Remnants of Atonement (True paths Book 1)

by G. P McKenna

“Lord Deniliquin slaughtered the Armourers.”

  “Lord Deniliquin merely ordered it. It was his mother who saw it through,” Ilya’s hand tightened, and I winced but remained silent. All the pain in the world I’d endure for him, “Lucina was the Kaori Armourer. Traditionally, once an Armourer takes their mantle all external communication ceases beyond seasonal order of the Shamrock meetings, but Lucina was a seer.”

  It was my turn to stop suddenly enough to hurt his arm. A seer. Almost everybody had enough energy reserves to become a mage, and a few could stomach becoming a warlock if they committed the atrocities to hoard power, nobody could pillage their way to Seerdom. Genetically blessed or cursed depending on who was asked, one was either born a seer, or they weren’t, and there was nothing anybody in the entire collective magical arts community could do about it.

  “Whose grand idea was it to put a seer in the Armoury?” I asked, then frowned as a more disturbing idea came to mind, “wait, if Lucina is a seer does that mean Deniliquin-”

  “Yes,” Ilya’s voice was muffled as if he was speaking through clenched teeth, “it’s a known fact that Deniliquin is a seer. As is the fact that he is a nasty drunk. It was on Summer Solstice, five years ago, that Deniliquin became so intoxicated he convinced himself that the world would end in fire if he was not King of Ascot.”

  Summer solstice. My hand tightened in Ilya’s, numb to the point where they were indistinguishable. I grit my teeth, “What does any of this have to do with-” I cut myself off before Sedna’s name could pass my lips, “take the next left.”

  I was pulled in that direction, “well, nobody believed Deniliquin. Nobody, except Lucina. She’d always enjoyed being the mother of the Kaori Priest, the thought of being the Queen Mother was likely irresistible to her, and so the idea was hatched. But Bindy discovered it. She was able to get the Shield to the safety of Orden’s nest, and there they remained in isolation three years until the Shield was strong enough to venture into the bowels of the Armoury and enter the Ivory cage to claim the-”

  “Casteel Sword.” I finished. The sword of every child’s daydreams. Its blade had been hand forged by the Deities in the flames that had once burned the great technological empires to dust, driving out the darkness which had plagued them. Should such evil ever resurface the Casteel sword would be there, to drive it out once more. Everybody knew the tale of the legendary sword, how it had been placed in the Ivory cage, eternally guarded by the— I shook my head. That was ridiculous. Sedna couldn’t be, “it’s a campfire tale, Ilya.”

  “But it isn’t. Pogue entered the Ivory cage. He won the Casteel sword from the Morrigan,” There it was. The incarnation of death itself. Every few years a new tale of some fool entering the Ivory cage would do the rounds, and every few years another name was added to the long list of missing who never returned. And I was walking straight towards it, leading him into its jaws. Ilya didn’t seem to notice my moment of hesitation, “Bindy accompanied the Shield down there, as instructed by the Sword, but Orden never intended for her to enter. When Pogue removed the Casteel sword from its pedestal, the Morrigan…well, it used its dying breath to call the shadowed replica to its hand. They pierced it through Bindy’s chest.”

  “Dying breath?” I asked, heartbeat slowing. The Morrigan was dead. It wasn’t Sedna.

  Ilya hesitated in his next step before taking a right. The glowing increased as the staircase to the courtyard came into view. He stopped walking altogether and turned to me. The fire reflecting in his eyes was enough to make my lungs clench painfully, “Kilco, you must understand that my family has led the Ilvarjo for several generations. Our leader is the sole member of our tribe who is a free citizen, and I’m the only member of my family eligible for leadership,” he trailed off and released my hand to adjust the mask. I nodded, though the relevance was lost to me, “my mother forbade me from anything more than general duties. As our leader, that’s her right. We belong to Her Highness, but my mother holds the whip. We are still self-determining, so we follow her orders. Then the Shield emerged from the Armoury. Bindy’s death did horrible things to him, and Her Highness thought that perhaps burying her corpse would cheer him. Without my mother’s permission, she sent me down into the Ivory cage to recover her.”

  “Alone?”

  He nodded, still adjusting the mask around his neck, “Her Highness only sent me because she was under the impression the Morrigan was dead. If the Shield had the Casteel sword, they should’ve been dead. That’s what the prophecy states, but I don’t need to tell you of all people about the healing prophecies of fae blood.”

  He didn’t, but from the image in my head, I wished he had. “The Morrigan cannibalized her?”

  Ilya didn’t answer. Minutes ticked by as he continued playing with the hem of his mask. I reached for his hand, but he ripped it from my reach and shook his head, “when I arrived in the cage, the Morrigan wasn’t dead. It leapt on me, dragged me into their pool. I could feel myself fading, but then I could breathe again. They straddled me, pulled down my mask and whispered into my ear that…well, it doesn’t matter what they said. What matters is that they were alive, without the Casteel sword to tether them to the Ivory cage, and I couldn’t tell anybody because I wasn’t allowed to be there. We are indebted, but our leader is free. They’re supposed to make our decisions for us. Her Highness broke every tenant Ascot was built upon by sending me against my leaders’ order. I couldn’t tell either of them. What was I supposed to do?”

  Not let a monster walk free. I covered my eyes. Unbelievable. He truly was nothing but a child, “How did you not tell anybody that the Morrigan was on the loose?”

  “Nobody ever asked, so I was never required to tell the truth,” he released his mask and straightened, turning back to the staircase, “Kilco, why did you bring me here?”

  He knew. The tone of his voice, the uncharacteristic fidgeting — he had to have known. I played with the idea of pointing out that he was the one who’d brought me, but that was a technicality, and still, he knew. “Sedna’s waiting in the courtyard.”

  “I know, but why did you bring me here?”

  Yeah. That was the age-old question. I took a deep breath, “how do you know?”

  Ilya sighed and turned, “how do I know Sedna’s here, or how do I know that you know?”

  “Both,” I replied, my agitation flaring, though I had no right.

  “I know Sedna is here because I saw them enter the maze,” I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand to silence me before I could speak, “there are few benefits to having red eyes, but one I’ve always been particularly fond of is the ability to see significantly better in the dark than you can. At first, I wasn’t convinced it was Sedna. I thought maybe it’d just been a blur in the shadows and my mind made what it wanted from it, but then you started asking questions and referring to them as she. I figured they must’ve shown themselves to you at some point.”

  “Isn’t it a she?” I asked.

  “No,” Ilya stated, “now I’ve answered all of your questions, can you answer mine?” but there wasn’t an answer to his question, other than I didn’t control my emotions, my emotions controlled me, and they didn’t want him to leave. There was no way to explain that without sounding obsessively bonkers, so I simply shrugged. Ilya pinched the bridge of his nose, “then I can only assume that your intentions weren’t pure and well-meaning.”

  That made me look up. How dare he? Emotionally driven or not, my every intention for him was only ever of the purest devotion, “It was because she said she loved you.”

  Ilya scoffed, “that’s a lie, but even if it wasn’t, so what? I told you that I didn’t love them. I love the Shield. What gives you the right to make this decision on my behalf?”

  “I’m not making a decision on your behalf. You came here of your own free will.”

  “I did,” Ilya said and stared at the courtyard. In the darkness, its glow burnt like a raging inferno, “I haven’t seen Sedna since we escaped the Umbra. I
’d hoped that they’d finally accepted our position in each other’s existence and decided to make the most of their freedom, knowing I had no intentions on revealing them to anybody. I see now that hope was in vain. They are never going to leave unless I explicitly ask them. They wish to talk, so let’s talk.”

  Nothing holds as much power over the stability of men as light. Too much or too little, it shapes the world. Crops or no crops, the turning of the tides. The absence of light can take the rosiest of places and twist its bones until all that remains is a nightmarish corpse. The courtyard at night was but a ghost of itself. The fire cauldrons that burned bright and familiar during the day made the floor a flickering quilt of shadow, ascending and retreating with the howl of the winds. Such fleeting heat did little but highlight the absence of the symphony of life which had once sung so vibrantly under the disinfectant powers of the sun’s touch. Above was the faintest rustle of leaves, barely audible over the overpowering drip of an unseen waterfall. With hesitation, I looked up, afraid of what might be staring back, only to find the bushy tail of a large red squirrel bouncing on the lowest branches of the Armoury. Its nose twitched spastically, almost as if in contempt, though that was likely just my own shadow induced madness seeing things that couldn’t exist. The creature’s nose twitched once more before escaping from view, leaving Ilya and me alone again. For Sedna was nowhere to be seen.

  “Are you certain Sedna said to meet here?” Ilya asked as he spun around.

  “You saw them enter yourself. Besides, why would I lie?” I counted.

  “I’m not sure,” Ilya sighed as my feet slipped across the tiles, “from what I’ve learned about you over the past day, you’re not the most stable of individuals.”

  Though not entirely uncalled-for, it didn’t stop me taking offence. Huffing, I opened my mouth, only to be rendered silent by a gentle thud landing behind us. Ilya’s hand went to the dagger belt on his thigh, but relaxed at the sound of a husky giggle, “that’s not very nice, doll. Here I was thinking you only spoke to me that way because you disliked me,” Ilya turned and I followed as Sedna looked us over, her eyes lingering on Ilya, “nice outfit. Trying to show off the goods a little more?”

  Ilya rolled his eyes and removed his hand from the dagger belt, blade undrawn. “I’ve been wondering where you disappeared to,” he said, “you left so suddenly once we returned from the Umbra, it’s almost funny to remember how much you carried on the entire time we were there, promising to defeat the Shield the moment we returned.”

  “That battle is still inevitable, don’t you worry your pretty little head,” Sedna said as she stepped towards us, her white nightgown swaying with each step, “I’m only delaying it for now.”

  Ilya hummed and rubbed at his right eye before moving his hand to the buckle that kept the Erebus sword bound to his back. I elbowed him in the ribs, but he only glanced at me and shook his head, “why would you do that?” he asked as he unbuckled the strap.

  Sedna smiled brightly, “isn’t it obvious? Because I’ve fallen for you. I want you for myself.”

  “Hmm,” Ilya let Erebus drop to the floor and leaned over to his dagger belt, “yes, that certainly sounds familiar. Though the last time you said so in a completely different tone.”

  Sedna’s smile wavered but didn’t drop, “that was different. I’d just endured an eternity of imprisonment. You couldn’t have expected me to have appropriate social skills,” she sighed and twisted a finger through a ribbon of her hair, “I didn’t know better then. I hadn’t yet learned how to behave, nor how to truly appreciate what a fine specimen you are.”

  Ilya paused his unbuckling and looked up at Sedna with a sharp laugh, “you know, I appreciate compliments as much as the next specimen, but this isn’t appropriate.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “No,” Ilya said and let the dagger belt drop. He straightened up and pointed at me, “you’ve invited my friend here, and though she may seem dumb, she isn’t deaf. Nothing is preventing her from running back to camp and telling the Shield what you’re saying.”

  Sedna cocked her head to look at me, her smile morphing into a smirk, “Kilco wouldn’t do that. It wouldn’t benefit her.”

  “What does that mean?” Ilya asked.

  “Never you mind,” Sedna said and cracked her neck with a giggle, “though if you believe her untrustworthy, we could always continue this conversation inside. Alone.”

  She stepped forward and Ilya stepped back, holding out his arm to push me along with him, “That’s not happening, Sedna. The Shield and Princess are expecting us back by now.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Sedna’s voice echoed in a deeper, more masculine tone, “I happen to know that your precious owner isn’t expecting you for at least another half hour. That’s enough time.”

  Ilya glared at Sedna for a moment, before bending to pick up the dagger belt. He removed a blade and held it in his hand as he buckled the belt back around his thigh, “exactly how long have you been watching me?”

  The smirk grew into an inhumanly wide grin, “I never stopped. Even when you slept entire days away, I didn’t leave your shadow. Don’t know how the whore never saw me there. Divine intervention, I guess. Thankfully that Doctor kept me entertained because you two are about as entertaining as a bloated corpse, but I’m digressing: so, you love me, huh?”

  “I never said that,” Ilya said.

  “You implied it in your conversation with the Doctor lady.”

  “If anything, he implied the opposite,” I muttered.

  Sedna spun towards me, her face twisting into a haunted mask that would choke me from sleep for weeks. Ilya pushed me back further and the look dripped from her face like butter until the smirk was all that was left. Like a cat, she slunk forward and placed herself between Ilya and me, grasping my arm in her cold, dead hands before Ilya could react. I scrunched my eyes, awaiting the inevitable blow. It never came. Sedna pulled me forward by the shoulders, twisting me towards Ilya with an exaggerated sigh, “this is exactly why I wanted to continue this inside.”

  “You invited her,” Ilya said.

  “Even I make mistakes now and again,” Sedna said, “just come with me inside. I promise you’ll like what I have to say.”

  “Why can’t you tell me here?” Ilya asked.

  Sedna giggled and tickled my arm. My skin crawled under her touch, “theatrics, naturally.”

  Ilya’s eyes flashed, and he reached down for Erebus. Sedna’s grip on me tightened, but he simply replaced it on his back and grabbed my arm, “I’m not playing this game with you. Thank you for loving me and forcing me all the way out here to tell me so, but we’re leaving now. Come on Kilco,” he tugged, but Sedna’s grip on me didn’t loosen and I was pulled between them like a bone between wolves. Ilya growled under his breath, “let go, Sedna.”

  “Relax doll. I won’t harm a hair on her head.”

  “Then let her go.”

  Sedna shook her head, “not until you hear what I have to say.”

  “How can I when you won’t tell me?” Ilya exclaimed.

  He pulled harshly on my arm until something inside creaked. I yelped and Ilya let go immediately. Sedna smirked and rested her head against my shoulder, “Just come inside. You have too now. Who knows who’s watching. You’ve attracted too much attention.”

  “I don’t have to do anything,” Ilya said and looked up, “and if Ratatoskr wants to listen, going inside won’t prevent that. Tell me here.”

  “It’s not the rat I’m concerned about,” Sedna said and stood up, “I’ve tried asking you nicely, but you haven’t been receptive. Now I’m going to ask in a not so nice way. If you want the girl back, come inside and get her. Or let her wither with me and die. Choice is yours.”

  Ilya’s eyes widened, but if he said something, it was lost to my ears as the howling wind became deafening. A foul smell, like that of rotting meat or festering pus, invaded my nose as Sedna pulled me against her chest, too flat and solid for a woman.<
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  Everything went grey.

  Eighteen

  Aquaphobia

  Fear of water

  It was horrible. One moment I was standing on solid ground in the Armoury courtyard, the next I was falling at what felt like the speed of light. It was as if my very soul had been snatched away from the fabric of reality. I couldn’t even tell if my eyes were open or closed for there was only a grey pit of nothingness, which reeked of death and decay. The scent coated my tongue, like gritty coal, and overwhelmed my already shocked senses.

  Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

  There was no pain, no sound, no noticeable change in temperature; one moment I was falling and the next I wasn’t. Something cold and solid pressed against my back as the gentle sound of a waterfall sung in my ears. It took a moment to even remember to breathe, but when I did the wild taste of wood and musk was high in the air. Clean and crisp, it washed away the gritty horror that had assaulted me moments earlier. It fostered such a sense of comfort that I found ease in opening my eyes, only to gasp at the kaleidoscope of flashing pastel that far above my head. Blobs of green, blue, pink and yellow all swayed like a primary heartbeat of light that would’ve outshone even the brightest of stars. I’d never seen anything like it.

  “It’s a fae nursery. Disgusting, isn’t it?”

  My neck was unusually stiff as I turned in the direction from which the voice had come. Sedna lounged beside me, her deathly pale skin almost translucent in the glow, her silver eyes even more so. The Morrigan. I tried to sit up, wanting to put as much space between us as possible, but the slightest movement caused my world to spin. Sedna giggled, icy air blowing against my ear, “I wouldn’t move just yet. Teleporting is topsy at first.”

  That was an understatement: I was a sitting duck. Still, I didn’t want her out of my sight, so swallowing slowly I focused on the mosaic floor and pushed myself up onto my elbows to look around for an exit. We were in some sort of cathedral where tall wooden walls were lined with dozens of circular doors. Some were large enough for giants, others small enough for gnats, but each had the same emerald and gold mosaic design. It spiralled from their heart to stretch across the floor and meet in the centre of the cathedral where a waterfall poured through a shamrock shaped pool, deep into the unknown. I knew this place, “the Armoury.”