Mask of Poison (Fall of Under Book 1) by Kathryn Kingsley (great novels to read txt) 📕

A hand pressed gently to her back. “Forgive me. I was unable to provide you with the customary warning.”

She groaned. “That was terrible. What happened?”

“I am able to transport a limited number of people along with me by my method of changing my shape, as if I were to lift and carry you by normal means.”

She glared up at Lyon through her nausea. “You turned me into bats.”

“In a manner of speaking, I suppose.” He helped her up to her feet and brushed some dust off her arms. “Are you quite all right?”

Apparently, he needed her to speak slower. She halved her speed and redoubled her glower. “You turned me…into bats.”

If it were possible for an immensely tall, incredibly pale, inhuman statue of a man to look sheepish, Lyon once more managed. “Yes, well.” He cleared his throat. “Again, I apologize. I would have flown us farther toward our destination, but I fear it’s dangerous to leave you like that for too long.”

“Fantastic.” She shook her head. It was just another thing added to a growing list of impossible things she had seen in the past twenty-four hours. Or however long it had been. “You shouldn’t have to come back for me. It was dangerous.”

“I could not leave you to die.”

She watched him for a moment. “In my world, if someone falls behind, they’re already dead. But…thanks. Thank you for coming back and saving me.”

He bowed his head. “You are very welcome.”

“What do we do now?” She took stock of what she had. Her bag with her supplies…and nothing else. “I’ve lost all my weapons.” It happened from time to time, but it was incredibly nerve-wracking to be unarmed.

Looking around, she didn’t know why she bothered. They were in the woods on a dirt road, but she didn’t recognize anything she was looking at. It was a firm reminder that she was a fish out of water. But at least she wasn’t alone.

“We walk,” came his simple reply. “For a long time.”

“Where are we?” She brushed some dirt off her knees. The clothing was new, and it seemed sad to get it mucked up so quickly.

“West of the city. I had enough time to warn Ini. She fled with whoever she could find.” Lyon began to walk up the road, looking for all the world like a white blot of ink on a dark canvas. His long white coat was spattered with blood. At least none of it seemed to be his.

She followed him. “Where are we going?”

Lyon’s expression was unreadable. He once more resembled a living statue. “To regroup and acquire assistance.”

“From whom?”

Lyon’s lips twitched up. “You really do have a thousand questions, don’t you?”

“I’ve found myself dropped into a world of magic and monsters. I rather think I have a right to ask questions.” Ember reached for the strap of her spear, only to find it gone. That loss hurt more than the knife. But she’d make another, eventually. Hopefully. She shoved her hands into her pockets instead, needing somewhere to put them.

“That is quite fair. But I see in you someone with an inquisitive mind, all the same. Maverick would not have taken so kindly to you if that were not the case.”

“That was Maverick taking kindly to someone?” Ember arched an eyebrow at him.

Lyon chuckled. “Yes, believe it or not.”

“Is he…is he okay? Did he make it out?” Worry rose in her. No, you idiot. Don’t get attached to anyone. They aren’t your friends. You don’t know them. But she might as well have been yelling at the tide for coming in. She cared. “Is he all right?”

“I found him and took him to Ini, yes. He was the one who told me where you were.” Lyon looked at her then, his brow creasing in concern. “Did Rxa harm you?”

“No…he didn’t.” She looked down at her feet, trying to think back on their bizarre conversation. She rubbed her throat, remembering the strange and…somehow erotic sensation of his lips there. “He wanted to ask me questions about Gioll. About where I came from.”

“Interesting.”

“He also asked if I knew what happened to him.” She glanced back up at Lyon. “I don’t think he’s to blame for all this.”

“No. I don’t suspect he is. He is, as are we all, a pawn of the Ancients. But that he does not know what has occurred…that is troubling.”

“Can’t you stop him?”

Lyon shook his head. “Rxa was always one of the strongest royals. He never showed his strength…he preferred diplomacy to violence.”

“I think that’s changed.”

“Indeed. He believes he was betrayed by the world he dedicated himself to. That tends to lead one toward vengeance, I’m afraid…” Lyon sighed. “And it is not so simple as killing him, even if I could.”

She kicked a piece of gravel on the road, sending it skittering up ahead. “Why?”

“We royals represent the Ancients in their slumber. One royal for each of their aspects. If one of us is to die, the balance falls apart. Our world would slowly fade away. It has nearly happened once before.”

“So, killing him…kills Under.”

“Yes.”

“Shit.”

Lyon chuckled before his expression fell again. “Indeed. We need a way to restrain him until a solution can be found. Perhaps we might even find a way to convince him to call off his army of the dead.”

“And the person we’re going to go see knows how to restrain him?”

“Yes. You could say he…is experienced in confining a royal and depriving them of their power.” Lyon’s jaw twitched. “We will keep Rxa prisoner. At least until we can talk sense into him.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible.” She looked off into the woods, into the darkness and multi-colored shadows. There was a green moon overhead, casting strange and eerie shapes through an already unsettling forest. “He didn’t seem…together. And I don’t mean the missing organs.” She tapped her temple. “I mean upstairs.”

“Being dead for quite a while and then resurrected as…that thing you saw, must shake one’s grasp on reality.”

“I suppose.”