Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

ever considered,' said Dominic conversationally to Jordan, 'how much of the human body is water? Water I can control, by my magic? In fact, have you ever considered what a man would look like, after every drop of water in him had been drained away?'
    Jordan palmed a flare pellet from his sleeve, nicked the wax coating with his thumbnail, and threw the pellet at Dominic's face. The Prince fell back a step, taken by surprise, but the pellet still cracked against his forehead and broke open. Flames roared up around his face, and his hair caught alight. He screamed, and beat at the flames with his hands.
    Jordan ran over to the gateway, sword in hand. He stood before Elizabeth and then stopped, as he realised he had no idea what to do next. Compassion and outrage and not wanting to look a coward had brought him this far, but the gateway was more horrible than anything in the corridors. Elizabeth should have been dead, but somehow the gateway was keeping her alive. The power that that implied was far beyond anything Jordan could hope to defeat. He'd never felt so scared in his life. He couldn't seem to get his breath, his legs were shuddering, and his stomach churned with tension. He was no hero or soldier, he didn't belong here. Jordan swallowed hard, and shook his head doggedly. He remembered the tsunami, and his regret at never having had a chance to act as a Prince should. Now he'd been given the chance. Whether he lived or died no longer seemed as important as it once had. All that mattered now was destroying the gateway before the Unreal broke free of its restraints, and killed everyone in the Castle. Jordan raised his sword, and tried to figure out where to strike for the best. He was still just as scared. He just didn't care any more.
    The churning lights shining deep in the gutted body pulled at his eyes, mesmerising him, and he jerked his gaze away with an effort. He could hear Dominic groaning and cursing, and stumbling back and forth behind him. And then Jordan looked up, and his gaze met the mad eyes in Elizabeth's face, and he knew what he had to do. He took a firm grip on his sword, and cut at the Lady Elizabeth's neck. His sword bit deeply, and blood spurted out in a thick jet. He cut again, and severed the head completely. It fell past him, and bounced once on the floor before rolling away. The eyes still moved, and the mouth still worked silently. And then blood welled from the gateway in a steady stream, and in the blink of an eye the gateway fell in on itself, and was gone. The body hanging on the wall was just a body, and Elizabeth's head lay still and silent on the floor. Jordan turned away.
    Sir Gawaine was sitting on his haunches, pale and shocked but now clinging grimly on to his axe. There was a scuffing sound to Jordan's right, and he looked quickly round to see Dominic leaning against the wall by the door. He'd put out the flames by conjuring up water, but not before the fire had done its worst. Half his hair was gone, and his face was horribly disfigured. There was a drifting smell of burnt meat on the air. Dominic peered at Jordan with his one good eye and raised a shaking hand in a mystical gesture, only to stop as Gawaine lurched to his feet again, axe at the ready. Dominic smiled at Jordan, his teeth horribly white against the scorched and blackened flesh of his face.
    'I'll watch you die by inches for this, actor.'
    A split in the air opened before Dominic and swallowed him up. The air sparked with static, and then was still. Jordan and Sir Gawaine looked at each other.
    'Always has to have the last word, your brother,' said Gawaine.
    They put away their weapons, and Gawaine glanced briefly at what was left of the Lady Elizabeth.
    'Poor lass,' he said quietly. 'I never liked her, but no one should have to die like that.'
    'Let's get out of here,' said Jordan. 'I'm so tired I'm asleep on my feet.'
    Gawaine smiled wearily. 'I'd forgotten just how hectic life can be at Castle Midnight. You'd better grab some sleep while you can, your highness. We've closed the gateway, but it's only a matter of time before the Unreal grows strong enough to break through on its own. And we still don't know how much damage Dominic's troops have done under cover of the chaos.'
    'Doesn't this place ever quieten down?' said Jordan disgustedly. 'I've appeared in murder mysteries that were less complicated than this.'
    'The only way this Castle will ever know peace is when there's a King on the throne. That's the