by Leia Stone
This was Nott’s stronghold? Why had she been wasting her time in that awful Muspelheim volcano? Or worse, the black-on-black sooted world of Svartalfheim?
Tore called out from behind me, “Incoming!”
Wait. What?
My hands wrapped tightly around the horn of Scarlet’s saddle, and I held on as my dragon dove for the ground, angling us to the right just in time to avoid a stream of fire that shot from the mouth of a too-close dark dragon. So this was how it would begin.
Show time.
The dark dragon careened away from us, its attention pulled by a bright orange dragon carrying another member of our team—they were too far away for me to make out who. And as Scarlet leveled off again, I opened my energy sight to study the wooden cabin. The elegant structure was absolutely crawling with dark energy, both inside and out—at least two frost giants trolled the snow behind the building. As Gud Morder pulsed a fresh wave of power through my armor and into me, I pressed my command into my dragon’s mind.
‘Get me inside that cabin. Bust through the roof if you have to.’
The Goddess of Night was somewhere in there, hiding like a coward behind her army of night elves and dragons and giants. Her thick, black signature registered in my energy sight, a knowing that made Gud Morder pulse in gleeful anticipation. My weapon was eager to do what it was created to do—end the darkness, and wipe it from the realms forever.
You and me both, Gud Morder.
‘Master Allie?’ Scarlet asked. ‘Scarlet burn down house? Flush night lady out?’
‘Perfect.’
‘Hold on.’ Scarlet angled downward, and we dropped from the sky. ‘Careful of frost giants,’ she warned.
‘Okay.’
Scarlet rolled as an enormous beast reached up to swing at us. I clung tight to the saddle with one hand, gripping Gud Morder in the other and driving my weapon into the giant’s palm before it could close around us. The monster recoiled, roaring as I withdrew my sword. Scarlet circled around, taking a second pass at the giant, and this time I drove my sword through the back of his neck. He folded forward as I withdrew my weapon and a deep, red liquid sparked along his back. A second crimson patch had formed where I’d sliced the giant’s palm. It was too buoyant to be blood, and with a jolt, I realized it was fire. Fire? Gud Morder cuts fire into things? The fire danced along the frost giant’s back and arm, growing in a twisted pattern and consuming the creature. With a mighty roar, the frost giant dropped to its knees before eviscerating into a puddle of ashy liquid.
Seriously? You did that? I eyed Gud Morder with newfound respect.
‘Scarlet burn house now,’ my dragon said.
‘Yes. Now.’ Scarlet veered away from the liquid remains of the frost giant. She soared toward the cabin, spraying its thatched roof with a stream of fire. She circled back, repeating her attack with a second dose that saturated the house from the top down.
“Need help?” Tore called from behind me.
“Sure,” I replied.
Tore nudged his dragon forward, lending the power of two flame-breathers to our arson quest, and in no time the cabin’s roof went up in a burst of thick, black smoke. As I looped around for a final pass, I flew over Astrid and Johann, both riding dragons while using their swords to take down a frost giant. On my left, Mack and Hjalmar used arrows to send a dark dragon spiraling to his death. Nice.
“Allie, look out!” Greta’s voice pulled me back. An enormous shadow darkened the valley, and I looked up to find a massive dragon bearing down on us.
We needed to book it.
‘Hold on,’ Scarlet warned. She rolled upside down without missing a beat, and I squeezed the saddle with my thighs and gripped its horn like my life depended on it. In all likelihood, it probably did. Even demigods had to think about things like the force of impact when hitting the ground from great heights. And . . . my stomach churned as Scarlet continued her descent. And not throwing up on their super-nice dragons. Blech.
Scarlet continued to fly upside down, now close enough to the ground that I was convinced my death would come from dragon crushing. But as my hair dragged along the snow at the bank of the lagoon, she righted herself, pulling up and soaring into the sky. The dark dragon circled around, stalking me. I was going to have to take him down before he killed me. I released my hold on the saddle’s horn, running the Liv through my hand until it formed my light whip.
‘Get closer to the black dragon,’ I instructed Scarlet. ‘But don’t go upside down. I don’t have any free hands.’
‘Be careful,’ Scarlet warned. But she did as I asked, straightening her neck and speeding toward our attacker. I squeezed the saddle with my knees and intensified the flow of Liv along my arm. My newly minted tattoos tingled with the raw, blue power, sending a thick surge of energy into my whip. Cool. When the dragon was close enough that I could hear the fierce flaps of his wings, I cracked my whip, wrapping it around his neck and yanking him toward me. Planting my feet in the stirrups, I stood in the saddle and reached over to jam Gud Morder into the tender skin behind the dark dragon’s ear. I withdrew the weapon and instructed Scarlet to retreat, but not before I saw a thick, blue, molten stream seep into the dragon’s neck and dance along its body. No fire this time? Huh. The blue liquid spread beneath the dragon’s skin, dancing under its scales and emitting a brilliant flash that burst from the creature, making the dragon go limp before it spiraled headfirst downward. It plummeted into the ground with a force that shook the snow from the base of the mountain. That thing was most definitely dead.
And my dragon was most definitely proud of herself.
‘Next?’ Arrogance oozed from the word.
‘Don’t get cocky,’ I chastised. But I grinned because I was pretty proud of her, too. ‘Nice flying,’ I added.
‘Nice killing,’ she countered. And I couldn’t help but laugh.
My palm tightened around Gud Morder as Scarlet flew back toward the cabin. My weapon was more than just a god-killing sword—it seemed that it morphed into whatever it needed to be to destroy any darkness it touched. Fire for the frost giant, that blue energy poison for the dark dragon . . . who knew what it would become when I squared off with Nott.
Nott.
A shudder shot from my tailbone to my neck as we drew closer to the cabin, and I scanned the area to see how my friends were faring. Greta was on the ground, her wands raised as she prepared to drop a night elf with energetic warfare. Bodie held off another with his sword, while Hjalmar was nearby, his sword to the neck of the last remaining frost giant. Mack and Johann dealt with a dark dragon from the sky, while Tore . . .
My stomach dropped. Where was Tore?
“She hasn’t fled yet.” My boyfriend’s voice came from behind. He and his dragon drew up alongside us, their beautiful forms filling my peripheral vision.
Thank you, Universe. A thousand thank yous for letting Tore be okay.
“Good.” I exhaled. “Let’s get on the ground and—oh, no. Do you see that?”
I jutted my chin at the black mass swirling frantically inside one of the cabin’s windows. It looked like one of those nightmare dark orbs, but as the glass shattered and a cluster of individually flapping entities emerged, I realized it was a flock of birds. An evil, horrible, nightmarish flock of birds.
Nott.
The birds burst from the cabin and took to the air, flying low across the snow. Nott was going to run. But I had no intention of letting her. We were going to end this, one way or another. I was getting my mother—and my realm—back.
“Follow her,” I spoke out loud so Tore could hear me, and our dragons immediately took off after the flock.
Nott never knew we were coming. As the birds’ frantic wings carried them away from the burning cabin, Scarlet and Flora dropped low. Tore and I were close enough to strike, and he jammed his broadsword into one of the little black monsters at the same time as I jammed Gud Morder through a second. A horrible shriek filled the air, and the bird I’d struck glowe
d blue, then incinerated. Tore’s kill dropped unceremoniously to the earth, while the remainder of the flock clustered together before diving to the ground. Nott’s form emerged from their feathered mass, and she writhed, screaming in pain.
‘Keep me safe from airborne threats?’ I asked my dragon.
‘Of course.’ Scarlet angled downward, and I made the jump from her back onto the snow with surprising ease.
‘Thanks,’ I called up, as Scarlet swerved to avoid Flora. Tore dropped to the ground beside me, and we stood shoulder to shoulder as Nott stopped screaming and leapt to her feet. Already she bore a dark whip in her hand, and an I will cut you look in her eyes. But she’d changed. Now both of her eyes were an unfathomably pale blue, and she had not one, but three white streaks along her black hair. We’d bled more of the darkness from her soul, but we hadn’t succeeded in bleeding it from whatever instinct pushed her to kill us.
Not yet, at least.
Nott lunged forward, throwing her whip at me. I met its trajectory with my own whip, and the two weapons wrapped together in a knot, each forcing its energy on the other. Light and dark pulsed along the ropes as Nott and I struggled for control. Tore stalked forward, sword drawn. I chanced a look away from Nott to find two night elves bearing down on him.
“Tore!” I shouted. “Three o’clock!”
He whirled to the right, cutting down the first elf and engaging with its backup. Nott and I were on our own. As she sent a fresh surge of darkness along her rope, I planted my feet and pushed back. No matter how much darkness we’d removed, she still had every intention of destroying me.
But I had to offer her one last chance.
“Your reign is over, Nott,” I called over the crackling energy of the two whips. “You’re outnumbered and outmaneuvered. You have nowhere left to hide. I don’t want to destroy you, but if you don’t turn yourself over, I will.”
A low growl ripped from Nott’s throat as her whip went limp. It disengaged from mine before driving forward to wrap around Gud Morder. Here I was offering her an out, and Nott was still trying to steal my weapon. Give up, Allie. She’s beyond help.
I pulled Gud Morder back, but the gesture hadn’t been necessary. Within seconds of circling my weapon, the dark whip emitted a glowing blue pulse and it soared backward, snapping its wielder and making Nott shriek.
“What did you do?” she screamed. She recalled her whip and lashed out again, this time aiming for my heart. I brought my own whip up to intercept hers, and we were once again locked in a power struggle. Her whip drew strength from mine, and I sensed its energy flickering. It was do-or-die time.
“Let me heal you,” I shouted. Nott’s whip flickered from black to white in a flash so brief, I wasn’t sure I’d actually seen it.
Her wretched laugh convinced me the shift had been a figment of my imagination. She yanked her whip, forcing me forward with a fierce twist so that I landed on my back in the snow. Before I could right myself, Nott pulled her hand back and threw a spell straight at my chest, knocking the air from my torso and leaving me gasping for breath. Cold, icy energy snaked inside my lungs, and with a sinking realization I understood that the darkness had entered my body. It was rooting around, preparing to take control of my centers.
And with the Goddess of Night cackling over my body, I had no chance of fighting it off.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NOTT THREW HER HEAD back, laughing one more time before sobering up to stalk toward me. “I’ve destroyed Gud Morder once,” she said. “I can do it again. Watch.”
My weapon flared to life in my hand, and in a flash of insight, I touched its tip to my chest. Energy coursed from the blade to my crystal to my shoulder, the tingling of my tattoos sending a wave of energy back to my chest. The darkness within me recoiled at the surge of light, and as its vibration increased, the icy cold burst from my body to slam back at Nott. It hadn’t overtaken me—Gud Morder, and its freaky blue bonding tattoos, had set me free! I pushed myself up on my elbows and tried not to smile as Nott’s face fell.
“Go ahead, Nott. Go ahead and make a move on Gud Morder.” I climbed steadily to my feet, the power of my weapon and my own inner strength filling me with resolve. “I’d like to see you try.”
Nott’s eyes narrowed and she took another step toward me. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, child.” She snarled the word with derision, but I saw the vulnerability behind it.
“Let me heal you,” I pressed. “Your child would have wanted you to release your pain.”
Nott’s eyes widened and she stumbled backward, tripping over a rock and landing hard on the snow. “How dare you speak of her?” she snarled. She raised her hand, clearly intending to slam me with another dark spell, and I did the only thing I could think to do. I launched my light whip at her. The rope circled her throat, and I yanked backward. As I dragged her toward me, she dug her hands into the snow and threw her head back with a mighty roar. The earth trembled as she raged, but I held tight to the rope. My feet dug deeper into the snow while I fought to stay upright, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to withstand Nott’s outburst for much longer. In a few more seconds I would be on the ground and Nott would most definitely go for the kill.
Healing was no longer an option. Ending Nott was the only way out . . . for all of us.
With a final tug, I wrenched Nott forward. She landed face up in the snow, and I raised Gud Morder above my head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you,” I said, and I meant it. If I could have healed Nott—taken away her suffering, given her the chance to expel her demons and reclaim possession of her once-good soul—then I would have. But Nott hadn’t made that choice. She’d chosen to live in fear and darkness, not love and light. And I couldn’t save someone who didn’t want my help.
No matter how much I wished I could.
“Goodbye,” I whispered to the Goddess of Night. And without another word, I sank Gud Morder into her chest, and all the way through her body until the tip struck the thick ice beneath the light snow. In her final moment, a flicker of relief flashed across her eyes, almost as if she was grateful to leave her pain-wracked existence behind. A small puff of air left her lips, and the earth ceased shaking. As Nott’s eyelids slowly closed, Gud Morder sent a pulse of blue from its hilt down the twin twirls of its entwined blades. The blue spread through Nott’s body, filling her with a bright light that burst from her torso to spread across the lake. I turned my head, my light whip disappearing as I raised my hand to shield my eyes.
Just when I feared the white-blue energy might blind me, it disappeared. The energy drained from my weapon, all light now gone from its double-helix blades, from the air along the lagoon . . . and from Nott’s once hollow, then vibrant eyes.
With tremendous effort, I pulled my weapon free, trying not to think about the way its blades scraped against bone as I withdrew it from Nott’s chest. I’d done it. I’d killed Nott. A victorious roar from behind me, punctuated by the piercing sound of sword on flesh, let me know that Tore had destroyed his attacker as well. Heavy footsteps shuffled to my side, and a familiar hand settled on my shoulder as Tore took his place beside me.
“It’s over,” he said, exhaustion thick in his voice.
“It’s over,” I repeated. “I can’t—” I broke off, staring in awe as two distinct orbs rose from Nott’s chest—one light, the other dark. Just like Scarlet.
Holy hell. It had all been true. Nott really had been a light soul, once upon a time. This darkness—this orb that she’d first gifted with occupancy in her body, then allowed to take control of her being—it was her possession. And now it rose from her physical form, hovering beside the light orb it had all but choked out of existence, waiting for me to make some kind of move.
“Allie?” Tore croaked beside me. “Destroy them both. Put an end to this. For all of us.”
The weight of his words settled heavily on my heart. Nott had killed his father, Elo, and countless other immortals. She’d destroyed entire regions of my
home realm, and had taken my own mother from me. By all accounts, I should let her die.
But I was a healer, and I believed in second chances. In redemption. If I’d taken Tore at face value when we’d first met, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with the guy who comforted me every bit as much as he infuriated me. I wouldn’t have expanded my concept of family to include protectors, god-brothers, and bonus parents. Yes, Nott had done terrible things. And yes, I very well might live to regret not cutting her soul down right there, in which case I’d keep Gud Morder close and sleep with one eye open. But in this moment, looking at the pure white orb that could once again be Nott’s soul, I chose to forgive her for all the wrongs she’d committed against me, against my family, and against herself.
She’d chosen to allow the darkness into her body. But I’d be the one to help her banish it from her existence once and for all.
I stepped forward, and pointed Gud Morder at the dark orb with one hand. With the other, I called up the glowing, blue light of the Liv.
“Allie,” Tore warned. “Don’t do this.”
“I have to,” I said simply. “I forgive her.”
And without looking back, I drove Gud Morder through the dark orb that had controlled Nott for so long. It didn’t fight back; it didn’t fly at my heart to try to possess another body. It just took the hit, then another, and another, as I hacked its dimming, black light into tiny pieces. Whether the white light of Nott’s soul played a part in holding it steady, or whether the darkness was simply resigned to accepting its fate, I would never know. But as the pieces dimmed, then dropped into the snow-covered earth, the white orb atop Nott’s chest emitted a pulse of energy that filled each of my centers with joy. I let Gud Morder fall to the ground as the orb floated upward, slowly moving away from the goddess whose life had been filled with such misery. I reached out to guide it back down. It rested lightly in my palm, its pure, gentle energy a soft white with ridges of buttery yellow that reminded me of the moon. Of course. Night. How fitting.
With careful precision, I dropped to my knees and guided the pure orb back to Nott’s body. It moved beneath her pale skin, spreading until Nott was encased in a soft, white glow. When she was once again filled with her own soul, I pulsed the Liv down my arm so the blue ball deepened, then gently pressed the life-giving energy into Nott’s chest. Blue mingled with white, spreading across her body to create an air of absolute peace.