Shoots and Tatters

by Sara C. Roethle

  I clenched my fist as I removed it from the door, then turned toward her. “You never should have killed those I loved. You and I could have found a compromise, but you refused to listen.”

  “It’s as I expected then,” she muttered. “You traveled back in time to stop me, didn’t you? I never laid a finger on those you love, yet you seem to believe I have slighted you.”

  “You would have,” I accused. “You did. They are only alive now because I stopped you before you could.”

  She stood and walked toward the bars of her cell, lacing her long fingers around them. Her green eyes were crazed as she replied, “Go ahead and tell yourself whatever helps you sleep at night. I will go to bed happy that I am not the one in a bargain with Odin. I would rather rot in this cell, than spend a year in his presence.”

  I narrowed my gaze at her. “What do you mean?”

  She smirked. “Dear child, if you think you’ve made any choices since you met Odin, you are wrong. Every step you make plays into whatever plan he has laid out for you. If he wants your child, he shall have her. You can eliminate every fleck of magic in your realm, and Odin will still take your child. She is as good as lost.”

  I felt tears welling behind my eyes, but refused to let them fall. Not in front of her.

  My fists shook as I clenched them. “Goodbye, Hecate.”

  She smiled. “Goodbye for now, Madeline. I’m sure you’ll be keeping me company in this cell before the year is through.”

  I turned away from her, flung open the door, then marched outside.

  Morgan blinked at me, wide eyed. “Nice visit?”

  “Fantastic,” I grumbled, then marched onward as he locked the door behind me and caught up to my side.

  He escorted me out from the remaining corridors in silence. As soon as I was out of his sight, I ran back toward my room, my boots echoing down the hall.

  I only wished I could run farther.

  The morning after my visit with Hecate, Mikael, Loki, and I stood near the World Tree branch, prepared to venture back to Midgard. The others stood back a bit, here to see us off. After a little cajoling from Loki, Freyja had volunteered to help us in our quest as well, though she refused to come down with us until we had a concrete plan formulated. Our first recon mission was a waste of her valuable skills, in her own, humble opinion.

  It was all well enough. I wasn’t sure what we’d be arriving to, and I didn’t mind Freyja staying behind to make sure no one tried to mess with Erykah. Faas was with the goddess now, giving her a lesson on how he manipulated energy.

  I looked over at Erykah, cradled in Sophie’s protective arms, with Alaric near, watching over his daughter. Erykah had turned out to be sweet-tempered beyond belief, rarely crying, and eating and sleeping without a fuss. The early birth hadn’t seemed to cause any issues, and in fact, she seemed incredibly healthy. The Vaettir were a tough race, even from birth.

  Leaving Loki and Mikael to grumble about what we should do first, I walked up to Alaric and Sophie.

  Erykah gazed up at me with her stormy eyes. Her expression held a sense of knowing that I still couldn’t comprehend. What I could comprehend was her magic. It was different from mine, like a crisp, clean light. There was no death magic in her, and no magic of war, which was odd given her lineage. If I were to choose just what her magic felt like, I’d say it felt like the Well of Urd, just like Faas had said. Pure, wild magic, contained within a tiny being. I couldn’t help but consider that was why Odin wanted her.

  With a dull ache in my heart, I kissed her forehead. It’s only for a day, I assured myself. The plan was to return that evening. I would only be gone a day, so why did it feel like an eternity?

  I forced a smile as I turned my gaze to Alaric. It felt like the fates were always separating us. It was painful, but at least we always managed to come back together. That’s what really matters, I think, that through different realms and different timelines, we always came back together.

  He wrapped me up in a fierce hug. “Be careful,” he muttered.

  “I always am,” I joked as I pulled away, though I couldn’t hide the tears in my eyes.

  He kissed me gently, then pulled away, though there had been many more kisses, and much more fierce in the preceding days.

  “Don’t worry,” Loki said as he walked up behind me. “I’ll take good care of her.” He threw an arm around my shoulders.

  Alaric narrowed his dark eyes at him. “Why does that not make me feel any better?”

  Mikael approached my back and put a hand on my shoulder as Loki let his arm fall away. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I took a deep, shaky breath, peering down at Erykah. “As I’ll ever be.”

  After many more tears and drawn out goodbyes, I turned to face the World Tree branch. It was time for me to charge into battle with a red-haired god on one side, and an auburn-haired Viking on the other.

  My heart felt like it was breaking as I reached a hand up to the branch, but still, I couldn’t help the feeling that with my two mischievous companions, I rather liked my odds.

  Our feet touched down on the soft sand beach of our realm. Tears burst forth from my eyes, and I would have fallen to my knees had Mikael not caught me.

  “She will be safe,” he whispered in my ear, helping me to stand. “You will see her again tonight.”

  I nodded, wiping at my tears as I pulled away to stand on my own. I blinked up at him, ignoring Loki waiting impatiently behind us.

  “Thank you for coming with me,” I muttered. “I don’t think I would have had the strength to leave otherwise.”

  He put an arm around me. “You would have, that’s what I love—” he cut himself off, then corrected, “what we all love about you.”

  “I know it’s what I love about her,” Loki joked.

  I turned away from them both to hide my blush. I still didn’t know what the hell I was going to do about Mikael. He and Alaric had formed a shaky truce because we all needed to focus on the task at hand, but that didn’t change the fact that my heart was a total mess.

  I blinked away the last of my tears, noticing a figure seated further down the beach, staring out at the tide. His pure white hair hung slack down the back of his black shirt.

  With Loki and Mikael following behind me, I approached him. “What are you doing here, Marcos?”

  He looked up at me. “You tell me, Madeline. Hecate’s presence has left my mind, and I feel I have lost some memories. I have waited here for days. It was the only place I could think to come to for answers.”

  My jaw fell. I’d only considered the timelines of myself and my closest companions, not everyone else. Marcos had likely been affected far more than others…not that I cared about his well-being, but it had to be confusing for him.

  “Hecate has been made mortal,” I explained, feeling awkward. “She will remain imprisoned in Asgard, the realm of the gods.”

  “So I am free?” he questioned.

  I nodded.

  His brow furrowed as he looked me up and down. “I can see you had your child. Is all well?”

  I pursed my lips. This was…weird. Would he ask me about the weather next? “Er, yes,” I replied. “All is well…enough.”

  Finally he stood, brushing the sand from his loose black pants.

  “We should go,” Mikael said from behind me.

  He was right, but it seemed somehow wrong to just leave Marcos alone on the beach when he seemed so confused. He was evil, he’d killed the Norns, but he’d also been under the control of both Aislin and Hecate at that point.

  “What will you do now?” I asked.

  He tilted his head, observing me. “I’m not sure. What will you do?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Loki and Mikael, waiting not so patiently behind us. I had a cell phone in my pocket to call Aila to pick us up, but beyond that, we were just there that day to see how bad things have gotten.

  “Do you know what’s been happening here this past week?” I asked.<
br />
  He nodded. “Pure chaos. The humans are up in arms, but they do not understand their foe.”

  “Madeline,” Mikael said again.

  Ignoring him, I said to Marcos, “Come with us, if you like. I’m sure this next year will be interesting.”

  A smile crept across his face. “Yes, that sounds like a fine plan.”

  “Oh Madeline,” Mikael sighed, “must we pick up every stray?”

  I turned to him with a smirk. “Hey, I gave you a chance, didn’t I? And look how that turned out.”

  He glared at me for a moment, but seemed unable to resist the smile slowly forming on his lips.

  “I’m hungry,” Loki interrupted. “Can we find some food before we investigate?”

  “We’ll get some on the way,” I assured, pulling the phone out of my pocket to call Aila.

  I started walking as I powered on the phone, then scrolled through the contacts and selected her name. Mikael caught up on one side of me, and Loki on the other, while Marcos trailed behind.

  I’d known there had been many possibilities for how motherhood would go, but in all my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined this.

  The End

  I hope you enjoyed the fifth installment in the Bitter Ashes Series! To be notified of news and updates, including release information for book six, please sign up for my mailing list by following the link below.

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