Crowned (Beholder #4)(8)

Amelia kept poking at the statue’s shoulder. “Positive. They ran the spell about a dozen times.”

Two thousand years old, so it was built around the last time someone was sacrificed during the Martyr’s Comet. Plus, this statue looked like me and was an heirloom of Amelia’s family. Instead of getting answers, every time I got more information, I only turned up more questions. In this case the query went something long the lines of: What in blazes is going on here?

“Did the mages get the figure to do anything else?” asked Rowan. “It looks like it was designed to move.”

“The mages didn’t.” Kade beamed with pride. “Amelia did.”

“It took some tinkering, but I got it to work a little,” said Amelia. “This dolly-mech doesn’t function like it should.”

My brows lifted. “Dolly-mech?”

“It needed a better name than statue.” Amelia pointed to the statue’s base. “You can see that this was broken off from a larger set of dolly-mechs. I think there were three figures in the original piece. That’s why I can’t get it to do everything it was created to do, but I have gotten our dolly-mech here to say a few things.” Amelia stood behind the figure and fiddled with some tiny buttons and levers on the back of its neck.

A small door on the back of the dolly-mech’s head swung open. Amelia began fiddling with whatever was inside this machine’s head. For a few long seconds, there was nothing but silence.

After that, the dolly-mech moved.

The figure lifted its head and opened its eyes. Metal creaked and groaned as its jaw moved. “I am Elea,” it said.

Her words ricocheted around my head. I am Elea? How can that be?

“And she looks like you,” gushed Amelia. “What are the chances?”

“What are the chances indeed,” I said slowly. Other Necromancers like me had died every two thousand years for these damnable gateways. Had the girls all shared my name as well as my proposed fate? If so, it didn’t bode well for me getting out of this alive.

“The Sword of Theodora is in two parts,” continued the dolly-mech. “Do you have both?”

My brows lifted. “The Sword is in two parts? That’s news.”

The figure blinked over and over. “Do you…Do you…”

“Oops.” Amelia bent over the figure again. “This happens sometimes.” A soft clang sounded as Amelia fixed something inside the dolly-mech’s head. “Ah, here we go.”

The dolly-mech began speaking again. “The Martyr’s Comet has come at last. It is time to heal the gateways. I am prepared to make my sacrifice…Sacrifice…Sacrifice…”

As the dolly-mech stayed stuck on the word sacrifice, I thought back to the many Necromancers like me who died to fulfill the Prophecy of the Martyr’s Comet. I stepped against Rowan’s side; he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“Yipes, she’s never said that before.” Amelia fiddled with the dolly-mech’s head, and the figure froze in place. “Sorry about that. I’m sure you don’t like being reminded of, you know.” Amelia slammed the tiny door shut on the back of the dolly-mech’s head. “That’s all she’s ever said. What an odd happenstance, finding her like we did.”

Rowan pulled me closer against his side. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

I leaned my cheek against Rowan’s shoulder. “It’s maddening. Instead of finding out what the big picture is, I keep getting more unrelated puzzle pieces. Are these dolly-mechs all part of some greater plan? If so, how?”

Amelia nibbled on her thumbnail. “So, does that mean you’re going to do it? You’ll call Mlinzi and Walinzi tonight?”

“That’s the idea,” I said. And as soon as the words left my lips, I wished they rang with more confidence. “We’ll join the Festival of Monkeys and make our wish with everyone else.”

Rowan kissed the top of my head. “Perhaps they won’t even answer our call for information.”

“It’s possible,” said Kade as he glared at me. I knew what the man was thinking. It might be possible it was anyone other than Elea.

Rowan raised his right arm, which was a sure sign he was beginning a spell. “Let’s go back to our rooms and get ready. The festival starts soon, and we need to prepare. I’ll cast the transport spell.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’ll always take you up on any offer to transport.”

“I’ll take that as a complement.” The veins in Rowan’s arm began to glow with crimson light as he pulled in more energy for his spell. Rowan glanced at Kade and Amelia. “We’ll see you there, yes?”

Rowan’s brother and my best friend barely had time to reply yes before Rowan and I were encircled in red smoke. The transport spell had begun.

Soon, it would be time to get ready for Mlinzi and Walinzi.

That said, I didn’t know if anyone could truly be ready for trickster gods. The most I could do was expect the unexpected and hope it ended up with my having the Sword of Theodora and some way to avoid death in three days.

But that wasn’t a comforting thought at all.





Chapter Five




Rowan transported us back to our cabana behind the palace. Of course, we had a formal room in the castle itself, but that was more for show. Rowan and I actually lived in this small round structure made of bamboo. It was simple, cozy, and perfect.