Chapter 38

"COME OUT, COME OUT, wherever you are," came a playful and insidious deep voice around the corner of the tunnel.

Scarlet trembled in his arms and gasped, gripping his shirt tightly. "The king."

Panic shot through him at her fear, and Knox handed her into Ashur"s arms. "Take her. Get them to safety."

"What are you doing? You can"t go out there alone."

Knox turned to go back toward the cellar, righteous anger burning in his chest. "I"ll buy you some time. Go, get them safe, then initiate step two of the rebellion."

Ashur nodded and turned back to the crowd. Knox strode with purpose, unlocking the hatchet that hung from his belt. He wiped his forehead and stepped into the cellar.

The king stood with his legs spread wide and hands behind his back. "Ah, there you are. I"ve found you."

Knox" brow rose. "Were you looking for me?"

The king"s jovial smile turned down, his face reddening in the soft light from the lantern. "I was actually. A little birdie says you"re the leader of the Robins. Would you care to join me upstairs? These cellars are such dreary places."

Knox" eyes narrowed and he widened his stance. "I"d rather not."

The king shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. No manners. You will address me as your majesty."

Knox snorted. "You"re no king of mine."

The king"s hands glowed orange as he gathered magic. "I guess I"ll just have to teach you etiquette myself."

The king"s smile turned into a wide grin, and Knox" heart began to race with adrenaline. He widened his stance. The king threw a fireball, and it exploded above Knox" head. Boxes fell from the shelves.

Knox jumped out of the way, but more boxes rained down on his head. He lifted his tail and arms as they crashed down on him, his hands shifting and his arms growing scales. The wood splintered, and Knox heaved, throwing them off with massive claws.

The king raised a hand and a fireball exploded to the left then another to the right. Knox was thrown to the floor, trapped between burning boxes. Smoke began to fill the room.

He coughed and beat at the flames as he struggled to his feet. There was a soft pop and a fine, black dust settled over the room. A shot of pain ripped through Knox" head, making him groan as he came to his knees.

A coil of rope lashed around his upper arms, binding his tail and arms to his sides. The rope burned, and he roared. It turned into a cough as blood filled his mouth.

The cellar floor was filthy beneath his knees, but it was the pain that made him groan. The pulsing magical rope was made of white hot fire.

He flexed his shoulders, stumbling to his feet as he pushed against the bonds. They squeezed tighter, the air rushing out of him in its ruthless grip. His shirt began to smolder at the hot coil of fire. He panted with shallow breaths, grunting as he strained.

The king laughed.

Knox froze, then looked over to the stairs.

The boxes that had fallen all around were now burned to ash, and the smell of smoke hovered in the air and on his clothes. Eirwyn wouldn"t like all the dirt and grime.

His chest burned as he coughed through the smoke, his own green gas sinking to the floor to mix with the smoke.

"Ah, there you are. I had wondered if you were the type of drakin who was resistant to fire, but it seems like you"re tougher than the average human like Eirwyn."

Knox spit, the metallic taste of blood making him want to gag. His blood boiled in rage. This monster had been throwing fireballs at Eirwyn since she was a child? The terror had to stop.

"You"ve been hurting her, you monster," Knox said, struggling against his bonds and widening his stance.

The king stepped back, a snarl of disgust on his face. The king shook his head and spread his hands wide, fire glowing from his palms.

"Monster? No, you"re the ugly scaly monster, you low-life, no good bastard."

Gastone threw another fireball, and Knox jumped to the side, straining against the rope as it tightened. He crashed to the soot covered floor. Pain raced up his side, and he grunted as he saw spots.

Gastone continued with no change in his tone from the exertion of magic. "Imagine my surprise when I realized that not only was Eirwyn alive but she was slumming it with the leader of the Robins. Who–by the by–was a drakin too."

The king kicked him in the ribs. Pain exploded in his other side, the kick driving the fiery rope into his skin and burning through his clothes.

"No one threatens my crown, do you understand me? No one."

Knox grunted and curled up on the floor, the stinging bite of pain making his vision swim. Dizziness and nausea flooded him, and he groaned, tucking his head into his chest.

Gastone kicked him again then stepped back, tugging on his cuffs and straightening his jacket. "Now, we"re going upstairs. There"s something I want to show you before you die."

Knox" heart raced as he coughed, smoke filling his nose. A small fire burned along one wall.

The king crooked his fingers, and the magical bands around Knox" arms and tail grew tighter. They burned into him, a slow burn that that made his teeth clench.

"Why don"t you just kill me now?" he gasped, struggling against his bonds.

The king jerked, wrapping the end of the rope around his fist and dragging him to his knees.

"Like I said, I have a surprise for you. Then I"m going to teach you some manners before I kill you."

Knox stumbled to his feet, and Gastone grinned, a cruel light in his eyes as he began to walk up the stairs, jerking on the rope with every step and keeping one beady eye on Knox.

"Come along now. How my dear sister could traipse around the forest with a mongrel like you is beyond me. Too bad that bitch, Scarlet, failed to kill her. If I"d known she had a connection to the Robins, I never would"ve sent her after Eirwyn."

His tone was conversational as they walked up the stairs, but the rope threatened to choke him. Knox couldn"t respond, all his energy was going to staying upright and breathing.

"I finally caught a few of the Robins behind the robbery of the palace. Quite high-handed of you to steal right from under my nose. Why you thought that was a logical way to negotiate is beyond me."

Knox couldn"t breathe; the burning rope was too tight around his arms and chest. His shirt smoked.

He gasped, "You ignored our petitions about the taxes. You pushed into the forest and ignored us. You burned houses and villages and robbed from us all."

The king raised his brows and pushed open the cellar door at the top of the stairs. "The entire kingdom belongs to me. I can"t rob from myself."

Gastone snorted and shook his head as they entered a small hallway. To the right were sounds of the kitchen.

Knox didn"t cry out. He didn"t want any of the servants to get hurt, and there was no telling what the king would do. The wild look in his eyes had Knox gritting his teeth more.

It contradicted the logical, even tone of voice he used. They could"ve had this same conversation at the pub or over a cup of tea, instead of trussed up and being led around like a dog on a leash.

"You don"t own the kingdom. We"re a free people. Your right to rule depends on us agreeing to be ruled. And we only agree in exchange for protection." Knox shrugged as Gastone tugged him to the narrow stairs on the left.

The king snorted again. "Protection? Ha! They"ll obey what I say or they"ll suffer the consequences. As for freedom... it"s overrated. It"s so much easier when one person organizes everything into neat order."

They continued up the stairs.

The king waved his free hand, the other fisting the burning coil of rope. "The Robins think they want freedom, but what they really need is a strong leader."

He arched a brow and looked Knox up and down as they stumbled up the stairs. "They made a terrible choice in their leader. Sure, you might be a drakin, but you brought the full wrath of the king down on not just their heads but everyone in the city. That bitch Hunter was captured, some of the Robins were captured, and where"s Eirwyn?"

Gastone stopped, his eyes glinting as Knox looked up at him on the stair above. Knox swallowed hard, and Gastone"s smile widened.

"That"s right. Her heart is no longer beating, so she"s finally dead. Quite a relief, that one, as she"s been a thorn in my side for so long. Now to just get rid of you, and I"ll have secured my rule over the land."

Knox" body went numb. He told himself Eirwyn was still in the stasis chamber and the dwarves would keep her alive. He told himself to not lose hope.

But Gastone was right. He"d failed them all, and Eirwyn was probably dead already. What magic did he have that he could see her heart?

"At least Red is free now. They"ve all been rescued from the dungeons," Knox mumbled.

The king laughed maniacally and jerked the rope up the stairs. The burning of the fire along his skin no longer bothered him.

"Oh that? I put the spell on the cell doors to alert me when someone opened it. I knew you"d come, after the last few people have gone missing from the dungeons. You took away all my fun, but that"s the last time–"

"You call this fun?" Knox grunted through gritted teeth.

The king looked over his shoulder and grinned. He tugged on the rope, and Knox stumbled onto the next step. His knee landed on the cold marble, and Gastone"s fist landed in his ribs, Knox" own gravity driving the punch deeper.

Knox grunted and bent double. He would"ve fallen on his face if not for the burning sting of the rope biting into him. His stomach twisted from the pain and the smell of burning flesh, and he gagged.

"This is definitely fun," the king laughed.

Crunch. Knox gasped at another punch, the pain blinding him as he felt a rib crack. He blinked, shaking his head and sending blood flying.

The king jumped back, stepping up on the stairs and out of reach. "You filthy animal. How dare you? Keep your secretions to yourself."

The king narrowed his eyes and tugged hard on the rope. Knox stepped forward, barely keeping upright as he followed the king once more up the stairs.

"Speaking of secretions, did you sleep with my sister? Did she spread her legs for you like she did for every other commoner in the city? No matter, since she"s finally dead," Gastone said coldly.

Anger burned in his chest, the hot flash of emotion rivaling the rope. Eirwyn might be dead, but Knox wouldn"t let him besmirch her memory. He wiggled his fingers at his sides, straining to call forth vines from outside.

"Don"t talk about her like that," Knox growled, his fingers lengthening into claws at his sides.

The king held the rope in one fist and let it lengthen into a whip. He grabbed it with his other hand and swung it slowly in a circle as he talked.

"You think you"re special?" Gastone snorted.

You"re a piss poor leader of a ragtag band of rebels. You may claim to be a drakin, but I can see why you"d wear a hood in town. You"re quite the ugliest thing I"ve ever seen."

Knox straightened slightly as they reached a landing, trying to relieve the pressure on his rib. "Shows just how much you know."

Knox wiggled his fingers, pulling the vines toward the narrow window. The king stopped, turning to face him with a flash of excitement across his face as the rope flashed through the air.

Crack. The dangling part of the rope whipped across his thighs, making him jerk.

"I know everything I need to. I"m the most powerful and well-trained mage in the land. I"m the Buspartan drakin king. You"re nothing but a commoner, a filthy peasant who likes to sleep in the mud and dirt and filth."

Knox gritted his teeth, determined not to give the bastard the satisfaction of a response.

"You"re pathetic, attacking me unarmed," Knox spit blood on the floor and stepped back, away from the king. The rope pulled taut, then the burning rope slapped across his cheek, making his teeth rattle.

"I believe you have it backward. You"re the pathetic sorry excuse for a drakin. Just look at you."

Knox tried to ignore his words, but they cut deep. This was why he"d hidden himself in the forest all these years, only coming into the city with his features heavily cloaked.

"Whatever does Eirwyn see in you? It must be the appeal of the macabre."

The king swung the rope again, the burning coil lashing across his chest. Knox hissed and stiffened, then the king followed with a solid punch to the gut.

Knox bent over, wheezing. He crept the vines over the windowsill and slowly along the wall toward the king"s back.

"Pathetic indeed. You"re nothing but a weakling. I can"t believe you actually pose a threat, but the mirror"s never been wrong before."

He couldn"t give in. He had to take care of Eirwyn, even if it was just her empty shell of a body. He had to protect the forest, save the people from this madman and make Eirwyn proud.

Shouting and clanging echoed through the stairs, and Knox smiled. "Ah, phase two. The people are tired of your tyranny."

Gastone"s eyes widened, and his lips went tight with anger. Knox wiggled his fingers at his side, and the vines wrapped around the king"s ankles, pulling his feet out from under him. He slammed into the floor and dropped the magical rope, and Knox strained once more.

The burning rope unraveled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Knox dove at the king just as a fireball engulfed the vines. They rolled on the landing in a flashing ball, flames shooting from the king with every punch Knox delivered.

Knox grunted, breathing out poisonous gas and letting it sink into the king"s face. What would normally make a human grow limp in seconds made the king"s eyes water and grow Red. His nose began to run, and he choked, blowing white smoke up at Knox as he screamed.

A hot fiery blast flew from the king"s mouth into Knox" face, knocking him onto his back from the intense heat. Thumbs dug into his windpipe, choking the green gas and air from his lungs.

The king straddled his stomach, dripping snot and mucus as Knox twisted, his clawed hands wrapping around the king"s forearms as he bucked. The choke hold sent him spinning into darkness, and he called for the vines.

The king rasped, "You son of a bitch. You brought those dirty maggots into my castle to take my crown! Die, demon spawn, die like my bitch sister."

Knox blinked past the pain and roared, bucking and moving his claws to the inside of the king"s arms. He hit the inside of the elbows, dislodging the king"s straight arm attack.

He seized the advantage, rolling as he said, "No one threatened you."

The king shot another fireball at him, screaming, "She won"t take my crown. Not now, not ever!"

The shock wave blew over him, and he rolled along the floor, slamming into the wall of the landing.

Knox choked on the smoke as the tapestry on the wall caught fire. When he looked up, the king"s boots were disappearing into the ballroom. He followed, hissing poisonous gas through the large space and trying to hit the king in the back.

"Eirwyn didn"t want your crown," Knox yelled as he ran into the ballroom. The light of the sun through the floor to ceiling windows on one side of the ballroom blinding him.