If an eyeball could have any sort of expression, just by itself, Tina would say that King Sam looked thoughtful. Then the eyeball bobbed up and down once, like a person nodding their head.
“We take turns being King,” he admitted. “Today is merely my day. If you leave me a good review, I’ll go into the short cycle, and my turn will come around again quickly, instead of staying in the long cycle that I’m on now.”
“Okay,” Christine said, sounding perplexed. “Where would we go to leave a review?”
Again, it was difficult, if not impossible, to read the expression of a mere eyeball. But if Tina could hazard a guess, she would say that King Sam beamed at them in joy.
“All the details will be on your Survey Exit Cards,” he said proudly. “That way, you don’t have to guess!”
“Very clever,” Christine said.
That made King Sam beam more. “Thank you,” he said with a little bob again. “I helped with the design.”
Tina couldn’t even imagine how an eyeball made a printed survey card. But then again, with magic, most anything was possible.
They quickly arrived at the foot of a steep hill. The top appeared to be covered with fog.
“Is it a good day to climb to the top?” Christine asked. “Will we be able to see anything?”
“The fog merely obscures the path on the way up, giving a Mythical Experience during your climb. It will Melt as you approach the top,” King Sam reassured them, “giving you Majestic Views both Inside and Out.”
Tina looked at the steep, winding path. While a troll could climb all day, and Christine was certainly muscled enough that she wouldn’t get winded, Tina didn’t have the strength she’d once had.
Plus, she didn’t want to use up all her energy climbing. She needed to save some for the fight with Christine. Once they got to the top, Tina could challenge her. Maybe throw her down from the highest point.
“Do we really have to climb that?” Tina asked. She didn’t mean to sound whiny but she couldn’t help it. It looked like such a chore.
Christine threw her a worried glance. “My friend has been sick recently,” she said quietly.
“You had merely to let us know!” King Sam said. He gave a whistling call.
Several of the smaller eyeballs darted forward. What had looked like a large boulder at the side of the path suddenly transformed into a set of stairs. They were carved out of rock, and instead of snaking up the side of the hill, went straight up. Climbing the stairs would still take effort. It would be much easier to just float up them, as well as a lot quicker.
“There are other sites that are ADA compliant,” King Sam assured them. “The shortcut is the best that we’ve done so far with the Head of Soul’s Hill. We would like to put in an elevator; however, that ruins the effect of passing through the mists and achieving the peak. Once we figure out how to recreate that effect for all our visitors and can settle on a design, we will put one in place.” He paused, then glanced from Christine to Tina and back again. “Will this suffice?”
Christine looked at Tina, who nodded. “It’s perfect,” she announced.
Before King Sam could turn and proceed them up the stairs, Tina asked, “Can we continue on our own?”
Though the eyeball didn’t have any eyelids, Tina still had the impression that it blinked at her. Several times.
“I just feel that’s the right thing for us to do,” Tina said quietly. “The right method for us to continue our quest.”
“Ah! A Quest! A Quest!” the king said, loud enough for all of the eyeballs following them to be able to hear.
Tina didn’t have to turn to look to see the mad celebrations that had broken out, the eyeballs whizzing around madly.
“Certainly! Please, Be Our Guests!” King Sam said, bobbing again, then flying to the side so Christine and Tina could proceed to walk to the stairs by themselves.
“You’ll be sure to mention that in your Survey Exit Cards, won’t you?” King Sam enquired quietly, flying next to them. “In the Comments Section.”
“Sure,” Tina said breezily. She knew that the Sammuthians would take their comments and put them on their brochures, proclaiming this site as part of the quest for the Obelisk of Truth.
Maybe when Tina filled out the Survey Exit Card, she could also explain her quest to regain her Destiny.
It would probably bring in a lot more tourists than merely Christine’s simple quest.
Tina easily flowed up the stairs, her magic lifting her up and carrying her along. It made her want to laugh. Christine marched solidly behind her, too stubborn to use her own magic.
Who would want to walk when you could fly?
Christine said that the workout would be good for her. Build up her stamina.
Ugh. Stupid troll.
The air smelled like a pine forest up here. Cool breezes wafted around them, keeping them from overheating. The rock steps had florets, trailing ivy, and even waves carved into the face of them. Flowing off on either side of the stairs was a dense forest, with thick brambles growing up between the rough tree trunks. Bees hummed every now and again, and a few birds bravely sang out.
Tina did have to admit that it was charming how the fog wreathed the forest surrounding them, wrapping around the trees, melting as they approached.
Every once in a while the stairs would turn and suddenly they’d have a marvelous view of the entire land surrounding them. She wouldn’t have guessed that there would be so much agriculture in the area. The fields were postage stamp picture perfect.
Then again, that was probably the point. The Sammuthians might not have actually been growing much of anything. It could all be for show.
Off in the distance, Tina saw a glimmer of water. The beaches here were probably awesome. She might have to come back someday to see some of the other sights.
After she had regained her Destiny and won the Great War.
Tina slowed as she approached a thicker area of fog that actually covered the stairs.
Christine came up beside her, then looked up at her. “We should walk the rest of the way together,” she said.
Tina pouted but acquiesced. “Fine,” she said. She floated down to the ground. The rock felt cold under her feet.
Besides, maybe it was better for them to be next to each other. Easier for Tina to attack Christine that way.
The stairs grew more shallow as well as more primitive, as if the constant rain and moisture up here had worn grooves into the rock. The bramble between the trees grew less dense, and the trees themselves were shorter. Colder winds blew around them, carrying the smell of wet rock.
Side by side, they climbed the broad stairs. As promised, the mist melted away in front of them and the area before them opened up.
Tina caught her breath.
Okay, so maybe the view from up here really was spectacular.
She hadn’t been expecting there to be a secondary set of hills just below them, with a wide lake scooped out. The waters brilliantly reflected the white sky, taking on a silvery appearance. Bleached rocks surrounded the lake, a stark contrast to the bright green trees growing just beyond. A sole hawk gave a loud cry, echoing off the peaks.
Tina turned slowly, marveling at the other vistas. The patchwork of fields stretched out in one direction, while forests marched on in another. It was easier to see the long stretch of ocean in the distance.
“Look there!” Christine proclaimed, sounding excited.
“Oh,” Tina said. In the distance, on the far right side, stood a castle. It looked like a typical fairytale castle made out of dark red brick, with lots of towers, crenulated walls, even a moat.
“Think it’s real?” Christine asked. “King Sam didn’t list it as one of the true wonders.”
“Maybe it isn’t in walking distance, can’t travel there and back for just a day trip,” Tina said. “It would Require the Full Week Package.”
Christine giggled.
Good.
Tina needed for C
hristine’s guard to be all the way down.
“So what do you think?” Tina said. “Should we go down to the lake?”
“You sure you want to walk that far?” Christine asked.
“Who said anything about walking?” Tina said as she floated back up off the ground again.
Christine grinned up at her. “Today is a good day, isn’t it,” she said quietly.
Tina beamed. “The best ever!”
And it would be. Soon.
The lake smelled sterile, as though the cold and the rocks had killed off anything that might be growing in it. Nothing disturbed the surface, not fish from underneath or the winds now blowing much more strongly around them. The sky remained white overhead, the sun hidden by the peak behind them.
Tina walked right up to the shore. The water seemed sluggish, as if it were filled with mercury. It glowed more brightly as well.
She knelt down and poked a cautious fingertip into the water. It felt viscus and cold, chilling her right to the bone. When she stood and shook her hand, the drops flew everywhere around her, as if she’d stuck her entire fist into the water.
The color of the water cleared.
Instead of being a shiny silver, it was suddenly much darker. Not murky, but a black so shiny it was almost reflective.
It was, Tina realized, the color of her heart.
Seemed that the lake approved of her quest.
“What are you doing?” Christine asked, sounding nervous.
The waters rose up around Tina, forming a type of rail around her. A shield.
They would protect her.
“Did you really think I would just let you take my head?” Tina said.
“What?” Christine squawked. “What are you talking about?”
“You need Tina’s head. My head,” she said. “Did you really think I was going to just hack my own head off and hand it to you on a silver platter?”
“No,” Christine said. “I didn’t think I’d need your physical head at all. The pieces I’ve been collecting have been metaphors. Kind of.” She gave a frustrated sigh. “I figured we’d find something here. Something that would represent your head. Not your actual head itself!”
“Right,” Tina said. “Maybe you didn’t kill the others. They’re your family after all.”
“You’re my family, too,” Christine said immediately. “My human sister.”
“No,” Tina said. “We aren’t related. We were just tied together through magic.”
“Exactly,” Christine said. “We are tied together. Closer than blood.”
Tina shook her head. “Our Destinies were tied together. Until you stole mine.”
“What are you talking about?” Christine asked.
Oh, the stupid troll! She played the part so well.
“You stole my Destiny,” Tina reminded her. “Took it so that you could be the great general of the Great War. Well, I’m stealing it back.”
“I didn’t take your Destiny,” Christine said.
Of course she’d deny it.
“I don’t need to convince you of that,” Tina said. “Though it would be nice if you’d admit the truth.”
Before Christine could say anything else, Tina called on all the power she had, all the anger of her betrayal, all the magic she felt in the lake.
She laughed as she brought down a hailstorm of fire on the idiotic troll standing in front of her.
No, Tina didn’t need Christine’s to admit anything before she died.
Chapter Twenty-One
Christine was so shocked at Tina’s abrupt betrayal that she nearly didn’t get a shield up in time to protect her from the firestorm raining down on her.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” Christine demanded as she blocked Tina’s next attack.
Of course, she should have known that things were going too well. Tina had acted happy to see Christine every time she came over. There had only been a couple of times when Christine wondered, when she thought Tina had thrown her a dark, angry look, only to be covered with lighthearted giggles.
How long had Tina been planning this? What was wrong with her? Was she still being influenced by demons? The Zimmermans had been vigilant with their protection spells, particularly once they’d lived with Tina for a few days and came to appreciate just how damaged their daughter had been.
Tina called up dark, billowing smoke—poisonous, if Christine was taking any bets—and swirled it around the pair of them.
That wasn’t one of Tina’s normal defenses.
Damn it!
Hell really had gotten its grips on Tina’s soul.
How could Christine cleanse it? How could she get those talons out? And not kill Tina, or die herself in the meanwhile?
The water behind Tina appeared to split in two. On the one side, the silver still shone. On the other side, black murky depths raged.
The darkness was gaining on the light.
Christine knew that she only had a little time to save Tina. She had to prevent the dark waters from overtaking the brighter parts.
But how?
And was this why this place was called Soul’s Hill? Because the waters of the lake reflected what was truly in one’s soul?
Suddenly, Christine knew how to win.
She didn’t have to prove that she was a better spellcaster than Tina. While Christine was a mighty fighter, her true skill lay in physical battles, not magical.
No, Christine had to trust that her soul was stronger than Tina’s, as it was whole and not divided like her doppelganger’s.
She had to make it to the water’s edge, though. How?
Tina was intent on driving Christine back, across the rocks and toward the trees.
When Christine glanced over her shoulder, she shuddered at the sight of the prickly vines now waving their branches at her, like a monstrous sea creature. True darkness filled the underside of the trees.
Stepping in there would slick Christine’s soul in dark oil, coat it in a shell that would harden, so that she could never escape.
Christine tried to go forward instead. She feinted to the left then tried racing to the right.
Tina wasn’t fooled, however. The rain of fire changed into sleeting gouts, flying horizontally, aiming to cut Christine off at the waist.
Damn it. How was Christine going to get around Tina? Make her way to the lake?
Christine tried creating her own storm of fire, behind Tina. Maybe get her to look away from the battle in front of her. Distract her, so that Christine could make a run for it.
But Tina never once looked away. The lake at her back took care of any attack that Christine set up.
Christine even tried throwing boulders at Tina. Even though the rocks here were foreign, Christine still felt enough affinity with them to call them to her, use them to do her will.
Tina cracked open every rock that approached, dissolving them into a rain of dust and gravel. Christine stopped trying to throw boulders quickly as she felt a jolt of pain as each one was destroyed.
Still, Christine wasn’t any closer to the water. In fact, she was now a few more steps away from it than she had been.
How could she reach it?
Or did she have to reach it?
Christine called her ax to her hands. She could make out Tina’s sneer even through the barrage of magic being tossed her way.
Let Tina underestimate her. Let her believe that Christine was barely capable of defending herself magically and that she needed to attack physically.
With a whooping cry, Christine threw her ax.
Trolls tended to hit whatever it was that they were aiming at, whether it be with stones, darts, or even axes.
The ax flew right over Tina’s head, as planned. She tried to knock it to the side, but it just kept traveling.
Diving straight into the waters of the lake itself.
Christine gasped at the cold that suddenly washed over her. She shook her head, letting her own fire element take control for a while,
going head-to-head with all the rest of the fire racing around her.
After a few gasping deep breaths, Christine called her ax back, causing it to fly to her hand.
Coated with water.
For a moment, Christine had an image of the state of her own soul. Like Tina’s, it had a bright silver edge to it, though hers was tinted with what she thought of as royal troll green.
However, it had a dark edge to it. Much darker than Christine had expected. Christine blamed those on the war, on watching so many good beings die.
She wasn’t pure or simple. Not anymore. Never again.
Christine focused on the good parts of her soul. The cleaner parts. The silver that shone with the joy of her family, how good the earth felt under her feet, the smell of fresh dirt, the warmth of a friendly fire.
How, despite the war, there was still goodness to be found, friends and comrades and even mercy.
Christine watched the darkness that covered the lake pause in its ruthless attack of the silver.
“The joy of magic!” Christine called out. “The taste of a good ribeye! The feeling of spring sunshine!”
Tina appeared to have heard Christine. She paused for a moment in her attack, the fire turning to ice around her. “What are you going on about?”
“All the good things you still have in your life,” Christine said.
“Right,” Tina said. “Remember the joy and all the fun we had and that will get me to forgive you? Not likely.”
“But you still have a Destiny!” Christine said, knocking aside the sharp spears of ice that Tina now flung at her.
“You stole it from me!” Tina screamed.
Her face turned a truly impressive shade of red, even through the hail and the storm.
“I did not,” Christine said. “That’s your doubt talking. It wasn’t me. You still have a Destiny. You are meant to fight by my side in the Great War. Hell, you might even win it yourself!”
“I’m meant to lead the armies,” Tina said quietly. “Not you.”
Christine rolled her eyes. “Then lead,” she said.
The Troll-Human War Page 16
