Age of Myth (38 page)

“I hope those weren't friends of yours, God Killer,” Nyphron said.

As he approached, beams of moonlight splashed across his features, turning Nyphron's hair silver. Raithe saw that his sword was out, the metal stained dark. At his side walked Sebek, with Tibor and Nagon gleaming in the moonlight.

“Not friends of ours, no.” Although Raithe was happy not to see carnivorous pines, he wasn't certain if the Fhrey were a better alternative. Seeing them with blades drawn was as disturbing as seeing even a familiar dog with its teeth bared.

“Good.” Nyphron smiled. After wiping his blade, he sheathed it. “We're in search of the little tattooed one. Do you know where she is?”

“Suri? Why? What did she do?”

Nyphron shrugged. “I have no idea, but for some reason, Arion—the one your slave friend leveled with that rock—insists that we find and protect her. Anwir tracked the girl this far. I thought she was part of this mess.” He gestured at the dead man who had been thrown.

The Fhrey weren't there to kill anyone. Konniger's men had just gotten in the way. Raithe allowed himself to relax a bit, lowering sword and shield.

“We were looking for her, too,” Raithe said. “We think she's in a cave up there.” He pointed with Shegon's sword at the moonlit path.

Nyphron looked and nodded. “Best be moving, then.”

The whole group of Fhrey shifted like a school of fish, and in an instant they were gone.

“Wait!” Raithe shouted. “Did you see Persephone?”

No answer.

“What about Konniger?”

Only silence.

Raithe and Malcolm stood alone in the trampled circle in the moonlit glade. They looked at each other, then at the bodies at their feet.

“We're alive,” Malcolm mentioned in disbelief.

“What about Persephone?” Raithe began walking around, terrified he would stumble over her body.

“She got away.” Malcolm pointed into the trees. “I saw her racing into the forest. I think she's fine. If she got to the rol, she's safe.”

Raithe shook his head. “She didn't go to the rol.”

“What are you talking about? That's what you told her to do.”

“If I've learned anything about that woman, it's that she's unlikely to do what she's told.”

“You think she went after Suri?”

“That's why we came out here, isn't it?” Raithe started to follow the Fhrey.

“But what if she didn't? What if she did go to the rol?”

“Then she's safe, and we can go look for her with Suri as our guide, right?”

Malcolm looked less convinced but nodded and followed Raithe into the trees.

The water felt as cold as it had the last time.

In the dark, Persephone was worried that she wouldn't know which way to swim, but breaching the surface, she kicked toward the sound of the waterfall behind her. Swimming as fast as she could, it didn't take long to reach the edge of the pool. Just when she thought she'd made it to safety, Konniger splashed down.

The chieftain was smarter, or more determined, than Char and his pack of wolves.

She dragged herself up on the ledge. Her skirt clung to her legs and water drizzled a trail as she moved toward the crack behind the falls. Konniger was swimming toward her, and she fought against a panicked urge to run. She knew all too well the dangers of running on slippery stone.

Konniger reached the ledge.

How is he so fast?

He didn't know where he was going, yet he still closed the ground between them.

No moonlight fell behind the falls and none penetrated the inky crevice. She felt with ice-cold fingers along the smooth stone, searching. Her hands became her eyes, and with outstretched arms, she made her way down the corridor.

The door will open if you press the diamond shape in the design at the top. On the outside there's no design, just a little rock sticking out a bit. You have to feel around to find it…

Persephone had both hands on the left wall, sliding all over. She hammered frantically on any imperfection that stuck out.

“You in here, Persephone?” The sound of Konniger's voice nearly made her scream.

She tried to be quiet, tried to hide in the dark, but she couldn't stop breathing.

“I can hear you,” he said. “I can hear your heart pounding. It is pounding, isn't it, Seph? You don't mind if I call you Seph, do you? I noticed the Dureyan called you that. Are the two of you lovers? We made up that story about you and him, but maybe we weren't wrong after all. He's dead now. So is the other one.”

Where is it? Where is it?

Persephone was sliding her hands everywhere, skidding across the surface.

Where are you, you culling rock!

“There's no way out of here, is there, Seph? You might as well give up. I'll make it quick. It's not personal. Honestly, I respect you. I wasn't lying earlier in the lodge. You're sharp as an ax. That's just the problem. I knew you didn't buy the story about a bear killing Reglan. I could see you moving all your men into place. It was only a matter of time before you ordered my death. You just waited a little too long, that's all. Given a few more hours, I'd have been the one hiding in the dark, trying to get away from Raithe, Nyphron, or maybe that ugly goblin thing. If the situations were reversed, I'm sure you'd kill me quick, right? No sense dragging this out. I swear to Elan and Eton that I'll cut your throat clean and quick. I feel I owe that to Reglan, you know?”

Shivering in the dark, she could hear Konniger, feet sliding on stone as he inched in. He was so close that she heard the water dripping off his clothes. When her toe touched the end of the corridor, she felt her heart sink. She was at the end in every way a person could be.

That night there was more than one killer in the forest, the next day a lot more ghosts.

—
T
HE
B
OOK OF
B
RIN

Maeve hadn't moved.

Suri held Minna as she looked at the rumpled pile of cloth that had been the old woman, her white hair sprayed out in a fan. Suri spotted the finger of a hand, palm up, and a leg's pale skin sticking out from under her dress. She needed to check on her but was afraid to, afraid to let go of Minna, afraid to see what the bear had done. In truth, Suri was just afraid. Her hands were trembling where they clutched Minna's fur. The last time she'd been this scared was after finding Tura facedown in the garden. This time was worse. Suri hadn't simply arrived home to a woman who looked as if she'd picked a stupid place to sleep.

Suri felt safe holding Minna, or as safe as she could feel. Nothing was as reassuring as hugging a wolf, but she had to check on Maeve. She might still be alive, not that it would matter. Better if she was dead. Suri couldn't do much for her if she wasn't.

“Wait here,” she told the wolf as she rose on uncertain legs.

Suri staggered toward Maeve. Along the way, she picked up Tura's staff, which helped. Then she knelt beside the old woman. All that white hair obscured her face. Reaching out, Suri brushed it back.

Maeve opened her eyes.

Suri jerked her hand back. “I thought you were dead!”

The old woman managed a smile, not just with her lips but with her eyes. Looking up at Suri, she beamed.

“I'm so sorry,” Suri said. “It didn't work. I don't know why. I did it right—I know I did. Tura said I was good at such things, and I am…usually. I've always been able to stop the goulgans from getting in the mushrooms. My wards worked even better than hers.”

Maeve struggled to raise a hand. She only got it a few inches off the ground, where it hovered, shaking. Suri reached out and took hold of it.

“It's all right. It's all right,” Maeve whispered in a thread-thin voice. “It did work.”

Suri didn't understand. “It did?”

Looking around the cave, she searched for Maeve's daughter. She expected to see a naked baby or maybe a young girl, but only Minna was there. Having never exorcised an evil spirit, Suri had no idea what to expect, what to look for. It was possible she'd missed the moment when Maeve's daughter freed herself. A lot was happening, after all. Maybe the fire did it. That made a lot of sense. The fire could have distracted the demon and forced the girl's soul out the way the salt should have. The fire's brightness would have made it impossible for Suri to notice the transformation.

But then where is the child?

Suri looked around the cave once more and found nothing.

“I don't see her,” Suri said. “Are you sure it worked?”

Suri felt Maeve's quivering fingers squeezing hers. “I can see her. She's safe and…and she is beautiful…she is so…”

Maeve's fingers stopped quivering. The sight went out of her eyes, but the smile, that giant grin, remained.

Persephone could hear Konniger breathing. He was panting.

With nowhere to go, she bent her knees, lowering herself and crouching down. She cowered into a ball, trying to become as small as possible. A child's plan, and as feeble as it was, this one hope was all she had.

Maybe he'll reach out, touch the end of the crack, and think I got away. He might doubt whether I came in here at all.

She didn't even dare to pray, not out loud. In her head, she begged Mari to save her, to hide her, to—

“It's really narrow in here, isn't it? How did you find this place?”

Persephone covered her face with her hands to muffle her breathing, which was far too rapid and loud. She cursed her body for needing air. And wondered if Konniger could really hear her heart beating. To her own ears it pounded at an alarming volume.

“Did you know there was a pool down here, or did you just jump and pray? I'll bet you didn't even see the cliff. I'm impressed you didn't scream.”

She heard the scrape of his feet as he pressed closer and probably could have touched him if she extended her arm.

“You don't have that spear with you, do you, Seph? No, you dropped that. Lucky for me. Otherwise this—”

Splash!

The sound came from outside.

It's Raithe!

Somehow he had managed to escape and had come for her. Only one splash meant Malcolm was injured or dead, or maybe they had split up and he had gone to save Suri. What mattered was that Raithe was there, and he was going to save her.

Konniger stopped moving.

“Thurgin? Devon?” Konniger shouted. He was right next to her, and his voice was so loud that she jerked in terror. “That you?”

It has to be Raithe! It has to be! It has to be!

Persephone wanted to cry out, wanted to scream his name, but Konniger was so close. She had to wait, had to squeeze herself into the floor, to hide, to give Raithe time.

More splashing, and it was getting closer.

“Who is it?” Konniger asked, his voice less confident. “Who's out there?”

Still no answer came.

If it's Raithe, why doesn't he say so?

She heard Konniger shift, heard him take a step away and then another. “Who are you?”

The small patch of light that marked the opening of the crack vanished as something big blocked it out.

“Who in Elan's name are you?” Konniger cried.

The answering roar shook the stone.

Raithe and Malcolm moved as fast as they could but had no hope of keeping up with the Fhrey as they darted like deer through the trees. Their speed and silence, especially in the dark, was amazing and more than a little frightening. Raithe and Malcolm were left far behind and in awe.

Maybe they aren't gods, but they have to be magical—some form of crimbal, perhaps?

By the time Raithe and Malcolm reached the cave, Maeve was dead, and the Fhrey were building a litter to carry her body back to the dahl. There wasn't a bear—living or dead—and Raithe assumed it had been driven off.

Suri was alive. The young mystic crouched on her knees beside the Keeper of Ways with Minna curled beside her.

There was no sign of Persephone.

Raithe had been certain she would come there, forgoing the rol and trying to save Maeve and Suri on her own. A bloom of panic ignited as he began to doubt he would ever see her again.

No,
he thought.
I'm being foolish.

He tried to convince himself that she had taken his hint and run for the rol. He wanted to believe she'd locked herself inside and was safe, waiting for them to find her. But as sensible as all that seemed, it was too good to be true. Nothing in his life had ever gone completely his way, and the gods still had their eyes on him. They always wanted blood. Maeve was dead, but one old woman wouldn't be enough to sate the appetite of gods.

“Suri,” he said.

The girl turned her head and looked up slowly, her eyes taking time to focus.

“Can you show me how to find that waterfall?”

“The one with the Dherg rol hidden beneath it,” Malcolm added.

Suri nodded. Then glanced back at Maeve, still with her baffled expression.

“Can you do it in the dark? Can you do it now?” Raithe asked.

Suri glanced back at Maeve once more, then stood up. “Not a good idea to go there now.”

“Why?” Malcolm asked.

“Grin will probably go there.”

“The bear?” Raithe said so loudly that the Fhrey looked over. “Why would Grin go there?”

“She likes caves to hide in when she's scared or hurt. We've taken hers, so she'll go there. I've seen her do it before.”

“Scared? Hurt? Suri, did you do something to Grin?” Malcolm asked.

She nodded. “She was going to hurt Minna; I had to do something. That waterfall and pool is the nearest source of water, and she'll want to soothe the burns. If she lives, she's going to be in a really bad mood. Best to stay away.”

In his head, Raithe heard laughter. The laughter of the gods. The sound made his skin crawl. He had chosen poorly and put Persephone right in the path of the bear, which, for reasons only Suri knew, was going to be in an enraged state. What made the situation so ironic was that the gods had known all along what Raithe had only just realized—how much he cared for Persephone. She might not be able to love him, but oddly enough, that didn't matter. Some things didn't make sense, some things were merely the whim of gods—gods who had a recent and irresistible infatuation with him. In his mind, a great brown bear's image flashed, rearing over Persephone, its massive claws spread and its jaws open wide.

“Persephone is there,” Raithe shouted. “You need to take us, now!”

“We'll all go,” Nyphron said, surprising Raithe. “Medak, Vorath, and Eres, pack up the old Rhune, and we'll meet you at the forest's edge when we get back. Everyone else…” He looked at Suri. “Follow the girl.”

Suri glanced one last time at Maeve and then, together with Minna, trotted toward the cave exit.

As they headed out, Raithe heard Sebek speaking to Nyphron in Fhrey.
“Did he say what I think he said?”

Nyphron nodded.
“They've found a Dherg rol.”

Persephone smelled the harsh odor of burnt hair as Konniger stepped on her hand in his frantic retreat. She couldn't help crying out in pain.

Konniger didn't notice. His priorities had changed. Finding Persephone no longer topped his list. Even when she pushed his foot away, he didn't seem to care.

Persephone lost her fear and got to her feet, shoving Konniger back.

Another roar sounded. The sound amplified by the stone walls was heart-stopping. The bear couldn't be more than one or two arm lengths away, but Persephone couldn't see anything in the darkness. She felt Konniger grabbing at her blindly with both hands.

He doesn't have his spear.

The chieftain grabbed hold of Persephone and tried pulling her around in front of him, but the crevice was too narrow. That far back, it was just a few feet wide, and she was determined to keep Konniger between her and the bear. She wrenched free of his grip and beat him with her fists and knees. In the blackness, she connected with some part of his face, something hard and bony. She heard a squish, his mouth or maybe his nose.

Konniger groaned in pain, and Persephone kept swinging, swinging in the dark. Then she pushed out with both hands and managed to raise one foot and kick. Konniger was hit hard. He staggered backward, stumbling away. Then he screamed. At the same time, she heard what sounded like the cracking of branches.

Persephone felt the movement of air and a wetness spray her face—a cool wave followed by a hot, moist puff. Konniger continued to scream, his voice rising higher in pitch and intensity with each crack and snap.

Persephone's hands were back on the wall where the door was supposed to be. She ran her fingers across the surface, clawing in desperation.

“Where are you!” she screamed aloud at the stone.

You have to feel around to find it, and it's too high for the pack to reach.

She stretched up, sliding her palms left and right, manically waving both arms. The stone was smooth, slick, and moist.
Blood. It's splattered with blood.

“Help!”
Konniger cried, not sounding at all like himself, not even sounding human. The high-pitched screech was something a small animal might make and was accompanied by a deep growl that she felt as much as heard.

Persephone's hand crossed a bump she'd missed before, and she slammed her fist against it, more in a physical expression of panic than any hope of success. She was rewarded with the green light's glow, a sliver that widened with the low grind of stone on stone. She fell into the rol, hitting her knees on the hard floor. The pain streaked up her body, making her cry out again. She sucked in a harsh breath, her eyes watering.

Behind her, the bear continued killing Konniger.

No, not killing, not anymore. She heard another snap but no cry, no screech. Konniger was dead. The bear was ripping what was left of him apart.

I'm next,
she thought.

Gritting her teeth and opening her eyes, Persephone pushed off the floor. She was back in the little room with the glowing green stone, square columns, and ribbed archways.

I have to close the door!

Built by the diminutive Dherg, the doorway wasn't large; she had no trouble reaching the diamond at the top of the threshold. She pressed the stone plate. It moved easily enough, and the door obediently began to close, the stone slab sliding left to right with a steady grind.

Hadn't it slammed shut before?
Watching the massive stone scrape its way shut, Persephone was certain it had closed faster the last time.
Close, damn you, close!

Illuminated by the eerie green glow spilling out of the doorway, a vision of horror emerged. The bear had the better part of Konniger in its jaws and was shaking him, spraying his blood across the walls of the crevice. The animal's fur looked strange, not like fur at all but rather charred skin. It wasn't a bear. It couldn't be. She finally saw its true form. Suri and Konniger had been right. The Brown
was
a demon.

The bear's shining eyes saw her, and with remarkable speed the beast lunged. The door was almost shut, but the bear shoved its head through the opening and caught the stone with a paw. Whatever force was driving the stone stopped.

The bear roared again as it struggled to claw its way in, back legs scratching, struggling to catch on the opening, trying to pry it wider. Persephone had no idea what force caused the door to open and close along its track, but she prayed it had the power to crush the bear, to kill it.