Distantly I wondered if she would know who was stealing the dragon younglings. The dragons thought it was the Jinn, which was likely, but I doubted they kept the dragons for themselves. Another time, I reminded myself. One problem at a time.
Speaking of . . . behind us rose a cacophony of laughing howls. I twisted in the saddle to see four werehyenas racing toward us, jaws open. There was no way I’d be killing all four.
“Any time, big bird!” I yelled at the Raven.
The whoosh of the huge feathered wings rushed through the air as she closed in and I held up one hand in greeting. Best I could do at that point.
She cawed and swooped down, her talons outstretched. Balder tried to bolt and I held him fast with my hands and my legs. “Hang on, my friend. It’ll be just like riding with the dragon Trick again.”
He let out a long snort and pawed at the ground with one hoof. Yeah, I wasn’t so sure either.
Goddess, let me be right about this. It was either go with the Raven or face the werehyenas. I was betting on the bird as our safest route, which was a crazy fucking thing.
I held my breath as the massive talons wrapped around us with room to spare. My chest burned as I clung to the air and my hand went to the handle of the flail. Just in case.
But the Raven didn’t squash us or tear us apart. She only scooped us up and rose into the air. Balder grunted and flicked his head up and down in obvious irritation, but he didn’t thrash about. His ears swiveled and beneath me I felt his legs moving as if he were running. Maybe he was getting used to the idea of flying. After all, this was not his first flight with an oversized predator.
I could only hope it would be the last. I didn’t like trusting these big winged creatures—bird or dragon—not to drop us for shits and giggles.
The werehyenas screeched their displeasure as we were lifted out of range. I twisted around and stuck my tongue out at them. “Neener neener, stupid mutts!”
The Raven banked to the right and swung toward the castle. The snow below us sent cold gusts of air up around my face, whipping my hood back and tangling my hair.
The distance between the hilltop and the castle was short, and in only a few minutes, we were coming in for a landing. The Raven brought us to the center courtyard, her wings sending up flurries of snow and bits of dirt as she neared the paved stones.
Balder’s hooves just touched the ground and she opened her talons and let us go. He stumbled only a step or two and then he was jigging away from the big bird, his tail flicking side to side as he danced. He wasn’t the only one glad to be back on solid ground. I released a long-held breath and some of the tension left me. Until I looked to my right.
The Raven landed next to us, her wings tucking back sharply against her body. She was easily as big as some of the largest dragons I’d seen, if put together differently. Her dark beak was twelve feet or better in length with a wicked sharp curving point at the end. Her black eyes were hard to read, and that spiked my heart rate up yet again.
“Thanks?” I said. “For not dropping us. And taking us away from the mutts back there.”
“My mistress would speak with you. Now that she is free of the jewel, her mind is more her own.” The Raven pointed with her beak at a narrow doorway set into the castle at the far side of the courtyard. The wooden door had large hinges and a circular iron handle, and as far as I could see, it was the only door leading out of the courtyard.
Backed into a corner, I had no other choice but to go through that door.
“Talk or kill?” I asked.
“If she wanted you dead, I would have dropped you over the snow field and pecked your bones clean of flesh myself,” she said with only a slight tremor of excitement in her voice. “She commanded that I should not do that.”
Her eyes widened and I thought for just a second I could see my broken body in them, blood everywhere. She blinked and the image was gone.
“You are one creepy-ass motherfucker, you know that, right? But you could eat those werehyenas. If you’re hungry, that is.” I pressed my leg against Balder, scooting him sideways. I realized that if the Raven launched at us, we wouldn’t be able to avoid her, but I couldn’t help but put distance between us and a creature that wanted to peck our bones clean.
Color me cautious if you want. I liked being on this side of the dirt and not in a raven’s belly. A thought caught me off guard. I was not the only one in danger of being pecked to death.
“I’m being tracked by a Jinn,” I said. “But I don’t want him dead. He’s not himself, but if he comes, let him come.”
Her eyes narrowed and her head swept toward me. “I obey the Witch, not you. I will kill whoever else I like, whether it is a hyena or a Jinn.”
My hand shot to the flail and I pulled it free before she could get too close. She paused. “You would use that weapon on me?”
“If you force me to. Don’t kill the Jinn. That’s all I ask, not command.”
“That weapon would devour you if it could.” She cawed a laugh that hurt my ears and made Balder whinny and dance even farther away.
I kept him steady with my legs. It was the best I could do. “The flail and I have come to a working relationship. It doesn’t suck the life out of me, and I let it feed on whatever I’m battling.”
The Raven hopped backward, horror written clearly in her eyes. “Fuck my feathers, are you serious? That is not possible.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Yeah. But back to my Jinn tracker, can you not kill him, please?”
She ruffled her feathers and scooted a few more steps back.
“He won’t find you while you are in this place. You could only find us because of your connection to your dragon,” she said. “Rest your horse.” She tipped her head at a set of stables. A troop of little gnomes scurried out, one right after the other. About four feet in height, they were chubby creatures with gentle faces and some form of beard on each, in a variety of colors. As they approached, they made soft clicking sounds that had Balder lowering to them so he could nuzzle their heads.
Ice goblins had been the Ice Witch’s minions before when she’d been the Ice Witch in truth. With the jewel gone from her, and out of the goblins’ lives, had they become the more helpful cousins to the goblins?
What did that say about the Ice Witch? Was it possible she wasn’t the psycho I’d met before? I wanted to believe that, especially since she’d helped me by returning the flail. I wanted to believe it more because she had Lila with her, and I was afraid for my friend’s life if the Ice Witch turned out to be fooling us.
The troop of gnomes hurried forward. As they drew close they bowed repeatedly, whispering something under their breath.
“Hail the Wall Breaker.”
I grimaced and slid off Balder’s back. They reached for his reins and he calmly followed them toward the stables, ruffling his lips through their hair and beards.
“The Witch waits for you,” the Raven said.
I stared up at her. “Do you have a name?”
“You may call me Raven. I will not give you my name. It is enough that the Witch has it.” The white feathers ruffled down her back in a shiver.
So that was how she’d been captured, by her name. Names had power in our world, which was why so many of the supes didn’t give their real name. Unlike me, who had no reason to hide behind a moniker.
“Raven, then. You caught Lila looking for you?” I asked.
She bobbed her head. “I did. She begged to go back for you, but the Witch wants you here for a time. And I must obey her.” A flash of irritation snapped through her eyes. The emotion was there and gone so fast that I might have thought I was seeing things, only I knew I wasn’t.
I felt bad for the big bird because I knew what it was to be trapped, to be told you couldn’t fly free. “I’m sorry for that. I know what it is to be . . . held down.”
She snorted. “Doubtful. You have no idea what you ride into, reckless one. You think you know, but you don’t . . .” She lower
ed her head until her beak was only a few feet from me. “The Witch is not who you think she is. She is not who she was and she is not who she will be, so take what she says with caution.” She shivered again and pulled back. “I can say no more.”
“Why would you even say that much?” I frowned up at her. “Why help me at all outside of what you are commanded to do?”
“I knew someone like you once. I did not help her and I regret it.” She turned her head away and her wings spread as she pushed off the stones. Into the air, she rose with three effortless flaps that took her to the edge of the castle wall where she sat facing outward. Guarding her mistress again.
There was nothing I could do for the Raven. I kept telling myself that while I wondered if I could convince the Witch to let her bird go. I turned and strode toward the door in front of me. No time like the present to say hello to an old friend and find out just what the fuck was going on.
The thick iron circle was ice cold against my hand, and heavier than I’d anticipated. I had to use both hands to pull the door open. The iron hinges creaked horribly as I pulled. They needed to be oiled, and badly. Stupid thoughts, I know, but I was avoiding thinking about all the possibilities that waited for me on the other side. A nice witch. A bad witch. A dead friend. A live friend.
The interior smelled of ice—yes, ice has a smell—and pine tar. Sconces set in the walls lit up as I took a step, leading me on a pathway deeper into the castle. The flames burst into life as I drew close and went out as I passed. I made myself stop and back up, but the flames didn’t light again behind me.
Forward it was then. I lengthened my stride. The faster I found Lila and dealt with the Witch, the better. So far, her actions spoke of someone trying to help, but I was no fool. I’d been duped more than once by friends and lovers to know that rarely were people out to help you. More like out to help themselves. I put a hand on the stone, not because I was losing my balance but to see if it was real. I still struggled with the idea of snow and a castle in the middle of the desert.
My hand came away warm, not cold. I frowned and stared hard at the stone. “What are you really?”
For just a second, I thought I saw the red rock of the desert cut to mimic the stone, and then it was gone, and the black and gray stone was back to what the original castle had been.
The sconces twisted to the right and then lit up a winding stairwell.
“Shitty fucking place to fight,” I muttered under my breath. I could all too easily see someone come down from above, forcing me into a fight in the narrow space. Bad, bad juju rolled through me. I’d fought the Ice Witch before to a standstill, but I’d not killed her. And part of me thought I should have. Then again, the flail would not have been returned to me if I’d killed her, and the weapon had saved me more than once.
I counted the steps as I went up, gauging how high I was. The stairs were at least four flights and in my head, I tried to map out where I was based on my brief look at the castle from above. There had been a room at the top of a huge turret. That had to be where I was going.
I put a hand to the kukri on my right thigh, the handle ready for a quick pull and slash. I took the last corner carefully, peering around to see an open door at the top, my eyes just above floor level. The door was oversized in width and height, and it was wide open.
The room beyond it—at least what I could see—was draped in fabrics, and the sound of a fire crackled merrily. A waft of heat blew out to me, the smell of wood smoke tickling my nose.
Voices floated to me as if they had suddenly come to life. That was interesting, since I’d not heard them sooner. With my ears, if they’d been talking I should have heard them halfway down the stairwell even if I’d not been able to decipher what exactly they were saying.
“Lila, you are sure you do not have a curse laid on you?” The voice reminded me of the Ish I’d known as a child. Soft. Kind. Worried about my well-being. Of course, it wasn’t her. It was her sister. But they were close enough in tone that my defenses slid a little.
“My grandmother never said it was a curse. She said it was something to overcome. A challenge,” Lila answered. “Do you think the Raven will have found Zam yet? I’m worried about her. Maks is not himself. I should go and find her.”
Part of me thought I should wait and see what the Witch said in response, but I didn’t want Lila to worry. I made my way up the last few steps. “I’m here, Lila.”
She gasped as I took the last step and a blur of blue and silver slammed into my chest. I reached out to catch my balance on the wall before we both tumbled down the many flights of stairs I’d just come up.
I hugged her with my other hand. “You’re okay?”
“Yes. Maggi has been very kind. Surprisingly enough.” Lila pulled back from me, her eyes worried despite her words. I knew how she felt. Trusting someone who’d tried to kill you in the past was not a natural thing.
I made myself take the next few steps into the lair of the Ice Witch. “So, Maggi is your name then?”
“It is the name my mother gave me, yes.” Maggi stood and clasped her hands in front of her body. Slim, tall, long white hair, pale blue eyes as piercing as any hawk’s, but there was not fury in them as there was the first time I’d met her. Neither was there any blood lust. She was just the sister of Ish now, and had no vileness attached to her.
Of course, I couldn’t let it ride at that.
“How is it that you are so different now? Why are you helping me? Why would you return the flail?” I asked, not letting go of Lila.
Maggi sighed. “You have not noticed that the jewels bring with them not only power, but madness too? They were never meant to be held by anyone. My sister . . . she stole them a millennium ago from the very waters of creation and used them to rise to power.”
“You mean Ishtar then, don’t you?” I needed to be sure. One hundred percent that we were talking about the same person.
I found myself in the room, drawn to the woman in front of me. She had answers to questions I’d asked for years.
“Yes, I mean Ishtar. She is ancient, as am I, I suppose.” A smile twisted her lips. “The jewels allowed her to imbue a pantheon of gods and goddesses. She helped to create many of the supes as you know them, but the jewels . . . they broke her mind, even as strong as she was. Too much power took her mind to a dark place, a place of chaos. That kind of power will always corrupt.” She sighed and sunk into her chair.
“Wait, are you actually going to tell me what the fuck is going on with all this?” I waved a hand through the air as if to encompass the world. “No tricks like Merlin? No manipulations like Ishtar? No games like the Emperor?” I still struggled to believe Ish was Ishtar, that she was that one, the desert goddess we’d feared and loved in equal parts. A consort to the Emperor. A demon goddess whose fury could be felt even thousands of miles from her.
Maggi gave me a weary smile. “As much as I am able to, yes. I will tell you what I know. There are parts that are hidden even from me. But you are the Wall Breaker, and you have a heavy journey ahead of you. That is why I’m helping you. I . . . there was much wrong I did as the Ice Witch. Perhaps this is something I can do to make amends.”
Like killing three of the members of my pride. Like trying to kill the rest of us. But I kept those thoughts to myself.
“Oh, well that’s just fucking fabulous, isn’t it?” I grumbled as I lowered to the floor, choosing to ignore the part about her amends. I didn’t know what to do with it. I needed whatever help I could get, even if it was from someone who had at one point been an enemy.
My legs were tired, and I was exhausted from the amount of time Balder and I had been running. I wanted nothing more than to shut my eyes, but the idea that I might actually, finally, get some answers kept them open. “Let’s get this show on the road then. I’m on a time crunch.”
Magi’s eyes swept over me. “You should sleep.”
I shook my head. “No. Tell me what you need to tell me and we’ll get th
e fuck out of here.”
She sighed and bowed her head. “Reckless as always.” With her fingers to her lips, she nodded, more to herself than me, I think. “You can rest your body. Sleep before you fall over, and I can dream walk with you both. It is a talent I have. That will speed up your stay. If it is agreeable to you?”
I wasn’t sure if it was agreeable. Especially after my last two jaunts into dreamland. “You would be inside my head?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Maggi nodded.
“How can you possibly do that?” Lila asked. “Linking dreams is not an easy thing between two minds, never mind three.”
Maggi smiled at Lila. “Did you not wonder how Zamira found you? She followed the threads of your life. You are part of her family as far as she is concerned, and that simple truth allowed her to do the impossible. You two are bound together as tightly as any siblings I have ever seen. Perhaps even more so.” A twist of pain slid over her face and I wondered if she and Ishtar had been close at one point. “Close your eyes to the world, and I will bring your minds together, then I will join you there in the dream world.”
I shouldn’t have trusted her. I knew that in the logical part of my brain, but my instincts on people were generally spot on and they were saying she’d changed. She was not the same woman I’d battled before. Maggi was no longer the power-mad Ice Witch. She was just Magi, a witch who had strength and knowledge that could ultimately help us. I hoped.
Lila leapt up, flew to a pile of cushions near Maggi and brought one back for me. The velvet material was a deep gold like the desert sands. I dropped my head onto it, lying flat on my back. A sigh slid out of me as my eyes closed. This was not what I would call the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but I’d had worse. Hell, I’d slept through ice storms, so this was damn near tropical.
Lila circled on my chest, then settled down, laying so that the tip of her nose touched my chin. I put a hand over her body and let sleep take me, trusting we were making the right decision. Warmth whispered through my veins, not unlike the warmth of the țuică.
There was no discernible moment between wake and sleep. I was just . . . there, inside a dream that looked a great deal like the room where I’d gone to sleep in, including me flat on the floor, Lila on my chest, a velvet pillow under my head.
Jinn's Dominion (Desert Cursed Series Book 3) Page 12
