Page 165 of A Crown Without Mercy

Kundar stepped forward. “Milord, my men and I will look after them, if you can spare us?”

Riordan nodded in agreement and handed Sylvana to Kadric. “Cadell, go with them. We will come to you as soon as we are able. Notify us the minute she wakes.”

Eion and Stronbo, along with a host of Faye warriors, followed the sounds of the branches snapping and popping and trees toppling over under the heavy weight of the Griffin’s body as it plummeted into the forest, causing an explosive plume of debris. As they rushed toward the body, large feathers and leaves languidly floated to the ground all around them. They frantically searched for Vispera’s body and once they located her, they gathered her off the ground and headed for her veiled wing.

They laid her down on a large, ornate altar and placed a folded piece of material over the laceration in her throat. “She is not healing?” Stronbo questioned.

“Thy wound is strange. I have seen nothing like it,” Eoin replied.

“Thy bite of the dragon. Her skin appears to be freezing around thy wound,” Lakomi stated, as he ran his fingers over it. A stinging sensation radiated through the tips of his fingers. “What thy hell is this?” he questioned as he held his hand out. “My fingers, what is happening?”

Except for Eoin, the others stepped away, and without hesitation he removed the dagger from his hip, slammed Lakomi’s hand, palm down, on the stone altar, and brought the blade across his fingers.

Lakomi cried out, fell to his knees, and stared at the blood as it spilled from where his fingers had been severed. His body trembled as he grasped his wrist, and a strange numb feeling took over, as if his adrenaline were a sedative.

“Get the healers!” As Eoin wound a piece of cloth over the wound, he felt someone’s hand slide across his shoulder and looked in Vispera’s direction. He grabbed Lakomi’s other hand and carefully cupped it over the saturated material. “Hold it tight. This may or may not have worked.”

Putting their fear aside, the others rushed to Lakomi, helped him to his feet, walked to the other side of the room, and sat him in a chair.

Turning his attention back to Vispera, Eoin cupped her hand in his. “Goddess, are you able to speak?”

She shook her head no.

“Then we shall speak without our voice. Are you in pain?” he asked.

“Yes,”she replied telepathically.“Where are thy others?”

“Priestess, I am here,” the healer said, as she leaned over her.

Vispera held up her hand and remained focused on Eoin.“Go on.”

“See to Lakomi.” He then looked back at Vispera.“Thy situation is not good, but we are handling it.”

“I don’t have time for evasive answers.”

“Then I shall be blunt.He went on and explained all that was occurring and had occurred.

“Well, this is a conundrum,”Vispera replied, as if unaffected by the news.

“We have suffered a great loss, and I fear it won’t be long before thy Acherons seize our kingdom.”

She grasped his forearm.“Thy battle is not lost until we lay down our blades. Now help me up.”

“Priestess, you should rest.”

He knew, based on her hardened expression, resting was not an option. He wrapped his arm around her lower back and helped her sit up. She reached her hand up to feel the wound on her throat, and he pulled it back and nodded toward Lakomi.“Do not touch it. I had to remove his fingers after he did.”

The ancient trees stretched toward the burnt-orange sky, and their twisted branches reached out like time-worn fingers. Gnarled roots dipped in and out of the ground, and varicolored mosses partially covered their trunks, rough with age. Winding vines spiraled their way around the trees, while their thick tendrils hung independently from the canopy. The leaves were varying shades of green, some of which were still budding while the grown fan-like leaves, brushed in colors of jade, reached outward to catch the meager amount of sunlight. A strange cacophony of sounds and melodies drifted through the air from the abundance of exotic birds and insects, while the faint rustling of brush could be heard from the creatures scampering through the overgrowth.

Cadell looked down at the florescent rays of colorful light penetrating the thick canopy, casting an unearthly orangish-red luminescence over the ground. “It’s as if we are in another world,” he said, as he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“That we are,” Kundar replied.

“Do not let its beauty deceive you. If you think thy Faye and Lycan are a threat, you have yet to discover thy creatures that slip through thy dark side of thy veil,” Cathagne warned.

“The dark side?” Kundar questioned.

“Yes.” She held up her hand and closed her eyes. “If you listen carefully, you can hear their moans.”

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