Page 54 of A Spell of Bones and Madness (Nostos #2)

Chapter Forty-Three

Ander

W aters this calm had not been seen between the Mykandrian and Manos sea in centuries.

Tranquil rolling waves guided The Nostos along its course.

It was strange, such placid conditions, but there was still enough wind to have them flying over the wake at full speed.

Katrin had asked Ander after the first few days if it was his powers or his father’s that allowed them such an easy journey, but it was neither.

To alter such forces for that extent of time would drain even the most powerful of Grechi and Ander was not sure how much of his power was truly back.

It would come in flickers, the fog casting about his fingertips.

The few times he trained on Nexos, he saw the remnants of what he used to be able to conjure, but even such simple things as the weapons he crafted from his magic caused his energy to melt into nothing as the night fell.

A bone-chilling unease settled within Ander when they passed Siren’s Cove.

Neither the wails of the wretched, winged creatures beneath nor tumultuous storms came upon them.

Of all the times he crossed these waters back and forth from Skiatha to Lesathos, not once had the sirens relented in their captivating call.

When even that wicked of a creature hid in the depths below, it meant darkness swept quickly over their shores.

There was little anyone could do except hope it was not too late—that Edmund and Khalid would not succeed.

How could they? Ember had the one weapon that could help raise the Olympi.

Yet here Ander stood, sailing them straight for the eye of the storm, breathing in the much too warm air, and pushing away a lingering feeling like he was forgetting something, like they had not completed some task.

Fear was an unforgiving beast, and that was all Ander seemed to know.

Fear that they would be too late. Fear that he could not protect the woman he loved.

Fear that he was leading every one of his crew to their death.

It would only be hours now—until he learned what fate was in store for them.

The wards that protected Cyther were just ahead, and they had the one object that could break through the spider web of magic that kept unsuspecting sailors out—the stone around Katrin’s neck.

The ancient relic had many powers, some as simple as crossing spelled barriers set by a power of similar strength, and others he hoped they would never have to use.

Glimmering next to the gold medallion he’d gifted Katrin, the crystal radiated off a rainbow glow, casting a film on the wards ahead.

It would shield them for now. Allow them to sneak through unseen, much like the compass Kohl had used to find The Nostos .

It was time—to regroup below, to learn what horrors lay before them, to finally meet their end.

There was an old piece of parchment on the table with intricately drawn lines and images of waypoints.

Leighton continued to scribble notes and more markings of where they would travel after getting to shore.

With every stroke of the pen, Katrin flinched at the way Leighton’s eyes scrunched and his hand faltered for just a moment before he continued.

It was unfair to ask him to do this once more, relive what he went through on that isle, dig through the worst parts of his memories, recall how to get to the chamber within the mountain.

How to escape. Katrin sat by his side, following the path he’d mapped for them, one arm slung behind his back, resting on his chair.

Leighton looked up from the table, glancing around the room. “Where is Ajax?”

Rose formed across Ember’s nose. “I don’t think he will be here.” Ember looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with Katrin who now stared at her sister, head cocked to the side.

“Fine then. We can start. It will take you two days,” Leighton said, his voice gruff.

“I won’t be able to pull the ship all the way into shore and it’s not safe to swim the distance.

You’ll have to take the skiff, but be wary of the rocks surrounding the beach, they are infinitely more dangerous than those on Alentus or even the northern shores of Skiatha. ”

“And the trail to the mountain—the beginning is marked with a watch post, how are we supposed to avoid that?” Ember questioned, tapping her fingers against the wooden table.

She had been on edge since they came aboard The Nostos , always fiddling with her fingers, picking away at her nails until they were bloody.

“You don’t. All you can hope for is that they are changing over the guards when you land, or that you make it to them before they sound the horns,” Leighton replied.

So we might not even make it past the beach?

No, Starling, we might not.

I don’t want Ember coming.

That is for her to decide. She is strong enough.

That is not the point. Katrin narrowed her eyes at Ander. Of course her sister was strong enough, gods, she might be braver at this point than Katrin herself. But she couldn’t risk—

“Can you two stop doing that weird mind thing and listen? We need to be clear on the plan. All of us.” Stubborn. Her sister might be even more stubborn as well.

“Yes, continue, Leighton,” said Katrin.

“Once you're past the post, you’ll want to hug the edge of the jungle. Men patrol the roads in and out in rotation and on horseback, so it is risky to follow directly. But be warned, the jungle is a place of madness itself. Keep your wits about you, alright?” He clutched Katrin’s hand in his.

“Everything you see on that isle could be an illusion, a mirage to keep you from succeeding, do not give in to the darkness again. ”

“I won’t,” she whispered . How many times in her life had she let it consume her? Will her to give up? Never again.

“Around halfway, you will meet the lake. Do not wade in and do not drink from it. The water is more harmful than even the rivers of Aidesian.”

Something that was worse than the amnesiac Lethe? The Stygian river, where souls went to perish? What horrors lay beneath that darkened body?

“You will want to rest there. The mountain is only a few miles from the lake, but the last part is the most treacherous. Once you reach the mountain, there is no light within, none until the chamber in the center, only creatures that would feast on your bones, play with you as they rip you limb from limb. You’ll need to save whatever power you have for there.

That is where terror can consume you, deep within the caves where the darkness is spurred by spells of bones and madness.

It is different from the power you all wield.

This is the blood magic of Hades himself.

An abomination to the balance between life and death.

It will win if left unchecked.” His voice was haunting and Katrin felt like they hadn’t experienced half of what that magic could do.

Not Ander in the dungeons, not meeting Kohl in the forest.

“And once we are in the caves,” Ember asked, “how do we know we have reached the right chamber?”

“There is a creature, Cerberus, who guards Hades’ tomb, a three-headed monster you will need to defeat to pass. But even if he was not there, you would know, Ember. You would know.”