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When I turned, Timmon was standing there in an all-black robe. "You have been the biggest thorn in my side," he said, but instead of looking at me, he was looking at the priestess. "You were never supposed to bring her here."
She squared off against him as she said, "You dishonored sacred vows. You dishonored our sacred land. You've put this entire realm at risk. If you weren't bringing her, I knew I had to."
"Well, that's a shame," he replied dryly. His hand came up, and he lashed out.
It wasn't just a punch or a slap. He had a blade hidden in his robes, and the priestess's throat was cut before I could draw my next breath. She clutched her throat trying to stem the bleeding, but it was no use.
Within seconds, she was dead. Her body limp on the ground.
"You know, you really should have just died when you had the chance," he said, looking at me. Confusion must have shown on my face because he decided to elaborate. "I thought my hit in Atlantis was pretty good. I didn't account for how effective the Atlantean healing waters are."
"You're the one that stabbed me," I barely breathed the words as realization dawned.
"Maker, you are slow," he drawled. "Slow and a whore, or maybe that's why you are a whore?"
Growls erupted from my men, and I knew they were barely holding back. If we are surrounded by poisonous plants, then I have to hope that none of them do anything stupid just because they lose their cool.
"If you're part of the One Realm cult, why wait until now to try and kill us? Why not just kill us? When we were in our rooms or something like that?" Griff demanded.
"Because if I want to maintain realm control of Agartha and bring the others in line as well, then I can't very well have a bunch of armies trying to kill me, now, can I? You have all corrupted the realms and made it seem like she is the key, like this child could do anything!"
He barked a laugh. "Like you've actually helped instead of just making things worse! So I needed it to look like she died doing what she was supposed to be able to do. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen in El Dorado. I don't know how many lives I wasted trying to get to that stone or how many caretakers I tortured for the information, but every single time. Every. Single. Time. They died or came out of that lake a gibbering mess that had lost any sense and reason."
He was getting frustrated and starting to pace. "We were never meant to be five different realms. We were meant to be one realm. The fact that the four realms split off is an affront against nature, one which we are paying for slowly. But if we can reconcile, if we can recombine the realms, then those that are meant to will reign supreme."
"And I assume you're the one that's meant to?" I asked.
"Who else knows what's best for everybody? These worlds were never meant to exist. The creatures within them? The plants? They were never meant to exist. They haven't evolved naturally. They've evolved these strange little microcosms created by the realms. Magic has been distorted. I'm only trying to return things to the way they should be." He spread his hands to either side like he was the good guy in this whole situation.
"Which was your people being hunted to extinction, right? At least if my history lessons have served."
"That's because we didn't want to fight back because the humans were weaker, and we were trying to be noble. But if we go back, if the realms combine and people are given permission to do what they need to do to survive, then we will be the dominant species. Who else could compete? You think a bunch of flyboys will be able to take us out? Or some mermaids?"
"No, but the vampires might," Griff growled.
"Right, sure they will. All we have to do is distract you with some fresh blood, and you'll forget what you were doing." His words were chilling. "Not only that, but we can blend. We can become animals. We can slip into the forests and make it impossible for you to find us. Nobody else can do that."
"I think you're forgetting that Hyperboreans can read minds. It's easy for us to pick you out from an animal."
"Then how were you unaware of my intentions? Of my ability? Or the fact that the One Realm movement was being controlled by Agartha the whole time?" Timmon smiled, and it was cold and calculated, making me wonder how many times he'd imagined this argument in his mind.
It was also just a good question, one that I couldn't deny that I wanted to know the answer to now that it had been voiced. Niall just glared at him, as did Dres.
"You think I haven't been working at this for centuries? All of this has been carefully crafted." As he spoke, my guys were closing in around me, obviously trying to protect me, which was both infuriating and appreciated.
Out of all the attempts on my life, his in Atlantis had been one of the closest to taking it. Yes, I almost died in El Dorado a couple of times, but none of it was at the hands of any cult members, not really. Accidental poisoning? That didn't really count in my book, at least not against the other things that have happened.
"It's taken years to get two members of the Queen's council to be on my side in Atlantis. Not to mention having people searching for the conclave chamber in El Dorado. If the stupid seers hadn't blown up the only way we had to get to the Valkyrie chambers, we would have been able to get to the stone there as well."
"You might have been able to gettoit, but you never would have been able to secure it," I said, knowing that the magic that held the stones never would have allowed him or whoever they had sent to actually claim it, to have the Dragons, or to have the experiences I had. All of that was designed for the key. Me. Something I was finally ready to own. As he had mentioned each realm, the guys went stiff, and tension began to flow through them as though they were preparing to launch a battle. I didn't want them to, though.
The plants are poisonous. Stand down,I said mentally.
That's what you need to get to the stone. He's busy being a Bond villain right now. You need to use that to your advantage,Dresden said.
What the hell is a Bond villain?Niall asked.
Now is not the time, brother.
