Page 123 of Crown of Chaos

“Where is it?” Soraya asked, pursing her lips tightly before staring expectantly at Avy.

“Valley of the Red River, where the mountain pass leads into Norvalla,” she explained.

“How long ago was this?” I asked, wondering why she hadn’t mentioned this place before now.

“It was a little under three hundred years ago, when the war broke out between the dark witches and King Karnavious.”

I turned her words over in my head, peering at the children who were now sitting around us. It was worth a shot to see if it was still vacant, and it couldn’t be any worse than the ruins we were currently squatting in, right?

“It’s on the edge? On which side, exactly?” I pried.

“On the farthest side of Norvalla, and away from the Kingdom of Vãkya.”

“Let’s go see if it is still vacant and in need of new guests, shall we?” I asked while getting to my feet, stretching my limbs out. “Soraya, Esme, you’re with me. Jasmine, Siobhan, Avy, move the children down to the tunnels just in case. The walls will glow if anyone or anything enters the doors or windows. We’ll be back shortly.”

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The stronghold was large withhigh battlements, and vast towers that shot up high into the vibrant blue sky. On the ground, skeletal remains were scattered, but otherwise, it looked livable. Soraya, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard spinning in a tight circle, seemed to think so as well. We waited in silence, watching the shadows for any critters or monsters to lunge at the bait we were using. Soraya hadn’t been happy about her job, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right?

After enough time had gone by without anything trying to eat Soraya, Esme and I made our way down the spiraling and into the silent courtyard. It was large, and while there was some damage, it seemed as if most of it was from time and neglect instead of fighting.

Lofty towers bracketed the entrance, which actually had a path built above it so you could move from one side to the other without having to touch the ground. The gates, which seemed undamaged, appeared to have been opened from within, which could mean someone had been lying in wait to assist the demons. The air here wasn’t cold, either, which was a pleasant change from the snow-capped mountain we had been staying on.

Fruit trees sat forgotten, with ripe fruit covering their limbs. The impressive gardens had become overgrown with weeds, but the perennials were already blooming with new growth. Fountains, which were fed by a natural spring, shot water into the air, which then landed in a slim pool that moved around the garden as if it were an irrigation system.

Together, we moved into the castle. The large, opulent doors whined as we forced them open before peering into the room. The afternoon sun was lighting it up enough to see the skeletal remains that littered the floors within.

“I don’t think they got out of here like Avyanna thought they did.” Esme frowned and sidestepped a skeleton.

Glancing at the head table, I discovered the remains of what must have been the lord and his lady. They were both slumped over the largest, raised table. Their hands were together as if they’d faced the horrors unfolding while holding hands. I swallowed the anger and unfairness of the scene, shoving it away to focus.

Large pieces of the wood floor looked to have been broken, as if something heavy had landed on them or had pushed up from beneath the ground. A mature tree sat in the middle of the room, heavy with bright-red apples. The windows were colored glass images, which shot rainbows onto the floor, making the corpses look more morbid than they would have in gentle lighting.

“Yeah, it appears she was mistaken,” I agreed, stepping deeper into the room.

There wasn’t the stench of death in the air, which was a relief. Thick vines covered the walls, growing up over the stone. On the far side of the room, a small throne sat with the remains of a creature seated upon it. My eyes swung back to the table, and my eyebrows pushed together, uncertain of who had died on the throne if the lord and lady were at the table.

After taking a closer look at the lord’s remains, I sucked my lips between my teeth and slid my worried stare back to Esme, who’d followed me into the room.

“I don’t see any wounds,” I noted. “Dark witches enjoy inflicting pain, and there’s no visible damage to his skeleton.”

It was as if he’d simply gone to sleep and never woken up. A sword sat against the large wooden chair, and there was a shield at his feet. His armor held the insignia of Norvalla, and large, intricately twisted horns protruded through the helm he wore.

“It is weird,” Esme agreed, slowly pushing on the creature’s shoulder, which disintegrated under the pressure. We both jumped as the armor crashed onto the floor. “Oh my mother-humping, brother-wanting, father-loving shit!”

“Are you two planning on hugging if we’re attacked or is this just your battle poses?” Soraya laughed at the fact that we’d wrapped our arms around each other and jumped away from the commotion.

“Wasn’t expecting that to happen,” Esme growled, releasing me to rub the back of her neck.

“This place is creepy.” I frowned at the mess we’d need to clean up before bringing the children into the stronghold. “We should check the other floors before we decide.” I moved toward another corpse that was little more than bones. “I don’t see any sign of what killed them, and that’s concerning. Magic would have left fingerprints of whatever spell killed them.”

Soraya snorted, produced a blade, and slit her palm open, letting blood drip onto the ground. The moment her lips began moving, the room spun around us until it became a vibrant, brilliant room of laughter with light shining in from the windows of the great hall.

Men and women spoke in small circles against the wall, while children rushed about. Food had been set out for a banquet, and musicians played in the far back corner. Spinning in a tight, small circle, I smiled at the lavish details of the beautiful, amazingly decorated room. A woman moved through me, and I gasped as frigid air shot through me before she’d fully moved through my body.

“What the hell?” I asked, backing up as a couple dancedthroughme.

Soraya laughed. “It’s a spell to see what occurred here. They’re not here. Only their memories are,” she explained.

---