Chapter 13

Luria felt her heart leap into her throat in fear as that door clanged shut behind them with a resounding sound. This was it. She would face down Magnus, she would kill him for what he'd done to her, her parents and countless others who were trapped by him.

She took a deep breath as panic closed around her throat. The same panic sank deep into her soul for just being in this throne room where Magnus had taken her virginity so harshly brought back the memories of the event. Her body was shaking and she felt her resolve weakening.

"It's all right, Luria," Balor hissed at her, rubbing his thumb against her arm. "He can't hurt you while I'm here."

Magnus closed the doors to the throne room and turned to his audience, throwing his arms wide. "My bride-to-be has returned!"

There were cheers throughout the throne room, cheers that stopped just as abruptly as they started when Magnus growled his displeasure. He strode up to his throne, spinning so that his short cape decorated with gems and shot through with silver threads rose up around his shoulders, glinting in the light of the torches and candles.

Luria couldn't help but think it an impressive sight even though she despised Magnus and everything about him. He was a very good looking man, child of a god and a mortal just as she was.

Would they be evenly matched when it came to the fight?

"I have not returned by choice," she snarled at him. "I have no wish to be your bride or under you thumb anymore. Let me leave here now and I won't be forced to kill you."

Magnus chuckled, enjoying the flush of color that rose from her breasts to turn her cheeks pink. "You aren't giving orders any more, Luria. I know you've had Prince Balor under your spell, you shan't do the same with me."

"I despise you," she snapped, struggling against her captors. They held her back, but just barely.

"That's all right, Luria. I think I like you despising me more than that meek little mouse who fucked me that first night. Are you pregnant, Luria? Are you going to have my son?"

"I'm having Balor's child, not yours Magnus, never yours. If you touch me, if you so much as lay one finger upon me, Balor will kill you if I don't."

"You are so fierce, my dear. The shy little kitten has found her claws. I must admit, this excites me. Shall I prove to you that I can have you here, now, in front of my people?"

He lifted his hand, crooking his finger at her. "Come to me, Luria. Rejoice with me for on the day you birth our son, we shall rule over all of the seven kingdoms."

"NO!" Came a shout from the hallway.

Suddenly, Isobel bolted into the room with her black hair flying out behind her. "No, she shall not have you! She shall not take you from me, too." She slammed into Luria, knocking her backwards, before hurtling her body at Magnus's, causing him to fall back onto his throne. His head hit the high back and he grunted in pain.

"Bitch!" he shouted, rising and pushing her off of him. "Take her!"

Two of his beastly guard came forward, grasping Isobel's arms and yanking her up. Her green eyes, once so pretty with her dark lashes, seemed wild and half-mad. She stared around the room, her gaze never settling on any one person until she saw Luria. "This is your fault!" she screamed, her hands coming up to tear at her scalp. "This is all your fault. He wanted me. I carry his child now, in my belly. I have his child, not you. Never you!"

"Take her back to the tower and lock her in with her maid. She is not to be let out, no matter what." Magnus stood, pushing his hair out of his face and staring down where Luria sat upon the floor where she'd fallen.

Through the window, the first light of the coming dawn streaked in, touching upon Luria's slender frame and turning her golden. Magnus shielded his eyes from the aura of goodness and purity that came from her, flinching as it touched him.

He couldn't touch her, not while she was bathed in this light. It seemed to be absorbed by her skin, giving her a glow of golden radiance.

"What is this?" he growled. "The castle should be closing itself up, preparing for the dawn, not letting it in." He threw his arm up over his face as her glow grew brighter.

Luria stood, the dagger in her hand, though she kept it hidden by her leg. She moved toward Magnus purposefully, stalking him around the throne room as he tried to hide from her glow. "Afraid of me now, Magnus? Now that you know that this is the end. Aren't you man enough to face it? Come to me, Magnus. Let me show you exactly how much I love you."

"Stay back," he growled, feeling the glow touching his body like tiny little flames. "You can't do that here, this is my castle! Mine! It follows my rules and orders. You can't be here like that," he repeated, little whines coming from his mouth as the glow burnt through his clothing, leaving spots of reddened and burnt flesh on his skin.

"I am the son of Loki," he screamed. "I am the son of a god, you cannot do this, not to me."

"I can and I will," Luria said, clasping the dagger in both of her hands. She walked around him, getting closer even as he shied away from her. His flesh was beginning to smoke and he curled into a ball, doing his best to get away from her until finally, there was no place to go.

With a little of his old bravado, he looked up at her, his eyes squinting against the glow. "You carry my son."

"I carry Balor's son. You never spent your seed inside of me. You came in my mouth, Magnus, do you not remember?" she asked almost kindly.

He shook his head even as his eyes told her the truth, he did remember now. "Not my son," he repeated.

"No, not your son. But it's nothing for you to fear, Magnus." She reached out, grabbing hold of Magnus's hair and lifting his head. Her dagger went to his throat and she drew it, biting deeply into his flesh. His blood spurted, causing her to release her hold on him and jump back. His blood was thick and black, and seemed to eat at the floor where it touched, causing a hissing noise and furrows to form in the rock.

The entire castle began to shake, the stones breaking and crushing.

"We've got to get out of here!" Balor shouted, grabbing Luria's hand. He was back to himself, the spell having worn off. Throwing off the furs he wore on his shoulders, he started dragging her toward the door.

"What of Isobel?" Luria shouted.

Behind them there was the sound of a roaring, like the deepest belly of hell calling for its meal. Graeme looked back and felt his skin crawl. Magnus's blood had sunk deep into the rocks, finding the ground below. It had created a vortex, a swirling sucking vortex from the depths of hell, dragging in those who didn't get away quickly enough or far enough.

"Balor," Graeme said, tapping the man upon his shoulder. "I think we should get out of here."

Balor glanced back then into Luria's eyes. "I'll go get Isobel, you leave with Graeme, get out as far and as fast as you can and don't look back, got me?" He didn't wait for her answer, dropping his head to kiss her hard and fast and then he was away.

Luria glanced back at the vortex, watching as dark tendrils that looked like smoke seemed to coalesce into something more evil. Tentacles waved from within the vortex, reaching out to grab those who were near, dragging them into the hungry swirling mass.

She screamed when one of them touched her, wrapping around her ankle to drag her toward the hell inside. Graeme grabbed his sword, swinging it through the tentacle which gave off a black ichor. He pulled the thing off of her ankle, staring at the burn marks on the britches she wore. If it hadn't been for them and her boots, she'd have been burned.

"We need to get out of here, now." He helped her up and then grabbed her by the hand to drag her behind him. They forced their way out of the black castle even as the stones that made up the tall walls rained down around them.

The ground shook causing them to weave and stumble. Luria heard a scream and looked back, seeing the thing in the vortex getting bigger, its tentacles getting longer. It grabbed one of the beastly guard, almost tearing him in two before dragging him back and in.

"Get rid of the skins," she shouted at Graeme, seeing another tentacle coming after them. "Drop them!"

Graeme shrugged off the skins that had made up his shirt, watching as the tentacle seemed to almost sniff around them, then pick them up and shake them, before taking them back into the vortex. He shuddered in disgust before grabbing Luria's hand once more. "Let's get out of here!"

A gargoyle, one that had to come from the top of the castle slammed down on one of the beastly guard, smashing him in the process. It rolled, its ghastly form staring up at Luria. She jumped over it, going to the closed gate and pushing as hard as she could. It didn't budge.

"We've got to get this opened," she shouted over the sound of the vortex and the screams of those who had served Magnus.

Graeme studied the gate a moment then went to the turnstile, grabbing one of the spokes and pushing against it. "Help me!"

Together they got the gate opened, the sudden roar from outside nearly lost in the deafening noise of the vortex. Rowan bounded in through the opening, Shria right behind him. They dug in their paws to stop when they saw what was going on. Rowan roared and the vortex roared back, challenging the massive lion.

"Rowan!" Luria screamed and the lion turned to her, his love for his mistress greater than his love of battle. "Find Balor, Rowan. Help Balor."

The lion turned and barreled up the stairs outside the castle that led to the ramparts. He bounded over and ducked around the rocks that kept falling. Luria stood and watched him until Graeme grabbed her once more, forcing her outside of the castle and onto stable ground. Shria came with her but kept turning her head to look for her own mate.

From outside, they watched as the castle began to crumple in upon itself. The battlements went with a roar of stone, falling into the castle proper and destroying the bailey with it. When the turrets and towers fell, Luria screamed, her heart breaking. No one could survive that, no one, not even her Balor.

"Gods! No, Graeme, I have to go back," she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I have to go back and get him."

"You can't," Graeme growled, clasping her struggling body to his. "You can't, there won't be anything to go back for."

Great, heartrending sobs shook her slender form and she fell to her knees on the ground, unable to watch what was happening anymore. Shria sat by her side, nuzzling her mistress. She grunted a couple of times, almost as if she were trying to tell Luria something, but the girl was too lost in her misery to respond.

When Shria stood and roared, Luria lifted her head seeing shapes taking form in the gray cloud of dust that had plumed up around the castle as it fell. Rowan appeared, a shape upon his back, another holding onto his mane as he led them out of the castle. Shria raced to him, bounding around him before rubbing her cheek over his as a sign of her love for the big cat.

"Balor?" Luria called. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, hope causing her to get up and head toward the cat. "Balor?"

"Here," he said, coughing hard as the dust got into his lungs. "I'm here," he said again as she came to him, grabbing him and helping him away from the dust cloud. They made it a ways further and then she fell on him as he sank down into the grass. He coughed harshly, spitting dust and gravel out of his mouth as he wheezed upon his hands and knees.

"I thought you were dead," Luria said, running her hands over her handsome husband's back. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she said, smacking him on the shoulder. She stood up and paced next to him as he rolled to his back. "I can't believe you did that to me."

"Oh yeah, you were the one who wanted to rescue Isobel," he said, taking in great heaving breaths of fresh air. "I was just doing what you wanted done."

Luria sank down next to him, her hand going to his face. "If I lose you, my world ends, too," she whispered, staring into his eyes.

"I feel the same, my love," he said, taking her hand and using it to pull her over him so that he might find her mouth. He kissed her through the grit that coated them both, flipping over so that she was on her back under him.

The first drops of rain fell, one hitting Luria on the forehead, sliding down into her hair and leaving a trail of clean skin behind. More fell until it was a downpour. Balor pulled Luria up to her feet, standing next to her in the pouring rain as they surveyed what had been done to Magnus's castle.