Page 25 of Secret Origins
“Yeah, no shit.”
Blurting things out was definitely my way of escalating a situation from bad to worse in an instant. Pointing my sword at her might not have been too smart either judging by the amusement flickering in her eyes.
“Say…” Changing tactics before shit hit the fan, I tried for curiosity. That works on a child, right? Even a creepy-as-fuck one. “Nice place you have here. Very … grisly. Where is here anyway?”
“Your home, of course.” Lifting an arm so skinny I was expecting it to break from the movement, she gestured around the place. “What it used to be before Danu decided she would change destiny.”
“This Danu sounds like a real charmer,” I drawled, making a grimace that had the child giggling. “I met her cow, twice.” The smile disappeared from the girl’s face.
“Donn Cúalinge.” The girl hissed like a feral cat, flinching back and baring her very sharp, very pointed teeth. “She has finally found you.”
“Well, I sent the cow back to her so nothing to worry about.” I wasn’t sure my nonchalance fooled the child … or maybe being? Creature? Whatever she was, when she straightened, she gave me an annoyed look. “What?”
“I can feel your powers, girl. They are still as locked as they were from the start.” While my eyebrows crawled to my hairline, she grinned, her expression stabbing me like an ice pick between my breasts. “If you bested Donn Cúalinge, it’s only because they were testing you. You would’ve proven to be as capable as a lamb headed for slaughter.”
“This is bullshit.” Pissed that she was insulting me, I glared at her, and that only broadened that messed-up grin of hers. “Isn’t this supposed to be my memories? It means either the mage is fucking with my head, or I’ve finally lost it and I’m making shit up myself.”
“Ah, you have sought the truth on your own. This is good. Very good. Perhaps it is time.” I frowned at her. Maybe everyone in this place, including myself, was insane. It would explain a lot. “You are smarter than you look,” she decided.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taken aback, I was ready to slap her—whoever she was.
“For a moment there, I thought hiding your memories might’ve addled your brain. You did not strike me as very smart.” She looked so serious I did take a step closer, bringing the tip of my sword to the center of her chest.
“You blocked my memories?”
“Who else has the power to do it if not me?” It was her turn to take offense.
This was ridiculous and I was tired of everything. Rubbing a harsh hand over my face, I let the sword drop down, the tip clinking off the floor. It looked like this was a bust, my memories still hidden from me by some invisible barrier. This creature was too nuts for me to make up, so it might be a failsafe or something. A trap to discourage me, maybe? Whatever it was, I didn’t want any part of it.
“Okay, I’m good to wake up now,” I shouted to the hidden roof above our heads.
“Who are you talking to?” The girl also craned her neck while squinting toward the ceiling.
“The mage. I don’t have time for this.” Placing the sword at my back where it belonged, I slapped both hands on my hips and raised my gaze. “Yo! I need out of here, like now! Or I will kill you.”
“You will not leave unless I allow it.”
“Fine, I can kill you.” Dropping my head to pin her with a glare, my fingers brushed the leather bracelet on my wrist. Something that didn’t go unnoticed and even earned me an approving nod. “You never said who you are.”
“Exactly.”
“Who are you?” I pushed the words through clenched teeth. I was way past annoyed at that point.
“The better question would be … do you know who you are?”
“I love this game. I’m Myst. A hot chick with a mean sword and a bad attitude. Now your turn.”
It happened so fast I had no time to blink little less attempt to protect myself. What felt like a meteor slammed in my chest and propelled me head-over-heels through the air until my poor body hit one of the far walls with the crunching of bones. I was desperately trying to reach for my hound, but no part of my body could move when it dropped on the blood-red floor, which was still twinkling merrily as if I wasn’t about to die here. I was a ball of pain and misery, my face numbing from my shattered cheekbone, which was resting on the cold ground. Apparently, it wasn’t enough. My body was flipped over, the girl looming over me before she snatched me by the neck with a surprisingly strong grip. The cow could learn a trick or two from this bitch. My hysterical laughter sounded suspiciously like a pathetic moan.
“You think you are ready to know what I hid from you to protect you, girl?” she snarled, her nose an inch from mine while her face twisted in a horrifying grimace.
Power brushed over my skin, familiar and welcomed. I could feel Fenrir trying to reach me, hopefully successfully pulling me out of this shit storm. The creature in a girl’s body smiled, a chilling tilt of her thin lips before she pushed Fenrir’s energy away as if it was nothing. A faint, pissed-off roar could be heard from very far away, and of course that made her chuckle.
“Well aren’t you a real surprise.” With her free hand, she patted my face, which sent a new wave of agony through me. “You just might be worthy. You might even survive to take your rightful place.” Twisting above me, she sat on my chest, though she didn’t the grip on my throat. “If memories are what you want back, who am I to deny you. Watch.”
She twirled her hand in front of her, pushing my face to the side in time for me to see swirling shadows condense and start pulsing in the middle of the huge room. My eyes watered when ice-cold wind blasted us from the center of it, before plunging us into a different room.
And a different time.
