Dark Goddess

by Sarwat Chadda

  Ivan groaned as he eased himself against the rock. The alcove under the rock was cold, but with enough pine branches the worst of the wind was cut off.

  Billi shuffled in next to Ivan and checked his splint.

  Then they huddled together under blankets while using the flight map and GPS to establish their approximate position. South was the Pripyat River, which crossed through into Belarus and Ukraine beyond. Maybe, if the river wasn’t totally iced up, they could organize a lift from a boat. Or at least Ivan could. Billi still had work to do.

  The leg looked even worse in the firelight. Billi had done her best to patch the deep cut, but the crude bandages-torn strips of blanket-were already soaked. Ivan just lay there, eyes closed, utterly still. No breath stirred. Billi touched his hand.

  Her heart seemed to stop. It was ice-cold.

  “Ivan?”

  “Mmm?” His eyelids fluttered and opened.

  “Just checking.”

  Thank you, God.

  He looked up at her, grimly determined, grimly hanging on. Ivan wasn’t going to die tonight.

  Billi swallowed back her tears. Not like this. She’d already lost Kay-she wouldn’t lose Ivan too. Whatever was ahead she would face it with Ivan. No matter what.

  Then she sat listening to the trees groaning in the wind.

  “Tell me about Arthur,” said Ivan. He lay against the rock, gazing into the fire. Billi lowered the scarf she’d wrapped around her face. “What makes you think I want to discuss my dad with you?”

  Ivan laughed. “Billi, what difference could it possibly make now?”

  The flames waved and hissed as the snowflakes danced. Her father had brought her up ever since her mother had been murdered. “It’s been him and me since I was five.”

  “Is that why you wanted to be a Templar? To be like him?” Billi shook her head. “No. He made me join the Order. I hated him.”

  Hated him. Yes, it was true. She had hated him for years. Her training had begun at ten, and it had been brutal. Most of the scars Ivan had seen had come from her countless hours in the armory. The more you bleed in practice, the less you bleed in battle. That’s what her father believed. So she’d practiced with swords, with daggers, with anything that couldbe calleda weapon. Again and again she’d turned up at school with bruises or cuts, even with a broken wrist once. But her dad had only pushed her harder so that when the time came, she’d be ready.

  And the time had come, sooner than expected. She’d faced the Angel of Death and she had been ready.

  “Then I understood why my father was the way he was. I saw things differently.”

  “What changed?” Ivan shuffled closer, adjusting the blanket so it covered them both.

  “Kay. The boy I killed.” She closed her eyes and there he was.

  She stares into his eyes as creeping death turns them dull. His blood is warm on her hand as it trickles along the blade, and his chest slowly rises, then sinks.

  “It’s okay, Billi,” he says. His breath is warm with fading life. Then his breath stops.

  “I loved him and I killed him. I had no choice.” Billi felt her chest tightening.

  “Is that how you feel now? That you have no choice?” Ivan put his hand on Billi’s. “That to stop Baba Yaga you must kill Vasilisa?”

  Billi sighed and gazed deep into the flames.

  “This is what your father would do, yes?”

  “Maybe my dad’s way is the only way.” Billi blinked and drew her sleeve across her face.

  Elaine’s clues to destroying Baba Yaga were useless without the figurine, and they were running out of time and options. Billi had to prepare herself. She had to be more like Arthur: cold and heartless. That seemed to be her future, no matter what. To be like her father. Just like her father.

  “That is a sad way to live, I think.”

  Billi turned sharply, but she could see that Ivan didn’t meanitasa criticism. Justa fact. There wasno arguing with the truth.

  “For a Templar, it’s the only way,” she answered. She was afraid of what he must think of her. But Ivan said nothing. He just put his arm around her.

  “My father had noble ideals. He knew that evil had to be fought, and that good men died.” Ivan stared into the flames, lost in old memories. “I wish I had fought beside him.” He looked at Billi, smiling softly. “I will fight beside you, Billi.”

  He trusted her, and Billi was grateful for that.

  The night had become eerily silent. Billi hadn’t noticed the gale die away, but now her breathing seemed to be the loudest thing in the forest. The fire was going well; the flames cast their caressing heat over them both, and the rock face glowed with soft orange light.

  Billi closed her eyes as Ivan brushed loose strands of hair away from her face, and his fingertips grazed her cheek. He kissed her forehead, his lips leaving a warm imprint on her skin. Billi raised her head and felt his lips press down onto hers, as his hands went to the back of her head, urgently pulling her closer. If the world ended tomorrow, at least she’d have this.

  The snow crunched as a weight settled on it. The musty smell of the forest was joined with a new odor: the arrival of a hunter.

  Billi sprang up, staring into the darkness. She held out her hand, and without saying anything, Ivan slapped the Glock into her palm. The flames from the aircraft had withered to a few smoldering embers, but the shallow circle was still lit by their dull, golden glow. Beyond it was a dark tapestry, impossible to penetrate.

  The hairs on her nape stiffened as the barest breeze whispered out of the encompassing blackness like a curse. It was cold, and on it was the stench of blood.

  Alone wolf stepped into the clearing. The tree branches overhead cast a net of phantom light and darkness over its silvery fur, so it looked as if it were built of shadows. Its lips turned up on either side of its snout, revealing long, ivory fangs.

  Billi breathed slowly as she raised the pistol.

  “You going to shoot it?” whispered Ivan.

  “Just wait.”

  It was pure wolf except the eyes. They were human-light brown and glowing softly in the darkness. A loony, then. Billi wondered why it wasn’t in its monstrous form-half-man half-beast. Maybe over time the wolf aspect grew stronger until one day it awoke, forgetting it had ever walked on two legs. It patrolled back and forth in the shadows, wary but testing. There was about sixteen feet between them, but Billi knew it could cover that in an instant. If the first bullet didn’t kill it, then she was dead meat.

  What are you waiting for? Billi cursed. Just take a step into the light and give me one clear shot.

  But the creature’s haunches stayed loose and relaxed, even though the hairs on its shoulders bristled with eagerness. It wasn’t stupid.

  Then it threw back its head and howled. It closed its eyes as it did, and the wild song was long, powerful, and deep. Billi felt the sound down to her bones.

  Eventually the beast dropped its head, tongue lolling in its black-gummed jaws. The sound of its cry echoed before disappearing into the sparkling night.

  For a moment the forest listened silently. Even the trees stopped their incessant murmuring.

  Then, out in the distance, the howl was answered.

  More wolves called to the silver one, each cry adding on to and amplifying the one before. The sounds rolled over the forest like a wave, soaking Billi and Ivan with fear.

  Ivan’s fist held his crutch as if it were a club, but he faltered, most of his strength gone. Billi scanned her surroundings.

  “We have to move,” she said. She glanced at the wolf, but it was already retreating into the darkness. It would wait for the pack, then they would attack together.

  “I can’t,” said Ivan. He lowered the crutch, and Billi wasn’t sure if he was asking for help getting up or pleading to stay.

  “I can’t protect us here.” It was true. The clearing meant the wolves could come, would come, from any and all directions. Even the rock she and Ivan were sheltering under w
as a risk: they could be attacked from above. She needed somewhere easier to defend.

  “Where’s this river?” Billi asked. If their backs were to the water, at least they couldn’t be surrounded. It was still pretty desperate: she’d have no retreat.

  “It’s too far…” Ivan looked at her. “You’ll have to leave me here. Go without me.”

  “Not bloody likely.”

  Billi helped Ivan up. She handed him the pistol and picked up her knife.

  “Lean on me,” she said. She pushed her left shoulder under Ivan’s right armpit. He was heavy, and they sank deeper into the snow as she took his weight. They weren’t going anywhere quickly.

  The howls started up again and gathered into a chorus. The wave gathered in size and rose higher over the trembling forest.

  How many of them are there?

  They stumbled away from the crash site and into the darkness. The snow hid the roots, fallen tree trunks, and potholes that covered the forest floor. Ivan barely supported himself, and Billi was sweating fiercely after only a dozen steps.

  They plowed through the thick snow. Billi could hear the snapping of twigs and the crunching of paws on snow getting closer. She even caught glances of movement beyond the tall avenues of trees. Ivan fired at the shadows, not hitting anything, but making enough noise to keep the wolves back. Billi stumbled blindly onward, ignoring Ivan’s groans of pain as she resorted to dragging him by his coat. Sharp twigs scratched her, roots tripped her, and branches grabbed at her. It seemed the forest itself was conspiring to hold her down.

  They became tangled in the boughs crisscrossing their path, and Billi fought hard to free herself. She pulled sharply and Ivan slipped. His feet cut hers away, and suddenly they were both falling, sliding down an ice-coated slope. The stars spun above her head, and Billi crashed onto a solid, rock-hard surface. Ivan landed beside her, groaning.

  Ice. They’d hit the river and it was completely frozen. Billi glanced back at the steep bank they’d just tumbled down and saw that the trees ran right up to its edge. Beyond, maybe a hundred yards away, was the other bank and more of the same. If she could reach it, she’d have the high ground. It was a chance. A small one.

  Ivan pulled her sleeve, and she followed his gaze back to the riverbank.

  One by one they appeared like spirits summoned out of the forest itself. Their pelts shone pearly white, and their eyes burned with hunger. Eight, Billi guessed, maybe more-it didn’t matter.

  More than enough.

  One sniffed the grooved path Billi and Ivan had left as they’d slid. Its black snout wrinkled, and it snarled, eager but wary of the steepness of the bank.

  “Shoot it,” Billi urged.

  “When it’s closer,” muttered Ivan. “This is my last bullet.”

  Billi wiped her hand and settled the kukri into a good firm grip. She peered across the ice at the wolf.

  Their eyes met. It stood motionless, daring Billi to attack, its black lips curling up, revealing a sharp set of fangs. A low laugh rumbled in its throat.

  C’mon, try it, it seemed to say.

  Ivan cursed as he dragged himself over the ice. Billi backed up, sliding slowly, keeping the knife up and her eyes on the silver wolf.

  The wolves started barking, howling, and snapping; their quarry was creeping away from them, and they didn’t like it. The wolf’s grin dropped, and it put a thin, silver-furred forepaw on the muddy slope.

  “Let’s get going, Ivan,” Billi whispered.

  “Don’t wait for me.” But he’d got a rhythm going, a click and slide as he began to speed up-not fast, but steady. The ice creaked, and Billi heard the rumble of the river beneath.

  The wolf ran down the slope. It slipped, its legs momentarily splaying out, and it spun slowly, unable to control its movements.

  Ivan fired. The wolf rolled onto its belly, and the bullet scraped across its shoulder, drawing only a yelp of surprise.

  Shit.

  Billi grabbed Ivan. With arms locked, they began slipping and sliding across the frozen river, their breath steaming out in sparkling clouds. Billi saw the fear in her eyes reflected in Ivan’s. The wild desperation to reach the other side.

  Then Billi heard the soft patter of wolf paws, and pushed Ivan away as she turned.

  The beast leaped, smashing on top of her. The weight of the wolf blew all the air out of her, and they crashed onto the ice. The impact jarred every bone in Billi’s body, and all she could do was ram her forearm into the beast’s jaws as it sought out her throat. Burning pain erupted as its long fangs tore through the coat’s fabric and into her flesh. Billi screamed and jammed her knife into its side; blood spurted over her hand as she twisted it. The wolf pulled her this way and that, ripping the muscle and sprinkling her blood over its coat and the ice.

  “Billi!” she heard as the ice cracked like a pistol shot, sharp and sudden. The ground tilted under her, and freezing water covered her face. She gasped for air and clawed for a solid hold before an orchestra of shattering sounded. Then the ice collapsed, and she and the wolf vanished into the endless dark of the river.

  31

  T HE FREEZING COLDNESS CRUSHES HER, TIGHTENING around her lungs, squeezing the last few bubbles out, and she watches them rise like silver balls of life up through the blackness toward the vanishing light.

  Billi rolled as the river surged around them, trying to twist free of the wolf’s jaws. All finesse evaporated as the pair fought with desperate savagery. She clamped her teeth shut, fearfully hanging on to what little air she still held, and sank her fingers into the thick, slimy muzzle, forcing the jaws away from her face. Despite the enclosing, roaring darkness, the atavistic eyes of the wild creature bore into her. It shook her savagely, but Billi dug her knife in deeper. Claws ripped along her ribs, but she barely felt them now; her body was numb and her bones had locked into icicles.

  The wolf’s heavy pelt weighed it down, and they began to sink. Bubbles shook out of the creature’s trembling body, and it jerked spasmodically, thrashing its limbs as panic took control. Its tongue lolled and its chest heaved. The fire in its eyes dimmed. As Billi kicked up, she saw the wolf rolling away, loose and limp in the current. Her lungs screamed, and blood pounded behind her eyes.

  Vasilisa.

  The stark, brilliant image of the young girl rose through her dull, slow mind. Billi kicked again, rising slowly. She had to find Vasilisa. If Billi died now, they all died. Still the river summoned her downward to join it. Billi kicked again. Her limbs rose and sank limply, but the light above brightened. The river’s surface was only a few feet away. She could see the moon, bright and heavy and huge above her.

  Billi pummeled the ice with her bare fists until her last breath ran out as a futile cry in the silent blackness of the waters.

  Then the ice exploded. Jagged shards stung her face while hands dug into her arms and hoisted her out of the water. The cold air shook her back to life. Pain ran through every vein, filling Billi with beautiful agony. She curled up on the ice, shivering uncontrollably. She was in pain, and pain was for the living.

  Ivan must have saved her. She turned over onto her back, her vision clouded with dizziness. A figure moved against the near-full moon and bent over her. Hot, feverish breath swamped her face, but Billi gazed up at her savior, fighting the black sleep. She was so, so tired now-too tired even to shiver.

  Apair of bright green eyes gazed down at her. Fingers hooked with talons caressed her face, smoothing away her wet hair. A gray-pelted wolf, standing on two legs, spoke. Its voice rumbled as its lips crudely mimicked human speech.

  “Run,” said Old Gray.

  32

  BILLI RAN. TEETH SNAPPED AT HER HEELS IF SHE slowed, and rough fingers dragged her up if she fell.

  At first she could barely stand-she was battered and exhausted, her arm bleeding heavily. All around her were darting shadows and howling monsters. The pack, led by Old Gray, drove her into the black heart of the ancient forest. But as she went deeper into it, a
s the dawn sun slowly tinged the night sky with purple, Billi grew stronger.

  Her heartbeat thundered and her skin burned with fever. Her body wasn’t her own: something else growled deep in her guts and clawed its way through her chest, desperate to be free. Pine needles brushed her, and she glowered at the fat moon face in the star-laden sky. Hot, panting breath washed over her, and rough hands shoved her along the snow.

  Old Gray faced her, her yellow fangs inches away.

  The other wolves gathered around her, each one eager and bristling with a hunter’s fury. They bit at Billi’s heels, and if it hadn’t been for the older werewolf, Billi knew they’d have torn her to pieces. She stumbled over a half-hidden root and sprawled over the frozen earth. She wanted to stay there, push the burning fever out.

  “Please,” Billi whispered. What was happening to her? Abone-chilling growl rumbled by her ear.

  “Get up, Templar.”

  Old Gray pulled her to her feet and pushed Billi on. They spilled into a small clearing, and Billi fell under the moonlight. She stared up at the near-full orb. Its light shone down on her, and passion seized her heart. She wanted to scream, to cry. To howl. Billi bit down hard; she wasn’t going to free the animal raging in her breast. The Beast Within battered itself against the cage of her will.

  I’m changing. How? She shook her head, trying to understand what was happening. She’d been bitten-when she was on the ice. She was infected.

  Elaine had warned her that older wolves carried more potent infection. This was nothing like when she’d been scratched by the red werewolf.

  I am not a beast.

  She ran on. And how she ran. Suddenly the forest whispered to her. She glided over the uneven ground, her preternatural senses sniffing out the low branches, the twisted roots, the dense bramble walls. The claw wounds along her sides tingled and pulsed warmly. She felt free and flooded with power.

  Bodies-hot, musty, and animal-moved about her. A huge campfire blazed against the wall of trees. Billi was on fire, and the cloth on her skin was suffocating. She wanted the snow to sting her skin; she wanted to feel the icy wind wrap her body. She pulled at her coat, tearing off the cloth, not caring that her nails raked her arms. The fire rose higher and higher, and the others danced and howled around her. A large wolf jumped at her, knocking her to the ground. It snapped at her, then scampered away. She squeezed her eyes closed.