by Mary Duke
“I know where they are.”
“Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
My smirk faded. “We can’t. At least not yet… We will have to draw them out.”
Quint’s temper began to get the better of him. “FROM WHERE?”
“The Dark Mountain.”
Quint’s mind raced, from one irrational fear to the other. “Why would they be at the Dark Mountain? What did she say to you?”
Not having yet put together why Quint had become frantic, I answered, “She said that as keeper of the mountain, she banished me from its lands. I wasn’t welcome there anymore.”
Quint staggered backward.
“It’s not a big deal. They can’t stay there forever; at some point they will leave, and I’ll be ready…. We’ll just cast a little boundary spell of our own.”
Quint grabbed ahold of my shoulders. “You fool,” he shrieked squeezing tighter. “Who lies within that mountain?”
After a second, I realized why his attitude had changed.
“And what do you think he’s going to do when she frees him?”
“She can’t free him,” I countered. “Even if she could, he wouldn’t help her. Her father is the reason he’s been imprisoned.”
A nervous chuckle escaped his lips. “We followed Illian into the Realm of the Gods. Why is it you think she went there?”
Before I could answer he continued, “And being as you saw her, she obviously didn’t die at the hands of the High Court, which means she is once again immortal.”
“And,” I finished his thought. “With her immortality and Keeper status, she can do anything.”
“Right!” he screamed as he let go of my arms and turned from me before his rambling continued. “We have to come up with a new plan… There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way,” I corrected him “We are going forth with my plan.”
“We can’t,” Quint said turning back towards me.
“We don’t have a choice. We’ve come too far down this path to turn back.”
“If we go any farther, we will both die.”
“You don’t know that. Just because she has the power she needs to free him, doesn’t mean he’s going to help her… If I were him, I would kill her the moment she freed me.”
“But you see, he is not you. Thanatos is methodical. There is a reason for everything he does and everything he says.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanatos is a power-driven psychopath.”
“No,” he said pointing his finger in my face. “You don’t know him like I do. You, and everyone else, only knows the man he wants you to know. It’s a facade…”
“So you’re saying that despite the fact that her father double-crossed him, taking everything from him in the process, he would be willing to help her.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Quint answered. “I would bet my life on it. If Thanatos sees that Illiah can help him get what he wants, he will take full advantage of everything she has to offer… And with your son and his magical twin…”
“They’ll be unstoppable.”
“In time, yes. The longer Thanatos is free, the stronger he will get.”
“Then we have to act now.”
Quint nodded. “Indeed we do.”
“Now, now,” a woman’s voice said from the shadows. “You’re not going to have all the fun without me, are you?”
“Who are you?” I questioned quickly illuminating the rest of the room so she was visible.
“You don’t know who I am?” she said smiling and batting her eyes.
I looked to Quint for a clue, but he was petrified in fear.
Her grin spread wide across her face. “Well, I see someone here knows who I am.”
“Quint?” I said trying to break whatever trance he was in.
“You can’t be here… Your mother… She…”
“Sent me to some stupid realm of solitude…” She rolled her eyes. “Only her spell got out, which means I wasn’t alone for long.”
“Okay…” I questioned. “But I still don’t know who you are.”
“Oh darling,” she said sarcastically. “You may not know who I am yet, but I can already tell we are going to be the best of friends.”
I muttered under my breath, “Unlikely.” Friends were nothing but pawns that could be used as leverage, or loose strings. I didn’t have time for either.
Quint raised his hands and began to chant under his breath.
“What are you doing?” I questioned, but his chants just grew louder.
“Don’t worry,” the woman said as she began to catch fire. “I won’t be so easy to get rid of the next time we meet.”
“What the hell?” I questioned when she disappeared.
“We need to leave.”
“We just got here.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Who was that?”
“Someone you need to stay the hell away from.”
“Who?”
“Hel.”
“Who’s that?”
Quint began to pick the candles and vials up off the floor. “Thanatos’ twin sister.”
“Thanatos has a twin?”
Quint nodded.
I shook my head. “No, I know all of the Gods…I used to obsess over them. Thanatos never had a twin…I’ve never heard of Hel.”
“She’s real….believe me, she is real,” he said standing back up. “You just haven’t heard of her, because her mother and father disowned her and cast her into a prison realm, where she couldn’t escape.”
“Why would they do that?”
Quint took a deep breath. “Hel isn’t like the other Gods. She wasn’t born with the same abilities as her siblings; in fact, she was only born with one ability, aside from immortality.”
“And that ability would be?”
“Hel absorbs life and turns it into energy. In the beginning, before darkness overtook her, she was her parents’ favorite, their protégé. They began to train her, to teach her how to create life, with the energy she claimed from someone's death.”
“I thought Vera was the only goddess that could give life…well, aside from her father.”
“Originally, yes… Then there was Hel…but that phase didn’t last too long. Five hundred years or so. Everything was fine, she would reap the souls, and then release them as new beings. Vera had taken her under her wing, teaching her and molding her into the little perfect daughter her parents believed she was. Then Hel fell in love….with a mortal woman.”
“Love is the end for all of us.”
Quint ignored me and continued, “She begged her parents, her mother, to make the woman immortal so that they could spend eternity together. This wasn't something outrageous; her parents had turned mates for her siblings in the past, but when Nyx read the woman's mind she refused. Nyx believed that this woman wasn’t truly in love with her daughter, that she was just using her to gain power. Hel, of course, was heartbroken.”
“Of course,” I muttered gathering things off the back table.
“Abigail…Abigail was her name. She wasn’t going to give up, not that easy. She began to hunt for spells that promised immortality…but Hel wasn’t a fool. Though she didn’t have any magic of her own, she knew dark magic when she saw it. It took years of poking and prodding, secret meetings with witches, elves, and Faye before they got the answers they sought. It was a Faye who recognized Hel’s ability, and instead of explaining it to her, this Faye went straight to Nyx.”
“Okay, you lost me…”
Quint held his hand up. “The Faye they had met was believed to have a spell for immortality. She was going to channel Hel’s energy, to make Abigail immortal.”
“Okay?”
“But when the Faye connected with Hel, images of Hel’s future flooded her mind, and the Faye’s magic was gone.”
“How?” I questioned before he could continue.
“Hel is a siphon. At that time, she wa
s just breaking into this second ability, so no one understood the extent of it. What they did know however was that there had never been a good siphon known.”
“Wait a second…are you talking about a magic siphon…like she can take magic from anything she touches?”
Quint nodded. “But not only can she take magic, Hel also has the ability to consume souls, remember?”
My breath caught in my chest. “That would make me…”
“Her ultimate source of power.”
“But siphons can’t keep the power…right?”
“She doesn’t need to keep it, she just needs to use it.”
I shoved the last item I needed into my bag. “Use it for what?”
“Well, when her parents found out about her ability, at first they were in denial that she was trying to go behind their backs for the spell. So they blamed Abigail…and Abigail paid for that with her life.”
“Well, Hel had the ability to give and take life; all she would have had to do is bring her back.”
“Nyx knew this, therefore, she had a blade forged that would completely destroy a soul.”
“That dagger, Illiah had…that she used to kill her father.”
“The same one.” Quint nodded. “On the day that her father killed Abigail, Hel realized the potential of her true power. When she grabbed ahold of Holt, her oldest brother, as he tried to keep her from getting to her father, she absorbed his abilities, his energy, his life force, just as she had the Faye. Though this time it was noticeable to her, she could feel it.”
“What did she do with it?”
“She attempted to take her father’s life, and vowed to kill both of her parents and undo everything they ever did.”
“That’s why they locked her up?”
“No. Believe it or not, they thought she was just speaking out of heartache and rage. They believed in time she would come to her senses and realize they were right. The reason they locked her away was because she went mad. As you said, Syphons cannot keep the magic they absorb. They either use it or it fades. So within a month, her brother’s magic was gone, and her thirst for power had just begun.”
“Did she go after her siblings again?”
“Not directly. You see, though Holt was immortal, her daring his power did a number on him. He was weakened, and the others saw that. They avoided her…they feared her, and part of her resented them both because they still stood with their parents and because they all had magic of their own, and she did not.”
“So what did she do?”
“She began to slaughter anyone with magic; she learned that the more she killed, the more she absorbed and the stronger she could be. Darkness consumed her…and it was because of this darkness, this absolute thirst for power that she was locked away…but her dad paid for it with his life.”
“How…Gods can’t die.”
“Well…what happened to him is unknown, but his soul, his being…it’s gone.”
Chapter Eight
SNO
After hours of sitting in silence, Thanatos stood up to stretch.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Go where?” I questioned.
“I have an idea.”
Illiah stood up next to him. “Are you going to enlighten us on your idea?”
“There’s a forest in my realm, it’s said to bring those on the brink of death back to life.”
“No one here is on the brink of death,” I replied.
“No, but my soul is very depleted. My mojo is a no-go.”
Illiah laughed. “Well, your mojo better be good enough to forge a gate and get the five of us and our dragons into your realm.”
“I won’t be doing it alone,” he said, holding one of his hands out to me and the other to Illiah.
“Me, why me?” Illiah said looking down at his hand.
“My mother made you immortal, therefore when I pull your power, you won’t die.”
“Ummm,” I said getting a little nervous. “Well, your mother didn’t make me immortal. Keep that in mind.”
“I know,” he said pulling me up to my feet. “I won’t be using your energy to open the gate, just to mask it. See, the magic that runs through your veins is Ayana’s. They won’t think twice about her traveling through the realm. However, if they sense me there, let’s just say it will be better if we remain under the radar.”
I took his hand just as Illiah did and watched as a gate appeared in the side of the cavern wall big enough for even the dragons to walk through.
“Though I know you were here when the realms were created, remember this forest is delicate,” Thanatos said looking to the dragons.
Alec blew smoke out of his nose as he and Zavery walked through.
“Go on,” I said looking over to Eris. “I doubt they’re going to leave me here.”
“I’ll eat them if they do.” She laughed.
When the three of us walked through the gate, the dimly lit cavern and dingy air of the mountain were replaced by bright, warm sunshine and fresh crisp air. I inhaled deeply as I took in the sights around me. “Is this the same forest that surrounded Evander’s home?”
“No,” Thanatos answered. “Though the trees in that forest were brought there from here.”
I reached out and ran my hand down the white bark of the tree closest to me.
“This was one of my father's favorite places. This is where we went to be a family. There was no working here, no drama, not a thing to be done or worried about.”
“So what?” Zavery asked being snarky. “How does one recharge here?”
“By simply being here. You can absorb the energy from everything around you. Can’t you feel it?”
Zavery looked around before he began to walk away.
“Don’t wander too far. Though I believe my trick worked, I could only guess who’s tracking you guys.”
“I can feel it,” I said laying down on the ground and looking up at the florescent blue sky.
“It’s overwhelmingly relaxing,” Illiah agreed.
“That’s the point of this place, actually,” a woman said from behind us.
We all sat up instantly.
“Relax, I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Thanatos took a step closer to Illiah and me. “Vera… If it’s not to cause trouble, then why are you here? Better question, how did you know I was here?”
“First, I’m here to talk. Second, I’ve taken dad’s gate duties on since you and I had last seen each other; I know all that enter into this realm. Now more than ever.”
“But I…” Thanatos started to say.
“You masked your magic with Sno’s. I’m aware. I was with our sister when you passed through. I figured it out, as I’m sure others will also.”
Knowing there was no way to escape, and no point in going against his eldest sister, he sighed. “What is it you want to talk about?”
“This is a conversation for a place with far fewer prying ears,” she said opening another gate. “Now please, come with me.”
Thanatos laughed. “How do I know this is not a trap?”
“If I were here on our mother’s behalf, you’d already be dead. Now leave the dragons, I’m afraid my home is not big enough.” Vera smiled before walking through her gate.
I looked to Thanatos. “Do you trust her?”
“Not even slightly,” he replied.
“Then what do we do?”
“Hear her out, and then walk away.”
Illiah grabbed ahold of his arm as he made his way towards the gate. “You can’t be serious?”
“There is no other option,” Thanatos replied.
I looked at Erys.
“I believe she is telling the truth.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
Kegan interlocked his arm with mine. “I don’t like this feeling.”
“What feeling?” I questioned as we walked towards the gate.
“The feeling that everything is about to get even more complicat
ed.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
A smile spread across Kegan’s face. “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one.”
“Come, sit. Please,” Vera said as Kegan and I followed Zavery through.
Thanatos stretched his arm out to keep us from going any farther. “I thought you said this wasn’t a trap.”
“It is not, I assure you.”
“Then why is it two of our brothers are hiding in the next room?”
“Because if they would have been sitting here around my table, you would have turned around the second you stepped through the gate.”
The two men walked through the door. The tallest speaking first, “Have a seat, Than.”
“After you, Holt.”
“Come on,” the other brother said. “We are all on the same side.”
Thanatos’ eyes darted between his brothers as they made their way to the table. “And what side is that?”
Vera answered, taking a seat with her brothers. “The side that wishes for order to be restored.”
Thanatos erupted in laughter. “You can’t be serious. I haven’t been freed two seconds and you guys already have a lecture planned to keep me in order.”
“Believe it or not,” Holt said. “This isn’t about you.”
“Oh? Well then please enlighten me, because as I remember I’m the God of Chaos, and everything seems to be my fault.”
“While that is true…” Holt said before Vera smacked his shoulder and answered Thanatos’ question herself.
“It’s Hel, and it’s mom.”
“What about them?”
“Well, Hel is an obvious one. None of us can find out how she got out.”
“We,” Enzo continued, “can only assume it’s because mother is growing weaker.”
Thanatos nodded, unsure of what to say.
“We need your help.”
“With what? You haven’t mentioned a plan.”
Holt put his hands on the table and began to drum his fingers. “We need to kill them both.”
“Yup, okay,” Thanatos said standing up. “I was right. This is a trap. Let’s go.”
“SIT!” Vera shouted.
“You said this wasn’t a trap…that we would be free to go.”
“I said you would be free to go once you heard us out.”
Thanatos hesitated, looking back towards the gate which remained open.