Page 57 of A Spell of Bones and Madness
The path opened to a large, onyx-covered room. A dais stood on the opposite end, gold veining coursing its way through the stone up into the two metallic thrones that loomed there. One was occupied by an all too familiar woman. Blonde hair now hung far below her shoulders, streaked with crimson, head fallen forward, shoulders slumped, but if those eyes were open Kohl would not be able to face the amber orbs. Kora was more of a mother than Zahra ever had been, and now he would willingly watch as she was tortured. Oh how the mighty had fallen. But for the good of Odessia—for peace—this is how it had to be.
The other throne was occupied by a man—his features a stark reminder of the woman he had lost. Kohl had only met Aidon a handful of times, but the piercing brown eyes, deep brown hair, angular face and nose—they were an exact replica of Katrin’s. Aidon gazed back toward Kohl with a lifeless expression, eyes now glassy, darker than he remembered.Was her father under some sort of spell then? Pallid skin swept down his body, peeking out from beneath black robes. A thick golden collar gripped around his throat, pinning him to the back of the chair, and matching circles encased his wrists.
“Everyday he grows weaker,” a raspy voice whispered. Kohl’s gaze darted toward Kora. “I knew he was reckless, an untamed man, but drinking from the Lethe—it did something to him. Morethan the memories. I can’t feel him anymore—feel his soul, that call, the voice inside my head is silent, nothing but echoes of the past. It only gets worse.”
Blood pumped through Kohl’s heart, each beat causing his lungs to tighten more. Kora was hanging on by a thread, grasping at what life force she had left, and he could not help her—even if he wanted to. Not after learning what the cost of peace was, not when these gods lived by a code that only protected their own.
“You don’t need to listen to him, Kohl. I have watched you grow into this formidable man. A kind and just man.” Those amber orbs hit him—a match to Ember’s, but the same unwavering flicker as Katrin’s even when faced with death.
“A lot has changed over the months since you left, Kora,” Kohl replied. It was too much, holding her stare, instead Kohl gazed off, focusing on the slithering black creatures.
“So it is time then. You have it—the bident. That is why you are here—to finish what he started.”
Rattling filled the cavern, reverberating off every inch of obsidian rock. “Not to finish, to be reborn. Return forgotten souls to their rightful bodies.” The voice that spoke sounded like Aidon’s, yet it cut through the air like a throwing knife. A distortion of the whispering voice that filled his mind with incessant chattering.
“This bident, as you call it—how is that the key to returning you to your rightful bodies?” Kohl questioned. Bile rose in Kohl’s throat. The cave around him seemed to darken and cool. Laughter echoed off its obsidian walls and as Kohl looked up, Kora’s stare met his. Her eyes flashed with the reflection of blue flames. Then everything went black.
Chapter Forty-Three
Ander
Waters this calm had not been seen between the Mykandrian and Manos sea in centuries. Tranquil rolling waves guidedThe Nostosalong its course. It was strange, such placid conditions, but there was still enough wind to have them flying over the wake at full speed. Katrin had asked Ander after the first few days if it was his powers or his father’s that allowed them such an easy journey, but it was neither. To alter such forces for that extent of time would drain even the most powerful of Grechi and Ander was not sure how much of his power was truly back. It would come in flickers, the fog casting about his fingertips. Thefew times he trained on Nexos, he saw the remnants of what he used to be able to conjure, but even such simple things as the weapons he crafted from his magic caused his energy to melt into nothing as the night fell.
A bone-chilling unease settled within Ander when they passed Siren’s Cove. Neither the wails of the wretched, winged creatures beneath nor tumultuous storms came upon them. Of all the times he crossed these waters back and forth from Skiatha to Lesathos, not once had the sirens relented in their captivating call. When even that wicked of a creature hid in the depths below, it meant darkness swept quickly over their shores. There was little anyone could do except hope it was not too late—that Edmund and Khalid would not succeed. How could they? Ember had the one weapon that could help raise the Olympi. Yet here Ander stood, sailing them straight for the eye of the storm, breathing in the much too warm air, and pushing away a lingering feeling like he was forgetting something, like they had not completed some task.
Fear was an unforgiving beast, and that was all Ander seemed to know. Fear that they would be too late. Fear that he could not protect the woman he loved. Fear that he was leading every one of his crew to their death. It would only be hours now—until he learned what fate was in store for them. The wards that protected Cyther were just ahead, and they had the one object that could break through the spider web of magic that kept unsuspecting sailors out—the stone around Katrin’s neck. The ancient relic had many powers, some as simple as crossing spelled barriers set by a power of similar strength, and others he hoped they would never have to use. Glimmering next to the gold medallion he’d gifted Katrin, the crystal radiated off a rainbow glow, casting a film on thewards ahead. It would shield them for now. Allow them to sneak through unseen, much like the compass Kohl had used to findThe Nostos. It was time—to regroup below, to learn what horrors lay before them, to finally meet their end.
There was an old piece of parchment on the table with intricately drawn lines and images of waypoints. Leighton continued to scribble notes and more markings of where they would travel after getting to shore. With every stroke of the pen, Katrin flinched at the way Leighton’s eyes scrunched and his hand faltered for just a moment before he continued.
It was unfair to ask him to do this once more, relive what he went through on that isle, dig through the worst parts of his memories, recall how to get to the chamber within the mountain. How to escape. Katrin sat by his side, following the path he’d mapped for them, one arm slung behind his back, resting on his chair.
Leighton looked up from the table, glancing around the room. “Where is Ajax?”
Rose formed across Ember’s nose. “I don’t think he will be here.” Ember looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with Katrin who now stared at her sister, head cocked to the side.
“Fine then. We can start. It will take you two days,” Leighton said, his voice gruff. “I won’t be able to pull the ship all the way into shore and it’s not safe to swim the distance. You’ll have to take the skiff, but be wary of the rocks surrounding the beach, theyare infinitely more dangerous than those on Alentus or even the northern shores of Skiatha.”
“And the trail to the mountain—the beginning is marked with a watch post, how are we supposed to avoid that?” Ember questioned, tapping her fingers against the wooden table. She had been on edge since they came aboardThe Nostos, always fiddling with her fingers, picking away at her nails until they were bloody.
“You don’t. All you can hope for is that they are changing over the guards when you land, or that you make it to them before they sound the horns,” Leighton replied.
So we might not even make it past the beach?
No, Starling, we might not.
I don’t want Ember coming.
That is for her to decide. She is strong enough.
That is not the point.Katrin narrowed her eyes at Ander. Of course her sister was strong enough, gods, she might be braver at this point than Katrin herself. But she couldn’t risk—
“Can you two stop doing that weird mind thing and listen? We need to be clear on the plan.Allof us.” Stubborn. Her sister might be even more stubborn as well.
“Yes, continue, Leighton,” said Katrin.
“Once you're past the post, you’ll want to hug the edge of the jungle. Men patrol the roads in and out in rotation and on horseback, so it is risky to follow directly. But be warned, the jungle is a place of madness itself. Keep your wits about you, alright?” He clutched Katrin’s hand in his. “Everything you see on that isle could be an illusion, a mirage to keep you from succeeding, do not give in to the darkness again.”
“I won’t,” she whispered.How many times in her life had she let it consume her? Will her to give up? Never again.
