by Mary Duke
Vera snapped her fingers and the gate disappeared. “I wasn’t asking. Now sit back down.”
“Let them go,” Thanatos said. “Just let them go. This is obviously between you and me.”
“I can’t do that,” Vera said. “You see, we’ll need them… You’ll need them if this is going to work.”
“Vera, you are mother’s favorite…and Holt, you are her most trusted. Do you really expect me to believe that the two of you not only want her dead, but that you are plotting her death?”
Holt stopped drumming his fingers on the table. “Time has changed brother. We have changed. The mother you knew, the mother we all knew, is no more.”
“Time changes everyone,” Thanatos agreed. “That does not mean you kill them.”
“Mother has lost her mind. It started when father disappeared and…”
“And,” Vera said finishing her brother's sentence. “It's gone past the point of no return. She has neglected so many of the lands she and father had forged, turned her back on those which she created. Her heart which once beat pure is now tainted with darkness.”
“I still don’t see where this concerns us.”
“There needs to be a fresh start, both in our realm and in theirs. Together I believe we can make that happen.”
Thanatos smiled. “What if I say I think we can do that on our own, without you?”
“I would say you are a fool.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said those words to me.”
“Listen!” Holt said. “There is not enough time to argue. We have a plan, it’s the only plan that’s going to work…and you are going to play your part, or you will find yourself in another confined space, though this time there will be no escaping it.”
Thanatos put his elbows on the table and leaned closer to his brother. “Care to say that again? I’m not sure I heard you.”
“What Holt meant to say,” Vera said side-eyeing her brother. “In order for this to work, in all our favors, there is a certain way everything must happen. We will start with Zavery’s mother, the Queen, Jadea…whatever you want to call her. She is a threat to everyone. She needs to be the first to go, however, it will need to appear as though it was Hel who got her hands on her.”
“Why?” Thanatos questioned.
“Because, if mother believes that Hel got her hands on her, she will believe that Hel is strong enough to kill everyone and anything in her path. She’ll alert all officials; she’ll make sure every soul in every realm knows what Hel is capable of, in hopes that they will protect her. Now with everyone believing that Hel holds all the power and that she is capable of killing our mother, they won’t think twice when mother ends up dead.”
“Hel can’t have that power. If she gets her hands on that woman…she will not stop at killing our mother…she will kill us all.”
“I know. You will kill Jadea, we will help you kill Hel, and it will take us all to get rid of our mother…but it has to appear as I said. Hel siphons the souls, killing Jadea. Then we make it look as though she goes after our mother. It is the only way the others won’t turn against us; it’s the only way that the realms remain in order.”
Chapter Nine
SNO
“As promised, you’re all back in one piece,” Vera said as we walked through the gate and back into the forest.
Zavery muttered under his breath, “Yeah, we’re in one piece for now.”
“Look,” Vera snapped. “As we see it, all three of them have the potential to destroy everything, and all three of them are likely to do just that.”
Zavery paused; in this moment he didn’t care what happened to everything.
Vera reached for her brother, grabbing ahold of his shoulders and bracing herself.
“What is it?” Thanatos questioned looking at his sister before recognizing her pain.
“It’s hundreds.” She gasped. “Thousands.”
“Thousands of what?” I questioned.
“Souls,” Thanatos answered as he watched his sister double over in pain.
Eris roared, snapping her head towards us.
“What is it?” I asked reaching out to her.
“My home, dragon island…It’s under attack.”
“No!” Vera said, her eyes wide in fear.
“What?” Thanatos questioned.
“The Prophet…He’s dead.”
Zavery took a step towards her. “Itheus?”
Vera nodded. “This changes things. Our plan, it starts now.”
Thanatos shook his head. “I understand that Itheus was a great prophet, but I do not see how his death changes your plan.”
“When a prophet dies, their soul chooses another soul to take their place. When the soul has been chosen, all of us will know who it is. We’ll all see their face…”
“And their location…” Thanatos finished.
“If Hel gets her hands on a prophet, she can use their visions to see what we are planning.”
Eris again let a cry of frustration into the sky. “We must go!” she cried to me, as Hayes and Alec looked to the others.
“We need to talk,” Kegan said reaching out to me just after Eris took off from the ground.
“What?” I asked as I felt his hands on either side of my head.
I smiled when I realized where he had taken me. “All the places we could have gone, and you chose our tent.”
“This tent is the closest thing to a home we have.”
“For now,” I replied. “Though when this is all over, I think it’s time that you and I settle down.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about.”
“We have plenty of time to work through the details,” I said looking through a stack of papers filled with spells I’d been researching.
“I meant this. Why are you doing this, and what’s going to happen when it’s done?”
“What do you mean?”
“Not only are you going up against Jadea, who has grown more powerful every day since you left her camp, but you’re seriously considering killing not one, but two Goddesses, after her.”
I didn’t know what to say. What he said was correct, it was exactly what my plan was, there was nothing more to add.
“Do you remember the reason you left?”
“I didn’t feel as though I was on the right path.”
“There was another reason. Do you remember what that was?”
I thought about it.
“You didn’t want blood on your hands,” Kegan answered after a second.
“I didn’t want thousands of innocent people slaughtered,” I snapped walking back towards him. “I didn’t want innocent blood on my hands.”
He shook his head. “A life is a life.”
“This is different.”
“A life is a life,” he repeated.
“Why are you trying to talk me out of this all of a sudden?”
“Because, what you’re about to do, you can’t take back. Once you take a life, there is no giving it back.”
“You act as though I’ve never taken a life before, Kegan,” I stated.
His frustration began to grow, as he turned from me and began to pace.
“I understand exactly what comes of that split-second decision.”
“That’s it! That is exactly it, Sno,” he said turning back to me.
“What is it?”
He put his hands on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes, his face riddled with worry lines.
“All the lives you’ve taken, every single one of them, there was a split-second choice…Kill or be killed. It was as simple as that. This, what you’re planning, the plan you’ve agreed to, it’s different.”
I tried to mask my disgust, though I knew he could see it in my face. “I know where your worry comes from. However, though you may not believe me, I did not make this decision lightly.”
“Then please,” he said as he released his grip on my shoulders. “Explain, because it has only been a week
since the weight of taking lives rested on your shoulders, and you were unable to bear its burden.”
“A week ago, I didn’t know what I know now. A week ago, I was a completely different person.”
“How?”
“I was narrow-minded,” I answered truthfully. “I didn’t see the big picture. I didn’t know everything that was at play. All I could see, all I knew, was the war between the Faye and the Demons. The only standpoint I had, the only reason I felt the way that I did, was because of what I believed…and what I believed was a lie.”
His eyes darted back and forth studying mine.
“Am I not right?” I questioned him. “Is there something I am missing?”
“No.” Kegan’s shoulders sagged, and he released mine as he again turned from me.
“Then if I am not wrong, please explain to me why you’re acting this way. I know it sounds absurd, but I believed you would be proud of the decision I made.”
“Proud?”
“Yes. Vera was right, in every way…Well, almost every way. Her reasons for wanting her mother dead, those aren’t entirely reasons I can stand behind; however, though I cannot stand behind her reasons, the fact that Nyx has turned her back on so many of her people…has let them be slaughtered time and time again merely because she didn’t want to be bothered…That justifies my role in this.”
“You,” Kegan hesitated. “I don’t know how to say this. I can see where you are coming from, I’ve been through this with others…though on a somewhat smaller scale. I have aided many in their pursuits to overthrow kings, queens, rulers, and members of the high council. Out of all those times, I can only remember one that turned out for the better.”
“I don’t follow. I can’t sit back and do nothing. If Jadea isn’t handled, the entire realm can be destroyed…and if Hel isn’t killed, there’s no telling what chaos will unfold.”
“And Nyx?”
“Now is the time for a new order, and she’s not going to give up her reign.”
“I understand that I can’t say I agree with all of it, but I understand why it is you think the way you do. What I’m saying is that you can’t expect everything to be perfect once this is over. You can’t make the future be the way you want it to…no one person can.”
I nodded. I couldn’t agree with him, on that he was right. “Yes, I can’t forge the future into what I want it to be, but by doing this I’m ensuring that there is the possibility of a future.”
Kegan chewed on the inside of his cheek. “We are almost to the island.”
“Don’t change the subject,” I said, not wanting this discussion to be over yet.
“There is nothing I can say, nor is there anything you can say that’s going to change the way we each feel. Even if I was, there are lines that I cannot cross as a guardian. If you deem this to be your path, if you choose to live with the burdens and the consequences, then it is my duty to do everything in my power to ensure that you accomplish this.”
Before I could respond the tent was gone, and the frigid ocean breeze once again nipped at my face.
Chapter Eleven
JADEA
“It’s about time you showed up,” I said to Quint as he appeared in the woods behind me.
“There were other things that needed my attention.”
“What things?”
A small smile curled his lips.
“I should always be your first priority. Don’t forget who it is that will free you from your curse.”
The smile vanished, and his eyes narrowed. “Nor shall you forget who it is that shall grant your family freedom from its curse.”
I rolled my eyes. “We don’t have time for this. We need to find Hel; we are running out of time.”
“Were you expecting someone?” Quint questioned as a gate began to form about ten feet in front of us.
“I am not,” I replied.
Hel walked through, alone. “There is no need to find me, I am right here.”
I watched the gate behind her, expecting someone else to walk out. “How did you know we were searching for you?”
“They say to keep an eye on your enemies, and I believe that is fantastic advice.”
“So we are enemies now?”
“I surely wouldn’t consider you my friend.” Hel laughed, as she looked down at Tamara’s body. “This one had potential.”
“She did,” I replied. “She also couldn’t be trusted.”
“People can be persuaded.”
“She had no one left.”
“Did she not just sacrifice herself?”
“That’s it,” I said, as the reality of why she was here hit me. “That’s why you are here. You’re tracking your brother.”
“Aww,” Hel said sarcastically. “You really didn’t think I was here for you, did you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Listen. I don’t know what kind of endgame you have in mind, but the only way we are going to get there is if we work together.”
Hel took another step closer to me.
Quint cleared his throat. “Not necessarily.”
Hel stopped. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it just so happens…”
“Let me guess,” Hel said raising her hands as a high pitched chuckle rolled from her lips. “There’s something you want, that’s better than what she wants, and you want me to side with you.”
Quint closed his mouth and watched as my expression changed.
Hel smiled. “I have been around a long time. There have also been quite a few people who have tried to help me escape, and I have had them killed.”
“Why?” I questioned, the word escaping my mouth before I could stop it.
“All I care about is my endgame,” she said closing the gap between us. “MINE. I do not care that you are trying to save your son and rebuild your kingdom. I do not care,” she said pointing at Quint, “that you were screwed over, not once but twice. What I care about, is what I want.”
I looked her in the eye, though inside I was terrified. “And what do you want?”
“I want my revenge. I want my siblings to pay for what they did, and I want my mother to suffer as she made me suffer.”
“Your siblings?” I questioned. “Also believe me when I say this, your mother has suffered, greatly since you killed your father. Much of this realm went through a dark…” I started to explain.
Her face wrinkled in disgust, and she took a step back. “Since I what?”
I didn’t know what to say.
She jerked her hand up and wrapped her fingers around my throat before I could move. “Did you just accuse me of killing my father?”
“You didn’t?” Quint said from beside me.
“Is that what they told you? Is that the lie my mother spread?” she questioned as she let go of my throat and grabbed the sides of her head. “I should have known. That is why none of my siblings came for me. That is why I was there for so long alone.”
“If what I know is a lie,” I said. “Why don’t you tell us what truly happened?”
Hel held both of her hands out palms up, one in front of each of us. “Why don’t I show you?” she said as she winked.
Quint and I both took her hand, curious as to what truly happened.
In an instant we were inside of Hel’s head, watching as the memory unfolded.
Hel stood in the woods alone.
“Hurry,” a man said approaching her. “Your mother is not far behind me.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you have me meet you out here? This place is dreadful.”
He grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her along with him. “And it’s because it’s dreadful that it’s perfect. The risk of someone stumbling upon us is minimal.”
“What do you mean?” Hel questioned, jerking free of her father's grasp. “I thought you called me here because you had a way to fix everything.”
The man shook his head, his troubled eyes taking in their surroundings. “Please, Hel. We have
to go.”
She stumbled backward. “You haven’t found a way to fix me, have you?”
The man bowed his head and pulled a small potion jar from his pocket.
“Father?”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I need more time.”
Hel shook her head frantically. “We don’t have more time. Mother has been chasing me endlessly. She will not stop. She hates me.”
“Your mother doesn’t hate you. She fears you,” her father replied.
“She wants me dead. I’ve heard the words come out of her mouth with my own ears.”
He shook his head and held up the jar.
“What is that? That is a jar from the secret room in your workshop.”
“Of course you would know that,” he said, a small smile spreading across his worried face.
“I didn’t touch anything, I swear. I was just drawn to it, and I had to see what was inside.”
“I know,” he said reaching back out to take his daughter's hand before he explained what it was. “This, believe it or not, is a realm entirely of its own.”
“Really?” she questioned taking the small jar in her hand and studying it in the little light that shown through the trees.
“Well, kind of,” he admitted. “This is actually some of the magic I used to create the realm, think of it as the realm’s soul. I can use this to make a gate that will take you there.”
“Take me there?” Hel repeated as he took the jar back from her hands.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“As I said, I need more time. This is the only way I can keep you safe.”
“No,” Hel said shaking her head again as she backed away from him. “There is nowhere I can go. She will find me. She always finds me.”
“I am the only one who can open this realm back up,” he said as he uncorked the jar, releasing the magic. “The two of us are the only ones who know of its existence.”
“That would mean I am all alone,” Hel mumbled before something rustled the underbrush behind them.
“Nyx,” her father said, pushing Hel behind himself to shield her.
“Why are you protecting her?” her mother questioned.
“She is our daughter.”
