by Jenna Grey
Bert gave a little grin, which turned into a chuckle.
“You didn’t really think we were going to let them sacrifice you, did you?”
Polly just gawped at him, uncomprehending, looking around at the bodies and still not fully understanding what had just happened.
“You sent them all to Helheim?” she asked.
“No, much better than that,” Bert said.
Polly thought she should understand, but the truth still eluded her.
“We couldn’t tell you the plan because Hel might have read your thoughts,” Finn said, walking towards her. “She had such a strong connection with you, she would have known, and it would have ruined everything.” He reached her and slipped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. “I’m so sorry we had to put you through that, but it was the only way.”
“You were part of it all the time?” Polly asked, still not understanding; she couldn’t get her brain to process any of this.
Finn pulled her closer to him, hanging onto her as if he were afraid she would suddenly vanish. “I wanted to tell you, but Bert and Liam made me realise that it was better to put you through this misery than risk it all going wrong. It was our very best hope of saving you.”
Liam came to her and mirrored Finn’s embrace, holding her there for just a moment or two longer than his brother had.
“But what happened?” Polly asked again, looking between the two of them.
Bert answered.
“The Torinstone sends people to Hell, the Hellstone brings them back again, but if you use the two together…” He gave a wicked little grin.
Polly finally understood.
“Their souls are trapped in an endless loop, moving between the two realities, but never actually reaching either,” Liam said. “An eternal startup loop.”
“Oh my god, they’ll just keep bouncing between the worlds,” Polly said, giving a slightly hysterical giggle.
“Exactly,” Bert said, “and it works on gods just as well. Hel and her brood will be lost forever in an endless loop, never able to escape.”
Polly felt a rush of elation, although it still hadn’t quite sunk in that it really was over, they had won, and she was safe.
“But why didn’t it affect Bert and me?” she asked. “Why didn’t we get dragged into the loop as well? I can see that Liam and Finn would have been protected because they held the stones, but...”
Bert reached out and touched the amulet that still hung between Polly’s breasts, hidden beneath her dress.
“We were protected. The Powers That Be do have power, you know. This amulet wasn’t just to stop you from being possessed. I added just a little bit of extra magic to it.”
And then it finally did sink in.
“We’ve won?” Polly asked, just to make sure.
“Indeed we have,” Bert said. “And now I think we’d better call Jack in and tell him the good news.”
Polly blinked at him.
“He’s here?”
“He drove me,” Finn said. “How do you think I got here? It was all part of the plan.”
Jack walked in then, looking as if he’d just won the lottery, a grin on his face from ear to ear, He gave her a bear hug that knocked the breath from her, but Polly didn’t care. Blaine looked across at the bodies.
“That’s going to take some explaining, another thirteen unknown deaths.”
“We have to for the sake of their relatives and friends,” Bert said. “I’m sure Jack can fix it.”
Finn pulled Polly around to face him.
“Can you ever forgive us for deceiving you like that, for putting you through all of that?”
“Of course I understand. You were right; Hel would have guessed, you know how crap I am at lying and keeping secrets.” She turned to Liam. “Besides, somewhere deep inside I knew that it was going to work out somehow because Liam had promised me it would. I should have had more faith in you. It’s all good.”
Liam beamed a smile at her.
“Better get home then. I need a very stiff drink.”
“I think we all do,” Finn said as they headed for the door.
Bert gave a little chuckle.
“I’ll settle for a nice cup of tea and a Hobnob.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jenna Grey began her writing career at the tender age of three, when she wrote her first words in red crayon on her grandmother’s kitchen wall. Thankfully, she’s improved her writing style considerably since then and now spends every spare minute writing, often into the early hours of the morning. Her main interest is in writing dark fantasy ‒ the darker the better, and she is always exploring new ways to push her work just that little bit further over the edge. She usually spends as much time reading as she does writing, getting her inspiration from some of her favourite authors: Ann Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Tolkien, Stephen King and C. S. Lewis, and gets a real buzz when she finds a new author to add to the list.
Jenna lives with her long suffering husband and two cats in the heart of Sussex, surrounded by beautiful countryside and abundant wildlife, much of which she finds deposited on her kitchen doorstep, courtesy of her two over-enthusiastic cats.
Her main ambition in life is to receive a ‘Happy 100th Birthday’ card from His Majesty, the King.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jenna Grey began her writing career at the tender age of three, when she wrote her first words in red crayon on her grandmother’s kitchen wall. Thankfully, she’s improved her writing style considerably since then and now spends every spare minute writing, often into the early hours of the morning. Her main interest is in writing dark fantasy ‒ the darker the better, and she is always exploring new ways to push her work just that little bit further over the edge. She usually spends as much time reading as she does writing, getting her inspiration from some of her favourite authors: Ann Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Tolkien, Stephen King and C. S. Lewis, and gets a real buzz when she finds a new author to add to the list.
Jenna lives with her long suffering husband and two cats in the heart of Sussex, surrounded by beautiful countryside and abundant wildlife, much of which she finds deposited on her kitchen doorstep, courtesy of her two over-enthusiastic cats.
Her main ambition in life is to receive a ‘Happy 100th Birthday’ card from His Majesty, the King.