Post by ShadaAntoinette on May 25, 2010 3:00:48 GMT -5
She Traced as soon as they were out of eyesight of the docks and the mainland. She didn't need him to know about her abilities.
As soon as she touched down in Temmora, she could sense the tension. She pulled the cowl over her head until only the bottom half of her face was showing. She didn't need anyone recognizing her, even if she looked different than she had as a... well, a child, for the lack of a better term.
People milled around her, pushing past her. She hated this place, hated it more than Hellfire, since the more heinous of her bad memories started in this very city. By listening, she garnered the whereabouts of her imprisoned mother and what would happen in the coming week. Her heart broke. Her mother really was going to die... and it was Jasper's fault. She hated this.
She made her way to the prison first, using her memories of the surroundings as a guide.
"Hey! Who goes there!" She could see his face, and instantly recognized him as her mother's guard.
"Just a simple bard, sir." She said, altering her voice just a little.
"A bard, eh? Well, Missy, you came at the right time. The bards will sing of this tale for a long time." He frowned. "The Queen is to die tomorrow." Tomorrow? But the letter had said..... "The new King changed the date so that no one would interfere. He found out that the Queen sent out a message to his youngest sister. So he changed the date to deter the woman, or detain her once she arrives, as he expects her to." Oh, that little... "Miss, I would keep an eye out for her, here is a picture of her. It's a mite old, but it will still help, it is no likely that she has changed much." He handed her a picture, and when she looked at it, she almost cried out. This picture... it was taken the day that she had turned twenty! The very night she had met her father and her twin sister, the night of her death! How had he..? "And Princess..." He leaned toward her to whisper this. "Be safe. We would like to keep you alive at the very least."
"How did you...?"
"Nothing gets past me, you know that. I was your mother's guard your entire life. She taught me much about her Talents, and I know your aura color." He smiled a bit and winked. "Here." He handed her something he had fished from his pocket. She reached a paw out and palmed it, it was a key. "This will get you into the dungeons, where your mother is being kept. Be careful, the guards are not like me, they follow your brother's orders."
"Thank you, Paul. Thank you so much!" She said, almost crying.
"Now, now, don't make a scene. You're still a wanted woman. Whatever you have done to yourself will only help you so much, so be careful." She nodded and slipped the key inside the cloak, to the inner pocket of the jacket she wore underneath. "Good luck, Princess." She smiled at him and moved on. She had to get to her mother's cell, had to see the aging Witch before she was executed.
She made her way down the secret stairs of the dungeons; this was the entrance Horus had made so he and his family could escape, if need be. She had to be careful of the guards. Half-Tracing, she was invisible, but she could slip in and out with out being spotted, which gave her the edge. And soon, thanks to the key Paul had given her, she was standing in front of her mother's cell.
"Mother..." She whispered. "Mother... are you in there?"
"Nightshade? Is that you?" The woman's voice sounded tired, but it was Daegonna's voice.
"Aye, mother, 'tis I." She said. "I have come."
"Oh thank the Mother!"
"Mother, I have to get you out of here."
"No, my child. I have been condemned to die, and die I shall. I have nothing else to live for. Your father is dead, Horus is dead, and all of my children have turned on me, except you... and Lilith, who has died as well."
"You know?"
"Aye, I know. But that isn't important. I asked you here for a reason. I want you to seal my body after I die."
"What? Why?"
"I want revenge, and you are going to help me." Daegonna said.
"Mother, no, please, don't do this."
"Nightshade, your half brother has accused me of treason because he found out that you and Lilith are not of his father. He still harbors ill will toward you for what Liir did to him when you were children. Because I slept with Lucifer, this is my fate, and I am ready for it."
"Mother, let me go to him, maybe I can..." Daegonna placed a finger to Shada's lips.
"Shada, he will just kill you as well. Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be... just promise me you will seal my body when this is all over. Promise me."
"Mother.. I.."
"PROMISE ME!" She whispered harshly. With tears in her eyes, Shada nodded.
"I promise, Mother." She said.
"Thank you." Shada stuck the key into the key hole and opened the cell wide enough for her body to slip inside. She closed it behind her and made sure it locked. She could Trace out when it was time. She made herself a little more visible to her mother, enough so the woman could see her, and no one else could. "What happened to you, Shada? What gift have you embraced to be this?"
"It was no gift, Mother, I assure you. My first husband did this to me, because of Liir, and I am searching for a cure as we speak, fear not."
"I see. It's kind of cute though." Daegonna smiled. "My baby is married, was married... which is it?"
"Is married. But I don't love him... I just don't. He isn't someone I would want to marry, but I promised in exchange for freedom so I am honor-bound."
"Love will come with time, Shada, you know that." She did, but she also knew she didn't and wouldn't love this man, EVER. "You must go, darling, it is almost dusk now, and Jasper always comes to see me at this time. I don't want him to catch you down here. Your fate would be worse than mind, surely." The two women exchanged hugs and kisses before Shada locked the cell door and Traced away, staying close to the cell she could, without being in the dungeons themselves.
The next morning was bleak, the sun didn't shine and the birds didn't sing in the trees. It was as if even nature knew that there was going to be a death that day. The rain poured steadily when Shada followed the crowd toward the guillotine, which had been placed in the town square so the public could witness the deed done. With her cowl firmly in place, Shada stood there and stonily watched what was going on.
The first few victims were regular criminals, and one even pronounced his crimes as his final words to the crowds. Everyone cried out as he said his piece. Shada stood there as if she hadn't even heard, her heart clenching in her chest. This was going to be hard, really hard. How was she ever going to watch her own mother die? She could watch the other executions all day... the sound of the blade coming down to slice the necks of the others didn't matter, they were in no way connected with her, and they were all criminals. But Daegonna was her mother, Daegonna was the only surviving real member of her family that loved her. She couldn't do it.
"Bring the next prisoner forward!" Jasper's voice called out from his throne. Shada turned to look at him. He looked like Horus, though she could see that he favored his mother as well. By his side was her elder sister Heather, and on his other side, sat one of his friends, Duncan, if memory served her correctly. She growled low in her throat, wanting to kill the man where he sat. This was madness, the whole thing was madness. She turned back to the stage, where Daegonna was being led. She looked like she hadn't slept, and tears were streaming down her face. "For the crime of Treason, you have been sentenced to death by guillotine. Have you any final words?" His voice boomed.
"I only wish to tell you that you will get what is coming to you, Jasper. My death will not be in vain!" Ever defiant, she laid down on the bench and awaited her death. Shada watched this with bated breath, waiting for the blade to fall. She watched the executioner take the rope in hand, at which time Shada closed her eyes. She head the steel blade slide down the track and the thud, as it cleaved her mother's head from her body. A single bloody tear tracked down her cheek. Daegonna Ravena Noratannia De Embrell was dead. Her mother, the Queen of this fair land, was dead. The unbearable pain rushed through her then and she fought her way through the crowd, fighting for air. She couldn't breath, couldn't think. Daegonna had asked her to seal her body, but she couldn't, not yet.
"Guards, seize that woman!" Shada heard her brother shout. Looking up, he was pointing at her. Their eyes met and his face took on a harder edge. His hatred glittered in his eyes, which also mirrored the hatred in hers. She would never forgive him for this... never. Never. A hand grabbed her arm, and tried to drag her toward the stage, but she merely pivoted, looked the man in the face and punched a hole through his armor. The crowd gasped. "It seems my dear sister has come to witness our mother's death after all." Jasper laughed wickedly. "Just another head to add to the pile! Bring her forward!" The guards surrounded her, and behind them, the citizens of Temmora, who all watched with curious eyes. They awaited to see the fate of the youngest member of the De Embrell line, Princess Nightshade. "Come Nightshade, your fate awaits you!" No. She was not going to die here, she was not going to allow herself to die like this... Jasper was not going to win this game of his! The all grabbed her at once, catching her off guard. Her cowl fell away, revealing her wolfen form to all who watched. A collective gasp rushed through the crowd. None had seen the Princess since her nineteenth birthday, just before she had run away. All had wondered what had befallen the young Princess. Whispers of marriage to a Lycan rushed into her ears, which made her want to scream with fury. She had done no such thing! They dragged her toward the stage, where the guillotine awaited, and all she felt was the overwhelming doom settle over her.
"Have you any last words?" She nodded.
"Naa tornai ruska nomaenii kaa--"
"Shut her up before she dooms us all!" Jasper shouted, cutting off her words. She had been damning Jasper for his crimes against her, and against their mother, and little did he know that she had more fight than that.
"Haa laenor Haa mii TAA!" She managed to get the full curse out before they stuffed a dirty old rag into her mouth. She bit the executioner's hand as he did so. Her glittering eyes turned black and glowed with violet light. She was not going to let this happen to her, never. The executioner dragged her over to the bench, where the bloody hole awaited her neck. She pressed her boots to the end of it and did a back flip, landing into the ground, where she hit her knees, got up and ran off, only to be caught again.
Jasper had come down to meet her by this time, clapping his hands to applaud her for her valiant efforts.
"You always were a stubborn one, refusing to die when you were told. Who allowed you to live this whole time? Tell me, wench, so that I may deem to kill the person as well." She glared at him and spat the rag from her mouth.
"Your father already took care of that." She snapped. He grinned at her.
"Oh, did he? What a coincidence that you happened to be here to see it." Her mind raced with his statement, and then it clicked.
"You... you knew where I was the whole time, didn't you? You had someone watching me this whole time. You thought that you would be able to kill me with the explosion." Her voice was tight.
"Ah, very good. But, you forget something. You forget to mention the name of my spy. Come now, you know who it was, you two were very close. Not as close as she was to me, I assure you, but she played her part very well..."
"YOU LIE!!" Shada shouted, bloody tears falling from her eyes. It couldn't have been Miranda... it just couldn't have been!
"Do I?" He waved his hand to someone who was behind her and when she turned, there was her friend... Miranda was... alive!
"I saw your dead body! I killed... how are you... what trickery is this?" Shada yelled, seeing that the auburn haired beauty was standing there in front of her, a strange look on her face.
"Miranda sent you that message and told you that Father was going to blow up the church. Actually, Father had had no idea where you were and I was the one who told her to write that letter. And you came, just as she told me you would. A pity you didn't die in the church with the others, but I think I'm more than making up for it." He laughed.
"Why, Rani, why? Why did you let me believe you had died in that fire? Why did you let me go through all of that trouble to track down Lief and..."
"Shada... we aren't friends, we aren't lovers, we are nothing. I was following orders and that was it. I don't know why you think I have anything to say to you." Miranda was looking a bit.. strange...
"You... you're his mate, aren't you?"
"Oh, did I neglect to mention that? Miranda is my age, and we have been married for the past nine hundred years!" Shada was getting tired of Jasper, and far more irritated by the second. Her hair started to blow in a wind that wasn't there, and her fangs lengthened.
"I loved you Miranda, and I did everything for you, even when I thought you were dead." She growled. "And now I find out that you lied, about everything, including your death. Did you lie about Lief as well? Did he even Turn you?"
"Oh, he Turned me, all right." Miranda smirked. "Just as you embraced the Bite of our Enemy." She wasn't going to answer that, she was just letting the offenses build within her, bringing forth the scream. At this distance, not even Miranda would be safe from it and she was a Baninae as well. Miranda just wasn't magickally strong enough to deal with the pressure at this close of a distance. Shada lowered her head, as if she were weeping, but she wasn't. She was feeling the Scream work it's way into her throat, thinking of all the things that Miranda had said to her, had done with her, everything. Her breathing and heart rate picked up first. Then she started hearing the blood rushing through her ears. She growled, feeling the thrum of magick in her throat.
"Miranda, you have betrayed me..." She snarled, lifting her head to look at the woman through the part in her vivid scarlet hair. Her voice was rough with magick, and she was close, her body pulsing. "And now, you will pay the price!" She tilted her head back and screamed, releasing all the pent up energy within her, breaking down the barrier of emotion she had erected inside herself. Miranda and Jasper took the brunt of it, their bodies being blown back by the force. The citizens in the crowd started to explode; blood and organs started flying through the air. The executioner, who had been the closest to her, disintegrated as soon as the scream erupted from her chords.
When she was finished, the whole square was a bloodbath. Anyone who had not fled when she was speaking to her brother was dead. Miranda lay badly mangled in a pile of organs that had once been her brother Jasper, her torso was split wide and Shada could see that she had been with child at the time. Jasper's baby. Good riddance. She popped the bindings that held her easily and jumped down into the carnage, splashing blood up her clothing. She felt better, not magnificent, but better about what had happened now. It just sucked that she had been lied to. Miranda had played her, and she had fallen for it. She had killed Lief out of grief, when the bitch hadn't really been dead. It wasn't fair that everything bad had to happen to her.
She went to the pile of bodies and dug her mother's body and head from the pile, magickally sealing them back together and taking her to be buried in the De Embrell crypt, behind the chapel where Daegonna had been High Priestess. She laid the body in the coffin marked for her and covered it, sealing it with her blood and magick. She spoke the incantation that sealed her mother's body to the coffin, which would keep her there, except in the event of a disturbance. With that done, she went to the docks and awaited the next boat out of there. She didn't care where she went, she just didn't want to be in Tejatica and she didn't want to go home, not just yet. And she would see to it that she was free of all nuisances when she did eventually go home, even if it cost her her life.
As soon as she touched down in Temmora, she could sense the tension. She pulled the cowl over her head until only the bottom half of her face was showing. She didn't need anyone recognizing her, even if she looked different than she had as a... well, a child, for the lack of a better term.
People milled around her, pushing past her. She hated this place, hated it more than Hellfire, since the more heinous of her bad memories started in this very city. By listening, she garnered the whereabouts of her imprisoned mother and what would happen in the coming week. Her heart broke. Her mother really was going to die... and it was Jasper's fault. She hated this.
She made her way to the prison first, using her memories of the surroundings as a guide.
"Hey! Who goes there!" She could see his face, and instantly recognized him as her mother's guard.
"Just a simple bard, sir." She said, altering her voice just a little.
"A bard, eh? Well, Missy, you came at the right time. The bards will sing of this tale for a long time." He frowned. "The Queen is to die tomorrow." Tomorrow? But the letter had said..... "The new King changed the date so that no one would interfere. He found out that the Queen sent out a message to his youngest sister. So he changed the date to deter the woman, or detain her once she arrives, as he expects her to." Oh, that little... "Miss, I would keep an eye out for her, here is a picture of her. It's a mite old, but it will still help, it is no likely that she has changed much." He handed her a picture, and when she looked at it, she almost cried out. This picture... it was taken the day that she had turned twenty! The very night she had met her father and her twin sister, the night of her death! How had he..? "And Princess..." He leaned toward her to whisper this. "Be safe. We would like to keep you alive at the very least."
"How did you...?"
"Nothing gets past me, you know that. I was your mother's guard your entire life. She taught me much about her Talents, and I know your aura color." He smiled a bit and winked. "Here." He handed her something he had fished from his pocket. She reached a paw out and palmed it, it was a key. "This will get you into the dungeons, where your mother is being kept. Be careful, the guards are not like me, they follow your brother's orders."
"Thank you, Paul. Thank you so much!" She said, almost crying.
"Now, now, don't make a scene. You're still a wanted woman. Whatever you have done to yourself will only help you so much, so be careful." She nodded and slipped the key inside the cloak, to the inner pocket of the jacket she wore underneath. "Good luck, Princess." She smiled at him and moved on. She had to get to her mother's cell, had to see the aging Witch before she was executed.
She made her way down the secret stairs of the dungeons; this was the entrance Horus had made so he and his family could escape, if need be. She had to be careful of the guards. Half-Tracing, she was invisible, but she could slip in and out with out being spotted, which gave her the edge. And soon, thanks to the key Paul had given her, she was standing in front of her mother's cell.
"Mother..." She whispered. "Mother... are you in there?"
"Nightshade? Is that you?" The woman's voice sounded tired, but it was Daegonna's voice.
"Aye, mother, 'tis I." She said. "I have come."
"Oh thank the Mother!"
"Mother, I have to get you out of here."
"No, my child. I have been condemned to die, and die I shall. I have nothing else to live for. Your father is dead, Horus is dead, and all of my children have turned on me, except you... and Lilith, who has died as well."
"You know?"
"Aye, I know. But that isn't important. I asked you here for a reason. I want you to seal my body after I die."
"What? Why?"
"I want revenge, and you are going to help me." Daegonna said.
"Mother, no, please, don't do this."
"Nightshade, your half brother has accused me of treason because he found out that you and Lilith are not of his father. He still harbors ill will toward you for what Liir did to him when you were children. Because I slept with Lucifer, this is my fate, and I am ready for it."
"Mother, let me go to him, maybe I can..." Daegonna placed a finger to Shada's lips.
"Shada, he will just kill you as well. Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be... just promise me you will seal my body when this is all over. Promise me."
"Mother.. I.."
"PROMISE ME!" She whispered harshly. With tears in her eyes, Shada nodded.
"I promise, Mother." She said.
"Thank you." Shada stuck the key into the key hole and opened the cell wide enough for her body to slip inside. She closed it behind her and made sure it locked. She could Trace out when it was time. She made herself a little more visible to her mother, enough so the woman could see her, and no one else could. "What happened to you, Shada? What gift have you embraced to be this?"
"It was no gift, Mother, I assure you. My first husband did this to me, because of Liir, and I am searching for a cure as we speak, fear not."
"I see. It's kind of cute though." Daegonna smiled. "My baby is married, was married... which is it?"
"Is married. But I don't love him... I just don't. He isn't someone I would want to marry, but I promised in exchange for freedom so I am honor-bound."
"Love will come with time, Shada, you know that." She did, but she also knew she didn't and wouldn't love this man, EVER. "You must go, darling, it is almost dusk now, and Jasper always comes to see me at this time. I don't want him to catch you down here. Your fate would be worse than mind, surely." The two women exchanged hugs and kisses before Shada locked the cell door and Traced away, staying close to the cell she could, without being in the dungeons themselves.
The next morning was bleak, the sun didn't shine and the birds didn't sing in the trees. It was as if even nature knew that there was going to be a death that day. The rain poured steadily when Shada followed the crowd toward the guillotine, which had been placed in the town square so the public could witness the deed done. With her cowl firmly in place, Shada stood there and stonily watched what was going on.
The first few victims were regular criminals, and one even pronounced his crimes as his final words to the crowds. Everyone cried out as he said his piece. Shada stood there as if she hadn't even heard, her heart clenching in her chest. This was going to be hard, really hard. How was she ever going to watch her own mother die? She could watch the other executions all day... the sound of the blade coming down to slice the necks of the others didn't matter, they were in no way connected with her, and they were all criminals. But Daegonna was her mother, Daegonna was the only surviving real member of her family that loved her. She couldn't do it.
"Bring the next prisoner forward!" Jasper's voice called out from his throne. Shada turned to look at him. He looked like Horus, though she could see that he favored his mother as well. By his side was her elder sister Heather, and on his other side, sat one of his friends, Duncan, if memory served her correctly. She growled low in her throat, wanting to kill the man where he sat. This was madness, the whole thing was madness. She turned back to the stage, where Daegonna was being led. She looked like she hadn't slept, and tears were streaming down her face. "For the crime of Treason, you have been sentenced to death by guillotine. Have you any final words?" His voice boomed.
"I only wish to tell you that you will get what is coming to you, Jasper. My death will not be in vain!" Ever defiant, she laid down on the bench and awaited her death. Shada watched this with bated breath, waiting for the blade to fall. She watched the executioner take the rope in hand, at which time Shada closed her eyes. She head the steel blade slide down the track and the thud, as it cleaved her mother's head from her body. A single bloody tear tracked down her cheek. Daegonna Ravena Noratannia De Embrell was dead. Her mother, the Queen of this fair land, was dead. The unbearable pain rushed through her then and she fought her way through the crowd, fighting for air. She couldn't breath, couldn't think. Daegonna had asked her to seal her body, but she couldn't, not yet.
"Guards, seize that woman!" Shada heard her brother shout. Looking up, he was pointing at her. Their eyes met and his face took on a harder edge. His hatred glittered in his eyes, which also mirrored the hatred in hers. She would never forgive him for this... never. Never. A hand grabbed her arm, and tried to drag her toward the stage, but she merely pivoted, looked the man in the face and punched a hole through his armor. The crowd gasped. "It seems my dear sister has come to witness our mother's death after all." Jasper laughed wickedly. "Just another head to add to the pile! Bring her forward!" The guards surrounded her, and behind them, the citizens of Temmora, who all watched with curious eyes. They awaited to see the fate of the youngest member of the De Embrell line, Princess Nightshade. "Come Nightshade, your fate awaits you!" No. She was not going to die here, she was not going to allow herself to die like this... Jasper was not going to win this game of his! The all grabbed her at once, catching her off guard. Her cowl fell away, revealing her wolfen form to all who watched. A collective gasp rushed through the crowd. None had seen the Princess since her nineteenth birthday, just before she had run away. All had wondered what had befallen the young Princess. Whispers of marriage to a Lycan rushed into her ears, which made her want to scream with fury. She had done no such thing! They dragged her toward the stage, where the guillotine awaited, and all she felt was the overwhelming doom settle over her.
"Have you any last words?" She nodded.
"Naa tornai ruska nomaenii kaa--"
"Shut her up before she dooms us all!" Jasper shouted, cutting off her words. She had been damning Jasper for his crimes against her, and against their mother, and little did he know that she had more fight than that.
"Haa laenor Haa mii TAA!" She managed to get the full curse out before they stuffed a dirty old rag into her mouth. She bit the executioner's hand as he did so. Her glittering eyes turned black and glowed with violet light. She was not going to let this happen to her, never. The executioner dragged her over to the bench, where the bloody hole awaited her neck. She pressed her boots to the end of it and did a back flip, landing into the ground, where she hit her knees, got up and ran off, only to be caught again.
Jasper had come down to meet her by this time, clapping his hands to applaud her for her valiant efforts.
"You always were a stubborn one, refusing to die when you were told. Who allowed you to live this whole time? Tell me, wench, so that I may deem to kill the person as well." She glared at him and spat the rag from her mouth.
"Your father already took care of that." She snapped. He grinned at her.
"Oh, did he? What a coincidence that you happened to be here to see it." Her mind raced with his statement, and then it clicked.
"You... you knew where I was the whole time, didn't you? You had someone watching me this whole time. You thought that you would be able to kill me with the explosion." Her voice was tight.
"Ah, very good. But, you forget something. You forget to mention the name of my spy. Come now, you know who it was, you two were very close. Not as close as she was to me, I assure you, but she played her part very well..."
"YOU LIE!!" Shada shouted, bloody tears falling from her eyes. It couldn't have been Miranda... it just couldn't have been!
"Do I?" He waved his hand to someone who was behind her and when she turned, there was her friend... Miranda was... alive!
"I saw your dead body! I killed... how are you... what trickery is this?" Shada yelled, seeing that the auburn haired beauty was standing there in front of her, a strange look on her face.
"Miranda sent you that message and told you that Father was going to blow up the church. Actually, Father had had no idea where you were and I was the one who told her to write that letter. And you came, just as she told me you would. A pity you didn't die in the church with the others, but I think I'm more than making up for it." He laughed.
"Why, Rani, why? Why did you let me believe you had died in that fire? Why did you let me go through all of that trouble to track down Lief and..."
"Shada... we aren't friends, we aren't lovers, we are nothing. I was following orders and that was it. I don't know why you think I have anything to say to you." Miranda was looking a bit.. strange...
"You... you're his mate, aren't you?"
"Oh, did I neglect to mention that? Miranda is my age, and we have been married for the past nine hundred years!" Shada was getting tired of Jasper, and far more irritated by the second. Her hair started to blow in a wind that wasn't there, and her fangs lengthened.
"I loved you Miranda, and I did everything for you, even when I thought you were dead." She growled. "And now I find out that you lied, about everything, including your death. Did you lie about Lief as well? Did he even Turn you?"
"Oh, he Turned me, all right." Miranda smirked. "Just as you embraced the Bite of our Enemy." She wasn't going to answer that, she was just letting the offenses build within her, bringing forth the scream. At this distance, not even Miranda would be safe from it and she was a Baninae as well. Miranda just wasn't magickally strong enough to deal with the pressure at this close of a distance. Shada lowered her head, as if she were weeping, but she wasn't. She was feeling the Scream work it's way into her throat, thinking of all the things that Miranda had said to her, had done with her, everything. Her breathing and heart rate picked up first. Then she started hearing the blood rushing through her ears. She growled, feeling the thrum of magick in her throat.
"Miranda, you have betrayed me..." She snarled, lifting her head to look at the woman through the part in her vivid scarlet hair. Her voice was rough with magick, and she was close, her body pulsing. "And now, you will pay the price!" She tilted her head back and screamed, releasing all the pent up energy within her, breaking down the barrier of emotion she had erected inside herself. Miranda and Jasper took the brunt of it, their bodies being blown back by the force. The citizens in the crowd started to explode; blood and organs started flying through the air. The executioner, who had been the closest to her, disintegrated as soon as the scream erupted from her chords.
When she was finished, the whole square was a bloodbath. Anyone who had not fled when she was speaking to her brother was dead. Miranda lay badly mangled in a pile of organs that had once been her brother Jasper, her torso was split wide and Shada could see that she had been with child at the time. Jasper's baby. Good riddance. She popped the bindings that held her easily and jumped down into the carnage, splashing blood up her clothing. She felt better, not magnificent, but better about what had happened now. It just sucked that she had been lied to. Miranda had played her, and she had fallen for it. She had killed Lief out of grief, when the bitch hadn't really been dead. It wasn't fair that everything bad had to happen to her.
She went to the pile of bodies and dug her mother's body and head from the pile, magickally sealing them back together and taking her to be buried in the De Embrell crypt, behind the chapel where Daegonna had been High Priestess. She laid the body in the coffin marked for her and covered it, sealing it with her blood and magick. She spoke the incantation that sealed her mother's body to the coffin, which would keep her there, except in the event of a disturbance. With that done, she went to the docks and awaited the next boat out of there. She didn't care where she went, she just didn't want to be in Tejatica and she didn't want to go home, not just yet. And she would see to it that she was free of all nuisances when she did eventually go home, even if it cost her her life.
