Duck, Duck, Noose

  Duck, Duck, Noose

  Book Four of the Bitter Ashes Series

  Sara C. Roethle

  Vulture’s Eye Publications

  Copyright © 2016 by Sara C Roethle

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Note From the Author

  1

  I frowned across the table at Marcos, the executioner of my now dead enemy, Aislin. His long, pure white hair hung forward as he looked down at the coffee cup I had placed in front of him. I’d figured a little civility could go a long way, but apparently I’d figured wrong.

  He hadn’t touched the hot beverage, something that pissed me off more than it should, based solely on the fact I couldn’t have any. Alaric had assured me that because I’m Vaettir, caffeine, rough-housing, or even radiation wouldn’t be able to hurt my baby, but I couldn’t bring myself to drink it. I’d been raised amongst humans, and some practices would stay with me forever.

  “Where did you learn to transfer energies?” I demanded for the hundredth time as I shifted in my seat and tugged my soft, gray sweater down over the small bump of my belly.

  Marcos simply stared at me.

  Alejandro snorted. I turned back to see him leaning against the stone wall behind me, looking admittedly scrumptious with his long, black hair draped around his strong Native American features. He’d also been one of Aislin’s people, but I liked him better. He’d been more than happy to come to my side. Of course, that probably had more to do with the fact that she’d intended to kill him than anything else.

  Alejandro had been assigned Marcos guard duty since we’d first arrived back at the Salr originally shown to me by the Morrigan. Alejandro’s usual partner was Aila, since we didn’t necessarily trust him to be alone with Tallie and Marcos, both formerly Aislin’s people. Now that Aislin was dead, they didn’t have much reason to betray us, but better safe than sorry.

  When Alejandro and Aila needed rest, either Mikael and Tallie, or Sophie and Alaric would take over on guard duty. Since apparently being pregnant made me an invalid, I didn’t get to guard anyone. Of course, Faas didn’t get to stand guard either, mainly because Marcos, as a true necromancer, was more than a match for his powers as an executioner. Faas was capable of draining a person’s energy, which was a scary trait to have, but Marcos had proven his skills at energy manipulation were superior.

  Alejandro flipped his hair over his shoulder, showcasing his strong cheekbones and dark eyes. His crimson tee shirt made his skin stand out in rich contrast. “He’s not going to tell you anything. He’s been Aislin’s pet for over a century.” He sneered at Marcos. “Probably mourning the loss of his little tyrant queen.”

  “I mourn the loss of no one,” Marcos interjected.

  Alejandro and I jumped at the sound of his voice. He hadn’t spoken since we’d brought him to the Salr, and I had begun to think he never would.

  I turned and raised an eyebrow at him. He still had a fading bruise on his cheek from my fist, but the rest of his face was like a pale, smooth stone. His expression gave nothing away.

  I sighed at his renewed silence. “And here I thought we were about to become friends.”

  He tilted his head. “We can become friends, Phantom Queen, but I will not confide information in front of the traitor.” His eyes flicked to Alejandro.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then we’ll find a different guard.”

  Marcos shook his head. “We speak alone, or not at all.”

  “Why?” I pressed, pushing my wavy hair away from my face, only to have it fall forward again.

  He pursed his lips. “There are certain things that only you will understand. I would not have your opinion instantly swayed by the words of others, before you’ve had the time to decide yourself.”

  Well now I was intrigued. “Fine,” I snapped.

  “Maddy—” Alejandro began, but I cut him off with a sharp look.

  He didn’t seem happy about it, but went to the door, opened it, and exited the small room. Aila peeked her head in from the hallway after Alejandro passed, likely wondering why I hadn’t followed him out.

  “We need a moment,” I told her.

  She raised both eyebrows in surprise high enough that I thought they might touch the hairline of her white-blonde ponytail. “Mikael expressly demanded that you not be left alone with him.” She nodded in Marcos’ direction.

  “You’ll just be right outside the door,” I said sweetly.

  Aila frowned. “If you come to harm, I’m blaming Alejandro.”

  “Hey!” Alejandro called from somewhere behind her, but Aila shut the door before I could hear whatever snide remark he likely had for her.

  I turned back to Marcos. “Happy?”

  He smiled a wicked smile, making me suddenly regret my decision. “You’re very trusting for someone who’s been narrowly escaping death for the past month,” he observed.

  I gave him a patient smile in an attempt to hide my anxiety, then aimed my eyes at the bruise on his face. “I think I’ve already proven I’m not afraid of you.”

  He nodded in acceptance. “Touché, nor have you any reason to be. To answer your original question, I’m descended from the goddess Hecate. My ability to shift energy wasn’t something I learned. It is a talent I’ve always possessed.”

  I’d heard of the goddess Hecate, and knew she was associated with necromancy, so it made sense. One thing didn’t though. “And why did we need to be alone for you to tell me that?”

  “We didn’t, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted the others to know just what you’re planning.”

  I inhaled sharply. There was no way for him to know. The exact details of my plan had remained between the Morrigan and myself. I’d filled Alaric in on as much as I could, and he knew the gist of my plan, but I’d sworn that certain things I would keep secret.

  “I’ve been inside your head, Madeline,” he taunted. “Don’t play dumb.”

  I exhaled and did my best to relax. He was referring to when he’d taken the key from me. He’d connected with my energy in order to separate it from the key, but if he caught a glimpse of anything else, it was brief. “What exactly is it you think you know?”

  “You’re going to regrow Yggdrasil,” he stated. “You’re going to bridge the gap between the mundane world and the gods. In effect, you’ll be releasing magic to affect the lives of mortals.”

  So maybe he did know my plan. “The only way to defeat the key is to return it to its natural state. It needs to be reunited with the earth, time, and fate. But first, it has to be reunited with me.”

  A knock sounded on the door, then Alejandro poked his head in. “Everything alright?”

  “We’re fine,” I said quickly, praying he hadn’t overheard anything. Alaric at least knew I wanted to regrow Ygdr
assil, but he didn’t know I wanted the key back.

  Alejandro shut the door, and I turned back to Marcos.

  “Why don’t you want them to know?” he questioned.

  “They don’t trust the Morrigan,” I explained. “If they knew the exact plan she came up with, they’d simply think it’s her way of returning to this world for another reign of terror.”

  He smirked. “And is it?”

  I frowned. “No, it’s not.”

  He laughed, and finally took a sip of his coffee, though it was likely cold by now. “Are you sure?”

  “Her energy lived inside me for a time, as you know. She had no malicious intent. Now why all of the sudden interest?”

  He took another sip of his cooling coffee. “You managed to beat me at my own game. This interest is anything but sudden.”

  I frowned, thinking back to when he’d tried to steal my banshees from me. It hadn’t been difficult to break his connection with them, but it scared me none-the-less. Next time I might not be so lucky, and without the key or the Morrigan, the banshees were the only ace in the hole I had left.

  I sighed. “Let me rephrase. Why are you suddenly speaking with me so candidly?”

  “My goddess has bade me to do so,” he replied simply.

  I cleared my throat in an attempt to hide my sudden discomfort. “You’re talking to me because Hecate told you to?”

  He nodded. “Is that so odd? You had your goddess inside you.”

  I took a shaky breath, thinking of Mara. She’d technically been inside Marcos too, using his body to kill Aislin. “The Morrigan wasn’t exactly a goddess,” I explained. “She told me the old gods no longer answer the calls of their children.”

  “You know, many view Hecate and the Morrigan as the same incarnation of the dark goddess,” he said conversationally.

  I frowned. “But they’re not. I met the Morrigan, and I highly doubt she’s whispering in your ear right now.”

  He chuckled. “You are correct. My point is, Hecate isn’t like the old gods either. She is an incarnation of the dark goddess, just as the Morrigan was, just as others were before her. Kali is another good example. They were all individuals, yet they were composed of the same energy, existing at different times. The Morrigan was a bit of an anomaly because she was reborn from the destruction of Yggdrasil, but the energy is the same. None of the death goddesses can fully leave this realm, as their energy is needed to keep this world in balance.”

  I eyed Marcos’ coffee, seriously wishing I had a cup after that whopper of an info-dump. “So if the Morrigan wasn’t a true goddess, how am I, as Vaettir, connected to her. Aren’t we all connected to the old gods . . . the real old gods?”

  His smile made me a bit ill. “You are correct. No Vaettir are descended from the Morrigan. As Vaettir, I imagine you are descended from a different death goddess, perhaps Kali. Yet, upon your birth you became a fitting vessel for the Morrigan’s energy, which has been reborn time and again since her mortal death. That energy cannot leave this realm. It is sometimes even reborn as human.”

  Kali? I was getting a headache. “So I’m the reincarnation of the Morrigan’s energy, the energy created when Yggdrasil was destroyed, but a descendent of Kali or some other death goddess?”

  He nodded. “Someone truly powerful enough to be sought by the key. It would not choose a human.”

  “Please get to the point,” I said tiredly, not wanting to admit that all the things he was talking about were beyond my comprehension.

  Marcos rolled his eyes. “Hecate can speak to me because she is a death goddess. She is the earth itself, light and dark, life and death. She never fully leaves this world, because she’s too much a part of it.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “If all of this is true, why are you not an empath, and why am I not a true necromancer?”

  Marcos sighed and began tracing the table’s woodgrain with his finger absentmindedly. “Kali, Hecate, the Morrigan, and all other embodiments of the dark goddess were still individual women with their own affinities. Hecate was the daughter of Titans, giving her power over the sea, and she was also a true necromancer, traveling freely to the spirit underworld. The Morrigan, I’m told, was created when Yggdrasil was destroyed. The Norns became the keepers of time and fate. The charm, or the key, as you call it, became the wild magic and chaos that pushes everything forward. The Morrigan was left with all the rest, including emotion. Hence, empathy.”

  My eyes widened, not because he’d told me something new, but because very few knew that story. Had he gleaned it when he’d taken the key from me, or had Hecate really told him? I bit my lip, realizing another option. Estus. He’d known that I was connected to the Morrigan, and knew that she had previously possessed the key.

  I glanced at the door behind us, knowing we’d likely have another visit from Alejandro soon, or worse, Alaric or Mikael would realize that I was alone in a room with Marcos.

  “While this is all highly informative,” I began evenly, wishing I could quiz him for information for hours, “I still don’t understand your motivation for speaking with me.”

  He’d been looking down at his hand, still tracing along the wood grain, but now smiled up at me through a curtain of pure white hair. “Hecate believes in your cause, and would like to assist in your purpose.”

  I shook my head. “And just like that, you’ll give up any allegiance you had to Aislin?”

  He smirked. “I’ve no allegiance to anyone, nor does Hecate. Aislin sought the charm, and so I followed out of convenience.”

  “Then why aren’t you trying to run to Estus’ waiting arms right now?” I countered.

  Marcos frowned. “I want the charm, not a ruler, and Estus will not be so easily overcome. His power lies in diplomacy, and in making his people adore him. Now that he has what he wants, he will be fortifying his empire. We need to plan carefully.”

  “We?” I asked.

  “You and I,” he clarified. “We have the same goals. It’s only natural we should work together.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “No offense, but less than a week ago you helped kidnap me. You tied me to a chair, cut open my arm, and stole the key from me. I’m not feeling terribly trusting right now.”

  He chuckled. “And you would not have done the same to me, had the positions been reversed?”

  I smirked. “I don’t know, but here you are sitting in a chair without ropes, sipping coffee. I don’t remember being offered any coffee when I was at your mercy.”

  He offered a smug smile. “Yes, I suppose you could have attempted to torture this information out of me. Or you could have starved me until I was too weak to deny your bidding.”

  I smiled sweetly. “Exactly, so please don’t compare me to yourself.”

  He nodded. “Point taken, but the fact still stands, you need me to transfer the charm’s energy, and you also need a plan to bring us to that point. As you witnessed, the transfer takes time and ritual. We’ll need to create a situation where we can separate Estus from his people, in order to subdue him long enough to regain the charm.”

  I sighed. “And how do you propose we do all of this?”

  Marcos’ eyes met mine. “We must make you Doyen of the remaining Vaettir not yet under Estus’ rule. The best way to conquer an empire, is to build a stronger one.”

  My jaw fell. There was a knock at the door, then Alaric’s head poked in. “What the hell is going on here?” he asked, his attention one hundred percent on me.

  I glanced at Marcos, then back to Alaric. “Making new friends?” I said hopefully.

  Alaric frowned, then let out an exaggerated sigh. “Of course you are, because a pain in the ass Viking and the little nymph Kira that hides in rooms and eavesdrops on conversations aren’t enough, let’s add our enemy’s pet necromancer to the gang.”

  I remained in my seat and smiled nervously up at him as he came the rest of the way into the room. “Just one big, happy family?” I asked, half-joking.

 
; His expression softened as he looked down at me with a loving smile, though his eyes still held worry. “Madeline, you’ve somehow acquired an exceedingly dark sense of humor.”

  I smiled. “I learned from the best.”

  Marcos watched our interaction curiously.

  As if just remembering we had company, Alaric offered me a hand up out of my seat.

  I turned to Marcos, unsure of what else to say. “I’ll get back to you,” I said finally, leaving it at that.

  “One last thing,” he said, just as I was turning to leave.

  Alaric and I turned back to him.

  “You’ve weakened your banshees to a dangerous point. They need a constant source of energy to survive. They need to feed off the dead, and you’ve denied them all sustenance. Do not let your best form of defense whither into nothing.”

  I frowned. He was right. I’d spent as little time around the banshees as possible, and I hadn’t visited any more graveyards. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful for the help they offered, but they scared me. When I was with them at full power, it was almost overwhelming, and I became something I wasn’t. I was afraid to feel that again, and even more afraid that next time, maybe I wouldn’t come back from it.

  I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind, and I will let you know what we decide regarding your proposal.”

  He smiled, and it for some reason made me nervous. He’d known a whole hell of a lot about my plans, and now I was considering letting him in on even more. I didn’t have much of a choice, really. Marcos was an integral part of the process.

  So why did I feel like I was stepping off a ledge?

  Marcos held his arms wide to encompass the small room. “I’ll be waiting, obviously.”