The Blood Pact Ch. 33

Wearing a dress again and riding Diamondhead at full tilt like nothing more than a flea on his back, it somehow felt natural to be Stephanie once more, but I could find no pleasure in the ride as we raced toward the palace. My heart was cold, my path clear.

The morning sun had all but burned away the fog by the time I reached the palace hill, but my clothes were still moist with dew and perspiration. Diamonghead was in froth as we charged into the stable yard and I was dismounting even before he'd come to a full stop. Ramzi was there to take the reigns and, in something of a panic, followed along at my heels as I stalked toward the palace.

"M'lady! It's Nikelle! They had her in chains like some criminal and bleeding like a stuck pig! They say she's an assassin -- the one who tried to kill the king!"

"I know, I know!" I said, not altering my pace. "Where have they taken her?"

"To the king. The whole palace is in an uproar. He says he wants to deal with her personally. Surely this must be some kind of mistake. Nikelle, an assassin? It's too wild to believe. Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Stand easy, Ramzi, all will be well." I said as I marched into the palace, leaving my old friend behind with Diamondhead. The words were so confident, even I almost believed them, though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do.

It was not difficult to find where Nikelle had been taken. The palace was in a state of chaos just as Ramzi had said and the King's personal chambers were the epicenter of it all. Every noble on hand had been gathered and the most important of them were crowded into the king's small throne room. I pushed through the babbling crowds without offering any apologies. Though many of the heavily armed guards who stood sentry over the gathering did watch my entrance with wary eyes, they allowed me into the very heart of the proceedings without question.

"Stephanie! I'd been told you left!" a surprised voice cried out over the murmur of the crowd. I turned and Delphina clasped me firmly by the arms in welcome. I returned her greeting in kind. I'd seldom seen her look this troubled, but I could tell my presence must have come as something of a comfort to her. Fildrich and the Marquis stood by her side looking apprehensive.

"Delphina, what's going on here? Why has everyone been summoned?"

"The King's on a rampage, completely irrational. I fear what he plans to do. It might have been better if you'd stayed away."

She was probably right. I was free but I'd come right back into the heart of disaster. What had I been thinking? I must have been insane to risk my life for a woman who'd brought all this on herself.

A sudden flourish drew everyone's attention to the archway which lead into the garden. As the curtains were drawn back, every mouth in the room shared a collective gasp, but none louder than my own. The king stood before us wielding a massive axe while a bloodied Nikelle wobbled uncertainly between two armored soldiers. Her hands and feet had been bound with chains so heavy she probably could not have lifted them even if she wasn't on the verge of death.

"Hear me, all you pathetic traitors and schemers!" the king howled, brandishing the axe as if it were nothing more than a quill pen. "Don't think for a minute that I do not know every last one of you is plotting behind my back. I have allowed these irritating little games to run unchecked because there is no hope they will ever succeed in unseating me, but I have had enough! One of you now sends an assassin to take my life?"

Holding the axe in one hand, the king pointed it at the crowd and swept it across them to take in every noble there. Most gasped and cringed as its shadow fell across them, while others, like the Marquis, stood their ground and stared back into the king's mad gaze without flinching.

"Know this: I will not tolerate such blatant disregard for my authority! No, I will not have it! Now witness the fate which awaits all traitors!"

The king lifted the axe high overhead. The guards flanking Nikelle seized her by the shoulders and forced her neck down upon a crude stump that had hastily been carried in. She offered no resistance. Those gathered must have thought she was simply too weak from loss of blood, but I could see in her eyes that she was resigned to this fate.

"Nikelle! No!" I threw myself forward, pushing some high seneschal and his wife aside without care. There were guards everywhere and the king could fell me with that axe himself if he so chose, but I was not about to let Nikelle die like this. I would shield her body with my own if I had to.

However, I'd gone no more than a single step before a tug at my arm prevented me from going any farther. Delphina had taken a hold of me and her lips were moving as she said some pleading thing, but I heard none of her words. There was only Nikelle. I had to get to her. I wrenched myself free of Delphina only to find myself crashing into the restraining arms of her husband and nephew. I kicked and screamed and lashed out like a trapped jaguar, but they held me tight.

Only a short distance away, Nikelle caught sight of me through the crowds as a strained to reach her. Even with her head down on the chopping block, her face lit up with a smile and her ashen lips mouthed a string of whispered words which I swore I heard even over the cacophony filling the room:

"I love you too, Mathis."

Then, with a gut-wrenching thud, the axe fell and Nikelle's head rolled free of her body.

No! This couldn't be how it ended! I cried out her name, renewing my struggles against the Marquis with no better results than before. She couldn't really be dead. She couldn't!

Leaving the axe buried several inches in the stump, the king stooped to retrieve Nikelle's severed head. Holding it aloft by her dark hair, he brandishing it for all to see, and my cried became an incoherent wail.

"Be forewarned! All traitors in my midst will suffer the same!"

With that, he threw Nikelle's head down atop her limp body and stormed off into the gardens followed by his men, the curtain again falling into place to hide the carnage before us. While everyone else murmured between themselves and cringed away from the grisly reminder of the King's vengeance, I howled through my tears, trying fitfully to get nearer. The Marquise and Marquis would have none of it, however. As the gathered nobility was allowed to disperse, I was dragged away, still fighting against my captors for just one more chance to see Nikelle.

To Be Continued...