Vale of the Gods

by A. E. Rayne

  ‘Is it?’ Edela was relieved. ‘I thought it was just me.’

  Biddy laughed. ‘Why don’t you come with me and we’ll step outside for a while?’ She could see Edela recoil from her hand. ‘Just for a while. Take in some sun. Inhale something that doesn’t smell like sheep fat and whatever is in that cauldron.’ And screwing up her nose, she leaned forward, grabbing Edela’s hand.

  ‘I’ve never known anyone as bossy as you,’ Edela grumbled, though she quite happily followed a bustling Biddy out through the doors and onto the hall steps, where a cooling breeze and a dull grey sky greeted them.

  ‘Not exactly sunshine!’ Biddy grinned. ‘But it will do you good to stop squinting over that book for a while.’

  Edela panicked, not wanting to leave the book behind.

  ‘The girls are there,’ Biddy assured her. ‘It’s just for a moment.’ And she lifted a hand as Sybill approached, helping a limping Derwa to mount the steps.

  ‘What happened?’ Edela was too concerned to be bothered by Sybill’s presence. ‘Derwa?’

  ‘Oh, nothing much. I twisted my ankle. A hole that wasn’t a hole. I misjudged it and down I went. Silly old fool.’

  Derwa looked flustered, and Edela quickly took her hand. ‘Let’s get you inside and have a look at it. I think you’ve cut your arm too.’ She could see blood seeping through the sleeve of Derwa’s grey dress.

  ‘Oh, I did make a mess of myself then, didn’t I?’ Derwa sighed, letting Edela and Biddy help her up the steps.

  Sybill hurried ahead of them, opening the door, her eyes meeting Edela’s as she passed, surprised by the harsh look on the old dreamer’s face. And blinking, she dropped her head, following after them.

  Draguta scowled at Jaeger as he headed towards her with Meena who looked embarrassed and in need of a comb. ‘We must find you other forms of entertainment, Jaeger. Or, at least, someone else to entertain you, for I did not bring Meena Gallas here to service you day and night!’ She saved her fiercest scowl for Meena as she approached, jabbing a finger at her chest. ‘And you will hurry to find Brill who has been left to assist me all morning with only Evaine for help! And I’m sure you can imagine how that has gone?’

  Meena nodded, bobbing and weaving past Draguta and Eadmund, trying to make her way to Brill.

  ‘Straighten up!’ Draguta barked after her slumped assistant. ‘You are not a weeping willow!’ And turning back to Jaeger, she inhaled sharply. ‘There is a stream. Do not forget to use it, before we are all forced to smell what you’ve been up to.’

  Jaeger didn’t bother to feel offended. He felt invigorated, knowing that Karsten was coming. That Jael Furyck and her army were coming too.

  But when?

  ‘You will ensure that everything is in place by the end of the day,’ Draguta snapped, her mood more fractious than ever. ‘And then, perhaps we will hurry the Furycks along. We don’t want to wait here forever, do we? No harm in giving them an incentive to march faster!’

  47

  They wrapped Derwa’s swollen ankle in cabbage leaves and left her resting on a bed near the grey curtain. Biddy brought her a cup of rose hip tea, and Alaric, who was getting in everyone’s way and would be better use as company for Derwa. Edela returned to the circle where Ontine and Eydis were chatting as they worked; Ontine stirring the cauldron, Eydis sniffing the herbs before picking the leaves and handing them to her.

  ‘Well, this is impressive teamwork!’ Edela grinned. ‘I’m not sure you needed me to come back.’

  Ontine looked horrified. ‘Oh no, we can’t do it without you, Edela. I’m just reading the words, but I doubt they’ll have much weight to them with my lack of experience.’

  Edela bent over the cauldron, inhaling the potent blend of herbs and spices, relieved that they had managed to save the gardens inside the fort. Relieved too that they had foraged in the woods before Draguta had killed everything.

  She frowned, thinking about the sacred grove; wondering if she had destroyed Furia’s Tree too; worrying about the gods, and whether any could withstand Draguta now. ‘I’m sorry?’ Edela smiled at Ontine. ‘I drifted off, I think. Must be time for my nap.’

  ‘That sounds like a good idea,’ Eydis said, standing up. ‘You should go.’

  ‘Not yet, but once we’re done here, I will. And so will you, Eydis. Tonight will drain us both. To sustain that sort of trance whilst attempting to cut that powerful rope?’ She took a deep breath, doubting whether it was even possible, then, looking at Eydis’ hopeful face, she exhaled, smiling. ‘But we had some success last time, didn’t we? I’m sure we can go one step further tonight.’ She wasn’t sure at all. And she wanted Entorp to help keep them safe. He would be coming to add more tattoos of protection to them soon.

  Edela wasn’t looking forward to that.

  ‘We’ll finish up here, then a nap, and then we’ll be ready for Entorp,’ she decided, reaching for the Book of Aurea, comforted just to touch it again.

  Hoping it would have all the answers she needed to the battle that lay ahead.

  Draguta sat at the table, her hands placed on either side of her seeing circle, watching Jael Furyck and her sprawling army trudge towards the vale, where they would...

  Meet their deaths.

  Draguta smiled.

  Where they would meet their deaths, and she would kill her sister, who would be forced to reveal herself to save them.

  Draguta drained her goblet, feeling the wine heat her chest. In fact, she felt warm all over, a heat that charged her. Turning to the book, she laid her hands on it, feeling it pulse beneath her fingers.

  Ready to begin.

  ‘It has been a long journey, my friend,’ she sighed. ‘You and I have come to this place together, but this is only the beginning. Once we show them what we are capable of, there will be nothing to stop us. No man, woman, or god will stand in our way!’

  They had stopped in Verra just in time for lunch, much to Thorgils’ delight, and while Jael and Aleksander sat with Rexon, explaining everything that had happened since they’d last seen him, Thorgils filled plate after plate with the bounteous food on offer in the smoke-stained hall.

  The Lady of Verra had stood anxiously by the door to the kitchen, hoping the giant red-headed warrior wasn’t going to barge past her looking for more. She had put on a feast in honour of the Lord of Saala and his men, but she had not been expecting to entertain the vast swathe of the Brekkan army, including some very hungry Islanders too.

  Eventually, Jael had sent Thorgils outside to get everyone ready, leaving a relieved kitchen staff behind. And now they were back on the road with the Saalans, making plans with Rexon whose eyes were bright and alert, looking out for any of the terrifying creatures Jael had described.

  Fyr returned that afternoon, and Jael could feel the raven’s tension as she perched on her shoulder, twitching, eyes blinking, turning to Jael, back to Thorgils, looking ahead and behind.

  Never still.

  It made Jael twitchy too.

  She sucked in a long breath, eyes up on the clouds in the distance.

  Aleksander’s eyes were there too. ‘Just clouds,’ he decided.

  ‘Or smoke?’ Rexon wondered from beside him, not convinced; more on edge than he had been in some time. He was used to looking for enemies with swords and shields. Not fangs and wings. ‘Maybe fog?’

  Jael shrugged. ‘Could be either. I like clouds, though. Let’s stick with clouds.’

  Aleksander smiled, glancing around at a worried Axl who rode behind him with Karsten, eyes on the clouds too, feeling his tension mount. They were getting closer to the vale, and he could only hope that Jael was right. That Draguta was leading them to her.

  Her and Jaeger.

  Karsten spat on the ground. He’d had no appetite since eating that stew, convinced that Aleksander had poisoned them all. ‘You’re going to have to fight me.’

  Axl was surprised, turning to Karsten with a frown. ‘What? Why?’

  ‘You’re thinking
about your woman. About what you’ll do to Jaeger, aren’t you?’

  Axl nodded. ‘Not hard to see why.’

  ‘No, but you won’t be able to kill him. I’ve seen you fight. He’ll blow you over. Tear you to pieces on his way to me.’

  Hearing where the conversation was headed, Thorgils nudged his horse in between them. ‘You’ve got a better impression of your arse brother than I have. We all saw him on Skorro. Jael knocked him down before he’d even opened his mouth to cry for his mother.’

  Karsten laughed. ‘You don’t think he’s improved since then? Since he was stuck in that smoking bowl with a crew of half-drowned men?’ He spat over the side of his horse again, bile swirling around his mouth. ‘I’ve fought him, you haven’t. I know you want to take him, Axl. Have him. Kill him. But you can’t,’ Karsten insisted, his eye on Thorgils, eyebrow raised, wanting his help convincing Axl not to even try.

  ‘Karsten’s got a point,’ Thorgils said, watching Axl’s frustration mount. ‘I know what it’s like to want to kill a man. To think that you can. Believe in your reputation so much you kid yourself into becoming the hero you’re not. I almost got myself killed with thinking like that.’ Thorgils’ mind wandered to Tarak. ‘Lucky for me, Jael finished what I couldn’t even start.’

  Axl wasn’t about to retreat, though. ‘In battle...’ He stopped, shying away from Karsten’s fierce glare and Thorgils’ sympathetic eyes.

  ‘In battle, you’re never as good as you think you’ll be. It’s slippery and loud. It stinks. Your friends die. You can’t see. Can’t think. Guts everywhere. A bloody nightmare.’ Karsten’s voice softened. ‘You’re a king. I’m not, but I will be when I defeat my brother. You need to ride into battle like a king who cares about his kingdom. Not one man. Jaeger’s not worth it. You want to avenge your woman? Then live. Leave Jaeger to me.’

  Axl saw the sense in that – surprised that it was coming from Karsten Dragos – and he realised that Amma meant more to him than killing Jaeger ever would. That and going home to Andala, to his mother and Gant.

  His grandmother and Biddy.

  And he stared at Karsten, who was adjusting his eye patch, looking as though he was about to spit again, but he didn’t say a word.

  Jael’s bed was big enough for two. She had slept in it with Aleksander for many years, and Edela felt sad that time had moved on so quickly. From Jael and Aleksander being together, to Jael being on Oss, to this. Edela could smell the faint aroma of lemon balm, a hint of sheep fat, and she smiled as she helped Eydis lie down, grabbing a fur for her, moving Vella out of the way as they made themselves comfortable.

  Jael would come back.

  Edela held onto that thought as she closed her eyes. ‘Good luck, Eydis,’ she murmured, patting her shoulder. ‘I wish you some useful dreams.’

  Eydis opened her eyes, though there was only darkness. She could hear the worry in Edela’s voice that she wouldn’t find a dream at all. ‘I wish you the same. And don’t worry, Ontine will come and find us if there’s any trouble. You need to relax.’

  Edela chuckled softly. ‘Can you hear my worries now? You are getting to be a very good dreamer, Eydis Skalleson, if that’s the case. Though it’s not really Ontine who worries me as much as her mother.’

  ‘Oh, why is that?’ Eydis rolled towards Edela, too curious to feel tired.

  Edela felt silly. ‘I’m not sure. You didn’t like Ontine, did you? At first?’

  Now Eydis felt silly. ‘I think it was because of... Fyn,’ she admitted. ‘Ontine is a pretty girl. A woman. I’ve seen her in my dreams. I can see why Fyn would get tongue-tied around her.’

  ‘But you don’t mind her now?’

  ‘She’s been helpful and kind. And the puppies like her. The children, too, so no, I don’t mind her now. I haven’t spoken to her mother, though. I haven’t seen her in my dreams.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘No. Why are you suspicious of her?’ Eydis wondered, yawning. It was a comfortable bed, and she was starting to feel sleepy. ‘Did she say something to you?’

  Edela could see that Eydis was ready for sleep, and she didn’t want to distract her; she needed as much rest as possible before the ritual. ‘No, nothing at all. Don’t you worry, now. I’ve a feeling it’s just me letting my imagination run away with itself.’ She caught Eydis’ yawn and closed her eyes. ‘Get some sleep. See if you can find that brother of yours.’ And yawning some more, Edela waded into the darkness, hoping to find a useful dream of her own.

  Though the sun was out and the wagon was a constant wobbling noise, Ayla was trying to fall asleep. She desperately needed more dreams, though lately, they had been confusing. She always saw fire.

  It had been that way since long before she had taken ill with the sickness. Always fire. It was unsettling. Smoke lingered in her nostrils, in her hair, on her clothes, reminding her of her dreams.

  Astrid was the perfect company. She was a quiet, industrious worker with an agreeable disposition. Ayla had enjoyed getting to know her, but she was always most grateful when Astrid left her alone with her thoughts.

  Even Bruno had been quiet. He was still struggling to understand how he had killed that man in the fog; struggling with Ivaar’s constant presence too. It was hard to ask him to hold himself back when Ayla could feel how desperately he sought a reckoning. And one day, perhaps, he would get it. She hoped so.

  Rolling onto her side, she inhaled the lavender she had stuffed inside her pillow. It was the perfect remedy for a troubled mind.

  And closing her eyes, Ayla let the creaking wagon rock her to sleep.

  ‘Our enemies are hiding in plain sight,’ Dara warned the young woman. ‘Yours and mine. They tried to steal the prophecy, but I destroyed it.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘I was a child when I wrote it. So naive. I believed in people I shouldn’t have. The Following was like a magical creature that could regrow a severed limb. They shifted and hid and twisted themselves into new shapes so that we never knew who they were. They cloaked themselves from even the most talented dreamers.’

  ‘Like you?’

  Dara smiled, handing Samara a cup of lavender and rose tea. ‘Well, yes, even me. I wrote the prophecy as a warning. I imagined a warning as dire as that would be heeded, that the elderman would act. We trusted her, my aunt and I. But Sersha was a Follower. She killed her own kind to protect her identity. That’s what they do. Anything they can. They are desperate for Raemus. His return is the only thing that matters. The one true goal, they call it. Their lives are devoted to the search for the Book of Darkness and to the destruction of those who stand in their way.’

  Samara was seventeen-years-old. This was her first visit to Dara Teros on her own. She had come with her mother over the years, but she was only just beginning to learn what a responsibility being a protector of the Book of Aurea was. How she must work to keep it out of the wrong hands.

  ‘And they are all the wrong hands,’ Dara said, interrupting her thoughts. ‘You must trust no one but your own family. Our family. You will have a daughter, Samara, and she will have a daughter, and one day that daughter will become the most powerful dreamer in all of Osterland.’

  Samara blinked. ‘She will?’

  ‘Her name will be Eydis. I have seen that. And though the gods will deprive her of her sight, they will give her the greatest vision of all, for she will be able to see in the Darkness.’

  Meena’s eyes were grainy. Jaeger had kept her awake for much of the night. He was acting as though he needed no sleep at all. His energy was surging, and she suspected that it was something to do with the Book of Darkness.

  Draguta was letting him touch it again, encouraging him to, sensing that he would need its power before the battle.

  It worried Meena.

  She could see the change in him after he’d held it. His eyes were peeled open wide, blinking rapidly, his movements fast and jerking. It was as though he was turning into someone else. Something else.

  ‘
Is it ready?’ Brill asked, nudging her.

  Meena blinked, peering at the dark liquid. Everything appeared to have blended together as best that she could see. She nodded. ‘You can take it to her.’

  Brill grabbed the copper bowl, eager to be gone. She almost ran into Evaine who stood in the entrance of the tent, watching with hooded eyes. ‘Everyone is rushing about today,’ she purred, her eyes on Meena.

  Meena swallowed, wishing Brill hadn’t just run away.

  ‘Draguta told me to come and see what you were doing.’

  Meena frowned. ‘I have a list,’ she mumbled, pointing to the curling piece of vellum. ‘I’m making potions for tonight.’

  Evaine’s eyes did not follow Meena’s arm. ‘And what else are you making?’ she wondered. ‘What are you doing that Draguta doesn’t know about?’

  Meena shook her head. ‘Nothing.’ Though she had no fear of her cousin, she could feel her legs shaking beneath her dress. ‘N-nothing.’ Looking up at Evaine, she cleared her thoughts. ‘I’m preparing everything as quickly as I can.’

  Evaine was enjoying the game. ‘And Jaeger? What will you prepare for him?’

  Now Meena was confused. ‘Prepare? For Jaeger?’

  ‘You want him to live?’ Evaine spun around, dropping the tent flap, revealing the real reason she had come. ‘In this battle where there is a chance he could die...’

  Meena froze.

  ‘You hate him as much as I do,’ Evaine murmured, her voice a deep hum. ‘And you could finish him without anyone ever knowing. He could die on that battlefield. No one would ever know it was because of you. Draguta will be too busy with the Brekkans. She won’t notice how he dies.’

  Meena remained frozen, hiding her thoughts behind a stone wall, her face impassive. ‘I have to make the next potion. You should go before Draguta gets angry. She wants Jaeger to live. You should go.’