by Liz de Jager
‘You actually saw it. You saw him being taken.’
‘I couldn’t interfere.’
Aiden’s past me and in Thorn’s face so fast I have no time to react.
‘You’re using him as bait.’
‘No. You need to understand, Aiden, that what I saw … it’s not always clear. I see the potential that something might happen. And even then there are always different possible outcomes.’ His voice stays calm as he talks to Aiden. ‘Do you think this is something I wanted to happen? To see my cousin dragged off in the middle of the night? For him to become yet another victim of someone’s grandiose schemes?’
‘You could have warned us. You could have told us to watch out.’
I put my hand on Aiden’s shoulder and lean against his back. ‘Aiden. He’s here to help.’ I don’t say that he did tell us to be careful, but that as usual we decided how seriously we wanted to take it. Thorn is still gazing at Aiden, desperate for him to give some sign he understands. When Aiden’s posture finally relaxes, Thorn pulls him into a hug.
‘Go get dressed, both of you,’ he says. ‘Let’s go and find Dante.’
‘Do we tell the others?’ I ask.
‘It’s up to you, but you need to decide fast. The longer you wait, the further away Dante and his kidnapper get.’
Aiden rubs at his face and considers Thorn’s words before replying. ‘I think we’ll move faster if there are just the three of us.’
‘You realize that whoever took him will probably have an army?’ I say. I’m shivering now and hopping from foot to foot. It is cold. ‘We’re good, but we’re not that good.’
‘It’s fine. I have people who are helping with this,’ Thorn says, and he sounds offhand, as if he doesn’t want to go into it. ‘But we really need to hurry.’
‘Are you just going to stay out here, while we get ready?’
Thorn makes an impatient noise and pushes Aiden towards the door. ‘Yes, wolf, by the stars. I’m going to stay here and wait for you to sneak out of the house – better dressed and armed, I hope. Make haste.’
Aiden snorts and turns back to the house. I follow close behind and Aiden presses a finger to his lips as we close the back door behind us. We both sneak back upstairs without being spotted.
‘This is dumb, you know that, right? Going after Dante by ourselves and not telling anyone.’
I lift my eyebrows in surprise, because I must have lost the memo where Aiden became the kid who played by the rules.
‘Should we leave them a note?’
He looks relieved at my suggestion, despite its rather sarcastic delivery. ‘Good plan.’
I watch him as he grabs some hiking boots.
‘You don’t have to do this, Aide. I can go with Thorn. You can stay behind and try to stop the lot downstairs from doing anything stupid.’
He makes a rude snorting noise. ‘Yeah, not gonna happen, Kit. Dante’s my friend too, even if you saw him first.’ His hands still on his boot laces. ‘I can’t imagine what he must be … I have to help.’
I drop a hand to his shoulder.
‘They’ll be taking him to Lake Baikal.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘That would be my guess. You heard the prophecy – Dante also has the potential to be a vessel, to channel the Elder Gods’ magic. And that’s where the whole thing with the Elder Gods happened the first time round, when Istvan tried to bring them through. So, yes, we’ll have to check it with Thorn, but I believe we get a repeat visit to our favourite island between the worlds.’
The enormity of what might be happening to Dante is hitting him now and he pales. ‘We have to do something.’
I nod. ‘I’ll be back here in five minutes.’ I hurry to my own room, keen to be as quiet as possible because the wolves and their damned super-hearing make creeping around difficult. I strap the baton to my forearm before I change into my jeans – and put on layers of tops before pulling on the warm jacket Aiden gave me. I hesitate over my boots. They’re big and kick-ass but they are noisy. There’s no way we’d get out without being heard. So I decide I’ll have to carry them and Aiden will just have to carry me through the garden till we get somewhere where I can put them on. The logistics of sneaking around are far more difficult than I imagined. I slip out of my room just as Aiden opens his door. He holds up the note he’s written.
Gone to Lake Baikal with Thorn and Kit. Come if you can. Sorry we ran off w/o telling you. No time to argue.
You can be angry at us afterwards.
Love
A&K
I nod in silence. Aiden looks nervous as he turns back to his room to leave the note behind. When he comes out he’s carrying the Japanese sword I saw Dante use in the past. He hands it to me without a word and I’m grateful to have a weapon once more. I like my baton and my knives but there’s something comforting about having a decent-sized stabbing and slicing sword on your hip.
Then we move swiftly along the passage and down the back stairs. We slip out of the back door and I tense when Aiden closes it behind us as softly as possible. Thorn stirs from where he’s taken up a place by the fountain. I know this isn’t exactly the moment, but I can’t help noticing that his eyes are incredibly blue against the white fur of his hood. I stay on the mat, so that my socks stay dry, and put down my boots to slip on the cloak Thorn offers me. He gently lifts the hood to cover my hair and touches a finger to my cheek. We stare at each other for a breathless moment. Then noise from inside the house breaks the tension. Thorn hands another cloak to Aiden, who looks uncertainly at it but flings it on anyway. I grab my boots just as Aiden lifts me in his arms, bridal-style, and follows Thorn to the edge of the garden where he disappeared last time with Crow.
I wonder vaguely why this corner makes such a good gateway, but as we walk into it, I realize that it’s where the leylines are the strongest. I know that making this transition is not Aiden’s favourite thing to do so I tighten my grip around his shoulders a little and tap my finger against his neck to distract him. He glances down and gives me a wink as we follow Thorn onwards.
It’s different travelling with Thorn along the leylines. It’s faster than with other people, for one. Unlike Crow, he doesn’t use the trees to navigate his way from one place to the next. He merely walks into a racing stream of energy and, gripping Aiden’s arm, he leads us along the leylines. He chooses paths and junctions at intervals, never hesitating once. The speed we’re moving at is disconcerting and it feels as if we’re on one of those moving walkways you find in airports – only a vastly speeded-up version. In fact, my head reels from how fast we’re going and then Thorn starts moving faster still. Aiden just tightens his hold on me and starts sprinting after Thorn. I want to call out to Thorn and ask him to stop so Aiden can put me down – but then we’re slowing down again and finally we come to a complete standstill.
I have no idea where we are. It feels as if I’m in the centre of the universe. There are explosions of colour and a cold icy wind buffets me, ruffling the fur of my hood and I duck my chin against the cold touch. Aiden lets me stand and I experience a moment of disorientation and cling to him pathetically before finding my balance. I sit down and pull my boots on, checking that both my knives are in their sheaths. When I stand, Thorn hands me my sword and I grip it tightly, suddenly feeling far better.
‘Not much further now,’ he says. His voice is comforting and vibrant in this strange place. ‘You’re both doing very well’, he says, scrutinizing us. ‘Keep close.’
And then we’re off again. The journey is fast, colours streaking past at high speed; it’s the equivalent of a CGI space shuttle hurtling through hyperspace at the movies. I wonder if I’m Starbuck or Luke Skywalker. The thought amuses me and then I’m being drawn to a halt by Thorn, with Aiden bringing up the rear.
‘We’re about to walk through a gateway. I don’t know what to expect, so be ready to fight.’
I nod, unsheathe the wakazashi, practise a few cuts and slices with it and nod.
It will do. It’s not the sword I’m used to but beggars can’t be choosers. Aiden rolls his shoulders, flicks his hand open and curves his fingers so that his claws curve outwards. He grins at Thorn.
‘Ready.’
I anticipate a massive brawl, possibly being skewered, sliced to pieces and pierced by arrows. What I don’t expect is to walk out of the gateway, my head still not quite with it, to see Thorn’s mother and her full complement of Stormborn guards arrayed behind her. Behind them are ranks of around four hundred warriors and what look to be Sidhe nobles – representatives from all the major houses if their banners are anything to go by.
‘Mother.’ Thorn walks forwards and stops a few paces from her. ‘I did not expect you to be here.’
Dina’s expression gives nothing away, and her gaze sweeps over Thorn to notice Aiden and me. I stand my ground, tighten the grip on my sword and keep my chin up, refusing to be intimidated. Aiden lounges casually next to me, no doubt doing the bored, sullen face that gets under people’s skin so much. It seems to works too, because just behind Dina one of the Stormborn shifts inside his armour, and a pair of hostile eyes fix themselves on Aiden.
‘Looks as if I’m making friends,’ Aiden mutters quietly enough for only me to hear. ‘I should come here more often.’
‘No, you really shouldn’t.’
If Thorn or his mother hear our exchange they don’t let on and Diana says, ‘Of course I’m here. Where did you think I would be?’
I glance around at the assembled Sidhe warriors. The last time I saw this many of them together they were camped in a valley in Scotland. They were preparing to go through a gateway to fight the traitor Eadric. And now? What were they doing here now? Were they here to prevent us getting to Dante?
‘I’m not entirely sure what’s going on,’ Thorn says, and his shoulders are tight with tension.
Above us the clouds hang low and dark, heavy with snow. The island I remember has changed completely. It no longer appears remotely tropical and instead feels strangely barren and desolate. The sandy bowl that baked beneath the sun when I was here last remains, but the soil generally is entirely lifeless.
A cold wind kicks up and I reflexively pull my cloak closer and take a step closer to Thorn. Aiden moves too until we’re flanking him. He barely acknowledges our presence but I sense that he relaxes marginally.
‘I think it’s time that you and I spoke,’ Thorn says at last. ‘Mother to son. Guardian to his queen.’
Chapter Forty-Five
Dina walks towards a small pavilion they’ve erected. It’s open to the elements and seems completely incongruous in this setting. Thorn follows, as do we. If Dina has any misgivings about us playing tagalong she gives no indication.
She stops at the table in the middle of the tent. It is covered in maps, one seemingly of the island. As she moves the papers, I see a detailed outline of the temple complex beneath it. That really would have made all the difference the last time I’d been here, trying to save Thorn. A good, hard look is enough for me to memorize most of it. I notice that the underground amphitheatre seems the same, but perhaps the stage area looks larger.
‘What is this?’ Thorn asks, pressing his fingers against the temple plan as he leans over it. The papers crackle under his touch and the air smells a little like fire as the atmosphere becomes even tenser. ‘Where did you get these?’ He lifts the maps and flicks through them.
‘I had the complex mapped after the fiasco last year.’ Dina says, looking angrily at her youngest son. ‘But that is not what I want to talk about, Thorn. Did you think we wouldn’t find out about Dante? Didn’t you think we’d been looking for him for years?’ Dina watches her son closely and when he doesn’t say anything she looks exasperated. ‘When you discovered him, why didn’t you come to me with this and tell me?’
‘You know why, Mother. Your loyalty is to Alba and to the king. Coming to you with the son of a traitor in tow, telling you that he is family and has a rightful place in the house of Alba, what would you have done?’
The cold wind gusts through the valley and I shiver in my cloak and try not to fidget, taking my cue from Aiden, whom I’ve never seen so immobile. His gaze rests unwaveringly on Dina and I get the unwelcome impression that he won’t hesitate to attack her – if she gives Thorn an answer he doesn’t want to hear.
‘My loyalty lies to Alba,’ Dina says, her tone surprisingly mild given her son’s question, ‘but before that I am my father’s daughter. And before that I’m the daughter of the dragon. Do you understand?’
I feel as confused as Thorn looks and when he shakes his head I’m relieved. Dina will have to explain herself better and I might have a chance to make sense of this.
‘I too am kami. The dragon spirit that dwells within you and I is part of the kami pantheon. You and I are the last of our kind, as your brothers haven’t manifested the talent.’ Here she lifts her hands, and they’re instantly wreathed in flame. Her eyes, the same changeable blue-green as her son’s, watch us through the flames and she smiles, letting the fire die away. ‘Dante’s mother was my cousin and we were very close. I am the one who introduced her to Eadric. They fell in love at the wrong time. Had I not introduced them, they would never have met as their worlds – and personalities – were so far apart. Eadric the scholar and Haruku the child of spring. I heard that Eadric went insane after Haruku’s death, after she’d given birth. He took the boy with him and disappeared and I’ve not stopped searching for Dante since.’
‘You knew Eadric had a son? That I had a cousin? And you never told anyone – not even when we learned of Eadric’s plans to usurp Father?’ Thorn moves to tower over his mother. ‘You kept that from all of us, including Father?’
‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘The boy was blameless and hidden so well that none of my spies ever managed to find a trace of him. Until a few weeks ago –’ her eyes find mine – ‘when our little Blackhart took a job with Suola, and Suola took it upon herself to send me a message, that there was something strange about the human boy she’d employed to work with Kit.’
‘And yet you still never said anything.’ The silence at Thorn’s statement hung heavy in the air. ‘So have you decided that you’ll stand against the king in this? You’ll protect my cousin, despite his traitorous father?’
Her answer comes, grave but unwavering. ‘Yes. He has my friendship and the swords of my Stormborn to command.’
Thorn seems to sag a little in relief, and Dina allows herself a small smile as she wraps her arms around him.
‘I am so proud of you.’ She cups his face and stares into his eyes. ‘Your loyalty and honour cannot be questioned.’
Thorn pulls away, looking as if she’s just delivered him a blow to the heart. ‘How is that possible? I feel I am a traitor to Alba. I have gone behind my father’s back and kept Dante a secret from him,’ he says, his words heavy and holding none of the relief I thought I would hear. ‘I dearly wish I could speak with him about this … but none of what I’ve seen in any of my visions shows me it would work to our advantage.’
‘Your father … was a good man, once.’ Dina’s gaze as she stares past us to where the army is arrayed is melancholy. ‘He held Alba dear, dearer even than he held his family, I would say. But he’s changed, Thorn. We’ve all seen it. I have most certainly seen it and felt it. He no longer looks outward, to what he can gain for us and for Alba, for our future. Instead he looks inward, to what he can gain for himself, as Aelfric, the High King of Alba. He is no longer satisfied with what he has and his influence in the Otherwhere. He reaches for more.’ Her eyes meets mine. ‘Far more.’
‘What are you saying?’ It’s testament to how shocked Thorn is by Dina’s words that he doesn’t address her as mother or my queen as he’s done in the past. ‘What do you know?’
‘Your father is launching a full-scale invasion of the Frontier within a matter of weeks. He thinks he’s kept this all a secret from me and he forgets I fought for him and I know him better th
an he knows himself.’
I close my jaw and clear my throat. ‘Your majesty, can I just … ? He’s planning an invasion of the Frontier? Have you alerted anyone – my uncles, maybe?’
Dina’s full regard makes me want to cower but with Aiden pressing his shoulder against mine in support I don’t waver under her gaze.
‘You think, little Blackhart, that I will fail to stop my husband?’ She nods to the Stormborn and the army before looking back at Thorn. ‘These warriors are all at your side, ready to fight. They come from the twelve most prominent houses across the Seelie – and the Unseelie Court also supports us. They are all here to put a stop to Aelfric and his coterie of sycophants He is planning on performing the ritual to bring the Elder Gods back. He thinks he has the power to do so without rending our worlds apart. Your cousin has been brought here, drugged and insensible as their vessel.’ Her scowl could flatten buildings. ‘Their plan, according to my informants, is that Dante will absorb the goddess’s power and that of the bound gods too. And that he will be fully under Aelfric’s control at the time. With Dante by his side he could open a stable gateway between the worlds, flood the Frontier with thousands of goblins and Sidhe warriors and demand whatever he wants. If the humans do not comply, he will get Dante to use magic and destroy cities, bringing total chaos to the human world.’
‘You’ve known about this? About the prophecy?’ I can’t help the anger in my voice. She meets my glare without so much as batting an eye.
‘I found out when Aelfric did. Odalis’s servants are very susceptible to bribes.’
‘Mother, this …’ Thorn’s voice catches. ‘It’s too much. It is exactly what Eadric did, going against the crown in this way. And he started an insurrection that almost tore Alba apart. You cannot be involved in this. The king’s retribution would be savage, to say the least. He would have you bound, locked away, my brothers … he would have my brothers murdered for this, even if they are all loyal to him … Let this be on my head alone. No one else needs to answer to him when this is done.’