Princess of Death (Three Provinces Book 1) (4 page)

“That might be a fun adventure, Puabi, don’t you think?” Walking out of the bathroom, wrapped in a black silk robe, I plopped down on the bed.

Hmmm. Your home is a sort of cage, isn’t it?

“Yup, one I can’t be in for long if Ishtar gets married. I need a plan. Didn’t you like your home?”

Oh yes… But travel has been fun too. We wouldn’t go there to stay for always, would we?

Laughing, I leaned back against the dozen or so pillows on my bed and wrapped a scarlet blanket around me, “Of course not. “

Good, because I am much too used to my own space now. I cannot go back to sleeping with all 12 of my brothers and sisters.

And with that thought of hers in my mind, I fell into a peace filled sleep.

Chapter 4

I awoke to screams and panic.  Puabi was staring at me, her red eyes unblinking as I tried to shake off my groggy state.

“What time is it?”

Early, seven or eight.

“That’s not really early.”

Is to a bat. Now go find out what the noise is so I can sleep.
With that she closed her eyes and buried her face back into her wings.

I got up and dressed as quickly as I could. My maid usually woke me and helped me dress. She was vacant this morning, which was unusual. I didn’t care for her, to be honest, a thin wispy little Kassaptu with almost no power.  However, because I had no one to help me lace up the delicate intricate bodice my mother preferred I wear, I chose something more to my own taste.

A black tunic that came to my knees, sleeveless with a scooped neckline, around the waist a simple cinching corset that came under my breasts in a red that matched my eyes. I shoved my feet into black riding boots and grabbed a fur lined red vest.

A quick visit to the bathroom and my hair found itself pinned back, for some reason I had the eerie notion I would be outside a lot in the next coming hours.  I opened my door and found
Nam just about ready to knock.

“What’s going on?”

“Your sister, she’s missing.”

My breath froze in my lungs at his words, heart loud in my ears. Ishtar was missing? Impossible, no one could get through the castle’s protection spells, and who would want to?

“She ran away.” As Nam spoke, my breathing began again and I relaxed. If she ran away things would be so much easier.

“Why is everyone so frantic then? She probably went to the Biri Tea House or hid in the basement, pissed at mom and dad.”  We began down the stairs towards the throne room, servants running by, everyone hectic and frazzled.

“They have checked all of Biri already. Your mother and father do not sense her; she must be in Nannaru or Adura.”

“Nannaru then, where’s Mash?”  No way did my baby sister go to Adura, she was afraid of the dark, had been since she was three and stumbled in to the Adura garden and was almost lulled to sleep by the lilies.

I braced myself before marching into the throne room, hating that Nam couldn’t come in with me. Looking annoyed, Nam handed me sunglasses so I wouldn’t offend anyone.

The noise assaulted me first, there were over a hundred people present and most of them offering suggestions or condolences. Biri nobles of every persuasion crowded in around my parents.  I found Mash standing to their right, made eye contact.

I made my way over to Mash and when people began to notice me the room fell quiet, a dark hush and it was then that I knew.

“She’s not in Nannaru?”

“I cannot sense her there.” I could tell Mash hated admitting defeat.

“Damn.” I swore this was bad; no way could my innocent sister survive very long in Adura. Adura was a place feared by anyone who was not born there and most of what people knew could fit in a very thin book.

“Ereshkigal, we believe your sister has fled to Adura. You must find out and if so, seek her.” Mother told me, her voice strained eyes puffy.

“I know.” I held up a hand and ripped off the glasses, the chatter that had started again stopped. Closing my eyes I reached for Adura and my sister.  Darkness rose upon me, I felt encased in it’s cool foggy embrace, the delightful smell of earth, death and decay, sweet and heady filled the room.

I could hear the chilly ringing of the other worldly presences that were always in the background of the sweet dark that was my realm. The urge to destroy came at me urgently, I used my gifts so rarely, opening my eyes I saw the death of everyone in the room.

I could see when and how each life would be snuffed
out; I forced myself to not look at Mash or my parents.  Most of them were destined to live hundreds of years before death stole them, but no one is truly immortal. A hand slipped into mine, warm like fire, and I looked over. Nergal was holding my hand; trying to ground me, make sure I didn’t wipe out everyone with just a thought.

I saw his magic, dampened by Biri, but still gleaming around us.

“Your sister, my queen.” He whispered, I only took a moment to ponder why he’d used the phrase “my queen.”

Nodding I focused, thought of Ishtar, her silver light, her even temperament. My vision swam and then all was clear. I could see her form flickering in and out in my mind’s eye, watched her pack a bag and step outside the castle.  Once past the gate into Adura, she paused at the first fork in the road. I silently begged her to go left.  Left lay the less scary of the things she might find. There were towns, busy and bustling, good, yet dark people who would see her and care.

I watched as she tilted her head, listening to something. I wanted to scream at her not to listen, some things cannot be unseen or unheard. I could do nothing, these were shadows of what had already been, and my sister went right.

I dropped my magic and could feel everyone in the room breathe a sigh of relief; I know what I look like, eyes filled with hungry death, skin glowing palest white. A scary death goddess of old, like one of the Great Three, the Goddesses who created Salas.

“She is in Adura, and I will need help bringing her home. I do not believe she could have gotten very far.” Both my parents and my brother looked freaked. They had never been too far into Adura, they thought of nightmares and death. Which it can be, but not all the time.

“You will have anything you require, just go and bring her to us.” Father dismissed me and I ran from the room as swiftly as possible.

“Quick, someplace quiet,” I told Nam, Nergal and Ekur following us closely. We went to my library and shut the door.

“What didn’t you tell them?” Nergal asked. He’d never let go of my hand, his fingers tracing circles into my palm; I rather enjoyed the sensation.

“She’s been called by a P.O.T.” Ekur and Nam took a step back, Nam hissing through his teeth. Nergal suddenly took me into his embrace, wings and arms wrapping around me, giving me warmth and comfort. I laid my face against his chest, feeling him firm beneath my cheek. He smelled like fall.  I couldn’t let myself take comfort from him for long, I had things to do, it was worse than I had told my parents, much worse.

“Which P.O.T.?”
Nam questioned, I pulled out of Nergal’s embrace.

“I don’t
know.  They hide themselves too well for me. I’ll have to go to them.” A P.O.T. was a Place of Taint. Sometimes something so horrible happens somewhere and it leaves a scar on a place, makes it evil, forbidden and hungry.  Adura was beautiful and I loved it, but because of its dark nature it had a tendency to make Places of Taint easier than anywhere else.

Even the natural inhabitants of Adura stayed away from them. P.O.T.’s liked to call to the unsuspecting, whisper things that you wanted to hear and lure you to them. Once there you couldn’t leave by yourself, not unless someone came and rescued you. All too often, though, that person was sucked in as well. It fed off your magic and life force until you died and then it went looking for a new victim. 

The path to the right of the gate took you past two P.O.T.’s within some fairly dense forest. If you could get pass them you would reach normal Adurans, towns, businesses, farms etc...  Granted you had to go off the main road to get to either, but they were just too close for comfort, most went the long way because they were not strong enough to deal with them. Or they just cut through and ignored the main roads, but that could be dangerous too.

I had been out to two of the four
P.O.T.’s in Adura. They did not bother me much, sure they were creepy as hell but I could probably destroy them with a little effort. Nam was fairly comfortable around them as well, surrounding himself with illness to keep their inky tendrils of magic away from him.

“Your sister could not ignore them?” Ekur seemed confused.

“No. She has no experience with the dark, she may be able to resist a little, but her power is of love and life.” I began to pace.

“The fourth P.O.T. in Adura is near Bet Pagri, we had no problem taking the
Right Road.” Nergal explained. I spun to face him.

“Will you and Ekur come with me then?”

“I would not let you go alone.” His eyes flashed at me.

“She’s not alone. I’ll be with her.”
Nam sounded a little petulant.

“Of course
Nam, that’s obvious.” I gave him our secret smile and he relaxed

“The sooner we get out there the better.” Ekur’s sentence made quite a bit of sense.

“Nam, go tell my parents we are leaving at once, on foot, and we’ll be back before dark with Ishtar. Then go by the kitchen and grab food and drink for the trip. Meet us by the gate in half an hour.” Nam was gone in a moment, knowing time was important.

“I knew this outfit was perfect for today. You guys better change into something you can easily walk in.” I said, looking at Ekur and Nergal’s thin and expensive looking clothing and boots, not very hardy walk-through-the-woods wear.

“Oh Princess, sometimes I forget how much you do not know about our kind.” Ekur rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you show her, Ekur.” Nergal came to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder he leaned down and breathed in my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine.

“The wings are not just for show.” I wanted him to touch more of me, something about his nearness made me forget myself. I wanted him and it was a new sensation, this feeling that burned through me.

As I watched, Ekur’s wings unfurled from his back, leathery and strong, but small, too small I imagined to hold his weight. Head down Ekur whispered a word I did not understand and in the time it took me to blink he was gone, in his place was a rather handsome, large gray bat with black stripes.

“Oh,” my voice sounded shocked, “you’re shape shifters.”

“Yes,” looking up into Nergal’s glowing green eyes my mouth went dry, I leaned in and my eyes fluttered closed, what was I doing? This was crazy. But my thoughts were cut off as his lips met mine. Hot and soft, they pressed against mine, his arms and wings flowing around us, hiding us from view. I opened my mouth to take in more of his kiss and he made a guttural sound, crushing me against him.

He took his lips from mine and I mourned them. I’d never been kissed before and if that was how it usually was I wanted more of it, immediately.

“Forgive me, my queen, I overstepped.” His tone was hushed and apologetic.

“Call me Eshie, everyone does.” Licking my lips I smiled as his eyes watched, “I really liked that, feel free to over step at any time.”

The joy on his face was hard to ignore, he kissed me again, fast and hard. The moment was ruined as I thought of Ishtar and how she could be in trouble. I pushed away from him, hating the expression on his face, lost and sad.

“We have to find Ishtar; afterwards there will be lots of time for that sort of thing.” A shadow passed over his face when I said that, but I ignored it.

Soon enough we were meeting Ekur, who’d flown off to give us some privacy I guess, and Namtar outside. Looking over into the hazy mid morning of Biri I wondered what it would be like to have the days change. The sun always
shown in Nannaru and it was forever night or twilight in Adura, Biri people were lucky.

It was a nice “day” in Adura, which was a blessing, not too hot or too cold.
Normal for being in the middle of spring, the month of Simanu. Hands on my hips I looked up into the heavens, at the dark that met the pale blue of Biri. Spinning around I could see in the distance where the sky changed to bright blue, what my people called Nannaru blue, the differences between the three plain, like lines were drawn in the sky.

The moon was fairly high in Adura, it was how Adurans could tell “day” and night apart and I knew we had about ten hours before it would set. I did not want to be at a P.O.T. when the only light would be the stars.

Namtar showed up with a bag on his back, filled with what I knew would be cooks finest traveling meals.  Ekur and Nergal transformed and we started for the road. I took the Right Road and we were off.  The walk was fairly boring, Adura is covered in thick lush dark green grass, fertile and alive, crops grow really well in Adura.

It did not take more than an hour to reach the outskirts of
Tatidu Forest. Everything was still and hushed. The trees in Tatidu Forest always felt like they were watching you. Leaves dark orange and bark pitch black, hundreds of Dark Pines stretched up, towering over us.

Chapter 5

The forest was only about a mile long and the
Right Road went straight through it. There was a P.O.T. at the beginning and then there was another as you left.  The P.O.T.’s had long since tainted the forest.  No animals lived there and neither did any but the bravest of Adura’s natives. One only chose to live in Tatidu Forest because there was nowhere else to go, or you were hiding from someone. I knew that a small band of gypsies tended to make camp in the middle during the summer months.