The Witch's Tower, Tamara Grantham [best ereader for academics TXT] 📗

high sorcerer’s guards attacked us. I grabbed the dagger from my boot, leaping in front of Rapunzel as one of the guards rushed at me. I deflected the blow from his sword, rounded, and kicked the back of his knees. He pitched forward, and Rapunzel pushed him into the well. With lightning fast speed, she grabbed the rope holding the bucket and untied it. Screaming echoed as the bucket plunged, leaving the soldier to fall into the water dozens of feet below.

Rapunzel gave me a sly grin, and I wanted to congratulate her, but more soldiers came at us. Prince Merek leapt into the action, cutting and hacking with his sword, deflecting blows from every direction.

The soldier who’d nearly killed me in the stable leapt in front of me. His beefy frame flexed as he held a heavy broadsword. His eyes glittered with madness. Long scabs crisscrossed his face, one bisecting his eye. They must’ve been wounds from when he’d fought Raj.

He laughed as he focused on my flimsy knife. “It’s time to die now.”

“I don’t think so.”

He lifted his sword over his head and screamed as he charged at me. I lunged aside, though the blade caught my calf. Screaming, I fell, holding my leg. Warm blood seeped from the puncture, coating my fingers, though the wound didn’t feel deep.

He came at me again, and I rolled to the side. His blade slammed into a wooden support post, nearly cleaving it in two. His enraged yells echoed through the tower as he yanked his sword from the beam.

He spun on me, fire in his eyes as he stabbed for my chest. I dodged again but wasn’t sure how long I could keep it up. I had to find a way to stop him or else one of those blows would kill me. But what options did I have? My blade was so small. I’d lost my pack somewhere in the commotion. Frantically, I searched the tower, looking for weapons or anything that would stop him. Having natural magic should’ve been helpful, though I had no idea how to use it or control it.

I caught glimpses of my friends battling the soldiers. Rapunzel and Prince Merek fought fiercely, though they had just woken and could barely stay upright as it was. If we didn’t stop my father and his soldiers soon, we’d all be dead.

A whack hit the side of my face as the cold metal of a broadsword made my teeth rattle in my skull. Pain exploded through my jawbone and into my head. I tried to sit up but collapsed.

The guard loomed over me. He placed the blade’s tip under my chin. Cold metal pierced my flesh.

“High Sorcerer Varlocke wanted to execute you, but I don’t think he’ll mind if I dispatch you myself. You’ve been nothing but a pain. I’ll enjoy killing you.” His leering smile sent fear shooting through my spine.

I tightened my sweaty palms into fists. How could I die this way? It couldn’t happen like this. But what chance did I have of stopping him? Fear raced through my heart. I wouldn’t die this way. I refused.

A mewl caught my attention. Jester sat atop the shelf beside my row of glass bottles. Greenish poison glittered in the jug beside him. Liquid morrid bane.

The guard lowered his sword, and I only had a moment to react. I kicked his midsection. He fell back with a grunt, and I lunged toward the bottles, grabbing the morrid bane. The guard loomed behind me. I rounded, smashing the jar against his head. It shattered, spilling its contents over the scabs covering his face.

Screaming, he fell back, dropping his sword, his hands clutching his face. He stumbled back, his cries mingling with the other soldiers’ as Rapunzel and Prince Merek fought them off.

Prince Merek fought like a demon, his sword impaling one soldier after another. Rapunzel also held her own, her fists alight with a golden glow as she slammed them into their faces.

I stumbled toward the window where Raj fought with the high sorcerer. My leg stung where the guard had injured me, but with my blood buzzing with added energy, I hardly felt it. The sound of clashing swords resounded. They fought with frenzy. Blood seeped from cuts on both their bodies.

As I approached them, Raj swung his sword, but the high sorcerer lashed out with his staff, hitting Raj with a blast of magic in his face. Raj flew backward and hit the floor, his body landing with a loud thump.

“Raj,” I screamed. I sprinted to him and knelt at his side. His eyelids fluttered, and he breathed heavily.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with a weak smile. “As long as you are alive, I am well. I swore to protect you. I always will.”

Behind us, a shadow loomed, and the high sorcerer approached. His face twisted into a grimace as he focused on my fingers intertwined with Raj’s.

“You care for this Outlander?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “I love him.” There was no point in denying it. I loved him, and I didn’t care who knew. Raj gave me a slight smile, his eyes twinkling with understanding.

“This is heresy,” Varlocke spat. “Never did I image a child of mine mixing with a filthy Outlander. Tainting our blood. There is no chance of redemption for you now. I will slit your throat until your blood runs dry.”

Slowly, Raj unlaced his fingers from mine. He stood, facing my father, still gripping his dagger. “You will not touch her.”

“No? Then perhaps you’ll do it for me. What do you say, Outlander?” He stretched out his arm, his hand forming a claw that transformed, morphing until the nails lengthened and the skin turned to black scales. “I’ve learned much about the dark arts. I’ve learned to change my own flesh, and I’ve learned to control the flesh of others. I won’t touch her, that is true. But you will!”

Gray shadowy magic, slimy and cold, radiated from his mutated hand. The fog gripped Raj, surrounding him. Raj choked. The fire in his eyes burned away, replaced with a blank stare.

“What are you doing to him?” I asked.

“Allowing him to fulfill the soothsayings, daughter.” He spoke mockingly, an evil smile lighting his face as his hand formed a fist.

Raj’s foot slid forward. Sweat beaded on his skin as he took another step. Lightning fast, he grabbed me around my waist and pressed his father’s dagger to my throat. Its tip pierced my skin. My heart pounded. I grabbed his arms, trying to pry him away, but he held me in an iron grip.

“Raj, no,” I pleaded, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop my father’s spell, but hoping my words would get through to him nevertheless.

“Father, stop,” I screamed. Tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t die this way—killed by the only person I’d ever loved. The knife pressed more deeply, puncturing through my skin. Only a little deeper and it would cut through my life’s vein. I pried at Raj’s arms, my nails bending as I attempted to break free from his grasp.

The soothsayings were true. I would die at the hand of the prince. But I refused to let it happen this way. I could beat this. I wasn’t a slave to magic—I controlled it. And I would control it now.

Closing my eyes, power coiled around me, thick like dense fog. The enchantment brushed my arms, and then blasted out, sending Raj and my father to the floor.

My knees buckled. I breathed deeply to keep from passing out. The room spun around me. I glanced at Raj, his prone figure lying on the floor, wanting to go to him, knowing that I would collapse if I took a step toward him.

My magic was gone. Inside, an empty shell replaced the place my powers had been.

In the corner of my eye, I saw my father rise. He moved toward me fluidly, as if he flew, a black cloud that soon surrounded me.

I tried to move away, but I stumbled, and he seized me. His clawed hand tightened around my neck while his other arm gripped my waist.

“I suppose I’ll have to do this myself,” he breathed in my ear.

The scales of his claw felt cold and unnatural against my skin as he dragged me toward the window. We stopped at the ledge.

The chill, nighttime breeze washed over me. Crickets chirped from the field far beneath us. My heart pounded in my chest, and I had trouble breathing. Panic gripped me. This man—this murderer—my father, was going to kill me. There was nothing I could do to stop him. Whatever magic I’d used was spent. I had nothing left.

“Please,” I pleaded, my voice so panicked I barely recognized it as my own. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t beg, Gothel. It’s unbecoming.”

“But I’m your daughter.”

“Does that make any difference?” he yelled. I shuddered, the anger in his voice bringing back memories I thought were forgotten. “Your mother was a fool. I’ll kill her after I kill you.”

“No, you can’t!”

“I will. I’ll drag her out of that castle and kill her. I’ve done it once. I’ll do it again, but this time, she won’t be coming back.”

I tried to wriggle free from his grasp, which only made him tighten his grip around my neck, choking me.

Raj slowly got to his feet. Breathing heavily, he limped as he made his way toward us. “Leave her alone,” he demanded.

“Never. She’s got to be executed. She escaped the tower. Defied my orders. Worse, she fell in love with a cursed Outlander. She must die. There’s no other way this ends. I will execute her for all to see. She’ll become an example of what happens to someone who defies me.”

He took another step back, his magic coalescing around us. Its power