Mirror Majesty

16: A Tangle of Strings (Part 1)

Somehow I had managed to fall asleep. My dreams twisted into horrible visions of fire and lightning, of giant shadows swallowing the city, of Owen writhing on a table in a deep dark place. I jerked awake, the sudden loud splashing of heavy boots on the wet stone had freed me of those horrid nightmares. For a moment my disoriented mind had forgotten where it was. I stared at a glowing ceiling watching the symbols in the Muryoko glyph shift and pulse in the magic circle. Sweat dripped down my brow and into my eyes. I winced as the stinging sensation blurred my sight.

I heard the sound of ten maybe twenty men marching into the room and stopping outside of the cell. When my eyes finally cleared I saw a horde of Juprus soldiers dressed in their white cloaks. They each carried a flaming torch with an emblem stamped into the metal rim. The emblem displayed a diamond trapped within a combination of a club and a heart surrounded by the shape of a spade. It was a cruel disarray of the symbols reminiscent of a deck of cards stacked one on the other, and if the symbol meant anything, the diamond in the center could only allude that royalty was on its way. Among the soldiers marched General Xuxa and Heist. Xuxa's red blade clinked the armor on her side. Her gaze had a paralyzing grip to anyone who looked directly into it. I glanced for only a second, long enough to feel my spine tense and my arms grow stiff.

"Red Hearts!" she commanded flipping her cloak in the air. The large red letter Q flashed in the torchlight. "Assume your position, your king approaches! Attention!"

Movement flowed back into my tired limbs. I stood to my feet, fixed my matted hair as best I could, and wiped the slime off my arms. I was positive I did not look the least bit presentable. If anything, I could use a nice warm bath. Owen, Zeno, and Gorin stood to attention, their eyes fixated on the doorway. Once again Hijinx was nowhere to be found. He must have heard the soldiers and quickly disappeared into the safe confines of Zeno's hat.

The soldiers marched into two rows creating a pathway from our cell to the doorway. They bowed at the waist, remaining so until a shadow crossed the threshold.

From the entrance stepped a man in a long silver and black gown. The glittering threads played with the torchlight with each mindful movement of the fabric. This man's hair was pulled into a bun held in place by many shiny rods and black beaded ornaments. In front of his mouth swayed a large elaborately decorated fan. Its design in the shape of a dragon's open jaws made it appear this man had a giant angry scowl on his face. His olive skin and light brown eyes shimmered behind a layer of thin silk. There was no denying this man was king.

Following him through the doorway appeared two bald figures in equally elaborate gowns. Their hairless skin shone of the purest white as though sun or age had never graced their bodies. On their sunken faces were eyes of grey storm clouds. For a moment I swore they flashed a bright purple as the two men set their sights on me. Together their ears shared a pair of diamond earrings. A haunting feeling surrounded them sending a gripping fear down my spine. They stopped short of the cage as the king walked onward.

He halted at the bars; his piercing gaze moving up and down studying the four of us like a kid in a pet store, amused and ready to tap mockingly on the glass. A strong smell of petunia and lilac wafted into my nose. The king tilted his head and chuckled.

"So this child is the great destroyer of worlds, the mirrorbender of the ages, the prophesied one," he sneered behind the fan. "Pitiful. Such a disappointment."

"My King Cassius," whispered one of the bald men. "Regardless of what she looks like, this girl is dangerous beyond measure. Her very presence alone sets this world off balance. Every action she takes leads our world further down the path of destruction."

"I have no intention of destroying anything," I shouted in response.

The king laughed along with the soldiers like I had told an amazingly funny joke.