The Book of G, page 30
“It can’t be that bad.”
“It’s bad.” She grimaces.
I wipe a hand down my face, noticing how it’s gone back to its usual ruin. “I saw myself. Did you see it?”
“What?” She bites her lip, then stows the vitae eluvia and pulls out some of her other supplies. Moving my torn shirt aside, she begins to patch me up. “The other cuts didn’t even have a chance to heal.” She sighs.
“In the trap, or the dream, or whatever it was—I saw myself.” I touch the scarred side of my face. “I was whole. I was … Did you see me?”
I wince as she takes my hand and inspects it. “I saw you. The enchantment didn’t change anything for me. I think once you triggered it, I was able to pass through without getting caught in it.”
“I saw myself. We were at the palace, and we were …” I can still see us looking in the mirror, her staring at me as I’m meant to be, love in her gaze. “I was—” Fuck, my eyes sting and emotion forms a lump in my throat.
“It was a trick, G. That’s all. Like a maze for your mind. You could’ve been trapped there, but you saw through it.” She rubs some salve on my knuckles. “I’m pretty sure you’ve broken some of these.”
The chains in the middle rattle again, and we both hold our breath and look up. Nothing emerges from the darkness, but I can feel something. Goosebumps rise along my arms and the back of my neck. The movement stops, but bits of dust filter down through the tendrils of mist that float through the air. It’s above us, and not far at all.
“We have to get moving.” I get to my knees, then my feet.
“I’m not finished. You need—”
“We can’t wait.” I can still see my face, the way I’m supposed to look. If Charlie could only see me like that—the thought gives me renewed vigor, and I begin to climb.
She grumbles under her breath, then follows, her bow at the ready as I increase my pace and ignore all the aching parts of me. Time is like a third companion, climbing along at my side but dwindling with each step, its form fading into the mist that swirls and eddies as I move through it.
The chains clank more, the tower narrowing as we circle around and around, climbing ever higher. Some stairs up here are completely gone, and we have to jump the gaps.
“Almost there.”
A square of moonlight shines from above. It has to be a trap door that leads to the room at the top of the tower—unless it’s another trick that sends us to the bottom level or another trap. Fuck. There are no more windows along the stone walls, so I can only guess how quickly the moon is turning dark. As long as that square of moonlight remains, though, it means I still have a chance.
“Where is it?” She aims her arrow at the top of the spire. “It couldn’t have gotten past us.” She looks down, then leans back against the wall, her breath a harsh gasp. “I shouldn’t have looked down. It’s so far.”
“We’re all right.” I take her hand. “A few more steps.”
She swallows hard and squeezes my fingers. “Go.”
I lead her up the last steps until we’re both illuminated in the square of light. “Here, a ladder.” I hand her the torch and climb, the wood groaning under my weight as I move as deftly as I can. When I reach the upper landing, I get on my stomach and reach down. “Take my hand. I’ll pull you up.”
She grabs my forearm, and I pull—the wounds on my back burning—until she’s through the opening and into the wide room at the top of the tower. The center is still open, the chains suspended from the roof high over our heads. It’s cold in here, far colder than the rest of the tower, and the mist swirls in through the open windows.
“It’s worse here. The sickness.” She raises the torch, lighting a room with rows of books along the walls and jars stacked along low shelves surrounding the open center.
Two wide stone tables are on either side of the room, and more dark stains mar the floors and walls here. The scent of death is everywhere—rot that seems to float in the air just like the mist. It’s heavier here, weighing down from every angle despite the fact we’re at the very top of the Wood of Mist.
“Stay away from the center. It’s rotted wood around the open shaft.” I stride to the nearest bookcase to begin my search, though I keep casting glances to the blackness above our heads. The mist there is so thick it forms a wall, hiding whatever has been shaking the chains.
The first tome I touch turns to dust and mold in my hands. The others, too. Everything here is in some state of decay. I swipe my arm along the bookcase, the entire row of books falling apart at my touch. It’s all slipping through my fingers.
You should’ve died in the water, your meager brains dashed on the rocks. A fitting punishment for your crimes.
“Shut up!” I bring my fist down on the wooden shelf, crushing it into splinters. “It has to be here. I’m not leaving without it!” I go the next bookcase, then the next.
“Don’t listen to it.” Charlie takes the opposite side, searching in cabinets and even feeling along the walls for any hint of a secret compartment.
When the entire room is nothing but dust, I turn to her. “It’s not here.”
She looks out the window. I follow her gaze to the moon where only a sliver of its light remains.
My time is up.
If it was ever ticking to begin with.
I wipe my arm across my sweaty brow. “It was all a lie, wasn’t it.” It’s not a question. Not anymore.
Charlie comes to my side, her hands finding my face. “G, I’m so sorry.”
“I wanted to believe so badly.” The sickness in my stomach increases until I feel like retching. I turn away from her, my guts heaving. “So badly that I put you in danger, that I made wrong choice after wrong choice to get us here. And there’s nothing! There never was. I’m not going to get back what I’ve lost. I’m trapped like this. Forever. Because of the things I’ve done, the things I can’t remember.”
“G, it’s not—” Her scream cuts through me like a blade.
I whirl as she’s thrown across the room, her body hitting the wall hard. “Charlie!”
A creature climbs down the center chains. Three different heads atop the body of some sort of grisly lion, its tail that of a scorpion with a metal spike. One of the heads is fae, its skin rotten as it stares at me with white eyes. One is a bird with black feathers and serrated beak, and the third is a serpent with long golden fangs. All three heads are roughly sewn onto trunks that extend from the body like some sort of monstrous doll.
It jumps to the floor in front of me, shaking the tower and cutting me off from Charlie. I draw my sword, my skin suddenly on fire as my insides twist and turn. The sickness, it’s coming from this hideous creation.
“Your evil deeds have led you here.” The same voice from my head comes from the dead fae’s cracked lips. “A feast for me.” Something glints beneath its chin. A red gem, huge and dark, framed with gold and strung on a thick chain. The Graven Phylactery. It has to be.
The creature circles me, its tail dragging along the stone with a screeching whine.
Charlie gets to her feet and reaches for her bow.
I need to keep the monster’s attention on me. “You’re the sorcerer, I take it?”
The fae grins, its teeth green and rotted. “You’ve come for my soul.” It cackles, the sound bringing bile to the back of my throat. “Thinking you could somehow regain your own?”
I dodge back as the serpent head strikes at me, its fangs coming close as I swing my sword. I barely miss it, and it hisses as it retreats.
The fae’s head snaps to the side, its gaze on Charlie who is standing still, one hand out toward the monster. “Your power won’t work here, your highness. This is no mindless beast for you to puppet. I control the chimera. Not you.”
“You’ll die all the same.” Charlie backs away and nocks an arrow.
The head whips back to me. “You’ve been sent on a fool’s errand. I’ll never let you take my phylactery. It’s my most precious jewel.” He grins. “But at least you’ve brought me a royal snack.”
“You won’t touch her.” Keeping my sword forward, I advance on the monster.
“I’ll feast on her entrails.” He smacks his lips, and the bird’s head caws.
I swing hard, aiming for the fae’s head. The creature jumps back, then digs its claws into the stone and jumps to the wall beside me, holding on as its tail whips out and almost impales me with its metal tip.
Charlie lets her arrows fly, embedding them in the creature’s thick hide. The fae screams, and the entire beast jumps onto the chains and skitters up them, disappearing into the blackness overhead.
I run to Charlie’s side. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” She fires more arrows, sending them into the dark.
“Can you see it?”
Two of her arrows drop, their shafts broken.
“No.”
“The phylactery is around the sorcerer’s neck.” I glance at the chains when they rattle again.
With a roar, the creature comes flying from overhead, its massive claws swiping at us. I push Charlie out of the way and take a hit on the shoulder, my skin flaying open to the bone as one of its claws catches me.
I yell and swing my sword, slicing into its leg as it screeches and jumps away. It’s tail drags across the wooden boards at the center, their rotten pieces falling away to the floor far below.
Without warning, it charges me, throwing all its weight at me as I back to the wall. Dropping to my knees, I swing upward, stabbing the bird’s neck and opening it with a hard yank, spilling thick black blood onto the floor as the creature lurches backwards.
I press my advantage, rushing it and hacking away at the bird’s head. The sorcerer screams as I cut it away, the feathered mess falling at my feet as blood spurts from its trunk.
The snake darts out, and I swing at it, but it’s too late. Its fangs embed in my leg, the burn from it like a lit torch inside my skin.
I yell and swing, severing the serpent’s head, but its fangs remain inside me, pumping their venom into my veins.
Charlie fires a barrage of arrows into the creature’s body, her bolts focused on its heart. Then she grabs my arm and tries to pull me away from it.
“Get back!” I yell and shove her as the creature strikes out with its claws. They barely miss her, and she loads more arrows and lets them fly at the fae’s face.
I grip the serpent’s head and pull with all my strength. It releases its hold, its eyes still moving as I throw it down the center hole. My leg is going numb, but I still manage to get it under me as I rise and swing my sword at the monster.
It barrels forward, knocking me off my feet, my sword clattering away on the stones. A sharp caw draws my attention to the head I severed. There, on top of the bloody stump, more black feathers sprout as the bird regrows.
The monster turns and puts its hind paw on top of me, crushing me against the floor as it looks at Charlie.
“No!” I yell and reach for my sword, but it’s just out of my grip.
“Princess. This is an honor I dreamt not of. How your father will wail when he discovers I’ve taken you from him.” The fae head cackles, its paw crushing me with steady pressure. I can’t breathe, can barely feel, but I still try to grab my sword. I won’t let it hurt Charlie.
“He’ll be pleased when I tell him I’ve ridded our realm of you.” She lets more arrows fly, but the creature knocks them down easily. She backs away until she’s against the wall, and the creature follows.
I shove myself out of its grip when it takes a step, then roll away and grab my sword.
“I see you learned arrogance from your father.” The sorcerer taunts. “I’ll cut that out of you, too.” The snake hisses its agreement.
I try to find an opening, a spot to strike that will end it. But there’s nothing, its hide too thick and its heads able to regenerate. Its scorpion tail brushes against the hanging chains, the wood floor beneath it flaking away even more at the slight contact.
Charlie is out of arrows, her back against the wall. She won’t survive this. Not unless I act.
I make a decision.
“Hey, get away from her!” I throw myself at the monster, slashing at it. “She’s the only one who can read the map!” I hack a chunk of its matted hair and decaying flesh away.
It roars and wheels on me.
With all the strength I have left, I launch myself at the fae’s head, my hand outstretched. The regrown serpent bites my side, its fangs sinking deep as I reach as far as I can. Agony sears through me, but I keep trying, keep grasping. The serpent retreats and readies itself to bite again. I grip the new feathers on the bird’s head and pull myself forward. It shrieks as the sorcerer turns its white eyes on me. “No!”
I grab the phylactery and pull, breaking the chain around the fae’s neck and ripping it away.
The fae screams as I hit the stones and run. It follows, fury in its steps.
“You want it? Come and get it!” I hold the phylactery out and back away. My body is numb, my words slurred.
The monster charges.
“G!” Charlie screams as I turn and leap, my body crashing into the chains as I try to grip them with my free hand.
I turn my head, catching sight of her as the monster follows me, its focus on the phylactery as it steps onto the rotten wood that gives way beneath it. With a roar, it loses its footing and falls. I slip down the chains. I can’t feel my grip, and the blood on my hands prevents me from stopping my momentum.
“G!” Charlie calls from where she’s stretched out on the stone and holds her hand out to me. “Grab on!”
But I can’t. I’m still slipping, still losing what little grip I have. The beast roars again, and the chains whip around me as more wood splinters—the monster crashing through the middle level.
“Please, come on!” She strains farther, desperately trying to reach me.
I can only look at her as I lose my grip completely, my numb hand letting go of the chain.
Her scream follows me down into the darkness, all the way to the cold stone floor so far below.
Chapter
Thirty
I stand on a windswept roof, a storm raging all around me as I whirl. Several gables rise and fall, as if I’ve climbed to the top of some huge mansion. Up here, the wind cuts and the rain feels like small stones that try to gouge my skin.
Shielding my eyes from the rain, I hear shouts and the sounds of battle.
What am I doing here?
I lean over the edge closest to me. Down below is a dark gorge, the water white-capped and angry. Behind me, something inhuman growls.
“G!” Someone shakes me. “G!”
Bitterness coats my tongue, and I gasp in a breath, my eyes opening.
Charlie stares down at me, her face pale as she puts her palms against my cheeks. “G?”
I sputter and cough, then wipe my mouth. “What is that?”
Her eyes widen. “You’re alive!” She throws her arms around me, hugging me tight to her, so tight I’m having trouble getting my breath.
“Charlie,” I grunt.
“You were dead. You were …” She lets go and yanks my shirt up. “The bite. It’s gone.” Then she moves to my leg.
I look around, then remember. “Oh, fuck!” I sit up.
“Whoa!” She puts her hands on my shoulders. “Go slow.”
“Is it dead?” I feel around for my sword as I stare at the monster lying beside me, its body broken, bones poking out here and there, and black blood flowing in a pool beneath it. The fae’s head is crushed, and only the bird remains intact, though it doesn’t move.
“It’s dead. You killed it.” She wraps her arms around my neck again. “You stupid, oafish, doltish, idiot!”
“Charlie, now’s not the time for foreplay.” I kiss the top of her head.
“Why would you do that? Why would you …” She pulls back, her eyes swimming with tears. “Why?”
I press my forehead to hers. “You know why.”
She sniffles. “Don’t ever do anything like that again. If I hadn’t had the vitae eluvia—”
“Oh, that’s what that was.” I wipe my mouth again. “Tastes like ass.”
She laughs and sits back. “It saved your life.”
“You saved my life.” I grip the nape of her neck and pull her back to me. “From the moment I met you.” I kiss her hard and she answers, her breath mixing with mine as we share parts of our souls.
When we finally part, she sits back on her knees and reaches for something in the rubble.
“What—” My heart lurches when I see the huge red gem in her hands. She hands it to me.
It’s heavy, far more than it should truly weigh. The sorcerer’s soul must be like lead.
“I was too late.” I stare at the phylactery, silently willing the lady from the water to appear. She doesn’t. That foolish flame of hope that’s burned inside me this entire time finally goes out, leaving a dark wisp of smoke behind. I lost my chance. I’ll never be whole again.
“G, don’t give up just yet. There might have been enough time. I don’t think the moon was—” She makes a sound. A horrible sound.
I drop the phylactery and catch her as she falls forward.
“Charlie!” Something hard strikes me in the chest. When I look down, I see the metal glint of the scorpion’s tail. It’s impaled Charlie, punching through her with its metal barb.
I grab my sword and swing at the monster’s corpse, severing the tail. When it clangs to the floor, I realize then what it’s made of. Iron.
“Charlie!” I drop my sword and pick her up, carrying her out of the tower and lying her gently on the stones.
Her eyes are closed, her body unmoving as I pull open her cloak. Blood seeps through her shirt, pooling beneath her as I try to put pressure on the wound. But it’s too much, too big.
“Charlie!” I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. No breath stirs in her. There’s nothing. Nothing. “Charlie!” I yell and press my bloody hand to her cheek. “Charlie, please. Charlie.”
She doesn’t wake. Her beautiful skin has gone pale. “Charlie.” I clutch her to my chest and scream until my throat shreds, and then I scream again. Agony, I thought I knew it well. I didn’t. We’ve never met. Not until right now. Not until this moment as I scream and scream and scream, yet Charlie doesn’t wake. She won’t wake.
