Fyne Sisters - The Star Witch Part 16

"It's time to push." Isadora peered over the sheet that had been draped across Liane's knees, to find tired, angry eyes peering at her.

"You push, you wicked, tormenting, ungrateful crone!"It was not the worst Liane had called her during the day. "If I could do this for you, I would," Isadora said calmly. "I can't. You must push. The time is here, Liane. This is the moment we have been waiting for."

Liane nodded, and when the next contraction came she pushed. With a scream and one more curse, the

first of the twins was born.

The empress collapsed onto the bed, and Isadora quickly tended to the baby. When the cord was cut and tied, she wrapped the child in a thick, warm blanket, and called to Ferghus.

"Is he all right?" Liane asked, her eyes on the ceiling above, and not on her child.

"He is small but healthy," Isadora said, "as I promised he would be. Are you sure you don't want to-"

"I'm very sure," Liane said in a choked voice.

Ferghus came into the room, casting a quick glance to the empress and then taking the baby from

Isadora.

"He's tiny," the big man said in a tentative voice.

"Yes, he is. Get him to his destination quickly. He will need to be fed soon."

"A wet nurse is waiting."

Isadora nodded. A part of her wanted to give her full attention to the child who had just been born, but

the night's plan was not yet complete. It was time to send for Sebestyen. With any luck, the second child

would wait a good few minutes before he decided to come into the world.

She knelt before the hidden entrance to undo the seal she had put in place earlier, so Ferghus and the baby could escape by this hidden route, but before she could say a word, it slipped open without making a sound. She fell back, as a crouched and crimson-clad Emperor Sebestyen entered the room.

As he stood, the emperor's eyes fell on Ferghus. The empress's sentinel held the newborn babe

protectively in his arms. Isadora saw confusion on Sebestyen's face, then a deep and frightening anger.

Gadhra followed the emperor through the low door, whispering in her tinny voice, "I told you, my lord, can you see? This one was trying to take your son from his rightful place."

A green-clad sentinel followed Gadhra, and as soon as he was able to stand he drew his sword with one hand and a short knife with the other, and stood ready to fight.

"Sebestyen," Liane said breathlessly, "I can explain."

The emperor spared her a quick glance. "It would be best if you did not speak to me at this time," he said coldly. He walked to Ferghus, and offered his hands. After a moment's hesitation, the sentinel handed the child to his father.

Sebestyen looked back at the guard who had come with him through the secret pa.s.sageway. "Kill him,"

he said without emotion.

Before Ferghus had a chance to respond, the emperor's sentinel moved forward and quickly lashed out.

The blow was fast and accurate; the knife went deeply into Ferghus's torso and was then withdrawn.

"No!" Liane screamed as Ferghus laid a hand to his wound and then crumpled to the floor.

Sebestyen looked down at the baby in his arms. "Why is he so small, when the empress grew so large she could barely walk?"

Isadora glanced at the witch Gadhra, who had moved to the foot of the bed. "Because there are two,"

she said, her old voice filled with wonder. "I did not see that for myself... I did not see that there wouldbe two."Sebestyen spared a glance for a motionless Ferghus. "Serian, is he dead?"

"Yes, my lord," the sentinel Serian answered.

"Good." The emperor walked to Liane's bedside, his step slow and precise. She had another contraction, while he watched with emotionless eyes. When she screamed he did not react at all, not even to flinch. After the contraction was done, she collapsed to the mattress once again.

"You're giving birth to two sons; that's why you lied to me," her husband said.

"I knew you would never allow-"

"You would send our eldest son, my rightful heir, away. Where was he going, Liane? Where would you

send the rightful heir to the throne of Columbyana?"

"To a place where he would be safe!" she said angrily. "To a place where you could not harm him!" Her eyes filled with tears. "Ferghus was only doing as I asked, and you killed him!"

"I always did think you cared for that one too much. There are other sentinels to fill his position. He will

not be missed. Not by me." At Sebestyen's order, his own sentinel covered Ferghus's body with the

discarded coverlet from the bed Liane lay upon.

Sebestyen handed his firstborn son to Gadhra, and the old witch took the child with a greediness that alarmed Isadora. The emperor then sat beside his wife and took her hand.

"I loved you," he said without emotion, "and you betrayed me. You lied to me." He squeezed her hand too hard, and she flinched. "I expected lies from everyone else, but not from you. Never from you."

"Sebestyen, I..." Liane began breathlessly.

"If you tell me that you love me, I will kill you before you take your next breath. I have my son. I don't need you anymore."

Another contraction came. It was almost time for the second child to be born.

"Move away from her," Isadora ordered. "You can talk about this after we're finished with our work here."

While Liane gripped the sheet with her free hand and pushed, Sebestyen leaned over the bed and spoke

to her in a loud, clear voice. "I could kill you, but I won't. You are empress, and you will remain empress, but you're going back to Level Three where you belong. You will make yourself available for any man who desires you, and you will perform any task I order, no matter how demeaning or degrading."

Liane screamed, but Sebestyen continued, raising his voice so she'd be certain to hear.

"Can you imagine what a treat it will be for visiting dignitaries to f.u.c.k an empress? Maybe you can entertain an entire delegation while I watch. Maybe you can perform prurient tricks for special occasions." He leaned closer, and as his second son was born into Isadora's hands, Emperor Sebestyen said, "The priests were right about you, Liane, they were right all along. You are not worthy of the place I offered you. I can't love a woman like you. You're not deserving. You're nothing."

The second child was a bit larger than the first, and he cried in a louder voice. Liane raised up and offered her arms for her child. "Give him to me," she said hoa.r.s.ely.

Isadora walked toward Liane, the youngest of the empress's two sons snug in her arms. Sebestyen placed himself between Isadora and the new mother, and he forcibly took the babe from her. "The wh.o.r.e is not to touch either of my children, not ever." He cut his eyes to Gadhra. "This one is stronger, I can see that for myself."

"This one is firstborn," she argued, "and therefore is the rightful heir."

He sighed and looked down at the baby in his arms. "You are right, of course."

"What are you going to do with my babies?" Liane asked as she struggled to sit up.

"There can only be one, Liane, you know that," Sebestyen argued.

She screamed at him, and she cried, but he seemed completely unaffected as he laid the second-born child in a waiting cradle.

Isadora took a deep breath and did her best to reason with the emperor. "My lord, our intentions were n.o.ble and in your children's best interests. The empress was very aware that twin sons would confuse the bloodline. She only wanted safety for both of her babies. It is not too late to send one of them away to a place of safety and anonymity. No one need ever know..."

He took her hand and lifted it, studying the ring that adorned her right hand. "I believe I told you once before, this ring is rightfully mine. Is it still stuck? Will I need Serian's sword to retrieve my own property?"

The ring was so unimportant, she did not care to argue. Isadora whispered, "Avar," and the ring slipped off her finger. She handed the piece to the emperor. He placed it on his little finger, then took a moment to admire the fit.

"Please," she begged. "Let us see the youngest child to a place of safety." Their protection was her duty. It was the reason for her presence here, and if Sebestyen had his way, she would fail. She had failed enough in this lifetime and did not wish to taste defeat again.

"You are so bold as to tell me what to do with my own children?"

"I only want-"

She did not get the chance to say more. Sebestyen reached into the pocket of his crimson robe, withdrew a vial of a brown powder that sparkled by candlelight, and before she knew what he intended, he had grabbed her head and shoved the vial up her nose.

Isadora started to fight the emperor, but before she could raise her hands, a tingling sensation filled her nose and her head and then danced through her entire body until she was weak-kneed. The room seemed to swim, and colors swirled around her as if a rainbow had broken apart and was trying to rea.s.semble itself before her very eyes. She could barely lift her hands, and when she did they were limp and weak. She smiled and wiggled her fingers, and they seemed to elongate and flutter in a way they never had before.

She heard Liane screaming again, but the sound was distant and weak and vaguely annoying. The emperor issued orders this way and that, but she wasn't entirely sure what he was saying. It did not matter what he said, not when the world was so attractive and new.

Isadora closed her eyes, and Lucan was there. She could see him as if he stood before her, every line and curve of his face distinct, every nicely honed muscle of his body calling to her. For a moment it actually seemed that she could feel him inside her, and she swayed against the intense sensation.

She opened her eyes and managed to focus on Sebestyen's face. "I must thank you, my lord, for sending me to Lucan."

"I'm so glad you enjoyed your time with him."

In the distance, Liane continued to scream, "No, no, don't..." Blah, blah, blah. Isadora paid her no mind. "I did," she said with wonder. "I enjoyed my time with him very much. Will you take me to him? I think I need him now."

"I imagine you do."

They did not go into the hallway. Instead, the emperor dragged Isadora to a low opening in the wall. The secret doorway. Maybe he knew the route through these pa.s.sageways to Lucan's room. Maybe the journey would be quicker this way. The lighting in this pa.s.sage was better than that between her room and Lucan's. A few of the light sticks which helped to illuminate Level One burned here at odd and distant intervals. The corridor was wider, perhaps even cleaner.

Sebestyen kept a tight grip on her wrist and pulled her along behind him. Isadora tried to keep up, but her feet felt heavy, and her knees wobbled. Still, she did her best to keep pace. They twisted down and down and around until she was dizzy. Shouldn't they be going up?