The Rejected Queen

Chapter 10 - Isabel

The rest of the week passed by without anything of great importance happening. I was on edge the entire time, pacing all night and researching curses and spells in the library all day. I was sure the gruesome murder could not be the only one to occur. However, I searched in vain. I had no luck in finding anything that could remotely help me. I had no one I could ask for help either as Austin was busy leading the group to stop the inquisitor and as queen I didn't have many other confidents. Pacing once more, I ran my fingers along the spines of the books in the shelves. Bizarrely, as I touched one of the books, I felt the spine shift. I lifted it from the shelf and looked at the cover. 'A greengrocer's guide to radish selection' it read. No wonder I had glossed over it earlier. Gently, I opened the book and let the faux cover slide off onto the floor. The real title read 'The most influential cult rituals of the West'. This was it. I flicked to through the book, searching for the right illustration and grimacing at some of the more graphic ones. Eventually I found it. The image was exactly as the baker had described his wife and how I was killed in my dream. Turning to the page about the ritual, I skimmed the
words until I found what I wanted. "Depending on the gender of the one to be resurrected, 5 of the same gender must be killed in the way illustrated in a circle around the grave." They were trying to resurrect someone? Feeling utterly confused I sat down and began to think. There were four more women that needed to die and they all had to be in a circle around the grave. There was no way I could discover where the grave was until at least one more woman had died, so now it was just a waiting game.

Two hours later, a member of Austin's team had returned with news of the inquisitor. "Your majesty, the general reports that the inquisitor is bringing 7 other men with him through the mountain pass." I wasn't sure I had heard him right,"The mountain pass?" I questioned. "Indeed, your majesty. Austin says not to doubt that they will make it through and he thinks that at the pace they are walking they should reach the castle before the end of the month." I was stunned. Thanking the messenger, I sent him out and sat back down. Only one other party had survived that trek and that included myself. If they were truly going to survive the pass then that meant he was coming. It meant that the end of this charade of being queen was soon.