Free A Land Of Fire (Book 12) by Morgan Rice

shock as the wave began to
crash, as he began to plummet down with all the others, his stomach dropping.
The shrieks of all the Empire were drowned out by the wind and the rain, and
Thor’s shriek, too, was swallowed up. As he looked down, plummeting back into
the ocean, he knew the impact would crush him. He had summoned a storm that
even he could not control.
    As Thor prepared to die, once again, he
felt that, if he could take any solace in his death, it was that he had, at
least, taken the Empire out with him.
    Thank you, God , he thought, for
this victory.

CHAPTER TEN
     
     
    Alistair followed Erec’s mother through
the night, as she led her in the darkness, twisting and turning down the narrow
alleyways of court, her heart pounding as she tried to keep up and not be seen.
Long shadows were cast across the stone walls and paths, the only illumination
coming from the sporadic torchlight, and Alistair, freshly escaped, could not
help but feel like a criminal.
    His mother finally led her behind a wall
and crouched down low, out of sight of the guards, and Alistair squatted down
beside her. They crouched in silence, listening, watching the guards pass by,
and Alistair prayed they would not get caught. Erec’s mother had waited until
nightfall to lead her here, so that they would not be detected, and they had
twisted and turned down the series of labyrinthine streets and back alleys that
led the way from the dungeons to the royal house of the sick, where Erec lay. Finally,
they were close, close enough that Alistair, peeking around the corner, could
see its entrance. It was well guarded, a dozen men standing before it.
    “Look at that door,” Alistair whispered
to his mother. “Why would Bowyer keep it so well guarded if he was really convinced
I am the one that tried to kill Erec? He has positioned these men here not to
protect Erec—but to prevent him from escaping, or to kill him, should he
recover.”
    Erec’s mother’s nodded in understanding.
    “It will not be easy to get you past the
guards,” she whispered back. “Lower your hood, lower your eyes, keep your head
down. Do as I tell you. If this does not work, they will kill you. Are you
willing to take that chance?”
    Alistair nodded back.
    “For Erec, I would give up my life.”
    Erec’s mother looked back at her, touched.
    “You could escape if you choose, yet
instead you risk your life to heal Erec. You really do love him, don’t you?” she
asked.
    Alistair’s eyes filled with tears.
    “More than I can say.”
    Erec’s mother took her hand, suddenly
stepped out from behind the wall, and led Alistair right up to the main doors
of the building, walking proudly, straight down the middle, right to the
guards.
    “My Queen,” said one.
    They all bowed and began to allow her
through, when suddenly one guard stepped forward.
    “Who accompanies you, my lady?” he asked.
     “Dare you question your Queen?” she
snapped back, her voice made of steel. “Dare speak like that again, and you
shall be removed from your post.”
    “I am sorry, my lady,” he said, “but I
follow the chain of command.”
    “Whose command?”
    “The new King, my lady—Bowyer’s.”
    The Queen sighed.
    “I shall forgive you this time,” she
said. “If my husband, the former king, were alive, he would not be so kind. So
you know,” she added, “this is my dear friend. She has fallen ill, and I am
leading her to the sickhouse.”
    “I am sorry, my lady,” the guard said,
his head low, reddening, and stepped aside.
    They opened the doors for her and Erec’s
mother rushed in, holding Alistair’s hand, and Alistair, heart pounding, keeping
her head down, heard the door slam closed behind them.
    Erec’s mother reached up and pulled back
her hood. Alistair looked around and saw they were inside the house of the
sick, a beautiful marble building, with low ceilings, dimly lit by torches.
    “We have not much time,” she said. “Follow
me.”
    Alistair followed her