by K T Munson
“She has taken a fruit within her,” the Soul Collector said, pointing a long bony white finger at Nanette.
Nanette made a terrified sound as the creature flicked its wrist and her hand came up. Her palm bore a soft black mark that was almost grey in its faintness. Ethandirill held his hand up in protest, and the Soul Collector turned to him with nary a care.
“You have no power, wordless one,” it crowed before turning its hand over and curling its fingers one by one, beckoning Nanette forward.
She took a step forward but was restrained by Elisabeth’s grip. Elisabeth narrowed her eyes and watched Nanette struggle to pull her hand back. And still, strangely, the pale black didn’t darken. She had never heard of such a thing—a pale mark of the Nether was not in any of her books.
“Wait!” Elisabeth called, putting her hand up, “What is her punishment?”
“A month of every year she must spend here in the Netherworld,” he stated, to her surprise. Elisabeth had expected a harsher punishment for consuming Netherworld food.
Elisabeth drummed her fingers in the empty air as she calculated what the best counteroffer would be. A month in the Netherworld was actually two on the planets. After a moment, she glanced at Ethandirill, who gave her an intent stare. She realized instantly that neither Morhaven nor the Divine Court had claimed Nanette, so Elisabeth could claim her.
Putting hand across to bar Nanette’s movements, she declared, “I, Elsariel daughter of Darienith, claim her for myself, and Ethandirill, prince of Morhaven of the house Det Mor, shall be her keeper in my stead for her time in the Netherworld.”
“You are only half,” he replied, but his tone wasn’t as sure as his words. The Soul Collector dropped his hand. “You cannot claim her.”
“She is only partially of the living and the Nether, as am I,” Elisabeth countered, feeling as though she was gaining ground.
The Soul Collector seemed to consider this. Elisabeth whispered out of the corner of her mouth, “Evoke your right.”
“What?” Nanette asked, and Elisabeth made wide eyes as she nodded toward the Soul Collector. It took Nanette a moment to catch on, but when she did, she yelled, “My rights! What are my rights?”
“Your voice carries more power,” he answered. Soul Collectors could decline to answer, but they could not lie. “Your right is to declare your master, surrendering yourself to his or her will during his or her lifetime.”
“Master?” Nanette repeated, dumbfounded, before she swallowed heavily. “I surrender myself to Elisabeth,” she managed through tight lips.
“It has been said,” the Soul Collector boomed, “and so it shall be.”
Nanette let out a cry and bent over her hand as she gripped her own wrist with her other hand. Elisabeth put her hand on her back as she turned to him and demanded, “What are you doing to her?”
“Transferring her ownership,” the Soul Collector said before he sunk back into the ground from whence he came.
When Nanette held up her hand, it bore a very different mark. It was pale grey with a single point of black in the middle. Nanette looked up at her, confused, and Elisabeth glanced at Ki and Ethandirill. She had no idea what it meant, but what mattered was Nanette was safe.
“I’ll return her for her one month when this is over,” Elisabeth told Ethandirill before walking around Nanette and knocking on the door.
The lady opened the door just a little before Elisabeth put her hand on the door and said, “I’ve claimed her, you’ve been paid, now let me in.”
“You reek of planet,” the woman snapped, but she opened the door. Elisabeth held open the door for everyone to enter.
“It’s time to go, Ki,” Elisabeth said pointedly, watching him closely and wondering if he suspected anything. “Malthael must be beside himself with worry.”
She averted her eyes as Ki went into the house, pulling out his special chalk as he went. She doubted he knew the reason she had reacted to the shrikes was just as much about him as it was about Nanette and Ethandirill. Nanette and she had become friends, and yet she felt this strange understanding of Ki. The more she found out about her demon side, the more he didn’t seem to mind. It was as though he were just as accepting of her as Malthael was—a strange thought to have about one’s future murderer.
She watched as Nanette and Ethandirill parted, and she wondered what that was like. It was clear their hearts ran in tandem. Nanette put a strand of hair behind her ear and thanked him. He touched the side of her face and she looked up, her eyes both scared and hopeful. Elisabeth dropped her gaze when he kissed her forehead, a soft promise that he would wait for her return and what would come when she did.
“Goodbye,” Nanette whispered so softly that Elisabeth could barely hear it an instant before she hurried into the house.
Elisabeth looked up at Ethandirill, searching his eyes as he watched her go. No one could feign that look of affection, so deep an attachment in such a short time. He turned to her and nodded, a gesture that spoke volumes. His place was there, he was leaving Nanette in her care, and he was grateful to her—but he fully expected her to be timely with her return of Nanette to him.
He turned and left, the gate squeaking slightly when it closed, and he didn’t turn back. She studied his back as he went into the Netherworld, a dark dot amongst the red. She switched her vision and stared at the world as her other half saw it. Purple suddenly swept in, and instead of being dark he shone bright. He was so bright that she couldn’t bear to look at him, and she had to squint before switching back.
With a final look into the red of the Nether, she took a step back and closed the door. She hadn’t told anyone that she was beginning to sense her own abilities. When she had first entered the Netherworld, they had been difficult to use, but now they were coming to her slowly. She could feel the dark seed of burning power growing, and part of her was terrified. By coming here, she had let Elsariel out; she had let her other half free, and it was more powerful.
“Elisabeth,” Ki called out. “The door is open.”
Elisabeth turned as she quieted the power within her, sparing only a glance at the old owner of the house. The woman flinched and shied away, but neither Ki nor Nanette could see what the woman did. Elisabeth was changed, but she fought the growing need within her as she raised her head. She saw Nanette step through the makeshift gate. An ordinary door bent to Ki’s will by some markings with chalk to fill the opening with a watery substance. Elisabeth stared at her reflection, which rippled.
As she went to step through, Ki took hold of her arm and stopped her. She turned to him, confused, as he snapped a bracelet around her wrist. She gasped, her mind trying to process what was happening, and her powers flared out. Bands of metal coiled around her, tightening her arms against her sides. The more she fought them, the tighter they became. The only thing that kept her standing was his hands gripping her arms.
“What have you done?!” Elisabeth hissed, sure he was nothing but a liar and a cheat.
“I’m protecting you from yourself,” he said before pushing her unceremoniously through the door.
Chapter 45: Ashlad
Malthael tapped his black nails across the wood of the chair. He listened to the thud of his ring finger as the thicker nail hit the wood on his right hand. All demons had Weaver venom under their ring finger, and Malthael was no exception. It was potent enough to eat a man from the inside out with exacting cruelty. With the kind of mood he was in, he very much wanted to use it on the next person who walked through the door. With the exception of Elsa, of course—the one person he wanted to see.
That girl was going to be the death of him. It was entirely irrational to become so emotionally attached to another individual. Yet here he was sulking again, and this time the door was locked and the twins forbidden entry. Malthael had at least some influence left over this household, more so than over his own sensibilities. Truly, she would be the end of him.
He raised his head when he heard something open a
nd saw the once-locked door yawn open. Viscous liquid filled the frame. It slowly started to form into a strangely lit room. Malthael stood and watched as figures started to form. A girl stepped through and looked up, startled, as surprised to see him as he was to see her.
He had temporarily lifted the protection spell on the house that normally kept out unwanted visitors just long enough for Elisabeth to make her way home. If this girl had come from the Nether, she was likely with Elisabeth.
Her weariness and slight fear suddenly dissolved as she pointed at him and exclaimed, “You must be Malthael.”
“That is correct,” the demon answered before adding. “Nanette? Ruhan’s daughter.”
“Yes, that’s me. Elisabeth did say you were a bit scary, but she said you’re harmless to friends,” Nanette replied. She was about to say more when a body was hurled through the portal, knocking them both to the ground.
He looked down in surprise as Nanette sprawled across the floor with Elisabeth wrapped up in a strange metal. She hit the ground with a thud when she rolled off Nanette. As he took a step forward, she yelled, “I will kill you!”
Malthael stopped instantly at the menace in her voice. Ki stepped through and replied, “You’ll thank me later. I should have caught on sooner that Elsariel was free and just waiting to return before revealing herself.”
“I am going to drain every last drop from your miserable body and then hunt you down again and drain you until you have nothing left!” she yelled as Nanette slowly got to her feet.
“When you’re back to yourself, I’ll expect an apology as well as a thank you,” Ki replied calmly and closed the door.
She strained against the metal. Something quivered before another string appeared, and she let out a frustrated noise. Elisabeth had murder in her eye as she turned back to him. “I will never say thank you to a murderer!”
“What,” Malthael boomed over them, “is going on here?”
Ki turned back as the door clicked closed “Father! Help me,” Elisabeth yelled.
Her voice wasn’t right. Something had happened to her—and because she had been in the Nether, anything could have happened. Not to mention that she rarely called him “father.” He looked up at Ki, who met his gaze with a level stare. Nanette glanced between them but made no move, although she looked like she very much wanted to help his daughter.
“She took some of my life force to survive the Netherworld,” Ki explained, looking down at her. “We’ll need to wait until she releases it all into the metal bracelet I have wrapped around her or it runs out. Why didn’t you tell me she’d split herself in half? I’d assumed she just had control over her demonic half. But somehow she’d quite literally split herself in two and had buried Elsariel so deep that only when she entered the Netherworld could her other half escape.”
Malthael raised his eyebrows as he looked at his daughter. Squirming against her bindings, she gave him a moment’s glance that confirmed what Ki was saying. Elsariel was staring at him now as much as Elisabeth. Elisabeth was no longer dominating; they had become equal parts within her, vying for control. Malthael had always thought his daughter strong enough to keep Elsariel at bay, but he should have considered the effect the Netherworld could have on her.
“How long?” Malthael asked, and Elisabeth hissed.
“Soon,” Ki replied as Nanette fell to her knees.
“Oh Elisabeth,” she said as she pushed his daughter’s hair back from her face. “Please don’t struggle so.”
“I command that you release me,” Elisabeth snapped, and Nanette reached out.
Ki yelled, but it was too late. Nanette reached down and pulled on the metal bands. At her touch, many of the strips gave free. Ki all but hauled her away as Nanette struggled against him. Elisabeth hissed, fighting further against the remaining bands.
Malthael came around the room toward her. “You’re weak. Fight the thing within you,” he boomed and Elisabeth went very still.
“You tore your horns off,” Elisabeth snapped as she glared. “You are mortal. You’re the one that is weak.” Malthael recoiled like he had been slapped.
“Serena would be disappointed in you as a daughter. She is all that is Elisabeth. Do not give into your father,” Malthael responded.
She looked stunned and stopped struggling, stopped moving entirely. Then she closed her eyes, and he saw the chain glow blue before falling off of her. The bracelet circled on the hardwood floor before settling beside her. When she opened her eyes, they were filled with tears.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, rolling onto her side. “I’m so sorry.”
Malthael gathered his daughter up in his arms and felt her cry softly against him. He understood what it was like to realize one had a darker person inside of her. Her dark passenger, hovering at the edge of her consciousness, longed for a moment to be free. Malthael tightened his hold as he realized that only Elisabeth could overcome it. She would need to come to terms with who she was or risk losing herself. Elisabeth had always kept her other half buried deep. Now that Elsariel had come out to play, Malthael feared she wouldn’t be satisfied any longer with second place.
Chapter 46: Ashlad
Nanette opened her eyes slowly as she tried to remember where she was. For a moment fear filled her. Was she still in that cave in the ruined palace that was a mirror of Oran? Was the spider-like creature still clawing at the stone trying to get to her? Her panic rose, but then, as her eyes focused on the decorated ceiling, she sighed.
The events of the previous day came flooding back to her, and she turned to her other side. Instead of a sleeping Elisabeth, though, she found that the bed was empty. Startled, Nanette sat up and quickly scanned the room around her. She saw a movement by the window and Elisabeth turned to look at her. Elisabeth appeared worn and ashamed. Relief filled Nanette—Elisabeth made her feel safe. Without her nearby, Nanette was afraid she’d never sleep again.
“It’s freezing!” Nanette said, pulling the covers up around her. “Aren’t you cold out there?”
She shrugged and replied, “A little.”
“Well, get over here,” Nanette called, and saw the surprise on Elisabeth’s face.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Elisabeth demanded as she uncurled herself from the windowsill, “I ordered you to do something against your will.”
“No, Elsariel did,” Nanette replied, although she was a little hazy on the subject.
“She is within me,” Elisabeth reminded her as she pressed her hand against her chest.
“But you would never have done that,” Nanette replied with a frown, “and your toes look cold.”
Elisabeth glanced down and looked at her toes. She looked back up at her in bemusement and laughed. It was the kind of laugh that came out at a funeral, where one cannot help but to feel overwhelmed and then a humorous moment breaks the intensity. Nanette smiled as Elisabeth hurried across the room and slipped into the blankets beside her, leaving a good space between them on the spacious bed.
“You should be afraid of me,” Elisabeth whispered before turning her head and looking at Nanette. “I am capable of terrible things.”
“Yet you still haven’t done any of them,” Nanette reminded her, moving closer to get some of Elisabeth’s warmth in the cold room.
“I feel as though it is only a matter of time,” she replied, and Nanette wasn’t sure how to comfort her.
Nanette admired Elisabeth for her strength and her resilience. Yet she knew that inside of her friend was a darkness she would have to fight daily. Nanette sat in the silence of the room, admiring the tapestries as she tried to think of what to say. The tassels and frills in a dark purple color were charming. She could tell it was Elisabeth’s room.
“I promise that if you ever do anything that you shouldn’t, I’ll tell you,” Nanette replied finally and looked at her friend.
Elisabeth blinked as she looked at her, astonished, before smiling and turning forward. She bumped her shoulder against Nanette’s
and responded, “Thank you. It is nice to have a friend.”
“I agree.” Nanette sighed, remembering the other women she had been fond of but never felt comfortable with.
In a way, Nanette owed everything to Elisabeth. Her life, and the second chance she was given. She even owed her for reuniting her with Ethandirill. A blush rose to her cheeks whenever she thought of him, so she pushed him from her mind. She would see him for her month soon enough. Whatever Elisabeth was, she seemed so alone. The only other people she ever seemed to talk about were Malthael and the other demons in the house.
Nanette had nearly fainted when they had taken her to the kitchen for food and met Tiss. She seemed to Nanette the most beautiful woman she had ever seen—until she saw her tail. Well, except for some of the people she had seen at Morhaven within the Divine Court. King Nauberon had redefined what beauty meant. Malthael had explained to her that Tiss was also a demon and their house’s cook. Ki hadn’t seemed fazed, but Nanette almost couldn’t keep herself from staring.
By then Elisabeth had gone to bed, and Nanette had decided to join her, partially because she was afraid of Tiss and partially because she didn’t want her friend to wake up alone. She used to sleep next to her sister before Yuna was married.
“Your father will be there later today,” Elisabeth said softly. “He wanted to let you rest.”
Nanette immediately averted her eyes. “Oh.”
Elisabeth’s fingers brushed against Nanette’s arm. “Is something wrong?”
When Nanette looked at the open concern on Elisabeth’s face, the words came tumbling out. “We don’t exactly get along. We have fought often since I married Jason.”
“Why?” Elisabeth asked softly.