The Midnight Queen Page 13

  “You’re not getting away!” Princess Citrine punched down one of the remaining kodeads.

  Princess Amethyst laughed and fled down the stairs with Daemonus on her tail. Princesses Sapphire and Emerald made to chase after her, but a stream of purple fire blocked their path. Princess Citrine attempted to cuff the dragon but was swatted away by its tail. Nightsong’s fangs gnashed at anyone who came close. Princess Emerald shot it a few times, but the dragon was already dead and bullets didn’t even faze it.

  “Oh great . . . How are we supposed to get past this thing?” Princess Emerald asked.

  “Everyone!”

  They all turned to see Princess Ruby land on the floor, the glow fading from her hands.

  Princess Sapphire hurried to her side. “Oh, Ruby, I’m so glad you’re alive again!”

  Princess Ruby smiled warmly. “I know, I’m glad to see you again, Sis, but it’s Amethyst we must help now. Please listen to Otto’s plan.”

  It wasn’t until Princess Ruby said this that he even registered that he had one, but Princess Ruby was right; he did have a plan. “I’ve done what I needed to do here; now it’s up to you to bring back your sister.” He hefted the Dragon Lance. “I’ll use this to scare away Nightsong and its flames and let you pass—but after that, you will be on your own.”

  Princess Emerald’s eyes widened. “You’re going to fight the dragon by yourself?”

  Otto grinned at her. “I can handle it. You have my word as a Paladin.”

  Princess Ruby nodded. “The grace of the Goddess is with him. But there are larger schemes afoot, I can feel it, and Amethyst is a part of them. We must save her.”

  Otto raised the Dragon Lance high before aiming it toward the dragon. “Everyone, get behind me!”

  At his command, the princesses moved in behind him, peering out from behind his shoulders.

  “Everybody ready?”

  “We’re ready, Sir Paladin,” Princess Sapphire said. “Thank you.”

  Otto grinned and threatened Nightsong with the lance. As he had assumed, the dragon was too afraid of being hit by the Dragon Lance to come too close. Instead, it breathed fire at them. But like last time, the lance’s magic split the flame at its tip.

  Although it was painful to be so close to such hot fire, Otto continued forward, heading right into the furnace. The dragon continued to retreat, moving back from the entrance that it was blocking. Otto pushed forward. Nightsong increased the intensity of its flame while backing away.

  As the five of them came to the entrance, Nightsong stopped breathing out fire in order to inhale, and Otto turned to the princesses. “Go now!”

  They sprinted down the stairs, only Princess Sapphire looking back once more before another blaze of purple blocked Otto’s view of her. When they were all gone, he whirled to see Nightsong trying to get around him. He raised his lance at it.

  “Now it’s just you and me, Nightsong the Eternal.”

  Another inferno rushed toward him, splitting once more at the point of the lance.

  “My word, it’s not going to be that easy.” Otto lowered his stance and advanced on the dragon, pace quickening with each step. “En garde!”

  Chapter 27: The Oubliette

  “Amethyst!” Sapphire screamed.

  They sprinted down the steps, following the thump of the golem’s footfalls as it descended to the ground floor. During their rush down, in an attempt to slow them, the Spider Speaker hung from a spiderweb, pointing her scepter at them. Before the magical glow could appear from it, Emerald raised her rifle.

  “Oh, no, you don’t!” Emerald shot the string of web above her.

  The Spider Speaker fell several flights of stairs to the ground floor, her screams fading away as she dropped.

  “Nice shot, Sis!” Ruby called as they continued.

  “We have no time to waste!” Citrine yelled, running down the steps three at a time.

  They followed her down to the bridge and down the next flight of stairs onto the ground floor. As they came out into the hall, Sapphire stopped and looked around, not sure where to go next. She turned to Citrine.

  “You said when we entered that you remember going upstairs and punching through a wall, right? Can you recall where that wall is?”

  Citrine nodded and walked over to a wall where there was a hole in a few of its wooden boards. “Right here. There are stairs leading down.”

  Sapphire recalled what Aelyph had told her about the lowest floor of the Midnight Tower known as the Oubliette. It was where Aelyph had been imprisoned. “There is a place at the base of the Tower, the deepest, darkest chamber. The closest place to the Rifts.”

  Sapphire peered into the hole. “I think that’s where Amethyst went.”

  Emerald nodded. “Let’s go!”

  Citrine tore some of the boards away to clear the path for them and they headed down the stairs. They entered a corridor with several cages filled with slump-shouldered prisoners who appeared to be nothing but skin and bones.

  “By the Goddess,” Emerald whispered when she saw the cells. “You were here for two weeks?”

  Sapphire’s frown deepened. “We can worry about them when we get back. We have to catch Amethyst before it’s too late!”

  They continued through the corridor, coming to a stone staircase that led down to an open space below. From the dim light coming from below them, it seemed to lead outside. Cages hung from the ceiling, and Sapphire imagined Aelyph imprisoned in one, slowly losing his mind over the two years he was kept there.

  Wailing filled the air, and Sapphire felt a constant pressure on her brain that she tried to ignore. The walls ended at the base of the stairs, but the steps continued down onto a circular platform that seemed to hang over the—

  Sapphire gasped, and a thicker cloud of darkness came over her mind.

  “Is that . . . the Nether Rifts?” Emerald asked, her voice trembling at the sight of the large whirlpool below them.

  Sapphire nodded. “The Oubliette, the lowest floor of the Midnight Tower. We don’t have time to hesitate. She’s down below.”

  Citrine pointed. “I see her.”

  They continued down the steps until they moved out into the empty space between the tower and the Nether Rifts inside the whirlpool. With each step she took, Sapphire felt the effects of the Nether Rifts getting stronger on her mind, bringing insecurities and bad memories to the surface. However, nothing was as bad as her fear that she could lose Amethyst again, and she used this to push herself on.

  The four of them arrived on the platform to find Amethyst and Daemonus waiting for them. Sapphire led them forward cautiously, knowing firsthand the strength of the golem servant.

  “My dear sisters, I’m afraid that you are overstaying your welcome.” Amethyst gestured to her surroundings. “If this place doesn’t destroy your mind, Daemonus will destroy your bodies. There is no winning here.”

  “The Nether can’t play with our fears, because the greatest of them all is already right in front of our eyes!” Sapphire called back. “Amethyst, come back with us and be a family again.”

  Amethyst snarled. “You had your chance!” She looked to the golem. “Throw them into the Nether.”

  Daemonus charged at them.

  “Ruby, when you awoke, you made me stronger. Can you do that to each of us again?” Sapphire shouted.

  Ruby clasped her hands together. “I’ll try.”

  “All right, focus on me and Citrine. Emerald, you try to redirect the golem with your bullets.”

  “Right!” they both called.

  The four of them bolted from the golem’s path. Emerald shot twice, aiming just above the armor on the golem’s left leg to make it angle off its path toward Citrine. The first shot pinged off its armor, but the second got through, causing it to sway in the direction they wanted. Citrine screamed and punched out hard, turning the golem toward Sapphire.

  As it staggered toward her, it raise
d its sword. Feeling the power of Ruby’s spell strengthening both her will and her muscles, Sapphire engaged with the monster. Despite her power boost, Daemonus still had the advantage in the struggle. She forced the sword down before Ruby sent a powerful blast of air into its left shoulder.

  This gave Sapphire just enough time to stab her sword into the monster’s left eye. It whirled about and was met with another of Citrine’s powerful blows. Three more bullets struck the side of its wounded left leg, and it staggered farther toward the edge of the platform over the ridge, unable to see how close it was. Although partially blinded, it seemed to become aware of their plan to send it over the edge, and it spun to face them, its remaining eye flaring brighter.

  Before it could charge forward again, another of Ruby’s spells hit it, and several more of Emerald’s shots fouled its balance. This was followed by another of Citrine’s heavy punches, driving him right to the edge of the platform. Before it could regain its balance, Sapphire jumped up onto it, grabbed the hilt of her sword, and pulled it free, kicking off as the golem tipped over the edge and fell from the platform into the Rifts below.

  “Daemonus, no!” Amethyst screamed. “How could you?”

  Sapphire stood with her sisters, hair blowing in the breeze. “You’re alone in your evilness!”

  “You think you’re powerful?” Amethyst asked, her voice dripping with disdain.

  Suddenly a cloud of dark magic exploded from her hands, knocking Sapphire, Emerald, and Citrine back. Sapphire gripped the floor of the platform to stop herself from falling. The only person who didn’t get blown back was Ruby. Sapphire watched in awe as Ruby extended out an air blast to block Amethyst’s magic.

  Amethyst bared her teeth as though putting more focus into the dark power spreading from her hands. However, as though Ruby’s resurrection by the Goddess had blessed her against such dark magic, she began to walk forward into the spell, her own magic allowing her to close in on Amethyst.

  No longer feeling the force of the spell, Sapphire and her sisters rose and walked behind Ruby in case she needed their support. Does she even need our help? How is she doing that?

  Ruby walked forward until she was right in front of Amethyst. She leaned over her, the pressure of the dark magic pushing back against Amethyst, whose eyes widened in panic and fear.

  “Don’t you see? The Dark Consul through you, the Goddess through me . . . they act as a balance against each other.” Ruby’s voice was demanding, as though she were speaking with the Goddess’s voice. “If you put more force against me, it will only hurt you!”

  She went to embrace her sister, but Amethyst cried out, “No!”

  Amethyst’s own power drove her to her knees, but as she was about to be engulfed by her own dark magic, Ruby cut off her spell. The power dispersed and they both panted, Ruby’s desperate eyes locked with Amethyst’s scornful glare.

  “Do you understand now?” Ruby asked.

  Amethyst looked down, hair draped over her face. “Do you?” She sneered at Sapphire. “You say you are stronger with your family? Well, I have a new family now. Dark Consul, come to my aid!”

  At first, there was nothing but silence, but then the platform began to shake. Sapphire looked around in panic, trying to find the source. The force was coming from below them, from the Nether Rifts.

  A dark, cloaked form rose up from the edge of the platform, looming up behind Amethyst. The cloak’s material appeared to be weighed down, dripping with the power of the Nether. The form flicked out an arm, and Amethyst floated up from the platform, rising into the form’s arms. It seemed to stare down at them as Amethyst’s smile widened in exultation.

  Sapphire reached a hand up toward Amethyst, as though she could pull her down. Her heart dropped just as the form descended back into the Nether Realms, taking her sister with it.

  As they disappeared into the void, Sapphire ran to the edge of the platform and screamed, “Amethyst!”

  Chapter 28: Dragonslayer

  The Moon Gallery’s wide, open space made fighting the dragon difficult, for there was nothing Otto could hide behind. Of course, even if there had been, Nightsong would have smashed it down with one swing of its mighty tail or burned him alive from behind with its scorching, amethyst fire. For this reason, he was thankful for the lance. Not only did it take away any illusion that such obstacles might have helped him, but its defense against the flame was the only reason he was still alive. Still, he had forgotten that dragons had other weapons at their disposal.

  While he had mastered using the lance to avoid the flame, he had forgotten that a dragon’s teeth and razor-sharp claws were just as deadly. He managed to ward off most of its attacks by pointing the lance in the direction of its slashing front claws and snapping maw when it rushed at him, but avoiding the fire was always his main priority. Then, while he was focused on splitting the fire so he didn’t get burned, Nightsong’s claws lanced out from the behind the flame and swatted him to one side before he could redirect the relic. He just managed to roll to one side fast enough to avoid another line of fire rushing his way.

  So, a defensive strategy won’t work against you, huh?

  He looked down to see that one of the dragon’s talons had torn his side open, and he was now bleeding profusely onto the stone floor. He panted, watching his blood run from his waist and drip off his armor. Nightsong was a lot smarter than he had assumed, and the Dragon Lance had made him overconfident.

  Dear me . . . that’s not good.

  He ground his teeth from the pain, clutching his side with one hand while holding the lance with the other. Once again, flame exploded toward him, and like last time, he knew that Nightsong was going to use the flame more as a cover for its clawed attacks than to actually try to harm him with it.

  Before it could swipe at him again, Otto dive-rolled to the side, letting the flame flare over his head. He spun to his feet and thrust the Dragon Lance blindly into the thickest part of the flame, a place where an attack would have been invisible to him. Then he was struck hard from behind as Nightsong’s tail collided with him.

  “Argh!”

  Instead of lashing at him like the swipe of a claw, the tail caught him in a sweeping motion against the floor. Desperately, he took his hand from his wound and drew his longsword. He plunged it into the dragon’s tail and hung on tight so he wouldn’t be flicked against the wall by it. The dragon roared in pain and swung its tail back against its body. Otto let go of the sword as the motion shot him up toward the undead dragon’s face.

  “Take this!”

  As though forgetting that its fire no longer affected him, Nightsong blasted him with another inferno, but the lance divided the flame and then the dragon itself. Otto flew into the dragon’s gaping maw, and, with one powerful thrust, stabbed the point into its mouth and out through the back of the dragon’s head. He was flung forward as the dragon fell, and he spun to a sudden stop on the stone, winded and coughing as Nightsong hit the floor with a thump behind him.

  Otto turned his head to see that the undead dragon was watching him with those glowing, magenta eyes, as though attempting to defy death one more time. Then they closed once and for all, and he knew he would be the last one to see them.

  I did it . . . I killed the undead dragon, Nightsong the Eternal!

  His great victory didn’t make the pain go away, however, and Otto groaned and rolled over. He let go of the Dragon Lance and struggled to his feet, returning his bloody hand to his side. Grunting in pain with each step, he staggered over to his sword that was still sticking out of Nightsong’s tail. He grabbed the hilt, and with effort, pulled the blade free. Then he mustered the courage to look down at the gash in his side.

  This is a mortal wound. If I’m going to die as a Paladin, I’m going to die with a true Paladin’s weapon in my hand.

  He felt that if he had the strength to reclaim his sword, he might as well see how far he could get while he was still on his feet. Somewhere in
his mind, a voice called out to him. It didn’t speak words, but the warm feeling it gave off acted like a lure from some welcoming presence.

  He didn’t know where his longing to find its source came from, but his body seemed to be naturally drawn to it. Using his longsword as a crutch, he slowly made his way down the winding stairs from the Moon Gallery, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

  It took him a while to get to the floor below, but once he did, he felt the warm presence again. It beckoned him from behind, and he turned to see a corridor going deeper into the tower. Leaning on his sword, he hobbled down the corridor. There was something different about this hallway in comparison to the rest of the Midnight Tower.

  There were stained glass windows across the wall, allowing in what little light was shining between the clouds in the night sky. He was exhausted and on the edge of falling unconscious, but both the light and warm presence drove him on until he came to a set of massive doors that nearly reached the top of the high ceiling.

  The door was immaculately carved with stained glass and adornments, and he could sense it led to a room different than any of the others in the Midnight Tower. This was where the speechless voice was telling him to go, and he thought he knew why.

  From what he had been told of the Midnight Tower—or as it had been called, the Goddess Tower—the Goddess Chamber was near the top of the center spire in the middle of a long corridor.

  He hadn’t encountered any hallways like this one in the Midnight Tower since they’d arrived, nor had he seen a door so ornate. Somehow, this hallway and this door had appeared after Nightsong was slain. Just as he could feel her presence beckoning him toward it, he could also feel the presence of the Goddess inside. This was where the Goddess had led him, and if nothing else, his faith told him that this was her Chamber—the place where she had locked the Dark Consul—and that her light still remained to this day.

  Leaning on his sword before the door, he felt he should kneel, and so he did, resting his hands on the hilt of his sword, still bleeding out onto the carpet. He knelt there before the Chamber of the deity his father, and his father’s father, and his father before him had worshipped. It seemed a fitting place to die.