Remnants of Atonement (True paths Book 1)

by G. P McKenna

  Sedna lunged forward, sword swinging overhead with a mighty roar, before breaking into a round of quick jabs and flurries. I paused my shuffling for a moment to watch with bated breath. Though the lithe and flexible Ilvarjo was arguably better at hand-to-hand combat than the Shields bulking mass, armed was a different story. Pogue fought on wild instinct, like everything he embodied. There was little grace or refinement. Sedna fought with the same left-handed single mindedness, but something was off as they moved with purpose and finesse, managing to keep Ilya at the pointy end of their blade in a way that Pogue never could. If that shadowy blade was anything like its ivory twin, it should’ve found no difficulty cutting through bone. Yet Ilya’s palms turned the blade aside, gloveless hands deflecting and pushing it off course without breaking skin. I swallowed heavily at a sinking realization: the Morrigan was merely toying with us. It could end this at any moment.

  With newfound determination, I reached Ilya’s weapons and immediately strapped the blue sword to my back before waving my arm in hopes of catching Ilya’s attention. Face sweaty and chest heaving, Ilya glanced over for the briefest of seconds. A second was all that Sedna needed. The blow came from the right and Ilya couldn’t have seen it coming, but I did. My stomach flipped, and though it was useless, I opened my mouth to call a warning. No words managed to leave my mouth. Ilya’s eyes widened as the pummel of the dark Casteel sword swung through the air, but it was too late to do anything more than to turn and take the vicious blow to the side of his skull rather than the temple. Ilya dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. He was surely unconscious, if not worse.

  Sedna laughed and crouched to poke his chest, “Got you. Are you scared yet? You must be. So hard your entire life you’ve tried to always remain in control. You haven’t any idea how to respond when faced with somebody more powerful. Now, sleep,” Sedna raised their fist, aiming it at Ilya’s temple, but pulled back suddenly as Ilya rolled to the side and delivered a straight-legged axe kick. It would’ve been enough to shatter its original target of Sedna’s collar bone, but instead it collided with their forearm, dislodging the dark Casteel sword from their grip. It splashed into the pool, disappearing from sight. Sedna stood with an animalistic growl, “you think I need that to consume you?”

  Sedna raised their foot and seemingly through sheer force of will alone Ilya managed to sit up before it was slammed down onto his face. He shoved Sedna away. The push had been weak, but they stood back anyway, tipping their head with an amused smile as Ilya struggled to stand.

  Typically, those who have taken a hit to the head have trouble walking in a straight line, and Ilya was no exception. He seemed to stumble more than step, before kneeling beside me, taking care not to move his neck. Mercifully, Sedna made no move towards us as I looked Ilya over. He was naturally on the paler side, but at the moment he looked positively translucent. I forced myself not to grimace “you okay?”

  “No,” he hadn’t appeared to have noticed the blood draining from his ear to stain his hair. I didn’t say anything. I’d deal with it later, once we were safe, “are you okay?”

  “Compared to you, I’m perfection.”

  Ilya stared blankly with unfocused eyes before reaching for his dagger belt, his hand shaking. After several failed attempts at clasping the buckle, I pushed him away and clasped it myself before grabbing the Erebus sword to buckle on his back.

  “Don’t,” he said and struggled to his feet “where have they gone?”

  It took a moment to realize that he meant Sedna. Other than the two of us, the cathedral was empty, the ever-dripping water the only sound other than Ilya’s panting. I shrugged and held out my hand, “I don’t know, but we shouldn’t wait around for it to come back. Help me up.”

  “No, no, no,” the same solid oak doors I’d stood in awe of only days earlier suddenly looked like prison gates from a macabre play. Kicking them gained nothing but a stinging foot, but it was difficult to comprehend how the freedom of the courtyard was so close, yet so inaccessible thanks to several heavy golden locks. I kicked the door harder and glared at Ilya as he slumped against it, “why did you lock it?”

  “I didn’t,” he coughed into the crook of his arm, “I didn’t enter this way.”

  “Well, where did you enter? Let’s try that way.”

  Ilya shook his head and gasped, his face somehow losing colour it didn’t have. Erebus clattered against the marble staircase as he leaned over and wrapped his hands around his stomach. I sighed and picked the sword up. Typical. If you wanted something done, you had to do it yourself. I took a dagger from his belt and tapped the cold blade against my chin. Lock picking wasn’t my most horned skill at the best of times. Jittery fingers and shoestring patience, the drunkard who’d taught me in exchange for a silver krona had said. This wasn’t the best of times, and a dagger and sword weren’t the best of tools, but it was all I had. I knelt and shoved the sword into the lion-shaped lock. Of course, if Ilya would only tell me where he’d entered from, maybe I wouldn’t have to risk breaking a masterpiece like Erebus…Ereboportation. The Erebus sword had come from the Umbra. Umbrageous. Shadow potation. I grabbed Ilya’s arm and flicked his cheek, “you can teleport in shadows, can’t you?”

  “Not right now.”

  My heart skipped a beat and I flicked his check harder, “yes, right now.”

  Ilya attempted to slap my hand away and straighten up, his arms remaining tightly clenched around his middle, “I can’t right now. I’m dizzy.”

  “So what?” I held on tighter to his arm despite his struggling, “better to be sick than dead.”

  “You don’t understand,” he said and pinched the joint of my wrist until I let go, “I must be able to clearly picture where I intend to teleport. If I can’t clearly envision my destination, my limbs could materialize separately from my body. Kilco, I cannot even see you clearly right now, and you’re right in front of me. My head is throbbing, and my stomach hurts. I wouldn’t trust myself to teleport home right now, let alone take us both to camp.”

  That was it then. We were separated from safety by a single door, yet we might as well have been in the middle of the Martiat Ocean. With one final kick, I looked up at the mosaiced ceiling and sang a symphony the likes of which that blessed tree had never heard before.

  “Stop screaming,” Ilya said and covered his ears, “Pogue will have noticed that we’re missing by now. He’ll come and find us. In the meantime, you’re never going to get those locks open picking them as you were.”

  “And you could do better?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he stated and carefully squatted.

  As much as it pained me to admit, he could do better. In under a minute he’d cracked the first lock open and was working on the second when a soft sound rang out from the bottom of the stairs. It was so slow at first, and for a moment it was difficult to distinguish from the running water of the waterfall until it was vibrating all around. I slammed my back against the door and turned to spy Sedna relaxing against the banister, “bravo. That took you longer than I expected,” they said and ceased their clapping, “but playtime’s over. Come downstairs.”

  Ilya maintained his grip on Erebus as he pulled himself up onto shaky legs, “No, Sedna.”

  “I won’t repeat myself,” Sedna stated. Ilya shook his head, and Sedna sneered. They held a darkly gloved hand up to their face and turned it around as if inspecting the hidden nails for dirt before tipping their head to the side and snapping two fingers together.

  My right-hand spasmed uncontrollably as if caught in an electric current so loud it was almost impossible to focus on the other invisible force which grabbed hold of Ilya’s leg and yanked. His chest slammed against the marble floor, sending him into a hoarse coughing fit as he was dragged backwards down the stairs with his leg dangling uselessly in the air by an iron grip of nothingness. The Morrigan chuckled and knelt down to tease the folds of his mask before ripping it off entirely and holding his head up by his hair. Their long, pasty finger st
roked a bite mark on Ilya’s right clavicle. A bite mark, identical to my own. I pressed my back further into the door as they smiled down at him, “do you like my new power? I stole it in from our dead-eyed friend. Erebus had all those ways of crippling his opponents, it seemed wasteful to let them rot. You got a soul in a sword, I thought it was only fair I got some energy.”

  Ilya tried to stand but was barely able to kneel before falling back to the floor with a cough as he stared up at Sedna, “why are you doing this? I thought you loved me.”

  “So did I,” Sedna said and gently pushed him onto his back, “but when you rejected me just now I saw your truth. You never even liked me, you only pretended because you were too afraid to tell those you do love how much you fucked up. Now I don’t love you so much.”

  “How did you expect me to love you? You don’t mark the ones you love and play around inside their head. You made me sick,” Ilya said and aimed a punch at Sedna’s face. They effortlessly caught it in their palm and smirked, pulling Ilya up by his arm before slamming him back down. His head hit the floor with an echoing thud. Everything went still. Ilya was motionless on the ground, and I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing from where I stood, yet there was nothing I could do to get to him. My nails dug into the flesh of my wrist as Sedna stuck two fingers into Ilya’s mouth, coating them in slick saliva before raising them to their eyes. An elongated plum coloured tongue protruded from their mouth. Hooked like a snake, it suckled the saliva off and lingered suspended in front of their eyes, where no human tongue should ever be. My breath whistled in my throat. I couldn’t press my back any further into the door without merging into it, but I couldn’t watch that abomination anymore. It was grotesque. I reached down for Erebus and turned back to the locked door.

  I never heard the footsteps sneak up behind me. Or maybe there was nothing to hear. Rough hands grabbed a handful of my hair and dropped it, strand by strand, as cold air blew in my ear. Pogue’s voice whispered words I couldn’t understand, and then the air was gone, replaced by a gurgled inhale. The remaining hair was dropped in a heap as I was forcibly turned around to find the Shield frowning at me, “I don’t understand. Why don’t you fear me?”

  “I do.”

  They shook their head, “You fear what I’ll do to him. That’s not fearing me. I can smell it, but I can’t see it, not like he can. That’s why he likes you. You don’t deserve him.” Sedna sniffed and grabbed my arm, “it doesn’t matter anymore. Come, he’ll wake up soon.” I pushed my weight into my heels. Just because I wasn’t large enough to fight didn’t mean I had to make it easy. Sedna scoffed and my mouth filled with blood as their hand marked my face, “that was your last warning. If you make me strike you again, your face won’t fare so well. Move.”

  I wanted to refuse. Wanted to jump on their back and claw and scratch, but their tone told no idle threat, and if they killed me Ilya would quickly follow, so I nodded and allowed myself to be tugged along. They picked Ilya up, flinging him over their shoulder like he weighed nothing. Ilya’s eyes were closed as I trailed behind back into the cathedral, but he didn’t look like he was sleeping. He looked dead. Sedna sat him up against the pool moulding and leaned into his face, blowing gently while tickling the side of his cheek. Ilya’s eyes fluttered open and Sedna smiled. They reached out to brush the bloodied hair from his face, “sorry, baby doll, but it’s time for you to sleep now,” the hand clawed at his hair, dragging him beneath the water. Ilya didn’t struggle.

  I did.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded while trying to pull him away by the arm, “you promised not to hurt him.”

  “This is a private matter. You shouldn’t even be here,” Sedna said calmly, shooing me away as one does a fly while holding Ilya’s head beneath the waterfall. They kept him under for several seconds before bringing him back up. His wet blonde hair covered his face as he clawed at their wrist, coughing and spluttering. Sedna smiled, “this is a good look on you. Desperately clinging to life.”

  They pushed him back under.

  “You’re going to kill him,” I cried.

  Sedna rolled their eyes, “Relax. I’ve been reaping for several ages. I know what I’m doing. He’s not going to die; I’m just ensuring he never wakes up again. That’s all.”

  “That’s the same thing,” I shouted, and without even registering what was happening Erebus was in my hand. The blade was heavy in my twiglet arms, but I closed my eyes and swung. I felt it make contact and something splashed in the water as a heinous smell flooded the cathedral. I cracked a lid. Murky water ran freely from a cut in Sedna’s forearm. They stared at it and dripped a finger into the goo. Then they were on their feet. Talented as I was at dodging, there was no chance of ducking under the fist that came my way. Stars exploded in my eyes as the sound of breaking bone rang loudly through the air. Something warm dripped down my face and then all I knew was pain. I dropped to the floor, Erebus clattering beside me, as tears joined the river of blood pouring down my face and I furiously wiped them away. I hadn’t cried in five years and that beast wasn’t getting the satisfaction, but no matter what I tried the tears kept coming without permission.

  “I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen. Why didn’t you listen after I was so nice to you? I’m suddenly not feeling nice anymore.” Sedna leaned down and unstrapped the blue sword from my back, tossing it into the shadows. Ilya had dragged himself out of the pool and sat soaked and shivering beside it. Sedna laughed and walked back to him to grab him by his dripping hair. I gasped, but they didn’t hold him back beneath the water, instead dragged him to me and grabbed a fistful of my hair too.

  Boy was that painful. I screamed, flailing about until I choked on my own blood. Anything to just get free, but nothing could break Sedna’s iron grip as they dragged us both out the door, back towards the staircase, where they unceremoniously dropped me. They took one of Ilya’s daggers from his belt and yanked his head backwards, exposing his Adam’s apple. Sedna’s eyes locked with mine, and they smirked while pressing the blade to Ilya’s neck, “you don’t fear me, but you do fear something I can do. I smelt it when I kissed him before. You must pay for your little tantrum right now, and since I refuse to give you what you want, he’ll be the one to suffer.”

  Sedna dropped Ilya on the ground and knelt beside him, yanking his arms tautly above his head as they swung a muscular leg over his side, straddling him. Humming beneath their breath, they leaned down and caught his lips in a violent, prolonged kiss while a pale claw moved to rip open the flimsy silk of his shirt, revealing the rapidly bruising skin beneath. Sedna allowed Ilya a moment to breathe as they looked back to me with a smirk while fingering his navel, “you have no idea how good desperation and pain look on you, doll. You can thank your friend for this.”

  Ilya spat in their face, “screw you.”

  That inhuman tongue darted out to lap the spittle off their nose and Sedna sighed, “well, seeing as you asked so politely.”

  Ilya’s breath hitched and he twisted beneath Sedna, bucking his hips in an attempt to displace them, “get off. Leave me alone.”

  “Quite now,” Sedna purred as they shifted their grip on Ilya’s arms, freeing a hand that snaked its way around his body to poke and pinch at the rising bruises and marks, giggling when he moaned, “you have such a beautiful body. It would be wasted on the Shield.” Sedna’s hand dipped lower and lower, squeezing hard once it arrived at its destination, Ilya closed his eyes and whimpered before turning his head to the side. Sedna paused and glanced at me, “repeat that, doll. I don’t think she heard you.”

  Ilya looked at me, his eyes unfocused and wet, “Please don’t do this.”

  There was nothing I could do to help him. I was close enough to smell his sweat and blood, but I couldn’t move, and as Sedna continued squeezing the room filled with the smoke. I couldn’t breathe through the burning wood and whiskey. The waterfall morphed into crashing waves. It was hot. Too hot. Not even the aloe my mum had rubbed on my skin tha
t morning took his heat away. Why was he looking at me like that? They were all looking at me. Stop looking. Stop touching. Stop-

  “Kilco,” a deep voice called. I blinked as Sedna’s smile blinded me, “That’s how I want you to look at me.”

  I shook my head. I’d never look at them like that. They didn’t scare me. I wasn’t afraid of anything. Not anything at all. Without breaking eye contact with me, Sedna slapped Ilya across the face. Over and over, the sound of flesh on flesh twisting into an endless cycle. Still I couldn’t move. Then it stopped. Sedna leaned over and gently caressed Ilya’s reddening cheeks, dancing butterfly kisses over his face while smiling softly, almost compassionately, “my baby doll,” they cooed, “it’s going to be glorious listening to you scream.”

  The smile dropped from Sedna’s face and their hands moved to the hem of Ilya’s pants, tugging, beginning to pull-Thud!

  “Get off him, you bitch.”

  Sedna hissed, tongue flicking out, and they pushed themselves up. An arrow flew through the space where their head had been seconds prior. Pogue stood on the last step with a wild lupine rage in his eyes as he reloaded the small collapsible crossbow. Never in my life had I been so happy to see another person, it was almost enough to forget where we were. There was a low, throaty growl and my arm was wrenched upwards as Sedna, female once more, hid behind Ilya and I like human shields, “so typical of you to interrupt.” they snarled.

  Pogue growled under his breath, “let them go.”

  “Nah,” Sedna pulled us higher, “you wouldn’t dare shoot. Not why I have them.”

  “I dunno, I’m a pretty good shot.” Pogue levelled the crossbow. The wood creaked under the increased pressure, “let them go or, on the Deities, I will shoot.”

  A tense moment passed before Sedna growled and shoved their hand into my back. I stumbled forward, falling hard at Pogue’s feet. He glanced down at me, but I shooed him away as Sedna adjusted her grip on Ilya, fisting his hair so tightly it seemed they intended to scalp him. They held out their free hand and the foul water returned, leaving them with the gift of the dark Casteel sword. Pogue growled louder, “him too, demon.”