The Blood Legacy (The Lost Heir Book III)

Crossing Guard

"Oh. Uh-uh. No! You take off whatever creepy juju you placed on my friend, Isabella. Now. She's done nothing to you, stop messing with her!" Since the creature had not launched a physical attack despite its size, had to be something more to its anger and desire than just chasing them off.

The ice in her veins turned to fire. "Seth!" Then Isabella was still lost in the fury of the Necromancer guard. No matter how hard she tried it seemed that her emotions kept going to the worst places. Blaming her for every bad thing that had happened or was yet to happen. Her head felt like it was breaking apart as she tried to stay afloat. She had a destiny to fulfill. This was not how things would end. "Stop it."

"Let her go!" Seth raged. She could feel his anger mixing in with the Necromancer's torment but it was more like a shield.

The Necromancer guard snarled over at his prey. "She is a fighter, a few more years, and I won't be able to touch her. Okay boy, I'll release her. But she has to complete three quizzes of my design. That Serena," the creature spat, "was able to weasel her way into a hopscotch contest with one of the inhabitants. When that pitiful fool failed me, I was not merciful to him. Fail this challenge and you both will suffer along with the other failures and remain to guard this realm forever."

Seth gulped. "All right, what do I have to do?"

"This girl is a diadem child. A young one," he said, sniffing the air. "You, her guardian, will have to watch as she works. No powers, tricky boy."

Seth lifted his chest. "I believe in Isabella. Now let her go!"

Like water sucking through a drain, the evil dissolved from Isabella's body. She gulped for air, needing a moment to process. Everything seemed like quicksand, and she could feel Seth's arms around her waist steadying her. "I'm fine Seth, I think. Can I look at you now Necromancer bully?" she said, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin.

"Your pitiful whining won't save you, tiny one. Now step forward and face me," the creature roared.

Isabella stepped forward and suddenly the ground around her changed again. Warmth left her side as Seth cursed and found himself trapped in a birdcage floating mid-air. She called out to him, but the more she tried to run at him, the smaller the cage got. "Let him go, you monster! Stop this!"

"He will be fine. He must not help you."

"Not everyone who comes through here is a diadem. Why are the rules different for us?"

"There are no steadfast rules. Whatever I like. And this I like. Now stare at your feet, girl, and solve the first puzzle."

Seth had to stay on his knees in order not to get crushed by the top of the cage though it had stopped shrinking the moment she'd stopped inching toward it. "You can do it, Izzy. Kick his ass!"

Isabella looked up at her friend, feeling his faith, trust, and something else she did not want to name beat from his heart into hers. "I will, Seth. I promise. Let's go." She looked down at her feet to see a several squares jutting out in front of her, to her side and behind her in what looked like a giant crossword puzzle filled with clues that came from both her world but mostly the Alice books like Seth had joked about. There were only three chances of getting anything wrong. After that, she would lose. But she'd loved the Alice books growing up and the questions about tea parties and red queens were no match for her puzzling mind. The words appeared as she said them out loud, and she soon found her groove and defeated the simple game.

"Onto the next one then?"

Seth cheered as the ground beneath Isabella changed yet again. But suddenly the tall boy was muted and sending the snarling Necromancer a heated glare.