Chapter 45

So much was going on inside Lola’s head. She couldn’t stop looking at the completely dismantled body of Nora. It made her entire body feel cold and her mind seize up. She couldn’t think and couldn’t do much more than pull her knees up to her chest and fold herself up as small as possible. The flashes of imagery she’d gotten during her blackout kept smashing into her mind, making the shock of what happened even worse.

What happened? How? Why?

These questions overwhelmed her but she had no answer for any of them. Did she kill Nora? Or did something else save her? She looked down at her hands and was appalled to find them covered and slick with blood. In a frantic, furious state, she used the cloak she wore to scrub at them, trying to get the blood off. When that proved ineffective, she scrambled to the pond’s edge and dunked them into the frigid water. It was too dark to see below the surface, but she could imagine thin swirls of blood floating down into the depths of the pond.

The guards found her there, still by the water, scrubbing and scrubbing at her hands. They tried to move her back but she refused with a shout.

“Stop! I have to get clean. I have to get clean.”

There was no way of knowing how many times she said that. The phrase was repeated over and over again for at least two full minutes. The guards were careful with Lola at first, afraid to hurt her or inadvertently trigger her to physically lash out at them. But when it became apparent she wasn’t going to move away, they became more forceful.

“It’s okay,” one of them said, trying to be soothing. “You’re okay.”

“Gods, what happened here?” another one said, staring fixedly at the decimated body of a woman no one there had ever seen before.

Lola heard that one and freaked out more, her body twisting violently in an effort to break away from them. One of the guards holding on to her realized she was reacting to the body as well.

“Cover the body! Hurry,” he ordered.

The same guard that couldn’t tear their gaze from the corpse, ripped off the thin, scarlet cape he wore as part of his uniform. He quickly used that to cover up the body.

“We need to alert the king.” He turned to look at the highest ranking soldier there. “Don’t we, Sarge?”

A guard looked up in response. He was still holding on as tightly as he could to Lola but her continued struggle was taking its toll on the man. He was breathing heavily and his face was flushed red. Sweat beaded up on his forehead and it dripped down his face, into his eyes, and soaked his mustache. For such a small and outwardly unimpressive girl, her panic attack was surprisingly strong.

“Aye. Word’s spread that the king was looking for this lass. Find ‘im and let ‘im know what’s happened. He’ll definitely want information on that.” He jerked his head toward the corpse. Already, patches of darker color were spreading as the cloth soaked up the body’s blood. “Whatever the hell happened in this place, he needs to be informed as well.”

The guard nodded and was about to leave.

“Wait, Jeffries,” the Sarge suddenly said. Lola was starting to exhaust herself now and he was having a somewhat easier time controlling her. The other guard helping him was also red-faced and sweaty. “Make sure to deliver this…intel alone. It wouldn’t do to have the wrong set of ears finding things out if ya catch m’drift.”

“Aye, Sarge,” the man responded with a quick salute of fist over heart. “I do.”

He turned and ran off.

As he did, he heard the Sarge and Eaton (the name of the other guard he left behind) still trying to soothe the woman. He poured on all the speed he could, racing through courtyards, hallways, and dodging other soldiers and guards along the way. The world blurred past him and he narrowed his focus to straight in front of him. As he burst through the main castle’s front doors, he immediately ran up the grand, central staircase and navigated his way to the king’s private apartments and bedchamber. Once there, he pounded on the king’s door. In his haste to get there, he failed to notice the fact that there were no guards posted. After several minutes of knocking with no answer, it dawned on him the king probably wasn’t inside. He looked around, finally saw there were no guards, and then decided to backtrack to find someone to help him. The sense of urgency rose. While no one had been inside during the Blood Challenge, word had still spread throughout the city of why Russel issued it.

To protect the human girl.

The same one that had just been attacked.

He shuddered to think what would happen to him or anyone else involved if the girl came to harm, either physically, emotionally, or mentally. He didn’t think there was enough power in the world to protect him from the king’s wrath.

Finally, he managed to find someone. A human servant nearly everyone working the castle knew.

Bartholomew.

“Thank the gods,” Jeffries said, gasping slightly.

The stately, older gentleman stopped in his tracks and stared at the panic-stricken guard.

“May I help you with something…” He paused as he peered at the stripes and name on Jeffries’ uniform coat. “Private Jeffries.”

“The king,” Jeffries said, still gasping. Although he was physically fit, he had still done a hell of a lot of running in a short amount of time. “Must talk…to the king.”

“And the nature of your request?” Bartholomew asked.

“Found…the…girl.”

That got the servant’s attention. He simply gave a curt nod and then quickly guided Jeffries through the palace until they eventually wound up in a large, circular room. Directly in the middle was a large table that had a perfect and 100% accurate model of the entire kingdom on it complete with all its various mountains, lakes, rivers, cities, villages, and more. It had been a gift from a witch coven the Oclan kingdom had allied with several centuries back. Surrounding it were King Russel, his brothers, and several high-ranking military officers and tactical strategists.

“Sire,” Bartholomew said.

Russel looked up, saw Bartholomew with a guard, and excused himself. As he approached, Jeffries couldn't help but see a tiny flicker of fear in his eyes. He was trying to hide it but there was no denying it. He was scared of the news. Of what might have happened to Lola.

“Bartholomew.” He glanced at Jeffries and his eyes went to his stripes and name tag. “Private Jeffries. Do you have information for me?”

Jeffries immediately saluted and then bowed respectfully. When he rose back up to his full height, the king gave him a somewhat irritated look.

“What is it? And do hurry,” Russel told them. “There are urgent matters.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jeffries said. He glanced over at the table and then back to the king. “I was ordered to convey my news to you in private, Sire.”

“Very well,” Russel said, that hint of fear growing. “Bartholomew, you are excused. Thank you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bartholomew bowed and then left.

King Russel gently nudged Jeffries out of the war council chamber, down the hall, and into an empty room. Once inside, he lit a torch and shut the thick, wooden door. He turned to Jeffries, eyes intense and focused.

“What news do you have? Did you find her?” he asked.

Jeffries felt the intensity of the man’s gaze like he was emitting some kind of highly focused energy. It made him immediately feel uncomfortable.

“We have.”

“Alive?” Russel asked.

“She is but there’s something else,” Jeffries said.

“Has she been injured? What is it?” The king was growing antsy now and looked like he wanted to reach out and shake the guard.

“There’s a body.”

“A body?” He looked confused. Then he made a decision. “Take me to her. Let’s go.”

He stormed out of the room so quickly that Jeffries was left standing there in confusion for several seconds. Then his body seemed to spur itself into motion and he hurried after the king. The man stopped in the war chamber and told the people inside he had to take care of an issue and would be right back. Jeffries waited at the door until he was done. When he came back out, that intensity had heightened even further. He looked like he was barely able to control himself.

“Where is she?” Russel snapped.

“She’s at the Serenity Pond.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Russel left the guard behind. His speed increased so much that he was alone in seconds. He knew exactly where to go. The Serenity Pond had been one of his mother’s favorite places in the castle. He could still remember her sitting on the stone bench, watching the soothing waters of the pond as a child. Thinking of her and of Lola being there, possibly hurt or worse, sent him into a downward spiral of panic.

He sped through the interior of the castle, effortlessly dodging anyone or anything that got in his way. In moments he burst through the main doors and into the chilly, night air.