Page 75 of Marked By the Dark Lord
With a yelp of surprise, the Fae hurtled past me before bouncing off a tree trunk and spinning away into the darkness.
I didn’t bother to see if he stayed down. I was already running.
“Wow, that was awesome!” Touk cried, zipping around my head repeatedly. “Do it again!”
“To whom?” I asked as we ran on.
“Them?” he suggested, flying while facing backward and pointing past my head.
I glanced over my shoulder to see a squad of blue-armored soldiers closing in on me fast.
“Fuck,” I moaned, stumbling to a halt as they surrounded me, weapons drawn, all the pointy edges aimed my way.
Spreading my hands wide, I once again reached out for that place in my mind, trying to draw more energy from it. Anything that would buy me time. As before, the power came slowly until my hands glowed.
And then it was ripped from me.
I stared at my empty palms as sinister laughter drifted out from the forest.
“So clumsy and slow,” the male voice taunted, coming from several directions, giving me no opportunity to locate it.
The soldiers chuckled. They were all bulky-looking Fae, like smaller versions of Korr’ok.
“Who are you?” the voice asked with wicked curiosity.
“I could say the same for you. Show yourself!”
A figure detached itself from the darkness and moved in a blur until it was right in front of me, forcing me to lean far backward. “Is that what you truly want?” he asked, the face narrower and more aquiline than the broader, flat faces of the soldiers.
Nobility, perhaps, given the way his long hair was styled, something he could do without a helmet.
“Yes, I thought not,” he spat, stepping back behind the circle of soldiers and walking in a slow path around me. “The lady will have many questions for you, yes, many indeed. An unknown intruder? Unaligned, but with Mirgave blood?Mostinteresting.”
I tried to pretend like I knew what all that meant. I had a vague idea, given what I’d learned, but thehowof it still made no sense. I wasn’t a Fae.
“Nothing to say for yourself?” the leader asked.
I gave him a cold look, going for the only option available to me. “Not to a lowly servant like you. Take me to the Dark Lady.”
“A bold move,” the Fae chuckled. “Considering that you’re most likely a Duloke spy, this close to the border and trying to reach it. And once the Lady has extracted all the information from you that she needs, I will takegreatpleasure in executing another traitor like you.”
He smiled broadly as I paled. “Come! Let us go. The Dark Lady awaits.”
So much for my plan.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Mila
With the helmetless Fae in the lead, I was marched through a portal and into the halls of House Mirgave.
I was led through a stone hallway with high ceilings and thick arches that spanned the corridor every so often. Huge painted tapestries several dozen feet tall hung from the wall to my right, painted in brilliant, vibrant colors. Each one depicted a different Fae. Past rulers of the House, perhaps. I wasn’t sure. On my right, matching-sized stained-glass panes let in the purple light from outside.
The flickering of torch fire cast shadows crazily, turning the blue-carpeted floor into some sort of nightmarish sea we crossed, the soldiers marching in perfect lockstep on either side of me. They weren’t looking at me, but their weapons were drawn and ready.
If I moved, they would cut me down without hesitation.
There were little alcoves at the base of the arches, perfect for two or three people to sit and chat. We passed some people, courtiers, I figured, leeches who served no real purpose but to be seen. None of them said anything, though they all glanced at me, then leaned in to speak in hushed whispers after I’d passed.
