by A. E. Rayne
She felt more like herself, and yet, somehow, utterly different.
Turning around, Draguta walked back to the book. It was calling to her, and she pressed her palm against the page. ‘Soon,’ she smiled. ‘Just a little longer and everything will be in place, and then we shall begin again, my friend. Just a little longer...’
Eventually, it became too dark to see much, so Jael made everyone stop for the night. She felt tense, worrying about what was happening in the fort. It had been days since the dragur attack, and she kept trying to imagine what Draguta would do next.
She thought about Fyr too, wondering if the raven would come again, her eyes scanning the thick tree canopy above their heads, listening to the birds who flittered about, settling down for the night.
‘Expecting something?’ Gant asked, chewing on a toothpick as he leaned back against a tree. ‘Or someone?’
Jael turned to him. ‘I’m always expecting something. Aren’t you?’
Gant nodded. ‘Having seen that serpent and the dragon? Always. Not to mention the dragur. Never thought I’d see my nightmares come to life.’
Fires crackled in the distance; crickets chirping loudly. It was getting cooler, and Jael edged closer to the fire. ‘Well, maybe tonight’s entertainment should be trying to guess which creature Draguta will pull out of our nightmares next?’
Axl was sitting on the other side of Jael, sharpening his sword, and he frowned, not wanting to think about any creatures until they were inside the fort again. ‘I expect she needs to send them as she doesn’t have any men,’ he yawned.
‘Well, she has men,’ Jael reminded him, ‘but most of them are dead.’
Axl laughed, looking at Gant. ‘Do you really think there’s more of them? The dragur?’
‘I imagine so, but I don’t think she’ll keep sending dragur, will she? She wants to be more effective.’
‘It depends on what Draguta wants to achieve,’ Jael mused. ‘Killing me? Taking the Book of Aurea? That seemed to be what she was after before, but now, I don’t know. I think she wants to defeat us and rule Osterland, but how will she achieve it?’ Her mind drifted to Eadmund, and she remembered her dreams of him with Draguta. ‘I’m sure she’s making plans. And I know they involve Eadmund.’
Gant could hear the odd detachment in Jael’s voice. ‘To kill you, you mean?’
‘I expect so.’
‘But Eadmund couldn’t. He wouldn’t,’ Axl insisted. He didn’t know Eadmund well enough to predict such a thing, but he didn’t believe that a man who loved his wife could kill her, no matter how tightly bound in magic he was. ‘Would he?’
‘Defeat me?’ Jael laughed, remembering her husband. ‘No. But perhaps he’ll try to. You only have to look at what he did to Thorgils.’ She turned to Axl, and her eyes were dark. ‘Don’t underestimate the power of magic, Brother. It’s a weapon like any other, and you can make people bend to your will and do your bidding without them ever being aware of it, so Eadmund had better hope he doesn’t find himself facing me in a fight.’
Axl blinked.
So did Jael. Anger had burst from the pit of her stomach. Anger about her father and her baby; Evaine and Draguta.
Eadmund too.
She turned to Gant with a frown. ‘When we get back to Andala, I’m going to need to do some training. The shape I’m in, I think even Axl could beat me.’
Gant laughed, and Jael winked at her brother, pushing all thoughts of Eadmund far from her mind.
Eadmund barely made eye contact with Evaine during supper. There was little conversation; nothing that didn’t drift into the silence so that all they could hear was the occasional shouting from outside their house, which was not far from the tavern Rollo had taken them to.
Eadmund wondered again what had happened to Rollo.
He was still training, in between planning with Jaeger, but it wasn’t the same. Rollo had pushed him hard. He had knocked him down and battered him relentlessly, never giving him a chance to even catch his breath or think that he was improving. It was just what Eadmund had needed, and he almost missed the bruises and cuts; the marks of how hard he was working.
He hoped that wherever he was, Rollo would be back soon.
‘The wine tastes sour,’ Evaine muttered. ‘Don’t you think?’
Eadmund looked at her, almost surprised to see her sitting in front of him. ‘I hadn’t noticed.’ He had finished his cup quickly, not wanting any more. ‘I think I’ll head for bed.’
Evaine hurried to join him. Her limbs were tense; a state they had been in for years, watching Eadmund’s every movement, every look. Wanting to see the certainty in his eyes that he loved her. That he belonged to her.
Evaine had spent so long looking for it, but mostly she had seen a bleary-eyed haze and a drunken smile. For a brief period, there had been raw desire and need in his eyes, but now there was nothing but polite coldness. It was as though he was looking straight through her. Evaine was convinced that Eadmund was no longer hers, and she didn’t know why. But as desperate as she was to go to Draguta and demand to know what she had done to Eadmund, she was just as afraid that Draguta would take him away from her altogether. Maybe she wanted Eadmund for herself? She certainly looked at him in a way that she hadn’t before.
Her thoughts chased each other in faster and faster circles, and eventually, Evaine turned back to the table for her wine, swallowing a big gulp.
‘Is something wrong?’ Eadmund asked as she wandered into the bedchamber.
Evaine shook her head. ‘I was thinking about Sigmund,’ she lied, pleased to see Eadmund’s eyes come back to her. ‘I miss him.’
‘You do? You’ve hardly mentioned him.’
‘Well, I’ve done nothing but think about him,’ Evaine promised indignantly. ‘You’ve been busy training or with Jaeger. You’ve hardly seen me. I speak to my father about him all the time. There’s no one else to talk to.’
Eadmund didn’t believe her. ‘He’s safe with Tanja and Runa.’
‘And your wife?’
Eadmund frowned. ‘I doubt she’ll have anything to do with him. Jael’s not fond of babies.’
Evaine peered at him, but she only saw annoyance. ‘I imagine so, but Sigmund is our son,’ she reminded him. ‘And he needs to be with us.’
Eadmund nodded. ‘I’ll speak to Draguta. See what plans she has for Andala. Make sure that Sigmund will be safe.’ He felt a sudden fear for his son, knowing that Draguta would not sit by while the Brekkans rebuffed her efforts to defeat them.
She would not sit by for much longer.
Amma tried to distract herself as she listened to Branwyn sobbing through the wall. Gisila was trying to encourage her sister to eat and sleep, and it appeared that she was having a hard time doing either.
It was a cruel thing to have both a son and a husband taken away, Amma thought, realising that she could find herself in the same position one day. Her hands were resting on the rounded bump of her belly as she lay on the bed. It was barely noticeable, she knew, but she could feel it. She knew a child was in there.
But whose?
And what would Axl think about it either way? She wasn’t even his wife. She was still married to Jaeger. A man who would undoubtedly try to kill her and Axl as soon as he found a way.
Sighing, Amma closed her eyes, wishing she could see into the future.
Wishing she could see what was coming.
Else tucked Morana into bed with a smile. She kept staring into Morana’s good eye, convinced that the dreamer was trying to communicate with her. But what was she trying to say? It was impossible to know, Else realised. Morana was locked in her body, just as Draguta wanted her to be. And Else knew that it was safer if she just left her alone.
Eventually, she padded back to her own bed, which had been Meena’s, and before that, Varna’s. The mattress was thin, with a strong odour of urine, and she kicked herself for not going to the stables to ask for some fresh straw. She would go tomorrow, as soon as she could f
ind someone to sit with Morana. She needed to find some lavender too, and wash out the mattress cover before she carried out her errands.
Pulling the threadbare fur up to her shoulder, Else rolled over, wistful for her old bedchamber behind the kitchen. It had been tiny and cramped, tucked inside a rabbit warren of nooks and crannies where the servants slept, six to a room. And though there was little privacy, it had somehow felt more like home than this miserable stone box. There was friendship and conversation amongst the servants. A chance to share gripes and gossip. To not feel as alone as they actually were.
Sitting up suddenly, Else headed back to the other side of the chamber, certain she’d heard something, but when she peered at Morana in the dull moonbeams shining down from the tiny window high above, she could see that her eyes were closed.
She hadn’t moved.
Shaking her head, Else crept back to her bed, unable to stop yawning.
Morana heard her go. She wanted to scream. She needed something of hers or Meena’s. She needed something tucked in beside her to help her find a way into Meena’s dreams.
For she had seen a way to break out of her prison.
But she was going to need help to do it.
Jaeger had been oddly calm since Draguta’s return. He had still been attentive, eager for her company, but Meena noticed that his anger ebbed and flowed now, and when he was with her he seemed less agitated. He never spoke about the book or Morana. And when he wasn’t talking about his plans for Helsabor, he talked about Draguta.
Endlessly.
Meena felt relieved, eager to disappear inside herself when she was with him, hoping he would fall asleep quickly. It helped when he drank a lot of wine as he had tonight. And now he was snoring beside her, and she was trying to fall asleep herself, but her mind skipped from one worry to the next, and her legs jumped about, and every time she thought she was ready to drift away, her eyes popped open, and she was wide awake again.
In the end, Meena decided to focus her mind on swimming, wondering if she could find another opportunity to go to Fool’s Cove again. The night was muggy and still, and she closed her eyes, remembering the chill of the water on her hot skin, washing away the sweat and heat. She imagined the bright sun overhead as she lay on her back, hearing nothing but the gentle lapping of the water around her face.
Totally alone.
And finally, Meena slipped away into a dream, where she found herself standing in water. In a dark, airless cave; the sound of dripping, loud in her ears.
When the rain came down, thumping onto the cottage roof, the puppies took fright. Ido, who had been on Biddy’s feet, hurried up to her pillow, almost sitting on her ear. Vella, who had been lying against Eydis’ stomach, jumped off the bed and hid in the corner of the kitchen.
Disturbed by both of them, and surprised to see that Edela and Eydis were still sound asleep, Biddy shepherded the puppies into her bed, trying to get them to stop shaking. ‘What big babies you are,’ she smiled sleepily, pulling the fur over them all. ‘Come on, lie down. Lie down, now.’ But Vella wouldn’t, and Ido started panting, and, eventually, Biddy started to wake up. ‘It’s like having children,’ she grumbled, hoping that Eydis and Edela were having some useful dreams.
Edela’s eyes were on the woman in the red dress. She didn’t look like the rest of the people in the tavern. Perhaps it was the red dress, Edela thought, which stood out amongst the greys and beiges. It was a cheerful colour.
But she was not a cheerful looking woman.
‘And how do I know it is the real one?’ she hissed sharply. ‘That it is not some trap? Some trick?’
The man frowned. He had an eyepatch and long, dark hair which fell over his other eye. ‘Well, I want my coins, so it’s not a trap, nor a trick, but as for it being the real one, you’d have to tell me. I’m no elder or dreamer. How the fuck would I know?’
He was a coarse man, the woman thought with a sneer, but if he had what she had been hunting all these years, he could be as coarse as he liked. ‘And where is it, then? When can I see it?’ She tried to take the edge of desperation out of her voice, but she had been after this prize for some time, and the thought that she had finally come to within a fingertip of it had her barely able to sit still.
‘We’ll need to trade. Upstairs.’
‘Upstairs?’ The woman shook her head, painfully aware of what was going on upstairs. ‘That is not the sort of transaction I had in mind.’
The man laughed, looking her over.
She was not young, but her figure was still desirable, and her face was more than pleasing. He was sure she would have no problem working upstairs. ‘My master has a room. He’s waiting in it with your prize. If it’s what you’re after, you can take us to the chests of gold. All five of them.’
The woman nodded and stood, not wanting to delay.
Noting the impatience in her keen, golden eyes, the man hurried through the heaving tavern, climbing the narrow stairs up to the noisy second floor, down the dark corridor. And opening the door of the last chamber, he ushered her inside, leading her towards the bed where Bruno Adea sat with a smile upon his face.
‘Do you have what I came for?’ the woman asked as soon as the door closed behind her. ‘Do you have the prophecy?’
Meena flinched, spinning around, convinced that something had touched her. The cave was so dark, and she couldn’t see anyone, but it felt as though something was out there. Swallowing, she tried to quell her rising panic. If she could just stay calm, maybe she could slip away? Wake herself up? Find another dream?
Her breathing quickened, though, and soon Meena abandoned all thoughts of trying to stay calm as she spun and spun, feeling the sharp, wet rocks cutting into her hole-ridden boots. Dragging herself out of the shallow water, which appeared to be some sort of stream, Meena stood on the slippery cave floor, looking around.
She didn’t know where she was.
Gulping, she turned slowly to the right, trying to see a way out. But there was no source of light. It was dense and dark and dank, and her panic was now starting to consume her, and then she felt it again.
It felt like a hand.
And spinning around, she was hoping to see nothing.
But this time, she came face to face with Morana.
41
Morana almost threw herself into Meena’s arms.
She could barely see her niece, but she could tell that twitching body anywhere.
‘Where are we?’ Meena wondered. ‘Why are you here?’
‘It’s the Dolma,’ Morana guessed. ‘Looks like the Dolma to me.’
Meena shook all over.
‘We have to take the risk that Draguta can’t see inside here,’ Morana said quickly. ‘You need to help me.’
Meena frowned, not wanting to take any risks at all.
Morana pinched her arm. ‘I can’t help any of us if you don’t help me. You can’t read the book, can you? Can’t get rid of Draguta? But you want to, just as much as I do. I can smell it!’
Meena didn’t speak.
Despite the dense darkness, Morana sensed that Meena had clamped her lips together. ‘Don’t speak, then,’ she grumbled, ‘but do listen. I am dreaming. The tea is helping my dreams. Those herbs are powerful. I’m guessing you’ve had it too; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here together. So keep drinking it, and go to Dragmall. He is close to the answer. The symbol was right. What he did was right, but how he did it was wrong. This curse must be broken with Draguta’s blood, not mine. It is the only way.’
Meena’s eyes bulged, but she kept her mouth closed.
‘You will take some of Draguta’s blood, and try the symbol again. In a different part of the chamber. Anywhere. Look in the book. There is a chant. Words. You must say them over the symbol as you trace it in her blood.’
Meena shook her head, determined not to find herself in trouble with Draguta.
Morana grabbed her, watching the jerking shadow before her with both eyes. Both eyes, and two working
arms and legs. She felt so relieved that she didn’t want to wake up. ‘I can free us all.’
It was a lie, and Meena knew it as she peered into Morana’s black eyes. It felt as though she was looking straight back into the cave, and she turned away from her aunt, desperate to find a way out of the dream.
Edela was too disturbed to eat any apple hotcakes. ‘I’m going to see how Ayla and Bruno are.’
‘In this weather?’ Biddy wondered, listening as the rain continued to pelt down. ‘Sure you wouldn’t like to wait a while?’
But after her dream, Edela was not inclined to wait another moment.
Eydis stood, smoothing down her dress, adjusting her belt. ‘I’ll come. I want to see how they are too.’
Edela frowned.
‘What is it?’ Eydis asked, sensing her hesitation.
‘It?’ Edela played coy as she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. ‘Oh, nothing, apart from being half asleep,’ she smiled, glancing at Biddy who was eyeing her with suspicion. ‘That rain kept me awake for most of the night, I’m sure.’
That only sharpened Biddy’s suspicions. She knew very well, being wide awake herself with those two annoying puppies, that Edela has slept soundly for most of the night. ‘I’ll come too,’ she said, helping Eydis on with her cloak. ‘May as well see how everyone is in the hall. See if there’s anything I can do.’
Edela nodded distractedly, her mind already focused on what she was going to say to Ayla. She couldn’t talk to Bruno yet.
She didn’t know if she could trust him.
Morac was at the door early much to Eadmund’s annoyance. He appeared to have an eye on his servant, which irritated Eadmund further, remembering how poorly he had treated Runa.
Not to mention Fyn.
‘Jaeger has his men out, stretched from one end of the square to the other,’ Morac announced, helping himself to a slice of bread, which, though cold, was still soft and better than the day-old flatbreads he had eaten for his own breakfast. He grabbed a slice of cheese and rolled it up, stuffing it into his mouth.