{CoRW: Book 3} Chapter 93: The Spinner's Web *Rough Draft*

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Chapter 93: The Spinner’s Web

It wasn’t that Nicholas couldn’t define the restlessness that drove him from the bed where Priscilla slept. His Royal Consort appeared to have enjoyed their lovemaking, brief though it had been. After the palace servants removed their consummation sheets, Priscilla returned to bed with a smile and fell asleep after wrapping herself up in the King’s arms.

He had enjoyed her beauty then. The way her skin seemed to shine under the fading rays of the setting sun made it hard to look away from her. Even Nicholas had to admit that Priscilla looked every inch the traditional Lafearian queen. And yet—he could not sleep beside her.

The coolness of fresh sheets against his skin, and the weight of Priscilla’s cheek against his chest, had a pleasant sort of comfort that Nicholas had longed to feel with Eleanora. But the longer the King listened to his Royal Consort’s steady, shallow breathing and stroked her strawberry blonde curls, the more his thoughts returned to the dark, exotic beauty that continued to torment him even now.

If Nicholas was being honest, the only times he had felt close to his foreign bride had been during their heated battle of wills, endurance, and excruciating pleasure. Eleanora was no more submissive in bed than she was out of it. And while they both maintained their formal, polite, if not tense relationship in every other aspect of their lives, in bed, Eleanora was honest in a way Nicholas could only describe as seductive.

So when Priscilla had lain beneath him, submissive, still, and stiff as a corpse, Nicholas had closed his eyes and imagined that sultry, crooked smile that Eleanora liked to give him while her dark hips and thighs drove him to the brink.

‘I’m such a fool.’ With a frustrated sigh, Nicholas eased his arm from beneath Priscilla’s head and carefully slipped out from under the covers. He pulled on a pair of trousers and a loose silk cotton robe before stretching in the awkward silence.

‘No point in leaving my rooms. I already gave Beaumont the afternoon off, and the counselors will only pester me if they think I’m available.’

Nicholas swung his arms idly from side to side as his gaze swept around the room to settle on the ornamental box the Pope had given him as a wedding present. He approached the gift with low expectations and carried it towards the long-cushioned sofa by the breakfast table. A simple hook clasp opened the container of holly wood to reveal a red velvet interior, a small scroll of paper sealed with the Pope’s emblem, and an iron key tied to the scroll with a red silk ribbon.

‘A key?’ Nicholas raised a brow as he pulled the scroll and its attached gift from the box. ‘Is the Pope gifting me a palace in Zarus?’ After breaking the wax seal, the King unfurled the small document and stared at the short message written above a detailed map of none other than the royal library in Peony Palace.

“The knowledge contained in this secret safe is meant only for the eyes of Lafeara’s rightful King,” Nicholas muttered aloud with growing confusion.

‘Why would the Pope have a key to a secret compartment inside my own palace?’

Nicholas snapped the lid shut with strained patience, then winced as Priscilla stirred and rolled to burry her head in the pillows.

‘Perhaps I could risk slipping downstairs. No one is allowed in the library without my consent except the royal family.’

Shoving the map and key into his robe pocket, Nicholas moved silently through the connecting door that led to his office. Once inside with the door closed, he rang the bell-rope and paced by the office desk until the steward appeared.

“Does your Majesty wish for more refreshments?”

“No.” Nicholas snapped, then folded his arms and leaned against the desk. “I wish to go to the library. Prepare some simple clothes for me to wear.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” The steward appeared puzzled but complied without question.

“Has Captain Beaumont returned?”

“No, your Majesty. Lieutenant Bear is on duty. Shall I fetch him?”

“No need. He can follow me on the way down. Just fetch my clothes.”

***

“What is the rabbit for?” Eleanora asked nervously with a glance at the small furry animal in a whicker cage beneath Captain Beaumont’s arm. “Does this ritual require a sacrifice?”

“Something like that,” Beaumont replied as Kirsi shut the secret passage door behind them. “We better get moving. The sooner we finish, the safer my friends will be on their return trip.”

“Ah yes, these priests of Minerva.”

Beaumont raised a brow then nodded his head before turning to follow Kirsi further down the servant passageway.

Eleanora tightened her grip on the silk shawl wrapped around her evening dress and followed behind them. When Kirsi had shown her the servant passageway earlier, the Crown Princess had thought it merely dim and depressing. But as they traveled further in, the heavy darkness that scattered before the Duchess’s candle seemed to flicker with ominous hostility.

‘It doesn’t help that the other dark spirit that cursed me is lurking somewhere down here.’

“It looks like they’re here,” Kirsi murmured as she raised her candle and moved to the side to allow Beaumont to lead them forward.

The knight captain, who continued with his head bowed beneath the low passage roof, set down the caged rabbit and beckoned towards the three shadowy figures who waited at the end of the tunnel. “Vivek. Come.”

Two men stepped forward dressed in a curious mixture of leather garments adorned with bones, stone beads, leaves, and feathers.

“Any trouble?” Beaumont asked quietly as his gaze flicked between them before settling on the third figure lingered in the shadows behind them.

“We—might have encountered a bit of trouble,” said the dark-haired earth witch.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” interjected his blonde companion with an earnest smile. “And it led Fenn and me to a rare find.”

“So I see,” Beaumont muttered before gesturing to the rabbit frantically digging at the corner of its cage. “Will that do?”

“Perfectly!”

Eleanora watched nervously as the two witches and knight captain set about drawing runes onto the paved passage floor with yellow chalk and red sand. At Vivek’s, the earth priest, request, Krisi lit two torches on either side of the ritual circle to provide better light.

An arrangement of emerald and black beetles was carefully placed in a small circle around a rather sinister-looking ram skull with two curved horns. A second circle, formed of various bird feathers, was added, followed by a third perimeter of seashells and a fourth and final loop of onyx stones.

Fenn and Beaumont removed themselves from the ritual while Vivek finished drawing the last of the runes. “You’re lucky we found that skull when we did,” Fenn muttered as he watched the earth priest work.

“Any skull would have worked,” Vivek retorted as he stood up carefully and brushed his red-stained hands against his leather jerkin. “Human would have been preferable.”

“Animal is better,” Beaumont countered with a shake of his head. “Human bones carry remnants that have a habit of interfering or even lying.”

“True, but I don’t speak goat,” Vivek replied with a snort as he examined the ritual critically.

“Neither will the spirit we’re dealing with.”

“What are they talking about?” Eleanora whispered nervously to the Duchess beside her.

“It looks like part of the ritual involves communicating with the spirit,” Kirsi replied with a faint edge to her voice.

“We’re nearly done,” Vivek called over as if sensing their unease. “Two more circles. One for the sacrifice and the other for the princess. Oh! And I’ll need three strands of your hair, your Highness.”

“My hair?” Eleanora echoed with a questioning stare.

“Yes. They will help confuse and redirect any malice from the spirit to the rabbit,” Vivek explained patiently.

The Crown Princess quickly complied while Fenn and Beaumont drew two smaller circles with the remaining red sand. A single line of sand connected the rabbit’s circle to the ritual, while Eleanora’s protective circle was placed some distance away at the edge of the candlelight.

Vivek presented Eleanora with a necklace of animal fangs of various sizes and then assisted her inside her circle. “You can either stand or sit but try to be as still as possible.”

“Yes,” Eleanora murmured as she placed the necklace around her neck and then settled down to kneel awkwardly on the floor. “How long will this take?”

“That depends on the spirit we’re dealing with. Hopefully, only an hour or two,” Vivek replied with a less than confident smile. “Your Grace, it would be better if you waited outside the passage until we are finished.”

“What?!” Eleanora blurted out.

“Why?” Kirsi responded with a frown.

“Well—because—” Vivek turned to the knight captain waiting beside the circle.

“The spirit we’re dealing with is a powerful remnant, your Grace,” Beaumont explained. “We need to lure them into the rabbit to seal them away properly. That will be impossible if another more tempting vessel is within range of the ritual.”

“I thought you said that remnants wouldn’t be a problem for me?” Kirsi countered with an arched brow.

“Remnants cannot exist in the mortal realm without a physical host,” Beaumont responded with a nod. “A physical body makes them weak to pureblood magic, but this spirit has yet to take a physical host.”

“I don’t understand,” Eleanora murmured as she blinked in confusion. “If this remnant doesn’t have a physical body, then how was it able to curse me?”

“By lending its power to a weaker spirit that had already attached itself to your Highness,” Beaumont explained. “The Duchess was able to seal away the weaker spirit, but we must lure the Remnant into the physical world and destroy them if we want to break the curse.”

“And the only way to do that is to offer the Remnant a living host that we can safely control and kill,” Vivek added as he wound the three strands of the Crown Princess’s black hair around three small fur cones. Once finished, he placed them inside the rabbit’s cage. “Originally, the ritual required a human sacrifice, but Minerva’s priests managed to find a loophole. As long as the sacrifice is living, it can be beast, bird, or human.”

“That’s—fortunate,” Eleanora whispered as she clutched the necklace of animal fangs.

“Well then, once your Grace departs,” Vivek continued with a pointed look at Kirsi. “We should be ready to begin.”

The Duchess glanced from the earth priest to the Crown Princess and then to Beaumont. “Very well. I’ll leave Eleanora in your hands, Captain.”

Beaumont smiled faintly and bowed his head in acknowledgment as Kirsi turned to retrace her steps back to the entrance.

‘I wish she could stay,’ Eleanora thought wistfully as the earth priest approached her with a strip of black cloth. ‘While we are still rebuilding our relationship—Kirsi is the only person here I trust at all.’ Her amber eyes shifted towards Beaumont, who continued to gaze past her at the Duchess’s receding candlelight. ‘And I still don’t understand how Nicholas’s bodyguard is involved in all of this?’

“Your Highness.” Vivek smiled at her patiently as he held up the suspicious bit of dark fabric.

“What’s that for?”

“It’s a blindfold, your Highness.”

“And you expect me to wear it?”

“Yes.”

The Crown Princess scoffed nervously as she glanced from the blindfold to the goat skull. “Is that—really necessary?”

“Trust me, your Highness. You’ll prefer it this way.”

‘Ha… What sort of witchery have I been dragged into?’

***

Vanya held her breath until the coiling, cold magic of the Calamity Witch disappeared somewhere at the end of the tunnel. Fear hammered in her skull like a merciless drum as the veins of magic around her surged towards the giant man assisting the earth witches with their magic circle.

Like the Calamity Witch, this monstrosity disguised as a mortal rippled with ancient, god-like magic. But where Kirsi’s power flowed freely around her in a protective aura of cold magic, the Captain’s magic remained firmly locked within his body with one exception—the giant sword strapped to his back that glowed with remnants of Minerva’s power.

‘What am I seeing? Is he some sort of immortal? And what of Kirsi? Is that magic the reason she is reborn after every death?’

Something stirred beneath the solid foundation of earth and stone that Vanya sat upon. She stared down through the veins of magic and beheld a sinister, venomous-looking creature that crawled beneath the earth’s surface with spider-like legs, drawn towards the ritual circle.

“It’s here,” Vivek whispered tensely.

“Fenn, stay with your guest,” Beaumont called out harshly. “I’ll protect the princess.”

“What about Vivek?” Fenn protested.

“Do as he says,” the earth priest snapped before shifting into a softer, grounded tone as he chanted the lines of an ancient spell written in the language of the dead. “I, Vivek, priest of Minerva, greet thee, Mother Weaver, spinner of souls and fate. I seek one among your cluster whose thread has entered the mortal realm.”

Beneath Vivek’s docile tone, a single thread of magic attached to the ritual circle glowed red. The being beneath touched the thread lightly with one of its legs, and Vanya felt the tunnel around them darken as the veins of magic flickered and dimmed.

“What’s happening?” Fenn whispered nervously from where he now crouched beside Vanya.

“Hush!” Vivek whispered back. “Be patient.”

Vanya swallowed as the sinister being crawled back beneath the earth, leaving only the glowing red thread connected to the ritual above. Moments later, the thread trembled faintly and then vibrated like a harp string beneath the player's fingers.

“It’s coming,” Beaumont whispered. The sword on his back glowed brighter still.

Vanya blinked as the red glow from the thread spread to shroud the ram’s skull in the same sinister glow. The skull rose up from the stone-paved ground and hovered in the air facing Vivek.

“Why have you summoned me, priest?” the Remnant demanded.

Vivek trembled but remained still as he faced the possessed skull. “You already know the answer. I must ask you, spirit, to undo the harm you have caused to the Mistress of this castle.”

“And what do you offer in return?”

Vivek appeared slightly taken aback but quickly gestured to the connected circle where the caged rabbit waited. “I brought a pure soul to exchange for that of the princess.”

A deep, sinister chuckle echoed through the tunnel. “You expect me to trade the soul of a princess for that of a rabbit?”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” Vivek replied firmly. “You can either depart willingly or—”

The mocking laughter turned murderous as the skull slammed against the perimeter of the ritual. “Ahh, I see. You mean to banish me?”The circle of beetles inside the ritual glowed red and then crawled madly over the feathers and shells towards the outer circle of onyx stones. “You may be a priest of Minerva, but your goddess has long since left the mortal realm. Her magic—your magic—is weak!”

“Can a goddess truly die?” Vivek retorted with strangely calm confidence. “While it is true that the Earth Coven’s have grown weak in her absence, we have not lost our magic entirely.”

The Remnant snickered in response. “You know this magic is beyond your capabilities. Yet still, you risk your life and that of your companions to save the princess of a foreign nation? A half-witch, no less.”

“It is not my magic nor Minerva’s that you will face should you choose to refuse my request,” Vivek replied without missing a beat.

“Oh?” The skull tilted slightly to the side and then turned eerily in Fenn and Vanya’s direction. “Surely, you’re not relying on a blind priestess and her quivering protector to save you?”

The sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath pulled Vanya’s attention back to Beaumont. When the giant bastard sword pierced the ground, the red sand around the Remnant turned a bright purple hue as the spirit flinched away from its barrier.

“What is this? Who—no, what are you?”

“You know exactly who he is,” Vivek retorted sharply. “It’s time to make your choice, Remnant. Either you return to the spinner’s web or accept this sacrifice and enter the endless river of souls.”

The skull’s eye sockets glowed red for a moment with tangible anger before it replied. “It is not yet time for my soul to leave the spinner’s nest. My sister, the Queen of Calamity, will call upon us soon, and then priest, we will see how strong Minerva’s chosen truly are.”

Vivek offered the spirit a tight smile. “As you wish, but before I allow you to return to the Weaver, remove your thread from the princess.”

A deep, resigned sigh slid past the ram’s skull. The red glow of the thread below the Remnant spread to the feathers, beetles, and onyx stone that rose to form a sinister arm that pointed in Eleanora’s direction. A thin sliver of red thread appeared, coiled around the Crown Princess’s neck and fastened to her stomach. The barely visible line snapped and recoiled towards the waiting Remnant as Eleanora whimpered and curled into a tight ball.

“There. It is done, priest.”

Vivek nodded stiffly but glanced towards the knight captain uncertainly.

“Never break a promise to the dead, priest,” Beaumont replied with an affirming nod.

“Very well,” Vivek murmured as he nervously up the skull mask he wore. “You may return, spirit—”

“Not without the soul you promised me!”

Vanya flinched as the red sand of the ritual circle scattered. The piercing shriek of terror and pain from the rabbit trapped in its cage filled her ears before the ram’s skull clattered to the floor, leaving only a trail of blood and scruffs of hair in the center of the broken circle.

“Did it work? Is it gone?” Fenn called out frantically as he spun anxiously, searching the flickering darkness around them.

“It’s gone,” Beaumont answered firmly as Vivek sagged against the tunnel wall. “For now.”