Witch Queen's War (Vesik Book 7) Read online

  Witch Queen’s War

  Eric R. Asher

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Also by Eric R. Asher

  Copyright Page

  Epigraph

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Note from Eric R. Asher

  Also by Eric R. Asher

  About the Author

  Also by Eric R. Asher

  Keep track of Eric’s new releases by receiving an email on release day. It’s fast and easy to sign up for Eric’s mailing list, and you’ll also get an ebook copy of the subscriber exclusive anthology, Whispers of War .

  Click here to get started: www.ericrasher.com

  The Steamborn Trilogy:

  Steamborn

  Steamforged

  Steamsworn

  The Vesik Series:

  (Recommended for Ages 17+)

  Days Gone Bad

  Wolves and the River of Stone

  Winter’s Demon

  This Broken World

  Destroyer Rising

  Rattle the Bones

  Witch Queen’s War

  Vesik Book 8 – coming spring 2018*

  *Want to receive an email on the day this book releases? Sign up for Eric’s mailing list .

  Mason Dixon – Monster Hunter:

  Episode One

  Episode Two

  Episode Three – coming fall 2017*

  *Want to receive an email on the day this book releases? Sign up for Eric’s mailing list .

  Copyright © 2017 by Eric R. Asher

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Edited by Laura Matheson

  Cover typography by Indie Solutions by Murphy Rae

  Cover design ©Phatpuppyart.com – Claudia McKinney

  ~

  Is it too early for a theme song?

  ~

  CHAPTER ONE

  S treets filled with fear and terror and blood. This wasn’t what our home was supposed to be. No matter how close war had come before, no matter what we’d fought on the streets of Saint Charles, we’d always managed to keep the commoners safe.

  The tourists weren’t the only beings in danger here. The military had seen too many Fae, too many things they didn’t understand. Now they were targeting our allies, and in that action, they were targeting their own allies. They’d set their sights on the Fae who stood with the commoners.

  I raised my hand in a useless protest, too far away to reach anyone in time.

  The tank fired.

  Flames and death and smoke screamed from the barrel of that awful weapon. Aeros raised his fists, and a u-shaped wall of stone sprang up between him and the shell. The wall cracked in the following explosion, sending waves of shrapnel and debris into the air. Angus had barely escaped, grabbing two of the kids who had been too close to the line of fire, and launching into the air with them.

  One of the kids he’d had to leave behind screamed and went down, clutching his leg. Aeros glanced at the child, then turned back to face the tank. The Old God dropped into the earth, vanishing into a circle of green light. The tank adjusted its aim, centering on the wall.

  The next shot might take the wall of stone, but it was going to kill the half dozen people sheltering behind it too. If they thought firing on the wall would hurt Aeros, they were wrong.

  “No!” I shouted, sprinting forward. If I could get close enough, raise a shield, do something. I wasn’t that fast. No one was that fast. “Run!”

  Angus dove back into the panicked crowd.

  A loud thunk sounded from the tank, the same sound I’d heard before the first shot. I wasn’t going to make it to them in time. Where the fuck was Aeros?

  He answered with a fury, rising beneath the tank. One stony fist grabbed the barrel and bent it toward the ground before Aeros flipped the tank over and slammed it into the earth. Stone flowed over the armored metal shell, and the tank screeched as Aeros tore it apart.

  “They are children! ” the Old God roared. “My stone will bear your names for all time, and the world shall call you monsters.”

  “Aeros, no!” I shouted.

  He paused with his fist raised above the exposed soldiers, his eyes flashing between me and the terrified men below him.

  “Don’t kill them,” I said.

  “He’s dead!” A voice screamed, cracking and rising into hysteria. I turned to see a child tugging at the arm of an older man. The child’s wails were the endless, undefined cries of a survivor. There are the cries of grief, and then there are the primal chords of loss no person can put into words. These were the hiccupping, terrible sobs of lives broken, and a world that would never be the same.

  “Murderers.” Aeros turned away from the soldiers and looked down at me. “They should be held accountable. Would you not slay them if they were Fae or vampire?” He walked back toward the screaming boy.

  I stepped up onto the flattened edge of the tank. “Okay, look, that’s a big talking rock who wants to kill you now. Congratulations on pulling that off. You also just murdered someone’s grandfather, so fuck you very much. Now …” I called on the dead things around me, let the decayed ruin of the gravemakers flow up from the earth to coat my arms and chest. “I suggest you get your tanks the fuck out of here before I decide to let my friend flatten you like tin cans.”

  The nearest soldier’s hand reached for his sidearm. All he found was a mangled strip of metal.

  I let the gravemaker chaff close over my head. “Draw that gun, and I’ll eat your soul.”

  The man next to him had a smarter approach. He placed his hand on his companion’s arm, preventing any further attempts to draw his weapon. When the first man tried to protest again, the smart one grew more forceful.

  “Stop it. Don’t you see the thing standing in front of us? Do you want to hug your family again, or you want to die here?”

  The man with the
gun stopped fidgeting. I backed away, letting them climb out of the ruined tank. The wails of the child behind me cut through the silence of the men before me.

  “Never forget that sound.” I turned away at that point, not wanting to see what the men would do. Or maybe I just didn’t care anymore. How had it come to this in just five days?

  CHAPTER TWO

  F ive days earlier, the bell had jingled when Sergeant Park pushed his way into Death’s Door. I’d seen him enough lately to know the quick steps that led him to the counter weren’t indicative of a casual pace. I sat up a little straighter.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  Park glanced around the room before setting his palms flat against the countertop. I winced at the creaking squeal of the glass. “Is Frank here?”

  I debated for a moment whether to tell him Frank was actually there, wondering if Frank had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. After considering Park’s stride and the anxious flashing of his eyes toward the back room, I decided I’d better get Frank.

  “Yeah, sure. Wait here for just a second and I’ll grab him for you.”

  Park nodded a little too quickly. I hopped off the stool behind the counter and headed through the saloon-style doors. I passed the grandfather clock and the Formica table before I came to the entrance to the cu siths’ lair.

  I paused with my hand on the ornately carved doorway. Foster and Aideen had whittled the once ragged hole into a beautiful array of Celtic knots. I ducked through the entryway, following the sounds of a snoring cu sith.

  “Frank,” I whispered, not wanting to wake Bubbles. I made my way farther down the sloping ramp that led into the basement.

  Frank had his reading glasses on and was squinting at the runes on the wall. He held a book in one hand and was comparing the drawings inside to the sketches on the wall.

  “Frank.”

  He jumped, surprised when I said his name so close behind him. Frank spun around, raising the book in his right hand as if he expected to swat an overly large, overly annoying bug. “Damian!”

  Frank hadn’t whispered. The cu sith startled awake, sucking her tongue in and flinging her massive furry form against the nearest wall. Unfortunately, I was between her and that wall. I grunted as the bristly fur smashed me into the stone. She bounced away, looked up, and then started snuffling at my shoes.

  I gasped, trying to regain the breath Bubbles had smashed out of me.

  “You okay?” Frank asked.

  I nodded through a grimace and pointed up the ramp.

  Bubbles understood just fine and ran right up the ramp to see what was waiting in the shop.

  Frank, on the other hand, looked a bit more perplexed. “You need me to cover the shop?”

  I took a deep breath and shook my head, my lungs finally recovering. “Park wants to see you. He’s waiting upstairs.” I took another glorious breath and gestured at Frank. “Still researching the runes?”

  He glanced down at the book in his hand. “Yeah, with everything Calbach told us about the runes, I thought it might be interesting to see what else I could dig up.” He snapped the book closed. “Haven’t found much.”

  “Were you expecting Park?” I asked, leading the way back up the stone ramp.

  “No. I mean, he drops by fairly regularly, but I wasn’t expecting him today.”

  Bubbles started barking, and Foster cursed above us. The fairy shouted, and I could hear the rattle of his armor. I suspected he was trying to wrestle Bubbles away from Park. I picked up the pace and pushed through the saloon-style doors a moment later.

  Bubbles had her paws up on Park’s shoulders, licking and snorting, easily pulling away from Foster each time the fairy managed to free Park.

  “Bubbles,” I said in a low voice.

  She froze, slowly licked Park one more time, and then padded back to flop on the floor next to me.

  “Sorry about that,” I said.

  “Oh,” Foster said, turning to Bubbles. “So now you listen to the necromancer and not me? Your ancestors would be ashamed.”

  Aideen glided over the swinging doors from the back of the shop and settled onto the cu sith’s ruff.

  “Park?” Frank asked. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” Park said, looking down at the cu sith before returning his gaze to Frank. “I think so.”

  Frank eyed him, and the suspicion on Frank’s face was obvious. “Well, what do you need me for?”

  “We lost a squad,” Park said. He crossed his arms and blew out a breath.

  Frank grimaced. He glanced at me and then back to Park. “Who?”

  “You don’t know them.”

  Frank frowned slightly. “Okay. Then why are you here?”

  “What is it?” Foster asked, clearly not missing Park’s distant stare.

  Park hesitated, and then said, “It was a fairy by the old railroad bridge. Foster, when we played back footage from the scene, he looked like you.”

  Foster frowned. “What do you mean, exactly? Like he had my face?”

  Park shook his head. “No, I mean he had your wings. Huge wings like a moth.”

  Foster squeezed the dagger sheathed on his belt.

  I was about to interrupt when Aideen did it for me. “One of the queen’s spies?” She sidled up beside Foster, eyeing Park. “What else have you heard?”

  Park shrugged. “Not much. Look, you already know some of the commanders in the area are concerned about the intelligence we have. I’ve heard rumors that some of them think it was you.”

  “Think I impersonated myself?” Foster frowned at his own words. “Never mind, that was a stupid question. But come on, Damian. This is clearly a setup.”

  “I’m not arguing that,” I said. “But what are we going to do about it?”

  “Oh, that’s simple,” Foster said. “I’m going to cut pieces off him and feed him the chunks before he dies.”

  I couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Sure, but we don’t even know who he is. Which means we don’t know how to find him.”

  “You kill enough enemies, you get the right one eventually.” Foster massaged the hilt of his sword, and it was particularly menacing.

  Aideen laid a hand on his shoulder. The murderous gleam in his eyes receded, but it didn’t leave entirely.

  “This isn’t a time to be brash,” Aideen said.

  Foster nodded once. “The patrol was attacked at the bridge below the highway. That’s where we buried Lewis. You think they dug him up?”

  I blinked at the fairy, not quite sure where that question had come from. “No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a message. Someone telling us they know where we’ve been. They know where our skeletons are buried.”

  “Literally.” Frank put his hand on the countertop and leaned toward Park. “Come on, man. You had to have noticed something. Something different? Something unusual about the scene?”

  Park frowned slightly at Frank. “I understand what you’re saying.”

  “What about the light?” Foster asked.

  “Everything looked green,” Park said. “Like they were bleeding green.”

  Foster’s expression turned stony. “Green poison.”

  “Poison?” Park asked.

  “The queen is back,” Aideen said.

  My fingers tightened around the blue obsidian coin on the counter.

  Frank rapidly waved his hands, cutting off the conversation. “We need a witness.”

  “Were there any survivors?” I asked.

  Frank looked to Park, who frowned for a moment and then nodded slowly.

  “Casper,” Park said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a ghost joke?”

  Park glanced at me, his brow furrowing. It gave me the distinct impression it hadn’t been a ghost joke.

  “Casper is a sniper,” Park said, the mild look of confusion still not leaving his face. “She’s in the infirmary, and I’m not sure if she’s conscious.”

  “You call her Casper because she�
�s pale?” Frank asked.

  “What?” Park asked. “Why does everyone think that? No, we call her that because she’s a goddamn ghost.”

  I raised my other eyebrow.

  “No.” Park shook his head rapidly. “Not that kind of ghost. I mean she’s a ghost on the battlefield. No one sees her coming.” Park paused as if contemplating telling us something more. The look passed, but Foster didn’t let it go.

  “What is it?” the fairy asked.

  “She’s an assassin,” Park said. “Casper is one of our best snipers. She’s a master of camouflage. But the Fae saw her coming.”

  “Is she in a military infirmary?” Aideen asked. “Or is she in the hospital a few blocks over?”

  Park opened his phone and texted someone. “I’ll find out.” He’d just finished typing when his phone buzzed. “She’s at the hospital.”

  “That’s where we need to be,” Frank said.

  “She’ll be guarded,” Park said.

  I shrugged. “Makes sense.” I exchanged a look with Foster. “I’ll go with Park,” I said. “The last thing we need is for them to see Foster and mistake him for an enemy.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Foster said.

  “No,” Aideen said, resting her hand on Foster’s wrist. “Damian’s right. It’s too risky. I’ll go. They’re looking for a male fairy, are they not?” She looked to Park.

  Park nodded.

  “Then you have no argument,” Aideen said.

  Foster clearly didn’t like the idea, but he said no more. His hand fell to his side, and he nodded once to Park. He turned to me and said, “Don’t let her kill everyone. Leave some for me.”

  “I’m really hoping we don’t have to kill anyone,” I said.

  Frank looked at the wide-eyed Park before glancing between me and Foster. Frank barked out a short laugh. “It’s like you don’t even know yourself.”

  “Give me a little credit. We usually don’t kill people in a public place.”

  “Okay,” Park said. “Okay okay okay. Now I know you’re just screwing with me.”

  I smiled at Park. “Well, it’s either that or bury you in the backyard. We prefer not to do that.”