“Did he?” he asked.
I shook my head. “They are still comparing?”
“They’re inside my head,” Dev grumbled. Raine and I exchanged a glance. Dev had done terrible things, the same things the healers had seen in Celestia’s heads. On the other hand, he’d recently done so many amazing things. The Dwarves mumbled in their language.
“What are they saying?” Raine asked.
“I don’t know.” Eirik marched off to the living room, then we heard him yell to the guards to find Lavion. When he returned, his Dwarf friend was with him. “Translate what they are saying.”
We waited while Lavion talked to the healers. “They’ve never seen energies so alike. They want to know if Celestia and Dev are twins.”
“She healed him. That’s all they need to know,” Eirik said. “Is the other energy his?”
“I’ll tell you what they find out, Eirik,” I said. “You need to shower and change. Mother expects us in the Throne Hall as soon as you are ready.”
He nodded, stared at Celestia one last time, then disappeared into the bathroom.
“Enough,” Dev said firmly in a voice I’d never heard him use before. He pushed the hands of the Dwarves away and stood. “I didn’t do this to her, but I’ll find out what’s wrong with her even if I have to die again to do it.”
“Dev,” I protested.
“If I have to be a soul again to help her, I will. Rhys. Nara.” The Grimnirs entered the room. He spoke rapidly in Druidic language. All I got was a brief sentence here and there, but they were enough. The shock on their faces must have mirrored mine.
“What’s going on?” Raine whispered.
“He just asked Rhys and Nara to find a way to… to kill him,” I said, my voice breaking. Celestia had sacrificed herself for him, and now he was doing the same for her.
“What? But his soul can’t really replenish her life force,” Raine muttered.
“He wants us to find a way to drain his life force and give it back to her. That’s something some healers can do,” Nara said, fighting tears. “They take from one and give to another, killing the giver in the process.”
Rhys looked furious, but he didn’t speak. Objecting to what Dev was suggesting meant agreeing to sacrifice Celestia. Besides, Dev’s expression said he’d do it whether they agreed to help him or not.
He walked around the bed, sat on the chair, and took Celestia’s hand. He closed his eyes. “Celestia, mon mhuirnín. Thank you for the best two weeks of my life. You gave me a chance to reconcile with my brothers and sister, talk, eat, and drink with them. I would not have had this opportunity if it weren’t for you.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I can feel you struggle to break free, but you can’t without my help, so I’m going to freely give you what you’ve given me.” He opened his eyes and looked at the two Dwarf healers. “You will transfer my life force into her. You both have the gift.”
The two Dwarves watched him with stricken expressions. Rhys and Nara were having an argument by the door and moved closer. No one could stop Dev. Giving up his life for Celestia’s was his decision.
“This is crazy,” Raine said.
“It can’t be”—my voice shook so much I had to stop and clear my throat—“the only solution.”
“What solution?” Eirik asked, stepping into the bedroom in a bathrobe, his hair wet. No one spoke. We were all fighting tears.
“I’ve decided to give back what she gave me,” Dev said. “It will be enough to jumpstart her healing. Whatever is stopping her from regenerating her life force will no longer be there. I don’t care about my life. I will not let her fade away while I live.”
“Neither will I,” Tammy said. She’d been quiet, until now. “If Dev and I both gave her some of our life force, we could all survive. She will not forgive herself if you sacrificed yourself for her, Dev. But between the two of us, we might help her and still survive.”
“No!” Everyone turned to look at me, but I was looking at Eirik. His expression said he couldn’t believe I was choosing Dev over Celestia. “Dev, you said something is stopping her from regenerating her life force. The evidence has been there all this time, and I didn’t see it.”
“See what?” he asked.
“Celestia generates more life force than most people, yet she’s in a coma. That’s what I’d expect from someone like me after I’m possessed. Do you remember, Raine, when I’d let a soul possess me without medium runes? My energy would drain, and I had to nap to rejuvenate. Even with medium runes, I still get drained. Imagine a soul staying inside me indefinitely.”
“It would drain your energy or drive you crazy,” Dev said.
“Exactly, except we are dealing with Celestia, who is like an Energizer battery. She keeps generating more.”
They all continued to stare at me like I was crazy.
“Celestia is possessed. Something or someone is inside her right now, constantly draining her energy. The memories the healers saw are not Celestia’s. They belong to whoever possessed her. The same with the energy the healers detected. It belongs to the thing inside her.”
“But the energy inside her is weak,” the Dwarf healer said.
“I can’t explain that. All I know is she’s displaying classic symptoms of possession.”
“Do you remember when we were at your place and she astral projected to find the person who’d stolen your blanket?” Raine asked. “She said something powerful and dark had chased her.”
“And when she healed the villagers in Jötunheim and Gjöll Pass days later, she’d grown tired quickly,” Eirik said. “That’s why I was worried about her healing Dev.”
“When she healed Dev, her energy dropped so low, but the sucker is still mooching off her and barely keeping her alive.” I was getting really pissed. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I’d been so caught up with meeting and learning about my parents, and the drama with Echo, I’d stopped thinking. I engaged my medium runes and locator runes, and moved closer to Celestia.
Come out of her, you son of a bitch. Nothing happened. From the expression on Eirik’s face and the others, they were wondering what I was doing. “I’m trying to draw out the bastard.”
The others crowded around the bed, watching me.
“Do you feel anything?” Eirik asked.
I was so frustrated I wanted to scream. “No.”
“Do you remember how I blended with you to stop Maliina?” Dev asked. “A soul can force this other being out of her.” Dev’s eyes moved from face to face. “I need my life force drained now until my soul separates from my body. I’m willing to die for her. It’s the only way to help her. I’ll push this other soul out and give her a chance to survive. She could always heal me again.”
Somehow I doubted Eirik or even Mother would allow Celestia to help Dev again.
Chapter 16. The Imp, The Peacocks, And The Gods
“No. You are not going to die, Dev. We need my mother’s warding runes. I’ll be right back.” I raced out of the room, almost bumping into Nara and Rhys. “I need to find my mother.”
“She is in her quarters,” Rhys said.
I raced across the rotunda and pushed open the door to my parents’ quarters. “Mother? Mom!”
A portal opened, and the goddess appeared on the other side. Trudy was brushing her hair. Mother got up. She’d changed into a long-sleeved emerald green dress that hugged her curves and flared at her feet. On her waist was a bejeweled belt with green stones and embroideries, which continued up her chest in a V-shape and became a neckpiece. The same jewels were on the braces around her wrists. A sheer green cloak around her shoulders appeared to be attached to both the neckpiece and her wrist braces.
“Wow, you look amazing,” I said.
She chuckled. “Thank you, dýrr mín. Why haven’t you changed?”
“I’m supposed to?”
“Of course. We might be forced to host the most eligible bachelors from all the realms, but it’s also your
introduction. The dress you are wearing is lovely, but it won’t do for the evening.”
“I’ll worry about that later. Right now, you need to come with me.” I grabbed her hand. “I know what’s wrong with Celestia, and we need your help. She’s possessed.”
Her scepter flew into her hand. At the same time, a portal opened straight into Eirik’s bedroom. Trudy and I followed her. Everyone stepped back.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” I said, feeling guilty. “I’ve been possessed so often I should have seen it, but it never crossed my mind that was the problem.”
“We don’t have or allow possessions in my realm,” Mother said. “Whoever did this is heading straight to Corpse Strand.” She pulled the blanket off Celestia and used her scepter to etch warding runes on her arms and legs. She stepped back and pointed the glowing rock at Celestia’s chest.
“Come out,” the goddess ordered. “I command you to come out of her.”
Nothing happened.
The runes on her side moved faster while more appeared on her normal side. She tried again and again. Eirik and I joined her. We both engaged our locator runes. The same runes appeared on Celestia, but the soul inside her refused to come out. The green crystal on Mother’s scepter changed color, becoming black.
“Mother!” Eirik gripped her arm and shook his head. “That’s Celestia you’re pointing that thing at.”
“I hate souls who refuse to obey me.” The crystal went back to being green.
“I can help her, Goddess,” Dev said, bowing. “I need to die for that to happen. As a soul, I can push out the one draining her.”
The goddess shook her head. “You have a good heart, Druid, but that won’t be necessary. My daughters worked hard to bring you back, so you must honor them by staying alive. I have billions of souls at my command.” She looked at me. “Come with me, ástin min.” She opened a portal to the eastern Resting Hall. We stopped outside the first entrance. “Do you remember how to retrieve a soul?”
“Yes, Mother.”
She handed me her scepter and rattled off a birth time.
“Why him?” I asked.
“We need someone we trust.”
Using the scepter, I created the air runes like she’d taught me and added the dates. They floated to the door, and it opened. Tristan Cooper stepped out, looking more alive than I’d ever seen him. His eyes volleyed between my mother and me.
“Cora, what are you doing here? You’re not…?”
“Dead? No, Uncle Tristan.” I hugged him. “I’m home. I’ll tell you the story later, but right now, Mother and I need your help.”
“Mother?” he asked.
“Yes, Tristan. Cora is my daughter. She and Raine will fill you in later. Right now I need your help with Eirik’s Celestia. She’s possessed by a very difficult and evil soul, and we need you to push it out.” She opened a portal to Eirik’s bedroom.
My eyes went to Raine when I entered, but she was staring at her father with wide eyes. She teared and whispered, “Dad.”
“Sweetheart.” He opened his arms, and she ran to him.
“I can’t believe you are here,” she said, laughing and crying.
“Tristan, you two can sit down and catch up for as long as you want. Right now, we need you,” Mother said impatiently. “The warding runes I etched on Celestia are not working because she can’t engage them. I need you to blend with her.” She was like a drill sergeant. Mr. Cooper followed her instructions, and we all crowded around the bed and waited.
Mother gripped her scepter, and Raine had hers ready. She must have brought it just in case. Eirik carried his mace. The soul wasn’t going to escape.
“Einmyria, go stand by the door. You too, Raine and Trudy,” Mother added. “Lavion, I didn’t see you there. Escort the healers to your quarters. This soul is tenacious, so I don’t want her jumping from Celestia to one of you. Everyone. Tammy, Dev, even you, Son, move back.”
“But I have my warding runes,” I protested.
“I know, Daughter. But I do not want to put you in harm’s way, so humor me.”
I moved to where the others stood and gripped Raine’s arm. Mr. Cooper separated from Celestia first and floated above her, but his hand stayed inside her. What was he doing? Dev mumbled something I didn’t catch, but I was sure he and I were thinking the same thing. Mr. Cooper was supposed to push out the soul. Then I realized he was pulling out one, but the soul’s hand was tiny, like a child’s.
First came the arm, then a lock of curly hair followed with a cherubic face belonging to a baby in a pink dress, white tights, and pink shoes. She couldn’t have been more than a year old. Her eyes were droopy as though she’d been asleep. She yawned and looked at the faces of the people around the bed. I hadn’t even realized we’d moved closer to the bed, where she floated and still gripped Mr. Cooper’s hand.
“A baby?” Mother said with so much annoyance we laughed. “No wonder she didn’t listen to me. Children are impossible.”
The little girl’s blue eyes locked on Mother, and she wiggled her hand from Mr. Cooper’s. She extended both hands toward Mother.
“Mama,” she said.
“No, I’m not your mother!”
The girl giggled, showing a few baby teeth. She floated toward Mother. I’d never seen someone move so fast. We all watched with morbid fascination as Mother pointed her scepter at the child.
“No,” came from around the room, but we might as well not have spoken. She engulfed the baby in a green glow and suspended her in midair, where she rolled and giggled.
“All this trouble over a baby,” Mother mumbled, studying her.
“She’s so cute. Is she a soul?” I asked.
“No, that’s not a soul, Einmyria,” Mother said. “Judging by her clothes, she’s Mortal, a gifted Mortal baby with the power to astral project, and I want her out of my realm.” She reached out, and chubby fingers grabbed hers. “She solidified quickly.”
“How did she do that?” I asked, moving closer to examine the baby.
“Astral images are like souls. While on Earth, they are in energy form, but the second they enter my realm, the magic here makes it possible for them to become solid. Like this little one. You just have to will it. She wanted to touch my hand, and she did, shifting from energy to solid.” Mother tried to free her finger, but the baby thought it was a game and giggled. “The last time a female Mortal astral projected here, my son ended up falling in love with her. I’m out of sons.” She said it calmly while still trying to get her hand back, and we laughed. The baby continued to give her toothy giggles. “Troublesome imp.”
“She’s adorable,” Trudy said. “Can I carry her?”
“Not yet,” Mother said, and Trudy made a face. “Do not get attached to her. She’s only staying here until someone finds her and transports her astral image back to her body. I’m sure her parents are worried about her. They’re probably keeping vigil by her body.” She glanced at Raine, who was inching closer to her father. “Raine, Einmyria tells me you help Mortals.”
“Yes, Goddess.”
“When you leave here, find this baby and ease her parents’ pain. I can imagine what they are going through.”
Raine nodded. “I can do that.”
“Good. Go spend time with your father. One of the guards can escort you to a guest room.” She finally freed her fingers and placed her hand on the baby’s head. “I can access her memories and see what she’s seen.” She frowned and tsked. “This poor child had latched onto some very wicked souls in her short life. Too many. Trudy, tell your mother we need a crib, food, and clothes. Then find Jess. The two of you will be in charge of her until her family is found. You and Hayden should suppress these horrific memories in her head, too.”
Trudy raced out of the bedroom while Raine took her father’s arm, a broad grin on her face. Dev and Eirik were with Celestia. Only Tammy stayed by the baby. I watched Mother. She closed her eyes, furrows appearing between her brows.
>
“Strange,” she said. “The child’s memories show her at home, not a hospital. Her name is Hannah, and she has an older brother, Wes, and two sisters, Talia and Lana.” She harrumphed. “Interesting. They all look different. Is that normal on Earth?”
“Depends. If the children are adopted, they won’t look like their parents or each other, but they’re still a family.”
“Is that enough information to track down her family?”
“Is there a family name? The father’s or mothers?” I asked.
Mother shook her head. “No. Mom and Dad. Pops. The old man. Why would they refer to their father as an old man?”
I laughed. “People do that sometimes. I’ll tell Raine everything.” Raine had already left with her father. I touched the baby’s locks. “Poor thing. Your family must be worried about you.”
“They probably don’t know she’s gifted,” Tammy said. “Someone needs to tell them and have them bind her powers until she’s ready.”
“Then you work with Raine to help educate her family,” Mother said and went to join Eirik. Trudy returned with Hayden and Jess. Hayden rushed to Celestia’s side.
“Look at her. Isn’t she adorable?” Trudy picked up the baby, and the green glow disappeared. “We’ll take care of her,” she called out. She tapped Jess’ arm and waved Hayden over. “Let’s go. We’ll come back to check on Celestia.” Rhys and Nara followed them out of the room.
“Her name is Hannah,” I heard Nara tell Trudy.
“Rhys,” Mother called out, and the Grimnir stepped back into the room. “Keep an eye on them. Don’t let Trudy get too attached to that baby. And if Raine needs help finding the family later, help her.”
I went to join Mother. Eirik was back in his favorite seat. Tammy and Hayden were on the lounge with Dev.
“How is she doing?” I asked.
“She’ll get better now,” Mother said. “Both of you need to get dressed. We have guests.”
“Do I have to go?” Eirik asked, his focus on Celestia.
“Yes, Son. Your sister needs you by her side.”
Goddess: A Runes Book Page 27