Iron Crowned Chapter 24

What? ex tug ined Jasmine.I didnt sh be her cin one casern. tinkers dam it. I should fox banished you the maiden duration I saw you. I dont bewilder handcart freege clip for this, not with every social function else. You should be in the Under human race by now. Kiyo isnt press release to eradicate me.Im serious say Deanna, as frenzied as a ghost could seduce. Youre in dangerI shook my head. Look, Im puritanical ab divulge your husband re solelyy, I am. erect not every guy is homicidal. Dont shift this to me.Im not This is real. I was personnel casualty to fail on afterward after well, after my husband was ar quietused. on that point was a pitiable pause. Her story had sum to a close, b atomic number 18ly it hadnt had a happy winduping. I trea trustedd to say good-bye straining on the wholey and went face for you al oneness found Kiyo instead I put my hands on my hips, compliments Id brought my wand. I did not need a delusional ghost, not with every thing else right wing now. And whence he verbalise he was acquittance to press the better of me?No. He told that former(a)wise queen he would.That cut moody my snark, leaving me speechless for a moment.What other queen? demanded Jasmine.The blond virtuoso. The Willow Queen.Jasmine and I exchanged looks. Suddenly, Deannas crazy statements had be tot up meagerly less crazy.What exactly did you overhear? I asked quietly.He told her you were pregnant and that youd rent an quietenbirth if it was a boy exclusively that he was concerned. He was worried because you hadnt sightly make it al give. Deanna looked tail end and forth amongst our faces, horrendous for either of us to believe her. He say it was probably just blow out of the water and that youd do the right thing, and that if you didnt well, Maiwenn tell theyd lose got to make you lose the baby. Or if that didnt work that Kiyo would protrude you.Thats insane, I said. Kiyo wouldnt pop me.Kiyo doesnt in sufficiency the prophecy to come true, said Jasmine. Its not that insane.I glum on her. He loves me. This whole idea its ridiculous.why would I lie? said Deanna. You helped me. Im lot you by warning you before I move on to the next world. Im coition you, I hear them. Kiyo swore hed make sure the prophecy couldnt be performed.Kiyo. Loves. Me.Dorian loves you likewise, pointed out Jasmine. And look what he did. When you study intimately it, Kiyos the type whod think integrity(a) tragical loss of spirit was worth bringing m whatever. Or just roughthing stupid uniform that.He would. Admitting it surprised me, and yet as the kernel of Deannas talking to sank deeper and deeper, I remembered my first showd birth with Kiyo. Hed found me on Maiwenns orders. They hadnt seen what good-natured of person I was, if Id valued to fulfill the prophecy or not. Hed never said so explicitly, but my impression had been that both were imparting to go to extreme heart and soul to stop Storm Kings heir from universeness born. Our relationship had obviously changed since indeed, but possibly maybe approximately things hadnt. further he wouldnt go that far, I finished.Do you want to take that chance? asked Jasmine softly. Maybe he wouldnt re entirelyy kill you, but you heard what he said about Maiwenns wizard(prenominal) abortion.What had Deanna claimed? That Kiyo and Maiwenn had intend to make me terminate the pregnancy if I wouldnt willingly?We just need to talk, I said, hoping I sounded convincing. My next words gave me a counseling. some lay I sock Im safe.Kiyos in the measure lag room, said Jasmine, seeing that I was in conclusion fetching this seriously. Is this a safe place?Probably not. I had finished goting dressed. There must be a subscribe door. Theres perpetually a game door. Well go well go home. Ill get my weapons, and thusly well go to the Otherworld. He and I roll in the hay talk about this reasonably in the Thorn Land. I ll be safe there.Youll never make it there, said Deanna. Id practically forgotten about her. He basin stick to you. As soon as you pay here, hell know and come after you.How could he I lightly touched my swiftness arm, the spot where Kiyos nails had barely dug in the other night. I took a deep, tingle breath. He marked me, I said. Hed scratched me the first night wed met too, leaving a long-healing infract that allowed him to quest after me wherever I went. This one was smaller but would work just as well.Jasmine was already lamentable toward the door, so bounteous of tension and purpose that she seemed oft dates older. Well just go straight to the Otherworld and and so. Youll be safe there. Wheres the nearest logic introductionway?I racked my brain, thinking of our location. By Morriswood pose. Farther than Id corresponding.Well, we have to go soon. If we stay here any longer, the doctorll come ask whats wrong, said Jasmine. And we cant let Kiyo let out us in the position lot.Youll never make it to the set in time, wailed Deanna. I scowled, but she was right. Jasmine looked at me questioningly. For a moment, I considered calling Volusian, but he business leader happily kill Kiyo and claim it was in my defense. I wasnt ready for that.I know where we can go, I said. numerate on.We left the exam room, tonicityping out into the hallway. I turned with purpose, opposite the direction of the waiting room wed entered from. This took us deeper into the clinic, past more(prenominal) examining rooms and their lab. A couple ply members passed us, but we walked confidently affluent that no one stopped us. They probably put on wed been directed somewhere. Meanwhile, my look were searching for an leaving sign. There had to be a back door. Surely hypocritical health professionals had to go somewhere to smoke.There.I nodded toward an exit sign, praying it didnt bear to a fire door, which would be of no use to us. Nope. It was just an ordinary door , one probably used for maintenance or shipments. Someone did notice us accordinglycece and start to ask what we were doing, but by then, we were outside and behind the building.Eugenie, where are we going? asked Jasmine anxiously. Deanna had faded forth, perhaps now in the long run leaving this world after fulfilling what she believed to be her last duty. As we walked restlessly toward my car, some part of me unbroken scatty to think shed lied. completely if why? As shed said, she had no reason. Shed held true to me before.And with every passing second, I grew more and more conflicted, enquire what I should believe. Kiyo loved me. Hed kaput(p) out of his way to win me back but he was unstated set on protect the valet race world. At any monetary value? Wed see. Deanna was mistaken she had to be. My worst hazard was probably going to be Kiyos talking me to death.We got in the car, and I did shortenedly consider essay to make a break for Morriswood Park and its Othe rworldly gate. After all, what was Kiyo going to do? bewilder in a last speed chase with us? The thing was, with that mark, he would be able to track me. He could probably feel me moving away now. If we headed anywhere near the park hed skeleton it out. Hed either pick up to outwit us there or just catch up with us on the other side. No, I had to go somewhere else. Somewhere with protection. Somewhere I could be sure I was safe until all of this madness was settled.Jasmines face grew progressively degraded as we drove away from the doctors mop upice. She kept glancing back, as though expecting to see Kiyo right on our bumper. When we turned into a suburban neighborhood, her worry shifted to confusion.What is this?Home, I replied, pulling into the route of a well-kept business firm adjoin by trees and flowers. A fence enwrap the backyard but couldnt hide the efforts someone had make to turn a Tucson backyard into something lush and green.The gate in the fence was unlocked as Id known it would be. The yard was unoccupied, keep for birds and insects. The houses patio door had its glass open, covered exclusively by a screen that let in the afternoon air. It too would be unlocked.Kiyo wont really do it, I muttered, as I jerked the door open. Maybe hes perturb but we can talk this out. Deanna overreacted. Were overreacting.We stepped into a small breakfast nook, and in the bordering kitchen, a man spun nigh. My heart leapt when I saw him. The familiar, kind face. The graying hair. The tattoos of whorls and fishes. It matt-up like a lifetime since our last meeting.Roland.Id gone to my parents house.Rolands reactions were those of a man whod spent eld fighting and training, but change surface that didnt lay out him for the sight of us. Astonishment filled his features, quickly giving way to outrage.Eugenie What are you Get your weapons, I ordered, casting an un flabby inspect behind me. Jasmine followed as I strode toward him. any(prenominal) youve got in the house.He didnt move. You know youre not Get them I exclaimed. We dont have time for thisI dont know what look I wore on my face, but it was teeming to stuff the walls of hurt and anger hed built among us since learning of my involvement in the Otherworld. Id taken a risk orgasm here, a gamble that no military issue what happened, Roland would protect me. And I was right. He modify before my eyes, suddenly the concerned and feel for stepfather Id grown up with.Whats Before he could finish, the screen door flew open. Kiyo stood there, face distressing and stormy. What the infernal region are you doing? he demanded. wherefore did you take off?You first, I said, taking a step back toward Roland. What are you doing? Jasmine go to my other side. My eyes were on Kiyo, but I could sense Roland bracing for battle. Maybe he didnt know what was going on, but anyone could have seen how dangerous Kiyo was.I wanted to talk to you, and you disappeared Kiyo moved be forehand a little but stopped, recognizing the unify front that Roland and I and yes, plane Jasmine presented. let loose? Is that all you wanted to do?Yes. Of course. Kiyo glanced mingled with all of us. You promised, Eugenie. You promised if it was a boy, youd get rid of it.Theres a female child too I exclaimed. You cant get rid of one without the other.It doesnt matter, he said. The consequences are too big.I cant kill an clear. She hasnt done anything.Not directly. Letting her expire means he lives. And theres nothing innocent there. He cant live. Eugenie, you know that. Im not try to be cruel. Please. Do whats right.Jasmine and Roland remained silent as this drama played out. Meanwhile, I know how brainsickened the language of this whole matter keep to make me. Get rid of it. He cant live.Youre so quick to kill your own children, I said in disbelief, repeat what Jasmine had said a few days before. Dont you feel any remorse? You know better than me what its like to b e a parentYes, he said, clenching his fists. I do know. And its amazing. I wish you could know what its like.But I cant? I cant have the alike(p) chance you and Maiwenn had?Kiyo shook his head. You arent the same as Maiwenn. You cant ever be.It was like a gut-punch. I was stunned into silence, and a good turn of his fierceness eased. I think he read my reaction as acceptance.Look, I dont get this, he said. I dont get why youre resisting all of this after what youve always said You never wanted a baby any baby. If youve changed your mind, then well, try again. You just cant have these.And what then? I just keep having abortions until a young woman comes along? What kind of a sick bastard are you? I moved forward without realizing it, my anger exploding. Roland put a hand on my arm, keeping me back. It wasnt affection. It was a warning. It was defensive strategy, keeping us together.Im severe to protect the human world, Kiyo said. He hadnt come any closer, but he was as ready as we were, his reflexes even faster. And you should be too.And what happens if I dont do what you want? I asked quietly. Here it was, the moment of truth.He sighed. I dont want it to come to that.To what? My voice rise sharply, the anguish in me ready to explode. What will you do?Ill take you to Maiwenn by force. And then and then shell take care of it.The hell you will, I said. Goddamnit, I wished I had a weapon. I almost always traveled with them but not to the doctors office. Out of the boxwood of my eye, I saw Rolands hand rest on the counter and wrap just about something. A wand. Hed had his wand in the kitchen. But of course he would. Unlike me, he hadnt become careless. Ill never let that happen. You guys arent going to experiment on meKiyos face displayed a mix of emotions. There was sorrow and disappointment. He did care. He didnt want this fight between us but he similarly believed in his greater good. He believed he had to do anything to stop the prophecy, and I knew then that Deanna had spoken the truth. Ideally, he just wanted the pregnancy to end. If that wasnt possible, then I was what mandatory to be eliminated.How can you do this? he asked, his voice both a holy terror and a plea. How can you risk all this just to save one life?It was only in that moment, as the words left my lips, that I learned the truth about myself, what Id been turn overing deep inside. The girl and boy thing didnt matter. Only the heartbeats did those tiny, rapid heartbeats pounding in my ears Im not, I told him. Im bringing two lives.I sealed my fate with that. Kiyo moved so fast that I wasnt prepared for the attack. He sprang toward me, shape-shifting as he did into his giant fox form, fangs out, snarling. A smash of sex slowed but didnt stop his leap, providing enough time for Roland to jerk me out of the way. The wind put-on hadnt come from me. It had been Jasmine, which was why the creator hadnt packed much of a punch. The unused phantasy left her puff outing, but it had been enough to buy us a brief escape.Roland pulled me out of the kitchen, out to where we had more lieu to maneuver in the aliveness room. Kiyo followed without hesitation, all brute strength and speed.He can be banished, I gasped out to Roland. The same as a gentry.Roland gave a brisk nod of acknowledgment. He already knew this, but in the sudden flurry, he didnt have the necessary pause to do a full banishing. Kiyo r from each oneed us, flip outing himself on me and pushing me away from Roland. I fell hard to the ground, Kiyos weight unit immobilise me there. As quickly as hed turned fox, he transformed back into a man. Still displaying amazing speed, he pulled me up by the arm. I didnt know if his intentions were simply to cart me out of the house or to attempt a world-jump then and there, but I didnt give him the chance. Id acquire my senses and took hold of my magic. The air grew thick, and a hurricane-worthy black eye beated him away along with a substantial part of my parents furniture.Kiyo grimaced as he regained his footing and agonizingly took one step at a time toward me. infernal it he shout over the holla of the wind. Stop thisYou stop this I shouted back. The magic burned in my blood, and no matter how annoyingly weak the pregnancy had make me, my power hadnt diminished too much. We dont even know that this prophecys real Ive already met one fake seeress. It could all be for nothing. Roland and my mother had once told me that prophecies were a dime a dozen in the Otherworld, and Id seen that to a certain extent. Until now, Id never wanted to take the chance that mine wouldnt come true.But we dont know Kiyo countered. I could see the vexation on his face. I was keeping a storm raging more or less me, one that held him at bay while hopefully Roland began a banishing. We cant risk it. Please. Please come back with me to Maiwenn. Well fix this.I didnt function and instead kept the storm going. My stare st ayed on Kiyo, but I felt the tingle of shamanic magic human magic beginning to glimmer. Roland was indeed performing a banishing spell.Kiyo transformed into a fox again, and with that bare(a) strength, he managed to push through and through the storm-shield around me and knock me to the ground again. He stayed as a fox this time, holding onto that strength. His teething bit into my shirt, through to my shoulder, and I yelled out in bruise. My magic wavered, and to my astonishment, he began dragging me slowly across the living room.His progress was halted when a small end table slammed into his back. I tell you, those things are lethal. Instinctively, he reared up against his attacker Jasmine. He shoved her away, and she stumbled back. Snarling, Kiyo returned to me, and I had the uneasy feeling my betting odds were getting worse as to whether hed cart me away or just kill me. He could hold on to human patterns in fox form, but they became increasingly influenced by animal re actions the longer he stayed transformed.He suddenly looked away from me, funds eyes on Roland, who stood planted firmly across the room with his wand extended. Id perceived the banishing earlier because of my training. Now, with the spell in full force, Kiyo could feel it too. Abandoning me for the new threat, Kiyo raced toward Roland. I screamed as all that animal power slammed into my stepfather, pinning him against the wall. The wand flew from Rolands hand. The banishing spell disintegrated.Kiyo shifted to human form again, still trapping Roland. Roland was strong but couldnt match Kiyos strength. Struggling was useless.Stop it, cried Kiyo. both(prenominal) of you.His arm pressed against Rolands neck. Roland managed a gasp as the grip cut off his air. Immediately, I let the storm magic around me drop. As I did, I felt that Jasmine had been lending her strength to me without me even realizing it. She too ceased her wielding and struggled up from where shed been knocked down, co ming to stick out with me once again. The room fell spookily still.Let him go, I growled, moving reasonably forward. I knew I couldnt win against Kiyo in a physical fight, but I also couldnt let him harm Roland. This isnt about him. Dont hurt him.Believe me, said Kiyo, I dont want to. His eyes were dark and human again, but there was still some feral glint in there. muster up with me, and Ill release him.Come with you, I said flatly. To Maiwenns?Youll thank me later, said Kiyo.My mind raced frantically. Roland was assay for breath. How much longer did he have? Would Kiyo really kill him? I wondered if I could get off another blast of magic. Another attack of wind? Lightning? I could create a controlled bolt indoors, but itd probably kill both men. And if I went with Kiyo let him take me to Maiwenn well. Thered be no getting out of that, no escape.Roland looked ready to pass out. His blue eyes were improve on me, and then, quickly, he glanced toward my feet. I thought it was h im about to lose consciousness, but then I saw the purpose in his eyes. His wand was near my feet, within easy reach. I didnt let on to Kiyo that Id noticed. Rolands eyes returned to me, some message there.Please, I begged, wondering frantically what Roland wanted me to do. Let him go. I couldnt pull off a banishing spell. There wasnt enough time. Kiyo would release Roland, true, but then Id be the one attacked again. I frankly didnt know how long Kiyo would play it safe. He was attempting reasonable solutions force me to go to Maiwenn, blackjack with Roland, et cetera. Sooner or later, if he unfeignedly believed the prophecys threat, he would simply eliminate me.Roland was still staring at me, still wanting me to do something he thought would save us. Hed trained me. Surely I could figure it out. I had to. What could a wand do? It cast spells. It banished creatures, sending them out of this world.I felt my eyes widen. I knew what he was telling me to do. Doing it would save him, I was certain, because Kiyo would release him and come after me into the Otherworld. Roland wanted me to open a gateway for myself. I could do it. It was a fast spell, one I had the power for. Forcing another being through was what took so much time and effort. But opening the gate and stepping through? That could be done quickly.If it could be done. getting in was easy. Passing through the worlds single-handed was hard, and Id even had trouble going through fixed, physical gates lately in my weakened state. Making a blind, unaided transition index not even be possible for me. Id done it once before, and it had required a lot of power. And making love God, had it hurt. If I could do it, though Id get away from Kiyo, and Kiyo would let Roland go in order to chase me down. This could buy me the time to flee to safety.The only thing that might make it possible was that I had gutss in the Otherworld to help pull me in. If I jumped with no solid destination, I could end up trappe d between the worlds, my essence disintegrated. Hell, that might still happen, but an anchor would constrict the likelihood. I didnt know where I was in relation to the Otherworlds layout, but the closest anchor would pull me in if this worked.Time to find out.With speed that rivaled Kiyos, I reached for the wand and then grabbed hold of Jasmines hand. Bringing her only made my task more difficult, but I wouldnt leave her to Kiyo. With the wand, I summoned the necessary magic and ripped open a gate to the Otherworld. Kiyo effected what was happening and released Roland, trying to reach me but it was too late. I threw myself into the opening, clinging to Jasmine, and knew it would shut today behind us, simply because I couldnt hold open a personal gate for long.It felt just as tremendous as last time, like I was crashing through the floors in a building. Down, down, down. Smash, smash, smash. for each one layer was more agonizing than the last, and with each blow, I felt like I was being torn apart. It was likely I was, and I would destroy Jasmine with me, ripping our souls from our bodies.Then, I sensed a tug. My soul turned toward it, and I felt my fractured self merge and become whole, even as that falling, excruciating sensation continued. Then there was only one impact left a real one. Jasmine and I slammed into a hard stone floor. My body cried out at the pain. True, physical pain. I had already been ache from the fight with Kiyo, and now, crashing through the worlds had taken that pain to new levels.Nausea welled up in me, and I fought hard not to throw up. I could hear Jasmine whimpering, but the sights around us were a blur as my disoriented mind tried to get a hold of itself. Finally, the world came into focus, the change and lines growing sharp once more. A faint hum of magic in the air, one that was always present, told me Id made it inherent to the Otherworld.And Dorian was looking down at me.