by Elise Kova
Taavin and Deneya regarded her with expressions she didn’t recognize and didn’t bother trying to decipher.
“We’ll find her. Whatever it takes, we’ll find her,” Vi swore. The axe was in this city, and she’d be damned if she was going to let it slip through her fingers.
Chapter Thirty
Vhalla had been right to head to the Crossroads. It was arguably the largest city in Solaris, sprawling in all directions. It was also one of the densest and boasted a diverse population.
If there was anywhere the Windwalker could slip away, it was here.
The days bled into each other. Day after day they split up and searched, looking high and low. The hunt for Vhalla was like running on a track. Vi was exhausting herself and getting nowhere.
She wasn’t sure how she could know every inch of the Crossroads and not be able to find one woman. But Vhalla Yarl clearly didn’t want to be found. So she remained hidden.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Taavin asked, looking at the various maps Vi had purchased that were currently spread out across one of the tables in their shop. Vi had continued operating the curiosity shop in the hope that, for some reason, Vhalla would come back.
She hadn’t.
“We’re chasing a hare in a forest,” Deneya murmured, staring at the red, blue, and green ink that marked different areas they had each explored. “This is pointless.”
“We have to find the axe.” Vi cracked her knuckles, folding and unfolding her hands to try to alleviate some of the restless energy that perpetually lived within her.
“I know that.” Deneya folded her arms, leaning away from the table. “But I’m saying how we’re approaching this is pointless.”
“What do you mean?” Taavin asked.
“If you hunt a hare in the woods, you don’t chase it all about. It’ll outrun you, hide in holes you can’t reach into, run to places you didn’t know were there because it knows the woods better than you.”
“Vhalla doesn’t know the Crossroads better than I do.” No one on the continent had a firmer grasp of all the maps of the world, Vi was certain.
“Clearly, she does.”
“Fine, then how do you catch a hare in the woods?”
“Two ways.” Deneya held up her fingers. “One, you use a fox—a beast that knows the woods as well as the hare.”
“Fresh out of foxes.”
“Vi, she’s trying to be helpful,” Taavin said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Deneya ignored them both.
“Two, you set a snare.” Vi pursed her lips but remained silent, motioning for the woman to continue. “I think we have a snare coming our way in the form of the Imperial army. If Vhalla Yarl is here, she’ll be drawn out by them—by the presence of Aldrik.”
“Or go further underground. You heard her on the journey here, she was well and truly done with the prince.”
“But she’s not. She never is,” Taavin said. “I think Deneya is right. This could be what draws Vhalla from her hiding place.”
“I propose,” Deneya continued. She pointed to the center of the map, at the heart of the Crossroads. “We have two of us right in the thick of it all between now and when the Imperial army arrives.”
“You want to watch over the hotel where the Imperials usually stay,” Vi realized.
“Yes. If she’s going to try to see Aldrik, he’ll be there. And she might try to sneak in beforehand.”
Vi tapped her fingers on the table and then turned to Taavin. “You have any other ideas?”
“I wish I did… but all of this is new. I don’t have a single past world to leverage.” Discomfort flooded the words. He clearly hated that he didn’t know what was coming next and Vi couldn’t blame him. He was the one who’d always known what was happening.
Now, he was starting to have to play things by ear.
“All right, we’ll take turns on who stays in the center square. The other one of us will patrol the city.”
“What if she comes back here?” Deneya asked.
“One of us should keep an eye on the shop,” Taavin said. “Both of Vhalla’s visits to the shop are stones in the river. The second time is when the birth of a new Champion is cemented and the watch is given… While it doesn’t usually happen until after the Caverns are destroyed, things are changing and we can’t be too careful.”
“I agree.” Vi chose the path of least resistance. Even though Vhalla was still operating on the future Vi had told her when she was last here, there was a possibility she’d come back sooner.
Anything was possible.
Vhalla not coming back to the shop at all wasn’t something they could entirely rule out. More and more of the world was changing, and that meant Vi had to come to terms with the idea of a world without a Vi Solaris.
“It’s crowded today,” Taavin murmured from Vi’s side. He wore the face of a Westerner. Vi was illusioned as well; they weren’t taking any chances with Vhalla recognizing them.
“It is… Excuse me, sir.” She tapped the shoulder of a kindly looking gentleman at her side. “Do you know if there’s some kind of event happening today?”
“You haven’t heard? Lord Ophain is coming ahead of the Imperial Army,” the man said. “He’s holding audiences for the public. I recommend you get in line if you’d like a word with him. I think it’ll be hours before you’ll get in, even if you line up now.”
“Thank you for the advice.” He nodded at her and left. She then spoke only to Taavin. “You should get in line.”
“What?”
“Get inside that hotel and take a look around. Make sure she hasn’t been hiding among the staff this whole time.”
“I think the staff would recognize her, given her acclaim…”
“One would hope, but we well know how people only see what they want to.” Vi squeezed his hand. “Come back tonight and report on whatever you’ve found.”
“All right.” He moved to leave, but Vi held fast.
She pulled him close, giving him a gentle kiss. “Thank you for all your help.”
“It’s my duty.” Taavin smiled and gave a wink. “And my honor to follow you to the ends of the earth.”
“Let’s hope it’s not the end,” Vi called after him. She watched him leave with a small smile, one that slowly fell as she turned away. When he was at her side, the world was good and everything would be all right.
When he left, the world was cold. The only thing that gave her warmth was the flame of her purpose, the driving force of why she was even on this earth at all—to summon Yargen once more.
“Soon,” she murmured to the goddess.
Soon. The word resonated within her, as though in reply.
Vi began to make rounds as the square filled. More and more people lined up, ready to seek an audience with Lord Ophain. Vi scanned each of them, looking for a pair of brown eyes she’d recognize anywhere.
When the Lord of the West arrived, the crowd erupted in cheers and fanfare. Vi kept her eyes off the man atop his warstrider and his military detail. She looked among the people, her eyes landing on a lone woman sitting atop a pedestal bearing a lamppost.
The woman wasn’t cheering with the rest of them. She observed the world around her with brown eyes that had serious intent. Vhalla was smart enough to wear a scarf to hide her hair, but it didn’t throw off Vi.
She made a wide loop, moving unseen through the crowd. Vi made it a point not to stare for too long, lest Vhalla sense her presence. Finally, she perched herself on a stoop high up enough that she had an unobstructed view of Vhalla’s back.
The sun drifted lazily though the sky and Vhalla moved herself into a shaded nook. Vi remained as still as a statue. The woman didn’t even so much as glance her way.
When the afternoon heat had scared away most of the people, a man emerged from the hotel, tapping his cane. He spoke in a booming voice that echoed across the square.
“Lord Ophain has taken to rest out the midday heat. Audiences will resume
in the evening. Do not hold the line, we will form a new system upon your return.”
Vi scanned for Taavin in the dispersing remnants of the crowd, but she couldn’t distinguish him from any other Westerner. His illusion was too perfect and she hadn’t bothered to study it carefully.
Vhalla moved, and thoughts of Taavin vanished. She went for the hotel and entered after a brief discussion with the man holding the cane. Vi shifted her weight from foot to foot to alleviate some of her energy. She hoped Taavin was in that hotel.
All she could do from where she stood was be patient, and wait.
The doors of the hotel opened shortly after Vhalla had gone in and Vi straightened from the wall she’d been leaning on. But it wasn’t Vhalla who departed. It was a man with a thick mustache wearing a band of red crimson around his bicep. There was a symbol on the band drawn in black. From Vi’s distance, she couldn’t make out the details of the symbol, but she knew what it was.
A phoenix holding a sword in its talons—the symbol of the Knights of Jadar.
She scowled at the man from afar as he moved through the square. He consumed her attention with a familiarity she couldn’t place. How did she know him? Did she know him? Or was this eerie sense of recognition merely the ghost of a memory from a past life?
Vi tore her eyes away, bringing them back to the hotel. The Knights of Jadar weren’t her quarry right now. Vhalla was, and she couldn’t miss the moment the young woman departed.
After another hour, a woman emerged from the hotel wearing the same headscarf as Vhalla. She kept her head down, and Vi couldn’t see her face, but she followed anyway. Either this was Vhalla… or Vhalla had switched the scarf with a decoy and, in that case, Vi hoped Taavin had been inside to keep eyes on the real Vhalla Yarl.
Keeping her illusion wrapped tightly around her fingers, Vi followed a few dozen paces behind the woman. Tucked into a side street was a narrow bookstore. Vhalla went inside and Vi took her time strolling by. She saw Vhalla—for now she was sure it was her—retreat upstairs through the window.
Vi stepped into an alley where she could still see the building. At the very top, near the roof, was another tiny window. Vi held her breath, waiting.
A soft blue light subtly illuminated the ceiling of the top-floor room.
“Found you,” Vi whispered.
She began to run.
Vi sprinted through the Crossroads and made record time back to their shop. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve guessed she’d flown rather than ran. Taking the stairs two at a time, Vi raced upward to their apartment, grabbing the satchel their fake axe was stored in.
She didn’t bother to wait for Taavin or Deneya—she sprinted back to Vhalla’s apartment. Her heart beat in her throat, making it hard to breathe. Otherwise, despite all the running, she was hardly winded.
The shop was dark. The woman she’d seen behind the desk was gone.
Vi rounded the building, looking for a back door. There was none.
“Durroe sallvas tempre,” Vi whispered, approaching the door. She glanced in through the windows, looking for signs of life. When confirmed all was quiet, Vi tried the handle.
Locked.
Vi let out a cry of frustration. She wanted to bang the door down. She wanted to storm in and grab the axe by force if that’s what it took.
But she took a breath and stepped away, releasing her magic.
Vhalla had made a temporary home here. She felt safe. Vi knew where she was, knew she had the axe. All she had to wait for now was an opportunity to take it. The last thing she wanted to do was risk raising Vhalla’s suspicions, sending her on the move again.
Still, Vi stood frozen, staring up at the window. She imagined the feeling of the axe in her hands. Her eyes fluttered closed as the phantom swell of power overtook her.
“Soon,” Vi whispered again.
Soon, that same voice replied in agreement. Louder, this time, than the first.
Chapter Thirty-One
They watched Vhalla in shifts over the next few days. One of them always had eyes on the modest bookstore. Sometimes, Vhalla worked behind the shop counter. Sometimes she wandered. But the other woman—the one Vi had presumed to be the actual shop owner—never left the building.
Someone was always there. And Vi didn’t dare risk entering while they were.
When she wasn’t watching the store, she tried to sleep. But that was an ever-elusive thing. Whenever she tried to still her mind, her thoughts went instantly to the axe. As if she could search for it even in dreams.
“You’re still awake,” Taavin said with surprise as he appeared at the top of the stairs.
“I am.”
“I thought you were trying to nap.”
“I was.”
“Going well?” He made a soft hmm noise.
“Clearly.” Vi tore her eyes away from the ceiling to look at him. Just the sight of the man nearly moved her to tears. “Hold me, please?” she whispered softly.
Taavin didn’t hesitate. He set down the food he’d gone to procure, not even bothering to put it away on their shelves, and laid down next to her. He scooped her into his arms. Vi twisted so her cheek was on his chest. Her eyes fluttered closed and she gave a soft sigh.
This was the reason she could keep breathing. Her sanity was held together by his arms.
“I’m so frustrated and exhausted,” she admitted with a sigh. “I’m exhausted of hunting—of this gnawing, needy feeling I can’t shake.” He was silent and let her speak, his arms tightening slightly. “All I want to do is move. And yet all I want to do is stop. Stop it all. Stop this relentless march of time toward an end that I both want and don’t want.
“I can’t explain it. But I’m being torn apart from the inside out.” Vi pressed her eyes shut and pushed her face further into his chest, as if she could fall into him and away from the world.
“I know,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I know.”
“You can’t.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“I see you, Vi.” His arms tightened around her as though he was trying to meld them like clay into one being. “Sometimes, what I see frightens me, or I don’t understand it, or both. But I still see you. No matter how much time passes or what duties are piled on you. I see you.”
“At least someone does.” She smiled weakly.
“I always will.”
“It’s always been you.”
“Vi,” he spoke tenderly, his voice deep with emotion. Vi listened to it resonating through his chest. “When this is over—”
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“When this is over,” he continued. “I hope I’m with you, in some form.”
“I…” Her voice cracked, and Vi couldn’t find words. Luckily, Deneya saved her.
The ring around her middle finger grew hot and Vi bolted upright. Taavin’s arms fell from her and the mantle of duty replaced them. The moment of weakness had passed; Vi almost felt foolish for having it at all.
“Narro hath. Deneya, what is it?”
“They left, both of them. Bring the false axe.” Deneya’s voice echoed in her mind. “I’m going to follow to see where they go.”
Vi stood. “We have to leave.”
“What is it?” Taavin asked as she released the glyph.
“The shop is unattended.”
Taavin was on his feet as well. Vi grabbed the satchel with the shifted axe and they were off. Taavin, luckily, could keep up with her as she sprinted through the Crossroads.
“Durroe sallvas tempre,” Vi said as she skidded to a halt. A glyph surrounded her hand.
“Durroe watt radia.” Taavin grabbed her fingers, making them both invisible.
“Juth calt.” Vi wasted no time exploding the inner mechanisms of the door lock. The storekeeper would never figure out how exactly all the pins broke at once.
Inside, Vi dashed up the stairs. In the upstairs apartment, her eyes landed on a ladder that led up
to an attic moments before her hands landed on it and she scrambled upward.
The axe wasn’t there.
She knew it before she began searching. But Vi searched anyway. She tore through the contents of the room and turned over the bed. Taavin helped, but they were done quickly.
“It’s not here.” He gave sound to her thoughts.
Vi cursed. “Narro hath.” A swirl of magic appeared around the ring she wore. “Deneya, it’s not here. She must have it.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I was just about to contact you. There’s trouble on this end. We’re in an alley behind a restaurant due west of the shop. She has the axe and is threatening some unfriendly looking men with it.”
“Don’t move, we’re on our way.” Vi released the glyph and jumped down the ladder. Taavin followed without question, even though he hadn’t heard the other half of the conversation. What was Vhalla thinking, showing the axe like that?
Foolish woman.
Foolish mortal!
Vi headed west and found the restaurant. Just as she was rounding the side, she saw a man bolt out from a nearby alley. A sense of familiarity overtook her. Who was he? She’d seen him before.
A shout cut through her thoughts. “The Windwalker—the Empire’s monster—has returned to wage war upon the West!”
Men and women emerged from restaurants, parlors and homes. They paused in the street, listening to what the shouting man had to say. “Look down there and find your brethren lying in pools of their own blood. Faces ripped open as only she can do.”
Vi moved toward where the man was pointing, but Taavin pulled her back.
“Don’t. She’s going to be on the run. Chasing won’t help now.”
“We can get the axe,” she seethed at him.
“It’s true!” a new voice called. “Th-there’s three! They’re dead!”
Whispers and glances multiplied around them.
“Go find her! Give her to the Knights. We’re the only ones who have ever been able to tame her kind. Clearly Solaris cannot be trusted.”
