Alrik choked. An invisible forced grabbed at his throat and squeezed. He struggled, but couldn’t move his legs or even his arms under her magic. His eyes squeezed shut as his muscles flexed hard against the choking, his bones grating, and throat bruising.

“Look at me!” his mother hissed like a serpent.

He took his time and slowly opened his eyes while inhaling air through his nostrils. Once they made eye contact, she held the spell for a moment longer then released him. She released all of him because he once again had control over his body. He rubbed at his throat still feeling the lingering invisible hands.

“You have been busy son. Visiting the last and most powerful seer. Seeking to murder me, your own mother,” she said in a soft, mocking voice. She walked down the dais as if she was in the ballroom back home making a grand entrance. Idummi parted for her as she knelt and picked something up and then she tossed it at him.

Alrik felt his body jolt.

The seer’s head landed near his feet—a bloody hunk of meat. His dark face was frozen in a look of terror, his eyes rolled up.

He couldn’t say anything as rage boiled inside him.

Then with the seer’s blood on her hands, she held her hand up as if awaiting a man to take and place a kiss upon it. Her other hand grabbed the long length of her gown and lifted it as she came near him.

“You’ve been very bad…I mean really, son, trying to kill your own mother?”

With a vicious snarl, he ran for her. The seer’s words didn’t matter. She was so close he could almost feel her blood coating his fingers.

Her trickling laughter taunted him as if she found him entertaining. He didn’t even come close to reaching her before she tossed up her hand as if waving and he was blocked by an invisible wall. He knew spells and magic. He could fight back but as he thrust his own magic out to dispel the wall, nothing happened. More of her feminine laughter assaulted him.

Maybe, just maybe if he could get his hands on her then he could end her life the old fashioned way—by cutting her damned head off.

An idummi crept up between them. He bowed before his mother like a servant and spoke in a garbled, demonic voice. The idummi had their own demonic language and trying to speak in the shahoulin tongue of Alrik’s people was hard for the creature.

“Master Demuzi, it is done.”

His mother clapped, her wild eyes gleaming with madness. “Fantastic and here I thought things were starting to get boring. Bring it here.”

The demon slinked off back toward the fire pit.

Alrik tensed. He’d thought things were bad enough before, but now a sinking feeling came over him.

His mother saw his look and smiled.

“What are you going to do?” Just asking the words was like trying to pull his teeth out one at a time.

She made a tsking sound and shook her head. “You’ll just have to wait and see now won’t you? Besides, you mustn’t think I brought you all this way for nothing?”

“Salindra, what have you done?” he shouted. His body lunged toward her but the barrier spell kept him from doing more than leaning towards her. His palms twitched and fingers itched to scrape his fingers over her colored face until he saw blood.

Suddenly, the demons swarmed around him.

They bounced on their bony, lithe feet and stared at him with excited eyes. Alrik spun around finding more and more of them around him. The creatures didn’t look as if a spell kept them here which only meant that his mother had actually gained their support without magical means. Just what could she offer these ruthless, cannibalistic demons to keep them loyal? He was afraid to find out.

Once again, he spun and faced his mother.

“Why?” he gritted out.

“Your father was strong. He kept our people in line, and well, he kept me from causing too much trouble. Of course, if I would have dared any of my games while he was king he would have had me imprisoned. But you, my son, were so new to the throne. Telal, my eldest, was supposed to take it, but he betrayed all of us to those vampires. Well, he’ll get his as you will yours. You were so eager to please.” She twirled in a circle with her arms spread out from her like a little girl dancing. “Eager to please me, the court members, and the commoners. It was sickening really watching you bow down to them like that.”

“I wasn’t bowing to them. I was helping them repair the damage from the war!” Alrik fought against the barrier spell separating them. He dug his body into it just hoping it would break. All he would need was one second and she’d be dead.

She rolled her eyes and made her face into a mocking sad expression. “Aw, poor Alrik. Where did my tough son go? Where did his kingliness go? Well, you were no fun so I fixed it. I fixed all of that. You were so regal and fun after I fixed you.” She laughed a cruel sound. “And the best part was that you didn’t even see it happening. I took your hair and bound it into a totem where I cursed you once a week for nearly a thousand years. I fooled you for a thousand years! When things started to get boring, I would give you my special “stress-relief concoction”. Sure you would feel dazed and relaxed for a minute, but the rage would grow in your heart.” She sighed in pleasure.

“I wonder how many innocent prisoners you sentenced to die or to become a slave because of that little potion. Fifty? Maybe more?” She laughed delightedly.

“It wasn’t me. It was you and your black magic. Let this barrier go and fight me.” Still, he couldn’t believe that. He’d done those things. Every last horrible one of them.

Her shoulders shook she laughed so hard. “As if I don’t know what you’re thinking. As if I don’t know that you’d sooner kill me than save that precious human of yours.”

The change in topics sent him spiraling. “What? What are you talking about?” A part of him knew that she knew about Abbigail. Of course she would, but still to know what she was capable of and to know that Abby was alone not far from here sent fear unlike he’d ever known through him. It froze him to the bone.

“Why don’t you bow for me?” she suggested. Her red colored lips twitched.

She didn’t control him now so he stood as tall as his great height let him. “Never.”

The idummi chattered and laughed around him as if he’d said something funny. She would have to make him bow before he did so of his own free will.

“What if I said I’d spare her life if you bowed?”

Alrik tensed. Something had changed. She wasn’t taunting him, she was being serious. A cold knot of fear lodged in his gut, spreading out to wrap his heart in an icy fist.

Alrik bent one knee and placed it on the wet soggy ground, then the other. With fists clenched at his sides, he glared up at his mother.

“I bow.”

The look in her eye became almost insane. Her eyes widened pupils dilating. “You care for this human. How odd indeed and what a sneer to poor, poor Arianna.”

“How do you know about that?” He managed to keep his voice calm even as he wanted to scream and rage against her. She died after he banished Salindra.

“I know everything, son.”

“You don’t know everything.” Now he laughed. He knew something great and powerful that she didn’t. He had the most powerful witch at his disposal.

For a moment, unease flickered in her eye and then it vanished. “Hmm, we’ll get to that later. Bring her forward.”

The idummi jumped and squawked in their excitement. Alrik looked over his shoulder and felt his heart stop beating. Two idummi had Abbigail by her arms. Her eyes were locked on him. He could see the fear in her eyes. But, she kept her cool and walked rigidly along. One way or another, really bad things were going to happen this night.

If only he’d had more time. One sweet night with her was not enough. He needed years, maybe longer to learn everything about her, to touch and taste every inch of her body. He just needed time with her.