Page 42 of Blood Red Woes

I look away from him. I bet, if things were normal here, he’d be so high and mighty, so stuck up his own ass, he wouldn’t even look at someone like me. But since he’s out of options, AKA desperate, he’s practically begging me to help him.

But he wants me to kill for him, and that’s just… that’s just too much.

The Emperor must sense my unwillingness, because he declares, “If you do not aid me, then you will leave this castle empty-handed, to return to LaRoe’s son. Perhaps when you realize he cannot help you, you will have a change of heart.”Along with his words, the guards lining each side of the room shift in their armor, ready to attack me.

So if I don’t help him, he won’t let me see Fred’s research. Of course. It’s all about what I can do for him, not what he can do for me. I’m already on one wild goose chase. I don’t need to go on a second—and a more dangerous one at that.

I mean, two empresses? He wants me to kill two empresses for him. That’s not exactly a tiny favor, and it’s possible that he won’t know how to get me home, either. Honestly, I’d rather take my chances with Frederick.

I smile at him, though it’s more of a pissed off smile than anything else. “Your people skills need a little work, Emperor, but I guess you can’t practice them much since, you know, you can’t get off that chair and your people are all zombies. So have a nice life and fuck you.” I mock-bow and then twirl on my heels to march out.

For all I know the guards along the walls are also zombies. I can’t see under their helmets, not one inch of skin.

I storm through the castle, pissed beyond belief as I emerge outside and start taking the stone stairs down to the metal gate. “I can’t believe that guy,” I say. “What an asshole.” At least I got Fred’s journal for Frederick. Better than nothing. It’ll have to do.

Rune is delicate when he says, “Perhaps you should’ve considered his offer.”

That nearly makes me trip down the stairs, and I lift my right wrist and glare at the glowing tattoo on my skin. “What?”

“He is Empress Morimento’s son. Surely his aid would be better-suited to your needs than Frederick’s.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right, and all I have to do to get his help is kill the other two empresses. No, thanks.” Like, I might’ve defended myself against crazed animals, but I’m no killer. I can’t set out to murder someone, even if they might deserve it for not protecting their people.

“Ridding Laconia of the empresses might stop the woes,” Rune says. “Perhaps they’re the ones that began them. Perhaps their magic went sour.”

“For someone who’s such a pain in my ass, you’re acting pretty fucking reasonable right now,” I hiss at my wrist. “I don’t like it. I’ve made my decision and that’s that. I’m going back to Laconia to give Frederick his dad’s journal, and he’s going to help me. I’mnotgoing to kill the other two empresses.”

“Fine. It’s your decision. I can’t force you to do anything. Still, I do think you are making a mistake. If he knew you were coming—and he knew how capable you are—the others must surely know as well. How long do you think they’ll let you go wandering about?”

My gaze shifts down, past the metal gates, to the zombie-fied people outside it, clamoring to get in. What did Emperor Morimento call them? The afflicted? “What are you saying, Rune?”

“I’m saying they might know of you as well, and unlike the Emperor, they don’t need your help. They’ll view you as a threat, and they’ll try to get rid of you themselves.”

Rune is, weirdly, making sense, but still, I don’t like it. I don’t like any of this. God, I just want to go home. Is that so much toask? Is it too much to ask that I can close my eyes and suddenly wake up back home? This world and its problems aren’t mine.

“Well, I guess if that happens, you and I better be ready,” I grumble out, and then I leave the same way: using a magical slingshot to heave me up and over the gate.

Damn it. The last thing I need is more complications. As I work my way out of the city, I hope I never have to see Emperor Morimento again. I don’t want to kill for him. I don’t want his help if it comes with blood.

Still, as I leave Acadia, I can’t help but get the feeling I’m going to see him again.

Chapter Twelve

I’m proud to say I only resort to eating fish out of the river the last four days of my journey back to Laconia. It… isn’t the easiest to catch fish with no net, but after some magical mishaps, I figure out a way. Cooking it is a whole different ballgame, and I end up charring my first catch pretty good.

Hey, I ain’t no Girl Scout.

Rune is mostly silent on the journey back. He probably knows I’m still pissed off at what happened in Acadia’s castle, and I don’t really want to talk to him about it.

I spend more time than I’d like thinking about the Emperor and his predicament. He was kind of an ass, but again, it isn’t like he had a normal childhood, so can I blame him? If I was stuck to a chair year after year, magic keeping me alive and in place, I’d be an asshole, too.

Still, he could’ve let me take Fred’s research out of a show of good faith or something. I suppose I could’ve stormed my way through the castle, but I didn’t want a fight with those guards, whether they were zombie-fied or not.

You’d think that, after such a long journey, I’d be thrilled when I see Laconia’s walls, but I’m not. I’m dreading telling Frederick what I learned. I don’t know how he’ll take it. It’s one thing to assume your dad is dead, but it’s another to know it as a fact—and that Empress Morimento, the one he was sent to help, is the reason he’s dead… that’ll sting, I’m sure.

I follow the river as it grows smaller, up to where I slipped out of the city through a broken grate. Rune lights up before I can crawl through, asking me, “Do you think he’ll take it well?”

“Do I think Frederick will be happy to hear that Empress Morimento locked his dad in a dungeon and probably starved him?” I ask.

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