Page 26 of Bound By Stardust
Stardust glittered in the air, beautiful and dazzling, and I watched it fall across the Master’s masked face. Would it do anything, or was Drazhan wrong?
An inhuman shriek drowned out the sound of music, and the Master stumbled back, holding his face. His mask tumbled to the ground and my jaw dropped.
Smoke curled from his fingers where his gloves had been burned away. The guttural scream came again, a bellow of deep, intense pain. The Master dropped his hands, revealing bulbous red eyes and dark leathery skin melting away under stardust, as though he’d been burned.
I gasped, bile rising in my throat as the other Master leaped at me.
Spinning, I tossed more stardust at him, getting the same reaction: a shriek of pain, a tossed mask, and then the reveal of curved, pointed ears, leathery skin, red eyes, a sunken nose, and curved fangs.
I didn’t wait to see more; spinning on my heel, I ran.
Drazhan had been right about the stardust.
My fairytale of a glorious kingdom in the clouds had turned into a nightmare. I’d walked straight into the pit of hell, and all those dark and deadly beasts surrounded me.
Beings with red eyes and leathery skin. Foul beasts. Monsters. Demons.
Where was Drazhan? I needed him now!
Shaking, I fled down the hallway, desperately trying to catch my breath. My chest was tight, and my stomach roiled. Any moment, I expected leering masks to bear down on me, but only darkness glared back when I peered over my shoulder.
At last, I burst out of the palace, and crisp fall air slapped me across the face. I sank to my knees, gasping, hand pressed to my heart as I sucked in deep breaths of air. No, I couldn’t stop; they were too close. I had to hide, then find a way to escape from the floating islands.
Staggering upright, I continued down a path. The stars glimmered like jewels in the obsidian blackness of the night sky, and a slice of moonlight gave me just enough light to see in front of me. It was much brighter up here versus down in my tiny cottage, where trees partially covered the sky.
Shapes rose in the gloom, some kind of mounds. It was only when I neared that I realized they were statues, gleaming white carvings of nymphs and satyrs, dryads and centaurs. None of them were human, but some variation of an immortal and a creature: curved horns, goat hooves, fish tails, and wings.
One creature wasn’t carved of marble, black as night, almost impossible to see until I was upon it. It had the wings of a gigantic bird but a long neck, heavily scaled, and the snout of a lizard.
A prickling sensation went up my spine.
The creature swirled its head, and golden eyes startled me. Stunned, I stepped back, and the ground swallowed me whole.
18
Drazhan
The overpowering scent of blood was all I could smell as we moved into the inner sanctum. It was difficult to pretend to be Iscariot, for he’d been here many times, and this was my first. My gloved hands tightened as I studied the chamber, and my pulse pounded as my worst suspicions were confirmed.
The young men who had been chosen for the tithe lay in the room, shackled to their beds, used for bloodletting and nothing more. Even a few of the barren women had ended up in this haunted place, bodies preserved, their blood feeding the Masters. I suspected Alder also feasted on their flesh after they died of weakness.
My fingers went to the vials of stardust. In one action, one moment, I could destroy them all, yet I hesitated. I’d left Asira exposed, surrounded by Masters. If I acted, would that put her in harm’s way? Stardust would only go so far.
An elbow jabbed me in the ribs. It would be typical to respond with violence; instead, I stepped away, scowling behind my mask.
A goblet sat on a column in the middle of the room. I was familiar with this kind of dark initiation. I walked to it as the chanting began. Iscariot was a leader of the circle, but he had a level of disrespect that often got him into trouble. Tonight, I hoped it would play in my favor.
While they chanted, I uncorked a vial of stardust and poured it into the goblet. A shared drink was a signature of the gathered brethren, and I was certain, at some point, they’d share the goblet. Unfortunately, instead of wine, it was filled with thick, red blood. The stardust glittered on it. Would they notice? Would it be enough?
A step came, heavy and slow, as Alder entered the chamber. Stepping back from the goblet, I returned to my place beside Jabel as the chanting died away.
Alder lifted his hands and placed them on either side of his mask. “My brethren, we have gathered once again to celebrate the future of our reign here in High Terrin. Decades ago, we warred with the fae and sought sanctuary here, establishing a kingdom above the world, beyond their reach. Our numbers diminished, we were left with a choice: find a way to reproduce or endure our curse and fade. For years, we have battled the blight, aware that our numbers could not increase unless we joined with the humans. Now, the future is clear. Two will become mothers within the year, which is why we celebrate. The winds of fate have changed, and this will be the start of a new empire. Tonight, we drink to the coming change.”
His hands tightened around his mask and lifted.
An audible gasp filled the chamber, and I stepped back, dread filling my heart.
Alder had loose, leathery skin hanging off his brittle bones. Red eyes gleamed in his grinning skull. Instead of a nose, there were two holes in his skeletal face, and curved fangs cut into his dry, chapped lips.
