Empire of Blood

Chapter 24: The Woman With the Cobra Tattoos

"This ends now." Holland sneered at the group as the hooded stranger stepped over the king's bloodied corpse and sat on the throne, crossing their legs. Long platinum blonde locks flowed from underneath their cowl, and though Selena assumed them to be a woman, the figure didn't unmask their identity.

Azrael and Selena slowly backed away when a whole battalion of soldiers and guards encircled them—about fifty in all—but Rahim's hands trembled as he aimed his Winclock at the stranger's head. The conspirators displayed no reaction, but Selena whispered for him to back down while her eyes darted down the corridor for Thor and Doragon, but the dragons had yet to make their appearance.

My dear, where are you? Her heart sank when she received no reply; Thor's thoughts had vanished, leaving her isolated within her tempestuous mind.

Selena growled like an angry dragon ready to strike and retaliate but heard a pitiful cry squealing from behind. With great care, she glanced back and saw Rahim was already in chains with a black hood draped over his face, and the guards circling them revealed themselves to be the dreaded members of the Obsidian Order, their silver dragon-head masks glowing in the faint, eerie moonlight. What terrified her the most was how fast and quiet they were in detaining poor Rahim, for she and Azrael were oblivious to his sudden capture.

She unexpectedly felt freezing metal pressing against the side of her cheek. Her heart stopped, and she didn't have to turn around to see that Niamh stood behind her with a loaded revolver. Selena did her best to stay calm, even facing her possible imminent fate. Instantly, she understood their meeting with Niamh was a trap and that their brainwashed friend had betrayed them.

Niamh's stoic tone unnerved the trio as she said, "Don't do anything so rash, for you're surrounded. If you look back, I will pull the trigger." Azrael growled but neither objected nor attempted to fight back as Niamh pressed the barrel deeper into Selena's cheek.

"Well done, Niamh," Holland said, clapping, "Medusa should be quite pleased." The cloaked stranger laughed in amusement, and given their feminine pitch, Selena assumed they were a woman and possibly Medusa herself. The justiciar straightened his spectacles until they gleamed in Selena's eye. "Please forgive our sudden rudeness, Your Highness, but I tried to warn you," he nodded to the silent cultists, "Bind them."

Selena didn't struggle when bound in ropes and chains, nor when Niamh forced her to her knees, liberating her, Azrael, and Rahim of their weapons. She hunched forward, holding her head in defeat while snarling under her breath, swearing to seek vengeance upon these traitors. Azrael, unwillingly at first, soon followed her example, not without muttering and grumbling.

Selena knew she would be risking her life by speaking up, but she swallowed her fear. "How could you do this?" she quietly asked Niamh. She ignored Selena's question without a reaction, and the painful realization that Niamh was brainwashed made her heart sink further.

Her eyes scanned the castle, wondering if the Lich was somewhere hiding within, waiting to unveil himself. However, she couldn't sense his demonic presence or the masked dragons lurking within the city's shadows. How is that possible? Thor and I were always able to detect their auras.

Selena continued to reach for Thor's consciousness in desperation, but he remained in the dark. Looking at Azrael, he exhibited the same frustration, and she assumed he couldn't contact Doragon either.

Pleased in exposing them to the world's censure and its derision of disillusioned hopes and dreams, Holland smirked, enjoying the fruits of his victory. "Your dragons cannot hear you—the crystals from the stone gardens are enchanted to trap them within their gilt-painted prison and block all telepathic communication, courtesy of the Dark Master's magic. They activated once we captured you."