She moved through and turned around to see what it looked like from within. The stone appeared solid behind her, not even the outline of the door visible. There were no symbols on this side. Spirit sight would not get them back out. Her chest tightened.
Don’t come through.
Even as she thought it, Deynas appeared and Naago almost stepped on his heels he followed so close. Settek followed only a few seconds behind. They all turned to look at the door and their sour expressions negated any need to explain. There was no going back.
They moved in unison, turning to face what lay ahead. The corridor that stretched away from them looked as if some large creature had tunneled it. The stone walls were devoid of formation as if they had only just been made, but the Keeper could feel great age in the air around them, age that preceded her existence at the very least. It was warmer here as well, warm and faintly clammy, creating a light layer of moisture on her skin.
Settek, Naago and Deynas all moved their hands nearer their weapons as they walked down the corridor. Argus started to move her hand toward the sword, but the Keeper resisted. Weapons would do no good in this place. Life could not exist long in here. Only the blood spirits lived here and no mere weapon was going to harm them.
At the first intersection they came to she turned right without hesitation, following a pull that grew stronger with every step she took. The others followed without question, trusting her, believing in her.
Settek spoke into the tense silence. “We won’t be coming this way again.”
They all paused to look behind them. The corridor they had come down was gone. Seamless rock covered the way as if the passage had never existed. They continued on.
I will see you all safely from this place. I promise.
Naago and Deynas moved closer to her. Had they heard the thought? They were umahk-ra-uden after all. They would be sensitive to such a desperate sentiment directed at them.
She hoped it wasn’t as desperate as it felt, but this place felt like death. It had a scent to it reminiscent of the fighting rings. The smell of blood, both stale and fresh, whispered through the air around them, clinging to the bored-out stone walls and floor.
Fingers of fear crept insidiously up her spine and her nerves screamed at her to leave this place, but the pull ahead was still growing stronger and the corridors continued to close up behind them. It began to feel like an endless trek. Only the draw of her spirit, as intense now as the call to keep, kept her going. The others wouldn’t falter, she knew, so long as she appeared certain of her path.
They turned a corner into a large circular chamber. At the far side, behind a rippling, translucent barrier, an ethereal violet form glided forward. Its shape was inconstant, but two translucent tendrils reached out toward her, the hint of fingers or claws almost taking form. Her breath caught in her throat. The spirit of the Keeper.
We know why you have come, Keeper. A voice whispered in her mind.
Five more ethereal forms moved into the room from side passages, gliding out to stop between them and the barrier. These forms were pale red, almost pink. They had no distinct shape beyond a sense of tallness as they hovered in the center.
Her three companions moved as if to draw weapons and she put her hands out to either side, using a small downward motion to discourage them. They stopped, but didn’t relax. She gestured for them to stay back and walked forward. Argus cringed within her, recalling the night the Blooded Women took her and the Keeper shuddered with remembered fear that wasn’t her own. She pushed it down and faced the spirits.
“Will you give me back what is mine?”
We did not take it from you nor are we beholden to those who placed it here. You are welcome to it.
Could it be that easy?
The barrier vanished and the violet form swept forward, diving into her like a spirit for keeping. The Keeper closed her eyes…
…and raced back through over a thousand years of memory, starting with the death of each host and running back through to her first thought in that flesh, then moving on to the death of the host that came before. She plunged through memory, revisiting host after host, the longest-lived surviving almost two hundred years before the Blooded Women destroyed her. Few had died natural deaths. Most shared the same end. At some point, the Keeper was drawn to the city, to Kato specifically, and that encounter marked the beginning of the end for each.
Kato had called her to him during the takeover of the city, called her to keep an Endless woman, and she had answered, dooming the host that preceded Argus. The moment was crisp in her memory. Kato, his color dark and dulled with misery, kneeling on the floor and pleading with her to keep his love. Then the Blooded Women destroyed that host. After that, they did everything wrong. They moved into the New City and put the Keeper in this host. A host with the ability to move her umahk-ra independent of her flesh. A host already anchored to the world outside her flesh by the fragment of her umahk-ra in Deynas. Once again, she’d gone to Kato. Why had he never come to her?
Memory drew her back even farther, back to the time the demons overtook the original settlement here, when the ruins were still the home of an ancient Endless tribe. They had come for her. An entire tribe demolished because the ones controlling the Blooded Women wanted control of the Keeper. Kato had stood protecting her outside of the arena, his wings outstretched and his color splendid with rage. Blooded Women faced him, no fewer than fifteen groups of six women each. Their white dresses and faces glowing in the light of a bright half-moon.
Give her to us, they demanded.
“Never. She will never be yours.”
There had been no negotiation, no attempt to persuade him. All of the Blooded Women had simply opened their eyes, bathing Kato in that ghastly pink light. They tore half of his spirit out of him and imprisoned it somewhere deep in the caverns beneath the arena, using it to bind him to that place. Then they had ripped her spirit from her completely and made her theirs. That was why Kato never came to her. He was trapped by his sundered spirit.
Memory drew her back to the time before that night. The host that she resided in then had been her first. That first host trained for long hours and competed in rigorous physical, moral and intellectual trials to prove her suitability as the Keeper’s host. The roots upon her skin were a source of great pride. The Undying, the father of the Endless, had entrusted her with his most treasured creation.
They had existed as The Undying intended, working together almost as one, with the memories, goals, and ambitions of the host dominant. The Keeper was only a controlling force when a spirit needed keeping. The rest of the time, she was a part of the Endless woman, like an extra facet of her personality, their thoughts and decisions shared. That was how the relationship was intended to work.
Argus had been wronged. All of the hosts since the first had been. And The Keeper had been wronged as well.
The Keeper opened her eyes, letting the memories sink to the back of her mind. Argus was present now, more present than she had ever been, almost more so than the Keeper herself. Anger burned in them, one shared sense of rage, but the spirits around them were not to blame.
“How do we leave this place?”
Deynas inhaled sharply behind her. She didn’t have to ask why. She’d spoken not only with Argus’s voice, but with her confidence. She emerged from her memories as part of Argus. They were one being and a wonderful sense of completion united them.
Naago stepped forward, taking his eyes off the blood spirits for a quick second to look at her. “Are you all right?”
“More so than I have been in some time.”
“Are they speaking to you?”
She glanced over at him. “You can’t hear them?”
He shook his head.
We do not speak to them, Keeper. You alone have any right at all to be in this place. But it is good that they have come. These are the true Halls of the Blooded, not some mockery made by the blood spirits bound to the Blooded Women. For you to l
eave here, someone must pay the blood price. It is the only way.
“What is the price?”
The others shifted around her, unease rippling through them. They knew a discussion was going on, but they were only getting one side of the conversation.
Blood must flow, strong and true. So long as the blood flows, the passage will open up before you. If the blood stops, the passage will close. The rest may pass through the door only when the one who pays passes from this life. We leave it to you to choose which of them will pay this price.
The Keeper became acutely aware of her companions, the smell of anxiety on them, the turbulent restlessness of their spirits. This time she spoke to the blood spirits through her reclaimed spirit.
One of us must die?
Yes. That is how you open the way out.
The Keeper fought an urge to look around the others. You say you are not beholden to those who imprisoned my spirit here. Why not just let us leave?
The rock around us is alive. It responds to our needs. If we hunger, it opens, allowing the scent of blood to lure in living creatures. When we are sated, it opens again to let survivors leave. The spirit forms shifted and pulsed now, illustrating an impatience to feed.
Can you not let us leave and lure in some other creature?
You misunderstand. We do not control the rock. It responds to our needs. Your intrusion woke us. Now we hunger and there is food within. It will not open until we are sated.
The increased flickering gave her the sense that they were losing patience with the conversation. Their hunger was growing. If she did not make a decision, they would soon make one for her. She and Argus made the decision together. It came easily.
Then I will pay the price.
The spirits stilled, surprise muting their hunger for a moment. You would sacrifice your spirit and this host for these others. Does this host agree?
We are of one mind.
Then it shall be so. There was a sharp pain on the inside of her left wrist, like a dagger slicing down it, and blood began to flow warm over her palm and down her fingers. The spirits pulsed brightly. Go now.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The Keeper turned her back on the blood spirits. Something was wrong. Deynas could see it in the forced calm of her expression.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded. The motion was too abrupt. “We must leave this place now. We can talk later.”
Why did it feel like she was lying to him? And why did it seem like he could read her again the way he used to be able to read Argus?
Naago and Settek turned, so Deynas reluctantly followed them. The corridor behind them was still blocked, but when the Keeper stepped toward it, the rock receded. None of them hesitated then. They all wanted out of those corridors that smelled of death.
The dripping of water was louder now, a constant patter that moved along the passages with them. It was getting harder to see as well, the spirit essence losing its potency. Soon he would not be able to see the flickering violet aura around the Keeper that had flared so blindingly upon the reclaiming of her spirit. He would have to take out the light Kaira had given him. For now, he only really needed enough sight to follow the Keeper. She led them out with the same confidence that she had led them in with, if perhaps more haste.
Kato had been wrong. She hadn’t needed them at all. So far, they had only caused her trouble by drawing her to their conflict with the scaled beast. Only Kaira had been useful in her ability to lead them to the entrance. Had the warlord expected trouble from the blood spirits? As far as Deynas could tell, they had been rather obliging. Still, there had been something bothering the Keeper when she turned back to them. Maybe not all was as right as it appeared.
After a time, their pace slowed, as if the Keeper were no longer so sure of her direction or perhaps weary of walking. The aura around her and the silvery gleam of her hair faded away. Darkness closed around his vision. He drew out the small orb Kaira had given him. Trying not to think about her rather evocative comment when she explained how it worked, he rubbed firmly at the small nub. The orb lit, casting a pale yellow light over them. Naago, who had another light orb in his hand, glanced at Deynas and tucked his back in his pocket. One was sufficient for now.
The Keeper stumbled and reached out, catching herself on the arm Naago threw in front of her. Her skin looked unusually pale in the warm light. When she let go of Naago’s arm, his sleeve was stained red in the shape of her hand. Deynas met Naago’s startled look then reached out to catch her as she took another step and stumbled again. She leaned into him and her head sank onto his shoulder as if too heavy for her to carry any further.
Naago grabbed her arm and jerked up the sleeve. In the yellow light, they could see a clean cut down her wrist, blood running in a continuous stream from the wound to drip from the tips of her fingers. The other Endless man drew a dagger and used it to slice into the sleeve of his shirt at the shoulder. While he ripped the sleeve off, Settek helped Deynas lower her down on the cold stone with him, holding her against his chest.
“No.” Her voice was weak, shaking.
“How did this happen,” Deynas demanded.
“We’re almost out. We have to keep going.”
Settek lifted the wounded wrist and Naago brought the sleeve forward to wrap it. The Keeper reached out to try to push his hands away, but Deynas grabbed her arm, pinning it down, wary all the while of the pain she could inflict on him if she chose to.
“The blood must flow,” she protested.
Naago proceeded to wrap her wrist, holding pressure on the wound.
Deynas forced a gentle tone. “What is this about?”
“The blood spirits’ hunger must be sated or the door will not open. Someone must pay the blood price.” When she finished speaking, she sagged against him as if the explanation had sapped the last of her strength.
Deynas looked at the other two. They both looked grim. Her words were clear enough. Someone had to die in order for them to leave. It wouldn’t be her. Not if any of them could help it. They had come all this way to get her spirit back. If she died now, their efforts would have been in vain.
“It should be me,” Naago stated. He was staring into the Keeper’s face as if trying to memorize her every feature. “I’ve had a long life already.”
Settek jumped to his feet and stared back the way they had come, his eyes burning, his mane flaring with molten gold. “Take me then. I will pay your blood price,” he shouted.
“No,” the Keeper whimpered and Deynas hugged her close.
“Crossbreed fool!” Naago also surged to his feet. “We will decide together.”
Settek’s eyes flared like sunlight and his body stiffened, every muscle tightening. Deep vertical slits opened in both of his wrists and on either side of his throat, releasing a torrent of dark blood. The crossbreed made a wretched sound in his throat, his eyes glazing over while his body jerked in the air as if held up by some unseen force.
Naago backed away, watching in horror. It was already too late to help Settek. The Keeper curled against Deynas and trembled with silent grief.
In seconds, it was over and Settek’s body collapsed. His blood sank into the floor as if it were sponge rather than hard cold rock. The Keeper started to push away from Deynas then, reaching toward Settek with her right hand. He caught on and helped her turn around. She reached out toward the crossbreed. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks. Her eyes slid closed and her arm fell limp, her fingertips landing just shy of Settek’s leg.
A hollowness filled Deynas as he stared at their dead companion. He touched the Keeper’s neck, making sure she was only unconscious and nodded to Naago. The pulse was week, but still there.
The rock opened, revealing the cavern beyond and Kaira sitting across the passage from them, waiting. She didn’t seem to see them.
Deynas held the Keeper close and nodded to Settek’s body over her head. “Can you drag him out? We can’t leave his body here.”
Kaira leapt to her feet when he emerged. She looked wide-eyed at the Keeper in his arms then peered frantically around him. The rock behind them looked solid, but Naago came through a moment later, dragging Settek behind him. Kaira cried out. Naago laid Settek outside the rock and she sank to her knees, grabbing her brother’s shoulders and shaking them.
“Settek! Wake up. Please wake up.” Tears had already begun to stream down her face. She knew he was gone. “You can’t die like this. I need you.”
Naago knelt alongside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She shoved it away and curled over her brother, sobbing.
There was nothing they could do for her. Deynas lowered the Keeper down and sat with her.
She had been willing to die to get them out alive. Had Argus been part of that decision? It was exactly the kind of misguided self-sacrifice she would make. It hadn’t occurred to her what it would do to them to go all this way only to lose her now. Even Settek would rather die than let that happen. He hadn’t expected that.
Her breathing changed then and her eyes blinked open. She glanced at Kaira then pressed her face against his chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I couldn’t keep his spirit.”
“You tried.” Deynas kept his voice soft so as not to disturb Kaira in her grieving.
“Yes,” she murmured. “I made the choice, Deynas. Why couldn’t you let me go?”
He glanced down at her wrist. There was a hint of blood on the bandage, but the bleeding was slow. He took it in his hand, holding pressure on the wound and sat quiet for a time, listening to Kaira’s heartbroken sobs. Eventually, Naago tried to comfort the crossbreed woman again and this time she turned into his arms and her sobs worsened for a while, then finally began to quiet as he held her.
The Keeper (The Endless Chronicles Book 1) Page 23
