War of the Cards. Colleen Oakes

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ they would never be at the palace, that they would just march until they walked into the sea. With the hot sun bearing down on them, it would have been a welcome break.

      She heard thundering hooves as Starey Belft rode up behind her. She closed her eyes. Please be good news, she thought. His grave face threw water on that theory.

      “Another one?”

      Starey nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. A young one, marching near the back. His name was Kingsley.” The commander of the Spades paused. “He was a good lad. Had a knack for the lyre and a dirty joke.”

      Oh gods, a young one. Dinah nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

      Starey placed his horse in front of Morte, who snorted angrily. “That’s the second one in two days. We need a break. We need to burn our men and tend to our bleeding feet.”

      Dinah’s eyes narrowed. “I am not unaware of your sufferings. But we must meet Mundoo at the right time or this battle will be lost.”

      Starey wheeled around. “If you keep marching at this pace, you won’t have an army to meet him.”

      Dinah dismissed him with a wave. “I’ll take it under consideration.”

      Starey turned his horse and muttered something under his breath as he moved past her. Anger ignited underneath her skin, and the black fury that was eating her from within moved her muscles without her permission. Dinah saw a flash of red, and suddenly she was swinging her leg up and around Morte’s neck, her hand reaching out to grab ahold of Starey Belft’s reins. With a wild leap, she crossed the gap between their two steeds and found herself seated behind the Spade commander, with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other holding a dagger. The sharp blade pressed into his neck.

      “Do you want to say that again?” she whispered. “Say it so everyone can hear.”

      Starey looked around with bewilderment. Dinah’s two Yurkei guards halted, their eyes wide with confusion.

      Dinah pressed the blade harder. “Say it.”

      Starey’s heart was hammering—Dinah could feel it through the back of his body. Her own heart loved the sound the fear made.

      “I said …” He cleared his throat. “I said you’re just like your father, building a kingdom by the blood of our backs.”

      “That’s what I thought you said.” She leaned forward, her black hair brushing his chin. “I march for you, do you know that? I march for the Spades, and for you, Starey Belft. Someday when I am queen, there will be no mutterings about me or my father.”

      Her eyes met Cheshire’s, who was watching the scene with elation. It shook her out of the moment. The red faded from her eyes, and the black fury curled back into its sleeping place inside her. What the hells was she doing? Dinah dropped the dagger with surprise.

      “Do not question me again,” she said weakly as she climbed off his horse.

      The Spade commander stared at her for a long moment. Their eyes met and Dinah held his gaze until he looked away. Yes, that’s right, she thought. I am your master.

      He coughed. “If we could have a funeral for the lads, that’d be nice. That’s all I was saying, Yer Majesty.”

      “I think that’s a lovely idea.”

      Dinah vaulted back up into the saddle with Morte’s help. After a moment, she raised her eyes to the sky, where a heavy rainstorm was blowing their way.

      “We will stop marching for now. The men will have a break. Let’s set up camp for the night.”

      “But Dinah, if we are late …” Wardley’s voice shook her inside out.

      “I know the consequences,” Dinah snapped.

      With a click of her tongue, she plunged away from him, letting Morte take her and her anger far away from those trying to help.

      Later that evening, heavy rain from the storm blustered around them. The few Yurkei warriors who they had sent on ahead appeared as swift-moving black dots on the flat horizon. They declared that they were maybe only three days from the palace gates. My gods, three days. Dinah felt the words in the pit of her stomach, the news both invigorating and terrifying.

      However, it was very welcome news to the Spades, who were beginning to look less like fearsome warriors and more like wearied travelers. The camps had seemed to be in good spirits, with laughter rising up into the afternoon sky. Dinah smiled when she heard it. Laughter these days was rare and welcome, and the sound of these grizzled men tinkled over the land like a baby’s giggle.

      That evening, after the storm, the clouds broke wide open, and a flawless sky shimmered with stars. The bodies of the two fallen Spades were being laid down on a pile of wood. Clothed in a white dress and black cloak, Dinah looked over their bodies. She was surprised but not embarrassed by the tears in her eyes. She reached out a trembling hand and touched every whisker on the men’s faces before cradling their blackened, cracked heels in her hands.

      Remember this, she told herself. Remember these men, and the physical cost of your reign. She let a silent tear drip down her face as she bent over them, saying empty prayers to the Wonderland gods. Her hands were placed over their still hearts, hoping to absorb their strength and take on their mission—hoping to make it through the battle they would never see.

      Sir Gorrann handed her a spitting torch, and with grim determination Dinah set their bodies aflame. She stood motionless and held back tears, watching the skin of her men pull back as it slowly cooked, veins and muscle turning from living flesh into drifting flakes of ash. A large circle of black-clad Spades stood around her, all reaching forward with one hand, fully present for the last moment with their fallen comrades.

      An eerie sound rose up from the other side of the camp, and Dinah clenched her teeth. It was the wails of the Yurkei.

      Cheshire stepped forward and bowed his head, his purple cloak flapping behind him as he came to a stop beside her.

      “They cry because they feel that we are imprisoning the souls of the Spades here in Wonderland instead of freeing them in the ground. It’s either that or that they believe we are releasing poison ash into the air. Actually, Your Majesty, it’s probably both.”

      Dinah raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Ki-ershan had tried to warn her that the funerals would be a problem, but Dinah knew she had no choice; the men must be burned and the Spades must be appeased.

      Her eyes lingered over the burning bodies of the men, and she jumped backward when they met the glowing eyes of Iu-Hora, the Yurkei’s doctor and the man they called the Caterpillar. His stare passed through her, seeing every thought, every dark desire. With a wicked smile, he nodded at her before disappearing into the Darklands. Dinah looked away, keeping her eyes on her fallen Spades. The Yurkei continued their loud lament, tossing insults casually across the divide.

      “I’m not going to listen to this horseshit!” spat one of the Spades to her right. Dinah could feel the rising tempers of the Spades around her.

      Sir Gorrann raised his arms. “Now, if everyone СКАЧАТЬ