Blood And Stone

Chapter 44: The Family Vantorak

Blood-encrusted fingernails tapped lightly on the hollow skull, sending a shiver down the spine of anyone close enough to hear it. The bone had yellowed over time and though it lacked flesh, it still showed the remnants of its last emotion. The teeth rattled as the fingers continued to drum against the bone. Beneath the missing lower jaw sat the rest of the loathsome throne. Aged sinew twisted around the dried bones that formed the base of the throne. The back rose far above the Queen's head, skull at the center rested just above the tip of her crown. Rib ones stabbed at the sky as if they were blades. A series of femurs ran around the bottom of the throne, creating a skirting effect. Twisting and reaching out like the roots of a tree were skeletal snakes that spilled down the platform that held the throne and down the steps leading to it.

Sitting with her legs crossed, Kol sat on her throne considering Torvir's words. Kol was the least deformed of the Celik'r people, earning her the place as Queen simply by being born. Her pale skin blended with the light color of the bones she sat on. Her clothing was merely strips of sinew wound around her body, covering her breasts and hugging her private areas tightly. Decorating the plain-looking garments were the teeth of those she had killed, including the sharpened teeth of her own Celik'r people. The large tooth that sat nestled between her breasts belonged to the King before her. When she had come of age, the ceremony to crown her consisted of the King passing her the crown and then lying on a table to be consumed alive.

Kol's dark hair fell around her shoulders, tangling and catching in the fur pauldron that warmed her skin. Knotted tightly in her long dark hair, were several finger bones, taking the role of beads. Running the length of her neck were several thin bones that had been curved to form necklaces. The sheer amount of the necklaces had them lying like a solid piece of armor over her throat. Her facial features were flawless, plump lips, smooth supple skin, and an oddly adorable nose. The absence of eyelids was hidden beneath layers of dark, dried blood that she used as war paint. Resting atop her head was the Crown of the Celik'r, made from the pelvic bone of the first King's pelvis. Carved deeply within the bone were intricate designs that formed a version of a ribcage.

"You want to invade Mindë, why?" Kol's serpentine voice was low, deeper than one would expect from a woman. It ran across Torvir's skin, raising every hair like a group of tiny soldiers. A shiver ran down his spine as she locked her head to the side. Her eyeless face stared at him with a grin that one would normally wear as they caught sight of their next meal. The hunger that dripped from her pointed teeth did little in the way of comforting him.

"The Winged Council is forming an army of Wishes to stop me from taking control of the realm. I aim to take the army from them and make it my own." He said, puffing his chest out.

"And you need the Celik'r why?"

"You are a soulless people."

Kol's laugh snakes its way around the room, vibrating every loosened tooth of the skeletal decor. The necklaces that lay over her throat bounced and cracked together like clapping hands. "If you claim to possess the power required to control the Wish, then you have no need of us, fool." Torvir opened his mouth to reply but was cut off immediately. "Unless you know not the enormity of their power."

Torvir glared up at the Queen, the hint of teasing that laced her words sparked anger in his chest. This blind woman was poking at him as though he were a peasant boy asking for work. The disrespect was palpable as a chuckle fell from her subjects strategically placed around the edges of the room. "I have heard the stories." He spat.

"Stories are nothing but embellished lies to make children smile." Kol slowly rose from her seat, her bare feet emitting a soft sound against the bone steps as she descended. The way her hips moved from side to side caught Torvir's eye, forcing his attention to them as he fell victim to her feminine wiles without hesitation.