stronger.

  “The kings agreed to meet in the place where all their realms touched, what is now,” Jorie nodded to Elena, “known as The Enchantments.”

  “Did you know that?” Ha-Lah asked Elena.

  “It was why that location was chosen to be the home of the Nadirii,” Elena told Ha-Lah. “It was already steeped in magic.”

  “Yes,” Jorie said. “Fools for love.”

  “What happened then, Jorie?” Silence asked.

  “Have you not heard this story, piccolina?” Mars queried, and when he did, their monkey scurried out from under hair, over to Mars, where she tucked herself inside his shirt as if she was pulling the covers of a bed up to her neck.

  And as the tiny creature did this, Mars did not twitch, as if the thing slept just like that, next to his heart, every night.

  “I knew they fought. I knew it was over a woman. But this was not the story I read,” Silence answered. “She was…well, not very romantically described.”

  “That’s because you read the Airenzian version,” Cassius told her. “If you find it in Firenze, it will be far closer to the truth.”

  “It does not have a happy ending,” Jorie warned.

  “Oh no,” Silence whispered.

  “They tore her apart,” Cassius announced tersely.

  The room went silent and everyone regarded Cass.

  “Sweetheart,” Elena murmured, curling her hand around his forearm.

  “It is what you know, Silence,” Cassius said gently. “All you know of how it is comes from Airen. What you do not know is why women are treated as such in this land. The second born son of the Fire King was always the Sky King. Brothers, for centuries, millennia, who ruled their dominions side by side, in accord, even bloody harmony. Upon coronation, they’d assume the magicks of their realms. Fire and Sky. Until her. Until neither man could get beyond their own passions and desires and pride.”

  He drained his glass, set it on a table by his side, and resumed speaking.

  “And when they met to return her to the Green King so he could discover what she wanted, they clashed, magicks against magicks, with her in the middle. Some lore has them actually physically tearing her asunder, and their magicks exploded in grief and fury when they did, the Green King intervening in an effort to stop their power from destroying the earth. Other lore says that when the Green King saw what they were doing, saw his subject caught between these two powerful forces, he sent his magic to save her. The three magicks colliding disintegrated her on the spot. However it happened, this magic drove deep into the earth and up to the heavens and scorched all around for miles. And it heralded war that lasted one hundred and fifty years before a stalemate was finally called, Firenze broke in two and Airen was born.”

  “I don’t understand why this would be why women were so awfully treated here, Cass,” Silence noted.

  “Because they blamed her, love,” he told her. “They couldn’t assume the blame they’d earned, so they blamed her. They lost their magic, all of them, two of them because of pride and arrogance, and one, sadly, because of fairness and the desire to seek the truth. The Fire King went back to his land, demanded the greatest beauty of Firenze be brought to him, and he forced her to marry him. They eventually fell in love. The Sky King went back to his land and demanded all the greatest beauties of the realm be brought to him. He selected ten, married the lot, attempting to force them to mend his broken heart. None of them succeeded. Thus, he garroted them all, eventually, doing this personally. He had more brought forth, and died having had thirty-three wives, twenty-nine of them dead at his hand. But none of them were her.”

  He turned his head to look at Elena.

  Farah clenched True’s thigh.

  “And that is my blood, darling,” he finished.

  “Well, it’s good that your mother’s blood is good and kind and won out in you, isn’t it?” Elena retorted without a second’s delay.

  “Gods, nothing shakes it, does it?” Cassius muttered.

  “No,” Elena responded easily on a large smile.

  It took a moment, but Cassius’s lips quirked.

  “You’re the Sky King,” Farah blurted.

  True turned to her to see her gaze on Cass.

  And thus, he only heard Cassius’s reply, “In name only.”

  Farah looked to True. “And you’re the Green King.”

  “Also, in name only, darling,” he murmured.

  She turned to Mars. “And you’re the Fire King and you,” she looked to Aramus, “are the Sea King.”

  “And you will note, my people didn’t get caught up in that messy bloody business,” Aramus stated.

  True felt his own lips twitch.

  “This is…we are…” she stammered but said no more.

  “Farah?” Ha-Lah called.

  “We are their power,” Farah stated.

  The room went silent again.

  Someone cleared their throat, and all looked to the door.

  A servant was there,
his eyes on Elena.

  “Your Grace, dinner is ready,” he announced.

  Before Elena could say anything, Bram appeared in the door, rounding the servant, and his eyes were locked on True.

  “True, a word?” he asked.

  At the look on his brother’s face, True did not delay in murmuring his apologies, straightening from his seat, and following Bram out of the room.

  Bram headed down the hall the opposite direction of the dining room.

  He stopped nearly to the entry of the Citadel.

  “I don’t like the look on your face,” True noted after he stopped with him.

  “We’ve had ravens from Alfie. He says he’s sending a messenger with the fullness of his report, including the evidence he has that supports what the ravens bear. That being, he believes it was The Rising who conspired to surface the Beast. And True…fuck.”

  “What?” True asked with dread.

  “He thinks there’s strong evidence that the Beast is risen.”

  True closed his eyes.

  And whispered…

  “Fuck.”

  136

  The Assignments

  The Great Coven

  Silbury Henge, Argyll Forest

  AIREN

  In the clearing of the forest, the first flash of light came before the first of the five standing stones.

  The light was coral.

  The witch Melisse of the Nadirii Sisterhood.

  The next flash was green.

  Rebecca of Wodell.

  And at her side, arms linked, was Queen Farah.

  The next light was crimson.

  Nandra of Firenze.

  And linked to her was Queen Silence.

  Then there was marine-blue.

  The witch Lena of Mar-el.

  And with her came Queen Ha-Lah.

  The last flash was bright white.

  Fern of Airen.

  At her side, with arms linked, was Queen Elena.

  Without a word, they moved as one to the slab in the center of the stones.

  Touching the stone with her fingertips, Lena stated clearly, “The moon.”

  Fern of the Airenzian touched it. “The star.”

  Nandra of the Firenz also put fingers to stone. “The blood.”

  Rebecca followed suit. “The dirt.”

  Melisse hesitated, closed her eyes, breathed deep, took a moment with love, respect and sorrow to remember her sister, her friend, and then said, “The sisterhood.”

  Instantly, Elena broke from Fern and declared, “You need to cease your activities in Dunlyn.”

  “It is too far gone for that, Your Grace,” Fern replied.

  “It is on orders from your Regent,” Elena returned heatedly.

  “We have weightier topics to discuss,” Rebecca broke in.

  And Nandra of Firenze did not hesitate in doing that.

  “We would feel him, would we not?” she asked.

  “We felt the disturbance in the veil,” Lena remarked.

  “But then…nothing?” Rebecca asked. “How could he ascend after these many millennia and then…nothing?”

  “We must seek him in the now,” Fern stated, leaning forward into both her palms on the stone before them. “We must discover if he has surfaced.”

  “And then what?” Nandra asked.

  “Vanquish him,” Fern replied, pushing back. She then indicated the queens amongst them with a sweep of her arm. “They are at their full powers.”

  “Elena must marry,” Melisse stated. “She is the last. This union, their vows, must be felt by the veil. Only then will those prophesied be at their full powers.”

  There seemed a general agreement with that, but Melisse did not make verbal note of it.

  She continued, “And Ha-Lah, Jorie and Silence must make alliances with the beasts of the seas.”

  “Do you think to drive him to the seas again?” Rebecca asked.

  “I think we must consider all avenues, regardless if they are used,” Melisse answered.

  “But Silence hasn’t even used her fin yet,” Ha-Lah shared.

  “Then teach her,” Melisse replied. “And do it swiftly.”

  Ha-Lah glanced at Silence.

  Silence nodded her head to Ha-Lah.

  The Firenz Queen did not appear afraid.

  She appeared excited.

  “And you must bring peace in your realm,” Melisse said to Fern, her gaze then shifted to Elena to finish making her point.

  “You say this as if I could snap my fingers and it would be done,” Fern stated irritably. “And if I could do that, it would be done.”

  “You cannot, I know this. But you have dragons,” Melisse returned. “Use them.”

  “Melisse,” Elena whispered, never having been at one with the idea of using the incalculably destructive powers of those creatures.

  “It is not only castles and keeps you can reign fire upon, sister-daughter,” Melisse told her. “There are fields of grape and groves of olives, mines of salt, and much more, the loss of which will be felt dearly.”

  “Cassius is bestowing the land to the people who work it,” Elena replied. “If it is destroyed, now it is they who would feel it most.”

  “Right.” Melisse considered this as she looked amongst the witches. She then came to a decision. “We have the power to come here. Lena, you and I will use it to go to Lord Felix’s hall. We see to it that it’s cleared. And then Frey can call his dragons.”

  “The stones strengthen us as we’re here,” Rebecca pointed out. “Such transport would be incredibly draining if it is not done to the stones. It would take months to replenish it. This is why we do not do it.”

  “And we are saving our magicks for what?” Melisse asked.

  “To defeat the Beast,” Rebecca answered.

  “And what do you think I’m talking about?” Melisse pressed. “Cassius and Elena, and the rest of them for that matter, cannot have their minds divided. Nor their efforts. If this unrest is not quelled, the Allied Gentry could use Cassius’s distraction with the Beast to press forward their interests.”

  “That would be foolhardy,” Lena murmured.

  “And these men are bastions of intelligence?” Melisse queried.

  For the first time, the women amongst the stones quirked smiles.

  “Should you be in the field on such a mission?” Nandra asked. “After what befell you from The Rising, are you at your full strength?”

  “Does it matter when things need to get done?” Melisse asked back.

  “Yes, if you were to fail in the mission,” Nandra returned.

  “I will not fail,” Melisse declared in a manner that not another woman thought to press that particular subject.

  “I will hasten to bring to fruition my mission in Dunlyn,” Fern decreed.

  “You should abandon it altogether,” Elena advised.

  “I do not intend to remain in the services of my Regent’s forces after this is over, Elena,” Fern replied quietly. “Thus, if he wishes to punish me for insurrection when all is said and done, I will accept whatever punishment he chooses. But the work of my women must reach completion in Dunlyn.”

  “Can you explain why?” Farah queried.

  Fern looked to the Dellish Queen.

  “Lord Felix is the only one who has come forth to share he is officially of this insurgence. Others were identified by their militias battling your forces in the Night Heights and at The Enchantments. We have strong reason to believe, however, that not all have come forward to state where their allegiance lies. We also have strong reason to believe that a council of all those united to depose Cassius, restore Gallienus to his throne, and resume the ways of Airen meets there to plan their war,” Fern shared. “And we have reason to believe that orders are coming from the Bailey, direct from Gallienus himself.”

  Her voice dropped when she continued.

  “You do not kill a weed by picking off its leaves. You must dig it out of the dirt. We must know who our ene
my is, Farah. All of them.”

  Farah could not argue that point, so she didn’t.

  But Elena entered the conversation.

  “Serena has become quite skilled at being a spy.”

  “She is very well known by this faction,” Fern replied. “As such, it would be difficult for her to spy.”

  “She is very well known everywhere, but she still managed to strike a crippling blow to The Rising,” Elena replied.

  “I will consider this,” Fern murmured.

  “And consider using her lover, Chu,” Elena added.

  Fern’s chin lifted. “We need no man.”

  “He taught Serena much of what she knows. And Serena has a crew. Two gnomes. And everyone knows that gnomes are exceptionally skilled at espionage.”

  Fern appeared most interested in this idea.

  “Someone must volunteer to track down the Beast,” Melisse noted at this juncture, her eyes on Rebecca and Nandra. “It will be dangerous, and Lena and I can join in the search when we’ve completed our assignment. But we cannot delay in searching to ascertain if he has, or has not, come to ground.”

  “I will do this,” Nandra declared.

  “As will I,” Rebecca stated.

  Melisse nodded and carried on.

  “As it is, and as most of you know it is, our recent losses have caused great mourning,” she stated softly. “But they have also released great amounts of magic. It goes without saying we, all of us, would wish the witches who bore that magic to be amongst us, using their gifts to fight our foes. They are not. Thus, we must endeavor to use what they have left for us. Use it in their honor and use it to ensure their lives on this earth, and their deaths for a righteous cause, were not in vain.”

  “I am uncertain if this is a good idea,” Rebecca said worriedly.

  “It might not be,” Nandra replied. “But drawing down that amount of power would be useful.”