Black Moon Draw(82)

“No!” I shout, lunging forward.

Someone else snatches me, and I react instinctively, slamming a heel into the top of his foot and wrenching forward to knock him off balance.

“Witch, desist this now!” the Red Knight hisses.

I jam an elbow into his solar plexus.

He grunts but doesn’t let go.

“I cannot . . . protect you, if you attack him!” he says quietly enough for only me to hear.

“I need the medallion!”

“Stop.” Lifting me off my feet, he shakes me.

He’s not letting me go. Exhausted, horrified, I give up and hang onto his arm and pray the medallion is indestructible.

The axe rises and falls the way it did when his ancestor claimed the heads of the former Shadow Knight and his queen.

Any hope I have of the medallion withstanding the blow shatters with the Heart of Black Moon Draw. It smashes into a million tiny pieces, like glass.

I can’t move, can’t breathe.

This world is going to die, and any hope I had of helping save lies in shards.

The Heart and magic of Black Moon Draw are destroyed.

As if the kingdom feels it, the ground beneath our feet rumbles. I cling to the Red Knight. The trembling doesn’t last long, and I look from the ground to Westley, who’s staring at the sky.

The fog above the mountains is transforming from light to dark gray, the color of thunderclouds. A piercing wind whips by us from the ocean and I twist, observing in dread as the new color of fog races through the skies away from Black Moon Draw and into the rest of the realm.

The battle-witch said the Heart being destroyed could lead to certain doom.

“Something bad is coming,” I murmur.

“I know,” the Red Knight says grimly. “Now keep quiet, so I can save your life, witch.”





Chapter Twenty





“The source of Black Moon Draw’s magic is now gone. As for the battle-witch” - the Desert Knight declares, replacing his axe and grabbing a knife - “I shall ensure she never uses magic again!” He starts towards us, determined.

“M’lord, if I may,” the Red Knight pushes me behind him. “Disarming a witch is my area of expertise. You can kill her a million times without my assistance, or once with it.”

What have I done? I can’t take my eyes off the medallion.

Magic molded this gem, but our love gave it power.

The Heart lasted a thousand years, until it met me. Jason was right – I really am a failure.

I don’t care what happens to me. All I can think about is how I’ve let down the Shadow Knight in the worst possible way. Without the magic, what are the chances he can still save this place?

The Desert Knight halts. “Very well. She will be dead before we attack at dark fall,” he replies. He sheathes his knife.

I’m vaguely aware of him walking away, trailed by his men and Westley.

Fighting the urge to break down and sob, I register the Red Knight’s words a moment after he speaks them.

“We need to get you to safety, witch.”

Blinking back tears, I say nothing.

He takes my arm and strides away quickly, his urgency restrained but clear in his tense features. Studying him, I can’t help but think this is the worst day of my life. A short distance away, Disney Princess waits, eyes rimmed with red from fresh tears and her features even paler than Westley’s. Even Ugly Duckling beside her appears horrified.

The Red Knight keeps up his breakneck pace through the encampment, until most of the brown cloaks have been replaced by white ones. Only when we reach the largest tent at the middle of the camp does he release me.

“What in the name of all the gods in the sky is going on?” he demands, turning on me.

Taken aback by the anger on his features, I retreat.

“’Tis my fault, brother,” Disney Princess says mournfully. “Had I but known, I might have not betrayed him.”

“Your bonding to the son of the Desert Knight is an issue I cannot handle right now,” he says, red creeping up his neck. “How you allowed me to betroth you knowing you were already bonded . . .” He draws a calming breath. “It will not matter, if we cannot stop the kingdoms from devastation. Witch, what can you do?”

“Nothing.” My throat is tight and hurting from the Desert Knight’s abuse. “I have no magic. I can’t help him or anyone else.” I’m back to being useless again.

The Red Knight is pacing. He eyes his sister as if he wants to give her a piece of his mind and then halts. “You swear, witch, what you say is true? You spoke to a woman dead a thousand years?”

“I did.” I’m starting to slide into a bout of self-pity and shake my head. Not about to let the misery take hold, I cross my arms and face him. The Shadow Knight spoke relatively well of his neighbor and appeared surprised by the thought he’d be betrayed by the man before me. “What’s your story? You just dump all your allies whenever you think someone else is going to win a battle?”

“I do not just dump my allies,” comes the sharp response. “I want the curse broken at all costs. The end of an era approaches; a thousand years have passed. I, too, believed the death of the Shadow Knight would end this fog and save our realm. After trying for many, many years to reason with him and others, I waited until the day before the era ends to decide his death is necessary.”