Rise of a Queen

Chapter 20

But why? Why did he let us go?

Did he ... did he want us to escape?

No one else seemed to notice, they were far too preoccupied on what lay ahead to be concerned with what stalked from behind. But I feared what we just escaped may pose a far greater threat than what any of us realized.

Because if Dustin was as important to the Council as everyone keeps saying he is, then why did Count Marx let us take him? Why wouldn't he put every effort and resource into preventing us from escaping?

There had to be more to this that just pure dumb luck, it can't be that simple. But what reason could the Count have for letting us walk away? What motives had he for allowing us to take Dustin?

What else does he have planned?

Lumiere led our group with speeds we almost couldn't match, first past the collection of decrepit buildings only one loose nail away from collapsing, then back into the heart of the city where we blended into traffic. We raced away from what nearly killed us, we charged the horizon with hopes that what we evaded, nine levels below the earth's surface, remained there. In the darkness. Where my every thought was seduced by the Count and his lack of action against our retreat. But while my mind was distracted by distress, the rest of my group was lost to their excitement and fear of the unknown could not impede their celebration of triumph.

And indeed, what a triumph it was. We came for our leader and away we rode with our leader, in whatever condition he may claim.

Lumiere threw his head back and howled into the whistling wind that dragged through his hair like talons of the most ferocious beasts, stealing his voice and carrying it high above the clouds where it could be lifted to an altitude worthy of his cry of exultation. Behind him Corinth laughed and stretched her arms above her, reaching for the height of Lumiere's voice and clawing her nails against the darkening sky where clouds accumulated around her fingers, bringing dew to her fingertips that ran the length of her skin until the wind once again swept it away.

Their joy was contagious and from where my arms were wrapped tightly around Dustin's midsection, I felt it tremble; lightly at first, then all at once with hefty rolling shoulders and deep laughter that I heard even above the thunder of our growling engines. It echoed in my ears and settled appropriately in my heart where it nestled into a cavern left empty the day I lost him.

Now that he has returned, the ice in my heart was beginning to melt and the vacancy he left behind began to fill.

I felt my cheeks lift and I pressed my forehead against the spot between his shoulder blades, laughing with him even as the wind bombarded our ears with trilling whispers of accelerated drafts that offered their servitude to push us faster. I know horrors are abound and I should worry about the Count, but with Dustin so close, gathered in my arms in an embrace that could not be broken by the mightiest of forces, I found it hard to think of anything besides him.

Of the way my body morphed around his and melded to his every curve, fitting against me like puzzle pieces once lost. Of the way his skin burned hot through his shirt, humming with a melodic energy I once knew the tune of but have since forgotten the rhythm. Of the movement of his muscles, the pace of his heart, and the divine upturn of his lips as the crisp night air breathed life into him.

His vigor spread from his hands to the motorcycle and he cranked the throttle until our speed surpassed Lumiere's. We rocketed past them, buildings and streets turning to blurs as we hurtled through the streets like bolts of lighting through the clouds. With anyone else, I would have been frightened but with Dustin, I was not afraid. I should be, I definitely should be, but I am not.