Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10)

by Amy Sumida

  “He cut this from his head when we brought you here,” Vidar motioned to the clasped hands of the body. She was holding a long brown braid, tied with leather at the end. “I remember him crying when he put it in your hands. I'd never seen him cry before.”

  I gently unclasped the hands and took the braid, being careful to not let the ragged end unravel. I stroked the silky hair and then tucked it away, safely inside my jacket.

  “Why is the body so well preserved?”

  “Dad laid a spell over it,” Vidar frowned. “I think he wanted your body available to him in case the first spell he cast to bring you back didn't work but it's worked out well for us. The hair is as fresh as if he cut it off his head today.”

  “Yes,” I gave a little huff of laughter. “Funny how everything falls into place.”

  “There are tools here as well,” Vidar waved a hand back to indicate another wooden chest. “Your old tools for magical work. Did you want to look through them? They're yours, I don't think anyone would mind if you want to take them,” he grinned.

  I went to the chest and opened the lid. Inside were several items, all lovingly wrapped in bits of fabric. I pulled out each one and inspected them. An athame, blade still sharp in its leather sheath, the hilt was simple polished wood but it felt good in my hand. Without even thinking about it I put it in my jacket. Then there were silver candle holders, a wooden bowl, a mortar and pestle, and some assorted crystals. I put them all back in the box.

  “What's this?” At the bottom of the chest was a large bundle. I unwrapped it and found a huge book bound in brown leather. “My spell book,” I said just as Vidar answered.

  “Your spell book.”

  I laughed when I opened it and found the spells all written in French. Of course. Too bad my memories didn't include the language I used to speak. And why didn't they? Why were all my memories in English? I stopped and thought about it, then realized that they weren't. I'd been translating automatically for myself. I looked back down at the book and began to read, memories of writing it pouring through me. I did know French but it was a distant knowing, difficult to bring into focus.

  “I can translate that one for you as well,” Vidar took the book from me.

  “Thank you but I think I can manage,” I closed the lid and let him help me up again. I took one last look at the woman I used to be and then said goodbye to her. “Let's go home,” I held my hand out to our son; mine, Sabine's, and Odin's.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  “Why don't you stay?” I offered as I put away the hair, book, and athame. “Everyone should be here shortly, I've scheduled another meeting.”

  “What, now?” Vidar frowned.

  “I found out some information on Cross Fire, that group that's making the zombies.”

  “I'm definitely staying then,” he called out as I walked into my closet to change back into a more comfortable, knee-length dress.

  “Good,” I came back out and checked the clock on the bedside table. “Yep, they should be here at any moment.”

  “Vervain,” a voice came out of thin air and made Vidar jump.

  “Relax,” I laughed and went over to the intercom I'd added. It was on the wall near the bedroom door. “I thought an intercom would be a better way for the guys to let me know when something important is happening. I was getting a little annoyed at the echoing shouts up the stairs.”

  “Ah,” Vidar huffed a laugh.

  “Yes?” I clicked the little box on.

  “The-e-ey're he-e-r-e,” Darius sang in a little girl's voice.

  “Okay, we'll be right down,” I smiled at the box as if Dare could see me.

  “We're all in the dining hall,” Darius said and then clicked off.

  Vidar and I went down to the ground floor and into the double doors that opened onto the dining hall. Darius was right, all the members of the Squad had already arrived and were helping themselves to drinks and the food that had been laid out on the table. Kirill came over to me.

  “Vhere vere you?” He glanced at Vidar and gave him a quick nod. Kirill and Vidar were actually very good friends.

  “We needed to get something for Odin's spell,” I walked further into the room with him. “I should be ready to cast it soon.”

  “Good,” Kirill nodded and I was a little surprised to see that he meant it. He was honestly happy that I'd be going after Odin. “I vant to be zere ven you try.”

  “Sure, honey,” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before we got to the others. “Hey everyone, thanks for coming. Let me just grab some food and we can go over what I've learned.”

  I quickly filled a plate and grabbed a drink before sitting next to Trevor near the end of the table. Vidar made a plate too and took the seat beside me. I looked over the crowd, pleased that the zombie business hadn't scared away Karni Mata or Brighid, they were both in attendance along with the regulars.

  “So I've been training with Lucifer, learning to astral project” I smiled at Az, glad that he was able to take the time to come too. “And I thought I'd try to use the skill to find Cross Fire.”

  “Did it work?” Persephone's eyes got even bigger than they already were.

  “Yes,” I beamed at them. “I not only have the location of the building they've been meeting in, I know when their next meeting will be. We can go round them up and deliver them to the cops, threat averted.”

  The room got very quiet.

  “What?” I thought they'd be thrilled.

  “You really want us to just hand these people over to the human police?” Horus lifted his nose in the air. “These are terrorists, people who want to kill every other person on the planet and you would just let them go?”

  “Not let them go,” I frowned at Horus, “give them to the authorities. They'll be put into prison.”

  “For how long?” Brahma asked in a less grating tone. “Vervain, we don't have the limitations your human police do. We need to eliminate this threat completely.”

  “You want to just kill them?” I looked around in shock. “These are people who have been used and misled by a god. We don't even know if this god has messed with their minds, they could be completely innocent.”

  “What would you do with the god?” Hades asked quietly.

  “Well we know the god is behind this,” I didn't understand what my friends were getting at.

  “So you would automatically kill the god and spare the humans,” Hades lifted a brow. “Vervain, you must understand that it looks a bit racist to us.”

  “Racist?” I gaped. “To us? I am one of you.”

  “Mostly,” Pan agreed.

  “Mostly?” I looked from face to face and some eyes shied away from mine. “What the hell?”

  “It's not like that, V,” Persephone glared at the rest of the group. “It's not that you're not one of us, it's that you're also one of them. There's nothing wrong with that either, you know we love humans, but when you say the humans should be spared while the god is killed, it makes it sound like you sympathize more with them than us.”

  “I didn't realize you needed sympathy,” I tried to push down my anger and not be hurt by their words but when a group you've always thought of as your friends suddenly says you're only mostly part of them, it kind of pisses you off. “Are you forgetting why we started fighting in the first place? The reason I sympathize with humans is that they're involved in a game they don't even know they're playing and maybe I can be a bit harsh on the gods manipulating them but I would be just as mad if it was being done to another god as I am when it happens to humans. I'm not saying these particular humans are innocent but they might be and you have to admit that it's a possibility.”

  “It is a possibility,” Mrs. E said with the voice of authority that only mothers can manage, and everyone turned to her. “It's also a possibility that they're not. It's possible that the human law will find them innocent and release them or they may find them guilty and sentence them to a few years in jail, only to release them late
r. The point that everyone is trying to make, Vervain, is not that you're human or an outsider. You know we love you and consider you a part of our world. The point is that you must learn to lay aside your impulses to save people and treat humans with the same kind of cold calculation that you treat gods. This is a war and they've got caught up in it. It's unfortunate but they've become compromised and the hard action must be taken to protect the truly innocent.”

  I sat back in my chair heavily. Maybe I had been treating humans differently than gods, holding them to a different standard. Maybe killing humans did affect me more because I'd spent so many years killing gods, thinking that they were the source of humanity's problems. Maybe I was being childish and unfair, taking the coward's way out instead of facing the facts and making the hard decision.

  “Okay,” I nodded. “This isn't a dictatorship. If you all feel that the humans involved need to die as well, I won't stop you. This is a horrible thing they've done and they are murderers no matter how you look at it.”

  “There are few gods with the power to manipulate minds,” Blue added softly. “I believe the power stems from the absolute blind faith of our followers. Their belief allows us access to the human mind. Faith is not uncommon but blind faith is. It's doubtful that these people were manipulated, Vervain. At least not in the way you're implying.”

  “Okay, Blue,” I sighed, “I get it.”

  “So when's the meeting?” Thor changed the subject.

  “In four days, well three now,” I shrugged. “You all in?”

  “I don't know if I'm ready for that,” Brighid looked a little nervous.

  “It's okay, Brig,” Thor patted her hand. “No one expects you to jump into killing right away.”

  “I'm so sorry,” she looked over to me. “I understand your desire to save the humans. I just don't think that I could kill a god either. I'm a goddess of healing, it's simply not in my nature.”

  “Don't worry about it,” I smiled at her. “We're just glad to have you with us and not against us.”

  “I'll help in any other way I can,” she promised.

  “Alright, let's get some planning done,” I pulled a map open.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “It's done,” I said to Trevor as I walked into the dining hall.

  “What's that?” He looked up from his sandwich.

  “You're kingdom,” I smiled. “You ready to become a king, Prince VéulfR?” I held up the bag I'd packed with food, drinks, and other necessities. “I thought we might take a day to ourselves and break it in.”

  “Really?” He stood up and walked over to me. “It's done already? Just like that?”

  “Not just like that, no,” I laughed. “I stayed up half the night and then went back again this morning to finish it.”

  “I knew it,” he pointed an accusing finger at me. “I knew you weren't with Azrael. Kirill is such a bad liar.”

  “He's actually a very good liar,” I laughed and handed Trevor the bag before leading him out to the front of the palace. “You just happen to know him really well.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” he threw the bag into the back of the Jeep I had waiting for us in front of the veranda. “It's far, then?”

  “The other end of the territory,” I pointed. “Look for yourself.”

  He stopped and stared at the obvious change of mountains at the end of my territory. The golden brown of the old peaks surrounded us but at the end opposite us, they brightened into dark green topped with a hazy mist. They were taller than the other mountains too, like a slice of a completely different world had been laid down over ours.

  “Come on,” I pulled on his hand. “Let's go, we're losing light.”

  He grinned and got into the Jeep with me. We drove out as far as we could go, down a well worn dirt road that the Intare used when they weren't in lion form, and arrived at the base of the mountains. We parked and I led Trevor over to the hidden path that wound up and over the mountainside. He walked it happily beside me, his eyes darting over every tree, shrub, and creature with delight. I was delighted as well that he noticed the details I'd taken time to add. The scents were all the same as in Fenrir's territory and there were even similar bird calls echoing through the trees. Then we reached the mountaintop and stood in the same spot that we had before.

  “It's exactly the same,” he swallowed hard and as the sun descended behind the mountains, the light made his eyes shine gold. “It's just so...”

  “So you like it?” I grinned. His answer was a long and thorough kiss. I was breathing hard when he finally pulled away. “There's more, come on.”

  I pulled him down the path that looked well worn but was actually brand new. We started to go faster and by the time we hit the valley floor, we were running. We raced to the massive cabin like a couple of kids. Up the steps and inside we ran, where Trevor came to a standstill. He looked around him, a huge smile on his face, and then I followed him as he went through every room, picking up little items and looking out every window to check that the view was the same as he remembered.

  “You've got it perfect,” he finally finished his search with the large dining room at the back of the cabin on the first floor. “How did you do it?”

  “I asked Fenrir for pictures,” I admitted. “He sent Ty down to the cabin to take detailed shots of every room and every angle of the valley. I think he was pleased that you wanted it to be the same. He may miss you just a little.”

  “Dad,” he grinned and shook his head. “And here I thought you had a remarkable memory.”

  “No, just a remarkable love for you,” I grinned at my own cheesy line. “And I'm not done yet.”

  “There's more?” He laughed. “I don't know if my heart can take it.”

  “Your heart had better,” I drew him back toward the stairs in the center of the house. “Go up to the first room on the left. There's some clothes waiting for you. Change into them and meet me back here.”

  “Vervain?” He frowned at me.

  “Just do it, fur face,” I pushed him and he laughed, then made his way upstairs.

  I went into the little library beyond the main living room to change. I'd hidden my clothes in a cabinet there. When I was ready, I hurried back out to meet him at the foot of the stairs. He appeared shortly thereafter, looking magnificent in the black leather tunic and pants I'd left for him. He stopped at the top of the stairs and stared at me, then came down them slowly and stood looking me over for a minute. I took advantage of his shock, grabbed his hand, and led him outside through the back door.

  Out back there was a little meadow. At the far end of it, under the hanging branches of a juniper tree, there was an arbor waiting. It was white and adorned with flowers, shining bright under the moonlight, and standing beneath it, looking extremely out of place but also extremely happy, was Fenrir. He was wearing a leather outfit to match Trevor's, with his hair combed back into a braid, and he looked very dashing.

  “What's going on?” Trevor stopped and frowned at me.

  “I know we can't have a full Binding,” I pulled him forward into the meadow. “But Fenrir assured me that we could make different vows to each other without finishing the bond.”

  “You want to make vows with me?” He blinked rapidly, his throat working convulsively. He touched the tall, silver crown on my head, the traditional adornment of a Froekn woman at her Binding ceremony, then trailed his hand over the veil that flowed down from it, my own addition.

  I was in a long white dress, a dress I had shopped hours for with Krystal, as concerned over every detail as any bride would be. It had a fitted bodice with spaghetti straps adorned with luxurious silk peonies, all in white with just the barest hint of pink in their hearts. The skirts were diaphanous layers of silk chiffon with the same peonies interspersed between the layers as well as on the top, collecting in a thick hem of flowers at the bottom. A train of layered chiffon fell out behind me, scattered with more flowers, and at my waist was a simple pink silk ribbon. I was holding a
bouquet of soft pink peonies held together by the same type of ribbon.

  “It's just us, just you and me here with your father as a witness,” I took a deep breath. “I know you want the big Binding ceremony but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, I just wanted something for the two of us to have. Something that's ours. We stand here, under the moon, and just say what's in our hearts. What do you think?”

  “I think this is the most amazing thing that anyone has ever done for me,” he hugged me and then gave me a kiss.

  “Hey now,” Fenrir laughed. “That's for afterward. Come on, son, it's about time you got some vows out of this woman.”

  We grinned at each other and went to stand before Fenrir, holding hands.

  “It seems as if you two can't do anything in the usual manner,” Fenrir started, “but I'm honored that you made me a part of this. I offer you my blessing and call down the moon to bless you as well, to protect you and guide you through your years together. May you be happy, may you be ever safe within each others arms, and may the fighting always end with loving. Now, Vervain, here beneath the light of the moon, I bid you to speak the vows you have in your heart for VéulfR.”

  “From the moment my heart became yours, these vows have been between us,” I began and the forest grew quiet around us, as if the trees themselves were listening. “So it's with great relief that I speak them to you at last. VéulfR, firstborn son of Fenrir, I vow to you that I will love you with every piece of myself for as long as I live. I will treat you as a partner and as my best friend, not just a lover, giving your needs the same consideration that I give mine. I promise that you will never be far from my thoughts and never out of my heart. I will stand by your side and try my best to never fail you. I will defend you and accept your right to defend me. I will never give up on us, no matter what comes our way. From this moment on, we are bound by more than magic, we are bound by choice. I choose you.”

  “Damn,” Fenrir whispered and Trevor's awe-stricken face broke into a little smile. “I mean,” Fenrir cleared his throat. “Vervain has made her vows to you, I bid you now, VéulfR, to speak your vows to her.”