SEVEN
“NO! PLEASE, VIKKOMMIN, STOP!” I PUSHED against him but it was impossible to push against smoke and mirrors. And as he entered my body, his madness touched my soul and I screamed again, for I saw how far over the edge he’d gone. Enraged, he was, and angry and out to hurt me in any way possible. He didn’t love me, he wanted to punish me for all time.
I struggled, fighting him, trying one spell after another. I pushed, but that had no effect, and I put up wards and barriers, but it was too late—the fox was already in the henhouse. Finally, in desperation, I screamed for a blast of ice lightning to aim itself directly at me—I could absorb the energy, I thought—but it bounced off of his shadow.
What the fuck was I going to do? I couldn’t let him win. He’d be able to do exactly what he planned—turn my body inside out and absorb my soul into his—and I couldn’t let that happen. I wasn’t ready to die. I struggled, dragging myself along the ice, trying to keep focused. The feel of him inside my mind made me want to scream, to shake him off like ants at a picnic.
I have to stay calm, I have to figure out what to do. If I let him rattle me, he’ll win.
I yanked the gloves off my hands, slamming my left palm down on a sharp chunk of ice. The pain broke through. I grabbed hold of the feel of torn flesh and hung on for everything I had and it cleared my thoughts for a moment.
Now what? I had only a few minutes to decide as he surrounded me, infiltrated my body more and more.
“The ring—the ring . . .”
I heard a faint voice on the wind and looked up the mountain. Standing on one of the rocky crags was Howl, watching but not interfering.
Of course! The ring of Shevah. I concentrated on it, begging for whatever help it might give me. A pulse rippling through my hand took me by surprise, and then another, and then a loud shriek ripped through the air and Vikkommin went sailing down the mountain in shadow form. As he picked himself up, I knew that I had to decide what to do next.
And then, Undutar’s words rang in my ears. Pirkitta, remember: To counter shadow, you must remove the light. Only in the darkness will shadow falter. Only in darkness can you destroy what is left of him.
Darkness. The cave—the Gates of Hel! I scrambled to my feet, driving myself up the mountain, forcing myself on. I knew Vikkommin was gathering himself, aiming for me again, and I had to reach the cavern before he came. In darkness, he wouldn’t have nearly the power he did out here in the light. All shadows need light to exist.
I struggled to catch my breath and, looking up, found Howl standing by me, in wolf form. He knelt down. I said nothing but leapt on his back and he raced for the cavern ahead, with me clinging to his back as if my life depended on it—for it did. We reached the cave and he knelt again so I could get off. Quickly, he turned back into his human form.
“I cannot go with you, little sister. I am proscribed from entering the Gates of Hel. But I will stand watch. Blessings, my Ar’jant d’tel.”
I gave him a soft smile. “If something happens, tell . . .” “I will bear the news to your friends, if need be. Go now. Your adversary is nearly on your heels.” And he backed away.
With a glance over my shoulder at Vikkommin, who was almost within reach, I took a deep breath and plunged into the cavern, into the darkness, into what I hoped would be my salvation.
THE CAVERN WAS dark, so dark I couldn’t even see my hands before my face. I quickly moved away from the opening, away from what little light emanated in from outside. I couldn’t allow Vikkommin to have any form of power over me, and the less light there was, the less power he’d have.
As I moved ahead, using my walking stick to sweep the path, I began to realize there was a form of light in here—my hair; the strands were glowing with a soft gold light. Just enough so that I could see the rock forms on the wall, even though all around me was inky and black. How the hell . . .? And then I realized that when she’d brushed my hair this morning, Kitää must have put something on it. But there was no time to figure it out now.
I hurried ahead, and finding an outcropping, I stopped behind it to catch my breath. He couldn’t see me in here, but he could probably hear me.
Pirkitta . . . Pirkitta . . . Where did you go now? You’re being a very naughty girl and I’m going to have to punish you for it. Come out now, back onto the ice, and I’ll make it easy on you.
I forced my tongue still, even though I wanted to shout out a retort, a snide comeback. This was no time for pettiness. I had to destroy him, but more than that, I had to find out why I’d done this to him.
I headed toward the back of the cavern and found yet another passageway leading down. Since I had no idea if I was coming out of this alive, I decided I might as well follow and find out where it led. As it was, I had no clue as to how I was going to destroy Vikkommin. Undutar seemed convinced I could do it while in the darkness, but I wasn’t so sure.
The passage led down a narrow ledge with steep ravines on either side. I glanced over the edge and quickly pulled back. I couldn’t have seen what I thought I saw—no, it wasn’t possible. But a second look and I knew I wasn’t hallucinating.
There was a column in the center of the deep pit to my right. Along the column were row after row of faces—death masks and skulls, ornamenting the towering stalagmite that was a good eight feet thick. Holy Hel, no wonder they called this cavern the Gates of Hel. It truly was a death chamber.
I turned back to see the faint glimmer I knew was Vikkommin. He was waiting at the top of the path and I sensed a hesitancy now—a pause in certainty.
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid to come down here?”
Come up. You know eventually I’ll have you. Or you’ll starve to death, waiting for me to leave. Pirkitta, you don’t know the power you’ll have when you are with me. You can’t imagine the beautiful strength that flows through my being now. You will have all that, once you’re with me.
Power. . . power . . . Where had I heard that before? A fuzzy thought began to take shape in my mind.
“I don’t think so. You’re an abomination, Vikkommin. If I’m the one who turned you into this, I promise you, I will give myself over for punishment. But you cannot go on like this—you feed on the life of the Northmen and their families. You are no longer part of the cycle.”
Oh, that’s what you said long ago, that’s what you predicted would happen to me. But look—you are the reason for my existence in this form. You created the monster you feared I was becoming. How do you feel about that, my love? How do you feel now that you know you’ve fucked things up and birthed a fearsome shadow who is the terror of the northern wastes?
I glanced around, staring at the skulls on the central tower, trying to think. The pit over the edge was so vast that if I had to, I could throw myself in and he’d never be able to get me. Had I really done this to him? Was I, at the heart, responsible for all of this?
You’re making a mistake, Vikkommin. You’re going against the Order, Vikkommin. You’re turning into a monster, Vikkommin . . .
His voice mocked mine, in perfect precision, and suddenly, the years began to slide away as the secrets I’d locked within my heart broke open . . . and I was standing back in his room that night, facing my love for the last time.
VIKKOMMIN HAD CALLED me to his room. Nothing unusual—we spent a great deal of time together, but tonight something was different. He had a look on his face that I didn’t like. One I recognized all too often as of late.