Duck, Duck, Noose Page 18

  Mikael stroked his chin in thought. “Perhaps we should discuss things further with the Norn. She is the other part of this puzzle. I would not be surprised if she and her sisters have kept a great many things hidden.”

  “Like why Estus killed those who held Sophie and Alaric hostage?” I suggested. “Maybe she knows the real reason for her sisters’ deaths.”

  Mikael nodded. “The only problem, is that she has yet to rejoin us. Hopefully she will appear to us soon.”

  I let out a frustrated breath. It felt like we were just going around in circles. We needed to act. I had a sudden thought.

  “The Norn said we could bring back a portion of the Morrigan’s energy, but we’d need Marcos to do it,” I explained. “Maybe we can go ahead with that plan. Having the Morrigan’s input, even in a small way, could help us determine what the key is planning.”

  Everyone, except Mikael, was looking at me like I’d just sprouted a second head.

  “Summoning her didn’t work out very well the last time,” Aila grumbled.

  We’d actually attempted to summon Freyja, Aila’s patron goddess, but the Morrigan had come forth instead. I had a feeling Aila was still a little bitter about what she perceived as a rejection, though really, the Morrigan had only been able to come forth because she wasn’t truly a goddess.

  “Not true,” I argued. “She’s the only reason we have the banshees and other phantoms, and she came up with the plan to regrow Yggdrasil, our only way to truly defeat the key.”

  Mikael sighed. “Madeline is right.” He turned his gaze to me. “I do not relish the thought of once again seeing the Morrigan peeking out through your eyes, but at the very least, your survival is important to her. I believe adding her energy to yours is a worthwhile cause.”

  I nodded. “The Norn said she wouldn’t be as strong this time. Her energy is too far depleted. I’m not worried about losing myself.”

  Silver, who had sat back silently through most of the conversation, leaned forward with a frown. “You truly intend to summon a goddess?’

  I eyed him cautiously. “She’s not a true goddess, you know.”

  He steepled his fingers together in front of his face, leaning his elbows on the table to look somewhat menacing. “Close enough.”

  I glanced nervously to Mikael, who nodded in reassurance.

  Mara was as close to a true goddess as I wanted to get. Though part of me missed her, the other part was still fearful. She’d awakened things in me I hadn’t been ready to face. I still wasn’t. I’d faced violence, war, and a force of pure chaos. It had all been scary, but I could admit, if only to myself, that my own true nature scared me most of all.

  19

  Tabitha had informed us that Marcos was in one of the hotel rooms with Frode and Alejandro. After a long, silent elevator ride, Mikael and I made our way down the hall toward the aforementioned room. Aila and Tabitha had decided to abstain from the meeting, while Silver and Faas each wanted another drink. I didn’t mind. The fewer people I had to discuss things with, the better.

  We passed the room where we’d left Sivi and Kira as we walked. It was difficult to resist checking on Kira. She seemed so sweet and defenseless in comparison to Sivi, but it wasn’t my place to meddle. They had a lot to catch up on, no matter how painful it might be for both of them.

  Soon we reached the room Tabitha had detailed. Mikael knocked, and moments later, Frode answered. He had light bags under his blue eyes, standing out vibrantly against his pale skin. He gestured for us to come inside without a word.

  Marcos sat against the headboard of one bed, while Alejandro sat on the foot of the other, flipping channels on the TV with the remote in his hand.

  Marcos met my eyes as Mikael shut the door behind us.

  “I need to talk to you,” I stated. I glanced at Alejandro, then at Frode. “Anyone who doesn’t want to be involved in talks of summoning goddesses may leave the room now.”

  Alejandro stood. “Sorry, summoning banshees was more than enough for me.” He walked past, winking at me on his way out of the room.

  “I could use a drink,” Frode added tiredly, then followed after him.

  Marcos remained on the bed, staring up at us. His long, white hair was now slightly wavy, having dried without a good brushing after we’d all gotten soaked by Sivi’s wave. He didn’t seem to care. Nor did he care about his still damp, black clothing. Of course, my clothing was still slightly damp too, so who was I to judge?

  I sat on the bed Alejandro had formerly occupied, facing Marcos. Skipping any pretenses, I explained, “The Norn seemed to think you would be capable of returning some of the Morrigan’s energy to me. Know anything about that?”

  He smiled, then cocked his head as if listening to a voice whispering in his ear. Maybe he was.

  “My powers are associated with the old dead,” he explained, “so I may be able to connect with the Morrigan’s energy. Whether or not she can return to you in a larger way, is more up to how much power she has left in this world, and how much you are able to give her.”

  I nodded in acceptance. “Let’s try.”

  He smirked and raised a white eyebrow at me. “Right now?”

  I shrugged. “Why not?”

  “You are quite the strange individual,” he mused.

  “Are you sure you want to try right this moment?” Mikael asked, taking a seat beside me. He turned his gaze to Marcos before I could answer. “Is it even possible to try right this moment? Last time there was blood and fire involved.”

  “It would work better to at least be outside,” Marcos explained, his eyes on me instead of Mikael. “Your goddess is connected to the earth. You should be as close to her as possible.”

  I stood. “Then let’s go.”

  “Madeline,” Mikael cautioned, standing to tower over me. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You’ve had very little sleep.”

  Come to think of it, I wasn’t even sure how I was still standing. I was exhausted, and now that the adrenaline of escaping Estus’ Salr had long since worn off, I felt jittery and dizzy.

  “You know I’m not going to be able to sleep with everything up in the air,” I sighed. “Let’s at least try to contact the Morrigan, then I’ll rest for a few hours . . . maybe.”

  Mikael sighed. “Let’s go,” he conceded.

  I smiled, though a small part of me almost hoped he’d try to stop me. I seriously needed some sleep.

  I waited while Mikael retrieved his new phone from his pocket, then sent a quick text. “Silver and Faas will finish their drinks and meet us in the lobby,” he explained, returning the phone to his jeans.

  I frowned. “Faas I understand, but why Silver?”

  Mikael glanced at Marcos, then back to me. “I want an extra pair of empath eyes to make sure death incarnate over here doesn’t pull any funny business.”

  Marcos chuckled, apparently enjoying being referred to as death incarnate. To each his own, I guess.

  Mikael gestured for Marcos to stand, then waited as Marcos led the way out of the room. I followed behind, feeling an odd mixture of excitement and dread. It would be interesting to see Mara again, and I was pretty sure she’d be proud of how far I’d come, but I also feared the effect she had on me when we shared the same body. It was simply too much power, similar to what happened with the banshees. It was addictive, and made me a little too bold.

  My only hope was that Mara’s spirit had been weakened enough that she’d be little more than a small voice in my head. I felt guilty for thinking in such a way about my friend, but there it was. If I had to share my headspace with someone, it was better for them to be as non-influential as possible.

  The door closed behind us, locking automatically, and we made our way to the elevator. Mikael pressed the button on the wall as we reached it. We all waited in silence for the little ding to signal that the door was about to open.

  The doors parted to reveal a pair of inebriated woman, dressed to the nines. They both appeared to be i
n their mid-thirties, probably having a nice girls’ weekend together. Was it really the weekend? I’d lost track.

  We entered the elevator and stood with our backs against one wall, while the women stood against the other. The doors slid shut, leaving us in silence. One of the women looked Mikael up and down, being horribly obvious about it. She seemed to like what she saw.

  Her friend gawked at Marcos. Her sudden anxiety washed over me. She had good instincts, or maybe a bit of natural empathy, to be fearful of Marcos. He was creepy looking, but not enough to instill instant fear in random women.

  Mikael leaned slightly forward, his eyes on the frightened woman. “He’s single if you’re interested,” he whispered.

  The woman jumped, turning her horrified eyes to Mikael.

  I tried to hide my smile. “You’re mean,” I chided quietly as we reached the bottom floor and the doors slid open.

  Marcos smiled and gave the scared woman a slight bow of his head.

  Her eyes widened, then she grabbed her friend’s hand and tugged her out of the elevator. Her friend looked longingly at Mikael as she was pulled out of sight.

  “You’re both mean,” I corrected as we exited the elevator. “It’s not nice to pick on humans.”

  Marcos raised an eyebrow at me. “You want to release wild magics into their world, completely altering existence as they know it, and you’re mad at us for teasing them?”

  I blushed, because he was right. What I was going to do to them was far, far worse.

  I scanned the lobby to find Silver and Faas, leaning side-by-side against the wall near the vacant help desk. There was little noise coming from the nearby bar. From my current angle I couldn’t see into the establishment, but I was betting our elevator friends weren’t in for much excitement.

  Silver pushed away from the wall and approached, followed by Faas. Even after the long day and night, Silver’s white suit looked unwrinkled, and his hair was perfect. Or maybe it was a different suit, and he’d had the honor of a shower and sleep, unlike the rest of us.

  “Are we sure this is a good idea?” he asked, coming to stand before us.

  “It’s our only idea,” I replied.

  He nodded, but didn’t seem to fully believed me. “Fair enough.” He gestured for me to lead the way out of the hotel.

  I frowned at him, then made my way toward the exit, though every step was a battle as I imagined how good it would feel for my head to hit a pillow. Marcos had said being outside would be better, but he hadn’t specified where outside. Hopefully a nice, grassy nook somewhere near the hotel would be good enough. Given the late hour, we’d likely go unnoticed hanging out and chanting in the grass, and if we were, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

  I wasn’t sure where Mara’s spirit had gone when she died. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind being pulled back into our world. Did spirits have lives in the afterlife? Did they mingle with the gods?

  We were about to find out.

  Alaric leaned against a tree with Mara a few feet away from him. Both watched the night-shrouded castle. Sophie hadn’t been gone long, but it felt like ages. He’d heard no sounds of commotion, but it was a large castle. For all they knew, Sophie might be screaming her lungs out in an underground dungeon.

  He’d just made up his mind to go in after her when she appeared in what could be seen of the central courtyard from his vantage point. She ran through the still-open portcullis toward their hiding spot.

  She reached them in less than a minute, then grabbed onto Alaric’s hand and began tugging him forward. “The Morrigan has demanded everyone’s presence. She claims if we bring her Mara, she’ll help us.”

  Alaric turned to look at Mara, who took a step forward, then clutched her stomach as if in pain.

  “Something is wrong,” she groaned doubling over. She fell to her knees, then looked up at them. “Oh shit,” she said, seeming to realize something. “I’m being summoned.”

  “What?” he asked frantically, rushing toward her. He crouched in front of her hunched over form. “By whom?”

  Mara’s eyes pinched shut. “I think it’s Madeline,” she panted, “but not just her. Someone very powerful is helping. I won’t be able to resist for long.”

  “Someone powerful?” he questioned desperately.

  “You can’t go!” Sophie interrupted. “The only reason the Morrigan is willing to help is because she thinks I’m bringing along the future version of her!”

  “I can’t help it,” Mara rasped. “I’ll try to return as soon as I can.”

  “Who is helping her!” Alaric demanded, fearing she was about to disappear.

  Mara licked her dry lips. “I think it’s the necromancer. It’s an energy I’ve felt before.”

  She faded out of existence as if she’d simply been an illusion all along, leaving both Alaric and Sophie to stare at the ground where she’d been, just seconds before.

  “This is not good,” Sophie groaned.

  “For more reasons than one,” Alaric replied.

  Not only had Mara left them, but she’d mentioned a necromancer. Had Madeline allowed Marcos to regain much of his power? What was Mikael thinking allowing such a thing to happen? It was as good as going to sleep beside a poisonous viper.

  I resisted the urge to pull away as I held Marcos’ bony hands in mine. We’d walked roughly a mile away from the hotel to a small park. I’d always taken the plentiful parks of Washington for granted, but now I couldn’t be more grateful for the state’s focus on trees and greenery. I was not up for a late night drive to the woods.

  Mikael, Silver, and Faas stood off in the grass to one side, observing, though there wasn’t much to see. This new ritual wasn’t anywhere near as flashy as pouring blood over my hands into a roaring fire. Of course, we weren’t trying to summon one of the gods in full. We were only trying to summon Mara’s remaining energy in a less substantial capacity. All it took, apparently, was power and concentration. Oh, and a necromancer. Mustn’t forget that part.

  Marcos had his eyes closed in concentration. I was supposed to have my eyes closed too, but I couldn’t help stealing a few peeks. The park was large enough that we were able to distance ourselves from most of the streetlights, but the moon still cast an eerie glow upon Marcos’ face.

  “Concentrate,” he demanded, his eyes still closed.

  I snapped my eyes shut, and did as he asked, though I felt spacey from exhaustion. I was supposed to focus on Mara’s energy, the feel of her, while Marcos supplied the actual power needed to bring her energy back into the world.

  As I thought of Mara I felt a sudden tug, then cool energy spread up through my body from Marcos’ hands. Suddenly I could sense every tree, every bug, even the three men standing roughly ten feet away, their energies shining like captive suns in the darkness.

  I pulled my thoughts away from them and concentrated on Mara’s fierce energy while I became engulfed in a feeling of oneness. At that moment, I was connected to all living things. In reality, that connection always existed, but I never took the time to feel it. All my fears washed away, replaced by a feeling of certainty in my gut. I was in control, and I could do this.

  The power built between Marcos and I to the point where it felt like molten metal was running through my veins. The metaphysical heat slowly increased to an unbearable temperature. I stifled a scream. It was too much. Marcos clamped his fingers tightly around my hands to keep me from pulling away.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the power released, forming a glowing sphere between us. My body suddenly cooled. The sphere stretched upward and elongated into a tall oval, then slowly began to take on the form of a woman.

  This wasn’t right. I was supposed to have summoned Mara into my mind. She couldn’t sustain herself in our world on her own.

  Confused, I stared at the glowing figure as its details morphed. Soon I could see a face, and a distinctly feminine body draped in a tight, long dress. Som
ething was wrong though. She was transparent, and looked almost like . . .

  “A banshee?” Marcos questioned. His hands were still gripped in mine, forming a circle around the glowing woman.

  We both craned our necks to look up at her, then let our hands drop. We backed away as the figure’s feet floated downward until they hovered just above the grass. The glow faded, leaving a white, ghostly figure behind.

  I didn’t recognize the phantom’s face staring down at me. It was different than the corpse Mara had inhabited while I’d known her, but somehow I knew we’d gotten the right woman. Maybe it was how she’d looked originally.

  “Mara?” I questioned.

  “Oh Madeline,” she groaned, shaking her incorporeal head. “What have you done?”

  What had I done? It was a good question. From the looks of it, I’d turned the Morrigan into a banshee.

  “What do we do?” Sophie gasped, holding her hand up to her mouth.

  Alaric glanced at the space were Mara had been. “The Morrigan will only help us if we bring Mara to her?”

  Sophie nodded, her eyes pinched in worry.

  “Then we’re screwed.”

  “What is the meaning of this?” a voice called out from the direction of the castle.

  Alaric peered past Sophie as she turned to see a woman in a tight, red dress striding toward them. The dress trailed behind her across the stone walkway, then into the dirt as she approached. Her long red hair blew away from a face matching the one Mara had been using in this time, looking eerie in the darkness.

  Sophie stood in an almost submissive stance, not a stance Alaric saw on his sister often, but he supposed he couldn’t blame her. The Morrigan walked forward in a cloud of her own anger.

  “Where did she go?” she demanded, halting before them. “I only caught a glimpse of her before she disappeared. Is this some sort of trick?”