Duck, Duck, Noose Page 20

  She looked down at her feet for several seconds, then back up to him. “If Madeline has supplied you with bravery, then you will have to do the same for me. I can face the gods if it means saving my brother. I can face anything.”

  Now it was Alaric’s turn to fight tears. Sophie had changed over the past few months, or perhaps she’d always been the person standing before him, only she’d been too scared to show it.

  Either way, they would face the gods together. If they fell, they would both fall. Neither would die alone.

  It was a lot more than most people could say.

  21

  I gasped and sat up in bed, my mind slowly pulling itself out of my nightmare. I’d dreamed I was locked in Estus’ dungeon, and all of my teeth were falling out. Wouldn’t have to be a therapist to read much into that one. Lack of control, feeling trapped, you name it.

  I checked the bedside clock to find it was nearly noon. The heavy curtains blocked out most of the sun, but left me enough light to see Tabitha and Tallie asleep in the bed next to mine.

  I struggled out of the covers, throwing my legs over the side of the bed to place my feet on the carpet, thinking of what I’d done to the Morrigan, and of Alaric and Sophie being stuck back in time.

  There was nothing I could do about any of it. Tonight was the night we would go after Estus. The Norn was yet to be found, but we would have to move on without her. Maybe even regrow Yggdrasil without her. All of her sisters had been killed, but that energy had to go somewhere, didn’t it? Maybe it would be called back to the tree. It was our only hope.

  I stood and padded quietly across the carpet toward the bathroom. I knew someone was likely standing guard outside our room, but I didn’t bother to check. I was relatively safe, and my toiletries awaited me in the bathroom. It was finally time for a much needed shower.

  I took a quick left into the bathroom, then nearly jumped out of my skin. The light was already on, and Frode was standing over the sink, shaving the stubble from his face. His hair was twisted up in a towel. Next I noticed the steaminess in the bathroom, and the small circle he’d cleared on the mirror with his palm.

  “What the hell are you doing in here!” I exclaimed.

  He was clothed in black leather pants and a black tee-shirt, making his pale skin and hair stand out in sharp contrast. I was glad he was at least clothed, but my face still felt suddenly flushed. We weren’t at a point in our friendship where sharing innocent bathroom time was comfortable.

  He eyed me calmly, his razor poised inches from his face. “Shaving.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes, I can see that. I meant what are you doing in our bathroom. Claiming this as a girls’ room was intentional.”

  He shrugged and turned back to his shaving. “Aila took over the bathroom in our room. I didn’t want to wait around.”

  I crossed my arms and glared at him. He’d roomed with Mikael and Aila by choice. “You chose which room you would stay in. Now return and suffer the consequences of your actions.”

  He sighed and lowered his razor, then walked past me with shaving cream still on his face. “As you wish, Phantom Queen,” he replied snarkily. A moment later, the main door opened and shut behind him.

  I swear, sometimes being part of a clan was like being at teenage summer camp, except in this case, half of the campers were six foot tall Vikings with a penchant for violence.

  Finally alone, I shut and locked the bathroom door, looking down at the dirty sink in distaste. With a sudden feeling of dread, I turned toward the towel rack, then exhaled in relief as I saw one single clean towel left over for me. Normally I preferred two towels, one for my body and one for my hair, but it would have to do. I guess it’s understandable we’d go through a lot of towels when most everyone around had long hair, including the men.

  I heard the room door open and shut, then a knock on the bathroom door. With a heavy sigh, I opened it and peeked my head out.

  Faas looked back at my grumpy expression warily. “I was just checking to see if you wanted to come to the lobby for lunch.”

  I continued to glare. “How did you get a key to our room?”

  “I saw Frode in the hall and he gave it to me.”

  Of course he did. I sighed. “I’m going to take a shower now, and anyone else who interrupts me is going to face the banshees come nightfall.”

  Faas smirked, then held the key card out to me. “Yes ma’m.”

  I took the card from him, then resealed the bathroom door as he turned away. If anyone else knocked, I was ignoring them.

  I kneeled down beside my suitcase, which had been pushed into the corner next to the sink. I pulled out my toiletries and set everything up for my shower, wondering how I was still able to go about things so normally after all that had happened. Perhaps I was becoming a stronger person, or maybe I was just becoming numb. You can only experience so much terror and turmoil before it stops affecting you like it once did. Once you’d been through enough, nothing could truly touch you. Or maybe I was just being melodramatic. Yeah, that was it.

  I turned on the water in the shower, adjusted the temperature, then disrobed, glad to finally shed my dirty crimson sweater. I’d been so exhausted after summoning the Morrigan that I’d simply collapsed on my bed in a heap, falling asleep in my dirty clothes with unbrushed teeth.

  I stepped into the shower and closed the curtain behind me. The hot water instantly relaxed my tense muscles and soothed my nerves. I hadn’t even realized the tension was there until that moment. Of course, I hadn’t had a quiet moment to think about it until then.

  I had shampooed my hair and was just starting to relax, when a strange feeling overcame me, and a voice echoed in my head. Time is running out. Please help.

  I lost my footing, then barely managed to catch myself on the metal bar built into the wall for disabled or elderly guests, banging my ankle on the wall of the tub. My ankle throbbing, I leaned against the bar for a moment, then shifted all my weight to my unharmed foot.

  I recognized the mental voice as the Norn. I closed my eyes and shifted out of the water, lowering my shields in hopes of hearing more. As soon as I did, images flashed through my mind. The woods, in a place I recognized.

  She was in danger. I didn’t need words to explain her fear. I had to go to her.

  I did my best to mentally convey that I’d soon be on my way. The mental communication was muddled at best, probably because of the distance between us. The Norn’s telepathy was stronger with nearness, and was most clear with touch.

  There was no reply.

  I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, muttering a deluge of curses. This was just what we needed. Just when our plan had been settled.

  I quickly dried myself off, then wrapped my long hair up in the towel. I grabbed the first clothes I came in contact with from my suitcase. A long-sleeved, green cotton shirt and black jeans. I dressed quickly, then feeling like my heart was about to pop from anxiety, I discarded the towel from my hair, grabbed a clean pair of socks, and rushed out of the bathroom to find my boots.

  Tallie and Tabitha were both awake, and sat on their bed chatting with cups of coffee in hand from the small, hotel-supplied coffee pot. They both looked at me like I’d rushed out of the bathroom spewing fire from my lungs, a mix of shock and fear at my flustered, yet determined, expression.

  “The Norn is in trouble,” I explained as I tugged my boots on one foot, then the other. “Tell everyone. I’m going to find Mikael.”

  I didn’t wait for them to answer before I turned around, grabbed my purse and black jacket, then hurried out of the room.

  Alejandro was outside the door on guard. His reaction was similar to Tallie and Tabitha’s. I didn’t blame him. I was sure I looked crazed with my unbrushed wet hair, flushed face, and turmoil-filled expression.

  “Where’s Mikael?” I demanded before he could speak.

  “I don’t kno—” he began, but I had already turned away.

  Faas had sai
d he was going to the lobby for lunch. Maybe Mikael was with him.

  I hurried down the hall toward the elevator. Alejandro followed behind me, calling out for me to stop, but there was no time.

  I reached the elevator and waited impatiently for the doors to open as Alejandro caught up with me. Rather then asking questions, he simply darted into the elevator alongside me, then waited as I pushed the button for the lobby.

  “Mind telling me what the hell is going on now?” he asked, just as the elevator began to descend.

  “The Norn . . . contacted me,” I explained. “She made it to Washington, but she’s in trouble. We need to go save her.”

  The elevator reached its destination and the doors slid open. I walked out into the lobby, not waiting for Alejandro’s reply, then turned toward the bar/restaurant.

  I scanned the tables all filled by the lunch rush, then exhaled a sigh of relief as I spotted Mikael, Faas, and Aila seated together with mostly empty plates of food before them.

  Mikael spotted me first, and watched as I approached with Alejandro at my back. Likely just judging my frazzled appearance, he seemed to deduce it was time to go. He stood and threw a wad of cash on the table, then gestured for Faas and Aila to follow him.

  He met me halfway across the room, near the bar. “What happened?” he asked, his eyes lingering on my messy wet hair.

  “The Norn is in trouble,” I explained in a low voice.

  “Let’s go,” he stated simply as Faas and Aila reached his back.

  He pulled out his phone and started typing while he walked. Likely sending a text to Silver, since he was the only other one who seemed to have a phone, besides Aila.

  He returned his phone to his pocket and we left the restaurant, then the five of us walked across the lobby and exited the hotel.

  “We don’t want to take any backup?” I questioned.

  We walked across the parking lot toward one of the SUVs. The sun was shining brightly, an odd occurrence in Washington State in the middle of winter.

  “Silver will gather reinforcements,” he explained, his eyes scanning the parking lot for possible threats. “I’ll tell him where to go as soon as you tell me.”

  Alejandro, Aila, and Faas fanned out around us like proper bodyguards as we reached the vehicle.

  I thought back to the images that had briefly flashed through my mind when the Norn had contacted me. I recognized the area portrayed in the images as Woodborough Park. It was a recreation area right past a small suburb on the outskirts of Spokane. There was a hiking trail I had frequented back in my normal days that led to a secluded picnic area. I’d recognized the memorial plaque at the base of one of the trees. I’d sat by myself under that tree many times. It was either fortuitous that I knew the area, or it was a trap.

  “Woodborough Park,” I explained. We all piled into the SUV. I took the front passenger seat while Mikael drove. “It’s about twenty minutes east of here.”

  “Was the Norn able to communicate the location’s name?” he asked quizzically as he backed the vehicle out of its parking spot, then aimed us toward the exit.

  I shook my head. “I recognized the area. This may be a trap.”

  Mikael seemed deep in thought as he steered the vehicle out onto the street, then picked up speed and changed lanes to merge onto the nearby highway. “Would Estus be aware that you’d recognize this location?” he asked finally.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied. “He had people watching me most of my life. Sophie was one of them, actually. But I’m not sure if anyone would have reported such an insignificant detail.”

  “There is another option,” Faas interjected, peeking his head forward between the seats. “The key had access to your mind before you learned to shield. It could have gleaned many memories.”

  I frowned. “I went to Woodborough Park a lot, so it was a more prominent memory than most. It’s entirely possible the key saw the information and stored it away for later use, though how it could have planned that far ahead is beyond me.”

  Alejandro cleared his throat from one of the back seats, drawing my gaze back to him. “Or else the location is entirely coincidental,” he suggested. “You lived in this area for most of your life, right? The odds that you would recognize any given location are high.”

  I pursed my lips in thought. “True. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

  I turned my gaze back to Mikael in time to see him grin. “Show up and kick some ass?”

  I nodded. “Pretty much.”

  It was as good a plan as any. We couldn’t just let the Norn die. Estus and the key would both know that, so it was the perfect trap, if it really was a trap. I only wished it was nighttime so the banshees would be at full power, though they could be pretty scary during the daytime too.

  Not to mention that Mara was now part of my phantom army. She could kill a man with her bad attitude alone.

  “I can’t believe her,” Sophie growled, going on her second half hour straight of griping. “She probably placed us in this desolate, ugly place on purpose, knowing there was nothing here.”

  Alaric kept quiet. He wouldn’t exactly call the expansive coastline ugly, but he also saw no sign of a sacred barrow. It would have helped to have someone like Tallie with them, who could sense energy. As it was, they were searching based on sight and smell alone, but they didn’t know what the barrow looked like, nor if there were any distinguishing scents nearby. All they could do was keep walking and hope they weren’t going in the wrong direction.

  “We’re going to die out here,” Sophie muttered.

  His boots sank in the sand as they continued to walk. “I don’t think she tricked us,” he stated finally. “Though she’s a bit crazed, she’s still the woman Mara once was. There’s humanity lurking behind her bitterness. I believe she truly wants us to accomplish this task.”

  Sophie snorted. “When did you become so trusting?”

  He lifted a hand to shade his eyes as he peered down the coast. “When I realized that there’s usually more to everyone than what meets the eye,” he muttered.

  Sophie stopped beside him and shaded her eyes, gazing in the same direction. “What is that?” she questioned softly.

  “I’m not sure.”

  It was a small stone structure. Very small. It didn’t seem grand enough for a tomb on the land of the gods, but perhaps a building’s looks could deceive as much as a person’s.

  He lowered his hand and continued walking, an extra spring in his step now that they had finally spotted something out of the ordinary. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  Sophie caught up to his side and they both hurried toward the distant structure.

  “Be on your guard,” he advised as they jogged. “We’ve no idea what sort of creatures might be lurking about. After the Morrigan’s forest, I wouldn’t even be surprised if we ended up facing a dragon.”

  Sophie groaned. “That’s not at all comforting.”

  “It wasn’t meant to be,” he replied. “We must be prepared for anything.”

  “We have no weapons, and I can’t even remember the last time I ate,” she whined. “I don’t even feel prepared to battle a mouse.”

  “You bring shame on Bastet,” a deep voice rumbled from behind them.

  Alaric and Sophie both skidded to a halt and quickly turned around.

  The baritone rumble of the voice had made Alaric suspect some sort of giant, but the man who stood a few feet away was of normal size. What was not normal, was that he appeared to be made of stone. His features were expertly carved, his face animated like a living being, but there was no mistaking the texture and tone of his skin and unmoving clothes. The robes draping his masculine frame seemed rigid, as did his body for that matter. All that moved at the moment were his eyes. He stood in a statuesque pose, staring at them.

  “And who might you be?” Alaric asked, wondering if this was some sort of odd trick, and the statue was not actually animate.

  “I am
Terminus, the guardian of boundaries,” the statue man explained.

  “As in the Terminus out of Roman Myth?” Sophie inquired.

  Alaric turned to raise an eyebrow at her. He was well versed in many of the myths, but had not been aware of that one.

  “Indeed,” the statue answered simply.

  A few silent seconds ticked by.

  Alaric found it troublesome that the statue had appeared just as they were about to reach the small stone structure. That he’d called himself the guardian of boundaries was more troublesome still. Was he here to enforce the boundary the Morrigan had referenced?

  “The children of the gods are no longer welcome here,” the statue stated finally.

  “And how is it that you are here?” Alaric countered. “The gods have left these lands.”

  The statue made a hmph sound. “I am merely one of many guardians. I am no god.”

  “Terminus was a god,” Sophie argued.

  The statue tilted its head. The movement was fluid, with no signs of crumbling stone. It led Alaric to believe the statue could move the rest of its body just as easily, which meant it was a threat.

  Though the statue was several feet away, he spread his arm in front of Sophie to push her back with him. “We simply need to retrieve some human remains and we’ll be on our way,” he explained.

  The statue tilted its head to the other side. “You must leave now.”

  So it was capable of movement, but obviously not very bright. He glanced over his shoulder at the stone structure. It was still maybe thirty feet away. They could probably reach it well before the statue could catch them, but that was assuming the stone man had no other powers, and no accomplices.

  “What are you meant to do to any who refuse to leave?” Sophie questioned. She had glanced back at the structure several times, likely considering the same thoughts as Alaric.

  The statue took a graceful step forward. “Any who refuse to leave must die.”

  Alaric glanced at his sister. “You go,” he whispered. “I’ll hold him off.”