I turned my attention back to the banshees. They were now at full power, and knew their orders. They would slay any who moved against our people outside of the Salr, but their primary focus was Estus. The moment that little rat emerged, they would spring the trap.
I dropped Marcos’ hand without a word as Alaric and Sophie came to stand on either side of me.
“Are you ready?” Alaric asked.
I wanted to say no, not at all, but what came out was, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
With that, around fifty of us moved forward, guided toward the Salr’s entrance by Mikael, leaving our extra people behind with the banshees. Out of the kitchen, and into the fire, as it were.
Chapter 25
It was a ten minute walk to the Salr’s entrance, and we saw no sign of Estus’ people along the way. The night was quiet and still around us. Alaric and Sophie didn’t smell nor hear anything unusual, nor did Faas sense anything. There was no trap waiting outside. Imagine that.
The entrance was similar to Mikael’s Salr in Norway, disguised as a massive tree. At a touch from Faas, the doorway shimmered into existence, revealing a stairway down into the earth. Down into a Salr I’d already visited far too many times for my liking. Hopefully the third time would be a charm, because the first and second had ended in torture and near death, respectively.
Frode and Alejandro had joined us to lead the way into the Salr. Followed by Mikael and Aila, then Sophie and Alaric. Next came Faas, Marcos and I, with me in the middle. Then everyone else slowly filtered in.
Soon I realized why this particular entrance had been chosen by our people for our arrival. It opened up into a room connected to the large throne room. We could come in as an organized group, not risking the first to enter being picked off while they waited for everyone else.
I stopped dead as we entered the throne room. Previously barren stone walls were decked out with massive tapestries, their gold and silver thread glinting in the light of hundreds of candles. Banquet tables lined the room, their surfaces entirely covered with fancy food and casks of what I assumed was wine.
The crazy bastard really was throwing an inauguration ball, and here we were dressed for battle.
I glanced around as everyone gathered near us, but saw no sign of Estus. I saw no sign of anyone, for that matter. Maybe we were early.
Just as I was about to open my mouth and ask what we should do, movement caught my eye. The far side of the room to our left opened into a main hall. Though moments before it had been empty, the hall now slowly filled with people. A few I vaguely recognized, but most were strangers to me.
Their outfits matched the setting, with the men in antiquated tuxes, and the women in shimmering ballgowns. They didn’t seem prepared for a fight, but with the Vaettir, looks can be deceiving. They formed a long procession, filtering into the room to stand opposite our large group.
At the end of the procession was Estus. He stepped into the room, his head held high, not looking at anyone. He wore his usual dark loose clothing, with his long silver braid trailing on the stone floor behind him. He walked forward, cutting a perfect line between his people, and mine.
My palms began to sweat as I waited to see what he would do, but he still wasn’t looking at any of us. Instead, he approached an ornate wooden throne on the dais in the back of the room. There had never been a throne there before. I wondered if it was Estus’ idea, or the key’s.
He turned and sat delicately upon the throne, then looked past everyone else to smile pleasantly at me. “Welcome home, Madeline,” he purred.
His polite words filled me with sudden rage. I stepped forward, flanked by Marcos and Faas. I looked directly into Estus’ eyes and knew for a fact that one of us would die that night. If it was in my power to kill him, I would. If I was given a choice to either be used by him, or die, then I would do my best to take him down with me, but I would be used no more.
“Let’s end this,” I stated simply, raising my voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Estus/the key cocked his head. “Now Madeline, what about my leverage? Surely you haven’t given up on your love so easily.”
I held in my nervous laughter. He didn’t know that we’d gotten Alaric and Sophie back. He wasn’t all-seeing after all. The pair in question stepped forward out of the crowd.
A slight twitch of Estus’ eye was the only hint of his surprise. His mouth formed a tight, angry line. He returned his cold gaze to me. “I see I have underestimated you. How irritating. What of the Morrigan?”
“What of the key?” I asked in reply. “Or is that who’s speaking right now?”
His sudden grin was one of the most frightening things I’d ever seen. “I truly have underestimated you. It was never fair that the Norn’s and the Morrigan were given living forms and not I. I have simply remedied that injustice.”
My entire body felt abuzz with nervous energy. Was I really speaking to the key? I’d had it in my mind before, so I knew it was sentient. I knew it was capable of anger and surprise. Yet the abomination before us seemed almost . . . human. Just like Mara.
I spared a second to glance at his waiting followers. They all stared forward at us with dead fish eyes. I hadn’t noticed their lifeless gazes before, but something was very wrong.
“He’s done something to them,” Faas whispered in my ear. “I cannot see anyone’s energy.”
Estus/the key chuckled, drawing my attention back to him. “I could not have you stealing any more of my people away. I’ll need them before the night is through. Now come to me, Madeline,” he demanded.
He lifted a hand and I was overcome with a tugging sensation. I took a staggering step forward. Both Marcos and Faas were quick to grab hold of me, having stood witness the last time this particular form of magic was used.
I felt a wave of scalding anger behind me, then Alaric and Mikael stepped past us to face Estus, weapons in hand.
“Get them,” Mikael commanded, pointing his axe in the direction of Estus’ people.
“Wait,” Estus snapped, suddenly releasing his hold over me. “Madeline must hear my proposal before any action is taken. This is a celebration, not a standoff.”
“He’s completely out of his mind,” Faas muttered, gazing at Estus. His grip tightened on my arm.
Between that and Marcos’ firm grip on my other arm, I felt utterly useless.
I pulled away from them both and stepped forward of my own volition. I glared at Estus sitting primly upon his throne. “Speak your words quickly,” I demanded. “We haven’t got all night.”
He stood, and all of the energy in the room shifted. It wasn’t something that could be seen, but even those who couldn’t sense energy probably felt it. It was like the pressure before a storm broke, when the earth was dry and cracked, the sun beating down, but you knew any moment the clouds would move in and a torrential downfall would be released.
“I’d rather not speak in front of an audience,” Estus said dryly. “But I can assure you, you’ll want to hear what I have to say if you hope to survive after Yggdrasil is regrown.”
Several of our people gasped around us. For them, rumors about regrowing the World Tree just became reality.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He smirked, then moved to closed some of the distance between us. I noticed with a start that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He was moving on waves of the key’s power.
“You truly believe the old gods will let you live?” he laughed. “You are an abomination Madeline, just like me. They will kill us both.”
My first thought was that if we regrew Yggdrasil, the key would already be as good as dead, but I didn’t say it out loud.
“You’re lying,” Faas accused from beside me.
Estus chuckled, keeping his gaze on me. “Ask the necromancer if you don’t believe me.”
Everyone shifted nervously around us.
I turned my gaze to Marcos.
He did his odd little
bit of tilting his head to the side, like he was directly listening to Hecate. “It is a possibility that some will want you dead. Others will not see you as a threat.”
“I have a way to ensure the old gods cannot touch us,” Estus said, drawing my eyes back to him.
Mikael let out a growl of annoyance. “We tire of your games. Spit out what you have to say and let us get on with this.”
“I want to grow a new kind of tree,” he explained, his eyes never leaving my face. “Instead of reaching into the heavens, we’ll reach into the underworld. Instead of connecting with the old gods, we’ll embrace the dead. I sense the power of death within you, growing every day. Together we will be more powerful than ever before.”
“Yeah, no thanks,” I answered. “I think I’m going to go with my plan.” I resisted the urge to place my hand on my belly. What would happen to my child if such a fate came to pass?
He sighed. “This would have been so much easier if I didn’t have to force you.” He glanced at his waiting people. “But alas, everyone has come for a ball.” His eyes flicked back to me. “We wouldn’t want to spoil it for them with bloodshed.”
If we weren’t going to fight, then what the hell were we doing here? I needed to get him outside so we could end this.
He grinned as he met my eyes, almost as if he’d read my thoughts. I half-expected him to comment, but didn’t. If I ran now, would he follow me? I desperately wanted to go back outside where the banshees could protect us all.
I took a shaky breath and mustered my courage. “Are we going to duke it out or what?”
He tsked at me. “You really are a troublesome girl. If you don’t want to play nice, I’ll give you some motivation. My people are stationed all over the country, ready to march on the humans. All it will take is a single thought from me, and they will begin the attack. Play nice, and perhaps you and I can eliminate the need for unnecessary bloodshed. With our powers combined, we will have full control over all.”
“You’re lying,” I countered. “You haven’t had enough time to set that up.”
“Am I?” he asked with a wry grin. “Would you care to test that theory?”
I would have liked to say yes, but I wasn’t sure. I glanced at Mikael. He’d had more dealings with the key than I.
“Many of Aislin’s smaller clans have gone missing,” he explained softly. “If they are not dead, it’s possible they have been recruited to this scheme. There would not be enough to take over the country, not by a long shot, but they could cause a great deal of death and chaos.”
I frowned. “Or they might just be dead.”
“Are we celebrating, or not!” Estus called out, interrupting us.
“Sure,” I replied.
I wasn’t willing to risk the slim chance that Estus might attack humanity, and playing along might benefit us in the long run. We needed to figure out a way to lure Estus outside. This would buy us time.
“Excellent,” he replied, then began to chant.
I didn’t recognize anything he was saying, but I recognized the building power in the room. Suddenly Alaric had a hold of my arm and was dragging me toward the exit.
“He’s going to transport us!” he shouted. “This is what happened when he sent us back before!”
The sudden panic of those around us made me weak in the knees.
Sophie, who’d obviously jumped to conclusions as quickly as Alaric, came barreling out of room we’d entered through. “The way is sealed!” she shouted. “Attack!”
The bodies around us erupted into motion. They all charged toward Estus, just as Estus’ people moved to cut them off.
Alaric pulled me against him as a tugging sensation overcame my body. We were too late. We hadn’t expected him to use the energy to transport us, and we’d been wrong. I held on tightly to Alaric as everything went black. No matter where we went, I wasn’t losing him again.
I clenched my eyes shut and we both suddenly became weightless. We were floating in empty space. I almost thought Estus was going to leave us there, then my boots touched down on soft sand. A cool ocean breeze gently pulled my hair away from my face. I huddled in the circle of Alaric’s arms, with my face turned to the side against his chest.
“This cannot be.” I recognized Faas’ voice. We weren’t the only ones who’d been transported.
I opened my eyes, but maintained a tight grip on Alaric.
We were on a desolate beach. A beach I recognized. I pulled away slightly to glance over my shoulder to where Yggdrasil once stood. I remembered touching the tree and stealing its energy like it was yesterday.
Large bonfires dotted the beach, illuminating everything.
Around us stood Mikael, Faas, Marcos, and Aila. Faas and Aila both held on tightly to Mikael’s arms. I had a feeling they’d deduced that he’d be transported, and had clung on for the ride. I wasn’t sure why Marcos was brought along, as he stood on his own. Everyone else had either been left behind, or transported somewhere else.
A scream cut through the night air, and we all turned to find Estus, holding onto Sophie with one arm wrapped around her waist. The hilt of a blade stuck out from her ribs. The light of a nearby fire showed her black clothing growing even darker with blood.
“Sophie,” Alaric gasped, then began to pull away from me.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” Estus chided, his pale eyes on Alaric. “Madeline’s power is death. The only chance she stands of defeating me is to gather more energy.”
Sophie slumped to the ground as Estus released her. I could feel her life slowly draining away. It called out to me.
Before any of us could react, Estus lifted a hand and Aila collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. Her hands lifted to the side of her head as she doubled over in pain. He flicked his wrist, and her body jerked to the side, ending with a horrible cracking sound. She went still, then slumped forward into the sand.
Mikael screamed in rage beside her. Drawing his axe from his belt with a feral growl, he rushed toward Estus. Alaric hesitated beside me, as if unsure whether to remain by my side, or to check on Sophie.
Estus held up a hand and Mikael suddenly halted. Mikael’s rage and pain over losing Aila were almost overwhelming. She had been by his side for hundreds of years. He took an agonizing step forward, pushing through the key’s magic.
The power coming from Estus’ body was staggering, but Mikael managed yet another step.
“I will kill him,” Estus said, his focus all on me. “Then I will kill Alaric and the rest. Feed from the lives of the women. Use your friends’ sacrifices to defeat me. It is the only way to save the rest of them.”
Faas stood near me with tears running down his face. “He’s trying to align your powers,” he breathed. “He’s wants to make you the death that he needs, so that he can grow the tree of his choosing.”
I looked to Alaric, who appeared completely at a loss. Fresh tears clung to the rims of his eyes.
I turned back to Estus. He’d left me with no choices. If I stole the remaining energy from Sophie and Aila, I might be able to defeat him. To regrow Yggdrasil as it was meant to be. We were at war, and there were casualties in war. Death to the few to benefit the many.
“No,” I growled.
Estus raised an eyebrow at me. Mikael was still struggling toward him. He flicked his wrist and blood blossomed at Mikael’s throat, almost like Estus had thrown a knife at him, though no blade could be seen. Still, Mikael struggled forward as blood dripped down, soaking his shirt. His face held fury while his red hair blew wildly in the breeze, making him appear like some sort of vengeful god.
“Soon he will be weakened,” Estus explained, seeming slightly annoyed that Mikael was still standing. “Surely with his energy you could defeat me. Use your necromancer to aid you, if you wish.”
Marcos stood off to the side like a dark shadow. Offering neither help, nor resistance.
I turned back to Estus. “No,” I growled again.
“No?” h
e questioned with a cruel smile. “Then you shall have me kill them all? Alaric is next.”
Alaric suddenly collapsed like Aila had. His pain-filled face looked up toward mine. “Don’t do it,” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t give him what he wants.”
“If you defeat him with death, then you will grow what he wants to grow,” Faas said calmly from behind me. I felt his pain as Estus attacked him next.
“No!” I shouted, rage and agony taking over my mind. I would not be what he wanted me to be. I would not plunge the world into darkness. We were all better off dead.
I began marching toward Estus.
“You are too weak to harm me,” he said, watching my approach. He turned his attention back to Alaric and Faas.
They both screamed out in pain.
I continued to approach, with only my power, and the power of the fates within me.
“I’ve seen great evils in this world,” I muttered, bringing Estus’ attention back to me. “I’ve seen death, pain, and injustice. I’ve seen plenty of things that could turn a woman toward darkness.”
He released his invisible hold on Faas and Alaric as I continued toward him. I prayed they were alright. This had to end. Right here. The death of a few to save the many.
“But I’ve also seen love,” I continued. I’ve seen love persuade a man to turn his back on vengeance. I’ve seen love creating families for those who long ago gave up on the idea.”
Estus/the key watched me, confused.
I smiled. “Love has given me more strength and bravery than fear and pain ever did. Love is what makes us face our fears. Love shines light into the darkness. Love is the glue that holds fate and life together.”
“What are you babbling about?” Estus asked snarkily, though his voice quavered. Good.
“Love is more powerful than chaos,” I continued. “It’s more powerful than death. I may be death itself. I may be capable of darkness. But my love will always shine more brightly.”
Duck, Duck, Noose (Bitter Ashes Book 4) Page 24