Sabrina nodded and hurried out of the room. Nayara slid the door to her cabin shut. Her room was large, complete with a bathroom and a large tub. There were two separate rooms in the back. She appointed her General to command this ship in the meantime so she could attend to her own business. Her General was faithful and shared the same vision.
The Queen had thought long and hard about her next actions. She knew that she had to overtake Oasi and make it her own. There weren’t any official leaders of the world, but Oasi was the closest thing Narque had. Oscurilina would also have to be awakened. With the fairy at her command, she would be invincible, and Death itself would fear her.
Queen Nayara washed her face in the sink and then walked into the smaller of the two rooms in the back. This room was round with wooden panels lining the walls. There were a few tables against the walls and a round one in the middle. On top of the round table was a dark granite bowl.
Nayara placed her hand over it. The basis was filled with two inches of water. Blood fell from her fingernails, though no cut was visible. The blood fell slowly in drops. One, two, three, four, five.
The water burned red momentarily until the sight of a cave replaced it. Queen Nayara looked for something within the cave. She didn’t move her head closer to the bowl but scanned with her eyes. Then she found what she was looking for; a man, sitting by a stone wall, his head on his knees and arms over his head.
“John Dimes,” Nayara said. The man jerked his head up.
“What do you want?” He spat out as best he could though his voice was hoarse and shaky.
“Is that any way to greet your Queen?” Nayara said, almost mockingly. “I’ve kept you alive this long.”
John clenched his fists and coughed out a painful laugh. “You will never be Queen. And I am only alive because you need me to be.”
This time Nayara laughed. “Haven’t you seen it, John? I am already Queen. I’ve been Queen since you left this planet.”
“Narque still has its freedom and its chosen leaders.”
The Queen smiled at this. “Narque doesn’t have leaders,” she said. “Oasi is about to crumble, and their council will be no more. This world will have no one else to look to when they are in need.”
“They will take you down,” John replied. “There is no chance that you will take Oasi. And when you fall, even our Underworld won’t accept you.”
Again Nayara smiled. “We’ll see about that. Our world is changing John. Too bad you won’t be alive to see it to fruition.”
“It’s too bad you can’t leave this world.”
Nayara’s smile disappeared. “You will pay in an eternity of pain for what you did. I will undo the bond you have tied me with. When I have obtained Oscurilina’s true power, I will be able to bend physics and magic as I see fit.”
John laughed and Nayara scowled. “Give it up. Even if you do break it, there’s still another force that prevents you from entering Earth. With all the power in our world, you still couldn’t dream to break it.”
Nayara smiled. “Think again. I have delved deep into the workings and lore of our world. I will capture and kill each of the twelve sources of power so that the Palatinii cycle will be gone forever, which will make me the strongest power on Narque, and Narque will then be bound to me.”
John glared in Nayara’s direction, though he could not see her.
“Don’t mess with the Covetus.”
Nayara ignored John’s warning. “After I kill you, I will kill your daughter. Her powers are nothing compared to mine, and I move too fast for her to train. She will die, just like you.”
“No!” John yelled. He jumped up and kicked the wall several times. He then punched it, nearly breaking his knuckles. He could hear Nayara cackling from her ship. He could not see her but knew that she could see him. It incensed him, knowing that after everything he had done to keep his daughter safe and to ensure that Nayara could not prevail, she still found the one thing that could secure her victory, and guarantee the destruction of this world. John punched the wall again and this time lightning exploded from his hands and lit up the cavern but did no damage to the rocky walls. This was because Nayara had ensured that he wouldn’t be able to escape.
John thought Nayara would have a smug smile on her face. She was proud that she had built a prison from the strongest of rock that existed. This rock could not be damaged and attracted only cold air and destroyed heat.
Nayara stared down at John. She relished in the fact that she had imprisoned John Dimes, leader of the Palatinii, where many would rather die than step foot inside.
The Queen spat into the bowl and the image of the cave vanished, leaving only the crystal clear water that occupied the bowl many minutes ago. She walked around her room. The reaction from John Dimes was all she needed to confirm that she had already won.
Nayara scoffed. She knew she had won. She didn’t need John to tell her that. Mainly the Queen enjoyed seeing John suffer. When he left this world to live a new life on Earth with Natasha and their daughter, Nayara knew that would be the moment she could move forward with her goals for Narque and make it a place that she and those who followed her could prosper.
She walked out of her cabin to ensure that the other ships were on their way to their destination.
As
