I didn't think we could make it back to the steam carriage before Neva or the hut reached us, so I grabbed Nell's hand and prepared to face the ancient witch together.
When a tall dark-haired figure came out the front door, I almost unleashed my magic. It was Pavel. He wore a dark jacket with iron ribs on the front. A rapier dangled from his hip.
I'd forgotten that he was her guardian now. The odds were even worse than I’d thought.
"You shouldn't have come, Mother," he said when he saw me.
At least he had the decency to look disappointed.
"If you walk away from this," he continued, "my mistress might look favorably upon you."
When I hesitated, Nell tried to pull away from me, but I squeezed her fingers tight. "I'm not leaving."
My son sighed and knocked his thick, dark hair out of his eyes with the brush of his hand.
Neva strode onto the rickety porch in a dark robe with faded multicolored tassels hanging off every edge and corner. The style and age of the garment was something from another time and place, possibly her homeland, and spoke to the importance of what was about to transpire. Neva had bound her hair in a long braid that hung over her shoulder in business-like fashion. For a brief moment, the glimmer of a diadem appeared on her forehead.
"Give me the girl," said Neva, looking down her enormous nose. "I would prefer to do this quietly. But if I must, I will bring the full force of my powers against you."
I pulled Nell tighter against me. "I won't let you murder this girl so you can murder the other versions of yourself in turn."
Neva lifted her chin in surprise. She hadn't thought that I would figure it out.
"Well, Katerina, that changes things," she said with an eyebrow raised. "Since you know that you won't be traveling to Russia with Morwen, I'll offer a different deal."
Knowing that any delay would increase the chances of Franklin and the others arriving, I nodded to show I was listening. Of course, it was probable that Neva was more powerful than the group of us together, and the delay might only ensure their death, along with mine.
"When I told you about the Nightfell Games," she began with a wink, "I was telling a bit of a lie. I'm sure you're aghast at my dishonesty. The games weren't a way to pass the time midst a dying universe. They were a way to determine who might survive. Magic was a known quantity in Trevalorian, and I was a member of its highest order. The games were a way to find out who was the strongest amongst us, without wasting our gifts. For those with the power may pass their gift to another, if they are willing to give up their life. So we played our games while the universe gave its last spasms, and in the end, I came out as the lone survivor, strong enough to survive the collapse. So you can imagine that I'm not particularly worried about a fledgling sorceress and a brook horse, or even your friends who are hurrying this way with mundane weapons, but they will be far, far too late. But I have no desire to kill you, Katerina. You made this day possible, and I do not make enemies when I can help it. I've done enough of that in my day. Give me the girl. You can't protect her anyway."
I looked into Nell's rounded eyes and tried to smile, but the fear of death turned the expression into a grimace. Nell closed her eyes and slipped her fingers out of my hand.
It was one thing to tell someone else to not give in to their instincts. But now that I was faced with the same dilemma, I felt the weight of that decision. The strategic advantage of giving up Nell didn't weigh as much as my fear of death. There was a certainty to Neva that gave me little hope. To help Nell would be to fight against my instinct to survive, to choose to do the right thing, despite the finality to the decision.
Nell trudged forward, wading into the water in the direction of the hut. She was going to save me from my decision by giving herself up willingly.
I looked at my hands, expecting an easy answer. There was none.
"Stop, Nell," I said, then looking up, "Stop."
Nell was up to her waist. She looked back to me, expectant hope in her eyes.
"I can protect you," I said. "It's why Neva wants me to give you up without a fight. Because she knows I can stop her. She must think me beetle-headed to believe that she doesn't want to make another enemy. The gods are her enemies, so what's one more insignificant woman?"
Neva sighed. "You're not making this easy."
"I never have," I said. "You fear the prophecies in my head. You know that they give me some protection."
"You're a fool if you think they'll save you from everything. There are ways to circumvent them. The prophecies protect themselves, not you. They're not an impenetrable shield. And they won't protect her. You can't stop me forever. Even if you somehow win this day, I will get her the next time, or the time after that," said Neva.
Nell, looking confused, started to wade back towards me. I encouraged her with a wave of my hand.
"Then I'll stop you again, as long as it takes," I said. "And each time, I'll be stronger."
"Well, then," said Neva, clasping her hands together and giving the intimation of a formal bow, "I shall have to make sure that I do this right the first time. Pavel, you deal with your mother while I take the girl."
Without delay, Pavel leapt from the porch with the rapier in his grip, tossing a ribbon of yellowish sorcery in my direction. I dove to the right, away from Nell. When he reached me, the oestium rapier was in my hand and we crossed blades furiously.
Gone was the cautious testing of our first fight in the Shard of Time. My son attacked with vigor, taking chances with sloppy attacks that hit hard enough to back me up and keep me from counterattacking. It was a reckless strategy, but it kept me from interfering with Neva.
Nell had moved to the center of the water. Her appearance had returned to the wild water creature that had easily ensnared me with her gaze. A waterspout swirled around Nell, whipping her foamy hair out like lightning in a storm.
Still standing on the porch, Neva had her gnarled hand outstretched. She fought against Nell's waterspout with a confident demeanor.
My battle wasn't going well. I tried to lash out with my sorcery, but at close range, the attack was easy to deflect. This match would be determined by blade.
Pavel forced me up the hill, an unwise tactic as it gave me the advantage of position, if I could stop his furious advance. While he pressed me, I had to keep my balance and avoid trapping myself against a tree trunk.
I was able to create an opening when Pavel made a sweeping attack, bringing his blade too wide. I countered the blow and thrust my weapon into his chest. When the tip did not pierce his chest, but was deflected, I barely got my rapier back into position for the counterattack.
I was stunned by what had happened until I noticed a ghostly umbilical cord linking Pavel to Neva. It flared into existence for a second or two as power rippled along the conduit, before returning to invisibility. The protection of the True Caul was being extended to her guardian. I had no way of beating him.
With the realization plain on my face, Pavel attacked in earnest, giving up the pretense that a defense was necessary. His purpose was to either kill me or make me flee the fight.
How could I beat the True Caul? I knew enough of this world's history with the artifact to know what it could accomplish. Alexander the Great had been invincible until he'd tried to drown himself.
Sparing a glance to the battle between Neva and Nell, I had an idea. Changing my stance to a more balanced defense, I maneuvered to the left and eventually was able to turn Pavel and myself around. He realized what I was doing too late, since giving him the higher ground was tactically unwise, but once I was in that position, he resumed his relentless assault.
Backing down the hill, I tripped over a root hidden by the broken leaves and fell backwards. I ended my summersault with a blast of sorcery, right as Pavel made a leaping attack, catching him in the midsection.
Rather than press my attack, I ran down the hill and around the lake, yelling to Nell as I ran.
"When I give you the
opening, take Pavel into the water. Keep him from interfering. Stay at the bottom with him."
Pavel was in pursuit, but I had a good head start. My breath came out as mist in the chilly night. I rounded the corner, knocking away the cattails, and leapt upon the porch using my magic to lift me.
Neva turned and threw something in my direction. As it flew through the air, it sparked and sizzled. I deflected it with my rapier, the aftereffects scorching my face, but otherwise doing no harm.
She tilted her head at me and frowned at my weapon. She hadn't expected it to survive the attack.
After a stolen glance towards the lake, I saw that Nell had pulled Pavel into the water. He had a vacant stare as he waded into the depths. I hoped this would put a drain on the True Caul's power, giving me a chance.
I ran directly at Neva with the blade thrust forward. She grinned and readied her magic. At the last moment, when she unleashed it, I threw myself towards the open door and disappeared inside.
Neva screamed in surprise as I slammed the door shut and fled deeper into the hut. Thankfully, the front room was familiar from my previous journeys and I found the inner door without delay.
The unfamiliar hallways beyond had me turned around before long. I tried to use my senses to find the Blade of Time. The weapon was powerful enough to cut through the True Caul's protections. I just hoped it wouldn't injure Morwen and Rowan.
I turned down corridors, placing my hand against every door that I passed. None of them held the Blade of Time, and I worried that she'd hidden it somewhere else. But if she had, then she need not have been worried and could have taken Nell while I ran inside.
When my hand touched the door with the blue symbols, a terrible voice entered my mind. A cold hunger filled me with unimaginable dread, and yet, I wanted to fling the door open and embrace it.
I wrenched my hand away and continued my search, making my way down two hallways before running into Neva coming the other way. She acted at once, waggling her fingers at me.
Agonizing pain ripped through my legs. It felt as if my knees were being slowly crushed in a vise. A cry slipped out my open mouth. I turned and ran, each step like walking through lava.
I didn't make it far before Neva caught me. I stood at the middle of a long hallway near the door with blue symbols. The ancient woman advanced with no trace of concern on her face.
"You're quite resilient," she said. "Makes me rather sad that your son didn't win. You would have been the most formidable guardian I’ve ever had. Not even counting the prophecies in your head. Tis a shame."
I kept backing up, though I could barely see through my tears. I had enough magic at the ready for one more attack, but it wouldn't register against the protections of the True Caul.
Neva tilted her head. "Once you're properly subdued I'll transfer those prophecies into my head. They were a waste in yours anyway, with you not knowing how to use them properly."
She made a gesture with her hand, a rapid turning of the wrist, and my legs were locked in place. The pain remained, keeping me from doing much more than leaning against a door frame and trying not to vomit.
"First, I'll need to put you out, so I can retrieve the brook horse and your son," she said.
As she raised her hand, I used what remaining movement I could muster and reached behind me to grab the door’s handle. When my fingertips touched the cool stone, the prophecies shifted and a surge of energy flowed through my arm and into the door. I sensed the door being unlocked and flung it open. Neva's eyes grew wide in horror when she realized what had happened.
Before the contents of that room rushed out, I used my remaining magic and flung myself backwards through the hallway, impacting heavily with the wall at the end. As I hit, a scream erupted from Neva's lips.
In the middle of the hallway, a terrible darkness loomed over the ancient witch. As soon as I laid eyes upon it, I was afraid I’d made a mistake in unleashing it.
But true to her word, Neva was a formidable foe, and she blasted the creature with a burst of lightning that would have felled a dozen elephants. The darkness absorbed her attack and pressed forward.
As I stared into that terrible thing, I thought I saw unending dead universes in its maw.
Neva gave a hearty cry, and the Blade of Time was in her grip. She'd been keeping it on her person, hidden with magic. I'd been a fool to enter her hut to find it.
She did battle with the creature while I—still stunned from my flight across the hall—struggled to climb to my feet. The fight lasted for a few seconds, but then there was a horrible sound like the tearing of time and space itself. When I looked up, both the creature and Neva were gone. Something translucent fell from that space.
The hut shook with violence, as if its bones were breaking. I didn't know what happened to the hut when one of its mistresses was injured, and I didn't intend to find out. Before I ran out I grabbed the faint shimmer on the wooden floor. The True Caul replaced my exhaustion with a surge of energy, giving me enough mobility to make it out of the hut, one painful step at a time.
One moment I was running through the open door as the hookah pipe shattered into a thousand pieces and the gilding on the partition turned to dust, then the hut stretched and shivered before fading beneath my boots like a snowflake in a bonfire. As I threw myself off the porch, the temporal magic tugged on my existence, before snapping away like a bowstring, flinging me face-first in the mud.
Chapter Thirty
The mud was bone-chillingly cold. It probably had ice crystals in it. It was the edge of winter, when the earth turned hard for three months.
"Miss Dashkova," said a timid voice from the water. "Are you well?"
My son. Pavel.
I groaned, peeling my face from the mud. "Pavel...is Pavel?"
Nell crouched near the cattails, smallish breasts pressed against her knees. She looked a porcelain doll in the moonlight. Not at all the formidable water creature flexing her primal instincts.
"He's gone. The hut sucked him out of the water before it disappeared." She paused, frowning as she picked at a scab on her knee, before looking up. "She's going to come back, isn't she?"
"Not right away," I said, climbing to my feet while scraping the mud from my face. "But she'll need this, if she's going to cause any more trouble."
I held up the True Caul. Nell squinted as if she couldn't quite see it. The frown remained firmly planted on her lips.
"I'll be here when she comes back, too. We'll be more prepared. Now that we know what she wants to do," I said, then tilted my head. "You're controlling your power. I can look at you without you getting into my head."
Nell smiled cautiously, as if she didn't think she was allowed to. "I think I used it up. For now. You should leave soon."
A heavy shiver went through me. "I need to leave before I freeze to death."
"When will she come back?" asked Nell.
"Not anytime soon," I said, thinking about what Neva had told me before. "Maybe six months, or longer. It depends. But you'll be safe for the winter. And we'll find a better place. I need to get back to Philadelphia. I have a lot to tell the others."
Nell nodded, but it was clear by her hunched shoulders that she didn't want me to leave.
"I'll come back, I swear," I said. "And I'll bring Ben with me."
A hesitant smile ghosted on her lips, but the poor girl had seen so much heartache that it didn't last long.
I retrieved my jacket and trudged back to the steam carriage. The whole way back I kept expecting to run into Franklin and the others. Once I reached Philadelphia, I was worried they'd somehow made it to the Warmond homestead without my noticing. I went straight to the Water Works.
I knew something was wrong as soon as I neared the white dome. At least three squads of soldiers milled around the Water Works. High-powered gas lamps hung from temporary posts jammed into the hard earth, so the whole place shone like the sun. Stony-faced soldiers kept glancing towards the open door.
Then
I saw Ben outside, speaking to an army major with a finely manicured mustache. The officer had his hands clasped behind his back and his jaw pulsed with restraint.
Ben, however, looked like a wild man on the rampage. He rarely lost his composure in a crisis, so seeing him with arms flailing as he yelled in the general direction of the army major told me that the situation was dire. When I reached him, he pulled away from the major, throwing his arms downward in disgust.
"The idiots are going to be the ruin of the city," he said, then gave me a second glance. "Stars and stones, what happened to you?"
The major was still in earshot and looked like he was eavesdropping. Plus I didn't want to bring up the existence of his daughter. "I'll tell you later, but everything worked out."
Creases formed at the corners of Ben's eyes before he nodded. "Walk with me."
Away from the soldiers, Ben told me what had happened and why they hadn't come to my aid. I sensed some guilt from Ben in learning about his daughter's troubles, but he stayed away from the subject.
When they'd arrived at the Water Works, they found the soldiers had apprehended a hairy upright creature wearing Continental Blues, or that's how they'd described him. We both knew the soldier had turned into a hrevanti, which Ben guessed had happened after he'd drank from a tap inside the Water Works. The army had the poor soul in chains and was preparing to execute him, thinking he'd eaten the soldier. Ben had tried to explain that the soldier was the hairy creature, but they didn't want to listen to him.
"I don't understand," I said. "I stopped Neva. And she had no reason to come here once she knew about the nokke."
He shrugged. "Maybe it was a contingency plan. Or she'd already put things in motion before she knew about the nokke."
"Where are the others? Nasrine and Brassy?"
He nodded in an easterly direction. "Once I realized the army major was more stubborn than a Quaker at mass, I sent the others to fetch the vice president."
Nightfell Games (The Dashkova Memoirs Book 5) Page 22