Coercion

by Tamara Hart Heiner

  “I couldn’t.”

  I shut my eyes, feeling sorry for him, and sorry for me, because the Dekla that loved him was no more. I carried those memories, I knew the love they’d shared, but he was not mine, not in my heart. I opened my eyes. “What are we waiting for?”

  Jumis stepped out from the barrier and took my other hand, holding both of them in his own.

  “Are you sure?” Trey asked. Behind him, tears trailed down Beth’s face.

  I returned my gaze to Jumis, refusing to overthink this, refusing to imagine what this meant for the rest of my life, for the rest of eternity. Criminy. “Do it.”

  Trey exhaled and straightened his back.

  “Ask me my name,” Jumis said.

  “What is your name?” Trey said.

  “Jumis. Ask me my desire.”

  “And what is your desire?”

  “To join with Dekla, whom I love. I promise not to seek to do her harm and to repair any harm done and to seek to be honest . . .”

  The words continued while I fought a wave of dizziness, heat rushing up to my head. This was really happening. And then Trey spoke to me.

  “What is your name?”

  “Jayne.”

  “What is your desire?”

  I nearly choked on the words. “To marry Jumis.”

  Trey looked at Jumis for help, but he shook his head.

  “Skip the promises. She has already given me the most important one.”

  Trey nodded and spoke to us both. “Cross your arms and take each other’s hands.”

  We did so, my hands clammy in Jumis’ grip. Trey put his hand above ours, and the binding Jumis had imprinted on me when we made our deal lit up, sparking orange and green.

  “Now you are bound one to the other with a bond not easy to break. May the infinite light of Deivs and Saule shine upon this union,” Trey said, his voice solemn. When Trey withdrew his hand, a golden ray of light wrapped around our wrists, pulsating brightly for a moment before vanishing.

  I licked my lips, tasting the saltiness of tears trailing down my cheeks.

  “It is done,” Trey said softly, his voice holding a note of mourning.

  Beth let out a sob. She reached for me, but I ignored her, facing Jumis. “We free him now.”

  “Take his soul,” he said, nodding at the swirling mist beside us.

  I held out my hand, and the mist surrounded my fingers, caressing them, feeling so tender I wondered if Aaron wasn’t aware of who I was and what I’d done.

  Jumis took a step backward through the barrier, his hand still holding mine. I took a step forward to follow, and this time I met no resistance. I passed through the barrier with him, Aaron’s soul entangled with my skin.

  As soon as we crossed over, the mist disentangled itself and rushed to Aaron’s body. Within moments he took a deep, shuddering breath, at the same time that the entire cavern trembled around us.

  Jumis’ hand closed on my shoulders. “The barrier. It must have been an alarm. Jods knows we are here. We must leave.”

  Aaron sat up, blinking his eyes as a shaky hand pressed to his forehead. I pulled away from Jumis and knelt by his side, one hand reaching out to join his, my fingers trembling as I brushed the hair off his face, my chest aching when my skin touched his.

  He lifted his gaze. “Jayne?” His eyes flitted around the room, taking in Trey and Beth and Jumis, the cage, the door.

  But all I could do was stare at the blue in his eyes, no longer black and empty from Samantha’s spell. I drank in the dimple in his chin, the little curl across his forehead that refused to stay where it should.

  “Jayne,” Jumis said, his voice authoritative, and Trey added, “He’s right, Jayne. We aren’t prepared to fight down here.”

  “Time to go.” I took Aaron’s hand and helped him to his feet.

  “Where are we?” he asked, one arm going around my shoulders in a natural, familiar gesture. My throat burned.

  “I don’t know what you remember,” I said, moving us toward the door. Whatever barrier had been there was gone, or maybe it was only to keep mortals from getting in. “A lot has happened. You were being held captive here in the underworld. But now you’re free.” I offered him what I hoped was a bright smile, but hot tears pricked my eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, concern in his expression. One hand cupped my face, his thumb running along my jaw. I closed my eyes, relishing the touch.

  “Nothing,” I said, my chest constricting.

  “Is it because I broke up with you?” He smiled, though he looked a little confused, as if still trying to place his memories. “I didn’t mean it. I did it to save you.” He glanced around as we walked out. “You said we’re in the underworld? What’s going on?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Everything is right now.” I walked him over to Trey and then slipped out from under his arm. Trey met my eyes, and a look passed between us. I knew I could trust him. He would take care of Aaron.

  “Come on.” Trey moved faster down the corridor. “We have to hurry.”

  Jumis moved beside me, not touching me, but I felt the weight of his presence. “We’ll ascend a different way. But let’s watch them get to safety.”

  Beth turned and squeezed me tight. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

  Aaron had started after Trey, but he stopped at Beth’s words. “Jayne?” he said. He held out his hand. “Aren’t you coming?”

  My throat closed, the tears flowing freely down the sides of my face. “I can’t,” I whispered.

  Aaron took two steps back to me. The confidence of his former self was returning, his expression firm. “Why not?”

  I couldn’t tell him. So I just shook my head and stared at him. The one I would never have.

  He took my hand, apparently not accepting my silence as an answer. But before he could pull me forward, Jumis put a hand on my shoulder.

  “She cannot go with you.”

  Aaron turned a fiery gaze on him. “You can’t hold her hostage!”

  Jumis opened his mouth to defend himself, but I interrupted. “He’s not holding me hostage. I made this decision.” My voice cracked on the last word, ruining my attempt at bravery. “It was the only way.”

  Aaron turned his eyes back to mine. His grip tightened on my hand. “I didn’t sacrifice myself so you would give yourself up for me.”

  The irony of the situation had not been lost on me. “It’s different. You saved me from losing my powers to Samantha and becoming her slave. I had the opportunity to save your life, and I took it.”

  “So you could be his slave?” he demanded.

  “She’s not my slave,” Jumis said, lifting his chin. “She is my wife.”

  Aaron’s face paled and then went scarlet. “Wife?” he snarled, and of all the fights and arguments we’d ever had, I’d never seen such fury leap over his expression. He grabbed my face and tilted it toward him. “Jayne. Say it’s not true.”

  The urgency in his voice broke my heart, but I couldn’t deny it. When I didn’t say anything, he bent his face to mine and kissed me, his lips hard enough to bruise, his mouth hot and furious. He crushed me against him and I melted into his embrace, holding him as close to me as I dared, knowing this was the last time.

  Jumis jerked me away, and then he shoved Aaron hard enough to send him slamming into the opposite wall as he were nothing more than a bean bag.

  “Take him, Trey!” I shouted, terrified that Jumis might lash out at Aaron again.

  “Jayne!” Aaron said, getting to his feet.

  Trey grabbed his arm, somehow holding Aaron in place. “I will. I promise, Jayne—”

  “Go!” Jumis roared, and the cavern shook again, pieces of rock and debris showering our heads.

  Trey didn’t wait. He forcibly moved Aaron down the corridor. Beth cast one last glance my way before running after them.

  “Will they make it?” I cried out. “Will they be safe?”

  Jumis put his hand on my arm and pushed me i
nto the room we’d just left. “Auseklis will get to the surface. We must go also.” A stairway had appeared behind the cage, and Jumis prodded me up into it. He came behind me, then closed a door and the passage sealed shut as if there had never been a door. “Move quickly and quietly. Jods cannot reach us once we reach the realm of the celestial gods.”

  We did not speak as we climbed. The ascent felt very different from the descent, with no wacky time warps or loss of direction.

  Finally he said, “I kept my end of the bargain.”

  Was he insinuating that I had not kept mine? That there was something more I needed to do? I swiveled to face him, meeting his eyes head on. “And I kept mine.”

  “Yes, you did.” He closed the distance between us and held his hand out. “Come.”

  I didn’t budge. Would he command me if I didn’t? As his wife, I would have to do his bidding. “Where are we going?” To fight a war, I hoped, and not hop a cruise ship for a honeymoon.

  He tilted his head again, that playful smile returning to dance about his lips. “Why, Dekla, don’t you know? We have a war to win. The war council is already waiting for us above.” With that, he stepped past me on the stairs, leaving me no choice but to walk in his shadow.

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  “Jumis and Dekla, come forth,” Perkons boomed.

  I nodded, remembering the real reason I was here. Jumis offered me his hand, and I took it.

  “We still skip the official vows, as they have already been said,” Perkons said, electricity shooting from his head. “But we must anoint your bride.”

  “Anoint me?” I started to say, but no sooner had I opened my mouth than a girl holding a bowl stepped forward. She smiled at me, dipped her finger into the bowl, and removed something glossy and golden. Questions rattled around in my brain, but I wasn’t given the chance to ask. She touched her finger to my lips, leaving the heavy substance there. My tongue darted out and tasted the substance. Honey.

  “May your words to your husband always be sweet and your heart full of charity,” she said.

  “Kiss her and make her yours, Jumis,” Perkons said.

  Kiss me. My heart skipped a beat. Thus far we’d avoided any unnecessary touches. But Perkons was watching, and Jumis didn’t hesitate. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, warm and confident. Then he drew back, his gaze eager with anticipation. My mouth buzzed, my lips stunned from the turn of events.

  “You may remove the wreath,” Perkons said.

  A bonfire appeared in front of the throne. Jumis placed both hands on either side of the wreath on my head, and then he tossed it into the fire. Another girl stepped forward and handed a white cloth to Jumis. His mouth curved upward in a smile, and he settled the cloth on top of my head.

  “We wish you happy long years,” Perkons said, and the wedding party took up the chant.

  We had already married, but this felt far more official than the ceremony Trey had performed in the underworld. Jumis took my arm and led me to a table overlaid with bread and fruit, but I suddenly remembered Laima. I pulled away and swiveled her direction.

  Perkons had risen from his throne and stood next to her. People moved out of my way and I approached them. He spotted me and gestured me forward.

  “I have brought Laima here on your request.” He turned his eyes back to her. “While it was your idea to split Dekla and Karta’s souls into mortals that caused the trouble we are in now, it did indeed provide us the element we needed to win that war. However, there should have been more policing on your part, more analysis of character before you allowed just any mortal to accept the responsibility of even a part of your sisters’ souls. That is where I see your failure, and because of that, the girl called Samantha got a taste of immortality and ran rampant with it.”

  Again he paused, and this time Laima spoke. “You are correct on all accounts. I can assure you when this war is over, nothing like that will ever happen again.”

  “I believe it will be your intention to prevent it, but I’m not sure you have the ability to do so. And if you do not, the pieces of our souls cannot remain with humans.”

  She did not respond, though Perkons gave her a moment to. Lifting his chin, he said, “I need your assistance in this war. I need you to undo the harm caused by the rebel girl. Do you accept?”

  Laima’s eyes glittered. “With all my heart, even without you asking. Samantha—” she spat the name out like it tasted vile, “has defiled our mission and our purpose. She has twisted into her own image something sacred, and I will not stop until she pays recompense for her deeds.”

  The venom in her words shivered down my spine, and I added a small prayer of gratitude that I hadn’t given in to Samantha’s offers when she invited me to join her side. I definitely didn’t want to mess with these guys.

  “Then I set you free, but I counsel you not to leave this realm. We can protect you best here.” The golden chains around Laima’s wrists evaporated the moment he spoke the words. “You will be summoned to the war council tomorrow.”

  Someone else had approached to speak to him, and a few people fluttered to Laima’s side to whisper words of encouragement and comfort. I remained where I was until she gave me her attention.

  “Congratulations on your nuptials, Dekla,” she said.

  I scowled at her. She knew I was not her. “Just call me Jayne. What’s going on? You seem awfully calm about everything.”

  She patted my head. “Jayne, I am glad you’re here. All will be well.”

  With that she walked past me and entered into a conversation with another wedding guest, leaving me wondering why I had fought so hard to get her freed. She wasn’t going to give me any more information in the immortal realm than she had in the mortal world.

  Bibliography

  Alcott, Frances Jenkins: Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards: Pagan Mythology, Shamanism, and Magic from Finland, Lapland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Compass Rose Technologies, Chicago, IL., 2010.

  Baltic-crossroads.com/symbols.php

  Eldermountaindreaming.com/category/latvia-traditions/latvia-symbolism/

  Forthisjoyousoccasion.com/ceremony-with-wiccanpagan-handfasting.html

  Grimes, Algirdas J.: Of Gods and Men: Studies in Lithuanian Mythology, transl. Milda Newman, Indiana University Press, 1992.

  Machal, Jan: Slavic Mythology. Mythology ebooks, 2010.

  weddings.traditionscustoms.com/lithuanian_wedding

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  About the Author

  Tamara Hart Heiner is a mom, wife, baker, editor, and author. She currently lives in Arkansas with her husband, four children, a cat, a rabbit, a dog, and several fish. She would love to add a macaw and a sugar glider to the family. She’s the author of several young adult suspense series (Perilous, Goddess of Fate, Kellam High) the Cassandra Jones saga, and a nonfiction book about the Joplin Tornado, Tornado Warning.

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