Duck, Duck, Noose (Bitter Ashes Book 4) Read online

  He sighed. “I have to do something to pass the time.”

  Mikael stood, walked around the table, then pulled out an extra chair for me. “Come watch the game,” he invited. “The winner gets to make you his bride.” He looked over his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows at me.

  Alaric dropped my hand as I sat, then took a step toward the board. He pursed his lips, then moved a piece. “Check mate,” he said happily.

  Mikael walked back around the table, then slumped down into his seat. “Not fair,” he argued. “I was too distracted by the potential prize. Now that the prize sits before us, I demand a rematch.”

  Alaric sat beside me and tsked at Mikael. “You really should have learned to cope with defeat by now, since you’re at such an advanced age.”

  Mikael shrugged. “It’s been a difficult skill to learn, since I so rarely lose.”

  I took a deep breath and leaned forward, wanting to interrupt the banter before it became threatening. Mikael and Alaric had learned to live with each other, but Alaric still wanted nothing more than to kill Mikael, and Mikael knew it.

  “So I just had an interesting conversation with Marcos,” I explained, knowing it would get Mikael’s attention.

  He narrowed his eyes at me, as if divining whether or not I was joking.

  “He wants to help us take the key back from Estus,” I continued, eyeing him seriously.

  He turned his head to the side, then narrowed his eyes a bit more, as if waiting for the punchline.

  “He thinks we need to gain a large clan of our own first,” I continued. “Now that Estus has what he wants, he will be surrounded by his people, moving his plan forward to enact revenge on the humans for forcing the Vaettir into hiding.”

  “I take it you’re not kidding?” Mikael replied blandly.

  “I had much the same reaction,” Alaric chimed in, patting my hand where it lay on the table.

  “I think Marcos is right,” I continued, undaunted. “If just our small group goes after Estus, we may never reach him, even with the banshees. The fact that we need to subdue him and not kill him makes our success even more unlikely.”

  “Or we could just try to kill him,” Mikael countered.

  I rolled my eyes. “The key is not going to let its host die so easily.” I bit my lip, not wanting to admit the next part. “And I think it will come back to me willingly if we corner Estus long enough for Marcos to transfer it. It did choose me, after all.”

  Mikael sighed and leaned back in his chair. “So your entire plan revolves around trusting the sidekick of our newly dead enemy? I must tell you Madeline, that doesn’t sound terribly wise.”

  Alaric cleared his throat, bringing my attention to his face, and the sudden rage that lurked in his expression. “You are not allowing the key back inside of you.”

  “I need it to regrow Yggdrasil,” I countered. “There is no other choice.”

  Alaric huffed, exasperated. In a sharp irritated movement, he pushed his long, black hair behind his ears. “The whole reasoning behind regrowing Yggdrasil was to relieve you of the key. Now that it’s no longer within you, we simply need to eliminate the threat that it poses.”

  “What’s this about regrowing Yggdrasil?” Mikael interrupted.

  I turned angry eyes to him. It wasn’t really my anger, but Alaric’s emotions overwhelmed me and felt like my own. “Before the key was taken from me, the Morrigan and I were going to regrow Yggdrasil,” I explained. “It would return both entities to their natural state.”

  Mikael burst out laughing.

  Both Alaric and I stared at him with our jaws agape.

  Once he had calmed himself enough to speak, he explained, “I really never expected to hear you of all people, Madeline, blurting out such an insane plan.”

  I glared at him.

  “Exactly,” Alaric agreed. “It’s absolutely insane. We didn’t spend all of this time trying to free her from the key for her to just take it back.”

  Mikael shook his head and laughed again. “You misunderstand. The plan is absolutely brilliant.” He turned his shining eyes to me. “Do you realize what will happen if we manage to succeed? With Yggdrasil once again bridging the way for the old gods, true magic will return to these lands.”

  “Why would we want that?” Alaric snapped. His anger felt like fire ants biting my skin.

  Mikael seemed to sober a bit, then started laughing again. “Because it would be fun!”

  Alaric sighed and rolled his eyes, then directed his full attention on me. “Madeline, please do not take into account the opinion of this madman.” He gestured to Mikael. “There are so many things about this plan that could go wrong,” he continued. “So many things that could bring harm to you or our daughter.”

  I shook my head. “Our daughter is at the forefront of my thoughts in all of this. Do you truly think that once Estus has built his base of power, that he will allow us to live? Even if he chose to forget about us, the key would not. It always comes back for those who manage to rid themselves of it.” I glanced at Mikael.

  His expression suddenly serious, Mikael nodded. “It will come for us all. Of that, I am sure.”

  Alaric seemed close to tears, making my heart ache so much more than his anger had. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Are you sure this is the only choice?”

  I nodded. “Think of it as keeping our enemies close. If I have the key, it at least won’t be trying to kill me.”

  “She’s right,” Mikael agreed.

  His overwhelming sadness washed over me. Normally his emotions were entirely shut off from my empathic senses, unless they were incredibly strong. I knew he was likely thinking of Erykah, his wife who’d lost her life to the vengeful key. Guilt was one of the most difficult emotions to quell.

  “But,” he added, “I do not trust Marcos. We should not formulate our plan around him.”

  “We need him to get the key back,” I stated.

  “Or you could attempt to learn Marcos’ skill,” Mikael countered.

  I glared at him. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side.”

  He smiled warmly. “I am on your side, hence the suggestion that will keep you away from the necromancer.”

  Alaric nodded and turned his serious gaze to Mikael. “He’s already begun to manipulate her. I found them chatting alone in a room with no guards present.”

  Mikael frowned at me. “You don’t know what he’s capable of, Madeline.”

  Feeling ganged up on, I snapped, “Maybe you don’t know what I’m capable of!”

  Not reacting to my anger, Mikael continued, “I know exactly what you’re capable of, and yes, you’re very scary, but Marcos was able to cut you off from your banshees before. He is a threat, and will always be a threat, even if he is outwardly agreeing to aid us.”

  “There are always threats in war,” I countered. “The trick is in choosing the right ones to accept.”

  Alaric began to laugh, and it was so out of context in the situation that I was without words.

  He continued to laugh as he shook his head ruefully.

  “What?” I asked completely stunned by his reaction.

  He smiled warmly at me, though underneath that smile I sensed sadness. “Nothing, you’ve just obviously been spending too much time around the rest of us. The trick is to choose the right threats to accept, he paraphrased. I never thought I’d hear you say something like that.”

  I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help my smile. He had that effect on me. I turned back to Mikael. “Do you want to hear my plan, or not?”

  He nodded for me to go on.

  “Marcos made an excellent point to me earlier,” I began, causing both the men to sigh. Unperturbed, I continued, “Now that Estus has what he wants, he’s going to want to solidify his base of power. He didn’t become Doyen by being stupid. He manipulated others into following him, even though he’s not as powerful as many other Vaettir.”

  Alaric raised an eyebrow at me. “I agree
, but just out of curiosity, why do you now think he isn’t overly powerful? You used to be terrified of him.”

  I shrugged. “When he and Aislin kidnapped me, they admitted that they were slowly dying. They didn’t have the power to remain eternally young like some of us.” I eyed Mikael and Alaric in turn. “Neither of them had the power to push forth their plan without the key. They needed its protection first.”

  Both men nodded, and I continued, “It stands to reason that Estus will continue to be cautious. He’ll keep his people close to him, swaying them to his cause. Only once success is ensured, will he attack humanity, exposing the Vaettir while enacting his vengeance for acts committed long before he was born.”

  “And so we must kill him sooner rather than later,” Alaric interrupted, “cutting off his plan before he has a chance to truly begin.”

  I shook my head. “You know as well as I that he is already going to be nearly unreachable. If he manages to recruit those who were loyal to Aislin, he will become unstoppable.”

  “And?” Mikael urged, seeming to already know what I was thinking.

  “And the best way to defeat an empire, is to build a greater one,” I finished, feeling silly for echoing Marcos’ words. I still didn’t trust his role in things, but I had to admit, his plan of action trumped anything I had come up with.

  I didn’t have any chance to elaborate on the plan as a throat cleared in the doorway. We all turned to see Faas and Tabitha enter the room. Tabitha was a surprise, as she had remained in Norway to gather Mikael’s people. When we’d first taunted Estus with news that I had the charm, Mikael’s people had dispersed to avoid detection, but given recent circumstances, it was time to bring everyone together again.

  Tabitha stood a few inches taller than her brother, though that was where the dissimilarities ended. Both possessed white-blond hair, Tabitha’s long, while Faas’ was shaved on either side, with a long topknot that partially obscured his eyes. Both wore their chosen style of dress, very Viking-esque, though Tabitha had toned down her look during her travels.

  Mikael stood to greet them, and the trio began speaking in Old Norsk. Having only learned a few words here and there, I turned to Alaric for a translation.

  He explained with a somber expression, “Many of Mikael’s people are missing, likely killed by Aislin’s clan. Tabitha gathered those she could find and instructed them to come here.”

  I frowned and turned my gaze to Mikael’s back. I’d had no chance to get to know most of his people, save the ones that had traveled with us from the start, but I knew the deaths would affect him. His clan was small, and he viewed many of its members like family. Of course, I had no way of telling just how he felt, because in that moment, he was shielding like a son-of-a-bitch. He always had his shields up to a certain extent, but I’d come to realize whenever I felt absolutely nothing from him, was when he was feeling the most.

  Mikael said a few more words to Faas and Tabitha, then the siblings left the room as he came to stand before us. He looked down at me sadly. “It seems I will be providing you with a much smaller head start on your empire than I’d originally planned,” he stated mournfully.

  I met his sad eyes. “I’m sorry, maybe some of them will still show up.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed, though I could tell by his tone that he was simply humoring me.

  He walked around the table and resumed his seat. “I’ve already sent out a few scouts to find any who wish to leave Aislin’s old clan, but we’ll need to enlist that aid of Alejandro, Tallie, and Marcos to convince those more loyal to their dead Doyen.”

  Right to business then, I thought, wanting to offer some form of comfort to Mikael, but knowing he wouldn’t appreciate it. He needed to deal with things in his own way. “I don’t think Marcos will be of much use in that aspect. I got the impression from Alejandro that many are not terribly fond of him.”

  Alaric snorted. “I don’t blame them.”

  Mikael smiled. “Fear can be a wonderful motivator, and I’m afraid it’s likely our best tactic.” He met my eyes with a wry look. “You Madeline, have become a bit scary.”

  I shook my head. “The banshees are scary, not me.”

  Mikael shrugged. “Be that as it may, we’re much more likely to gain an empire with the Phantom Queen at the forefront. With that image in mind, Marcos will be a useful addition.”

  “I though the Viking King was going to be at the forefront,” I said, only half joking. Our original deal had been for Mikael to lead after we’d defeated Aislin and Estus. He, for one, would at least know what he was doing.

  He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. “I can share a throne if you can.”

  Alaric scoffed. “You’re proposing that you and she share the role of Doyen?” he asked, his gaze firmly on Mikael.

  Mikael nodded, then turned to me as he offered his explanation. “I may have lost many of my people, but not all, and I hold sway with the independent clans here in Ireland. Not only that, but my diplomatic tactics will be a necessary backer to your . . . scariness. My other added value is my age. Many of the more ancient among us will not willingly follow someone as young as you. With me as part of the package, we will gain more powerful allies, not just those afraid of phantoms.”

  “So how does Marcos fit in?” I asked curiously.

  “He will be your commanding general, or Merkismathr,” he explained, “Though he will be this in name only. We’re obviously not going to let him command anything. Regardless, he was Merkismathr to Aislin, so it will be a believable role.”

  “What if I want Alaric to be my merki-whatsit?” I asked, knowing I was going to botch the pronunciation of the word no matter how hard I tried.

  Mikael shook his head. “Pretty though he may be, stealing Aislin’s second in command will give you more clout. It’s a matter of image, nothing more.”

  I nodded in understanding. “So we build up our ranks, then take the key back before Estus can make his move.”

  Mikael nodded. “With any luck, we’ll cast enough doubt in the hearts of those who remain with Estus to avoid much of a fight.”

  Alaric sighed. “Or they’ll fight, and we’ll launch the equivalent of World War III, with the key on one side, and a phantom army on the other. The humans who manage to survive will attempt to hunt us down, much as they did in the past, only this time, it won’t be small scale witch hunts.”

  I frowned at him. “Thanks a lot, Negative Nancy.”

  “Either way,” Mikael interjected, “a large, strong army is our best chance of survival. I agree with Madeline. The key will force Estus to come back for her, even if Estus himself doesn’t care about her death. I will not have those I care about slaughtered once again, simply because I underestimated the key’s thirst for vengeance.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not about vengeance. It’s about chaos. It cannot leave those it has touched to live out their lives in harmony. It goes against what the key is at its core.”

  Mikael shrugged. “Either way, the results are the same. We need to be ready for it, which means recruiting as many powerful Vaettir as possible.” He eyed me steadily. “It also means you need to rebuild your army. Your banshees have begun to fade to mere specters.”

  I nodded. “I know, but-”

  “You’re scared,” Mikael finished for me. “But we brought you back to yourself before. We can do it again.”

  I looked to Alaric, needing reassurance.

  He took both my hands in his and gave them a squeeze. “You know how I feel about the banshees, but Mikael is right. They will protect you, and I cannot argue against anything that increases your chances of survival. I believe without the Morrigan or the key taking up space in your mind, you’ll have more control over them this time. Not only that, but your powers have grown stronger, as you exhibited when you kept the banshees from Marcos. To steal your words once more, you must choose which threats are worth accepting.”

  I nodded, then took a deep, shaky breath. “So we
recruit all we can, and I will strengthen the banshees.”

  With a sad expression, Alaric bowed his head in acceptance, just as Mikael nodded his own assent.

  We were all agreed. We had a plan . . . kind of.

  Chapter 3

  We didn’t have time to solidify our plans, as an argument broke out somewhere down the hall. Sophie’s voice was prominent, shouting above the rest. Her anger hit me like a ton of bricks, even from the distance, though underneath her fiery rage was heartache. There was only one person I could think of that would cause that sort of response in Sophie. Well two, really, but James was dead.

  I turned nervous eyes to Mikael as we all stood. “Is there any chance some of Aislin’s people could have found us?”

  Alaric took a step toward me and placed his hand on my arm, suddenly concerned. “What are you thinking?”

  The yelling grew louder for a moment, then cut off abruptly. The sound of high-heeled boots clacked the rest of the way down the hall, quickly approaching us.

  I shivered. “There’s only one person that could elicit this sort of response from Sophie,” I explained, but was cut off as she appeared in the doorway.

  Her long, black hair, hung loose down to her waist, framing a silk, crimson tank top and black jeans. Her dark eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, though no tears fell down her pale cheeks.

  She startled for a moment as she realized she already had our full attention, then her face set into determined lines. “We have visitors,” she explained.

  “Maya?” I breathed, still overwhelmed by Sophie’s emotions.

  She glared at me, though I wasn’t the source of her anger. “Among others,” she explained. “They’ve brought a message. Apparently, they want to join us, and want to bring many of Aislin’s other people with them.”

  That explained Sophie’s anger. Sophie had risked her life for Maya, and Maya had not only betrayed her, but later came back and tried to kill her. There was one thing I didn’t understand though. “How did they find us?”

  Alaric lifted a hand to his chin in thought. “Tallie or Alejandro could have at some point contacted them. Though we’ve done our best to never leave either of them alone.”