Vale of the Gods

by A. E. Rayne

  Briggit looked indignant. ‘Of course. They can be shown a new way. They can become useful tools. To you. Weapons to unleash upon your enemies. Your own army of dreamers, bound to do your bidding.’

  Jaeger walked up the steps to see what was holding everything up. Though he was not eager to witness Draguta kill the Followers, he was impatient to get it over with so he could get Meena upstairs. It would stop him from thinking about Amma and what he wanted to do to her. ‘Are you ready?’ he demanded. ‘Draguta?’

  Draguta looked from Jaeger to Briggit – pleading, desperate Briggit – and she nodded. ‘I am.’

  ‘You won’t come back.’

  Jael spun around, feeling Toothpick in her hand, ready to kill whoever that was. Ronal? She didn’t know. It didn’t sound like Ronal.

  The forest was moonlit, shadows of tall oak trees dwarfing her as she crept across the dewy pine needles, trying to find the owner of that voice. ‘I will come for you,’ she warned, edging closer.

  ‘And then what?’

  Jael could feel her heart banging in her chest as she followed moonbeams towards the sacred grove. Was he hiding in there? By Furia’s Tree?

  ‘Jael.’

  Jael spun around, coming face to face with her grandmother, who stood before her wrapped in a dark-red cloak. She froze, not sure what to do. ‘Are you dream walking?’

  Edela nodded, noticing the sword in her hand. ‘And you?’

  Jael glanced down at Toothpick. ‘I’m busy.’

  ‘Well, not too busy to listen to me, I hope. Sit down, please.’

  Jael was about to protest that there was nowhere to sit when she saw that Edela’s moon-watching bench was behind her and her grandmother was already waiting on it. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘We were attacked by whisps. Those poor creatures. Draguta possessed them somehow, armed them with blades, sent them to kill our livestock. And she succeeded. There is barely a cow, a pig or a chicken that lives. They killed people as well. Nicolene Dragos. Marcus was badly injured. I’m not sure what will happen there. And poor Gus. He is still hanging on, though Gant is beside himself with worry.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘But we were safe in my circle. I used a symbol Marcus found in one of the scrolls he rescued from the temple. An ancient symbol the Followers used to protect themselves. Perhaps a symbol Draguta doesn’t know about. Here.’ And she handed Jael one of her river stones with the dark symbol twirling around its smooth surface. ‘It is intricate, I know, so you must work hard to remember it. See it in your mind now, and know that when you wake you will find it again. You must tell Ayla. She knows how to cast a circle using symbols. She can show you.’ Edela took a deep breath, feeling her chest tighten. ‘If you are able, if you are under attack, you can cast one, and everyone inside it will hopefully remain safe.’

  Jael didn’t look convinced. ‘But you don’t know it will work. Not for sure.’

  ‘No, it’s a hunch,’ Edela admitted, trying to suck in some air, suddenly hot all over. ‘More than a hunch, but it may not work or work for long if Draguta has her way. But it is worth trying now.’

  Jael gripped her hand. ‘What else? There’s something else, isn’t there?’

  Edela nodded. ‘Ontine had a dream. She saw Eadmund... kill you.’

  Jael stilled in surprise.

  ‘She is not an experienced dreamer. It may not have been a real dream,’ Edela added. ‘But more likely it was.’

  ‘Kill me?’

  ‘Eydis and I are going to try and help Eadmund. We will try and cut the rope binding him to Draguta.’ Edela’s ears were buzzing, everything starting to blur.

  Jael wasn’t listening. ‘He really killed me? Eadmund?’ She felt mad that she’d let anyone kill her, especially Eadmund. Sad that he was so lost that he’d want to.

  ‘He is not the man you remember. Or even the man we saw in Andala,’ Edela croaked. ‘You must not let him near you, Jael. Do not fight him. We need time! We will try and help him!’

  Jael held on tighter, feeling her grandmother’s hand trembling but in another breath, Edela was gone, and she sat on the bench alone, hands empty, staring into the darkness. ‘Kill me?’ She shook her head, quickly turning it again as that voice called to her.

  ‘You won’t come back.’

  Eadmund could feel Amma squirm as Jaeger returned, joining them as they waited near the guests; none of them wanting to sit down on the benches Draguta had ordered moved out onto the square.

  ‘They’re coming, apparently,’ Jaeger grumbled under his breath. ‘Though I wish Draguta would hurry up. Does anyone really want to watch this? Smell this?’ He shuddered, remembering what she had done to Hest’s Followers at the Crown of Stones. ‘It won’t be pleasant.’

  ‘Perhaps we should go back inside?’ Amma wondered, glancing back at the open castle doors. ‘I don’t think I feel very well.’

  Evaine was just as eager to head inside. She had no need to see anyone killed for entertainment. Her father’s death still haunted her. The shock of it. The smell of it. ‘Yes, I should check on Sigmund,’ she lied, smiling at Eadmund.

  He ignored her, his attention on Draguta as she swept down the steps, Ballack dragging Briggit behind her.

  No one was leaving now.

  ‘Oh, what a lovely evening!’ Draguta exclaimed, her voice quieting the noisy conversation of her guests who turned to her with expectant faces. ‘Not even a breath of wind!’ She glared defiantly at Briggit who looked defeated, her broad shoulders curling forward.

  ‘The entertainment will begin shortly!’ Draguta promised, indicating for Ballack to release Briggit, before turning to Meena. ‘Bring that remaining bowl of potion down here! Hurry now!’

  Briggit stumbled, losing her balance, falling against Draguta who grabbed her shoulders, righting her.

  ‘You will show me the dreamers,’ she whispered in Briggit’s ear.

  Briggit froze.

  ‘The rest will die. I will save the dreamers, for I am merciful,’ Draguta smiled. ‘More merciful than any of those Followers deserve. Perhaps soon they will wish they had died? Now, come along, Briggit, my fallen queen, and show me which of your loyal dogs will die.’

  After the dream walk, Edela felt like being tucked up in her bed, but she was shuffling back to the hall, down the dark road, away from her cottage, Biddy’s arm firmly through hers, both of them following Isaura who held a flaming torch.

  Eydis and Ontine were not far behind, the puppies running beside them, sniffing out the cats who were crawling around in the dark looking for mice.

  The whisps hadn’t killed any of those.

  ‘And what did she say?’ Biddy wondered, her voice low. ‘About Eadmund?’

  Edela felt as though her head was stuffed with feathers. She couldn’t think. ‘I... she sounded mad.’

  Biddy grabbed Edela as she swayed away from her. ‘Mad? Well, I like the sound of that. Sounds like Jael. I’d be mad too if I thought someone had killed me.’

  ‘Especially someone you love.’

  ‘It’s very sad,’ Biddy sighed, listening to someone crying in the cottage they were passing. ‘So sad to think that anyone could be so cruel, so evil that they’d take pleasure in watching others suffer. As if it’s a game to be enjoyed. Not people’s lives. It makes you wonder if Draguta ever loved anyone. If there’s any part of her that’s still human.’

  ‘I doubt there is. To do what she has done? I doubt there is.’ Thinking about Draguta made Edela pick up her boots. ‘We should hurry,’ she mumbled. ‘To the hall, Biddy. We need to get into that circle!’

  Draguta was enjoying the game, though she could see that it had dragged on, as some of her guests were now yawning in the distance. ‘Hurry along, Briggit dear. Show me the last of your dreamers, and then we will begin!’

  Briggit had separated the Followers into two groups, taking most of the dreamers to one side. They would be saved. And as for the rest...

  She walked amongst them, hearing their c
ries, their desperate pleas as they begged her to spare their lives. Stopping before Sabine and Lillith, Briggit’s face remained blank as she turned to Draguta. ‘These are the last two.’

  Draguta peered at the sisters, the flare of flames bright on their terrified faces, neither one knowing where to look. ‘Hmmm... I don’t think so.’ And striding into the middle of the Followers, leaving Briggit behind with one of the castle guards, Draguta aimed straight for a large middle-aged woman and her equally rotund daughter whose sunburned faces suddenly shone with hope. ‘You seem to have forgotten these little dumplings!’ She curled a finger for Ballack to come forward. ‘You will take them to my dreamers. And as for these two...’

  Briggit’s mouth was suddenly dry. She couldn’t even blink. Her face revealed nothing, though her heart was a beating storm in her chest as Draguta walked back to her.

  ‘I’m not sure why you think your symbols can keep me out,’ Draguta growled, bending down to her, lips brushing against Briggit’s freckled cheek. ‘I am showing mercy, yes, but not to you.’ And flicking a hand at Ballack, she strode up the steps to Meena. ‘Take them to the others!’

  ‘Briggit!’ Sabine and Lillith cried in unison, panicked eyes brimming with tears. ‘Please! No! Briggit! Please!’

  Briggit felt sick as she stared straight ahead, listening to the scrape of Lillith’s boots, smelling Sabine’s fear, hearing their hysterical cries as they begged for their lives.

  She closed her eyes, trying to reach them over the panic of the square as those doomed to die wailed and begged for mercy. ‘Stay calm, my loves. Death is not your enemy. It will free you. Stay calm now, for we will be together soon.’

  31

  Another night had passed, and everything was starting to feel even harder.

  No attack. No attack on Andala that Ayla or Jael had felt. No odd dreams. Well, yes, odd dreams, Jael thought to herself, remembering what Edela had said as she dropped a cloudberry into her bowl, watching it slowly sink into the porridge. She had found Ayla as soon as she’d woken, scratching out her memory of Edela’s symbol, hoping she had remembered it correctly. ‘We should train this morning. Raymon will likely arrive today.’

  Axl turned to his sister. He’d barely slept, and his eyes were almost closed as he considered her with a frown. ‘And if he does?’

  ‘Then we’ll leave first thing tomorrow. We don’t want to delay.’

  Aleksander was happy with the sound of that. Pushing away his bowl, he reached his arms over his head, stretching out his legs. ‘Training sounds good.’

  Ivaar nodded as he made his way to the table, one hand out in front of him.

  ‘For those of us who can see, at least,’ Jael frowned, staring at his bruised face. His broken nose was still a swollen mess, and his right eye was completely closed up, yellow and purple and painful looking.

  ‘Mmmm, perhaps I had too much of that mead last night,’ he grimaced. ‘Though it was good mead.’

  Aleksander yawned, thinking much the same. It had felt good to relax, though. The pressure of what was coming was like a pair of hands around his throat. He could feel that they were there, knowing that soon they would start squeezing hard. He blinked, smiling at Beryth who walked in from the kitchen with two bowls in her hands.

  ‘I have figs! Any takers?’

  Thorgils, sitting next to Aleksander, leaned forward immediately. ‘I’ll have some of those. And how about some soft cheese? I do like a bit of soft cheese on my porridge.’

  Axl screwed up his face. He had no appetite at all. His thoughts were swirling around his tired head, and his fears were griping in his belly. The longer it took to get to Hest, the more danger Amma would be in. She was smart, he knew, but how could she possibly defend herself against a monster like Jaeger Dragos?

  Jaeger smiled from his seat at the centre of the high table, watching as Meena slipped down the stairs, no doubt heading for the gardens. Though Amma continued to tempt him with her body, he was content to spend his nights between Meena’s accommodating thighs. Draguta had promised that he could touch the book again, and he was determined to stay far away from trouble, eager for that to happen.

  He turned to his right where Briggit sat, wearing Evaine’s dress, sullen and bound. Trouble. Trouble Draguta didn’t need. Jaeger wondered what she was thinking, keeping her alive. Keeping so many of the Followers alive too. All of them dreamers. Yet, it had been bad enough watching her turn the rest of them to ash.

  The smell still lingered.

  He peered at Briggit who was staring blankly at her plate. Nothing had been touched. ‘Feeling bad, are we?’

  ‘About sitting next to you?’ Briggit wondered tartly. ‘I am. Yes.’

  Eadmund laughed. ‘Who could blame you?’ He looked down at his own plate with some discomfort, staring at the thick slices of roast pork, charred around the edges, reminded of the mess Draguta had made in the square.

  The leadup had been so terrifying: the hysterical cries of the condemned; the mix of curiosity and disgust from the watching Hestians; the glee with which Draguta had performed her grand show.

  The piles of smouldering ash.

  Eadmund could sense Evaine staring at him again. He wondered why Draguta had invited her into the castle. Why she was keeping Evaine around at all.

  For him?

  He certainly didn’t want her company.

  ‘Will you be training today?’ Evaine asked sweetly. ‘I expect you will, what with the Brekkan army coming our way.’

  Eadmund didn’t want to think about that. ‘I imagine I will. It’s something to do.’

  ‘You’ll have to improve if you hope to defeat your wife,’ Jaeger grinned, biting into a crispbread. ‘From what I’ve seen, you don’t stand a chance against her.’

  Eadmund took the bait. ‘You’ve no idea what Draguta has planned, so shut your mouth or stuff a sausage in it, so no one has to suffer the sound of your voice!’ And pushing back the bench, he smiled at Amma, ignored Evaine and strode out of the hall.

  Straight into Draguta.

  ‘Just the man I wanted!’ she exclaimed with a triumphant smile, leading Eadmund back into the hall. ‘After the success of last night, we must put you to work today. Our enemies are on the march, so it is time to choose our battlefield, and I have the perfect place in mind!’ She could see Jaeger’s interest pique as he left his breakfast behind to join them at the map table.

  ‘Choose our battlefield?’ he wondered, licking his lips. ‘You don’t want to make them come here?’

  ‘I do not. Not at all. This is no place to stage a momentous battle, is it? There is no room. Too many mountains. Nowhere to view the carnage.’ And she bent over the table, murmuring deeply, running a finger around the little lines and shapes that designated where each village and valley, every river and stream lay. ‘But here,’ she smiled, placing her finger on a clear patch between Saala and the Helsaboran border. ‘Here is perfect.’

  Jaeger looked over her shoulder. He shrugged. ‘It’s as good a place as any, though there’ll be little advantage for either side. As long as you’re confident in what you can do.’

  Draguta turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. ‘You were in Angard, weren’t you, Jaeger? That wasn’t some other bleary-eyed, dull-witted king I sent there?’

  Jaeger stood back, irritated. ‘Well, if you’re able to do the same, then we shouldn’t have a problem.’

  Draguta moved her attention to Eadmund. ‘I may not need to. After you kill their leader, I doubt anyone else will have the stomach to face me. Not once they see what I can do.’

  Eadmund didn’t have the stomach for the conversation. He turned his head away from the happy gleam in her eyes.

  Draguta grabbed his arm. ‘We will all be there, Eadmund. All of us. But it is you who will get it done. Kill your wife, and I will allow you to return to your son. I will allow you to go back to your little island rock, if that is your wish. But fail me...’

  The look in Draguta’s eyes was as threa
tening as a newly sharpened blade and Eadmund found himself nodding, realising that he had no choice.

  No choice at all.

  ‘That would be your brother, I think,’ Ivaar panted, happy to distract Jael from launching another attack on him. He was struggling to breathe through his broken nose, and he couldn’t see out of his right eye either.

  Jael didn’t turn around. ‘Why would I care about that?’ she wondered, readying her wooden staff, sweat trickling down her brow. Then her face cleared as she got Ivaar’s meaning. ‘Oh.’ And banging the staff onto the ground, she wiped a hand across her brow, turning as Raymon Vandaal rode through Vallsborg’s gates, ragged columns of weary-looking Iskavallans traipsing behind him. ‘That brother.’

  The idea that her father had had another child had still not sunk in.

  A secret family.

  She didn’t feel angry about it now, just constantly surprised by the notion, and – she realised, looking at Raymon as he dismounted – worried. He was so young. In charge of the most turbulent kingdom in the whole of Osterland, with a disloyal wife who had been tangled up in the last botched attempt on his life. ‘Hello!’ Jael called, striding forward, leaving Ivaar to catch his breath. ‘Decided to keep us waiting this time, did you?’

  ‘I did!’ Raymon grinned. He stood awkwardly before his sister, neither of them knowing what to do, and Jael not liking most forms of affection anyway.

  Axl seemed to have no problem, though, as he joined them, clapping Raymon on the back. ‘We were going to leave without you! This afternoon, even.’

  Raymon looked mortified, glancing at Jael. ‘I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I just couldn’t organise everyone in time. After what happened in Rissna... it put us all behind. I had to find new leaders. It took some time.’

  ‘He’s joking,’ Jael said, whacking Axl. ‘We weren’t leaving without you.’