Thrall

by E. William Brown

  I realized I was staring, and looked away. But not before I caught her smug little smile.

  “I suppose that’s the closest thing to practical we’re going to see you in,” I said.

  “It will hold up better than you might expect, Daniel. It’s all the finest of Vanir craftsmanship, and heavily enchanted. So, what is this mysterious errand of ours?”

  “You’ll see. Alanna, see if you can use this.”

  I gave her the giant ruby that I’d gotten from Brand. Aphrodite gasped in shock when she saw it.

  Alanna shot her a smug look of her own, and pressed the gem to the empty socket in the ring. It sank into place, and Alanna gazed at it thoughtfully.

  “Hmm. Yes, I see. Are you entrusting me with the decision of which locks to open, Daniel?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled, and moved to lean into my side. “You see, girl? A few short weeks as his familiar, and already my wizard will place the power of a goddess in my hands. This is the benefit of being trustworthy.”

  “Yes, yes, I’ve heard this all before,” Aphrodite said sourly. “But it’s far too late to change now, so why taunt me with my mistakes? What do you plan to do with that?”

  “Daughter of the sea, be free to call the waves once more,” Alanna said.

  Aphrodite gasped, and swayed unsteadily. But Alanna wasn’t done yet.

  “Devotion, submission, rapture, abandon and satisfaction, these aspects I unlock to the fullness of their potential. Allure, delight, misdirection and persuasion, these aspects I let loose under the leash of my intention. Health and vitality, strength and agility, wash away the mortality of this fragile shell, and unleash the divinity within.”

  Aphrodite collapsed into Alanna’s arms. The elder dryad held the goddess’s trembling form while a tidal wave of divine magic flooded through her, transforming flesh and blood into something entirely different. When it was done Aphrodite stood several inches shorter than she had before, although somehow her clothes still fit. She snuggled into Alanna’s embrace with a sigh.

  “It’s been a long time since I could stretch even this much,” she said. “But why those aspects, linked like that? Am I to be your little servant slut, bending men to your will? Others have tried to make me their tool before, you know.”

  “We both know you enjoy playing at submission,” Alanna said. “You would never have survived this ordeal otherwise. But I ask you, am I trustworthy?”

  Aphrodite looked up at her, and pouted. “You’re really going to play that card? After everything I’ve been through? We can’t at least deal as equals?”

  “You are the laughing mirror of a thousand faces, every one of them a lie,” Alanna said. “If I trust you even a little you will betray me, as surely as the scorpion stings the toad. But I say to you, aid me honestly for but a week, and you will be quite pleased by the results.”

  “Just a week? You could keep winning the tournament,” Aphrodite said suspiciously.

  “In all the days since the Titans drove back the long winter, have I ever betrayed anyone?” Alanna said.

  “No, but you’re just a finger puppet for your wizard’s magic if that’s what he wants,” Aphrodite replied.

  “Have I ever been forced to betray anyone by my wizard?” Alanna said. “Besides, as you just pointed out, I’m only a dryad in the end. How long will it take you to seduce my heart into thinking you a grove sister, to be loved and protected above all else? A week? Two? I don’t dare hold your leash for long, or I shall find myself on the other end of it.”

  Aphrodite huffed. “Fine. You’re right, you’re the straightest of the straight arrows. Even if that’s all a con, you’re not going to blow ten thousand years of setup on something this trivial. But what are you two planning here?”

  “Us three, actually,” Mara said.

  For the first time, Aphrodite really looked at Mara. For a moment she seemed confused, but then her eyes went wide.

  “You!”

  “Yep, me.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Mara grinned. “What do you think? We’ve got some fun times on the way. Now aren’t you glad you decided to play along?”

  Aphrodite glanced around and bit her lip, obviously concerned that anything incriminating she said might be overheard.

  “And on that note, it’s time to get moving,” I interrupted. “Alanna, we need to head out to the Spire again. Aphrodite, do you have a convenient way to fly? If not I can carry you. Just don’t take that as an invitation to try charming me.”

  “In that case, I’m heading out,” Mara said. “I’ve got some errands to run. See you tonight, Daniel?”

  “Sure.”

  Mara sauntered off. Aphrodite turned to watch her go, still looking a bit shell-shocked. “Is she really…?”

  “Not here,” I said. “Alanna?”

  My dryad took Aphrodite’s chin in her hand, and turned the goddess’s head back to look at her. “You are not to turn your charms against my wizard,” she said sternly. “I shall take that as a betrayal of our accord, and respond most severely. Are we clear upon this point?”

  “Alright, Alanna. I can’t help flirting, but I won’t use any magic on your boytoy.”

  Alanna seemed satisfied by that, so I decided not to worry about the potential loopholes in the wording. She returned to her armor form, wrapping me in a full-body embrace as she grew her usual shell of enchanted steel.

  I sighed in relief. Even in my new cloak and tabard I’d been feeling pretty exposed without her, especially considering how long we’d been standing around here. I scooped Aphrodite up in a bridal carry, and took flight before the Lightbringers managed to organize another assassination attempt.

  Aphrodite gave a surprised squeak when we took off, and threw her arms around me. But as we rose smoothly into the air she relaxed, and looked around.

  “Well now, this is something you don’t see every day,” she purred. “Wizards who try to fly usually make a mess of it. Have you joined the mile high club yet, Daniel?”

  I chuckled. “What is it about flying and bad girls? I bet you’d love Cerise’s hovercycle.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A personal flying golem, basically. You ride it like a horse, and it can only go up a few feet off the ground, but it moves faster than a diving falcon.”

  “Oh, my. That sounds positively delightful. Is that the Spire?”

  The dead barrens were coming into view now, and I nodded. “Yeah. The whole thing is saturated in invisible energies that will kill anything alive, so pay close attention to your health. I’m not sure if it will do anything to you the way you are now, but if it does I can put a protective spell on you and heal the damage.”

  “Perhaps you should do that now, as a precaution?” She suggested. “I would really prefer not to risk being forced back to my prison. It’s an unpleasant experience.”

  I shrugged. “Fair enough. Stick close to me while we’re moving around, though. There are a lot of exotic hazards in there, and it wouldn’t be practical to duplicate all my wards.”

  “I’m quite content where I am,” Aphrodite said, with a touch of mischief in her eyes.

  She studied me intently as I wrapped her in a healing aura, and linked it to my amulet. If she got more than a few dozen feet away from me the link would break and the whole thing would fall apart, but that was good enough for this trip.

  “You really don’t intend to ravish me, do you?” She said.

  “No, I really don’t.”

  “Why not? You can’t expect me to believe that you truly don’t desire me?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not big on rape. Especially not this eternal captivity thing the Aesir have going on.”

  She sniffed. “You probably couldn’t handle me anyway.”

  I should have known better than to try to be serious with her. I finished setting the enchantment, and resumed my descent towards the Spire.

  “Yeah, I’d probably have to build some deme
nted sex golem to keep you busy when I need to recover,” I joked. “You seem to be pretty into bondage, so maybe a steel framework to chain you to and a couple of big dildos that just keep working away on you forever. Or I could break out the flesh magic, and make some kind of tentacle pod thing.”

  “Tentacle pod? I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at there, but it sounds intriguing. Careful, or you might convince me to come investigate once I’m free.”

  “Just wait until after Ragnarok,” I told her. “It would take weeks to make something that complicated, and if I get that distracted right now I’ll get killed one way or another. By the way, we can talk here. We’re inside the Spire’s wards, and I’m pretty sure no one else has been here in a long time.”

  “I think you’re right. Few would dare to come here, considering the kind of traps the Atlanteans could have left. Are you an Atlantean, Daniel Black?”

  “No. I’m Hecate’s Champion.”

  “Hah! I knew they were lying when they said they’d caught her. Did she send you for me? We’ve never been allies, exactly, but we weren’t enemies either.”

  “No, I haven’t had a chance to speak with her since I got stuck here. Trying to contact her from Asgard sounds like a really stupid idea, so I’m not planning on trying it. But I know she’s taking advantage of Odin’s distraction to gather allies, and I’m sure she’d be willing to talk to you if we can figure out a way to get you out of here.”

  “The Unraveler seems very talented at breaking bonds,” Aphrodite said. “That was really her, wasn’t it? She has her father’s eyes.”

  “Yes, that was Mara. But she’s my friend and ally, not my servant, and she’s here on her own mission. I don’t think she’s strong enough to free you and her brother without a good rest in between, and obviously the Aesir aren’t going to make it that easy.”

  She studied me intently. “I can’t believe Hecate has thrown in with Loki. No, this is a personal relationship.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, we kind of went from lying and manipulating to trying to kill each other to being lovers.”

  She giggled. “Sounds like my kind of relationship. So what is it you want me to do for you here? I’ll warn you, wizardry has never been my forte. The living magic of sorcery and faith is my art, not this rigid sculpting of dead stone and metal.”

  “The rod I showed you is broken,” I told her. “Odin wants me to fix it, so he can use it on his enemies. I can do that, but obviously I’m not too keen on handing him that kind of weapon, so I’ve been dragging my feet while I try to come up with a way out of this mess.”

  “Ah. Perhaps the horse will learn to sing?”

  Funny, how many stories this world shares with my own. “Exactly. But they’re getting impatient, and if I don’t give them some visible progress soon they’re going to start kidnapping my coven mates and… well, I’m sure you can imagine.”

  Her expression turned serious. “Yes, I can well imagine what they would do with a murder witch. Who else is in your coven? At least one hearth witch, I would imagine.”

  “Yeah, Avilla’s a pretty amazing witch. She’s technically a golem, but she has a soul, so that just means she’s immortal and has the mana capacity of a demigoddess. The other two are a faerie lady and Bast’s new high priestess.”

  “Bast? But she’s dead!”

  “I helped her arrange to be reborn,” I said. “Anyway, just bringing you here will buy me a few days. I told Brand there’s a big leak of solar fire that’s stopping me from finishing the job, and he suggested using your water aspect to put it out.”

  “I see. Does this fiery obstacle actually exist?”

  “Yes. I’ve been trying to avoid telling outright lies, in case I run into someone who can detect them. There are other ways I could have dealt with it if I really wanted to, but this is certainly the easiest.”

  “Perhaps. But you clearly have more in mind than playing for time.”

  “I have a lot of pieces that I’m trying to fit together into a workable plan. So, how does this imprisonment setup the Aesir have you in work? Is this body like a puppet, that you’re controlling remotely while your real self is locked in a cell someplace?”

  “No, Daniel. This is the real goddess of beauty you’re holding in your arms, not some doppelganger. But they have me tied to a soul trap that catches my essence if my body dies, and drags me back to my soul gem so I can’t reform properly. That way they can be sure to retrieve the collar, and put it back on me as soon as I reform.”

  “Interesting. Can you explain how that works?”

  Her brow furrowed. “I suppose I could try. Mortals rarely manage any comprehension of such arts, but you aren’t exactly a normal wizard.”

  “I have mana sorcery,” I told her. “If it involves magic, I can figure it out.”

  “Sorcery over magic itself? No wonder you have such a habit of doing the impossible. Where did Hecate find a man with such an unheard of power?”

  “You’ll have to ask her that.”

  “Ah, she’s been fishing in the sea of worlds, hasn’t she? It’s the only thing that fits. What did she do, drag you through primal chaos and let you absorb its power?”

  The look on my face must have been answer enough. She giggled, and kissed my cheek. “Silly man, did you think to hide such an obvious secret from me while holding me so close? I have but to lay my cheek against yours, and feel the song of your sorceries. But perhaps Hecate didn’t tell you that we gods arose from the void?”

  I shrugged. “I haven’t had a lot of time to get up to speed on things like that since I got here. Too busy just trying to survive. Divine aspects are like a greater version of sorceries, aren’t they?”

  “Now I’m sure you haven’t been in this world for long,” Aphrodite said. “But you’ve got the right general idea. A sorcery is what happens when a living soul touches the primal chaos that lies between worlds, and asks it for understanding. An aspect is what happens when an idea bubbling up from the chaos brushes against the dreams of the living, and gains an awareness of its own.”

  I’m surprised to hear you break Zeus’ bans so casually, Alanna said to us both. Do not the gods hold these matters secret from mortals?

  “What do I care for preserving the rule of the gods? They can all die on the blades of outraged mortals for all I care. But if I share my secrets freely, perhaps you’ll part with a few of yours. Alanna, is it true that the Great Beasts are just divine spirits who clawed their way into the waking world before men invented language?”

  Even I am not old enough to answer that from firsthand knowledge. As best I can tell, I was born in the days when words first began to shape the dreams of men. But I think there are three kinds of being that we lump together as Great Beasts. There are what the Titans called the Ancient Beasts, gods who were born into the world in the ages before man and thus have the minds of beasts instead of men. There are the great nightmares that have emerged since the dreamlands took firm shape, ascending to a semblance of godhood by devouring their lesser kin. And then there are the interlopers from distant worlds. Beings of savage cruelty and endless destruction who were driven out of their homes, or else devoured them and went looking for fresh prey.

  “Lovely,” I said. Then I noticed the shocked look on Aphrodite’s face.

  “You gave me a serious answer,” she said.

  There are many benefits to honoring an alliance with me, Alanna replied. I, too, have no great love of the tradition of keeping secrets, and in the present chaos I dare to speak more freely than usual. But perhaps we should set aside this distraction, and return to my wizard’s question?

  “Oh. Right. Alright, I suppose we can give this a try. First you need to understand how a sealed soul trap works. Have you ever constructed such a thing, Daniel?”

  “No, but I’ve pretty much finished reverse-engineering the ones here in the Spire. I could build something like that if I wanted to.”

  “This place would be full of such things, would
n’t it? Can we go to the chamber that holds them? If you show me how they work, I can point out where my own prison is different.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  It wasn’t a complete solution, but it was a start. Now if only I could be sure Aphrodite wouldn’t stab me in the back at the worst possible moment.

  Chapter 21

  Working with Aphrodite was a trying experience. It wasn’t that she was trying to cause trouble, exactly. It’s just that her flirty, mischievous, endlessly troublesome manner didn’t seem to have an off switch. Alanna was as frustrated as I’d ever seen her before the afternoon was half done, and I wasn’t much better off.

  But she made the effort worthwhile. Together she and Alanna easily answered all of my theoretical questions about soul magic, and studying her bindings told me a lot about the practical issues. They were built in a very different style than the Atlantean enchantments I’d been looking at up until then, and comparing the two was a tremendous help. Not to mention Aphrodite’s personal advice on the issues involved in toying with mortal souls.

  By sunset I’d confirmed that my ideas for getting the twins out of Valhalla would work, and I was sure I could give them living bodies when we got home. I’d need a blood sample from someone to serve as a starting point for their new bodies, and on a genetic level they’d end up being clones of the donor, but that wasn’t likely to be a problem. I could still use my flesh magic to make them look like whatever I wanted, it just wouldn’t necessarily be hereditary.

  The other side of the project was a lot harder, and I wasn’t able to make things work as smoothly as I would have liked. I’d started out with hopes of making a soul jar that could catch my soul if I died, and just conjure a new body for me using flesh magic. That would have been an ideal backup plan, not just now but for the future, and seeing the looks on people’s faces when I returned from the dead would have been hilarious.

  Alas, it wasn’t really practical. Growing a whole body from a tissue sample was a phenomenally complex application of flesh magic, much harder than just healing typical injuries. Different parts of the body always ended up growing at different rates, depending on all sorts of subtle factors, and even when that wasn’t fatal it caused a lot of strange defects. Waking up with my head on backwards and one arm twice as big as the other might be better than dying, but it wasn’t a ‘solution’ I was prepared to implement.