Page 59 of A Spell of Bones and Madness (Nostos #2)

Chapter Forty-Seven

Ember

T here was no way she could sleep—it was the only reason she had offered to take first watch.

Not only was the staff she protected vibrating so loudly Ember might very well go mad, but her heart raced too much knowing they were walking into certain death.

She could rationalize her own death, had come to terms with her position, what it meant to be Prytan—even if she no longer would lead the Spartanis.

A true warrior was expected to lead others into battle knowing they would fight until their last breath protecting those they loved, the sick, the weak, the powerless.

But willingly letting her sister and the man she loved— willingly leading Ajax to that fate was unbearable.

Aidon had entrusted her with this gods-damned relic and it was her duty alone to see the task through—kill the Olympi who sought to wreak havoc on her world.

Quietly Ember slipped from her bed roll.

For a moment Ajax’s snores softened as he rolled over to his side, but his head did not lift from the ground and the humming sound from his nose began once more.

She would need to move swiftly throughout the night if she was to make it to the mountain’s base by dawn—or at least get far enough ahead of the others that they could not stop her.

The most difficult task would be carrying the staff by herself that distance.

One of the crew had fashioned her a pack that strapped the long object across her back, but its weight was one she had shared with Ajax the past few days.

Ember would need to dig deep, remember that pain was temporary as the weight became unmanageable, as her feet blistered with every snap of a twig and scuffle of dirt below.

Even more so since she carried her long sword across the opposite direction.

Trees thinned on the opposing side of the lake, allowing the brightness of the moon to guide her along the weaving path to the mountain that loomed mere miles away.

Howling wind and hooting owls made for an almost peaceful melody on the journey.

A white noise to distract Ember from the fear that scratched its way into her very bones.

It had been months now that she had been training, but that wasn’t nearly enough time to battle a god as ancient as time itself.

No—she could only hope that the fear of this object she carried stunned the Olympi enough to strike.

And if it was not enough—if she failed in this task—maybe at least Katrin, Ander, and Ajax could escape, could find their way back to The Nostos and prepare for battle.

Maybe they could live to fight another day, work out some way to destroy the god without the staff.

If only she had her powers, if that healing magic flowed through her blood freely, if the sunfire coursed through her like her mother.

Or maybe it would have been better to have her father’s powers—the ones Katrin so effortlessly conquered now.

Would darkness and starlight defeat an Olympi with such similar powers?

Would the two feed upon each other, the weaker snuffed out?

It was useless to ponder such things. Not when the task would not change.

Padding footsteps knocked Ember out of her mental spiral. Her lungs constricted and her hand flew to her back, unsheathing the sword she had come to master. Who knew what lurked within the forest so close to the damning mountain beyond.

A tall, cloaked figure stood peering out from a nearby tree, their arms hidden beneath billowing sleeves.

The light from the stars and moon above seemed to twinkle out until a shadowy cloud of darkness fell upon the dirt path.

These were not the shadows of Nikolaos—they were something different, yet familiar.

Eyes squinting, Ember tried to adjust to the low light.

“Show yourself, coward!” she screamed into the endless night, brandishing her sword. The figure glided over the now smokey ground with a preternatural speed, circling behind her. Ember whipped around once more. “I said show yourself!”

A low laugh reverberated around her. This laugh—it’s raspy cackle, the low rumble—it was definitely familiar. “Father?” she croaked out, almost in a whimper for the man she did not think she would see again .

“Who are you? Who sent you for me?” the man whispered, drawing closer. Silver flickered by his hand, while the other dropped the hood. Deep brown eyes pierced her to her core.

“Father, it’s me. It’s Ember.” Slowly she took a step back.

“I have no daughter.” Aidon lifted his hand, the sleeve of his cloak sliding down to reveal a decadent dagger, rubies and onyx covering the hilt, bronze metal sharpened so thin it could separate layer upon layer of skin.

Bile began to rise in Ember’s throat. The water from the Lethe truly had taken his memories—all of them. Before she could respond, Aidon had circled her once more, pinning her against his chest, arm locked tight around her throat, dagger equally as close.

“What trickery you spew, Lady of Spring. I know he sent you,” he rasped into her ear, tightening his arm.

“Father, please,” she said with what little air she had left in her lungs, but then the grip loosened. Ember fell forward to her knees, gasping for breath. When she finally looked up, Aidon was nowhere to be seen. She reached for her back, the pack seeming lighter as she stood.

Not just Aidon was missing.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Ember muttered, patting down the floor around her, looking for any sign of footsteps, a trail she could follow.

This is what she got for thinking she could make it all the way to the mountain and defeat Hades herself.

I mean, gods, she was only one woman and she knew absolutely nothing about that damned bident other than what her father told her.

Her father, who had just stolen the thing right from under her nose.

Her father who had just tried to kill her.

How was she supposed to tell her companions? They trusted her to keep watch, to stay calm and make sure harm didn’t come to them, and now she had to explain she lost the one thing that would let them succeed in their quest.

Shit, shit, shit.

Hazy golden hues began to creep over the tree line.

Dawn was coming and Ember needed to find her way back.

She began to sprint back down the dirt trail that had led her to this clearing, moving over broken twigs and crushed leaves with more ease because of her lighter pack.

With every step she took, rustling sounds from deep in the forest had her head spinning.

What creatures loomed deep between the branches?

Leighton described the beings that lurked in the caves, but never mentioned what might be out in the open on this decaying isle.

Picking up her pace once more, Ember wove through the last bit of the path to the side of the lake they had marked for camp.

“Where in the gods have you been?” a shrill voice had Ember sliding to a halt. Katrin appeared out of nowhere, hands on hips, narrowed eyes.

“I—I, um,” she tried to get the words out but couldn’t through gasps of breath. Gods, she hadn’t run that fast in, well, ever.

“We woke and you weren’t here! We thought something had happened to you—that someone had taken you!” her sister screamed .

Appearing behind her, Ander wrapped his arms around Katrin. “Shh, Starling. Ember is back and we do not know what spies trail these woods.”

“You better have a good explanation for this.” Katrin walked up to Ember, poking her in the chest in time with every word she spoke.

“Where’s Ajax?” was the only thing Ember could think to say.

“We sent him to track you. He was frantic when he woke up and you weren’t there.” Ander pointed behind her.

Spinning around, Ember saw the commander standing there, equally muddied boots and heaving chest. So that was the noise she’d heard in the woods by the trail, he was chasing after her.

“How reckless can you be?” Ajax growled, hands fisted beside him. “You went after him alone!”

“It was my task, no one else’s,” Ember refuted.

“And where did that get you, Ember? You could have been killed!” She had never seen the commander this angry before.

“I almost was,” she whispered.

“Excuse me?” Katrin hacked out. “What do you mean you almost were?”

“I ran into Father. At least I think it was Father. He didn’t know who I was—kept calling me that name, Lady of Spring. He put a knife to my throat and began to choke me and then he just disappeared.”

“He tried to kill you and then just left you there?” Ander asked.

“Because he took it. He left me there alive because he took that gods-damned relic. Father never should have entrusted me with it, what did he think I could do?” Ember ranted, stomping over to the edge of the lake .

“You lost it? Ember, you should have never been out there alone!” The vein in the commander’s forehead began to pulse, his skin turning a crimson hue.

“It’s fine, Ajax.” Ander’s tone was silencing. Well, that was a first, Ember never expected him to take her side, especially against his oldest friend.

“Fine? Not only could Aidon have killed his own daughter in his delusions, but we also lost the one thing that could keep him alive. Or are you forgetting an all-powerful Olympi is after us all!” Sarcasm laced through Ajax’s final words.

“It is not the only thing.” This time it was Katrin who spoke, her hand clutched around the necklace she always wore. A single blue stone hung next to the gold pendant she usually wore. “We might have something that could trap him—his soul, at least. Buy us more time to find the relic again.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Ajax asked.

Ander nodded his head. “But we must hurry. If Kohl or, gods forbid, Hades himself gets a hand on the bident before we do, it will be too late.”

“What is that?” Ember stuttered, staring at the captivating crystal.

“Something you do not want your sister to have to use. Let’s go, it is a day's walk to the caves and we need all the time we can get.” Ajax brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Never do something like that again, alright? I cannot lose you, not now.”

Ember looked into those downturned eyes, Ajax’s hardened jaw, and nodded.