Free Clash of Wills by S.G. Rogers Page B

myself into a rather large horse. When it comes to stairs, four legs are better than two.”
    “You’re a wizard. Can’t you use some sort of magic to get us out of here?”
    “Sadly, I’m impotent to do anything magical while I’m within the walls of Queen Aurora’s castle.”
    The sheet of ice penning them in shifted to one side and Samantha was shoved inside the cell. Wills caught her before she could fall to the floor. As the ice wall slid back into place, he caught a glimpse of the eerily white guardsmen in the corridor.
    “Are you all right?” Wills asked.
    “Much better now that I know you’re alive.”
    Nick peered at her. “Samantha, is that you?”
    Samantha peered at him. “Nicholas?”
    “Ha! Dressed like that I thought you were a lad! What an admirable disguise. I must say, those trousers are quite flattering.” Nick bowed gallantly and kissed her hand.
    What a preening popinjay! Wills expected to find a look of disgust on Samantha’s face, but her lips were curved in a smile instead.
    “Wills…er, I mean Joe, this is my cousin, Lord Nicholas,” she said.
    “ Distant cousins, actually,” Nick said. “Our nearest relation is our great-grandfather, so we’re hardly related at all.”
    “There’s no need to dissemble, Samantha,” Wills said. “Your distant cousin and I are on a first name basis.”
    “Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “Why are you locked up, Nicholas? I thought you and Julian were on friendly terms.”
    “Nobody is on friendly terms with Queen Aurora, I’m afraid, and Julian is possessed,” Nick replied.
    Samantha shuddered. “She has a knack for imposing her will on people.”
    “I apologize for my part in this nasty scheme to bring you here. I can assure you it was unwitting…albeit naive.”
    “That’s unimportant right now.” She stared at him, clearly taken aback. “Ice crystals have formed in your hair and eyebrows. We must escape before we freeze to death.”
    Nick and Wills exchanged a helpless glance.
    “If you have any ideas that don’t involve brute force, I’d be glad to hear them,” Wills said.
    “My magic won’t work here, either.” Nick spread his arms wide in a shrug. “Once outside the castle, however, I’m at your service.”

    Paper and pen in hand, Julian joined Aurora in the throne room. He glanced around, but Samantha was gone. “Did I miss something?”
    “Your sister is defiant. As punishment, my guardsmen have taken her to the dungeon. We’ll see how long she can withstand the chill of my wrath.”
    “I detected a bit of sentiment between her and her manservant.”
    Aurora laughed. “Excellent. Perhaps Samantha will cooperate to save the man’s skin. It won’t be too long now before he begins to turn blue.”
    The steward appeared. “Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty, but visitors have come. It’s Maggot and his men.”
    Aurora’s even white teeth gleamed. “Excellent! They are bringing me the prince and everything is falling into place.”
    Guardsmen escorted four ragged men into the throne room. Aurora’s blue eyes narrowed. “Where is Prince Wills?”
    Maggot immediately sank to his knees. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but we don’t rightly know. We tracked him as far as Elturon, but he had a demon traveling with ’em.”
    “A demon?” Julian scoffed. “Demons don’t travel with humans.”
    “As you say, sir. But if we hadn’t run, the demon would’ve burnt the four of us to a crisp.” He held up his bare hands to show his red, oozing palms.
    “A fire demon?” Aurora raised a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s absurd.”
    The snaggle-toothed bandit cleared his throat. “Maybe so, but he looked like an innocent lad.”
    The third bandit nodded. “Aye. He was old enough to be shaving, but his face was smooth like a girl.”
    Aurora’s eyes narrowed. “What else can you tell us about this demon?”
    “He was dressed as a huntsman and had an enchanted sling.” Maggot pointed at Julian. “His hair was