Veiled Innocence (Book One, The Soul Cycle) (45 page)

That wicked grin returned. “King of the Dead, to be exact.”

She thought of what Alastor had said. “Since Alastor’s the oldest, shouldn’t he technically have been king?”

Erebus scowled. “He was the original heir, that is until I
usurped the throne. It would have
been a disaster, for your world and mine. He’s al
ways been reckless, even after F
a
ther died. He took our f
ather’s death a lot harder than I did,” he added bitterly.

She wanted to ask why when he continued. “It makes me cringe to think what might have happened, what still could happen, if he ever gains the army he seeks.” He turned to look at her then. “Neither of us would ever know peace. Could you live in eternal darkness?”

She looked around her. “Looks a bit like I already am.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t cheerful. “Trust me,
my Lady,
this place would seem like paradise compared to what my brother could dream up.”

“But how are we to stop him? Vishka – who said it was her life’s quest to kill him – couldn’t even touch him.”

His head snapped in her direction
,
and he eyed her shrewdly. “What do you mean she couldn’t touch him?”

She
recounted
what should have been Vishka’s final blow. “Then the blade literally snapped in half.”

His
frown
deepened
,
and he rubbed his chin. “That’s impossible. She’s immortal; he’s immortal. She should have been able to kill him. Those are the rules.”

“Why her?”
she
asked suddenly. “Why not someone else, like her general? She was a queen; she didn’t know anything about fighting.”

Erebus smiled faintly. “Sound reasoning, my Lady, but her general was already dead when I found her. I cannot raise the dead. It’s not meant to be done.”

She looked at him eagerly. “But that doesn’t me
an it necessarily can’t be done
?”

His face turned to stone
,
and he really did look like a statue then. “There are severe consequences for giving yourself over to that kind of power, and I will not go there.”

That silenced her
,
and she decided to pursue the subject later. “Y
ou never d
id answer my question.
Why Vishka?”

“It’s quite simple.
I needed her power.”

“You mean her ability to see auras?”

Erebus nodded. “One of a kind. I knew I’d at last found the one to carry out my mission. She was strong enough to endure it; her Stradvärian blood ensured that. Though my brother
eluded
her, that was the only real hindrance to this solution. Until now.” His wistfulness dropped into another frown.

“How come you couldn’t do it yourself? If you’re immortal, couldn’t you stop your brother?”

Erebus groaned in frustration. He ran a hand through his hair, which surprised her because it was such a human gesture and he was anything but human. “Gods cannot kill other gods,” he said slowly, searching for the right words as he spoke. “If that had been the case, we would have all destroyed each other by now.”

As he spoke,
she
folded her legs under her. Sh
e wanted to sit down on the bed
but didn’t want him to take it as an invitation. She sat and piddled with the crystal dangling around her neck. She remembered what Vishka said about only being free from the bargain once
her promise had been fulfilled
or if someone related to her died in her place. “You trapped
her, you know,” she said coldly.
“I hope you realize that.”

Erebus winced, his face showing the sting of her words. “Honestly, I had no idea it would take so long. There were so many times early on when we thought we had him, but then he must have caught wind of what we had planned and disappeared all together. I suppose he’s laughing at us now, since he must have known all along she couldn’t kill him.” He scowled at the floor, reminding her much of herself when she was frustrated.

The childish pout to his lip – on a God – made her giggle
despite the grim topic.

He cocked an amused eyebrow. “What did I do now?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”  

She
thought of the blade lying at Vishka’s feet, of her horrified expression. “Then how do we beat him? Is there any way?”

Erebus drew a deep breath and sighed wearily. “That I don’t know. There must be something I’m missing, an ancient clause I’ve forgotten. It’s been a long time since anyone attempted to kill a god.”

He caught her playing with her teardrop. “Maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong places for help after all,” he murmured.

She stared at it thoughtfully. “Lord Winter seemed to think it was important.” She glanced at his face. “And I’
m getting the impression you do
as well.”

His lips curled into a wry smirk. “Ah. It’s about time the old geezer stepped up to play. Of course, the fact he’s appeared at all means things are much worse than I feared.”

Old geezer? Has he ever met Lord Winter? They look the same age, but I suppose appearances don’t mean much when you are immortal.

Erebus was watching her again with that strange aloofness he had earlier, and
she
didn’t even want to consider what she must look like. Her face felt sticky from the tears that had dried on her cheeks. 

Then she gasped. “Vishka! Rowan! How could I forget about them? We have to go back and help them!”

“Wait,” said Erebus, holding up his hands as she started to stand. “They are safe. I’m… linked, if you will, to my brother because we share the same essence. He’s no longer in Delkor. Since Vishka’s bound to me, I can also feel where she is. I would have known instantly if she’d died.” He grimaced thinking about it. “I’
m sure your male friend is safe
as well.” His voice was sharp as he said “male friend,” and she wondered if it was because he knew Rowan was the son of a Dracor and maybe thought he was in league with Alastor somehow.

She
sighed with relief. “Rowan’s a good
man
. He’d never side with Alastor,” she said, hoping to dissuade him. “I’m so glad they’re all right. Well, if Alastor’s gone, that means we can go to them without fear of being caught.” She stood all the way, careful to keep the nightgown pulled down.

Erebus shifted his gaze uncomfortably. “My Lady, er, Lian,” he said, “I told you why I brought you here. We can’t let the crystal fall into the wrong hands.”

“We could hide it here. Surely
,
it’d be safe here? We’ll leave it here and return to the surface to help them.”

Erebus shook his head. “It’s not that simple,” he said in a low voice. “
Certainly
, there are ways to keep Alastor out that have been set into place since the time of his exile, but I cannot send you back just yet.”

She
stiffened. “What do you mean?”

He hesitated. “There is a gate that must be passed through
to enter this place…” He paused
and watched her warily, as if unsure of her reaction. 

She swallowed. “Go on.”

“Only the d
ead may pass th
rough the gate. For one of the l
iving to come through it, well,
it’s caused a bit of a problem.
”

“What sort of problem?”

Erebus held her eyes. “It means the gate has been broken and must be repaired. Until then, you cannot leave.”

She stare
d
at him
. 

Live here? Amongst
the d
ead? No, this wasn’t right. She didn’t belong here, no more than a bird belonged in a cage. “How long will these repairs take?” she asked tentatively.

He was slow to respond. “It could take a few days to a few months. This has never happened before, so it’s difficult to say.”

“Months,” she repeated flatly. “I can’t wait that long. My friends need me. My kingdom needs me.” She thought of Vishka and Rowan, of how hopeless the battle above ground had seemed. Her heart ached at the memory of her sister clinging to that monster she was determined to marry. Lian loved the sunlight, the birds, the trees, the
life
, and now she was stuck in a place of death and darkness.

Life had a very cruel sense of humor.

She suddenly very much wanted to be alone. “Get out,” she said, her voice a rough whisper.

Erebus’ mouth opened and closed, at a complete loss for words. He hesitated, and she picked up the nearest vase and hurled it at his head. “
Get out
!”

It would have
been a direct hit. There was a deep swooshing sound, like the air was being sucked out of the room, and the vase froze right in front of his face.

She couldn’t see his expression past the hovering vase, but the heaviness of his voice was all she needed to imagine what he must have looked like. “As you wish.”

He vanished into thin wisps of smoke
,
and the vase fell, shattering against the stone floor.

She
watched the smoke clear
,
and she f
ell over onto the bed in tears. Each heavy sob raked
her body, cleansing it of the anger, sorrow, and despair she felt.

Map

WHEN VISHKA REGAINED HER
senses, Alastor was gone.

She cursed under her breath and winced as she tried to sit up. It felt like a small volcano was erupting inside her skull.

“Careful,” Rowan said, help
ing her to a sitting position.

She
squeezed her eyes and gritted her teeth, wishing the pain would go away. “Where is she? Where’s the crystal? What happened?”

Rowan spoke low and even, sounding as exhausted as she felt. “After Alastor tried to grab the necklace, some man appeared out of smoke and took her with him.”

“Erebus.”

Brief worry flashed over his face. “He won’t harm her, will He?”

She shook her head. “No. She is far safer there then we are about to become up here.”

He gave a small nod, seeming satisfied with her answer.

“What of Alastor?” she asked.

“He was furious, and his aura flared so bright I thought he might explode.
Then he started laughing.
He looked at me and actually laughed, and all the fire around him dissipated. Can you believe it? That arrogant son of a –”

“What. Happened?”

Rowan took a deep breath and released it as a growl deep in his throat. “His eyes locked on mine
,
and he said, ‘Fair chance you have of stopping me now!’ Then he swept
Lady
Ana
-Elise
up in his arms and vanished in a column of fire. Even the Dracor men disappeared.” He looked around the empty room, and it
was
empty. Not even any blood remained on the floor. “I have no idea where everyone else went.”

“Wonderful.” She wobbled to her feet, gripping her head as she fought her skewed vertigo.

Rowan stayed close to her side, reaching out to steady her when she swayed. Once she had taken a few steps, he fell back, giving her some space. 

So t
hings had progressively gone from bad to worse.

The story of my life
.

She
slowly walked around the room, picturing the bodies of the Dracor men she had slain. Spirits lingered in the corners of her eyes, little orbs of light flickering away into oblivion. Had she not been so accustomed to killing, she might have felt some remorse for their loss. Surely they had families they would never see again, loved ones they would never hold, and dreams and ambitions that had scattered to the wind like dust when their essence left the Living World. 

She paused at the shards of her broken saber, which lay where they had settled after her failed attempt to end Alastor’s life. This was not what she had planned. Alastor was supposed to be dead, dead by
her
hand, or so she had been told. After a century, the details started to become a bit fuzzy. Where did she go wrong? What was she missing?
She tried in vain to remember the night she almost died, the same night she sold her soul to Erebus. She had been so careful, had calculated every move. It should have worked.

Unless Erebus had withheld information. 

No, that couldn’t be right. He wanted Alastor destroyed as much as she did. 

She glanced sidelong at Rowan. “What do you suppose he meant?”

“Hmm?” He was staring off into the distance, completely bleary eyed. 

She
rolled her eyes. “Alastor. What he said to you. Use your brain, you fool!”