Page 19 of A Game of Monsters (Realm of Fey #4)

My heart thundered under every point of contact as Zarrel clasped my wrists behind my back. He moved me toward a throne of labradorite, seating me next to Althea who strained against her own bindings.

The Nephilim pinning Erix down didn’t dare move. Every now and then I would get a flash of his eyes – the whites entirely consumed by the black haze of the monster his bloodline had made him. He continued to fight against them, more monster than man now as the berserker had taken over.

Erix would fight fang and claw to get to me, and I didn’t ever want him to stop. If anything, he was occupying many of the Nephilim, which left fewer of them to deal with myself.

“Do you forget yourself, Cassial!” Althea sneered, veins bulging in her neck as she strained forwards in her seat. “We have signed the treaty. You break it by harming us. Your actions alone have forfeited the human realm–”

“I forfeit nothing ,” Cassial snapped, his large hand not straying from the back of Duncan’s neck. “From where I’m standing, Althea Cedarfall, the fey have lied to the world. You’ve harboured power in your realm – a power strong enough to wipe out everyone who opposes you. What would the humans outside this door think if they knew the truth? Not to mention those who’d not long witnessed the events in this room, they have seen what your kind have hidden… they know the truth of whose deceit runs deeper.”

That was why they filled the church with humans, so they could witness Cassial, their Saviour, discovering my dark secret and pretending to protect them from it.

Duncan began coughing, drawing my attention from our hope of escape to him. Blood spluttered beyond his cracked lips, staining his chin in gore. Cassial grimaced, drawing back at the sight of the blood, as if he wasn’t already covered in it.

“Duncan is unwell,” Althea said, but I could see from the pinch of her brow that she knew it was more than that. “This is surely a grand misunderstanding. Do not let this misunderstanding be cause for a war no one will benefit from.”

“What do you know of war, Althea?” Cassial spoke from his chest, lifting his chin to reveal just how confident he was. “We – the Nephilim, favoured children of the Creator – will do anything to prevent such a thing from happening again. This is the very purpose of us being here today. And now, with the source of chaos that is Duwar, you shall be powerless to stop us from righting the wrongs Altar cursed the realms with his greed.”

I sat in silence, my thoughts were a maelstrom, putting together the details of everything. The mirrors in the hands of the humans, that had been Cassial’s plan. This illusion of a wedding, to bring the heads of the fey courts under one roof. The labradorite, arranged in a perfect circle – the ground amongst it swirling with mist.

“Elinor,” I called out, fixing my eyes on the woman across from me. Her head was slumped, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. I knew – without a doubt – that the Oakstorm key was successfully within the throne she sat upon. Proof the transference of power had worked was in the way the mist gathered and swirled, spinning in the centre of the four thrones. “Elinor, look at me.”

But without the existence of the other three, there was no hope to open the gate and lock Duwar back in it. However, it was clear that was far from what Cassial wanted.

“Elinor, look at me!” I demanded.

She didn’t have the strength left in her to even lift her head.

“Do not waste your breath, Robin. Elinor Oakstorm has served her purpose, let her rest.”

“You’ve tricked us,” I said, spearing my accusation like an archer, aiming straight for Cassial. “You brought us here to attempt to open Duwar’s gate. That was your plan all along.”

“It was, and I have,” Cassial admitted with a smile full of pride. “One remaining key was better than all four. I hoped that opening a sliver of Duwar’s gate, paired with the mirrors to refract the image of the power – the belief from a world united, all watching, would provide the remaining strength needed to free Duwar. If anything, I could go through, as Duncan and Erix had, and claim the power waiting on the other side. But can you imagine how much time I’ve wasted, if only I knew that you, Robin Icethorn, have been keeping the power all to yourself. Of course, I had my suspicions. With the incessant amount of letters you sent to Rafaela, I wondered why you had so much interest in our customs. I just didn’t think for a moment that it was because you were keeping Duwar to yourself all this time.” His lip curled as he regarded me, before spitting his final words out. “Selfish little king.”

“So much for protectors of the keys,” Gyah hissed. Her eyes were fixed on Cassial, as if he was the only person in the world. It was in the reflection of them that I saw her desire to tear flesh with her teeth. “That is why you punished Rafaela, because she knew what you planned, and she went against you!”

Cassial’s eyes darkened at the mention of Rafaela. “Exactly. But in the end, her betrayal matters not. We have what we need, her efforts and the suffering she has experienced mean little. I’ve won in the end.” He snapped his gaze to Rafaela who stood stock still in the grasp of Nephilim. “Isn’t that right, sister ?”

“It is not over yet,” Rafaela replied, chin jutting out.

“Is it not?” Cassial replied, sweeping a large hand out to us. “Our purpose was not to protect the keys, you knew that.”

Rafaela gathered something behind screwed lips, then spat out toward where Cassial stood. He didn’t even flinch.

“Why?” Althea asked, voice calm as a steady flame. “Why the deception?”

“You have been told what we wanted you to know, and you believed it because you were desperate for aid and blinded by Aldrick’s movements. The truth was we had come to your realm not to protect the keys, but to collect them. That was until one of our own betrayed us. But in the end, Rafaela will be forgiven, because without her involvement, I would never have known the impossible was possible.” He bowed his head at her, and she turned away in dismissal. “I should thank you, sister.”

“Do not be mistaken, Cassial.” Rafaela scowled, lips tensing a second before she spat on the ground. “I would destroy them all over again, if given the chance.”

“Shame that,” Cassial replied. “Truly a waste of such brilliant talents.”

“What do you want, Cassial?” It was the only question I could ask. He had Duncan in his grasp, he had planted the seed to the humans that we had deceived them, that we were the threat.

In answer, Cassial yanked Duncan’s head back up, forcing us to all look at his face again. Bile burned at the back of my throat at the state of him. I had done this. My attempts to protect the world had weakened Duncan. He was in no fit state to fight, and perhaps the demon within him had no desire to, either.

Then again, Cassial had confirmed that Duwar wasn’t a demon. Just power, a source of great power that the gods fought over.

I wasn’t sure what I could believe anymore.

“It is not my wishes and wants that matter, but those of my Creator. This fight began long before any of us were born or made, back during a time where monsters warred, when Altar tricked the Creator, offering a power that was promised to be shared, to his own children.”

“All this for a bit of power,” Gyah sneered. “Desperate.”

“Perhaps.” Cassial pondered his next words, deciding that the answer was not required. When he spoke again, it was to Duncan. He brought his lips so close to Duncan’s ear, a feral rage exploded within me. Before I could shout, the cold kiss of a dagger pressed against my throat. “We will show the rest of the world what the fey have done here – attempting to free Duwar again and successfully achieving it in you. This scene will be refracted across every mirror in every realm.”

“No,” Duncan fought out his refusal, surprising me.

Cassial leaned down, lips brushing his ear. “Do it, or find your lover’s neck split wide.”

Zarrel, as if proving Cassial’s threat, dug the edge of the dagger in just a little more until skin parted, and a bead of blood ran down the blade. There was no pain to greet me, not with the tidal wave of fury encompassing every inch of my body and soul.

“Please.” Duncan’s plea was as broken as his body. It pained me, the ache across my heart intensifying. “Do not hurt him.”

Even in his weak state, he still fought for me. I didn’t deserve it, not after what I had done to him.

“Do as I ask,” Cassial said, “and he will live. I promise–”

“Cassial lies!” Rafaela broke free, using the little strength she had to knock a Nephilim to the ground. “The Nephilim will harness Duwar’s power and eradicate every fey from this world.” The shout rang out across the church, echoing up the walls of glass and stone. “It is why we wished to destroy them. To prevent ruin unlike anything Aldrick could have wanted. It was the Fallen who–”

Her scream died in her throat. I didn’t need to turn behind me to know why. I could see in the reflection as Rafaela dropped to the ground, hands clasped before her. Blood trickled down her face, courtesy of the fist that had just silenced her by connecting to her jaw.

“Fallen?” Cassial laughed at the word. “We are the Faithful , Rafaela. The Creator’s favoured who only wish to give Him what was always desired. I am his Saviour, I will bring forth the world the Creator wanted for us, using the very power Altar refused to share.”

Rafaela pushed up on trembling arms. “You lost your way many years ago, Cassial. You are no Saviour; you are no Faithful.”

“Gag her!” Cassial shouted, pointing at Rafaela. “I had hoped Rafaela would repent and see the light, but I can see that her poisonous disbelief runs deep.”

Outside the church, a chorus of shouts rose where the crowds were confused about what was happening inside the church. Had the humans who escaped told them of Duwar? Would they turn against us, or run from us like we were the monsters Cassial wanted them to think we were?

“Show the world, Duwar . I know you’re listening.” Cassial tugged hard at Duncan’s head again, snapping it back. “Let them see the truth of what happens here.”

I cried out, spittle flying beyond my lips. “Stop it!”

Erix roared and fought. Gyah and Althea attempted to break free. Only Elinor was left, silent, head bowed, as the stone drank the power from her blood.

Zarrel clamped a hand on my shoulder, forcing me back into the seat. The blade no longer mattered as Duncan finally opened his eyes, swirling dark with power. My emotions became an afterthought as every mirror in the room shifted and revealed a new scene, unnatural and yet real all the same.

Human and fey looked on, the shock and horror plastered across their faces. If I could see them through the mirrors, I knew that they too watched on from their places across Durmain.

“Citizens of Durmain,” Cassial’s voice boomed, vibrating the glass at his back. “See for yourselves the lies which the fey have spread. We offered them peace, and they responded with wishes for complete power over us. Duwar was never destroyed, but kept by the selfish king, Robin Icethorn, as a weapon to use against you. Feast your eyes upon their power, see how the fey wished to harness it and become your overlords, using our kindness against us.”

In that moment I knew just how the scene looked to those watching. Four fey sat on thrones, Cassial in the centre of swirling mist, clutching Duncan by the neck, whose eyes flamed boiling red with power.

And it was working. Combined with the opened crack in Duwar’s gate, the presence of Duwar and with it, the growing belief in the demon-god, ungodly magic was fuelled. Enough that the slither of power left in Duwar’s realm broke free, the wrong side of the gate.

This had to end.

A seed of knowing grew inside, showing me the one and only path for this to end. Duncan Rackley had to die, to forever remove Duwar from this game of control and power.

What came next was my chance – a gift from Erix.

It was in the reflection of the outside world that I saw them coming. A cloud of grey leather and wings, spearing across the sky in a formation. Gryvern. There’d been a time that seeing the creatures amassed sparked horror in me. They were the weapon of my family’s murder, the tool used by Doran Oakstorm. But now, as they filled the skies, their blood-curdling screams beyond the church walls, I welcomed it.

Erix controlled them now. He’d given up fighting against his guards. Instead, he was laughing. Deep rumbling chuckles that built in his chest, ricocheting across the room.

“You wanted monsters,” Erix sneered, blood and spit leaking over of his ruined lips. “I’ll give you them.”

The muffled cheers outside the church melted to screams as the gryvern flocked over their skies. I felt Zarrel relax his hold of the blade, enough to allow me to cock my head back and crack my skull into his nose.

Nephilim or not, his bones shattered, blood spraying. I ducked under the blind sweep of his arms, turned and – for good measure – smashed my fist into his face again.

If the nose hadn’t broke the first time, it certainly had the second.

Deep down, it felt good to punch him. Very good. I gave him two more swift jabs until he choked on his broken teeth.

The golden hammer dropped to the ground before Zarrel could use it. Face smeared in blood, he tried to kneel and pick it up, but I slammed my boot down on his hand, crushing fingers and then swept my knee up and cracked it into his jaw.

In hindsight, I knew the world would watch on as I attacked one of their famed guardians, but I didn’t care.

To save the world, I had to act before I contemplated killing Duncan. If I gave myself room to think about it, I would hesitate. Deep down, dread kindled. But I had no choice…

Unless I finally accepted Duwar, just as it offered.

In a heartbeat, the room exploded in chaos. Gryvern tore at the doors to the church, flinging them off as like they were made of paper. The Nephilim inside the church had no option but to fight back, leaving Althea and Gyah with enough of a chance to free themselves.

But they were not the only ones.

Erix cut across the church, wings beating, clashing shoulder-first into Cassial’s middle. I was aware that Duncan was flung to the ground from the crack his skull made against the slabbed floor. The mirrors returned to their normal reflections, no longer sharing the scene with the thousands outside this church.

I scrambled to move toward him, but someone heavy crashed into me.

Back on the ground, I was spun up to face the body atop me. I lifted my arms up to protect my face, catching a glimpse of the demonic glower Zarrel shared as he peered down at me.

“You’ll be the first of the fey to die,” Zarrel jeered, hoisting the dagger up in one hand, his shattered teeth black with blood. “I’ll gladly watch the life leave your eyes; you really were an irritating little–”

Zarrel never got the chance to finish his sentence.

There was a blur of gold to his side, followed by the meaty thwack of metal against flesh. I’d seen a head cave in once before – when Erix had smashed Tarron Oakstorm’s skull with his bare fists.

I watched the golden hammer arch upon him, driven by a vengeful Rafaela with eyes burning with rage, it dented Zarrel’s head from the side. His eyes bulged, then popped. Blood and brain matter rained down on me. Chips of bone and a mass of hair stuck to my skin. I wanted to scream, but if I opened my mouth, it would’ve filled with the death of the Nephilim.

“Get… up,” Rafaela croaked, tears streaming down from furious eyes. “Fight, before we lose our only chance of stopping this.”

I took her hand, dragged out from beneath the weight of Zarrel’s limp body. I clawed at the gore over my eyes, flicking it down my iron-spoiled clothes. Vision cleared, I searched the chaos for Duncan, only to find his body splayed out across the floor. Nephilim circled, weapons drawn, wings splayed, but it was not to hurt Duncan.

No. Althea and Gyah guarded him – even knowing what lingered within – and they still put their bodies before him, stolen weapons raised, bodies as powerless as mine thanks to the iron in their clothes.

“You welcomed punishment because you knew what you did was right,” I said, mind spanning between the labradorite thrones and Duncan. “They do not deserve you.”

“Not now, Robin.” Rafaela made a move, but I drew her back.

“You knew Cassial always wanted this?”

She locked eyes with me, and her pain was so evident I felt it like a bolt to the gut. “I did, and I had hoped we could solve this before this outcome was ever a possibility. But after you left me this morning, Zarrel turned on me. He used the hammer on me and drew out the truth of why you needed me.”

So many emotions rose up, threatening to choke me. All the same, Zarrel’s body was beneath me, brain matter leaking onto the old stone floor. I stepped over him, wishing the agony he suffered was great – he deserved it tenfold.

“I know you have questions, and if we survive this you will get answers to them all,” Rafaela said, just before she pushed me back and swung the hammer at another charging Nephilim. This one used a shield to block the blow, but the sound of connecting metal boomed over me like a wave.

“I’m sorry, Robin. But Duncan must die.”

I gritted my teeth, knowing she was right but still clinging to my final hope. “Let me accept Duwar, then you do what is needed. You end this.”

A fierce sadness passed behind her eyes, and then she nodded. “Get to Duncan – complete the transference and I will… finish this.”

Finish you.

The plan had always been so simple. This was how it was to end. But without being in Irobel, Rafaela couldn’t bind me in labradorite. Death was the only option. It was Duncan, or me. I knew what I preferred. But for that I had a room of warring angels and demons to get through.

My body buzzed with a rush of pure adrenaline. I quicky tore the dagger from Zarrel’s stiff, dead fingers and ran for Duncan. The Nephilim were so focused on Althea and Gyah as they fought side by side, they didn’t notice me come in from behind them.

I drove the blade into the middle of one of their backs. From the way their legs gave out instantly, I knew I’d severed an important nerve. The next Nephilim had some warning that I was to attack. Before I could thrust the dagger forwards, their wings spun, shielding them. Amongst the mound of feathers, the force ripped the blade out of my hand. Before they could turn their full might on me, Gyah pounced. She wrapped her thighs around the Nephilim’s neck, grabbed his head and twisted harshly to the side.

There was a sickly snap of bone. Nephilim fell to the ground, their body softening Gyah’s fall. She sprang up, turned fast and threw herself at the next. She spared me a glance, snarling teeth. Despite her Eldrae form being suppressed by the iron, she fought as though she had embodied the beast within her.

She nodded at me, then moved on, ready to tear at the next feathered warrior who stood in her way.

Althea fought with the grace of burning fire. Swift and sure, she danced with four Nephilim, holding them at bay, blade swinging without hesitation.

“I trust you have a plan,” Althea shouted, ducking beneath the thrust of a spear, before driving her stolen sword up and through the sternum of her opponent. “That’s why you chose to keep this from us?”

“I did – I do ,” I said, regretting the secrets. Hating that these would be the last words I ever shared with Althea.

My lips moved, preparing to offer the apology, but Althea silenced me before I could speak.

“Then I trust you, Robin. Fix this before we no longer have the choice.”

I gritted my teeth and nodded. There was so much I wanted to say, but barely time to breathe let alone speak.

I left Althea without saying goodbye. Duncan was my focus. It took surprisingly little effort to reach him – considering he was currently Cassial’s focus. But Cassial fought against Erix who, lost to his innate fury, fought even harder.

“Duncan.” I knelt beside him, careful to turn him onto his back, fearful of what I would find. “I’m here, I’ve got you.”

Blood soaked the side of his head, likely from where the fall had hurt him. I ran my hand down his clammy skin, feeling just how hot he was. My relief to find him breathing was short lived. I took his limp hand, and placed it to my chest, speaking to the demon instead of the man who harboured him.

“I accept your offer, Duwar. I allow you into me, to be used as your vessel.”

I held my breath, not sure what to expect. A few long seconds passed, but nothing happened. If I didn’t hold Duncan’s hand to my chest, it would’ve fallen helplessly back to his lap.

“I accept,” I tried again, mentally opening myself up. “Duwar, my body is yours. Take it, use it…”

Slowly, Duncan found the last scraps of energy and lifted his face to meet mine. He opened his eyes, enough for me to see the brilliant green of his iris. I saw pain; I found suffering and dread.

But I did not find Duwar in their reflection.

“You’re too late,” Duncan groaned, shaking hand reaching for my face, tears streaking down his dirtied face. “Duwar has been…”

“No,” I spluttered. “I accept. I accept the transference. I’m willingly giving myself to Duwar. Please. I beg you. You can’t die, I will not let you do this for me. Let me pay this price, let me fix this.”

“Duwar has been… taken.” Duncan’s eyes shifted over my shoulder, peering at something behind him. His brow creased, his eyes closing and refusing to open again. I turned to see what he had, to find Cassial afloat in the pews of the church, wings beating down foul wind upon us.

His eyes glowed with fire. Light spewed outwards from his hands, but there was nothing angelic about him. Power – pure, undiluted chaos – filled Cassial’s veins, making him more god than man.

It wasn’t Duncan’s fall that severed the refracting vision spread across the mirrors. Perhaps it had never even been Duncan to open it. That was just part of Cassial’s glamour – making us and the world think we were the monsters.

The truth was far more horrifying.

Cassial had been in control all this time. He played the part of the victim, showing the world a well-painted scene of the fey attacking them, Duncan’s body a puppet for a demon god. Duwar was inside of Cassial.

“He told me you were…” Duncan flattered, eyes rolling back into his head. “Cassial tricked me in Imeria.”

Duncan confirmed the transference had happened before they even stepped through the mirror.

That was why Cassial looked like he had won. Because, in his opinion, he had. And from his smile, the waves of undiluted power pressing out from the fine hair-line cracks across his skin, he knew.

Duncan’s death would be meaningless. My chance of taking his place and paying the great sacrifice no longer a possibility.

I looked around for Rafaela in hopes that she had worked it out quick enough to act. If Cassial died, Duwar would perish. That was what we had to do.

Gyah was screaming bloody murder as four gryvern lifted her from the room. More gryvern rushed for Elinor, clawed fingers tearing at the stone bindings. I saw it then, the concentration on Erix’s face as he attempted to orchestrate an escape, using his monstrous siblings as our means.

I had to do it.

Begrudgingly, I made a move to leave Duncan. There was a blade not far off to my side, one I could use to kill Cassial and end this.

As if reading my mind, Cassial snapped his head around to me. A resounding crack exploded through the room. Beneath my splayed hand, the floor was crumbling, dust and stone shards rising upwards, guided by an evil power.

“No longer will this world be threatened by the power of Altar and his children,” Cassial shouted, shadow and light swirling in his upturned hands.

All around him, the church walls shattered, the ceiling splitting into chunks of stone. I looked toward the blade, then to Cassial, just as he turned his hands upside down.

The stones began to fall. Large chunks of wall and ceiling crumbling upon everything. This was what Erix tried to get us away from. He’d recognised Duwar using Cassial as a new vessel, the danger of that truth.

A chunk of wall fell upon the blade ahead of me, burying it.

Althea shrieked at my side. I risked a glance, cowering over Duncan’s unconscious body, to see her running toward Elinor Oakstorm. But she was too late. A chunk of the church’s ceiling fell atop Elinor, crushing the fey queen and the labradorite throne she had been bound to. Dust billowed outwards in a wave, swallowing everything it touched.

Death came for Elinor swiftly. I was only thankful that she was already unconscious. Hopefully her suffering never registered in those final last moments.

Elinor Oakstorm’s death was only the start of an avalanche that was to come.

I reached a hand toward Althea, who stood as still as the stone raining down around her. My throat closed on itself as I attempted to call her name. The Nephilim who chased after her exploded beneath chunks of the building, as did Erix’s gryvern who attempted to reach for her.

But I was helpless to watch as Althea disappeared beneath debris, her eyes closing softly just before the stone devoured her from view.

“No!” I screamed, throat bleeding with the force. “Althea. Althea !”

In a matter of seconds, two of the most important people in my life had perished.

I turned to Cassial, murderous intent in my eyes. But before I could so much as act, he positioned the swirling mass of power toward me and unleashed it.

The church continued to crumble without prejudice to who it killed.

There was a peace to come at the end. A silent lullaby that blocked the world out. Where I expected pain, I found nothing but a sense of relief.

I screwed my eyes closed, rested my body over Duncan’s like a shield and laid my head on his chest. Any moment I’d feel Duwar’s power flay my skin from my bones, but what came was the press of a warm shadow.

Just as I placed myself over Duncan, Erix landed atop me, coating Duncan and I with the shield of his wings.

The last thing I heard as the church came down on us was the soft voice of regret from the man atop me. “I have got you, little bird. Both of you. I will never let go.”

Then there was silence.