Duck, Duck, Noose Read online

  After a moment of shock, I began tugging on Mikael’s arm frantically, trying to keep him from speaking further. What the hell was he doing?

  The Norn’s thin lips curved downward into a perplexed frown.

  We cannot risk the phantom’s existence, the voice argued. The threat is too great.

  Apparently now involved in the internal conversation, Mikael replied, “And we cannot risk the key coming back to kill us all. If we fail, Estus will march on all of humanity. It will be worldwide war. Millions will be slaughtered. Surely the banshees do not pose a greater risk than that?”

  We will prevent that fate without the phantoms, the Norn argued.

  Her panic was almost overwhelming. I felt like I could barely breathe around it. The Norns usually didn’t involve themselves in the affairs of humans or Vaettir, and I wasn’t sure why they’d chosen now to start, unless they were truly worried the world as they knew it might end.

  You hope to regrow Yggdrasil, the Norn explained in answer to my thoughts. To restore balance. We share in that goal. We can help you achieve it. The dead are not a necessary factor.

  I blinked up at her, surprised. “You do realize that regrowing Yggdrasil would require you giving up your current forms?” I questioned.

  The Norns had been a part of Yggdrasil, symbolizing fate. If we were to regrow the World Tree as it was, the remaining Norns would have to return to their original forms within the tree, effectively ending their independent lives.

  She bowed her antlered head. We were never meant to be this way. When we are not ignored, we are killed. We wish to return to Yggdrasil, where we can once again weave the strings of fate.

  I took a deep, shaky breath, but Mikael spoke first. “In that case, it seems we are the ones holding all the cards. You will return Alaric and Sophie to us, then you will aid us in any way we deem necessary, if you ever hope to be returned to your previous form.”

  The Norn stared at him blankly.

  I stared at him too, jaw agape. He’d somehow turned the entire situation around on the Norn.

  I will discuss this with my sisters, she finally replied.

  Just as I sighed in relief, Mikael snapped, “No, you will answer for them. Do we have a deal, or not?”

  The Norn narrowed her eyes in sudden anger, though her gaze turned to me, instead of Mikael. I hope that you do not prove us right. The phantoms should never have been raised again. They nearly destroyed the world before the Morrigan destroyed herself.

  “Do we have a deal?” Mikael asked again calmly.

  She pursed her thin lips in distaste, then nodded her head.

  “Good,” he said simply. “Now lead us to our lost associates.”

  The Norn nodded again.

  I looked to Mikael once more in utter shock. “You know, I have never been more grateful for your existence than I am right now.”

  He waved me off with a smile. “Oh I bet you say that to all the guys.”

  I shook my head in awe of Mikael’s diplomacy, suddenly exceedingly pleased he would be my co-Doyen. If I’d handled that conversation, my banshees would already be gone, and I’d be doing whatever else the Norn might ask of me. It just went to show that you should never feel powerless in any given situation. When your opponent has given you few choices, you simply had to give them even less.

  We had just begun to follow the Norn into the woods, when Tallie, Aila, and Frode appeared ahead of us. Tallie stared in awe at the Norn for several seconds before giving her a wide berth to approach us. Frode and Aila seemed unfazed as they moved to stand beside Mikael.

  Tallie smoothed her fingers over her shiny black ponytail, glancing at me nervously, her delicate features creased with worry. “We couldn’t find them,” she explained. Her eyes shifted to the Norn again. “What is that?” she whispered.

  “It’s a Norn,” I whispered back.

  Tallie’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”

  “My sentiments exactly,” I replied. “Though she’s actually leading us to Alaric and Sophie.”

  I could sense sudden great relief coming from Tallie’s petite form, though on the outside she just nodded somberly, having failed in her task. Seeming to rally, she tugged her leather coat straight, ready to re-enter the woods for round two.

  “We should get going,” Mikael advised. He looked to Aila and Frode, both standing tall and super blond beside him, then to Tallie. “The three of you will come with us, just in case.”

  Everyone nodded as the Norn waited patiently.

  “Why does the Norn have Sophie and Alaric?” I heard Frode whisper to Mikael as we all turned and began walking.

  “She hoped to use them as bargaining chips,” Mikael explained. “She thought she might force us to adhere to her wishes.”

  Mikael and Frode laughed. It was one of those exceedingly macho moments that were often highly irritating to those not involved. I watched as Aila and Tallie gave each other knowing looks, though I was left out of the exchange. Normally, I might have felt shunned, but right then, all I wanted to do was make sure Alaric was okay. Aila and Tallie could have their girl’s moment without me.

  As we walked on for over an hour, I began to recognize our surroundings, though I had only walked that route once before, and I’d been traveling in the other direction at the time. Still, it seemed like we were walking in the direction of the old cellar where I’d been held after Aislin and Estus had kidnapped me. It was a logical guess, since there wasn’t much else to be found in the long expanse of woodland ahead of us, that I knew of. It was still too soon to tell for sure though, as the cellar was many miles off.

  The Norn stumbled, then hunched over, holding a paw to her head.

  I ran to her side, not fast enough to beat Mikael and Tallie there. Her eyes were shut, and she panted as if in pain. I reached a hand out to touch her arm, rubbing my palm across the scratchy fabric of her shapeless clothing, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  Something’s wrong, a voice echoed in my head along with a searing wave of pain.

  Panic shot through me, mingling with the pain to make me feel ill. Had something happened to her sisters? If they were with Alaric and Sophie . . .

  “Where are they?” Mikael demanded, obviously coming to the same conclusion.

  A moment later, my suspicions were confirmed. Images of the cellar flashed through my mind. Before I could react, Mikael had moved to the other side of the Norn to hoist me into his arms, carrying me like a small child. It would have been easier for him to throw me over his shoulders, but that would put uncomfortable pressure on my baby bump. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he began to run, leaving the Norn behind.

  Tallie shot ahead of us, faster than Mikael, Aila, or Frode could run. She was as fast as Alaric, maybe even faster. Mikael had known I wouldn’t be able to keep up, even with the slowest amongst us.

  Wanting nothing more than to break free of Mikael’s grasp to run on my own, I fought the tears streaming down my face. It felt like we weren’t running fast enough. I’d always been a terrible judge of distance, but if I remembered correctly, the cellar was still six or seven miles away. We wouldn’t make it in time to stop whatever was happening.

  Still, Mikael ran on as Frode and Aila kept pace on either side of us. I kept my arms wrapped tightly around his neck, wanting to make carrying me as easy as possible. For a normal man, running at such a pace with a 5 foot 9 woman in his arms would have been nearly impossible, but Mikael was no normal man.

  Feeling helpless, I sent my thoughts out to the banshees, but only received a weak echo in reply. I had deprived them of their strength, and now it was coming back to bite me. There was nothing I could do but cling to Mikael and hope we wouldn’t be too late.

  7

  By the time we reached the cellar, I felt completely numb. We still had no idea what had happened, but something had befallen the Norn’s sisters, and it had been bad enough to immobilize her.

  Tallie had already gone down into the cellar, and now re-e
merged, an unreadable look on her face. Mikael approached her, still holding me tightly in his arms.

  She shook her head.

  The response was all I needed. I struggled, but Mikael’s arms tightened around me, refusing to let go. “Maddy, wait,” he pleaded.

  Though I had little to spare, I concentrated and shot a small burst of energy at him. His arms loosened in surprise, and I suddenly fell to the ground, hitting my tailbone on the rocky earth.

  Not taking a moment to recover, I scrambled away from him. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, but I had to get down into that cellar. Alaric couldn’t be hurt. He couldn’t be.

  I avoided Aila as she made a grab for me. They were all trying to keep me from seeing whatever was in that cellar.

  Aila started to lunge at me again, but Mikael darted in and stopped her, even though he’d tried to stop me himself a moment before. I ran to the open door of the cellar, lying flush with the ground, then hurried down the old, concrete stairs, my heart beating so loudly in my ears that I couldn’t even hear my own footsteps.

  Candles still burned around the room, though many had been blown out, and some flames had been drowned in blood. I stood frozen at the base of the stairs, surveying the massacre. The entire room was drenched in blood. Over the chair I’d once been tied to, which had been knocked onto its side, lay the hunched form of a Norn, dead. Her sisters were scattered about the room, not one of them living.

  I jumped as I realized Mikael was standing right behind me.

  “They’re not here,” I mumbled as relief mingled with the numbing shock that had taken over my body. “Alaric and Sophie aren’t here,” I stated more firmly.

  My knees suddenly collapsed, but Mikael caught me, lifting me back into his arms. Frode descended the stairs behind us, then walked further into the room. He approached the Norn draped across the chair, and a moment later, I realized why. One of her arms was pinned under her chest against the side of the chair. Her forearm stuck out at an odd angle, the elbow bent so the avian talons were above the torso. In her upright claws rested a white envelope. It was square, like the invitation to a wedding or party. Frode retrieved it, then returned to us.

  “Can you stand?” Mikael whispered into my ear.

  I nodded, and he let me down, though he kept a bracing arm around my waist. Normally I would have protested, but at that moment, I needed the extra support.

  I took the offered envelope from Frode, knowing without a doubt that it was meant for me. I opened it, then pulled a square of card stock from within. I squinted down at the paper, but could hardly see the words with the dim lighting in the room. Realizing my predicament, Mikael moved so we were both bathed in the sunlight streaming through the open cellar door.

  The neatly scrawled text read:

  To Madeline Ville,

  You are cordially invited to the inauguration ball of Estus Mac An Tsagairt, as he ascends the throne of the Vaettir. The event will be held in his home, February 22nd, at 10 in the evening.

  I stared down at the page, rereading the text multiple times. It said nothing about Alaric and Sophie, but it didn’t need to. The message was implied. I would attend the inauguration ball if I ever wanted to see them alive again.

  “That’s in four days,” Mikael stated, reading the note over my shoulder.

  “We need to catch a plane,” I replied.

  I still felt entirely numb. I knew everything would catch up with me any moment, but all I could think about that second was getting the hell out of Ireland.

  “I had already begun preparations for leaving the country,” he explained. “I wanted us to be capable of departing at a moment’s notice.”

  As gratitude overwhelmed me, everything else began to sink in. I swayed on my feet again, and Mikael caught me and pulled me into a hug. “We’ll find them, and we’ll save them,” he whispered against my hair. “That’s a promise.”

  I could hear Frode backing away up the stairs to join the others, leaving us alone in the gory room. I held tightly onto Mikael, feeling unable to move just yet.

  “He’s not dead, right?” I questioned weakly as fresh tears began to fall, unable to convince myself that I would ever see Alaric again.

  “He’s not dead,” he assured. “I swear to you, you would know it if he were.”

  I nodded, scratching my cheek against his linen shirt, then pulled away. “We need to gather the others from the Salr,” I said, pulling myself together. “I want to be on a plane before the day is through.”

  “Consider it done,” he replied with a nod.

  I took one final glance around the macabre room, then ascended the concrete stairs.

  Aila, Frode, and Tallie all waited silently above.

  Tallie stepped forward, but kept her gaze on the ground. “I’m sorry, I just saw the scene and was horrified. I didn’t consider you’d think Alaric had been killed.”

  While her initial reaction after seeing the room had given me the scare of a lifetime, I couldn’t blame her. The room was a horrifying sight for anyone, even one of the Vaettir.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said distantly, gazing into the woods around us for any sign that the Norn’s murderers might still be near. At that thought, I asked, “Can you sense any energy nearby?”

  She shook her head, tossing her black ponytail from side to side. “I can’t sense anyone within ten miles of us, probably more.”

  “But you couldn’t sense Alaric earlier either,” I countered, “and this place is within ten miles of the Salr.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the still open cellar door. “The cellar must somehow be warded,” she explained. “When we were first tracking Alaric and Sophie, I couldn’t get a feel for them, nor did I sense the Norns. It’s probably why the Norns chose this place to hold them, though their plan backfired in a horrible way.” She frowned, deep in thought. “Did Estus do this?”

  I nodded. “This was his way of inviting us to his inauguration. He took Alaric and Sophie to ensure we’d show up. He might not have killed the Norns himself, but it was on his orders. If only we’d gotten here thirty minutes sooner.”

  “Speaking of Norns,” Mikael cut in, “we should check on the one we left behind. She may now be our singular hope in bringing our plans to fruition.”

  I gasped. I’d forgotten all about her. We needed the Norns to regrow Yggdrasil. Fate was part of the equation we couldn’t leave out. Was that why those who guarded Alaric and Sophie had been slaughtered? I’d simply thought it was a message, letting me know just what could happen to the man I loved if I didn’t obey, but maybe there was more to it. Maybe Estus knew what I planned, and was trying to stop me.

  Without asking permission, Mikael picked me up in his arms again. He ran in the direction we’d come as everyone else moved to follow him. I couldn’t help feeling like we should be scouring the woods for Alaric and Sophie, just in case, but if Tallie couldn’t sense them from outside the cellar, they were long gone.

  Tallie darted ahead of us through the trees, once again amazing me with her speed. If she wanted, she could turn into a wolf and move even faster, though transformation took a lot of her energy.

  As the gentle rhythm of Mikael’s graceful steps washed over me, I began to plan. I couldn’t think about the possible outcomes of what lay before us. I couldn’t think about what was happening to Alaric and Sophie right in that moment. I could only think about what I could do.

  Mikael had claimed that travel arrangements wouldn’t be an issue. It was a long flight from Ireland to Spokane, Washington, so the sooner we left, the better. There wasn’t much for us to pack up at the Salr, except for the extra people. Many of our small group were accustomed to carrying weapons, which would be another concern, since we would be going through airport security. Everyone might just have to acquire new weapons once we reached the states, but finding quality weaponry could take time, and time we did not have.

  We only had four days to make it to the ball to save Alaric and Sophie,
but that begged the question, why did Estus want me there?

  “What do you think he’s planning?” I asked out loud.

  Only breathing slightly harder from exertion, Mikael kept his eyes on the path ahead of him as he answered, “I’ve been thinking about that too, and I’m really not sure. Perhaps he’s hoping to distract you from forming an army long enough for him to enact his plan, or maybe he’s hoping to force you into joining him, using Alaric and Sophie as leverage.”

  I frowned, then tensed as Mikael leapt over a well-rotted log.

  “Or perhaps it’s just a trap,” Frode chimed in as he sped up to reach Mikael’s side, “and Estus will kill us all as soon as we arrive.”

  “Then we’ll have to arrive en force,” Mikael countered. “Many of Aislin’s people are in the States. If we can contact enough of them, perhaps they will rally to our cause.”

  I kept quiet, retreating into my own thoughts. I didn’t care if it was a trap. I was going regardless. I would save Alaric and Sophie. There was no other choice.

  My resolve strengthened, I wrapped my arms more tightly around Mikael’s shoulders, glad he was willing to walk into a situation with me that might mean all our deaths. He might have been an ancient, power-hungry, manipulative Viking, but he was also my friend. I needed all of the friends I could get.

  Mikael let me down to my feet as we reached the Norn. Tallie already stood by her side, looking uncomfortable. The Norn sat in the dirt with her long legs pulled up to her chest, draped in her shapeless clothing. Her antlered head was bowed over her knees as she wept.

  Her sorrow hit me like a ton of bricks, and it was all I could do to force myself to approach.

  “I tried to speak to her,” Tallie explained, “but I don’t think she’s heard a single word.”

  The Norn let out a heart rending sob, but did not lift her head to acknowledge that she wasn’t alone. I knelt by her side as tears formed in my eyes. They came easily, since I already had plenty of things to cry about, even without the Norn’s emotions affecting me.