| |
Venus had many qualities—most of them bordered on the psychotic. Trusting her made me almost as crazy as she was. But fear had a vise-like grip that was hard to extract from. Better not to let it take hold at all. Nonetheless, for a brief moment it seeped in. I felt fear for the first time. Like a fiery breath upon a frozen chest, it burned me through. Seizing my soul. Not fear for myself...for Lorelei. For the first time I let myself wonder what would happen if she did not survive this. I had to trust Venus.
"Long ago, I made a vow. A solemn oath to protect Lorelei no matter the circumstances. So you can understand why I cannot possibly walk away from that now," I began.
She turned up her nose. "Not even if you risk repeating the past?"
"The past cannot be repeated because no one is the same as they were before. We've all changed. This is an entirely different matter."
"You and Adrius fighting over the same girl. Sounds sort of familiar to me." She shrugged.
"Only this time, I've refused to fight. I will give her whatever she wants. She has chosen him. The fight is over."
"Hmm." She paced away from me a few steps and then back. "So you love her enough to set her free. Too bad you didn't have that depth of emotion for me. I might be—"
"Still dead," I finished her sentence for her.
She reflected on that, then smiled. "Actually you probably loved me just enough," she said.
"I am not willing to throw down the gauntlet for many, you know this."
She trailed a finger across my chest. "Oh I know loverboy, which is exactly why I can see how much you want her back." She turned away, then turned back with a frown. "But you're engaged to the trollop. Why not just force her into the ceremony? She gets her own way far too often in my opinion." She nibbled her lower lip.
Just like Lorelei.
"So let me guess why you’re here. That's what you want...magic. Isn’t it?" Her head bobbed up and down as she spoke. "A love potion? A binding curse? Please, please, please, let it be a death curse." She clasped her hands together.
If I was honest, I'd admit there was an eerie parallel. Me, desperate to save the girl I cared for, and the girl I cared for in the hands of Adrius. But our destinies were not the same. I was not the same. Lorelei was not Venus. And I was not in love with Lorelei. I was trying to protect her.
I shook my head. "No. That's not what I am seeking. I merely need a locater spell. That's all. Can you do it?"
"I can do anything. Will I do it...well, it seems to me that is the question you should be asking."
Venus examined her fingernails. They were brittle and chipped. Another sign that things were not as cozy and comfortable as she pretended they were. Her surroundings might have been luxurious, but I'd wager she would give me anything I asked for a chance at freedom. Scratches next to the window frame, and the chair with the missing leg by her bedside were proof. She'd been trying to escape, using any means necessary and failing miserably. Her only shackles were the spell preventing her from leaving this room and the Shaqwa band around her wrist preventing her from using magic. It served a purpose—keeping a mentally unstable Witch from turning everyone in her path to ash. Unfortunately, in order for her to do what I needed, the band would have to be removed.
"Whatever you ask, you will have, Venus. You have me at a disadvantage. Don't take it for granted, for I assure you it will not happen again."
"A Shadow Fey caught with his pants down. How delish." She giggled. Her hair shifted colors when she laughed, turning more sunset red than flame.
"If you're trying to find her, it’s because you know how to get her home. And I want to go, too. Not at the same time as your precious ingénue. I want to go now."
"You want to return to the human world." My eyes narrowed and my hands clenched at my sides as I remembered the chaos, death, and destruction she caused the last time she was there. "Even you must see why that is impossible."
"Yes, but it would just be for a while. A non-violent while, I promise." She pouted her lip. "You said I could have anything, and that is what I want. What harm can I do without magic?" She held up her wrist, flashing the band lined with painful spikes embedded in her skin.
I exhaled a frustrated sigh. Beings, much like dreams, died hard...both becoming more like nightmares postmortem. Moral of the story? You should not resuscitate them unless you’re prepared to pay the price. I learned that lesson too well. "Cut the web of lies, Venus. Tell me why you want to go back, and tell me the truth, or this ends here."
She blew out an indignant breath. "When I met Vivienne the first time, I thought she was Lorelei’s mother. I didn't know she was my mother, too," she said plainly.
I folded my arms. "And that would have prevented you from trying to kill the woman? Repeatedly?"
She ignored my question. "I want to meet her again. Now. Now that I know the truth." Her green eyes narrowed. "Is it so awful, that I should want to take a good long look at the mother who cast me aside to be raised by Witches in a foreign land?"
"It is their land that is foreign to you Venus. This is your home."
She laughed darkly. "And what a home it is," she said, spinning around once. "Locked up in a tower in the darkest part of the realm by a father I never even knew I had. I need to do this, Zanthiel, and you have my word I will not lift a hand to hurt any one of those humans. I swear." She put her hand over her heart, which held only slightly more merit than her word alone. "I tried to kill this woman and I deeply regret that. I know whatever her reasons were, what she did kept me alive, and I just need..." Her face turned toward the window, and for the first time since she'd returned from the dead, I saw genuine emotion in her eyes. "I just need to see her, one more time."
I scratched a knuckle over my forehead, wondering if this would become yet another decision I'd live to regret. I sensed some truth in her words, but nowhere near all of it. Finally, I said, "Agreed. But you will have no magic there. You will not attempt to access magic while you are there, and you must return before Oberon realizes you are missing." Stepping back, I studied her closely, wondering what her real motive was for wanting to return to the human world. Would lack of magic hinder what she truly had in mind? Would my conditions be a deal breaker?
My back hit the wall behind me, I rubbed my face and folded my arms, still silently dissecting her motives. "And this is your sole request. You are certain?"
"It is," she said quickly, "but if you want me to do any kind of spell for you in return, you'll have to free me from this wretched thing." She lifted her arm.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A soft noise came from the corridor, and we both turned in unison.
"It’s Sylos. Someone's coming." I grabbed her arm. "Hurry, we have to get moving. Now."
"Don't rush me." She pulled back, but I held fast. I wasn't about to lose her now. Not before she'd made good on our bargain. Babysitting an ill-tempered, un-dead Witch was not my idea of a fun time, but it was necessary. Staying here was too dangerous. There were only so many guards I could put to sleep without raising suspicion. We needed to get somewhere she could perform the locator spell without being detected.
Using my Faerie blade, I carved new symbols on the back of the door, releasing the holding spell. I pulled Venus out of the room just as another of Oberon's knights mounted the steps to the tower. He paused when he saw us, only having time to blink once before Sylos knocked him out with a blow to the jaw. I blew an ice dart into his side and waited for Sylos to dispose of the body.
Venus applauded. "Finally something interesting's going on."
She winked at Sylos, who winked back, and I gave him a death stare. Venus was not here for pleasure purposes. This was strictly a business deal. She would perform the locater spell to find Lorelei and Adrius, and I would get her to the Shades, who would grant her passage to the human world. The Shades were a rogue faction of the Shadow Court, and I’d known from the moment Sylos mentioned the tear in the veil, that was where we would find it.
We raced down the steps, sticking to the vacant parts of the castle that had been destroyed in the last war. We were less likely to run into anyone there.
"We head to the Northumberland Shore," I said in hushed tones. "The trod to the Necromancers is there. Venus can pass though undetected."
Venus stopped, tugging back on my arm. "Whoa. Wait a second. Who said anything about Necromancers?"
"Listen, Red," Sylos said, resting a hand on her shoulder and fiddling with her hair. "They're the only ones with access to the human world right now."
She batted his hand away and snapped, “Don’t call me that.”
Flirtation over, I guess?
Then her eyes darted to me. "Your silly friend can’t serious. You mean the veil's been sealed shut?"
"Yes. Well, no. Everywhere but within their realm."
"So they're behind all of this." She nodded knowingly.
"Possibly. Look, we do not have time to discuss this right now. Unless you want to face Oberon’s wrath, we need to keep moving."
We pressed our backs against the curved wall as the watchmen passed by with search torches. Their flames were enchanted to detect motion in dark unseen places beyond their glow of light. Venus twitched and the metal band on her arm scraped the wall. The sentry guard paused. Light in hand, he doubled back toward us. This was not good. With lightning speed, I threw a dagger in the opposite direction from our secluded spot. Venus’s breath caught. The watchmen stopped, then ran in the direction of the noise. The three of us remained motionless until they were out of range.
Expelling a mouthful of air, Sylos gasped. "That, was close."
"It's this way," I said, darting out in front of him. "Let’s go."
My mind raced as quickly as our feet. When I sought the help of the Shades—the beings who dwelled in the Underworld—in bringing Venus back from death, I knew they were dangerous, but so was I. I’d assumed I could handle it, and at the time, it was worth the risk. Venus had been restored by them then, and I knew they would help her now. They had means. Wicked, depraved means, but their ways were effective.
If anyone in the Nevermore would have a workaround for the sealing veil, it would be the Shades. If death itself could not stop them, do you think that something like a dark spell could?
Sylos leaned in to whisper, "How can you be so certain of this plan? Perhaps Red is right, and the Shades are behind the sealing of the veil in the first place?"
"Why would they be? Causing nightmares for humans is one of their specialties. I cannot see reason for them to want to alter that."
"So you plan on sending Venus to the Necromancers, and they will get her into the human world and back out again? What if you're wrong?"
"I'm not wrong. Because they are never wrong. They are precise and exacting. It is one thing upon which you could always count. They do not make mistakes. Not ever."
Sylos sighed. "Well, mate, seems like you've got it all worked out."
I gave a single nod. "Now that I've convinced you..." I gestured for him to lead the way out, through the hidden tunnels.
Escaping impossible situations—it was something I was gifted at. Even so, finding a way to escape with Oberon's daughter—his prisoner—from the spellbound, well-guarded tower of his own court and transporting her to and from the human world without raising suspicion was possibly the most impossible situation yet.
It took some orchestration—and a great deal of reliance upon her holding to her word. Risky move, I knew, placing so much trust in such an untrustworthy being. But I needed the information she could grant me. Seeking aid from any other Witch would be far too risky. There was no way of knowing they would not give me false leads and seize the information for themselves to sell to the highest bidder. By then there would be a lot of high-paying bidders seeking Lorelei.
I only needed to avoid my mother's army. As commander of her guard and knights, I knew how to do that well enough. Lorelei had not only the Winter Court hunting her, but the Shadow Court, the Elvin Court, and a sea of hired ruffians desperate for a piece of her flesh. While her powers surpassed them all, she still couldn’t use them to their full extent. If she did, she would be lost to herself, for dark magic takes a heavy toll on the wielder.
No...freeing Venus in exchange for the locater spell was the only way this could go. I had no other choice but to trust she would return as agreed, and spare us all from King Oberon’s noose.