by Tara West
Dragon’s blood! She’d been fooled!
“That witch deceived me. I thought I’d trapped Madhea in the heptacircle.” She nervously drummed her fingers against the stone armrest. “Madhea is probably waiting for me to do the sacrifice. It requires dark magic. I will be vulnerable then, and she can turn me to stone.”
“What will you do?” Thorne asked, looking too much like a lost lamb.
She leaned forward, slapping the swirling mists that fanned out in thick clouds. The mists parted to show her Madhea’s ice dragon frantically clawing her way inside Eris’s mountain. What was that behind the beast? Could it be the giant and another dragon? The shapes were blurry, but it appeared Madhea had brought a monster army, and Naamaku was nowhere in sight. If Madhea had hurt her leviathan, the ice goddess would feel Eris’s wrath! Next the mists revealed the magic heptacircle, or what was left of it. It was flattened like trampled grass, and floating around the stones was a carnage of shredded pixies. She bit down on her knuckles, stifling a scream. Madhea had to have freed Dianna, for none other than a goddess could break through Eris’s magical barriers and destroy her nest of pixies. Though troublesome devils, Eris had grown fond of her little pets. That Madhea would take them away from her made her blood boil.
“Her monsters are trying to find a way in, and Dianna is freed.” Eris thought for a long moment and then an idea struck her. “I will perform the ritual and put the girl’s spirit back in her body. Madhea will destroy the girl, thinking she’s me, and then together we will surprise Madhea and take her and her monsters down.”
Thorne gasped. “But you need the girl’s body. Surely you do not wish to stay tethered to your tail forever.” Eris didn’t miss the nuances in his expression, which soured as if he’d drunk rotten wine. “Uh....” He looked away long enough that Eris knew he was formulating a lie. “Not that I don’t think your tail is beautiful.”
She had no time to be offended—not when she knew the sky goddess was waiting to strike. “Silly earth speaker.” Despite her annoyance with Thorne, she forced a laugh. “Once Madhea is dead, I will take her daughter’s body as my own. Do not destroy the young witch if she comes to fight with her mother.” She rubbed her hands together, licking her lips as she recalled the girl’s tight breeches hugging long, shapely legs. Yes, Madhea’s spawn would do just as well. “She is young and beautiful, too, the daughter of a goddess. She has more magic than that body.”
She scowled at the freshly-cleaned body two guards laid back on the slab before quickly taking their leave. If the ritual proved a success, she would not only retain her magic, she’d inherit Dianna’s magic as well. That would please her immensely, since that cursed goddess stone had gone cold, it’s magic fleeing like a deer before a wolf. She kicked the stone at her feet, and it rolled into the pool. No matter. She didn’t need it. With Dianna’s magic, she’d be unstoppable!
“Yes, she is quite beautiful, with pale hair and green eyes. You will be lovely.” A slow smile spread across Thorne’s face, as if he expected her to make him her lover once she stole Dianna’s body.
“I will be lovely?” She snarled. “As opposed to now, when I’m tethered to this repulsive tail?”
He backed up, nearly tripping over his own feet. “I didn’t say that.”
“You do not need to say it.” She jabbed his side. “I can tell what you think.”
He clasped his hands together, dropping to one knee. “Forgive me, my goddess. I did not mean to offend. “
She forced herself to restrain her anger. She needed Thorne to help her defeat Madhea. After that, she’d discard him like old bones. “Grab the chalice with the girl’s spirit. We must act now before Madhea strikes.”
* * *
“Oh, no! What will she do when she finds my spirit is gone? I may have missed my only chance to return to my body,” Mari whispered to Alec as they observed Eris and Thorne from a darkened tunnel leading to the chamber. Behind Alec lay two sleeping guards, knocked out by a rope of Dianna’s magic. Dianna and Simeon were crouched in front of them, waiting for the best moment to strike.
When a wind blew by his nape, Alec grabbed Dianna’s shoulder and he bent to her ear. “Father.”
She shrugged him off, a look of skepticism in her eyes. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Alec answered. “He’s helping us.”
When Thorne reached for the chalice, it fell out of his grip as if some unseen force had knocked it away. It clanked across the stones before coming to a stop, its lid falling off as it rolled back and forth on its side.
“Foolish man!” Eris hollered, her tale wildly slapping the slab. She pointed to the dark blob that circled above and then behind her. “Capture that spirit!”
“Go, Mari!” Alec urgently whispered.
Mari swirled into the chamber.
“There you are, child.” Alec’s breath caught in his throat when Eris struck Mari with a magic rope. “Do not fret.” The sea goddess smiled wickedly. “I’ve had a change of heart. You are going back inside your body.”
Eris flung Mari’s spirit in the air. It hovered above the supine body like a thick fog over a midnight tide. The sea witch swayed, her tail slapping the ground in time with a low hum that reverberated off the walls. Her humming grew louder as she shut her eyes and turned her face to the ceiling.
“Elements of fire and flame
Hear me speak your name
Make this mortal whole
Bind her flesh and soul
Elements of earth and light
Hear my plea this night
Deliver this spirit to her skin
That she may rise again”
The earth trembled when the soul sank into Mari’s body, and a brilliant light lit the room, then fractured into myriad crystals of sparkling color.
Alec held his breath for several interminable moments, waiting for Mari to wake. Finally, she flung an arm across her eyes with a groan. Thorne raced to her side, helping her sit up.
“There, there, my child,” he soothed. “Come sit down while you adjust to your body.”
Eris slithered into the water while Thorne carried Mari to her throne. Mari seemed disoriented, gaping at her hands as if they were not her own. Alec’s heart pounded so wildly in his ears, he could barely think. What if Mari tried to run, and Eris punished her? Or worse, what if Mari got caught in the middle of the fight, recovering her body only to sacrifice her body and soul?
Mari thanked Thorne when he handed her a goblet of wine. She greedily drank it as if ’twas her last drink. Then Alec realized it was her first drink in fifteen years.
“Thank you for your kindness,” Mari said to Thorne, “but my legs feel numb. Maybe I should try walking.”
“No, no.” Thorne held her down when she tried to stand. “You rest a while.”
Eris slipped farther into the water, until she was nearly submerged.
“I can’t wait any longer,” Dianna said through gritted teeth and jumped to her feet.
Alec’s world spun on its axis as his sister left.
* * *
Dianna blasted Thorne first, knocking him back against the wall. She turned to Mari. “Run!”
Mari slid off the throne, landing on her arse. “I’ve forgotten how to use my legs.”
Dianna had no time to help the girl. She spun and blasted Eris, who was swimming away, striking her tail and reeling her in like a fish.
“Thorne!” Eris screeched, flopping around. “Stop her!”
Something struck the back of Dianna’s head. She was about to tumble face-first into the water when a strong wind flipped her around, and she fell on her side instead. Pain shot through her ribs, and she winced.
She thought she saw a familiar set of dark eyes sweep past. “Father?”
Duck, child!
She dodged Eris’s magic rope, which then shot across her shoulder, striking the swirling mists. They exploded with a bang, the clouds scattering and fogging Dianna’s sight.
She was bare
ly aware of Alec racing past and sweeping Mari into his arms before stumbling away. He’d almost made it to the darkened tunnel leading to the chamber when Eris caught him with a bolt, holding him suspended. He then fell to his knees, an agonizing cry escaping his lips.
Mari tumbled out of his arms, screaming. “Stop, please! You’re killing him.”
Desperate to save her brother, Dianna staggered to her feet but was struck again. She touched the back of her head. It was wet and sticky with blood. Had Thorne whacked her with thunderbolts?
“Don’t kill her, you fool!” Eris released her hold on Alec and swam to the edge of the pool. “I want her body! Save your strength for Madhea.”
Get up and fight, Dianna! Sindri said.
Our sister Aletha is near you, Neriphene pleaded. She has powerful healing magic. She can help you.
Dianna’s vision cleared.
“So pretty.” Eris stroked Dianna’s leg. “So long and lean.” She looked at something beyond Dianna’s shoulder. “Put me in her body now, before Madhea comes.”
“This witch is dying. You must heal her first,” someone said.
Was she truly dying? No! What would happen to her brother and her friends? Blood poured out of the back of her head. She felt it. She smelled it.
“Fool!” Eris screeched. “I told you not to harm her.”
A slow, deep clap broke through Dianna’s confusion. “Well done, my deity. Well done.”
Eris slithered across Dianna’s legs like a snake. “Who are you?”
“Who am I? My beautiful goddess, you don’t recognize me?” Simeon strutted toward them like a peacock.
Sparks arched off Eris’s fingertips as she slunk back into the pool. “I do not.”
“I am Simeon.” He slapped his broad chest, stepped into the pool, and walked past Dianna. A moment later, something solid rolled against her leg. Could it have been a goddess stone?
“Descendant of Kyan and Orhan,” Simeon continued. “I followed Madhea here in hopes I could be the one to destroy her and her daughter for turning my benevolent grandmother to stone. Even now Madhea is restoring your heptacircle, where she hopes to ensnare you.”
“He lies!” Thorne hissed, advancing on Simeon. “He is with Madhea’s daughter. He must be destroyed!”
“Do not hurt him!” Eris implored, no doubt already taken by Simeon’s charms.
Dianna touched the smooth stone. “Help me, Aletha,” she whispered. The stone pulsed.
Aletha, Sindri said. She is not like her mother. Help her.
Simeon chuckled, tossing a braid over his shoulder and sneering at Thorne. “You lie, because you know I’m a far superior lover. My reputation precedes me wherever I go. Surely you’ve heard of Simeon the Strong.”
Simeon flexed his muscles.
Eris gaped at Simeon’s arms as if in a trance. “No, I have not.”
“Do not trust him, my love,” Thorne cried.
“This scrawny man is your lover?” Simeon’s deep, rich bellow echoed off the walls. “Surely a goddess as beautiful and powerful as you can do better.”
Eris bit her lip, batting long lashes, her tail playfully slapping the water. “He is not my only lover.”
“Once you have been with me, I can assure you, you will want no other.” Simeon’s smooth baritone coated Dianna’s nerves like a bath of warm honey. No wonder this man had so many admirers.
Though she knew it to be an act, the thought of him as Eris’s lover made her so angry, all she could think of was flattening Eris’s island. Her strength returned, and the dizziness subsided.
“Thank you, Aletha,” she murmured.
You’re welcome, spawn of Madhea. I only healed you because my sisters begged me to.
Dianna repressed a chuckle. She’d have to convince Aletha to trust her another time.
A jolt of power surged through her. She jumped to her feet. “Duck, Simeon!” she hollered, striking Thorne with one bolt and Eris with another. Energy poured from both hands with such brutal force, she cried out as her fingertips split open. She pushed more energy through her, smiling when both forms writhed and then shriveled, until nothing was left but ash.
She pulled back with a hiss, her retracting magic scalding her already charred fingers. The bolts dissipated, and she fell to her knees with a strangled sob.
Dianna curled her battered fingers around Aletha’s stone, tears of relief on her cheeks as her wounds healed.
Simeon steadied her with a hand beneath her arm as she stumbled over to Alec. She felt for a pulse, alarmed when she felt none. “Alec!” she screamed.
* * *
Alec was home again, curled up in his mother’s lap in front of a warm fire. He sank into her loving embrace... and was amazed to find his father holding him.
“I used to hold you like this before Madhea cursed my heart,” Rowlen said in his deep tenor.
Alec looked into his father’s dark eyes. “Am I dead?”
Rowlen pushed a lock of hair out of Alec’s eyes. “No, you are resting, but you need to go back to your body soon, and I need to pass to the Elements.”
Alec laid his head against his father’s chest, sorrow and regret threatening to split his heart in two. If Madhea had never cursed his father’s heart. If Alec had never stabbed his father in the back.
Rowlen rocked Alec in his arms. “No regrets, son. I can depart this world, knowing I have your forgiveness, and you can return to the world knowing I will always love you.”
Alec hugged him once more, and then his warmth slipped away like water spilling through his fingers.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Alec!” Dianna threw her arms around her brother’s neck. “I thought I’d lost you.” Indeed, she would have if it hadn’t been for Aletha boosting Dianna’s healing strength.
“Father has gone to the Elements.” Alec sobbed into her shoulder.
“Has he?” She caressed his hair, once feather soft and now wet and sticky with filth. “He helped me when I was battling Eris.” She recalled seeing her father’s eyes and then hearing him tell her to duck. If not for him, Eris would have roped her with magic and possibly banished her soul. She was forever indebted to the man she’d once believed to be a monster.
Alec sniffled, tears watering over his eyes. “He loves us.”
“I know.”
The ground shook so violently beneath them, Dianna fell into Alec’s arms.
“What was that?” Simeon cried, holding Mari close.
“Eris’s volcano.” Dianna jumped to her feet, giving Alec a hand up.
“The Elements sound angry,” Alec said before his jaw slackened and he gaped at Simeon, fire brewing in his pale eyes.
“She can’t walk,” Simeon explained, handing Mari to Alec and looking sheepishly at Dianna. “What was I supposed to do?”
* * *
Mari wrapped her arms around Alec’s neck, snuggling against him. “He has no power over me,” she whispered. “My heart has already surrendered to another.”
Alec’s heart soared as he held her close. She smelled like fresh moss and sage, and was as light as a bird. She felt so right in his arms, he never wanted to let go.
The ground quaked again, and Alec fell against the cavern wall, holding Mari as if she was more valuable than dragon’s gold.
“We need to leave!” Dianna waved them toward the tunnel.
“Not without Grim and Ryne.”
Alec ignored Simeon’s groans, pushing ahead of them while he pictured the tunnels from his dream. Though he’d no idea why he was risking his neck for Ryne after all the ice dweller had done, he’d never forgive himself if he escaped Eris’s island without trying. As for Grim, Alec would drown in a pit of lava before leaving his friend behind.
The tunnels shook, raining debris on their heads. Alec shielded Mari as best he could as they raced against time to save their friends. Dianna lit the way by holding up a glowing goddess stone.
By the time he came upon the solitary dungeon at the e
nd of the tunnel, they were already chest-deep in warm, filthy water. Though the air was humid and stifling, Mari clung to Alec’s neck, shivering in his arms. He knew ’twas from fear and not a chill, and he hated himself for endangering her.
Simeon yelped. “Be careful. There are hot springs beneath us.”
When Dianna blasted the bars off a cell and shined a light inside, Alec’s heart hit his stomach, and he had to bite down on his lip hard to keep from laughing. Ryne was standing neck deep in muck, with Grim perched on his shoulders.
“Well, this is an unexpected sight,” Alec chuckled as Simeon held a hand out to Ryne.
“I couldn’t very well let him drown,” Ryne grumbled, wading toward them. “After all, it was my foolish pride that got him captured.”
Alec shifted Mari in his arms, unable to repress a grin. “So nice of you to finally acknowledge it.”
“Indeed it was.” Grim chuckled. “Now let us leave this island and put all this bickering behind us.”
Dianna led the way, Simeon at her side, while the others followed.
“I’ve had plenty of time to contemplate my stupidity in this muck.” Ryne dodged a burst of steaming water. “I have already apologized to Grim, but I owe you an apology as well. I have behaved like a slog to you.”
“Apology accepted,” Alec answered with a grin. Indeed, Ryne had been a slog, but life was too perilous to hold grudges. Besides, Alec could hardly recall old quarrels while he had a beautiful girl in his arms.
Simeon waved them forward. “How about we save the making up for later and get out of here before this volcano explodes?”
* * *
They were lost.
Alec had led them through the maze of tunnels only to run into a dead end at each turn. A river of lava had completely overrun one hall and crumbled walls blocked several others. Eris’s soldiers proved no help. Dianna had to blast the few they’d encountered after they’d charged them with swords drawn. When they found themselves back in Eris’s chamber, Dianna worried the volcano would erupt before they found their way out.
“There is an exit this way.” Alec circled the pool.
