Page 126 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“I like you. Alvara, of Grayshell. Aren chose his second well. The fact that you cut down my men like you’re mowing your lawn…” Apparent amusement tugged at the corner of his lips, and Adrastos raised his cup in a salute. “I expected you to be…larger.” He chuckled around the last word and then took another swig. “As it is, you would make a much better ally than you would an enemy. I have no quarrel with you. Or your golden boy Commander for that matter. Not yet, at least. And I believe in the strength of The Great Commander. In what he represents. In why he’s here.”
“He’s here to rid the world of evils like you.”
“The Great Commander is again here,Princess, to make the world a better place.”
“He only rises when there are threats to the peace…”
“Threats like me? Is that the tale you’ve spun for yourself?”
“That’s the truth you’ve brought to light with your army. With our healers falling like fish in a barrel.”
He grimaced and then stuffed his mouth with chicken. After a long moment, he wiped his face. “Trying to control demons is a bit like herding cats.”
“There’s a coven to the west that would mock you for that.”
“Ahh,” he cracked a laugh—a real one, that touched his dark eyes. “The witch clans and theirfamiliars. Yes. I’m acquainted with them…Okay, trying to control demons is like…nailing Jell-O to the wall. Does that work?” He blinked pointedly.
“If your intentions are as you say they are, why work with them at all?”
“They are, in fact, in great need of leadership, vastly outnumberouruncle, and enjoy…certain simple pleasures.”
“If by pleasures you mean tormenting the mortals—”
“They only whisper and confirm what the mortalswantto hear.”
“And take their bodies, hold them captive.”
“Oooh, that bit is dauntingly inconvenient. How did you get that bastard out of you?” He narrowed his eyes and smirked, suggestively enough I wanted to kick him. He shook his hair out. “Let me rephrase—how did you vanquish that second hierarchy underling?”
“Burned to ash,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Spicy little thing, aren’t you?”
“Give my gifts back, and I’ll give you a demonstration.” I flashed a smile that was all teeth, and he grinned before tossing a carrot into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, before swallowing. I wished he’d just choke.
“I’m sure you would enjoy that. For now, however, you will eat, and I will tell you how you walk out of this camp alive, with your powers restored, and what is coming down the pipeline for your precious pets. Deal?”
I scowled, wetting my lips and inhaling deeply. Scenting the food. For anything. But could my enhanced senses be trusted if my other gifts were gone? His plate was almost empty, and he reached over the table to spear one of my pieces of chicken before popping it in his mouth with a swagger I had never quite mastered.
Adrastos gulped pointedly.
“Fine,” I growled. One thing was true. If he’d wanted me dead, I would be. Long before I had awoken, he could have slit my throat. So, options weighed, I ate.
The food was somehow still warm on the plate, and as heavenly as anything I had ever tasted in the mortal world. He grinned triumphantly, and snatched his goblet off the table, swirling it and inhaling the scent of the Malbec in the glass.
“So. You are going to tell any who ask—my bastard of a brother especially—that you will pass my message along to your Commander, and extend our offer of an alliance to your hierarchy.” He held up a hand as he saw the protest across my face or mind. “And I will ensure your full strength is returned to you. I do apologize that the crawlers are aware of where you’ve been staying, so I would highly recommend you and your friends return to your respective Middle Realms...until you’re ready to duke it out.”
Adrastos took a long sip of wine before resuming his swirling of the goblet. He inclined his head expectantly, and I sighed before taking another bite. “Good girl.” The words were like nails on a chalkboard. He continued, “You’ll return to The Great Commander, share what happened here, and the depth of our devotion to him—I'll explain in a moment, don’t get ahead of yourself—and resume your training. You will eat, you will train, you will have a very merry Christmas, and you will watch as what I’m about to warn you of will come to pass.
“The four horsemen of the apocalypse have been beating at their doors for some time now. The first will ride a white horse and be equipped with a bow, set to conquer the human realms. Sound familiar?” I nearly choked on my wine as the image of August on a flying white horse snapped into my mind. “Ahh, good. Your...special friend, our mutual acquaintance, the soul with the longbow. He is set to rival the first horseman. The second, on the red horse, is a rival with your beloved sire, who I pray is not too big for his britches, and does, in fact, have cattle to go with his enormous hat.” His distaste nearly dripped from the words. “You have a tracker who is, in fact, a Goddess when it comes to fertility—and not just the bouncing bundle of joy kind, but the leafy green kind as well. She will push against the third. And I’m afraid, dear cousin, that the reason your healers are falling is in preparation for the plans of the fourth. The fourth horseman will only be brought down by a combination of things. You, my beautiful angel ofdeath.The Great Commander, whole and healed. The fertility goddess, the warrior, the witch,andThe Wraith.”
I blinked at him, staring for a long while before my voice came out like a growl, “The Wraith?”
“Oh yes, she’s a gem. And will, undoubtedly, make her appearance at the worst possible time for me. It’s...in her nature.” He shrugged. “Past life drama, don’t ask. And no—I don’t know what form she’s going to take in this one. She was long since glamoured and warded against me.”
“So, you’re just going to release me—so we can stop the four horsemen, do your dirty work for you, and you can come in to convince them you’re their hero at the end?”
He simpered, his tone flat. “You will conquer the horsemen again, because it’s the right thing to do for the wellbeing of yourpets. Light against dark, all that good stuff.” He waved his hand in a flourish. “But I will, in fact, benefit from you clearing my way. In return, none of mine will attack or interfere with any of yours. We get through this mess together—as tenuous of a peace as that may be—and go our separate ways.” A quick swish of his wrist, as if waving smoke from the air. Clearing the topic. “If my calculations are correct, the first horseman will arrive before cupid turns the town pink, so I would highly suggest being prepared by January.”
