by Lola StVil
“And you had the nerve to stand there and judge Atlas for a kiss? She made a mistake. You made a choice,” Saudia says.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Langston asks. “You could have stayed behind.”
“Yeah, well, none of you were exactly forgiving of Atlas for the kiss either, were you? Can you blame me for not wanting to tell you all what I’d done?” Perry says.
The room falls silent for a moment. He has a point.
“But surely you could see that Regal’s life was more important than someone being mad at you,” Tracey says finally.
“Look, I didn’t think it would go this far. I expected them to bitch at me, punch me around a bit. And I deserved that. But I didn’t really think they’d stoop so low as to let someone die to get back at me. Do you really think I wouldn’t have said anything if I’d known this would happen?” Perry says.
Saudia shakes her head.
“No. But it did happen, didn’t it? What is it with you guys and not being able to keep your hands to yourselves?” she says.
“Let’s play the blame game once this whole mess is sorted out,” Atlas says. “Kane, call Pest, see if he knows any other cures. The rest of you, call your contacts; see if they can help in any way. I’m going to find Sadie and get a progress report. We only have an hour left. Let’s not waste it arguing amongst ourselves.”
Perry gives her a grateful smile as she leaves. Everyone gets on their cell phones, calling anyone they can think of who might be able to help. I call Pest.
“How’s Sadie?” Pest says by way of greeting.
“What? She’s fine. This isn’t about her. Pest, do you know of any way to cure The Hydra Hold without Valkyrie blood?” I ask.
“No. There is no other way, Kane. Witches have been working on it for years, but it’s just not possible. Is that what’s wrong with Regal?”
“Yeah,” I say quietly, feeling the last bit of hope drain out of me.
“Stupid question, but why don’t you go ask the Valkyries for help? They’re not so bad, you know,” Pest says.
“We tried that already. Let’s just say hell hath no fury like a Valkyrie scorned,” I say. “Look, I have to go. Thanks, Pest.”
I hang up as Atlas comes back into the waiting room followed by Sadie.
“Atlas told me what happened, guys. I’m sorry. There’s nothing more I can do,” Sadie says sadly.
“You’re lying,” I say.
“Kane,” Atlas warns me.
“No,” I say. “I’m serious. She won’t look any of us in the eye. She knows something.”
“Sadie? Is that true?” Atlas asks.
Sadie looks up then.
“What are you hiding, Sadie?” Atlas asks.
Sadie sighs.
“There’s a Valkyrie who might be willing to help you. She won’t care about being kicked out of Valhalla because she already was. Instead of delivering the souls as was her purpose, she would sell them to the highest bidder in exchange for power and riches. She’s an outcast, no longer an official Valkyrie, but technically, she still has their blood,” Sadie says.
“Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” Atlas demands.
“Because she’s dangerous, Atlas. She’s sneaky, and she can’t be trusted. Making a deal with her is like making a deal with the Devil. You might get to save Regal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it costs you more than one life. In fact, it could cost all of you your lives.”
Atlas shakes her head, excited now.
“No. She’d help us to get back at the Valkyries who dishonored her and kicked her out of Valhalla,” she says.
Sadie shakes her head.
“That wouldn’t be enough. Everything she does has an ulterior motive, and she doesn’t give any favors. Everything comes with a price with her.”
“I’m willing to take that risk. Who’s with me?” Atlas says.
The team all nod their agreement.
“Of course we’re with you,” Saudia says.
“Sadie, please just tell us who she is. We’re down to fifty minutes. We need that blood. Now,” Atlas begs.
“I can’t do it, Atlas. The risk is too great,” Sadie says.
Atlas gives me a pleading look, and I stand up and approach Sadie.
“You asked me if there was a chance I could forgive you,” I say. “I still don’t know whether I can or not. But I do know this. If you don’t tell us who this rogue Valkyrie is, then that door is closed. Forever,” I say.
“Kane,” she says, reaching out to me.
I step back out of her reach.
“Make your choice,” I tell her.
“Her name is Spectra,” Sadie says. “Whatever happens, don’t trust her.”
Once she gave us the name, Sadie gave us Spectra’s last known location, and in amongst a lot more warnings of being careful around her, we were off.
We are now standing outside of what Sadie believes to be Spectra’s home. A large, dark mansion that stands alone on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.
“Was it really too much to ask for this bitch to just live in an apartment in Chicago or uptown New York? Because this isn’t creepy at all,” Perry says as we stand looking at it.
“We wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for you. I mean really, how hard is it not to be a dick to women?” Langston snaps at him.
“I’ve grown since then,” Perry says.
Langston rolls her eyes. “Into an even bigger dick,” she mutters.
“It would be nice if guys weren’t dicks,” Saudia says, “but it would also be nice if the women they treated badly didn’t take it out on everyone else. I mean, talk about drama queens.”
She gives Atlas a hesitant smile as she says it, and Atlas returns it.
“Let’s just go. Before I chicken out,” Tracey says.
“You don’t have to do this,” Saudia tells her.
“Yeah, I do. And we don’t have time to argue about it,” Tracey says.
Atlas takes that as her cue to keep going. I walk beside her as she strides towards the castle. It’s surrounded by a moat filled with murky water crossed by a wooden bridge.
“Did you mean it? What you said to Sadie?” Atlas asks me.
“Yeah. If she refused to help you, I was done with her,” I reply.
“Thank you. But that’s not what I meant. I meant that there might be a chance you can forgive her,” she says.
“I…” I start as Atlas steps onto the bridge.
The bridge gives a loud creaking sound, and it vanishes. The water below it begins to bubble and boil.
“Watch out,” I yell.
I reach out and grab Atlas just before she falls.
“Shit,” she says shakily as she falls back against my chest.
The water reaches a crescendo, and a wave crashes towards us. Langston throws up a shield just in time, and the boiling hot water rebounds off the shield and back into the moat. The bridge reappears, this time made of steel rather than wood.
“That was close,” Tracey breathes.
“Everyone okay?” Atlas asks, having regained her composure.
Everyone nods.
“It looks like we passed the entry test,” Atlas says.
She’s away and onto the bridge before I can stop her. My breath catches in my throat as she runs onto it, and I follow her, too slow to grab her. She reaches the other side half a stride before me.
She turns back and grins.
“Made it,” she says.
“Do you have a death wish?” I snap.
“Nope. Just a time limit,” she replies.
I grit my teeth. We don’t have time for an argument, but I wish she would be a little less reckless and make an effort to put her own life first for once.
A stone wall stands before us, with an arch-shaped tunnel that leads into a large, open courtyard, and finally, beyond that, is the entrance to the mansion.
I get in front of Atlas as we reach the tunnel, and I step in first. I’ve ha
rdly taken a step when a long, sharp, metal spike hurtles out of wall towards me. I pull back, and it misses impaling my skull by an inch.
“We’re going to have to be careful here,” I shout back.
Atlas remains pressed up against my back where she collided with me when I stopped so abruptly. Her warmth fills me for a moment, and then I take another step forward. I glance to either side, waiting for the spike, but it doesn’t come. Another step. Again nothing.
A scream goes up behind me, and I whirl around to see Saudia with blood running down her leg.
“It came out at the bottom. Sliced a chunk right out of my leg,” she breathes.
“Guys, look,” Langston says, pointing at the floor by Saudia’s bleeding leg. “This stone is slightly different than the others. It has a blue tinge. Standing on it triggers the spikes.”
I look down to where she’s pointing. It’s hard to spot, but she’s right about the color being slightly different there than the rest of the floor.
“Okay, eyes on the ground,” Atlas says.
We make our way along the tunnel as quickly as we can without standing on the blue tiles. We make it out into the courtyard.
“Someone really doesn’t like visitors,” Perry says. “I’d hate to be her postman.”
I roll my eyes and lead us across the courtyard. I’m alert, waiting for the next attack, but nothing comes. I can feel myself starting to relax as we reach the door to the mansion. An old-fashioned knocker in the shape of a lion’s head glares menacingly at me.
“Let’s just go in,” Atlas says.
“Yeah. Knocking would be like announcing target practice has begun around here,” Perry adds.
Atlas ignores him and pushes the door. It swings open. I’m expecting a long, low creak, but it’s silent. The hallway beyond it is a tasteful cream color with bright lighting and a wooden floor.
“Well, at least the inside isn’t like something out of a horror movie,” Saudia says.
Atlas steps in, and I follow her. The hallway leads to a closed door. Other closed doors branch off it on each side.
Atlas approaches one of the doors slowly. She darts forward, her palms raised, and stands in the doorway.
“Empty,” she confirms.
I take her lead and begin to check the doors on the opposite side the same way. I just hope if anything does come from one of those rooms that it’s on my side, not hers.
We’re halfway along the hallway when I become aware of a rumbling noise. The ground beneath my feet begins to shake.
“What the hell?” Langston says.
“The walls are closing in,” Perry shouts.
“Run,” Tracey yells.
I reach for Atlas’s hand, and we run towards the closed door at the end of the hallway. The walls are moving towards us, quicker and quicker, and I don’t even know if we’ll make it to the door.
Atlas drops my hand as the gap becomes too narrow for us to be side by side. I push her behind me, and we run in single file.
I reach the door as the pressure from the closing walls begins to get unbearable. I don’t have time to think about what’s on the other side of the door; I just throw it open and step through.
I’m in the shorter part of an L-shaped room. It appears to be empty.
I turn back. Atlas is out. Followed by Perry, then Tracey. Saudia, who is last, is being squeezed too tightly to step out. She has one arm out. She gropes at the wall, trying to pull herself free.
“It’s no use. Just go,” she wheezes.
“No,” Tracey shouts.
“Fuck that,” I say.
I grab her groping hand, and I pull. I can feel the tendons stretching in her arm, and she screams out a string of curse words in pain, but I feel her start to move. I give a hard tug, one that makes her cry out again, but she comes free. The walls slam together behind her as she slams into my chest, almost knocking me over.
She rubs her wrist and then her shoulder.
“Thanks. I think,” she says, but she doesn’t sound angry.
Tracey embraces her for a second.
“I almost lost you,” she says.
“Almost. But I’m not that easy to shake.” Saudia winks.
Atlas has moved to the end of the L shape. She takes a step and freezes. We all run to where she stands, and I feel myself freeze too.
Our last hope is gone.
The L-shaped room opens out into a grand ballroom with a sweeping staircase taking center stage. Hanging by her neck above the stairs is a woman I assume was once Spectra.
Her dead body is shriveled, the skin wrinkled like leather. The last of her blood slowly drips to the floor.
A figure descends the grand staircase with a malicious grin.
Quinn.
She asks in a wicked tone, “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”
“Quinn,” Atlas breathes beside me.
Quinn turns to her and smiles.
“Of course it’s me. Who were you expecting? Jennifer Aniston? Katy Perry? Or perhaps the Queen of England?” she says with a curtsy.
“I…I guess even now, after everything you’ve done, I just didn’t want to believe that you were this far gone,” Atlas says. “Deep down, I still believed you could come back to us. And you know what? I still do. Come back to us, Quinn. We can work through this,” Atlas stutters out.
Quinn throws back her head and laughs.
“You know, Atlas, you’d be funny if you weren’t so pathetic,” she says.
“Look, this has gone far enough,” I say, stepping forward.
I don’t trust Quinn to not just get bored with her game and kill Atlas while she has the chance.
“Ah, brother dear. How nice of you to stop by,” she says. “We never did get a chance to talk about being siblings, did we? So, tell me, how does it feel to learn your sister is better than you at the only thing you’re good at: destroying lives?”
I smirk. “Don’t flatter yourself, Quinn. You’re an amateur.”
A gasp goes up behind me. I ignore it and keep going.
“See, someone truly evil wouldn’t make it quite so easy for Regal. They’d keep him alive. Force him to live every day knowing that his sister is dead. Because of him. That memory would eat him alive, and watching him suffer? Well, that would start to break everyone,” I say.
Quinn studies me for a moment and then she smiles.
“You know, at first, I couldn’t find a family resemblance between us at all. But now I see it. We might look different, but deep down, we’re the same. We know what we want. And we know how to get it. You could be useful to have around, Kane. And through me, you could leave all this ‘I’m trying to be good’ bullshit behind. You could reach your true potential. And you wouldn’t even have to be the one to kill Atlas.”
“Are you kidding me? You think I’d join up with you?” I snap.
“Why not? It makes perfect sense when you think about it,” she says.
“Does it?” I say. “Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like you’re asking me to join you for no better purpose than to get your own payback on a boyfriend who cheated on you. It’s hardly a noble cause, Quinn.”
She laughs again.
“What happened, brother? You tried the reverse psychology thing of trying to coax me into letting him live. And when that didn’t work, what did you do? You resorted to your true nature. You attacked me. Oh, maybe not physically, but with words,” she says.
That touches a nerve. My first instinct was to battle Quinn and try to kill her, but I thought of what Atlas would do if our roles were reversed. She would try to reason with her, talk her down. I’m trying my best to be good, but it’s so much harder to get anything done. And judging by the look of anger on Quinn’s face, her laughter long gone, I’m failing miserably at it.
“No. It’s not like that,” I say. “I know I haven’t known you for very long, but I’m finding it hard to equate the strong, independent woman I came to know with this weak crea
ture who stands in front of me now. So pathetic she’s letting an evil god use her to act out her revenge fantasy, all because Regal kissed Atlas.”
“You think that’s what this is about?” she spits out at me.
“Yeah. I do. Look, I know you’re really fucking pissed off, and I get it. But you don’t have to do this. Killing Regal won’t change the fact he kissed someone else,” I say.
Quinn’s laughter is back, but this time it’s mirthless. More of a noise than a laugh really.
“You really think this is about a kiss? You think this is about some poor little girl whose heart has been broken? I know you’re a lot of things, brother, but I didn’t think stupid was one of them. This isn’t about a kiss. It’s about so much more than that. It’s about all of the years I spent trying to live up to the perfect Atlas Morgan. And you know what? She’s nothing,” Quinn shouts.
“She’s more than you’ll ever be,” I shout back.
“Is that so? Because it seems to me that she’s certainly no hero. She’s not the protector of mankind. Look at her, standing there, little Ms. Perfect. Well, you know what? I see through the act. She might have you all fooled, but she hasn’t fooled me. I know you all think I’m evil, maybe I am. But if I am, it’s only because she made me that way. And I will take great pleasure in taking her down and letting you all see her for what she really is—a pathetic, weak little coward who hides behind her big bad boyfriend.”
Quinn has worked herself up into a frenzy. It doesn’t seem to faze Atlas. She walks right up beside me.
“I might be a lot of things, Quinn, but a coward isn’t one of them. I don’t hide behind anyone. And I’m sorry. Really, I am. I never set out to hurt you. I never meant to kiss Regal. I know you love him,” Atlas says. “And I really am sorry for what happened.”
The anger seems to have left Quinn, replaced by a quiet contempt. It’s exhausting trying to keep up with her moods.
“Ohhh, you’re sorry,” Quinn drawls. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Because saying you’re sorry makes everything okay, doesn’t it? Why don’t we all go back to the loft and make friendship bracelets?”
Atlas just keeps talking as though Quinn hasn’t interrupted with her sarcastic comment.
“And as for Sadie, it’s not my fault she spent more time with me than she did with you. I think she treated you horribly, and I don’t blame you for being pissed at her. And yeah, I’ve done bad things. We all have. But this, what you’re doing to the team, this isn’t the way to make any of it right,” Atlas says.