Theht would not win.
I ground my teeth and held my ground, then continued guiding the asteroid to the world.
“Olive, are you okay?” Kull asked, placing his hand on my back.
“She knows what I’m doing.” I gasped. “But she won’t stop me.”
I stretched my hand toward the sky, letting my magical energy fuse with the asteroid. My strength faded. Dizziness clouded my vision, and then the world dimmed around me. A vice clamped down on my vital organs as I drained my body of every reserve of energy I possessed. I tasted blood in my mouth, feeling something warm and sticky in my ears and streaming from my nose.
But I wouldn’t relent. If I died, so be it, because this was the only way to save our world from destruction. I’d finally understood the prophecy, and I would not stop until it was fulfilled.
As my knees buckled and a part of myself died, another awoke inside me. The Deathbringer.
Once again, I felt as if I floated over my body, watching from a distance as the woman standing on the cliff guided the asteroid to the planet. Her face was unnaturally pale. Blood streamed down her face. I almost didn’t recognize her.
I felt the moment the asteroid hit. The impact seemed to reverberate through me, an event that had already happened, but had now come full circle. It impacted every particle of my being as I returned to my body once again, the pain returning full force.
A blinding light filled the sky, followed by a roar so loud it shook the ground. Everyone fell back as the cliff broke apart only inches from our feet. Rocks plummeted into the river. Far in the distance, an enormous mushroom cloud rose into the sky, beautiful and haunting in its power.
We lay dazed on the edge of the cliff as the cloud expanded. Someone shook my shoulders.
“Olive, we’ve got to get out of here,” Kull said.
I didn’t have the energy to tell him I was spent. Creating portals was beyond me.
Behind us, the forest exploded with startled shrieks. Flocks of pterosaurs flew into the sky. The trees shook as a bone-chilling roar filled the open expanse. A Tyrannosaurus rex emerged from the trees.
The ancient dragon was more beautiful than I’d imagined—more beautiful than any artist had envisioned. Turquoise and gold scales sparkled in the sun. Its eyes glittered with golden flecks, and I felt magic in the creature. This was more than a dinosaur; this was the mother of dragons. As it focused on us, I knew it somehow sensed my magic.
Eons of time separated us, yet I felt a connection to the beast, a bond not easily described. Kull unsheathed his sword, but I placed my hand on his arm.
“It’s okay,” I said. “She won’t hurt us.”
He glanced from me to the dinosaur, but then relented and replaced his sword in the scabbard. Kull took a step back, though he kept his eyes focused on the beast.
“Is that Kitten?” he asked me quietly.
“Yes, I think so,” I answered, clutching the necklace around my neck, my hands warming the claw fragment.
When it ducked its head, the beast reminded me of Fan’twar. The dinosaur took a step forward, letting its magic flow around me, strengthening me.
As it did, I felt my life returning. Magic filled the empty spaces of my being. The dinosaur’s golden eyes sparkled. I watched in awe as the beast opened its mouth and let out a roar, releasing its magic. A blue mist gathered around us, opening a portal.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
The rocks crumbled beneath our feet just as the portal opened, sucking us back into our own reality. The world blurred. Time and space meant nothing as we traveled from one reality to another, our bodies hurtling millions of years through time, before the births of the planets.
As we traveled through the void, I felt Theht once again. But why was she here? She no longer had the power to cross worlds. As if in answer, she spoke, her voice a whisper in my head.
You haven’t won. I may not have destroyed your world, but I can still cross through this portal, and using the energy from this event, I will enter your existence. You have not stopped me. Now, I will enter your world and reign down destruction. I will open the rift; I will allow the demons of my world to decimate your lands.
You will pay the price for your deceit, Deathbringer.
My body slammed into the ground, rattling my skull. The magic abruptly disappeared, leaving me cold and shivering as I lay in the grass. Rain pelted around me as lightning streaked across the sky. Thunder boomed overhead as I sat up. The others lay around me, but soon, they also woke and sat up, staring at our surroundings. The Wult mountains loomed in the distance and I knew we must’ve made it back to Faythander. We were alive, and the world wasn’t destroyed.
But I’d failed to stop Theht.
Kull crawled toward me. The rain washed away the mud clinging to his clothes, face, and hair. He took me in his arms and hugged me to his chest. I let him hold me, although my hands were shaking. I felt sick inside, knowing Theht would soon cross into our world and unleash destruction. It almost didn’t seem real, and as I closed my eyes tight, I imagined I’d never heard her voice at all—that everything would be okay and I would go on living as Kull’s wife. We would be happy together and nothing would separate us.
“You did it, Olive,” he said. “You saved us all.”
I only nodded, unable to speak or to explain to him that no, I had only stalled her. And when she arrived, the destruction would be worse than the asteroid’s. But for right now, we were alive.
Kull pulled away, then kissed my forehead. “I always knew you would save us all.”
“Kull,” I said, taking his hands in mine. Why wouldn’t my hands stop shaking?
“What’s the matter?”
“I… I didn’t do it.” My whole body shook with tremors as a cold presence formed behind me, making my heart race, my skin clammy. I closed my eyes tightly, knowing she was coming for me, but too afraid to face her.
I would have to confront her, and I knew it.
I would lose. The prophecies would all be fulfilled in the end, and sooner than I would like.
“She’s going to take me away from you,” I whispered as Kull held me. I clung so tightly to him I was surprised I didn’t crush him. Letting him go would be the hardest part. I knew then that I would rather die than be without him. No torture ever invented could be worse than losing him.
“Please don’t let her take me away,” I said.
He only held me. I couldn’t be sure what he was thinking. Maybe he sensed what I already knew. Our time together was ending. It wasn’t fair. Nothing was ever fair.
Heidel and Maveryck walked toward us, but as they did, the ground shook. Behind us, the whooshing sounds of a portal opening filled the air. As I turned, I saw beams of orange light shining from a mirror-like portal that tore through the air. The hole opened wider.
We stood and stumbled backward. Heidel cursed and unsheathed a weapon.
“What in Odin’s name is happening?”
“It’s Theht,” I said. “She was able to use the destruction as fuel to cross worlds. She’s coming for us.”
“What?” Maveryck said. “How?”
“The portal,” I answered. “She followed us through.”
Kull unsheathed his sword, its sapphire crystal glittering in the light cast from the rift. Sounds of humanlike shrieks came from the opening. The orange light grew brighter as the silhouette of a woman appeared and stepped through into Faythander.
I wanted to scream, though I stood immobile, unable to make my voice work. My body trembled as Theht moved toward us.
She faced the four of us. Fear washed over me—and I was reminded of the time not long ago when I’d seen her in the flesh—of that overwhelming feeling I had to kneel. The feeling came back tenfold. Before I could control my actions, I knelt at Theht’s feet along with the other three.
Theht worked her clawed hands opened and closed. Curved black nails glinted in the garish orange light cast from the rift. Her red armor creaked as
she paced in front of us. A cold chill ran down my spine as I focused on the orange scales covering her skin. I hadn’t yet looked into her eyes, not sure if I would be able to meet her gaze—to see what I feared most—my own eyes staring back at me.
“Olive,” she said, her voice melodic yet haunting. “Stand.”
I had no choice but to obey. My body moved to stand, facing her. The goddess stood only a little taller than me, yet I felt as though she towered over me. Emotionless, alien eyes met mine, yet the piece of the goddess that existed within me recognized something familiar, making me shudder uncontrollably.
“I have inhabited your body for so long,” she said. “Now, I know you better than you understand yourself.” She ran her finger across my cheek. “I know the pain you feel, I know what you fear most, and I shall punish you a thousand times over for taking away from me that which I desired—the destruction of this world.
“You will watch as I open the rift and bring the demons of my world into yours.” Her eyes grew dark. “And then I shall let them tear you apart. They shall decimate every living thing.”
She backed away from me. Raising her arms, she caused the orange light streaming from the portal to grow brighter. When she outstretched her arms, red magic spiraled from her fingertips, pulsating, and then it struck the ground. An ear-splitting roar tore through the air as a seam opened in the ground behind her, forming a deep chasm.
The rift. The one element of the prophecy Lucretian had told me to fear above anything else.
Through the rift, hundreds of Regaymor flew upward into our world. Embers flitted as demonic screams filled the air. The ground shook under our feet as the rift fractured, causing seams to open in the ground around us. With the destruction, the hold Theht had on me lessened, and my companions seemed to come out of their trances.
Kull, Heidel, and Maveryck all stood. They looked dazed, but for now, uninjured. I supposed Theht meant to release the Regaymor into our world before killing us, which was a good thing. It gave us time to stop her. We backed away from the rift as the Regaymor continued to pour out like pus from a wound.
“Your Majesty,” Maveryck said after we stood several yards away. “You are the only one who can kill the goddess. You must destroy her with the sword of Dracon.”
Kull’s eyes flicked to me. He gripped the sword’s pommel, but hesitated from rushing toward the goddess.
“Do you really believe that sword can kill her?” Heidel asked.
“I know it can,” Maveryck said. “It once belonged to me, in a time so long ago I barely remember. But the prophecies are all true, and now is the time for the last prophecy to be fulfilled. The son of the Viking gods will be the one to kill the goddess. You must do it now while she’s distracted with keeping the rift open. I know this,” he said, “because I was the one who spoke the prophecy.”
Our eyes widened.
“You?” Heidel gasped.
Maveryck only nodded.
“You speak the truth?” Kull asked.
“Yes,” Maveryck shouted over the wind. “You will destroy her—that I know—and now is the time.”
Kull’s chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. “If I do this,” he said, “you must protect Olive. I will kill the goddess, but I will not be responsible for the death of my wife.”
Heidel’s eyes widened. “Your what?”
“My wife,” he repeated.
Heidel placed her hands on her hips. “When did this happen?”
A sad smile lit his face. “In the elven village. I’d hoped to reveal the news at a more appropriate time, but since I fear none of us will live through this, I thought it best to tell you now.”
“Mother will be angry.”
“If I live to tell her, then yes, she’ll be furious.”
Beyond us, flames shot upward through the gap, roaring with unabated fury. Lightning shot through the clouds, soon followed by booming thunder.
“This was horrible timing!” Heidel yelled over the noise.
“It was better than never telling you!”
“True, but I’m annoyed you didn’t tell me sooner.”
“Let me make it up to you. You must allow Olive and I to attend your wedding, Sister.”
Maveryck and Heidel shared a look. It wasn’t what I expected, as it seemed neither of them cared to argue the point with Kull.
“Very well,” she called back. “When this is over, and if we’re all still alive, I shall let you take Father’s place at my wedding ceremony.”
“Then if that’s the case, I swear I will live so I can be there.”
This was, quite possibly, the first time I’d ever heard them speak civilly to one another.
Kull faced me, though he didn’t reach out for me as I expected. He held the sword between us, and it seemed to keep us apart.
“Olive,” he said. “I… I don’t have the words right now.” His voice broke. I went to him and hugged him, trying to remember everything the way I’d done after his father’s death, when I thought he would never be mine again.
Remember him.
The steady beating of his heart, the warmth of his hands, the scent of wild forests and cashmere. The feeling of being loved that only he gives you. Remember everything.
“I love you, Kull,” I said.
“And I love you. We will never be apart. I swear it.” He lifted my face with his finger beneath my chin. “I swear it to you.”
I only nodded. Speaking was beyond me. With the sword held aloft, and righteous determination in his eyes, he moved toward the goddess.
She focused on him as she held her arms out, keeping the rift open. As she did, the Regaymor attacked. Black robed figures swarmed around us, their screams deafening. Skeletal fingers grabbed my arms, burning my skin. I cried out, then released my magic. It repelled the beasts, but only temporarily. Maveryck reacted, pulling free the staff of Zaladin, its gem glowing with white light, forcing them away from us.
Kull’s sword, a Madralorde weapon like the staff, also fended off the creatures. Kull tore through the mass of bodies, cutting and hacking through limbs as he made his way toward the goddess. Magic burst from my fingertips in colors of blue and amber, slowly pushing the Regaymor back.
Through the mass of black robes, I watched Kull reach Theht. He struck at her with the sword, but a dome of orange magic surrounded the goddess. She lashed out at him with magic, hitting him in the chest. The sword flew from his hands as he fell unconscious on the ground, his weapon landing several feet away from him.
The Regaymor swarmed as I tried to push my way to the warrior. In frustration, I released my magic, infusing black powers with the other two. The creatures screamed as flames flew from my fingertips, consuming them in white-hot fire that burned their cloaks first, then turned them to ash.
I blasted more and more. Any Regaymor in my path I destroyed with my magic. My mind had become absorbed by the violence of killing them all. I found Kull lying on the ground. Blood streamed down his face. Kneeling beside him, I took his hand in mine.
“Kull, can you hear me?”
Maveryck and Heidel fought behind me. I could barely hear my own voice over the battle and the roar coming from the open rift.
“Kull!” I repeated.
His eyes fluttered open, although he stared dazedly at the sky. The ground shook as Theht opened the rift wider. I fell back as the earth broke apart, spraying dirt into the air. Both Kull and I got to our feet as fire burst up through the open fissures in the ground.
“She’s going to tear our world apart if we don’t stop her!” I yelled to Kull.
He grabbed his sword. “We’ll stop her together. Can you use your magic to destroy that shield surrounding her?”
“Yes, I’ll try.”
We stumbled over the uneven ground toward the rift where Theht stood. The goddess still held her hands out, keeping the rift open with her magic. I knew now was my only chance to stop her. While she used her magic in the rift, she would only be able to u
se a limited amount of power against me.
I blasted out with my magic, using the same spell I’d used against the Regaymor. The shield shook. Cracks fractured its surface, but it didn’t break apart. I stepped closer, a whirlwind filling my ears as I increased the flow of my energy, hitting the shield until my own power blinded me and burned my skin.
Kull and I powered forward as Theht’s shield broke apart. The dome melted as if it were liquid, dripping like wax to the ground. Theht’s eyes widened as Kull struck out, so preternaturally fast she had no time to react as he stabbed her through the heart, then ripped the sword free.
She screamed and fell back. Blood pooled from the open wound as she clutched at her chest.
“You,” she hissed, “can destroy this body.” A wicked smile lit her face. “But can you destroy another?” She stared up at the sky. “I… release this body… to enter another.”
The goddess collapsed. A black mist formed over the prostrate figure, flowing and snaking like fog as it gathered into a more cohesive shape. Without warning, the black fog enveloped me, wrapping around my arms and legs, then entered through my chest.
I froze.
My heart stopped beating.
I tried to breathe, but couldn’t. My lungs constricted. I tried to move, to speak, but my body refused to cooperate.
We are one now, Olive, Theht said, her voice louder than I’d ever heard it before. My body moved backward, toward the rift, where I stood on the edge. Below me, I stared into an immense void where flames soared upward and on currents of overheated air, although the Regaymor no longer rose into our world.
I watched my arms move up and initiate a spell to call to the Regaymor. Magic streamed from my body, though I never called it. I still had my mind as I watched helplessly, but Theht had complete control over my body.
As I stood on the ledge, I felt myself turn around. Still holding the sword dripping with blood, Kull stood facing me. Theht’s body lay at his feet. Behind me, the screams of the Regaymor were carried on the wind as my magic allowed them into the world once again.
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