by K T Munson
“If you are here to hurt my daughter, you’d best get your arms back up,” she said, her voice filled with the same venom she had heard in Elisabeth’s when addressing the Shadow Clan.
“Elisabeth is my friend,” Kerrigan said excitedly. “I was just trying to get her back from the Netherworld.”
“Back from the Netherworld?” she asked, shaking her head. “Did Malthael keep her safe?”
Elisabeth’s mother should have been dead a long time ago. “How are you still alive?”
The woman laughed again. “I’m anything but alive, child.”
“How is your soul here then?” Kerrigan asked, indicating to the cottage.
“Only a fraction remained after Darienith consumed it. The part that loved Elisabeth somehow survived. He explained it to me before tethering my soul to the cottage in the place between the Netherworld and the planet. I don’t know how long I’ve been here.” Her eyes drifted out the kitchen window. “I feel as though he just left.”
Kerrigan cringed at that. It was like a reverse praying mantis—the male consumed the female after mating instead. “Elisabeth is an adult. Decades have passed,” Kerrigan explained. “I am the Guardian of this Gate that now links the two.”
“Well, that explains how you got here,” she said with a smile that reminded her of Elisabeth. “Decades?”
“Yes,” Kerrigan confirmed. “Decades have passed.”
“Did Malthael take care of her like I asked of him?”
Kerrigan couldn’t help but smile at that. “He is a father to her, and she has cared for all of us. Nanette calls him Uncle Malthael, and I think even Selene is coming around.”
“Come, let us sit by the fire,” she said waving toward the hearth. “Tell me who these people are.”
They made their way to the chairs that were situated in front of the fireplace. Elisabeth’s mother waited expectantly as she settled in. Kerrigan could feel the heat and wondered how that was possible.
“Nanette is Elisabeth’s friend. They are like sisters to me. I’ve always wanted a sister, and Elisabeth was like an older sister to me more than once. When things got really bad, she helped me.”
“And what about Selene? Is she another of Elisabeth’s friends?” she asked, leaning even closer.
Kerrigan’s eyebrows shot up at the question. She was sitting across from Selene’s aunt, after all. Kerrigan’s mouth opened, but she didn’t know how to say it. Selene was… Selene was something more to Kerrigan. A blush ran up her neck and into her cheeks.
Clearing her throat, Kerrigan said, “Selene is your niece. I think she told me once she was even named for you.” Surprise registered on the other woman’s face. “What is your name?” Kerrigan asked, realizing she was thinking of her as Elisabeth’s mother.
“Serena,” she said. Her face contorted with emotion.
“What is it?” Kerrigan asked.
“I remember Elisabeth, but I don’t remember my sister.” Her image seemed to flicker for a moment, and Kerrigan gasped.
As Serena’s image went very still, Kerrigan felt the cottage shudder around her, as though caught in a great wind. It wanted her to leave—she could feel it in her gut. Whatever allowed Serena to exist here was tenuous at best. Perhaps the precarious nature of her existence was because she was only part of a soul. When the house shook again, Kerrigan hurried to the door. When she yanked it open, blinding light washed over her.
Chapter 25: Lyreane
Selene worried over Kerrigan’s still form. Between her condition and Ethandirill’s, Selene felt helpless. Ki had gone to get Nanette to try to bring Elisabeth back. Malthael paced behind her; she could hear the clip clop of his hooves. She wiped a cold cloth over Kerrigan’s warm forehead and then tucked the blankets around Ethandirill’s still form.
Leaving them for a moment, she returned to the living room. “What happened to Elisabeth?” Selene asked.
Malthael froze as though she had asked him a terrifying question and then sighed heavily. Frowning, Selene glanced toward the door and wondered how long it would be before Ki returned. She wasn’t used to being the one in charge or the only one not out of sorts. She really wanted Kerrigan to wake up or Nanette to return.
“She has endured a lot,” Malthael said, drawing her attention back to him. “And has learned something I should have told her a long time ago.” He sat down in an oversized chair by the roaring fire.
“What about?”
“About her mother?” Kerrigan’s voice broke the tension in the room.
“Kerrigan!” Selene said, running over to her friend. When Kerrigan stumbled, Selene caught her, and they sunk to the ground together.
“You always smell amazing,” Kerrigan whispered, sounding dazed.
“Kerrigan,” Selene said, blushing, “it’s Selene, not Elisabeth.”
Kerrigan’s face tipped back, and she said with a straight face, “I know who I am talking to, Selene.”
Selene felt all of the blood rush to her face twofold, and her ears burned. All the buried feelings that hadn’t seemed right before burst forth. Her hope and heart swelled as Kerrigan’s arms tightened around her.
“What about her mother?” Malthael said, breaking the moment.
Kerrigan cleared her throat, sending Selene a mischievous smile. “I saw Elisabeth’s mother. She is trapped in this house.”
“That isn’t possible,” Malthael said as he shook his massive head. “Darienith consumed her soul.”
“Most of it,” Kerrigan agreed. “The part that loved Elisabeth survived. I saw her.”
Malthael glanced around the room. “Elisabeth has been here before. If her mother were here she would have seen her. You must be mistaken.”
“She isn’t here.” Kerrigan struggled to explain. “Not really. She is caught between here and the Netherworld, in a place Elisabeth’s father put her before he left. I don’t think she is all there. It is like she can’t remember that time has passed, or more likely that time passes at all.”
Malthael shook his head. “Does she really look like me?” Selene asked.
Kerrigan smiled. “You look almost exactly like her. Almost more than Elisabeth does.”
The door to the cottage opened at that moment. They all turned. The chill of the spring morning wafted in with Nanette, who looked distraught. She glanced around at them before closing the door behind her.
“Elisabeth has calmed down. She is watching the sunrise with Nathan and Duke. Ki wouldn’t leave her, and I couldn’t get her to come back right away, but she needs a coat or a blanket. I gave her mine, but she needs something warmer.” Nanette’s eyes trailed around the room, and Selene knew who she was searching for. “I wanted to see Ethandirill before I went back out.”
“He is still unconscious,” Kerrigan said, pointing to the back room.
Her voice drew Selene’s attention back to her. Self-conscious, she helped Kerrigan to her feet as Nanette drifted by them and went to Ethandirill’s side. She touched his hand with an expression of longing Selene didn’t recognize. Her eyes slipped over to Kerrigan before she averted her gaze to the floor—or at least she didn’t understand it yet.
When Nanette started whispering something to Ethandirill and leaned over to kiss him, Selene turned away. Helping Kerrigan into the living room and onto the loveseat; Selene sat next to her.
Malthael stared into the fire. “What do you know?” he asked Nanette when she entered the room.
Nanette shook her head. “She kept talking about these different realities. About seeing us die in these other versions. It really distressed her. I couldn’t get much more from her.”
“It was worse than I feared,” Malthael replied, leaning back.
“So you know what happened to her?” Kerrigan asked. She shifted in the chair as if she’d felt a flash of pain.
Selene’s hand went to Kerrigan’s, her fingers curling around her hand for contact and comfort. Kerrigan returned her hold without saying anything. Malthael hesitated. What
ever he was going to say, it clearly wasn’t going to be good.
“She was in what the Divine Court calls the Inner Sanctum,” Malthael said, turning to face them. “It allows the King of Morhaven to channel different powers. Paramount among them is the ability to see alterative possibilities of fate, an ability that otherwise only Destiny, The Fate of the future, possesses.”
“That can’t be all bad, can it?” Selene asked. “I’m sure some of the realities are better. Perhaps in some of them my aunt survives, and Elisabeth gets to know her.”
Malthael nodded as he smiled at her in way that was almost tender. “Some of them were no doubt an improvement, but not all. I imagine some of them were very dark indeed.” Malthael trailed off, as though he was distracted. His jaw tightened, and he seemed to be struggling with something.
Selene swallowed. She was curious but wasn’t sure how to ask the question. “What did she mean? What did Elisabeth mean when she said that you had lied?”
Malthael’s gaze pinned Selene to the seat. The torture within them, the pain, was evident. She understood that level of self-hatred, but she had a feeling his was different. He looked away, and she saw the knot of his throat bob. For a moment she didn’t understand, but then she saw tears, thinly golden tears, slip down his black skin.
“Serena is dead because I left her to die.” Malthael’s words dropped low with torment. “I couldn’t tell Elsa when she was older. At first it was easy to be honest when she was too young to fully comprehend, but that unconditional love she showed me as a girl broke my resolve. I couldn’t tell her when she was old enough to truly understand what I had done, wouldn’t let anything break that love. I knew this could eventually drive her away.”
Nanette, who had remained in the hallway, strode across the room now and threw her arms around Malthael. Kerrigan slowly got to her feet with Selene’s help before following suit. Selene sighed and joined them, all of them hugging the crying reformed demon.
“You’re an idiot,” Nanette muttered, which enlisted a laugh from everyone, “but she’ll forgive you.”
“I can only hope,” Malthael said thickly, as though it was an effort to speak at all.
Chapter 26: Lyreane
Ki watched Elisabeth continue to sit on the tree, Nanette’s coat wrapped around her. She seemed about to doze, so he hovered, afraid she might fall at any moment. He wanted to be there to catch her. He hated being so close but so far away.
“I can feel you watching me,” Elisabeth said. He looked up to find her peering at him. Her gaze was almost playful.
He smiled up at her; he couldn’t help it because she sounded almost normal. “It has always been hard for me to look away from you, El.”
She stilled, but he could see the softness. “Why?”
He grinned at her like a fool. “You always get into trouble otherwise.”
She barked out a laugh as though it had forced its way out of her. He would do whatever was necessary to make her happy. He didn’t like the way she was now, so broken. In a way it reminded Ki of himself before he’d learned the truth—before he realized how families were supposed to be. He’d never truly dealt with losing his home and the family he knew—partially because of the events that happened and partially because he had chosen Elisabeth over them. Her truth was all that mattered, and he realized that as much as he had needed her, she now needed him.
He deftly scaled the tree, his refined power making the climb almost too easy. When he was on the branch below her, he ambled along it to stand just below her. Elisabeth cocked her head to one side.
“What are you doing?” she asked, still smiling.
“Keeping a closer eye on you,” he said, placing his hands on the branch on each side of her legs.
Her smile slipped as she studied his face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
Ki’s fingers itched to touch her, to confirm she was really there, but he kept them where they were. “About what?” he asked patiently.
Her eyes darted up to his face and then she turned half away from him. “For killing you,” she said, her words barely audible. “I couldn’t do it again. Not even to end my misery. But I saw you die again and again. Knowing the first kill had been real, that you’d died in my arms by my hand. Sometimes I feel like I’ve crossed a line and I’m not sure I can get back.”
He could see the anguish on her face. A tear rolled down her cheek. Very slowly, he put a hand on her boot, worried that anything else would make her run. “You did what you had to do. Just don’t do it again because I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Her wide eyes shot over to him and she laughed. To his surprise, she reached for him. She braced her hands on his shoulders as his hands encircled her waist. He helped her down onto the branch on which he was standing. Her sharp features weren’t as severe when she was smiling.
“Quite a pair we make,” she said, her hands on his chest.
Ki brought a hand up and touched a cut on her face, his thumb sweeping across her soft skin. Ki was a predator, and as much as he hated it, it allowed him to feel her fear right below the surface. Without a doubt she still wasn’t absolutely sure it was all real, but she wanted to believe. He could feel it in his bones.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied, slipping his crooked finger under her chin and tipping her head back.
He kissed her softly. For all her power and all her abilities, he could feel her tremble. It made him feel something he had never felt before, a want and need to possess her. He had wanted her, desired her, yes, but he’d never felt she should be treated like a possession. It was primal and deep, buried just beneath his love for her. He deepened the kiss as Elisabeth seemed to melt against him.
Someone cleared her throat. Startled, Ki eased back, holding Elisabeth’s shoulders to steady her, as she sighed contently in his arms. Nanette had a knowing smile on her face as she held out a folded blanket.
“I’ve had Selene start heating water for a bath,” Nanette told them.
“That sounds delightful,” Elisabeth muttered almost dreamily.
With a half-smile, he helped Elisabeth down the branches. She didn’t need his help, Ki could tell, but she let him help her just the same. Her fingers seemed to linger on his skin, as though she didn’t want to let go. Ki could see a flash of uncertainty as she left the safety of her refuge.
When they reached the bottom of the tree, Elisabeth seemed much better than she had been earlier. She still had that insecurity just below the surface, but it wasn’t as apparent. Sometimes her eyes would dart to a sudden movement or a bird flying through the air and she would stiffen, but it passed.
Nanette slipped the blanket around Elisabeth’s shoulders. “That’s better.”
Elisabeth smiled, touching Nanette’s wrist. “Thank you.”
“What are friends for?” Nanette asked, but then she glanced at Ki. “Bring her in soon, I’ll get the bath ready.” She turned to leave.
Suddenly Elisabeth wrapped her fingers around her friend’s arm. “Is Malthael there?”
Nanette’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then her face softened. She patted Elisabeth’s hand. “No, he is looking after Troy in Hystera. Kerrigan can open a gate to the other gates in the front cottage door. The first time she did, it was…surprising.”
Elisabeth nodded, letting Nanette go as she tightened the blanket in around her. As Nanette made her way back to the cottage in the distance, Elisabeth leaned against him. Ki wrapped an arm around her, content with the fact that she wasn’t running anymore.
“I’m here for you, El,” Ki said softly.
“Why do you keep calling me El?” Elisabeth asked.
He frowned at her. “You don’t like?”
Elisabeth touched his face. “I didn’t say that. It’s just new.”
Ki felt embarrassed but determined. “Everyone in my family has two letters for their name. Why shouldn’t you?”
Elisabeth’s face lit up all the way
to her eyes, and the transformation took his breath away. “I love you.”
Her lips were against his before he could answer. His heart filled to the brim. “He didn’t just show me the bad,” Elisabeth said softly. Her head resting on Ki’s shoulder. “Sometimes I fear this is just another reality, another alternative to the timeline, one where you and I are happy.”
“You’re happy?” Ki asked, rubbing her arm with his hand.
“I feel safe,” Elisabeth replied.
Ki felt puzzled by the despondence in her voice. “You are safe.”
Elisabeth turned into his chest, her forehead against the crook in his neck. “I won’t ever be safe.”
Chapter 27: Netherworld
When Ethandirill opened his eyes, he’d expected the flowering fields of the afterlife, but instead he found a world frozen in stone. Thunderclouds filled the sky, rumbling with intermittent bursts of sound. His eyes scanned for any signs of life. What kind of place was he in? Slowly he sat up, swiveling his body one way and then the other to try to understand.
“You’ve gotten yourself killed it seems.” A voice broke through the sounds of the hushed storm.
Ethandirill jumped to his feet at the sound of his brother’s voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Here is the place between life and death. The place I froze when I was dying,” Nauberon said as he strolled around a frozen fountain. The water was stone, and rocks hung in the air, caught in time.
Ethandirill tried to understand. “I’m not dead?”
“You died and Elsariel brought you back, but not before your soul slipped free and came to me.” Nauberon walked over to stand in front of Ethandirill and smiled. “Your soul is mine, brother. Do you think the only thing I did with the curse was to mark you and take your voice? So long as I have no heir, your soul and life are mine.”
Ethandirill’s fist connected with this brother’s jaw. Nauberon’s head snapped to the side on impact. Ethandirill let out a roar and stomped away before he could hit his brother again. Pacing, he tried to calm his anger.
