The Queen Revealed by A. R. Winterstaar Page A

with the Empress could be seen as an attempt to ingratiate himself with her and would earn the wrath of his larger and stronger siblings.
    But Schiss knew that any effort to appeal to Grottonski’s kindness would fall on deaf ears, so he instead tried to reason with him.
    “I cannot guarantee that I can even get this letter to the Empress tonight, you know,” said Schiss, his reedy voice plaintive. “There is a war in the Nest and it is still bloody. Someone might steal that letter from me and let it drop in the mud. Perhaps…”
    “You will take a talisman,” snapped Grotto and his tone brooked no debate. Schiss paled as he caught the small object that Grotto tossed at him.
    It was a long stick, a finger bone by the looks of it, with a black crow feather tied to the end, bound by a string of gut. Schiss sniffed at it and recoiled quickly. It smelled of death and dark Magic. Schiss gave it a cautionary wave and a shot of green sparks flew out the end of the finger bone:
    “Beware the carrier of this talisman,” boomed a disembodied voice. “Death visits here!”
    Schiss shrieked and dropped the bone. It fell to the floor, clattering on the tiles, but didn’t break, though the voice and the green sparks disappeared.
    “It’s a little dramatic,” remarked Grotto drily. “But it should get you to the center of the Nest for an audience with your mother unmolested. Just don’t wave it about too much or it could explode. It’s very old.”
    Nodding, Schiss cautiously bent to pick up the bone and placed it in his pocket, his expression showing his distaste. “What should I expect from the Empress when I give her the letter?” he asked. “Should I wait for one in return or do I have your permission to return to the Grey Palace?” Schiss sent Grottonski what he hoped was a winning smile, but the manservant was shuffling through piles of papers at the desk, and his effort was wasted.
    “It should be here,” muttered Grotto, searching a pile of small cards in a little wooden box. “I had the name of the priest right here… ah-ha, here he is!”
    Grotto looked up at Schiss and the little man-Spider almost flinched from the malevolence in Grotto’s smile. “You should hurry back to me, Schiss, because I will have another letter for you to deliver as soon as you can.”
    Schiss didn’t like the creaking sounds coming out of Grotto as the old manservant attempted a chuckle. “Priests are dangerous Humans, Mr. Grottonski. He’s not going to hurt the Queen, is he?” he asked as a feeling of foreboding swamped him.
    “Hurt her? Why, no, little Spider, but even that Abomination will need a priest at her wedding, won’t she?” Grotto cackled, but quickly choked it off to turn back to his work.
    A wedding! The beautiful Queen Adelena will marry the Marchant Prince? Well, he is a lucky man, though he couldn’t deserve a lady such as her. Perhaps , Schiss thought hopefully, I might even be invited.
    He would so love to see the Queen again, and he would love for her to see him in his Human form, so he could thank her properly for saving his life in Sandar. If she hadn’t released him from that little box, he would have died horribly from the Magic that was singeing his fur and eating away at his innards. That day the Queen had arrived like a vision of the Goddess herself and had shaken him so gently to the ground, right next to a portal, and had blessed him with a promise never to kill him. Obviously she had found him special above all others. Obviously she had seen something in him that she hadn’t in Oki, because he had died by her hand, whereas Schiss had been preserved. They had a bond, he and the Queen. Schiss could feel it right down to his bones. Maybe it had something to do with this Prophecy that was so important to the Empress and Grottonski?
    Schiss had always liked Humans and he liked living aboveground. He liked the sun and though he knew it wasn’t healthy, he felt most alive when he was sitting in