20.

Scelestus wrinkled her nose and glared at her little manservant sitting next to her in the coach. Jinn stared up at her meekly, not sure what he'd done wrong, but from the look on her face, it had to be something bad.

"You disgusting little hobbit," Scelestus said as they bounced around in the back of the horse drawn carriage. "How dare you pa.s.s gas in my coach!"

"It wasn't I, my Lady," Jinn said. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Then what is that wretched smell?" Scelestus demanded, and she still wasn't convinced that it wasn't Jinn.

"I'm not sure, my Lady," Jinn shook his head. "Perhaps it's sulfur. We must be getting close to Valefor's lair."

"It's about d.a.m.n time," Scelestus muttered. "We've been traveling in this cursed carriage for what feels like forever."

She leaned over and pulled back the black curtains so she could peer outside. Valefor's red tower jutted up on the horizon only a mile or two ahead. Scelestus smiled and settled back in the seat.

Since she'd gotten word from Valefor that Lily and Lux had gone missing, she'd been unable to speak to him. She'd tried sending messages or speaking to him through her cauldron, but he was either ignoring her or too busy. Either way, Scelestus needed to make things right with him. He had a protective spell around his lair, so Scelestus couldn't teleport anywhere near his tower, and she'd been forced to travel by horse and carriage to meet with him.

After years of suffering as the Lady of the dull Insontia, she'd finally found her way out. In exchange for that useless step-daughter of hers, she would be granted eternal youth when she took the role of the invidia. But since she'd been unable to deliver Lily to Valefor, she would just have to find something else that he wanted. There had to be something she had that would be worth turning her into a peccati.

"How do I look?" Scelestus asked Jinn.

"Ravishing, as always, my Lady," Jinn smiled up at her. She sneered at him when he said that, and he was never sure what was wrong with that. Everything he did, he did to please her, but it never seemed to be good enough.

They rode the rest of the way to Valefor's in silence. The sound of the dirt road under the horses' hooves changed to the wooden sound of a bridge, and then the horses stopped sharply. An ogre grunted outside, and Scelestus motioned for Jinn to get out.

Jinn spoke very little ogre, but he did as he was told, the same as he always had. Scelestus waited in the carriage, smoothing out her hair. She pulled out a mirror that she always carried with her and made sure that her makeup was good. Everything had to be perfect for when she met with Valefor.

"What's the hold up?" Scelestus shouted out the window when it seemed like Jinn was taking too long.

Jinn hobbled back to the carriage and opened the door.

"I'm not completely sure, my Lady," Jinn said. "There seems to have been some trouble here earlier today. The ogre at the door doesn't want to let anybody in. He doesn't trust."

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Scelestus rolled her eyes and pushed Jinn out of the way. "I'll do it myself."

Gathering her dress, Scelestus climbed out of the carriage and nearly knocked Jinn down. The sun was beginning to go down, but the light shined brightly past the tower, nearly blinding her. Scelestus squinted and walked around to the front of the carriage.

A one-eyed ogre stood guard in front of the door, looking irritable and confused. Next to him was a statue of another ogre, and Scelestus looked at it curiously. Perhaps it was meant to be some sort of gargoyle and scare people away when they approached the door, although Scelestus didn't find it all that intimidating.

"You there," Scelestus shouted up at the ogre. "Let me in. I need to see Valefor."

"No pa.s.s." The ogre shook his head and grunted. "No pa.s.s!"

"He wants to see me," Scelestus lied.

"No pa.s.s!" The ogre shouted this time and balled his fists up.

"It's about the girl," Scelestus said, deciding that giving the ogre a reason would be helpful.

"Girl?"

"Yes, the girl," Scelestus smiled and did her best to sound sweet. "The girl Valefor has been looking for. I have information on her that Valefor would be dying to hear."

The ogre furrowed his brow in deep concentration, but he couldn't seem to figure out what would be the best course of action. She sighed and waited, afraid that if she pushed him he would attempt to squash her with his fists.

The decision was taken away from the ogre when the door behind him slowly opened. It didn't open all the way, but it was wide enough for a thin man to slip out. His skin had a faint greenish hue to it, and his eyes were too large for his face.

"What's going on?" the thin man asked.

"Girl," the ogre grunted and pointed to Scelestus.

"I'm here to see Valefor." Scelestus smiled at the thin man. "I know something about the girl he's looking for. I'm sure he'd really love to see me."

"Who are you?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Lady Scelestus." She curtsied a bit when she said it, even though the man looked like he was way beneath her station. His clothes were dirty, and his hair was a mess.

"Ah." The man smiled broadly at her. "Yes, I'm certain he'll want to see you."

"I knew it," Scelestus said, and she beamed genuinely at that.

"Come with me." He waved her on, and she started following him.

"My Lady?" Jinn asked. He'd been standing next to the horses, but he stepped forward to go after her. "Shall I come with you?"

"There's no need," she said dismissively. "Wait here with the animals."

"Yes, my Lady." Jinn bowed his head and stoked one of the horses.

"It was really lucky that I caught you at the door," the man said as he led her inside the castle. He took the downward winding stairs to the left, and she went after him.

"Yes, it does seem quite serendipitous," Scelestus said. She lifted up her dress and stepped carefully down. It was dimly lit, and the stairs were steep. "I wasn't sure that the ogre would let me in."

"He's had a rough day," the man explained. "We all have. I'm normally not around here that often. There's not that much for me to do. But Valefor has called us all back to his lair to help with the girl."

"She's quite valuable to him, then?" Scelestus asked.

"Extremely," he nodded. "That was a rather nice carriage you had out there."

"What?" Scelestus asked, confused by his change of topic. "Oh, yes. It's nice."

"I'd like to get myself a carriage like that," he went on. "I don't think I've had one that s.p.a.cious before."

"It is roomy," Scelestus allowed.

They reached the landing, and the man directed her to go into the room at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled at him as she went inside, expecting to find Valefor. Instead, it was an empty room, with nothing but a table and few pots and pans around.

"What is this?" Scelestus turned back to face the man, and he closed the door behind him when he came in. He leaned up against it, locking it behind his back. "Where is Valefor?"

"He's attending to some business," he explained. "So I thought we could use the time to get to know each other."

"I have no business with you." Scelestus straightened and pressed her lips into a thin line. She'd come here unprepared for a fight, and all her potions and her wand were with Jinn.

"I think you do." The man stepped away from the door, smiling wider at her. "I'm Invidia." He reached into his belt loop and pulled out a long, jagged knife. "I heard you wanted to take my life, so I thought I would repay the favor."

Scelestus opened her mouth and began to scream, but n.o.body could hear her inside Valefor's lair.

21.

Wick grabbed Lily's hand, trying to pull her back away from Lux, and Lux stepped in front of her, between them and Ira. Ira had snuck up on them, coming from the opposite direction that Gula, Aeterna, Edgar, and Addonexus had left in.

"Ira, you don't want to hurt her," Lux reminded him and stepped closer to him.

"No, I think I do." Ira smiled at him, the expression looking rather unpleasant on his stony face. "Valefor wants her to suffer, to see what life would be like against him. I can do whatever I want with her, as long as I keep her alive.

"As for you," Ira continued, stepping closer to Lux. "I have direct orders to kill you."

"Lux!" Lily yelled behind him, and she tried to run to his side, but Wick held her back.

"Wick, get her out of here!" Lux shouted.

Wick was already trying to do that, but Lily fought her. She grabbed onto Lux's arm, but he wouldn't look back at her. He had to keep his focus on Ira. Still hanging onto Lily, Wick came up behind Lux, so close to him she was nearly touching his back. She took her wand out of her satchel and slid it in the back of his pants, all without Ira seeing.

"Good luck," she whispered, then she yanked Lily's arm.

"Lux!" Lily yelled again, but Wick pulled her on.

"He'll fight better without you distracting him!" Wick told her, and that was true enough, so Lily relented a little to being dragged away. She stared back over her shoulder, watching Lux face down Ira until Wick took her around a corner, and she couldn't see them anymore.

Ira barely seemed to notice that Lily had run off, nor did he seem to care that she did. He knew that the lair was a maze, and it would be nearly impossible for her and Wick to find their way out. Lux knew that too, but at the moment, he didn't care if they found their way out. He just wanted them away from Ira.

"I'm actually glad that I didn't kill you earlier," Ira said as he and Lux faced off, moving in a slow circle around each other. "I can really savor it this time, without that girl screaming in my ear. It was good of you to send her away."

"You know me," Lux smirked. "I've always been a thoughtful guy."

After their fight earlier, Lux knew he couldn't beat Ira hand-to-hand. Ira was made of granite, and Lux's body was more like pulverized meat at this point. To win, he'd have to come up with something better, but he didn't know what that would be.

Wick's wand poked him in his back, but he didn't know how much good that would do. Still, Wick had left it with him for a reason, and it would work better than nothing.

Ira threw a punch at Lux, and he dove out of the way, narrowly missing one of Ira's rock-hard fists in his jaw. Ira laughed at that, a deep guffaw, and then he swung again. Lux darted away, just barely avoiding the hit again.

"So we're going to dance, are we?" Ira asked.

Even though he was still smiling, Lux could see his patience was dwindling. One or two swings more, and Ira would go after him with all he had. Lux wouldn't stand a chance against that. He had to make a move first.

In one smooth move, Lux reached behind his back and pulled out the wand. The unicorn horn felt strangely heavy in his hand. He pointed it right at Ira's chest, and for a moment, Ira looked startled.

"What is that you have there?" Ira squinted at it, as if he really didn't understand what he was seeing.

"A powerful wand." Lux kept his arm straight even though it wanted to shake. "Leave now, and I won't use it against you. But if you take another step, I'll be forced to destroy you."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Ira said, but he didn't move.

Not at first anyway. Then Ira moved quickly at Lux, stopping short. It was a fake-out charge meant to startle Lux, and it did just that.

Lux flicked the wand, but nothing happened. Ira stared at him, waiting for something, so Lux shook it. Still nothing happened, and Ira threw back his head and laughed.

Of course the wand wouldn't work for him. It was a unicorn horn, and Lux was a peccati with no training in sorcery. He had absolutely no idea how to make the thing work, except what he'd seen witches do before. Wick just held it and magic spewed forth, but apparently, there was some trick to it that Lux couldn't decipher.

"Dammit," Lux muttered and shook the wand again.

"Oh, that's rich." Ira tried to quiet his laughter. "That is just pathetic, Lux! Is that even a real wand? Or is that just a twig you picked up outside?"

Ira was too busy laughing to really be on guard, so Lux charged at him. It was the best plan of attack he could come up with. But as soon as Ira saw Lux moving at him, he stopped laughing and righted himself. He swung at Lux, who ducked below it, and kept running.

There was nothing in this part of the hallway to fight Ira with, so he had to go somewhere else where he could find something useful. Ira called Lux a coward but chased after him. Lux heard Ira's feet behind him, sounding like a stampede of horses rather than one man, and Lux knew he had to get out of the way.

Lux threw open the first door he came to, and immediately realized that wasn't the wisest choice. Unfortunately, Ira was right on his tail, so he had to go inside, even if the room spelled certain doom.

If Lux had been paying more attention, he would've known what room it was just by the smell. The skinning room had the distinct scent of hot oil and cooking flesh. Valefor liked collecting the hides of his victims, and the skin came off much easier when boiled in hot water.

The skinning room had about ten feet of ledge right inside the door, and then it was open to a giant vat of boiling water. It was kept hot by lava that flowed up from the surface. Just being inside the room was almost unbearably warm, and Lux could handle heat very well.

A sonneillon stood near one side of the room, stirring the water with a large pitchfork. Apparently, there was something in the water in the process of being skinned.

"Good choice, Lux," Ira said, sounding genuinely impressed when he walked in the room behind him. "I couldn't have picked a better room for your demise."

"I was just thinking the same thing, except about you." Lux turned back around to face Ira and flashed him a c.o.c.ky grin, even though he did not feel c.o.c.ky at all.

Ira swung at Lux, but when Lux tried to move out of the way, Ira's big arm clotheslined him. Lux started to fall backward, but Ira caught him. He lifted him up, so Lux's back was to Ira, and Ira clamped one arm around his throat, so Lux could barely breathe.

"When you hit the water, make sure you scream a lot," Ira said, his voice right in his ear. "I want to hear you die."

Lux flailed, kicking at him with both legs, and tried futilely to pull at the arm crushing his neck. It would be easier to claw at Ira's arm if he weren't holding the wand, but he doubted that it would make much of a difference. He wasn't strong enough to move Ira anyway.

Just as Ira stepped to the edge of the ledge, preparing to drop Lux into the boiling water, Lux thrust the horn back and stabbed Ira right in the eye. Ira screamed and stumbled backwards, then let go of Lux.