by Ward, Tracey
“Is he to be King or are you?”
“Just what are you getting at?”
“I’m wondering why you didn’t simply tell him ‘no’.”
“I understand she’s your friend, but she’s mine as well. I would protect her against anything if I could which is why I finally agreed to the marriage. They told me what will happen to her if I didn’t.”
“So you marrying her, that’s your solution to stopping all of it? Doing exactly as they want?”
“I was going to buy her time. I thought marrying me might not be the worst thing in the world. It would get her away from her father at least.”
“You’re trading one devil for another.”
“Roarke,” Mum says quietly, meeting my eyes, “you need to shut up for awhile.”
“I what?”
“Shut up,” she repeats clearly. “You’re nothing but vinegar right now and I understand it, I sympathize with it, but I’ve also grown tired of it. No more.”
“I’m not allowed to speak anymore?” I ask incredulously. I’m a grown man, the future leader of the Tem Aedha, and my mother is commanding me to ‘shut up’?
“Not until you can act like the man I raised you to be.”
“Why were you so interested in the High Priest?” Elaine asks, her soft voice cutting through the mounting tension.
I look at her, feeling a pang in my chest. Beyond her blond hair she looks nothing like Anna, but apparently that one connection is all I need. One small reminder to threaten to rip me wide open.
“Do you think he can stop all of this?” she pushes hopefully.
“No,” I tell her, shaking my head firmly. “No he won’t stop it.”
“I could have told you that,” Frederick mutters.
“No, you’re right, of course,” Elaine agrees sadly. “He would never displease the Saints. He lives for them.”
“No, he doesn’t live for them,” I tell her. “He is them.”
She frowns. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I believe Roarke is right,” Da says. “They can occupy a body for periods of time. Your High Priest is likely one of the Elementals.”
“But, no. He’s a man. He’s… how? What happens to the person inside the body? The person born to it?” Elaine stammers.
“He’s not a man. Neither is the body. Not anymore. That’s why he can stay in it for so long.”
Her hand flies to her mouth. “It’s dead? They’re occupying a… a dead body?”
Da nods and I watch her pale skin fade further. She leans over swiftly and vomits on the ground. I start to stand to go to her but am surprised when Frederick gets to her first. He presses his hand flat against her back, making a light patting motion. He doesn’t say a word, only touches her to let her know he’s there.
“Are you alright, Elaine?” Da asks, pouring water into a mug and placing it in front of her.
“I—I will be, thank you. I’m sorry,” she stutters, her voice surprisingly strong for her condition and, well, for being her.
“It’s a disturbing thought. We should have prepared you for it.”
“It’s not simply the idea of it, it’s… it’s that I’ve met him. He’s kissed my hand. I’ve kissed his cheek. I—“
Whatever else she was about to say is lost in the dirt at her feet along with her dinner. We all wait patiently for her to recover herself, none of us making eye contact. When she sits up and takes a sip of water she looks numb.
“So the Priest is one of them? He’s a spirit living in a vacant body?” Frederick asks Da.
“It would make sense.”
“None of this makes sense,” Elaine grumbles miserably.
Da looks at me. “It has to be the Sylph. The Air.”
I nod in agreement. “The Undines are too chaotic. Too unorganized. They’d never manage it, especially not for centuries.”
“How do we kill it?”
Da, Frederick and I all look at Elaine in shock. She’s still hunched over, her small hands clutching the brown mug with white knuckled force, but her eyes are fierce.
“We don’t quite know how,” Da tells her slowly.
She nods quickly. “We’ll find a way. There has to be a way. You said the Fire is gone so something happened to it. Somehow it died or left or something. Who do we ask? If you don’t know, then who would?”
“The Earth,” Patrick suggests.
“It’s not as easy as asking a person,” Da explains. “It’s rare to speak directly to an Elemental. I’ve never known anyone to do it.”
“As your son will tell you,” Anna says, stepping out of the shadows of the forest, “all you need to do is ask.”
She’s radiant. Her long, blond curls spill down over her shoulders, contrasting sharply with the dark green of her flowing dress. It looks identical to the dress she wore on her thirteenth birthday.
“Anna,” I breathe, standing, ready to run to her and crush her to me.
“No,” she says.
“What? Are you… are you a ghost?”
“Oh no!” Elaine cries, tears springing to her eyes. “Annabel Lee, no.”
“I am not a ghost,” Anna says.
“Then what are you because you’re not her?” I demand, my relief and joy turning to rage that boils in my veins.
“It’s the Ila,” Mum says reverently.
“She’s right,” the Earth says. “I chose to appear to you in this form because it was one you all knew and loved.”
“It’s a poor damn choice,” I growl.
It’s unfazed by my anger. In fact, to my surprise, it nods in agreement. “I don’t appear to be good at this. Your Annabel Lee told me the same thing.”
“You appeared to her?”
“Yes. In the cave when I explained to her what her role in this game was.”
“Game?” Frederick asks incredulously. “Countless people have died. Annabel is about to die. This is no game.”
“Oh, but it is. Just because the stakes are high doesn’t make it any less of a game. But fear not.” the Ila says with a sly grin. “We’re about to win it all.”
“What do you mean? Against the others?”
“Yes. The reign of the Wind and Water is about to come to a close. But it all hinges on Annabel Lee doing her part. And you.”
I glance around at all of us standing beside the table. “You mean all of us? What part do we play in all of this?”
“Not all of you. Not even you, Roarke. You’ve done your part already. I only need you.”
The Ila points directly at Frederick.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t even understand most of this.”
“You understand enough. You’ll do what must be done.”
“You don’t know me. How can you know that?”
“Because I do in fact know you. I know you want to not only free your friend but your kingdom as well. You mourn the loss of your mother, especially now that you know what was done to her. And what if I told you that if you play your part, your mother’s soul will be freed?”
“Is that true? Can you save her?”
“No. But you can.”
“How? I’ll do anything.”
“Frederick, wait,” Patrick cautions, gripping Frederick’s arm. “Slow down.”
“Why? You heard him, my mother can be freed. We all can.”
“But at what cost? What does it want in return?”
All eyes fall on Anna’s form, waiting.
“I want what you want,” it says serenely. “The end of tyranny on this island.”
“And that’s all? Nothing else?” I push.
“What else would I want?”
“The others wanted souls so I’m imagining something equally horrific.”
The Ila chuckles. “My motives are not so sinister. My desires not nearly so depraved.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Patrick asks.
“You don’t. Annabel Lee didn’t either, but she took a chance.”
“And look how well that’s turned out for her,” I mutter angrily.
Anna’s face smiles at me. “She’s exactly where she’s meant to be.”
“You son of a bitch!” I shout, shaking with the desire to destroy this thing in front of me. But I can’t because, real or no, there’s no way I could lay a hand on Anna. “You sent her to her death and now you’re smiling in my face with her lips!”
“Ro,” my mother says, coming to stand beside me. “Stop. Breathe.”
“I should kill you right now.”
“Roarke!”
“And you would succeed,” the Ila replies clearly, the smile washing from Anna’s face. It’s looking at me pointedly through her eyes.
“Is that…” I glance back at Frederick. I can see it in his eyes. He understands it too. “Is that what it would take to kill an Elemental? Kill it in human form?”
I look back at Anna, at the Earth, but she’s gone.
“Where did she go?” Elaine asks tremulously.
“Is that what it meant?” Frederick asks. “Is that how you kill one?”
“I imagine it didn’t stick around to answer unless Roarke chose to try the theory out on her,” Patrick says wryly.
Elaine touches Frederick’s arm where Patrick did moments ago.
“The High Priest,” she says.
“That’s your part to play,” I agree. “None of us can get close to him. Only you can. And if we’re right, if you kill him while he’s in human form, you’ll eliminate the Sylph. Just as the Idris was eliminated.”
“But is that something we want?” Da asks.
I look at him, shocked. “Are you being serious?”
“I am. The island has descended into this miserable state with the loss of one Elemental. What will happen when we lose two?”
“He has a point,” Patrick agrees. “I don’t totally understand it, but I know he has a point.”
“He means the balance,” I say with a nod. “The island is imbalanced without Fire so without Air as well, who knows what will happen.”
“Two is balanced,” Elaine suggests.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean just what I said. Put three coins on a scale and one side will sink heavier. Put only two coins on and it’s level.”
“Could it be that simple?” Patrick asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not. But then what’s Anna’s role in all of this? It said she’s right where she’s meant to be but why does she have to die?”
“Maybe she doesn’t,” Elaine says eagerly. “Maybe when Frederick kills the Priest, she’s freed.”
“But even if the Sylph is gone,” Mum says. “What about the Water? They’re still in high numbers.”
“But they’re nothing like the Sylph,” Da reminds her. “They’re mindless drones at this point. I believe if the Sylph were out of the way and not leading them, the Ila could take control.”
“And again,” Patrick says heavily, “is that what we want?”
“Either way,” Frederick says, slamming his palm down hard on the table, startling everyone, “I’m killing that Priest tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Frederick and Elaine leave immediately, Frederick ready and eager to murder a man. Or a god, I suppose. I don’t ask how he’s going to do it or when. I don’t even ask if he needs help or if he’s sure he’s up for it. The fire in his eyes and the venom in his veins tells me he will succeed or die trying.
As he and Elaine leave, a storm begins to brew. The wind is whipping through the tree branches making them rustle and groan like voices as the stars peek down, a thousand eyes watching. The chill in the air is gone, the pressure dropping like a stone in water. A humid heat is rising as thunder rumbles in the distance out over the ocean.
It sounds like a warning.
My parents round up the village to explain the situation as best they can. The basic message is this; tonight will be dangerous, stay inside. As they deliver their message to the crowd of Tem Aedha, Patrick pulls me aside.
“You made a good point that I’m surprised no one addressed.”
“Why does Anna have to die?”
It’s nagged at my mind since the Ila disappeared.
Patrick nods. “I understand what you’ve done, or at least I think I do, and I understand what Frederic is going to attempt to do. But what I don’t understand is Anna’s part in this.”
“They wanted her, the Air and the Water. She was to be the next sacrifice.”
“Yes, but she’s given herself to the Earth. She’s circumvented their plans. She should be useless to them now. So who is she still valuable to?”
“Aside from me?” I ask with a sad smile.
He claps his warm hand on my shoulder and squeezes it. “Aside from all of us.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “I don’t know. The Ila, I suppose.”
“Exactly. Why would it matter to the Earth that she die? And why hasn’t it happened yet? What does it still need her for?”
“She’s a bargaining chip,” I whisper.
“Once she’s bound to the Earth, can it be broken? If she’s still alive, can the Earth break that bond and hand her over to the others?”
“Anna asked me the same thing and I still don’t know. It’s old magic, something my people did in our homeland where we’d lived for all of history. We’ve never used it here before. No one alive today has ever seen it done.”
“Why not?”
I rub my hands over my face roughly, groaning and feeling like a fool. “Because we didn’t know if we could trust the Ila here.”
“And now?”
“Now I wonder if I haven’t made a mistake. A horrible, deadly, terrible mistake.”
“You did it to try and help her. She knows that.”
“No matter what happens, no matter where she goes, I’ll be with her,” I say, unwilling to accept such a noble mantle for such an awful failing. “At least I know whatever fate I’ve consigned her to, it’s my fate as well.”
“Could the Earth be using her to barter with the Air and Water? It’s taken something they wanted, something they were desperate to possess and for what purpose? All it’s done so far is anger them.”
“You think it’s looking to make a deal with them for something?”
Patrick nods slowly, thinking. “And Frederick may be the double cross.”
“But it changes nothing. I still can’t get to Anna, not if she’s in the castle. And even if I could, I can’t save her. What the Elements have done to her is not something we can undo.”
“I think we should go to her anyway. I can get you into the castle. We’ll find a way and we’ll figure it out from there.” He meets my eyes, grimacing slightly. “No matter what happens tonight, your place is with her.”
When I tell Mum I’m going, she only nods, her eyes distant and calm. Da holds me tightly for a moment before letting go and telling me to be careful. I promise him I will but I can’t look away from Mum. The look in her eyes haunts me. It’s the look she gets when she’s seen something.
***
When we arrive at the castle, the storm is in full swing. We went the long way because honestly I don’t know if I can trust the Ila right now. I’m not taking shortcuts that rely on it only to find myself trapped in a cave somewhere, safely out of its way. Rain begins to fall heavily, pelting down at an angle as the gusting winds toss it sideways. The salty tang of sea water lays thick on your tongue with every breath and frothy white caps can be seen in the distance. I imagine The Shallows, were a soul foolish enough to go near them and witness it, are solid white, interspersed with the dark slithering shadows of the Undines.
“It’s happening again!” Patrick shouts over the boom of thunder and the howling of the wind. We left his horse in the village assuming the storm would spook it. The storm is spooking me, so I imagine the horse would have abandoned us long ago.
I nod in agreement, though I doubt he can see me. The sky
is turning pitch black. When lightning strikes, the black clouds flash gray, stark white and wrathful.
“They’re angry, that’s for sure!” I shout back.
Finally we make it into the castle courtyard drenched to the bone and exhausted from walking into the wind.
“We’ll enter through the kitchen!” Patrick shouts, pulling at my arm. “It’s over here, near the gardens.”
“I know,” I reply, my voice low.
He pauses, letting go of my arm, then nods.
“I imagine you remember.”
“I remember everything.”
“Keep hold of that. Sometimes our memories are all we’re left with in this world.”
I imagine he means Anna’s mother. I always wondered from the way Anna talked about the two of them if there wasn’t something more there, something that she never wanted or bothered to see.
“Who’s there?!” a woman calls from the kitchen door.
“Duke Walburton!” Patrick calls back, then glances at me, looking unsure. “And…uh…”
“Roarke!” she exclaims, her hand going to her heart. “Is that you?!”
“Yes, Mrs. Pomphel.”
“What is the news on Annabel Lee?” Patrick shouts.
The old woman’s eyes tighten as she pulls her cloak tighter against the wind and rain. “She’s not here.”
He freezes. “Where is she?”
Her eyes flicker to me. I feel my stomach clench.
“The Tombs.”
I double over, my mouth open and watering as though I’ll be sick. I have to brace my hands on my thighs to keep from toppling to the ground. Breathing deeply through my nose and out through my mouth, I wait until it passes. When I come to my senses I can feel a hand on the back of my head, smoothing my hair gently.
“You need to go now,” Mrs. Pomphel says sharply, her voice a harsh contrast to her touch. “There’s no time for this.”
I nod my head, take two more breathes and stand. The world flares out bright like lightning. I wobble for a moment as it dims too darkly then rights itself. I head for the gates, running behind Patrick.
The sky is low. I can feel the electricity in the air as though it were humming through my veins and igniting my blood. We clear the gate and follow the road that bends out toward The Shallows before banking to the east end of the island. I’m wary of being so close to the cliff’s edge as the wind shifts directions wildly, pushing first at my face then my back. It’s taunting us. Willing us to fall.