Lorelei shook her head. “Just get it over with.”
Vaana positioned herself next to Lorelei and pulled the first bone shard from her arm. The world turned sideways. Lorelei bit down on her tongue to keep from screaming. The tang of copper filled her mouth and a new pain joined the rest.
By the time all the bone shards were removed, she was flat on the ground with Vandermere’s hands on her shoulders.
“Sit her up and remove her sleeves,” Vaana said.
A cool wet cloth touched the bare flesh of her arms. The burning started as the liquid seeped into her wounds. She winced. It was nothing compared to what she had just felt, though.
Vaana began chanting in a soft tone and the burning in Lorelei’s chest and shoulders lessoned to a soft tingling. Gone were the deep gaping holes and claw marks, replaced by thin scabs. They looked weeks old instead of one night.
Vaana held a flask out to Lorelei.
“Drink it. It will help with the rest of the healing,” she said. “Healing the both of you has taken a lot of Aether.”
Lorelei took a long gulp. The nutty bitterness stung her tongue and made her eyes water. A strange warmth settled in her stomach and began to spread through her limbs. She yawned as the world dulled around her. The ground invited her to rest her head upon it.
Vaana gathered her things and stood. “You should get some sleep.”
“Not yet,” Lorelei struggled to form a coherent thought. She would get to the bottom of this tonight. “You will tell me what is going on. What happened with the stones, and why were we attacked by the Mother of Vampires?”
Vaana shoulders stiffened. “This can wait.”
“It’s waited long enough. If we’re safe to sleep, we’re safe to talk,” Lorelei said. “Both of you know a lot more than me. If someone doesn’t explain, I’m leaving.”
Vaana turned and crossed her arms with her eyes narrowed. “I don’t give into threats.”
“It’s not a threat…”
Lorelei swayed. What had she been saying? She looked down at the flask in her hand then back to Vaana.
“Did you drug me?” she asked.
Vaana smirked.
Vandermere pulled her up from the tree stump. “We will talk tomorrow, when you can comprehend things better.”
Lorelei’s eyelids drooped and she gripped Vandermere’s arms just to keep upright. He helped her lay down on a bedroll he’d rolled out. She wanted to argue, but being defiant seemed like too much effort. She reached a hand out as he left her, leaving a sudden coldness in his place. She was always cold and alone.
As the world drifted away, she hoped she didn’t dream.
9
Vandermere stood with his back against a tree and watched the sun peek over the horizon, turning the sky light pink.
Nearby, Lorelei whimpered in her sleep and rolled in his direction. Her face scrunched in a grimace. He half rose with a hand stretched out to her. With her injuries, she needed as much rest as possible, but this didn’t seem like good sleep. She’d slumbered fitfully in the last few hours that he’d taken the responsibility of keeping watch from Vaana.
He sighed. He’d waited many years of his life for this moment. Now that it was here, he wished she hadn’t come into his life. No longer did he have the isolation of his home and or even the Menhir to rely on when his visions were at their worst. Would she be able to cope when the madness struck him? Would Vaana decide he was too much of a danger and eliminate him? His visions left more questions and few answers.
Whatever was a part of Vaana now was connected to Daan. The reaction of the tablets had drawn the Mother of Vampires to them.
He shuddered. She hadn’t always been like that, if what he’d seen had been true. She’d been a god. The Shadow had twisted her into a monster. He’d recognized that thing as it had attacked the other in his vision.
He ran his hands partway through his long hair, then tapped one heel of his boot against the tree trunk. Daan. Those other gods. There were giants and he was a mere insect. If they fell so easily to the Shadow’s machinations, what chance did he have? What chance did Lorelei have?
With a soft groan, he pushed away from the tree and strode to Lorelei. Dawn was here, regardless. They needed to be on the road soon enough. The farther from the Menhir, the better.
He leaned down and rested his hand on Lorelei’s shoulder. His vision shifted for a second. Platinum blonde locks that seemed to glow with their own light had replaced her mahogany hair. Her cheekbones became sharper and her nose more pointed. Around her forehead extended an intricate golden headpiece.
His heart pounded in his ears. What was this? Had Lorelei touched one of the stones when he’d been lost in his vision?
He blinked and the headpiece disappeared. Lorelei lay before him, same as the day he had met her, except for the desperate look of terror on her face. Her body shook and she sat up with a small shriek. He leaned back with his hand still hovering. She panted as she stared at him with wild eyes.
“I was just going to wake you.” He stood and brushed off his pants. “Whatever you dreamed didn’t look pleasant.”
Her fingers caught in the tangles in her hair. “It never is.”
He took a cup from beside her backpack and poured the soup that had been heating by the campfire in it. He held it out to her. She looked at it with narrowed eyes and pursed lips before raising her gaze to his.
He chuckled. “Just soup. You need something to help you gain your strength.”
She took it, cupping it between her hands, and sipped from it.
He walked to where Vaana lay against the fallen tree stump and touched her leg with his boot. She opened one eye and looked up at him.
“Dawn already?” she asked.
He nodded. “We should leave soon.”
“Not before you tell me what is happening.” Lorelei stood, crossing her arms. The cup sat on the ground at her feet. “I may have been drugged last night, but I meant what I said. I will leave.”
Vaana tilted her head. “So?”
Vandermere rubbed his temple. The visions had never foretold what a headache either female would be. This would be a trial just to keep them together.
“She’s not asking for anything unreasonable,” he said. “Besides, how far do you think you would get alone with them?”
Vaana crossed her arms and glared between him and Lorelei. “It sounds like you know quite a bit already, Lord Vandermere.”
“I know enough.” He turned to Lorelei. “The stones held the remaining essences of old gods.”
Lorelei’s eyes widened and she spoke in a halting voice. “What? How…how is that possible?”
“Believe me, I’d like to know that as well,” Vaana said through gritted teeth.
Lorelei looked to Vaana. “You came to steal them for the Order?”
Vaana shrugged. “They are objects of heresy.”
“She didn’t predict they would use her as a vessel,” Vandermere said.
Vaana cut her gaze at him. “And you did?”
“I warned you.”
Lorelei frowned. “So, you knew they were there?”
Vandermere sighed. “Not exactly. I knew something would be uncovered last night that would begin this journey. I didn’t have the specifics.”
Lorelei bit her bottom lip. “Why was Daan there?”
“I think she came for the gods Vaana now has within her,” Vandermere said.
Lorelei let out a strangled cough as she looked from Vaana to Vandermere. “I’m sorry, what?”
Vandermere held up his hand. “Let me try to explain. “I had a vision…of the past, I believe.”
Lorelei and Vaana looked at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and described the events he’d seen. As usual, the scenes were ingrained in his mind with near perfect detail. He recalled the way Daan had slaughtered the others.
“Oh” Lorelei glanced at Vaana. “I remember the white-haired one. Vaana shifted into her….She called herself M
orrigan…How is that even possible? Phooka can shift into other people, but you aren’t one.”
“More like she took control.” Vaana laced her fingers together, her knuckles whitening. “I felt them enter me…the essences, at least. I was weak, but she…she’s the strongest of them and her hatred for Daan is palatable.”
Lorelei leaned forward with her eyes intent on Vaana, as if she was trying to absorb every word. “You’re aware of them? Can you speak with them?”
Vaana frowned and stared off into the distance with narrowed eyes as her jaw tightened. “No. And I’m not interested in knowing them. I don’t intend to have them inside me long.”
Lorelei cupped the sides of her face with her hands, tangling her fingers in her hair, and squeezed her eyes shut. “I…This all seems so impossible. How can this even happen?”
“That’s what I plan to find out.” Vaana’s voice remained soft, but her white knuckles betrayed her, as did the glazed look in her eyes. “As well as how to get rid of them.”
Neither of them seemed to be taking this well. Vandermere couldn’t blame them. He’d had years of seeing unbelievable things, many of which had already come true. For Lorelei, this had to a mind-blowing revelation. Vaana had known what those stones contained, but not what would happen. They needed him to guide them.
“We,” he said.
Lorelei held up her hands. “Wait. I got you into the Menhir. Whatever patsy I played, my job is complete.”
Vandermere’s chest tightened. He could lose the Nightingale now. She was key to the events to come, or at least fighting them. He closed his eyes, willing himself to see something, anything that would keep her with them.
A black heron with its wings curled around its head like an umbrella stands in a churning river. The Nightingale flies along the river in search of it.
“Do you really think the Apostle is going to just release you? You’re a part of this. The Order will be after you as well,” Vaana said.
“I get that.” Lorelei clenched her fists in her lap and glared up at Vaana. “That doesn’t mean I have to go along with you. I have my own goals I need to accomplish.”
“If you travel with us, you will come across the Black Herons again. You’ll find your proof. What you choose to do with it remains to be seen.”
Lorelei dropped her hand and looked at him. “Seriously?”
“Black Herons?” Vaana asked.
“Group of spies and mercenaries set on bringing down the Empire.” Lorelei turned her attention back to Vandermere. “They’re a part of this.”
“We have stumbled upon a tangled web we will have to unravel,” Vandermere said. “First, we must learn more about these beings Vaana carries. They are part of the key.”
Lorelei chuckled. “The Order is going to love this. Shouldn’t you turn yourself in or something?”
Vaana glared at her.
“Lorelei.” Vandermere tried to keep his voice patient. “I think we should go to the Lord of Fate’s tower. We can find a ship in Nearon.”
Vanna snorted. “I doubt he’s even real. That’s a long way to go for someone that hasn’t been seen in decades.”
“He is real,” Vandermere said. “And his library is said to be vast. He will have answers.”
“Have you met him?” Vaana asked.
“I’ve not had the honor.”
She waved her hand. “Then you don’t know what he knows. It could be lies.”
The world faded around him and a purple light flashed.
He stands in the middle of a large bed chamber. The furniture is shattered and the curtains of the bed hang in tatters. Shards of iron are imbedded in the walls and floor. Someone lays in the remains of the bed.
Vandermere gasped and blinked up at Vaana, who was staring at him with raised eyebrows.
“Well?” she asked.
“What was it you said?” he asked.
Lorelei leaned forward with a strange light in her eyes. “She wants to explore more of Winderward.”
“There is an old chapel here that holds many secrets of the Forgotten Ages. It may be connected to these gods.” Vaana nodded to the East.
“Winderward also holds a lot of unstable magic and possible Fomorians which are worse the deeper we go,” Vandermere said.
“They can’t be any worse than Daan,” Lorelei said. “We need the information, and it’s on the way to Nearon. Why don’t we stop there first?”
Vandermere’s stomach twisted. The thought of entering the lost city caused a clammy sweat to break out across his skin. His visions had not given him a clue on which path he should take, but this felt like the wrong one.
“Very few come out of Winderward alive,” he said. “It gets worse the deeper we go.”
“You seem to come and go as you please.” Lorelei smiled. “And now we’re traveling with gods, right?”
“What remains of them, anyway.” Vaana smirked at Vandermere. “I think you’re outvoted.”
“It appears so,” Vandermere said. “We should set out. The quicker we get through this, the better.”
He gathered their scattered equipment with his jaw set. They had a destination. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that accompanied the decision.
10
Evangeline knelt in front of the brazier and rested her hands on her knees as she stared into the fire. The rest of the room was covered in darkness. She preferred it that way in order for her to focus and commune with the flames. She inhaled, breathing in the musky, floral fumes of the amber incense that filled the room. She felt her consciousness raise and shift to the flames.
“I give my heart to the fire, so my will becomes strong.” Her chant reverberated against the stone walls of the prayer room. “The fire fills me with its power.”
She shifted to ease the ache in her knees from the cold marble beneath her. She shouldn’t feel it so acutely; she needed to focus more.
“The fire burns away my impurities,” she intoned. “I am left pure and righteous.”
The dancing of the flames was all she could see, the mixture of yellows, reds, and oranges. They shifted and twisted, switching this way and that.
“Truth lies in the Eternal Flame,” she continued. “I implore the eternal flame to show me the way to ascension.”
She needed to know how to take the next step of her journey. This was her only path now. She was the Apostle of Fire, after all, the reincarnation of the Elemental Dragon of Fire. She would rise up as the great Dragon again. She just needed to know how.
The flames seemed to solidify, becoming sharp panes of glass, rigid and unchanging. Evangeline gritted her teeth and willed them back to their fluid form. They shook and shattered into thousands of tiny fractures. As they fell, Evangeline could see a reflection of herself in each one.
She pushed herself away from the still burning fire with a frustrated mutter. The vision was always the same. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get past it. What did it mean? Was her reincarnation not complete?
She rubbed her temples and took several slow breaths. She would rest for a few moments and meditate on what she saw. There had to be some sort of clue to lead her to the correct path.
“You seemed troubled, my child,” a female voice whispered from the flames. “I sensed your distress and came. What guidance can I give you?”
The flames weren’t the only place she heard it through. She could hear it throughout her every essence. It was the Voice of Wisdom speaking to her.
Evangeline bowed, pressing her forehead to the floor, even though she was the only one in the room.
“Oh, great Voice,” she said. “I am lost. I wish to find the path to ascension in order to better serve the Empress. However, I find my way blocked by the vision of shattering glass.”
“An interesting predicament,” the Voice whispered. There seemed a ragged, tired edge to it that was not usually there.
“Great Voice, is something wrong?”
The sound of the crackl
ing flames filled the silence for a moment.
“You are astute, my child,” the Voice said. “There are many things wrong. The Empress has spoken of the awakening of an old corruption. I believe this may be the obstruction keeping you from your ascension. For how can there be great purity while this corruption moves?”
Evangeline gasped. “You speak of the Miasma? It is returning?”
“Not yet. Old gods have awoken,” the Voice said. “If they are allowed to strengthen, I fear the Miasma will return. They have already caused the fall of one of their own. By taking these gods into herself, she has become an Anathema.”
“Something must be done.” Evangeline stood. “I will root out this impurity.”
“The task will be difficult, for it is someone you care for deeply.”
Evangeline felt a twisting in her gut. There were two of the church who still held her affections deeply. One remained by her side while the other had left for a mission given by the Voice herself.
“Yes,” the Voice said with a hint of sadness. “Vaana has failed us. She must be purified.”
Evangeline’s throat tightened. Vaana had been her first friend since they had arrived at the temple in Iath, the imperial city for training. Both had been lost, feeling abandoned by their family into a world of strict rules. They had clung to one another through their initiate training and had learned together the purpose behind those rules. The purpose of order set forth by the Empress herself.
They had parted ways as Vaana was chosen as one of the special few to train under the Voice of Wisdom, the head of the entire Order, while Evangeline went to the Path of Fire. Evangeline had felt a little jealous of Vaana’s position until she learned she was the reincarnation of the Great Elemental Dragon itself. Still, they had remained close friends who worked together often. After all, the Elemental Order was all one Order in service to the Empress.
Now, she would have to end Vaana’s life.
Evangeline closed her eyes and called upon her strength of will, forged in fire. “I will do what needs to be done, in the name of the Empress.”
“She is traveling with two others. A male and a female, both sidhe. Eliminate them, and bring her to me for purification,” the Voice said.
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